WOOOOOOH! I can't believe I'm publishing this, because I've been working on this weird thingy for months. Uh, so... this is a glee/Animal Crossing crossover.
Let that sink in.
Yes, you read that correctly. I love acnl and I couldn't help myself. I started creating towns for both Kurt and Blaine and I liked it. But I needed a story. Well, here is the story. I put a lot of things that has happened in my game in it.
This is kind of.. uh... crack. This is probably the crackiest thing I've ever come up with, which is really saying something because I once had a Klaine/Barbie crossover stuck in my head. (Don't ask)
Title is based on my favourite K.K. Slider song Wandering.
Wandering
There's a cat sitting in front of him.
A cat wearing clothes.
Blaine knows that he dozed off a couple of minutes ago, so he must be sleeping. But when he sees his reflection in the window, he knows that he isn't. People say reflections don't work in dreams. He yawns and stretches a couple of times before looking around.
He's still on the train and his bags are all here, which is a relief. He looks outside and he isn't surprised to see an unknown area. He ran away, he wanted to go somewhere new.
It still doesn't explain the cat sitting in front of him.
"Good afternoon, sir."
Blaine jumps back in shock. The cat can talk.
He once again checks his reflection. It's still here and so is the cat. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here," the cat says, "I saw you sitting all alone and I assumed you needed company. I see you're heading to Dalton too?"
"Excuse me?"
"Dalton," the cat nods outside, "We're almost there. This is the train to Dalton, right?"
"I fell asleep, I don't know," Blaine admits. He is eyeing the cat suspiciously. You don't meet a talking animal every day. "Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but who and what are you?"
"My name is Rover and as you can see, I'm a cat," the cat, Rover, replies.
Blaine shakes his head. This can't be happening. I must be dreaming, he thinks, maybe reflections do work in my dreams. "That can't be right," he says, "You're a cat and you're talking."
"And you are a human," Rover says, "What's your name?"
Blaine wonders if he should tell his name. He's been taught to never tell his name to strangers and even though he's an adult now and he has nothing to do with his parents anymore, he wonders if he should listen to the advice, because this seriously is a strange person.
If it's a person.
So, when he automatically says: "Blaine!" he wants to slap himself.
"Blaine, what a nice name," Rover says.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but where I'm from there aren't many, uh, talking animals," Blaine says.
"But you're going to Dalton?" Rover asks surprised.
"Who said that?"
"You're on the train to Dalton," Rover reminds him, "So it is kind of obvious to go to Dalton, right? And everyone knows that animals live there."
Blaine's mouth falls open. There are more creatures like Rover? There's an entire town filled with them? Maybe he should get off at the Dalton station after all, because now he's curious. It sounds impossible.
"Speaking of…" Rover looks around, "We're here. Thanks for chatting with me! It's been a long time since I enjoyed a train ride this much! Come to think of it, I've been riding the rails an awful lot again lately. Haven't done this much travelling since 2002 or so… Man, that's weird. Okay, good luck, Blaine! Bye-bye!"
And when he arrives at Dalton station, he's greeted by a monkey. Seems like Rover was right. He steps outside the station and he's surprised to see more animals. A yellow dog, a white rhino with a strawberry horn, a green pig and a brown horse are eager to see him.
"Look who's there!" the rhino says happily.
"That's gotta be him, right?" the horse asks the others, "We need to say hi. It's only polite."
The dog agrees and officially welcomes him with the help of the other three animals. Blaine is weirded out.
"Mayor! We're so happy you're finally here!" the dog says.
Blaine looks around. "Uh, who is this mayor?"
"Oh, come on!" the dog laughs, "Quit joking around. You know exactly who you are! You told us which train you'd be arriving on!"
"… That wasn't me," Blaine says awkwardly, but the dog is convinced that he's the mayor.
"Oh no, you can't fool me!" she says, "Things are just like you said they'd be! All is well. There's no mistake! Tee hee! You're a real jokester!"
"W-Wait…" Blaine tries, getting a bit desperate. He isn't the mayor. He can't be! He's not even an animal, but apparently, they don't mind that much.
"Well, let's continue this discussion at the town hall, here," the dog hands him a map of Dalton, "Over there. Let's head there together, Mayor Blaine."
"But…" Blaine gives up. He takes a look at the map and suddenly, he feels like everything is okay. It feels strangely enough as if everything falls into place. All the animals are looking at him expectantly. Those animals need a mayor, they need a change. Blaine needs one too.
Maybe this is the change he's been looking for.
"Lead the way!"
When Blaine wakes up, he's surprised by the weird atmosphere. He had such a weird dream. He dreamed he became the mayor of Dalton, a town filled with animals. A dog, Isabelle, became his secretary and a racoon called Tom Nook gave him a place to live.
He laughs at the memory, until he realizes he's lying in a tent.
"Holy sh-" he jolts awake. He climbs out of the tent and looks around. He's in Dalton, and a frog is greeting him. He runs to a place called the Plaza and he's not surprised to see a sapling planted there. He planted that.
"Holy shit," he whispers to himself.
If this is real, then he has a lot of stuff to do. For example, Isabelle told him to come over to talk about his role as mayor. Also, Tom Nook has the bill for his house.
He sits down next to the small sapling. He's doing this, he's really doing this.
A part of him still wants to go to Isabelle to tell her that there's been a mistake, but when he looks back on the last couple of months of his life, he realizes how much he wants to start anew. A pig with a water can sees him and waves. Everyone is so happy with his arrival. He smiles back and he realizes that it's his first smile in weeks.
Maybe it's for the best.
He gets back on his feet and makes his way to the so-called Main Street. On the Main Street, there's a shop called Nookling Junction, a shop called the Able Sisters, a Post Office and a Museum. He needs to be at the shop called Nook's Homes.
And there he gets a 10,000 Bells bill.
"Don't be so sad," Tom Nook says, "You can earn Bells easily."
"Do I need to look for a job at the Able Sisters, or what?" Blaine asks.
Tom Nook looks confused. "No, I meant that you can find enough fruit, shells and flowers out here to sell at the Re-Tail."
What is this place?
Blaine thanks him and leaves. Once he's back in his town, he's surprised by the fact that he can just pick up flowers. He sees the horse shaking trees, so he does it too. There's a beach and there a sea shells everywhere.
This place is getting weirder and weirder.
On his way to the so-called Re-Tail, he passes a couple of houses. It's only polite to get to know his villagers. After all, he's basically the ruler here.
He enters a small, pinkish house. The rhino is surprised to see him.
"Mayor Blaine, I didn't expect any visitors!" she says, "My name is Merengue."
And after that, he gets to meet all his villagers. The horse Annalise, the frog Wart Jr., the pig Truffles and another horse, Buck.
It's a weird crowd.
Buck escorts him to the Re-Tail, a place ran by two alpacas. There, he meets another racoon. He apparently runs Nookling Junction. Blaine's head is spinning with the new information. On his way to the town hall, he has time to think. He's a mayor now of a town without any technology. He had tried calling someone, but his phone doesn't work here.
Dalton is a weird place.
But he will make it work. As he looks around he realizes that this is going to be his life, and he is totally okay with it.
On his way to the Plaza, he realizes that is must be late December. In the past couple of months, he's been so out of time that he completely missed Christmas. But it means he gets to see New Year.
His New Year resolution is being the best mayor the villagers of Dalton have ever seen.
6 Months Later
After Blaine has finished watering the plants with his new silver water can, he hears someone yelling his name. It's Clyde.
"B-Deluxe!" he yells happily, "There's a rumour going around that people call you B-Kins, is that true?" Blaine sighs and nods. Merengue started with it and Willow copied her a couple of days later. "Can I call you that too?" Clyde asks eagerly.
Blaine shrugs. "Sure," he says and Clyde nods and leaves.
Blaine looks around. Dalton has changed a lot since he arrived. Villagers come and go, but Merengue and Annalise are still here. Clyde moved in a week after Blaine arrived and he also has been here ever since.
Except for them, the town has changed a lot. And it's about to change again.
"-and I'm leaving on the 16th of this month," Paula concludes. Blaine gives her his blessing and goes to Main Street. He still has to show Blather's his fossils and after that, he needs to go to Isabelle. Apparently, she needs to talk to him.
The Main Street is fuller. There's a shoe shop called Kicks, a flowering shop and a hairdresser called Shampoodle. Another human has opened Club LOL and Timmy and Tommy Nook have changed their shop so many times, it's crazy. They're in the middle of building another update again. This time, a giraffe Gracie will help them out.
Oh and there is also a Dream Suit or whatever the hell that is.
The town itself has changed too. Apparently, his villagers can request Public Work Projects and Blaine raises Bells to buy said projects. Villagers come up with crazy stuff, but Blaine almost fell on his knees when the Roost was being built. He missed his coffee.
Yes, Dalton is weird.
But it is beautiful too. Blaine has seen beautiful lights in the night sky, gorgeous flowers and plants, lucky clovers and more. His favourite time was the begin of spring. The leaves of this trees all turned into pink flowers, and on some days, pink flower petals were flying everywhere. And then there are days like Festivale, where everyone dresses up and dances.
Yes, Dalton is beautiful.
After Blathers tells him once again that he doesn't need the fossils ("Blathers, dear, I collected all the fossils and I donated them. I know."), Blaine rushes to the Re-Tail and then to the town hall. Isabelle is waiting for him.
"Mayor Blaine!" she says when she hears Blaine entering the office, "I have urgent news!"
"Please, don't tell me Hamlet's been complaining about the ordinance again," Blaine sighs as he takes his seat, "And I know that the drilling rig is an awful idea, but Rizzo is convinced-"
"No, no, Mayor Blaine! None of that," and for the first time, Isabelle seems nervous, "It's about our neighbouring towns."
"Neighbouring towns?" Blaine asks in disbelief. He knows that there are some towns close to Dalton, but he has never bothered to go there. He never had a reason to.
Till now, apparently.
"Yes, the closest is called Lansbury. Porter and I have been speaking and we both think that it's for the best if you take the train to Lansbury to greet our neighbouring town. Maybe it'll be a good thing for the future, we don't know," Isabelle explains, "It's important to create certain bonds between our towns, don't you think?"
"So you're suggesting I should go to Lansbury and meet its mayor?" Blaine asks just to be sure. Isabelle nods happily.
The next day, Blaine is harvesting his Perfect Oranges. He's read somewhere that he can sell it for a lot of Bells in a town where the orange isn't the local fruit, or something. It's not like he eats them. Strangely enough, his body hasn't changed ever since he started living in Dalton. He doesn't change at all. He can't gain or lose weight, but he barely needs to eat. He does have a bathroom consisting a shower and a toilet, but he barely uses it and so on.
Anyway, as Blaine pockets his Perfect Oranges (that's another thing… he has giant pockets now) he tries to remember the small speech he wrote for the mayor of Lansbury. He's nervous. He hasn't met strangers in so long. All his villagers aren't strangers anymore.
Blaine goes back to his house and he checks the closet in his room on the second floor. He decides to wear one of his best polos. Gosh, he's nervous. He keeps on straightening his shirt and his eyes fall on the raccoon clock Hazel gave him.
Shit, I'm running late.
He gathers his stuff and makes his way to the train station. The train is already waiting for him and Porter ushers him inside. "Good luck," Porter says.
The train ride to Lansbury isn't that long and when he arrives at the Modern looking train station, he's surprised to see a familiar face. "Porter, what are you doing here?" he asks when he sees the monkey.
"Excuse me, but do I know you?" the monkey says, but then, "Oh! You're the mayor from Dalton!" He fishes something out of a drawer, "Here is the map of Lansbury and here-" he circles something on the map, "-is the Town Hall. Our mayor is waiting for you."
"Yes, but-"
The monkey ushers him outside and-
Woah.
Lansbury is different. Blaine can't decide it's a good different, or a bad different, but it's definitely different. For example, there are paths. Beautiful grey bricks are leading villagers everywhere. Everything looks so modern and styled. Even the bridges in Lansbury are different. Back in Dalton, they have Cobblestone bridges. Some villagers have suggested different kind of bridges, but Blaine is quite fond of his Cobblestone bridges.
Some villagers wave when they notice a bewildered looking Blaine.
As he follows the path that leads to the Town Hall, Blaine can't help but notice the trees. They're all planted in a pattern, and so are the flowers. In Dalton, Blaine planted trees on random places. He did attempt on making some flower beds, but he thinks he has failed. He did have the Plaza surrounded by two layers of flowers and in front of every building, he planted a flower or two, but that's it.
The Town Hall looks like the train station: very modern.
He knocks on the door before going on. He almost shits himself when he sees Isabelle.
"Isabelle?" he asks in disbelief, "What are you doing here? I thought you stayed at Dalton?" Isabelle looks confused. "Hello?" she says, "Are you the mayor of Dalton? Mayor Blaine?"
"Isabelle, it's me!" Blaine says and gestures to himself, "I'm your boss, remember? The mayor of Dalton!"
Isabelle firmly shakes her head. "No, my boss is the mayor of Lansbury and you have a meeting with him," she says and looks around, "But as you can see, he's absent. Gosh, he must be designing again. I told him he had to be here."
"You're not making any sense-"
"Can I have your map?" Isabelle asks and Blaine, still confused, hands her the map of Lansbury. Isabelle circles another thing. "Here, go to the Main Street," she says and she gives him the map back, "There, find the shop called Able Sisters. You can probably find him there."
Blaine realizes it's no use to protest so he goes.
He's astonished to see that the Main Street is similar to Dalton's Main Street. The only difference is the T&T Emporium (Dalton's has opened this morning, but he can see that Lansbury's is older) and out of the corner of his eye, he can spot an unfamiliar shop next to the Dream Suite.
But he enters the Able Sisters and-
What?
There they are: Mabel and Sable. They are here, in Lansbury. Not in Dalton. The sisters smile politely and Blaine notices a lot of custom-made clothes. They're all being displayed in the first two rows. Blaine has some designs back home, but this place is packed.
"Mabel, Sable, what are you doing here?" Blaine asks, bewildered.
Sable obviously doesn't pay attention to him- she's sewing, but Mabel smiles widely. "Oh, hello! You must be from another town!" she says, "Welcome to our humble little shop!"
"Mabel, what are you talking about?"
Mabel doesn't hear him. "Oh, you are the mayor of Dalton? Yes, Isabelle told the entire town about arrival," she says, "You must be looking for the mayor, right? You just missed him! He's on his way home, because he just remembered his appointment with you. Right?"
"Right," Sable says absently, "Mayor Kurt's house is easy to find. It's the biggest."
"You have a map?" Mabel asks.
"Yes, but-"
"Here!" she circles a house, "Hurry, before he leaves!"
Blaine's freaking out.
While following the path that leads him to the mouse of Mayor Kurt, he tries to control his breathing. He doesn't understand what is happening. Porter, Isabelle, Mabel and Sable… they're all here and they don't seem to recognize him.
But they are his Porter, Isabelle, Mabel and Sable, right?
Right?
Maybe this mysterious mayor has the answers.
His house isn't hard to miss. Sable was right: it's huge. Like Blaine's, it's two stories high and it looks like he has four rooms on the first floor, but his additional rooms are clearly larger. He must have a basement too, but Blaine can't see that. The house has beautiful red tiles and white bricks. It looks stylish.
He's about to knock on the door when it opens.
The mayor of Lansbury is standing in front of him, carrying a silver net.
Blaine almost falls back, but he catches him. "Woah there," Mayor Kurt says, "Are you alright?" Blaine can't speak. Mayor Kurt is human. Except for Dr. Shrunk, he hasn't met another human in six months.
Mayor Kurt is human and absolutely stunning.
"Are you alright?" Mayor Kurt asks, eyeing him suspiciously, "Who are you exactly and why were you about to enter my house?" He lets go of Blaine and Blaine quickly composes himself. He holds out his hand. "Uh, I'm Mayor Blaine Anderson from Dalton. Sable Able told me that I could find you here."
Mayor Kurt's face immediately softens now that he knows who he's talking to. "Mayor Blaine, how are you? I'm Mayor Kurt Hummel from Lansbury, but you can call me Kurt." He shakes his hand.
"I'm swell," that is something Blaine likes to say, "You? You can call me Blaine too. That whole mayor thing is just a title."
Just then, a balloon-present flies above their heads. "Oh, hang on!" Mayor Kurt- or just Kurt- says and out of his pocket, he retrieves a golden slingshot. He pops the balloon and unwraps the present. "Balloon series," he says, "What an awful series, but I always put it on the flea market, you know?"
Blaine nods, because he does that too.
"Anyway, where are my manners?" Kurt says, "I'm sorry for not showing up. I was in the middle of designing and I lost track of the time."
"Is that-" he nods to Kurt's vest "-your design?"
"Everything I wear is my design," Kurt says, "Okay, maybe with a little touch of Gracie's, but you must forgive me for that. Gracie has an impeccable taste and her designs are very detailed."
"Of course, but it still looks amazing," Blaine says and looks away.
"Uh, would you mind talking about our towns somewhere else?" Kurt suggests, "My house or, uh, do you want a coffee?"
"I live for coffee," Blaine admits.
"Then follow me," Kurt says, "But I hope you don't mind me carrying the net. One of my villagers requested a ladybug."
Blaine follows Kurt to…
The Roost.
No way.
He decides to just go with it, but inside the Roost is Brewster. His Brewster.
"The usual, please," Kurt orders and Blaine says: "What he has." He has no idea if he could just order his usual here, despite the fact that he's talking to Brewster. Together, they sit down at this cute little table in the Roost.
"Well then, mister Anderson, what do you think of Lansbury?" Kurt asks.
"Uh, it's different from mine," Blaine admits, "It's more organized, I guess. I mean, there are paths and it looks like you placed your Public Work Projects wisely."
"You don't have paths?" Kurt asks, astonished, "How do you survive? You must have so much dirt in your town." The thing is that Kurt's right. That's the reason Blaine has started growing flowers in flowerbeds. He wants to get rid of the dirt.
"Then again, paths aren't that easy either," Kurt says, "I have to keep it in mind while placing new projects and all, and sometimes villagers move in or out and I have to rearrange the paths all over again."
"Another reason I don't have paths," Blaine laughs, "So much work, especially after the police station was built."
"Oh yeah, the police station," Kurt sighs, "I still have to ask Copper if he's seen anything unusual."
"C-Cooper?"
Cooper is Blaine's brother- or he was.
"No, Copper, the police dog," Kurt says and Blaine sighs in relief. He has Booker the police dog. Maybe their towns aren't in sync after all.
"Please tell me you have animals in your town too, otherwise this must be really weird for you. It was for me in the beginning," Kurt says, "I mean, what can you say when you suddenly enter a town filled with animal residents and they make you their mayor. My secretary is a dog!"
"Yeah, I know what you me- wait, what?" Blaine eyes widen, "You were forced to become mayor too?"
"Y-Yeah, I stepped off a train and the next thing I know, Isabelle, my dog secretary, mistakes me for the new mayor and here I am."
"Me too!" Blaine cries out, "The exact same thing happened to me. I wanted to visit Dalton, because Rover told me about animals living there and I was curious, and now I'm the mayor."
"Rover, as in a cat Rover?" Kurt asks, "I- I met a cat named Rover too on my way to Lansbury."
Both men stare at each other.
"What the hell is this," Blaine blurts out, "Where the hell are we? Lansbury is the same as Dalton, like, it looks different, but the people here are the exact same."
"What do you mean?"
"Porter, Isabelle, the Able sisters and now Brewster," Blaine says, "Except for Copper, they're all in my town too."
"I don't understand."
"Just as I say it, they're the exact same!" Blaine explains- or at least, he tries to, "They don't look similar, they look exactly the same. They even behave the same way. They're the same. They're like sister Joy in Pokemon!"
"I shall ignore that last statement, but are you sure?" Kurt asks, confused, "It's madness."
"I'm positive," Blaine grumbles.
Suddenly, he remembers his oranges.
"What is the local fruit of Lansbury?" he asks.
"Sudden subject change, but okay," Kurt waves it away, "Cherries, why?"
Blaine gets up and pockets his coffee (yes, he can do that). "Come on, I assume you also have a Re-Tail," he says, "And I wasn't changing the subject at all- not really. I want to know if your Re-Tail is the same as mine too. Let's go! You can put your balloon furniture piece on the market."
"They're the same," Blaine whispers when they enter the Re-Tail. The pink alpaca Reese gladly gives him over 100,000 bells for his Perfect Oranges and the blue alpaca is working on some gold.
"Are you sure?" Kurt whispers after he convinced Fauna to buy something.
"Positive," he whispers back.
"Okay, thank you Reese!" Kurt says loudly before turning back to Blaine, "We need to discuss this. I propose we go to my place." They say their goodbyes to Reese and Cyrus and take off.
Kurt's house is huge and stylish. Kurt apparently cares a lot for the Happy Home Academy points. Blaine likes the free gifts, but that's it.
"Good, what do we know?" Kurt is pacing.
"Well, everyone is the same, except for the villagers," Blaine says, "And it's creepy. Oh, and our stories are the same. We're both humans who accidentally became mayors of towns inhabited by animals."
"And you've never gone to another town?" Kurt asks, still pacing, "We both know that there are more towns out there. There must be. Do you know if those towns also have the same people working there?"
Blaine shrugs. "This is the first town I've visited," he tells Kurt, "You haven't travelled either?" Kurt shakes his head. Blaine sighs. "I only know Dalton, Kurt."
"How did you even end up in Dalton?" Kurt asks and Blaine already tenses up.
"It's, uh, complicated," he quickly says, "Uh, how did you end up in Lansbury?" He's surprised to see Kurt tense up too. Kurt's been so confident during the entire visit. "Also complicated," Kurt says and turns to Blaine, "You don't want to know. It's not a happy story."
Blaine's isn't a happy story either.
He racks his brain. It's yet another similarity.
"I want to, really," Blaine says, "Mine isn't happy either." He takes a deep breath. "Should I go first?"
"You don't have to," Kurt points out, "Don't feel obligated to tell me. Our stories suck and they're very personal. I can imagine you don't want to tell a stranger."
"Nah, it's okay," Blaine lies, "Should we, uh…"
"Well, I should stop pacing, that's for sure," Kurt sighs, "I must be freaking you out by doing that." He falls down on the couch so Blaine sees that as his cue to begin.
"Uh, I was in high school and I got bullied," he starts, sounding unsure, "And my dad, he, uh, I guess he didn't know what to do with it, so I had to stay there. I graduated and went to Yale for Law to follow my father's footsteps-" "Yale?" Kurt asks, surprised.
"Yeah, but don't think for a second that I liked it there," Blaine spits, "I hated it. I did it to make my dad finally pay attention to me, you know?" Kurt shakes his head. He doesn't know.
"Well, that was one big waste," Blaine grumbles, "Since he and my mom disowned me in my second year. Suddenly, out of nowhere I get a call. 'Never come back', well merry Christmas to me. Get kicked out your family with no apparent reason."
"So what did you do?" Kurt asks, "Drop out?"
"Of course not!" Blaine says indignantly, "Because after all, it's Yale." He smiles bitterly. "That was my trail of thought back then. 'Oh no, I can't back out, it's Yale after all'. Oh how I wish I dropped out. I wanted to go to New York, you know?" This time, Kurt nods.
"So here I am, I finished my course and I have a degree in law and whatever, and then I hear my brother is gone. Poof!" he makes some gestures, "Just gone without a trace. The only person I cared about. I never made friends. High school was hell and college was weird. I mean, I met this one girl Quinn, but she and I- we talked, but we never became friends."
"Q-Quinn?"
"Yeah, Quinn Fabray," Blaine waves it away, oblivious to the shock on Kurt's face, "Anyway, I'm basically lost. I live alone in New Haven and I have nowhere to go. I was sad, lonely…" he trails off, but Kurt gets the point.
"Lost," he says.
Blaine nods. That's the thing. He was so lost, he couldn't function anymore. He isn't really trying to give Kurt the sugar-coated version, but he was depressed even. He didn't leave his tiny apartment at all. It felt like he had nothing anymore. He had no people, he had the wrong degree, a degree that he hated, he had nothing.
"Eventually, my landlord kicked me out," Blaine says. He didn't leave the house, partially because he didn't have a job.
"So I packed my stuff and ran, you know," he smiles sadly, "I hope he never finds me because I never paid my debts and I can't pay him with Bells. I boarded a train, not knowing where I was going and fell asleep. When I woke up, a cat was sitting across of me. And you know the rest."
Kurt remains silent.
"Kurt?"
And Kurt looks almost terrified. "My story is the same," he croaks out, "Holy shit, even our stories are somewhat the same."
Blaine knew it!
"My mom died when I was eight," Kurt starts, "My dad was my whole world, so when he had a heart attack and slipped in a coma, my world was falling apart. He never woke up."
Blaine automatically reaches out to hug him. "Oh my god, that must be horrible." They both lost their dads, but whereas Blaine's chose to lose him, Kurt's didn't. Losing his dad was horrible for Blaine, but he and his parents were never close.
But Kurt and his dad…
Jesus Christ on a biscuit.
"We had the chance to be happy once," Kurt sniffs, "I set my dad up with the mother of the boy I liked." The boy I liked. HOLY SH- "And after a while, we really became a family. But when my dad died, Carole, that's her name, moved on too. We had each other, but after a while, that fell apart too. I was forced to live with my aunt Mildred, my mom's sister, but we aren't that fond of each other. She's never liked my mom marrying my dad."
Okay, let's focus on the liking boys part later. "What happened then?"
"I used to have friends, but when my glee club lost Nationals that year, the principal disbanded us," Kurt continues, "We tried to keep in touch, but it was high school. Everyone wanted to fit in, and soon, we were shattered over all kind of clubs. Our group chats remained empty, but then again, we all knew that it was over.
The glee club was my safe haven and the members were my, well, protectors," he says, "I mean, they protected me from the bullies, but the protection was gone too. And I luckily managed to graduate, but hey- guess who's broke and can't go to college?"
"I assume that was you?"
"Rhetorical question."
"Joking. Badly."
"So, my dream of going to New York and studying either dramatic arts or fashion was gone too, and I settled in Lima."
Lima?
"But my aunt kicked me out too. It took her almost six years, but she gave up on me. I graduated four years ago and she told me I needed to leave. I was an adult now and that bull. I had nowhere to go. I also felt lost," suddenly, his expression changed, "And I boarded a train and never looked back."
Blaine knows that Kurt isn't telling him the full story either. He can see it, but Blaine understands.
"This is freaky," he says instead, "I don't know what is going on, but this really is freaky."
"Yes, but what are we going to do about it?" Kurt points out, "What if it's all just one big coincidence?"
"Kurt, this can't be a coincidence. Everything is the same! Should we ask your villagers if they know anything?"
"Hell no!" Kurt cries out, "I cannot do that! Lansburian society doesn't approve talking about such things. There are no big secrets in Lansbury, but this is a whole new level."
"Then what do you propose we do?"
Kurt seems to think about it. Eventually, he answers: "First, let me visit Dalton. I need to see it with my own eyes."
All the villagers are a bit jittery. Blaine doesn't blame them.
Isabelle put a message on the bulletin board this morning. It announced the arrival of Mayor Kurt from Lansbury. Dalton has never had visitors before. Everyone is outside watering and growing flowers (except for Paula, since she's moving the next day).
"Oh, Blaine," Rooney stops him, "Do you think our visitor would like to see an awesome Video Screen?" "Uh…" "Yes, I totally agree. I already contacted Isabelle about it," Rooney continues, "Alright then, thanks for listening, punches." And he's gone.
Blaine just shrugs. He's used to the weird behaviour of his villagers.
On his way to his house, he passes Annalise and Rizzo, dancing with glee. They're wearing matching t-shirts. He stops to watch them. He absolutely loves it when his villagers are dancing with glee.
Then, he sees the time on one of his Park Clocks. He rushes to his house, because he told Kurt to meet him there. Isabelle suggested the Town Hall, but that felt too formal. Sure, they're both mayors, but to them, it is just a title.
He doesn't change, though. Strangely enough, he never really has to change clothes, because they never get dirty. Blaine has given up on understanding all the strange things that happen in Dalton a long time ago.
Just as he puts his new K.K Slider song in White Boom Box, he hears a knock on the door. It's either Clyde, Annalise, Merengue or Kurt.
Let's hope for the latter, because the others always impose, but Blaine is too polite to tell them to leave.
And luckily, it's Kurt.
And of course, he did change.
"Wooh!" he yells in a triumphal way, "Finally found it!"
"I thought Porter gave you a map?"
"Yes, but your city is- no offense, a mess," Kurt says, laughing sheepishly, "I mean, compared to mine. I ran into a tree several times and some villagers gave an angry look every time I accidentally stepped on flowers, especially the wilted ones. I assume you don't have Beautiful Town ordinance?"
"Night Owl."
"Gosh, are you sure our town are the same?" Kurt says jokingly.
"How's life in Lansbury?"
"Busy," Kurt answers and he really sounds exhausted, "First, Fauna wants a new catchphrase, then I have to buy a present for Bluebear's birthday, so I ran to the T&T to buy a Grape-Stripe shirt from the catalogue, and on my way to the Re-Tail, Deena stops me because she has a present for Klaus. Oh, and Copper told me that I have a visitor in the campsite, so I talked to her, but that Tutu is a prick."
He exaggeratingly rolls his eyes and Blaine grins.
"But let's get to business! You were right about Porter. I brought my Perfect Cherries with me to sell, so show me 'your' Reese and Cyrus."
"Well, follow me then."
"Oh yes, please!" Kurt sighs in relief, "I can't find a thing in your town."
By the end of the day, Kurt is convinced that Blaine's right. They're sitting on one of the yellow benches close to the Plaza.
"So, your Gracie recognized the designs of my Gracie, but she didn't recognize me," Kurt sulks, "That's unfortunate, since my Gracie and I like to collab quite often."
"Honestly, Gracie didn't give me the impression that she's open for collabs," Blaine says, "So your work must be really good."
They both fall silent. They both need to process the information they have. They know that something is wrong. Despite their appearances, their towns are too similar and so are their stories. Their lives in 'the real world' both got derailed. Out of cluelessness, they both boarded a train and never looked back. They both met Rover on the trains and they both wanted to see their towns out of curiosity. They were both mistaken as the mayor of the towns.
They both needed a fresh start.
They both know that Kurt's 'more advanced' than Blaine. For example, he has some golden tools and he has seen more villagers. He's been the mayor of Lansbury for a year, whereas Blaine has only been mayor for six months.
But Kurt's first six months are similar to Blaine's. It feels like they're both following a pattern, a story, and Kurt is further in.
What is this place?
"I don't know."
Oh, Blaine hadn't realized he said that out loud. "Whatever it is, we need to figure it out."
Kurt raises an eyebrow. "Do we?"
Blaine nods. "Yes, we need to figure out why we are here. We need to figure out where we are and why the two of us ended up in towns like this."
"Because we were both lost."
"Yes, I know that, but there must be a reason. Why pick lost people? Is this an opportunity for a new life? And if so, how did they find us and how did they manage to strangely transport us to Dalton and Lansbury."
"And what do those names mean?" Kurt adds.
"What'cha mean?" Blaine asks, confused. He hadn't thought of that part yet.
"Dalton- okay, that is quite an ordinary name," Kurt explains- or he tries to, "But why Lansbury? When I first heard it, it reminded me of Angela Lansbury- wait, do you know who that is?" "Sweeny Todd, Gypsy on the West End and revival, the King and I… yeah." "Yes! So it reminded me of Angela Lansbury, but what does Angela Lansbury have to do with me?" Kurt continues, "Sure, I am aware of her talent, but that's it. I've never actually met her or anything."
"Okay, Angela Lansbury… we'll figure that out," Blaine nods to himself, "But what about Dalton? There's no character named Dalton in Harry Potter!"
Kurt shoots him an 'are-you-for-real?' look.
"Do not judge!"
Kurt continues looking at him like that.
"Not the point! We need to figure out what is happening," Blaine reminds them, "I propose you go back to Lansbury and ask people there, and I'll do the same in Dalton." "But Lansburian society-" "Screw that society," Blaine yells, and Olaf looks up when he hears Blaine yelling.
"Everything alright, Blaine?"
"Yes, sorry. Don't mind me, please continue catching fish."
"Okay, whiffa!"
"Blaine, I cannot just ignore an entire society," Kurt says, alarmed, "We have rules and boundaries."
"Boundaries... I don't know, but you what they say about rules. They're made to be broken, unless you like Catch Me If You Can the musical."
"You are ridiculous."
"But it made you smile!"
The next day, Blaine is walking around on his beach, moping. Annalise is always on the beach, and she has noticed.
"Hello there!" she suddenly yells, sounding excited.
Blaine turns around and he's surprised to see Kurt standing on the cliff. "Nipper, you didn't tell me there would be visitors," Annalise says, looking very worried. "I… I had no idea," Blaine says back. "Oh boy, I have to go redecorate my house now!" Annalise tells him and leaves.
"You didn't tell me you were coming," Blaine says.
"Surprise! Now, tell me why you look so sad."
"Get down here!"
So Kurt does. "Well?"
Blaine sighs. "Hazel started talking about TURF or whatever and slingshots and she wanted to move away. So I told her that she could and she totally blew up on me. I've never seen a villager so mad. Normally, when I grant them my permission to leave, they seem relieved that I'm not mad at them."
"Oh, been there," Kurt says and rolls his eyes, "And why are you sulking on a beach? Beaches are supposed to be nice, especially here since we can't get sand in our shoes anymore."
"Giant-Clam shell," Blaine just mutters as he picks up another shell, "Oh darn, a scallop again. See, I bought my favourite K.K. Slider song again, since it was on sale today, and Cyrus told me he could make me a music box. I only need a Giant-Clam she-"
"Here," Kurt hands him a Giant-Clam shell.
"How did yo-"
"Found it on the beach back in my town, I was planning on doing the same thing."
After the boys brought the shell and the song to Cyrus, they started talking about their plan.
"I tried talking to several people," Kurt tells him, "and I could see that Sylvia wanted to tell me something, but she remained silent. Coach, on the other hand, started talking about his exercise regime instead of answering my questions, and Coco just ignored me."
"Your town's society sucks," Blaine says, "Luckily, mine isn't like that."
"Then what did your villagers say?"
Blaine tries not to look too guilty, but he fails. "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh..."
Kurt tilts his head a little bit to the side. "Please don't tell me…"
"That with Hazel was," Blaine checks the Park Clock on the cliff, "Five hours ago. I spent five hours seething on a beach."
"And you totally forgot to ask around?" Kurt crosses his arms.
"Exactly!"
Kurt just closes his eyes and he shakes his head disapprovingly. "How did you become mayor of a goddamn town?" he mutters.
Blaine frowns. "Someone's cranky today," he sulks, "Spoken to Rizzo by any chance?"
"Hamphrey, actually," Kurt replies, "And I'm just getting so tired of this bull. I want answers, so let's go already!"
"Okay then!" Blaine holds up his hands in defence.
Together, they try to talk to as many villagers as possible. Clyde approaches him, but he is only out for food, so Kurt gives him a cherry. Merengue is as friendly as always, but she politely tells them that she has no idea what they're talking about. They meet Annalise inside her house and she is overjoyed. Since they both don't want to tell her they're only there to ask her a question, they stay for a solid twenty minutes and they leave without answers. Hamlet and Willow are nowhere to be seen and Blaine doesn't want to talk to Hazel, so Kurt asks her. Hazel has no answers. They find out that Rooney is ill, so they give him medicine and Olaf is the museum.
"Your villagers are as useless as mine," Kurt tells Blaine while Blaine opens the front door of the Town Hall.
"Mayor Blaine!" Isabelle yelps, "And- oh, Mayor Kurt from Lansbury!" To Blaine's surprise, she seems nervous. "Mayor, what are you doing inside? Shouldn't you and our guest be outside, enjoying the weather?"
"It is raining, Isabelle," Blaine retorts.
Isabelle immediately looks outside. "Oh…" she says quietly when she sees the rain falling down, "Looks like I've been inside for too long. Uh, is there anything you want?"
Kurt nods.
"Yes, actually," Blaine says, "We have a question for you. Kurt and I-" He puts a hand on the shoulder of his new friend "-think that we need an explanation. Why are you also a secretary in Lansbury?"
"M-Mayor, I've never been in Lansbury before," Isabelle splutters, "I mean, I would love to go there, but I've never left Dalton."
"Isabelle, something is wrong," Blaine says and he and Kurt explain everything. They tell her about the similarities, they tell her about Isabelle in Lansbury and all the other shop owners, they briefly tell her their stories and they tell her that they are figuring out what's going on.
"Mayor, I hope you'll forgive me for saying this, but I don't think you should do that," Isabelle says quietly, "Maybe there is a reason behind this, and maybe it's the best if you just accept whatever reason that is."
"Isabelle, you cannot ignore this!"
"Mayor, I think I can," Isabelle says, looking apologetic.
"She's hiding something."
"Hm?"
"Yes, she definitely is hiding something."
Two weeks pass. Nothing happens.
"Mayor, what are you doing?" Willow asks.
"I'm angrily watering plants," Blaine answers, bitterly. Luckily, his silver watering can is able to water three to five flowers at the same time (how? No idea), so Blaine knows that it won't take long. Kurt told him he got his golden watering can by asking Isabelle about the town for a couple of days in a row, but Blaine hasn't been talking to Isabelle in a while. But he's fast enough.
That also means he has less time to vent.
He's just so frustrated. Why isn't he getting any further? He's been asking people on a daily basis, but no one seems to know anything. Or maybe they do know something, but they pretend they don't know. Blaine doesn't know if animals can be great actors or not.
Blaine buys a Flowery Painting at Crazy Redd's gallery and waits for Kurt to arrive. He quickly checks himself in the mirror Kurt got him. Before Dalton, he used to think that his outfits were very important, but after he moved to Dalton, he knows it doesn't really matter. He sometimes walks around in the same clothes for weeks.
But Kurt Hummel…
Despite not having to change, Kurt still wears different clothes every day, and therefor Blaine has started to feel a little bit self-conscious. He cannot wear the same thing every time he sees Kurt.
He doesn't know why, but Kurt has changed something. Seriously, the only upside of this process taking way too long is that he gets to spend time with him on a daily basis.
He re-gels his hair again.
Then, someone knocks on the door. Blaine is about to yell that it's open, but then… "B-Kins, are you in here?" Clyde yells, "I hope I'm not late!"
Late for what?
Clyde must've seen the confused look on his face. "We were supposed to hang out today, right?" he says, looking puzzled, but then he realizes, "Oh, that wasn't today! Well, we better hang out anyway."
"Actually, I-"
"Oh, I got you something!" Clyde hands him a piece of candy, "You're welcome, B-Kins."
"Clyde, the mayor of Lansbury is coming over-"
"Again?" Clyde asks, "What are you two doing every time? Yesterday, you visited Lansbury and today, Mayor Kurt is coming over here. Maybe the rumours are right."
Blaine shakes his head. I must've heard it wrong. "E-Excuse me, rumours?"
They hear another knock on the door and Kurt enters the house. "Oh," he says, looking at Clyde, "Hello. I didn't know that Blaine had visitors."
"I was just leaving!" Clyde says immediately. On his way out, he also hands Kurt a candy. "Yum, candy," Kurt smiles, "No villager has ever given me candy before. I mean, my Isabelle gave me a chocolate cake for Valentine's Day, but that's it."
"Same," Blaine says, "And Wart Jr. gave me a pink rose. But what's the plan of action for today? We've come to the long-overdue conclusion that interrogating villagers won't work, but that won't stop us from interrogating. I actually haven't spoken to Digby in a very long time. I doubt if he knows anything, but maybe he can tell us what's up with Isabelle."
"Actually, I was wondering if we could go to the island," Kurt asks, face neutral.
"Wait, do you think Kapp'n and his family know anything?" Blaine wonders, "I always thought they never cared about the 'people on the land'."
"No, no, I thought… maybe we could, just, uh, hang out?" Kurt suggest, nervously, "Catch some bugs? Look for some Giant Trevallies? Play some games with Tortimer? I've been saving medals, because I want the silver axe."
On their way to the island, they both decide not to tell Kapp'n that he can't sing. At the island, Kurt instantly goes to Leilani to register for a tour. Grams didn't put an axe up for sale, but Kurt bought Blaine a cute sailor hat.
They sold bananas and seashells to Leila, who was very happy to see them.
They were having fun.
They've been too caught up in this entire process that they'd forgotten to just hang out as friends. No plotting, no interrogating, no ranting… just hanging out. Back in Dalton, they sell their stuff at the Re-Tail and they go to Gracie to look at her new designs ("I don't like the colours, Blaine." "Same.").
Blaine's enjoying his day so much.
Because of that, he doesn't notice Kurt watching him the entire day.
Blaine looks from Olaf to Clyde and back to Olaf in bewilderment. They just stared at each other and now they're both mad. Olaf is smug, so normally he gets along very easily with other villagers. He's about to speak to Olaf, when Annalise spots him.
"Nipper!" Annalise says, "Do you know that there have been some rumours about you?" Blaine shakes his head. He knows that people gossip (especially Annalise), but he didn't know they still gossip about him.
"People are saying you and Mayor Kurt of Lansbury are together," she says, looking fake-scandalized. Blaine laughs weakly. "Yes, imagine that," he says. "Is it true, nipper?" Annalise tilts her head, looking extremely curious, "I must say that Mayor Kurt has an impeccable taste in clothing, so I can live with it."
"Annalise, we-"
"People also tell me you've been looking at him," Annalise continues, oblivious to Blaine's feelings, "If I were you, I would go for it."
"Annalise, I don't like him like that."
Annalise shrugs. "I think you do."
"Annalise, I don't," Blaine insists.
"Maybe you haven't figured it out yet," she says and fishes her net out of her pocket. Seems like the conversation is over.
She leaves a stunned Blaine behind.
"Oh, look at that!"
Kurt is pointing excitedly (Blaine wishes he could call Cooper) to the tent. It's a purple/gold tent located on the plaza.
Blaine sighs in annoyance. "Oh god please no," he says.
Kurt turns to him, looking appalled. "Don't tell me you don't like Katrina!" he cries out.
"It's just stupid fortune telling scam," Blaine says, "I've only been there once. That was the last time. I mean, what is she even talking about?"
"This basically explains why you have no Fortune Teller shop yet," Kurt murmurs, "We need to change that." He starts dragging Blaine towards Katrina. Blaine, obviously, tries to stop him. "This is ludicrous," he protests, "Fortune telling isn't even a thing, Kurt, this is embarrassing."
"Just move along," Kurt mutters, "People are looking."
And it's true. Rowan, who moved in a couple of days ago after Olaf left, lives close to the plaza. He waves, but looks confused.
"I used to think it was stupid too," Kurt tries to convince him, "I was never superstitious, but I did some research, and apparently, fortune telling works here. Wherever we are. Maybe she can help you." One thing Blaine has learned over the past couple of weeks is that Kurt is often oddly determined, so there's no use in trying to talking to talk him out of it. He once again sighs and decides to give up.
Katrina is already waiting for them. Kurt pays 1,000 Bells (Blaine refused to pay his 500 and to his annoyance, Kurt paid his share) and Katrina starts working. "Keeee heh ha mo-atata… Keeee ha ha mo-atatata… Ee ra no sheho- to bati…" What the…
"YEEEEEEEEEEeeeees, from this place I can see the stars!" she yells. Kurt looks excited. Blaine tries not to roll his eyes. "I can see great fortune upon love for both of you, yes I see." Both men share a look. "Bowtie and ascot. These items will be the key to happiness."
Blaine usually wears bowties and Kurt is known for his fabulous ascots. He never knew they meant something.
"And remember that bad times…" Blaine braces himself. Even though he still doesn't know what to say, he must admit that he's impressed. "… are just times that are bad."
Never mind.
Blaine shouldn't be surprised, but he still is when Kurt fishes a cyan-blue ascot out of his pocket. "Made this myself, with the help of the Able Sisters, of course," he says when he notices Blaine staring.
"Uh… be right back." He rushes to his house. In his closet he finds a beautiful yellow-ish bowtie. When he puts it on, he doesn't feel different, which is a bit disappointing. But maybe he has to wait.
"Nice one," Kurt nods towards the bowtie when he sees him, "Now then, shall we go?" Together, they board the train to Lansbury.
It's Victoria's birthday and Kurt had asked Blaine to come over. Victoria only moved in a couple of days ago, right after Chow moved away, but Kurt still wanted her to celebrate her birthday.
They both know it's no use to ask her if she knows anything.
When they arrive at Lansbury, they follow the new path that leads to Victoria's house. Inside, Victoria, Deena and Coco are dancing.
"Oh Kurt and… my! A visitor," Victoria says happily.
"It's Mayor Blaine from Dalton," Coco fills her in.
"Hello there, sugar cubes," Victoria sings, "Welcome. I don't want to assume, but…" Kurt hands her the present and together with the other guests, they make up lyrics for K.K. Birthday to sing.
They leave after another piece of cake. "Gosh, I'm not in the mood for investigating today," Kurt announces, "Who knew that birthdays could be so exhausting." Blaine was about to point out that Victoria's party wasn't exhausting at all, but then he sees it.
Kurt's looking at him. Hinting at something.
"So, then would you like to go to the Roost with me?" Blaine asks casually.
"Yes, that would be nice."
Together they stroll towards the Roost. They pass a lot of villagers. Fauna is watering the plants in front of her house, Klaus is fishing, Bluebear shook a tree and is looking confused at that tree, Coco and Coach are singing together, Pinky is fishing too and Sylvia is bug-catching. Hamphrey and Deena are either in their houses or in Main Street.
It's never boring in Lansbury.
They were mistaken, though. Deena is also in the Roost with Kapp'n. They order a coffee and sit down. They talk about the plan, or at least, what's left of it. "And you think today might be the day?" Blaine asks, sounding amused. Kurt has just told him that he feels like they're going to figure it all out today.
"Well, we're wearing a bowtie and an ascot, something is bound to happen."
"Yes, and she also told us about great fortune upon love."
It falls silent as Kurt quickly takes a sip from his coffee-
Only to spit it out immediately.
"Brewster, what did you put in there?" Kurt snarls- he actually snarls. Brewster is stunned and leaves his usual place behind the counter.
"Mayor, I had no idea…" he says as he sniffs his coffee, "I must've put some vodka in it."
"Vodka?" both Kurt and Blaine yell. Who the hell puts vodka in coffee by accident?
"Who the hell puts vodka in coffee by accident?" Kurt words his thoughts. He still looks angry- his coffee is very important. Brewster actually looks like he's about to retreat. When Kurt notices, he takes a deep breath and says: "Brewster, I do not want to upset you, but as you can imagine, putting vodka in someone's coffee isn't good. Is this the first time you put vodka in coffee? Is it always vodka?"
Brewster, still nervous, nods towards the barstools. Deena turns around too, following his gaze. Kapp'n had fallen asleep while Kurt was yelling at Brewster. No idea how he fell asleep during that, but he did.
"Good ol' Kapp'n fancies a cup of coffee with strong alcohol every now and then," Brewster tells them, "Says he needs it in order to survive his mother. Apparently, she isn't the kindest towards him on the island."
Everyone is silent as they listen to Kapp'n's snores. Deena quickly excuses herself and leaves. "I'm sorry, Mayor," Brewster whispers shamefully, "He says he needs it. He says it makes him a little bit loose, and I've noticed. He spills all the secrets when he's had a good amount of coffee. I didn't know it was forbidden to serve him coffee with alcohol, but he ordered it…" He trails off.
"No, it's okay," Kurt quickly assures him, "There are no laws about alcohol in coffee in Lansbury, but I thought you slipped alcohol in coffee by accident. Then, we need to have words."
Kurt has a kitchen. Blaine isn't surprised.
Kurt's house still is bigger than Blaine's. He has four rooms on the first floor (living room, kitchen, Golden Furniture room, closet), one on the second floor (master bedroom) and a basement (aquarium). All are huge. Blaine is still paying his loan for one of the three rooms on the first floor (living room, music room, bathroom), and he has a small room on the second floor (bedroom), and a small basement (yet to be determined).
But back to Kurt's kitchen.
Brewster has given him a coffee machine ("You just have to help him out every now and then. He'll give you free furniture.") and he's making a coffee for Kapp'n.
"So, let me get this straight," Blaine says, "You are spiking Kapp'n's coffee. He will get drunk and he will give us the answers we need?"
Kurt nods.
"Are you insane?"
"Insane about you, sweetie," Kurt jokes, but Blaine flushes scarlet.
"Aaaaand, finished!" Kurt pours the coffee in one of Brewster's Styrofoam cups, "Hand me the whiskey. It's in the cupboard under the sink- and I know that is a weird hiding place."
The two of them approach Kapp'n, who is sitting in his boat, looking cross. Gulliver is sleeping on the beach, but Kurt reassures Blaine that they'll wake him after they get the answers.
If they get the answers.
"What's this madness, ya spew?" he says, and then says the thing he always says. "No, we don't need to go to the island," Kurt replies calmly, "We just wondered if you'd like to have a cup of coffee with us. You know, just a couple of friends hanging around."
"'Tis a new procedure?" Kapp'n is eyeing the cup of coffee Kurt's holding, "Yer goin' to all the 'staff' 'n Lansbury to chat?"
"I just think it is important to know the people who spend every day doing something like this," Kurt lies smoothly, "Here, have one on me. The Mayor of Dalton is here too!" Blaine waves awkwardly.
So they drink together. Both Kurt and Blaine notice that Kapp'n's behaviour changes. The more he drinks, the looser he gets. Brewster was right.
They've been drinking for twenty minutes when Kapp'n starts spilling secrets about the island. They are interesting, but they're not what Kurt and Blaine are looking for.
"Then, how is there another Kapp'n?" Blaine eventually says.
"'Nother one of me?" Kapp'n laughs, "Only one Kapp'n, ya spew."
"But there is also a Kapp'n in Dalton. And an Isabelle, and a Porter…" Kapp'n seems to take in what Blaine's saying. Then, a lightbulb appears (yes, that can happen here).
"Ah, yer must be speakin' of my duplicate!" he says, "We all have 'em."
"Duplicates?" Kurt asks. They're finally getting somewhere.
"Yeh. E'vry town has them," he says and hicks, "E'vry town has a Kapp'n, and a couple o' Able Sisters. And all that staff. It's part of the game."
"Game?"
"Not an actual game," Kapp'n laughs, "Imag'n a game? We bein' 'n a game?" He starts laughing harder. It wakes Gulliver.
Kurt immediately goes to talk to Gulliver, but Blaine stays with Kapp'n. "Explain what you mean by game, then."
"Well, there're thousands of towns like Lansbury, ya know? And like good ol' Dalton. They all've a Kapp'n and spew. Dusn't make us fake, though. Ev'ry Mayor has been sent to their town for a reason, ya know?" Blaine doesn't know.
Kurt joins them again and Blaine quickly tells him what Kapp'n just told Blaine.
"Ya humans all are the same, ya know. Boarded a train and ended up in a town like this," Kapp'n chuckles, "Thinkin' yer all special and that. But yer sent her for a reason. Tis not a coincidence the towns are all alike. Ev'ry Mayor has been derailed for too long, and their towns is a way for them to start anew."
Kurt's about to ask something, when they hear a voice: "That is enough for now, Kapp'n!" They turn around, and they see Isabelle standing behind them. She looks rather cross.
To their bigger surprise they see Annalise standing next to her. Annalise is from Dalton.
"Mayors, please follow me to the town hall. Now."
Isabelle doesn't seem cross anymore. She seems anxious.
"Mayors, I am so sorry for this!" she says, looking distressed, "You weren't supposed to find out like this." Annalise nods. Coach is there too, and he seems uneasy.
"Wait, so it is true then?" Blaine asks, bewildered. When he heard Kapp'n's explanation, he couldn't believe it. In a way, it made sense, but it was still mind-blowing.
Isabelle nods solemnly.
"Yes, all the towns are the same in a way," she sighs, "My Dalton duplicate and I have been looking out for you. Then, Annalise tells me you went to Katrina, and we got worried."
"But… I don't understand," Kurt says.
So Isabelle explains. "The towns aren't fake. They are merely, well, creations. They're especially made for the people who need it. A million of people board a train every day, but not everyone needs to run away. The ones that do need to flee fall asleep. We take care of them and bring them to a town, especially made for them. There they can have a new start, and we provide them with the things they need. It depends on every Mayor. For example…" she trails off and looks from Kurt to Blaine.
"Has no one ever wondered why Dalton or Lansbury was the first town you visited?"
They shake their heads.
"It's because you two were destined to meet," Isabelle says and finally smiles, "You two needed to meet each other back on Earth, but you didn't meet each other. Fortunately, you both boarded a train, so we found a way to bring you together."
"What do you mean… we needed to meet each other?"
Annalise coughs and everyone turns to them. "I'm sorry, nippers, but I've been trying to make it clear to Mayor Blaine. Unfortunately, he didn't get the memo."
Blaine gapes at her.
"I needed to show you that you two are meant to be together romantically," she sighs as if it's obvious, "Why else would I spread those rumours?"
"Why do you think I stayed in this town?" Everyone turns to Coach, "I'm here to remind you of the people you lost, Kurt."
And Kurt is speechless.
"But why the name Dalton?" Blaine remembers the same question Kurt asked weeks ago, "Why Lansbury?"
"Let's just say that your towns were named after things that should've happened in your lives," Coach explains, sort of, "Happy things."
Blaine doesn't get it. But then again, it was supposed to happen so it never actually happened to Blaine.
"Where exactly are we?"
Isabelle shrugs. "We're everywhere, but also nowhere. We're not on Earth, but this isn't a planet either. We exist. That's it."
That is crazy.
"And what happens now? Are we going back?" Kurt asks.
"Do you want that?" Isabelle asks both of them, "Because it is possible. We can bring you two back to Earth. There, you can start living the lives you were meant to live together."
They look at each other. They both get what she means. They could still go to New York. Together.
"The thing is…" Isabelle trails off. Annalise scoffs and finishes: "Then you must forget everything that has happened." "You will forget the towns," Coach adds, "And your memories will be changed too. We can do that for you. All you have to do is say yes."
But they don't want to say yes. The towns, Lansbury and Dalton, are their new lives. And Kurt and Blaine care for their towns and their villagers. They met each other through their towns.
And sure, they can go back to New York and get what they wanted. They can make their dreams come true.
But this is their new dream.
And do they want that? What will happen to their memories? How will they remember meeting each other? Kurt looks at Coach, and Blaine at Annalise. They don't want to forget the people they met here.
Kurt moves closer and takes Blaine's hand. Blaine lets him. They were destined to be. They just didn't know it yet.
Blaine squeezes his hand. It's a bit weird and sudden, but they know it's right. They share a glance and then smile. Together, they turn back to Isabelle, Coach and Annalise.
"Is there another option?" Kurt asks and Blaine smiles.
3 Months Later
Blaine closes the door behind him. He's finished decorating his basement. He spent a lot of Bells on the candy themed furniture by Gracie, but it was worth it.
He is on his way to Kurt, but he doesn't have to wait long, since Kurt's old house is next to Blaine's old house. Before he gets the chance to knock, Kurt opens the door. "Are you ready?" he asks and Blaine nods eagerly.
Together they stroll through their town.
Yes.
Their town.
There was another option. The option was difficult, but worth it. Combining Dalton and Lansbury wasn't that easy, because both towns are very different. Whereas Lansbury was well organised and very modern-looking, Dalton was a bit of a mess.
But they managed to make it work. The town is twice as big. They really put Lansbury and Dalton next to each other.
Some things have disappeared, though. There is only one Main Street, one town hall, one train station, one Re-Tail, one police station, and so on. There are also no more duplicates. Isabelle has explained that duplicates share the same memories, so she's the combination of Lansbury's Isabelle and Dalton's Isabelle.
It's a bit mind blowing.
But they're happy and together, and that's all that matters. There's only one thing left: they need a new name for the town. 'Dalton and Lansbury' or 'Lansbury and Dalton' is a bit much.
They arrive at the new, bigger house they share. Tom Nook permits four houses in a town, so they decided to keep their old houses, but to also build a new one where they both live. "I still think we need to name it after something we missed." Blaine says.
"But how can we name something after something we missed? We have no idea what that thing is!" Kurt tells him.
"It is too cheesy to call our town Love," Blaine sighs as he enters their house, "But that is the thing we missed back there." "With that argument, you can call it Life," Kurt opens the drawers of one of their cabinets. He retrieves their swimsuits.
As always, changing into them is easy. They just jump and they're wearing their fashionable swimsuits. The clothes they were wearing are back in their pockets. Clothes are funny here.
They've chosen to display two pieces of clothing though: the cyan blue ascot and the yellow-ish bowtie.
But back to the subject.
"Gosh, this feels like naming your firstborn."
"You know, I like birds," Blaine says. Kurt just laughs. "How on earth is that relevant right now?" he asks his boyfriend.
"It's just… I've always had a name for a pet in mind."
"Yeah, me too. Again, how is this relevant?"
"I've always liked the name-" "Pavarotti." "Yes! How did you know that?"
But Kurt doesn't answer. Instead, he says: "Blaine… I didn't mean to finish that sentence. Pavarotti is the name I would pick for a bird."
They both let that sink in.
But then Blaine hurries to Kurt and kisses him. When he pulls back, he's grinning. "I think we found our name."
Hand in hand, they walk to the cliff side. Kurt hands Blaine the swimming cap, and Kurt gives Blaine the swimming goggles. It's very cold, since it's December. Luckily, the water doesn't freeze in Pavarotti.
"Ready?"
Kurt nods. They love diving, and diving together is even better. "I can't believe I'm here," Blaine says dreamily, "A year ago, I boarded a train, feeling lost, and here I am. Never thought a year could change so much. I'm loving life. A life with people that love me too. I still can't believe you love me."
"I told you I'm insane about you," Kurt laughs, and together they jump.
END
Wow, you read the entire thing? Thank you! I know this was very weird, but I hoped you liked it. Blaine's town is actually my town. My town is called Dalton and all of Blaine's villagers are some of my villagers. Even the mess that is Dalton is my town, so that was kind of funny to write.
Obviously, their towns are called Dalton and Lansbury after Dalton Academy and Pamela Lansbury.
Uh, I have nothing else to add. Just... thanks for reading.