"I'm going to miss you."

It was a quiet murmur, so quiet that Kurt couldn't be sure whether he had heard it or imagined it. A quiet murmur on an otherwise relaxing night, a night where they reveled in each other's company, each carefully avoiding the subject looming over them. Until now.

"I know." Kurt sighed almost inaudibly and shifted his position in Blaine's arms so that his head was turned towards Blaine's. "I know, I'm going to miss- " He stopped, but he didn't need to finish the sentence. Blaine knew what he meant. They both were going to miss the same things, after all. The peaceful afternoons studying together after school. The quieter evenings like this one when they would lay curled up in bed, wrapped in each other's arms, exploring each other's lips, whispering their happiness and hopes for the future and sh, be quiet or my dad will hear 's. "It almost makes me want to- "

"Don't go there," Blaine interrupted, holding a finger up in the small space between their fingers and wagging it warningly. "Don't even go there. You're going to have an awesome time in New York with the other Glee kids. You, Rachel, and Mercedes together in New York. . ." He gave a playful shudder. "I almost feel bad for the residents of the Big Apple. Maybe I should send out a public service announcement for the week you'll be away."

Kurt smiled, but there was a tinge of sadness in the gesture. "What? You're not even a little bit tempted to ask me to stay with you? I'm insulted." He turned a pout towards Blaine, who grinned back.

"No way. This is. . . the greatest opportunity to get out of Ohio that I've ever seen. If I didn't have morals, I'd steal your identity, lock you in a trunk, and go myself. So you better enjoy yourself."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to go to New York. Ecstatic. But. . ." Kurt broke off, unsure of how to phrase his jumbled thoughts.

"But I'll still miss you," Blaine finished, speaking for the two of them. "I know."

There was more quiet, but a different stillness was present now. There was an uncertainty in the air, a certain question of, What now? There hadn't been a day since Kurt enrolled at Dalton that the two hadn't seen each other at least once. Even after Kurt had transferred back at McKinley, they had always managed to be together for an hour at least. Being this far apart was scary. Being this far apart was an indication of how their future would go, when they might be separated by college. Being this far apart meant not getting to see Blaine's sometimes-green-sometimes-gold eyes light up when he told a joke, or darken with desire when they kissed for just a moment too long. It meant not being able to run his fingers through Blaine's carefully styled hair just to see a couple curls spring up. It meant being alone at night. After sixteen years of being alone, Kurt wasn't sure he could handle giving it all up cold turkey.

"It won't be long," Blaine said half-heartedly, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself just as much as Kurt. He turned his hazel eyes towards Kurt's cerulean ones, the corners of his lips tugging into a rueful smile. "We're being pathetic about this, aren't we?"

Kurt couldn't help but grin back. "Yeah, we are. It's just a week. It'll do us good, probably. We'll get used to being apart in case we don't end up going to the same college. . ." More silence while they both considered that frightening possibility. "And anyway, we spend so much time together now that we're going to get sick of each other."

Blaine stared at Kurt so long that he was afraid he had done something wrong. But Blaine just tilted his head down so it was just a hairsbreadth away and pressed his lips to Kurt's so softly that he almost didn't feel it.

"I'll never get sick of you," he breathed softly, each syllable brushing his lips against Kurt's. "I love you."

Kurt exhaled deeply, unaware that he had even been holding his breath. Blaine, perhaps sensing Kurt's shock, leaned back quickly, color creeping up his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," he apologized rapidly. "I didn't mean to- I mean, I did, but- I wasn't trying to make you feel obligated to say- I just-"

Kurt was still reeling. He and Blaine had been together for just a month, but he could feel how perfect they were for each other. They just fit together somehow, from the way Blaine's lips curved just right over Kurt's own to the mold of their bodies when they lay wrapped around each other. But they had never even broached the topic of love. They were still trying to get used to the term "boyfriend." Kurt had to admit it sounded very. . . nice. He tried to wrap his head around the sentence. I love you. I love you. IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou. Kurt tried to clear his thoughts and listened to Blaine, who was still rambling some form of an apology.

"Blaine," he interrupted firmly. "I love you, too." Such loaded words. So simple to say. And he meant them from the bottom of his heart.

Blaine opened and shut his mouth a few times, looking like an extraordinarily confused fish, and then Kurt took pity on him. He disentangled his arms from Blaine's and wrapped them around the shorter boy's neck, pulling him in slowly, so that his meaning could be clear. He kissed Blaine's nose tenderly, then moved on to his lips. A perfect fit. Just like always. The kiss was sweet, soft, and long. It tasted like spring and chapstick and, inexplicably, bubble gum.

Blaine broke away from the kiss to catch his breath. His eyes were dark, wild; his hair was curly and messy from Kurt's fingers running through its tresses. He looked at Kurt, ravishing him with his eyes, and then-

"Do you have to go to Nationals?"

Huh. Kurt would have to say I love you more often.