“Ten… nine… eight…”

Wes and Mae are already kissing. Elliott and Luke look at them with amused looks on their faces.

“… seven… six… five…”

Next to him, Kitty and Roderick are holding each other. They have big grins on their faces. Dani and Clara are sitting in corner, whispering and giggling. They don’t pay attention to the countdown.

“… four…”

Rachel and Jesse are too drunk to care about the countdown. Kurt scoots closer to Blaine. Adam and Sebastian are huddled together as well.

“… three… two… one…”

They are at home, so they can’t actually watch the ball drop at Time’s Square, but Blaine dips Kurt the moment the clock hits midnight.

“Happy New Year! Happy 2028!”

Roderick pops another bottle of champagne and Kitty is hollering. Rachel and Jesse are singing along with the television, and Elliott and Luke are still kissing. Dani and Clara announce their leave, but no one minds. Every year, they leave early to hit the town.

Wes and Mae are crying and Blaine gasps out loud when he sees that Wes is putting a ring on Mae’s finger.

“You fucking did it!” Blaine yells and Wes startles at the sudden noise. Everyone follows Blaine’s gaze and the room erupts into congratulations and more cheers.

“He beat me to it!” Mae yells loudly while she shows off her ring. Even Dani and Clara are admiring it from the door opening. “I was going to propose on Valentine’s Day. Kurt and I have been planning a perfect proposal.”

“Oh Mae,” Kurt flings his arm around Mae, “Isn’t this a perfect proposal?”

Mae pretends to ponder for a moment, but then she says: “Heck yeah!”

“Another one to celebrate?” Roderick raises the bottle and others raise their glasses. Roderick pours sloppily and the champagne gets spilled all over Kurt and Blaine’s floor, but everyone is in a good mood.

“Here, Anderson,” Kitty hands Blaine a glass of lemonade. She isn’t drinking either, since she her job requires her to get up early, even on New Year’s Day. She’s used to it and it makes Blaine feel less alone. No one in his group of friends have ever shamed or pressured Blaine to drink along, but at moments like this, he still feels awkward.

“Cheers, Wilde,” Blaine and Kitty clink their glasses together.

“Will you two ever refer to each other by your first names?” Jesse asks.

“Never,” Kitty sticks out her tongue.

“Most people just use tacky nicknames, like Kit-Kat,” Jesse says.

“Well, only Kurt calls me that!” Kitty says, but then she adds: “At least, he used to.”

The three of them look over to Kurt, who’s talking with Mae about the upcoming wedding. He looks very happy and very excited. Kurt’s always loved weddings, so Blaine feels a stab of bitterness when he sees that Mae shows him something wedding related on her phone. Why won’t he talk about his own upcoming wedding?

No. Not now. Blaine will not dwell on this right now. Now, it’s time for an evening of celebration filled with friends.

Kurt sees them looking and he excuses himself towards Mae.

“God, what a night,” Kurt says and he gives Blaine a quick kiss on the cheek, “The night is still young and it’s already so eventful.”

“Happy 2028, Kurt.”

“Happy 2013, Blaine.”

“Happy 2013, Kurt.”

But Kurt doesn’t seem very torn up about it. In fact, when he wished Blaine a happy 2013, it sounded more like an inside joke than a sad lament.

“Clara, Dani and Luke are great. I’m glad I’ve met them. It’s a shame that Dani and Clara are leaving early,” Kurt says.

“I’m glad you like them.”

“I’m just glad they still like me,” Kurt sighs happily and he leans against Blaine with his full weight. He must be a bit tipsy.

“Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions, Kurt?” Adam asks. Blaine has no idea where he suddenly came from.

“Yeah. I’m going to continue living. You?”

Adam whistles. “Wow, mate. My resolution is ‘doing more exercise’, which sounds pretty shit compared to yours.”

“I’m going to live, Adam. That’s what I’m going to do,” Kurt says and he raises his glass.

“Cheers to that!” Kitty chimes in and she also raises her glass. Soon, everyone follows her lead. They all toast to New Year’s Resolutions and Wes comes back from the kitchen with more oven snacks.

The party continues and the last guests leave around 5am. By the time Kurt and Blaine get to bed, they’re still high on energy.

“Today was really nice,” Kurt says and he yawns.

“It really was,” Blaine agrees and he scoots closer.

“And now, I’m going to continue living.”

“Yeah, you do that,” Blaine says absently. He’s already dosing off. Now that they’re actually in bed, the tiredness becomes clear.

Oh, Blaine had no idea what was coming.

It starts with clothing. Now, Kurt’s always been an extremely fashionable person, so he easily adapted to late 2020s fashion. He’s always been avant-garde. Blaine has seen photos of Kurt in high school and Kurt embodied fashion.

Still, he hasn’t actively followed fashion. Blaine’s surprised to come home to Kurt browsing through stacks of fashion magazines.

“Hey there.”

“Hey, welcome back.”

“I see you found your stash of magazines,” Blaine says and he watches Kurt turn the pages at rapid pace.

Kurt nods eagerly. “I’m very glad that print on paper still exists, even now. I think I might go out shopping later this week. I mean, if someone could help me budget.” Kurt gives Blaine a pointed look.

Right. Finances. Blaine’s offered Kurt to help him several times, but Kurt always declined. Blaine can imagine that it’s weird to go from struggling student to millionaire. Then again, Blaine wonders if Kurt knows how much money he actually has.

“Of course. I would love to not be the only one to fight Adam over budgeting and administration work.”

Kurt rolls his eyes. “I hate administration, don’t I? You mentioned it on the day I lost my memories. You thought I was trying to get out of it.”

Blaine can vaguely remember that.

“Ah well, it’s part of life. Let’s learn all the things high school never prepared me for!”

Then, it was time for photos. Over the past few months, photos have returned to the living room, but there’s still a lot of photos hidden in the office.

One day, Kurt asks Blaine to retrieve them.

“For real?” Blaine asks, just to be sure.

Kurt nods. “For real. I think I’m ready. Otherwise, I will never be ready.”

So Blaine comes back from the office with a stack of photos. Just like magazines, photos are still a thing in the late 2020s. Back in the 2010s, everyone expected the world to become fully digital, and sure, many things have been digitalised, it doesn’t mean that the old ways are fully gone.

Kurt and Blaine read magazines in paper and on their phones. Kurt and Blaine have photos in a photobook and in a cloud. Paper has indeed lost its importance, but it’s still there.

Blaine hands the stack face-down to Kurt.

Kurt braces himself and he flips around the first photo.

“Is that Sam? Wow, he looks good,” he says. He’s holding a photo of Blaine and Sam during summer vacation, all the way back in 2019. “Blaine, we do need to talk about your hair. I remember that you told me about your old hairgel addiction, but this looks like someone glued your hair to your head.”

Together, they go through the photos. Blaine watches Kurt freeze up every now and then, mostly when he sees how people he loves have aged, and Blaine has to explain some photos, but it’s going well.

Kurt burst out in laugher when he sees a photo of Blaine with a beard. Yes, Blaine went through that phase. It lasted half a year.

“You can’t laugh, Kurt. You haven’t shaved in days.”

“I know,” Kurt says dramatically, “I hate it.”

They put the photos back in the living room, the bedroom, and in the kitchen. Blaine is tempted to put them back where they belong, but Kurt has different ideas.

Then again, he can’t remember where these photos used to be.

When they’re done, Kurt looks around the living room in awe. “We have a lot of those.”

“We do. We’re old school.” Every time Brittany and Santana come over, Isabel tells them that it’s weird.

“It feels home-y, though.”

“That’s why we do it.”

Blaine’s sitting in the living room with his laptop balancing on his lap. He’s supposed to be working, but instead, he’s thinking.

Kurt keeps… well, he’s not exactly changing. But something is happening. He’s getting more confident. Before the new year, Kurt looked slightly out of place, but now it looks like he’s slowly starting to fit in.

Blaine really likes his newfound confidence, but he can’t help but wonder where it’s coming from. To Blaine, this is all very sudden, and he doesn’t really know what to feel.

It almost feels like Kurt’s giving up on regaining his memories.

To Blaine, that has been the goal all along. He’s accepted that it is taking longer than anticipated, but the inevitable end should be the memories coming back.

Maybe Blaine’s just paranoid. Should he word his concerns? They’ve been getting better at talking, but there are still many things unsaid. Should this be one of those things?

But what if Blaine’s being silly? What if Kurt just wants to enjoy life more? Blaine really loves this confident energy. That’s the Kurt he knows. For a long time, Blaine did see ‘this’ Kurt and ‘his’ Kurt as two separate people, and it feels like these two Kurts are merging into one. Isn’t this what Blaine’s wanted for so long? He feels like a terrible boyfriend (fiancé? Really, they should talk about the wedding), but he still misses ‘his’ Kurt a lot.

“Hey, so I was thinking-”

Blaine gets pulled out his thoughts. Kurt’s joined him in the living room and he’s holding a tablet.

“- talked about it with Rachel and Jesse and they’re on board with it. I will obviously have to start from scratch, but they think we should be able to do it.”

Blaine blinks a few times. “Excuse me, what?”

“Me going back to work?” Kurt says as if it’s obvious, “Jesse is already thinking about contacting Sebastian for PR. You know… spin it into my big return and all that. Then again, that is probably what is happening.”

“Wait. Hold on. Slow down,” Blaine says quickly, “You’re planning on going back to work?”

Kurt nods, looking confident with his decision. “I decided to keep you up to date before I actually decide anything, but yeah, I want to do this. Rachel is planning a meeting between me and my agent and then we’re off.”

Blaine is silent. He needs some time to process it. Things are changing too much, too fast. Is this why Kurt’s growing his stubble back? Has he been planning this?

“You really want to do that?” Blaine asks and Kurt immediately nods.

“Blaine, I’m ready. I’m bored out of my mind here and Broadway is right there,” Kurt looks outside. They don’t exactly live next to Broadway, but Blaine gets the gist. Kurt’s Tony Award is standing on their windowsill and it shines in the sunlight.

Blaine takes a deep breath. He is annoyed by all the sudden changes, but it’s unfair to take it out on Kurt. Blaine sets his laptop on the coffee table. “You’d be great on Broadway, but why are you suddenly doing all this? Broadway, changing up your style… all those things?”

“I told you, I’m bored,” Kurt says. He holds up the tablet. Kurt’s looked up photos of himself on Broadway. “And when I see this, I just… I miss it? It’s weird to miss something I can’t remember, but I miss it.”

He sets the tablet down and he looks at the Tony.

“I know I got it. When Rachel and Jesse first told me I got a Tony, I was so happy. You should’ve been there, Blaine. It felt like a perfect Tony ceremony, despite the circumstances. But lately, I can’t help but get mad. I’ve made it, Blaine. I have achieved my dream, but I cannot remember it at all. I’ve lost it.”

Blaine thinks about his own achievements and his awards. He feels so proud every time he think of his first album. He can’t imagine losing all that.

“What about your memories?” Blaine says. It’s the thing that’s been on Blaine’s mind.

“What about them?”

“Aren’t you waiting for them to come back?” Blaine asks.

“Obviously,” Kurt says, “But am I supposed to just sit around and wait? It’s been too long, Blaine. I am tired of waiting. I want to keep living.”

Blaine understands that, truly, but he’s trying to make Kurt understand why he’s worried without sounding like an entitled asshole. After all, this is Kurt’s life. Kurt is in this situation. Sure, Blaine’s stuck in it as well, like Kitty said, but it’s secondary to Kurt’s hurt.

A part of Blaine just desperately wants everything to turn back to normal.

They’re fine. Everything is fine most of the time, but Blaine still wishes he could just undo all of it. Things haven’t been the same since Blaine found Kurt on the kitchen floor, and he doesn’t like it.

“Sometimes, I feel like giving up,” Kurt admits.

“No, you can’t!” Blaine yells out in shock, making Kurt almost fall over. Blaine stops Kurt from falling by grabbing his arms.

“Blaine, I’m tired. I’m overwhelmed. Sometimes, I just want to stop waiting. What am I even waiting for, really? I cannot even remember most of my life. All I have are snippets of things that don’t even make sense.”

“But you have to come back!” Blaine says, and he immediately regrets it when he sees how Kurt’s face hardens.

Kurt pulls himself free out of Blaine’s grip. “Is this what it’s all about? You- my God, I thought we were past this, but you still see me as two different people?”

“Kurt, wait-”

“I get that, Blaine,” Kurt cuts in, “I can understand that I am a different person now and that disorientates you, so I’m not mad at you for that, but you can’t keep holding on to things that you’ve lost. That we’ve lost.”

The irony is that Blaine thinks that ‘his’ Kurt and ‘this’ Kurt are becoming one, which freaks him out, but he decides not to say that right now. He doesn’t want it to be more confusing.

“But you don’t see me, don’t you?” Kurt states, and he looks hurt, “I am right here, Blaine. I’m sitting right in front of you.”

“I see you,” Blaine says.

“Do you, Blaine?” Kurt sighs sadly, “Do you really?”

“Well, then what do you want?” Blaine says back, “What do you expect from me? I’ve lost you, Kurt. And I- Well, fuck, I just miss the old you. You’re still great and no case of amnesia can change that, but aren’t I allowed to miss who you used to be? You’re not him, no matter how hard you try.”

And once again, Blaine just wants to slap himself. Kurt gets up and Blaine asks him to stop and that they can talk about it and please, stay here with me, but Kurt shakes his head.

“I like you, Blaine,” Kurt says, almost close to tears, “In fact, I think I love you. But I can’t be in love with a man who keeps waiting for someone who might never return. Be with me here, or leave me.”

And Blaine…

Well, Blaine makes the biggest mistake. He remains silent.

Kurt takes in the silence and the next thing Blaine knows, he hears the front door shut and he’s all alone.

Wes takes one look at Blaine and he immediately pulls him into a hug.

“I think I messed up, Wes,” Blaine doesn’t hug back. He doesn’t have the energy. He just sat in his apartment, so numbed by Kurt’s confession, that he completely lost track of everything around him. After an unknown amount of time, Blaine snapped out of his funk.

Kurt’s gone.

Blaine needed Wes.

Wes leads Blaine inside. Mae is sitting at the kitchen table and she’s tapping on a tablet at a rapid pace. She looks up when she hears Wes and Blaine coming in, but she frowns when she sees the look on Blaine’s face.

“Don’t ask,” Blaine says immediately, “Let me just pretend that my life isn’t falling apart due to my own stupidity.”

“Well in that case, come here,” Mae says cheerfully and she holds up the tablet, “Wes and I are looking at floral arrangements. I’m team complementary colour scheme, but Wes wants a warm-cold colour scheme.”

Blaine allows himself to be lured into this conversation. Wes and Mae are incredibly cheery throughout the entire moment. Wes opens a bag of chips and a bottle of soda and it truly is nice. They laugh and talk and drink.

A few hours later, Mae and Blaine are giggling like teenagers while watching some trashy TV. Wes has left for something work-related, but Mae and Blaine don’t mind.

“Are you calm, Blaine?” Mae says carefully.

“Kind of,” Blaine says and he takes a sip of his drink. He knows what’s going to happen now. Classic Mae, waiting for him to be relaxed. “I told Kurt that I miss his old self and then I basically shut down when Kurt confessed that he might be in love with me and that he can’t stand it that I am waiting for his old self to come back.”

“You know he might not come back, right?”

“Yeah,” Blaine says sadly, “I know that, but a part of me just wants to live in denial.”

Mae turns off the television. “It’s not a bad thing to miss or grieve the person Kurt used to be,” she says seriously, “Lord knows how many times I went through that with my sibling.”

“Will it ever get easier?” Blaine asks sadly.

“Like all grief processes… yeah. One day, it’ll be bearable,” Mae says, sounding a bit melancholy, “But it’s also different for us, Blaine. We still get to see parts of the people we lost. ‘Your’ Kurt is still a part of Kurt, no matter what. I still see the traces of my sibling’s alters before integration. We can miss them and grieve them, but they’re never truly gone.”

“I love Kurt, even now, but I also cannot help but wonder the ‘what ifs?’, you know? What if his memories never disappeared?”

“No use crying over spilled milk, darling,” Mae says.

“True,” Blaine agrees, “But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be sad.”

Mae scoots closer and the two of them sit in silence. Blaine knows he should go home to apologise to Kurt for implying that he can’t continue life, but it shows that there are still unsolved problems.

“What a way to start the new year,” Blaine says and Mae laughs sadly.

“Yeah. Cheers to 2028.”