"Rachel, I swear to God, if you don't shut the hell up in the next three minutes, I am going to slap you back to Ohio myself, and I mean that in the nicest way possible," Kurt said the next morning. They were on the familiar walk Kurt took every day on his way to the café. He knew this path like it was the walk to his own house, he could get there with his eyes closed if he had to.

"But Kurt!" she protested, "I'm so excited! I finally get to meet your boyfriend!" she said, skipping alongside him on the street.

"I know, I know. Just...can you try to tone it down a little bit so that you don't completely scare him off?"

"Fine, alright, okay, yes, sure, I'll tone it down for your sweeeeetie, your hooooooney, your booooooyfriend, your Blaaaainey-boo," she said in a singsong voice.

"Oh hush, will you?" he pleaded, a smile growing on his lips.

Rachel gasped, "Well look at you! Getting all giddy! And are you-oh my God! You're totally blushing!" she laughed.

"Rachelllllll," he begged, trying to cover his face, "C'mon, quit it!"

She poked him in the side, "You really like him, don't you?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I really like him," he said breathlessly, Blaine's honey colored eyes flashed through his mind.

"I know," she giggled, "Are we almost there?" her eyes looked at every shop around them.

"Yeah," Kurt said, spotting the familiar café that he had grown so fond of. Because, in all honesty, this café would always have a special place in his heart. It was where he met Blaine.

"So are we going to go in? Or are you just going to stare dreamily at it the whole time?" she laughed at him.

"Oh, shut up," he mumbled, pushing past the door. His eyes scanned the shop, looking for a familiar head of dark curls, but spotting none. They got on line, ordering their coffees and Kurt ordering Blaine's medium drip for him, blushing furiously at the "Oh Kurt! You know his coffee order!? How romantic!" comment from Rachel. He and Rachel talked for a few minutes, his eyes almost glued to the door, when finally a sparkling pair of golden eyes met his. He immediately smiled, his heart pounding in a familiar, pleasing way that always happened when he saw Blaine. He waved to Blaine, getting a blinding smile and an adorable wave back from him. He started giggling and Rachel turned around to see who he was waving to, her jaw might as well have dropped to the floor.

"Kurt, is that him? Because, holy sweet hell, you were not exaggerating! He is gorgeous, oh my- HI!" she said excitedly as Blaine reached their table.

"Hi!" he said back, extending his right hand out, "You must be Rachel, I'm Blaine," he said happily.

Instead of shaking his hand, she stood and nearly tackled him in a bone-crushing hug, "It's so nice to meet you! I've heard so much about you!" she pulled away, taking her seat again.

Blaine looked a little dazed as he sat down, but Kurt could tell that he was in full blown charm-mode for meeting her, "Likewise," he said and Rachel almost obviously swooned. Thank God they hadn't taken Finn with them. He turned to Kurt, giving him his ‘reserved for you' smile, the light dancing in his eyes.

"Hey," Kurt said shyly, grabbing Blaine's hand under the table and twining their fingers together.

"Hey you," Blaine said breathlessly, laughing quietly. Their eyes locked, they looked lost in each other, well, they always were. He rested his and Kurt's hands on his knee, rubbing his calloused thumb over Kurt's knuckles in a way that Kurt had come to adore.

"So Blaine!" Rachel said, completely oblivious to their little moment. They reluctantly turned their attention to her, "Where are you from?" she asked.

"Westerville, Ohio," he said in a proud voice, side-eying Kurt, waiting for her much anticipated reaction.

"Wait...you're from...did you say...how is that...what?" she sputtered, making the other two laugh.

"Kind of still blows my mind," Kurt laughed.

"Yeah, that is completely insane, in a wonderful, amazing...strange sort of way," she remarked, still looking confused, "How old are you?" she asked, trying to clear up her own confusion.

"Turned 18 last February," he said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Huh, that's cool. Kurt turned 18 last-"

"May," Blaine answered for her.

"Yeah," she smiled, looking back and forth from boy to boy as they looked at each other, taking in their very obvious body language, "What about school in the fall? Do you know where you're going yet?'

Blaine nodded as he took another sip, "Yupp, going to NYU for music theory," he answered.

Her eyes lit up, "Oh! So you'll be in New York with Kurt and me!"

"I know," he said, openly catching Kurt's eyes in a loving glance, "Are you going to NYADA, too?" he turned back to her.

"Oh yes! Of course!" she exclaimed, "It's my dream school!"

Blaine looked at her a little funny before laughing, "Well then, that's fantastic. Have you always wanted to go there?"

"Uhm, not exactly," she said a bit uncertainly, "We both applied once we found out that Julliard didn't have a drama program."

"Ah," Blaine sympathized, "My friend Wes applied there, but he didn't get in. So, now he's going to law school instead," Kurt choked on his mocha, drawing Blaine's attention to him, "You okay?" he asked.

"Did you just say that Wes is going to law school? Wes? Like your best friend Wes?" he asked once he could breathe.

"I know, right?" Blaine laughed, "I know I paint a goofy picture of him, but he can be all business when he wants to be."

"But...but...but...a lawyer?" he attempted to clarify once more, getting a nod from Blaine, "That's intense."

"What can I say?" Blaine shrugged, "The man likes his gavel."

Kurt laughed, giving Blaine's hand a small squeeze under the table. Their eyes were locked again, like gold dripping into a sapphire sea. All Blaine wanted to do, more than anything, was to reach over and kiss him on the lips, but it would be quite awkward in their current situation.

But Rachel took that moment as an opportunity to clear her throat, "Uh I have to use the restroom for a moment. So, if you boys will excuse me..."

They looked at her and smiled, watching her as she made her way to the bathroom. Kurt gave Blaine a shy smile once they were alone, "Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi there," Blaine said back just as quietly, a playful smile hanging on his lips, "How are you?" his voice noticeably softening, like his guard was coming back down now that it was just him and Kurt.

"I'm good, kind of wishing that is was just you and me here," he said honestly.

"While I do agree because I very genuinely enjoy your company," Kurt shot him the ‘you are an adorable, dapper idiot' look that Blaine expected he would get, "Rachel isn't that bad, intense, like you said, and energetic, for sure, but definitely passionate."

"I think you just summed her up better than I ever could," Kurt joked.

"But I do wish the same thing," Blaine said, "I missed you yesterday after we left," he brought their hands up from where they were under the table, brushing his lips easily over Kurt's knuckles.

Kurt blushed, "I missed you, too," he scooted his chair so that their thighs were flush against each other through the tight material of their jeans. Blaine unlinked their hands, his arm wrapping around Kurt's waist, Kurt leaned into his side in comfort, "This is nice," he whispered.

"I think so, too, Darling Boy," Blaine said, pressing a kiss into Kurt's smooth, perfect hair. Kurt giggled and took a moment to think about how he loved how Blaine was so openly affectionate, how he was very spur-of-the-moment and spontaneous, in the best ways possible. The feeling of Blaine's muscular arm hooked around his waist and the strong hand resting on his hip made him feel so content that he could fall asleep. He would have said something back to him if Rachel hadn't chosen to be the Queen of Bad Timing and sat back down across from them.

She smiled, looking from boy to boy, "Sorry I'm not sorry, but you two couldn't be any more adorable even if you tried to be."

The other two shared a secret smile at the use of the word ‘adorable,' laughing at their overuse of the word the day before, now an inside joke that they kept between them. They all chatted happily for the better part of an hour, Rachel very obviously charmed by Blaine's charismatic personality. Who wasn't? Kurt just sat there for the most part, snuggled into Blaine's side, listening to them talk, thankful that his best friend got along so well with his boyfriend. When they figured it was time to leave, they decided to go to Blaine's hotel first, for the first time.

Rachel and Blaine exchanged a pleasant goodbye with the promise of a ‘we have to do this again sometime.' Rachel quickly realized that they probably wanted a minute or two to say goodbye to each other so she excused herself with a "I'll just be over there..." as she walked away and peeked through the windows of some shops next to where they were. They laughed fondly at how awful she was at being subtle.

"Okay, so I have one question," said Kurt once it was just the two of them.

"Ask away," Blaine said, swinging their hands at their sides.

"Why do we always stop at my hotel first if yours is so much closer?" he asked with a sly glint in his eye.

Blaine shrugged his shoulders, "I like taking the other way more because it gives me more time to be with you."

"Oh," Kurt blushed, "Then by all means," he laughed. He noticed Blaine looked over Kurt's shoulder and past him towards the door, "Do you have to go?"

Blaine nodded, "Sadly I do, but alas I shall call you later," he said positively.

"My boyfriend says alas," Kurt teased, making him laugh, "But that does sound fantastic, my dear," he said.

"Then, until later, my darling?" Blaine played along, partially using the nickname he had come to adopt for Kurt.

"Until then," Kurt smiled. He reached out to place his hand on Blaine's cheek, drawing him into a kiss that lasted for a few seconds.

They pulled away, Blaine had a new light in his eye, "Bye Kurt," he said in his soft, gentle voice.

"Bye Blaine," he said back affectionately, pulling his hands away and turning to walk back to Rachel. He didn't even try to hide the goofy grin that he felt was currently spreading on his lips. He was falling for Blaine Anderson, and falling harder than he ever could have imagined.