The couple spent Thanksgiving with Blaine’s family. After the meal they even sat around the Andersons penthouse apartment playing games until the wee hours of the morning. By the time Kurt and Blaine stumbled back to Blaine’s apartment, Kurt’s stomach hurt from all the wonderful food and laughing so hard all night. It wasn’t the same as spending Thanksgiving with his own family, but Kurt had felt included all night, like he really belonged there too.

The last Saturday in November, just days before Kurt’s show was set to open, Blaine told Kurt to dress up, he was taking them out on the town. Kurt knew that once Assassins opened, their time together would be much more limited, with Blaine teaching during the day and Kurt with shows almost every night and all day on the weekends, so he was glad Blaine had planned something special.

All through their dinner at a posh restaurant Blaine insisted they go to; Kurt tried to get him to tell him where they were going. Blaine, however, was determined to see the surprise through to the end. They were laughing, and kissing each other through the streets of New York, Kurt not even paying attention to where they were headed, too caught up in Blaine now to care what they were doing. It wasn’t until they stopped in front of The Ambassador Theatre, Kurt froze as he looked up into the blown-up face of one Rachel Berry.

“I thought since we won’t have time to see any plays while you are starring in one I would treat us. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about End of Our Time, and they are saying that Rachel Berry is almost a shoe in to win a Tony.” Blaine beamed at Kurt, who was still frozen in shock.

“Oh Blaine,” Kurt breathed, but not in awe and excitement. “I don’t….”

Blaine saw the look on Kurt’s face and immediately cupped his face in his hands, “What’s wrong Kurt?”

“Rachel is my ex-roommate, and can we just say that things didn’t end on the best of terms.” Kurt mumbled, ashamed of himself.

“I had no idea Kurt, why didn’t you tell me?” Blaine soothed, pulling Kurt into a tight embrace.

The chuckle that escaped Kurt was humorless, “Well, while Rachel may not be an angel, it was mainly my fault. I just, I feel awful about it, and honestly I hate thinking about it.”

“We don’t have to see the show, I can try and sell them or something…” Blaine tried to fix the situation.

“No, you are excited to see it, and I shouldn’t let petty arguments get in the way of a wonderful evening. Rachel may be a difficult but boy can she sing.” Kurt told him, leading him to the lobby of the theatre.

Once they sat, Kurt turned to Blaine, “I moved here with Rachel right after high school. We both went to NYADA. As far as roommates go, we worked pretty well, sure there were times when we wanted to kill each other, but for the most part we got along well, even better than when we were in high school, because we weren’t trying to steal each other’s spotlight.” Kurt couldn’t help but laugh remembering the many fights they had had at McKinley over one solo or another. “Things were going well with us, but it got really tense after her and Finn broke up. For three years, they tried the long distance thing. Finn was going to school in Ohio, just a couple of classes here and there while working for my dad. Finn… he never really knew what he wanted to do. In High School he dreamed about getting out of Lima, but I don’t know, I don’t think New York was the place for him. He tried, he would visit whenever he could, but it just wasn’t him, he’s a small town guy.”

“I guess it’s hard for me to think of not living in the city, I’ve been here my whole life. What is the appeal to him?” Blaine asked, merely curious.

“It’s a lot more laid back I guess. I couldn’t leave fast enough, what with the homophobia, and my dreams of the stage; but for people like my dad and Finn, I think they like knowing everyone. It makes them feel safe, but for me being able to just blend in sometimes made me feel safe.” Kurt told him with a shrug.

“I think it would be impossible for you not to stand out in a crowd” Blaine said kissing his cheek.

“You know what I mean,” Kurt admonished him. “Anyway, things were tense, but it was alright for a while after the break-up. Then right before graduation, Finn met Vicky. There was an unspoken rule at the apartment not to talk about Finn, but Rachel heard me Skyping Finn one night and he was telling me about her. I should have seen it coming.”

“What,” Blaine asked.

“Her moving out. Not long after leaving school, Rachel was cast in a show, it was a small part, but it was just the excuse she was looking for to leave. I had just started escorting for Santana. Anyway, we fought. You should know, when I am hurt or mad I tend to say things I don’t mean. I’m awful, I say things that I know will hurt. That’s why I say them. It’s not something I am proud of, and I am working on it. I guess it is better you find this out now, than in the middle of an argument.” Kurt warned him, not meeting Blaine’s eyes.

“Duly noted, don’t take anything you say during a fight to heart, if it was said to hurt me. Alright, I think I can remember that. I’ll let you in on a little secret, when I get really mad, and I say I need to leave, let me, I will be back, I just need too cool off a bit so I don’t do anything I’ll regret.” Blaine said, taking Kurt’s hand and rubbing circles on the back of it.

Kurt smiled at him, “Will do. Look at us being all mature and working these things out before we even have a real fight.” Kurt laughed. “Anyway, with Rachel, she tends to say things she thinks in the moment are true. She accused me of just riding the coattails of her talent and wanting to use her to become famous. She left, got a new place. I was struggling trying to pay the rent, and started dancing. You know that already. But I knew Rachel would come back to apologize, that’s what she does. She is mad for a few weeks, and then wants to fix things. But I was ashamed and it was easier to blame Rachel than to take responsibility for my decision to start dancing. I blocked her number; I blocked her on Facebook. I cut her out of my life. I even marked her email address as spam. I moved not long after she left. I knew there was no way for her to find me. I didn’t have to worry about Santana or Brittany telling her where I lived, because they never got along. By avoiding her, I could still blame her for the dancing. The thing is, I miss her, and I haven’t lied to myself about it being her fault in a long time. I just didn’t know how to undo all the damage I had done.”

“Well, maybe for starters, we sit here and enjoy the show.” Blaine told him with a smile, “And then afterwards, we can wait at the stage door and see if we can get her to talk to you. I mean, it sounds to me like you aren’t the only one with something to apologize for.”

Kurt sat mesmerized by Rachel’s performance, she had grown so much while at NYADA, but now she was exceptional. He could see why all the critics were raving about her; even from their seats in the balcony, Kurt could see tears glistening in her eyes. During intermission, Kurt told Blaine the story of sneaking in to the Gershwin with Rachel to sing on the stage. “It was truly magical. That was the moment that I knew I wanted to do that for the rest of my life. Before that I waffled between the stage and fashion, but even in the empty theatre, I could just feel that is where I belonged.”

Blaine leaned over to kiss his cheek, “I can’t wait to see you up on stage opening night.”

“I can hardly believe we open on Tuesday. It still hasn’t sunken in yet.” Kurt sighed.

When the lights dimmed again, Kurt lost himself in the story, but it was hard not to just see Rachel up there. He knew her so well, had seen her in countless roles; part of him still saw the vulnerable Ohio girl with stars in her eyes.

After a standing ovation, Kurt could hardly contain his nerves. After two years of silence, his former best friend was so close. He clasps Blaine’s hand fiercely in his as they walked to the stage door entrance. There was already a crowd there, holding their playbills wait for the chance to snag an autograph. Kurt inched their way forward, the cowardly part of him wanting to blend into the crowd. However, with Blaine by his side, he gathered his courage and waited for a glimpse of the girl who had walked out of his life.

After standing there for ten minutes, the actors finally started emerging from the building. Kurt craned his neck searching the group for the familiar brown head. Then he saw her, demurely signing a teenager’s program, a smile on her face. Pulling Blaine with him he made his way over to where she was standing.

“You know, it is important to keep your eyes on your dream.” He heard her tell the star struck girl. “Six years ago I was just another girl from the Midwest too, and now I get to do what I love every day. If I can do it so can you.”

The girl thanked her profusely before being dragged away by her parents. Kurt took the moment to approach Rachel. She had turned to say something to a cast mate, when Kurt spoke, her head whipped around. “Rachel.” It was a simple word, but it was harder to get out than Kurt thought possible. His voice cracked slightly, showing clearly his discomfort.

“Kurt!” Rachel exclaimed, before clearly reigning in her emotions and putting a mask of apathy on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“I… I wanted to talk to you... to apologize for everything. Do you think we could go somewhere to talk?” Kurt asked, feeling Blaine squeeze his hand in support.

Rachel hung her head, “I don’t know Kurt, I’m not sure that is a great idea.”

“Please Rachel,” Kurt grabbed her hand with the one not occupied with Blaine. “please, I just want to talk and if the you want nothing to do with me, I completely understand. Just... please.”

“Just…” sighed Rachel, “just give me ten minutes.”

Kurt and Blaine moved away from the crowd to a place they were sure Rachel would see them. Once the rest of the people waiting began to disperse, Rachel approached them. She eyed Blaine for a minute before raising an eyebrow at Kurt.

“Rachel, this is my boyfriend Blaine Anderson. Blaine, this is Rachel Berry.” Kurt introduced them, still feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Blaine gave her his charming smile, “You were truly amazing up there.”

“Kurt, I thought you wanted to talk…” Rachel sounded wounded.

Kurt eyed the sidewalk. “I did… I do. Blaine brought me to the show as a surprise, but I have been wanting to talk to you for a while now. Can we go somewhere more private? My place is not too far away, neither is Blaine’s.”

“I don’t know Kurt, you really hurt me cutting me out of your life like that. I don’t know if I can forgive you.” Rachel’s eyes were boring into him.

Kurt grabbed her hand once more, “I know, I was mad and hurt and… can I just explain this back at my place. I don’t want it to just be a hurried apology, you deserve to know everything. I am sorry Rachel… and I’ve… well I’ve missed you.”

“Fine.” That was all Rachel said until they were back in Kurt’s apartment. Kurt offered to make coffee, which Rachel responded with only a nod. Blaine walked with him to the kitchen.

“I think it would be best if you two talked alone. I will just be in your room if you need me.” Blaine said as he helped Kurt load a tray with everything they would need for coffee.

Kurt carried the tray in and sat it on the coffee table. “The coffee will be ready in just a minute.” Kurt told Rachel who was eyeing the coffee-less tray with suspicion.

“If you will excuse me Rachel, I have some grading I need to do. It was nice meeting you.” Blaine told her nodding his head in her direction before kissing Kurt quickly.

Before Blaine could disappear into the bedroom, Kurt said, “Thank you. I love you,” making Blaine smile.

“Well, I must say that is quite a change. I haven’t heard you say that since Jay.” Rachel said bluntly.

“Yes, and I actually mean it this time.” Rachel raised her eyebrows at them. “You know I was more in love with the thought of being in love than with Jay himself. Blaine is… different, he’s special.”

“Well… I’m glad you are happy, but I thought you wanted to talk about us.” Rachel crossed her arms across her chest.

“I am so sorry… I have spent a long time blaming you for things that you had nothing to do with really.” Kurt began, before telling her everything. She followed his voice as he continued his story fetching the freshly brewed coffee. She sat silently listening, as he told her about having to start stripping and the humiliation he felt. Her face showed nothing of what she could be thinking or feeling. “Then I met Blaine, and nothing has been the same since. He told me about this theatre company, and now I am one of their principle actors. We are in love, and everything is perfect… except I don’t have one of my best friends to share it with. I am sorry I blamed you for so long, but I was ashamed. It was easier to keep you mad at me than to have you disappointed in me.”

“Why now Kurt?” Rachel asked.

“I have wanted to talk to you for a while now, but… I was still so embarrassed to tell you what I had been doing, what I was still doing. Then, I was afraid that you wouldn’t want anything to do with me. Honestly, if Blaine wouldn’t have surprised me with tickets for your show, and too late for us to make other plans, I probably wouldn’t have attempted to contact you. But I couldn’t waste the opportunity to talk to you when you were right there.” Kurt told her, playing with the coffee cup in his hand.

Rachel sighed, but inched closer to Kurt, “You really did hurt me cutting me off like that. But I don’t blame you, I said some truly awful things to you. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have taken my heartache over your brother out on you.”

“So… do you think we can be friends again?” Kurt asked.

“I think we can, now tell me all about this theatre of yours.” Rachel said taking him into a hug.

Kurt launched into a full explanation about the theatre. He finished, “I just can’t believe we are opening Tuesday, it doesn’t seem like it could be real.”

“I’ll be there.” Rachel said in her determined voice.

Kurt was shocked, “What?”

“I wanted to have someone there on my opening night, my dads couldn’t make it until the weekend, and it just wasn’t the same. I want to be there for you Kurt.” She was firm, Kurt knew there was no way to talk her out of it but he felt he should try, after all he wasn’t there for her.

“But you have a show, I couldn’t possibly…” He began.

“Nonsense, Jocelyn will be thrilled to go on for me, after all you know I never get sick; poor girl had to learn those lines she might as well get one opportunity to do the show.”

“Let me see if Blaine has an extra ticket. His family and Tina were all coming together, he might have gotten an extra ticket. Blaine!” He called to the bedroom.

Blaine stuck his head out of the door, he was dressed in his pajamas already. Kurt’s heart leapt, he looked utterly adorable. “Yes?” he asked, looking between the two on the couch.

“Do you know if you have an extra ticket for Tuesday?” Kurt asked, his smile showing Blaine that everything was okay.

“Actually, Elise just texted me, Robert is on call that night so he can’t make it. She is still coming, but I have his ticket. Why?” Blaine raised his eyebrow at Kurt on the last sentence a knowing look on his face.

Kurt placed his hand over Rachel’s, “Miss Berry here wants to come see what a real show is like.” Kurt teased.

“Yes, I want to see what theatre was finally smart enough to cast Kurt.” Rachel smiled.

Blaine joined them for a while, telling Rachel about the glee club and working with Tina. She promised to come and talk to them one day after the holidays. After a while, Blaine excused himself, wanting to leave the two friends to catch up some more. Kurt promised to join him later, relishing in a long kiss hoping to convey his thanks for this reunion.

Once Blaine was back in the bed room, Rachel gushed, “I have to say Kurt, you really did catch a great one. But I didn’t think you were living together, how long have you been dating?”

“Almost two months,” Kurt blushed, “but we aren’t technically living together, but honestly we haven’t spent a night apart since our first official date.”

“Kurt!” She exclaimed, grabbing his knee.

“What? It has been an amazing whirlwind romance. It’s… romantic.” He tried to explain.

“That’s just not like you.” Rachel accused.

Kurt smiled, “I know. And we didn’t… you know… sleep together that first night. We just slept together. He’s wonderful in every way, and I love him.”

“I’m very happy for you… for everything.” Rachel said bringing him into a hug. “I’ve missed you Kurt.”

Kurt squeezed her back, “I’ve missed you to Rachel.”

“I’m going to go for now, you have a hot man in your room waiting for you. Far be it from me to keep you from your man.” She pulled out a business card. “Here is my number, let me know what time to meet Blaine Tuesday.”

Kurt walked Rachel to the door, almost reluctant to say goodbye, but wanting to thoroughly thank Blaine for his unknowingly perfect plan for the evening. Once the door was locked, Kurt turned back to his apartment, and rushed to bed and to the man he loves.