Chapter 4

"So, roommate, what do we do with these twenty minutes?" Tash was the first to word their current problem. None of them wanted to leave the rice unobserved in the kitchen since they didn't trust the ancient stove and their rooms were too far away in case anything would cook over.

"We could practice for our little private sing-along. How about I grab my iPod and we just shuffle through it?" Kurt offered.

"Sounds good to me. Besides, taste in music always says a lot about a person," she winked at him before turning back to the rice. Laughing, Kurt hurried into his room and got his iPod and speakers, setting everything up on a chair for lack of space.

Minutes later they'd powered through Defying Gravity, Tash clapping like a maniac as soon as the last note had faded.

"How didn't you get into NYADA? Seriously, if you ever end up on Broadway, which you'd more than deserve, I'll watch every single one of your shows. That was amazing. Can I record that and make it my ringtone?"

Her excitement was adorable, Kurt couldn't help but beam at her. "If you really want to. You're a pretty impressive singer yourself. Have you ever considered doing something with music other than dancing?"

Tash cocked her head to the side, honestly thinking about the question. "Not really. I mean, I love singing and I know that I'm pretty good at it - though not half as good as you - but dancing is just what I do. What I'm best at. But we should definitely spend our weekends hanging around karaoke bars in hopes someone discovers us. We sound pretty good together."

They were in hysterics for so long that they nearly missed the twenty-minute-mark. Luckily, Tash remembered that there was a delicious meal on the stove just in time and a few minutes later, they were cuddled up on her white couch again, eagerly awaiting their favorite scenes.

Once the film was over (and they'd discovered that their favorites were mostly the same), they spent much longer than necessary standing in the kitchen doing the dishes, talking about musicals and Lady Gaga and every now and then singing along to Kurt's playlists. Tash cracked up when Roxy Music started to play and gave him a consoling hug when he explained that Blaine loved them so much and that's why they were on his iPod, even though it wasn't really something he liked listening to. She admitted that she had whole books full of poetry next to her bed even though she couldn't really stand poems, just because Rowena loved them so much and it made her feel at home to read them before going to sleep. This time it was Kurt that had to do the hugging.

Afterwards, they went back to cuddling on Tash's couch, still talking about musicals and fashion and films and shows they loved, phones within arm's reach because Blaine or Rowena could call any time now. When one of them finally did they were halfway through a heartfelt rendition of "My Favorite Things". Tash gave Kurt a questioning sideways look that he answered with a shrug, signaling her that she could continue singing without him if she wanted to. So that's what she did when he answered his phone, grinning at the picture of him and Blaine in the background.

"Hey baby."

"Hi honey. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. How is New York? Have you been out of the apartment yet? And... wait. Is that 'My Favorite Things' I hear in the background?"

Kurt couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. He knew Blaine couldn't see it but oh how he wished that he could.

"Yes, it is. We've been watching The Sound of Music during dinner. We haven't seen much of the city yet, apart from the supermarket around the corner. Compared to Lima this is culinary heaven."

"We as in you and your roommate? What's her name again... Tash?"

"Yup. She's the one singing in the background, by the way." Tash was gesturing at him with wide eyes - though she did not stop singing - obviously trying to say something. "I think she wants me to say hi if I'm reading her wild gesturing correctly." She grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up and returned her gaze to the TV.

"Oh, thanks, I guess. Tell her I said hi, too. And that she's got a lovely singing voice. And great taste in music, obviously."

Kurt's own grin broadened as he nudged Tash until she returned her attention to him. "Blaine says hi and that you have a lovely singing voice and great taste in music." She just rolled her eyes at him, turning down the volume of the TV before stealing Kurt's phone and putting it on speaker.

"Hi Blaine, here's Tash. I sort of stole Kurt's phone and put it on speaker. Thanks for the compliment. You have great taste in guys, I must say. Keep that one, he cooks like a God."

Kurt could hear Blaine's laughter on the other end of the line while he - in vain - tried to wrestle his phone out of his roommate's grip.

"Hi Tash. My pleasure. And I know. Though I'm not just keeping him for the food."

"You better not, mister," Kurt growled, still trying to get the device away from a now laughing Tash.

"He also has quite an impressive wardrobe, that's true. And a killer singing voice. I can see the appeal, though I can assure you that he's not my type. I think I'm going to give his phone back now before he tries to break my hand in earnest. It was nice talking to you, Blaine. We should do that again some time."

The laughter on Blaine's end increased and Kurt finally got his hands on his phone again.

"I hate you both. I'm taking this conversation somewhere where there's no rude roommates stealing my phone." Huffing indignantly, Kurt put the phone back to normal and made his way over to his own room.

"Aww. Don't be mad at her, baby. I bet she was just trying to be nice. She seems a lot of fun."

"Yeah, well, you don't have to live with her. It's been a day and she already feels she's got the right to steal my phone."
Blaine's laughter rang pleasantly in his ears as Kurt made himself comfortable on his bed. "Enough about me and my crazy roommate. How have things been in Lima, Ohio?"

This time, they somehow managed to limit their conversation to two hours. By the time they finally ended the call (after they'd agreed on a Skype date the following night) it was well after midnight. Kurt felt a bit guilty that he kept his boyfriend up for so long when he had to get out early the next day and face McKinley more or less on his own. But neither of them had had the heart to end the call. Kurt couldn't even put into words how much he missed just talking to Blaine.

Exhausted after a whole day of packing and trying to adjust to his new surroundings, Kurt rushed through his skin care regimen and fell asleep the minute his head touched the pillow, thoughts full of Blaine.

XxxxxxxxxX

The peaceful state he was in didn't last too long. It felt like only minutes had passed since he'd closed his eyes when someone jumped on top of him, successfully making their knee collide with his ribs. Kurt growled at the intruder and tried to throw them off, but whoever it was was rather persistent.

"Oh no, you don't fall asleep on me again, sleepyhead. We're in New York and we're young and college will start in a few days and I want to explore the city before we're swamped with work. And since you're the only person I know around here, you're going to get up and do just that with me."

The voice seemed familiar but Kurt wasn't awake enough to make the connection just yet.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled into his pillow, sleep already trying to take over again.

"Nope." And with that, his blanket was gone and he was hit by cold air. At least the knee was no longer placed between his ribs.

"Grhumpf," Kurt muttered, not really sure what he even wanted to say. He wasn't very articulate when woken like this, especially when there was no coffee in close vicinity. He decided curling up against the sudden cold and burying his head into the pillow would be a brilliant course of action for now. Moreover it meant that there were less possibilities for knees to press into his organs.

"Well, isn't that just cute. But I'm not going to show mercy just because you're adorable when sleepy. You're going to get the hell up right this instant, Kurt Hummel. I even made you coffee, so be grateful."

"Coffee?" Kurt lazily blinked one eye open, lifting his head just high enough to peak over the pillow.

"Yes, coffee. Now, if you would wake up enough to tell me how you like to drink your coffee I would even bring you one. Though you'd then owe me one at the first Starbucks we're going to stumble upon."

"No sugar and just a little bit of that low-fat milk, please."

"As you wish. I'll be right back. Try not to fall asleep again while I'm gone."

Before Kurt had even managed to sit up to prevent from doing just that, Tash was already back with two steaming mugs that smelled deliciously of coffee. Gratefully, Kurt accepted one of them, carefully taking a sip. He smiled at his roommate, enjoying the taste.

"Thanks. Just the way I like it. You don't happen to have bagels, do you?"

"Of course not. We, Mister Hummel, are going to breakfast at a coffee shop, my treat - well, except for the coffee, maybe. After all, you still owe me one. Anyway, we're having breakfast at a New York coffee shop. Because I'd hate myself if we didn't."

Kurt sat up straighter, almost spilling his coffee. "Are you serious? We're going to have breakfast at a coffee shop?"

"Yup. And then we're going to take a walk through Central Park. And we're going to have lunch somewhere, your treat. Then we'll visit every cliché tourist feature until our feet hurt too much to walk any further. After that, we come home, fall on the couch and order Chinese take-out."

"Do you have a camera?" was all Kurt said in response.

"Why, of course, silly. Why would we be having a sightseeing trip without a camera? Just because we're going to live here for the next few years doesn't mean we don't want some nice memories to send to our friends to make them jealous."

"Do you need the bathroom?"

"Already showered and ready to go. It's all yours. So hurry up or I'll leave without you."

Kurt hadn't been out of the shower and ready to go that fast since he'd been eight.