Kurt woke up the next morning with the sun blaring in his window. He was starting to regret that east-facing window now more than ever. God, the sun rises so much earlier here than in Ohio, he thought to himself as he pulled himself into a seated position from the couch’s uncomfortable cushions.

He glanced over at the bed and noticed that Rachel had left. I’m glad I gave her my spare key so she can at least lock the door behind her when she sneaks home in the middle of the night, he thought to himself as he stumbled towards his dresser. Next to his dresser, he peered into his full-length mirror at his reflection. He barely recognized his reflection – he hadn’t followed through with his moisturizing and cleansing routine the night before and he felt that it showed this morning.

As he started to collect himself before jumping in the shower, he heard a familiar sound coming from his laptop.

Riiiiing. Riiiiing. Riiiiing.

As the Skype logo jumped on his Mac, he wondered who would be calling him so early in the morning. When he saw that it was Rachel, he promptly picked up.

“I’m glad you made it home last night, Rachel. Thanks for locking the door behind you, too. You know those guys from downstairs were eyeing my throw pillows when I first moved in,” Kurt said as he brushed his fingers through his hair.

“Yeah, sorry that I just left without saying goodbye. I knew you had a rough day yesterday so I didn’t want to bother you when I crawled out of there at 2am. That was such a bad idea, Kurt. Now I’m not rested and I have another dance class today, and you know how I’ve doubted my normally perfect routines due to this dance teacher. I mean, she’s right, but…” Rachel was going to keep rambling until Kurt cut her off.

“Rach, you know you’re stellar and you’re a star. You’ve been putting a star after your name for years, for Christ sake. But it’s okay if you’re not perfect all the time. This isn’t Lima and you have to work for everything, hon. And one day really isn’t going to ruin anything; just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and hold your head high. I’ve seen you resilient in the face of a lot of crappy things, Ms. Berry. You’ve got this.”

“Thanks Kurt,” Rachel said as she twirled her hair nervously. “I better go, my roommate will be back any minute now and I’m trying to avoid her at all costs. Talk soon.”

Kurt clicked end call and stared at the frozen image of Rachel that remained on the screen. She really was a train wreck the first time she and Finn had this weird thing happening. It won’t be any better this time, he thought as he headed toward the shower again.

As he was taking a shower, he was introspective rather than belting out his normal show tunes. He thought about how lucky he was that he wasn’t Rachel in this instance. Sure, this time yesterday, Kurt thought that he and Blaine were through. Thankfully, due to a beautiful romantic gesture that gave Kurt goosebumps, the pieces had been placed back together ever so carefully through their love for each other.

He knew that these little stumbles were normal for relationships, but he was thankful that he and Blaine seemed to pull it together for the long haul.

He lingered for a few moments thinking of when he first met Blaine in the halls of Dalton Academy. If Present Kurt told Past Kurt that he would be in a relationship with Blaine for nearly two years, Past Kurt would have laughed. It’s funny how a year – or two - changes things.

As Kurt emerged from the shower, he heard his phone make the familiar tone indicating that he had received an email. It was 6:30am in New York, which meant in Paris it was nearly lunchtime and Isabelle had been awake for two hours at least. He tossed his phone aside for a moment to concentrate on dressing himself with the many layers on his delicate frame before gracing the city of New York with yet another fashion-forward frock from Kurt Hummel.

With one last check in the mirror, and an approving wink, he walked toward the door with his keys, sunglasses and his phone. And just like he did every morning, he made sure to kiss the photo of Blaine he hung by the door on his way out.

“I love you Blaine,” he said as he looked at the photo for a second or two longer than usual. “Now and always.”