Sunday evening the gang was already in the parking lot in front of Kurt’s and Kate’s building, waiting for Blaine to arrive. The boy promised to come by car, and the extra seats were much needed, since into Finn’s car only 5 of them could be crammed.

It was 6:45, and their movie started at 7:15, so they grew a little impatient. But a couple of minutes later a very fancy SUV rolled into the lot, and after stopping the engine, Blaine got out of the car.

“Sorry guys, for being late.”

“Couldn’t decide on the right shirt?” Kate teased him, but followed it up immediately with a quick hug, and whispered in his ear. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you” was Blaine’s answer, in a similarly low tone, so nobody could hear their quick exchange. “So. Who’s riding with me?”

Since Blaine’s car was somewhat cooler than Finn’s, the seats were quickly taken by Santana, Mercedes, Sam and Kate, leaving Finn’s car to be occupied only by the “family-trio”, Finn, Rachel and Kurt.

“Do you know the way, Blaine?” Finn asked, ready to offer to lead the convoy.

“Yes, but I guess it’s safer if I follow you. We don’t have much time for me to get lost…”

“Okay then. See you guys there.”

It didn’t take long to reach their destination, something like ten minutes or so, but since they were on a tight schedule, they didn’t want to risk walking. Plus, the gang wanted to hit the buffet before the movie started.

The two car arrived right after each other, everyone got out, and for the first time that evening Blaine’s eyes found Kurt’s across the lot in front of the theater. A ridiculously wide smile spread across the dark-haired boy’s face, and he mouthed a simple hey to Kurt, who, in response, waved a little.

Kurt immediately felt exactly how they left off the previous night. Like there was a bond between them, unbeknownst to the others, with layers of trust and openness that Blaine only bestowed upon Kurt. And nobody else.

And Kurt still felt amazing knowing this. He got to know Blaine a little in the previous weeks, and thought the boy was amazingly interesting and, yes, a good man. He knew there were things they thought differently about, but he cherished the way they were curious about each other and each other’s points of view.

So, yes, in a way he sensed he could expect a night of stolen glances and knowing smiles exchanged between them, above the heads of the others. Kurt had a head start getting to know Blaine compared to the gang, but it seemed everyone was okay with that. And they definitely didn’t try to catch up. Not out indifference. No. They just somehow accepted that the two boys felt comfortable that way. Being with the gang, having fun, but being finely tuned only to each other.

Even Kate was okay with that. She knew she wouldn’t be replaced in her position as best friend. But she was glad Kurt spent time with someone interesting and inspiring. She saw how excited Kurt got at the prospect of spending time with Blaine, and she accepted it when Kurt explained how Blaine’s appeal was only his newness and different approach to life. Nothing else.

Right, nothing else. Well, for the time being Kate was more than okay with observing from the sidelines.

The movie they chose was a typical romcom, nothing extraordinary, but it was perfect for the time being. The eight of them wanted a night out, with something not very challenging, and anyway, the main point, after all, was to comment on every little nuisance in the movie, nothing else.

They couldn’t find eight seats in one row, the cinema was relatively full. So they were seated in two smaller groups, at opposite sides of the room. And once again, Kurt and Blaine were separated.

But it was a peculiar position, one in which they both saw each other from the corner of their eyes, and every movement the other made, made them look in that direction. They made each other laugh, silently, of course, during the movie. With silly gestures, and facial expressions. And Blaine went as far as winking at Kurt one time, to which the other boy rolled his eyes, and shook his head, still smiling.

When the film ended, Kurt had to realize it’s not gonna be his most memorable movie experience, and wished the eight of them would figure out something to do for the rest of the night, ‘cause he didn’t want to say good bye just yet.

Everybody� was already outside in the lot, when Blaine and Kurt reached the door to exit the cinema.

“Kurt, I don’t know when the others are leaving, but…” Blaine started.

“Guys, you wanna go grab a bite somewhere?” came Finn’s voice, apparently voicing the group plan for the rest of the night, but Kurt didn’t want to decide before Blaine finished his sentence.

“Hold on a second.” He said to Finn, and turned back to Blaine. They were still far enough from the others to exchange words without being heard. “What did you want to say?”

“Um, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go for a walk, but if the others have a plan, I don’t want to keep you.” Blaine didn’t seem hurt, or anything, he was merely stating facts.

And Kurt appreciated that Blaine wanted to be respectful, but to be quite honest, he much rather spent time with Blaine right now. He didn’t know exactly how to explain it, but that was how he felt. So he decided to act on the impulse.

“No, yes, sure, I’d love that.” He said quickly to Blaine, and turned back to Finn to arrange everything.

“Finn, I think we’re gonna walk home, is that okay? You guys go ahead, I’ll see you back home.”

“Um, Kurt, I don’t think that’s gonna work. We’re six, and there’s only my car…”

“Oh, that’s okay. Somebody can take mine.” And with that Blaine threw his keys towards Finn, who caught it much less elegantly than the manner in which Blaine threw them.

“Are you serious? Dude, that’s an expensive car.” Finn’s eyes were comically wide.

“And I’m sure whoever’s sitting behind the wheel will take care of it. Go ahead, enjoy.” Blaine said, and at the finality of his voice the others, like sharks, flung themselves to Finn for the key.

Kurt and Blaine didn’t wait for the events to fold out, though. They looked at each other with a comfortable smile.

“Which way?” Kurt asked. And Blaine, instead of answering, only gestured towards the path that closely followed the roadway they arrived on. They were headed home, but the root that took 10 minutes by car would give them plenty of time for walking.

And Kurt found that though extremely appealing.

“Kurt, are you sure you’re okay with me taking you away from the gang? I mean, they’re leaving in the morning, aren’t they?”

“Yes, and yes.” Kurt stopped, not sure if he should continue. But, what the heck. “Blaine, can I be really honest with you?”

“Please.”

“I don’t think they’ll be that much of a company tonight. They’ll end up in a diner, reminisce about high school, Santana will be snarky all night, the others will gradually get more and more tired, and eventually they’ll go back home and pack their bags.”

“I see.” Blaine wasn’t sure this was what he wanted to hear. But Kurt continued.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love them, just the way they are, and I love these nights, but I had a million of those with them. And now you’re here, and you wanted to go for a walk, and I wanted to go for a walk. So stop trying to convince me I should wanna be somewhere else. I want to be here.”

“Okay.” Blaine said. Well, that was better.

“So, how did you like them?” Kurt asked, clearly referring to his own friends.

“I think they’re amazing.”

“You think everyone’s amazing.”

“Don’t you? I mean they all have something unique about them. Yeah, some people I feel like I couldn’t necessarily be friends with, or couldn’t live with, but everyone has something special to offer. Or most people I know.”

“And how can you tell if you can be friends with someone, or you can live with someone?” Kurt found this relatable, but wasn’t sure what Blaine meant.

“Well. I think I have two types of friends. Or, maybe three. One, like Anthony. I’ve known him for a while now, we have history, we’ve been through a lot together, I love him dearly, but we don’t see the world very similarly. And that’s okay. Then there’s the David “type”. We also have history, I’ve known him even longer, and we have a lot of things in common. We can even work together pretty well, but I think that’s a coincidence. And then there’s the third type. Someone you don’t necessarily have history with, but you have an instant connection, and you meet through something you’re both interested in, and that’ll make bonding extremely easy.”

“Yeah, I think I know what you mean. Wait a second… I just realized something. Anthony.”

“Yes?”

“And Mary.”

“Yes.”

“Anthony. Tony. Maria. Jesus, I can’t believe I was so slow in processing this. That’s adorable.”

“Yeah, it took me a while to realize as well, so don’t worry.” Blaine seemed pensive. But Kurt didn’t even have to ask, he went on. “I know they sound classic, but I don’t think I’d want what they have.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think they’re very happy together, I just feel like what makes them happy, wouldn’t make me very happy.” Kurt didn’t interrupt, and after a few second Blaine did go on. “I don’t think they challenge each other in any way. Not intellectually, not spiritually, not in any way. I don’t see them as growing because of each other. And I just feel like I’d get bored in the long run. You know?”

“Yeah, I guess I know what you mean. I’ve known couples like that. Heck, I’ve been in couples like that, but not for long. It got suffocating.”

“Yeah. I mean, I know working on a relationship is hard, but I’d much rather fight for something, than be in a lazy colorless thing. At least than you know there’s still passion between you. Plus, not that I know anything about their sex-life, but I imagine it being somewhat repetitive.” Blaine said with a cheeky grin.

Kurt blushed a little at that, and hesitated, whether he should come out with this, or not. But the night was so soothing, they had a long walk ahead of them, and Blaine was so okay with everything Kurt has told him so far, that every inhibition he might have had faded. He decided to ask Blaine about the issue, and decide later on his own coming out.

“Last night you said “complete” to Santana’s word.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you mean it?”

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”

“And what makes it complete? For you, I mean.”

“I think I didn’t mean it being complete, but you being complete. There’s this short story, by Philip Roth. The Dying Animal. He says that sex is the revenge on death. And I find that idea very intriguing. The way I interpret it, he means that death is basically the passing of time, decaying. Being aware of time. And sex is being completely lost in the present, not wanting to be anywhere else, but right there, right then. You know? That’s what I meant by complete. The feeling of being certain that you are right where you want to be. In that moment. Or whatever amount of time. You know.” Blaine explained with such force and passion in his voice that Kurt couldn’t help but be in awe of the boy. Blaine sensed Kurt’s silence, and mistaking it for Kurt being lost in other things, he asked the other boy.

“But you said perfection. What does that mean?”

“Well…” Now or never, Kurt thought. “That’s how I imagine it…”

“Okay, but why?” Blaine was not taken aback. In fact he was so not-taken-aback, that Kurt needed a few seconds to go on with a steady voice.

“Well, I mean, I have this idea in my head that when you find somebody that you have a perfect relationship with, on every level, emotionally, physically, intellectually, then that kind of extraordinary connection, that perfectness needs to be present when the two bodies become one.”

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as perfection.”

“I know that. Objectively speaking. But a person can definitely feel perfect. You know?”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. If you accept that it’s not about objective reality, but being in something fully from head to toe, then yeah, I think you’re right.” Blaine said, thinking it through. “And… Kurt, stop me, if I’m too much. But why did you say, that’s how you imagine it? Haven’t you had that with your ex-boyfriends?”

“Um, not really. Look, I’m gonna be honest about this. Um… Technically speaking I’m still a virgin.”

“Can I ask you about this?” Blaine said, voice neutral, again, surprising Kurt a little. He didn’t know why but he prepared himself for judging looks and patronizing comments.

“Yeah, sure. Shoot.” Kurt agreed.

“What do you mean ‘technically speaking’?”

“I guess it depends on how you define losing your virginity. But if we talk about two bodies becoming one, well, that part I haven’t had yet.”

“Okay, I see. But you were physical with your exes. Or non-exes…” Blaine realized he assumed Kurt to be single, but had no basis for that assumption. Kurt quickly cleared that up.

“Exes. And yes, we were physical. With most of them. But I never felt I should cross that last boundary. I don’t know. Maybe I’m being silly waiting with it.”

“Hey, no, don’t say that. I think the key term here is you never felt like it. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. If that’s how you felt, you were right to act on that. I mean, not act on it, in this case.”

Kurt giggled a little at this. He was extremely grateful for Blaine not talking down on him. He didn’t know if he would’ve taken that too well.

“Yeah.” Kurt said, not sure if he should say anything further.

“And, if I may…” Blaine started.

“Go ahead.”

“With the things you did do… you never felt this perfection?”

“Um, not really. But it was never hard to tell why. The things that were lacking in the relationship, I guess, always were the same we lacked in the bedroom. Either harmony, or compassion, or attraction.”

“Well, maybe someday soon.” Blaine said, but for some reason he sounded unsure. Kurt didn’t know whether it was because of the delicacy of the issue, or because Blaine didn’t want to overstep. Anyway, he felt exposed enough now, and bold enough to direct the spotlight to the other boy.

“And what about you? Did you, or do you have that completeness with anyone?”

“Well, I definitely had it a few times. This feeling of not wanting to be anywhere else but in the present. Mostly with guys I was ridiculously in love with. But it never lasted for long, something always ruined it.” Blaine paused, thought for a second, but decided to continue. “I’ve kind of considered myself a non-virgin for a while. But I agree with you, this is very subjective. For me, losing your virginity means being so exposed to somebody, and trusting somebody so much that you let them see you come undone with pleasure, and vice versa.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Kurt said. The way Blaine was so candid, yet poetic about the whole thing made him relax, completely.

“And I guess that’s why I never felt peer pressure. You know, the jokes about waiting to lose your virginity never reached me, cause I always felt, whatever pace I want to go in, it’s my business, and my partner’s business. And yeah, I guess that pace never got me to real intercourse either. But I’m soooo okay with that. So, hey, don’t you dare feel ashamed about that.” Blaine said, jokingly threatening and comforting Kurt at the same time.

Kurt let out a breathy little giggle. It was incredible how easy it was to talk to Blaine. About everything.

They continued their walk in silence, for a few minutes, processing what’s been said. Then they started talking again, but about lighter subjects. Romcoms they’ve seen in recent years, plays and performers they admired, favorite courses they took here in college, favorite high school subject, favorite types of food, and basically anything that came to their mind in that pleasant atmosphere, where they both felt relaxed and free and giddy with the greatly flowing conversation.

As far as they could guess they were somewhere mid-way home, when a small little playground showed itself and the boys couldn’t resist the temptation. Or, to be exact, Kurt couldn’t resist the swings he immediately zoned in on.

“Oh, Blaine, do you mind if I get on the swing for a little bit. I haven’t been to a playground in forever. Would you mind terribly?”

“Of course not.” Blaine laughed. “Go ahead, I’ll be there in a sec.”

And with that Kurt skillfully opened the simple gate on the playground’s fence, and ran towards the toy. He was so lost in his joyous excitement that he couldn’t see Blaine quickly taking out a small digital camera from the pocket of his jacket, and hunching over the little fence, supporting himself with his elbows to take a picture. He breathed in slowly, deeply, looked through the small hole, the viewfinder, and waited for the right moment. It came in a few seconds, when Kurt, on an especially high swing laughed out so preciously, that his whole body was in it. Snap. Blaine took the picture. Trying to capture the memory.

But Kurt didn’t see any of this. All he saw was that when he looked for Blaine and whether he truly followed him or not, and he could see the boy straightening his back from the fence, and pocketing something that seemed like a digital device. But Kurt was too caught up in the fun to comment on it.

“Come on, Blaine. Hop on!”

“Oh, no, thank you, I’d much rather stay here.”

“Have it your way. But I’m not getting off anytime soon.”

Blaine was okay with that. So okay that he even let the pun go. He didn’t want to infect this childlike state with anything less than innocent.

Eventually Kurt got bored, or tired, and slowed down, to hop off elegantly. He took the few steps to Blaine, standing in front of him, a few feet apart. He looked deep in his eyes, mastering his best puppy eyes.

“Can I see the picture?” Kurt asked finally?

Blaine laughed, and shook his head.

“Absolutely not.” When Kurt added a pout to the eyes, Blaine felt forced to explain where he’s coming from. “I don’t think it’s enjoyable to look at a picture like this on a little screen. I’m sorry. I’ll show you the picture once I have a paper version. I don’t even use the screen to take the picture. Are you mad?”

“No, of course not.” Kurt said, his face back at “normal”. “But why do you have a digital camera then?”

“Simple. It’s small. When I don’t have anything with me, this I more comfortable. Of course pics taken with this will never turn out as good as with manual cameras, but sometimes the wish to capture a moment overrides any aesthetic aspect.”

“Like me on a swing.” Kurt said, cheekily.

“Yes. Kurt. Like a beautiful man producing a laughter that is both filled with childlike innocence and wise, irresistible masculinity.” Blaine’s tone was absolutely serious. He searched for a reaction in Kurt’s eyes. The other boy was suddenly so self-conscious that he chose to joke away his embarrassment.

“I didn’t know I could be so many things at once.” And with that Kurt quickly moved to the gate, and back to their road.

They continued their walk in a lazy pace, silent for a few minutes.

Kurt spoke first.

“Would you define yourself as a photographer?”

“Wow. That’s a good question. If I had to give a one-word answer, I’d say no. But if I had the chance to explain it, I’d say yes.”

“I’m giving you all the chances you want.” Kurt said, smiling, encouraging Blaine to continue.

“Well, then yes. I am a photographer. As long as I can remember I wanted to use cameras, and I longed for capturing moments of my life. But more importantly, this is the branch of art that taught me the most about myself and how I see the world. Literally and figuratively.” When Kurt only nodded, sensing there was more there, Blaine went on. “I kind of had to realize certain things can be captured, and that however hard you try you can’t show outsiders what you personally wanted to take away from a given moment. But that’s where the beauty starts. When you present something, and everybody can interpret it their own way. And of course when you try to look at the world with fresh eyes, you just want to preserve your tabula rasa approach. Of course it’s impossible, but you have to try anyway. And you have to know that every corner of the world holds something special. And of course you start to see yourself as a subject as well. You sort of get to know how you might look in certain situations, and you have to let it go, because you have to understand that you can’t spend too much energy on how others perceive you. It’s enough if you know that you are also something special. You just have to understand and hope that someday somebody will look at you with the same pristine eyes, and say, wow, I wish I could capture this feeling but I can’t. Because that’s the most valuable thing I’ve learnt through photography. You have to be able to separate the ordinarily pleasant from the truly special. And the best, the truly best parts in life are those that you desperately want to capture, but can’t, ‘cause you have to accept that they have an element of unfathomable, untouchable, unspeakable in them that no machine can hold onto. That’s where you open up your more organic devices… If you know I mean.”

During his speech Blaine was looking at the asphalt, gesturing with his hands, but when he finished he raised his eyes, to look at Kurt. On his face was an expression Kurt couldn’t really describe even if he tried, but it was full of passion, maybe a hint of fear, pleading, and something else that Kurt couldn’t decipher. He felt incredibly grateful that Blaine opened up to him so much, and knew he had to choose his next words wisely. To show Blaine his gratitude, his respect for the boy. And the pure joy Blaine’s words gave him. The pure, innocent passion that was so infectious when Blaine spoke.

“Do you remember what I said last night to the word ‘wedding’?” Kurt had a point. He hoped Blaine sensed that.

“Yes. You said ‘clich�’.”

“Yes, I did. I said that because I have this fear that when it comes to my future wedding, I will feel like it’s the happiest da y of my life, but I can’t capture the genuine happiness, because everything, due to obvious contextual reasons, will turn into a big fat clich�.” Blaine nodded. “Blaine.” Kurt stopped in his steps, and turned to the boy. “I want you to be at my wedding. I want you there with this passion of yours. I want you there to remind me that deep down, at the core of things, even if they are clich�-like on the surface, there’s a real essence that will truly make me the happiest man in the world that day.”

Blaine felt drowning once again. He was looking into the magical glasz eyes, tilting his head a little, smiling with tight lips, trying to keep his emotions down. But finally he gave in, and closed the distance between himself and Kurt, enveloping the other boy in a gentle hug. When he felt Kurt relax into the touch and hug him back, he whispered into Kurt’s ear.

“I want that, Kurt. More than anything.”

They stayed that way for a few more moments, then Blaine let go, and they continued the rest of the walk home.

They never returned to heavy topics, they chit-chatted lightly on their way.

It was almost eleven when they reached Kurt’s building and it was time to say good bye.

“Um, no offense to David, but I’m really glad he was out of town for the weekend. Does that make me horribly selfish?” Kurt asked Blaine. Blaine chuckled adorably at this.

“No, not horribly. But I know what you mean. I had a great time, Kurt. Thank you!”

“Blaine, I really don’t mean to scare you off, but I kinda feel like I have to confess this.”

“What?” Blaine said, forcing his voice not to sound too hopeful.

“I think I’ll want you around a lot. I think you’re quickly becoming one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

“Oh.” Blaine said, forcing his voice not to sound too disappointed. “I think I’m okay with that.”

“You are?” Kurt smiled. “Okay then. Are you gonna be okay on your way home?”

“Yes, of course. Don’t worry about me. Good night, Kurt.” And with that Blaine turned around and headed home.

“Wait. Blaine. Will I see you next week?”

“Um, actually, I’m not sure. Coop and I are going to another Pride a couple of states away. I’m not sure when we’ll leave or when I’ll come back. But I’ll let you know, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Good night, Blaine.”

“See you around, Kurt.”

Kurt himself turned to enter the building and join his friends who were, he was sure, already waiting for him in his room. He knew he needed to focus on being there with them, and for them, before they left in the morning. He had to try to be present for them. He tried and tried and tried. All night. But his thoughts were wandering elsewhere.