“I'm sorry,” Blaine says.

They're sitting on a park bench on a low hill, away from the little children running around the park's pond and the young couples smooching on the benches down below. It's sunny, like it has been all day, but their bench is slightly shadowed by a few nearby trees, giving them a comfortable shade from the harsh fall sunlight.

The space is open and full of nature's voices, something Blaine figured might be good for Kurt right now. Once the connection to Kingleysia broke off Kurt looked practically claustrophobic, his hands trembling as he tried to fasten the brooch back to his tunic – it took him four tries, and even after he succeeded he kept straightening it, as if it wasn't done properly – so Blaine guided him to the nearest park, away from the looming buildings and busy streets. He doesn't know if it's helping at all, but it was the only thing he could think of.

Kurt turns his gaze away from the two pigeons that are picking at the ground next to the trees. He has pulled his cape more securely around his shoulders, and he looks younger again, even though Blaine now knows that he's actually one year older than him. It's weird, in a way – last night when he saw Kurt for the first time he thought he looked strong, the shape of his cape and tunic accentuating his shoulders and chest; but now Kurt's almost curling in on himself, the cape wrapped around his body like a shield.

“What are you sorry for?” Kurt asks, voice small and confused.

“For everything, I suppose?” Blaine shrugs awkwardly. He glances around the park, wondering what the city looks like through Kurt's eyes. “I'm sorry that you're stuck here against your will. And I'm sorry I didn't believe you.”

Kurt's mouth twitches with the beginnings of a small smile. “So you believe me now, then?”

Blaine gives a quiet laugh. “It's kind of hard not to when I just saw you talking to your dad who's in another... world?” He tilts his head in consideration. “Dimension? I don't know which word would be more accurate. I should probably brush up on speculative fiction.”

“Same here,” Kurt says, “even if I have no idea what that is.” He looks back to the pigeons, his face closing off again.

Blaine opens his mouth and then closes it, biting on his lower lip. He wants to ask more, wants Kurt to tell him more about Kingleysia now that it's undeniable that the place actually exists. Blaine's mind is still whirring with everything he has witnessed this morning, and he has so many questions, as if his inner geek has suddenly reared its head and refuses to back down again. He didn't really have any clue what he was doing when he suggested going back to the place where Kurt arrived – he wasn't just humoring Kurt, he genuinely wanted to help him, but at the same time the rational part of his mind kept telling him how insane it all was.

But he saw it. He saw the magic pulsing and glowing around Kurt's brooch, saw the connection between his world and Kurt's. He felt it as well: the warmth of the magic, almost like electricity crackling through air, or the quivering heat over asphalt on a hot summer day. Like the smell that lingers after fireworks, even if it feels almost unfair to compare the magic he felt to such mundane things when what Blaine saw was clearly something extraordinary.

“Go ahead,” Kurt interrupts his thoughts. “I can practically hear you thinking, and I know you must have questions.”

Blaine startles, his head twisting around to Kurt. Kurt is still looking at the pigeons, his sharp profile the only thing Blaine can see, but he's definitely smiling now, even if he hasn't let go of his cape yet.

“I don't want to seem rude,” Blaine admits, scratching his neck in embarrassment.

“Blaine.” Kurt glances at him, amusement shining from his eyes, and it's a much better look on him than the emptiness Blaine saw in his eyes on the alley. “I'm probably going to bombard you with questions about New York once I actually get used to the idea of being stuck here,” he points out and gives a lopsided shrug with his other shoulder. “Might as well return the favor in advance.”

“Right.” Blaine clasps his hands together in his lap. “Should I then just–” He raises his eyebrows, and Kurt nods, barely hiding a grin. “I suppose I– Could you tell me what all that talk about adventures was about?”

Kurt straightens his back. “Well, like my dad said, it's a tradition in our family,” he explains. “All the members of the royal family are supposed to have their own adventure before they turn twenty-five – to learn more about the world and themselves, to gather experience that could turn out to be handy in the future, and to help them become better rulers.” He lifts his hand almost unconsciously and starts fiddling with the brooch again, slow and careful movements of his fingers against its golden surface. “I mean, the tradition has spread around Kingleysia during the past few decades, so it's not just us that do it anymore. Most people do it when they turn twenty, but I... I never knew what I wanted to do for my adventure, so I haven't gotten around to it.”

“What do people usually do for their adventures then?” Blaine asks, tilting his head. A part of him want to reach out and still Kurt's hand, hold it in his own to show him that he's really listening, but he clasps his hands more tightly in his lap, fighting against the urge.

“Oh, my dad spent some time in a nearby town, for example, building houses and fixing broken wagons,” Kurt goes on, looking up at the sky and blinking his eyes against the sun. “He always says that it taught him a lot about life, in some weird way. And I guess a lot of people just travel around Kingleysia, or go explore the mountains where the dragons usually hunt. It can be a lot of different things.” He kicks his feet, stretching his legs out in front of him. “And, well, of course some people use their adventure to find their true love.”

Blaine freezes. “True love?”

Kurt nods, a sudden dreamy smile lighting up his face. Blaine can see that he's staring at the couple sitting on one of the benches below, an older man and a woman with graying hair who are leaning against each other's shoulders and talking in quiet voices, the sunshine lighting up their faces when they both suddenly laugh at something.

“That's what I would've wanted to do,” Kurt says. “To go on an adventure and find my true love.” The smile slips away from his face, and he blinks his eyes quickly, as if he's coming back from a daydream he wishes he could live in. “But I couldn't. Obviously,” he scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Because everyone would've expected me to come back with a princess and... It just wasn't possible.”

“You really believe in true love?” Blaine can't help but ask, keeping his voice carefully even. “In all that ‘love conquers all' stuff?”

Kurt huffs out a laugh. “Of course I do! Why on earth wouldn't I? It's always been so difficult being... gay,” he glances to Blaine, as if to make sure he's using the word correctly, “in Kingleysia, but thinking about true love made it feel a little easier.” He smiles again, something sad hiding behind his eyes. “Knowing that someone out there must be the person for me, and one day we'd meet and fall in love and all the pain would be worth it.” His smile dims, and he looks away from the older couple. “And I wouldn't have to feel so alone anymore.”

Blaine swallows uncomfortably, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. He feels cold all of a sudden. “I guess this true love is a big thing in Kingleysia?”

“Oh, it's huge,” Kurt replies, nodding and widening his eyes for emphasis. “It's the one thing everyone's looking for – for that moment you look into someone's eyes and the whole world just stops. Your heart starts beating faster and you get butterflies in your stomach and you just need to tell everyone how you feel and–” He trails off with a laugh and shakes his head, as if he has to contain himself to not get too carried away. “It's so romantic. There are always these huge public declarations of love happening on the town square, and the maids can't stop gossiping about who has found his or her true love and how they're getting married in a few days after their first meeting and–”

“A few days after their first meeting?” Blaine interrupts, shocked. “You can't be serious.”

“No, it's actually quite normal in Kingleysia,” Kurt replies, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, when you meet your true love, you just know that they're right for you. So why prolong the inevitable?”

“B-but that's... That's insane,” Blaine splutters. Kurt turns to look at him, his eyes confused and even a little hurt. “You can't get married to someone you just met!”

“Why not?” Kurt asks sharply, and it's not even a rhetorical question, Blaine can tell; he's genuinely puzzled why people shouldn't get married so soon.

“Because... You're supposed to date,” Blaine starts lamely, gesturing with his hands.

“Date?” Kurt's forehead is creased, like he's never heard of the concept before.

“It's when you go out,” Blaine tries to explain, “for dinner or to see a show, or just have a conversation with the other person and get to know them.” He's starting to feel even more uncomfortable, all this talking about love and marriage reminding him of things he'd rather not think about, but he won't back down now, not when he was the one who started this. “You're supposed to get to know them really well and find out if you work together,” he goes on, “and if your relationship has even the slightest chance of success, and even after that you can't really know if it willwork out. It's...” He hesitates, wondering how to phrase it. “It's not prolonging the inevitable, it's making sure you're making the right choice.”

Kurt blinks. “But there's no need for that with true love. When it's true love, you just know. That's the whole idea.”

“That's just attraction,” Blaine argues. “You can't base a relationship on basic attraction. That's like a disaster waiting to happen.”

“It's not just attraction.” Kurt rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “Attraction isn't powerful enough to make people get married after just a few days or shout out their love from the rooftops.” He side-eyes Blaine. “And before you ask: yes, rooftops are quite popular places in Kingleysia.”

Blaine snorts, rubbing his hand over his face. “You have to know that it doesn't always work like that. It doesn't probably work like that even most of the time,” he contradicts. “It's not all true love and serenades and happily ever after.”

“It is when you find the right person,” Kurt points out, almost annoyingly stubborn.

“It's not,” Blaine repeats, his voice rising even though he's trying his hardest to keep his frustration from coming through. “Because how can you even know who is the right person? It's already a miracle to find someone you like and who likes you back, someone who doesn't drive you completely crazy and who's willing to give you a chance, and even something like that can self-destruct at any time. There's no guarantee. That's what I'm trying to say. People change, and commitment doesn't mean anything when that happens.”

He knows how bitter his voice has gotten, knows that if he was talking to Tina she would've leaned in quietly to hug him already, and then he would have probably started to cry because his emotions can sometimes be  treacherous like that. Kurt is keeping his distance, though, his arms still crossed over his chest. He looks strong again, stubborn and ready for a fight, not at all as young as he did only less than thirty minutes ago.

“You really don't believe in true love,” Kurt states. He's staring at Blaine, searching his face with narrowed eyes as if he thinks he's lying. “I thought you were joking earlier, but you honestly don't believe in it.”

“I don't,” Blaine admits with a shrug. “At least not in the version you're describing. The version I know, the one that's common in this world, is the one that's messy and unpredictable and fleeting and–” He swallows. “There are no happily ever afters. You can't rely on something like that.”

Kurt looks away, not meeting Blaine's eyes for a long moment. He looks confused, angry even, his brows furrowed and his nostrils flared, as if everything Blaine has said is completely unbelievable to him. The older couple they were watching earlier has left already, the bench they were sitting on empty, and Blaine feels a little bad for being so harsh on Kurt's faith in love after everything else that has happened this morning. He didn't mean to, but looking at Kurt is like looking at himself from a few years ago – innocent and gullible and just waiting to get hurt – and he doesn't want Kurt to go through the same awful, heart-breaking things he did.

“Look,” he starts, leaning closer, “I'm sorry if I upset you, but I just... I wanted you to see that true love doesn't happen for everyone. It doesn't always work out the way you want it to.”

“I know that.” Kurt twists back to look at him, his gaze steady, almost challenging. “My mom died when I was eight, you know. My dad lost his true love too soon, so I know very well that it doesn't always work out the way it's supposed to.”

Blaine jerks back. God, he's an awful person. “Kurt, I'm so sorry, I didn't–”

“I know you didn't,” Kurt interrupts calmly. He takes a deep breath. “It was hard on us both for a long time – hard on the whole kingdom – but we made it through. And a few years ago my dad met Carole, my step-mother, and got another chance with true love. He's happy again – in a different way than he was with my mother, because Carole is different and she has never even tried to replace my mom – but still.” He touches the brooch on his chest once again, more deliberately this time. “I'm just saying that I'm well aware that it doesn't always end happily. But when I asked him about it once, my dad said that he would do it all over again if he got the chance. That in the end, true love is always worth it. Even when it's hard, you're still willing to try.” He looks up at the trees, following their movement in the breeze with his eyes. “And I suppose that's kind of a happily ever after in its own way as well.”

Blaine frowns down at the ground. Has he ever had a relationship that has truly felt worth it when it has ended? He doesn't think he has.

“I just... I don't see it that way,” he admits. “Sorry.”

“Well, what about you and Nathan?” Kurt points out, leaning back against the bench. “You love him, don't you?”

Blaine startles. “I... I think I do? We're not relying on happily ever after or anything, but we... work.”

Kurt's head whips around to face him, and honestly, Blaine doesn't understand how on earth the high sweep of his hair manages to stay in place in this wind and with all the sudden movements he does when Blaine himself can barely manage to gel his own hair down to submission every morning.

“He does know that you love him, right?” Kurt says slowly, narrowing his eyes.

“Um.” Blaine blinks his eyes. He thinks about Nathan, thinks about the distance he felt between them when they were talking on the phone earlier today, thinks about the way Nathan sometimes looks so resigned when Blaine suggests going out for dinner together.

But they're still doing fine, aren't they? They work.

“I don't think I have to do anything extraordinary to let him know how I feel,” he settles on. “I've been done with overly dramatic romantic gestures for years already.”

“Blaine.” Kurt rolls his eyes like he's being stupid. “You can't just assume things like that. Why do you think the people in Kingleysia shout out their feelings from the rooftops or why the flower business is so profitable around the whole kingdom? Even when it's true love, you still have to let the other person know.” He goes on before Blaine has the chance to interrupt, “And I know you said you don't believe in true love, blah-blah-blah, but he still deserves to know how you feel. As often as possible. No wonder he was so cross with you this morning,” he adds.

Blaine swallows again, his throat dry. “What do you mean?”

Kurt shrugs. “Well, do you send him flowers every now and then? Or leave him little notes or messages to brighten up his day? Or take him out to dinner to his favorite restaurant? Or– oh, oh!” He gasps suddenly and clasps his hand together under his chin, eyes shining. “Oh, do you sing to him? You said you play the guitar, so you must give him private concerts all the time! Singing his favorite songs to him, pouring out your feelings in a beautiful ballad and–”

“No, look, I– We don't need anything like that.” Blaine shifts uncomfortably on the bench. “Our relationship isn't... He just knows, okay?” he finishes, frustrated.

“Well, have you ever even tried?” Kurt asks. “You'd be surprised how well it works.”

Blaine stops. “Have I ever even tried?” he repeats incredulously. He lets out a sudden laugh and can practically feel the way the bitter tone scratches against his throat, burning his mouth when it comes out. “I spent years trying, Kurt, and trust me, you do not want to find out how that turned out,” he spits out. “The only reason Nathan and I have made it even this far is because I stopped trying.”

He pushes himself up from the bench, suddenly feeling like he needs to move, like the open space of the park is suffocating him. He's said too much, showed too much of his feelings – more than he has ever even showed to Tina or anyone else, and the admission has left him feeling sore and raw, as if everything is spilling out of him, every little thing he has taught himself to push away until it can't touch him anymore.

“Blaine...” Kurt starts, and the sound of his voice – worried and sad and pitying – is the last straw.

Blaine shakes his head, ignoring Kurt's hand reaching out to him, and just starts walking, telling himself that the only reason he's going so fast is because it's downhill; not because all this talk about true love and happily ever after is reminding him of things he thought he was done with already.

“Blaine!” Kurt calls out again, and then there's a hand on Blaine's shoulder, stopping him right before he reaches the park's path. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry or imply anything,” Kurt says sincerely and steps into Blaine's line of sight, regarding him with worried eyes. “Are you... Is everything alright? I upset you, didn't I?” he asks, searching Blaine's face again.

Blaine shakes his head, trying not to think about how easy and natural Kurt's hand on his shoulder feels like. They've only known each other for less than a day, and Blaine has already revealed things to Kurt that even his long-time friends don't know about, things he tries so very hard to ignore himself. There's something about Kurt, something that makes Blaine feel like it would be alright, but he just... can't.

His life has become a series of carefully constructed boundaries, decisions upon decisions and lessons learned. He can't let go of himself, not like that.

“I should just head back home,” he deflects, still looking away. “It's way past lunch time already, and I'm getting hungry.”

“Oh.” Kurt pulls his hand back. “I... I understand. I can find some other place to stay for tonight and–”

“No, Kurt–” Blaine deflates, his shoulders dropping down. He runs his hand over his hair and sighs, finally looking at Kurt. “I'm not going to kick you out or anything. I said I would help you, and that offer still stands. I really don't like the idea of you wandering around New York on your own until your dad figures out how to bring you back, so if...” He waits for a group of kids to run past them, their laughter and screams echoing in the air, and then continues, “If you want to, you can stay at my place for as long as you need. And I will do my best to help you, just like I promised.”

“Are you sure?” Kurt asks, his hands doing that thing he seems to do whenever he's nervous. “Because I don't want to be a burden, and I feel like we're constantly butting heads about something and I honestly don't want to upset you–”

“You didn't upset me,” Blaine promises. It's not Kurt's fault he has issues. “And you're not being a burden. I want to help.”

Kurt's mouth turns into a small, shy smile. “Thank you,” he says quietly. “And I know I did upset you, you don't have to lie about that,” he adds, straightening his back. “So I'm sorry. You've been very kind to me, even if we have such different views of the world, and I would never want to take advantage of that. You're the only friend I have in this place, and–” He trails off when he sees Blaine blink his eyes in surprise. “Oh. Sorry, I just assumed that–”

“No, no, it's not that,” Blaine rushes to say, automatically reaching out towards Kurt. “I was just surprised since we haven't known each other for that long. But yes, of course we're friends. I don't usually talk about my love life with complete strangers,” he tries to joke, even if it feels awkward.

Kurt's lips twitch with a smile. “Right. As I was saying, you're the only friend I have in this place, and I don't... I mean I'd like to...” He frowns, obviously struggling with his words.

“Hey.” Blaine touches Kurt's arm briefly. “You don't have to do this alone. That's what friends are for, right?”

Kurt lets out a laugh, his shoulders relaxing. “Right.” He grins at Blaine, genuine and bright, and Blaine can't help but think that for a prince he's surprisingly human. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” Blaine smiles back at him, bumping their shoulders together. He feels better all of a sudden, more like he's back in his own skin again, but he's not going to linger on the hows and whys. “Now come on, you can't be in New York and not try the bagels. Trust me, you're going to love them.”

“Alright.” Kurt follows him, obviously noticing the way he changed the subject even if their conversation on true love wasn't exactly finished yet, but he still doesn't call him out on it. “I guess I should also get some different clothes?” he adds, pushing his cape from his shoulders with a disgusted expression. “This is my second day wearing the same outfit, and I feel like I'm not even myself anymore.”

Blaine looks at him over his shoulder with a smile, trying to ignore the way his chest feels tight with something he's never felt before, something he can't quite put his finger on. “Bagels and clothes it is then.”

---

Bagels are a hit, like Blaine predicted. Kurt eats his own with a speed and grace that isn't very prince-like at all, and then spends the next minutes staring at Blaine's bagel longingly until Blaine gives up and buys him another one. Kurt eats the second one even more messily than the first one, if that's somehow even possible, and Blaine can't help but wonder what his etiquette training has been like.

If he has even had something like that. Maybe Kingleysia isn't big on etiquette.

Even when they leave the coffee shop with their – in Kurt's case second – bagels, people still stare at them, especially the little children. Adults mostly just take a glance of Kurt's clothes, their eyes widening for a quick moment until they politely look away, obviously trying not to stare and be rude when they've probably seen even crazier outfits on the streets of this city. But the kids can't take their eyes off Kurt. They point at him, pull at their parents' sleeves to make them notice, some of them even stopping completely in their tracks when they see Kurt.

Kurt seems a bit bewildered at first, but eventually he starts smiling back at the children and giving them a small wave when their parents are not looking, the movement of his hand much more regal than his eating habits. The kids either blush and giggle and wave back, or go completely still with a stunned expression, as if they expected Kurt not to notice them and are now suddenly faced with the realization that an actual Disney prince just greeted them.

Blaine should take him to work with him someday, if Kurt's here that long. He would be a huge hit with the little ones in his prince gear.

Once they're done with the bagels Blaine takes Kurt to his favorite thrift shop, the one that often has high-quality clothes and other great finds for a ridiculously cheap price. It's something Blaine found during his second year in the city, and he has been a regular ever since. Just the store's bowtie selection alone is enough to make him come back again and again.

When they step in Kurt halts right in the doorway, staring at all the clothes with his eyes wide open, and Blaine can't help but think that his expression looks a lot like the little kids' faces when they saw him on the street.

“Oh my god,” Kurt breathes out. “You have so much more variety than we do in Kingleysia. I don't even know what some of these clothes are called!”

Blaine laughs, nudging him forward so they're not blocking the way. “Yeah, there are certainly no capes in here.”

“You have no idea how awful it is sometimes,” Kurt complains, running his fingers over the first rack of clothes in amazement. “I try to make some new and out-of-the-box clothes myself, but the general fashion in Kingleysia never seems to change that much, aside from different colors being popular during different times of the year or something like that.” His voice turn into a whine. “I know clothes are supposed to be practical, but why can't they be nice to look at as well?”

“You make your own clothes?” Blaine asks.

Kurt shrugs. “Some of them. Mostly it's just doodles to fill my time.” He takes an orange shirt with a floral pattern on it from the rack, looking it up and down. “God, I can't wait to incorporate some of these things into my style once I get back to Kingleysia,” he whispers in awe.

Blaine chuckles and takes the shirt away from him. “That's a woman's shirt.”

“You say that like it matters.” Kurt runs his fingers over the shirt's fabric one last time and then moves on.

“Oh. True.” Blaine blinks, places the shirt back on the rack, and then follows him. “You don't have to wait until you're back in Kingleysia, though. We can find you something you can wear while you're stuck here.”

Kurt gasps, his hand flying to his chest as he whirls around. “Oh my god, I had forgotten all about that! Blaine, I can't believe you distracted me with bagels!” he admonishes, even going as far  as slapping Blaine's shoulder lightly.

Blaine grins. “You liked them, don't even try to deny it.”

Kurt sniffs, turning his nose up, even though Blaine can still see the smile playing on his face. “I don't know what you're talking about. Now shut up and show me where I can find pants that look like the ones you're wearing right now.”

He even snaps his fingers, and Blaine snorts out a laugh. “For future reference, they're called jeans.”

“Thank you,” Kurt replies and winks at him.

In the end, Kurt doesn't get that many new clothes. It's obvious he could happily buy everything inside the store, but he only chooses a few shirts, two light cardigans and two pairs of skinny jeans, naming them his new favorite articles of clothing. All the clothes he picks out are comfortable but have some sort of memorable detail that makes them stick out from everything else, and that alone convinces Blaine that Kurt really does have an eye for fashion. He makes a mental note to visit a few other stores closer to his apartment for other necessities Kurt might need, and pays their purchases at the register.

“I will pay you back for this, Blaine,” Kurt promises earnestly when they step out of the store. “Somehow.”

“Don't worry about it,” Blaine brushes him off. “They didn't cost that much, and it would be really rude to make you wear the same outfit for more than two days.”

Kurt shudders. “Even two days is pushing it.” He flicks his cape away from his shoulders again – he refused to wear any of his new clothes yet because apparently he has some sort of a routine he needs to stick to when it comes to getting new clothes – and almost absent-mindedly brushes his fingers over his brooch again. “But still,” he adds, “I will pay you back.”

“In Kingleysian gold?” Blaine jokes.

Kurt shrugs. “We're not that big on gold, actually–”

“Blaine?”

Blaine halts in his steps at the sound of his name. When he turns around, he sees Tina standing a few feet from him and Kurt, her arm locked with Mike's and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Hey you two!” Blaine greets them with an overly bright smile and steps closer, Kurt following close behind, his eyes curious. Just seeing Tina makes Blaine remember that he promised to call her later after his non-existent date with Nathan, but he completely forgot about it when this whole deal with Kurt came up. “What are you two doing here?” he asks, hoping that Tina isn't too angry with him.

“Just taking a walk and enjoying a rare day off,” Tina answers briskly. Her eyes flit to Kurt and then back to Blaine. “Who's this?”

Blaine cringes mentally and can almost see Mike do the same. They both know very well how much Tina loves gossip, and her deliberately nonchalant tone of voice isn't fooling anyone.

“This is Kurt,” he explains, nodding at Kurt who gives a small wave. “He's a friend of mine who's in town for a few days and is staying with me while he's here.” It's at least somewhat close to the truth, and hopefully Tina won't see through it.

“Nice to meet you,” Kurt says politely.

“You too. I'm Mike,” Mike replies with a friendly smile of his own, “and this is Tina, my fiancée. We're both friends of Blaine.”

Kurt's eyes widen and he clasps his hands together. “Oh, fiancée! You're getting married! That's amazing, congratulations!” He gives a quick glance to Blaine, as if to say look, here you have true love right in front of you and you still refuse to believe in it, but Blaine chooses to ignore him.

“Thank you.” Tina leans closer to Mike with a small, private smile, and Blaine also chooses to ignore the sudden and unexpected stab of jealousy in his chest. “I'm sorry, but are you coming from a costume party or something?” Tina asks suddenly, frowning at Kurt's clothes in curiosity.

Oh shoot. “Oh, well, he's–” Blaine starts, but Kurt interrupts him before he gets any further.

“I am, actually,” he says, shrugging his shoulders like it's nothing. “It was for my niece's birthday, and the party was sort of one of the reasons I am staying here for a few days. Blaine here was just kind enough to come pick me up afterwards,” he adds, almost as if it was an afterthought.

Blaine stares at him, baffled, and realizes a moment too late that his staring probably doesn't make Kurt's lie sound any truer. When he finally looks away, he can see Mike raise his eyebrows at him in question, and he just flashes him a quick smile in answer.

“I didn't mean to interrogate you or anything,” Tina is saying, still looking Kurt's clothes up and down, but instead of curious she's now looking approving. “It's just that I've never seen a prince costume that was done this well before. The cape is just amazing, and that sword looks like it's the real thing and– The whole costume fits you perfectly,” she breathes out. “No awkward wrinkles or anything.”

“Oh, thank you,” Kurt preens. “I made parts of it myself, actually.”

Tina's eyes widen even more. “Really?” she gasps, and Blaine can see that she's dying to ask more questions.

“Tina makes the costumes for a local theatre company,” he explains, leaning closer to Kurt. “She sort of has an obsession for well-made clothes.”

“You get to make clothes for a living?” Kurt looks just as amazed as Tina. “That sounds wonderful!”

Mike laughs. “Okay, okay, both of you, calm down. Tina, honey, we were supposed to go grab something to eat and my hunger is killing me.” He pulls at her arm, starting to walk away. “It was nice meeting you, Kurt,” he adds.

“You too,” Kurt says, his smile much more genuine now than it was before.

“Wait, I still need to–” Tina forces Mike to a stop and turns to look at Blaine. “How does Nathan feel about Kurt staying at your place?” she asks, her eyes searching Blaine's face.

Sometimes Blaine really dislikes her gossipy side, even if she is one of his best friends and he knows she would never spread things about him. She just wants to know everything herself, especially if it's something that concerns her friends and their love life. Blaine knows it initially comes from a place of caring, but sometimes it's just... too much.

“He doesn't know about it. Not yet,” he adds quickly when Tina's brows start to furrow. “Besides, it's not like I need to know who he's hanging out with every minute of every day either. We trust each other.”

“If you say so,” Tina says slowly, narrowing her eyes.

Mike rolls his eyes and mouths a quick apology to Blaine. “Anyway!” he says out loud, pulling at Tina's arm again until she starts moving. “Talk to you later, Blaine? Have a nice day you two!”

“You too!” Blaine calls out, watching them until they disappear into the crowd, Tina already talking about something with an excited expression while Mike rolls his eyes at her.

Every now and then looking at his friends makes him feel like he could believe in true love again, if he gave himself the chance – but then he always purposefully knocks that feeling back down. Hes learned his lesson already.

“You know, I didn't expect you to lie,” he says to Kurt after a moment.

“I figured that since you had such a hard time believing me at first, telling anyone else that I'm from a place called Kingleysia and these kinds of clothes are actually what I normally wear everyday wouldn't probably go too well.” Kurt flicks a strand of hair from his forehead. “Was it... It was the right thing to do, wasn't it?”

Blaine purses his lips. “Yeah. I don't think telling everyone you're a prince from Kingleysia would make your stay here any easier.”

“Especially since I have no idea how long I'm going to be here,” Kurt adds quietly.

“Right.” Blaine gets a firmer grip on the shopping bag he's carrying. “Shall we head back to my place?”

Kurt gives a small smile. “Sure.”

A few minutes later Blaine's phone vibrates in his pocket, and he pulls it out, distractedly glancing at it while still listening to Kurt's story about Rachel who is apparently Kurt's best friend and also Kingleysia's new court magician, even if she's still a little bit lost with her powers.

From Tina:
so am I being replaced? ;)

“You can answer, I don't mind,” Kurt points out when he notices Blaine frowning down at his phone.

Blaine flashes him a quick smile. “Thanks.”

From Blaine:
What?

From Tina:
am I being replaced as your best friend?

From Blaine:
I have no idea what you're talking about.

From Tina:
Kurt, you idiot!
I've never seen you look that comfortable around anyone
I saw how you were smiling at him before you noticed us

From Blaine:
He's my friend? Of course I'd smile at him.

From Tina:
don't be stupid
I'm just happy to see you happy! :)

Blaine has no idea how to answer that, so he just pockets his phone and turns back to Kurt. Kurt is looking around the street they're walking on, paying attention to everything from the cars and buildings they pass to the scraps of paper on the sidewalk. He has a small smile on his face, barely noticeable, but at least he looks a lot more relaxed than he did this morning.

“You know,” he says suddenly, “Even if I'm still a little mad about it, I think Rachel could've been right. I think I could enjoy being here for an adventure.”

Blaine's heart thumps against his chest. “Yeah?”

“Yes,” Kurt answers, nodding decisively. “I mean, isn't that what adventures are supposed to be about? Stepping outside of your comfort zone?”

Blaine grins. He does feel happy, even if he can't really even pinpoint why and doesn't know what Tina exactly meant with her messages.

“I guess so,” he replies, and Kurt smiles back at him.