A few hours later found Kurt and Rachel, suitcases packed, on the way to Lima. They were both belting out songs from Wicked, courtesy of Kurt’s iPod. The road was lit up by Kurt’s headlights, the stars shining brightly above. Rachel had brought a bag of mints for them to share and she had just placed one in Kurt’s mouth when he remembered he had forgotten to tell Burt they’d set off. Kurt had mentally rolled his eyes when his father had ordered him to text when they left New York, but understood where he was coming from – It was a long drive to Lima.

“Rach, text my dad for me, tell him we’ve set off,” he said, leaning slightly closer to Rachel so she could slip his phone out of his front pocket. A few taps later and she placed the phone on the dashboard and held out another mint towards Kurt, which he put in his mouth whilst keeping his eyes on the road.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the hum of a Broadway tune coming from the speakers. They were heading to Lima because on Sunday, it was Burt’s birthday. They were only staying until Monday, driving home on Monday night. Kurt had begged and pleaded with Dylan to have that one day off work, and finally he had relented, after a promise from Kurt to make up the hours. Kurt was originally coming alone, but Burt insisted Rachel come along because, after all, she was like family and it was a win-win situation; she wouldn’t be alone in NYC and Kurt wouldn’t have to drive alone.

Kurt’s phone then buzzed and lit up the front of the car.

“My dad?” Kurt questioned when Rachel grabbed the phone and opened the message. Her squeal was so loud that Kurt almost swerved, stopping them from driving off the road quickly and putting a hand on his beating heart.

“Geez Rachel! What is it?” He asked, slightly angry at her for making them almost-crash.

“Blaine’s just texted you!” She grinned, bouncing in her seat a little, “He’s an eager beaver! You only gave him your number a few hours ago!”

Kurt’s mouth snapped open but he shut it quickly, his brain becoming immediately overwhelmed with incoherent thoughts such as ‘oh my Blaine what the’ and his eyes flicked to the clock above the radio. It read 2:40am. He frowned, wondering why Blaine had texted him this late, instead of in the morning. Not that I’m complaining, he thought, grinning.

“What does it say?” he asked, resisting the urge to snatch the phone from her and giggle like a little girl. Instead, he pretended to be cool, merely raising his head in a slightly interested fashion and focusing completely on the road.

“It says, ‘Hey Kurt. I wondered when you’re free, if you wanted to go out sometime? Safe journey tonight. Blaine xx’” Rachel recited, watching Kurt carefully for his reaction. He tried to hide his glee, but failed miserably. “What should I say back?”

Kurt cleared his throat and let out a happy sigh, “Um. Just say, I’m free next Friday if that’s alright from you and say thanks for the whole safe journey thing and put… two kisses back” Kurt trailed off, a glassy look coming over his eyes. Rachel snapped her fingers in front of his face and he jumped, blushing and remembering that he was supposed to be driving.

Rachel chuckled and wrote the reply.

Blaine was in the middle of stripping off his trousers when his phone vibrated. He shot across the room so fast that he tripped and landed on the floor with a loud thump, trousers round his ankles.

“Alright in there Blainers?” Mel’s voice shouted through his door. Blaine groaned and called a quick ‘I’m good’ to her, before leaping for his phone.

His face lit up as he read Kurt’s reply;

Kurt

How about Friday? And thank you :) xx

Blaine’s eyes lingered on the two kisses longer than they should. He gave a happy sigh, putting his phone on the bedside table and sank into bed, dreaming of clouds and leather pants.

Kurt tried to keep his excitement under wraps as they pulled into the driveway of his old house, but he wasn’t very successful. He did, however, stifled a yawn, Rachel soon following. Kurt had driven the majority of the way, but Rachel had spent a couple of hours behind the wheel too.

He practically bounced out of his seat and, ever the gentleman, opened Rachel’s door for her. She giggled as he skipped towards the door and went to open it, but was taken by surprise when the door flung open and Kurt found himself wrapped up in a big bear hug.

“Finn!” Kurt choked out, but hugged his brother back just as hard. “Let me breathe” He teased, and Finn released him.

“I’m so happy you’re here dude!” Finn grinned, ruffling Kurt’s hair, which earned him a murderous glare. He gulped and quickly dodged round Kurt, pulling Rachel into a hug. They still had feelings for each other, but had decided that long-distance just doesn’t work. So they decided to just be friends.

“Kurt!” Burt called, appearing at the door and hugging his son tightly. Kurt buried his face in his dads flannel shirt. “How was the journey kiddo?”

“Good, not much traffic.” Kurt pulled away and shrugged, “I’m tired though.”

“I’m not surprised; the suns only just come out.” Burt chuckled, walking towards the boot of the car to grab Kurt and Rachel’s bags.

Carole emerged from the living room and Kurt ran into her arms. He breathed in the familiar motherly scent and held her tighter. “Hey Hun,” she said, her voice muffled by Kurt’s shoulder.

“Hi” Kurt smiled and released her. “What time is it?”

“Just after 9” Carole answered, taking a bag from her husband and dragging it down to Kurt’s old room. Finn and Rachel had taken her stuff to the guest room.

Kurt yawned and Burt nudged him towards his old room, saying that he should get a few hours rest and they could catch up when he wakes up. The last thing Kurt said was ‘don’t look in the black bag, it’s your present’ before he saw his dad taking off his shoes and collapsed on his bed, falling into sleep almost instantly.