Dreams of a Perfect Life
Title: Dreams of a Perfect Life
Rating: PG
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Summary: The one thing he hadn't considered was what it would be like to be in the same city and yet still to feel like they were hundreds of miles apart.
Word Count: 1821
Author's Note: Yet another moment in the verse o' fluff. Feel free to start suggesting other scenes you'd like to see, because I can't seem to stay away from this little world!
Way back at the end of his senior year, when he and Blaine talked excitedly about what it would be like once they reunited in New York together in a year’s time, Kurt hadn’t thought much beyond the relief of finally being in the same city again. He’d given a lot of thought to the agony of being separated by several very wide states, 600 miles and too many hours apart. He’d made detailed plans for skype dates and phone calls and visits that would be stretched to the very limits of common sense and their parents’ patience. The one thing he hadn’t considered was what it would be like to be in the same city and yet still to feel like they were hundreds of miles apart.
It turned out, once Kurt got there, that New York really lived up to the moniker metropolis. It was huge. The city itself wasn’t massive, exactly, but when you added in the boroughs and considered just how many millions of people managed to live on a couple of islands, it was pretty overwhelming. At first, Kurt stuck to Greenwich Village, trying to learn his way around and look as little like a tourist as possible. Slowly, he branched out, learning the East and West Village, the Lower East Side, Midtown and SoHo. He lived here now, and he wanted to live here forever; he couldn’t go on looking like a poor little country yokel for long.
When Blaine came to visit that first fall, eager to check out Columbia, which offered everything his little prep school heart could desire, Kurt got his first inkling that the city might be better at keeping them apart than bringing them together. It took them 45 minutes of walking and subway riding to get from his dorm in the Village all the way up to the Columbia campus, in what Kurt began to refer to as Timbuktu. Quick coffee dates between classes would be impossible, and evening study dates - with an emphasis on the date - wouldn’t be that simple either, with the way Kurt’s schedule seemed to fill up. He knew they’d figure it out, because they always did, but still. Once again it turned out that his dreams of a perfect life in New York were far more complex in reality.
Blaine finally made it to New York the following August, and it was wonderful to have him there, except for the fact that they only managed to see each other six times that first month. Blaine had, unsurprisingly, gotten into one of Columbia’s elite a cappella groups, and their rehearsal schedule combined with Kurt’s commitment to the fall musical meant that most days they had to settle for a phone call or two or twelve and hope that their weekend schedules cleared enough for an actual date. By the time fall break rolled around - and their plans for a quiet weekend spent entirely together were derailed by a combination of both their roommates deciding to stay on campus, an upcoming a cappella concert, musical rehearsals, and a last-minute project for Kurt’s design class - Kurt was quietly yet dramatically losing his mind.
“I just…” Kurt said into the phone, “you’re so close but not close enough and I never see you and I miss you and…”
“Kurt, baby, breathe. I know,” Blaine said, his soothing tone just this side of irritating. “I miss you too. But we have to sacrifice a bit right now for the sake of your art, right?”
“Yes. And the joy that singing with a bunch of guys in matching outfits brings you,” Kurt quipped.
“Yeah, there’s that,” Blaine agreed good-naturedly. “You’re coming to the concert, aren’t you? Tuesday night?”
“You ask as though I haven’t already moved several diva-shaped mountains so I could get the night off. I expect singing, dinner, and a whole lot of adoration because of that, just so you know.”
“I think I can manage that,” Blaine said, his voice dropping in a way that Kurt felt all the way down to his toes.
“I really miss you,” Kurt sighed.
“I miss you too. And I love you. So much.”
“Love you too,” Kurt said, knowing without looking that he had the stupidest smile ever plastered across his face. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”
“Goodnight,” Blaine said, and when they hung up, Kurt fell back against his pillows, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
***
Tuesday, of course, took forever to arrive, but somehow eventually Kurt was racing out of rehearsal so he could catch the subway uptown. By the time he got to the concert hall on Columbia’s campus, it was already filling up. He was despairing of ever finding a seat when he saw Blaine’s friend Caitlin waving at him from the second row.
“I saved you a seat,” she said, standing up to give him a hug.
“Bless you, Cait. You are a goddess among women,” Kurt said, sliding into the seat next to her.
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Caitlin said. “Besides, it was Blaine’s idea. And by ‘idea’ I mean he texted me earlier with a picture of him pouting and begged me to save you one.”
“Of course he did,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes and smiling fondly.
“I don’t get it,” Caitlin said conversationally. “How is it that you two have been together for what? Two years?”
“Two and a half,” Kurt corrected automatically.
“Right. Two and a half years. And yet you’re still so damn cute it should be illegal.”
“Um, sorry?”
“Oh, no, it’s fine.” Caitlin waved him off. “I just wish you’d teach the rest of us mere mortals your secret.”
Kurt had absolutely no response to that, considering that he didn’t know how they were managing to keep things together these days beyond sheer force of will. Luckily, he was saved from answering when the lights went down. The concert was, as Kurt expected, equal parts charming and ridiculous. This group’s choreography was slightly better than the Warblers had ever managed, but it was still goofy and fun and put a smile on everyone’s faces. Most of the music was familiar stuff from mainstream radio or classic rock, which Kurt planned on teasing Blaine about after the show.
The group’s pitch stepped forward at the end of the next song, announcing that the following song would be their last, and that it was a little different than their usual fare, but a new member had lobbied hard for its inclusion. Kurt felt a flicker of apprehension, which turned into a full-blown fire when Blaine stepped forward during an opening that was suspiciously familiar. The familiarity, Kurt reflected wryly once Blaine began to sing, wasn’t that surprising considering this song was on a playlist Blaine had made him before he’d left for school the year before. A playlist that Kurt had listened to at least once a day until they had been together again.
“Damn it,” Kurt whispered, feeling his eyes begin to fill. “I will kill him.”
“What?” Caitlin asked, not looking away from the stage.
“This song. I will kill him.”
“For being sweet? I don’t think that’s a punishable offense,” Caitlin said. “Now pay attention. Your boyfriend’s being adorable.”
Kurt looked back up, and sure enough, Blaine was looking right at him, with the same expression he always wore when they sang together. Like Kurt had done everything right and would never do anything wrong. Like his sun rose and set in Kurt’s gaze. Kurt felt a tear spill down his cheek and didn’t do anything to stop it.
***
When the show ended to wild cheers and applause, Kurt took a moment to wipe his eyes, hug Caitlin, and try to decide whether he was going to kiss or injure his boyfriend first. The option was taken out of his hands when Blaine made a beeline straight for him, reaching up with both hands to pull Kurt in for a kiss.
“Wait, no.” Kurt said, trying to pull away a little bit and clear his head. “Preemptive kissing is definitely not allowed. We’ve talked about this.”
“I don’t think you’d decided for sure that you were going to yell, so I’m still well within my rights,” Blaine said, nuzzling against Kurt’s cheek and smiling. “Hi. I missed you. I love you. Kiss me again?”
“You’re impossible,” Kurt said, but he obliged.
“You love me,” Blaine said, when they pulled back again.
“I do.” Kurt closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Blaine’s.
“Ok, you two, my vomit meter is approaching spew, so can you stop it long enough for us to get some dinner and let me enjoy it?” Caitlin was standing next to them, one hand on her hip.
“I thought I got you to myself for dinner?” Kurt asked quietly as they followed Caitlin and a few other friends outside.
“Sadly, no. Caitlin insisted on dinner as her price for saving you a seat. She says she never gets to see you when you come up here because I hog you all to myself. I swear she likes you more than me,” Blaine said.
“I heard that!” Caitlin called from ahead of them. “Also, you’re not entirely wrong.”
“See?” Blaine said, turning to share a grin with her. “At least she has good taste.”
“You, sir, are a flatterer,” Kurt said with a smile.
“Is it getting me anywhere?” Blaine asked. “And did I mention my roommate’s gone tonight? All-night study session.”
“No you did not. And yes it is - it’s getting you a boyfriend for the night.” Kurt said, slipping his hand into Blaine’s. “But first, you need to explain why you thought it was appropriate to make me cry in front of a room full of people I don’t really know.”
“Um,” Blaine said. “I love you?”
“That wasn’t the question, Blaine.”
“Are you sure? Because I’m pretty sure me loving you is the reason I do most things.” Blaine’s smile was back - the charming one that almost always got him his way.
“Lord,” Caitlin said, dropping back to walk with them for a second. “Just tell him thank you for being a giant, lovesick dork so I can have some pizza. Ready? Go!”
Caitlin kept walking, but Kurt pulled on Blaine’s hand so he would stop and face him. Kurt brought his free hand up to cup Blaine’s cheek.
“Thank you, you giant, lovesick dork,” Kurt said.
“You’re welcome,” Blaine said seriously.
“I really do love you, even when it’s hard and I never get to see you. And I really do appreciate the things you do to make it easier. Like embarrassing me in front of a roomful of our peers.”
“You’re welcome,” Blaine said again, taking Kurt’s comment as he intended it. “Now let’s go eat so I can take you home with me.”
“That sounds perfect,” Kurt said. And it was.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Summary: The one thing he hadn't considered was what it would be like to be in the same city and yet still to feel like they were hundreds of miles apart.
Word Count: 1821
Author's Note: Yet another moment in the verse o' fluff. Feel free to start suggesting other scenes you'd like to see, because I can't seem to stay away from this little world!
Way back at the end of his senior year, when he and Blaine talked excitedly about what it would be like once they reunited in New York together in a year’s time, Kurt hadn’t thought much beyond the relief of finally being in the same city again. He’d given a lot of thought to the agony of being separated by several very wide states, 600 miles and too many hours apart. He’d made detailed plans for skype dates and phone calls and visits that would be stretched to the very limits of common sense and their parents’ patience. The one thing he hadn’t considered was what it would be like to be in the same city and yet still to feel like they were hundreds of miles apart.
It turned out, once Kurt got there, that New York really lived up to the moniker metropolis. It was huge. The city itself wasn’t massive, exactly, but when you added in the boroughs and considered just how many millions of people managed to live on a couple of islands, it was pretty overwhelming. At first, Kurt stuck to Greenwich Village, trying to learn his way around and look as little like a tourist as possible. Slowly, he branched out, learning the East and West Village, the Lower East Side, Midtown and SoHo. He lived here now, and he wanted to live here forever; he couldn’t go on looking like a poor little country yokel for long.
When Blaine came to visit that first fall, eager to check out Columbia, which offered everything his little prep school heart could desire, Kurt got his first inkling that the city might be better at keeping them apart than bringing them together. It took them 45 minutes of walking and subway riding to get from his dorm in the Village all the way up to the Columbia campus, in what Kurt began to refer to as Timbuktu. Quick coffee dates between classes would be impossible, and evening study dates - with an emphasis on the date - wouldn’t be that simple either, with the way Kurt’s schedule seemed to fill up. He knew they’d figure it out, because they always did, but still. Once again it turned out that his dreams of a perfect life in New York were far more complex in reality.
Blaine finally made it to New York the following August, and it was wonderful to have him there, except for the fact that they only managed to see each other six times that first month. Blaine had, unsurprisingly, gotten into one of Columbia’s elite a cappella groups, and their rehearsal schedule combined with Kurt’s commitment to the fall musical meant that most days they had to settle for a phone call or two or twelve and hope that their weekend schedules cleared enough for an actual date. By the time fall break rolled around - and their plans for a quiet weekend spent entirely together were derailed by a combination of both their roommates deciding to stay on campus, an upcoming a cappella concert, musical rehearsals, and a last-minute project for Kurt’s design class - Kurt was quietly yet dramatically losing his mind.
“I just…” Kurt said into the phone, “you’re so close but not close enough and I never see you and I miss you and…”
“Kurt, baby, breathe. I know,” Blaine said, his soothing tone just this side of irritating. “I miss you too. But we have to sacrifice a bit right now for the sake of your art, right?”
“Yes. And the joy that singing with a bunch of guys in matching outfits brings you,” Kurt quipped.
“Yeah, there’s that,” Blaine agreed good-naturedly. “You’re coming to the concert, aren’t you? Tuesday night?”
“You ask as though I haven’t already moved several diva-shaped mountains so I could get the night off. I expect singing, dinner, and a whole lot of adoration because of that, just so you know.”
“I think I can manage that,” Blaine said, his voice dropping in a way that Kurt felt all the way down to his toes.
“I really miss you,” Kurt sighed.
“I miss you too. And I love you. So much.”
“Love you too,” Kurt said, knowing without looking that he had the stupidest smile ever plastered across his face. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”
“Goodnight,” Blaine said, and when they hung up, Kurt fell back against his pillows, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
***
Tuesday, of course, took forever to arrive, but somehow eventually Kurt was racing out of rehearsal so he could catch the subway uptown. By the time he got to the concert hall on Columbia’s campus, it was already filling up. He was despairing of ever finding a seat when he saw Blaine’s friend Caitlin waving at him from the second row.
“I saved you a seat,” she said, standing up to give him a hug.
“Bless you, Cait. You are a goddess among women,” Kurt said, sliding into the seat next to her.
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Caitlin said. “Besides, it was Blaine’s idea. And by ‘idea’ I mean he texted me earlier with a picture of him pouting and begged me to save you one.”
“Of course he did,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes and smiling fondly.
“I don’t get it,” Caitlin said conversationally. “How is it that you two have been together for what? Two years?”
“Two and a half,” Kurt corrected automatically.
“Right. Two and a half years. And yet you’re still so damn cute it should be illegal.”
“Um, sorry?”
“Oh, no, it’s fine.” Caitlin waved him off. “I just wish you’d teach the rest of us mere mortals your secret.”
Kurt had absolutely no response to that, considering that he didn’t know how they were managing to keep things together these days beyond sheer force of will. Luckily, he was saved from answering when the lights went down. The concert was, as Kurt expected, equal parts charming and ridiculous. This group’s choreography was slightly better than the Warblers had ever managed, but it was still goofy and fun and put a smile on everyone’s faces. Most of the music was familiar stuff from mainstream radio or classic rock, which Kurt planned on teasing Blaine about after the show.
The group’s pitch stepped forward at the end of the next song, announcing that the following song would be their last, and that it was a little different than their usual fare, but a new member had lobbied hard for its inclusion. Kurt felt a flicker of apprehension, which turned into a full-blown fire when Blaine stepped forward during an opening that was suspiciously familiar. The familiarity, Kurt reflected wryly once Blaine began to sing, wasn’t that surprising considering this song was on a playlist Blaine had made him before he’d left for school the year before. A playlist that Kurt had listened to at least once a day until they had been together again.
“Damn it,” Kurt whispered, feeling his eyes begin to fill. “I will kill him.”
“What?” Caitlin asked, not looking away from the stage.
“This song. I will kill him.”
“For being sweet? I don’t think that’s a punishable offense,” Caitlin said. “Now pay attention. Your boyfriend’s being adorable.”
Kurt looked back up, and sure enough, Blaine was looking right at him, with the same expression he always wore when they sang together. Like Kurt had done everything right and would never do anything wrong. Like his sun rose and set in Kurt’s gaze. Kurt felt a tear spill down his cheek and didn’t do anything to stop it.
***
When the show ended to wild cheers and applause, Kurt took a moment to wipe his eyes, hug Caitlin, and try to decide whether he was going to kiss or injure his boyfriend first. The option was taken out of his hands when Blaine made a beeline straight for him, reaching up with both hands to pull Kurt in for a kiss.
“Wait, no.” Kurt said, trying to pull away a little bit and clear his head. “Preemptive kissing is definitely not allowed. We’ve talked about this.”
“I don’t think you’d decided for sure that you were going to yell, so I’m still well within my rights,” Blaine said, nuzzling against Kurt’s cheek and smiling. “Hi. I missed you. I love you. Kiss me again?”
“You’re impossible,” Kurt said, but he obliged.
“You love me,” Blaine said, when they pulled back again.
“I do.” Kurt closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Blaine’s.
“Ok, you two, my vomit meter is approaching spew, so can you stop it long enough for us to get some dinner and let me enjoy it?” Caitlin was standing next to them, one hand on her hip.
“I thought I got you to myself for dinner?” Kurt asked quietly as they followed Caitlin and a few other friends outside.
“Sadly, no. Caitlin insisted on dinner as her price for saving you a seat. She says she never gets to see you when you come up here because I hog you all to myself. I swear she likes you more than me,” Blaine said.
“I heard that!” Caitlin called from ahead of them. “Also, you’re not entirely wrong.”
“See?” Blaine said, turning to share a grin with her. “At least she has good taste.”
“You, sir, are a flatterer,” Kurt said with a smile.
“Is it getting me anywhere?” Blaine asked. “And did I mention my roommate’s gone tonight? All-night study session.”
“No you did not. And yes it is - it’s getting you a boyfriend for the night.” Kurt said, slipping his hand into Blaine’s. “But first, you need to explain why you thought it was appropriate to make me cry in front of a room full of people I don’t really know.”
“Um,” Blaine said. “I love you?”
“That wasn’t the question, Blaine.”
“Are you sure? Because I’m pretty sure me loving you is the reason I do most things.” Blaine’s smile was back - the charming one that almost always got him his way.
“Lord,” Caitlin said, dropping back to walk with them for a second. “Just tell him thank you for being a giant, lovesick dork so I can have some pizza. Ready? Go!”
Caitlin kept walking, but Kurt pulled on Blaine’s hand so he would stop and face him. Kurt brought his free hand up to cup Blaine’s cheek.
“Thank you, you giant, lovesick dork,” Kurt said.
“You’re welcome,” Blaine said seriously.
“I really do love you, even when it’s hard and I never get to see you. And I really do appreciate the things you do to make it easier. Like embarrassing me in front of a roomful of our peers.”
“You’re welcome,” Blaine said again, taking Kurt’s comment as he intended it. “Now let’s go eat so I can take you home with me.”
“That sounds perfect,” Kurt said. And it was.