He was packing his bags.

He didn't know what to do.

Did he go back to his apartment? What if Aidan was there? Or worse, what if Aidan was gone with no trace of him ever having been there? That was a scary thought. Rachel had told him time and time again that he was always welcome in her apartment, but there was something depressing about the idea of leaving a hospital bed just to go sleep on a second-hand couch.

Then there was Blaine. No matter what Kurt kept telling himself, there was no denying that he was quickly becoming... intrigued by his doctor. Maybe if they had met at some other point in time they could have been happy together. As soon as he thought it, the images flooded Kurt's brain. He tried his hardest not to picture it, but they came too easily. Late night takeout on the couch, ice cream in Central Park, foot massages while they watched reality tv, maybe a dog. Kurt could honestly say he had never felt the need for a pet. They were too much effort to take care of and they would just mess up the apartment and his clothes. But when he imagined Blaine playing with a puppy on the living room floor... Well, maybe a dog wouldn't be that bad.

His thoughts were interrupted when the man himself walked in. Kurt stopped packing, but he couldn't seem to find his voice.

"....hey." Blaine looked blank.

"Hey." Kurt didn't know what else to say.

"So you got discharged." It was a simple statement. He sounded so far off from his usual bubbly self.

"Yeah, I did. They said that I'm out pretty quick for someone with a heart problem, but that I should be fine. I just have to come back next week for a check- up."

"Yeah, I know." Blaine smiled ever so slightly. "I get to read your chart, remember?"

Kurt returned the almost-smile. "Ah, of course."

There was a pause. It was awkward. As much as Kurt hated hospitals, he found that he didn't want to leave.

"So, any plans now that you're a free man?"

Kurt sighed. "Y'know. Lots of movies, lots of reading, and lots of catching up on some sketches."

"You could still always make a polka dot jacket."

Kurt's smile grew. "No."

"It was worth a shot." Blaine smiled easier now. He seemed to hesitate before continuing. "Have you, uh, heard anything from your... fianc�e?"

Kurt felt his heart plummet. "...no."

Blaine looked him straight in the eye. "I'm so sorry, Kurt."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah. Me too."

Blaine looked at Kurt with a curious expression.
"What?"

Blaine sighed dramatically. "You're taller than me."

Kurt chuckled. "Most people are taller than you."

"Ouch. That was a low blow."

"It has to be since you're so low to the ground."

Blaine tried to hold back a smile. "You're mean."

Kurt scoffed. "Yes, well. I was bound to have at least one flaw."

They chuckled. It turned into a pause. Then a silence.
Kurt couldn't help but think how much he would miss this.

A moment later, Rachel walked in. "Hey, Kurt. Hey, Dr. Anderson."

"Good morning, Rachel."

"Kurt, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I just..." He looked at Blaine. "Yeah." Kurt and Rachel each grabbed a bag, and she started off towards the hallway. He and Blaine were still looking at each other. "Blaine, I--" He stopped himself. "I just... Goodbye."

Blaine's face went back into its expressionless mask. Kurt tried to ignore the hurt he saw in his eyes. "Goodbye, Kurt."

Blaine watched as Kurt walked out the door. As soon as he was gone, Blaine sat on the edge of the bed and let his face fall to his hands. He finally understood how Kurt must have felt when he was left alone.

...

Kurt stared at his apartment door. He wasn't sure if he wanted to bust it down or run the other direction.

"Kurt? Are you okay?" Rachel asked with concern.

He continued to stare at the numbers on the door. "Yes I just... I just need a moment." He took a deep breath. Then on second thought, he took another one. On his third breath, he put the key in the lock and turned it.

When he stepped in the apartment, Kurt let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. It looked exactly like he left it. His stuff was there. Aidan's stuff was there.

But Aidan was nowhere to be found.

"Kurt? Are you... Is there anything I can do?" Rachel came up from behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"No... No, I'm alright." He set his bag down on the kitchen counter. It was too quiet. Even when Kurt was here alone, the apartment was never this quiet. "He's really gone, isn't he?"

"Oh, Kurt." Rachel gave him one of her bone-crushing hugs.

Kurt hugged her back. He didn't cry. He didn't feel sad. He didn't feel anything.

...

Blaine was drunk.

Good, proper drunk.

He didn't give a shit.

"Why should I even care?" he all but shouted. Wes wouldn't have been surprised if the whole club heard him over the bass. "I don't have any surgeries tomorrow. So so what if I'm shitfaced?"

"Yeah, man, but you might want to slow it down a bit," Wes suggested. "We've only been here like an hour and you're already slurring pretty badly."

"Yeah? Maybe I'll blackout." Blaine swayed a bit, which was kind of worrying since he was still sitting on a barstool. "Then I won't have to remember Kurt or his stupid face or his stupid personality. God, he's stupid."

Wes just sipped his drink. He knew from experience that it was better for Blaine to just let it out when he got like this. He'd cry in a few hours and then he'd be fine when he woke up. Well, except for the hangover, but he wouldn't be so upset anyway.

"So you really liked him then?" Wes hated that he had to shout to be heard.

"Did I really like him?" Blaine blinked a few times. "That's a stupid question. Why would you even ask that? Of course I liked him. He's perfect."

"So why don't you just ask him out?"

"Because!!! He's in love with his stupid fianc�e!! You know how I know he's stupid? He left Kurt! Who would ever leave Kurt ever? He's perfect." Blaine took a giant gulp of his drink and finished it off. "Bar girl!!!" He waved his hand in the air very dramatically to get her attention. "Bar girl... I want... I wanna drunk. Drink. I wanna drink."

The barista gave Wes a questioning look. He considered it before shrugging reluctantly. "One more. It couldn't kill him. He had a rough day."

The barista looked at Blaine, who was trying to nod along to the beat extremely unsuccessfully. "How bad?"

"Bad."
She nodded and went to make the drink. Wes watched as she filled it almost entirely with vodka and the slightest bit of cranberry juice.

She handed Blaine the drink and he looked like he had seen the face of God. "Thank you so much. You're so great. I wish I liked girls so then I could like you. Cuz then I wouldn't like Kurt and I wouldn't be sad."

The girl smiled. "Thanks." She filled up a tall glass of water and set it in front of him. "Drink this, too. It'll make tomorrow suck less." She went to tend to the other customers, none of whom looked nearly as sloppy as Blaine.

"He doesn't even know how wonderful Kurt is, you know that?" Blaine was gesturing with his hands and almost slapped Wes in the face. "He's got the best man in the whole wide world and he didn't even visit him in the hospital. How stupid." He took a gulp. "And now Kurt's sad. Kurt should never be sad. He's too good and perfect and stuff. But he's sad, and I'm sad, and... Everybody's sad. Why is everybody sad?"

Blaine looked at Wes with the worst kicked puppy expression he had ever seen. Wow, it was way too early in the night for the water works to start. "Okay, you're either super drunk or super into this guy. Or both. Either way, I'm taking you home." Wes stood up and reached for his wallet.

"No!!" Blaine stumbled off the barstool and all but collapsed on Wes. "No... no. I... I wanna dance."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do. I wanna dance with a hot guy and then Kurt will see that I don't need him!! I can be happy with other hot guys!" Wes could literally see the lightbulb turn on behind Blaine's eyes. "I should have sex with a hot guy!!!"

"Blaine..."

But Blaine was already stumbling his way over to the dance floor. "I'll find a super hot guy and...and dance with him and have sex with him and...and that will show Kurt."

Wes wrapped one arm around Blaine's torso, successfully stopping the man in his tracks. "Blaine, I think that's a very bad idea. I'm going to call a cab and take you back to your apartment, okay?"

"But... But Wes... I wanna dance." His eyes started welling up with tears. He looked like a cartoon character.

Wes paid the bill and started steering them towards the exit, Blaine tripping over his own feet every few steps. "I'm sorry buddy. We can dance when you're home, how about that?"

"I bet Kurt's a good dancer. He was dancing when he got sick. He must have been dancing really hard. I bet it was hot. I wanna see Kurt dance. I wanna dance with him."

Wes sighed. It was going to be a long night.

...

The next day was hell for Blaine.

He didn't make it a habit to drink much, and when he did it was almost always just until he got tipsy. He had learned his limit in high school. Since then, he had only gotten properly drunk about four times.

This was easily the worst hangover of his life.

He was making his rounds on patients when one of his favorite nurses walked up.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Paula asked.

"Have these lights always been so fluorescent?" he groaned.

She chuckled softly. "Spent the night drinking your troubles away since Kurt left?"

"W—what? No, I just... uh..."

Paula smiled. "It's okay." She leaned in and whispered, "I like him too."

Blaine's mind barely had time to process before she was walking away.

...

By lunch, all Blaine wanted was to get a big, fluffy teddy bear and curl up in his bed. He finished checking on one of his patients and headed to the on-call room to hopefully get some sleep before he was needed again.

He passed through the lobby on his way and was stopped by a young, blonde man even shorter than himself.

"Excuse me?"

Blaine groaned internally. He was so close to a bed... "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, um, I was wondering where Kurt Hummel was staying."

Blaine's entire world stopped. "I—I'm sorry... Who are you, exactly?"

"My name is Aidan. I'm his fianc�e."