Rachel should have known something was the matter when they walked by a mirror in the flea market. She and Kurt had gone out looking for a few things for their new apartment after class. It had been very old and tarnished, but when she and Kurt passed it, it flashed pure silver, bathing them in light from the afternoon sun. It felt odd. It was almost like the universe had shifted somehow. She frowned at that feeling and pushed her hair behind her ears. She wondered if he had felt the same thing.
"Kurt?"
"Hmm?" he said. "Did you see something?" He stopped on the spot and put his hand on his hips. "I haven't seen a thing I'd like to buy. And we need some chairs."
"Me either," she said. It must have just been a trick of the light. "Ikea?"
"Maybe... but not just yet. We can look at some more markets on Saturday." He sighed and picked up an old Coke lunch tray before setting it back down. "You'll just have to remind me to stay on budget."
"We can always use Daddy's credit card, he won't mind."
They got back to the apartment and Kurt was unlocking the door as she juggled his bag and their takeout bags. She followed him in and started to hand him his bag when she heard "OH GOD."
She looked up quickly and saw what he was staring at. Their apartment no longer looked like their barren apartment. It was now well furnished and looked lived in. There was even a bouquet of red roses on the kitchen table.
What had Kurt's apt attention however was the sight on the couch. Rachel had to pinch herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She looked at Kurt, her best friend.
But there was also a Kurt on the couch, kissing someone. A very topless someone. Rachel could feel her eyes stinging as they couldn't get much wider at the sight of herself on the couch UNDERNEATH Kurt Hummel.
And moaning. Definitely moaning.
With her hand down his pants.
They were both frozen, standing there. They glanced at each other quickly, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. But a noise caught their attention. The Kurt on the couch had his hand on Rachel's breasts, rubbing her nipple and she was kissing his neck.
Kurt pointed towards the door and Rachel followed him out quickly.
"What the hell-?" he said in the hallway as Rachel shut the door behind them. She really hoped the other Kurt and Rachel liked tempura vegetables and sushi as she had left their dinner behind.
"I... I don't know," she responded. She looked Kurt over.
"You were having some fun in there."
Kurt shuddered and closed his eyes. "I am definitely never getting that image out of my corneas. I think I'm going to be sick."
"Kurt, it wasn't that bad," huffed Rachel.
"I was about to watch myself have sex with you. It was that bad."
Rachel glared at him for that. She threw her hands up in the air.
"But... what... what was that?"
"In our apartment!" he said, exasperated.
"Kurt... that wasn't our apartment. They had furniture, real furniture. And decorations."
"Then, what..."
Rachel shook her head. "Maybe we've stepped into an alternate universe or something."
"One where we get married apparently," said Kurt. "They... Us... were wearing rings."
Rachel looked at his skeptically. "I think you're more upset at the thought that we got married than that we just stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone."
"Rachel..." he sighed. "This whole thing is... weird. Scientifically, it's possible we could have stepped into an alternate universe, although HOW I have no idea. And yes, I realize I sound like a science fiction movie, probably with Jeff Goldblum. Every decision we make is a crossroad. There would be hundreds of worlds out there. There might even be one where my mom is still alive or one where Shelby decided to take you instead of leaving you with your dads."
"So you're really thinking this?" said Rachel, looking up at him.
"Rachel, I just saw married US making out on a couch. If it isn't another universe, then we have twins we don't know about who married each other and are playing tricks on us by taking over our apartment in the less than ten hours we've been out."
Rachel sighed. "I saw something at the flea market. It was a mirror. I thought it was just a flash of light from the sun... but now I'm wondering."
"Show me," said Kurt.
They made it back to the flea market as the sun was beginning to set. Rachel and Kurt both looked frantically for the particular booth. Rachel spotted the silver mirror hanging up and ran towards it.
"Oh hello," said a tall blonde haired woman, approaching her. She looked young, but at the same time, not so. "Didn't I see you pass by earlier?"
"Is this your booth?" Rachel asked as Kurt came up beside her. "Your mirror..."
"Such wonderful items, mirrors," said the woman as she gestured to it. "They can show things that are, things that were, and some things that have not yet come to pass. All on a small piece of glass."
"So you're saying that mirrors can show the past and the future?" said Kurt with a frown.
"The stories a mirror could tell," said the woman as she ran her hand through her long curly hair with a curious smile. "If only we'd let them."
"And I suddenly don't think we're that interested," said Rachel, feeling out of sorts at the woman's words. She grabbed Kurt by the hand and walked past the booth with her eyes closed. It was almost a relief when she felt like everything had shifted back in place again. She opened her eyes and saw Kurt shaking his head.
"Did you..."
"I felt that," said Kurt. "But I don't want to believe it."
They looked around, but the woman was gone. In fact, her whole booth was.
"Okay, I'm going home, putting a pillow over my head, and pretend this day never happened," said Rachel. Kurt looked back at the empty space with a frown.
They avoided looking at each other for the train ride back home and for the remainder of the day in the apartment. The thought of the two of them in a relationship even in a possible alternate universe seemed ridiculous. It was just a shared... hallucination or something. Maybe there was something in the New York water. They managed to avoid speaking to each other for nearly a week until one night Rachel brought home a poster for Oklahoma and told Kurt they needed to try out.
Not even two days later, Kurt was getting dressed for work when he heard a knock on the door. He looped the scarf around his neck once before sliding it open. There was no one at the door, but a white and gold wrapped package was sitting on the floor of the hallway. He picked it up and saw it was addressed to him and Rachel together. He picked it up and brought it inside, setting it on the couch. He started to open the flat box, curious as to what was inside. Once he got past the tissue paper, he nearly screamed as he saw the mirror from the flea market. It had been shined to a bright silver, the glass surface of it gleaming. A note was attached.
You two seemed to like it, so it's yours.There was no name or anything, so Kurt wrapped it back up and shoved it under his bed. He had to get to work. He didn't even want to think about the whole thing.
It had all been a dream, hadn't it?
Sometime later...
"Okay, okay we have to stop Kurt. There is stuff we need to be doing this evening."
"That don't involve sex? What fun would that be?" he said, not wanting to move. They had been making out on the couch. Their work schedules had kept them apart, but this was one evening they had together. Kurt had even brought home roses and wine which was chilling in the fridge. But there was bills that needed paying and laundry to do. Rachel sat up and started buttoning her blouse.
"Later," she said with a kiss to his lips. "Chores first." She got off the couch once Kurt finally moved. She started to head towards the bathroom to get the laundry basket, but noticed a couple of takeout bags on the floor. She picked it up, wondering why it was randomly there in the middle of the floor.
"Kurt, did you bring home dinner?"
"No, there's still leftover spaghetti and salad in the fridge if you're hungry," he said as he stood. "What-" He looked at the bags in her hands and a thought crossed his mind.
"Is that-"
"Is that what?" she responded. "Kurt, seriously, do you not remember buying food? The flowers were lovely, but..."
"No... but um... is that tempura and sushi?"
She looked at the receipt stapled to one of the bags. "Yes..."
"Oh god. You've got to be kidding me."
Rachel frowned. But a wave of nostalgia hit her. Holding Kurt's bag and food... two people making out on the couch...
"I- I dropped this," she said, looking at the bags like they were contaminated. "Back then... Kurt that was real!"
"We were in the future," he said. "That wasn't an alternate universe. We literally were seeing us..."
"I still can't believe the whole thing happened. It was like a dream. I had convinced myself it was a dream. That I was manifesting my feelings of loneliness into an impossible situation and I was crushing on my best friend as a coping mechanism."
"I just shoved it out of my mind and pretended it never happened," said Kurt.
"The sushi is still cold," said Rachel, closing the plastic container.
"Dinner?" said Kurt.
"We might as well eat the food we paid for years ago."
"That was really lousy delivery service."
They both laughed at Kurt's words and headed over to the kitchen table. On the mantelpiece under their TV and behind some framed photos in the living room, a silver mirror shined bright in the low light of the apartment.