Yellow streaks of light wriggled through the green, veiny leaves that dangled from the freshly flowered trees. No matter how unpredictable the weather of New York, the sun seemed to have acknowledged the good mood of the boy who was chasing the air, glimmering down onto the top of his blondish brown head. Below the canopy of greenery that the sun sporadically streaked through, the wild eyed boy hurried through the crowds that pressed him the opposite way.

His white boots, patterned with delicate tracings of golden rosemaling, clacked against the cobblestone pavement beneath him. He narrowly dodged a man hoisting his rowdy child into the air, and when he broke through the seal of people, he gulped the bubble of air he got before the next wave of people hit him, and scampered forward so quickly that the lacey netting wound around his neck nearly came loose and flew toward the splintery veins that crept out of the manicured bushes.

Placing a hand on the side of his neck to hold his frilly scarf down, he didnt stop for a second to knot it again, but kept going forward until he lost his footing on a crack in the white concrete, where the small park that he had to venture through each day withered away and made room for the main arteries of New York. He suddenly found himself standing off to the side of a narrow street, buildings climbing so high on either side of him that he would have thought himself boxed in had he not been adapted to New Yorks expansive and insurmountable scenery.

Kurt had spent the last four years pursuing a degree in journalism, with a specialization in fashion. Upon his graduation, hed instantly whittled his way into a small news company, which combined different focuses into one building. Two weeks after hed sent in his application, a woman who had been eager to have him had called him, laughingly saying that she had never seen anything like his sense of fashion before, and that he was refreshingly classic with his ideas, but frivolously contemporary enough to make the hordes of New York eat his designs up. Now, he was going onto his third month with the company, and had been woken up by an incessantly buzzing phone, almost every one of his colleagues congratulating him on making the front page with his newest article, which questioned the placement, or necessity, of fabric belts.

He arrived in front of the seven-story high, rectangular building that was painted a dim gray, but had the name of the company, Dalton, swirled in large, golden letters over the glass doors. Even though this building was unquestionably one of the smallest within three blocks of here, Kurt felt a sense of comfort here that hadnt been present in many other places, not even back at his hometown in Ohio. The people, no matter how few of them he knew, were all friendly and always busy, letting him slip by and vanish into his office, which hed decorated to be as cozy as his apartment. There was nothing more settling to him than being able to head over to his office and recline into his plump chair, and then spend hours staring at the screen of his laptop as he whipped up the most becoming and latest designs. He needed all of the certainty and routine he could get, after what had gone on before.

As soon as he pushed through the doors, the cool air that circulated through the spacious lobby breezed through his hair and fluttered his scarf. Every footstep was punctuated by a click against the tile flooring, but his feet were soon stopped by a woman, no more than ten years older than him, skidding next to him, bunches of paper stacked in her arms. "Congratulations on your article, Mr. Hummel. It was one of your best."

Even though Kurt had never spoken to her before, he appreciated the enthusiastic praise. His lips stretched into a bright smile, "Thank you!" Before he got the last word out, she was zipping off, disappearing behind a door that was labeled as a copy room. He had just turned back to the front desk, where he was going to sign in, when he noticed a dark figure off to his left. Twisting around, Kurt grinned from ear to ear at the sight of his best friend, Unique. Although he and Unique worked on completely different floors, the two of them had immediately clicked with each other upon meeting, and made sure to schedule their breaks together so that they could get lunch with each other.

After living in Lima for all of his life, there had been no more of a shock for Kurt than when his eyes had fallen onto Unique, who was very fluid about the way he dressed, sometimes appearing in a sweatshirt and jeans-but only when he had hit a bump with his boyfriend, and other times strutting in with a dress snuggly strapped onto his body, the bodice of it stuffed with tissues. Kurt had been both admirable and alarmed at the way that Unique simply didnt care what others thought of him, after spending more years than hed like to admit claiming that he, although gay, wasnt quite as gay as what the others tried to make him out to be.

"Kurt!" Unique, who was three years older than him and had already experienced all of the new things that he could have at the paper, made a show of Kurts first major accomplishment by flinging his arms apart. "Im so proud of you! Your article was excellent!" Giggling at the ridiculous amount of flattery, Kurt scampered into his best friends arms and held him close. When they drew apart, Unique cupped Kurts pointy chin in his large hand, "What are you doing here? Its your day off. Enjoy yourself. If I were you, Id already be at a spa."

Kurts eyes sparkled with amusement at Uniques idea of a perfect day. There was something about the boy that made him believe that Unique lived just by breathing, eating, and pampering himself. Pushing a stray hair off of his forehead, Kurt flitted his eyes around the lobby, "I wanted to thank Mr. Schuester for putting my article on the front page."

Unique gave him an incredulous look, one sharp brow arching so high that it nearly touched his hairline, "And you couldnt have just emailed him? Kurt, you could be sleeping in right now. Instead, youre here, out of breath. I will never understand you."

"I also wanted to ask him for a new assignment." Kurt put in quickly, as if that would amend his need to come in.

Squeezing Kurts slender, pale hands, Unique shook his head, "Another one? Kurt, you havent been off of an assignment since you started working here. You need to give yourself a break. I wonder how you always look so flawless, when I come in with bags and dry skin after just one night of working on an assignment." He slid an arm around Kurt and guided him over to the elevator, "You know, maybe you need to start dating. Thats just what you need. A man in your life could distract you from all of this work. Besides, sex is very healthy, and sweating is good for the skin."

Kurt blushed at the blunt way that Unique brought up the topic, as if they were planning a trip to the mall. It had never failed to amaze Unique that, at twenty two years old, Kurt had never had a boyfriend, let alone gone on a date. Kurt had tried to blame his flavorless past on the fact that he came from Ohio. It wasnt like that hadnt been a contributing factor. But Kurt, and Kurt alone, understood to some extent about what had really gone wrong to prevent him from giving himself up to a man, an action that Unique did freely and without reservations. To him, sex was just sex. This was an opinion that Kurt didnt hold, and had never brought up to Unique, who wouldnt understand.

Luckily, he didnt have to make a comment before Unique, knowing that hed brought up a topic that Kurt always managed to deflect, extended his arm through the doorway of the elevator to hold it open. Kurt followed him onto it, and then shuffled toward the back when two other men climbed on with them. Unique stared humorlessly at him, "You know, speaking of dating, you have a new officemate." At the surprised look that Kurt made, Unique raised his brows once more, "Schuesters emailed you, hasnt he? He was supposed to email you a week in advance, or else I would have brought it up to you earlier."

Kurt shouldnt have been as shocked as he was by the news of the other desk in his office being filled. It had been two months since someone had worked at it. When Kurt arrived, hed been set up in a room that was already occupied by a woman. Theyd worked across the room from each other for a few weeks, until she went into labor and didnt come back to work because she wanted to stay at home with her baby. When the elevator doors slid open, Kurt followed the group of men into the long, narrow hallway, which was padded with carpet, and painted with white walls. Rather than being an open space with cubicles, this building was structured to have private, quiet rooms for the employees to work. This kept the talking to a minimal, and with less distractions, there were more pages written.

Assuming that his new officemate was a man because of the way Unique had transitioned into mentioning him, Kurt stopped in the middle of the hallway and hugged his bag tighter to his chest. "When does he start working here?"

Unique winked, "Now." Kurt must have made another face, because his face crinkled up. He looked pleased with himself. "I met him this morning. Hes dark and handsome."

"But not tall?"

He laughed, "No, not at all. Hes very serious and businesslike. He didnt take easily to me. I guess Im just too boisterous for him, so hes all yours. Although, if I were you, I wouldnt try to have a serious relationship with him. Hed just be a guy to get your feet wet. You need someone fun, like me. One weekend, Ill have to take the two of you out drinking, and you can hook up with him. He wouldnt even remember it in the morning."

Kurt couldnt believe that he was having this conversation about a man he hadnt even met. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he let what Unique was saying sink into his head, but then he shook it all away. He returned to more appropriate questions, "Do you know what hes writing about? Or his name?"

He shrugged, "I dont know what he writes. He didnt stop long enough to let me ask. His name was..." he scratched the back of his head, "Anderson, or something like that."

Lowering his bag, Kurt straightened up the front of his shirt, which was a cream sweater that hed tucked under a white pea coat that had round, golden buttons sewn down the middle of it. "I suppose that now is as good of a time as ever to meet him, isnt it? I wont be staying long, Unique. I should get out of his hair so he can unpack and adjust himself to the office."

Smirking, Unique reached back and pressed a button for the elevator, so that he could go down to the floor that he worked on. He winked again, "Dont be a stranger tonight. Let me know if he bangs you."

Kurt frowned, but chose not to respond because, no matter what he said, Unique would always be Unique. He spun around after his friend hopped onto an elevator, his lips mashing together. He was glad that hed taken the extra time to make himself more presentable than usual, his outfit very coordinated and charming. Even if he didnt intend to use it the way that Unique wanted him to, he still wanted to make a good impression. Working a small smile onto his lips, Kurt stepped over to his office door and knocked lightly. From within, a deep, raspy voice grumbled, "Yes?"

Hesitantly draping his fingers over the handle, Kurt pressed down and slowly cracked the door open. His blue eyes peered inside at his office, which appeared untouched. He opened the door wider and stepped inside. Turning his head to the right, Kurt spotted a man seated at the usually empty desk, his form slouched over as he read over some documents. The man, as Unique had said, wasnt very tall, a fact that Kurt could tell even while he was seated. But his shoulders were very broad, his toned muscles pressing on the material of his dark blue button up. Kurt couldnt see his legs because they were smashed under the desk, but he noticed the tips of his shoes because his legs were so stretched out that his feet popped out of the other side.

He returned his gaze to the mans head, which was bent down, one of his dark hands burrowed into his thick piles of coffee colored curls. Coarse hair dusted his knuckles and the backs of his hands, and from where his sleeve had pushed slightly down, Kurt could see it travel up his arm. From what he could make out of him, Kurt took note of his bronze skin, like caramel candy had been melted over his body. Suddenly, the mans head raised, giving Kurt a view of his deep and knowing golden eyes, as if hed seen things beyond his time. His face was young, despite being so chiseled and engrained with stubble. Kurt assumed that he couldnt have been older than thirty. Kurt startled when the man twisted a corner of his mouth up, "Youre a journalist, arent you?"

Kurt flickered his eyes around, avoiding the mans intense gaze, "U-Um... yes. I dont look like a journalist, do I?"

"Not particularly." The man sat back in his seat, his arms folding behind his head. The muscles in his chest strained against his shirt. "Its the way that you look at things. Youre very intent... except for right now." Kurts cheeks turned a rosy pink as he realized that the man had caught on to what he was doing. Slowly looking back at him, Kurt stared blankly at his hands, and the callouses on his fingers. "As I was saying, did you need something, or should I get used to people interrupting my work for no reason other than to bother me?"

Kurts eyes widened to the size of saucers. Stumbling backwards, Kurt turned his head to the side and checked the number on the door. He wished that he had accidentally walked into the wrong office, and that his own, and the man inside-hopefully nicer than this one-were still waiting for him to arrive. "I-I... This is my office, too. My name is Kurt Hummel." Taking another step away from the man, Kurt cautiously sent him one more look, and found him steadily gazing at him, his eyes unblinking. There was something in his eyes that unnerved Kurt. "Youre Mr. Anderson?"

"And youre disappointed." He pointed out, making Kurt lurch once more as he tried to figure out a way to untangle himself from this conversation. He hadnt met anyone like this before, not even back in Ohio. This man cut deeper than the rest of them, his wit quick and his tongue sharp, like a blade that was hacking away at Kurt. As he thought about what had happened to him those years ago, Kurt had the plummeting feeling that maybe it was as obvious as he had always dreaded it was, that this man could sniff his sexuality out, and was annoyed with it. Kurts shoulders drooped.

As he retreated toward the door, Kurt whispered through a tight throat, "I-I just... came by to see if I had left my... my..." He suddenly blanked on what objects he used every day for his job, or even what job he did, and felt even more stupid under the mans condescending eye. He shook his head, "Its my day off. Ill be going now." Before the man could put in anything else on their one-sided conversation, Kurt whipped around the corner and scampered off, even though he knew that the man wouldnt feel guilty enough to follow him and apologize. By the time he made it down to the lobby and took in a few deep breaths, he realized that he had forgotten to ask Schuester for his next assignment. He let the mistake roll off of him, and glided through the doors.