They all headed back to New York a few days after New Year's. Kurt and Blaine were even on the same flight this time – and Kurt knew Blaine had exchanged his ticket to make it possible, even if he denied it, a grin on his face, telling Kurt the universe must just love them and have decided to give them more time with each other. Rachel would follow a day later and Jesse a day after that, which meant it would be only Kurt in his apartment for one entire night. They didn't even need to say it out loud – they both knew Blaine would not return to his dorm before the day after their return. Ever since they'd got together, they hadn't really had the chance to have any real time to themselves, just the two of them. Kurt would have missed his alone time with Blaine had they still just been best friends, but now that they were so much more than that, he was craving it like nothing else.

He just wanted some quiet time with his boyfriend, to kiss him without the fear of being interrupted, to curl up next to him and fall asleep with Blaine's head resting on his chest just above his heart, his arms wrapped securely around him. He wanted some privacy. With Blaine. He wasn't even really sure for what; he didn't know whether sex was even an option at this point, even though they'd already done it that fateful night just before the Christmas holidays, the night that brought heartache that had led to something amazing. But it wasn't even about sex at all, not really. He just wanted Blaine to himself. They needed it, he thought, in order to figure out exactly how to do this. How to be together like this.

He was looking forward to it, and even though they hadn't planned it that way – Kurt and Blaine going back a day before anyone else did – it certainly did work out well for them now, Kurt thought.

His dad dropped him off at the airport where Blaine was already waiting.

“Call me when you land,” Burt instructed Kurt before giving him a tight hug. He turned to Blaine next, squeezing his shoulder affectionately. “Have a good flight, kid,” he said, and Kurt's heart warmed at the sight of Blaine's face lighting up with a surprised and grateful smile.

It occurred to him then for the first time that he still hadn't met Blaine's parents once even though Blaine had become a regular guest at his own house over the past few days, having been taken in with open arms by his entire family. Once again they hadn't accompanied him to the airport and they hadn't been at the Warblers’ performance at Christmas either. It made him angry for a brief moment, because Blaine deserved more than that, but then his own dad was finally saying goodbye for real and it was time for them to go and he didn't want to make this harder than it already was for any of them.

Even after being in New York for well over a year, saying goodbye to his old home was still painful every time he left. But this time when he watched his dad walk away, he had Blaine right there beside him; Blaine who took his hand and pressed their shoulders together, offering all the comfort he was able to give, and in that moment, Kurt loved him so much he could hardly breathe. But they were still in an airport in Ohio, so all he dared to do about it was squeeze his fingers briefly, hoping the small gesture would be enough to communicate at least a part of all that.

“Ready to go?” he asked, and Blaine nodded.

“Come on.”

**

They barely talked during the flight, but Blaine didn't let go of his hand for even a second. They'd held hands a lot since Christmas, but it felt different this time. Before, it had felt nice, it had been about feeling close, feeling connected. This felt more urgent, a little desperate. He caught Blaine staring at him, seeing all of his own emotions reflected in those beautiful eyes – don't let me go. I need you. I need to be alone with you.

His breath caught in his throat and he ran his thumb over Blaine's knuckles, the intensity of the moment leaving him dizzy. God, he was so in love with this boy. So insanely, completely in love, it was ridiculous.

The flight seemed to take forever and once they were there and through baggage claim and out of the airport, Kurt felt exhausted, impatient, and oddly energized all at once. He wished they had the money for a cab, but after Christmas and all the gift-buying, money was tighter than ever so they would have to drag their suitcases to the subway and take the long way home. With all their luggage, he had to let go of Blaine's hand and it felt strange to not hold it anymore, like he'd forgotten something he'd still had a moment ago as his fingers closed around the handle of his suitcase instead.

His body was practically tingling with anticipation by the time they were dragging their suitcases up the flights of stairs in his apartment building, and as his eyes met Blaine's on the first landing, they both burst out laughing. Kurt couldn't even say what it was they were laughing about, just knew he needed an outlet for all those emotions. Trying to catch their breath, they hurried up the last set of stairs as quickly as they could.

“Keys,” Kurt breathed, digging through his bag to find them, feeling Blaine standing close, so close. Luckily, he found them within seconds, missing the keyhole on the first few tries because Blaine's presence was distracting, to say the least, even if he was just standing there, but he finally, finally managed and the door swung open. He just had enough sense to actually lift his suitcases to carry them inside instead of dragging and kicking them to speed things up, before Blaine was closing the door behind them with a bang, his arms encircling Kurt's waist immediately from behind.

“Finally,” he said, his breath ruffling the short hairs on Kurt's neck.

“Yes.” Kurt turned in his arms, wrapping his own around Blaine's neck and pressing in close, the urgency that had been tugging away at his insides easing up considerably once he had Blaine in his arms again. “Finally.”

He felt Blaine's lips press soft kisses against his neck and closed his eyes, burying his face into his boyfriend's hair and breathed in. They both smelled like airplane, but underlying that was still the smell of Blaine's shampoo and hidden under that was that comforting scent that was just Blaine, Blaine, Blaine...

Drawing back just far enough to be able to kiss him, Kurt pressed their lips together, for the first time that day. Blaine's lips were cold from the winter air and slightly chapped, a reminder of the first time they had done this, and he let the kiss linger, not deepening it, just enjoying the warm comfortable sensation that spread through his chilled body at the contact. It was innocent, chaste, and yet he felt the deep longing in his bones ease away slightly, making room for nothing but contentment and affection.

“Hey,” Blaine breathed as they finally broke apart, resting their foreheads together.

“Hey,” Kurt repeated, not even trying to hide the giddy smile on his face.

“Alone at last.” Blaine tightened his arms around Kurt's waist and Kurt felt himself tense slightly, hoping Blaine wouldn't notice.

Alone. Yes. They were alone, just Blaine and him, in Kurt's apartment. No roommates, no family, just the two of them.

So... what now?

What exactly was supposed to happen next? Before, they would have picked a movie to watch, maybe ordered food, talked about their holidays until they fell asleep.

But now? Now that there were so many more options? What did Blaine even want? What did he expect to happen? Did he expect anything at all?

Kurt pulled back, clearing his throat, hoping he didn't look as nervous as he suddenly felt. The last thing he wanted was to make Blaine feel uncomfortable or make assumptions about where they were in their relationship or do anything to push them out of this comfortable-about-being-boyfriends state into territory where they suddenly expected certain things to happen just because they were alone...

“We should...” He took a deep breath, trying to calm the fluttering of his heart. Alone with his boyfriend who was also his best friend and the one person he felt most comfortable with. Alone in an empty apartment in New York City. They could do this. “I'd really like to get rid of that air plane smell,” he said quickly. “I think I'm going to take a quick shower and... or did you want to go first?”

Blaine shook his head. “No, you go first, that's fine. I'll just...” He waved a hand as if that would explain everything, “wait here. Maybe...”

“I'll be quick. And you can go next.”

“I can make coffee.”

“Perfect.” Kurt kissed him again, unable not to. Because maybe being alone together like this was still slightly awkward, okay, but they would settle into it once they were both clean and warm and over the initial shock of suddenly being on their own for the first time since they had become a couple. They were still them, after all.

He had Blaine to himself for an entire night. He didn't want to waste a second of it.

**

He had ordered Chinese and unpacked most of his clothes from his suitcases by the time Blaine returned from his shower, dressed in sweatpants and a thin shirt, brushing damp curls away from his forehead. He stopped in the doorway to Kurt's room, just standing there with a smile on his face, and Kurt couldn't have resisted him if he'd wanted to. He didn't think he'd ever be able to.

He went over, sliding his arms around Blaine's shoulders and hugged him tight. Blaine's arms came up to return the hug in an instant and, Kurt thought, maybe they should just forget about food, about watching movies, about anything really. He was perfectly content to stay just like this until Rachel returned the next day. In fact, he really never wanted to move again, because Blaine was warm and smelled like soap and he had his arms around him, and was there anything else in life he really needed? Forget about classes and performances, he'd just stay here forever being hugged by Blaine. Blaine was an excellent hugger.

“This is nice,” Blaine mumbled, his lips tickling the skin behind Kurt's ear as he spoke.

“It is.”

“I love you.”

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He wouldn't get over that. Not any time soon. “I love you too.”

They moved to the couch eventually, Blaine immediately curling into his side and snuggling against him. It all felt so familiar, the movie (Gypsy, they hadn't seen that one in a few months) playing on TV, the two of them sharing a blanket for warmth, only getting up to answer the door when their food arrived, commenting on the things happening on screen in a perfect, well-practiced rhythm – talking over the parts they had seen last time and falling silent during the scenes they had missed when they had last seen it. Relieved, Kurt found that nothing had really changed about their dynamic at all – at least not much. Now, sometimes, instead of talking he would kiss Blaine, or just look into his eyes, running his fingers through his slowly drying curls, and feel a rush of fondness all the way down to his toes.

He felt... content. Completely so. Even over the usual sadness he always felt after leaving his dad at the airport, the familiar homesickness that he had grown accustomed to on first nights in New York, he felt like this was where he belonged. Next to Blaine, whether it was in Lima or New York. As long as Blaine was with him, he would always feel safe.

**

They went to bed early, tired from the flight and their eventful visit to Ohio.

The slight awkwardness had come back for just a moment when they'd agreed to call it a night and both headed for the bathroom to brush their teeth at the same time. They'd stood frozen outside the bathroom door for just a moment, smiling at each other shyly, unsure of the correct protocol in this situation for a couple that had been together for not even two weeks, until Blaine had laughed and taken Kurt's hand and led both of them into the tiny room to brush their teeth side by side, exchanging half-amused, half-shy looks in the mirror.

Blaine had hung out for a while, perched on the side of the bathtub while Kurt started on his nightly skin care routine, trying to fold an airplane out of toilet paper while entertaining him with little anecdotes of things he'd done in Ohio whenever the two of them hadn't been attached at the hip – well, the few anecdotes he hadn't told Kurt already.

When it became clear, though, that Kurt wouldn't be done for at least another few minutes, he'd kissed the back of his neck and told him he'd meet him in bed before disappearing in the direction of Kurt's room.

Kurt slipped into the room a few minutes later, closing the door behind him and turning off the lights before sliding under the covers next to Blaine.

They lay facing each other, their eyes adjusting to the half-light of the room, and Blaine's hand found his, threading their fingers together and holding on while they both let it sink in that this was a possibility now. To be repeated whenever they had the time to stay over at each other's places. They could fall asleep together like this – not each of them feeling like they had to be keeping an appropriate and respectful distance.

Still testing the waters, they gradually inched closer together until their foreheads were touching, their joined hands resting against Blaine's chest, close enough to his heart that Kurt could feel it beating just as fast as his own.

“Blaine...” he said, not really sure what he even wanted to say.

“I know,” Blaine answered, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I just want to... I want you to know that I'm not... I don't expect anything, in case you were wondering...” Blaine broke off, his eyes finding Kurt's as he attempted to put into word what had been going through Kurt's head earlier. “I know we already have... But that's not why I wanted to stay with you tonight. All I want is to be close to you.”

“That's what I want too,” Kurt hastened to assure him. “I'm not saying I don't want to, because I do, but that's not why... I'm just really glad you're here,” he breathed, kissing Blaine again, a little deeper this time, mostly to stop himself from tripping over his own words, but also because Blaine was right here and how could he not.

It was slow, almost lazy, and so, so good. Somehow it felt different with the lights off, the door closed, both of them warm and comfortable in Kurt's bed. Blaine rolled onto his back, taking Kurt with him without ever breaking the kiss.

“I'd be okay with it if we did, though,” he admitted, a little breathlessly.

“Me too.” Kurt breathed a sigh of relief, chasing Blaine's lips for another, hungrier kiss. “So okay.”

“I just want...” Blaine framed his face with both hands, pressing closer, thumbs caressing Kurt's cheekbones.

He didn't say more, but Kurt understood anyway. Because he felt it too, had felt it ever since they'd held hands on the plane. Need. Longing. Love.

He wanted Blaine. They had only done this once and Kurt had practically run as fast as he could the next morning. He thought they deserved a do-over. He wanted to get it right this time, wanted to make Blaine feel good and hold him all night after that and wake him with slow kisses in the morning before making him breakfast and telling him how much he loved him over and over. He wanted to give Blaine everything, everything he deserved and hadn't received from him last time.

With their pajamas finally off, Kurt draped himself half over Blaine again, kissing him sweetly and slowly, taking his time, doing his best to ignore the growing feeling of urgency that was tugging at his body. He wanted this to be about Blaine, about showing him how much he meant to him, how much he wanted him. How wonderful he was and how happy he made him. Because stronger than the need, the want, was that feeling of complete joy slowly filling all the empty parts of him until he felt he was bursting with it. So he ran his hands over Blaine's body, kissing his mouth, his eyelids, his collarbone, trying to physically spread some of that love and happiness back into the skin of the person who had given him this feeling in the first place.

He knew they wouldn't take it too far, not yet. Not tonight. And they didn't have to, because there would be time, so much time for that. But he wanted Blaine all the same, in whatever way was okay for both of them. And even though it technically wasn't their first time together, it still felt like it was – only this time, all he wanted was to give every last bit of himself to Blaine, expose everything that he was and place it in the hands of the only person he'd ever trusted with it, the man he loved so completely.

Rolling them over, he pulled Blaine on top of him, letting him be in control, surrendering himself to him, offering whatever he wanted to take. With Blaine, he was sure, would always be sure, that nothing would be taken that he wasn't willing to give to him anyway.

Blaine settled on top of him, his legs slipping in between Kurt's, bracing his forearms either side of Kurt's head as he leaned down to brush their lips together.

“Just for the record,” he whispered in between kisses, “this really wasn't the reason I wanted to stay over tonight.”

“Oh my god, shut up already,” Kurt whispered back, grinning and pinching Blaine's hip playfully. “You talk too much.”

“Why, was there anything else you wanted to do tonight?” Blaine asked innocently, thrusting his hips forward once in a motion that made Kurt gasp and throw back his head.

“I hate you.”

“I don't believe you,” Blaine countered, repeating the motion, laughing as Kurt wrapped his legs around his thighs to pin their bodies together, creating more friction between them.

“No, but I really hate you,” Kurt insisted, threading his fingers through Blaine's hair and pulling him down to press his face against the curve where his shoulder met his neck, placing a series of open-mouthed kisses to the area. “Worst boyfriend ever.”

“Your words aren't very convincing, I'm afraid,” Blaine panted, hips moving almost on their own now that they'd started.

Kurt quickly gave up on the thought of finding some clever come-back to Blaine's reply, instead let his hands roam over his back, trying to pull him impossibly closer.

And he realized, through the jumbled mess of Blaine and yes and more in his brain, that he had felt this the last time too, this insane need to touch and hold and never let go, this need that wasn't about his own pleasure but about pleasing Blaine. Making Blaine feel loved and wanted and showing him how much he mattered to him, how special this was. It had all been there the first time, only he hadn't seen it, hadn't been able to put a name to this feeling. He had been confused, tipsy, not thinking at all.

“Blaine,” he gasped, angling his head so he could press their mouths together. “Blaine.”

He could already feel it building inside of him, but he held back, not wanting it to be over so soon. He wanted Blaine to come first, to see him, hold him through it.

“Come on,” he begged, hands sliding over Blaine's skin down to his ass to draw him closer, encourage him to go faster, grind down harder against him, take whatever he needed from him. “Please.”

“God, Kurt,” Blaine moaned, dropping his forehead to Kurt's chest as his hips kept bucking forward, thighs shaking.

“No, look at me.” Kurt kissed his shoulder before repeating it. “Please, look at me, I want to see you, I need to see you.”

Blaine raised his head, their eyes meeting, and the expression on his face took Kurt's breath away – the wild mixture of love and want on his features. “Kurt,” he said, just that one word, managing to load it with all the things he couldn't say right now.

Kurt understood him anyway.

“Let go,” he said. “Don't hold back.”

It only took a couple more thrusts before Blaine threw his head back, mouth dropping open as something between a cry and moan escaped his throat and Kurt felt him coming between them. And he held him, held his trembling body close as Blaine rode out the waves, showering him with kisses and caressing every patch of skin he could find, overwhelmed with everything he was feeling, in this moment, for this person who meant the world to him.

“You're amazing,” he whispered into his skin.

“So are you,” Blaine breathed. Still gasping for breath, he rolled half off Kurt to have better access before wrapping a hand around Kurt's still hard cock and started stroking. “So amazing.”

Kurt couldn't help but arch into the touch, the sensation of Blaine's fingers on his sensitive skin almost too much to handle right now that he was already so far gone himself. Besides, it was the first time Blaine was really touching him and he didn't think he could be expected to hold it together for very long whatever the situation under these circumstances.

“You're beautiful,” Blaine told him, his voice low and shaky, and Kurt felt his lips on his jaw, his shoulder, his chest.

And he couldn't hold back anymore, didn't want to anyway. Blaine's hand was moving faster, gripping him tighter, and then he felt every muscle in his body tense as white-hot pleasure exploded through his body.

**

They ended up on their sides in a tangle of limbs, Blaine's breath hot against his chest, and Kurt couldn't stop touching, couldn't stop running his hands over his shoulder, through his hair, caressing his arms and hips and jaw with the tips of his fingers.

“I'm so happy,” he said softly. “And I just wanted you to know that. You make me so happy.”

“Kurt.” Blaine shifted so he could look into his eyes, lifting a hand to press it to the skin right above Kurt's heart. “I'm... Oh god, do you have any idea... I still can't believe this is really happening, sometimes. You and me. I've wanted this for so long, and...”

Kurt kissed him, then, soft and gentle, trembling slightly from the new onslaught of emotion flooding his chest. “I know. But it is happening, Blaine. And I want it to keep happening for...” he broke off, not sure if it was too early to say it, even though he knew it to be true. Forever. “...for a very long time,” he said instead.

He fell asleep with his head on Blaine's chest, arms still tight around each other, legs tangled beneath the sheets.

**

Kurt found he had been right, kissing Blaine awake was the best thing ever. He looked so cute when he was sleeping, so warm and relaxed with his curls sticking up in all directions, responding to Kurt's kisses before he was even fully awake and shooting him such a happy sleepy smile when he finally opened his eyes, Kurt couldn't help but keep kissing him, he didn't even mind the morning breath. Much.

When Blaine checked his phone and found Kurt had woken him at 7:30 on a day they didn't have classes, they spent the next ten minutes rolling around on the tangled sheets, Blaine taking his “revenge” by tickling him until they were both breathless with laughter, Kurt making half-hearted attempts at escaping Blaine's hands.

Finally, Kurt pulled on a pair of sweatpants, pressed a final kiss to Blaine's forehead, and went off to the kitchen to get breakfast started. Blaine joined him five minutes later, teeth brushed and wearing his pajama pants that had been so carelessly discarded the night before.

Making breakfast together wasn't new to them – even though they had never lived together they had kept falling asleep at each other's places – and they quickly fell into their old routine, working side by side, reaching around each other to open kitchen cupboards and drawers.

Blaine started humming something after a while and Kurt found himself joining in as he closed the refrigerator door with his hip, the domesticity of the scene making him smile. Everything about this felt... right. In a way he'd always considered himself too young for. Well, they were young. But maybe, he thought, it wasn't about age. Maybe they were just lucky enough to have found each other already.

He blushed at the sappiness of the thought and quickly bent over the bowl with the pancake batter to hide it, but Blaine saw it anyway.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Kurt mumbled.

Blaine laughed, sliding behind him and pressing in close, resting his cheek between Kurt's bare shoulder blades. “Just tell me.”

“I was just... thinking... about you.” Kurt decided that was enough information for now. He didn't have to be creepy about this, admitting to Blaine he was already planning their future in a nice town house with a music room in the basement and a small back yard and a cat and children, two of them, maybe three, depending on how much money they made – no, those kinds of thoughts were perfectly okay to just stay in his own head. For now.

“I love it when you blush,” Blaine admitted. “It's cute.”

“If you don't let go of me this instant, I'm going to burn all of your pancakes. On purpose,” Kurt told him firmly, even though he was sure Blaine could hear the pleased smile in his voice.

“I also love it when you get all bossy,” Blaine mumbled into his skin, then sighed dramatically, dropping his arms and taking half a step back, far away enough to give Kurt some room to work, but close enough to still be incredibly distracting.

“What are you doing?” Kurt asked, turning his head to find Blaine looking at him with a dreamy expression on his face.

“Waiting for you to turn around so I can kiss you?” Blaine tried.

“So you're not just trying to annoy me?”

“Would I ever do that to you?” Blaine asked, blinking up through his eyelashes and Kurt turned fully, sliding his arms over Blaine's shoulders, laughing.

“Yes, you would. You would do that. Only you.”

They kissed until Blaine's hands wandered down Kurt's back, slipping under the waistband of his sweatpants.

“Oh, no.” Kurt laughed again, slightly out of breath, heart doing happy little back flips in his chest. “Breakfast first. We still have all morning for that.”

**

Rachel came back early in the afternoon. Kurt and Blaine were curled up on the couch, both fully dressed by that point. She had texted them repeatedly about the time she would return, not wanting to “interrupt anything that would be embarrassing for all of them.”

“Hey, guys,” she greeted them, heaving her large suitcase into the living room. Blaine, always the gentleman, jumped up at once to help her carry her things into her room, while Kurt got up more slowly, hugging her hello and listening to her chat away about the flight and subway rides and how good it was to be back home.

“So,” she said, turning to them once everything was stowed away in her room, grinning. “Did you have fun without me?”

Kurt saw the blush creep up on Blaine's cheeks as he stared at his feet with a shy smile, apparently lost in the memory of just how they had spent the morning, and nodded slowly. “Oh, you know. We weren't bored.”

No, they hadn't been bored. At all. He chose to leave the rest up to Rachel's imagination – even if there wasn't really much to tell. Yes, they had returned to bed after breakfast for a lazy and drawn-out round two, but that had been it for now. He didn't really feel like sharing how they had spent the rest of the morning bouncing around the living room in their underwear, singing along to show tunes on the top of their lungs. Or the way Blaine had kept stealing the tomato slices while Kurt had attempted to make them sandwiches for lunch, and the way he had finally retaliated by throwing handfuls of lettuce at Blaine, turning the whole thing into a gigantic food fight. Or the two hours after lunch (and cleaning up the kitchen) they had spent on their stomachs on Kurt's bed flipping through books and magazines, reading out interesting passages to each other, leading to a conversation about traveling and all the places they wanted to go (together, of course, and Venice was on top of that list).

No, in some way, all of that felt even more private and just between them then the stuff Rachel was clearly implying with her question.

“We definitely had fun,” Blaine agreed with him, giving him a warm look that Kurt couldn't turn away from.

“Do you need me to head out again for an hour or so?” Rachel bumped her shoulder against his on her way back to the living room, laughing. “I hope not, because I have no intention of moving from this couch today. At all.” She dropped down on it with a huge sigh, covering her face with one arm. “Flying is exhausting.”

In the end, they stayed with Rachel in the living room, talking all afternoon, until it was time for Blaine to head back to his dorm. Classes started again the next day and as much as they didn't want to say goodbye, they knew this was the most sensible thing to do. It was quite a distance between their places, after all. And suddenly Kurt felt his chest tighten with the knowledge that as amazing as this day had been, and as much as they would both do to repeat is as soon as they could, it might actually be some time before they got the chance again. Starting with the next morning, routine would set back in. Routine that would allow them to be together a lot, but definitely not whenever they wanted.

Blaine must have felt it too, the way he lingered in the living room after saying goodbye to Rachel, the way he took some extra time to gather all his belongings he had scattered around Kurt's meticulous room throughout the day.

Kurt followed him out into the hallway, nudging his suitcase with one foot. “I could go with you to help you with this. Drop you off. It's still early, I could stay for maybe half an hour before I had to get back...”

“It's okay,” Blaine assured him. “I know you're tired, and we'll see each other soon, right?”

“All the time,” Kurt answered. “I want to see you every day, if possible.”

Blaine just nodded, looking at him with those dark expressive eyes. “I'll call you tonight,” he promised.

Kurt nodded, holding out his arms and Blaine practically fell into them, clinging to him so tightly Kurt almost couldn't breathe. He never wanted him to let go.

“I love you, Kurt,” Blaine said, his face pressed into Kurt's neck. “So much.”

“I love you too,” Kurt said back, feeling the pressure of tears behind his eyes. He blinked rapidly, fighting them back as well as he could. This was stupid. Ridiculous. Even if it wasn't every day, they would still get to see plenty of each other.

Eventually, Blaine pulled back, and after a last sweet, lingering kiss, lifted up his suitcase and disappeared down the stairs. Kurt stood out in the hallway until he heard the front door open and close two floors down, then went back inside his apartment.

And now, almost a full day after he had left Ohio, did he begin to feel seriously homesick. And not only for his old home back in Lima.

**

“I have a confession to make,” Blaine began their nightly phone call.

“Oh?” Kurt pressed the phone closer to his ear as he slid under the covers, having cut his skin care routine short because Blaine had called early.

“I... kind of stole your shirt. The one you were wearing this morning.”

“You... what?” Kurt blinked, momentarily confused. “Why?”

“Because it smelled like you,” Blaine explained. “I'm wearing it now. To sleep in. I wanted... I wanted it to feel like you were here. With me.”

Kurt closed his eyes, feeling so deliriously happy and so full of longing at the same time. “I forgive you,” he said, rolling over to press his nose into the pillow for a moment. “My bed still smells like you. It's nice.”

“I miss you,” Blaine told him. “Is that silly? We only just saw each other. But I have classes tomorrow morning and you have classes in the afternoon, and the day after that doesn't work either...”

Kurt sighed. “I miss you too, even if it's silly. When will we have time to get together again?”

Blaine seemed to go over his schedule in his head for a moment. “How's Thursday?”

Kurt shook his head, even though Blaine couldn't see it. “Classes until eight. Unless you want to come over and spend the night?”

“Can't.” Blaine sounded sad. “Classes in the morning on Friday. But I could come by after?”

“Jesse texted me. There's some kind of thing for his new musical Friday all afternoon until whenever. How about after that? I'll leave at nine no matter whether he's done or not. He hasn't even written all of it yet.”

Blaine was quiet for a while on the other end. “Okay. I guess Friday night it is then.”

Kurt swallowed, took a few breaths before he spoke again, hoping not to sound too disappointed. “That's five days.”

“Five days,” Blaine repeated. “It's... We'll have to make it extra special. I'll surprise you. We haven't been on a real date yet, I'll take you out. Deal?”

“Yes. That sounds wonderful.” He tried to make it sound as cheerful as he could manage, but no one could read him like Blaine. He should have known he couldn't fool him.

“Are you okay?” Blaine asked.

Kurt let out a frustrated sigh. “This isn't going to be easy, is it?” he asked.

“It's going to be fine,” Blaine assured him.

“Only seeing each other on the weekends? Unless one of us has plans then too?”

“We'll make it work,” Blaine said. “We're going to see each other all the time and I'll call you twice a day. Three times. Four, five, if you want. You'll be sick of me within a month. We'll make it work.”

“How do you know that?” Kurt asked.

“Because I love you,” Blaine answered. “Simple as that.”

“I love you too,” Kurt replied. He knew it was true. He just wished he didn't have to wait almost a week to tell Blaine in person again. They lived in the same city, for god's sake.

He rolled his face back into the pillow that still smelled like Blaine once they had said goodnight and just breathed in, feeling calmer instantly. Of course Blaine was right. He knew that. It was just that he was homesick and missing his boyfriend now. But it would be all right. As long as Blaine was in his life, everything would always be all right.