“He’s just taking his time,” Rachel said as she took a sip of her coffee, “Letting me find my feet on the stage before swooping in and sweeping me off my feet.”

Kurt had made the mistake of asking how her search for a role on Broadway was going and was left listening to his friend talk for as long as she could about the sheer number of auditions she had gone to and why couldn’t anyone outside NYADA recognise her talent.

It had proved a good distraction from the impending meeting Kurt had later in the afternoon and Rachel had wrapped her arms around him tightly when they’d left the caf� to go their separate ways.

“Everything will go wonderfully.” She had muttered in his ear, forever wary of the watching eyes of people in the caf� and on the street. “And then you and Blaine can help me find my Michael.”

It had taken a little while, but once he was back in the quiet of his office and was listening to the original cast of Wicked as he drew, the nerves returned. Once again, he kept looking at the note that was stuck to his computer monitor.

Blaine Anderson.

G-d he wished today proved fruitful. The worrying he’d done overnight and the extra time in the morning he’d spent putting together the perfect outfit would be laughable if this Blaine wasn’t his Blaine.

A knock on the door made Kurt’s head jerk up to stare at the wood and the pencil in his hand drop to the desk. Tina peered round the door, holding onto the frame as her eyes skimmed over the scene before her. She was smiling and Kurt’s stomach clenched.

“Just got a call from the tills outside,” She said, unnecessarily as Kurt knew the only reason why she’d stick her head round his door at four in the afternoon today, “he’s here.”

Kurt stood and smoothed down the grey blazer he was wearing. Tina left the door open but walked away towards the tills and Kurt slowly followed her. At the start of the day, he hadn’t been sure where to meet Blaine. Or even how to meet Blaine. He couldn’t go out onto the shop floor and introduce himself there. The customers would have a field day with camera phones.

No: their first introductions had to be private.

Yet, meeting Blaine in his office was extremely formal. Kurt didn’t want to intimidate his soul mate from the very beginning of their new relationship. That was hardly conducive to a happy relationship with his soul mate.

He’d settled for the large meeting room a few doors down from his office. It was large enough that should they not be soul mates, Kurt could stand on one side and Blaine on the other while they awkwardly made their way through telling Blaine to keep the name of Kurt’s soul mate out of the press. But it was also private so that if they did connect and they were each other’s soul mates, they could talk or decide where to go with their relationship without prying eyes or ears.

Kurt shut the door to the meeting room behind him. He walked around the head of the table and pulled the rolling black leather chair next to the head of the table away from the table and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. He’d settled his hands on his knee and immediately felt uncomfortable.

So he stood up and walked towards the large window to stare out over the New York streets he could see from there. It wasn’t too much of a view: this was a one storey building he’d purchased for his shop so the windows opened onto nothing in particular.

From the reflection he could see in the windows, Kurt pulled at the top of his black turtleneck jumper and straightened it. Then he turned around as he made an instant decision that maybe he should be sitting down. The door opened.

Kurt jumped a little at the abrupt end to his nervous musings but saw half of Tina’s body as she held the door open rather than a strange man who witnessed his shock. Having no time to choose exactly where to stand or even if to sit, Kurt stopped where he stood and pulled sharply at the bottom of his buttoned blazer.

The man, or rather young man, who entered with Tina’s beckoning made Kurt’s breath catch in his throat. Kurt hadn’t tried to actively picture what Blaine would look like as he hadn’t wanted to have built a picture up in his head only to be disappointed. But whatever he’d been thinking about his soul mate, the Blaine Anderson he saw before him fit the bill perfectly.

He had dark hair that was gelled down to be under control but Kurt could see the curls underneath the gel and immediately wondered what it would be like natural. He was wearing a bow tie and a cardigan and Kurt’s mind jumped back to his sketchbook and the drawings he’d made yesterday. Then Blaine turned his head to look around the room and they locked eyes for the first time.

Wow. Kurt thought as he looked into Blaine’s eyes. This had to be connecting. This Blaine had to be his soul mate. Those eyes: were they green? Brown? Hazel? Kurt could spend hours guessing and still wouldn’t have a definite answer. And he wanted to spend those hours guessing.

He was glad he hadn’t been sitting down. Kurt offered a small smile, higher on one side than the other, and was pleased when the smile was returned.

“Hi.” He said. When looking back, he could have cringed at the awkward greeting.

Blaine’s eyes were wide and seemed to get progressively wider when Kurt spoke. The effect did make him look like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck but his eyes were still beautiful. They looked almost shining now. Kurt was happy to stare right into Blaine’s eyes while he waited patiently for him – for his soul mate – to react.

It took longer than Kurt had expected and he was just about to repeat his greeting when Blaine blinked and stepped forward. His eyes didn’t return to normal size and when he spoke he did so with a voice that cracked mid-word. “Hi.” Blaine coughed and Kurt smiled at the other boy’s attempt to control his voice. “I-I’m Blaine.”

After quickly unbuttoning the rest of his half open coat, shrugging it off and draping it carefully over the back of one of the rolling chairs, Blaine held out a hand that trembled but when Kurt took it in his own, he immediately felt the warmth and felt a little more comfortable in the awkward meeting. He was glad he hadn’t decided to meet Blaine in his office. He could only hope that Blaine would feel more relaxed with their minimal physical contact.

“I’m Kurt.” He said, before giving a small embarrassed smile, “But I guess you knew that.”

Blaine nodded and looked down at the table, his face reflected in the varnished surface. He dropped Kurt’s hand like a stone but Kurt kept his arm up and reached out towards his soul mate again. He nodded at Blaine’s left hand, currently stuffed into the pocket of his red pants.

“May I?”

Blaine wordlessly held out his left hand and stretched out his fingers. There, scarred over his heart line, was Kurt’s name. Kurt had seen it written in make up before and had spent years imagining what it would look on his soul mate’s hand. But there was nothing like seeing it for real. Seeing Kurt Hummel scarred into a man’s palm in his own hand writing.

The joy Kurt felt at the genuine mark on Blaine’s palm bubbled up inside him and it took all the restraint he had not to cheer out loud or jump around the room in happiness. When their eyes had met, they’d connected. Obviously, Kurt had never experienced it before but he’d seen it enough times with friends and had heard the descriptions. The warmth he’d felt flooding through his body when he’d locked gazes with Blaine, the comfort he felt when they’d shaken hands; they were all feelings associated with finding your soul mate. Feelings that Kurt had waited a long time to experience for himself.

Kurt gently took hold of Blaine’s palm and ran his thumb over the scarring. It wasn’t like what Tina had done yesterday: this touch was feather light and gave Blaine goose bumps up and down his arm. Before he was asked or Kurt’s mark was even mention, Kurt unfurled his left hand and held it up next to Blaine’s, displaying his own palm and the Blaine Anderson scarred there.

Kurt watched Blaine’s face from underneath his lashes. At least his wide eyes had returned to their normal size. But the expressions that flew through them were astounding. Shock, disbelief, awe, contentment, happiness, elation. A very small smile graced his full lips and Blaine followed Kurt’s example, cupping Kurt’s hand in his own palm and running a fingertip lightly over the scars bearing his name.

“I didn’t expect that when I came here yesterday.” Blaine admitted in a quiet voice. Neither boy had noticed that Tina had closed the door and left them alone.

“What were you expecting?” When Blaine looked up again, Kurt’s eyes searched his face. He flicked between staring at those big eyes, the colour of which he still hadn’t decided, and Blaine’s lips. So luscious, so kissable.

“To be turned away,” Blaine gave a small half shrug, “to be told that I wasn’t the Kurt Hummel’s soul mate.”

“And are you glad you were wrong?”

Blaine flipped his left hand over and took hold of Kurt’s hand. In an automatic reaction, Kurt lightly stroked the knuckles on the back of Blaine’s hand. Both boys looked down at their joined hands and then back up at each other.

“Very.”

--

The newly connected soul mates made their way out of the back of the store, stopping briefly for Kurt to grab his coat and sunglasses from his office. Tina had waved goodbye to them from where she was crouched over someone frantically typing away at a computer, a genuine smile directed towards the two boys.

They were headed to a nearby coffee shop, tucked away and quiet and often frequented by famous patrons. Kurt’s sunglasses did little for anonymity but they walked down mostly empty streets so they didn’t attract unwanted attention.

Both boys were walking with their hands in their coat pockets and both wanted to stroll down the street without a care in the world while they held hands with their newfound soul mate.

“It’s here.” Kurt said, pointing to a brown door flanked by two glass windows. Kurt twisted the metal handle and pushed the door open, walking inside and hearing Blaine close the door softly behind him.

Kurt had found this coffee shop when he’d first come to New York. He’d made his way to these streets and window shopped in any store he could find. When he’d tired and needed some food, extensive snooping around the smaller streets for a coffee shop had yielded this place. Called Flat White, there was an open mike night once a week and daily specials that were popular enough to run out by mid-afternoon. Working at Flat White for three months was the final job Kurt had had before his internship at Marie Claire.

They approached the counter, the till at one end and the rest taken up with a large display of cakes and panini. At nearly four thirty in the afternoon, the lunch food was finished and the afternoon cakes were sitting temptingly below the glass.

“I’ll have a grande non-far mocha,” Kurt told the barista, still wearing his sunglasses even though the interior of the coffee shop was darker than outside. He looked at Blaine questioningly. “And?”

“A medium drip.” Blaine replied, telling the barista and Kurt at the same time. He pointed to one of the plates of cakes in the display. “And some chocolate biscotti. Please.”

The girl behind the counter nodded and turned away to make the coffees. They waited by the till, hovering in an awkward silence. Blaine had taken to staring at Kurt, still in shock that the very person he’d convinced himself couldn’t be his soul mate was in fact his soul mate. He hardly took his eyes off the designer, not thinking about how it might make him appear. Kurt was also staring at his soul mate but he had the advantage of discretion as his eyes were hidden by the sunglasses. In the silence, Kurt studied the profile of Blaine’s face and how expressive his whole face was, enjoying the view and company more and more despite the lingering uncertainties between them.

Blaine shrugged one shoulder after they’d been unknowingly staring at each other for a while as the barista fiddled with the coffee machine. He gestured towards the biscotti and said: “I thought we could share the biscotti.”

Kurt opened his mouth to say that he’d love to but the girl behind the counter returned and pushed a large tray with two mugs full of coffee across the shining counter towards them. She crouched behind the glass and slid the door open, grabbing the biscotti with the tongs and then balanced the plate and the tongs in one hand while she closed the door. Once again, Blaine and Kurt watched her complete their coffee order in total silence and she told them the price when she’d straightened up.

Immediately, both boys reached for their wallets. “This one’s on me.” Blaine insisted as he pulled his wallet from his pocket first. Kurt looked like he wanted to argue – he’d been the one to invite Blaine to coffee after all – but Blaine turned away and held out a folded bill to the barista.

Conceding defeat, Kurt took hold of the tray and carefully lifted it from the counter, trying his hardest not to spill a drop of either coffee. He walked straight to the back of the shop and chose a table where the two seats were already positioned close together as opposed to opposite each other. That way he could sit right next to Blaine without moving the chairs and looking too eager.

Kurt carefully transferred first Blaine’s drip, then his mocha and finally the biscotti from the tray to the table. He turned around, planning to head back to the counter to return the tray, but saw Blaine walking nervously towards him and changed his mind. He dumped the tray on a nearby table and shrugged his outdoor coat off, folding it in half and draping it on the back of the chair, tugging at the bottom of his still buttoned blazer to make sure it lay straight.

Slipping off his sunglasses, Kurt smiled warmly at Blaine, who returned the smile more tentatively. He followed Kurt’s example and took off his coat, hanging it over the back of the chair in a far more haphazard manner that Kurt had. They took their seats and wordlessly pulled their respective coffees towards them, taking delicate sips as both tried to think of something to say to the other.

For his part, Blaine was staring unabashed at Kurt again. Kurt was looking down at his mocha, his eyes shining and his lips curled in a contented smile that hadn’t made it into any magazines. That was Blaine’s new favourite smile – and he did an internal jump of joy when he realised that he could have opinions on Kurt’s smiles without being an obsessed fan. He didn’t understand how the universe worked in regards to the destiny of soul mates, but he thanked whatever determined that he was the soul mate of Kurt Hummel.

Meeting him in person had been like nothing he could have imagined. Blaine could have slapped himself when he’d stood silent, eyes wide with shock, at his first meeting with Kurt. A small part of his brain was yelling at him to move, to speak, to do anything but stand there gaping like a fish. But Kurt was human too: Blaine had loved his embarrassment when he’d said his name and the feel of his soft hands holding Blaine’s was something he wanted over and over again. They hadn’t held hands when walking to the coffee shop but Blaine could only count down the days until they would be comfortable enough with each other to do just that.

A rational thought sped through his romance-filled mind. They had been sitting at their table in seats where the arm rests were millimetres apart and not saying a word to each other.

Summoning the courage he had buried under sheer excitement, Blaine said: “We should start again.”

Kurt looked up from his coffee, hands still cupping the ceramic mug, and blinked in confusion. A frown appeared on his forehead, perfectly maintained eyebrows coming together. “What do you mean?”

Blaine placed both hands in the coffee table, palms up. “I know you as the fashion designer whose name matches the one of my soul mate. You know me as the guy who came into your shop saying that he had your name on his palm. We should start again. Just two regular guys who are meeting for coffee after they connected.”

That made sense. “Ok.” Kurt nodded, a small smile back on his face. He released the mug and held out a hand once more. “I’m Kurt, it’s nice to meet you.”

Blaine took Kurt’s hand in his own, feeling the heat from the coffee and the comfort he felt by holding Kurt’s hand again, and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you Kurt. My name’s Blaine.” They let go and Blaine leaned forward towards the table and closer to Kurt. “Tell me something about you that I don’t know.”

“Well,” Kurt briefly stared at the table then returning his gaze to Blaine’s colourful eyes. He tried not to think of the interviews. If he and Blaine were starting again, he had to pretend his early life stories hadn’t been detailed in interviews he’d given to reporters and magazines. “I’m from Lima, Ohio. Moved to New York four years ago but I’ve wanted to move here since freshman year of high school. My dad’s a mechanic back in Lima, my step-mum’s a nurse. My step-brother is also a mechanic but he’s planning to go into Basic Training.”

That was more like how a first date should go.

“Your brother wants to go into the military?” Blaine twisted his mug on the saucer to give his hands something to do. He wanted to reach out and cover Kurt’s hand, resting on the table next to his phone.

Kurt nodded. “The army. He’s happy as a mechanic at the moment, but I think the army is still his plan.”

“My brother’s in Hollywood.” Blaine reached out a tore a small bite of the biscotti off, dipping it into his cooling coffee. “That’s almost nothing after the army.”

“Would I know him from anything?”

Blaine shook his head. “Just some commercials. But you’d think they were main parts in Oscar worthy films from the way he goes on about them sometimes.”

Following Blaine’s example, Kurt reached out and tore a bite from the other side of the biscotti. However, he popped it into his mouth without dipping it in the mocha. “You’ve just got one brother?”

Conversation flowed after that. Kurt had been shocked when Blaine told him they’d grown up not two hours apart from each other. Having read the articles about Kurt, Blaine already knew that but there seemed to be an unspoken rule around the coffee table that neither of them mentioned Kurt’s fame. Having one partner knowing more about the other wasn’t in the recipe for a good first date.

“So you were in show choir too.” Kurt had crossed one leg over the other, the metal of the eyelets on his shoes glinting the light in the coffee shop. “What were they called: we probably competed against you.”

“The Warblers?” Blaine phrased it as a question. They’d long since emptied their coffee mugs and Blaine was debating getting a second cup and offering to buy Kurt another mocha. Half a biscotti was left and Blaine kept nudging the plate closer towards Kurt, not wanting to take the last bit of biscuit away from his soul mate.

Kurt tipped his head back and laughed, eyes crinkling happily in the corners. That laugh, along with his small smiles, could keep Blaine going for hours. “We did compete against you! My junior year. So,” Kurt frowned, “your sophomore, I guess.”

Blaine’s mouth dropped open a little. “We competed against each other, on the same stage even, and didn’t connect?”

Something hardened in Kurt’s face and he waved a hand to dismiss the comment. “I wasn’t at McKinley at that point. So I’d have been in the audience.”

Blaine made a questioning noise but Kurt shook his head. “Another time, I promise.” He licked his lips and looked everywhere but at Blaine’s forever colour-changing eyes as he continued: “It’s not the happiest story so I’ll tell you another time.”

Kurt’s left hand was resting on the table, fingers naturally curled a little towards his palm. Blaine took this moment to reach out and slip his hand into Kurt’s, squeezing the fingers in a comforting gesture about a story he knew nothing about. Any negative feelings bubbling inside him about the events of his junior year disappeared as Kurt stared at their linked hands.

Blaine gently pulled at Kurt’s fingers to expose the scarred Blaine Anderson across his palm. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Blaine also avoided Kurt’s eyes as he spoke, “when did you get your mark?”

“At thirteen. It was right when everyone else was getting theirs so the fact that mine was a boy’s name didn’t make its way round school for a little while.” Kurt looked up at Blaine from below his lashes. “What about you?”

“Actually I was fourteen.” Blaine rested his left hand flat against the table. Kurt took the invitation and rested his hand over Blaine’s, covering the scars that read Kurt Hummel. Now they held both hands awkwardly over the table in the position they were seated in. Neither of them wanted to let go in favour of sitting more comfortably. “So what: two years after you?” Kurt nodded, “Mine was the last of my friends to develop. But it feels like I’ve been looking for you forever.”

Kurt’s face lit up, affection written all over it. He licked his lips and spoke in a quiet voice, as if speaking too loud would ruin the moment.

“Me too,” He stared right into Blaine’s eyes, “That’s just the nicest way I’ve ever heard it described.”

Before Blaine could reply, the moment was ruined by Kurt’s phone vibrating against the wooden table. It had been vibrating with one or two shakes periodically but they had been so engrossed in their conversation that they’d ignored it. And the incessant vibrating that showed someone was phoning would have caught their attention anyway, had it not been in the middle of a serene and romantic moment for them.

Kurt let go of Blaine’s hand, the one in the more uncomfortable position, and tapped the screen once the vibrations had stopped. The one missed call was showing up, along with ten texts and at least a dozen new emails.

Looking up, Kurt caught Blaine’s gaze and was immediately filled with guilt. It showed in his expression because Blaine shook his head dismissively.

“Don’t worry, Kurt.” He said, squeezing the hand he still held again. “If you have to get back, I’ll buy you a second mocha another day.”

“Oh no.” Kurt replied immediately. “I’m buying the next one. And I know your coffee order now so there’s nothing for you to do when we order.”

He hated having to leave. Flat White had been a sanctum for them for the past two hours. No one had bothered them: either they hadn’t recognised Kurt or they were polite enough not to come up and ask for a photo or an autograph. Yet, his store had been open for three days now and the team working diligently on promoting and advertising the company and Kurt’s clothes needed attention. Some of the emails were probably about problems in the production line of his current stock. There were always problems in the production of stock.

They had felt so comfortable around each other, once the initial awkward navigation into a flowing conversation had subsided, that the time had flown. Kurt couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone two hours without checking his phone for updates on hummels: even earlier at lunch with Rachel he’d answered two emails about advertising.

With Blaine, Kurt didn’t want that. He had felt comfortable and natural: like home. Tina was right. Kurt had spent two hours with his soul mate and he already felt like it was home.

“Give me your phone.” Blaine blinked at Kurt for a moment before scrambling for his pocket. It would be easier if he let go of Kurt’s hand but he didn’t want to stop having contact with his soul mate just yet.

Blaine unlocked it first before handing his phone to Kurt. He didn’t let go of Blaine’s hand either and awkwardly tapped on the touch screen. When he returned it, he said: “I’ve put my number in there.” Kurt smiled impishly, “I trust you won’t give that out.”

Blaine didn’t reply verbally but shook his head emphatically. He clutched his phone tightly in his free hand, as if he were afraid that he’d let go of the phone and Kurt’s number would be deleted. He blinked twice, considering the comment.

“Did you-” he licked his lips and Kurt tipped his head to the side while he waited for Blaine to regroup his thoughts. “Did you want to tell everyone that we’ve connected? Or did you want to keep it from the public?”

Kurt’s eyebrows snapped together in a frown and Blaine hurriedly backtracked, a horrified look on his face.

“I didn’t mean that you wanted to keep this a secret, or that you should, or that you should shout it from, from the rooftops or-”

“Blaine.” One word from Kurt stopped Blaine’s rambling mid-flow and he licked his lips again. “It’s ok. I just don’t want to end up on the front cover of Ok! or Us Weekly where all people do is take pictures of us while we eat. I’d like to at least get to know you before that happens.”

Blaine nodded. That made perfect sense. And he refused to wonder what life would be like when that did happen. There was no denying that it would. Kurt was a fast riser in the fashion world and his name was being spoken about with reverence at the twenty-two year old’s talent. With his public announcements that he hadn’t found his soul mate as of yet, the moment that Kurt stood up and said that Blaine was his soul mate, the press would have a field day.

And Blaine didn’t want to have cameras shoved in his face while he found out little details about Kurt. Like what his favourite colour is, how long it took for him to dress in the mornings, whether he sang in the showers and, for that matter, what music he would sing.

Blaine twisted around in his seat and grabbed hold of the corner of his coat. He tugged sharply and it followed Blaine’s movement, coming off the back of the chair quickly. He hadn’t let go of Kurt’s hand and when he turned back to the table, coat hanging by his side, he found Kurt’s eyes on him and filled with fondness.

“Can I see you sometime this week?” He asked, staring straight into Blaine’s big brown eyes. “Maybe on the weekend?” For our first date went unsaid. It was a superfluous comment as both Kurt and Blaine knew what meeting on the weekend would entail.

Kurt’s answer was Blaine’s beaming face. He nodded and said: “That’d be great.”

As the soul mates stared at each other, smiles on their faces and their hands still clutching each other’s tightly, they both had to supress their emphatic feelings of joy that were bubbling through them. If they had been in private, Kurt would have held his clasped hands up to his face and rocked back and forth with a wide grin on his face. Blaine would have cheered out loud and spun in a circle, eyes and arms raised to the heavens.

For now, in public, they stared at each other and grasped hands tighter, linking their fingers together as they did so. Their outward and embarrassing expressions of excitement could wait until they were both in their rooms later that evening, having texted each other good night for the first time as soul mates.