Taking a deep breath, Kurt Hummel entered the building that would most likely be his home for the next four years at least. He still had a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he'd actually made it to New York.

After his rejection letter from NYADA, Kurt had been devastated to say the least. He'd tried to act as happy as possible for Rachel's sake and because he didn't want to depress Finn any further. But the minute she had boarded that train he had grabbed Blaine and together they'd been locked away in his room for hours so he could cry his eyes out in his boyfriend's arms.

Up to this day Kurt was still impressed with the amount of patience Blaine had shown in those hours. When he had finally calmed down enough to have an actual conversation, the boy had done his best to talk some sense into him. How NYADA wasn't the only school in New York and most definitely not Kurt's only option. How Kurt could still go to the city of his dreams, most definitely would, even, if Blaine had any say in it.

Somewhere down the line Kurt had started to believe him. They had looked into college after college, considering every possible option this time around. Blaine had even convinced him to send out a few applications, even though the deadlines had been over long ago by that point. Kurt honestly hadn't expected anything out of those desperate attempts to cheer himself up a bit. They had made him feel a bit better, after all. Like he hadn't given up on his dreams just now.

When weeks later he'd received a positive reply from Parsons of all things he'd nearly had a stroke. He'd never even imagined having a chance there. It was his fashion-NYADA, only this time around, he'd somehow managed to get in, despite his too-late application. Obviously, someone had had to give up their place and Kurt had been on top of their waiting list for some reason.

After he'd come down from the initial high of being accepted into such a prestigious school - it might have taken a few days - he'd thrown himself into planning everything. He needed to think about how best to move his possessions, where he would even move them to. Should he try for a dormitory or look for someone to share an apartment with until Blaine would join him next year? Sadly, moving in with Rachel was no longer an option for she'd organized everything weeks ago and already had a roommate, since it hadn't been sure if Kurt would even join her in The City That Never Sleeps.

Luckily, while Kurt had naively put all his hopes in his NYADA application he hadn't forgotten about the fact that he'd need money to finance his studies somehow and had applied to several organizations and whatnot in order to somehow get a scholarship. Since fate for once actually seemed to mean well with him he'd got a partial one, so together with the money his father could afford to support him with and the obligatory part-time job he would get once he'd moved he'd actually be able to live rather decently.

Still not really decided how he wanted to live during his year without Blaine, Kurt simply looked into everything until one sunny, way too hot afternoon he stumbled upon the ad in a forum. There was a girl from Indiana coming to New York to study dance and she'd found a rather nice, affordable apartment in Manhattan she still needed a roommate for. Kurt had looked at the pictures she'd put up and it seemed okay, if a bit small. But that was to be expected, it was New York, after all.

So he'd contacted the girl, figuring that it wouldn't be too bad to start his new life in New York with someone who knew what it was like to come from a small Midwestern city. She'd replied and they'd been writing back and forth ever since, getting along quite swimmingly. Kurt officially had a place to live in New York and a roommate.

And now here he was, standing in the foyer of his new home, waiting for the elevator to finally come down so he could meet his roommate in person for the first time. They hadn't even exchanged photos, figuring it would be nicer to have a voice and an actual person to go with the picture. Kurt just prayed that she wouldn't mind him being gay (their sexualities hadn't really been part of their rather casual conversations via email, though he figured she'd guessed at it when he told her he would by studying fashion design at Parsons). Admittedly, someone coming to New York to study dance probably didn't have much potential to be a homophobe, but you never knew. He didn't feel like living in a hateful atmosphere for a year now that he'd finally arrived in the city of his dreams.

Watching the little numbers above the elevator finally change to his floor, Kurt wished for a moment that Blaine could be there with him. But school would start the next day and Kurt hadn't wanted him to get home at an ungodly hour only to drag himself to McKinley after only a nap. Besides, he'd had real concerns that he wouldn't let his boyfriend leave anymore once he'd have him in New York.

His train of thought was interrupted by the annoying 'pling' of the elevator finally arriving on his floor. With one last look behind to see if his Dad was still busy getting his luggage out of the van they'd rented Kurt took a deep breath and stepped in. When the doors shut behind him he could feel the nerves kicking in for real.

It was easy to seem likable on the Internet. What if he and his roommate actually couldn't stand each other? Then he'd really be all alone in this frighteningly huge city, apart from Rachel maybe. Though Miss Berry would probably be way too busy with her own career and sulking over her break-up to even notice his problems.

By the time the elevator stopped on the fourth floor and Kurt had to get out and approach the door on the other end of the hall he knew to be the one of his apartment he felt like he was headed for his own execution. All of his dread vanished, however, when the door to said apartment flew open to reveal the silhouette of a tall man with mad hair waving his hands about wildly.

"I can't believe we forget to pack that lamp. That lamp has been on your bedside table since you've been five. How could we forget that? How can you possibly feel at home here when we forgot all of the treasured stuff? Now you'll forget everything about all the times I read The Little Mermaid to you, sitting on your bed, with that lamp on. I'm the worst father ever."

Kurt just stared at the man in surprise. Obviously, he'd been way too deep into his monologue to even notice the boy standing in the hall with a box full of his belongings in his arms. The man (who he figured was his roommate's father) had sounded rather desperate towards the end of his little speech.

A second later a rather nice laugh rang through the hall and a feminine voice answered from inside the apartment.

"Dad, calm down! I don't need a stupid lamp to remember that you're the best Dad ever. I'm pretty sure it can be replaced by another lamp. And if I should ever forget about you reading me The Little Mermaid as a bedtime story I'll just call you and ask you to do it again. Okay? Now calm down and get the rest of my stuff, Daddy."

The man in the hallway tried his best to keep from tearing up but only succeeded in stifling a sniffle.

"You haven't called me Daddy since you were thirteen," he whispered so quietly Kurt wasn't sure the girl in the apartment would even hear him.

"I know. But I'm doing it now because you are freaking out worse than I do and I think you need it. So you know I'm still your little girl who loves you very much, even though I'm so far away now. "

Her voice sounded equally thick with tears and this time around her father couldn't suppress a very audible sniffle as he tried to wipe the moisture off his face. Kurt felt like he was intruding on a private moment - which he was, actually - but there was nothing he could do about it. If he'd move now the man would probably notice him, anyway, and he figured it'd be more awkward if he tried to head back into the elevator now than if he'd just walk up to the apartment and act like nothing had happened.

Before he could do so the man still standing in the doorway looked up to meet his eyes. Immediately, the sad expression on his face was replaced by a huge smile. It somehow didn't look forced or fake despite the tears still running down his cheeks.

"Oh, sorry you had to witness us getting all melancholy. You've got to be Kurt. I'm Miles, Tash's Dad. Nice to meet you."

Still a bit confused by the quick change of atmosphere, Kurt shifted the box he was carrying until it rested on his left hip so his right hand was free to shake Miles'. After a few seconds, he regained the ability to speak and smiled at the towering man.

"Yeah, that's me. It's a pleasure to meet you, too. I can give you a moment if you'd prefer that. I'll just head back down and tell my Dad..."

"Oh no, no, don't bother. We'll be fine. We've basically been crying all week, we should be able to pull ourselves together for a few more hours. Just go ahead and put your stuff down. Tash has been dying to meet you."

Kurt just smiled at him and next thing he knew, Miles was waving at him and disappearing down the staircase. Shrugging his shoulders, he resumed his walk down the hall and finally stepped into the apartment. He definitely hadn't expected what he was seeing.

The (really small) hall had been adorned with a beautiful, soft-looking navy rug covered in elegant silver swirls. There was an antique coatrack and a small shoe cabinet, both mahogany, on the right. Half of the wall on the left hand was covered in pictures of a really pretty redhead with startling green eyes with various other people. Some only showed a pixie-like looking girl with dark brown hair spiked in all directions and big, chocolate brown eyes. The pixie-girl smiled dreamily into the camera on every last one, always doing something different.

Last but not least Kurt's gaze wandered to the wall opposite the door. A huge red heart sporting the words 'Welcome Home, Love' in a vivid pink took up most of it. Kurt should have found it tacky but for some reason it only made him want to come in further. The moment he did, the same redheaded girl from the pictures stepped out of one of the four doors leading away from the hall. She took a moment to look at him in surprise, eyes still a little red from her tearful conversation just a minute earlier, before she more or less tackle-hugged him, almost causing him to drop the box in his hands.

"Hi! You must be Kurt. Sorry for the tackle-hug thing but I'm just so excited to finally meet you! Do you want me to show you which room is yours so you can put down that box before I accidentally make you drop it?"

For a second, Kurt just blinked, trying to absorb everything the girl standing next to him had just said. It took him a while before he was finally able to open his mouth again and actually speak.

"Oh yeah, well, hi. Tash, right?" She nodded eagerly, a radiant smile on her face. "I've wanted to meet you, too. So, where do I put this? So we can get greet properly."

"Oh, this way, just follow my lead." Tash grinned at him, walking towards the first door on the right. "The rooms are exactly the same size so I thought I'd just pick one since we've been here for hours now and I figured just standing around waiting for you to arrive so you could choose would be a bit unproductive. I hope you don't mind being on the right side."

"Not at all. Actually, I wouldn't have it any other way," Kurt answered with a genuine smile, eyes already scanning the room to spot where his belongings would look their best.

"Well, that's a relief. Good to know you don't hate me from the very start for choosing the wrong side of the apartment for my room," she laughed, still standing in the doorway, leaving Kurt space to get a good look at everything and decide where to leave the box he was still carrying.

"I like to think of myself as not that superficial. But thanks for the concern." He finally put down the box and turned around, extending his hand for Tash to shake. "Hi. My name's Kurt and we're going to be roommates for the following year."

Tash laughed at him before accepting the hand and shaking it. Kurt noticed that she had a really nice laugh and wondered if she was a good singer. It would be wonderful to have someone to watch musicals and sing along with other than Rachel. That just stirred too many memories of being rejected by the school of his dreams whereas she got in. It reminded him of broken dreams and promises that couldn't be held.

"Tash. And from the way things are looking up until now I think we'll have a good time."

They smiled at each other but before any of them could say anything else, Burt and Miles came through the door, arms stacked with boxes. The reaction was perfectly timed and completely in sync.

"Dad!"

They rushed over in a heartbeat before admonishing their respective fathers.

"I can't believe you carried three of those at once! Why didn't you call me down! You'll give yourself another heart attack!"

"If you go on like that, you're going to break your back one of these days! And who's going to take care of you then with me living in New York?"

Burt and Miles just shot each other a look and a smile before turning back to their children, trying to calm them down.

"The doctor said carrying a few boxes for a day wouldn't kill me, Kurt. But if you want to carry all the stuff you absolutely needed to take with you on your own, I'm not standing in your way. Do you really need that many clothes here? Where are you even going to put them?"

Kurt just rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Dad, this is New York. Of course I need all of my clothes here. Where would I need them if not here? And the doctor said you shouldn't work yourself too hard."

"It's three boxes, kid, not a mountain. I'll be fine. Most of this stuff is light, anyway."

"If you say so," Kurt muttered under his breath before turning to Tash to see if she'd accompany them when they'd head back down for the rest of his things. She seemed to just be about to finish her own argument with her father.

"Oh fine. But I'm going back to the car with you and we're getting the rest of it up here together. I don't need you to make the trip back to Indiana with a sore back."

Miles just rolled his eyes, a huge grin on his face, before disappearing through the door opposite of Kurt's room, probably to dispose of the boxes in his arm. Immediately, Tash turned back to the only two other occupants of the room.

"So, how about we head down together? Since I suppose our cars won't be that far away from each other."

"Actually, they're parked right next to each other. I ran into your father down there. Burt Hummel, Kurt's father," Burt introduced himself, extending a hand to shake after Kurt almost wrestled the boxes out of his grip to put them down somewhere until they got the rest. Tash just smiled, accepting the hand.

"A pleasure to meet you, Burt. Natasha Bolschoi, Kurt's rommate."

For a moment, they just looked at each other, hands still clasped together, before Burt finally laughed and patted her on the shoulder amicably.

"You're something else, kid. I think you two are going to survive each other. Now, let's head back down to the car and get this done, okay?"