Kurt lifted the ticket stub from where it had fallen out of the letter onto the bed. His eyes misted over with anticipation. One thing about having read these earlier letters so many times was the anticipation of knowing exactly how the words on the page were going to hit him.

Kurt opened the pages of the letter, thinking back to the first day he’d read this one. It had been the end of October, the day before Halloween. This time the letter had arrived in a normal, white envelope. Kurt had thought that it was simply a letter this time, nothing else, until he’d opened it. The small stub of paper had fallen out, and Kurt still remembered the confusion he’d felt looking at it until he’d had a chance to read that letter.

Kurt,

I can’t believe he came.

Your dad. To opening night. You’re off in New York so I didn’t really expect to see him here. You’d be proud that I didn’t even break character when I spotted Burt out in the audience. Maybe it’s silly that it means so sappily much to me, but, well, neither of my parents bothered to show up. They were too busy at work. That’s not a surprise. I don’t remember the last performance of mine they saw. A parents’ night at Dalton probably. Those were also a chance for them to network, after all.

Your dad, on the other hand, caught an earlier flight home from D.C., from freaking Congress, so he could watch my play and come back stage to tell me how proud he was. My own parents couldn’t take two hours out of their offices. I’d ask if he could just adopt me, but I’m not really into incest.

Exhibit D is your dad’s ticket stub. Keep it safe for me, because I know you’re the only one I’ve ever really let in enough to really know what this means to me. I know musicals aren’t really his thing, but your dad’s a pretty perceptive guy. I think he could tell how much it meant to me that he came anyway, just to support me. Me. Like I’m someone important enough to care about.

Speaking of opening nights, I actually made it to the after party at Breadstix this time. God, thinking back to that night makes me miss having you here in my arms even more. And not just the sex. Well, yes, totally the sex, but also just that connection. That feeling of love and warmth and safety in your arms. I warned you that I’m a total sap tonight right? This is even without any alcohol in my system. Actually, I think I might have reached beyond the level of sappiness tonight and melted into a total puddle of goo. I just, well, looking back on that night makes me both melty and horny. It was awkward, sticky, and just perfect, because it was with you.

Alright. It’s 2 a.m. That may just have a bit to do with how overwhelmingly mushy I’m feeling tonight. I should go to bed and see if I’m still willing to send this piece of drivel in the morning.

I love you. I miss you so much.

Blaine

Obviously Blaine had decided to send it. Kurt wiped away the moisture from his eyes as he carefully tucked the ticket stub back inside. It was the smallest of the mementos Blaine had sent, but it was also the one Kurt was most worried about losing. He’d been tasked with keeping it after all.

Kurt reached in for the next letter, these two needing to be read in the same quick succession in which they’d been sent. This one was the first to arrive in a small cardboard box, less than a week after the last letter.

Kurt,

I’m at the Lima Bean, sitting at our table. It seemed only fitting to write you since I was here and all. Tina’s reading over my shoulder, and she says hi. I’d rather it were you sitting here beside me. I don’t even mind Tina reading that, because I know she’d say the same thing to Mike. It’s a good plan of ours, distracting each other.

It’s November 1st, which means Halloween is officially over for another year. We’ve got a laptop here with us looking over pictures from the Glee costume party Artie hosted last night. I’m deciding right now which ones to get prints of to ship off to you. We’ll just bundle that all together and call it Exhibit E, alright?

Ooh. Here’s a good one of Artie and Rory. Somehow Artie convinced Rory to go in on a theme with him. R2D2 and C3PO. The frame they made over Artie’s wheelchair was great, good R2D2 look. After a couple of drinks, he got really annoying when he just started beeping at everyone though. I think at one point he and Sam had a big drunken argument in a barrage of beeps and some kind of Avatar language. I wonder how long Sam’s going to be finding bits of blue paint on random parts of his body. I’ve got to find you a picture of that costume. He went, uh, all out.

Oh God. You need this one, too. Almost literally God. Joe decided to dress up as Jesus. Jesus with dreadlocks. I just found this picture where Sugar is giving him her ‘what the Hell?’ look. I have no idea what she dressed up as though. Something very pink and hyper. Maybe she was cotton candy? Joe and Sam tried to get me to dress as Simon? I still have no clue what that was about, but in return for not wearing what they wanted me to, I took their dare on another costume.

I’m including a picture of that look as well. I’m hoping this one is not found out until at least next June, or after Nationals at the very least. What can I say? I never could really turn down a dare from the guys. Yes, if you’re finding that picture now, I did dress up as Mr. Schue. The ugliest sweater vest I own, talking about Journey all night, and wearing less product so my hair was curly but not totally frizzed out. At least I didn’t have to point my body blue.

I thought about sending you some left over trick-or-treat candy, but then I decided you might appreciate these more. The Lima Bean has started selling espresso beans coated in dark chocolate. So tasty. Just don’t eat too many at once. We made the mistake of giving Rory a handful at glee earlier this week. You know how hard his accent can be to understand sometimes? Imagine it at a mile a minute. I don’t even know if he was speaking English at that point. I bet they’d be great for all-nighters before finals though. Let me know if you like them, and I’ll send you more then. Special Lima Bean ones, better than all the millions you could buy in New York, I’m sure.

Pictures are sent off to be printed. Espresso beans are purchased. Letter is written. Such a productive afternoon I’m having. I’ve even managed to avoid the overwhelming amount of sap I sent in my last letter. Aren’t you proud?

Even without all the sap, I still love you and miss you.

Blaine

P.S. Tina added a gift to the box as well. It’s a copy of the video recording someone in her family made of the Music Man. I know it’s not NYADA quality, but I wanted to share anyway. I hope you enjoy seeing all of us perform.

Kurt flipped through the photos as he read the letter, laughing at each of them. As much as he loved New York, he’d be glad for the chance to see the New Directions this summer, just as long as he didn’t have to stay in Lima forever. Even if it’d be better to see the glee club kids here in New York. They could all pile into his closet, elbow to elbow in this tiny room.

The DVD was missing from the memory box. The espresso beans were long, long gone, but the DVD had found a place on his desk. It was probably far too frequently found in the CD drive of his laptop. The chance to watch Blaine on screen over and over had overcome the fact that it wasn’t exactly Kurt’s favorite musical. That and memories of getting Blaine to sing Goodnight, My Someone to him on the phone at night, after Blaine had listened to it for hours in rehearsal one night.

This letter was tucked away as well, pictures resting neatly inside the memory box. Kurt was on to the November letters, moving quickly through the year.