2012

“I’ll miss you,” Blaine whispers in Kurt’s ear.

“I’ll miss you too,” Kurt says.

“We’ve never been this far apart.”

“Blaine, we survived four months. Surely, we can survive being in different states.”

Blaine tenses up for a second, but before Kurt can apologise, Blaine nods and hugs him even harder.

“You’re my best friend.”

“And you are mine.”

Eventually he lets go so that Kurt can turn to his dad.

“You ready, kiddo?” his dad has Kurt’s suitcase in hand. He’s flying to New York with him, Rachel and the Berrys.

Kurt nods.

Blaine’s lying on Kurt’s bed, as usual. It’s weird how easy it is to be friends again. Sometimes it feels like those four months never happened. The only difference is that they’re in New York now. Kurt still can’t fully believe that he’s here. He’s living in a shitty loft in Bushwick with Rachel, but it’s New York. They both got accepted by NYADA and it’s the dream.

Mercedes is in LA. Blaine is still in Lima. He decided to do a gap year, so he hasn’t started a degree yet. He still doesn’t know what he wants to do. Kurt tries to help him out, but it’s also clear that Blaine still doesn’t want Kurt to do so.

Blaine’s visiting now for the holidays. Kurt and Rachel opted to stay in the city, since it’s expensive to fly back, so Blaine asked if he could come over. He’s back in Kurt’s life. He shows up at Friday Night Dinners, even when Kurt’s in New York. He’s gone to the airport to send Kurt and his dad off.

And yeah, Kurt should be happy about that. A part of him is always happy to see Blaine. He looks at Blaine, who’s chilling on his bed, listening to the new musical Next to Normal and it makes Kurt’s heart burst with joy, but also with fear.

To be honest, Kurt’s never really gotten over the pain that Blaine caused. But that’s all in the past now. Their friendship is solid again, but it’s also changed. Sometimes it feels hard to talk to Blaine, since it ends with tension. That’s another reason why Kurt’s so happy that Blaine’s here in New York. It’s always easier to talk face-to-face.

“This song is great,” Blaine says. He’s referring to Aftershocks. “This entire musical is great! Gabe Goodman is one of the best roles on Broadway!”

They've managed to get rid of me
I'm gone without a trace
But sear the soul and leave a scar
No treatment can erase

Kurt just nods. He doesn’t want Blaine to know that Kurt hates this song. Not because it’s bad, but because it stings. Kurt and Blaine are talking again, but their fight left a dent, or a scar if you will, on their friendship.

“I can’t believe we’re seeing this,” Blaine says happily. He doesn’t seem to be bothered. “Man, remember Spelling Bee, Wicked and RENT? That’s five years ago.”

“You made your Broadway debut,” Kurt smiles at the memory.

Blaine laughs. “Yeah. My mom hated it!”

Kurt’s smile widens. Maybe he’s being silly. Blaine is obviously at ease here and Kurt doesn’t want to ruin their trip. Blaine’s reminiscing and maybe this can become a sort of tradition. Blaine loves musicals and he mentioned Gabe being a great role.

“You know, you’d make a good Gabe.”

Blaine sits up. “Yeah?”

“I know you’re taking a gap year-”

Blaine falls back with a groan. “Not this again, Kurt. I like musicals, that’s true, but I’m not sure if I want to be in one! I want to see them. With you.”

“Right.”

“Hey, I know I’m the one who’s been on Broadway,” Blaine says, “But you’re the one who’s going to be on Broadway and I’m fine with being a bystander to your success.”

Blaine’s incredibly ungraceful on the ice. He’s sliding across the rink and his arms are waving in every possible direction. It makes Kurt laugh incredibly loud.

“Kurt, catch me!” Blaine zips towards him with his arms outstretched.

The impact isn’t as terrible. Blaine crashes into Kurt and the two of are laughing. Blaine has his arms around Kurt and his head against his chest. He’s shaking with laughter.

“I never thought you could be terrible at something,” Kurt says.

“And as usual, you’re perfect,” Blaine says quietly. Kurt laughs harder. Blaine flatters him.

The two of them stand together like that and Kurt knows there’s nothing between them, but it still feels nice that all the other skaters just zip past them in peace. And even if someone’s throwing them a nasty look, Kurt doesn’t know. It’s so much nicer here.

Back in Lima, Blaine never shied away from physical contact, but Kurt was the one who didn’t want to be touchy in public. Everyone knows that Kurt’s gay and Blaine’s straight, but Blaine’s straightness won’t swerve a homophobe. But here, Blaine’s still pressed against him and it’s safe.

“I can teach you to skate,” Kurt suggest, “Or I can get you a chair for balance.”

“I’ll use you for balance!”

“Fine by me.”

Blaine holds on Kurt’s arm and together they skate. It’s nice. It’s better than the earlier tension. Their renewed friendship has its ups and its downs, which is a departure from how it used to be when it was filled with constant ups, but it’s better than nothing.

Right now, Blaine’s beaming and Kurt can’t help but smile too when he sees how excited his friend is. And afterwards they’re going to get some hot chocolate, or coffee, since Kurt is now a slut for coffee. Then they’ll walk around the city and Kurt can show him around. It’s going to be fine.

Hopefully, things will get better.