Things went smoothly for the next two months. Blaine and Kurt fell into the comfortable routine of phone calls, Skype dates and fortnightly visits. They were happy. Everybody could see that and although long distance relationships were hard, they made it work with such ease, that sometimes their friends thought it couldn’t be real.  But it was and both of them were proud to be in such a stable relationship that everybody admired.

It was Friday. Kurt was sketching some ideas at work, checking the time every five minutes. His boss had told him to come to his office at noon and Kurt was nervous because he didn’t know why his boss wanted to see him. He thought he was doing well in his job, he hadn’t received any complaints, but you never know. He wished he could call Blaine, or at least text him, but Blaine had some important meeting with some clients and wouldn’t be available the whole day. In the evening he had a performance in some event Kurt didn’t know anything about. He just knew there wouldn’t be much time for talking to Blaine today. He would have to wait for the next day.

“Kurt? What are you doing?” Rachel asked him when she found him above his suitcase later that day.

“Packing.”

“I can see that. But wasn’t Blaine here last weekend? You are supposed to visit him next week, right?”

“I’m going home. I need my dad.” Kurt said while carefully putting his clothes and other things, which he would need in the suitcase.

“Kurt. Please, stop for a while and sit down. What happened?” Rachel sat on his bed and waited for him to join her.

“My boss wanted to see me today and I really don’t want to talk about it. I mean, I’ll tell you everything when I come back. But right now, I need to get packed, get into the car and go home.”

“You are going by car? It’s like ten hours drive! You can’t go at night.”

“Rachel, I…”

“No, Kurt! There is no way I’m letting you go now. You can get some sleep and leave in the morning.” Kurt threw himself on the bed. Rachel was right. He wasn’t in the condition for a long drive.

“What did Blaine tell you about your crazy idea?”

“Nothing. He doesn’t know. He has a performance tonight and I didn’t want to distract him.”

“Are you sure you don’t wanna talk about it?” Rachel looked at him with concern in her eyes.

“Yes. I’m sure. It’s too fresh and the reason I’m taking the car is that I need some time to think about it. I won’t be able to answer your questions right now. That’s why it’s pointless to talk about it.”

“Is it a bad thing?”

“No. It’s not. It’s a big thing though and it’s kind of sending my life in a certain direction…” Rachel wasn’t very fond of the conversations in the riddles. And she was a curious person so waiting a whole weekend would definitely be hard for her. If she didn’t have to work on Saturday, she would have gone with him. They could have taken turns in driving and the journey was always more fun when there were more people in a car. She was a good friend though, so she didn’t push him to open up.

“I’ll make you a playlist. You’re gonna need a lot of good music for your drive.”

“Thanks, Rach. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Kurt left New York at six a.m. on Saturday morning. He promised Rachel to have a break every three hours and she made him promise to call her when he was taking them so she knew he obeyed. He parked his car in front of his parent’s house shortly after five in the afternoon. He hadn’t let his father know he was coming. There would have been lots of questions. He hadn’t told Blaine for the same reason either.

Kurt entered the house. He had no idea whether his dad would be home, but at some point he would have to come there so Kurt didn’t worry about it. The luck was on his side. He heard a noise from the living room. His dad was watching TV. There was no way Carol was the one watching it due to the sound of explosion and gun shooting.

“Hi, dad.” Kurt yelled to outshout the TV volume. Burt immediately jumped out of his seat.

“Kurt! What are you doing here?” He rushed to his son. Kurt hugged him and then he took a remote control and turned off the TV.

“I needed to see you, dad. I’m stuck in my head about something and I know the only person that can help me is you…So I came to visit you. My boss gave me Monday and Tuesday off, so I can spend more time with you.”

“Kurt, what happened? This is so not you. You usually plan everything out.” Burt was watching his son, probably trying to read Kurt’s mind, completely at loss.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

“Kurt! I didn’t know you were coming.” Carol appeared at the door and ran to hug him.

“Yeah, it was a last minute decision…” Carol observed him, realizing he had lost weight since the last time she had seen him two months ago.

“Are you eating properly? You are even thinner than you used to be.”

“Yes, I am. Don’t worry. Rachel has different eating habits than Leah so I’m more on vegan than meat food now. Actually, I’m pretty hungry. I haven’t eaten much since this morning.” Carol took his hand and led him to the dining room. Burt followed them with a frown.     

“Sit down, sweetie. I’ve just finished the dinner.”

“Okay, Kurt. What’s going on? Not that I’m not thrilled with you being here…I’m worried.”

“Don’t be. Everything is fine. I’ll talk to you after our meal.”

“Driving here from New York, without saying a word about it doesn’t seem fine to me, son.”

“I swear, everything is okay. I made it sound like I have some bad and serious issue to deal with, but it was just my drama queen persona getting on the surface. I’ll tell you after we eat.”

Burt calmed down a little. He didn’t enjoy his food as much as he would have if he knew why his son was at home, but a long time ago he had learnt not to force Kurt to do anything. Kurt helped Carol clean up after the dinner, making Burt even more nervous and then he finally asked his dad to go with him to his old room.

“Well…spit it out.” Kurt was sitting crossed legs on his bed, his dad opposite him on the chair. Kurt didn’t look devastated or sad, so Burt – for the first time that evening – believed his son was not about to tell him something bad.

“This is gonna take some time. And I need your opinion. I could have stayed in New York and called you, but I felt like I needed to get out of there to clear my head. I’ve finally realized, what is important to me, dad. And it was overwhelming. I mean, I probably knew all the time. Like subconsciously…” Burt made himself comfortable on his seat and listened to Kurt, taking into consideration every word he said.

“My boss offered me a job in Europe. They want to open some stores there. I would be travelling a lot, being the one in charge of controlling whether things are going good…When everything is settled, which would take a year or a year and a half, I would be having my own brand under the company. I would design and make collections of clothes…He told me I have great management skills and that’s why he wants me to do it. He wants to give young people a chance. I mean, I wouldn’t be the only one going. There would be a few of us, but I would be the head of the operation. Those are his exact words.”

“Wow…that’s big, kiddo. I’m barely used to the idea of you living in New York…Europe is like…far away.”

“I’m not going.”

“What?”

“I didn’t take it. I thanked him for the opportunity and told him I really appreciate his trust in me, but I don’t want to do it.” Burt’s head started to hurt. He had got a lot of information but he still couldn’t see a possible problem for Kurt to travel all the way to Lima.

“And you are here because?”

“I would go if it wasn’t for Blaine…”

“Oh.”

“And it’s not like he is keeping me behind. It’s fully my decision. Dad, I love him. I don’t care what I’m doing and where I’m doing it as far as he is there with me. I don’t need a big career. I know I could move here with him and work with you in a garage and I would be a lot happier than I am right now. You know why? Because I’d get to see him every day. I haven’t told him yet. Any of it. I don’t know how to do it. I don’t know what would be the best option. I’m a little scared. I was thinking about not telling him about the offer.”

“Why?”

“The day I got accepted to the internship, he came to me and asked me out. And I told him I was moving out in a month. I also told him if he had come a day before, I wouldn’t have taken the internship. His reaction was: Then I`m glad I didn`t come here yesterday. He didn’t want to be the reason for me to give up on my dreams. He won’t take it well. I’m sure of it. But he is not the reason I’m giving up on my dreams. Going to Europe would be giving up on my dream. He is my dream. He is my life. Not telling him about it would make things easier. It wouldn’t be lying. But it would be hiding the truth. We’ve always been honest with each other. Telling him it’s the right thing to do. I’m just afraid of his reaction when I tell him… That’s why I came here. You give the best advice. I can’t lose him, dad. I can’t afford to screw things up. I don’t know what to do…”

“I think you do know, Kurt. You summed it up very well and you know what you are going to do. And I’m proud of you, Kurt.” Kurt was shocked. Was this really everything his dad had to tell him?

“That’s it?” Burt just shrugged his shoulders.

“Kurt, it’s your life. You know what you are doing. You know I will support whatever decision you are gonna make. If you told me you are going to fly to the moon, I would say great. As long as it’s what makes you happy. You don’t want to take the offer? Okay. I know you thought it over. You are not one for doing something without thinking about it. That’s Finn’s area. You love Blaine. You wouldn’t risk him finding out about you hiding something. It’s like your part of the job to tell him. Then the ball will be on his side of the field and you’ll have to except whatever comes. You have every right to make your own decision, but so does he. He might not like it. If he loves you – and I don’t doubt he does – he will probably not be happy. According to what you’ve told me about him – not just today but the other times too – he really cares about you and wants what is the best for you. You giving up such a great opportunity because of him will be hard to accept. You need to convince him that it’s what you truly want. And I wish I could tell you exactly what you should say to him so he takes the news without hesitation. But it’s something you have to do on your own.”                 

“I’m really scared, dad.”

“I know.” Burt stood up and opened his arms for his son. There was nothing more he could do to comfort him.

Kurt stayed in Lima for two days. On Monday afternoon he decided to go to Pittsburgh and visit the guys. Kurt entered the bar and spotted the guys in an instant. They were by the pool table, concentrated on the game. Blaine was bending over the table, giving Kurt a great view of his ass. Inappropriate ideas slipped to Kurt’s mind immediately. Focus Kurt, first talk, then you can ravish that body…Kurt wanted to surprise them, but unfortunately, Nick saw him. He put his finger on his mouth to indicate to Nick to be quiet. Nick smiled at him and nodded his head, the other guys were completely oblivious to this little exchange. Kurt sneaked behind Blaine’s back and leaned towards his ear. Blaine was so caught up in the game that he didn’t realize someone was standing behind him until he felt Kurt’s breath on his face.

“Hi, hot stuff.” Blaine turned around in a moment with an open mouth and Kurt took it as an invitation and kissed him hard. Blaine was taken aback for a while, but then he settled his arms around Kurt’s waist and spread his legs so Kurt could step between them. They were kissing for what seemed to the guys like ages.

“It’s like they have an unlimited lung capacity…” Nick whispered to Mathew and made him laugh. That was the moment when Kurt and Blaine remembered where they were and pulled away from each other.

“Wow…What are you doing here?” Blaine was trying to catch his breath.

“Kissing my boyfriend.” Kurt answered with a smirk and pecked him on the lips.

“Well, not that I’m not happy about it but aren’t you supposed to be in Lima?”

“I have something to tell you and Friday is too far…Can we go to your place?”

“Sure.” He put his cue away and let himself be dragged from the bar.

“Bye guys. See you on Friday.” Kurt shouted over his shoulder and led his boyfriend out of there.

“Did you come here by a car?” Kurt asked Blaine once they were outside.

“No.”

“Great. We can go together in mine, then.”

“Kurt? What happened? You are kind of freaking me out…” Blaine said when they were sitting in Kurt’s car, driving to Blaine’s apartment.

“Nothing bad. I promise. No reason to be scared, honey.” He squeezed Blaine’s hand and didn’t let it go. Blaine tried not to search for negative things in Kurt’s odd behavior but didn’t succeed. He had a bad feeling the evening wouldn’t end in good terms. Kurt had driven from Lima to Pittsburgh only to drive from Pittsburgh to New York the following day. What couldn’t wait until Friday?

They got into the apartment and Blaine urged Kurt to sit down on the couch in the living room. He disappeared in the kitchen for a minute and came back with two bottles of water.

“Blaine, please, come here.” Kurt patted on a free space next to him. Blaine observed him, looking for something to calm himself down. When he found a pair of two sincere eyes looking at him, he smiled and joined Kurt.

“What’s going on, Kurt?” Kurt took Blaine’s hand and laced their fingers.

“I must tell you something. And I need you to understand what I’m trying to say so if there are any doubts, ask me, okay? It might be little confusing and I don’t want any misunderstanding to get between us…”

“Just tell me. I’m so confused and nervous that I need to know right now. Please, Kurt. Tell  me.”

“Do you remember how you told me you would help me pack if I didn’t want to stay in New York?” Blaine nodded.

“Well, I may take you up on that offer…But I’ll get to it. My boss talked to me on Friday. The company is opening new shops in Europe. He wants me to go there. To be the one in charge…”

“You want me to help you pack so you could go to Europe?”

“What? No! God, no! I’m not going to Europe. Just listen, okay? He was talking about it and I knew instantly that was the opportunity I would have killed for a few years ago. Or a few months ago. But now the only thing I could think about was you. And how my life with you is much more important than my career. Suddenly I didn’t care what I would do as long as you would be there with me, Blaine. I love you. I love you so much I can’t imagine my life without you. I’ve finally figured out what I want to do. I want to be with you. And I know it might sound crazy. We’ve known each other for a short amount of time, but I…I’ve never felt this way before. I thought I was going to marry Mathew some day and I didn’t feel for him the half of what I feel for you. This is real, Blaine. You and I. No matter what you’ll decide to do, I’ll be there beside you. You make me so happy. I love you, Blaine.” Blaine was staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Kurt couldn’t make out whether he was angry or sad or upset. The only thing he was sure about was that Blaine wasn’t happy.

“Blaine, please, say something…”

“If you weren’t in a relationship with me, would you go?”

“I don’t know. Probably yes. But it doesn’t matter…”

“Yes, it is. You are staying here, because of me.”

“No! I mean…yes. But I’m doing it for myself. This is what I want. I want us.”

“I won’t be the one keeping you from your dreams.”

“You’re not.”

“Yes, I am!” Blaine screamed. He was frustrated and annoyed.

“Blaine, I need you. I love you. You are my life…”

“We are still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship. We barely see each other. You don’t know how we would work out if we were actually together. You’d been with Mathew for years and you broke up. You gave up on your dreams because of him and it wasn’t right. How can you be so sure it won’t happen again? I’m a broken misfit. I’m getting my life together right now. I’m not going to ruin yours.”

“You’re not broken, Blaine. You’re perfect. You are not ruining my life. You are making it better. God, Blaine! Don’t you get it? I love you.” Kurt was desperate. He lacked the ideas how to explain to Blaine, what his intentions are and why he was doing what he was doing.

“You’re gonna take the offer.” Blaine stood up and crossed his arms at his chest.

“What?! No!”

“Yes. There is nothing in your way.”

“I’m not going. I’m not completely sure whether I want to do something with fashion after the internship. And I’m not leaving you here. You can’t go with me. You’ve just started to get along with your family and I can’t ask you to go with me. I can’t take you away from them. I’m staying. I’m not leaving you here…You’re my boyfriend.”

“Not anymore.” Blaine said it in a low voice but Kurt could sense the strength and finality in it.

“What?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Kurt. I’m setting you free. You are not in a relationship so you can go to Europe and be an amazing designer.”

“You are not breaking up with me, Blaine!” Kurt shouted, tears blurred his vision.

“I am.” Blaine said calmly, not increasing his voice.

“I can’t believe this…You love me, Blaine. You might have not said it so far, but I know it. I can feel it. You love me. You don’t want to break up with me. You are doing this for the wrong reason. I’m not going to Europe. Blaine, please. Don’t do this.”

“I think you should go, Kurt. I’ll call Nick and tell him you’ll be staying the night with him.” Kurt wiped his tears and sniffled. He took a deep breath and looked Blaine right in the eyes. He could see through him. He was miserable. He tried to be strong and decisive, but Kurt didn’t buy it.

“Don’t bother. I’ll call him. This is not over, Blaine. I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna get you back. I don’t care how long it will take. I’ll call you and text you every day until you finally realize, we are meant to be together.” He stepped closer to him, but Blaine shrank away from him.

“Kurt, please, leave.”

“Whenever you change your mind, call me. In the middle of the night, in the morning, during the day, I don’t care. I’ll be waiting. I love you.” Kurt slowly walked through the room. He stopped by the door and spared Blaine one last glance.

“You know what’s funny? You don’t want to keep me from my dreams, but right now you’re doing it.”

When Blaine heard the main door close with a thump, he fell down on a couch and a loud sob left his body. Then tears filled his eyes and they were streaming down his face for the next hour. He felt captive in his apartment. Everything reminded him of Kurt. He was thinking about calling Nick, but dismissed the idea, because Nick wouldn’t approve of what he had just done. He wouldn’t yell at him but he would have that look he always had when he wasn’t fond of Blaine’s decisions and it was worse than any yelling in the world. That and the fact that Kurt needed Nick more than he did, made Blaine do something he hadn’t done in years. He took his phone and dialed a number.

“Coop? Hi, it’s me, Blaine…”

“Luke? Isn’t that Kurt?” Nick pointed his finger on a guy sitting by the bar. Mathew had left fifteen minutes ago and the two of them were in the middle of their last pool game of the night right now.

“Did he just…Was that a second shot?” Lucas headed towards the bar, checking if Nick was following him.

“He is taking the third now.” Nick stated. By the time they got to him, the third changed to the fourth.

“Kurt?” Nick put his hand on Kurt’s shoulder, making Kurt jump a little on his seat.

“Shit, Nick! You scared me.”

“Kurt, what are you doing here?” Lucas was watching him with concern.

“Where is Blaine?” Nick asked, afraid of the answer he was about to get.

“At home. He broke up with me.” Kurt closed his eyes, concentrating on breathing so he wouldn’t start crying again.

“What the hell?!” Lucas shouted, ready to rip Blaine’s heart out of his chest.

“Did you have a fight?” Nick was more staid than Lucas at the moment.

“Sort of…It wasn’t even a fight. He took it all wrong…Damn!”

“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Nick put his arms around Kurt’s shoulders and guided him outside. Nick and Lucas took him for a walk. Kurt calmed down a little and after a few minutes he was speaking, getting all of his frustration out.

“I mean…I know where he’s coming from. I wouldn’t want him to give up on his dreams either. He just didn’t get it…I’m not giving up on my dreams by not going. Sometimes you grow up from your dreams and you replace them with another. Why doesn’t he get it?” Kurt finished his talking. Nick and Lucas stayed silent for a long moment.

“I would like to be mad at him.” Lucas finally said. “But I can’t. I totally understand why he did it.”

“Yeah…Me too.” Nick agreed with Lucas.

“What are you gonna do?”

“I’m not giving up. I won’t go to Europe. I’ll wait for him. I don’t care if it takes days or months or years. I’m going to finish this stupid internship and then I’ll come back here so I can be closer to him. If he moves out somewhere else, I’ll follow him. I’ll be a creepy stalker if I have to be. I don’t care. I love him and he loves me. That’s all that matter.” Kurt’s voice was full of determination. Nick and Lucas just hoped it wouldn’t take years for them to get back together. Nick offered Kurt to spend the night in his apartment and Kurt gratefully accepted it. Before he fell to an uneasy sleep, he had started his mission.

I love you. There is nothing you can do to change it. Goodnight, Blaine. - K