Kurt sits at his usual table, Stella curled up at his feet, in his favourite coffee shop sipping his non-fat mocha. There are what he thinks must be close to a hundred coffee shops near his apartment – this is New York City, after all – but this particular one is his favourite because of the live music. Every Monday to Friday afternoon from 2 to 4 there's a musical act here to entertain the patrons. Kurt has never heard the same act twice, and they've all been very good. That's one of his favourite things about the city, actually; of course he appreciates how much more accessible New York City is compared to middle of nowhere Ohio, but what he hadn't counted on was the abundance of talent he would find here. A coffee shop like this never could have survived back in Lima.

It must be 2 now, because he hears Ellen, one of the more friendly staff, testing out the microphone before introducing today's performer, Blaine Anderson. Then a few moments later, a warm, rich voice is ringing out through the small shop.

“Good afternoon everyone! As Ellen has just so kindly informed you, my name is Blaine Anderson, and I'll be your entertainment for the afternoon. I come here a lot, so it's an honour to finally be able to play for you today.”

Blaine doesn't say anything else, and then Kurt hears the piano. He doesn't know the song immediately, but when Blaine's voice joins in, he recognizes P!nk's But We Lost It. He's pleasantly surprised at the choice; it's not often he hears men singing songs by women, but he appreciates it every time he does, and Blaine is doing an amazing job. And god, he must be playing the piano too, because he's adding some piano flourishes that Kurt doesn't recognize from the original, and Kurt always loves it when the performers play their own music.

Blaine's voice is by far the most beautiful Kurt has heard since he started coming here. It's smooth and velvety through the low notes, then bright and strong as he transitions to his higher register, and the pure emotion that this man is able to put into the words he's singing is breathtaking. Kurt is sure that if he could fall in love based only on a voice, he would be in love with this man. As it is, a voice isn't quite enough, but he's damn well going to enjoy listening while he has the opportunity.

Kurt stays long after finishing his coffee, listening to Blaine cracking corny jokes between songs, each song somehow more beautiful than the last, and how does he do that? Even the original song slipped in with a joke about hoping nobody is paying attention so he can get away with doing something other than a cover is incredibly well done, and that in itself is impressive; Kurt has heard a lot of original songs in this coffee shop, and he can count on one hand the ones he would consider anything above mediocre.

"This next song is by one of my favourite artists of all time."

That's all the introduction Blaine gives before the piano cuts in again. Kurt doesn't recognize the song at all until Blaine starts singing, and then he realizes it's a stripped-down version of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream and he almost laughs, because while this man has made some interesting song choices in the past hour and a half — though he's made each and every one work for him, Kurt has to admit — he's still very amused that Blaine would consider Katy Perry one of his favourite artists of all time.

Of course, Blaine manages to make this song absolutely breathtaking as well, just as he has with all of the songs before it. Kurt is mesmerized, captivated by Blaine's voice as he sings about no regrets, just love, and the lyrics aren't even good but in that moment all Kurt wants is for Blaine to be singing them to him, which is ridiculous because he doesn't even know this guy but he just can't help but feel drawn to him. Maybe he underestimated Katy Perry.

Part way through the song, Kurt's phone buzzes on the table in front of him. He picks it up and holds the phone to his ear, listening as the phone reads the new message aloud for him.

Text message from: Rachel Berry. Received at: 3:15. Kurt, where are you? You were supposed to meet me 15 minutes ago!

He swears under his breath; how had he forgotten? He taps out a quick reply, letting her know he's on his way, then moves to stand. Stella guides him toward the door, though he's familiar enough with the coffee shop at this point that he really only needs her to make sure he doesn't bump into anyone else. As the door closes behind him, he hears the final notes of the song, and then he's on his way to meet Rachel, putting the melodious voice and the talented man it belongs to out of his mind.

It's been five weeks since Kurt Hummel heard Blaine Anderson sing, and he can't seem to stop thinking about it. He knows it's absurd, he hasn't even spoken a word to Blaine, but he feels a connection to the man behind that piano. The beautiful voice, the musical talent, he even laughed at the clichéd jokes. He's tried to make himself forget about it; he's never heard the same act twice since he started coming to the coffee shop, so there's no chance of finding Blaine that way, and he has no other way to even start to look for the other man. And besides, even if he had some way to find Blaine, wouldn't it be a bit weird to start tracking down some random college student who was probably just doing a small gig for fun? Surely Blaine wouldn't appreciate that. He continues coming to the coffee shop often though, listening to the new artists each afternoon he's here, and while they've all been good, he can't help but feel just a little disappointed each day when it's not Blaine.

Kurt is standing in line at the counter on a Tuesday afternoon when he hears it.

“The usual?” Ellen's cheery voice asks.

“Am I that predictable?” the man at the counter ahead of him asks, laughing.

“I'm sorry to say that you are,” she teases.

But that's not just any man. That's him. Standing right in front of Kurt and ordering his coffee. Kurt would know that voice anywhere. Blaine had said he comes here often, so Kurt shouldn't be surprised, he supposes, but it still catches him off guard. It had occurred to him that they might be in the coffee shop at the same time at some point, but Kurt had more or less accepted that if that happened, he would have no way of knowing; he only has a name and voice to go by, and the coffee shop is usually busy and loud. Before he has a chance to think about it any further, Stella is guiding him forward to the counter. The barista knows his usual order as well, and then he's moving to the side to wait for his coffee.

“Blaine!” a male voice calls out, and then Kurt hears Blaine saying a quick thanks, and Kurt figures it's now or never.

“Excuse me, sorry for bothering you, but... you played here last month, right?”

He hears Blaine's footsteps stop in front of him, and sees the faint dark outline of a figure in front of him blocking out some of the surrounding light.

“Oh, yes, I did,” Blaine replies, a hint of surprise in his voice.

“You were really good,” Kurt says, offering him a smile.

“Oh. Thank you,” Blaine says, and Kurt swears he can hear the grin in Blaine's voice.

“I wanted to come up and talk to you after, but I had to leave before you were done,” Kurt says apologetically.

“Well, we could talk now,” Blaine offers. “Unless you're meeting someone, or you have somewhere to go, or-,” he adds quickly, but Kurt cuts him off.

“No, I'm not. I don't have anywhere to go. That sounds nice,” he says, maybe a bit too quickly, but Blaine doesn't seem to notice.

"Okay," Blaine agrees cheerily.

The male voice calls out Kurt's name, and Kurt steps forward to take his drink, then Blaine is leading him toward a table to sit.

"I'm Blaine, by the way.”

“I remember,” Kurt says; the words are out of his mouth before he registers what he's saying, but it's too late to take them back so he just tries to ignore the blush burning his cheeks. “I'm Kurt.”

“Nice to meet you, Kurt.”

Blaine pulls out a chair for Kurt to sit, and Kurt recognizes this instantly as his typical spot.

“This is my usual table,” he says as Stella settles into her spot at his feet and he hears Blaine's chair scrape across the floor before he sits across from Kurt.

“I know,” Blaine's voice responds, a bit sheepish, “I might have noticed you here once or twice before.”

“Well, Stella is pretty adorable, so I guess it's hard not to notice her,” Kurt jokes.

He's used to being noticed. He can't actually see the stares, of course, but he knows from being out with his friends and family that he gets them. He's different, and that makes him stand out, and people notice.

“Adorable as she is, it was actually the handsome man who owns her that I noticed first,” Blaine replies cheekily.

Kurt blushes at the praise; is Blaine flirting with him?

“Well, I can't help but pull focus.”

“That you do,” Blaine agrees. “So, are you from around here?”

Kurt chuckles at the question. “I wish. I moved here a couple years ago for college.”

“Ah, of course. Me too. Well, this year, but yeah. Where do you go?”

“I'm studying fashion design at Parsons.”

“I should have guessed,” Blaine teases him.

“I'll let it slide this once,” Kurt teases back. “What about you?”

“I go to NYADA.”

“No kidding,” Kurt says with a smirk, “that's where my roommate goes. I'm actually surprised I haven't heard about you from her; she has a proclivity for finding the most talented boys and trying to date them. I'm sure it's only a matter of time.” He feels his cheeks warm a little again, but he tries to ignore it. If Blaine can flirt with him, then he can flirt back.

Blaine laughs, and how is it that even his laugh is musical? “Well, unfortunately I'll have to disappoint her if the time ever comes, because I am very gay.”

“She'll be so upset,” Kurt comments, trying for nonchalant despite the quickened tempo of his heart in his chest.

He'd hoped, of course, that Blaine was gay. And he even suspected it, because he's pretty sure that Blaine is flirting with him. But he hadn't really expected to ever find out, and it didn't matter too much in his daydreams whether Blaine actually was gay or not, anyway. Then again, he hadn't really expected to ever meet Blaine, either, let alone sit down for a coffee with him, so this was just one more thing to add to the list of good things about today.

“What's her name? Maybe I already know who she is.”

“Rachel Berry. You've probably heard of her; she has a tendency to make herself known.”

Blaine laughs again. “Wow, yes, I actually have.”

“She's not always as insufferable as she seems,” Kurt jokes. “We went to school together back in Ohio, and I thought that once we got to New York she might tone down a bit, but... well, that never happened.”

“Wait, you're from Ohio?” Blaine asks, surprised.

“Unfortunately,” Kurt admits with a laugh, “why?”

“I'm from Ohio too.”

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kurt teases.

"Well, it wasn't so bad," Blaine says with a chuckle. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it could be awful at times. But my parents got me into a really great school after freshman year, and once I was there things were good. They had an a cappella Glee club that was a lot of fun, and it was actually cool to be in it."

"You must have gone to Dalton," Kurt says knowingly.

He's heard of Dalton Academy, of course; the New Directions had competed against the Warblers at regionals one year. Kurt remembers how impressed he was with their lead soloist, how beautiful his voice sounded, and... oh. Oh.

"You were the lead soloist," he says matter-of-factly, before Blaine can reply.

Blaine is silent for a moment before he speaks again, a hint of confusion in his voice. "I... Yeah, I was. How did you know?"

Kurt feels the blush return to his cheeks yet again, or maybe it never really left. "I was in my high school's Glee club too... we competed against you once, I um... I remember your voice."

Kurt's face is absolutely burning now, he just hopes that it's not as red as it feels. He takes a sip of his coffee.

"Oh, really?" Blaine asks, surprised.

"Yeah, you um... I remember thinking you were really good. Honestly I was surprised we beat you."

"The New Directions, was it?" he asks, a hint recognition in his voice.

"Yeah," Kurt confirms, "I went to McKinley."

"I think I remember you, too, actually. I wasn't surprised. You did original songs, right? That was so awesome!"

Kurt barks out a laugh. "Yeah, well, you should have heard some of the song ideas that didn't make it to the stage. Suffice it to say that song writing is not one of Rachel's strengths. Now if the Warblers had done original songs, with you writing them, we would have lost for sure."

He feels bold saying it. He's not usually one to flirt with guys, especially not ones he's just met, but there's just something about Blaine he feels drawn to. It's like the universe wants them to be together; there's so many coincidences, so many ways they could have met growing up so near to each other in small-town Ohio.

"Well I'm not sure about that, but I'm flattered," Blaine says, sounding a little flustered; Kurt wonders if Blaine is blushing now.

"I was paying attention, you know. To that original song you slipped in when you hoped nobody was paying attention," Kurt teases.

"Damn, I should have known I couldn't get away with it that easily," Blaine replies playfully. “Oh crap, I just realized the time. I uh, I have to get going.”

There's shuffling, and Kurt can make out Blaine's figure across the table getting to his feet. He can't help but feel a little disappointed. Talking to Blaine just feels so natural, he doesn't really want it to end. But of course it would end; what was he expecting?

“I'd like to... um, could I uh, get your number? I'd like to maybe take you out to dinner some night, if that... if you would like to go,” Blaine asks hesitantly.

Kurt blushes, again. He's pretty sure his face is never going to return to its typical porcelain tone, but he can't even manage to be upset about it right now.

He figured he'd talk to Blaine, maybe chat for a couple minutes so that he could hopefully stop thinking about that voice all the goddamn time, and then move on with his life. He hadn't even really considered the idea that Blaine might want to talk to him beyond that, and he was prepared to accept that this was the last time he would ever speak to Blaine, but now Blaine is asking him on a date. Clearly he's taking too long to answer, though, because Blaine starts speaking again.

“Sorry, you don't have to if you don't want, I was just... never mind, I uh-”

“No, no, it's just- I mean, yes! Yeah, that would- I'd like that,” Kurt says quickly, stumbling over his words.

“Oh, okay. Great then,” Blaine says, voice slightly higher than it had been.

Kurt reads out his number for Blaine, and Blaine taps it into his phone.

“Well, Kurt, it was really good to meet you.”

 “It was nice to meet you, too,” Kurt replies, smiling back at Blaine.

 “I'll text you later. Promise,” Blaine says, voice warm and smooth, and then Kurt is left sitting alone at the table.

If he thought talking to Blaine would help him get the boy with the beautiful voice out of his head, well, he was dead wrong. But now, he doesn't really want to.