He couldn’t get over missing Blaine. After being together 24/7 during basic training it felt like there was a piece of his life missing. He had grown used to seeing Blaine’s face first thing in the morning and falling asleep to the sound of Blaine’s voice at night. They spoke every night but it just wasn’t the same. Blaine was almost done with his technical school. He had just received his orders. He was to report to his new assignment by the end of December. He had broken the news of his new assignment to Kurt on the phone.

“Guess where I am headed to?”

“Hello to you too, Blaine. I am fine, thank you for asking.”

“Hi, how are you? You will never guess where I am being assigned.”

“You don’t sound that excited so I am really hoping it isn’t the Midwest. Wouldn’t it just suck to kick our way out of there and then end up right back in the middle of Ohio,” said Kurt starting to worry that Blaine had ended back in Ohio.

“I am headed to Frances E. Warren AFB in Wyoming.”

“Wyoming?”

“Yes, in freezing cold Wyoming. You know I hate cold weather. Was it too much to ask for a warm weather assignment?” grumbled Blaine.

“Aren’t you in Personnel? Can’t you find someone to swap assignments with you?”

“I’m not in Personnel yet - Kurt – I’ve barely finished learning about all that the job entails and then they tell me to forget everything I learned in school because “real world” is totally different. I tried to get someone to swap with me but no one wanted to go to Wyoming. Not even the guy headed to Korea for a remote assignment wanted to swap.”

“That is bad,” laughed Kurt. A remote was a yearlong assignment where you weren’t allowed to take dependents due to the hardships in the area.

“You know it’s bad when you would rather be in Korea without your wife and kids than live in Wyoming!” exclaimed Blaine. He really did hate cold weather. Kurt was the one that always loved dressing in layers and scarves. Blaine loved the sun. He grew up having to deal with cold, harsh Ohio winters and had really been enjoying the warmth of Texas and Mississippi.

“At least you know where you are going to…I won’t know until at least 4 more months. I am really hoping to go overseas or at least some place where it isn’t hot, humid and yucky. Are you going home to visit your family before heading to Wyoming?”

“I decided to wait until you got done with school so that we could both be in Ohio at the same time. I really miss you.”

“I miss you too. I get a few days off during the holidays. I can’t actually go on leave since we are still in school but I will be able to just hang around the dorms.”

“I’m not sure what my schedule will be. I need to report by the end of December but I know most units manage to give people a few days off during the holiday season. Let’s see what happens in a few weeks. Let me know exactly what days you will be off and maybe I can fly down there for a few days. It would only be for a few days but a few days with you is just what I need,” he sighed. He really did miss Kurt and he was willing to tap into his trust fund to buy a ticket to Texas even if it was only for 2 days.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything concrete.” After speaking for a few more minutes they said their goodbyes. Both had busy lives at the moment but they made sure to call each other at least once a day.

xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxox

Blaine reported to FE Warren AFB in the middle of a blizzard. He had flown into Denver and caught a puddle jumper to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The plane was so tiny and the turbulence was rough. Blaine thought it was a shame to die so young and wondered why he hadn’t told Kurt that he wanted to marry him, have children with him and to spend his life with him forever. Sigh – he really hated cold weather!

The plane finally touched down in Cheyenne and Blaine made his way into the tiny airport. He grabbed his bag and looked around until he spotted his sponsor holding up a sign with his name on it and he walked towards the airman.

“Airman Anderson? Hi, I’m Airman First Class (A1C) Smith. I’m your sponsor. I’m glad to see you made it okay. I was getting worried you might be delayed with all the snow. It’s starting to come down pretty hard and they’ve closed down quite a few roads. I think we have enough time to make it back to the base before all hell breaks loose though it’s supposed to be a big one,” he said referring to the storm as he headed towards the parking lot.

“Thanks for all the information you sent about the base and what I need to do to get here in one piece. I really appreciate all your help.”

“That’s why you get a sponsor. It’s our job to make sure we make the transition to a new assignment as smoothly as possible for everyone involved.”

“You’ve been assigned to work with me until you learn the ropes. Our first stop is Billeting where you will check in to the base and get your dorm room assignment. You don’t actually report to Personnel until tomorrow.”

“Do you know who my roommate is?” he was used to having roommates and since this was his permanent duty station this roommate would probably be around for a while – unlike the ones he had in basic and in tech school. He hoped it was someone he could get along with.

“All unmarried personnel are assigned to dorms. The dorms are assigned by unit so you will probably be assigned to the same dorms where I live and those are single occupancy. We’ll find out once we get you to Billeting.” The drive to the base was slow and treacherous. Visibility was limited and A1C Smith was busy trying to concentrate on the road so conversation was curtailed until they pulled up to a stop in front of the Billeting Office.

Blaine signed in to the base and was given his dorm assignment. A1C Smith drove him to his dorm and helped him carry his bag up the stairs. The red brick building had white pillars and was rather imposing. It reminded Blaine of the civil war building you see in the south. His room was on the second floor. It was small but he had no roommate which made up for the size. His sponsor pointed out the community restrooms down the hall.

“I live on the first floor in Room 12. The chow hall is right across the street so at least we don’t have to go too far in the snow to get some food. I’m headed out there in about 30 minutes. I’ll swing by to pick you up so I can show you where it’s located.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate your help and I will be ready to go in half an hour.” Blaine closed the door and quickly put his gear away in the closets. The bed was made up with military issued sheets which would work until Blaine could figure out transportation and get to a store to purchase his own bedding. He didn’t like wool blankets but they would keep him warm until he got settled into his new home. He picked up his phone to call Kurt.

“Hey you,” he said as soon as Kurt answered.

“Everything okay?” asked Kurt. He had been watching the news and had noticed that the weather in Wyoming was not exactly welcoming.

“You know how cold it gets in Lima, right?” asked Blaine.

“Yeah.”

“Well imagine it is ten times colder than that and you can imagine how cold it is here in Wyoming. We could barely see 5 feet in front of us as we were driving in from the airport. All I can remember seeing is snow, snow and more snow.” Kurt could hear the exasperation in Blaine’s voice.

“I’m sure it will get better once the snow stops. Have you met anyone besides your sponsor?”

“Not yet. It took forever to get to the base and I just got to my dorm room. He is supposed to stop by in a few minutes to show me where the chow hall is. I’m glad he is because I can imagine getting turned around in the snow and losing my way. My frozen body would be found in the Spring about 20 feet from the front door of the dorms.”

“I never knew you were a drama queen, Blaine,” laughed Kurt.

“I’m serious Kurt! It is freakin’ cold and depressing as hell here. I would kill to go to Florida or California where the sun actually shines.”

“When do you have to report to work?”

“I have to be at the Processing Center at 0800 tomorrow morning and start my in-processing. I will probably have to report to my unit sometime in the afternoon. My sponsor will probably know what else I’m supposed to do. I’m really glad the Air Force sets up incoming personnel with a sponsor. I’d be lost without him.”

“Mmmm – is he cute?” asked Kurt suspiciously.

“I couldn’t really tell. He was wearing a parka with the hood up and all I could see was an Eskimo looking person – besides my heart is spoken for so even if he was the most gorgeous piece of meat in the universe I would be immune. You do know that I love you, right?” asked Blaine

“I love you to. I just hate being apart but we knew this would probably happen. Eventually, we can try to get stationed together. Who knows I might end up at FE Warren.”

“There are no fighter jets assigned to FE Warren,” said Blaine.

“Oh – well then I guess I won’t be coming to Wyoming any time soon.”

“Don’t remind me that will only depress me more than I already am.” Blaine was interrupted by a knocking at the door. “Someone is knocking at the door so I will call you later on before bed. Love you,” he hung up with Kurt’s assurances that life will look better in the morning. He highly doubted that – he was pretty sure it would still look grey and depressing in the light of day.

He opened up his door to see his sponsor standing there holding his parka in his arms. “Ready?”

“Yeah, let me just grab my jacket.” They trudged through the snow and made their way to the chow hall. The food was surprisingly good and Steve, his sponsor finally had Blaine call him by his first name, introduced him to some of the guys he would be working with. He introduced himself and insisted they call him Blaine instead of Airman Anderson. They all seemed like a tight knit group and Blaine fit right in. One of the guys had a car and offered to drive Blaine to the mall on the weekend to pick up any stuff he might need. Mario, Chuck, Aaron, Adam, & Tim – Blaine tried to remember their names.

“Not too many of us have a car. There is a shuttle bus that goes around the base so we don’t necessarily need transportation. The Personnel building is about a block away from the dorms so we can walk to work. You can always catch a ride with someone on the weekends if you need to go to the mall. Most guys are happy to do it in exchange for gas money,” explained Steve.

“What do you like to do for fun Blaine?” asked one of the Airmen. Blaine wasn’t sure what his name was but he hoped he would soon learn everyone’s name.

“I like music and singing. I sang in our school’s show choir and I really enjoyed it but since enlisting I haven’t had a chance to do any of that stuff. My parents are shipping my guitar and my keyboard and some of my other belongings so I hope to continue that as soon as my stuff gets here. What is there to do around here?”

“Wyoming is God’s country. If you like camping, hiking, country music, skiing and the great outdoors you will be happier than a pig in shit around here,” everyone laughed as Steve finished speaking.

“Wow, I think you just mentioned everything I am not particularly fond of,” sighed Blaine. “Isn’t Cheyenne the capitol of Wyoming? I imagined it would be a big city full of clubs and music and stuff to do….”

“Nope,” the group of young men answered in unison.

“You just described Denver,” someone yelled - Blaine thought it was Adam.

“How far is Denver?” asked Blaine.

“Denver is about 100 miles away from here. It is the party place. Of course there is also Greeley and Fort Collins down the road. Both are college towns so there is a ton of things to do and by things I mean music, dancing, drinking, partying and girls,” answered Tim.

“I’m up for the music and dancing but I’m not 21 yet so there goes the drinking and I have a boyfriend so there goes the girls and partying,” said Blaine hoping he was doing the right thing by letting everyone know he was gay. He didn’t want any misunderstandings and he figured the sooner everyone knew the better. If any of them had a problem it was better do deal with it now rather than let it fester and become an issue later.

“I have no problem with your sexuality. You will find that there are quite a few openly gay airman on base as well as some that still can’t seem to believe that the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy has been repealed,” said Steve. Most of the guys nodded and they really seemed to accept him. Blaine felt some of the tension ease. He thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here. If only Kurt were with him then life would be perfect.

“So – where is your boyfriend?” someone asked.

“He is at tech school in Texas. He is in Aircraft Maintenance.”

“Ouch, there are no planes here,” said Steve.

“I know,” said Blaine.

“How long have you been together?”

“I met him at a National’s competition in Los Angeles in May. His school won first place and we came in second.”

“Los Angeles in May was not the best place to be Blaine. Isn’t that when LAX was bombed?” asked Aaron quietly.

“Yeah, we were both there that day.” No one spoke for a few minutes. Each one reliving the scenes they had seen on television. “It was bad. I had just met Kurt, my boyfriend, but we were both injured in the bombing so we didn’t connect until July.”

“You both decided to enlist?” asked Tim.

“Yeah,” Blaine didn’t want to really go into the whole story so he just answered simply and then asked Steve where the Processing Center was located. He needed to make sure he got there on time in the morning.

The boys respected the fact that he was trying to change the subject and Steve reassured him that he would stop by to pick him up and take him to his in-processing in the morning. They all left the chow hall together and made their way back to the dorms. All of them lived in the same building since they were all assigned to the same unit. Blaine was glad he had met some of the people he would be working with and hoped they would all become friends.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxo

“Guess where I’m going?”

“Well hello to you too, Kurt. I am fine, just still freezing my ass off in God’s country, thanks for asking.”

“Eglin AFB, Florida.”

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?”

“Nope. I just found out this morning.”

“That is so not fair. I get frostbite and you get to hang out on the beach.”

“Hello, do you not know me? I am pale, Blaine, pale. My skin does not do well in the sun. I shrivel and die a little bit inside if I am forced to be in the sun too long. Do you remember that I work on planes? Those are normally outside!” Kurt was not happy. He had been hoping for cool weather. He was sick and tired of Texas weather and now he would have to deal with Florida weather. Humidity, hurricanes, mosquitoes and sand – these were on the top ten list of things he did not like.

“My frostbitten toes hate you at the moment. My heart misses and loves you but my extremities hate you.”

“I am taking leave the first 2 weeks in May and headed to Lima. Do you think you can take leave at that time?”

“I’ll put in for leave tomorrow morning as soon as I get in to work tomorrow. It should be no problem. I didn’t take leave after tech school and since your whole unit got put on restriction for the duration of your school I didn’t get to take time off during the holidays.”

Blaine had been planning on visiting Kurt during Christmas but some of the airman in Kurt’s unit had somehow managed to sneak off base and headed into town. They had gone drinking in a bar and gotten into a fight with some of the locals. The police had been called and Kurt’s whole unit had lost weekend privileges for the duration of their schooling. Kurt had been really upset when he had called Blaine to break the news to him. They had both been looking forward to spending some time together.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxox

Blaine’s leave request was approved and the boys decided to coordinate their plans so that they would both fly into Atlanta and then catch a connecting flight into Lima. Kurt was the first one to arrive in Atlanta and he had a 2 hour wait until Blaine’s plane landed. He was waiting at the gate when he saw Blaine step through the door. Both were wearing their blues and Kurt’s heart skipped a beat at how handsome Blaine looked in his uniform. He sat back and waited until Blaine scanned the area looking for Kurt. His eyes zeroed in on Kurt and he rushed over to hug him tight.

Kurt sighed as he nuzzled into Blaine’s neck and smelled the familiar scent he had dreamed about for months. They had a few minutes before they had to rush to make their connecting flight and before they knew it they were landing in Lima.

Burt and the Andersons had gotten together to plan a surprise welcome home party. They had invited everyone. Kurt’s grandparents, uncle and his family had arrived yesterday. Most of the New Directions were able to make it except Rachel. She was unable to make it due to finals week at NYADA. Burt was waiting at Baggage Claim when he noticed two young men in uniform walking towards him. It took him a minute to recognize Kurt and Blaine. They were no longer boys. They had grown into young men. They walked with a confidence that had not been there before and they wore the uniform with pride. Burt had to swallow back his tears when his son threw himself into his arms. He managed to grab Blaine and pulled him into the hug as well.