Kurt checked his watch, waiting exactly thirty-seven seconds before he knocked sharply on the door. He heard the faint sound of hurried footsteps drawing nearer, and then the door was flung open. Andrew stood before him, looking stunned.

"You came."

"I did."

"Youre here."

"I am."

"I didnt think you were coming."

"You said to take twenty-four hours. Its been twenty-four on the dot."

Andrews smile was ear-splitting."I cant believe it. I cant believe this is actually happening." He looked down at their feet, smiled even wider, and added, "I cant believe youve only brought one suitcase with you."

"Yeah, with him," came a grunting comment from down the hall. Andrew stuck his head out of the apartment to see Eddie struggling to pull three massive suitcases behind him. He dashed down the hallway at once, taking the two larger suitcases from Eddies grasp and introducing himself.

"Im Andrew McCarthy," he said.

"Eddie Coles. I was Kurts roommate at NYU last year." They shook hands briefly before bringing the rest of Kurts luggage into the apartment.

Kurts eyes met Andrews, and his heart felt ready to burst. They grinned at each other until Eddie cleared his throat with a pointed look.

Kurt chuckled awkwardly. "Im just... going to unpack my toiletries in the bathroom. Ill be right back." He took the smallest of the suitcases and rolled it into the bathroom. The medicine cabinet contained only a box of Claritin and a bottle of Tylenol, so Kurt was able to cram most of his essentials onto the shelves. The rest, he relegated to the little cabinet over the towel rack.

The bathroom tile was a sickly shade of green, and the lighting was terrible. But it was their bathroom. He couldnt stop smiling.

When he emerged, he noticed that Eddie and Andrew were murmuring quietly near the front door. As he drew closer, he could just barely make out what Eddie was saying: "And from what Kurts friend Rachel tells me, he was a pretty great guy. But if Kurt starts mentioning him, try to change the subject. Otherwise he gets in one of his blue moods, where he just stares at pictures of Blaine all day long." Eddie paused, thinking. "Also, he gets really mad if you leave your wet towels draped over furniture. Like, really mad."

"He sounds high-maintenance," Andrew replied, clearly amused.

"Oh, you have no idea," Eddie whispered. "But stick it out. Hes one of the greatest people I know. Youll have a blast living with him. I promise."

They both turned as he approached. "All set," Kurt said.

"Good luck, man," Eddie said, giving him a brief hug and shaking Andrews hand again before leaving.

And then they were alone.

In their apartment, in New York City, together.

"Kurt... youre really sure?" Andrew breathed, his eyes bright. "You wont change your mind?"

Kurt shook his head vehemently. "God, no. Ive been looking for you forever." He stepped forward just as Andrew did, and they clung to each other tightly.

"Youve gotten taller," Andrew mumbled into his shoulder, and Kurt laughed.

"I think if were comparing who looks more different, youre the clear winner."

"Ooh, speaking of which..." Andrew pulled back, waggling his brows and grabbing Kurts hand. "I have a house-warming present for you."

Kurts eyes lit up, and he allowed himself to be led into the kitchen. There was a brown paper grocery bag sitting on the little kitchen table. The top was folded over, and a gaudy stick-on bow adorned it. "Um... thanks?" Kurt said, raising one eyebrow.

"Open it."

He unfolded the bag and peered into it. "Oh, Andrew. Its just what I wanted." He upended the bag, and a dozen boxes of various hair dyes fell onto the table. He picked through the offerings, before plucking two out of the pile. "Im thinking a short, spiky cut, dyed chestnut brown with honey highlights. What do you think?"

"You always did want me to try highlights." Andrew was watching him, his eyes warm.

Kurt hesitated briefly. "I know its stupid."

"Its not stupid."

"I know I should be pulling you into the bedroom and ravishing you–"

"I wouldnt complain."

"I just..." Kurt looked at him entreatingly.

Andrew ran his thumb down Kurts cheek. "You want me to look a little more like the boy you fell in love with."

Kurt nodded, relieved that hed understood.

"So," Andrew said, "lets get to work."

It was close to ten by the time they finished up. Andrews hair, freshly dyed and cut into a short, textured style, met with Kurts approval. He couldnt stop looking at Andrew, as though he might disappear again if he looked away for a moment.

"Lets go to bed," Andrew suggested, and they walked hand-in-hand into the bedroom.

They undressed each other slowly and nervously, trading gentle kisses and becoming reacquainted with the feel of one anothers skin. There was a brief argument over who would get to bottom (Andrew won) and whether a condom was necessary (Kurt won) and then they were together again, together again. Kurt had remembered the passion, but hed forgotten the joy. Hed forgotten how often they laughed during sex, because it was awkward and messy and completely amazing.

They didnt sleep that night. They made love and talked and made love and talked some more, filling each other in on everything theyd missed.

"Im sorry for leaving you," Andrew whispered into the crook of his neck just before dawn. "Ill spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you."

Kurt kissed his hair. "You came here for me. Were even. Just dont leave me again, okay?"

"Never, never, never."

Kurt cooked tomato-and-asparagus omelets for breakfast, and Andrew cleared and washed the dishes afterwards. He had spent the last several months taking online university courses, so that he could transfer to NYU as a junior the following year. The Castellano henchmen would be looking for incoming college freshmen, but a junior transfer wouldnt attract undue attention.

"Im going to call my dad," Kurt said, as Andrew slipped on a pair of reading glasses and settled down to work on an essay.

Burt answered the call on the second ring. "Kurt!"

"Hey, Dad. Im here; all moved in."

"Well, great! You like the place? Is the neighborhood safe? Did you decide to... I mean... is the other tenant nice?"

Andrew caught his eye and blew him a kiss, and Kurt had to press hard against his chin to keep from crying. "Its all perfect."

He wasnt entirely surprised when the doorbell rang the next morning, and by the time he made it into the living room, Burt was already hugging Andrew tightly against him. "I knew it," Burt said, his voice low with emotion. "I just knew it."

"You didnt have to fly all the way out here," Andrew said, sounding guilty. "Its so expensive."

Burt pulled back, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Kurts not the only Hummel who missed you," he said gruffly.

Sometimes, even they couldnt believe their luck.

When Kurt was in the midst of folding laundry, pressing sharp creases into his slacks, hed often feel arms wrapping around his ribs and a chin resting on his shoulder. When Andrew would return from checking the mailbox, hed make it three steps into the apartment before a kiss landed on his neck. They held hands as they ate dinner, and they cuddled when they watched television.

At first, it was because they still needed convincing that this was real. After a while, it was just second nature.

"I havent seen you in a month," Rachel all but shrieked into the phone. "We havent gone shopping or had lunch or worked on my audition pieces together–"

"Ive been busy," Kurt said weakly.

"Enough is enough. Im coming over to your apartment this Saturday at two oclock. And Im meeting this new boyfriend of yours. Eddie told me that hes already hung out at your place three times already. You cant hide this mysterious Andrew guy away from me any longer."

Rachel arrived at the flat with a freshly baked pound cake, which she promptly dropped on the floor when she caught sight of Andrew. Kurt grabbed a dustpan and helped her clean up the mess before she stood up and turned to face Andrew head-on.

"Im Rachel Berry," she said briskly.

"Andrew McCarthy," Andrew replied warily.

"Its so good to meet you," she said. She hugged him and her laugh rang out, shrill with relief.

Andrew laughed, too.

"Youre coming home for Christmas, Kurt," Burt said. "No debate. I want my whole family together for the holidays."

"I cant," Kurt hissed into the phone, trying to avoid being overheard. Andrew was in the kitchen, but the walls were thin. "I cant leave him alone here, Dad, theres no way."

There was a stunned silence, before Burt said in disbelief, "Kurt, I just said I wanted my whole family together. Why on earth wouldnt you know that includes him?"

Due to security concerns, Andrew had to avoid air travel for the time being. So Rachel rented a car and the three of them left New York City early in the morning, driving back to Ohio on Christmas Eve. They blasted Broadway showtunes and pop anthems, singing along at the top of their lungs in fairly impressive three-part harmony. When the Hummel house came into view, decked out with hundreds of twinkling Christmas lights, Andrew smiled more brightly than any of them.

Carole met them all at the door, pulling Andrew in first for a hug. "Finally, all of my boys are home," she sighed.

Finn heard the commotion and wandered downstairs, grinning and hugging Kurt and Rachel. He stopped short when he saw the new visitor, who extended his hand.

"Hello, Im Andrew."

"Uh… Finn?" he replied, shaking hands and throwing a questioning look at Kurt.

Kurt helped Carole cook dinner, while Andrew, Finn and Burt watched football together and hollered at the TV screen. Carole kept pausing to dab at her eyes with a dish towel. "I know what its like," she said brokenly. "To want him to come home so badly. Im so happy for you, honey." Kurt set the dining room table and, in lieu of a centerpiece, set out framed photographs of his mother, Colonel Hudson, and Perfectos parents.

"Now were all here," he told Andrew, who kissed his cheek.

Carole was still a little weepy all the way until the dessert course, when Finn leaned over to her and whispered, "Okay, how am I really the only one whos noticed how much Andrew looks like Blaine?"

They lay in Kurts bed that night, wrapped up in the warmth of each other and their shared memories. "I missed this room," Andrew murmured, his stubble lightly tickling Kurts bare chest. "It always felt like home to me."

"Remember the first night you ever spent in here?"

"Not really," Andrew laughed. "I remember the hangover; does that count?"

"And the time you tried giving me lessons in how to be sexy–"

"Mm, turns out you did not need those–"

"And the time..." you left me, Kurt wanted to say, but his throat was too tight to speak the words. Andrew seemed to understand, placing reassuring kisses against his collarbone until Kurts breathing grew even again. There had already been far too many apologies between them.

"What is it about Christmas Eve, anyway?" Andrew asked after a long silence. "No matter how old I get, theres always this feeling, like anything could happen. Like magic is possible. When I was a kid, Id lie in bed and imagine I heard reindeer hooves on the rooftop, and Santas footsteps creaking on the stairs."

"Didnt you get up and investigate?"

"Nah, I didnt want to spoil the magic. What about you? Did you try to catch Santa?"

"Yeah," Kurt admitted. "I wanted to tell him red wasnt a good color for him, and that black would be more slimming."

"Youre adorable." Andrew snorted. "Oh my god, did you see Finns face tonight, when he saw me?"

Kurt laughed. "That was hilarious. And at dinner–"

"I know!"

"Do you think hell ever catch on?"

"I dont know. Its almost funnier if he doesnt. Hell just think youre attracted to a very, very specific type."

The moonlight was faint that night, and Kurt couldnt make out Andrews face. "Is it weird for you?" he whispered. "To answer to a new name?"

"Ive kind of gotten used to switching names by this point," Andrew said. "More than a name, I really just listen for your inflection."

"What do you mean?"

"When you say my name, you have this… tone, that your voice takes on." Kurt was sure Andrew was blushing as he spoke. "You could say any name you wanted, but Id know when you were talking about me." He let Kurt curl up around him before continuing. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Is it strange for you to call me a new name?"

"A Blaine by any other name would smell as sweet," Kurt whispered. It was the first time hed spoken the name aloud since their reunion, and he felt Andrew smile against him. "Besides," he added, "it will totally fulfill my boyhood fantasy."

"Of what, being a secret agent?"

"No," Kurt scoffed. "I always wanted to marry Andrew McCarthy." He waited for a response, but none came, and his heart started to sink. "Andrew?"

"I think we have a new plan," Andrew whispered, and they held each other in the dark.