Kurt stared down at the beautifully patterned cardstock in his hands. He couldn’t believe it, really. Rachel, his best friend, was getting married to his step-brother, Finn. They’d all been friends back in school and Kurt had sort of always known that Finn and Rachel would get together in the end. They really were like their own little fairytale in a deeply dysfunctional way. He was flying back to Ohio for the wedding in a few hours and he was dreading it. Not the whole seeing Rachel or Finn. He hadn’t seen them in a long time and he knew that it would be good to see them… even if Rachel was, most likely, going to be her usual insufferable self multiplied by a hundred owing to her impending nuptials. What he was really dreading was seeing the best man, Jonathan Freeman.

It had been two years since Kurt had last seen Jonathan and he was actually quite content about that. Mostly. Seven years of his life were wasted on that man and then out of the blue, Jonathan just dumped him. No reason at all… just dumped him. Kurt had been heartbroken. It was then, after countless days of sad movies and Haagen-Daas, that he had decided to move to New York. He had planned to go after high school, but that didn’t end up working out for him in the end. Rachel was going to go with him, but she decided to stay behind with Finn. He understood why she wanted to stay. She loved Finn. He was happy for her but at that moment, he couldn't have cared less if she went with him or not. He was in New York now, and it was everything he had ever wanted and hoped it would be. He was free to become a famous designer and not have anyone to hold him back from whatever it was he wanted to do—just like his father had told him.

He glanced over the script and sighed. Kurt Hummel and date. That one had been a bit of a challenge for him. Kurt hadn’t dated anyone since Jonathan; call him pathetic, he didn’t care. Jonathan breaking up with him had really shaken him and he just didn’t feel comfortable enough around anyone to actually take a chance and risk his heart getting broken again.

He turned his head on the pillow and stared at the torn-out pages from the New York Times, thanking his lucky stars that Tina had a job there. He just honestly hoped that she had been right about this guy, this Blaine Anderson. She had gushed about him over the phone to Kurt one night, going on and on about how he was super good looking and how she thought that he would be perfect for Kurt. It was that point in their conversation that Kurt made a comment about Blaine being straight—he was an escort for hire after all. Tina simply shrugged him off, saying that she knew for a fact that Blaine was gay and that he would sweep him off his feet.

He still thanked her for everything though. He was appreciative. He couldn’t go to this wedding by himself. Seeing Jon, having to spend time with him… Kurt needed someone there to distract him from the feelings. He realized he could have asked Tina or one of his other close friends, but he wanted to make Jonathan suffer for just dumping him for no reason. He had spoken to Blaine briefly on the phone to discuss the situation and to give him all of the details that he’d need to know. He was still shocked that Blaine had even agreed to go with him. Grateful, but still shocked. The conversation had been short, Blaine informing him that he'd meet Kurt on the plane as he had some business to take care of. Kurt understood that, and didn't want to make Blaine feel like he was obligated to take him to the airport. He would have liked to have given Blaine a little more in the way of details about his family and the whole Jonathan situation, but he would just have to deal with it.

After stretching, he got up and walked into his bathroom, picked up his toothbrush and soon began brushing vigorously, the sound of running water soothing his anxiety. He was a little nervous… all right, he was very nervous. Nervous about seeing Jonathan again; nervous about meeting Blaine; especially nervous about this whole making-Jonathan-jealous-by-bringing-Blaine. He just wanted to survive the wedding, get back to New York in one piece and relatively unhurt emotionally.

As the sound of the phone interrupted his thoughts, he swore to himself. Of course someone would call while he was brushing his teeth and couldn’t answer the phone. There was nothing he could do about it, so he kept up the furious brushing and stared down into the sink basin, hearing the beep of his answering machine as he turned off the tap, and then there was talking.

“Hey, Kurt, I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you at your place and talk on our way to the airport. I know you wanted to fill me in on everything, but don’t worry about it. We'll figure it out. I’m sending a bike messenger to pick up my ticket. Just remember to relax. This trip is going to go fine. Relax.”

About halfway through the message, Kurt had stopped brushing and was staring at himself in the mirror. He didn’t know why he had stopped. There was just something so calming about Blaine's voice that made Kurt stop what he was doing and just… listen.

The buzzer rang out in his apartment, signaling the arrival of the bike messenger and he quickly spat out the toothpaste and ran towards his office. Grabbing the envelope containing the ticket, he quickly scrawled Blaine's name across the front, sealing it after. Quickly, he made his way back towards the door, narrowly avoiding tripping over the pair of shoes he'd kicked off the night. Schooling himself for a moment, he quickly pasted on a smile as he opened the door.

“Sorry, I wasn’t quite ready for you,” he said, smiling wider at the well-toned messenger. Tentatively, he extended the envelope out and immediately felt the pull as the messenger took hold of the other end, and suddenly found himself explaining its contents. “It's a ticket. A plane ticket for a date. My date. To my best friend’s wedding.”

“You’re gonna have to let go,” the messenger said, pulling on it once more and looking at Kurt like he was more than a little crazy.

“I’m gonna need you to help me,” Kurt said, and he sighed gratefully as he felt the paper slip out of his grip and the messenger left in a flurry.

Once the messenger had left, it was a mad dash around his apartment, gathering up last minute items and stuffing them into various bags and changing his outfit. Finally, he placed all of his bags by the door and surveyed the apartment one last time. It would have to do. He jumped a little when the door buzzed again, and cleared his throat as he pressed the button for the intercom.

“Come on up,” he said, grabbing one of his bags. Kurt wished he could have cleaned up his apartment more; he hated leaving it not to his standards. He knew that nothing would be out of place once he returned, but he also knew that it would be gnawing at him the entire time he was in Ohio. He’d be thinking about the pile of sketches that were left on his desk unfiled or the stacks of magazines that littered his coffee table. The fact that he had a fern sitting in his sink in the kitchen to catch the sunlight… that was going to bother him. He knew that plant wouldn’t make it, and thought about going to move it but there was a knocking at the door and there was no longer any time.

“Mr. Hummel?” the driver asked when Kurt opened the door.

“Yes, that’s me. Um…” he trailed off, looking at all of his luggage, “I’ll help you.”

The cab ride to the airport wasn’t as long as he expected it to be. Soon enough, he was sitting at the terminal, bags already checked, and on the phone with one of his coworkers, who seemed to be having a major crisis. “I can’t do anything from here, Amy. I’m at the airport. No, I can’t come in. My bags are already checked,” he said, crossing one arm over his chest. He listened patiently as Amy rattled on about fittings and various designs and finally, she stopped. “Amy, take a breath. Those designs are beautiful, I checked over them myself. The fitting should go as planned unless the model’s gained weight and if that happens to be the case, then find another one who’ll fit the dress. That shouldn’t be a problem. And relax. It’ll go fine and I’ll be back soon.”

“Kurt, wait…”

“They’re calling for my flight. Don’t worry. Just do what I said and everything will be fine,” he instructed, hanging up and making his way towards the gate. One of the many perks that came with being a designer and flying to various countries for shows meant frequent flier miles and that, in turn, meant being able to splurge on seats in first class.

He sat down and crossed his legs, drumming his fingers along his knee. He shifted slightly, staring out the window, then he faced the front again. He picked up the safety manual and thumbed through it, albeit nervously.

“First time flying?” a woman across from him asked, her expression kind.

He smiled and brought the manual down slightly, looking at her over the top of it. “My best friend is getting married and the best man is my ex. In case I chicken out I wanted to know where exits are,” he explained, his smile growing sheepish.

The woman nodded slightly and brought her glass to her lips, taking a dainty sip and averting her eyes towards the front of the plane. Kurt could have slapped himself. He was so pathetic. That poor woman. He wanted to apologize to her but he knew that would only make it worse. He’d just end up rambling even more and that would not end well. Shaking himself a little, he stood up and walked towards the stewardess, who turned toward him with a bright smile and a tray of complimentary champagne. Gratefully accepting a glass, he downed it in one gulp and at the stewardess' questioning expression quickly explained, “I’m not a knuckler. In fact, I fly all the time. It’s just that any second now my date is going to sit down in 3B and I need him to look really, really good today.”

“Hello, 3B,” the stewardess murmured, looking over Kurt’s shoulder.

Following her gaze, he turned slowly and made his way back to his seat. He was greeted by a glass of champagne being placed in his hand and a warm, “hello.”

Kurt smiled. “Hi,” he breathed.

Blaine was… gorgeous. Kurt had to hand it to Tina: she knew what she was talking about when she said that he was amazingly good looking. He wasn’t as tall as the men that Kurt had dated in the past, but he didn’t care. Kurt took in his hair—the most luscious curls that Kurt had ever seen on a person—and plump lips curled up into a smirk, before being entirely distracted by his eyes. They were entrancing; a golden honey brown and seemingly filled with warmth. Kurt realized that he was still standing there, staring awkwardly. He smiled again as Blaine held out his hand and Kurt took it, holding it firmly in his own. They sat down in their seats and Kurt’s grip hadn’t loosened on Blaine’s hand.

He slowly let go and settled into his seat. This was already going so smoothly. If Kurt didn’t seem pathetic enough to him over the phone, he couldn’t even imagine how he looked right now.

“You know those families where you love them even though they’re insane?” he asked, looking at Blaine over the seat, and saw him nod. “Mine’s not like that.”

As he turned to face the front of the plane where the stewardess was beginning the safety demonstration he himself could have performed from memory, he closed his eyes. God, he was an idiot. Feeling the need to explain, he shifted around to face Blaine once more. “I love my dad though… and my step-mother… though, she’s not really family… more like a hostage.”

He turned in his seat again, facing the front of the plane. As he reached up to switch on the air supply the fasten seat belt sign lit up, and Kurt promptly buckled himself in for the long haul. He set his hand on the arm rest and began absent-mindedly tapping his fingers as the plane began it’s taxi to the runway. Kurt had never understood the reasoning behind having to board a plane on one side of the airport and having it take off on the other side, though he supposed there had to be logic behind it somewhere.

The runway was starting to rush past his window, indicating that the plane was beginning its ascent towards Ohio. He should have visited before this. It was a big deal, seeing Jonathan again. Yes, he had been dumped, but it was more than that. They had been engaged. Jonathan had asked Kurt to marry him and of course Kurt had said yes. He didn’t regret it because he had loved him but Kurt didn’t understand why, after seven years of dating—after proposing—Jonathan would just leave him flat with no explanation. It didn’t make sense and, if Kurt had to be honest, there were two reasons why he was going. Well, three. He wanted to support Rachel and Finn. They deserved to be happy. The second was he wanted to make Jonathan jealous but the most important reason… Kurt wanted to know why he had been dumped.

Kurt hadn’t noticed the plane had left the ground and was now comfortably gaining altitude on its journey to Columbus International. He made a glance at the window and sighed. He might as well quit thinking about Jonathan because it would only make him more anxious than he already was. Closing his eyes, he let the steady hum of the engine soothe his nerves.

---

The plane ride was longer than Kurt had expected and he must have fallen asleep at some point. He came around to the sound of the pilot announcing their descent and he sat up in his seat, turning to look at Blaine again.

“Good morning,” Blaine said, smiling before turning to look out the window.

Kurt smiled and turned, facing the front again. Upon pulling out his phone and seeing his reflection he closed his eyes and sighed, placing a hand over his face. He looked horrid. God, he looked right at Blaine and he looked like some form of night troll. He studied his face in the phone screen again. Was that drool? Had he drooled on himself and then stared right at Blaine? What was wrong with him? He grabbed a Kleenex from his bag and quickly wiped his face clean. He’d have to do a number on his face that night in order to make up for that moment that just happened.

When the plane had finally landed and finished its taxi into the terminal, Kurt grabbed his carry-ons and stood up, looking at Blaine again. How was he still so perfectly coiffed and put-together after that flight? It wasn’t a long one, but he still looked just as pristine as he had when Kurt first laid eyes on him. Meanwhile, Kurt swore his hair was unkempt and he still felt like he had drool on his face. Blaine had assured him that he looked fine but Kurt was going to change anyway. Blaine went to get their bags and Kurt hurried to a restroom to change. He had originally worn a simple and classic black suit with a black tie, and opted to change into a cream colored suit with a navy tie. He checked himself over in the mirror again before deeming himself worthy of leaving the restroom.

Blaine was waiting for him outside, leaning casually against a luggage cart piled high with Kurt's bags. Kurt stared at him. “Blaine, tell me you’re not wearing that.”

Blaine looked down at himself. “I am,” he said simply, straightening up and pushing the cart ahead of them with ease.

“It’s just… that tie… it’s the same color as my suit. It looks like someone cut a yard of fabric off it and made your tie out of it. Now, I’m all for matching, but this is—it's too matchy-matchy,” he exclaimed, waving his hand between them for emphasis.

Blaine stopped and looked at Kurt. “You think we’re trying too hard.”

“Yes.”

“Let me tell you something,” he began, meeting Kurt's gaze dead-on, “you look people in the eye; they’ll never notice what you’re wearing.”

Kurt just stared after him as Blaine backed the cart through the terminal doors and started helping the driver of a waiting cab unload the bags into the trunk. After gathering his senses, he followed and offered to help but Blaine simply held out his hand, motioning for Kurt to take it. Kurt placed his hand in his and was led to the cab, where Blaine opened the door for him and closed it after Kurt was seated comfortably inside.

Kurt watched as Blaine made his way around the cab and joined him in the backseat. He still wasn’t keen on this tie and suit thing. Correction: he didn’t like it at all. He wasn’t about to go into this looking like he had designed his own suit and made Blaine a tie to go with it. The cab pulled away from the curb and Kurt gave him the name and location of the restaurant.

A few minutes passed, and Kurt's discomfort kept gnawing at him. Finally, he sighed and turned to Blaine.

“I’m not showing up in matching outfits. We’re going to have to stop somewhere so I can change.” He leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder. “Could you pull over somewhere, please?”