The simplest things reminded him of Blaine.

The crisp Autumn leaves crunching gratifyingly under foot as he slowly walked home from work, tugging his coat closer to his chest with every step. The fresh smell of pine trees as the world began preparing for Christmas by cutting them down and draping them in sparkling decorations. The tweeting and twittering of baby birds in Spring as they leap from their nests to take their first flight. The shimmering warmth of Summer as he made his traditional trip back to where it all began and restarting the evil cycle again.

Blaine had been gone for a year and a half. He’d been abroad for five months. Kurt had thought Blaine being at an army training camp somewhere in the state had been hard, but this was definitely harder. During training, he’d been allowed to come home some weekends and they could talk on the phone often. But now Blaine had been drafted in Afghanistan, they’d had little contact. Blaine had left Kurt with his cell phone, unable to take it in case it got was used to track the American army. As often as they could, they had skype dates (that Kurt took just as seriously as their physical dates before) but, due to Blaine’s busy patrol schedule. 

In his coat pocket, Kurt’s fingers curled around the cool plastic of Blaine’s cell. Every day since he’d been entrusted with it, he’d carried it around with him. Because it was Blaine’s. It was the only piece of him (because a cell phone is like an extra limb to almost every single being alive) that Kurt could carry around with him all day, every day, and not look odd, just so he could keep him near as his life went on.

So much had happened since Blaine had left, Kurt didn’t know where to start. For months – since he’d known Blaine was coming home – all he’d been able to think about was how to explain how his life had been without him. Somehow he knew that, as soon as he saw Blaine, he wouldn’t want words to tell him – he wouldn’t need them. During college, Blaine had told him, “As soon as I see you, I will run. I will run towards you so I can wrap my arms around you and hold you forever. I won’t let go.” Although he had thought he’d understood just how Blaine felt, it was only know he realized exactly what he meant. 

Kurt clenched his fists in his pockets, itching for Blaine now. After having his so far away for so long, knowing he was so close was torture. Around him, he could see other partners feeling the same. Most were women, but one or two were men. Few had children with them, mainly babies, that they cradled, all eyes waiting on the arrival gate. The plane had been called. They were just waiting… waiting…waiting….

“Hurry up, Blaine,” he murmured, touching the phone subconsciously, as if he expected it to send the message to him.

The sound of shouting woke him, making him aware of his surroundings. The women on his left had tears slowly rolling down her face as she began walking to the gate, calling “John” over and over again, first in surprise before slowly gaining the tone of amazement. Kurt watched her walk towards her other half, pulling him into the tightest embrace he’d ever seen. Behind John, more soldier began to emerge. The waiting crowd began to shuffle forwards eagerly and Kurt struggled to stand his ground.

Soon, happy couples were being reunited all around him. And still no Blaine. Kurt began to panic, standing on his tiptoes to glance around, scared he’d missed him. It was only as the crowd was thinning that he saw the familiar short, broad stance of his fiancé. Kurt bit his lip, trying to contain his pleased smile as Blaine caught sight of him, his face breaking out into the biggest grin imaginable. Before Kurt knew what he was doing, he ran, only giving Blaine enough time to drop his bags before he flung himself into his arms. Laughing, Blaine caught him and swung him around before placing him gently on the floor. Kurt was about to step back and admire his hero but Blaine grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and pulled him close, kissing him until there was no breath left in both of them.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed doing that,” Blaine murmured as he pulled away.

“Not as much as I have,” Kurt told him, picking up one of Blaine’s bags.

“Well, we can do it some more, later,” decided Blaine, tucking Kurt’s arm into his as they began leaving. “First, I think you should take me on that coffee date you’ve been promising me.”

Kurt smirked. “Sure.”

They ended up in their favourite coffee shop, drinking their usual coffee orders as Blaine told Kurt what army life was really like (basically, not as glamorous as most people believed). Kurt knew he should have been listening – and he had been... sort of – but he was too fascinated by watching the way Blaine’s lips moved as he spoke, unable to believe that, after all his months of wishing and hoping, he had Blaine with him, flesh and blood, if only for a few weeks.

“Kurt?” asked Blaine curiously, bringing Kurt out of his little daydream, smiling softly.

“Huh? Oh, err…” he said as he struggled to think of something to say, before remembering Blaine’s phone and digging for it in his coat pocket. “Here! I thought you might want it back while you’re home…”

Blaine smiled thankfully as he took it. “It’s odd,” he mused, unlocking his eyes from Kurt’s to look at it. “Once you get used to not – Oh.”

Kurt bit his lip as he watched Blaine frown, his eyes still on his cell phone, as he flicked through it slowly. With a soft smile, Blaine looked up at Kurt, at first not saying anything. He waited before Blaine snorted softly, shaking his head.

“Five hundred and forty-eight unread messages,” he informed his fiancé, still unable to believe it, eyes flicking from his phone to Kurt. “Every single one of them is from you.”

Kurt nodded. “One for every day you were gone.”

Blaine smirked, placing his phone on the table. “What do I get for every day I’m back?”

Deterring his slightly embarrassed gaze, Kurt bit his lip and conceded suggestively, “Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?”