If the moon was just another rock, if the deep blue sky wasn't quite so infinite, if the stars lighting up the sky were just sprinkles of white snow waiting to fall, then maybe Kurt wouldn't be feeling as ecstatic as he was. But he'd never know, because all of those things were what they were, as incredible and magnificent as they seemed to be.

Kurt was lying on his side in his bed, under the covers and watching the dark sky with thoughts of how wonderful it all was, the abstract things that he'd never fully know for sure were real, or just another fantasy to make one dream. Kurt dreamed. He dreamed that one day, hopefully in a long time, he'd be soaring weightlessly among the stars, looking down on the earth and thinking of how he'd ever be able to see things from the other side.

There was a distant sound being registered in Kurt's mind, the one of footsteps in the hallway between the bathroom and his parents' bedroom, the closing of a door and the rustling of sheets.

Kurt smiled. His parents had finally gone to bed.

He waited impatiently as the time he was waiting for drew close. It wasn't long until he could hear loud snoring from his dad in the next room, and it was then that he felt brave enough to slip out of his bed.

As quietly as he could, Kurt slipped out of his striped pajama bottoms and into a tight pair of jeans. He took a pair of rubber flip flops in his hand, not caring that it would get cold, and pulled a college sweater over the t-shirt he slept in.

As he stood on the top of the stairs, he finally realized there was a problem. How on earth would he be able to walk down the flight of stairs, without being heard, on the staircase where every step turned into a creaking symphony? Kurt had no idea. He took a light and careful first step while holding his breath, and as he put his weight on it, he closed his eyes tightly.

If he hadn't known how loud the old staircase was, he would've thought that it was mocking him, wanting him to get discovered. It was as if it was twice as loud just because he was trying to be quiet. He knew that it wouldn't be quieter no matter how gentle he was, so instead he took a deep breath and carefully but quickly took two steps downwards.

By the time he was on the first floor, Kurt turned his head up and listened to any indication that his parents had woken up. There was a slight ringing in his ears from the sudden quiet, but he took it as a good sign. Still, he knew that if his mom or dad had heard him go down, they would lie awake until they heard him go up again. If they didn't hear it, the couple would force themselves out of bed to see what was taking him so long to ascend back up into his bedroom. Kurt knew it would happen, it already had. More than once.

The kitchen was as still as the rest of the house. It was rather bizarre, because it wasn't often he saw the house that way. To him, it was always full of sounds. Whether it was the television beaming, his dad working on something, or his mom cooking or singing. Maybe even her playing piano or perhaps talking on the phone with one of her friends. It was never this quiet and still. Kurt was rarely - if ever - the last one to go to bed. Only the occasional water glass he craved as he woke up in the night would bring him to see this side of the house. He was rather fond of it, seeing how different one thing alone could be.

That was the difference between night and day, Kurt thought. The night is still, quiet and unexplored. Then he smiled. That was about to change.

He opened the fridge and picked out the things he was looking for in a heartbeat, knowing their exact place by heart. Butter, cheese and ham were all on the same shelf, and Kurt filled his hands with them. He was about to close the fridge door when he hesitated, seeing the plum red tomato. He picked it up in his hand, turned it in his palm and inspected it in the dim light of the fridge lamp. The tomato was spotless and without flaw.

Kurt bent down and dug around a cabinet for the picnic basket his mom had bought the summer before, and the inside he filled with the foods he had picked out, the necessary cutlery, four of his mom's freshly baked garlic rolls, and two packs of orange flavored Capri Suns. The basket was practically full by the time he had finished, snatching a few cookies from the jar on the top shelf before deciding he was finished.

Kurt and Blaine had decided to meet at midnight by Sally Rae's grocery shop. Midnight had seemed so perfect, like it was the time when secret meetings were supposed to take place. Even Cinderella had her midnight escapade, although Kurt didn't feel very much like a fairytale princess.

Grabbing the basket in one hand and his flips flops in the other, Kurt tiptoed across the living room and through the front door, suddenly aware of everything that made the slightest of sounds. But to Kurt's defense, that screen door could've had a decibel competition with the staircase…

Kurt crossed the lawn barefoot, only slipping his feet into the sandals when he reached the graveled driveway. He wasn't taking the bike this time, because Blaine had told him not to.

Apparently, Blaine had a whole plan figured out about the upcoming night. When Kurt had finally gotten enough courage to agree to the mischief (and to be honest, Kurt hadn't been able to resist the temptation of a night with alone with Blaine for long), Blaine had already been ahead of planning for God knows how long. All Kurt could do was agree to each plan boiled up, and smile because he knew that he would be safe with Blaine.

Blaine was already standing outside of the closed shop when Kurt arrived a few minutes too early. Blaine's face lit up in a huge smile when he saw Kurt, and Kurt felt the motion being reciprocated by himself. When they came up to each other, Blaine instantly wrapped his arms tightly around Kurt.

"I thought for a while that you'd been caught," Blaine breathed into his ear.

"No, it was all good," Kurt confirmed. "Just had to pack a little."

They pulled away from each other, but kept contact by lacing their hands together. But there was something ghosting over Blaine's face, a fear. "My dad wouldn't go to bed," he said quietly, almost sadly, but then there was a sudden twitch in the corner of his mouth, like he was trying not to smile. "I climbed out the window," he confessed.

"Oh, Blaine!" Kurt laughed, loudly into the still night. "Only you would do something like that."

"At least my bedroom is on ground floor, unlike yours." Blaine smirked.

"Lucky for you," Kurt retorted. Then he shot a suspicious glance at Blaine, who was trying not to grin. "You were totally enjoying it, weren't you?" Kurt accused.

The corners of Blaine's eyes crinkled as his smile grew. "It was amazing, Kurt!" he beamed, and Kurt couldn't keep his laughter. "I could be a ninja or something, I swear." He started pulling Kurt along, and the two walked down the street, destination unknown. To Kurt, at least.

"You, a ninja?" Kurt questioned. "You couldn't even keep from scaring the birds away when we went bird watching in the woods last spring. You stepped on every dry branch and kicked every rock. Oh, and you tripped on that root-" Kurt had to stop speaking when his laughter took over, shaking his chest and shoulders at the memory. Blaine's pouting lip and sullen look only made him laugh even more.

"Yeah, you laugh," Blaine muttered. "You weren't the one who couldn't use your foot for a week. Stupid root…"

Kurt felt a sudden pull in his hand as Blaine guided them off the road and into the dark woods. The line of trees grew so thickly that not even the moonlight could seep through, and the only thing that made Kurt feel less scared was to be right beside Blaine.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Kurt whispered, fearing that he would upset some wild, mutated animal if he spoke too loudly.

"Of course, I go here all the time," Blaine said surely. "You're gonna love it, it's breathtaking." He looked back at Kurt's face, eyes wide, wet and tender. "I can't wait to share it with you."

Kurt felt his heart speed up at the sentiment. He didn't realize that they had stopped walking and were staring deeply into each other's eyes until Blaine pulled him along again.

One thing that surprised Kurt was how absolutely unruly Blaine's hair was. It was probably the humidity, but the hair looked curlier than Kurt had ever seen it. An instant passed where Kurt was seized by the need to reach up and run a hand through it, but he tried to shake it off. His fingers twitched where his hand hung limply at his side.

Before Kurt realized it, the forest was thinning until it cleared completely, giving room for a big field that reached as far as Kurt's eyes could reach. The sky above them was deep and hovering, and the stars and signs in the mass of space above them couldn't even be compared to the glimpse he can see outside of his window, through the treetops during the painted dark, black sky. Here it was all clear, the stars painted out like all of those maps Kurt had seen, but not believing that it could actually look that way in real life. But it truly did here.

"D'you wanna sit?" Blaine asked, watching Kurt peer up toward the glassy night sky.

"Sure," Kurt nodded, and waited while Blaine lay out a blanket on the dry grass. "Blaine, this is amazing."

"I'm glad you think so." Blaine murmured softly, keeping his gaze fixed on Kurt's eyes.

Kurt could feel his face heat up, but for once he didn't care. He was there at that amazing place with Blaine, Blaine, the person he cared about more than anything. Heat flared in his stomach as Blaine moved his hand along Kurt's arm, feather light to the touch. Their eyes met yet again, and Blaine's pupils were widely dilated and darker than the night.

Their faces were close, barely two inches apart because they had unconsciously been leaning forward. Blaine's warm and shaky breaths spilled over Kurt's face, and it made his mouth water. But before anything happened, Blaine suddenly blinked quickly a few times and pulled back. Kurt couldn't hide his disappointment, could feel it tint his features, and forced himself to turn away so that Blaine wouldn't notice.

"I think…" Blaine started saying, but got off track and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Um… so what nice things do you have in that basket of yours?"

It was everything Kurt could ask for and more, just lying there with Blaine, gazing up to the sky and talking about all those small and wonderful things that don't really matter. Their stomachs were full of sandwiches and cookies, and both boys were content with lying beside each other, their arms between them barely touching. With every little twitch in Kurt's hand, the back of a knuckle would tickle Blaine's thumb. The little motion made his whole body spark with delight.

"Blaine?"

"Hmm?" the boy hummed in response.

"Where do you think you'll be ten years from now?"

Blaine rolled to his side, propped himself up on his elbow and rested his head in his palm. His eyes fluttered as he thought, eyelashes fanning the tender skin under his eyes, before his brow furrowed.

"I don't know. Why do you ask?"

Kurt shrugged where he was still lying on the blanket. "Just wondering."

With a cut nod, the lines on Blaine's face disappeared, making him look more at peace than before. Then he collapsed down onto his back again, stirring his eyes across the sky, but not really seeing, or perhaps seeing beyond what was truly there. His eyes were distant nonetheless. He folded his hands on his stomach, mindlessly tracing a finger over his knuckles, back and forth.

"I won't be here, I think," he said, so quietly that the night almost carried his voice away without being heard.

"Where do you wanna go?" Kurt asked curiously.

"I don't know," Blaine responded without hesitation. "I just know that it's not here. I mean, this can't be it, can it?"

"What do you mean?" Kurt urged gently when Blaine didn't continue. "Are you not happy?"

"I am," he assured quickly. "Kurt, don't think that I'm not, because I am. Really. I wish my life could be like this - like this summer - for the rest of my life, but I know it can't. But sometimes I just think that should be more. You and I, we go to school and educate and then live our lives for the short days of summer we're granted. But-"

"I'm sorry," Kurt excused as he interjected, "but you say you want there to be more because you're not happy but at the same time you are more happy than you could ever be? I'm confused."

"I mean," Blaine said, heaving himself up again, hovering over Kurt, "we're growing up, Kurt. I'm not stupid enough to know that things won't be like this forever, I know they won't. But does that mean that I can't wish they wouldn't?"

"I still don't understand," Kurt pushed, sitting up. "What does that have to do with leaving, and wanting more than you have now?"

"We live in a small town in South Carolina," Blaine said, like Kurt could have forgotten, "and even though my dream to live here my whole life, surrounded by nature and the constant calmness, I know that I can never be accepted here for who I truly am. There is so much ignorance and prejudice, and I can see it in their eyes, Kurt. Ever since I came out a couple of weeks ago, everyone looks at me differently. Even my dad. I can't stay here my whole life, being trapped in this environment, it's not good for me."

Kurt let his eyes wander across the field. He noticed the grass swaying lightly in the wind, the flies and mosquitoes buzzing nearby. He thought he saw movement at the edge of the forest, but a second later it was gone, and he thought he'd imagined it.

"And what about "there should be more"?" he asked, after processing what Blaine had said, somewhere understanding him completely, and relating to it in some aspects.

Strangely enough, Blaine smiled. "I keep waking up in the morning, realizing I'm dreaming the same dream over and over, almost every other day now." He paused, and put his hand over Kurt's where it rested on the blanket. "I see myself - although I'm not really me, I'm older - in a place where it's sunny. It doesn't matter if the sky is gray or if the rain is pouring, the image is always tinted yellow with sunlight. And… you're always with me."

Kurt stiffed and snapped his head at Blaine, searching his eyes carefully, but not knowing for what.

"I don't always see you," he explained, "but you're always there somehow. In my ears with your laugh, in my mind with your smile, in my heart… with your love. And I want that… your love."

Kurt felt like all the air was sucked out of his lungs, like there were bombs exploding in his stomach, like everything was finally being complete in that one moment. His mouth fell open at Blaine's sudden confession, and all he could think was that he wanted the same thing. He wanted to love and be loved by Blaine. The only thing stopping him before was the uncertainty of what Blaine felt, but it was no longer there. Everything was suddenly so easy. It finally felt like everything was the way it was supposed to be.

Kurt was about to respond with every single word his heart would let him utter in that moment, tell him that he felt exactly the same way, but he was stopped. Because this time he was certain that there was someone watching them by the edge of the trees. He turned his head involuntarily - saw Blaine's face drop before he turned as well - and narrowed his eyes to improve his vision. In the same moment that he saw the thing looking back at them, not a hundred feet away, he heard Blaine's "oh" as realization struck him, too. Kurt was about to speak when his mouth was covered with a hand, and Blaine leaned into his ear.

"This is why I brought you here," Blaine whispered, so quietly it was barely audible, just barely a breath. "This is the best part."

The doe, now gazing back at them fully with big brown eyes, had stopped moving to stare. It looked like it was calculating potential danger of the two boys, if it should run for its life or if it was safe to linger like it had planned to.

The two boys barely dared to breathe, sitting frozen still on the blanket, staring back. It was not until another rustle of leaves was heard that Kurt found the power to move his eyes around, and suddenly they were everywhere. He couldn't help the surprised gasp that escaped his lips when he saw them, at least five or six more, slowly emerging from the woods. They were so beautiful and graceful, and he almost forgot where he was when the first one staring at them started trudging toward them. It wasn't walking up to them per se, but it made long zigzag moves across the field until it came closer and closer.

Kurt looked over at Blaine to read his face, trying to deduce whether the doe was a threat to them or not. As if he'd read Kurt's mind, he slowly shook his head and smiled.

The seconds dragged out, almost painfully slowly. It felt to Kurt like he was in a dream, because it certainly couldn't be real that one of the does was standing just five feet away. Kurt tried to tell his heart to stop pounding, because it was so loud that he thought the doe must hear it and be scared off. Except it wasn't. The doe took two tentative steps forward, a curious look in its eyes.

It was so close that Kurt almost could touch it, and he wanted to. Without thinking much about it, he very slowly raised his hand. The motion caused the doe to jump high up in the air, leaping backwards from them. Kurt was about to lower his hand in defeat, but Blaine stopped him.

"Keep it there," he whispered, eyes focused on the doe that still seemed curious enough not to run away.

Kurt obliged, keeping his hand up for minutes. He tried fighting the lactic acid that was appearing, but it made the tip of his fingers tremble. The doe finally decided to stretch its neck as far as it could, until its nose was sniffing the tip of Kurt's index finger. The warm breath mixed with small and cold splashes of snot as it spread over Kurt's fingers. Kurt could feel his eyes growing as wide as the animal's in amazement.

Knowing that his arm would give in in any second, Kurt made a quick motion of turning his hand in an attempt to pet the doe's face. It wasn't as successful as he would've hoped. The doe caught up with him as soon as he moved, and abruptly pulled away. But as it pulled back, the underside of one of Kurt's fingers roughly poked the coarse fur at the side of its mouth. The doe was startled and decided the fun was over, and resembled lightning in the way it spurted back, jumpily, toward the other animals.

"That was amazing!" Kurt said breathlessly, as his mind sprung back into the moment.

"I think she likes you," Blaine said fondly.

"I can't believe it! Blaine, oh my god, what just happened? It feels like I'm dreaming, I'm-"

Kurt rambled, but he was effectively silenced as Blaine crashed his lips hard against Kurt's. Kurt whimpered in surprise at the sudden contact, but as the chock faded, he kissed Blaine back eagerly, moving his lips sloppily but with a strong hunger because this was what he'd really been wanting to do all along.

He placed a hand at the back of Blaine's neck, rubbing his fingers over the curls at the edge of his hair as he started sucking on Blaine's lower lip. Blaine moaned into his mouth as he let the tip of his tongue brush over the lip, devouring in the fullness of it. This was the first time he'd ever really kissed someone, but with the ease and with the help of Blaine it felt like he'd been doing it his whole life.

Blaine took control, placing his hands on either of Kurt's hips and tugging until Kurt gave way and laid back down on the ground, Blaine moving on top. He used his weight to straddle Kurt, positioning himself between his legs. He moved a hand to cup Kurt's cheek and dove in to deepen the kiss for a few lasting seconds. He groaned as he pulled away, grasping for air.

"What were you saying?" Blaine teased, smirking at Kurt's breathless and shocked expression.

"Oh, stop it," Kurt said, punching Blaine on the arm. Blaine rolled off him and down onto the blanket, laughing.

After a while, the laughter faded and silence remembered between them. For a while, Kurt thought that Blaine had fallen asleep, but when he turned over to look, his eyes were open and gazing upward.

"I want your love, too," Kurt heard himself say suddenly. It wasn't like it had slipped away from his tongue, uncertainly and without thinking it through, but like it had been on his mind for so long that he couldn't contain it any longer.

Blaine didn't look at him, and the only indication that he'd heard was the corners of his mouth pulling into a smile he tried to keep from being too big. Because he wanted to be that person who could hear such things without his face blushing and stomach fluttering with butterflies. He wanted it to be like he was used to hearing such wonderful things, because maybe that would mean that he was used to getting them. But he wasn't. So the corners of his mouth turned unmistakably upwards at Kurt's confirmation, because hearing something had never made him happier.

Too soon, the sky was brightening again, and the sun was splashing light by the horizon. The boys sighed, knowing that their fun was over for the night. They walked back through the woods, hand in hand, happy knowing that the other cared for them as much as they cared back. As if they hadn't always known.

It was almost bright by the time they said goodbye a few yards from Blaine's house, pressing their lips together softly in departure and a last squeeze of their hands. Kurt ran the rest of the way home, feeling a rush of adrenaline pounding through his body.

However, this changed as soon as his house came into sight. His heart nearly stopped in his chest - missing a beat, at least - as he saw his dad sitting in the hammock on the front porch, eyeing the yard. As soon as he spotted Kurt, he sprang up from his seat and called for Elizabeth.

"Where have you been, Kurt? Have you any idea of how worried we've been? We almost called the cops!"

Kurt rolled his eyes at his dad but sighed internally. How stupid he'd been, believing he could actually get away with sneaking out.

"Lucky for you, we called Blaine's folks," Burt continued, "and - we had to wake 'em, which I'm not happy about - but to them finding Blaine was'n home either."

"You did what?" Kurt burst, mouth hanging open. "Have you any idea of how much trouble he could get?"

"You are in trouble," Burt shot back.

"I was with Blaine, where else would I have been?" Kurt retorted obviously, feeling irritated. It was his own fault for making them worried, but it was their fault for ruining the end of the most perfect night he'd ever had.

"We figured," Burt grunted.

"Sweetie," Elizabeth said, pulling Kurt into a hug. "Dad and I were just worried that something had happened to you."

"It never does, so stop worrying!" Kurt pulled out of his mom's arms and pushed through the front door. His parents were following close behind.

"Son, you don't get to talk like that to us, not after the night we just had."

"Then can we talk tomorrow?" Kurt turned abruptly halfway up the stairs, "because the more you talk the more you keep ruining the best night of my life!" He finished off, practically yelling at his dad and running up the stairs.

"Yeah, then we can talk about how grounded you are!" Burt yelled back, his sentence being cut off by Kurt violently slamming his bedroom door shut.

"Honey, relax," Elizabeth urged, placing a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder. "Nothing good can come from yelling, especially not when he's upset. Let's just go back to bed and let him sleep, and we'll talk to him in the morning. Okay?"

Burt nodded, covering Elizabeth's hand with his own. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Lizzie. I really don't know what goes through that kid's head most of the time."

"Oh, Burt," Elizabeth sighed happily, "don't you remember what it was like to be young and in love?"

"In love?" Burt yelped.

Elizabeth's brow furrowed. "You think Kurt, or sweet little boy, could keep from falling in love with his best friend, did you? I wouldn't be surprised if Blaine felt the same way."

"Blaine?"

"Yeah, he's gay, too. You didn't know?" Burt's eyes widened at the news, and Elizabeth took it as an answer. "He came out to Jenny and Robert last week, she told me. You really didn't know?"

Burt kept staring with wide eyes, pointing at his face. "Is this the face of someone in the know?"

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, and hummed. "Wow, I guess not." She tiptoed up to lay a kiss to her husband's cheek. "So give him some slack tomorrow, will you? I doubt that he'll keep from doing more foolish things with that boy no matter what we do."

"I suppose," Burt murmured, and let his wife grab his hand and drag him back up to their bedroom. As they passed Kurt's closed bedroom door, Burt felt a smile flash across his lips. As he looked at Lizzie, he saw that she was smiling too. She put a finger against her lips in a silencing motion as they sneaked back into their bedroom. Maybe not to sleep, but to lay in each other's arms as it got brighter and brighter outside, in silent wonder of what amazing son they had.

So maybe their family wasn't perfect. But it felt in that moment, to Burt and Elizabeth, that they were pretty darn close.