Kurt reluctantly gave up his search for Blaine knowing he really had no chance of catching a glimpse of him within the massive crowds. It still didnt stop him from looking at all the male submissives he passed on his way to the V.I.P. building though, his heart skipping a beat every time he caught a flash of dark curls or tanned skin. By the time he reached the entrance of the building all the hope he had of seeing the beautiful submissive was all but gone, replaced by an irritable mood.

"Kurt, over here!"

Kurt sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose right beneath his eyebrows in frustration. He knew exactly who was calling for him the moment he had heard them, the person once again throwing the formal meeting manners right out of the window. No matter how many times he had told Finn, his lovable goof of a step brother just couldnt seem to understand that he couldnt yell around other V.I.P.s.

"Hey, why are you ignoring me?" Finn asked him after having jogged all the way across the marbled floor of the building, completely oblivious to all the sneers from the other dominants that followed.

"Finn, Im not ignoring you. I was pretending not to know you." Kurt snapped, regretting it right after he said it when the taller dominants face fell. "Im sorry, I didnt mean that. Its just been a day." he said, thankful when Finn gave him one of his famous lopsided grins.

"Its cool." Finn said, shrugging it off easily. The taller male glanced around the room, the rest of the occupants thankfully talking within their own groups from before instead of staring back at them. "So you think well find them today?" he asked excitedly.

Kurt couldnt help but smile at Finns enthusiasm, knowing that ever since he had met the other dominant he had been searching for her. After his father had re-bonded with Finns mother they had been going to the Claiming Ceremonies together in search of their submissives. Every time Finn had the same level of intensity, his big heart broken when they went home empty-handed at the end of the week. "I hope so." Kurt finally answered, smiling when the taller man nodded.

Oh how he wanted his submissive to be Blaine, the beautiful curly headed teen that had seemed to capture his heart at first glance. He frowned slightly, wishing for a fleeting moment that he hadnt met the adorable creature because now he knew he would compare the submissive he eventually bonded with to Blaine. The wish was short lived as the amazing smile said submissive resurfaced from his memory, making his stomach flutter in delight.

"Dude, where have you been?" Finn asked, pulling Kurt from his musings. "Ive been waiting like an hour. Did you get lost?"

"No." Kurt answered, shaking his head slightly. "The buses arent the fastest form of transportation, you know."

"Yeah I remember." Finn muttered, a visible shake of disgust rolling across his broad shoulders. "I dont know why you like to do that, Ive never gone back."

"I just do Finn, we arent getting into this again." Kurt said, raising his eye brows when Finn opened his mouth to argue. The taller dominant quickly pressed his lips together instead, not pushing further. Finn was raised without a father figure in his house, just like Kurt had been without his mother. What differed was that Kurt was a Hummel, a family line full of nothing but innovative inventions, huge companies, and an infinite amount of money. Carole, Finns mother, had been from an average family before she had bonded with a man who was within in the same class. When she had re-bonded with Kurts father her and her son had suddenly been thrown into a life of luxury that Finn fully embraced.

While Kurt certainly appreciated the lifestyle, he had always wanted something more. It had frustrated him as a child, never knowing why he felt like he was missing something. His father had made certain that he always had other children to play with, setting him up on play dates with other important families. The older man even sacrificing his own hobbies and free time to spend as much time with Kurt as his schedule would allow, especially after his mother had passed. It wasnt until Kurt was around fifteen that he got a taste of the world, having gathered the courage to sneak away from one of the men his dad had hired to supervise him on an outing. They hadnt made the move to New York yet but his father had brought him along on a business trip, the experience setting his life in motion.

The sidewalks he roamed and the different kinds of people he met and observed had finally made him feel something, something that he soon became addicted to. By seventeen he had mastered the art of sneaking past security guards and some of the most advanced monitoring equipment that money could buy, frustrating his worried father to no end. Kurt wasnt sure why he felt the need to wander alone along the cracked sidewalks of New York City, but he did it almost every day. Exploring different shops, using his status to get into beautiful fashion shows and wandering around huge art galleries and museums. Even now at the age of twenty-four he still found himself doing the same thing, that missing part of him still unfilled and yearning for something.

Kurt was pulled from his memories by his identification ring vibrating, indicating that the Meeting Ceremony was about to begin. He glanced up to Finn, amused at the excited grin on the taller dominants face. He shook his head slightly as the grown man grabbed his arm to pull him towards the exit, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he did so. "You are hopeless." He said affectionately, a soft sigh leaving him as they waited to enter the first building. The large A floating above it slowly faded from existence, signaling that the submissive were in place and ready.

Kurt had to pull on Finns shoulder to keep the man from running to the front of the line, receiving strange looks from the other V.I.P. dominants when his step brother groaned loudly in frustration. They were scanned in quickly, a guard using a small device to tap against their identification rings. Once the little machine beeped in confirmation they were allowed to enter on the opposite side where the submissives had just entered.

The room they entered was the same as all the others Kurt had been in, with bright lights and a wall on the further side completely made from glass with the other half of the room it exposed pitch black. He led Finn towards the middle and carefully positioned himself a few inches away from the thin rectangular sheets of metal that were spaced out evenly across the floor, sectioning dominants into small groups of five.

Once all the dominants were scanned in and situated the door to the building closed, an automated voice crackled over the speaker to explain the procedures before the actual ceremony began. Kurt rolled his eyes as Finns shoulder brushed up against his, the taller dominant still fidgeting impatiently as they waited. When the overly chipper voice finally finished the rest of the soft chatter in the room died down, small little beeps filling the room in their place.

Kurt quickly leaned towards Finn when the rectangle on the floor beside him shot up from the ground, the thick sheet of metal stretching from the back of their heels all the way to the glass to completely section the groups off from one another. A louder beep sounded throughout the room, the glass in front of them slowly fading out from black to reveal the first group of submissives.

"Finally!" Finn whispered excitedly, his nose almost pressing against the glass as he leaned in closer. He eagerly looked at all ten of the submissives lined up for them, shoulders slumping a little when none of them matched his mark.

Kurt looked at the males carefully, none of them having his matching phoenix. He frowned, noticing none of the ones in this group even had a mark that even slightly resembled his own. Kurt was used to this, it being a reoccurring disappointment. There were rare occasions where he had seen other phoenixes before but they were often in a different pose or lined with a different color.

This set of submissives in front of them werent claimed by the dominants in their section, the glass darkening for a few moments again before the next set appeared. Yet again none of them came close to Kurts mark, but Finn was still looking on eagerly. The taller dominant had it a bit rougher than Kurt did in his opinion with the others mark being almost generic. Finn had a tiny hollow star that rested within the small indention between his collarbones with music notes haphazardly splayed across his back, curling around his right leg all the way down to his ankle. The music notes were a very common mark so every time Finn caught sight of one he became excited, the poor guy disappointed every time.

The dominant to Finns right suddenly pressed his hand against the glass, the glass wall seeming to ripple across the surface. "Its her." Kurt heard the man say, his voice sounded in awe. The man quickly pulled the shirt from over his head to show the guards his mark, a black and white tiger that wrapped around his torso. The guards studied the dominants mark before nodding and leading him away from the other four in their section. A short, red headed woman was pulled from the submissive line on the other side of the glass before the next round came into view.

Kurts felt his heart stop when his eyes landed on tanned skin, bright hazel eyes and dark curls. A strangled noise left the back of his throat as he watched the submissive slowly rock back and forth on his feet, a simple trade mark that belonged to only one person he knew. Blaine. It was him! Kurt quickly took in a stuttering breath, ignoring Finns concerned look as he leaned forward to get a better look.

The tip of wing Kurt had seen on the bus matched the other on Blaines alternate shoulder, the lines outlining each individual feather blending from red to gold. The rest of the smooth skin across the submissives lean chest and slender waist was clear of any other color or lines. Kurt clenched his fists as he waited for them to turn, knowing now that the feathers matched his own mark perfectly. "Oh fuck, please just let it be him…"he begged in a whisper, ignoring the surprised looks being thrown his way from the other dominants in the section. Finally the submissives in the line turned, allowing Kurt to see the rest of Blaines mark.

The rest of the gold and red feathers within the wings were splayed out beautifully across the top-half of Blaines back, the Phoenixs head situated between his shoulder blades with its beak slightly opened. The rest of the birds feathered body followed, its legs pulled in and talons spread. Then the long gorgeous tail feathers swooped down, the full length hidden by Blaines tight red skinny jeans. It matched. Blaines mark matched his!

Kurts hand flew up to slap against the glass wall, the surface rippling violently. "My soul mate, hes there." He called out when someone didnt appear quickly enough. A guard finally approached but before they could ask Kurt was already unbuttoning his shirt and waistcoat, for once not caring as he threw them to the ground to bare his own mark.

"You found him?" Finn asked in bewilderment, his eyes leaving Kurts disheveled figure to scan the line of dominants. "Oh." He said simply once he had found the matching mark. "Awesome!"

The guard studied Kurts mark intently before finally leading him away from the group, Finn patting him on the back as he left. He followed the guard closely, wondering if the other dominant could hear the sound of his heart as it hammered against his chest excitedly.

"There is still one more step." The guard said once they had entered the elevator. He glanced towards Kurt, eyes roaming over his mark.

"I know." Kurt murmured, ignoring the automated voice when it filled the elevator after the doors had shut. He had never gotten this far before, marks always differing too much. He closed his eyes as he waited for the elevator to reach its floor. Blaine just had to be his…they were just so similar.

He desperately needed it to be Blaine. He wouldnt be able to look at anyone else the same way.

The elevator finally dinged, its metal doors sliding open. Kurt followed the guard through the hallways, not even interested in taking in his surroundings. His only concern was Blaine. The room he entered next held two more dominants, confusing him. "Where is he?" he demanded, stopping just beside one of the others to look for Blaine.

"We are required by law to double check that the marks are similar enough before the dominants are allowed to touch the submissive to make the connection." One of the guards answered, tilting his head respectfully towards Kurt.

Kurt held in a groan, crossing his arms across his naked chest. He knew that this was the safest way for a submissive considering their mark was the most sensitive part of their body. A dominant who touched it that wasnt their soul mate would cause the submissive to feel sick or in some cases pain.

Another sheet of glass rose from the floor, this time not blocking anything from the other side as three submissives walked in. Kurt managed to keep from stepping closer towards it when he saw Blaine, licking his lips as the submissives began to pull the rest of their clothes off.

"One at a time, gentlemen." Another guard in the room said as the submissives turned to show their complete mark to Kurt and the other two dominants.

Kurts eyes widened as he took in the rest of Blaines mark, the tail feathers of the phoenix gracefully falling and ending right before the submissives curved bottom with flames following. Mine. Oh god he is mine. The beautiful, adorable, gorgeous creature that he had met only hours before was his soul mate.

_______________________________________________________

Something gently tugging at his hair pulled Blaine from unconsciousness, his eyes fluttering open a moment later only to be met with blue. He blinked a few times, finally realizing that what he was staring at was Kurt. Kurt! He gasped, trying to sit up only to have said dominant gently push against his chest to keep him from doing so.

"Blaine, honey, slow down." Kurt whispered to him softly, pulling his fingers through Blaines hair again once he had finally placed his head back in the dominants lap.

Blaine stared up at Kurt in awe, loving how close the dominants face was to his. Finally everything slowly began to come back to him, mouth opening slightly as he remembered. "We…?" he trailed off, not sure if this was a dream or not. It just seemed too good to be true, he felt like he would wake up any second now to an empty bed like he always did.

"We did." Kurt murmured, a smile lighting up his face as he continued to stare down into the submissives eyes. Blaine licked his lips slightly, still not sure if this was some sort of cruel joke.

"For real?" Blaine asked. Kurt laughed softly, moving the hand that had been resting on top of Blaines chest to press it against his cheek.

"For real." Kurt repeated in another whisper, bending to press his lips against the submissives forehead. Blaine felt his stomach flip-flop excitedly and his toes curl in response to the warmth against his skin. He had never imagined that the man staring down at him would be his soul mate, maybe his fate wasnt as fucked up as he thought. "Wow." he said softly, raising his arm up but hesitating when he realized that the dominant may not want to be touched.

Kurt gently encircled Blaines wrist with his thumb and ring finger before it could fall to his side again, pulling his arm towards him and leaning his head forward to press kisses into the palm of the smaller hand. Blaine squirmed in delight, his heart skipping a beat. He just couldnt believe this was really happening.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt asked him, watching his face closely as if he thought Blaine was going to lie to him.

"Uh." Blaine said, wiggling the fingers on his free hand then his toes. "Okay I guess?" he muttered, thankful that he had felt a blanket rub against his feet considering had been naked when he had passed out earlier. "Im sorry I passed out…I dont know why I did." he mumbled, feeling his cheeks flush.

"Blaine, thats perfectly normal." Kurt said quietly, slowly helping the submissive into a sitting position on what now Blaine realized was a couch. "Most submissives do, actually." Kurt continued, reaching over and making sure Blaine was covered with the blanket before he stood up.

Blaine panicked as he watched Kurt take a step away and quickly reached out to grab onto the taller males belt. "Y-Youre leaving?" he asked, looking away and quickly pulling his hand away from Kurt when the dominant looked back at him.

"Oh sweetie, no. Never." Kurt whispered, turning and grabbing Blaines face. Blaine finally looked up at Kurt again, eyes widening when lips pressed against his own. It felt like static electricity rolling across his spine, tingling all over. An audible whimper left the back of his throat when Kurt finally pulled away from him.

"I just thought you might want your clothes?" Kurt asked, eyebrows raising when Blaine could only manage a dopey looking smile in return. "I mean I wouldnt mind you walking around naked, but I dont want other people to see you."

Blaine felt his whole face flush in response, quickly slapping his hands over it to try and hide it. Kurts soft laugh only making the embarrassment worse. He peeked through his fingers when the dominant dropped his clothes on the couch next to him. "Thank you." he muttered, glancing up at Kurt and waiting for him to turn around so he could get dressed.

"Oh right, sorry." Kurt said, turning and facing the wall as he crossed his arms against his chest. "Ive already seen it though."

Blaine stumbled slightly when Kurt said that, having to regain his balance. He sighed, quickly pulling on his boxer briefs and pants. "Okay." He said before pulling his shirt over his chest, noticing that Kurt had somehow already had his entire outfit on and put together again. Huh.

"So…what happens now?" he asked, tilting his head to the side when Kurt turned around to face him again.

"Where exactly do you live, Blaine?" Kurt asked, Blaines heart sinking. Oh no…he forgot dominants had instant access to submissives records once they were recognized as bonded. What was he going to tell him? That he was currently living from couch to couch?

"I…well," Blaine began, looking down to the ground. He pressed his heels into the floor, trying to calm himself down. He had been expecting this when he finally found his dominant but apparently he wasnt ready at all. A knock on the door of the room thankfully saved him for the moment, Kurt cursing underneath his breath as he walked to it.

"KURT!" A man yelled, throwing his arms around Kurt to hug the dominant tightly. He watched the exchange closely, trying to figure out what was going on as another submissive managed to slip into the room. He blinked, recognizing the girl as the one who had been standing beside him in the last stage of the ceremony.

"Finn, please!" Kurt snapped.

"I found her!" The other man, now known to Blaine as Finn, said excitedly. "She had been pulled by another dominant earlier that had mistaken her marks, but shes mine!"

The two dominants began to chatter back and forth, both congratulating each other. The girl walked up to him, holding out her tiny hand. Blaine shook it gently, smiling at her. He still didnt know what these two had to do with Kurt, but as long as it kept the focus off of him he didnt mind.

"Im Rachel Berry." She said, holding her chin high.

"Blaine Anderson." Blaine replied, noticing that the two dominants had finished talking and were now staring at them.

"Blaine, this is my step brother Finn." Kurt finally explained.

"Hello." He said politely, relieved when the other two began talking to each other again.

"We need to get a car." Kurt said, still keeping Blaine in his line of sight.

"Already got it, should be here soon. I didnt know if Blaine had woken up yet. Rachel didnt even pass out." Finn said, shrugging slightly.

"Blaine, will the people you live with have a problem with you staying with me tonight?" Kurt asked, that blue gaze pinning Blaine down.

"Oh, uh, no." Blaine said, his face flushing. He would be able to see where Kurt lived? See where he slept?

"Then how about we do that, we can work out some more things tomorrow." Kurt said, picking up his and Blaines bag before turning back to talk to Finn.

Blaine frowned slightly, looking down to the floor. Normally the submissive would move in with the dominant right after they had connected which was just fine with Blaine. The thing that worried him was that the dominant normally met with the family of the submissive, but he didnt have that anymore. How was he going to explain why he ran away, would Kurt even believe him. Would he still want him after he found out?

He hoped so.