Blaine didn’t really know where exactly to turn. His friends from high school and his short time at college didn’t really do much to stop him, nor did it seem like any of them really meant it when they said that they would keep in touch. He didn’t really expect any different, anyways. Things weren’t that simple in his life, and he was tired at working at friendships, because so many of them seemed like they didn’t care enough, he simply let them dissolve. Of course there were a few good friends in his life, but they were pretty much scattered all around in their own crazy lives, and while Blaine knew that they really wanted to stick to their promise, he understood that most of them just didn’t have the time.
So that’s why he found himself sitting at the bus stop in the rain on a Sunday, waiting for something to come along.

It had been an ordinary day, nothing special, but nothing too mundane either.

Just another day.

But his days at home were numbered. It would be a couple weeks until he left with his unit for somewhere overseas. He didn’t really care very much where he was going. It didn’t matter because all he wanted was to leave his life.
It’s not that he hated his life. No, not at all. It’s only that things had gotten so—predictable and forced—that made him take a step back and ask himself is this what I really want?

Of course he didn’t want that life. He had known probably his entire life that he wasn’t comfortable with habit, with expectations, with anything that came with predisposed ideals about how he should be, how he should live his life.
He didn’t hate it, but he was only tired of it. Law school was great when he did his work and minded his own business and kissed his teachers’ asses to get better marks on his work. But that wasn’t really him, and he knew it even before he applied there.

He only did it for his parents, of course. Everything was to please them, from the activities he did in high school, the grades he got, down to the way he dressed and styled his hair. He was a repressed version of himself, and it took a simple revelation one day to make him realize that.

His parents hadn’t been all that happy with him, but he was an adult now, and was perfectly old enough to make his own decisions. Besides, they had stopped caring long ago when he came out to them.

-O-

He sat there at the bus stop in silence, not really intending to go anywhere, but he didn’t really want to stay where he was either. He was about to get up when he saw him walk into the restaurant, coat draped over his arm and a black apron tied around his waist.

He was hungry, so he figured he would go inside and get a bite to eat. Besides, he had nothing better to do and he was curious about the guy he just saw.
The diner wasn’t that busy, so he seated himself like the sign up front told him to, and grabbed a menu from the countertop. He chose a little booth in the corner and slid into the seat, sitting back and reviewing the choices on the menu.

The food actually sounded pretty good, but he couldn’t really decide what he wanted. He was still examining the menu when his server came up with a notepad and asked him what he wanted to drink.

He looked up, startled by the soft tone that came from the guy standing in front of the table, but then smiled once he saw that it was the man he was curious about. Up close, his hair was perfectly coiffed and his skin was nearly perfect. It looked really soft, and Blaine sort of wanted to touch it to see if his skin really was all that soft. He grinned up at the man, and told him he’ll have a coffee, black.

“Sure thing,” said the man, and he walked off to pour Blaine a cup. Blaine couldn’t resist checking his ass out, of course, because this guy was actually pretty hot, in a delicate, almost feminine way. He realized that was a mistake, because his ass looked pretty damn good in those jeans, and he tore his gaze away before he started to gape. He didn’t want to have to explain why he was staring at his ass if the guy all of a sudden turned around and caught Blaine looking.

He came back with the cup of coffee, along with a little pitcher of milk and a caddy of sugar packets. Blaine thanked him and grabbed one of the packets and added it to the steaming cup, and stirred it with the spoon that came on the side. He took a sip, reveling in the warm feeling that flushed all the way to his toes, taking away that damp feeling from the light rain that still fell outside.

The man came back with the notepad, and asked him in that light voice, “Alright, what can I get you to eat?”

Blaine smiled again. “Well, what do you suggest? I’ve never eaten here before.”

The man smiled back at him, pleased that someone asked his opinion on something. Most of the patrons of the diner never talked to him much, so he figured he would take advantage of this really, really good-looking guy talking to him.

“If you’re in just a normal hamburger mood, then get the extra-special burger. The secret sauce is amazing. Or if you’re feeling a little adventuresome, then get the meatloaf and mashed potatoes.” He laughed a little. “World class cuisine here.”

Blaine let out a little laugh too. This guy was pretty funny. “You know what?” he said. “Why don’t you pick out what I should have? You seem like you have pretty good taste, and you probably know the menu here better.”

The man was surprised. “Uh—okay. Are you sure?” Blaine nodded. “Alright, soup and salad it is.”

He left once more and Blaine sat alone at his table, sipping his coffee and thinking over things. He really kind of wanted to get to know this guy better. He was intriguing.

The man brought the food to his table, a nice, hearty vegetable soup and a big plate of what looked like a chef’s salad. He was about to leave again, but stopped when Blaine said, “Wait!”

He turned back to Blaine, a question in his eyes. “…Yes?”

“What’s your name?” Blaine asked.

The man narrowed his eyes. He never had customers asking his name. They all didn’t care and usually just left a tip on the table, and never did anything beyond that.

“Kurt,” he said.

Blaine smiled again. “Hmm. Kurt. Well, I’m Blaine,” he said.

“Nice to meet you, Blaine,” said Kurt, still hesitant.

Blaine looked down at the coffee cup in his hands. “I just wanted to know if you wanted to—uh—hang out or something after you’re done here. You see, I’m feeling a little lonely. I don’t really have anyone to talk to,” he said sheepishly, not daring to look Kurt in the eyes. Oh god, he thought. Why the hell did I just ask that? I’m such a creep. After a couple seconds of silence, Blaine glanced up at Kurt, still waiting for an answer, and he saw Kurt clearly thinking it over in his head. Did that mean he had a chance?

“You know what?” said Kurt, “I’m off in an hour, and I know where we can go.” He smiled again and left to go serve the rest of the customers in the diner that had all of a sudden poured in for the lunch rush.

Blaine took his time eating his food, in between chewing the lettuce thoughtfully, sipping at spoonfuls of the soup or reading the newspaper he got from the stand near the jukebox on the wall. The diner was predictably 50’s themed, with black and white checkered linoleum floors and red, shiny countertops.

After a while, Kurt came back, but he was dressed in more normal clothes and he had his jacket on. He sat down in the booth across from Blaine and saw that he was finished eating. “I’m done working for the day,” he said, explaining why he wasn’t in his uniform anymore. “We can go if you’re ready.”

Blaine nodded, finishing the last bite of salad and wiping a napkin across his face to make sure he didn’t drip anything on himself. “Don’t I need to pay?” he asked.

Kurt pointed to the cashier at the front. “That’s where you pay.” He held out the receipt to him and Blaine took it, calculating how much he needed to tip Kurt.
He grabbed his wallet from his pocket and fished around in it for a five, and tried to give it to Kurt, but was met with a firm “No.”

“Why? You did your job. It’s only fair that I tip you,” said Blaine, confused.
But Kurt wouldn’t take the tip, no matter how much Blaine protested. He eventually gave up and went up to the front to pay for his meal so he and Kurt could leave.

-O-

They walked along the board walk before Kurt found a bench to sit on, scooting over and patting the other side of him so Blaine would sit down.

“Well, you wanted to talk, or hang out, or whatever,” he prompted Blaine.

Blaine looked shy again for a moment. “Um, well I don’t really know how to say this. I—I’m leaving in a week. My unit is going overseas and—“he broke off, afraid to ask. “I don’t really have anyone to talk to. My friends are too busy to care, and my family pretty much cut me off when I told them I joined the army.”

He laughed nervously. “But you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he added quickly. He put his head in his hands and groaned a little at his forwardness.

“What am I doing? I don’t even know you! You must think I’m some creep for asking you this.”

“No, no you’re not crazy,” Kurt cut in. He thought for a second. “I—I want you to write to me. You’re right, we don’t know each other. But I think you’re interesting. I want to get to know you,” he said finally.

Blaine’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait—really? You do?”

“Yeah, why not?” Kurt shrugged. “I’m still finishing up school, so it would be nice to have somebody to talk to, you know?” He smiled at Blaine, and gave him a gentle nudge.

“I—I—okay, then,” said Blaine.

Kurt stood up from the bench, and turned to Blaine. “Come on, there’s a carnival going on down at the pier. I haven’t been to it yet, and it’s the last day.”

-O-