Two weeks into summer and things weren't really going as planned. First, Kurt had to stay in New York a few days longer than originally planned because it was time for his internship to be renewed and Isabelle instead managed to offer him a full paying position that still worked around his classes, but it would start at the beginning of August and that meant LA was… well, it was only going to happen if Coop could pull some strings and switch around their schedule.

Kurt and Blaine both knew the older male would do his best to work it all out for them, so they tried not to worry about that particular problem. It was especially important not to waste energy on what others were taking care of when problems kept popping up. Problems like Sebastian's parents booking him a flight to Paris without telling him until two hours before he needed to be at the airport, a day ahead of their flight to Ohio.

“Fuck! I don't want to go to Paris! What the hell is this even?” Sebastian just about screamed when the driver hand-delivered the plane ticket and letter. Said driver would wait for Bas, then take him to the airport as soon as he was ready. “They can't just fucking summon me at a whim. Cut me off and suddenly want me back in their lives? I don't want to even look at them, let alone spend time in fucking Paris with them!”

Bas seemed determined not to mention how long they wanted him to stay, and Kurt and Blaine weren't about to bring it up. It was almost sure to be cut short anyway, so why worry about it, right? That's what they were telling themselves, at least, and it was what they continued telling themselves when Bas packed his luggage into the trunk of a cab and made them swear to skype at least every other day if not every single night before bed. It would be late afternoon for him at that point, depending on the exact time, maybe closer to dinner time, but it would probably be the best time for both to line up.

After tearful goodbyes, the cab drove off, and Sebastian was on his way, leaving Kurt and Blaine to fly to Columbus the next day.

When they arrived in Ohio, Burt was there to pick them up and was already telling them how Finn had wanted to do it and he would be complaining all day if they didn't show up at the garage after dropping their bags at the house, so they quickly did just that, borrowing Burt's truck and surprising the needy male at the garage.

“Kurt! Blaine!” Finn yelled upon seeing them, completely disregarding what he'd been doing, making a mess of dirty oil and upsetting his coworkers, and running at the couple, tackling them with a huge hug. Kurt just about killed him for getting oil on his clothes, but he couldn't be too angry. He always missed Finn, after all, and they'd gotten pretty close since becoming brothers.

“You are so lucky I love you, Finn Hudson, or you would be dead right now,” Kurt muttered when he was finally released and able to assess the damage to his outfit. “Someday I might finally teach you the importance of fashion and maintaining it.” Kurt shook his head when Finn looked at him with confusion in his eyes, just moving along with it and accepting the fact that his brother would never quite understand his passion.

It only took a few days for people to start showing up at the Hummel-Hudson house once word got out that Kurt and Blaine were there. Puck was first, naturally, ganging up with Finn and forcing the pair to participate in video games whatnot until Kurt pinned Puck to the couch and sat on him until he agreed to give them some space for a while.

The graduated Warblers who happened to be in Ohio for some time as well came by in a group on a Saturday evening when Burt and Carole had gone to Columbus for the night (Wes later confessed to paying for a weekend getaway and forcing them to take it) and turned the house into a party zone. Puck showed up again for that, dragging Artie and Mike, who were both back in town, and they declared it a ‘guys weekend'.

“I cannot believe you're missing this, Sebastian!” Jeff yelled at the computer, where Bas pouted over skype. The Warblers were glad to be able to at least talk to their friend, but everybody was feeling the lack of Sebastian at the party. “Who would ever think Ohio would be better than Paris, right?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and Kurt frowned at the computer. “I'm sorry, Bas. We all really do wish you were here. Finn's really mad he didn't get to forcefully hug you and Noah says he owes you an embarrassing dare or three…” He leaned closer to the computer, speaking softly into the speaker. “You'll come home soon, though, right? Coop's trying to switch the LA trip so you can come…”

Without the others realizing, Kurt slipped away and had a quiet conversation with Sebastian. The two discussed how Bas was determined to leave his parents much sooner than they had planned. He was already tired of their guilt trip and the way they kept trying to convince him to study law like his father had. Kurt was a supportive friend and made plans for Sebastian to fly straight to Ohio, stay for a night at the Hummel-Hudson house, then fly to LA. By the time they said their goodbyes, Blaine had wandered in to find Kurt and also said ‘bye' to Bas.

“I don't know what we're going to do when we all graduate,” Blaine said with a sigh once the laptop was closed and before they headed back to the party. “It's hard to imagine life without Bas, you know? I mean, it seems like it's always going to be the three of us…”

Kurt sighed just the same and nodded his agreement. “Luckily we still have three years before we really have to worry about that,” he commented, fighting off the quiver in his voice. It was clear the subject worried him even if he didn't have to worry yet. It would do them no good to waste their time worrying, though. Kurt took a breath and got up from where he had perched for his talk with Sebastian. “Come on. Let's go enjoy our time here before the guys have to leave and we have to pack up for the visit with Cooper. No time for getting down, baby.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Most of their time in Ohio was spent with Finn, Burt, and Carole, and more often than not, Puck. It was family time and everyone enjoyed it. The boys weren't home near enough in Burt and Carole's opinions, and Finn always enjoyed spending time with Kurt ever since they'd grown close as real brothers.

When Bas finally got there, Kurt and Blaine had convinced Finn to apply to some schools in New York again, since he was now interested in teaching instead of having no distinct interests. Sebastian jotted down some contacts he had, along with suggestions for scholarships, and helped Carole with dinner before crashing thanks to the time change and jet lag. Kurt and Blaine woke him up to eat once the meal was done cooking, then helped him to bed before double-checking that they had all their bags packed and were ready to go.

Early morning brought huge hugs and tearful goodbyes before the three boys were driven by Finn to the airport. Bas made the taller male promise to come stay with them in the city when he went about making impressions, then they were off, heading for sunny LA and the craziness that was Cooper Anderson.

The first day in LA saw the typical tourist traps, which meant a day of Bas bitching while Blaine looked around with wide eyes and Kurt shifted from excited to irritated to hiding his amusement from the others with the different attractions. Cooper led them around with a bouncing gait, seeming incredibly proud of himself each time his little brother gasped in joy and especially when Kurt's eyes lit in joy.

“Now, my apartment's pretty small. I have a futon couch, so it'll fold down to a bed but… it's a really small bed,” he warned when they were walking up the stairs in Cooper's building. He spoke like they hadn't already dropped their bags up in the apartment and seen the living situation. Kurt and Sebastian shared a look while Blaine just assured Coop it would be okay and shoved the older man toward his bedroom.

It was pretty late since they'd gone out for dinner and then to Cooper's favorite bar, and to be honest, Blaine was dead on his feet. Kurt and Sebastian weren't much better off, so it was easy for them to quickly change into pjs and crawl onto the futon, curling up close together and settling in for the night.

They had a long vacation still ahead of them.

___________________________________________________________________________

Cooper took the boys to set with him when he had a call back for a potential role in a soap opera- nothing too important, but it would be recurring at least for a few episodes and it would get him some fluff for his resume, plus it was always fun to be on a set.

Kurt ended up talking to the wardrobe department for quite some time, while Sebastian ran lines with some of the actors who ‘liked his spunk' and Blaine just took it all in, even going so far as to find a piano and play some classics before dancing his fingers over the keys to sound a familiar original tune.

It was easy to see that they all had a good time, especially Cooper, who got offered the role and was asked to stay to go over the upcoming schedule and be fitted for a couple pieces. It wouldn't take too long, but there were others who would share his time and so they'd need to keep him for a few hours. It was decided that Kurt, Blaine, and Bas would go explore on their own and they'd all meet at a restaurant after for dinner.

The boys easily headed for some of the boutiques Kurt had clearly been eyeing, Blaine and Bas practically dragging the countertenor through the shops and going so far as to coax him into picking out his favorite items at the shop that made him literally squeal in delight. Those items were then bought by Sebastian with a wad of cash that his parents had apparently given him to ‘tempt him' into changing his major to law.

“Don't thank me, Princess. I never wanted the money, and the LA clothes will inspire your new line or some shit,” Sebastian explained, shrugging Kurt's thanks off and taking his arm while Blaine took the other. They easily found the restaurant and met Coop, who was more than happy to share all the detail of his upcoming soap debut.

After that, their trip was cut somewhat short, since Cooper had to start working and the guys didn't really want to spend all the time on their own. The whole point of visiting was to spend time with Cooper, after all. They wished him luck, promised to visit again soon, made him promise to do the same, and headed back to NYC to finish the season with their city friends and get the apartment in order for the new school year.

Life was good. Kurt was getting paid when he went back to work at Vogue. Bas wasn't letting his parents influence his life, and Blaine was working out details to play his original songs at a local cafe.

They really couldn't ask for anything more.