By the time Kurt's parents were to return home, he and Finn had done an amazing job of picking up after the party and putting everything valuable back in its place.

"I still don't know what I'm going to tell mom when she asks where that throw pillow is," Kurt said in reference to the pillow Mike had been sleeping naked with a few days ago.

"Say I spilled something on it," Finn shrugged, turning the TV on. "I spill everything."

"Ah. Yes. That should be good enough," Kurt agreed.

At that moment, Burt and Carole shuffled through the door, dragging their suitcases behind them tiredly.

"We're home!" Carole called through the house. "Boys?"

"In the living room," Finn responded.

"Here, give me that, I'll take 'em to our room," Burt said, taking the handle of Carole's suitcase.

"You're a darling," Carole said with a smile as she collapsed on the sofa in between Kurt and Finn. "So how was the week without us?"

"Meh," Finn replied. "It was okay. Boring mostly."

"Well the house doesn't look torn up, so I suppose that's a good sign," Carole said, winking at Kurt.

"We were perfect angels," Kurt nodded.

"Uh…why are my best bottles of wine and whiskey in my closet?" Burt asked as he came back in the room, the bottles in question in his hands.

Finn shot an alarmed glance and Kurt, who sat stock still. Fuck, he'd totally forgotten that he put those there.

"Kurt?" Burt prompted.

"Uh…"

"I put them there, honey," Carole said. "In case the boys had people over while we were gone, I didn't want them broken so I hid them in the closet."

"…You did?" Burt asked in confusion.

"Mhmm. Just in case."

"Oh. Well, that's good then," Burt said, moving into the kitchen to put the bottles back where they belonged.

"Fun night?" Carole asked her sons with a knowing smile once Burt was out of ear shot.

"I think so," Kurt replied. "From what I remember."

"No one drove did they?"

"No, everyone slept here."

Carole patted both Finn and Kurt's knees and stood up. "Good to hear."

Kurt decided Carole was probably the most awesome mom to have been a mother.

Blaine Anderson was not a superstitious person. He wasn't.

Except when it came to anything regarding Kurt.

When they were in the midst of their not-really-breakup, he had been picking up every penny he could find that was on heads up. He avoided all ladders and refused to step on any cracks in the sidewalk. It was stupid, it was ridiculous and he hated himself for being so pathetic. But Kurt was…Kurt was Kurt. And he'd do anything in his power to keep them together even if it included plucking off flower petals, playing 'He loves me, he loves me not'.

Which is why, now, a few weeks since winter break, his horoscope was freaking the hell out of him.

It started with this one:

The stars foresee a time of great uncertainty in the day to come.

Blaine didn't really appreciate that one. So he looked at his horoscope on another website instead.

Learn to trust your heart.

But he was pretty sure he already trusted his heart, so he looked at another one.

Your plans will fall through, your life will take a turn, guard your heart.

Well. Shit.

Why was – whatever. He snapped his laptop closed and stared at the thing as though the computer itself was offensive. He didn't need horoscopes. His life was just fine, thank you very much. He didn't need to guard his heart or trust his heart or anything else the stupid horoscopes said. Astrology was dumb anyway, Blaine decided.

When he looked out his window, clouds were rolling in, signifying the impending rainstorm.

Fantastic.

Cold and rainy. Exactly what he needed.

When he heard Kurt's car pull up in the driveway, he raced out of the house, bag over his head, and nearly fell flat on his face after he tripped over a rock.

Oh so THAT'S how the day was going to be, huh? Fuck.

On the way to school, they ended up having to turn around because Blaine had forgotten an assignment that he had to turn in today, which caused them to be too late to get their usual morning coffee, which caused Kurt to be pissy, which caused Blaine to be bitchy, and it was just this awful downward spiral of bad luck.

Now usually the odd bad day here and there wouldn't affect him so much. However, both he and Kurt had started to receive their acceptance letters to the universities they had applied to back in the fall.

And they promised each other they would keep their schools a secret until they finally chose which ones they were going to attend. Blaine knew they were doing things the right way, the responsible way. But that didn't stop his hopeful little heart from pounding in his chest every time he thought about the various awful ways it could all turn out. Kurt could end up in New York and he could end up in California and it would just…completely suck.

"Why do you look like someone just set fire to your fern?" Santana asked Blaine in Glee club.

"I don't – what?"

"You look really sad," Santana said. "Are you and Kurt okay?"

"No. I mean, yeah, we're fine. Just…a lot on my mind is all," Blaine said tiredly.

"You wanna talk about it?" Santana frowned.

"No, it's okay. Thanks, though."

By dinner time, he wished he had talked to Santana because his fortune cookie read:

The world is out to get you. Don't let it.

Marvelous.

And his bad luck seemed to continue through the week.

The strap on his bag broke in the middle of the hallway. He'd spilled something red on his favorite white shirt. He spilled coffee in Kurt's car and Jesus Christ, did he get an earful for THAT. And when he came home one afternoon, a freaking black cat was sitting on his doorstep for no reason at all and what the fuck was even going on?

And then one day, a couple weeks later, it all came to a head. Kurt and Blaine were sitting on Blaine's bed, facing each other, their knees barely touching.

Each boy had a single envelope in his hand.

"You first," they both said at the same time. The couple gave small nervous laughs.

"Why is this so terrifying?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Because neither of us want to be in schools at opposite ends of the country."

"Oh," Kurt said meekly, swallowing around the lump in his throat. "Right."

"It – it doesn't matter now," Blaine said gently. "We made our choices and that's that."

Kurt gave a shaky nod. "That's that."

There was an apprehensive silence in the room. This was it. They'd finally figured out where they each wanted to attend college. They had made their choices as planned, neither of them consulting the other.

"Why don't – why don't we just switch envelopes?" Blaine suggested.

"Okay. Yeah," Kurt agreed. "On three?"

"On three," Blaine said, his heart pounding in his chest at a seriously unhealthy rate. "One…"

"Two…"

"Three."

The couple switched envelopes hastily and peered down at the return addresses in order to see where the acceptance letter had come from.

They froze.

Blaine looked up first and when Kurt returned his gaze, the younger boy's eyes were filled with tears.

"You're – NYU?"

"Yeah," Blaine breathed. "NYU."

"But that…it's…"

"I know."

Kurt threw the envelope aside and tackled Blaine, crashing their lips together in a kiss and wrapping Blaine in his arms.

"New York," Kurt cried. "I can't believe you chose New York!"

"I know, I can't-"

"WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THE SAME STATE!"

And now Blaine was crying into Kurt's shirt, staining the fabric with his tears and Kurt couldn't care less because…because New York.

Because New York is where he'd chosen to go too, but he'd chosen Parson's The New School for Fashion Design and oh god, thank you, thank you! They'd be in the same state and all they'd have to do is take the subway to see each other and this meant they wouldn't be at opposite ends of the country and they could still be together and maybe one day in the future they could get an apartment and just…

Kurt was so relieved. He was so relieved.

"I love you," Blaine was saying against his neck. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Kurt whispered, pressing desperate kisses into his boyfriend's hair.

Blaine tugged Kurt up to lay next to him, their heads on the same pillow and their hands caressing each other's necks and faces. There were still a few tears falling but that was okay because the two boys were all smiles and full of relieved laughter.

"I'm so happy," Kurt said softly.

"Me too," Blaine returned the sentiment. His thumb brushed over Kurt's wet cheek. "I – I know I don't talk about it…or at least I haven't talked about since I gave you the promise ring but…I just…Kurt, I wanna be with you," Blaine whispered. "I want to wake up next to you in the morning and I…I want you stealing all the hot water when we're getting ready and I want to sit at a tiny table with you and drink coffee before we go to class or before we go to work. I want to meet you for lunch in the middle of the day at some café and I want to come home and cuddle with you on the sofa at night. I just…I – I want a life with you."

And now Kurt was crying even more because, seriously how was he not supposed to cry? He couldn't keep the stupidly large grin off his face either because everything was falling into place so perfectly. And to hear Blaine echo the same thoughts he'd been having for like, months now…it was so reassuring and so beautiful.

"I want that too," Kurt told him just as quietly. "I want everything with you."

"Kurt, I – I…" But Blaine's throat was clogged with emotion. All he really wanted to say was I love you, thank you, don't ever leave me, you're the best thing in my life, you're precious and you're special and I've never loved anyone as much as you but he couldn't get the words out because his voice was thick with tears. It was all so overwhelming. Because it seemed like their future had been riding on this choice, where to go to school and where they would live, and now it was all okay, everything was going to be okay.

"I know," Kurt breathed.

Because he did know. He understood.

They were Kurt and Blaine, they were just like that.

Blaine was really happy when he got home. He checked his horoscope.

You will find incontrovertible proof that someone did, in fact, promise you a rose garden.

Now that was more like it.

The next night, Blaine was sitting on Kurt's sofa, strumming along on his guitar with one of the slow songs being played through his boyfriend's ipod speakers. Kurt lay on his bed, perusing a magazine and listening. It was a calm, quiet night. Everything just seemed…nice. There had been so much tension and so much pressure on them these past few weeks and now that they had just a little bit less to worry about, they could relax and unwind and just enjoy each other's company.

But Kurt wasn't really focused on his magazine because his eyes kept straying to Blaine. He finally gave up the pretense, setting the magazine on his nightstand quietly. Blaine looked so at ease, his head down, watching his fingers pluck the strings of his guitar, and Kurt didn't want to disturb him. He shifted himself on the bed so that he was laying on his side, his body stretched out and one arm under his head. He didn't know why he'd never say it out loud, but Kurt loved watching Blaine play any kind of musical instrument. So he simply sat and watched. Blaine was shirtless, sitting in only his jeans with his legs crossed under him. A few stray curls fell over his forehead and occasionally his eyes fell shut. The guitar in his lap hindered Kurt's view of his lover's naked torso, but he could still see the slightly defined muscles in Blaine's arms. His fingers worked over the strings easily and Kurt was just…so smitten. He looked at the slope of Blaine's neck and shoulders and thought about how good it felt to kiss the warm skin there. His jaw was just a bit scruffy and his lips were mouthing the soft words to the song that was playing.

I'm so in love with you, Kurt thought. I hope I can watch you like this every night for the rest of my life because you're beautiful.

Blaine's eyes finally peered up through his dark lashes, seeing Kurt watching him. A smile graced Blaine's lips and they stayed like that, looking at each other and being in this very moment, Blaine's fingers never leaving his guitar.

"What're you thinking about?" Blaine eventually asked softly.

Kurt finally smiled in return. "Just you," he replied simply. "Just you."

Blaine set his guitar aside gently and made his way over to the bed, climbing over Kurt so that his chest was pressed to Kurt's back. He wrapped one arm around Kurt's waist and Kurt was sure to twine their fingers together.

Blaine pressed a sweet, soft kiss to Kurt's shoulder. "I was thinking about you too," Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear.

"What about me?" Kurt wondered.

"About…how I want to have a million nights like this. With you. Just…being in the same room. Just…"

"Being," Kurt finished for him.

"You smell like roses," Blaine sighed. "How do you always smell like roses?"

"Rose water," Kurt said simply. "I make it myself."

"I love it," Blaine whispered, untwining their fingers so that he could trail his own over Kurt's naked chest.

"Mmm, I love it when you're touching me."

"Yeah?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah," Kurt admitted. "Your hands on my skin…"

"I know what you mean," Blaine told him. Because when Kurt was touching him, he felt safe and happy and warm and loved.

Kurt trailed one of his hands up Blaine's arm, feeling the smooth skin beneath his fingertips and the bit of defined muscle under it. Blaine's arms were beautiful, just like the rest of him.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I…"

At Blaine's lack of words, Kurt turned in his arms to look at his face. He had this heart wrenching expression about him and for some reason his eyes were filled with tears. Just as Kurt was about to ask what was wrong, Blaine's hand came up to cup his face, his thumb caressing Kurt's cheek.

And Kurt could see it in Blaine's eyes. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he saw it there and he understood.

Because they were like that.

Kurt lifted his head from the pillow and swept Blaine's lips up in a kiss. It was a kiss of – of sentimental desperation, of something neither of them could quite recognize because maybe they were too young to truly understand what it was but it was there and they could feel it. He heard a noise emanate from Blaine's throat, something like relief, and Kurt couldn't help but deepen the kiss. Blaine's arm slid under Kurt's shoulders to pull him closer and Kurt wrapped his own around his boyfriend's warm back, holding on to him as though he weren't real, as though this moment was a dream and he was absolutely terrified he'd wake up and Blaine would slip away.

But he wasn't slipping away. Blaine was there and he was kissing back as good as he got, holding on just as tightly, and Kurt could feel the tears from Blaine's lashes on his face.

Why did Kurt suddenly feel like his heart was breaking? Or maybe it wasn't breaking. No, that wasn't it. It was just…filled to bursting with…with something unnamed and completely surreal and overwhelming. He didn't know what it was, he didn't know how to handle it, he couldn't even breathe properly. He was panting harshly, unevenly into Blaine's mouth and Blaine pulled away, his own breathing just as erratic and the tears falling heavily down his cheeks.

"I know," Blaine kissed his lips again. "I know, baby."

He reached over to the nightstand and opened the drawer, pulling out the new bottle of lubricant because they needed this and they needed to be closer, as close as they possibly could. He pushed the bottle into Kurt's hand.

"Please," Blaine begged.

Kurt nodded and they removed the rest of their clothing. Kurt began slicking up his fingers as Blaine bent one of his legs up. Kurt slid his hand between them, past their erections and in between Blaine's legs, finding his entrance and easing two fingers inside. Blaine hissed slightly and Kurt kissed one of his wet cheeks, sliding a third in slowly, sure to stretch him as best he could. They exchanged no words, only breathless little sighs until eventually Kurt urged Blaine to turn onto his other side, facing away from him while he slicked himself up. Then he wiped his hand on the sheet, not caring one way or another that he'd have to wash them in the morning, and wrapped his arm around Blaine's chest and pulling him flush against his torso. Blaine instinctively lifted his leg up and over Kurt's thigh as Kurt angled himself accordingly. Blaine gripped the hand Kurt had pressed against his chest, fitting their fingers together as Kurt pushed himself through Blaine's tight ring of muscle, both of them gasping at the sensation. There was a sense of…of right in the air, a sense of belonging, and sense that this was exactly where they were supposed to be, exactly how they were supposed to be. And as Kurt pulled his hips away and thrust back in again, the sensation seemed to intensify and Kurt buried his face in Blaine's hair, grateful for their height difference that made this position just perfect. That familiar smell accosted his senses, and he was breathing it, breathing in the scent of Blaine, and he was touching Blaine and loving him and showing him the best way knew how to love him. His tears still fell, but now they fell straight into Blaine's dark curls and he could hear Blaine crying in front of him, around him, within him because Kurt felt exactly the same way. He rocked his hips and Blaine tightened his leg around Kurt's thighs. They were as close as close gets and they were overheated and sweaty and they didn't understand what they were feeling, but it didn't matter because they were there and they were together and they were living through it together, in this bed, in each other's strong, safe arms. Their moans echoed off the walls and the soft music was still playing in the air and there was the scent of sandalwood and roses and cinnamon mingling together. Kurt's hold on Blaine tightened as his body tensed with his sudden release but he was encourage by his name tumbling from Blaine's lips because they came together and it was perfect and they were right and they were love. They embodied love. They held it within themselves and they carried it around for each other.

If ever in the history of the world there was such a thing as actual love making…this was it.

That next Monday at school, they only had eyes for each other.

Regionals was to be held next week, but that didn't seem to matter.

They kept their hands clasped in the hallway, even as they opened their lockers, even as they closed them. Jared tried to ask Kurt a question and received a mumbled response, if you could even call it a response, because Kurt couldn't take his eyes off Blaine. All he could focus on was Blaine's warm hand in his, Blaine's easy smile, Blaine's shining eyes, and Blaine's curly, adorable head.

Maybe they were being a little insensitive to those around them. They sat apart from the rest of the Glee club and Jared at lunch, at a table by themselves, sitting next to each other and spending most of the period with their foreheads pressed together as they laughed softly and fed each other bits of food.

"What do you think is with those two?" Tina asked the rest of the group from where they sat in the lunch room.

"Yeah, I haven't seen them this lovey dovey like…uh…ever," Jared agreed.

"Maybe they had a fight," Puck put in. "And then they had awesome make up sex."

"No," Rachel said with a sweet smile on her face. "No. They're just in love."