Falling back into habits of how things were before his trip to Ohio was easy. Kurt hated how easy it was, because it shouldn’t have been. It should have been different, because Blaine knew he wanted more and Kurt did too. There should have been more, but there wasn’t, because Ohio and New York. Kurt had never been involved in any kind of long distance relationship, so he knew he didn’t have any practical experience to call upon. He wasn’t sure if Blaine did either, other than what he said he saw with Santana.

It explained a lot about Brittany, when he thought about it. Blaine had said she got sad when people visited and left, but clearly by ‘people’ he’d meant Santana. Kurt had no doubts that she was sad when friends visited and had to go, but it was the worst when it was her girlfriend. He could remember how deflated she’d looked the first time he’d gone to the bar to see her, after Blaine asked him to check in to make sure she was okay. She was a naturally happy person, at least that was the impression he’d gotten over their developing friendship, so it stuck out so much more when she wasn’t feeling that way.

Kurt knew she had friends to keep her company, and that she kept herself busy, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to reach out to her more than he had. He knew there was no way he could understand exactly what it was like for her, but he knew a little about being separated from the person he wanted to be with. Brittany had been a happy accidental friendship, thanks to Blaine, and he planned to do his best to keep her company.

It took a few dozen texts for Kurt to get a handle on what Brittany’s schedule was like. When she wasn’t at the bar, she was almost always at a dance studio, which made a lot of sense after what Kurt had seen at the park. He managed to find holes in her schedule, most of which didn’t line up with his at all, but thankfully Saturdays during the late morning and early afternoon were free time for them both. While he didn’t want to monopolize on her only time to herself, he didn’t want every time he saw her to be when she was working, so he invited her along to go to the Garment District with him to look at fabrics.

Brittany met him at the subway station where he always got off to head into the district. It occurred to him that he really hadn’t seen her outside of work, except for the park once, but that hadn’t exactly been a situation where she’d been wearing normal clothes either. She’d been dancing and then wearing what he’d made, so he’d never once seen her in normal Brittany attire. Kurt could easily see what Blaine had meant by eclectic. She was wearing more colors than he ever would have considered putting together all at once, with absolutely none repeated throughout the pieces of her outfit, and he was completely baffled by the fact that it actually looked good.

There was a look of concerned concentration on her face as she walked across the platform, her gaze flickering back and forth between her phone and the people around her. Kurt raised his hand in a wave to draw her attention, and her brow instantly unfurrowed. She weaved between people to get to him and threw her arms around him without any preamble or greeting.

“Um, hi,” Kurt said, returning her hug for a moment before letting go. Brittany just rest her head on his shoulder and leaned up against him. “Are you okay?”

“Mhm. Just a little tired. I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“We could have done this some other time.” Kurt looked down at her with a light frown.

“No, I really wanted to come look at fabric with you,” Brittany said, nuzzling against the lapel of his jacket before pulling back and tilting her head up at him with a smile. “It’s okay; I’m used to being tired!” She looped her arm through his and started toward the stairs to get up to the street. “How are you?”

“I’m glad it’s the weekend,” Kurt replied, pulling out his sunglasses once they got to the sidewalk and slipping them on. “It’s been a long week. But I guess your view of the weekend is different.”

“My weekend is Monday-Tuesday,” Brittany said with a shrug. “I mean, it’s weird because everyone is working when I’m not, but I have a lot of dance things on those days so I guess I don’t… really have a real weekend like most people do. That’s okay, though. I like to keep busy. It keeps my head from thinking.”

“Keeps your head from thinking?”

“If I have too much time, I get all these thoughts,” Brittany explained, scrunching her nose. “I mean, I think all the time, but usually it’s just about little things. If I’m not busy, they get bigger. I don’t like thinking about big things. Does that make sense?”

“Sort of.” Kurt squeezed her arm and offered her a smile. “If you ever need distraction, you can always call.”

“Thanks. I have my cat, and he’s pretty good at keeping me distracted. It’s always nice to talk to a person instead, though, because I think he tells all my secrets to our neighbors.” Brittany said it so matter-of-factly that the oddness of what she said didn’t hit Kurt right away. He blinked, glancing over, and then dismissed it as just another quirky thing about her. “So where are we going first?”

“Well I’m not really looking for anything in particular,” Kurt responded, glancing in the store windows as they walked past. “I’m not working on anything, so today’s just kind of a looking around type of deal. If you see something you want to look at, we can go in anywhere. Most of these stores have interesting material.”

“Where did you find the fabric for my dress?” Brittany asked, looking up at him.

“Oh, about a block over – there’s a place that my boss loves to use and they had it.”

“I love it,” Brittany said softly, slipping her hand down his arm to link their fingers together. “I really do. I would wear it every day except it’s special so that means it gets worn for special things.” She bit her lip, then squeezed his hand tightly. “Oh! Speaking of special things, my birthday! It’s not soon, like, in a month, but I’m going to have a party and you should come!”

“Do you know when?” Kurt asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket to get to his calendar. “Or approximately when the party will be? Not your birthday, obviously you know when that is…”

“Either on a Monday or Tuesday. Those aren’t really good party nights, but I have to work on all the other nights. Like I said, in about a month? I have to see what week works best for people. It would be really nice if you could be there, though. I like it when I can get all my friends in the same place, and besides, it’s for my birthday!”

“I’ll absolutely be there,” Kurt said, doing his best to type a note on his calendar for the next month to remind himself to keep his Monday and Tuesday nights free. It wasn’t like they were generally filled with much beyond sitting in his apartment and doing whatever needed to be done, but just in case something happened to make his life busy in the meantime, he didn’t want to have a commitment that would keep him from the party.

They wandered in and out of shops whenever one of them saw something that caught their eye. For someone who was tired, and kept yawning and resting her head on his shoulder when they were out on the sidewalk, Brittany was surprisingly enthusiastic when it came to brightly colored or boldly patterned fabric. It wasn’t too much of a shock that she was very tactile, considering how Kurt remembered her reaction to her dress and how she’d kept touching as much as she could, and the fact that she constantly seemed to need to be in physical contact with someone if she could manage it. Her fingertips drifted over hundreds of bolts of fabric as they explored, and Kurt thought he might enjoy watching her reactions to it almost more than looking at the fabric itself.

In the end, he bought a few different choices to play around with. Mostly he altered his clothes, and it had been a while since he’d outright made something for himself. There had been some fabrics that drew him in and made him want to play around with it, make something small if nothing else, so he’d gotten it despite not having any plan to buy anything when he’d gotten there. Brittany had expressed an interest in getting something, but that she wouldn’t have anything to do with it so there wasn’t much point. Either way, she was perfectly happy to look and explore.

“Did you have time for lunch before you have to head off?” Kurt asked as they left one of the shops, holding out his arm for Brittany to slip hers through.

“Yes! Um, are you in a hurry? Because I usually eat lunch at the same place on Saturdays, since I’m at the park sometimes and it just became habit. It’s about ten or fifteen minutes away, depending on the subway. Is that alright?” Brittany bit her lip as she looked up at him, her eyes a little wide.

“I’m not in a hurry at all,” he replied, shaking his head. “And ten or fifteen minutes is no time at all, considering. Lead the way!”

Brittany smiled and hugged his arm lightly before steering him through the sidewalks and down to the subway station. True to her word, it wasn’t that long of a journey at all. They managed to get seats together but were barely in them for a few stops before she gave his hand a squeeze and nodded as they got to the right stop. It was just a short walk before Brittany stopped abruptly, making a big sweeping gesture toward the purple awning in front of them.

“Here we are!” she announced cheerfully, and Kurt looked up to read the name, which read Alice’s Tea Cup. “They have all kinds of Alice in Wonderland themed foods and drinks and things and it’s all really good.”

“You’ll have to recommend me something,” Kurt said, opening the door and following her inside. Brittany was greeted by name by the hostess, and they were led over to a small table in a very pink room. “This is really nice, Brittany. I’d never heard of it before now.” It didn’t help that he didn’t really go out to cafés unless prompted by Rachel to meet her, and generally she tried to aim for places where she claimed to know directors and producers went to get their coffee.

“I love Alice in Wonderland,” Brittany commented as she glanced up at him from her menu. “I remember seeing the movie when I was little and then my mom gave me the book when I was old enough to read it, and I always thought I was Alice. So it’s been a little disappointing to have never gotten taken away to a special place like that.”

Kurt took that in as she looked back down, scouring over the choices that she probably had memorized by that point. He knew that he still didn’t know her that well, but he had no trouble at all believing that she was a bit like Alice. She rest her chin on her hand and sighed, wrinkling her nose. “It’s always so hard to choose! I love everything.”

“Why don’t we get something to share?” Kurt asked, glancing over the menu quickly to find a choice that would work. “The Mad Hatter? That way we both get tea, scones, sandwiches, cookies, everything. No need to make too many choices.”

“Oh yes!” Brittany set down her menu and smiled over at him. “That sounds perfect! Especially because I didn’t really eat breakfast so I’m super hungry.” They ordered when their server came over, and the scones and tea were at their table soon after. Kurt had been fairly hungry himself, so he was glad to have a good amount of food coming his way.

“So you should tell me more about your dance,” he said conversationally as he poured out cups of tea for them. “Because I didn’t even know you did that, and you’re amazing.”

Brittany smiled softly, her fingers wrapping around her teacup and staying there as she looked over at him. “Well I’ve done it forever. I mean, as long as I can remember. I just always have. My mom said I’ve been dancing as long as I’ve been walking, so I guess that’s probably true. I wasn’t ever that good at school, but I got into AMDA and went through their two year program and that’s where I met Mike, and he’s pretty much one of the most amazing people I’ve ever danced with.”

“You two dance really well together.”

“He’s amazing,” Brittany said again, smiling into her tea as she took a sip. “I didn’t have any luck with auditions after I graduated and there was an opening at the studio where he worked, so I took it. I’m kind of glad that happened, because I love working with kids and choreographing and stuff like that. Performing is wonderful and I love being up in front and being able to do that, but it’s just as great being able to see something I made being performed.”

“If that’s what you love to do, then do it,” Kurt replied, spreading some of the preserves on one of his scones before taking a bite. “I understand that, because when I see something that I’ve made being worn by someone, like you and your dress, I don’t think there’s any better feeling in the world. It wasn’t what I would have dreamed for myself first, but sometimes dreams change and work out for the better. At least, that’s what I believe.”

“I believe that.” Brittany nodded, leaning back in her chair. “I think it’s fate, too. If I’d gotten a performing job, I never would have worked at the bar, and if I’d never worked at the bar then my life would be so much different. I love my life, and then people in it, and without the bar… I wouldn’t have that. I wouldn’t know you, I wouldn’t know any of my friends from there, I wouldn’t know Santana…” She bit her lip, pulling her teacup in closer. “Fate.”

“Santana?” Kurt knew her, of course, but just briefly and only in relation to Blaine. He’d heard stories, the occasional voice in the background of phone calls, but Brittany didn’t know that. She didn’t know that he knew who Santana was, who she was to her, and he was more than okay with that. He hadn’t exactly missed the way her face fell when she’d said her name.

“My girlfriend,” Brittany murmured, taking another sip of her tea. “She lives in Ohio. Well, you’ve heard her. She was here, I don’t know if you’d remember, but yeah. My girlfriend.”

“Tell me about her?” Kurt asked, tilting his head and catching her eye. “She must be pretty special if she gets to date someone like you.” That was enough to put a smile back on Brittany’s face, and she leaned in against the table to be closer to him as she began, starting with the first time they’d met.

The scones, sandwiches, and cookies were all great, and Brittany was full of stories about Santana to pass the time. Kurt just listened, taking in the way she lit up every time she remembered something else to tell him, the almost shy way she would smile at different points, and the utter adoration that was written across her face every time she said her girlfriend’s name. There were moments where a frown would take over, usually when Brittany would reach the end of a story because that was when Santana went back to Ohio. That was the catch, Kurt supposed, when relationships were sustained through the occasional five days spent together every few months.

“I really love her,” Brittany said softly, once the cookies had run out. They still had one cup of tea each, and Kurt honestly had no idea what time it was, but he wasn’t in a hurry to get anywhere. “That makes it worth it. It hurts so much sometimes but I love her.”

“How long have you been together?” All the stories she’d told, there hadn’t been much of a time frame involved. It had been a lot of jumping around, but that couldn’t be helped with how they got to see each other.

“Two and a half years? Something like that.” Brittany scrunched up her nose as she thought, bringing up her tea to take a long sip. “Two and a half years of mostly phone calls after work keeping us up until the sun’s out, sometimes getting to see each other but never sure when the next time will be…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “I just really love her. I couldn’t imagine my life without… I never want to. It’s worth it. It is, and it’s not permanent, so…”

“It’ll all work out, Brittany,” Kurt said, reaching across the table to take her hand. “Like you said, it’s fate. You’re meant to be together, and you will be. It’s just taking a little longer to get you both in the same place at the same time.”

“I wish it would hurry up,” Brittany said with a pout, but she squeezed his hand. “Hey, you let me go on and on forever and never told me if you had a special someone.”

“It’s alright, I liked hearing you go on and on forever.” Kurt offered her a smile and shook his head. “No, I don’t. It’s fine, the right person will come along one day and that’ll be that. Fate, like you said.” He didn’t feel like mentioning that he was fairly certain it had already happened. It was like Blaine had said, a moment where he’d felt like they were supposed to do something even if it didn’t make sense. They’d both had that, a moment of fate, but they were stuck on different tracks and waiting for them to intersect.

A glance at her phone made Brittany start when she realized what time it was. There was only so much time in the day and she had whiled most of it away with Kurt, and he felt bad for maybe making her late, despite her reassurances that she had plenty of time. “I just worry about the subway getting stuck so I always leave a little extra, it’s okay, I’m not going to get fired or anything!” she’d said, and that had been the end of her concern on the matter. Still, they’d downed the rest of their tea and paid as quickly as they could to get her out the door and headed for the subway.

Brittany had given him a hug before starting off down the sidewalk, and Kurt knew he was headed for the same subway station eventually but he figured he was close enough to the park that he might as well spend some time there since he was already out. He’d headed in the opposite direction and had made it halfway down the block before he felt someone catch his arm and Brittany was there again, pulling him into another hug and kissing his cheek before whispering in his ear, “I hope you find your someone special.”

Just like that, she was gone again, running down the sidewalk and leaving him to watch her go.