After gathering his luggage with the help of a few assistants, Kurt found a vacant bench near the ticket office and kept his eyes open for a beautiful dark-haired, blue-eyed young woman. His legs were crossed, and his back was ramrod straight. He was wearing something he would consider casual yet elegant. Keeping him warm was a snow white pea coat with thick black stitching and detailed buttons. Underneath was a simple black turtleneck. He was also wearing his most comfortable black skinny jeans. His white combat boots were a bit uncomfortable, but he figured he would be sitting on the train anyway.

He was getting a bit antsy as the time passed him by. He glanced at his phone, as he was doing every thirty seconds, and finally decided to text Elizabeth to remind her of their arrangement. He waited a couple of minutes for her to reply, but he got nothing. He had already been at the station for twenty minutes, watching as families reunited, smiling, kissing, and leaving the station. He also saw other loved ones saying their goodbyes, promising to stay in touch. Ten more minutes passed, and he went from irritated to angry. He was hungry, he still hadn't had his coffee, the weather was getting uglier by the minute, and his pores were not having it. He sent another text, and another, and another. No response. If this was his mood after spending half an hour in this city, he wondered how he was going to last three months. Before he knew it, he was one of the few people left in the station. Something must have happened, he thought to himself. Maybe Elizabeth changed her mind. Maybe she didn't want to talk to him. Maybe there was an accident. Maybe --

"Kurt." At his name, his blood ran cold. He knew that voice and it definitely was not his daughter's. It was a voice that he used to love and desperately wanted to forget. Him. His voice sounded older and a little more raspy, but it was definitely his voice. Kurt did not want to look up. Absolutely not. Once he looked up, he knew it would be real and he didn't want it to be. He wanted his daughter, not his ex. A person standing above him was the last person he wanted to see. He took a couple more moments to pretend that it was someone else talking to him until the voice spoke up again. "Look, I don't want to be here anymore than you do, but we really don't have much of a choice, so if you don't mind, at least acknowledge my existence."

Kurt lifted his head and his heart stopped for a few moments. There he was, Blaine Anderson, the man who filed for divorce, broke his heart, took away his daughter, and moved her to another state. Blaine Anderson, the one man who ever broke him. Although he looked the same, he definitely aged. His sideburns were graying, giving his hair this salt and pepper look. His curls were also thinning, but it wasn't especially obvious. He had laugh lines underneath thick glasses, just as Kurt warned him he would get when they were teenagers, and his wardrobe was incredibly ordinary. There was no bow tie, Capri pants, or gelled back hair. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt underneath a thick black sweater. His pants were not at all fitting and his boots were at least five years old. Despite all that, is body looked much more fit than he remembered, and he was still very much attractive. A simple observation, he told himself. Blaine started squirming under his gaze, clearly showing discomfort. At that, Kurt diverted his eyes and stood up quickly. Without a word, he grabbed as much luggage as he could while Blaine volunteered to take the rest.

When they reached the car, Kurt had yet to mutter a single word in his direction. They kept at least ten feet of safe distance between them until they absolutely had to be near each other. They quietly and awkwardly took turns putting his luggage in the trunk, both of them lost in their own thoughts. When that was finished, Blaine gestured Kurt to the passenger door. When they were seated and buckled, Blaine turned to him, opening his mouth as if to speak. Kurt really didn't want to hear it right now, whatever "it" was that his ex husband was about to say.

"Just don't," Kurt said with finality. After a long moment, Blaine chuckled bitterly.

"Right." He didn't know what Blaine meant by that, but he was too tired to care. That was basically the story of last few years of their relationship.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"I'm assuming you must be hungry after the train ride," Blaine said as casually as possible. Kurt hummed in affirmation, not tearing his eyes away from the passenger window. "In that case, we could stop by the caf�."

"Sure, why not?" Kurt replied in a tired voice. What he wanted was to head straight to his daughter's house and take a much needed nap, but his stomach had other plans.

Silence once again filled the air. Blaine wouldn't call it awkward, because he knew exactly what to expect. He knew that Kurt wanted him to feel uncomfortable in, so that's exactly what he planned not to do. Kurt did not have to know that he literally had a pep talk with himself in the parking lot of the train station because he couldn't get himself out of the car. He didn't have to know that Blaine stared at Kurt sitting at the bench and for a good twenty minutes until he felt like a creepy stalker. Kurt definitely didn't have to know that his heart stopped when their eyes met. And most importantly, he could never know that Blaine lied to him when he said he didn't want to be there.

"Sweet Awakenings," Kurt whispered as they turned left into the parking lot, "Isn't that --"

"-- I've been taking Lizzy here for years, yes. And before you ask, the answer is no. I didn't let her taste coffee until she was sixteen."

"How did you --"

"-- Some things never change," he said quickly before unbuckling himself and opening the door. Kurt was still in his spot, openly staring. "Are you coming or not?" Without another word, Kurt got out of the car as they made their way inside.

The door made a ringing sound as they entered the small building. Kurt took in the d�cor, approving of a few things, such as the complementary beige accents of the walls as well as an entire wall of black-and-white pictures of people who seemed to have been regular customers, going as far back as 1947. He couldn't help but wonder if Elizabeth and Him were on there as well.

There were only two people in front of them, looking over the menu. Blaine noticed his ex observing his surroundings, specifically the wall of fame. He cleared his throat and spoke, "You can go look up there right now if you want. Elizabeth and I are on the left, sort of near the bottom but not quite. I'll just order your nonfat mocha."

"Golly geewhiz, how gentlemanly of you," Kurt said sarcastically, "and I'll take a caramel latte, using my own money," Kurt shot him his meanest death glare that he knew would intimidate Him. Blaine seemed unfazed, but Kurt continued to speak. "Some things change." Blaine just chuckled, not surprised at all about Kurt's behavior. He thought it was best to not say anything to him. Kurt was not going to have the upper hand for the next few months. Not on his soil.

He turned to the barista, who was quietly observing their little feud, "Good morning, Josie. Long time, no see. You look as beautiful as ever," Blaine said, cracking his gigawatt smile.

"Always the charmer," she replied, "but you aren't here on my shift very often, so it's great to see you. How is your beautiful daughter? Is she still getting hitched?"

"Actually, that's why I'm here today. I just picked up her father from the station this morning. We were both hungry, so here we are," he gestured to his arm to Kurt, making sure to leave a reasonable distance between them. He was completely caught off guard when he heard her squealing, making her way to their side of the counter. Before he could tell her that that was a bad idea, she was already giving Kurt a big hug.

"Oh my gosh, Mr. Hummel, what a pleasure meeting you. I've heard so much about you! And not just from Broadway, though I think all you work is absolutely spectacular and you were completely robbed from that Tony in 2018. Not that that matters anymore. My gosh, excuse me for rambling. It's not every day that I meet a celebrity in a dinky caf�. But Elizabeth speaks so highly of you. And Blaine," she hesitated but continued with a different tone, "he talks about you as well." Kurt was actually quite amused and smiled sincerely.

"Thank you so much," he laughed, "Maybe if you ever see one of my plays in New York, make sure to get in touch with me. A person as lovely as you deserves nothing less than VIP tickets." Her expression was absolutely priceless. Kurt really did love his job. "Do you think you can make me your best nonfat mo – caramel latte?" He stumbled on his words, hoping that the man standing next to him didn't notice.

"Of course, honey. On the house," Kurt was beginning to protest when she shushed him, "We do this for all of our first-time customers. Don't you worry your cute little tush. Blaine, however, does not have that luxury," she winked in his general direction, "Same order as always, Sweetheart?" Blaine nodded. "Kurt, is there anything else I can get you?"

"Ah, yes, may I try your club sandwich? That sounds wonderful."

"Sure thing! Our club never disappoints." After he thanked her, he went to find a seat, ignoring Blaine.

Blaine remained at the counter, giving Josie a knowing look, "On the house, Josie, really?" She just scoffed as he handed her the money for both of their meals.

"He's even more handsome in person. Does he have any straight brothers?" Blaine barked out a laugh, shaking his head.

"Take my advice and save the trouble. One Kurt is enough for this sad world to handle. It can only end badly."

"Oh, hush you. I know what I see," she said cryptically, "So how long is he in the city for?"

"Until Lizzy's wedding. Her date is April 29th and he is the wedding planner. I guess in the meantime, we'll just have to figure out how to not kill each other," Josie hummed, a knowing smile gracing her face, "Josie, you know it's not like that anymore." He wanted to tell her to lay off, but he was a gentleman, damn it.

"You're exactly right, it isn't like that anymore," she smiled, "Now go sit next to that cute man over there who somehow knows you're spot," she gestured to Kurt. At first he was confused as to why that was so important, and then he caught on. Oh.

"Your daughter has his eyes. It's no wonder why she is so beautiful."

Before he could stop himself, his mouth spoke before his brain could even register, "I know."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Blaine silently gave Kurt his caramel latte and club sandwich as he sat across from him. Kurt was actually sitting in his normal spot while he was vacating Elizabeth’s. It felt strange being on the other side of the table. It was actually his daughter who found this place only a few months after they had moved. The building was rather small, sandwiched between several other unknown stores. He would have missed it had it not been for his daughter’s great vision. She insisted they go inside simply because she loved the name. It was a great name for a caf�, Sweet Awakenings, and more importantly, it lived up to the name. It was a perfect place to go to wake up, to relax, and to unwind. The coffee was always perfect, and Elizabeth loved their famous hot chocolate. Josie was actually the first person he met at the caf� so many years ago. Her parents, who were alive back then, were the owners of the place. When her mother passed and her dad was placed in a nursing home for Alzheimer's patients, she took it over. She was in her late sixties now, running the caf� and treating her employees like grandchildren.

He looked over at his ex-husband, who was paying him no attention at all. Blaine unwrapped his BLT, biting into it with purpose. He glanced at Kurt eyeing the wall filled with hundreds of pictures, all framed in black and white with names and dates of each customer.

"Did you find the picture of Elizabeth and me?" Kurt gave him a small nod, keeping his eyes everywhere as long as they didn't look at Blaine. Kurt hated his stupid face and perfect eyes. He hated the way Blaine still had the habit of cracking his knuckles when there was no conversation, and how he still took one sip of coffee for every three bites of his food. He hated how he always used proper grammar all of the time. How he used to correct him every time he was grammatically incorrect. Kurt hated how he still remembered his habits in the first place, after all of these years of forgetting. Blaine was speaking to him now, talking about how he and Elizabeth discovered this place. Kurt did not care about all of their little adventures that they shared without him. He didn't care about any of it because he was not in the picture.

Blaine kept speaking about, "Elizabeth and him this, Elizabeth and him that." Sure, his heart swelled with pride when he saw his daughter on television, competing in the national spelling bee when she was twelve. His heart also sank when she failed a relatively easy word by her standards, putting her in seventeenth place. What he didn't care about was that the man sitting across from him was the one who trained her to get as far as she did, and was the one who consoled her when she made her early exit from the competition. Blaine was there for all of her pivotal moments. Her highest highs and her lowest lows. When she wasn't accepted into Harvard, she doubted she would get into Berkeley. When she did get in, it was Blaine that she celebrated with. Kurt gave himself a little bit of credit, making it to both her high school graduation as well as her college graduation. Not to mention, he paid for all of the expenses that wasn't covered by her scholarship. On graduation day, Kurt allowed her to buy the car of her choice, bringing the biggest smile on her face. Kurt knew it was very materialistic of him, and got a lecture from its ex-husband he couldn't just buy her love. That was not his intention at all; he just didn't know any other way for her to know how much he loved her. She barely knew him. And worse, he barely knew her.

Kurt just about had enough of Blaine practically rubbing this all in his face, so he spoke up.

"-- and I remember when she was fifteen, it was kind of her rebellious stage. She would --"

"Look, I really don't know why you are telling me all this, but I honestly don't care," he raised his hand with authority when he noticed Blaine about to speak, "You have two options. You can either speak to me and pretend that I'm listening or we can just sit and eat our food in awkward silence. Quite frankly, I prefer the awkward silence, but it's a free country so the ball is in your court."

Blaine's silence pretty much answered this question. Was he being rude? Of course, but it felt good after all the years that Kurt had to live a half empty life, one without his daughter, while this guy got everything he wanted from him and left. Sometimes Kurt wished he fought for her just a little bit harder. She was his daughter by blood, anyway. He tried everything and nothing worked. The judge felt that, while he could support her financially, he didn't have the time. His schedule was too busy. He and Blaine both agreed to share joint custody at the beginning, before he was offered a stable job in a different state. That was the whole reasoning behind who should be awarded full custody. Kurt pleaded with his ex to not take the job in Philadelphia because he needed his daughter. Blaine said that he wanted Elizabeth to be with her father as well, but the offer was too perfect to refuse. He had a lot of problems keeping his teaching job in New York, being laid off twice. The job offer had a ten year guarantee, and in Blaine's mind, it was also a brand-new beginning. So they left for Pennsylvania and never looked back while Kurt remained a lonely bachelor in the biggest city in the world. Kurt remembered the day at the train station as the smallest he's ever felt. He must admit he never quite recuperated. That is why he will take every moment with Elizabeth and savor it, because who knew when another opportunity like this one would happen.

They took the last bites of their food before silently agreeing that it was time to leave. They said their goodbyes to Josie, got in the car, and headed to Elizabeth's apartment. Not a word was exchanged the entire ride there, but their thoughts were so loud, they swore they could hear each other.

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