As Kurt walks the block-and-a-half to the coffee shop, he holds his phone tightly in his hand, just in case he gets another text from Blaine. He can’t wipe the smile off of his face at the thought of this “strictly business” coffee date. He’s just about to walk inside when his phone vibrates in his pocket, surprising him, and he can’t help the schoolboy smile that crosses his face as he reaches in his pocket to fish the phone out. His smile falls when he realizes it’s a text from a very indignant Rachel, clearly unhappy that he’d all but cut her off as she was speaking earlier.

He looks up immediately, alarmed.

Rachel. Rachel who is at work right now. Rachel whose place of work is a bookstore. A bookstore right across from the coffee shop he is standing outside of. A bookstore with a very large window on the front of the building.

His eyes dart around nervously and, now feeling very much like he is in some bad spy movie, he lifts his hood and dashes inside the coffee shop, not taking it down until he’s well inside the building.

Kurt walks in the door and does a quick scan of the shop, and seeing that Blaine isn’t there, decides to go buy his coffee and pick a good table for them to sit at. He walks up to the counter and orders his usual drink – a grande non-fat mocha – and just as he’s about to pull his wallet from his pocket, he hears a voice from behind him.

“Don’t even think about paying for that coffee.”

He jumps, his hand flashing to cover his heart. He needs to calm down.

Kurt whirls around to see Blaine walking up behind him.

“Can you add a medium drip to that order, please,” Blaine asks the barista, his seemingly ever-present smile brighter than Kurt had seen it over the course of their brief encounter earlier, as he pulls some bills out of his pocket and reaches over Kurt’s shoulder to set them on the counter. “Keep the change.”

Kurt catches himself staring at Blaine – again – and turns his head back around to take his mocha and turns his focus to finding a good table, willing himself to relax.

They pick a table by the window and both sit silently for what seems like forever, neither knowing exactly where to start. Kurt fidgets with his cup and Blaine’s eyes are trained on his face, looking very much like he’s admiring a work of art in a gallery. Kurt feels his cheeks flush and his thoughts scramble. He does his best to school his expression into something calm. Blaine breaks the silence first.

“So, uh, your audition went well, I hope?”  

Kurt smiles at Blaine, wondering how long he’s going to keep up the idea that they really are just meeting to talk about their auditions.

“I think so. Well, I mean, I hope so. It was my first audition I’ve ever been to. I just moved to New York about two weeks ago. I just started my first year at NYADA.”

“Oh, well welcome to the Big Apple!” Blaine says cheerily, holding his arms out as though he’s displaying the city in the middle of a coffee shop. Kurt giggles.

“Thanks! You know, I didn’t really think anyone actually called it that, to tell you the truth.”

“Well, I like to march to the beat of my own drum,” Blaine says with a wink.  

Kurt giggles again, and Blaine’s smile grows impossibly bigger.

“And what about you,” Kurt asks, taking a sip of the coffee he’d all but forgotten about until that moment. “How long have you been living here?”

Blaine takes a sip of his coffee before answering, as if he needs a moment to think about his answer.

”Since July. I’m in my first year at NYU, but I came here a bit earlier than I needed to.”

Blaine takes another drink of his coffee, cocking his head to the side at the puzzled expression on Kurt’s face, but Kurt speaks before he has a chance to ask.

“Why’d you come out here so early?” Kurt asks.

Blaine’s smile falters and Kurt immediately feels bad for asking.

“Mostly just to get away from home, but it also helped to have some time to get my feet on the ground and get to know the city before I had to start school,” he explains.

Kurt studies Blaine’s face as he speaks, the brightness in his eyes doesn’t fade, but his smile seems a little sad.

“Kurt?”

Kurt shakes his head softly and Blaine looks amused, as though he’s asked a question and has been waiting a while for the answer. Kurt gives him an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry.”

Blaine gives a dismissive wave, his smile back in full force. It’s all Kurt can do to pay attention again. “You’re adorable, Kurt, do you know that?” Blaine asks, laughing softly.

Kurt almost chokes on his mocha as he pulls the cup away from his mouth, and he feels himself blushing.

“Th-thanks,” he stammers in response, and he wonders to himself how he feels completely comfortable with Blaine sitting there, his face propped up on his hand, staring at Kurt like he’s the most amazing thing he’s ever seen. After a few more long moments of the two of them sitting together in complete silence, Blaine staring dazedly at Kurt, Blaine starts the conversation up again.

“So, you said you just moved here a couple of weeks ago? Where’s home for you?” he asks, looking genuinely interested.

“Lima, Ohio,” Kurt responds, unexcitedly, hoping to convey his distaste with the small town in the tone of his voice. Blaine replies, in turn, with a very surprised expression, causing Kurt to furrow his eyebrows in curiosity. “What?”

“I’m from Westerville!” Blaine replies excitedly.

“Oh my god,” Kurt realizes. “Did you go to that fancy, all-boys private school there?”

“Yeah! Dalton Academy! You know of it?” Blaine is growing increasingly excited with the conversation.

“Yeah, we competed against your school’s glee club a few times,” Kurt explains, and though he enjoys talking about his time spent in the New Directions, his excitement doesn’t even shine a light to the level of Blaine’s.

“No way,” Blaine exclaims loudly enough to cause Kurt to look around at the other people in the coffee shop, some of whom are staring at them, wondering why Blaine is making so much noise. “Sorry, I sometimes get loud when I’m excited,” Blaine apologizes to Kurt in a near-whisper, to emphasize his point. “But that’s so cool that you competed against us! I was a Warbler from my sophomore year, right ‘til the end of senior year! What glee club were you in?” he asks, still just as excited, though thankfully quieter.  

“The New Directions, from McKinley High.” Kurt says, laughing slightly at Blaine’s continuing level of excitement on the topic. Blaine’s eyes light up even more, which Kurt had thought impossible.

“That’s insane! We competed against you guys,” he tells Kurt, his excitement level only comparable to a kid on Christmas morning.

“I know, Blaine, I said that before,” Kurt laughs openly at Blaine’s excitement.

“Oh, jeez. I’m so sorry, I get really excited whenever I start talking about the Warblers.” Blaine apologizes, covering his face with his hands in slight embarrassment. He peeks through his fingers at Kurt, who has given up any attempt at holding back his laughter.

Kurt can see Blaine’s embarrassment, and in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable, suggests they leave the coffee shop and go for a walk. Blaine responds by simply standing up and giving Kurt an ‘after you’ gesture to the door.

They end up wandering around the area, discussing movies and T.V. shows that they like. And if they were paying attention to where they were going, they would notice that they had walked by some of the same places two or three times.

Eventually, they end up walking to Kurt’s apartment building, and as they approach the door to Kurt and Rachel's apartment, Kurt is just finishing talking about his favourite movie of all time – When Harry Met Sally—and how he’s always wanted to have that story happen to him.

“Don’t they get together in the end?” Blaine asks at the end of Kurt’s extensive description of his favourite parts of the movie. Kurt gives Blaine a curious look in response, nodding his head slightly. “Hm, good to know. Well, this was definitely a really fun audition talk.” Blaine adds, winking. Kurt giggles slightly.

“Definitely,” Kurt teases. “That whole 20 seconds we actually talked about auditions was fun.”

Blaine drops his head, looking adorably embarrassed. “Yeah, it wasn’t as strictly business as we intended, was it?” Blaine asks, his lips quirked up in a smile.

Kurt smiles deviously. “No, it wasn’t.” He pauses, his smile widening as he sees the way Blaine is regarding him with genuine interest. “But I think I liked it better this way.”

Blaine’s face lit up in a blinding smile that very nearly takes Kurt’s breath away. His eyes are sparkling with delight, and his cheeks are flushing an ever-darker shade of pink. For the first time, he actually looks...bashful. “Yeah, me too.”

Kurt delights in the reaction, feeling maybe a little smug for being the one to put the beautiful smile on Blaine’s face.

Awkwardness hangs in the air as they both look at their feet, unsure of how exactly to end the outing that was planned to be strictly business but ended up feeling a bit more like a date. Blaine clears his throat and shuffles his feet awkwardly. “Well, I guess I’ll let you head inside, now....” Blaine trails off, his voice losing some of its usual sureness. “I really did have fun today.”

Kurt smiles and leans back against the apartment door, feeling his cheeks heat up. “Me too.”

There’s silence in the air for a moment before Blaine laughs out an awkward sound. More awkward silence. “I’ll um..I’ll text you,” Blaine says, the grin on his face coloring his tone.

Kurt nods. “Okay.” He internally winces at the way it comes out in a lovesick breath, hoping Blaine missed it, but judging by the way his smile just widened, he didn’t.

“Okay,” Blaine repeats, leaning forward and kissing Kurt on the cheek. “Welcome to New York, Kurt.”

Blaine smiles and gives a small wave before turning and walking toward the elevator. Kurt watches as he walks away, humming to himself brightly.

Kurt fumbles with his keys, his hands shaking and the smile on his face actually beginning to hurt.”

He walks into his apartment, glancing over his shoulder at Blaine’s retreating figure, before closing the door and leaning against it, just as he feels his phone vibrating. He pulls it out of his pocket and sees that he has three new texts, two from Blaine, and one from Rachel. He opens Blaine’s first.

(6:03) So, Kurt, as your self-appointed New York tour guide (no need to thank me), how would you feel about a walk through Central Park this Saturday?

(6:03) Strictly business of course. 

(6:04) A business walk?

(6:04) Through Central Park?

(6:06) Of course.

(6:06) Those are the best kind of walks, don’t you know.

Kurt laughs again and taps out his reply.

(6:07) Pick me up at noon?

(6:07) Noon it is, Mr. Hummel. :)

He smiles as he then goes to read Rachel’s text.

(5:48) When I get home, you will tell me every detail, Kurt Hummel. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you had a date!

Kurt groans, walking over and sitting on the couch. In the excitement of he and Blaine’s “business meeting,” he had completely forgotten about her being at work. He realizes now that they probably walked by the book store more than once. And he laughs at the conjured image of Rachel with her nose pressed right up against the glass of the bookstore’s front window, his smile widening as he realizes that he might not be too far from the truth.

He’s still giggling as he taps out his quick reply.

(6:10) You’d better pick up some ice cream on the way home. We’ve got *lots* to talk about. ;)