Days seemed pointless after Kurt's summer of play.  Sure, he did his work as meticulously as he always had, but he was also well aware that something dead within him had been reawoken and, short of going back to the training center, there was no way to put it back to sleep.  

He didn't count days, much less seasons, and the only thing that seemed to indicate any passage of time was the occasional decorations the non-Dent office staff put up - as if any of the Dents would be allowed to celebrate Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, or Easter anyhow.  There was no such thing as vacation time for them.  No presents, no treats, no costumes, nothing.  What was the point in celebrating when you didn't have the people you loved to celebrate it with?

It was only when he heard that school was being let out for summer soon, courtesy of one of the too loud office employees, that he paid attention.  Maybe it meant Blaine would return.  Maybe he could play again.

But Blaine didn't return - at least not right away.  Kurt watched to see if he'd show up, peeking up every now and then at the railing above, and seeing only the usual adults up there looking back down at them.  Blaine was no where to be seen, and eventually Kurt just kept his eyes focused on his work and away from his hopes.

“Ick.”  Santana grunted during one of their breaks and everyone looked towards where she was looking.  A pair of older kids were making out, hot and heavy, in one of the corners.  There was no such thing as private space around here, so that was the best they could do.

“Why do they bother?”  Sam said, eyes locked on the scene.

“Maybe she wants to make a kid.” Noah said, also fixated on the sight.

“Why would any kid want to make another kid?  Especially when they're in service?”

“Duh, Kurt.  If a Dent has a kid in service they can sell it to an adoption company.  Takes a good chunk off their years of service.” Santana quipped.

Kurt frowned.  Just one more thing wrong with this system in his mind.  “Like fast tracking…”

“Exactly.. except you won't catch me ever doing that if I fast track.  Get all gross n' fat and then you poop out a baby… ew…”

Noah snickered at that and Sam just made a face of disgust.  Kurt was still lost in his thoughts of disbelief.

“You don't poop babies out Santana.  They come out through your other hole.”

“Wait?  Girls have another hole?”

“Ew.  Yes Sam.”

“Like a pee hole?”

“No.  Not that… well we do have that too but…. Anyhow.  They can't be making out ‘cause they're in love anyhow.  Getting in love is stupid when you're in service.  They could move one of you at any time and you'd never see that person again.”

“Maybe they're bored.”

“Maybe they're stupid.”

Kurt didn't speak up during any of it, eyes wandering back to the pair who were holding onto one another for dear life.  That's when a supervisor took note and a bell went off over their heads as another two supervisors ran in and pulled the pair apart who cried out for one another.

“See…”  Noah said softly.  “... stupid.”

They didn't see either of that pair after that.  The rumour being they had both been demoted to different sites.  Behaviour rules violated.  In a way, Kurt felt badly for them.  His mom and dad had always shared hugs and kisses openly, and Kurt saw it as a way they expressed their love for one another, yet it was something Dents weren't allowed to do either.

It was a particularly muggy afternoon when Kurt saw Blaine that summer.  The air conditioning system had stopped working earlier on in the week and there didn't seem to be any rush from the bosses to have it fixed.  Most of the Dents were sweating through their uniforms on the floor which were quickly discarded once they got to the back.  Everyone was drinking water like it was going out of style, and Kurt lamented not getting his hair cut last week when the stylist was by for her bi-monthly visit because his hair kept clinging to his forehead with sticky sweat and sticking to his eyelids since it was just that little bit too long.

“Hi Kurt.”

Kurt snapped his head up, looking wide eyed at the boy in front of him who must have grown a couple inches in the past year and now had his curls gelled down on his head.  Blaine was standing in front of Kurt's work station where Kurt's fingers, on autopilot, were still making the repetitive sewing motions as he stitched a button on.

“It's okay.  You can talk to me.  My mom isn't here.”

Kurt let out a relieved breath, “Blaine…”

“My dad said you can come upstairs if you want.”

Kurt blinked a few times, glancing down at the work in his hands and then back up at Blaine, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.  He set his work down and nodded to Blaine, standing up and following him up the stairs quietly without looking back.  The cool air hit him and he gasped in relief.  The air conditioning upstairs seemed to be working just fine and he groaned softly in delight as it cooled his body down.

“Come on.”  Blaine insisted, grabbing Kurt's hand and pulling him down the hall so that Kurt had to jog behind him to keep up.  He was led into the old playroom, now a storage room and once the door was shut behind him, Kurt received the biggest hug he could imagine.

“I missed you all year!  I was so worried they'd transferred you!  I begged my dad to let me come back this summer but my mom made me stay with her family for a month until I whined and pouted enough that they let me return!”

“You… missed me?” Kurt gawked, looking at the kid, who now had an inch on him, skeptically.

“Well yeah… duh.  You're like my best friend.”

That gave Kurt pause.  They had spent what?  Two months together last year and hadn't seen each other since that and Blaine considered him his best friend?  What about all the kids at his school?

“Oh.”

“You got taller!”

“So did you.  You're taller than me now…”

“Hah!”  Blaine beamed, puffing out his chest in triumph and making Kurt giggle.

It didn't take long for their to resume where they had left off last year - playing outside, watching movies, reading.  Blaine showed Kurt his newest video games and introduced him to the blockbuster hits of the year.  There were more bumps, more bruises, and Kurt's friends presumed Blaine hadn't changed at all whenever Kurt showed up with a new wound.  He wore those wounds with pride though.  He was Blaine's best friend, and those marks were proof of their play and friendship.  The other kids wouldn't understand it, and they didn't have to.  Kurt was theirs for most of the year, but during the summer he was Blaine's and that was the best part of his year.

“I don't know why my parents stay together.”  Blaine admitted one afternoon when they were both doodling.

“Because they love each other?” Kurt offered, looking up and over at the other boy.

Blaine shrugged, “They don't act how people do in the movies when they love each other… and they don't seem to like being together.  They always fight around each other.”

“My parents fought too…”  Kurt said quietly.  They had, but he had the feeling it wasn't like what Blaine was experiencing.

“But your dad also spent all his money and money he didn't even have on keeping your mom alive… I don't think my parents would do that for each other.”  Blaine said with a sigh, shaking his head as he spoke.

“Well at least you'll never have to worry about being a Dent then.”

Blaine frowned a little and then looked over at Kurt, “I'd be a Dent if it meant I could hang out with you all the time.  I don't have friends like you at school.”

“How come?”

Blaine shrugged, “I dunno… I get picked on.. they call me names.   I try to be nice like you showed me but they don't care.”

“Sorry.”

“Not your fault Kurt.  They're just jerkheads.”

The bit of summer they had together went way too quickly, but at least this time the boys got to say goodbye to one another, hugging each other for a long time before Blaine's dad grunted and pulled his son away as Kurt descended back into the main room, holding back the tears that threatened to erupt as he realized once again just how much he was missing out on by being stuck here and how much he longed for the companionship that Blaine offered him.  Once a year was not enough.

But it would have to do.