He threw off the covers and padded his way across the carpet, pulling his phone out of his pants. The room was dark, the only light coming from the neon glare of his phone and the weak March sunlight shining in through gaps in the curtains. Kurt briefly turned back to the bed, saw that Blaine had rolled over and was still fast asleep, then left the room and answered his cell.

“Did you have a nice time at your picnic?” Tina’s voice sounded far too awake for the time it was and Kurt took far longer to process what she said than usual.

“What?” He walked into the kitchen, stone floor cold against his bare feet. His mind produced images of the bar and the events that had driven them to go inside. “There are pictures up already?”

“Yeah.”

Kurt held the phone by his ear with his shoulder and used both hands to pour the coffee beans into the grinder, looking to make sure the door was shut before he turned it on.

“How bad is it?”

“Not that bad.” Kurt could tell that Tina was trying to make light of the situation. His phone beeped at him in his ear and he took the phone away to see a text had been received. “You weren’t drunk or doing anything that could cause a scandal. Most of it is speculation about Blaine.”

“I knew it wasn’t a good idea to go to the park.” Kurt tipped the ground coffee beans into the machine, filled it with water and then turned it on. He took a seat at the counter and waited for the coffee to brew. “I just-”

“You are allowed to have fun with your soul mate.” Kurt rubbed his forehead as he listened to Tina. “But there were lots of people who were witnessing your fun yesterday. Do you want me to release a statement about it?”

“No. I’ll make sure that Blaine and I see each other in private for a while and this should blow over.” Kurt said, twisting an apple in his free hand, “The media will stop talking about it eventually and while fans have the memories of an elephant, I can handle them.”

It was silent on the phone for a moment before Tina asked: “How was it last night then? You had fun?”

“Of course. He’s still here, actually.” Kurt smiled to himself, thinking of Blaine lying fast asleep in his bed. “Asleep at the moment.”

Tina gasped in delight, her voice joyous as she spoke: “Well get back to him then. I don’t want to be the one to tear you out of your soul mate’s arms.” She paused then when she spoke once more her voice was laced with a teasing tone. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Kurt shook his head, laughed and said: “Goodbye Tina.”

He left the phone on the kitchen counter with the unread text message and turned around to pour some of the freshly brewed coffee into a mug. He added mocha syrup and poured a small amount of the coffee into the mug. Kurt took a sip before picking up his phone again and reading the text.

You have to tell me everything. Who is this guy? I can’t believe you haven’t told me before now! I want to meet him. Can I come round and meet him?

It was from Rachel and Kurt had to smile at her excitement. He had told Mercedes about Blaine and obviously Tina knew, but his overeager, loud-mouthed friend was currently in the dark. Kurt had yet to tell his family and the likelihood that Rachel would keep it from Finn, despite them not being together any more, was little to none. If Finn knew then within the hour, Carole and Burt would also know.

He’d opened up the text to reply to Rachel when the kitchen door opened and Blaine wandered it. It was like the smell off the freshly brewed coffee had drawn him out of bed because his eyes were barely open and he was rubbing one with the heel of his palm.

He smiled when he opened his eyes enough to see Kurt sitting at the counter. “Morning.” He said, his voice sleep filled and croaky.

Kurt stood and poured a second mug of coffee for Blaine, plain coffee just like the drip he’d ordered in Flat White. He held the mug out to Blaine with a smile and his own greeting.

“Good morning.” He leant down the height difference between them and pressed his lips to Blaine’s in a coffee-flavoured early morning kiss. His eyes then moved to the curly mop that was Blaine’s hair. Kurt had known it was curly: stray curls escaped the gel all the time. But this was really curly.

“It’s a mess isn’t it.” Blaine said. He tried to pat down the curls with his free hand, not making a single ounce of difference.

“No. I like it.” Kurt pulled at one of the curls and then let it go, watching it recoil into the nest of the curls. “You only need a little bit of product and you could wear it curly all the time.”

They stepped apart from each other and took seats on opposite sides of the kitchen counter. Blaine sipped his coffee and Kurt bustled around the kitchen, opening the fridge to take out eggs then crouching to take out a frying pan.

“Do you like eggs for breakfast?” He asked, raising his voice to be heard as he looked in another cupboard for a glass mixing bowl.

Blaine made a strangled noise, like he’d tried to breathe while taking a sip of the hot coffee. Kurt spun around on his knees and watched Blaine stare at the clock for a few moments.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. He looked at the clock himself before returning his gaze to watch Blaine.

“I’ve got a lecture in an hour and a half.” Blaine explained and he rubbed his face vigorously with his hands. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it there on time. I’ve got to-”

Kurt stood up straight. “Sit. I’ll make you breakfast. You can borrow some of my clothes. And then I’ll drive you there.” He raised an eyebrow when Blaine looked like he was going to argue and turned around to crack the eggs into a bowl only when Blaine visibly acquiesced.

Kurt whipped up two omelettes containing feta cheese and spring onions, cooked a few slices of toast and was immediately thankful that he’d taken over cooking from his father. Blaine had been glancing up at the clock while he’d been cooking but one bite of the omelette had him relaxed and eating the food like a starving man.

After clearing up from breakfast, Kurt took the first shower and took extra time while Blaine was showering to search his wardrobe for something that Blaine could wear. He knew his style: he was drawing his style from before they’d even met. But the height difference between the two would make finding perfect pants an issue.

Kurt pulled out a white polo shirt, a white, grey and black sweater vest and laid them on the bed. He hurried to put some toner and moisturiser on his face, forgoing the longer routine for today. One morning wouldn’t hurt and he could spend extra time tonight making sure this morning’s dry skin was well and truly taken care of.

When Blaine came out of the shower and had slipped on the underwear left for him, Kurt dragged Blaine into his closet and flicked through all the pants available. He mentally matched them to the tops he’d already left on the bed and decided on grey Capri pants. Why he still had these in his closet he didn’t actually know but as he held them out for Blaine to take, he was glad he did.

“You’ll have to roll them up.” He said. Blaine took the pants and walked into the main bedroom to get dressed, giving Kurt some space to add the final touches to his own outfit.

“Was that a crack about my height?” Blaine called out to Kurt from the bedroom, his voice full of mirth. Kurt merely smiled to himself as he ran his fingers over the silk and satin ties in one of the drawers he’d opened. He chose a red one and pulled a black knitted sweater he’d had for years off a shelf nearby.

“Come on.” Kurt picked up his keys and sunglasses from the dresser and jerked his head towards the door. Blaine stood up, tugging nervously at the hem of the sweater Kurt had lent him. Nodding his approval, Kurt led the way out of the apartment and towards the bottom floor. They stopped for a last minute kiss on the threshold of the apartment and then hurried downstairs after a text alerted Kurt to the arrival of his car.

The journey from Kurt’s apartment to the lecture hall wasn’t long but Blaine kept periodically checking his watch. He had no supplies for his lecture bar a pen that was discovered in an outside pocket of his bag. He wasn’t worried: he could borrow paper from Nick. The time ticked closer and closer to nine am and the New York traffic seemed far more irritating than usual.

Kurt reached out a laid a hand on Blaine’s arm. His leg, which had been twitching from nerves at the lack of time, stopped moving and he fixed brown eyes on Kurt.

“I should probably warn you.” Kurt kept his voice low. “The pictures from last night are already up online. Tina said that the articles are mainly about who you are and speculation about why you were with me.”

Blaine’s eyes widened and he stared at Kurt without saying anything for a second. The car jerked forward and then pulled up to the curb right outside the lecture theatre.

“I guess I’ll have some fun in this lecture then.” He said in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. Blaine grabbed the strap of his bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder. He went to open the car door but Kurt tightened his grip on Blaine’s wrist.

He leant forward and caught Blaine’s lips just as the younger man turned his head to look at him again. The kiss lasted a few seconds but Kurt couldn’t resist pecking a second kiss before they separated.

“Have fun in your lecture.” He said. He immediately laughed when Blaine rolled his eyes dramatically and opened the car door. He stepped onto the sidewalk and bent down to see into the backseat one last time. He raised his hands to his lips and blew a kiss to Kurt, who caught it playfully. Then Blaine closed the car door and hurried into the lecture.

--

He was only a few moments late but everyone was seated when Blaine pushed open one of the doors and slipped inside. The lecturer (Blaine noticed with a grimace that it wasn’t the interesting one from last week but was Dr Johnson, the dead boring one from Monday’s lecture) hadn’t started speaking and was still passing round a set of lecture notes. Blaine grabbed one, glad that he would have something to write on, and slid into the seat next to Nick.

He had taken off his coat, dumped the empty Tupperware box-filled bag under the fold down seat and set the notes and his pen on the bench before him before he noticed that the lecture theatre was filled with low murmurs and most people were staring at him.

Blaine looked at Nick and raised his eyebrows. “What’s going on?” He had an idea; especially after Kurt had just told him that there were photographs of him online.

Nick bent his head closer to Blaine and kept his voice low to keep their conversation private. “Most of them just think you’ve done a walk of shame.” Nick muttered. Not even Jennifer on Nick’s other side reacted like she heard what was said. “But that’s because they just don’t know where to look.”

“Where to look?” Blaine also kept his voice down.

“Where to look online.” Nick shoved his phone into Blaine’s hands. Neither registered the start of the lecture. “And which sites show you in picture after picture with one Mr Kurt Hummel. And don’t give me garbage that you happened to be in the park with him. Do you want to change your story from Sunday?”

Not replying immediately, Blaine looked down at the phone in his hand. He used his thumb to flick through the photos and articles. Most were from their picnic at the park, some from their brisk walk out of the park: one even captured Kurt’s joy at seeing the homemade cheesecake. Blaine bristled at that picture. It had been a private moment between them and here it was, splashed over the internet and no doubt the tabloids. Nick had opened two full articles and Blaine managed to read half of one of them before Nick demanded a reply.

Kurt Hummel’s new and unknown beau

With this young designer having publically announced that he hasn’t found his soul mate as of yet, it is always a joy to see Kurt out and about the city. Especially with a man on his arm.

He was spotted last week out late at a creperie in Greenwich Village enjoying a crepe with someone. Someone we can only assume took Kurt out for a picnic in Central Park yesterday.

There have been no statements from hummels, no declarations of Kurt having found his soul mate. So we can only watch him be happy with his new beau while we eagerly await news from the designer as to whether he has finally connected or not.

If anyone can identify Kurt’s new boyfriend, then they are a lucky person indeed. We’d love to hear the story of how these two met- it’ll give for an interesting and no doubt romantic tale.

Kurt is known for-

“Well?” Nick covered the phone with his hand to stop Blaine reading the article anymore. “Do you want to change your story from Sunday?”

Blaine looked up at his friend. They’d been close for three years now, having met at an LGTBQ freshman orientation event in the first month of college. They’d actually been living one storey apart from each other in halls but had never known. Blaine counted Nick amongst his best friends, that title only preceded by Wes and David back in Ohio.

He shrugged. “We were trying to keep it a secret.”

Nick’s first reaction was to roll his eyes dramatically. “You did a great job there.” He tapped the cell again and then took it out of Blaine’s hand.

They turned their attention to the lecturer, focused on the very small page number in the bottom of the projection screen then found the corresponding slide in their lecture notes. Blaine clicked his pen open and circled two points on the slide they were on but Nick stretched his hand out to write a note on Blaine’s paper.

I’m so happy you found your soul mate Blaine! I’m just going to rip it into you that it was Kurt Hummel, designer, all along and you didn’t believe me.

Blaine could only chuckle. He’d expected that reaction from his friends. There was a part of him that was cringing in guilt. He and Kurt had agreed to keep it a secret and here he was, sitting in the lecture theatre after just having stayed the night at Kurt’s, telling his best friend.

--

Kurt punched the familiar number into his phone as soon as he’d dealt with any urgent messages waiting for him when he arrived at his shop. He tapped his finger nails against the wooden desk, listening to the dial tone, and had just reached down to take his sketchbook out of the drawer when a voice came on the other end of the line.

“Hello?”

Kurt immediately perked up. “Hi Carole!”

“Oh Kurt,” She sounded delighted to hear his voice and Kurt heard her put something down on a table that she must have been standing by, “How has it been in New York? I’m so glad your opening last week went well.”

“Thank you.” They spoke for a while, talking about nothing in particular and everything that Kurt missed about his family. Not at one point in their conversation did Carole mention the pictures of him and Blaine that were circling the internet and for that, Kurt was grateful. He didn’t know if Carole had just diplomatically chosen not to say anything if Kurt wasn’t saying something first or if they had just not seen them yet.

“When are you next in Ohio, honey?” She asked. “I know you’re busy but your father and I miss you. Finn isn’t that far away but one of our boys is.”

“I’m hoping to visit soon.” Kurt had planned a long weekend trip home, just without finalising the dates. Now he might be bringing along a companion passenger. “You don’t have anything that takes you out of Lima then?”

“Not for a while. We wanted to come to New York in June but if you could get out here then I know we’ll all appreciate it. Especially your dad.”

“Is he awake?” Kurt glanced at the clock, the one that also showed today’s date. He knew it was his father’s day off today: a mandatory practice started by Kurt and enforced by Carole years ago and now that Finn was working at the garage, Burt could afford a few more days rest.

“He should be.” Kurt heard shuffling and assumed Carole was standing up and walking to find his father. “I’ll just find him for you.”

Through the phone, he heard her footsteps as she first pushed the door and checked what Kurt assumed was the kitchen then climbed the stairs to check their bedroom. Muffled voices sounded through the speaker and Kurt took that moment of silence to finish taking out his sketchbook.

“Hey kiddo.” Burt’s voice sounded in Kurt’s ear and he immediately smiled. There was just something about hearing his dad’s voice, so strong and so comforting, that made Kurt feel home even thousands of miles away.

“Hi Dad.”

“What’s wrong? Is everything ok? You’d normally be telling me that I should be asleep at this point on my day off.”

“And you should be. But I needed to talk to you about something.”

Kurt heard rustling and he was relieved that his father was still in bed at least. “What’s wrong?” Burt asked again.

“I found Blaine Dad.”

There was a pause and then a delighted shouted sounded through the phone. “You found him? Oh Kurt that’s wonderful! Carole! Carole!” Kurt held the phone away from his ear as his father shouted for Carole. Their voices were muffled as if Burt had pressed his hand against the speaker but Kurt heard Carole’s glee at the news too. He knew he’d hear from her about why he hadn’t mentioned it earlier when they spoke.

“Kurt when you next come home,” Burt’s voice was still filled with happiness when he finally returned to the conversation with his son, “You have to bring Blaine too. I want to meet my son’s soul mate.”

“I will.” Kurt promised. “But Dad, I’m so happy I finally met him too but I’m also really scared about that.”

“About me meeting him?”

“No.” Kurt sighed. “We were out together yesterday and now the pictures of us are online. There are all these rumours about who he is and what relationship we’re in.”

“And you’re afraid of that happening too much?”

Kurt nodded like he was talking to his father face to face. “Happening too much and scaring him away. Dad, Blaine is a college student. He’s never had this before. I got used to it because I had to. But he’s being thrown in and I don’t want to make him do anything that he doesn’t want to do.”

The phone was silent and Kurt wanted with anxiety to hear what Burt had to say.

“You remind me so much of your mother you know.” Was the reply and the warmth that spread through Kurt whenever he heard about his mother filled his heart again. “She was as empathetic and compassionate as you are, Kurt. Blaine is your soul mate. I know how long you dreamed about him and I doubt he’s dreamt about you any less.

“You are a wonderful person, Kurt, and I don’t think too many cameras being shoved in your face is going to scare him away. Now, when are you and Blaine coming to Ohio? You can’t leave your old man waiting too long.”

Kurt loved his dad for so many reasons. Knowing exactly what to say and knowing when to change the topic of conversation, like what just happened, was just a small fraction of them. He had been away from home for too long. He missed the familiarity of his house, his large bed, his mother’s dresser. He missed his Dad too. Burt and Carole visited New York whenever they could, but it was a long journey just to visit for a weekend.

Still, he wanted Blaine to meet his family. Before Blaine, Burt and when they’d married, Carole and Finn were the most important people in Kurt’s life. He wanted nothing more than his soul mate to be a part of his family.

A knock on his office door made Kurt look up and return to the present after being lost in the sound of his father’s voice telling him about Ohio.

“Dad,” Kurt said, interrupting Burt while he was telling Kurt about an odd customer who’d come in to get their tyres rotated and hadn’t moved the whole day, “I have to go. Someone’s here to see me.”

“Of course. Go, do your job and come visit us with Blaine soon.”

They put the phone down at the same time. Before Kurt called out to let the person outside in, he glanced at the note that was still stuck to his computer screen. Just seeing Blaine’s handwriting made him smile and sent warm shivers down his spine. They’d deal with the press. Hopefully last night’s pictures would be forgotten about soon.

--

“Ok. You have to tell me everything.” Nick demanded. He dragged Blaine into the Starbucks that was near the lecture theatre. It was just to two of them: Jennifer had been deterred from joining them by Nick claiming it was guys stuff and she wouldn’t want to know anyway. They stood in the short queue to buy overpriced coffees but Nick didn’t wait for them to sit down at a table before speaking.

Blaine shook his head and twisted the backpack strap in his hand.

“What do you want me to tell?” He shrugged. “He is my soul mate and we’ve been dating. And you can’t tell anyone because we are still trying to keep it a secret.”

Nick rolled his eyes like he had when Blaine had first mentioned that. “You aren’t doing a good job of it then, as your date was splashed all over the internet! You went to the park for privacy?”

“Yeah, that probably wasn’t the best of plans.” They were at the front of the queue and Blaine hurriedly ordered his drip and Nick’s latte to hopefully distract her from overhearing the conversation.

“I knew it would be your fantastic idea to have a date with someone famous in the park.” Nick shoved the money for the latte into the barista’s hand and Blaine followed with the rest of the cost. They moved down the counter to wait at the end.

“I didn’t think we’d be surrounded by people with camera phones!” Blaine argued.

“Wait,” Nick frowned and then laughed, “those pictures were taken by normal people? Not the paparazzi? Just wait until you’re followed round by a hundred people, professional cameras shoved right in your face.”

They collected their respective coffees and headed for a two person’s table by the wide window. Only when they had settled in their chairs, dropped their bags to the floor and removed their coats did Blaine reply.

“Well as I’ll either be with you or with Kurt when that happens, you’ll be the one saving me from getting knocked out by a camera.”

Nick rolled his eyes again and took a sip of his coffee. Then he sat upright in his chair and said: “That date you had the other night, the one Sugar was going on about. That was with him?” Blaine nodded, Nick repeating the gesture before speaking again: “I want to meet him. I’m your best friend – and don’t give me anything about how Wes and David are your best friends and they don’t know-” Nick added, taking the words right out of Blaine’s mouth, “so I want to meet him.”

“Nick, no one knows.” Blaine leaned forward to try and get his point across to eager friend. “Only Kurt’s assistant and now you. I can’t just invite him for dinner in the cafeteria to introduce him to you.”

“So find a way.” Nick argued. “I want to meet my best friend’s soul mate. There’s nothing wrong with that!”

Blaine rubbed his eyes with his hands and sat up straight in his chair. Only two dates with his soul mate, not counting their first meeting over coffee, and he already had overeager friends wanting to meet Kurt. He couldn’t imagine what Cooper would be like.

--

It took three weeks before Blaine plucked up the courage to actually tell Kurt about Nick’s desire to meet him. He’d told Kurt that Nick had worked out that they were each other’s soul mates but as Kurt admitted that he’d told his father and step-mother at the same time, Blaine wasn’t too worried about the circle of people who knew the truth widening.

Nick had pestered time and time again but Blaine hadn’t even known how to ask Kurt to let Nick come along to meet him. They’d seen each other in the three weeks, on all weekends and on work days when Kurt didn’t have to be in early or Blaine’s lectures were later in the day. He always made sure that he carried a supply of gel with him when he stayed at Kurt’s apartment: he’d been reliably informed by everyone in his lectures that the biggest indicatory of his ‘walk of shame’ was his curly hair.

“Listen, um, Nick wants to meet you.” He finally blurted out mid conversation on a night that he wasn’t having dinner expertly cooked by Kurt. They were talking on the phone, Blaine having taken the cowardly route. He hadn’t wanted Kurt to be upset that someone else knew: someone who Kurt didn’t know himself or trust to keep it a secret, even though Blaine did.

“Oh.” Blaine held his breath. “Ok.”

That was it? Blaine had worked himself up for nothing? The rational voice in the back of his mind said that obviously Kurt wouldn’t have been upset that Blaine’s friend wanted to meet him. It wasn’t like he was unreasonable or an unpredictable hellcat. Kurt talked about his friend Rachel who had demanded to meet Blaine a thousand times over. Kurt assured him that he was lucky Rachel was busy at an audition every time they’d made provisional arrangements to meet.

“I actually wanted to invite you to a fashion show I’ve been asked to attend.” Kurt was saying, bringing Blaine out of his musings, “And as our last trip in public ended up all over the internet, maybe you bringing Nick wouldn’t be such a bad idea. They couldn’t claim it was obviously a romantic date if there were three of us. Five with Tina and Mike.”

“Ok.” Blaine nodded to himself, already thinking of things to wear and the ways he could tell Nick that he was meeting Kurt at a fashion show. “Do I need to wear anything specific?”

Kurt had laughed and practically instructed what Blaine should wear, guessing at some pieces in his wardrobe and getting Blaine to describe others. They’d said their goodbyes and Blaine had walked down the hall to Nick’s door, knocking and then closing it again when he’d been invited inside.

“Friday night,” Blaine said to Nick as he looked up from where he was frantically rewriting the conclusion of his essay, “you’re coming with me to a fashion show. Coming with me and Kurt.”

Nick’s reaction had been to scream like a girl, clap his hand over his mouth while Blaine laughed and then run to his closet and throw it open to look for something to wear for three night’s time.

--

The first thing that Blaine and Nick saw was a thousand white bulbs flashing. Both were blinded and held up their arms to shield their eyes from the cameras. Blaine checked the text from Tina on his phone and grabbed Nick’s arm to pull him away from the photographers taking photos of the celebrities and towards one of the entrances.

“We’re under the party for hummels?” He asked the bored bouncer on the door to the show. Nick was bouncing on his toes behind him and Blaine blinked owlishly at the man while he perused a list.

“Names?” He even sounded bored.

“Blaine Anderson and Nick Duval.” Blaine supplied. He clutched his phone tighter in his hand. Wouldn’t it be completely embarrassing if they’d gone to the wrong door, or if their lack of tickets meant that even having their names on a guest list wouldn’t grant them access?

“IDs?” The bouncers had his pen hovering over two names on the list and he waited until checking both Blaine’s and Nick’s ID cards before crossing them off the list and admitting them entrance.

Inside, the runway was set up in the middle of the room and fabric covered wicker chairs took up the rest of the available space. Some room was kept free at the near end of the hall but that was filled with people who’d made it through the crowd of photographers outside.

Kurt and Blaine had talked about it and had not wanted to aggravate the rumours still simmering about their relationship. After a month of being with each other, neither was ready to have question after question shot their way. Kurt had had a few questions asked about his relationship status but his replies had been vague. That had started another bought of rumours, especially with the fans who correctly deduced the differences between Kurt saying “I haven’t found my soul mate yet” and “I am just enjoying life at the moment.”

Arriving together and taking pictures together on the front door outside, even if Nick was with them, would add a tank of gasoline to the fire.

Nick lifted two glasses of sparkling wine off a tray carried by a waiter, who sent them a judgemental stare but didn’t take the drinks back. They sipped their alcohol slowly and gazed at all the famous people around them. They recognised a few faces of fashion designers, famous models and fashion journalists for Vogue and InStyle.

Blaine’s cell vibrated in his hand and he read the text Tina had just sent him.

We’re outside now, getting through the photographers. We’ll find you in the building.

“They’re nearly here.” Blaine muttered to Nick and pocketed his phone. He swiftly drank the rest of his wine and left the glass on a half empty tray nearby. Nick copied his friend’s actions and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Crap, Blaine,” He said, grabbing Blaine’s arm as more people entered the main room, Kurt, Tina and Mike no doubt amongst them, “What if he doesn’t like me?”

Blaine looked at his friend with an incredulous expression on his face. “Are you nervous?”

Nick banged his shoulder against Blaine’s but before he could reply, three people weaved their way through a group of tall models and made their way over to them. Blaine’s face lit up when he saw Kurt and his breath was caught in his throat.

He had a beautiful soul mate, and no amount of seeing Kurt would ever get him used to that. Kurt wore long white skin tight jeans and black knee high boots that just made his legs go on for miles, a white shirt, grey blazer and a small black scarf tied around his neck. Blaine barely registered Tina and Mike, who he had yet to meet but had heard so much about from Tina, as he only had eyes for his soul mate.

Being in public and their relationship still somewhat successfully under wraps, they linked hands and grasped tightly rather than throwing their arms around each other in a kiss.

“You look great.” Kurt said when they finally broke gazes.

Blaine gave a small embarrassed laughed and swept his hand down the black and grey striped cardigan. “Thanks to you.” He looked back up at Kurt. “You look wonderful too, as usual.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine caught Nick staring at Kurt with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open. He looked like Blaine must’ve done when he’d first seen Kurt face to face but after weeks of anticipating meeting the famous designer, Blaine had thought Nick wouldn’t freeze.

He slapped Nick in the bicep which did jerk his friend out of his stupor. “This is Nick.” He introduced, looking from Nick to Kurt and then back to Nick. “And Nick, this is Kurt. My soul mate.”

Kurt held out his hand which Nick took with a slight tremble in his own. “It’s a pleasure.” He said, his voice light and friendly. “Blaine’s told me lots about you.”

Nick could only nod and shake Kurt’s hand until the moment had passed from introductory to awkward. Then he blinked and let Kurt’s hand go, covering his mouth while he turned completely red.

“Um, I’m sorry.” He stuttered, “Yes, hi. It’s great to meet you too, Kurt.”

“May I offer you any drinks?” A waiter held out a tray of glasses of sparkling wine and punch and Tina immediately offered round some glasses. Nick sent a look of sheer mortification to Blaine, who could only laugh and shake his head with fondness at his friend. He was imagining Sugar’s reaction to meeting Kurt: that would be much louder and involve screaming at a high pitch, he knew it.

Once the waiter had gone, Tina turned to Mike. “Mike, this is Blaine. It’s high time you two met.”

Mike, of Asian descent like Tina and by far the tallest one in their group, held out his hand to Blaine who took it with a smile. They shook hands and greeted each other quickly before talk turned to the fashion show, Nick, with his face red like a lobster, and Blaine standing back while those who worked in fashion talked.

It was a good half an hour before the guests filtered into the rows around the runway in preparation for the show to begin. The noise was still raucous but it was more orderly now that people were seated with no access to alcohol for the duration of the show.

Blaine sat in between Kurt and Nick, who was twisting the programme left on the seats into a tight tube. Blaine frowned and leant over their shared armrest to mutter in Nick’s ear.

“Why are you so nervous?”

Nick shrugged. “I actually don’t know. I already made a fool out of myself in front of Kurt so there’s nothing for me to really be nervous about.”

Blaine opened his mouth to reply but the lights dimmed so fast that someone may have cut the power. The only lights remaining were the ones illuminating the white runway and temporary wall erected to hide the backstage from the runway. The occasional flash from a photographer’s camera lit up a small section of the room but otherwise the runway was the only thing spectators were watching.

Music started playing, loud rock music that dropped in volume after the wall of sound that was the intro played. Blaine was looking around the hall to try and spot the speakers while they waited for the models to grace the runway. His hand was resting near Kurt’s and he felt Kurt curl his fingers around Blaine’s, taking advantage of the dark.

A male model strode out confidently onto the runway, the collar on his jacket upturned and his pants cropped at the knee. He walked down to the end of the runway and when he was halfway back up the side nearer to Blaine, a female model walked out from behind the backstage wall to strut the runway herself.

Maybe he was biased but these clothes were nothing like Kurt’s. Kurt’s designs were far more fashionable and far more accessible than these ones. It was a new designer by the name of Jeremy Jacob (two designers owned the company, named Jeremy and Jacob) and the clothes were a couture version of clothes that wouldn’t be out of place at a rock or metal concert. That explained the loud rock music introducing the show and the quieter rock music that was playing while the models walked up and down the runway.

A blonde model stepped out, his hair styled high in the air and as he passed Blaine’s eye line on his way down the runway, Nick grabbed Blaine’s arm in a tight grip. Turning to stare at his friend, Blaine saw that Nick’s mouth was open and he was staring up at the blonde model (who had paused at the end of the runway for photographs like the others had done) like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“What?” Blaine muttered. He wasn’t sure they were supposed to talk during the runway show. Nick didn’t react so Blaine repeated his question, keeping his voice low but with more force. “What?”

“Oh my g-d,” Was Nick’s reply. Blaine continued to watch his friend stare at the model, who had made his way up the runway on the side closest to them. Only when the next model had walked onto the runway and the blonde had disappeared inside did Nick blink and turn to Blaine. “Do you know that guy’s name?”

Blaine shook his head and a pleading look from Nick had him turning around to mutter the same question in Kurt’s ear. The message went from Kurt, who looked as confused about the question as Blaine felt, to Tina. Tina did know the model’s name and when it reached Blaine, he was now staring at Kurt with his mouth open.

Nick tapped him on the shoulder and muttered: “It’s him, isn’t it.”

Blaine only nodded and the smile the broke out on Nick’s face could have rivalled many of the smiles Blaine had directed towards Kurt over the past month.

Kurt tugged on their interlinked hands and Blaine looked back at him. He was asking with his eyes why they had wanted to know the model’s name and Blaine answered by grabbing Nick’s left hand and thrusting it towards Kurt. When Nick uncurled his fingers to reveal the name written in cursive handwriting on the heart line of his palm, Kurt’s face filled with understanding.

Jeff Sterling.

Nick reclaimed his arm and ran his thumb over his palm. He was muttering something under his breath and when Blaine nudged him, curiosity filling his eyes, Nick leant closer to tell Blaine what he’d been saying.

“My soul mate’s a model. My soul mate is a model.”

Blaine snorted and then covered his mouth to keep the sound quiet. The models were showing off their second outfits now but Jeff hadn’t come back out onto the runway yet. Nick was staring at the entrance to the backstage and Blaine knew he was willing Jeff to come out again.

“Get your mind out of the gutter: you know you’ll connect tonight.” Blaine murmured in Nick’s ear just as Jeff stepped onto the runway and Nick’s eyes widened again. He was staring up at Jeff like he was the most amazing thing on earth. Did Blaine look at Kurt that way? Probably: he did think Kurt was the most amazing thing on earth.

--

“Calm down,” Blaine said as he pushed on Nick’s shoulder to stop him from bouncing up and down. They were stood at the busy after party with only Mike for company. Kurt and Tina had been dragged away by important journalists who wanted an interview about the fashion show and the future of hummels.

Kurt had left with the promise of finding Jeff for Nick, making sure the model didn’t leave before they met to find out if this Jeff had Nick Duval written in Nick’s untidy scrawl across the palm of his hand.

Nick was a nervous wreck. He kept tugging at his shirt and running his hands through his hair, making it messier each time. Blaine and Mike kept shooting glances at each other, amused by the other boy’s antics but also trying to figure out a way to keep Nick from exploding with nervous tension.

“There’s Tina.” Mike said abruptly pointing to where his soul mate was winding through the crowd. She didn’t have Kurt or Jeff with her and Nick started bouncing on his toes again. Tina stepped up to Mike and stood on tiptoes in her heels to press a kiss to his lips.

“I think Kurt’s gone to look for Jeff, Nick.” She said to placate the nervous boy.

“Was I this bad when I was meeting Kurt?” Blaine asked. He was trying to start a conversation and hopefully help his friend. Thinking back to how he was when he took the subway to hummels and walked through the store to wait for Tina to take him to meet Kurt, Blaine doubted he was much better.

That idea was proven when Tina laughed and nodded. She described what Blaine had been like which left Blaine blushing, Mike chuckling and Tina smiling widely at the memory. Nick hadn’t even heard but all four of their attention turned sharply to the left when Kurt’s voice was heard through the crowd.

“I just wanted to introduce you to a few people who I’m here with.” Kurt was talking to someone else. “Including Tina who most of the time you’ll be dealing with rather than me.”

Kurt emerged from the crowd of celebrities and models and walked towards them, Jeff right at his heels. He introduced Tina first, followed by Mike. The two from hummels talked with Jeff for a moment, Mike hovering in the background while he tried not to overhear business talk. Then Kurt led Jeff around Tina to where Blaine and Nick were standing.

“This is Blaine, and his friend Nick.” Kurt didn’t elaborate on his relationship with Blaine but neither of them batted an eyelash. “And this is Jeff.”

Kurt looked like he had planned to say more but Jeff and Nick were looking intently at each other. Nick’s eyes were wide again and it was Jeff who held out a hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Nick-” he paused after saying Nick’s name, waiting for something. Waiting for Nick’s surname.

Kurt stepped around the couple and slipped an arm around Blaine’s shoulders. He rested his other hand against the shoulder nearest to him and Blaine ran his hand up and down Kurt’s back once, finding a spot just about the small of his back to rest his hand. They watched the exchange, Mike and Tina also holding each other while they watched.

“Duval.” Nick’s voice was far higher than normal. “It’s Nick Duval.”

Now Jeff’s mouth opened in shock and he frantically scrubbed at the palm of his left hand. He was muttering under his breath about how they had to cover up their names for shows and then when all the makeup was wiped away, he held up his palm to show Nick his own name in his own handwriting.

Nick followed suit and held his palm out so that their hands were touching and both their names were seen. The newly connected soul mates then looked down at their names on each other’s palms and back up at each other.

“That’s the third connection I’ve seen,” Kurt commented quietly, speaking right into Blaine’s ear, “obviously not including ours.”

“Are they all like that then?” Blaine asked. He didn’t turn his head away from Nick and Jeff, who had just linked their hands, stepped closer to each other and were completely ignoring their audience.

“Yes. That’s love at first sight.” Kurt sighed and tipped his head to rest it against Blaine’s. “Tina and Mike’s was the most original one though: Tina was actually dating someone else and she connected with Mike in the choir room when he joined Glee. That was romance tipped with heartbreak for Artie.”

“I was glad you weren’t dating anyone when I met you,” Blaine admitted. He didn’t admit that he’d been afraid of Kurt dating Chandler Kiehl. Rumours about their relationship were still flying over the internet even though they hadn’t been seen together for a while now.

“Me too. About you, I mean.”

They stood still, wrapped in each other’s arms, while the after party carried on in full swing around them. Cameras flashed from every angle and the photographers took note of everything. A waiter carrying a tray of punch passed the couple and Blaine reached out to grab two, offering one to Kurt who disentangled himself from Blaine to accept the cup gratefully.

“Oh I forgot:” Kurt said after he’d gulped a large bit of the drink, “My dad wanted me home next weekend. He said that it had been far too long since I’ve been home and I had planned to go back to Lima for a few days.” He looked at Blaine from under his lashes, no mean feat from the taller Kurt’s point of view. “Did you want to come to Ohio with me?”

Blaine blinked and licked his lips, mulling the thoughts in his mind. Of course the answer would be yes. His lectures were the last thing on his mind and a chance to spend days with Kurt was always a chance he would jump at. However, he’d be meeting Kurt’s family: more specifically Kurt’s father, who was clearly so important to him. Blaine knew that he’d be meeting Burt Hummel eventually, but it didn’t stop his nerves.

Still he smiled and said: “I’d love to.”