The next day, Kurt didn't go to Dalton.

It wasn't his fault though – his dad had needed his help after school at the shop and by the time he'd finished it was way too late to even think about going. It's okay, I can go tomorrow.

He didn't go the next day either, although that was because his tires had been slashed. Ignorant Neanderthals.

The next day Mercedes dragged him out to ask for advice about what she could get Sam for his birthday, which turned into a long discussion about the pros and cons of hair dye from a box compared to a professional job.

The next, they made their final song selections for Sectionals and Mr Schue ordered them all to be there.

The next, he had a calculus test that counted towards his end of year grade.

More days passed, each one throwing a curveball at him that put his trip to Dalton off to some other day. As the gap between his spying trip and the present got bigger, Kurt became more and more unsure about the whole thing.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go, god he wanted that more than anything, but recently the dream-voice had been quieter, more reserved, almost melancholy. It had only sung to him once in the week since he'd visited Dalton, something that had never happened before, and it had been a slow tune that ached with sorrow.

Kurt understood what the dream-voice was telling him: his soul mate knew he'd been there, and by running Kurt had hurt him very deeply.

And so as time passed, he got increasingly worried about how to make it up to the unknown boy, how to explain his actions to make his mate's pain disappear. The longer he left it, the more invisible pressure he felt – not even planning his dad and Carole's wedding could completely distract him. Hearing the dream-voice every night kept his guilt and worry at the front of his mind and he would sleep restlessly, aching for the chance to go back to that beautiful school and that beautiful voice.

The opportunity never arose, but eventually time was on his side and the day of Sectionals arrived.

The competition in which they were competing against the Dalton Academy Warblers.

Of which Kurt's soul mate was a member because he could sing beautifully if the closing lines of music he'd overheard were anything to go by.

On the bus Kurt was literally unable to sit still. He fished a pen out of his bag, twirling it absentmindedly over his fingers as he stared out the window and half listened to the very, very long pep talk Rachel was trying to bestow upon the noisy group. The rest of the New Directions were just as restless as he was, but there was an edge to Kurt's anxiety that had caused him to sit separate from the others, not feeling composed enough to take part in their conversation.

He couldn't focus on inane bitching and squabbling, not today.

Today was the day his life was going to change. The day it was going to get so much better.

His heart fluttered and a small, giddy smile lit his features as that rich laugh echoed in his memory for the millionth time. He'd hear it again soon, in as little as an hour – sixty minutes, 3600 seconds – and this time he wasn't afraid to look, to connect.

Kurt was nervous, excited, anxious and impatient but not afraid. Not anymore.

In fact his impatience seemed to be taking over as he glared out the window at the traffic that was practically crawling down the road. "God what is taking so long? There's a gas pedal for a reason."

Luckily the only one who heard his outburst was Tina who raised her brow, staring at him in mild surprise from her seat across the aisle. "It's just traffic, Kurt. We won't be late – we're quite close I think."

'Quite close' turned out to be just over twenty minutes, so it was no surprise to Kurt that they were the last ones to enter the auditorium. Mr Schue ushered them quickly to their reserved seats and he was forced to sit just as the lights went down, disappointment flooding through him when he didn't even get a chance to look for a group of matching navy blazers.

It seemed they were just in time for the first group as a voice came over the speakers, announcing the Hipsters to polite applause from the audience.

Kurt's fidgeting continued throughout the elderly glee club's performance. While, yes, they were endearing, he couldn't help but think their hearing aids must be faulty because the key they were singing in wasn't one he'd ever heard before. He spent the majority of the time scanning the audience, craning his neck to see over Mr Tall two rows in front of him and searching each and every seat for a glimpse of the Dalton crest. His fidgeting only became more agitated when they were nowhere to be seen.

Oh god what if they decided to pull out and aren't competing? Would we have been told if they'd done that? But we were late…maybe we missed the announcement. Maybe he got sick and they couldn't perform. Maybe he told them I spied on them and they decided not to come-

The sound of applause jerked him back to awareness and he watched with wide eyes as the Hipsters slowly left the stage and the curtains closed. When Mr Schue and the rest of New Directions made no move to get up, his fidgeting increased tenfold. His heart was trying its hardest to break through his ribs as he fiddled nervously with his hair, smoothed his pants and squirmed in his seat – alternatively sitting on the edge or pressed right against the back of it, straightening his spine in an effort to find the spot that gave the best view of the stage.

His movements became so frantic that he drew the attention of Mercedes who frowned and placed one hand over his to still his movements. "Are you okay, boo?"

As soon as the words left her lips, several things happened at once.

The first: Kurt's focus flickered to Mercedes.

Then, a split second later, the stage curtains opened.

And finally an announcement rang through the auditorium: "Please welcome to the stage, from Dalton Academy in Westerville, the Warblers!" Immediately, Kurt's eyes widened and his whole body tensed.

Oh my god.

It was as if every one of his senses was alert and waiting, buzzing, humming in anticipation. He heard the squeaky drag of material as the curtains opened again and the mere seconds it took for the music to start felt like hours.

But once it started…

The opening notes of Train's Hey, Soul Sister hit him but Kurt barely heard the harmonies, too absorbed in drowning in the beautiful tone of the most familiar voice in the world.

Your lipstick stains

On the front lobe of my left-side brains

I knew I wouldn't forget you

So I went and let you blow my mind

Kurt was completely incoherent, he didn't even have enough control to turn and face the stage. All he could do was stare at Mercedes with wide, unseeing eyes and try to remember to breathe because breathing was essential if he wanted to meet his soul mate.

His soul mate that was on stage right now, right in front of him. If only he could turn and look.

Mercedes squeezed his hand again, worried by his behaviour, but Kurt barely noticed and just squeezed back slightly before taking a deep breath. Courage, he told himself and turned to face the stage.

Shifting slightly to see past Mr Tall, his eyes drifted over the Warblers, not focusing on any of them until he found their soloist. That was the moment his world realigned.

Oh.

All the tension flooded from him until he was staring up at the boy with lips parted and eyes shining with emotion.

That boy – that gorgeous, tanned, dark-haired, talented boy that was bouncing across the stage with infectious energy was his soul mate. It didn't matter that he didn't know the boy's name, mannerisms, allergies, anything because the voice singing out to him was instinctively a source of comfort and warmth and he just knew: that boy was meant for him. A shaky, disbelieving laugh bubbled up from his chest. He understood now why Rachel went on about this all the time; it was like his vision was sharpened, like his eyes were wiped clean of the dust and grime from years past and this was the first time he could truly see.

And what he was seeing…it was too much. It was unbelievable. His soul mate.

He was perfect.

"Kurt are you okay?"

It was Mercedes. The smile that tugged at his lips was nothing short of blissful as he murmured his reply: "Oh 'Cedes I'm so much more than okay." His eyes were glued to his mate so he missed the girl's confused look as she glanced between him and the stage, trying to follow his line of sight.

After a moment, her eyes lit up in realisation as she hissed: "Oh my god, boo, is one of them your soul mate?" Kurt nodded, smile widening as she squealed quietly, the sound eliciting a confused look from Sam who was sat on her other side. "Which one? The main guy?" Kurt nodded again, excitedly this time, eyes never leaving the form of the boy – his soul mate – as he side-stepped in time with the music.

"God Kurt that's- as soon as they're finished, we'll find them, okay? We'll get you to him. Even if I have to personally beat down that crowd of boys myself, we'll get to your man."

Kurt just nodded again, barely feeling Mercedes' death grip on his hand as he focused intently on the boy on stage. In just five minutes or so – 300 seconds – they would be able to meet face to face, be able to connect. He didn't know quite how he could possibly feel better than he did right now looking from a distance but he was desperate to find out.

He'd waited five years; he could manage these last five minutes.

There you are.

Blaine was breathing heavily as the curtains closed at the end of their performance, breaking into a wide grin as the usually uptight Warblers broke into loud shouts and cheers of excitement and pride.

"That was awesome!"

"We nailed it you guys! We totally nailed it!"

"CELEBRATORY WARBLER PILE!" were the last words Blaine heard before he was promptly crushed by several bodies, all laughing and jumpy with adrenaline.

"Okay guys, we haven't won yet-"

"Shut up Wes."

Blaine just shook his head in amusement as they made their way off stage to the wings, listening to Wes and David run a play-by-play of their performance. He was edgy though, too edgy to really pay attention, and it wasn't just from adrenaline. He felt weird – almost claustrophobic in his suddenly stifling uniform. Reaching up to loosen his tie, he took a deep breath and frowned when the tension didn't lessen. His hearing was strangely hollow, the voices around him vague and unclear.

"Blaine? Hey- Blaine? You okay, man?"

He blinked a few times and focused on David. "Yeah I…I dunno I just-"

"Boys you best move out of my way before I make you move."

The Warblers were murmuring in confusion and Blaine's attention was drawn to a pretty girl in a sequined dress who was shoving through them with almost vicious determination. "What's going on here?" Wes called to her. "You can't just-"

The rest of the reprimand went unheard by Blaine. His vision and focus was drawn and kept by the sight only a few steps away from him and his earlier claustrophobia was replaced by a sensation close to pins and needles, peppering over his skin as he stared, lips parting slightly in awe.

His eyes were so blue.

The boy took a step closer, staring back at Blaine with equal intensity, eyes shining as he smiled. "Hi."

His breathing hitched. With that one word, Blaine's entire consciousness shifted. He knew that voice, had memorised it years ago, and now its owner was standing before him looking as beautiful and perfect and real as Blaine could have ever hoped for. His mind was racing, thoughts tripping over each other as he tried to make sense of the situation.

The dream-voice, that's him he's there and he's my soul mate. He is my soul mate. Mine. And he's tall and perfect and his eyes oh god his eyes god what's his name I need-

Clear as a bell, one word rose up above the others: Kurt. And he knew it was right.

"Kurt," the name passed his lips almost without him realising but he knew it had as he watched the boy's – Kurt's, his soul mate's – jaw drop slightly, eyes widening a little as they became glassy with tears.

"Blaine."

That was all it took – hearing the voice he'd been dreaming of for so many years finally saying his name urged him forward, and the next thing he knew warm arms were wrapped around his shoulders and his head was buried in the crook of Kurt's shoulder, his own hands grasping tightly at the boy's back. He could feel Kurt trembling, hear the soft sobs and laughter as if they were his own so Blaine just held him tighter, breathed him in deeper and let a wide, teary smile light his features.

Kurt had never known he could feel like this. His heart was beating at an insane rate, he was flushed and he knew his clothes would be ruined from the strength of Blaine's grasp but he didn't care. He was holding his soul mate in his arms and was being held in return. If he thought he'd felt happy before, it was nothing compared to the euphoria flooding through him right now.

He pulled back a little, needing to see those deep hazel-green eyes that already meant so much to him. Blaine looked up in confusion that melted away quickly when he saw Kurt's smile and felt a hand tentatively rest against his cheek, fingers gently brushing at his tears. He returned the gesture, unable to resist the longing to touch – to feel the reality in front of him.

Kurt's smile grew at the feel of rough fingertips on his skin, they were so close he could see a tear beaded on Blaine's lashes and he brushed it away softly: "Hi soul mate."

Blaine let out a breathy laugh, his hand curling around Kurt's jaw, "Hey soul mate." He looked up into the shining blue eyes staring at him with such care and adoration and felt relief bubble up in his throat, relief that all his doubts had been wrong. But that brought memories of the past few weeks to mind and he couldn't help but let the words escape as his eyes welled with fresh tears, this time of hurt. "Kurt…god, Kurt I-I thought you – that you didn't…didn't…"

He was unable to finish and squeezed his eyes closed in an effort to stem his tears, hating how fragile his voice sounded. God he was so pathetic, no wonder Kurt had run. And why was he bringing this up now when his soul mate was right in front of him, caressing his face and hair gently, murmuring soft words of-

Wait.

Kurt was speaking to him and Blaine opened his eyes to see tears streaming down his mate's perfect features. "-no no, don't think that. I'm so sorry, Blaine. So sorry, I was stupid but I never thought…god, please don't think that. Please. I'm so sorry. Please don't think that. Don't. God, Blaine, please-"

He felt Kurt's fingers curl tightly in his hair, his forehead coming to rest on Blaine's as he murmured his apologies over and over, his tears wetting Blaine's skin. Blaine watched, and the evidence of Kurt's sorrow erased any doubts he had and he felt his heart constrict at seeing Kurt in such pain. He lifted his free hand from Kurt's waist so he was framing the boy's face. When he opened his eyes and Blaine could physically see the regret and guilt in them, he did the only thing he could think of to make it go away. To make the pain go away for both of them.

Closing the tiny distance between them, he pressed his lips gently to Kurt's.

Oh.

The sensation was like connecting all over again. He felt Kurt's breath hitch before the gentle pressure was returned and they were kissing softly, chastely, perfectly.

There you are.

The kiss was like a balm, it soothed over the pain of waiting, of running, of self-doubt and strengthened the connection between them, making it almost tangible in its intensity. Kurt's death grip on Blaine's curls loosened until he was rubbing his fingers through them gently, feeling the hum of approval against his chest as Blaine pulled him closer, one hand dropping to curl around his waist. They stayed like that for a few moments longer, revelling in the connection they could feel twining them together before Blaine gently pulled away. Kurt opened his eyes and was met by the twinkling gaze of the most perfect boy he'd ever seen or known.

I've been looking for you forever.

They were vaguely aware that the Warblers around them were cheering and talking animatedly, but it was unimportant to Kurt compared to the strong arms that once again wrapped around his waist and pulled him into an almost bruising hug. He rested his head against Blaine's shoulder, sighing in contentment as Blaine rested his cheek against his hair and squeezed him slightly.

He never wanted to move again, not if it meant Blaine letting go of him.

Now that they'd found each other…well, Kurt was starting to understand why all his connected friends were all over their mates all the time. The feeling of completeness, of being right where you're meant to be, was addictive.

So, naturally, it was at this point that the real world decided to raise its ugly head.

"-don't know where they've – Mercedes! Do you know how unprofessional it is to run off moments before a performance? And you're mixing with the competition! What're you-why…why is Kurt hugging that boy?"

The dulcet tones of Rachel Berry's indignant shouting pulled Kurt reluctantly from his connection haze. He lifted his head to glare at the tiny singer but his grip on Blaine didn't weaken, in fact even as Blaine turned his attention to the girl he stepped closer, his temple brushing against Kurt's brow.

"Rachel if you took one second to look before embarking on one of your star performer rants, it would be blatantly obvious that I've finally connected." A small, adoring smile curved Blaine's lips as he listened to Kurt berate this girl – he didn't think he would ever get used to hearing that voice coming from the boy right next to him rather than as just a dream.

Rachel's features immediately softened. "Oh, Kurt that's…that's wonderful. I'm so happy for you," her eyes flitted to Blaine for a moment and she smiled. "I'm glad he's finally found you, he's been so lonely." Kurt felt the arms around his waist tighten and stroked his fingers across the back of Blaine's neck soothingly. They watched as Rachel's expression changed once again, becoming serious as she looked back at Kurt. "I-I know you've just found each other but Kurt – it's time for us to perform. We've already kept them waiting while we looked for you and…well, you need to decide what you want to do."

Kurt tightened his grip. He did want to perform, he'd worked hard and looked forward to it, but now…

He turned to Blaine who was watching him with a small smile. "You can go, it's okay."

"A-are you sure? Because I don't have to, I could-"

Blaine's smile widened at the adorably anxious expression on his mate's features. "Kurt, stop. I want you to, I'd love to see you perform. It's only fair after you got to watch me." Kurt's anxious expression was immediately replaced with a shy smile and he ducked his head slightly.

"Will you, um, stay-stay here and watch? So after I can just…" he trailed off, embarrassed, but Blaine quickly lifted his chin to force him to meet his gaze.

"I'll be right here."

Kurt smiled again. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Kurt hesitated for a moment before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Blaine's in a tender kiss. It only lasted a moment, too short a time, before Kurt was pulling away and stepping back, running his hands down Blaine arms to entwine their fingers. "I'll see you after then," he murmured.

"Definitely," and with a brief squeeze of their hands Kurt backed away, only turning when he reached Rachel and Mercedes who quickly hurried him onto the stage.

Blaine watched as his mate took his place in the group's formation, barely noticing the pats on the back and smiles from his fellow Warblers. There was a euphoria filling him that he'd never felt before, and even though Kurt wasn't right there with him he could still feel their connection. The sensation of pins and needles was gone, replaced instead with a soft buzz of warmth that covered him from head to toe. It was comforting and exhilarating at the same time.

Kurt was everything he'd wanted and everything he'd never dared to expect.

That day, Kurt gave the best performance of his life. He didn't even wait for the applause to die down before he was running off stage and into Blaine's - his soul mate's - arms, who was standing right where he said he would be.

I've been looking for you forever.