He saw Jason, the man playing Booth exit on the opposite side of the stage, before his cry of ‘Sic Semper Tyrannis’ reverberated through the theatre. This was it. Kurt positioned his guitar and took the stage. Just before he opened his mouth to sing his first line, he caught sight of Blaine sitting, smiling in the front row. Then he lost himself in the show.

Kurt was tired, the show was almost done, but he had his most emotional scene left to do. He had just been forced off stage by the other assassins and just had enough time to strip the plaid shirt away, revealing his plain white tee, and to change into a pair of sneakers before the stage went black and he had to go out for his final scene. No more peppy musical numbers, now he really had to act.

The scene was hard for Kurt, it is never an easy task to put a gun to your head, even if you know it is just a prop. Kurt used the raw emotions from years of feeling he had no one, years he endured who know how before finding glee club, before finding an outlet. He used the desperation he felt, when the bullying got so bad, before Finn and his dad or any of his friends found out the extent.

When the shot rang out through the theatre, Kurt knew that signaled the end of the scene. He turned around, seeking approval of the other assassins, while he was sweeping the empty stage, he caught sight of Blaine once more, but there were tears glistening in the lights on his face. He grabbed the lunch pail and ran off the stage.

He sang the last number with the rest of the cast, pistol in hand. The weight of the gun, while odd when they first started rehearsing, now felt familiar. Kurt had to work hard not to chance another glance at Blaine as they bore down on the audience, raising their guns, this was not a moment he wanted to be looking at the man he loved. With one final massive display of gun fire, the stage went black. Kurt hurried back and grabbed his guitar, and waited for the curtain call to begin.

He was too caught up in getting where he needed to be that he didn’t even hear the applause. He was focused on waiting for Jason to run back out of stage, he knew then he was next. As soon as Jason bowed, Kurt walked out on stage and was almost blown over by the wall of sound that hit him. His heart sped, as he noticed most of the house on their feet. Kurt couldn’t control his smile as he approached the front of the stage. He bowed then threw a kiss at Blaine, before being joined in a line by the rest of the cast. After acknowledging the crew and bowing one more time, the curtain fell on Kurt’s first performance.

With shaky fingers Kurt removed his makeup, the smile on his face could not be contained. He congratulated the other cast members and accepted complements in return, but he just wanted to see one group of people he knew would be waiting for him at the stage door.

Once he was dressed, he gathered his things and walked with his head held high out the back entrance of the theatre. He expected to see Blaine, his family and their friends. What he didn’t expect was to see a crowd of people waiting with playbills in their hands. He started toward where he saw a familiar head of curls but was stopped by several people calling his name.

“Mr. Hummel, can I have your autograph?” a teenage boy called above the rest. Kurt approached the young man, a shy smile in place.

“Sure?” Kurt almost questioned his request. “What’s your name?”

“Mark. You were amazing. Thank you so much for this. I’m going to keep it, so when you are famous, I can say I met you before you were a big star!” The boy gushed.

Kurt was startled by Mark’s reaction, but after thanking him, there were more people asking for his autograph as well. Slowly, too slowly for Kurt’s liking the crowd began to disappear. The cast all looked at each other, most with disbelief. As the last of the group had Kurt’s signature, Kurt was finally free to see the people he wanting to talk to.

They were all talking to each other, Kurt was glad to see Rachel and Tina enjoying the conversation with Blaine’s family. Before he was half way there, almost as if sensing Kurt’s presence, Blaine turned and ran to him. He lifted Kurt in the air, kissing him soundly as they spun in circles. “You were amazing Kurt! Spectacular, astounding, breathtaking! I just can’t tell you how proud I was of you tonight!”

“Way to take any praise we could say away from us, Blaine” Tina playfully scolded.

“Feel free to add your own opinion in,” Kurt bantered with the group. “I don’t think tonight I will tire of the compliments. That was amazing!”

“You were amazing.” Blaine corrected with a kiss to Kurt’s cheek.

Rachel grabbed Kurt’s hand giving him a critical look before speaking, “I really don’t know what those directors were thinking,” she began, and Kurt’s great mood began to falter, doubt began to creep in. “Anyone who wouldn’t cast you is a fool and will kick themselves for not seeing how spectacular you really are. I am so glad I was here for this.”

Kurt extracted himself from Blaine long enough to bring Rachel into a hug, then was surprised when one by one, everyone else pulled him into a hug. Soon after, Mike joined the group, kissing Tina in greeting. Everyone gushed over his work on the show as well. It was getting late, so everyone began to depart; most of the Andersons in taxis and everyone else by foot. Tina, Mike and Rachel headed in the opposite direction from Kurt and Blaine.

They walked along in comfortable silence for a while before Blaine turned to Kurt. “I’ve been thinking.” He began.

“Are you sure that is such a good idea.” Kurt teased.

“Hush, I’m being serious.” Blaine said, pushing Kurt lightly. “It’s going to be harder to see each other now that your show has opened. And we’ve been spending every night together anyways. And it would just make more sense really and save us both money” Blaine babbled.

Kurt cut him off, “What are you saying Blaine?” Kurt didn’t know whether to be excited or frightened.

“I think we should move in together.” Blaine stated plainly.

“What? How?” Kurt stammered, “I mean, whose apartment will we give up? When are we doing this?”

“You mean you want to?” Blaine asked shyly, looking up at Kurt from under his eyelashes.

Kurt paused for a moment and thought over what he had just said. It is true, he wasn’t worried about officially living with Blaine, he was just worried about the logistics. “Of course, I love you Blaine. Just how are we going to do this. I mean we would have to sell half of our furniture, and we are working opposite shifts now, I’m sure neither of our neighbors would be happy with us moving in the middle of the night. Plus my family will be here in less than a month.”

Blaine cut him off with a kiss. “Now you’re rambling.” They shared a laugh before Blaine became serious. “I was thinking we could get a new place, one that is just ours. We could maybe afford a nice two bedroom, so then your family could stay with us if we found a place fast enough.”

“But how?” Kurt asked as he unlocked his apartment door. “I mean how will we find a place, it will take us forever if the only time we have to look is Monday afternoons.”

“Well… I thought maybe during the day while I’m at work you could look at places and maybe narrow it down. Then I could look at the ones you like. What do you think?” Blaine offered.

Kurt pulled him into the bedroom. “I think that sounds like a plan. Now I want to celebrate one of the best nights of my life. I opened a great show, I signed some autographs, and I was propositioned by this wonderful guy to live with him. So can we discuss the finer details of this later?”

The next morning as Blaine got ready for work, they talked about everything. How much they could afford, the area they wanted to live in, things that were important to each of them in an apartment. The Kurt started looking. It was a good distraction for the week, it kept his mind off the fact that reviews would be going out that weekend.

So all that week, Kurt researched and went to look at different apartments. None really stood out, they wanted to stay in the same area, close to the Theatre District. It was frustrating, but it helped Kurt not think about what the critics might say about his performance.

Each night after the show was done; Kurt would walk back to either his or Blaine’s apartment, where Blaine would be waiting for him. This was the time they really got to talk about their day. They both relished this time, not used to the absence in each other’s lives. Kurt would wake up with Blaine during the week and make him breakfast while he readied for work.

Their relationship changed during this time. They no longer could spend countless hours together, so they appreciated the little time they had so much more. They each made sure to let the other in completely sharing the mundane with the exciting.

Saturday morning found Kurt waking in the bed alone. He stretched out, surprised to feel the slightly warm space next to him empty. Blaine never woke before Kurt, he liked to sleep in; so Kurt rose from bed, wrapping his robe around him to displace the winter chill, and made his way into Blaine’s living room.

He heard singing coming from the kitchen, which brought a smile to his face. He crept in and watched as Blaine sang and danced around the small space, preparing breakfast. A small plate of bacon sat next to a plate of scrambled eggs. Blaine was currently flipping pancakes.

Kurt inched forward quietly and wrapped his arms around Blaine’s waist, causing him to jump slightly. “Morning.” Kurt whispered, placing a kiss on Blaine’s ear. “Making breakfast?”

Blaine gave him a kiss back, before dutifully turning back to the pancakes. “Well, you wake up every morning to make me breakfast, so I thought I would return the favor.”

“You don’t have to do that, sweetie, I know that you like to sleep in on weekends.” Kurt said giving him a squeeze.

Blaine laughed, “Well I used to, but I’d much rather spend that time with you. What time do you have to go to the theatre?”

“Not until one. Did you want to meet me for dinner between shows?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now go sit down and I will bring your food out, it’s almost finished.” Blaine told him.

A minute later, Blaine was bringing a tray out to the living room, but food wasn’t the only thing on it. Stacks of newspapers lay next to their food. The smile fell instantly from Kurt’s face. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

“If you think it is the entertainment papers, then yes. I haven’t read them, but I thought we might read them together.” Blaine said with a smile that Kurt just couldn’t return.

“I can’t.” he whispered instead.

Blaine sat next to Kurt and pulled him into his arms. “Why not? I told you, you were spectacular, don’t you believe me.”

“You are a little biased. Just read them, quickly. At least if it is bad, I have a few hours to wallow before I have to go make a fool of myself on stage.” Kurt mumbled.

“Okay, New York Times…”

“Yes let’s start with the small rag no one pays attention to.” Kurt scoffed.

Blaine rolled his eyes before reading:

There is a new theatre in town. Just what New York needs right? In this case that is one hundred percent true. We were skeptical at best; and were gladly proven wrong. NFB Theatre Company housed in the old Delany Theatre, has brought us a wealth of new talent. Their premier performance, Assassins opened Tuesday, a delightful surprise. The company is full of many talented members.

One to keep an eye on in the future is Miss Celia Grant. Her Squeaky was fun and quirky without being over the top. Not only is she a wonderful actress, but her voice could even rival critically acclaimed Broadway star Rachel Berry. Miss Berry had better watch out in the future, she may have a real rival on her hands.

The most notable stand out though, is Mr. Kurt Hummel. A virtual unknown in the New York Theatre world, we were wary to see him not only cast as The Balladeer, but also doubled as Oswald. We were blown away. His Balladeer was fun and just snarky enough, without losing the fun folk aspect of the role. His voice is nothing short of breathtaking, with a quality that sets it apart from your average Broadway star. What impressed us the most was his transformation into Oswald. I call it a transformation, aside from his physical appearance and the playbill, I would not have known it was the same actor. He embodied the role with such fervor, you could sense the depression and desperation Oswald felt. I was not the only audience member with tears in my eyes after this scene. Give Mr. Hummel a few years and you will not be talking about theatre without mentioning this great talent.”

Blaine lowered the paper, “It goes on to talk about some of the other cast. He pokes some fun at Jeremy’s accent as Czolgosz. But otherwise it is a great review. You’ve done it Kurt!”

Kurt was dumbfounded, he could hardly believe that this was really happening. They took turns reading through the rest of the reviews; all were similar. Kurt felt bad for Jeremy, he had been struggling with the accent for weeks, but he couldn’t help but feel elated for himself and Celia.

Once breakfast was finished, Blaine suggested they go apartment shopping together before Kurt had to go to the theatre. They wandered around the city, unimpressed by what they were finding. There was nothing that set any of the apartments apart from the others.

“At this rate, we could just pick any of them.” Kurt complained.

Blaine squeezed his hand, “Well just one more and then we can grab lunch and I will walk you to the theatre. We are at your place tonight right?”

“Either way, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m with you.”

The last apartment was an older building, an old woman greeted them with a smile when they told her they wanted to see what she had for rent. “Oh, I think we have just the place for you, dears. Follow me.”

They took the elevator to the top floor and the woman asked them about themselves. She was a sweet older lady, and cooed over them as a couple. “I think it is sweet you two have found each other. You know some of my friends don’t understand the gays, but I think it doesn’t matter who you love as long as you have love in your heart.” Kurt and Blaine shared a smile at this.

“Now this apartment has been recently renovated, and it is one of my favorites.” She said as she unlocked the door. They stepped inside and the first thing Kurt noticed was a spiral staircase just to the left of the entry. The space beyond it was open and inviting. Large windows lined one wall, making the hardwood floors gleam in the sunlight. He could see the kitchen open onto the living room just behind the staircase. To their right was a half bath, it was small but large enough for general use. “Just take a look around. There are two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, as well as a private terrace. I don’t manage the stairs too well, so I’ll be down here if you have any questions.”

Kurt and Blaine wandered hand in hand through the apartment. The kitchen was modern with stainless steel appliances. The counters were grey marble. Together they walked up the staircase, waiting for something to be horribly wrong with the place. The only things Kurt didn’t love about the place was there was no master bath, so when they had guests over they would have to share, and the bedrooms shared a wall, meaning if they had someone spending the night they would have to be mindful of their noises. Other than that it was perfect, and how often would they have overnight guest; not enough to make him hate the place.

They walked out on the terrace and marveled at the wonderful view. Kurt could picture them sharing a glass of wine watching the lights of the city blink, or sharing a morning cup of coffee watching the city fully wake up. He turned to Blaine, “I love it.” His voice was quiet, and hopeful.

“Me too. How much was this one?” Blaine asked, sure that this would be the breaking point.

Kurt looked down at his notes, “$3250 a month. We can do this Blaine, that is less than both our apartments combined.”

The smile that broke across Blaine’s face was priceless. “This is ours, this is going to be our place.” He grabbed Kurt and spun him around, kissing him with fervor. “Let’s go down and tell Mrs. Jennings.”

She promised to draw up a lease for them and have it ready in the morning for them to sign. Kurt didn’t even realize what a milestone this was for him. Never before had he lived with another man, let alone a lover. Now, after less than three months together, after less than a week of looking, he was about to sign a joint lease with this wonderful, enthusiastic, supportive man. If Kurt would have thought about it, he might have been frightened, but his heart told him, it just felt right.