Kurt was going to be late. He knew he should've sat his alarm, even after Finn promised he would wake Kurt up before he left. Now he knows not to trust Finn with anything and you'd better believe Finn will hear about this later, but right now Kurt has to worry about skipping his morning moisturizing routine and breakfast if he wants to get to his first class on time. College may not be like high school, but it still probably isn't a good idea to miss your first ever class.

He hadn't gotten into NYADA, but his second choice, NYU, did accept him so he ended up moving to New York with Finn and Rachel. Rachel was going to NYADA and Finn was taking a year off before going to school to be a mechanic. It wasn't exactly the life Kurt had planned, but a lot of things had changed in the last year so he couldn't complain too much. He was lucky to be in New York, going to school for something he loved, at least he would be if he got to class on time.

---------------

Blaine wasn't sure if he was excited for the first day of classes or dreading it. Of course he had met all of his teachers at freshman orientation and they all seemed nice, but he didn't know anyone here except his roommate who isn't even in the nursing program. Maybe once classes start he'll make some friends, at least he hopes so. He checked the time, knowing it would only take him ten minutes to get to his first class but not wanting to sit around his dorm any longer, he decided to take a walk around campus. Maybe that would help quell his nerves.

Blaine's walk took him past the performing arts building, it reminded him of everything he tried to forget: songs, glee clubs, Kurt. He pushed those memories away, looking towards the building one last time only to have the breath knocked out of him when someone ran right into him. On instinct, Blaine reached out to grab the onto the person to steady himself, but when he looked up and saw who he was holding onto, he jerked his hand away.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry. I should've- B-Blaine?"

"Kurt." Blaine said shortly, suddenly wishing he hadn't decided to take this walk.

"W-what are- do you go to school here?" Kurt couldn't tear his eyes away from Blaine who was dressed in scrubs with his hair gelled down just like it was in high school.

"Yeah, I was heading to class actually."

"Oh, me too. I'm running a little late to be honest. Finn forgot to wake me up before he left for work, hence the not paying attention to where I was walking."

"Well then you should get going, don't want to be late on the first day."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Kurt walked about two steps before turning back around. "Hey Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"It's nice to see you again, and before you ask, yes I really do mean that."

"You too." Blaine smiled, watching Kurt go. As much as he hated admitting it, he would always be happy to see Kurt.

--------------

Blaine found himself taking the same path back to his dorm as he had taken that morning. He didn't even remember making the decision to do so, but that didn't stop a part of him from hoping to see Kurt again.

"Blaine?"

"Oh hey, I uh- I'm not stalking you, I promise. I was just on my way back to my dorm and I- nevermind." Blaine felt himself blushing, this all seemed like a better plan in his head.

"And you what?" Kurt asked, pulling Blaine off the sidewalk so they could talk without getting ran over by other students.

"It's ridiculous, I kind of came this way hoping I would run into you again."

"That's not ridiculous Blaine. I'm glad to see you." Kurt smiled sadly at Blaine. "Are you finished with classes?"

"Yeah, I was heading back to my dorm to study. I have a quiz tomorrow."

"Oh, well why don't I give you my number in case you want to take a coffee break? I know this little café about a block from here that puts the Lima Bean to shame."

"Uh I- sure, that would be great." Blaine fumbled with getting his phone out of his pocket and handing it to Kurt.

"There, now you don't have to hang around here and stalk me." Kurt handed Blaine's phone back with a wink.

"I wasn't-"

"I was kidding Blaine, it was a joke." Kurt assured Blaine with a smile.

Blaine wasn't sure what else to say, so he pretended to clean lint off his scrub top.

"Well I'd better get going. I'll see you later." Kurt couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer. He and Blaine never had awkward silences.

"Yeah, okay." Blaine watched Kurt walk off, part of him wanting to run after him and half wanting to run away and avoid him. He sighed and started walking towards his dorm, pushing thoughts of Kurt and coffee dates out of his head. He has a quiz that needs his full attention if he even wants to think about passing it.

-----------------

When Kurt walked into the apartment he shared with Finn and Rachel, the first thing he noticed was how quiet it was. He walked into the kitchen and found a note on the frig written in Finn's handwriting. "Rach & I are going out. Won't be back until late. -Finn."

"Of course." Kurt sighed, crumpling up the note and tossing it into the trash bin. Deciding to make a sandwich and watch some t.v., Kurt went to change into something a little more comfortable than his skinny jeans. He had just gotten his sweatpants and old t-shirt put on when his phone started going off.

"I can't concentrate on studying knowing there's an open invite for coffee." -B

Kurt smiled, somethings never change. "Of course you can't mister 'I have a quiz tomorrow.' I'll meet you there in 10." -K

"I was hoping you would say that because I'm kind of already here." -B

"Of course you are. I'll be there soon, wait for me?" -K

"Always." -B

Kurt felt his heart flutter as he read Blaine's response. He didn't even bother to change his clothes, not wanting to keep Blaine waiting and risk him leaving. Kurt grabbed his keys and wallet and rushed out the door.

It only took five minutes for Kurt to get to the café and when he walked inside he immediately felt his nerves kick in. This was Blaine, the boy he fell in love with, planned forever with, then broke up with. What if he had moved on? What if he had a boyfriend? Kurt pushed those thoughts away and took a deep breath before walking towards the table Blaine was sitting at. "Hey."

"Oh, hey Kurt, you scared me. Please, have a seat." Blaine had been reading over his notes for tomorrow's quiz and didn't see Kurt come in.

"You already ordered?" Kurt asked, noticing the two cups of coffee.

"Uh yeah, I hope you still like non-fat mocha." Blaine said, blushing as he pushed the cup towards Kurt.

"You remembered my coffee order." Kurt beamed at Blaine, a little surprised before taking a sip.

They fell into silence, but unlike earlier, this one was comfortable. They were just enjoying being in each other's company in a somewhat familiar setting. Blaine was the one to speak first, not really knowing where to start. "So, how have you been?"

"G-good, nothing too exciting. What about you?"

"I've been great actually. I graduated valedictorian from Grand River, I got a full ride to NYU for nursing, I'm in the city of my dreams, I'm sitting in a coffee shop with you. Things couldn't be better."

"I'm glad you're doing so well. You seem happy."

"I am."

"Hmm." Kurt smiled, hoping Blaine wouldn't notice that it didn't reach his eyes.

"What about you? Are you happy Kurt?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt like he already knew the answer.

"I guess I am. I'm in New York, I'm studying theatre, I can't really complain." Kurt shrugged.

"Hey, come on, I know you better than that. Something's bugging you."

"It's nothing, I just- it's nothing."

"Kurt please, I don't want this to be awkward. What's bothering you?" Blaine hesitantly reached out for Kurt's hand, letting his thumb run over Kurt's knuckles when he didn't pull away.

"The last time I saw you, I broke up with you. I waited every day, hoping you'd call and say you wanted me back, that I was wrong about you not caring, but you never did. Finn told me he went to see you after that day he never told me what you two talked about though."

"You. We talked about you. Well, he talked and pretended not to listen."

"I thought I'd never see you again. I almost didn't come to New York after getting rejected from NYADA. I thought it was a sign that if I came here, I'd really lose you forever."

"I'm glad you decided to ignore it then. I never thought about seeing you here, what happened with NYADA? Why didn't you get in?"

"I don't know really. My audition went great, it was flawless. Thankfully my dad convinced me to apply to different schools just in case."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Did you mean it when you said that you'd never give up hope?" Blaine asked, messing with his cup so he wouldn't have to look at Kurt.

"Yeah, I meant it."

Blaine looked up, his eyes slightly watery. "I'm so sorry Kurt. I should've tried harder, but I took the easy way out, I gave up."

"You had a lot on your plate at the time Blaine, it took me a while to understand that, but now I do. I should've been there for you, and I wasn't. I took the easy way out too, we both messed up."

"Did you dare anyone else after-"

"No. Did you?"

"Yeah. There was someone, his name was Thomas."

"Was?"

"He stayed in Ohio after graduation and I moved here so we ended it." Blaine explained.

"Oh. We're you guys, you know, did you ever-"

"No, no. We never had sex." Blaine laughed, squeezing Kurt's hand. "You're the only one Kurt."

Kurt smiled, secretly happy that he was the only person Blaine has ever been intimate with. "Uh, Finn and Rachel went out and won't be home until late, would you like to go back to my apartment so we can talk more in private?"

"I'd love that." Blaine stood up and followed Kurt out of the café. Maybe there is still hope for them after all.

------------

Over the next few weeks, Kurt and Blaine spent most of their free time either in the café or at Kurt's apartment. They talked about everything from school work to what movies were playing, it was almost like they had never broken up. Almost.

"So I was thinking since we both really want to see the seniors production of West Side Story, maybe we could go together." Kurt suggested while they were spending their Saturday morning on his couch watching reruns of Project Runway.

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that a good oh or a bad oh?"

"I would love to go Kurt, I would, but I can't. I promised my roommate I'd help him study for his biology test. Maybe next time?" Blaine felt bad because he had mentioned that he would love to go see the production, but he'd promised Miles he would help him study and he wasn't sure if going to see West Side Story with Kurt would be a good idea or not, it sounded like too much of a date.

"That's fine, next time sounds good." Kurt smiled, trying not to be disappointed.

"I should probably get going, Miles isn't the only one who needs to study." Blaine stood up and stretched. "I'll text you later, okay?"

"Yeah okay, have fun studying."

"For the record Kurt, I'd rather be here." Blaine winked as he walked out of the sitting room towards the door, waving at Kurt before shutting the door behind him.

Kurt wasn't sure how long he sat there after Blaine had left, hoping he'd come back, but he didn't. Eventually Kurt got up as well, turned off the t.v., and went to change his clothes. He wasn't just going to mope around the apartment all day, he needed to get out. Deciding on walking over to the park, Kurt grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys and headed out, leaving a note for Finn and Rachel when they got back from their brunch date.

The park is beautiful during this time of year and Kurt enjoys just sitting down and relaxing. He would have to bring his sketch pad out here sometime and work on some of his designs. He was thinking about color schemes and fabric squares when he felt his phone going off. "Hello?"

"Hey, I think I left my keys in your apartment and Miles isn't here, can you check?"

"Blaine? I-I- sure, just give me a few minutes, I'm not exactly at the apartment right now."

"Oh I'm sorry! Did I interrupt something?"

"No, no, I just walked over to the park for some fresh air. Do you know where you left them? Your keys I mean."

"Maybe on the coffee table? I'm not really sure. I'm sorry about this."

"Don't worry about it, really, it's fine." Kurt assured Blaine as he reached the apartment. "You said coffee table right?"

"Yeah, I think."

"Okay, let me- found them. They were under my copy of Vogue. I'll bring them over, just give me time to get there."

"You're the best. I owe you big time for this."

"Yes you do Anderson. You're lucky I like you so much. I could've made you come back over here and get them."

"I am very lucky."

"I thought you had to help Miles study."

"I do, but he's not here."

"Where is he?"

"Probably at the library, it's like his second home."

"Oh. Why didn't you just go over there then? You could have borrowed his key."

"Because he likes his quiet time when he's there. Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Stop pouting, you look like an abused puppy." Kurt laughed as he rounded the corner to Blaine's dorm.

"How do you- oh." Blaine turned, seeing Kurt walking towards him with a smile.

"I'm going to hang up now."

"Good idea." Blaine laughed, pocketing his phone.

"So what do I get for bringing these over?" Kurt asked, dangling the keys in front of Blaine's face.

"How about a Blaine Anderson style mocha? I got a new coffee maker and I've been dying to try something other than medium drip."

"Sounds good. You sure do know how to please a guy." Kurt joked, handing Blaine the keys.

"So I've heard." Blaine flirted, letting his hand linger on Kurt's before taking the keys and unlocking the door.

"This is the first time I've seen your dorm." Kurt pointed out. He had walked Blaine back here a few times, but never went inside.

"There's not much to see I'm afraid."

Kurt watched Blaine head towards the tiny kitchen, thinking about following but he noticed a bulletin board filled with pictures, some of them of him and Blaine, some of them obviously belonging to Miles.

"It's a picture board." Blaine interrupted Kurt's thoughts, handing him his coffee. "It was Miles' idea but it's grown on me."

"I remember when we took this one." Kurt pointed to a picture of them sitting on Kurt's floor. "We had been working on homework and Finn kept coming in every five minutes to ask how to do the next problem."

"And eventually I just gave him mine to copy so we could have some privacy." Blaine smiled fondly at the memory.

"We look happy." Kurt turned to look at Blaine, wanting nothing more than to pull Blaine into a kiss.

"We were happy."

"I really want to kiss you right now." Kurt blurted out, his hand coming up to cover his mouth as soon as it was out. "Oh god I didn't- I mean- oh my god, I just said that out loud."

Blaine just smiled, taking Kurt's coffee and setting it on the coffee table. "I've been waiting to hear you say that." His hand moved to cup Kurt's cheek as he leaned in, pressing a soft, barely there kiss to Kurt's lips.

"Blaine."

"I do care. I never stopped caring, I just- I let myself believe I did because it was easier. I love you Kurt Hummel, I always have and I always will. You said you would never give up hope and I hope you meant that because I'm ready. I want to be with you, I want that future we planned, I want everything as long as it's with you."

"I love you too Blaine. I never stopped." That's all Kurt said before pulling Blaine into a searing kiss. He had waited and hoped for this, and he finally felt like he was right where he should be.