Chapter 1

"Hey Babe!" Kurt said with a smile into his phone. It was 3:00 and just 10 minutes before Blaine's next piano lesson. Kurt had made it a habit to call his adorable hazel-eyed boyfriend once a day just to check in and tell him how much he loved him.

"Hi Kurt. How's your day going?" Blaine replied brightly.

"Oh you know, the usual. Drowning in blog posts about leather socks." Kurt snickered. His job at Rogue had him working on some pretty weird things from time to time. "How was class?"

"Good. We choreographed the group number for Grease today and we're doing our first run through on Thursday. It's coming along great." Blaine had scored the part of Danny Zuko in his musical theatre class' production of Grease.

"I'm so glad you finally get to play Danny after turning down the part in high school because of me," Kurt joked as he ran his fingers along the edge of the wooden desk in his office. He was so lucky to have found this internship at Rogue and to have his own office and not have to sit in a cubical, or worse, be slinging burgers at a fast food place.

"Yes, but my Teen Angel was the best anyone had ever seen, so it was worth it. It will be nice to play such an iconic lead though."

"Are we still on for dinner tonight at your place?" Kurt inquired.

"Yes we are. I'm looking forward to it. Sam wants to know if you want to meet up for drinks afterwards. Santana is working at The Flame tonight and we can get cheap drinks."

"Sounds great. Have a great lesson. I'll see you later. Love you." Kurt said, hesitant to end the call, but he knew that Blaine had to prep for his next lesson.

"I love you too, Kurt. Bye. "

"Bye," Kurt sighed. Tuesdays were rough because he and Blaine didn't have any classes together. Blaine had his morning Musical Theater class at The NY Performing Arts Academy and Kurt had to work all afternoon at Rogue for his internship. Mondays and Wednesdays were always better since they had 2 of the same classes and time for lunch in between. He was so happy that Blaine was finally with him in New York. Last year when they had been apart because Blaine was still finishing high school had been rough. Now, they were happier than they had ever been. Just hearing Blaine for a few minutes on the phone made his heart sing. It helped him power through the rest of his day.

Kurt ran his fingers through his brown hair and then got up from his desk to grab another cup of coffee before re-reading the leather socks post he had written. They weren't technically leather, more like a brushed suede, but the whole thing seemed uncomfortable. I mean Kurt was all about suffering a little in the name of fashion but this seemed a little extreme. As he neared the break room, he could hear the news coming from the TV that hung on the wall near the coffee maker. The newscaster seemed frantic and spoke in a rushed, harried tone. Kurt wondered who'd been shot this week. It seemed that was always the lead story on the news in New York City.

As he poured his coffee he listened to the story. "A near earth object has been detected and NASA is taking extreme measures to try to deflect the asteroid from crossing paths with Earth. The asteroid is measuring about 2 miles wide at the moment and if they are not able to deflect it, will impact Earth within the next month. NASA is saying that there is no cause for panic at the moment as they are confident their measures will work."

Kurt looked up and nearly spilled the coffee all over his hand as he forgot to stop pouring. "What the hell?" he muttered. Were they for real? This sort of thing never really happens, it's either something that serves as the plot of a Sci-fi movie or something that scientists say could happen but probably not in our lifetime. How did a 2 mile wide asteroid just sneak up on us? Better question is why were they telling us about it? The world is sure to panic, contrary to them telling us all not to panic. Kurt's first instinct was to call Blaine, but he was in the middle of teaching a piano lesson. So he strode down the hall and into his boss' office.

Isabelle Wright, the editor in chief of Rogue, sat at her desk surrounded by different types of leather products. Kurt could see leather socks were not going to be the end of this bizarre trend they were exploring. His mind was racing a mile a minute with the thoughts of what would happen if this thing really did hit the Earth. How could he broach the subject with Isabelle without seeming completely crazy?

Isabelle looked up from the suede thong she had in her hands and saw Kurt's panicked face looking back at her. "It's a little much, I know. You wouldn't think suede would be the right material for a thong. Patent leather maybe, but suede. I think they've gone too far with this leather thing."

"What? Oh, no! That's not why I'm standing here dumbfounded. Did you happen to hear the news today?" Kurt sputtered out.

"Did another person get shot? Oh Kurt, honey, you're going to have to get used to that. You're in NY now, not Ohio any more. People get shot here daily. Or run over by trains. Or mugged, but that rarely makes the news." Isabelle stated in her usual flowery, blasé manner.

Kurt was shaking his head. How could he put this to her? "Isabelle, turn on the news. I'm not even sure how to tell you. There aren't any words."

She quickly tapped into her browser as she said to Kurt, "We aren't getting another hurricane are we? Or a Super Storm? Because I can't rebuild my Hamptons house twice in two years' time." As the browser came up the lead story hit her in the same manner it must have hit Kurt because her face went from indifference to concern. Her brows furrowed and nose wrinkled as she read the headline: "Giant Asteroid to hit Earth Next Month".

She looked up at Kurt and saw the panic in his eyes and then looked back down at the screen. "What's today's date, Kurt?" she said.

"What? It's April 5. Why?" Kurt was confused how the date was relevant.

"Maybe it's just a late April Fool's joke. I mean, this can't be real, can it?" Isabelle stated flatly, still in shock. She grabbed her leather wrapped coffee mug and took a long sip, while rolling over the details of what she had just read.

"An April Fool's joke 5 days late and covered by multiple networks?" Kurt said. "Isabelle, what if it's real?"

"Well, we can always hide in the Rogue Vault. That's rumored to be able to withstand a nuclear blast. And if it's not, we'll go out surrounded by couture. There are worse ways to die." She was joking, but there was an edge of seriousness in her voice. She looked up at Kurt, still standing in front of her with his coffee cup drooping in his hand and a worried pout on his face. "Oh Kurt, there's nothing we can do about it right now. We'll have to wait until they tell us what we can do. Until then, if we don't publish the leather socks story, we'll have bigger problems to deal with than an asteroid."

Kurt laughed but he was still spooked. "I'm proofreading it now and I'll have it to your inbox within the hour."

"I'll be anxiously awaiting it!" Isabelle said as she stood up, giving Kurt a beaming grin, as he walked out of her office and back to his own.

Back in his office, Kurt fiddled with a leather swatch as he stared blankly at his laptop. He must have reread the same sentence 5 times before he actually registered what it said. He had to pull himself together and get this proofread and over to Isabelle. She was right, there was nothing he could do about it right now. He had to focus and get this done and he'd be able to talk about it with Blaine over dinner tonight.

Blaine patted the young boy on the back. "Good job, Gabe. Keep practicing the scales and we'll move onto something more challenging next week."

The boy smiled at Blaine, "Thanks Mr. Blaine! See you next week." He left the studio, hand in hand with his mother. Blaine was so lucky to find a job teaching piano to kids in Brooklyn. There was a small music studio a few blocks down from his apartment that specialized in teaching music to kids. Blaine had played the piano since he was young and had always wanted the chance to teach others. When he saw the advertisement in the window for a piano teacher, he had to go inside to inquire. It didn't pay a ton, but he was able to work around his school schedule and he loved working with the kids.

Since it was his last lesson of the day, Blaine straightened up the room, turned the lights off and locked up behind him. The lesson space was in the back section of the music store, and Blaine eyed up the guitars hanging on the wall on his way out. He really wanted to learn to play guitar next, but he was saving up for something more important at the moment. The guitar would have to wait.

"See you later, Jared!" he said to his boss as he walked out of the music shop and into the still cool Brooklyn afternoon. New York didn't start to get hot and sticky until the end of May/early June and he was enjoying the walk home while he could. He could hardly wait for his dinner tonight with Kurt. He had an hour or so to get his place cleaned up and dinner prepared. Living with Sam posed a unique challenge in that he never really knew what condition his apartment was going to be in when he got home. Sam had a bit of a problem with cleaning up after himself. There were usually half drunk water bottles, dirty hoodies and sweatpants strewn about the apartment. However, he had known Sam since they went to high school together back in Ohio and they were best friends. So he tolerated the mess because not everyone got to live with their best friend.

The front door was locked as Blaine tried it, so Sam must not be home. He usually left Blaine a note to let him know if he were going out or when he'd be home. Sam came home at an inopportune time once and caught the beginning of a heavy make out session between Blaine and Kurt, and ever since then he's been careful to let Blaine know when he'd be home. At least they had their own bedrooms, unlike at Kurt's apartment where the only thing separating Kurt's bed from the rest of the apartment was a thin sheet. Not all that private or noise proof, so most times they ended up at Blaine's place.

He looked around as he walked into the apartment and saw that it wasn't too bad. Sam must have been out most of the day. There was a pink Post-it on the refrigerator that stated Sam was going to be on an all-day modeling shoot in New Jersey and not to wait for him for dinner. "Good," Blaine thought. They could have dinner alone. He left a note for Sam letting him know they would be at The Flame later if he wanted to join them for drinks and then he set about getting the table set for dinner.

Even though they often ate dinner together, Blaine liked to dress the table with flowers and candles. Kurt loved the extra effort and attention to detail that Blaine put into a simple meal together. Between that and drinks tonight, Kurt might be up for trying some more adventurous things in the bedroom later. Blaine smiled at that thought as he took the ingredients for baked chipotle chicken out of the fridge. They both enjoyed spicy foods and this particular meal only took about 45 minutes to prep and cook so it would be done by the time Kurt got there.

"Hello! Blaine, you here?" Kurt asked as he walked into Blaine and Sam's apartment.

"In here," Blaine yelled from the kitchen. He was just putting the finishing touches on dinner and was carrying the plates to the table when he stopped short in his tracks. Kurt was standing there in front of him, face pale and eyes shiny with unshed tears. Blaine knew right away that something was terribly wrong. He put the plates down quickly and walked over to embrace his boyfriend. "What is it, sweetie?" Blaine said as he wrapped his arms around Kurt and rested his head on his shoulder.

"Blaine, have you seen the news?" Kurt asked.

"No, I had my iPod playing while I was cooking dinner. I was craving some Sam Cooke. Why? What's wrong? Was someone we know shot?" Blaine asked with some trepidation.

"What? No! Why does everyone assume someone's been shot?"

"Well, it is a daily occurrence in New York, so it wasn't really a stretch. What happened then? What has you so worried?" Blaine asked as he rubbed Kurt's back gently in an effort to calm him.

"An asteroid is headed straight for Earth!"

"Excuse me, what? Are you kidding?" he asked carefully.

"Turn on the news. It's 6pm, it should be on," Kurt said as he grabbed the remote and put the TV on the local news channel. Sure enough, they recounted the story from earlier with the exact details. Blaine stood quietly beside Kurt watching with an increasing look of horror on his face. After the segment ended, he grabbed the remote from Kurt, turned the TV off and faced him.

Grabbing both of Kurt's hands, he said to him, "I know this is unsettling, and I am scared too, but whatever happens, we will get through it together. NASA is apparently confident they can do something to redirect it, and they have a whole month. Let's not get too upset just yet."

Kurt wrapped his arms around the shorter boy and bent his head down to nestle in the crook of his neck. He inhaled deeply and instantly the unique scent of Blaine started to calm his nerves. He loved being in his boyfriend's arms. It was a safe place and Blaine was his home, his life. He knew Blaine was right, that together they could get through anything. He gave his dark haired boyfriend a squeeze, a quick kiss on the lips and stepped back so he could look him in the eyes. "Thanks, you always know how to make me feel better. I've been upset about this all afternoon and I couldn't wait to get home and talk to you about it. It's surreal but I know we'll get through whatever it is that might happen."

Blaine pulled Kurt closer to him so he could look into his blue eyes. He kissed him softly on his lips as he ran his hands up Kurt's arms. Then he pulled him in closer and deepened the kiss as he rested his hands on the small of Kurt's back. When he was beginning to feel the heat increase between them, Blaine ended the kiss, leaving Kurt breathless. "Dinner?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm famished and whatever you made smells amazing!"

The bar was buzzing with news of the asteroid and Blaine was worried that it would send Kurt into a tailspin again. They had such a nice dinner and now Rachel's annoying squeaky tone threatened to make Kurt worry again. He loved Rachel but she was such a drama queen and an alarmist. Sometimes she just needed to shut up. Reaching over the bar, Blaine signaled to Santana, who was tending bar, to refill Rachel's drink. Maybe if he got her buzzed she'd start dancing or singing and forget about the current topic she was prattling on about.

"I feel you, short stuff. All I can hear is her high pitched voice over all this bar noise. What on God's green earth is she freaking out about?" sighed Santana as she handed Blaine two pink colored drinks.

"Haven't you heard? The world's going to end next month." Blaine had a little buzz going so he was less upset about it than he had been earlier. Plus, after hearing Rachel drone on about it for the last hour, the whole subject had lost its initial shock value.

"Oh yeah, we're going down 'Deep Impact' style, right?" Santana said with a grin. She had obviously heard enough about this tonight as well. "Well, I can turn on the karaoke machine soon and that should get her nice and distracted."

Blaine laughed. As obnoxious as Santana was, she did know how to handle Rachel. After Santana poured a few more drinks, she wiped her hands and headed towards the stage to turn on karaoke.

"Rachel Berry, you know you want to be the first up on this thing, so get your perky butt up here, girl!" Santana yelled into the mic.

Rachel threw her hands up in the air and shrieked as she ran towards the stage. She never turned down the opportunity to sing in front of an audience. Kurt let out an audible sigh of relief and leaned back into his boyfriend as he wrapped his arms around Kurt. Blaine could feel Kurt relax into him and was grateful to Santana for her idea.

Rachel picked her song and queued it up and as she took the mic out of its stand, the first few notes of the song played. Blaine froze. Kurt tensed in his arms. She. Did. Not!

The title of the song splashed across the screen as Rachel opened her mouth to sing the first line. "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by REM. Blaine grimaced and threw his head back in disbelief. The girl never did have any tact. Not caring about being polite at this point, he grabbed Kurt's hand and led him out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.

"I think it's time we head home. We have class in the morning," said Blaine, knowing that Kurt was already on board with the plan.

They walked to the subway stop for the F train and descended the stairs to the platform. The only thing Blaine hated about the Lower East side was that they only had access to the F train. So they'd either have to take it uptown to transfer to another line or walk a few extra blocks once they got to Brooklyn. Kurt leaned against the dirty green metal column on the platform and Blaine knew he was drunk. He wouldn't chance getting dirt and germs on his outfit otherwise. Blaine decided to take the downtown train and walk the few extra blocks to clear their heads and sober them up a bit.

The train arrived a few minutes later and they were lucky enough to get a seat. Blaine was still getting used to riding the subway standing up. He always faltered as the train was taking off from the station and in his current condition, it would just be worse. Kurt rested his head against Blaine's shoulder and linked his fingers through Blaine's. They rode the 30 minutes to Brooklyn like that in silence. He knew Kurt's brain was still in overtime despite his state but he didn't know what to say to make him feel better, especially since Blaine still had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.