1998 - { Port Columbus International Airport (Columbus, United States) – Charles de Gaulle Airport (Paris, France) }
The first time they meet, Kurt and Blaine are both 5 and about to take a plane for the first time ever. The Andersons are very organized about everything, after all this isn't the first expatriation that Paul Anderson is facing. They arrive early at the airport, check in easily and pass security with three hours to spare. They have time to shop in the duty free shops, and Blaine tries on all the perfumes he can before snoring loudly in between Asian women cooing over his curls and his cute little bowtie. Once they all buy a magazine to read and something to snack they march to the gate, find a row of wooden empty chairs and settle comfortably in them. Blaine opens his Mickey Mouse magazine, trying to distract himself from the very large glass window right next to him, where he knows he can see the plane. It's a little bit scary, so he concentrates on his reading.
The Hummels are a little less organized, so to say. Burt has just been elected, and his new functions require him to travel. They almost forgot their passports, have too many bags when they check in, need to remove almost every single piece of clothing they have on while passing security when they finally stumble in the right gate. They all look half clothed, they are holding way too many things in their hands instead of having taken time to put them back in their bags, and none of the three look awake. It's been a terrible morning for the Hummels. Kurt spots an empty chair and runs to it, there are too many smelly people in this airport and he knows he'll have to wait a very long time before getting on the plane. He'd rather sit next to someone who smells nice. Kurt climbs on the seat however he can, his little butt wiggling in the air while he reaches for the handles to help him. He finally settles comfortably in his seat, and yes, the boy sitting next to him does smell nice, this will do.
"Hi, I'm Blaine." Blaine introduces himself, he likes how the boy next to him looks very sure and confident, maybe he's taken a plane before.
"Hi, I'm Kurt. You smell nice." Blaine beams with pride at that, he knew that trying on perfume was a good idea.
"Thank you, I like your hair." Blaine states, and just like that Kurt knows that Blaine is going to be his best friend, because he smells nice and he likes his hair. Nothing will ever come between them.
"Do you want to see the planes, Blaine?" Kurt asks, not noticing his parents crashing on the row of chairs in front of him, looking disheveled and done with everything.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Kurt nods solemnly, secrets aren't something to take lightly. He raises his pinky finger and waits for Blaine to do the same. "I've never been on a plane before." Blaine whispers, half expecting Kurt to laugh at him.
"It's alright, it's my first time too." Kurt takes Blaine's hands in his and leads them to the glass window, where they glue their sticky hands and noses against it, to have a better look at the plane. There are lots of little windows on the plane, and very small wheels. Planes are weird.
2003 - { Galeão International Airport (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – JFK International Airport (New York, United States) }
The second time they meet, Kurt is coming back from Brazil, where his father had to work for two years. He liked Brazil, the colors, the smells, the fresh fruits and the way people were peaceful but lively. He wasn't all that fond of the sun, but he managed, it gave both himself and his father something to do after his mother died. Kurt is back in the US now though, because according to Burt it would be good for him to settle for a few years in his home country, to get a proper education while he travels even more than before for his job. Kurt doesn't mind the traveling but maybe he'll learn to love his country while he stays there.
My country, my country, my country. Kurt keeps on repeating, because it feels weird to talk about a country like that, especially one he doesn't remember living in.
He is supposed to meet someone from his boarding school outside of the gate, after he gathers his luggage. He feels a little scared while walking through the corridor where several framed pictures represent the wonder that is the United States. It looks fake and the airport is trying top hard to welcome them and sell to them how great the US is.
We're already in the country, Kurt wants to say, no need to convince us, we've already paid to get here, we're not gonna leave.
He can finally see the door, and hopes that someone will be here.
He finally crosses the threshold of the heavy doors and he spots his name written in curvy lettering on a signboard, and what looks like a teacher holding it. There is a boy Kurt remembers from somewhere next to the teacher, but he can't pinpoint where he saw him before. He has curly hair, a big smile and amazing hazel eyes, Kurt notices.
"Kurt Hummel?" The teacher asks while smiling warmly at him. She seems nice, and she is wearing a cardigan with the blazon of his new school on it.
"Yes, hi."
"Nice to meet you, Kurt. I'm Ann and I'll be your attendant. This is Blaine." The woman, Ann, says, while turning to the boy next to her. "He'll be your sponsor. He's been at St Judes for almost a year and he'll help you settle in." Kurt turns to Blaine, trying as hard as he can to remember where he had seen him before, because he knows him, he just doesn't remember where from.
"Hi, I'm Blaine. We're in the same room back at school. I've been waiting for a new roommate for two months now. It's gonna be amazing!" Blaine says, taking Kurt's luggage to make it roll behind him as they all leave the airport.
It takes Kurt three months to remember where he knows Blaine from. It takes him two more to tell him that they've met before. Turns out, Blaine knew all along.
They don't have a lot of classes together, but they do meet for lunch and dinner, do their homework together sitting on Blaine's bed, they meet with Nick and Jeff sometimes to talk and read. Blaine is there for the same reason as Kurt, his parents are traveling a lot and they wanted him to have a good education in his home country. Kurt can relate, he can relate about lots of thing with Blaine and it feels nice to have someone who listens to him, who makes him discover new things, who doesn't judge him, who laughs with him but never makes fun of him. Kurt is only 10 but kids are mean and he knows it all too well already. Kurt and Blaine are best friends and soon enough the whole school knows that they are a package deal, if you want to talk to Kurt you'll get Blaine as well, if you want to invite Blaine to your room to play Kurt will tag along. They are best friends, their life is simple and nice. It lasts two years and a half, until Blaine has to move back with his parents. Kurt leaves the school six months later to join his father in Asia.
2011 - { Hong Kong International Airport (Hong Kong, Special Administration Region of China) – Heathrow Airport (London, United Kingdom) }
It's the 25th December and Kurt shouldn't be in an airport, freezing his ass off. But there he is, waiting next to a very sad looking Christmas tree, in front of his gate. Burt had been relocated to Hong Kong two years before, and Kurt loves the city. The culture there is amazing, he sees the influence of the British Empire everywhere and he likes how Hong Kong managed to mix together both cultures, creating harmonious spaces. What he doesn't like though, is the need to travel to London almost a week before he was supposed to, to register into his new school for his last semester of high school. He knows he wants to get into a fashion school in London, apparently being there will be favorable to him to get into fashion school.
Bullshit, right now all he can see is his disastrous Christmas dinner formed of a half-melted Mars bar and a can of Coke. He can hear his stomach rumble and grumble, he has nothing to do and he can barely feel his feet. It's Christmas but it doesn't really feel Christmas-y. Who knew an airport could actually look like a haunted place. Guess you need to have been in one on Christmas night to understand. The only thing that reminds him of Christmas is the cold, and the snow outside.
"I think this top all the gifts I've been given today." Kurt hears from behind and he knows that voice all too well. He jumps out of his seat and is immediately engulfed in a tight hug, his nostrils filling up with Blaine's scent.
"Blaine, what are you doing here?" Kurt asks, his face lighting up and a smile chasing away the frown he had on seconds ago.
"I'm going to Bombay to spend the rest of the holidays with some friends. What are you doing here?" Blaine looks different. Well, luckily for him he does, because it's been five years since they last saw each other. His shoulders are broader, his skin is a little darker and the curls aren't poking wildly everywhere anymore, they are carefully gelled back in a very dapper way. Ann would be proud.
"I'm traveling to London. I'm going to finish high school there." And Kurt remembers a cute little boy, a friend who he knew he could count on no matter what, but he doesn't remember that Blaine had been that beautiful, stunning, gorgeous when he was younger and the evolution really strikes Kurt because, well, Blaine is just really really attractive.
"Wow, that's… I never thought I'd meet you again. Oh Kurt, I'm so happy to see you here." Blaine says, his hands instantly reaching out to Kurt's. Blaine is beaming with joy, and Kurt does notice that his hand is still holding Kurt's, lingering for a minute or two. "Is it weird if I tell you that you changed, like a lot?" Blaine breathes out, a dark blush appearing on his cheeks.
"Good change or bad change?" Kurt wonders, scrunching up his nose in apprehension.
"Oh, very good change. Who knew five years could change someone that much!" Blaine answers, his blush darkening and Kurt thinks that he knows perfectly what Blaine is talking about.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the flight numbers 38993654, 56884891 and 2251781 with destinations of London, Paris and Bombay have been delayed due to the current weather. Further information will be given in half an hour." Someone announces through a speaker and Kurt can feel irritation coursing through his body, he found something even more devilish than the Grinch: snowstorms on Christmas day. The situation is even worse than before Blaine appeared like a wild Pokémon.
"This is a nightmare." Kurt whines, rubbing his tired eyes.
"My flight has been delayed too, I'm quite hungry, wanna grab something to eat?" Blaine asks. And yes, Kurt really wants a nice meal because he's been sitting in this horrible wooden chair for two hours now, he's seen at least three planes being boarded and taking off, he's seen the lights slowly turning on while the stormy sky darkened and he really can't stand the purple-y carpet of his gate.
"Yes, please. Let's walk all the way to another gate, I don't care. Let's just get out of here." Blaine chuckles at Kurt's reaction and grabs his hands again, this time to lead him to the American Airline's private salon, where he knows they'll have much better seats and a perfectly healthy meal cooked just for them, perks of being the son of a very busy businessman. Kurt follows Blaine happily, sat in front of him as they share a meal in an almost empty airport, stuck because of a snowstorm on the evening of the 25th of December.
They talks about the past five years. Kurt lets out that even kids who travelled all their life can be closed minded jerks and bullied him because he is gay. Blaine doesn't say a word about how he got beaten in his last school because he asked another boy to the dance. Instead they share about the new countries they got to visit, the new restaurants they've tried, the most ridiculous boy bands and girl bands of each country. They spend three hours talking and they exchanges Skype details right before Kurt finally boards.
Christmas night in the Hong Kong airport can be magical after all.
2013 - { Heathrow International Airport (London, United Kingdom) – Jorge Chavez International Airport (Lima, Peru) }
Heathrow is a horrible place to be, especially on the first day of the summer holidays. Kurt wants to kick himself, to thinly cut his last Marc Jacob shorts to punish himself. He is the son of a United States Ambassador, he should know better than to book a plane ticket on the first day on any holiday. But here he is, in the middle of crying children, overwhelmed parents, hats and ugly flip-flops, standing because some idiots can't put their bags on the floor.
Standing isn't for him though and he quickly finds a spot next to an electrical terminal, courtesy of Samsung, to charge his phone.
Perfect. Kurt thinks, it's a little on the side of the gate, he can still hear the children but at least they aren't yelling in his ears and he can admire the bag of a backpacker right next to him while the woman is writing her blog. The woman has been everywhere according to her bag and Kurt wants to know more, she has amazing dreadlocks with feathers and pearls, a nose ring and lots of rings on her fingers. She writes faster than anyone on earth could. If Kurt wasn't gay, he'd been crushing hard. The woman seems amazingly interesting.
Kurt doesn't want to bother her, or to seem like a creep so he turns his eyes somewhere else and there he is. Blaine Anderson in the flesh. They have been talking for two years, using Skype, Facebook, Twitter. They exchanged a lot after their Christmas in Hong Kong and soon enough they were friends again, until Kurt developed a serious crush on him. It took him by surprise, one morning for Blaine and night for Kurt. They were talking about what Blaine was going to do and Kurt had thought that he would love to spend the day with Blaine, gently making out with him on the beach he was planning to go surfing. Things got worse and Kurt's crush transformed into love. He didn't say a word about it, because he knew people would make fun of him for even thinking about being with someone he only talked to online and at odd hours because the man in question was on the other side of the planet. So Kurt kept everything to himself, nurturing fantasizes about the two of them being reunited somewhere.
Kurt doesn't know what Blaine is doing here, doesn't remember Blaine saying a thing about being in London and Kurt is taken by surprise. He starts to stand up to go and see him when a group of men beat Kurt to it. Blaine is all smiles and warm hugs, talking happily with them, laughing and hugging them again. Kurt thinks that one of them is Jeff, from the boarding school in New York, but he can't be sure. All Kurt can see is one of the men's lingering hand on Blaine's back.
Kurt wants to talk to him, wants to hug him and to get a little of something real instead of virtual, just for once. But if Blaine didn't tell him he was passing by London there must be a reason, so Kurt tries to contain all the hope that had blossomed when he saw Blaine few minutes ago, tries not to think about how stupid he feels for having a crush on someone he will never stand a chance with and Kurt sit back quietly.
The woman with the dreadlocks and the nose ring eyes him sadly, pats his knee and goes back to her writing.
Yeah, Heathrow Airport is a bitch.
2013 - { Gare du Nord (Paris, France) – Amsterdam Centraal Railway Station (Amsterdam, Netherland) }
This time it doesn't happen in an airport, but it feels all the same. France is smelly, French public transport is smelly, but French people have a wicked sense of fashion that makes Kurt's insides tingle. He is sitting in Gare du Nord, waiting for his train. It's his holidays, his father is busy with a woman he met at the Embassy Party, whose name is Carole. So Kurt decided to do something crazy and maybe a little bit stupid, but he felt adventurous. He packed a suitcase that morning and showed up at the London train station and bought a train ticket for the next train. He knew that by taking the train he wasn't going to travel anywhere exotic, but Amsterdam had been a good surprise. He had to travel through France for some obscure reason and here he was, waiting again.
Kurt is trying to read a French version of Vogue, but there are too many people around and he can't concentrate. He feels like he is going on the trip of his life. He has never done something this spontaneous, he doesn't even know where he'll be sleeping tonight.
Kurt decides to walk around, to look at the shops. It's been a while since he's been in France. Even if it's just the trainstation shop, it's still France.
Kurt is in the middle of a nervous breakdown while trying to choose between two The Kooples scarves when he spots the back of someone's head he knows. Kurt waits a little though, he's learnt his lesson, but when after two minutes Blaine is still alone, Kurt walks to him.
"Blaine?" Kurt greets, and Blaine spins around, obviously surprised to see Kurt there.
"Kurt? Oh my god, Kurt!" Blaine is bouncing like a puppy before reaching out for Kurt and hugging him tightly. "I can't believe you're here. I thought you were staying in London for these holidays? Isn't that what you wrote in yesterday's email?" Kurt doesn't bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from flailing a little because Blaine remembers his emails. He really doesn't. (He totally does.)
"Ah, yes. But this morning I had a spur of the moment kind of thing and jumped on the first train. I'm just passing through, though. I'm going to Amsterdam."
"I've never been to Amsterdam." Blaine says in awe, like Kurt is going to the most mysterious and amazing place on earth. Kurt can feel Blaine's eyes on him and it's not uncomfortable but he isn't quite sure what it means. It feels good to have Blaine there, right in front of him, close enough to touch.
"I've never been either and I'm definitely scared to go alone, but well. I guess I can't wait all my life for someone to show up and travel with me." Kurt jokes a little, he has to turn this into a joke because this sounds seriously depressing.
"I would travel with you if you'd let me." It looks like Blaine just blurted this out, but Kurt can't be sure because all he can focus on right now is the beat of his own heart at Blaine's words.
"I would let you travel with me." And that's actually all it takes for Blaine to take Kurt's hand, walk to his parents and cancel his plans with them. Kurt doesn't remember the Andersons at all, but apparently he left a lasting memory on them because they remember him and ask him to give his father a greeting. Kurt and Blaine travel together, they find a nice hotel to stay in, and on day two Kurt kisses Blaine, or Blaine kisses Kurt. They don't really know who kisses who first and it doesn't matter. They spend the rest of the trip walking hand in hand, stealing kisses, eating in fancy restaurants, taking pictures, laughing, they do laugh a lot, and relishing in the beauty that is Amsterdam.
2018 - { Madrid Barajas Airport (Madrid, Spain) – JFK International Airport (New York, United States) }
Kurt is going to kill Blaine slowly and painfully, because Blaine locked himself in the toilet of the airport. Again.
He did it last year when they were in Sydney in protestation because he didn't want to leave.
"Blaine, could you please come out?" Kurt asks with a sigh.
"No. I'm staying here. I'll live off of tapas and cerveza. I'm not going back to New York." Kurt tries not to look at the men coming and going from the room. He knows they must be staring and judging. It's not exactly his fault if his husband develops a strong relationship with the countries he visits.
"Blaine, please. If you come out of here I'll do anything you want." Kurt doesn't like the airport toilets; they are unsanitary. He was supposed to be sitting in an uncomfortable chair, in the American Airlines private lounge, waiting for his flight, with his husband sitting next to him while they read magazines or talk about what they had preferred to visit in Spain.
"Anything?" Kurt hears coming from inside the booth and he swears to anything that exists that he is gonna strangle the man he married, Chicago style. He had it coming.
"Anything." Kurt purrs and Blaine finally opens the door. Kurt grabs his hand and leads them out of the toilets, Blaine flying behind him. They sit in front of their gate and Kurt is fuming while Blaine is trying to catch his breath.
"Are you mad?" Blaine asks after a while. He knows very well that Kurt is mad, he can see his vein on his forehead, he just doesn't want Kurt to be mad on the last day of their honeymoon.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have locked myself in and if you stop pouting I'll do anything you want."
"Locked yourself in again." Kurt corrects but Blaine can already tell that he is close to making Kurt smile.
"Locked in again, yes sorry. So? What do you want?" Blaine asks again, taking Kurt's chin in his hand and gently turning his head to face him.
"Anything?" Kurt asks, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Anything." Blaine acquiesces, wondering what he just let himself in for. Kurt leans toward Blaine, puts a kiss on his cheek and then whispers in his ear.
"I want to go see the planes."
"Anything for you." Blaine says as he gently pecks Kurt on the lips.
Maybe airports are their somewhere only we know.
A/N: I found this plot in one of my notebooks, it only took me a year to write it.
I hope you liked it and that you now want to travel!