Kurt woke up the next morning and wiped his eyes, loudly sighing at the fact he’d left his blinds open, meaning that the early morning New York sun was filtering in through the window panes and burning his eyes. He swung his legs out from underneath the covers and stretched before wandering over to the bathroom to start his morning routine.
Over an hour later Kurt was showered, moisturized and in his jogging gear ready to brave the other early risers in central park.
He picked up his phone to check the time and realised that he’d (finally) got a text from Blaine.

Sorry it’s such a late reply, I’d left my phone downstairs in the shop by accident, do you want to meet up for coffee later?

Kurt smiled at the thought of a coffee date – wait, no, not a date just a friendly meet up...right? He quickly typed his reply as he walked towards the front door.

It’s alright, and yeah coffee sounds good, there’s a small cafe on the outskirts of central park I think it’s the rose cafe, what about there at 12?

Kurt plugged in his headphones, tapped the play button on his running playlist and left his apartment.
Kurt had reached the entrance to the park and felt a buzz from his thigh, and then he remembered that he had texted Blaine.

Yeah that sounds great, I’ve gotta go walk the dog anyway, I think he might end up ripping up my couch due cause I haven’t walked him for a couple of days, see you later. X

~*~*~*~ 

Kurt smiled as he read it, and then his breath hitched slightly as he realised the "X" on the end, Blaine probably just put it there accidently, so he decided to think nothing of it and carried on his jogging. He hadn’t been jogging for over a week and he could feel the pressure of it already.
Fifteen minutes later, Kurt was taking a break from the exercise – cursing himself on why he didn’t go jogging earlier on in the week.

“Kurt?” he heard a voice from close by and he groaned quietly.
“Hey Mercedes!” he said cheerfully, turning round to face his high school friend.
“Long time no see boo! Last time I heard, you were still stuck in Ohio!” she said as she hugged him and he smiled before shrugging.
“I managed to escape about 2 months after you guys, NYU accepted me as a late entry to their fashion department,” he said rather proudly, “How’s your life then?”
“I’m good; Sam and I have a tiny apartment about half a mile from here, cosy if a bit cramped.” She said and then checked her watch, “oh crap, I need to get going, it was good to see you though!” she said before hugging him again and rushing off.

He rolled his eyes, he wasn’t friends with anyone other than Rachel and Finn (well, he had to be friends with Finn due to the fact he was his step brother after all), and he honestly couldn’t care less because most of them didn’t really want to keep in touch so he didn’t make the effort to, he checked his own watch this time and began jogging back to his apartment so he could get ready for his date, sorry meeting with Blaine.
~*~*~*~ 
Once he had his second shower of the day, Kurt then had to work out what he was going to wear, it had to be slightly smart but quite casual because it was only a coffee shop. Was a shirt too formal? He heard a knock on his door, and he stumbled down the hallway towards the door before wrenching it open to reveal Finn at the door.
“Oh god what do you want Finn?” he said as he walked away, leaving Finn to close the door and follow him.
“I came to ask if you wanted to help me get out of going to this party thing with Rachel tonight.” Finn told him as he leant against the doorframe, watching his stepbrother try on various items of clothing.
“I can’t Finn, I’ve got a date to go to and I need to be there in...Precisely twelve minutes, so I really can’t help you right now.” Kurt said in a rushed voice as he pulled on a teal t-shirt and a pair of black lace up boots.
“Isn’t this the first date in like...a year?” Finn asked excitedly
“Yes, and if you dare tell Rachel I will cut off your genitals and feed them to Mikes dog okay?” Kurt replied in a snarky voice before running a hand through his hair and walking towards the door.
“Right, okay, I’ll say I’m visiting mike or someone then.” Finn said before almost running out of the apartment and Kurt followed, flicking off the hallway light and straightening his shirt.

9 minutes later, Kurt was at the entrance to the coffee shop and took a deep breath before pushing open the door and searched for a head of curly black hair, he couldn’t see Blaine so he pulled out a chair and sat down, smiling at an elderly couple who walked past him.

He heard the door open and turned in his seat slightly, noticing Blaine was standing there in a brown knitted cardigan, grey shirt and jeans, his hair was a bit more tamed than the last time they saw each other and he was wearing his thick framed glasses which made him look absolutely adorable. Blaine caught his eye and waved, walking over towards the table and sitting down opposite him.
"Hi, sorry I’m late; I got distracted by a busker on my way over." Blaine said almost breathlessly.
"It’s fine, what do you want to drink?" Kurt asked with a smile as he watched Blaine ponder for a few seconds.
"Medium drip please." he said and Kurt nodded before gracefully walking over to the cashier to order.

"One Grande non-fat mocha and a medium drip please." Kurt said to the girl behind the counter who nodded and quickly went to make the order.
"nice date you've got there Hummel," he heard from beside him, "if he wasn't gay I'd tap that ass any day."
"Good afternoon to you to Santana." Kurt replied with a roll of his eyes and handed over the money, telling the girl to "keep the change" before swiftly making his way back, avoiding the gaze of the Spanish female.
~*~*~*~ 
"There you go." Kurt said as he put the cup on the table and sat down.
The pair seemed to just sit there for a few minutes, not knowing what to say to each other.

"I'm Blaine, I'm 21 and I'm originally from California but I moved to Ohio when I was 7." Blaine said with a small smile, breaking the silence and looked up at Kurt.

"I'm Kurt, I'm 21 and I'm from Ohio too." he said with a grin, locking eyes with Blaine.
"What part? I'm from Westerville." Blaine told him and Kurt’s mouth fell open.
"No way? I'm from Lima!" Kurt said with a laugh.
"Small world, Tell me more about yourself." Blaine asked him, sending him a charming smile which (of course) made Kurt’s stomach flutter.

"Okay, um, I go to NYU and I'm part of their fashion department, I have to daily stop my stepbrother and Rachel breaking up, I like to sing and dance - but no-one ever sees me doing that." Kurt told Blaine, only taking a breath when he finished.

"I own a bookstore; I haven't been to college even though I really want to. I like nerdy things like Harry Potter and I sing - but only my dog hears me." Blaine said with a laugh as he took a sip of his coffee.
"So, we seem to have quite a bit in common Mr Anderson." Kurt said with a smile, taking a drink from his own cup.

They discussed anything and everything - from Ohio to California to friends and enemies. Kurt learned about David, Wes and Thad who were Blaine’s best friends from high school, the fact Blaine played 7 instruments - but piano and guitar were his favourites, how he inherited the tiny bookstore from his grandparents and how he was incredibly happy.

Blaine then Learned about how Kurt was still best friends with Rachel even though she got into NYADA and he didn't, how Finn and Rachel broke up on a regular basis, how he had to change his dreams and ambitions for the future due to his college placement and how he wasn’t entirely happy in New York.

They had finished their coffee two hours ago and then only realised what the time was.
"Would you, uh, like to go for a walk?" Blaine asked as he stood up and straightened his cardigan slightly.
"Yeah...that'd be great. As long as you don't need to get back to the shop or anything?" Kurt asked, standing up himself.
"No, the shops closed on Sunday’s because I do need one day off a week; otherwise I think I’d die." Blaine said with a wink.
Kurt flushed pink as he looked down at his shoes and chuckled.

"So, how long have you owned the shop?" Kurt asked, wanting to know more about the shorter boy.
"Since I was eighteen, I bought Leo as soon as I'd left Ohio because then I wouldn't be Lonely in that tiny place." Blaine said with a smile, and Kurt could tell that he enjoyed what he did.

"Um, do you want to come back to mine to have coffee or something?" Kurt asked with what hoped didn't seem like an eagerly hopeful look.
"Yeah; that sounds really good." Blaine said.
"I’m sure Rachel left cookies at mine yesterday too...if not I'll go steal some from Finn." Kurt said, making Blaine laugh. Soon enough they reached Kurt’s apartment block and climbed the stairs to the third floor, Kurt explained that he didn't trust the elevator because last time he used it, it broke down and he was stuck in it for at least two hours.
~*~*~*~ 
"Oh my god." Kurt muttered, "I cannot believe this. Right, uh, can you wait there for like two minutes while I go get my spare key from Finns apartment?" Kurt said his eyes wide as he sighed.
Blaine nodded and leant against the wall, watching Kurt walk away as he kind of ran up the hall.
"Finn, Finn. Finn." Kurt repeated as he knocked on the door, "FINN MICHAEL-JAMES HUDSON, OPEN THE DOOR THIS INSTANT." Kurt resorted to yelling and he heard Blaine’s laugh echo up to him.
"Wha- oh hi Kurt." Finn said as he opened the door.
"Oh god I don't even want to know what you've been doing in here, I've got Blaine downstairs so I need my spare key, see you later." Kurt rushed out as he picked up the key from the hook by the door and left the apartment, walking back and opening the door.
"Careful of the stuff on the lounge floor, that's my college work." Kurt warned as he took of his shoes and walked towards the kitchen, "take a seat." he motioned towards the sofa as he began to make the coffee.

Kurt sat on the sofa and put his coffee on the floor.
"Tell me about these." Blaine said, waving a hand towards the various sketchbooks and boards.
"Um, this one was for my first assignment which I based around the vintage looks I saw when I Went to a fashion show earlier on this year." Kurt said, picking up the sketchbook and opening it at a random page, "I had to get Rachel to stand in a dress for over half an hour so I could draw it right."
Blaine stared at the book and flicked through the pages, Kurt tried to work out what he was thinking - did he think they were bad?
"Kurt...these are amazing!" Blaine exclaimed and Kurt let out a small sigh of relief.
"Well, thanks." Kurt replied, a small blush occurring at the compliment.
"What about these ones?" Blaine asked, picking up the most recent book.
"oh...well...they aren't really finished..." but Kurt couldn’t finish as Blaine opened the book.
"Are these...is this me?" Blaine questioned a grin on his face.
"Well...yeah." Kurt said, his blush growing brighter.
"I'm honoured." Blaine told him, a blush seemingly forming on his face too. "Well, I ought to be getting off because I think Leo might wreck my entire house if I leave him any longer." Blaine said, finishing his coffee.
"I had a good time today, thanks." Kurt said honestly as Blaine bent over to put his shoes on. Kurt tried his hardest to not stare, but the jeans hugged Blaine’s legs in exactly the right places.
"I enjoyed it too, now you can go give Finn back his key." Blaine said with a wink as Kurt opened the door.
Kurt stood there and suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around him, incredibly warm and comfortable.
Kurt was shocked at first, but then hugged him back, Blaine smelled of strawberries and coconut along with a mix of something else...Armani perhaps?
"okay, I'll see you around I guess?" the shorter boy said, straightening his t-shirt which had risen slightly.
"Yeah...bye Blaine." Kurt said as he picked up his both keys and closed his door, watching Blaine walk down the stairs.
~*~*~*~ 
"Finn! Open the door!" Kurt yelled again as he knocked on the door rapidly.
Finn opened the door and glared at him, "you're such a cockblock sometimes Kurt."
Clearly Finn and Rachel didn’t go to this “party” after all, Kurt couldn't help but laugh as he walked in and hanged the key up on the hook.
"Why are you looking so happy?" Finn asked.
"What? No...No I don't." Kurt said hurriedly, running a hand through his hair.
"Yes you do! You have this giddy smile on your face like I did after my first date with Rachel!" Finn replied and Kurt backed towards the door.
"Okay, uh, I'm gonna head back now, bye Finn." 
Kurt ran back up the hallway and unlocked his door, hurrying into the apartment and pressing himself against the door.

He looked in the mirror and realised that yes he did have a giddy smile on his face, and a short, curly haired boy had caused it.

His phone buzzed in his pocket a while later and he pulled it out.
1 message from Blaine:
Thanks for today, my dog hasn't ruined the house (yay!) do you want to pop into the shop this week? I'll make you coffee again. X

Kurt grinned before replying

it's alright, i enjoyed it, and thank god ;-), will tomorrow be alright?

He waited for his phone to buzz with a reply as he turned on the TV.

Tomorrow is perfect, there will be a cup of coffee waiting for you :-D

Kurt laughed as he replied.
okay then, I'll text you after college, see you tomorrow. X

Kurt grinned before falling down onto the sofa and sighing happily.
Little did he know that the other man was collapsed on his own sofa doing exactly the same thing.