Blaine was at the coffee shop the next two mornings despite saying to Kurt he'd only 'maybe' be there. They got to know each other a lot during the thirty minutes Kurt could spend at the café before having to dash off for work. Blaine loved music and had been playing the piano for years. He also played polo, something Kurt never would have guessed about him, but which fit with his prep-school-boy manner. Kurt was also pretty positive that Blaine was gay, a fact he became more certain of the longer he spent with him, and his gaydar was rarely wrong.

The more they spoke the more Kurt noticed how strange Blaine really was: despite saying he loved music, he'd never heard of any of the songs or artists Kurt mentioned; he enjoyed reading, yet all of the books Kurt brought up - all popular bestsellers - were met with a blank stare and quizzical smile.

Something was definitely odd about Blaine; Kurt just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

And then there was the way Blaine dressed. As someone with a great interest in fashion and who worked in the industry, Kurt couldn't help but notice what people were wearing and judging their choice of outfit. He didn't know if Blaine was going for a vintage style or if he just liked to dress old-fashioned and formal all the time, but his style of clothing was far from modern. He had also worn the same suit jacket and fedora hat every day since they'd first met.

Blaine was certainly intriguing, all right.

On their third morning of meeting in the coffee shop, Kurt sat down at their usual table and smiled at Blaine, feeling determined. Last night as he'd lain in bed with sleep remaining evasively out of reach he'd told himself to do what he'd wanted to since seeing Blaine for the second time at this very table in this café - he was going to ask him out for dinner.

His feelings for Blaine were growing each day and he knew he'd regret it if he never asked him out. He and Blaine were definitely on the path to becoming friends, but that wasn't enough for him; he wanted more.

"How was your evening?" Blaine asked politely after they had greeted each other. He frowned at the tired circles beneath Kurt's eyes. "Were you up late working again?"

Kurt smiled guiltily. "An idea came to me; I had to get it down on paper." He took a sip of his coffee. "I'll be fine once I've had some coffee."

"All this lack of sleep can't be healthy for you," Blaine said, looking concerned.

"I'm fine," Kurt assured him. "I'm used to it." He swallowed another mouthful of coffee under Blaine's worried gaze. "So, what are your plans for the weekend? You still hanging around here even though your friend has moved?" He tried not to let how much the answer to this question meant to him show through his expression.

Blaine lowered the hand he was reaching for his coffee with down to rest on the table. "I'll be staying here," he replied. A frown appeared on his face, disappearing again so quickly that Kurt wasn't sure it had really been there. "I don't have any plans, yet, though. I'm not sure what I'll do." He looked up, his expression musing, as though he had never given the weekend any thought yet.

Kurt licked his dry lips. "Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Blaine stared at him, looking surprised to be asked. As Kurt nervously picked at the knee of his pants he wondered at Blaine's surprise - surely a guy like him had been asked out many times before? He was sweet, intelligent and funny, not to mention extremely handsome; Kurt found it hard to believe he'd never had a boyfriend before. Unless he read the signals wrong and Blaine wasn't actually gay? He hadn't confirmed it, after all. Or maybe the surprise was at Kurt asking him out?"

"I would love to," Blaine replied earnestly, causing relief and nervous excitement to flood Kurt's veins.

Kurt beamed at him. "Great! Um..." He looked around wildly. "Give me your phone so we can exchange numbers."

Blaine looked bewildered. "My...phone?" he asked blankly. "I don't have one."

Now it was Kurt's turn to look surprised. "You don't have a phone? I thought everyone these days had one." He gave his head a small shake. "I don't know how you manage." When Blaine's expression turned apologetic, as though he was sorry for not owning a phone, Kurt quickly added, "That's ok that you don't have one, we'll just have to decide now what time we'll meet and you can tell me where you're staying so I can come pick you up."

Blaine relayed the address he was staying at - a hotel not too far away - to Kurt and they agreed that Kurt would pick him up there at seven the following night.

They spent the rest of their time together smiling widely as they talked about anything and everything that came to mind until Kurt had to leave for work; he left the café with the promise of seeing Blaine tomorrow and a feeling of elation at having successfully asked him out.

Kurt felt nervous when he entered the lobby of the hotel Blaine was staying at. His palms were clammy and his heart was racing in a way it never had done on his dates with Adam. Blaine made him feel the kind of excited nervous that made his stomach twist itself into knots, his legs tremble to the point where he worried he was swaying as he walked, and his heart feel like it was beating so hard and fast that it was surely audible to those around him.

The lobby was brightly lit, the lights reflecting off the polished floors so that its surface appeared glassy. The air was filled with the soft scent of fresh flowers and the gentle sounds of classical music playing through speakers somewhere. Kurt tugged self-consciously at his shirt as he crossed the lobby, looking around for Blaine, spotting him almost immediately sitting on a couch over in a corner.

He was dressed similarly to how he had been every time Kurt had seen him - a neat suit jacket over a button-down shirt, polished dress shoes, and a patterned bowtie - and his hair was, as usual, slicked down with far too much product. He didn't see Kurt straight away, he was frowning down at one of the magazines stacked on the low coffee table by the couch, and Kurt took the opportunity to study him as he slowly approached the couches. Sitting in this hotel with the vintage décor and original flooring and wallpaper, Blaine looked straight out of a Cary Grant movie and Kurt half expected a classically beautiful young woman in a cocktail dress to approach him and take his arm. Kurt shook his head slightly to clear the image.

"Hi, Blaine," he greeted when he reached the couches.

Blaine's head shot up and his face lit up in a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Good evening, Kurt." His eyes slowly took in the length of him, Kurt fighting the urge to fidget under his gaze which felt loaded with a weight that made him shiver. "You're looking very handsome," he complemented, the usual smoothness of his voice breaking when it caught on the last word.

Kurt tried his hardest not to blush like a teenage. "Th- Thank you. So are you." A short pause followed this during which they both stared at each other. Kurt cleared his throat. "Ready to go?"

Blaine nodded, getting to his feet and joining Kurt at the other side of the coffee table. Kurt swallowed thickly as he watched him straighten his jacket and smile at him.

"Let's go then."

Internally cursing at how lame he sounded, Kurt led the way out of the hotel and out into the street where he quickly caught a cab that had just dropped off an older couple at the hotel. Things became easier during the cab ride to the restaurant, the comfortable atmosphere that usually surrounded them at the coffee shop returning, and Kurt found his nerves dying down as he told Blaine about Rachel's latest attempts at cooking a vegan meal.

"-and then she wanted me to try the dessert she'd made, but I had to pretend I'd had an extremely filling breakfast and couldn't eat anymore to avoid eating something that looked like a dog had thrown it up." Kurt said with a shudder as he climbed out of the cab after Blaine, who was holding the door for him. He turned away to pay and thank the driver, pushing Blaine's wallet away as he did so.

"So, what you're saying is you're starving." Blaine said once the cab had driven away and Kurt had turned back to face him.

Kurt smiled at him. "Exactly." He glanced at the restaurant behind Blaine. "I've been here a few times with people from work and the food is amazing - they can do things with chicken that you wouldn't believe."

The meal went better than Kurt could have hoped for and the slight awkwardness from earlier never returned. It was just like one of their mornings in the coffee shop, but Kurt didn't have to rush off after only half an hour and the setting was more intimate. He could easily see himself falling for Blaine, if he wasn't already.

Desperate for the evening not to end, Kurt dragged the meal out for as long as possible, but eventually they were forced to leave, and it was with great reluctance and a small sigh that Kurt turned to say goodnight to Blaine outside the restaurant.

"Can I take you home?" Blaine asked before Kurt could open his mouth to begin the dreaded goodbye.

He blinked in surprise, his stomach giving a pleasant lurch of delight. "Yeah, sure," he breathed. He gestured down the street behind him. "It's not that far from here, we can walk it."

They walked in silence for a moment, Kurt savouring the feeling of the cool night air on his face and the sight of Blaine walking along next to him. He kept peaking at the other man out the corner of his eye, admiring the way he looked under the streetlights, still unable to quite believe that someone as all around beautiful as Blaine was interested in him.

"I'm still not used to how brightly this city is lit up at night," Blaine said, his head tipped back slightly as he gazed up at the sky, the stars all washed out by the lights.

Kurt glanced upwards briefly. "Yeah, when I moved here from Ohio after high school I missed being able to see the stars - I still do sometimes. I love living in a big city, but sometimes I miss living somewhere less crowded and busy."

Blaine nodded thoughtfully, a small frown line appearing between his eyebrows. He remained silent as they crossed the road and headed down a new street, the lights from some of the buildings spilling out onto the street.

"Do you go back to Ohio often?" Blaine asked. "Your family still live there, don't they?"

Kurt nodded. "I go back as often as I can. I miss my family when I'm here, especially my dad, we're really close."

Blaine bit his lip and nodded, but before Kurt could say anything they reached his building and he came to a stop.

"Well, here we are," he announced with a small smile. Something had changed between them, though he couldn't say what.

Blaine took in the building behind him. "Do you want me to walk you to your door?"

"I-" Kurt broke off, feeling surprised by Blaine's offer. "That would be nice, yes."

Blaine looked around curiously as Kurt led the way to the elevators and they journeyed up to the fourth floor. When they reached Kurt's door, he turned to face Blaine, still trying to think what felt different. His goodnight died in his throat when he saw the look in Blaine's eyes.

Blaine was fidgeting with the bottom of his jacket. "Kurt, I have something to tell you," he began and Kurt felt his heart start to beat faster in worry, not liking the tone of Blaine's voice at all. He should have known this was all too good to be true. "I probably should have told you earlier," Blaine said, avoiding Kurt's eyes "before we went out tonight, but I just-" He inhaled deeply, lifting his eyes to meet Kurt's. "Kurt, I'm not-"

"Kurt, hi!"

Blaine and Kurt jumped as a female voice interrupted them and Rachel appeared, her heels thumping softly on the carpeted floors. She beamed at the pair of them, unaware what she had just interrupted.

"I didn't know you had a date tonight, Kurt," she said, peering keenly at Blaine, her eyes bright with curiosity. Kurt had never been less pleased to see her. He glared at her as she introduced herself to Blaine.

"I told you this morning I was going out with Blaine," he reminded her through gritted teeth.

She ignored him, smiling brightly as she shook Blaine's hand, seemingly oblivious to the painful and strained look in Blaine's eyes.

"It's lovely to meet you, Rachel, but I'd best be leaving," Blaine said politely, his eyes meeting Kurt's briefly over her head.

Kurt felt the sudden urge to grab Rachel and shove her into the apartment so he could be alone with Blaine again. He was sure what Blaine had been about to say was important and he couldn't believe Rachel's timing.

"Blaine-" he began.

Blaine smiled at him, stepping around Rachel. "I had a really nice time tonight, Kurt, thank you."

Kurt glanced desperately at Rachel, silently begging her to leave instead of continuing to stand there. "I- Me, too."

Blaine's eyes flickered briefly to Rachel, who was now studiously rummaging through her purse. "I'll see you again soon, ok?"

Kurt nodded, swallowing down his disappointment.

Blaine raised a hand, hesitated, and then traced it lightly down the length of Kurt's arm, his fingers lingering momentarily by Kurt's hand. "Goodnight," he said softly.

Kurt smiled at him. "Goodnight, Blaine."

Blaine nodded at Rachel, who was peaking up at him through her bangs, before heading back towards the elevator, leaving Kurt tingling where Blaine had touched him and furious at Rachel.

"What did you do that for?" Kurt hissed as Rachel unlocked their apartment door.

She shot him a puzzled look over her shoulder as he followed her inside. "What?" she asked innocently. She tossed her purse down on the couch, her expression becoming apologetic. "Oh, sorry, did I interrupt you guys?"

Kurt sighed heavily. "Yes, you did, but not in the way you're thinking." He flung himself down in the armchair and glared at the floor. "Blaine was about to tell me something important before you butted in."

"Sorry..." Rachel began, sounding genuinely apologetic.

"I think it had something to do with how he's a little strange." Kurt spoke over the top of Rachel's apology, not listening to a word she was saying.

Rachel's voice suddenly cut through his thoughts. "What?"

He spared her a brief glance. "What Blaine was going to tell me," he clarified absently.

Shaking her head, Rachel smiled at him in confusion. "No - what do you mean Blaine's a little strange? I didn't think he looked strange at all; he seemed a perfectly sweet guy."

Kurt shook his head at the floor. "You don't understand, you only just met him. It's- It's like he doesn't fit in here, like he's from another century or something."

Rachel let out a small laugh. "What are you talking about?"

Kurt raised his head to look at her, his eyes unfocused, lost in his memories of Blaine. "He's not like anyone I've ever met before: he dresses like he's just stepped off the set of an old movie, he talks like he's on board the Titanic. He's like an old-fashioned gentleman - he even has a pocket watch!" He finally focussed on his roommate, frantically willing her to understand and offer up some reasonable explanation to all of this. "Who carries a pocket watch these days?"

Rachel sat down on the edge of the couch, gazing at him seriously, as if she were soothing a temperamental child. "Kurt, just because he has a pocket watch and acts like a gentleman doesn't mean he's somehow stepped out of the pages of 'Gone With The Wind'. Maybe he inherited the watch from his grandfather; maybe he went to one of those expensive prep schools where they teach you etiquette and to open car doors for people."

Kurt suddenly remembered Blaine mentioning he played polo - that practically screamed prep school.

"Maybe you're right," he told Rachel. He grinned sheepishly. "I'm being ridiculous."

Rachel nodded impressively. "You are." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she launched into a description of her dinner with some Broadway producers. Kurt nodded along as she spoke, no longer paying attention to anything she was saying. Maybe he was being ridiculous and letting his overactive imagination run away with him, but he couldn't help the nagging doubts planted in the back of his mind insisting that there was more to Blaine than simply a posh, expensive school.

Blaine got the feeling Kurt was becoming suspicious. He didn't blame him, he knew he didn't fit in to this time all that well. He was terrified of telling him, scared of how Kurt would react when he learned the truth about him; Kurt could easily be scared of him, report him to the police or a mental hospital, or worse, refuse to ever have any contact with him again. Though he may not know it, Kurt was the only thing keeping him sane; he was the only reason Blaine wasn't locked up in his hotel room, scared and panicked, praying that he could somehow be sent back to his own time.

He had almost confessed the truth to Kurt at the end of their date on Saturday night, but when Rachel arrived his confidence was shattered and he was once again too scared to tell him. But he knew this would all have to change, and soon; Kurt couldn't stay in the dark forever.

He and Kurt went out on another date after Kurt finished work on Tuesday night. They went to see a movie - the sounds and colours absolutely fascinated Blaine - and got dinner afterwards. Blaine felt Kurt's gaze on him numerous times throughout the evening, curious and puzzled, and Blaine felt his guilt mounting as the evening went on. But he couldn't just tell him, couldn't bear to see Kurt's face when he learned the truth - would he be scared? Angry?

"I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me," Kurt said as he and Blaine sat on a bench near a pool of lamplight in Central Park. They had left the restaurant almost twenty minutes ago and Kurt had been unusually quiet ever since.

Blaine's heart clenched and his hands began to shake. He opened his mouth to just do it, to tell Kurt the whole story, but cowardice got the better of him.

"There's nothing, Kurt." He let out a short, nervous laugh. "I'm swell."

Kurt stared at him for a moment, not looking at all convinced, and with a hint of disappointed sadness on his face. Blaine's guilt soared to the point where he felt almost sick with it. He hated lying to Kurt, couldn't stand the hurt look on his face, but he couldn't tell him, he couldn't...

Kurt seemed to consider him for a moment, before looking away across the park and saying: "You know, if any other person had stopped me on the street looking wild and panicked as they asked what year it was I would have walked away. I certainly wouldn't have approached them in a coffee shop the next day, but for some reason you were different. I knew you were genuine and someone I could trust, someone I could see being part of my life."

Blaine shifted his weight uncomfortably, his guilt chewing away at his insides. "Kurt..."

Ignoring him, Kurt nibbled on the inside of his bottom lip, still staring at the trees opposite them. "I'm starting to feel differently about you now. Sometimes I'm not so sure you're someone I shouldn't be walking away from."

"Kurt," Blaine said pleadingly, wanting to touch the other man's arm to get him to look at him but scared of Kurt shaking his touch off.

"We've spent the days since we met getting to know each other, but I'm not sure I really know you at all," Kurt continued, still not showing any sign he'd heard Blaine's pleas. Blaine's breath was coming in shallow pants and his pulse thumped in his ears when Kurt finally turned to face him again, his expression sombre with a hint of frustration. "There's something about you that you're not telling me - something big. I'm not saying you should tell me everything - we haven't known each other for very long, after all - but this- this feels like- like-" Kurt closed his eyes, shaking his head as though he was struggling to wrap his mind around the whole thing. "You act like you're from the fifties or something and-"

"Twenties," Blaine corrected quietly.

"I- What?" Kurt stared at him, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly.

Swallowing thickly, Blaine gripped the edge of the bench seat with his hands, the knuckles standing out prominent and white against his tan-coloured skin. He forced himself to look Kurt directly in the eye despite the urge to duck his head and speak to his knees. "I'm from nineteen-twenty-three," he admitted, his voice only wavering slightly in his fear. "I- I somehow travelled into the future last Monday. It had just happened when I stopped you on the street, that's why I asked those questions and why I was acting so peculiar."

He waited anxiously for Kurt to respond, relief at finally having told him the truth battling with rising fear inside of him, leaving him nauseated and shaky. He had no idea what he would do if Kurt took the news badly, all he could do was will everything to work out alright as his palms sweated, his hands shook and his heart raced.

Kurt licked his lips. "You- You travelled ninety-one years into the future?" he asked weakly, looking pale and shocked, as if he'd just seen a ghost.

Blaine nodded, his worry not decreasing any despite Kurt's not running off or thinking him insane like he'd feared. "Yes, but I'm not exactly sure how. Someone from this time must have..." He trailed off upon seeing Kurt's stare. "What?" he asked, his worry shooting up another notch. "Time travel is possible now, is- isn't it?"

Concern was slowly replacing the shock in Kurt's expression. "Not unless you're Doctor Who," he said apologetically. When Blaine's forehead scrunched into a frown and his mouth began to shape a question, he shook his head. "Blaine, time travel is still impossible."

Kurt's words sunk in slowly, and it took Blaine a good few seconds before he could begin to comprehend what he'd just been told. He blinked at Kurt, dawning realisation coalescing slowly in his mind.

"But then how...? Does this mean I'll never be able to go home?" Blaine asked, his words sounding confused, as if the idea of this had been incomprehensible until now.

Something flashed across Kurt's face at this, but he ducked his head before Blaine got the chance to see properly. "I don't think so," Kurt said gently, avoiding Blaine's eyes. "Then again, you got here somehow, so maybe..." He trailed off, shrugging.

Blaine said nothing to this, lifting his gaze to stare across the park, seeing nothing. He might not be able to go home to his own time; he might be stuck here in this strange, modern world for good. He would never see his family again, would never spend time with Wes, or play polo with the guys... A desperate 'why me?' thought flashed through him as the extent of the situation he had gotten himself into began to settle in his mind like falling snow. He was in too much shock to start panicking, was still in denial about it all, a small part of him still determinedly holding on to the hope of returning home. He exhaled shakily and looked back at Kurt to find him watching with apologetic eyes and a small, sympathetic smile.

"I'm really sorry, Blaine," he said softly.

Nodding stiffly, Blaine sent him a tight smile, still reeling too much to respond in any other way.

Kurt hesitated a moment, shooting Blaine a nervous look, before asking, "You're still staying in that hotel, right?"

A little confused by the sudden change in topic, Blaine nodded.

Kurt licked his lips again. "I- I was thinking, seeing as you don't know how long you are going to be here and you don't have anywhere else to stay you could maybe have the spare room in my apartment," he offered tentatively. "If you want," he added when Blaine did nothing but stare blankly at him. "I mean, it must be expensive paying for the hotel, and we're friends, right? Friends help each other out like this."

"We're friends, yes," Blaine agreed slowly. He felt like he needed to lie down; tonight had been too much. First the realisation he may be stuck in the future and now Kurt was asking him to move in with him, it was a wonder he didn't have a headache.

Kurt was watching him with a cautious eagerness. "So, you'll move in?" Straightening his face, he checked himself and added more calmly, "If it makes you uncomfortable then you don't have to; I know we haven't known each other for long."

Blaine didn't have a problem with that at all, his hesitation was purely from shock, disbelief at the fact Kurt was actually offering this, and surprise at how much he wanted to accept.

"Yes," he responded quickly. When Kurt's blue eyes lit up he smiled. "I'll take you up on that, if you don't mind."

Dimples appeared on Kurt's cheeks as he smiled. "I don't mind at all."