"David! Oh my gosh, you made it!"

He had been talking to Santana and Brittany and the entire gymnasium was full of mixed conversation, but he would have heard and recognized that voice anywhere. He turned around immediately, just to be enveloped into a huge, graduation-gown ensconced hug. He returned it fully, picking Kurt up from the ground and spinning him around. He didn't care that they were in full-view of everyone or that Kurt had a territorial boyfriend, and he supposed that was some kind of irrefutable evidence that he had made progress.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it," Kurt continued to gush once he was back on his feet. "I thought for sure I wouldn't see you today. It means so much that you came all the way from San Diego just to watch me walk across a crummy stage."

Dave was barely cognizant of the 'see you later' pat Santana bestowed to his shoulder. He was far too occupied by Kurt's glasz eyes and how much they glowed, either from the fluorescent lighting or…well, maybe the fact that he was here. The idea of that made his heart leap.

"Oh yeah, I mean…it's no big deal," Dave said, playing it off casual. "I had to get some things from my mom's house anyway. The move was kind of an off-the-cuff, escape-into-the-night kind of thing, so…yeah, a trip to Lima was eminent either way…"

That wasn't entirely untrue. His father's choice to work for a law firm in San Diego was very much a sporadic decision and very much an excuse to get Dave out of the toxic, homophobic environment of Lima. It was a sound decision, as it turned out. Dave was able to complete the rest of his senior year credits by correspondence and get a diploma. He had gotten a job working for a sporting goods store, which paid well and was fairly easy and low-key. He had kept up his high school work-out regimen and was considering a community college for his first two years, just until he figured out exactly what he wanted to do (Entertainment Law was definitely looking promising, though). However, what was also true was the fact that he easily could have just gotten his mom to just FedEx the things he needed. Coming to Lima wasn't exactly a necessity…but seeing Kurt again was.

"Look, uh… could we talk somewhere more private?" Dave asked, eying the very crowded room uncertainly. "Just for a minute or two, it shouldn't take long…I've, uh…I've just got some things to say."

Kurt nodded and smiled reassuringly, taking Dave's hand and leading him out to the empty hallway and into an open, unoccupied classroom. The lights were off, so it was rather dim, save for the light of midafternoon peeking in through the upper windows. Dave decided to leave it as it was and it seemed Kurt had a similar opinion.

"So how do you like California?" Kurt asked after a time. Dave realized he must have been stalling on what he wanted to say a lot longer than he was conscious of.

"Oh, uh…it's really nice. It's…kinda good to be away from everything, you know?"

He hoped Kurt wouldn't take that personally. He hoped he would understand why being away from everything, Kurt included, had been surprisingly healing. Kurt's nod and reassuring smile told him that he did.

"I'm sure a fresh start has been something of a relief for you…"

"Yeah, it has…"

Dave smiled back as convincingly as he could. He wanted to tell Kurt about how much he loved San Diego, about some of the people he had met, about the fantastic weather, about how understanding and open-minded everyone was, about how he and his dad were working hard on their relationship and were even planning to go to a local pride parade in June.

He wanted to tell Kurt about how despite how awesome all of this stuff is, he still missed him extremely and couldn't help but think about him every day.

But Dave didn't say any of this because he knew it wasn't going to help either of them. He knew he came all the way here for a specific reason and that was, ultimately, closure- for both of them.

"Look, uh…I brought you something," he said softly, pulling a small box from his the pocket of his blazer.

"A graduation gift?" Kurt asked with a grin.

Dave just nodded.

"Yeah…you could say that."

Kurt opened it, more eager than Dave would have liked, as this really wasn't anything special, not for Kurt at least. If anything, Dave was just returning what didn't belong to him.

It was deathly quiet in the first few moments that Kurt surveyed the cake-topper, rolling it around in his hand and studying it as though it were some kind of ancient artifact –which Dave supposed it kind of was, in a weird way-.

"David-"

"I know. It's been awhile. I was sure you had forgotten about it anyway, and…I debated whether or not I should even bring it, but it's yours, not mine."

Kurt continued to look at him, perplexed, seemingly in search of some kind of deeper meaning. Dave supposed there always was with him, given his inclination to reticence.

"You really didn't have to-"

"No, no, I did," Dave corrected him. "You don't have to keep it. You can throw it away right now if you want. I would have done it, but it's…it's not mine. I just…I didn't want to keep it around. It reminds me of too much."

It reminds me of you, he thought. He would have said it, but he figured that would seem like he was putting blame on Kurt for something and it would be snowing on the hills of hell before Dave ever accused Kurt of being in the wrong for anything he did.

The look in Kurt's eyes was making his heart break. It seemed they both knew now what this really meant, what Dave was really trying to say.

But there wasn't any other option here. They couldn't just be friends. They had tried it and Dave already felt like he was some kind of extra weight on Kurt's shoulders more than he was a legitimate, equally-contributing friend. Furthermore, Blaine was getting more and more hinky about Kurt's interaction with other guys. He had spent a whole night ranting to Dave about it over AIM. By the next morning, however, all was forgiven and Kurt was back in Blaine's arms.

Perhaps that was the biggest reason a friendship just wouldn't work- to know that someone like Blaine was so fortunate as to call Kurt his boyfriend…

No. It was selfish, he knew, but it was too much to deal with right now. Neither of them needed it and Dave had to do the difficult, but noble thing here.

"Listen…" Dave said softly, taking Kurt's hands gently in his own. "I just…I want to thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to express how grateful I am to have known you…or how much you will always, always mean to me…and I just know that you're going to go on and do really big things. I hope I'm in one of your audiences someday."

He offered Kurt another smile and it seemed he tried to return it, but tears were obviously welling up in his eyes.

"Thank you, David…"

They hugged again, this time from Dave's instigation. Kurt held him tightly and Dave thought it was sort of funny how he felt he might easily break just from the smaller boy's almost vice grip. He didn't care, though. If he were going to choose a place to die, it'd be here in Kurt's arms where he could feel his warmth, his touch, and smell the soft floral notes of his shampoo.

"Take care of yourself, won't you?" Kurt asked after they had parted slightly.

Dave sniffed back tears.

"Of course. You too."

He thought when he had gotten back to the guest bedroom at his mother's house that he would surely collapse on the bed and have a good cry, but the urge to do so never came. If he was perfectly honest, he felt like an anvil had been lifted off of his chest and he hoped Kurt felt similarly.

When he finally boarded the plane to return to San Diego, he didn't bother to look out the window and get a last glance at Ohio. Lima, his past, and everyone in it was behind him now, Kurt included.

He supposed there would always be a sad twinge in his heart for what might have been and he knew he would never really forget or ever fully stop loving him, but what was once an aching yearning had now become a fond memory and nothing more.