Blaine tilts his head back against the seat and stares out of the window. The plane’s wing is stark white against the undiluted azure of the sky. He has always liked flying; it feels good to be above everything else, too high for doubts and hurtful looks and uncertainties to get a hold of him.

The woman sat next to him is reading some magazine and she is making faces at the pages; she reminds him of Kurt when he goes through fashion magazines and doesn’t like what he sees. Truth be told, lately Kurt is in everything he sees, in every song he sings in Glee club. Blaine always imagines him there, sitting among the others, looking at him with that special smile on his face, the one that lights up his eyes when they are on their own, cuddling or falling asleep in each other’s arms.

People always say that first loves are inevitably filled
with wonders, so much that you can’t help looking back at them with a smile and a small pang of melancholy when you’re older and they’re well behind you. Blaine, though, has never thought of Kurt as his “first love”; Kurt simply is the one and only. Because how can they ask him to let him go at a certain point of his life? How can it be possible for him to stop loving Kurt as he turns into an adult?

Kurt is the one who’s helping Blaine grow to become the man he wants to be, holding his hand and encouraging him when he is scared, when he is unsure. Reminding him with every single smile and every single kiss that he is not alone, that he is worth something.

People could never be able to understand what it means to Blaine when Kurt looks at him, eyes heavy with sleep and with love, and tells him that he is beautiful. Sometimes Blaine thinks that Kurt has brought him back to life; after years spent trying to please, trying to fit in, because that’s what he had always thought was needed to be loved. Because Kurt has seen it all, all of his scars, all of his flaws and hasn’t turned away; he stood by Blaine’s side and showed him his own flaws, the soft curves of his heart.

His love for Kurt lives inside of him huge and warm, spreading along his veins and curling up around his heart, and maybe that’s why the distance hurts so much. He doesn’t regret having given Kurt the extra push necessary for him to spread his wings and leave Lima for good, but that doesn’t change the fact that he misses him.

That’s why he has been planning this surprise, helped by Rachel who, against all odds, has proven a precious and devoted friend. She might be self-absorbed at times, but she knows how to listen and she really cares about Kurt. She has been the one to assure Blaine over and over again that Kurt wasn’t going to leave him behind. Of course he was happy in New York and his internship at Vogue.com was a wonderful and unexpected surprise, but he kept thinking about him, always.

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

“Do you know how many times a day he actually asks me what you’d think about this or that? You’re like the sun around which he revolves, Blaine!”

Rachel glared at him from the pixelated surface of the computer’s screen.

“I…he really does that?”

“Of course he does, Blaine! Look you’ve got to believe in the two of you more.”

Blaine passed a hand through his hair, free from the usual helmet of gel.

“I know, Rach, I know. It’s just that…it is so lonely here without him, I…”

“Well, the guys in Glee club are your friends too, Blainey.”

“They are great, but let’s face it, I transferred because of him. And I don’t regret it, not at all, just…I don’t even know when he became so necessary to my happiness.”

Rachel smiled, bangs falling in front of her eyes.

“That’s because you love him.”

Blaine turned to look at the photo on his nightstand – him and Kurt smiling at the camera under a summer sun, freckles on Kurt’s cheeks and love in his eyes.

“I do.”

When he turned back to the screen Rachel was staring at him intently, chin resting on her entwined hands.

“You should surprise him and come here for Thanksgiving.”

Blaine’s mind filled with possible scenarios of Kurt throwing his arms around his neck and kissing him hard on the landing, of the two of them walking together along New York’s busy streets, Kurt smiling as he talked about the future waiting for them.

“You think he’d like it?”

Rachel grinned.

“Oh, believe me, Blainey, he’s going to love it! And don’t worry I’ll make sure not to be around that night.”

Blaine felt his cheeks heat up; it didn’t help that just at the mention of a bit of alone time with Kurt his mind filled with definitely inappropriate thoughts and images of pale and strong thighs, warm hands and skilled and soft lips.

“Earth to Blaine! Are you still there?”

Blaine blinked himself out of blissful fantasies and tried to focus enough to start planning what Rachel named the “Thanksgiving Ultimate Surprise”, despite Blaine’s protests.

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

The clouds part and Blaine almost presses his nose against the window to look at New York shining down below, huge and beautiful and made of dreams. The place where he and Kurt are going to build their life together soon.

He spots Rachel immediately, standing on tiptoe and trying to find him among the sea of people moving back and forth. He waves and she hurries to reach him.
He hugs her tight, feeling anchored after hours spent up in the air.

“Oh my God, Kurt is going to be so happy when he sees you!”

Blaine’s heart tumbles around in his chest as he imagines the smile on Kurt’s face.

“I need to buy flowers along the way, though.”

Rachel beams.

“Such a proper gentleman, Blainey! And don’t worry there’s a florist just around the corner from our apartment.”

*

On the ride back to Bushwick Rachel asks about McKinley and the others in Glee club; Blaine can’t help thinking that she has grown up, she seems so much more mature, she seems to shine more.

Blaine knows the same is going to be true for Kurt; he has already noticed it during their skype sessions, the way his eyes seem to glint differently, the way he sits and speaks, so much more sure about himself. Even the way he speaks during those less innocent skype sessions when they end up trying to match each other’s movements to come at the same moment, he radiates certainty and beauty so much brighter than before.

Sometimes it’s almost blinding.

*

After a quick tour of the apartment, Rachel helps Blaine hiding his suitcase under Kurt’s bed and positioning the bouquet in a vase right on the coffee table so that Kurt will spot it as soon as he gets back home. Soon enough Rachel is ready to leave and meet Broody – Blaine doesn’t miss the glint in her eyes when she says his name and can’t help being happy for her, despite his affection for Finn.

Standing in the doorway, slipping on his coat, Rachel smiles at him, one of those big and excited smiles of hers.

“Tomorrow you’ve to describe me the look on Kurt’s face! This is so exciting, Blainey!”

Blaine chuckles before pressing a kiss to her cheek and wishing her a nice night.

Once he is on his own, he sits on the couch and waits, excitement and longing bubbling up inside of him like sparkling water. He tries to picture Kurt’s reaction, the way his beautiful eyes will dilate, the blush on his cheeks, but somehow he keeps getting stuck around the need to touch and kiss and hold, so strong that it makes his hands tremble.

*

It’s almost six pm when the sound of the key turning in the lock sends Blaine’s heart slamming against his ribs. The need to finally hug Kurt is so strong, pulling at his very bones, and he stands up without thinking, eyes fixed on the door.

The first thing that Blaine sees is Kurt’s hand, feeling around the wall to switch on the light, then Kurt slips inside, hair slightly tousled because of the wind. Blaine watches as Kurt closes the door and turns back to face the room; the sound of his satchel hitting the floor echoes right through Blaine, as his lips curve into a smile and his heart pulls and pulls until he is moving, almost running towards the door.

Kurt meets him halfway, arms encircling Blaine and pulling him close until all that Blaine can hearfeelsmell is Kurt. A whole precious universe shining inside of the boy – almost man now – in his arms.

“Blaine…how…”

Kurt’s breath is soft against his temple and Blaine holds onto him tighter, every fiber of his body grateful for the contact after months spent apart.

“I wanted to surprise you, I…god, I missed you so much.”

“I…I can’t even believe you’re here for real.”

Blaine smiles against Kurt’s shoulder before pulling back slightly. Kurt’s eyes are a bit watery and Blaine simply leans forward to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Did you feel it?”

Kurt blinks, one eyebrow quirking up.

“What?”

“My lips.”

“Of course I did.”

“There, you’ve the proof that I’m real.”

Kurt smiles, unrestrained and breathtaking, and Blaine smiles back before leaning forward again to kiss him properly.

They don’t even eat; they simply fall onto the bed, legs tangling and hands grabbing and pulling because there’s too much space left between them, too much need to just feel the other close. Blaine trembles as Kurt undresses him, his lips tracing and marking every little bit of skin uncovered. His tongue, circling his nipples and then dipping into his navel, feels like home, grounding and blissful and all the beautiful things in the world wrapped in sweet wet trails.

Kurt looks at him, eyes filled with wonder, and Blaine’s skin buzzes with the need to show him that he is real, that they are real. He takes hold of Kurt’s hips – palms fitting over perfect bones and shifting muscles – and flips them over.

Long legs open wider to make space for him and even after two years Blaine is still amazed by Kurt’s willingness to open up for him, only for him.

“I love you, Kurt.”

It comes out along with a sigh, tumbling past his lips as Kurt shifts underneath him and presses harder against him. Kurt props himself up on his elbows and kisses him, all tongue and teeth and heat pooling scorching at the bottom of Blaine’s stomach.

“I want you so bad. You’ve no idea.”

Kurt’s eyes glint as he smiles – one of those cocky smiles that always manage to drive Blaine mad with want.

“I’d say you should show me.”

Blaine presses down against him harder, pure joy bubbling up inside of him at the thought that Kurt – beautiful and shining like a star – is his, that he loves him and no one else.

Every nerve of Blaine’s body seems to be on fire, overloaded by feelings and senses – how tight and hot Kurt is around him, how perfectly their lips slot together, tongues dancing, how well Kurt rises and falls, never letting go, always holding on.

He sinks and rises and twists, hands gripping the sheets and lips trailing down Kurt’s neck, his shoulder, back to his mouth, swallowing moan after moan, until everything liquefies and he squeezes his eyes shut, Kurt’s legs wrapping tight around him, Kurt’s name swimming inside of him. And love, love everywhere, in his lungs and in his bones, in his blood and in his mind.

Kurt holds him close, fingers playing with the hair at his nape and heart beating right into Blaine’s ear. When Kurt speaks Blaine can feel every single word echoing through his body.

“When I was a kid, on Thanksgiving’s morning my mum used to make me write down one thing I was grateful for. I know that now it’ll always be you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Blaine props himself up, hand opened right over Kurt’s heart.

“Forever.”

Kurt kisses the tip of his nose and Blaine lies back down. They fall asleep in the circle of each other’s arms.

*

Blaine is the first one to wake up, stomach growling and heart overflowing at the sight of Kurt sleeping, hair scattered on the pillow and skin milky white in the morning light.

Once the pancakes are ready, he quickly tears out a page from a notebook he finds on the kitchen counter.

You. Always you.

He tiptoes back to Kurt’s corner of the loft and sits down on the mattress’ edge before leaning down and pressing a kiss to Kurt’s forehead.

“It’s time to wake up, love.”

Kurt blinks his eyes open, his fingers finding Blaine’s hand and squeezing gently.

“Mmm good morning, honey. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving to you too. Breakfast is ready.”
Kurt smiles, sleepy and tender.

Blaine waits for Kurt to sit down on the couch before going to fetch the pancakes. When he is back Kurt is holding his note, eyes as clear as a sky just washed by the rain. Quickly, Blaine puts the plates down on the coffee table and slides his arms around Kurt. His lips brush against his temple as he speaks.

“I love you, Kurt.”

“I love you too, so much.”

*

They have just finished feeding pancakes to each other - pressed close on the couch, warm smiles on lips that taste of maple syrup – when the apartment’s door slides open and Rachel walks inside, all huge sparkling eyes.

“Good morning, lovebirds! I take it Kurt appreciated the surprise?”

Kurt snorts and Blaine smiles, snuggling even closer to him.

“I really appreciated it, indeed. And I should have imagined you were involved somehow.”

He playfully pinches Blaine who shrugs and tries to feign innocence, failing spectacularly.

“Well, come give me a hug. It’s Thanksgiving, after all, and I know that you both are really grateful that I exist.”

Kurt looks at him before turning towards Rachel, a soft smile on his lips.

“That we do.”

*

As he sits cross-legged on the floor, eating the croque monsieur Kurt has prepared - his head resting against his knee and Kurt’s fingers gently carding through his hair – and listening to Rachel as she babbles about this and that, Blaine thinks that this is how a family should be. He looks at Kurt and imagines how it would be like to grow old together, to have a daughter or a son, and love dilates inside of him, shining bright, tracing the pale contours of his future.