December 18

I was stupid.  I was wrong.  Can we please talk?

You don’t have to humor me.  It’s fine.  I get it.  You don’t want me here, so there’s no point.

I’m not trying to humour you.  I really think we should talk.  I’m sorry.  I overreacted.

Where are you?

It’s not important where I am.

Yes, it is.  I want to talk to you

[silence]

Blaine, please just tell me where you are

I’m not readily available.

Why is that?

[silence]

Don’t make me find a tech savvy friend to track your phone

I’ll be turning it off soon, anyway.

Why?

[silence]

You’re not... going back to NY are you?

[silence]

Blaine slams Finn’s car door shut and waves at him, then turning and heading into the Dayton airport.

Answer me, please?

Really, it’s okay, you don’t have to humor me.

Don’t worry about it.

But I do worry

Hey Blaine, are you going to be home for Christmas?

Blaine, when you get a chance, could you ask Rachel to text me?

Blaine, please?

No, sorry.  I won’t be home.  I’m actually headed back to NYC from Ohio now.

Oh my god... you’re going back... seriously?

That wasn’t supposed to go to you. (unsent)

It doesn’t matter.

Yes is does.  It matters so much.  Because I love you

Yesterday you couldn’t even look at me. (unsent)

Don’t humor me.

I’m not.  I’ve done some thinking overnight and I overreacted

I’m so sorry

[silence]

Kurt stares at himself, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, and makes up his mind, dashing downstairs and begging his father to drive him to Dayton, not even bothering to grab his stuff or change.

Blaine stands in line at check in, avoiding looking at his phone, which is shoved in his pocket.  There are entirely too many people in front of him, especially since he just wants to get back home to his apartment in New York and find his boxing gloves.

Kurt and his father get on the road, Kurt urging his father to drive as fast as possible.

The line is at a standstill, and Blaine is at least ten people back.  He changes the foot he’s leaning on and stares at the attendants behind the counter like it might make the line move faster.

“Come on, Dad, drive faster.  Please, I need to catch him.”

“Calm down, Kurt, I’m already pushing the speed limit.”

Blaine finally steps up to the counter, pulling out his ID and trying not to act annoyed.

“I need one ticket for New York City.  As soon as possible, please.”

“Daaaaaaaad!”

“I can’t control the lights, Kurt.”

Finally through the check in line, Blaine and his messenger bag make their way through the crowd to wait in line again at security.

“What if I miss him?  What if it’s too late?”

“You’ll catch him.  And if not, you’ll just go back to New York after Christmas and talk to him then.”

Kurt stares into his lap.

Blaine, always the shortest person in the room, stands on his toes to try and see over the people in front of him.

“You’re staying for Christmas, right?  Since you’re here?”

“Yeah, Dad.  Of course.”

Finally close enough to take his shoes off, Blaine sets his things in the bin and pushes his bag onto the rollers, but it stops.  Blaine rolls his eyes and stands there, waiting for security to search someone ahead of him.

“It’s been almost fifty minutes since we left.  He’s probably long through security by now.  I don’t even know what time his flight leaves.  What if he’s gone already?”

“Have you even checked flight times?”

“No...”

Kurt pulls out his phone and starts doing so.

Blaine’s feet are getting cold, but the line finally starts to move again, and his bag disappears into the machine.  He steps up next to go through the arch.

“Oh my god, Dad, there’s so many flights.  Listen to this.  11:30.  12:15.  12:45.  1:25.  1:53.  2:25.  There’s so many.  He’s probably on the 11:30 one.  I’ll never catch him.”

“You will, Kurt.  I believe in you.”

“I’m sorry, sir, can you come back through?”

“What?  Me?”

“Yes, do you have any metal on your person?”

“What?  You’re kidding, right?”

“Sir, do you have any metal on your person?”

“N-no.  Oh, my belt buckle has metal on it.”

“Okay, step over here, sir.”

“Stop bouncing, you’re getting me seasick.”

“I’m sorry, I just...”

Rachel, have you heard from Blaine?

No, why?

Never mind

What?

[silence]

“You’re serious?  Here... here’s my belt.”

“Unit 6, can you get his bag and search it?”

“This isn’t happening.”

“Sir, please go back through the arch.”

“Okay, I’m going.”

“Okay, Unit 6, can you get the wands?”

“I don’t even have any metal on me!”

“Sir, if you don’t cooperate, we’re going to have to place you under custody.”

“We’re here, oh my god, we’re here.  Drop me off at the door, please, Dad!”

“Promise me you’ll stay in Ohio.  I’ll be driving around, waiting for a text from you.”

“Yes, Dad.  Please, just...”

Kurt’s father pulls up and Kurt clamours out, running into the airport and staring around, not knowing where to start.

“I’m sorry!  I’m sorry!  I don’t have any metal, I just want to get to my gate.”

“We can see that now, sir.  Unit 6, give him his belongings.  Have a nice flight, sir.”

Blaine takes his bin full of disheveled belongings and his shoes and belt and starts to put himself back together.

Lost in a daze, Kurt wanders over to security, scanning the crowds of people trying to go places for Christmas.  Something catches his eye on the other side of security.  His eyes widen.

“Blaine...?  BLAINE!”

His scream doesn’t register much over the roar of the crowd.

Blaine gets his shoes back on, and his belt back in place, shoving all of his clothing and other items back into his messenger bag, which he pulls from the bin with such force that the bin flies in the other direction, and the bag nearly hits a lady behind him.  He stumbles slightly and pauses, thinking he hears someone calling his name.  Glancing around, he turns toward the terminal entrance.

Kurt stares at the lines and panics, running to a check-in counter.  Luckily for him, he finds a counter with a shorter line and waits.

Blaine, still upset about the security incident, looks for a Starbucks.

Kurt surprisingly makes it through the check-in line in record time, buying a ticket on the 1:53 flight to Newark.  He then dashes to the security line, waiting and hoping that his dad doesn’t kill him for this.

Blaine waits in line at the Starbucks around the corner from security.  All he’s had to eat or drink in the past few days is coffee, but he figures he could use some more.  The guy in front of him has six orders in, and Blaine’s head is about to explode.

Now that rush hour is over, Kurt is much quicker through security, much more so because he has nothing on him except his lounge clothes and his wallet.  Once on the other side, he frantically looks around, trying to determine where to start looking.

Finally getting his drink, Blaine sips it, not caring that he’s burning his mouth as he strolls casually out of Starbucks.

Kurt sees Blaine walk out of Starbucks and nearly faints.

“Blaine...”

He only whispers to himself, beginning to fight his way through the crowd after Blaine.

Blaine takes his time, knowing that he has a while until his flight takes off.  He uses his free hand to dig through his bag to find his headphones.

Kurt follows after Blaine, fighting tears, hoping that he has a chance to talk to the other.

Frustrated that his headphones are stuck on something, he stops dead to try and dig them out, not caring if people have to go around him.

Kurt doesn’t expect to catch Blaine so quickly and pauses a few steps away, hidden by the crowd.  He’s a little nervous about how to approach Blaine.

Blaine’s headphones come unsnagged from whatever they were stuck on, and he untangles them, trying to get the plug end into his hand.  They fall on the floor and he groans out loud, trying to steady his poorly packed bag and coffee enough to try for the headphones.

“Need some help?”

Blaine freezes, absolutely positive that he’s just heard Kurt’s voice.  He swallows and slowly looks over at the source of the voice.

“What are you doing here?”

“Fixing things.”

“Kurt... You said... I thought you knew what you saw?”

“I was a jerk.  I was overly judgemental and rash.”

“I didn’t kiss him.”

“You didn’t kiss him.  He kissed you, though?  Just like Wes kissed me.  I didn’t kiss him.”

“Exactly like that.”

“I’m sorry I ran.  It just hurt.  And I needed to get away.”

Blaine looks at the floor, not wanting to say what he’s thinking.

“Say something, please?”

“Kurt, I... It’s too hard.  I didn’t know he was there...”

“I understand that now, I just... I was so upset when I saw and all I wanted was to see my Dad.  D-don’t cry, please?”
“But you didn’t believe me.”

“Because I was upset, and not thinking, and... and my judgement gets clouded when I’m upset.”

“I don’t know, Kurt.  I just... If you can’t trust me...”

“I wanted to trust you.  So much.  But my emotions ran away with me and I just wanted to get away so I could calm down.”

“But you didn’t.  Is that gonna happen every time something weird happens? I can’t... handle this.  It’s too hard.”

“N-no, please, don’t.  I love you, Blaine.  I risked the wrath of my father and bought a plane ticket I wasn’t even sure I’d end up using so I could try to find you and tell you that I am so sorry for overreacting like that.”

“...Kurt...”

Blaine closes his eyes and tries to keep himself calm.

“...You don’t... trust me...”

“I do trust you.”

“But you ran away.  You didn’t answer me.  You didn’t call me back.  You told me not to come after you, when of course I’m going to come after you.  I’m in love with you, and I can’t picture my life without you in it, but if you are going to run away from problems, I can’t do it.  You ripped my heart out.”

“I love you, so much.  It’s like you said, the problems got to be too much, too hard.  I didn’t want to leave but all I wanted was to see my Dad.  And I didn’t text or call back because I... I didn’t want to be tempted to come back when I knew I needed time to myself.  Because I would have come back.  I love you, Blaine Anderson.  You’re the greatest person I’ve ever met.”

“Being in a relationship is about working our problems out together, not flying to Ohio to see our parents.    Kurt, I am more in love with you than I’ve ever felt for anyone else.  That hurt, when you wouldn’t answer me.  When I didn’t do anything.  But, I do want this to work.  I don’t want to be without you.  … My missing puzzle piece.”

“I do realize that, now.  Up until I met you, relationships had never been complicated for me.  So I’m still learning how to handle problems.  You’re everything to me.  You’re my teenage dream.  You’re my favourite.  I love you.”

Blaine breaks down into an embarrassing sob and tries to pull himself together.

“...Kurt...”

Kurt stares at Blaine in desperation.

Flinging himself at Kurt, Blaine tries not to spill the coffee he now wishes he hadn’t gotten, and pulls Kurt as close as possible, trying not to get tears on his... tshirt and sweatpants?  His sob breaks into a weird laugh.

“Are you... wearing sweatpants?”

Kurt holds Blaine close, almost not hearing him comment on his clothes.  When he realizes what Blaine said, though, he lets out a weird laugh.

“I was miserable at home and relaxing when I was texting you this morning.  And then didn’t take any time to change when I realized what you were doing.  So yes, I’m wearing sweatpants.  I feel like the worst-dressed person in the world.”

“I wish I was wearing sweatpants.  You look so fantastic...ly adorable.  And soft.  Anyway... I just... we need to talk about things in the future.  Or at least have a reaction where the other person can see that we’re there before we run to Ohio and make the other not eat for three days.”

“O... Okay... I agree... Blaine... BlaineIloveyousomuch...”

Kurt can’t contain himself and he leans in, kissing Blaine softly.

Blaine returns Kurt’s kiss, his tears coming back and intruding.  He pulls away so that he can look at Kurt.

“Kurt, I love you more than anything in the entire world.”

“I missed you so much...”

“I’ve been staying in a hotel.  I’ve missed everything, but I think I’ve missed you in these sweatpants the most.”

Kurt starts laughing and sobbing at the same time, unable to talk, so he simply lays his head on Blaine’s shoulder.

Blaine holds Kurt as close as he can, breathing in his scent and suddenly wishing he wasn’t in the airport with a ticket back to New York.  He leans in and plants an innocent kiss on Kurt’s neck.  

“So, do we have a game plan, Kurtlet?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think that far ahead.  What time is your flight?”
“2:20 or something.”

“Mine’s 1:53.”

Blaine laughs out loud.

“Are we flying back to New York then?”

“My dad’s going to kill me.  Wait, Rachel’s not here too, is she?”

“Uh, she is.  I was going to stay at her place.  But I sort of went for a walk on Saturday afternoon, and didn’t tell her, and she sort of freaked out on me.”

“Oh.  Uh.  She would kill me too if we didn’t spend the holidays together, like we always do.  I don’t particularly know what we should do...”

“Let’s just go somewhere and turn our phones off for a few days and ignore everyone.”

“Like that would go over well with everyone we know.”

“Since when has anything we’ve done gone over well with everyone we know?”

“Us getting together went over well with Rachel.”

“She did threaten me, though.”

“Did she?  Oh, right.  Our first official date, right?”

“Yeah.  I think that was the first time I was actually afraid of her.”

“I had that moment years ago.”

“I’m glad it’s out of the way.”

“Were you serious about just going somewhere?”

“Kind of?”

“Because I still think I need to escape this Christmas.”

“Is that a, ‘Yes, let’s run away together,’ or a ‘I still kind of want to stay away from you,’ comment?”

“I want to run away with you and never come back.”

Blaine blushes and looks at the floor, obviously not saying something to Kurt.

“What’s wrong, Blaine?”

“It’s nothing.  Kind of stupid really.  When you left the other day, Rachel and I chased you to the airport.  And we tried to have you paged.  And, it was like an out of body experience, actually, but I took the thing from the security guy, and... I actually sang Teenage Dream over the intercom in the airport.”

Blaine shakes his head at himself, almost laughing.

Kurt freezes and stares at a fixed point beyond Blaine.

“It was so stupid.  And then they took the receiver thing away from me and tried to page you.  It’s sort of embarrassing.  I’m kind of glad that you didn’t have to hear it.”

“Um... Blaine?”

“I know, I know, I could have been arrested or something.  It was so dumb.”

“I heard it all.”

“...You what?”

“I heard you sing.  I heard the page.”

“...Next you’re going to tell me that you could see me looking for you from the window near security.”

“...No... but when I heard that page, I was just showing my ID and they showed me where the phone was but I didn’t go pick it up.  Because I was running.  Because I was an idiot.”

“...You’re not an idiot.”

Blaine lets out a sigh, and glances around, then focusing on Kurt.

“Let’s go.  Let’s just go.  Away.  Together.  For Christmas.  No phones.  Just us.”

“Where are we going?  We both have plane tickets to New York.  Different flights, might I add.”

“Trade them in.  I can probably get standby on your flight, instead of taking mine.  And then we can take a train somewhere.  Or fly out again.  I got my annual ‘Here’s some money so that it looks like we care about you’ bonus from my parents last week.”

“I can’t take your money like that.”

“You know, I couldn’t figure out what to get you for Christmas.  I think I’m getting you this.”

“Blaine, that’s... that’s too much.”

“I guess we can just go back to New York, but I don’t have a present for you then.”

Kurt pouts.

“Accept my present, Kurt.  You’re getting a trip.  Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t really care.  I’ll be with you.”

“Well, then you, sir, are going to get the best Christmas present ever.”

“I can’t wait.  So, are we trading in the tickets now or going to New York first?  I really have nothing except what I’m wearing right now.”

“You’re definitely going to want to go home first.  I’ll go on standby for your flight, and if I can’t get in, you just go back to your place and I’ll meet you there when I get in.”

“Okay.  I’ve lost the clothes I brought with me unless my Dad mails them to me.  It’s okay, though, since I still had some clothes at home so I only brought stuff I needed.”

“I think we’ll come back here after our trip.  I’ll need to apologize to your dad.”

“I’ll need to talk to him before you apologise.  Because he’ll be livid.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Spending Christmas with you?  Of course.  You’re my everything, remember?  I only ran because I was hurt.”

“Let’s hope I never hurt you again.”

“If there ever is a next time, and I hope there isn’t, I’ll talk to you first.”

“Promise?  Mostly because I don’t want to have to embarrass myself by singing into intercoms in front of pissy people who want to get to their places of interest.”

“Promise.  Although it was a very sweet thing to do.”

“It just felt right.  To do that.  And it was the first song that came to my head.  I should have picked something better.”

“It was perfect.”

“You don’t have to humor me.”

“I’m not.  I’m telling you the truth.”

“I believe you.  And I wish that I was wearing sweatpants like you are.”

“Thank you... and they are quite comfortable.  But I’m so embarrassed to be in public like this.”

“Don’t worry.  No one’s looking at you.  They’re all looking at my afro.”

“I love your hair.”

“And I love your sweatpants.”

“Go see what you can do about your ticket.”

Blaine grins at Kurt and bends down to pick up his headphones before finding a customer service person and asking about switching his ticket for a standby on Kurt’s flight.  He turns and comes back to Kurt with an even wider smile on his face than when he left.

“There was an open seat.  I don’t have to worry about being on standby.”

Kurt gets the widest grin as he jumps on Blaine and hugs him tightly.

“We’re actually doing this then.  Together.  I love you!”

Blaine’s not-so-scalding coffee sloshes and splashes his hand, but he pays no attention to it, instead wrapping his arms as best he can around Kurt.

“We are.  And it’s going to be amazing.  I love you, too.”

“This is going to be the best Christmas ever!”
“I think you’re right.  And perfect.”

“We should go find our gate.”

“Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Blaine drags Kurt to the gate, finding a couple of seats next to each other and sitting down, attempting to repack his bag without his personal items falling all over the floor.  Once finished, he leans back in the seat, enjoying the people watching until their flight is called for boarding.  In no time, they’re headed onto the plane and finding their seats.

“We’re going to be separated, aren’t we?”

“Probably.  Unless someone’s willing to switch with one of us.”

Looking at the elderly couple in the outside two seats where he’s supposed to sit, he then glances at Kurt.

Kurt bites his lip and looks to where he’s supposed to sit.  His seatmates haven’t boarded the plane yet.

People start to get angry at Blaine for taking up space in the narrow aisle.  He makes a quick decision and throws his bag in the overhead storage as the old people stand to let him in.  He gets out his phone and holds it up to Kurt.

I’m just going to keep turning around and giving you puppy eyes the entire time.

I’d like that.  Your puppy eyes are the cutest

Don’t worry, our next flight, we’ll be sitting next to each other.

Good, because I really want to lean on your shoulder

And read Sky Mall with me, right?  I love that magazine.

Yes~ And Vogue.  I have the latest edition.

Of course you do.  Don’t you get a copy before they come out?

Yes~

A flight attendant glares at Blaine and makes an announcement over the loudspeaker that all cellular devices must be turned off, and Blaine turns around to give Kurt puppy eyes before he puts his seatbelt on.

Kurt smiles at Blaine and makes an ‘I Love You’ gesture towards him.

Blaine hopes Kurt is watching and holds his hands above his head while he’s facing forward, shaping them into a heart, purely for Kurt’s enjoyment.

Kurt smiles fondly and sits back in his aisle seat, his eyes on Blaine.

The flight takes off, and once in the air, the passengers are given the go to move around the cabin.  Blaine takes his seatbelt off and turns around to peek over the back of seat at Kurt.

Kurt holds his hands up in the shape of a heart.

Blaine’s smile, though mostly hidden by the headrest, stretches to his eyes and he turns back to face front.  His eyes get heavy from lack of sleep, and the hum of the jet engines is starting to get to him.  Eventually, his head leans against the window, and he falls asleep.

Kurt stares at the back of Blaine’s seat, smiling, until he too drifts off to sleep.

Blaine wakes up to the bumpy landing in Washington, his neck hurting from being bent in a weird direction.  He wonders if he and Kurt will be able to sit together on the flight to New York, turning to try and see the other as he and the rest of the people on the plane stand up simultaneously.

As soon as everyone stands up, Kurt rubs his neck and starts following along with the line, unable to wait until he can catch up with Blaine.  Once they’re off the plane, Kurt pushes past people until he reaches Blaine.

“Missed you.  Did you sleep?”

“I did.  With my face against the window.  Did you?”

“A bit.  The aisle seat isn’t as comfy to sleep in, though.”

“Tomorrow, you can sleep on me.”

“Did we ever decide where we’re going?”

“Oh, I decided where I’m taking you.”

“A surprise?  How sweet.”

“Mhm.  It’s weird because it’s so spontaneous though.  I’ve never done anything like this without a lot of planning.  Speaking of planning, I’m going to need to book a few things, so keep your eyes over there while I’m using my phone.”

“I’m sure the snowflakes took a lot of planning.  But okay.  Fine.”

So where are you taking me?

It’s a surprise.

Please tell me?
But then I won’t be able to see the look on your face when you find out.

Fine :(

Kurt... Don’t make text sad faces at me.  I’ll end up telling you and the surprise.

:( :( :( :( :’( :3

Blaine looks up over his phone at Kurt.

“Really?”

Kurt looks over his shoulder at Blaine and smiles sweetly.

“Oh, look.  They’re starting boarding for our next flight.”

“Good, cause I’m done booking part one.”

“You’re killing me here.”

“I think you’re going to die when you find out where we’re going.”

“Ohmigosh stop it.”

“Nah.  I have to go get on the plane.”

“You’re mean.”

“Am not.”

The attendant checks Blaine’s boarding pass, and then holds her hand out for Kurt’s.

Kurt shows the attendant his boarding pass and they walk to the plane together.

“So, what seat are you in this time?  I’m in 16A.”

“Wow.  I’m in the window seat across from you.”

“Maybe someone will switch with one of us.”

“Hopefully.  Doesn’t look like any of them are on the plane yet.”

“Well, I’ll just sit next to you for the time being and if they have an issue, then I’ll move.”

Blaine stores his bag and ushers Kurt into his seat.

Kurt sits down in his seat and smiles up at Blaine.

“Alright.”

Blaine happily sits down next to Kurt and pulls out the Sky Mall magazine from the back of the seat in front of him.

“Look at this thing.  You can get a cd rack with the cd player right inside of it.  But with the touch screen... digital stuff.  Kurt.  Take this away from me.”

“Dork.”

Kurt takes the magazine from Blaine and flips through it idly.

“Excuse me, I think you’re in my seat.”

Blaine looks up at a businessman in a dark blue suit.

“Oh, sorry about that.  Actually, would it be okay if we switched seats?  I’m just over there, at the window, and I wanted to sit ne-”

“I don’t think so.  My coworker and I are sitting next to each other so we can go over some business plans.  You’re making me hold up the line.”

Blaine looks to Kurt.

“Oh, it’s okay.  We can talk when we get off the plane, Blainey.  And then we have all night.  Sorry, sir.”

Frowning a bit, Blaine gets out of the seat, and shuffles across the aisle to his original seat.  having to pass the other two people seated on his side of the aisle.  

Kurt.

I’m sorry

I’m glad this is only a short flight.

So am I.  I love you

I miss you.

Blaine leans forward far enough to smirk at Kurt.

Kurt leans around the businessman and mouths ‘I love you’

Blaine beams and mouths back ‘I love you too.’

You’re my favourite

You’re my everything.

You’re my teenage dream

Can we build a fort out of sheets?

Can it be on your couch?  I love your couch

Uh, yeah.  Where else would it be?  We’re so building it with the tv inside so that we can watch Friends while we’re in our fort.

Yay~

The announcement sounds that cell phones need to be turned off and Blaine glances at Kurt as he powers his down and puts it in his pocket.

Kurt turns off his phone and leans so he can see Blaine.

Blaine is thankful for the window seat because he’s practically leaning sideways in his seat to look at Kurt, getting weird looks from his seatmates.  The flight attendant notices him, however, and tells him without more than a glare that he needs to sit in the seat correctly.

Kurt laughs and relaxes into his seat, flipping through the Sky Mall magazine.

Turning back to face the correct direction, Blaine pulls his own Sky Mall out and starts flipping through it, pausing in the electronics section to look at the cd player/holder again.

Once the plane lands in Newark, Kurt glances over at Blaine, ready to be next to him again.

Blaine gets to the aisle at the same time as Kurt, and reaches his hands above his head, facing Kurt because his bag is on the side of the plane.  He shoulders the bag and reaches for Kurt’s hand.

“Shall we?”

Kurt smiles fondly and takes Blaine’s hand.

“We shall.  I need to get out of these sweatpants.”

Blaine looks at Kurt from the corner of his eye and smirks.

“Maybe.”

“I didn’t say what I was going to wear afterwards.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.  What are you going to wear afterwards?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“I’m the only one who’s allowed to do surprises right now.”

“Nuh uh.  This is my surprise for you.  Call it an early Christmas gift.  Although I already bought something for you.”

“Well, okay.  It’s a little different, but alright.  I’ll let it slide.  This time.  Just because.”

“We already know you can’t resist me.”

“I’m going to challenge it again tonight.”

“Oh really now?”

“It’s my favorite thing to do.”

“I can’t wait.”