Kurt lay back miserably on his hard, uncomfortable dorm room bed, his notes spread out in front of him. He could barely concentrate on his work as thoughts of the brown haired boy kept flooding his mind. In the three weeks since their break up, Kurt had barely bothered to take care of himself. Black bags hung stalely under his dulled blue eyes.

He desperately tried to rope his thoughts back to his work rather than dwelling heavily on the missing internal warmth the love of his ex brought him. Light came in through the small window on the opposite side of the room, hitting Kurt directly in the eye. Shoving his books aside agitatedly, he stood and stormed over to the window and pulled the blinds closed before climbing back into bed.

“Kurtsie pie,” a high female voice sang and the girl entered the room. Golden curls framed her face, covered by a large fur hat. She wore an oversized flannel shirt with a white lace dress underneath and beat up boots.

“Don’t call me that,” moaned Kurt.

“Get up,” she demanded flopping on the bed. “We’re going out. Put on a fabulous fashionisto outfit and let’s skedaddle.”

“No.”

“Come on, Kurt!” groaned the girl, her cerulean eyes pleading with him from behind thick plastic frames. “It’s New York on a Saturday night!” Her ringed fingers closed around Kurt’s hand as she gently tugged him forwards. “You haven’t gone out in weeks.”

“I’m not in the mood to go out,” he sighed and took her hand off his arm and put it into his own hand. “I have some work I need to do and some designs I’ve been meaning to sketch out.” He gave her a placating smile and patted her hand.

“That’s your excuse for wanting to mope about more?” she questioned, crossing her slender arms over her chest.

“I’m not-“

“Yes, you are,” interrupted River. “You need to get out and take your mind off it.”

“I can’t just get my mind off it!” he cried out, his blue eyes glazing over with salty water. “He’s always on my mind. I just can’t forget that we broke up three weeks ago. He is the love of my life.”

“Alright,” she said apprehensively. “I get it. Mope some more. But don’t pig out on comfort food ‘cause I will not listen when you’re crying about being fat.”

“Go, River. Have fun. Meet a cute guy.”

“Bye,” said River. “Party-pooper,” she added, pressing a kiss to his forehead as she stood.

He watched her walk out. “Bye, River.”

XXX

Three boys walked out of a well-lit dorm room and into the communal hallway. The tallest, Russ, with golden hair and green eyes, walked confidently into the hallway. “Blaine, are you sure you want to go out tonight? I mean, we could all just hang out at yours and play some Xbox. Josh and I wouldn’t mind,” he said, motioning to the red head beside him, Josh, and back to himself. “You’re allowed to, you know...”

“I’m fine,” the third boy, Blaine, snapped. “Everything’s fine.” He walked a few inches shorter than his friends with perfectly messy raven curls, hanging around his face. “What I need is to go out and drink and have some fun. Not sit around playing Xbox.”

“Yeah but Blaine-“ started Josh.

“Let’s go,” Blaine interrupted, his hazel eyes silently telling his friends to leave it. “I could really use a drink”

XXX


“Hey, Russ!” called River, walking over to the tall blonde.

“River, hey!” grinned Russ and opened his arms to hug River. She quickly stepped into his embrace and hugged him tight. “Is Kurt here?”

“No. He’s moping in his room.” She stopped herself. “Oops,” she squeaked. “Kurt probably wouldn’t want me saying that.”

“I won’t tell,” he chucked. “Blaine is just as bad.”

“Really?”

“Well, he’s handling it differently.” Russ pointed to an overly drunk guy with a massive head of dark brown curls, hanging off another familiar redheaded boy on the other side of the crowded room. The curly haired boy laughed heartily at seemingly nothing and chugged back another drink.

“So, he’s handling it by getting drunk off his ass while Kurt lays around, looking like someone killed his puppy.”

Russ nodded. “Pretty much. Though when he’s not drunk, Blaine is pretty pathetic in his moping as well.”

“Does anyone even know why they broke up?” asked River. “They were so perfect.”

“Not really. Or at least Josh and I don’t know. Before they broke up, I know they were both super busy and they never saw each other but they’re Kurt and Blaine. I thought it was just a rough patch.”

“Kurt still calls Blaine, ‘the love of my life,”’ sighed River. “It’s only been three weeks. And whatever this breakup was about, it obviously wasn’t for lack of love.”

Russ was quiet for a moment. “I have an idea.”

XXX


Kurt dragged his feet as he followed the line into the crowded room. “Why’d I let you drag me to this?” he asked as he adjusted a piece of his hair.

“Because you know you’ll love it,” said River, hanging off his arm. “The Living Room is so much fun. And there’s some new guy playing today.”

“And?”

“Aaaand I wanted to see him and since you’re such an amazing friend, you’re coming with me,” she smiled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He huffed indignantly. River dragged him to a table in the back and shoved him into a seat before sitting in the chair beside him. “You’ll have fun,” River assured him. “We’ll drink a bit, listen to some music and then go home so you can mope some more.”

“Fine,” groaned Kurt.

The sound of chattering about the room filled their ears for around ten minutes until the lights dimmed. Chattering quieted and people turned their heads to the small stage up front. “Performing for the first time ever in this setting, we’re happy to present Blaine Anderson!” cheered the announcer.

As the curly haired, gorgeous man stepped out on stage, into the light, Kurt let out a strangled cry and turned to River. “I can’t believe you did this to me!”

“It was for your own good,” she replied.

“I’m leaving, he huffed. She grabbed his arm tightly, forcing him to stay in his seat. He ripped his arm out of her grip and stood up.

Blaine’s voice came out of the speakers, “I’m dedicating this first song to someone who means the world to me.” Kurt stopped walking momentarily but still faced the door, not being able to bear seeing Blaine’s face. “He doesn’t know I’m doing it but I’d like to think he’s thinking about me somewhere. This is for you, Kurt.” At the mention of his name, Kurt turned around. “For the First Time by The Script.”

Blaine’s head turned towards the microphone and he began to sing while playing the piano.

She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart,
While I'm drinking jack all alone in my local bar.
And we don't know how,
How we got in to this mad situation,
Only doing things out of frustration.
Trying to make it work but man these times are hard.

Tears welled in Kurt’s blue eyes as he sunk into the chair next to River’s. River grinned at him, happy Russ’ plan was working. Watching Blaine was almost torturous. The amount of emotion Blaine let go in the performance was unbelievable. His pain and sadness was clearly visible in his hazel eyes and the slight cracking in his otherwise flawless voice. Blaine’s eyes closed momentarily and he continued to sing.


She needs me now but I can't seem to find the time,
I've got a new job now on the unemployment line,
And we don't know how,
How we got into this mess
It’s a god's test,
Someone help us 'cause we're doing our best,
Trying to make it work but man these times are hard.

But we're gonna start by,
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,
Shit talking up all night,
Saying things we haven't for a while,
A while ya.
We're smiling but we're close tears.
Even after all these years.
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time.

Blaine sung the “oooh’s” in a devastatingly heartbreaking and amazing way that just the little sound made Kurt want to go and curl the shorter boy into his arms. Blaine sunk into the performance deeply, his facial expressions the same as they always were: adorable and quite hilarious.

She's in line at the dole
With her head held high (high).
While I just lost my job but
Didn't lose my pride.

But we both know how,
How we're gonna make it work when it hurts,
When you pick yourself up,
You get kicked to the dirt.

Kurt wanted nothing more than to run up to the front of the room and plant a huge kiss on Blaine’s lips and tell him he loved him but he knew from the Rachel and Finn disaster at nationals his junior year of high school, that was never a good idea. Playing publicly, even at a small place, was a big thing for Blaine and Kurt was proud.

Trying to make it work but,
Man these times are hard.

The tall boy couldn’t believe he’d ever let Blaine out of his arms even for a minute. I’ll never say goodbye to you, he’d told Blaine years back. He broke that promise but after the show, he planned to make it all better. Suddenly all the big things that’d broken them up seemed small and insignificant compared for the burning love Kurt was feeling for the curly haired man.

But we're gonna start by,
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,
Sit talking up all night,

Doing things we haven't for a while (a while yeah),
We're smiling but we're close to tears,
Even after all these years,
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time.

Blaine sang out strong to the audience, the lights shining on him coupled with his emotional investment in the song clouded his sight. He looked out towards the crowd, only seeing the shadows and shapes of people. As he sang each line, he felt an overwhelming urge growing in him like a rolling snowball to run to find Kurt and tell him the breakup thing was stupid. They belonged together.

He sang the ‘ooooh’s’ again his fingers bouncing professionally against the white and black keys of the keyboard.

Yeah...
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,
Sit talking up all night,
Saying thing we haven't for a while (a while, yeah).
We're smiling but we're close to tears,
Even after all these years,
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting, for the first time.

Yeah for the first time
Ooooh oh for the first time,
Yeah for the first time,
(Just now got the feeling that we're meeting...
For the first time)

Oh these times are hard,
Yeah they're making us crazy,
Don't give up on me baby.

Blaine finished the song, repeating the last verse four times and landing on a strong note like a professional gymnast sticking the landing. The crowd clapped and Blaine began another song, then four more. Kurt sat, his eyes transfixed on Blaine’s the entire time. When the show finished, he sat on the stool on stage, packing up as people came up to tell him how amazing the performance was. As the crowd cleared, Kurt took his chance to approach Blaine.

“That was wonderful,” he said softly, not daring to meet Blaine’s eyes.

Blaine, shocked by Kurt’s presence, paused, unsure of what to say. “Thanks,” he decided on.

“It was really the perfect song. And you sung it so well.” Kurt didn’t need to tell him which song, he already knew.

Blaine looked down, running a hand over the opposite elbow. “Yeah.”

“I-” Kurt started. “I miss you.” He tore his eyes from their vocal point on the ground, forcing himself to look at Blaine. Their eyes clashed in a wave of emotion and hazel and blue.

“I miss you too,” agreed Blaine. They were quiet for a moment, the emotion of the moment weighing on their shoulders heavily.

“I never thought we’d break up,” whispered Kurt.

“Neither did I.”

“I guess things just got…hard. We just got so caught up in ourselves that we forgot about each other.”

“I never meant to, Kurt. I was just trying to juggle my internship, a part time job, and school. I kept telling myself that we needed to spend more time together…that I needed to make more time,” he said sadly. “But then…boom.”

“Boom,” repeated Kurt. “I should have made time too, Blaine. Truthfully, I can’t remember what that final fight was about.”

“Neither can I,” said Blaine with a dry chuckle. “I just remember a lot of yelling, screaming and throwing of things.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck, tilting his head to the side.

“Did I hit you with that dish? I couldn’t tell,” Kurt asked sheepishly.

“Yeah.” Blaine pulled back his hair to reveal an old cut by his hairline.

Kurt gasped in horror. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay.”

They grew quiet again, both basking in the awkward moment. Neither wanted the other out of their lives even for another minute. Realization of how stupid their break up was washed over them and the leaned in closer to each other.

“Can we…um…un-break up?” Blaine asked tentatively.

In place of an answer, Kurt stepped up and wrapped his arms around Blaine’s neck and buried his face in the crook. In return, Blaine grasped Kurt’s waist and pulled him closer before sliding his arms around Kurt’s slender but muscular waist. After a minute, Kurt leaned back and rested his forehead on Blaine’s. Both men smiled at each other, slowly turned their heads in opposite directions, leaned forward, and pressed their lips together in a slow kiss. Rather than a heated kiss of need, theirs was more like a kiss of exploration. They leaned in, hot lava slowly filling their veins as they curled into the love of the kiss.

“I love you, Blaine,” Kurt whispered against his love’s lips.

“I love you more. And I’m never letting you go again.”