By the time he finally came home Kurt felt utterly exhausted. Instead of finally dropping, the temperature had been higher in the evening than the whole rest of the day and Kurt had positively melted at every traffic light he'd been forced to wait at. There was no breeze to make the oppressive heat any more bearable and the shirt he was wearing didn't handle sweat all that well.

When he stepped into the hallway, Tash's head poked out of the kitchen door. "Finally found your way back here? I started to think you got lost. Do you know how long I've been here, waiting for you?" Kurt could tell by her tone that she wasn't actually mad at him but she did sound a little worried. For all she knew he could have been run over by a cab, that much was true.

"Sorry I didn't warn you. I met some people and we had coffee and I didn't even notice that it was this late. I'll make it up to you. How about I cook dinner tomorrow?" he asked, putting his shoes into the cabinet.

"Sounds like a deal. Now get over here and help me finish this. And once you're at it you can tell me everything and listen to the story of my day." Kurt quickly obeyed, a grin spreading on his face. There were worse punishments than talking to his roommate.

A good forty minutes later Tash knew everything about Michelle and Percival ("I knew I'd seen that bowtie before! Don't worry, it's definitely cute and not homesick") and Kurt had heard all about Steve, the good-looking dancer who'd hit on her and reacted rather adorably to the information that no thanks, but Tash had a girlfriend. They laughed at each others' stories and occasionally at the episode of How I Met Your Mother currently on TV.

At around nine Kurt finally made it over to his room to get to his laptop and skype with Blaine. They had been texting back and forth for the last hour but Kurt had deliberately left his boyfriend waiting for the story of the weird people he'd met, knowing it'd be hard to explain via text.

So when the screen finally showed the face Kurt loved more than any other, he was immediately bombarded with questions.

"So, who are those weird people you have met?"

"Where exactly did you meet them?"

"Why didn't you tell me by now?"

It was only when Blaine had to take a breath that Kurt could actually get a word in.

"Blaine, honey, calm down. I was about to tell you now. I thought it'd be a bit difficult via text."

Immediately, Blaine shut up, motioning for Kurt to continue. Blaine didn't interrupt him up until the part where it became obvious that Percival had been flirting with him.

"Wait, what? What exactly did he do? What did you say to him?" He sounded so panicky Kurt couldn't suppress a laugh. Blaine had been a bit paranoid after the whole Chandler incident.

"It's okay, honey. He just held open the doors and tried to pay my coffee. I paid myself and when he asked me on a date I told him I have a boyfriend. What did you think I'd say? I even showed him that picture of us with the strawberries. He meant 'the bowtie ones are keepers'."

Blaine looked like he was about to answer something when his gaze suddenly fell to Kurt's neck and the words seemed to leave him. He swallowed a few times and took a deep breath before his voice worked again.

"You're wearing it," he stated in a monotone.

"What?" Kurt was honestly confused at that point.

"The bowtie I'm wearing in the picture. The one I gave you to take with you to New York. You're wearing it right now. You've been wearing it on your first day of college." His voice became more confident and emotionally charged with each sentence.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I? With the little closet space I have in this tiny apartment I certainly wouldn't take anything with me that I don't plan on wearing," Kurt tried to speak against the lump in his throat.

"Kurt," Blaine just said, voice cracking a bit. "You know what I mean."

And he did. Of course he knew. "I just... I couldn't take you with me so I took the closest thing I could get. I didn't want to go in there without some part of you with me."

By now, tears were streaming down both of their faces from what he could make out from the grainy image on his laptop.

"I love you, Kurt. I wish I could have been there," Blaine whispered, trying to hold in the worst of it.

"I wish you'd have been there, too. I love you so much. I can't wait for you to come here so that we can finally live together," Kurt choked out, wiping furiously at his eyes. Weeping in front of the computer during the bit of time they had to actually communicate with each other was too much of a waste to let the tears fall.

They quickly changed the topic and went over Kurt's schedule to avoid further unwanted emotions. The sight of all the interesting classes he would take this semester instead of the boring curriculum at McKinley brightened his mood considerably, though it did no such thing for Blaine.

"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do anymore, Kurt. I'm like a month ahead of the rest of the class at the very least and all Tina and I do in Calculus is passing notes," he sighed. Kurt could relate to that feeling. He'd been bored to death at McKinley and thanks to his (much longer) time at Dalton and the fact that schoolwork was ridiculously easy for him Blaine had it even worse.

"You could always text me when it gets that bad. I can't promise that I'll answer right away all the time but just know that you can, okay?" Blaine's eyes were once again suspiciously wet but Kurt couldn't bring himself to care. Those were the good kind of tears so they were allowed.

"Thanks, baby. I promise I will. I doubt it'll come to that but... You can text me, too, if you get bored in class. Maybe I'll just bring a book with me next time. Or the new issue of Vogue. I bet Tina would appreciate it."

And from there their conversation went back to easy and tear-free. It was almost Midnight until they finally called it a day and ended the call. Kurt felt much better about his first day at Parsons (well, sort of) now that he'd talked to Blaine. Tomorrow there was a tour around campus to show them where they'd work this semester and Kurt couldn't wait to see the places Marc Jacobs and countless other famous designers had started out in.

XxxxxxxxxX

The next morning, his alarm went off at 05:30, almost sending him tumbling out of bed rather ungracefully. Of course the actual tour didn't start until 9, but there was no way Kurt Hummel would be caught in the hallowed halls of Parsons not looking his very best. To his surprise, there was a text already waiting for him when he checked his phone.

Wed 5 Sep (05:15)

Good morning, beautiful. I hope you'll have a nice day. Have fun at the tour! Love you!

Kurt stared incredulously at the screen for a good five minutes before he finally replied.

(05:40)

Blaine Anderson. Why are you awake at this hour?! You didn't drive home yesterday, did you?

When they had finally ended their conversation yesterday Blaine had still been at the Hudmels'. Kurt really hoped he hadn't made the two-hour-drive after midnight only to get up at five in the morning to drive to McKinley. Something told him Burt wouldn't have let him, either.

(05:43)

Of course not, your Dad would have killed me if I tried. I'm in your room, actually. And I set my alarm because you told me you'd be up by now.

One of these days, that guy would be the death of him, Kurt was sure of it. No one could be that adorable.

(05:45)

And rightfully so. Blaine, you didn't have to get up at 5 am just to wish me good luck. A normal hour would have been sufficient ;) Feeling comfortable? Love you!

(05:47)

But I wanted you to see it first thing in the morning :) And of course I'm feeling comfortable. It's your bed. There's a lot of good memories connected with that bed ;) And it still smells like you. God, I miss you so much. Love you too <3

Kurt blushed at the innuendo, though he couldn't suppress the grin on his face. God, he loved that boy more than could be possibly healthy.

(05:49)

Dork ;) I miss you, too. I hope you're not doing anything inappropriate in my poor bed ;) I'm off to shower, text you later! Love you!

When he returned from his shower he immediately checked his phone. He wasn't disappointed.

(05:53)

What would you consider inappropriate? Cause I don't know what you expect from me when I'm basically living here and you put images of you in the shower in my brain. Love you too :)

(05:57)

Great, now the images of you in the shower won't leave me alone. Know that this is your fault, Kurt!

(06:10)

I might have been a tiny bit inappropriate in your bed. Sorry. But once again, your fault. You can't just say things like that and then leave me alone with my corrupted mind.

Kurt flushed bright red at the mental image of Blaine jerking off in his bed back home in Lima while he'd been in the shower. Not that he minded. He most certainly didn't, but the image caused a flood of others to wash over him, most of them decidedly less innocent than what had just happened. Maybe he could get Tash to leave him alone in the apartment for a few hours if he offered her the same courtesy?

(06:20)

Maybe we should have a conversation about the limits of appropriate behavior in my bed. For now know that I don't mind but I'd like to be included somehow next time. Love you!

Knowing that Blaine would probably need a few minutes to reach for his phone and process that text, Kurt took his time putting on his outfit for the day and styling his hair. It seemed he had been right when he checked his phone once he was done.

(06:50)

You are evil and we'll definitely have that conversation tonight. We could talk about how you'd like to be included next time ;) Now stop fumbling with your hair, it's already perfect. Get some breakfast! Love you too <3

The smile spreading on Kurt's face was wide enough to actually hurt. He was looking forward to tonight. And with Blaine knowing him as well as he did it was almost as if he was here with him.

(06:57)

I'm looking forward to it ;) I'll eat something if you will. Breakfast livetexting? And thanks, dear. Tone it down with the gel today? Love you!

He had just stepped into the kitchen when the next text arrived.

(07:00)

I'm in the kitchen. Of course breakfast livetexting. Is there another way to eat breakfast? Your Dad and Carole say hi. You wish. Love you too :)