Eight Months Later

Blaine got out of his car and walked up to the nostalgically familiar door. He ran a hand through his hair, cropped short but ungelled, still occasionally unruly- although he was getting better with the conditioner Kurt had mailed him- and then rang the doorbell.

He heard footsteps approaching, and then the door swung open.

“Oh, Blaine,” Maia said. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Blaine answered, taking her in. She was wearing jeans and a lacy blouse, her dark hair pulled up into a bun, perfect except for a few flyaway strands.

“Come on in,” she said, stepping back.

Blaine walked into the house, sighing as the air-conditioning enveloped him.

“My parents are at a conference,” Maia said, and then paused, blushing. “Do you want coffee?”

“Sure,” Blaine accepted, because he was unsure what to do, and he could tell she was too. He’d been the one to call her after so many months, to ask if he could drop by, but now the strange feeling in the air, and sweat forming on his palms, made him think maybe he shouldn’t have bothered.

They sat down in the living room with their coffee, both on the couch but with a full cushion between them. It was quiet for a moment before Maia spoke. “So…you’re leaving.”

Blaine nodded. “Yep. Official moving day is Saturday.”

Maia whistled softly. “Wow. New York City.”

Blaine smiled, feeling a little bubble of joy inside him just at the name. He loved thinking that he was going to live there in only a few days.

“It’s a big change,” Maia noted.

Blaine shrugged. “I think I needed a big change.”

“Are you…” Maia seemed embarrassed. She sipped her coffee before going on. “You’re going to live with Kurt.”

Blaine nodded slowly. “Yep. That’s the plan for now, anyway.”

Maia was silent for a moment, staring at the coffee mug in her hands. “And…what about your parents?” She asked eventually.

Blaine let out a stream of air. “They’re…they don’t quite understand. Any of it. Especially Kurt. But they’re still paying my tuition, and helping me pack up my things. If not supportive, they’re at least tolerant.”

Maia nodded, looking at her lap. She took a deep breath and finally looked up, meeting Blaine’s eyes. “I want you to be happy, Blaine,” she said.

Blaine smiled softly. “I am happy, Maia,” he told her. “And…thank you.”

Maia shook her head, her cheeks flushing. “Don’t thank me.”

“What about you?” Blaine asked. “Are you happy?”

Maia set her mug down on the coffee table and rested her hands on her thighs. “Yes,” she said finally. “Or at least…I know what I want. And I’m going to be happy.”

Blaine’s smile widened. “Good. I’m happy for you.”

They smiled at eachother.

They finished their coffees, chatting idly, the uncomfortable atmosphere gone. Blaine stood, saying that he had to go finish all his packing. Maia walked him to the door, and after a second of hesitation, leaned forward and hugged him.

“I’m glad you came by,” she whispered.

Blaine hugged her back. “I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye,” he told her.

Then he left, getting into his car and driving away from her house, feeling once again the liberation that he’d been blessed with for the past several months.

“It’s so hot in here!” Rachel exclaimed, opening yet another window. “Can it be October yet?”

Kurt set a heavy box down on the coffee table, and then cast an irritated glance over at his ex-roommate. “Rachel, when you offered to help me move I thought maybe you’d actually do something helpful.”

“I am being helpful,” she insisted, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m ventilating the new apartment.”

“It’s hotter outside than it is inside,” Kurt told her. “You’re just making it worse in here.”

Rachel opened her mouth, but then closed it, apparently having no suitable retort.

Kurt wiped sweat off of his forehead, and then reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He scowled at it. “Blaine told me he’d text me when he parked,” he complained. “What’s taking him so long?”

Rachel shrugged, picking up a Vanity Fair poking out of one of the boxes and fanning herself with it. “He’s undoubtedly in traffic. Calm down.”

Kurt sighed, putting his phone back. He decided to find his packing list and do inventory when there was a knock on the door.

Kurt and Rachel looked at eachother, eyebrows raised quizzically.

Kurt walked to the door and opened it, only to be attacked by the person on the other side. Panic turned to joy, though, when he realized that it was Blaine, hugging him so tightly he could hardly breathe.

“Blaine!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to text me!”

“Surprises are better,” Blaine insisted, loosening the hug so that he could press his lips to Kurts’. 

“We-ell,” Rachel said from the kitchenette. “I think this is my cue to bow out. Goodbye, boys!”

She grabbed her purse and left the apartment, closing the door behind her.

“Sorry,” Blaine said, not sounding very sincere.

“She wasn’t helping anyway,” Kurt answered. The two boys were still holding eachother close, despite the stifling heat.

“So this is our new home?” Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded. “Do you want a tour?”

Blaine pretended to think about it. “No…I think I have to kiss you more first.”

Kurt smiled, unable to contain the mirth that was filling his body. “Good to see you have your priorities straight.”

“You first,” Blaine breathed before going in for another kiss. “Always you first.”

Kurt closed his eyes, feeling like he was really, truly at home, finally.

The End.