Kurt started shifting and thumbing through the various artists when he vaguely heard the soft thrill of a bell signaling another person entering the shop. Kurt glanced up out of reflex, not even really seeing since his mind was still rattling off the names of singers and bands he'd just seen. Kurt continued sifting until his eyes caught a name. Terry Blaine. Kurt bit his lip and pulled out the song "Them There Eyes." He tried to read the lyrics, but his eyes kept reading over the last name. Blaine.

Kurt had been reading that same name over and over again for about a year, ever since his 16th birthday. Kurt looked down at his left palm where the name 'Blaine Anderson' was tattooed across his flesh. It was the same color as his skin, a curly scar that branded him to another being. Kurt had spent many nights fantasizing about what his soul mate- this Blaine Anderson would be like. Would he be handsome? Would he be nice? What if he's fifty years old? What if I never find him? Kurt shook his head and focused his eyes back on the sheet music. Kurt had never heard the song before so he started singing under his breath, making up his own melody.

I was just minding my own business
Life was a beautiful song
Didn't have a care nor worry
Then you had to come along
I fell in love with you the first time
I looked into them there eyes

"You have an extraordinary voice." Kurt turned around and found himself face to face with a set of brown eyes. He looked down, embarrassment staining his cheeks a soft rosy color.

"Thank you," Kurt said, and when he looked back up those brown eyes were alight with amusement. The boy before him was very good looking; a crop of sandy blonde hair above those deep chocolate brown eyes and skin just a shade or two darker than his own. He looked to be about a year or two younger than Kurt, though he was two inches taller.

"You planning on singing it to someone special?" Kurt shook his head.

"Oh, no. It's for my Glee Club. I was just messing around." Kurt began to put the song back into the stack when a hand halted his wrist. Kurt looked down at the hand on his before looking up at the boy; this time it was his turn to blush. The boy retracted his hand and shoved it into his coat pocket.

"I think Terry Blaine is a great idea. I'm usually partial to Billie Holliday's version of the song, but yours is definitely my new favorite." If Kurt wasn't blushing before, he was now. This guy, this guy Kurt had just met, was flirting with him. Shamelessly. "I'm Blaine," he said, holding out his hand for Kurt, but Kurt couldn't breathe let alone shake his hand. Could this really be happening? Could this guy be his soul mate? Kurt forced himself to inhale before placing his hand inside the boy's.

"Kurt." The boy didn't have any sort of reaction to Kurt reciting his own name, and Kurt had to steady himself. Maybe this wasn't his Blaine. Maybe he isn't 16 yet. Kurt steeled himself. "Um, Blaine, h-how old are you?" Blaine looked a little perplexed with Kurt's question, but answered regardless.

"I turned fifteen a couple months ago." Kurt fidgeted a little, but Blaine seemed to catch on. Blaine let go of Kurt's right hand and reached forward for his left, asking for permission with his eyes before turning it over. Blaine's sharp inhale was answer enough.

Kurt watched Blaine's face as he stared down at the puckered flesh that protruded from Kurt's palm. He seemed mystified at first, but then his lips stretched into a soft smile. "Kurt," he said, as if testing the name in his mouth. Kurt smiled back as Blaine looked up at him, his brown eyes wide. "Hi."

"Hello," Kurt said, surprised at his own ability to speak in a time like this.

They spent the rest of the day together. Blaine convinced Kurt to take Them There Eyes to sing for his Glee assignment and afterwards they walked around the shopping complex, not really having a destination in mind. They talked about themselves and their passions, realizing that they actually had quite a few things in common.

When it started getting late, they parted with promises of seeing each other the next day.

The next few weeks pass by in a blur of coffee dates and meeting parents and discovering each other. Kurt and Blaine began to fall into a routine. Every morning they would call each other as they got ready for school. They would text each other between classes. They would call each other during the ten minutes where their lunch periods overlapped. They would meet at the local coffee shop after Kurt got out of Glee Club, then spend the rest of the day at either's house. It went that way for twelve weeks. On the next Monday, however, everything changed.

Kurt pulled into the parking lot and turned off his car, sitting there for a moment longer as he held his phone to his ear. "I still can't believe Brew Ha Ha went out of business," Kurt complained.

"I can't either. I mean, even if we were the only customers, we've spent enough money there to end world hunger." Kurt laughed. "Are you at that new place?"

"Yeah, The Lima Bean. I'll tell you how it is."

"Alright. Good luck on your French test."

"Thanks, sweetie. I'll talk to you soon." Kurt hung up and sighed as he looked up at the cream building before him. "The Lima Bean. Clever." Kurt got out of his car, almost hesitantly, and walked into the coffee shop, finding himself surrounded by the shop's logo; a giant green lima bean. Kurt walked up to the barista counter and ordered his usual drink- a non-fat mocha, and walked over to the other end to wait for his coffee.

Kurt's phone started buzzing and he pulled it out, answering without checking the ID first. He rolled his eyes when Mercedes, his best friend, began talking a mile an hour about her date the previous night with her boyfriend, Shane. Kurt listen half-heartedly, but honestly it was hard to focus without the help of his morning caffeine. "Cedes, you know I love you, but we need to have this conversation when I'm more awake," Kurt said, feeling tired just listening to her rambling. Mercedes made some comment about how he probably didn't have a problem listening to Blaine, but agreed to talk to him during lunch instead.

"I have a non-fat mocha here for-" Kurt looked up and saw the barista, a shorter man with curly brown hair honey colored eyes, staring at his cup with his mouth agape.

"That's mine," Kurt said, smiling up at him. The man held out his coffee, but when Kurt grabbed it, the man didn't let go. Kurt's brows knitted together. "Is everything okay?" he asked. The man slowly looked up at him and those eyes. They were like melted honey; warm and delicate and so very expressive. Kurt cleared his throat and tried to stop staring at the man, but it was physically impossible. He was gorgeous. Those dark brown locks and captivating eyes. He was a few inches shorter than Kurt, but he could see the muscles on his arms and the broad shoulders above his toned chest that fit snugly in his black polo. Kurt felt weirdly drawn to the man, and lyrics bubbled out of his memory. I fell in love with you the first time/ I looked into them there eyes.

"Kurt?" the man said, barely above a whisper. Kurt continued to stare at the man. Why was he so transfixed with Kurt? He seemed to be stunned by his name, reminding Kurt of when he'd met Bl-

Kurt felt his heart pounding in his chest and he was sure every patron in the Lima Bean could hear it. Was it even possible? Things like that don't happen. They just don't. "Kurt Hummel?" the man asked, seeming scared and hopeful and Kurt felt like he was going to throw up. Maybe this man wasn't his real soul mate. Maybe he'd seen him perform at competitions. That was plausible, right?

"Yes?" Kurt said, but his voice trembled and he sounded oh so weak. The man set down Kurt's coffee cup and, instead of saying anything else, held up his left hand. Kurt felt like someone had knocked the air from his lungs as he stared at the curve of the 't' and 'l' that so clearly spelled out his own name. Kurt Hummel.

Kurt couldn't bring himself to say anything, do anything, but stand there wide eyed and open mouthed, staring at his own name where it was permanently etched on another man's palm. The man who was not his boyfriend. "Blaine?" he croaked out, and the man looked like he was torn between crying and laughing so he did both, a choked sound that bubbled out of his mouth as his eyes grew wet and he smiled.

"I've been looking for you forever."