Kurt Hummel stood in front of the pasty white doors and took a deep breath. His eyes stung from the near-constant flow of tears. His throat ached from the screams and sobs. And his heart felt like it had been ripped in half.

"Maybe we should just be friends for a little while. See other people. After all, we've only ever been with each other, how can you be sure that I'm the one?" A pause. "We'll still keep in touch. I miss you so much already. But I can promise it'll get better."

It never did.

And now it never will.

Because here Kurt was, about to enter the wake of one Blaine Anderson-Hale.

-

They never did keep in touch after the break up. Kurt tried to act like he was too busy to talk to his (now ex) boyfriend, while in reality he was just too scared.

What if Blaine hated him now and only let him off easy so he wouldn't feel bad? What if he had loved someone else this whole time, and had merely settled for Kurt?

He waited and waited for Blaine to call, or at least text, him and at least see if he was doing alright.

The call never came.

-

Two years passed, and Kurt had decided that he would try to contact Blaine again. He tried to date other boys, had tried to fall in love again, but as much as he hated to admit it, he missed Blaine. He wanted Blaine to hold him and kiss him, not some other boy.

He summoned up enough courage, and called the number that he never had the heart to delete off his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Blaine. I-it's Kurt."

"Oh my god, Kurt! I haven't heard from you in forever, how are things going?"

 Kurt let out a relieved sigh as he began to tell Blaine about how life in New York has been. This was easy. But then again, talking with Blaine has always been easy.

"So... Anyone special in your life?"

Kurt swore he felt his heart skip a beat. "Um, no actually... Look, Blaine, this might be a bit forward, but would you maybe want to go for dinner sometime soon?"

There was a hesitation on the other line. "Oh. Ah, actually, I'm seeing someone. Justin and I have been together for almost a year now."

Silence.

"I-I'm so sorry Kurt. I had no idea you still-"

"No, no, it's-it's okay. I understand. I'm happy for you guys."

"...Thanks."

"Well, I should probably go now. To make supper. It was nice talking to you, Blaine." Kurt tried not to let the disappointment show in his voice.

"You too. Talk again soon?"

"Sure."

Kurt pressed the ‘end' button and collapsed on his bed, finally letting the tears fall from his eyes. Blaine had a boyfriend. He was too late.

-

About a year later he received the wedding invitation.

He threw it in the garbage, but Rachel found out and had dragged him along to the wedding. Kurt had to admit, Blaine's wedding was beautiful. And it had been great to see him so happy.

He just wished that Blaine could have been happy with him.

-

And so the fabulous Kurt Hummel had grown old by himself. He had his fair share of friends, and fame, and adventure. But he had only found one true love, and that man was already taken.

When he was 82, he received a letter from Justin letting him know that Blaine had passed away. He felt like he had aged ten years in that day alone.

He had hopped in his car and drove all the way to Westerville, Ohio, where Blaine had wished to be buried. His friend's wake was almost over when he had entered through the door.

The small white room reeked strongly of flowers and some other scent that he couldn't distinguish. He walked through the crowd to the back of the room, where he saw a casket covered in flowers. He let out a shaky sob and looked inside at the man he never stopped loving. A tear slipped from his eye as he reached down and took Blaine's hand. It wasn't the same. The once warm and strong hand was now cold and papery. Kurt turned around and for the first time realized that the room was filled with unfamiliar faces. No one he knew. So when he flung himself at the casket and started weeping openly into the arms of a man who was cold and aged but still so unmistakeably Blaine, no one understood.

No one would ever understand their story. Because Blaine was gone. And Kurt was too late.