In the end, catching Kurt Hummel is definitely not what Blaine expected.

To be honest, it's not as glamorous or exciting as he thought it would be. He expected that there would be chases and escape plans and tricks, just like there have been before, just like there have been every other time Blaine has gotten this close. He expected to find the Songbird (as they call him at the FBI, because of the con-man's ability to get almost everything he needs with words and because each and every one of his victims always mentions his voice, the clarity and the unusual pitch) in an expensive hotel room or at an art gallery, in the middle of another crime, catching him red-handed. Most of all he expected that a weight would be lifted from his shoulders the moment he slapped a pair of handcuffs on Kurt Hummel, like everything he has done to get here would suddenly feel worth-while, all the stake-outs and paper work and nights spent in the van.

Instead Kurt Hummel, the con-man he has been chasing for years, for so many years that he doesn't even know how long it's been anymore, the con-man who has basically helped Blaine build his fast-track career, is standing on the other side of the empty garage, hands raised, blinking his eyes in apparent surprise and wearing an outfit that is surprisingly tame on the Kurt Hummel standards.

Blaine knows everything there is to know about Hummel – he knows that he doesn't use violence, knows that he specializes in priceless paintings, sketches with beautiful clothes, and expensive Broadway memorabilia, knows that Hummel is always dressed to the nines and still somehow manages blend into the crowd. A pair of jeans and a light gray shirt is a surprisingly modest attire on Hummel, and as Blaine watches him he notices how Hummel's hair is in obvious disarray, strands of it sticking in every direction and some of them falling over his forehead.

Hummel shakes his head as the rest of the agents surround him, guns pointing at him from every direction. "I guess Finn isn't actually here then?" he sighs, his voice sounding tired.

Blaine steps forward. "Your brother?" he says. "No, unfortunately this is a set-up."

It took them months, but they eventually found a connection to Kurt Hummel – a step-brother, the only relative the Songbird seems to have. It was easy after that, spreading the rumor about the step-brother working in a garage near the marina and hoping the Songbird would show up. It was long shot, but somehow it still worked. Family seems to have a strange hold over Kurt Hummel, and as much as FBI Agent Anderson is thankful for that right now, plain old Blaine Anderson actually envies Hummel's strong family ties a little.

Hummel's lips twitch into a smile as he turns to look into Blaine's eyes and in a second the tired-looking young man vanishes, replaced by a grinning con-man who has been making a fool of the FBI for far too long.

"Agent Anderson," he drawls. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I can see now that photographs don't do you justice."

Blaine rolls his eyes. Hummel grins and lowers his other arm, all the agents around him tightening their hold on their guns, but he just extends his hand towards Blaine, as if he's expecting Blaine to shake it. Blaine can't help it; he huffs out a laugh, taking Hummel's hand and giving it a firm shake. Hummel's grin widens even more at the gesture, and for a moment he looks like a child, like he isn't actually almost the same age as Blaine but instead years and years younger, just a kid who got caught up in something way too big, and Blaine feels a sudden twinge of sadness. His superiors have always told him that he puts too much of his heart into his job, and Kurt Hummel certainly deserves everything he has coming – trial and jail time and having to pay for his crimes – but Blaine still feels bad for him. He can't help it.

He takes the handcuffs from his pocket with his other hand and promptly clicks them around Hummel's wrist. "Kurt Hummel," he says in a monotone, doing his best to hide his true feelings, "you are under arrest."

"So I figured," Hummel answers with a wink.

---

Later that same night, when New York City has already gone to bed and all the paper work on Kurt Hummel's arrest is finally done, Blaine closes the door to his apartment behind him, dropping his keys into the small bowl by the door.

Perry gets up to greet him, wagging her tail in a way that reminds Blaine of the puppy she was just a short time ago and almost looking like she's smiling. Blaine likes to think that Perry does actually smile every time he comes home, even though he knows that Labradors just happen to look like they're always smiling. He bends down to scratch her ears and feels the day's first genuine smile on his lips. The apartment is quiet and dark around him, and he stays in the hallway for a long time, not exactly looking forward to spending the night with yesterday's leftovers and an old mystery book.

He usually feels better after a successful arrest, especially if the criminal is someone as complicated as the Songbird – but tonight he feels tired, wrung-out and older than his years. He's still one of the youngest agents at the Bureau, the one with the fast-track career and a good reputation, the one who everyone says is going somewhere, and today's arrest should make him feel excited and accomplished. He knows how important the Songbird case has been, knows that catching Kurt Hummel is going to give him pride and glory, but those are not the reasons why he does what he does. He does it all because he believes in right and wrong, because he believes in keeping people safe, because he believes that at the end of the day, good always wins.

Why does he then feel like he has somehow failed Kurt Hummel?

Blaine sighs and straightens his back. Perry trots into the kitchen, her tail wagging lazily behind her, and after a moment Blaine flicks the lights on and follows her. The Songbird is a brilliant man, and after years of chasing him Blaine can admit that he is honestly fascinated by everything about him. Perhaps a part of him, that naive ghost of his high school years that believed in making art and helping people, feels like he could've helped Hummel, shown him another way of life without crimes and breaking the law. But how on earth could he have done that?

Blaine knows that things are as they should be. Kurt Hummel is going to prison for the crimes he committed, and that's the end of it. And if Blaine still feels like he has lost the possibility of something great, he can work it out. There will always be more criminals to catch, more Kurt Hummels to pursue.

Even if none of them will ever be as fascinating as the Songbird.

---

Blaine gets a birthday card from prison every year. He has no idea how Kurt Hummel knows his birthday or his address, but the cards arrive every year, waiting for him when he gets home from work. They are always original Kurt Hummel sketches – the bulky lines of an orange jumpsuit, a picture of a dog that looks a surprisingly lot like Perry, a view from the prison court yard. Blaine snorts at every card when he sees them. He doesn't think about Kurt Hummel otherwise, at least not much – after the case was closed he has been busy with other criminals, trying to keep up with his new reputation and building his own team that works solely on white collar crimes.

Still, by the fourth year he's already expecting a card, and after the miserable day he's had (mortgage fraud cases are not the reason why he signed up for the FBI) he grins at the two cards waiting for him when he finally gets home. The first one is from Cooper, a generic card with generic greetings, but Blaine still appreciates the gesture. The other one, however, is a drawing of a bowtie with little handcuffs on it, and Blaine laughs out loud when he sees the message under the picture:

I bet you own at least a dozen bowties like this one, Agent Anderson.
Don't try to tell me otherwise.

Happy birthday!

xoxo Kurt

Perry sniffs at the card and nudges Blaine's thigh with her muzzle.

"I'm never getting rid of him, am I?" Blaine says to her. She tilts her head at him, and Blaine gives out a laugh. He doesn't even want to get rid of Kurt Hummel. Not really, even if his colleagues would find his thoughts absurd. But they don't have to know.

---

In a few weeks it's been exactly four years since Blaine caught Kurt Hummel. He absent-mindedly knows that Hummel is getting free soon, hopefully to a life without crime, but Blaine's thoughts have been occupied by his current case for weeks now, a complicated business of forged Renoirs that has already resulted in one person ending up in the hospital, and he hasn't exactly had time to think about Kurt Hummel's release from prison.

That is until Tina pulls him aside when they're examining the latest forgery.

"What now?" he asks, distracted, his thoughts still focused on the painting.

Tina sighs. "It's... Well." She looks into Blaine's eyes. "Kurt Hummel has escaped."

Blaine startles, the forged Renoir disappearing from his mind in an instant. "W-what?"

"He escaped," Tina repeats. She hands him the phone she has been holding. "The boss wants you on the case."

Blaine blinks a few times, and then the words finally register in his head. Kurt Hummel has escaped. Just a few weeks before his release. It's another mystery, another exciting chase, another chance to have the Songbird in his life, at least for a moment, and Blaine couldn't stop himself from grinning even if he wanted to.

"Well then," he says and takes the phone. "Let's go catch him again."