Kurt liked being home simply because he loved seeing his dad and Carole. While he loved his life in New York City, with the bright lights and the cultured people and the following-his-dream bit, there were times when he felt very lonely, the single person who understood himself in a city of millions. At home, he nearly always felt understood.

It was also a nice break from the hustle and bustle of big city life. It can get a bit tiring to catch train after train and run down nearly identical blocks to get to where you’re going. He knew Lima like the back of his hand, which was comforting after months of being constantly surprised and turned around by New York.

Carole cooked breakfast the next morning, shooing away Kurt’s offers to help. They sat around the table catching up, and Kurt entertained his parents with endless amusing tales from the city(often slightly censored due to content). They asked about Rachel and he told them how she’d nearly been kicked off the cast of one of the school’s plays for disregarding the director so much. They gave Kurt the few updates about life in Lima, and Burt told some stories from the shop-which he still managed, but didn’t do actual work nearly as much as he used to. They sat there long after they’d all finished their egg-white omelets, talking. Eventually, Burt asked, “Hey, Kurt, where’s your car? It’s not in the driveway.”

Kurt gasped-he’d completely forgotten about his abandoned car. “Oh, God. Well, it’s stuck on the highway about halfway to Columbus. I broke down last night.”

Kurt retold the story of the previous night, explaining how he’d gotten home after the car stopped.

“What a nice boy,” Carole said regarding Blaine.

“We should go pick it up now,” Burt said. “We’ll have to stop by the shop to pick up a couple things, but I’m pretty sure I can get it working no problem.”

Kurt helped Carole clear the dishes, and then went upstairs to find some of his old clothes. When he found an outfit that fit relatively well, he and his father headed out. They drove back on the highway, and after forty minutes Burt slowed down and they looked for the spot where Kurt’d been forced to leave the car. They pulled a U-turn and parked in front of it. It took Burt about twenty-five minutes to get it running again, but he assured Kurt that it would work fine now.

“You gonna follow me home?” Burt asked.

Kurt thought for a moment. “I think I’ll go through town and get something to drink,” he said. He was craving caffeine, and he knew that nothing his father’s fifteen-year-old coffee maker could produce was going to suffice.

“Well, I’ll see you later, then.” Burt said, climbing into his car and signaling back onto the highway.

Kurt got into the Navigator and began the drive back, turning on the radio. When he got into Lima, he drove straight for one of his old haunts.

The Lima Bean was a local café that Kurt had spent many an afternoon in, chatting with Mercedes, stopping in for a pick-me-up before studying. He parked and walked in, appreciating the relative emptiness of the shop. He walked up to the register and ordered his usual, a nonfat mocha.

Once he’d received his drink, he sat down at a table, facing away from the entrance, and pulled out his phone. He surfed the web while sipping his hot drink. He was rolling his eyes at a Facebook status when someone spoke behind him. “Uh, Kurt? Is that you?”

Turning around in his chair, Kurt saw Blaine standing behind him, holding a coffee. Kurt’s mouth opened slightly in surprise. “Blaine!” he said. “Funny seeing you here.”

Kurt hadn’t been able to tell just how short Blaine was while he was driving, so he was surprised to find that he didn’t even clear five-nine. Another thing that he hadn’t been able to appreciate while in a car was just how nice his legs looked in those form-fitting jeans. Kurt tried to ignore this and instead listen to what Blaine was saying.

“Yeah! I mean, I said I’d see you around, but…I didn’t think it would be so soon.”

Kurt laughed softly. “Weird. Well, do you, uh, want to sit down?”

Blaine thought for a moment, glancing out the window. Then he turned back to Kurt and smiled. “Absolutely.”

He walked around the table and took a seat across from Kurt. Kurt set down his phone and smiled at his companion. “So, how are you?”

Blaine sighed. “I’m stressed, actually. Classes are just kind of hitting me hard right now. Finals seemed really far away last week and now they…well, they don’t. I just got out of a particularly awful Economics lecture and I needed something to perk me up before History this afternoon.” He gestured to his coffee.

Kurt nodded sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

Blaine shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll pull through. What’re you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be back in New York studying for finals?”

Kurt smiled. “No, NYADA doesn’t do midterms. Our year is set up in trimesters, and I just finished one. Three weeks off until the winter trimester begins.”

Blaine looked at a loss. “You don’t have finals in winter?”

Kurt shook his head. “We’ve got final tests and projects at the end of the year, but not until then.”

Blaine sighed and shook his head in disbelief. “You are so lucky.”

Kurt chuckled. “You say that, but you’ve never had a directing major scream at you. I’m just having a much…different college experience than you.”

“That’s for sure,” Blaine said before taking a sip of his drink. “What’s it like, living in New York City?”

Kurt leaned back in his chair. “Well, it’s wonderful. I mean, I love the city. It’s not for everyone, obviously, but it’s great for me. I get to meet so many different people, and there’s so much culture, so many different things to experience. And people are just so much more accepting.”

“Accepting?” Blaine asked, raising one of his dark, thick eyebrows.

“Mm-hmm,” Kurt replied, taking another sip of his coffee.

Blaine still seemed like he was waiting for an answer.

“Oh,” Kurt said, realizing that he’d sort of left something out-something that he had thought had been implied within their previous conversation, but then again, he’d already been wrong about Blaine once. “I mean, accepting of my sexuality. I’m gay.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, nodding. His eyebrow came back down, but Kurt saw it draw together with the other for just a second before smoothing out.

“Being out of the closet in a conservative town in Ohio just…wasn’t nearly as easy,” Kurt added.

“Well,” Blaine said, looking down at his coffee. Then he looked up, meeting Kurt’s eyes again. “That’s great, really. I mean, you’re right. It can’t be easy here. There isn’t a lot of…acceptance.”

Kurt smiled. He was borderline relieved that he hadn’t scared Blaine off, and even happier that the subject wasn’t immediately changed. “Well, I survived,” Kurt told him. “And now I’m much better off.”

Blaine nodded. “Good. And, I mean-your parents, were they…cool with it?”

“Completely. My dad has always been very understanding.”

Blaine nodded some more, drinking from his coffee cup thoughtfully. He glanced at his watch, then. “Oh. I should really get back to campus,” he said, sounding apologetic, which was nice.

Kurt nodded. “It was nice talking to you, Blaine.”

“Likewise,” Blaine said, standing up. “Bye, Kurt.”

“Bye.”

Kurt watched him walk out of the café, then turned back. He took a long drink of his mocha, and wondered why he hadn’t given Blaine his number before he’d left.