Author's Notes: I don't own them. They just told me this story and wanted me to share it.
Many thanks to my beta readers; poetheather, tangledhair, kelshei, and thestoryofelle.
I don't know exactly how often I'll be updating this, but it is being worked on regularly and will not be abandoned.
Please pay close attention to the dates. This jumps around a lot, sometimes by a few months, sometimes by a few years.
Warnings/Rating: NC-17 for sex, mild violence, dub-con, mild bdsm, language, alcohol & drugs (with and without sex)
The Lucky Ones – Chapter One: So it Starts Like This
So it starts like this
And ends real quick
But what is speed
If you don't move an inch?
-The Lucky Ones, Val Emmich
September 28, 2012
Kurt was trying to be patient, really he was, but if the damn plane had tried to hold him any longer he might not have been responsible for his actions. He had three glorious days off work and he wanted to enjoy every moment he could with Blaine. Oh sure, seeing the family would be wonderful too. He hadn't seen them since the summer. But Blaine's last visit was six weeks ago and Kurt needed to see him now. He cursed the airport security that wouldn't let Blaine meet him directly at the gate. The TSA had no idea what they'd done to romance and the classic emotion of the tearful goodbye and the heartfelt welcome home.
He zipped around a slower couple and hurried to the turn in the corridor. He saw Blaine almost the moment he turned, but Blaine was looking the other way checking the status board. Kurt was content to slow down, enjoying the warm feeling he got in his gut as he walked closer to his goal. Just seeing Blaine made him feel better. He couldn't believe anything less than this could be called love. Blaine turned just as Kurt neared him and Kurt braced himself for impact, gathering Blaine in his arms.
"Oh, god, I've missed you so much." Blaine whispered hoarsely as soon as he wrapped his arms around Kurt.
"I've missed you, too." Kurt took a deep breath, inhaling Blaine's scent, happy to be home. He pulled his head back to offer Blaine a smile and was surprised when Blaine grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into a slow, loving kiss instead. Kurt felt his shoulders drop and the tension drain from him as he reveled in the kiss.
After a moment, Blaine stopped and stepped back, holding on to Kurt's hand. "So, baggage claim?"
"Um, no" Kurt glanced around, please to see that most people weren't looking their way and only one person seemed to be bothered by their display. "Did you forget that we're in Dayton?"
"Did you forget that I don't hide my feelings well?" Blaine smirked back.
Kurt couldn't do anything but smile. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
November 3, 2012
Blaine was up to his eyeballs in homework and still needed to find time to study for exams. His entire Saturday would be spent like this, well, until 7:30 when he had a Skype date with Kurt. Nothing would get in the way of his time with Kurt. He almost regretted signing up for the night classes, but when he thought about surprising Kurt with his early graduation, he knew it would all be worth it. After the holidays, he'd be able to move to New York, to be with Kurt. He'd talked to Santana when he visited in late September, and she was on board with the plan for Blaine to move in, and swore she wouldn't tell Kurt about it. The glee club was still upset that he wouldn't be with them for Nationals this year, and he was nervous that one or more of them would spill the beans, but thankfully, Kurt hadn't shown any sign of suspecting anything. Blaine started slightly when his phone rang, and didn't even bother to stop the smile when he saw Kurt's name on the screen.
"Hey baby! I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tonight."
"Hi" Kurt sounded very somber, and since he'd been pretty stressed for the last week or so, it was worrying Blaine a bit.
"How are things going? Has Elaine gotten any easier to deal with?" Kurt's boss had been rough for him to get used to, and he said he often felt like he was struggling to keep up.
"Um, yeah, she's… she's fine. Listen, Blaine," Blaine heard Kurt take a deep breath and it sounded shaky.
"Kurt? Baby, are you okay?"
"We… I need to tell you…"
"What is it, love? You know you can tell me anything. What's wrong?"
"Stop, Blaine. Just… wait a minute… we can't…" Blaine heard another sharp inhale and thought he heard a tiny sob.
"Kurt, you're scaring me. What happened?"
"I can't be with you anymore."
No. No, he didn't just say that. He couldn't have. That doesn't make sense. He … we love each other … we're perfect together. He… "What?" It was more of a breath than an actual word, and some tiny little calm part of Blaine's mind was surprised he could still breathe at all. He felt like he had a vise around his chest, forcing all the air out, cutting off the circulation maybe. That would explain the sudden dizziness, the blurred vision. The audio hallucinations. That's it. Maybe he really had heard Kurt wrong because he had a brain tumor or something. That would make more sense.
"I said… I c-can't be with you anymore. It… It's over."
Yes, a brain tumor would be preferred over this. "Kurt, you can't mean that. What did I do? What happened?"
"Nothing, Blaine. You didn't do anything. I-I swear." His voice was so quiet, so sad, but with a tone of anger in it, and Blaine couldn't understand that.
"Then why? Kurt, please you can't just do this. You said we'd be okay. I'll come visit more if the distance is …"
"It's not that. It's just not going to work. You'll be okay. You'll find someone better."
Blaine couldn't help the wry chuckle at the very idea that there could be anyone better than Kurt. "That's not possible" he finally said. "I – Kurt, I don't know what's happened, but I know it's been hard, being away from each other. I was going to surprise you at Thanksgiving… I'm graduating in December so I can come to New York early. I've already talked to Santana about it. We'll be together so soon."
"No." Kurt interrupted, and Blaine thought he heard a tremor in Kurt's voice. "No, we won't. I'm sorry Blaine, but I c-can't be with you anymore. I have to go now. I'm sorry."
And just like that, Kurt was gone. The line went dead for a moment before Blaine's cell phone recognized that the call had ended and went back to its standby mode. He looked at it, willing it to ring again, trying to believe that Kurt hadn't really just broken up with him. After a few minutes, he dialed Kurt back; there had to be a way to work this out, to fix whatever had gone wrong. His call went to voice mail, though.
"Kurt? Kurt, honey, I don't know what's happened, or why you feel like we can't be together. If it's something I did, I swear, I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't mean to… I don't even know" he sniffled, which was actually his first clue that he was crying. "I love you, Kurt. I – we're supposed to be the ones who make it. Remember how we talked about it? How lucky we were to meet? We can still be the lucky ones, Kurt. Please call me back. Please? I love you."
Blaine paced around in his room for a while, crying and sniffling, wondering what else he could do, how he could fix this and convince Kurt it was a mistake. After a while, he tried texting Kurt, hoping maybe Kurt would be willing to return a text even if he wasn't willing to answer a call.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 3:42pm: Please talk to me about this. I love you. We can make it through anything.
When that didn't get a response, Blaine kept trying.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 4:01pm: Kurt, baby, I don't know what's wrong, but I swear we can work it out. I believe in us. I love you.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 4:06pm: Did something bad happen to you? Please let me know you're all right, and tell me what's going on. I love you. We can't break up. I can't let it happen.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 4:15pm: You're not alone, are you? I mean, something's wrong, and you shouldn't be alone when something's wrong. Is San there with you? Can you talk to her? She can tell you about my plans and how good things are gonna be.
To Santana: Nov 3, 4:17pm: What's wrong with Kurt? What the hell happened. He won't talk to me. Please let me know he's okay.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 4:20pm: I love you so much. I know you're upset right now, but whatever's wrong can be fixed. We're not supposed to end like this.
From Santana: Nov 3, 4:21pm: Can't help Blainers. He won't talk to me either. Did he say something to you? I haven't talked to him since yesterday.
To Santana: Nov 3, 4:23pm: Oh god, San, you don't know? He just called here and broke up with me. He wouldn't even tell me why, but I know something's wrong.
From Santana: Nov 3, 4:24pm: What?
To Kurt: Nov 3, 4:25pm: Come on baby, please talk to me. I love you.
From Tina: Nov 3, 4:26pm: I'm coming over. Why don't you think to call your friends when you need us?
To Tina: Nov 3, 4:26pm: ok
To Santana: Nov 3, 4:26pm: Thanks for spreading the news, San. Has he said anything yet?
From Santana: Nov 3, 4:29pm: Hummel's still ignoring me, locked in his room. I can hear movement, so I know he's alive, but he won't let me in. Let Tina mop you up, and I'mma work on taking this door off the hinges.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 4:38pm: Kurt, baby, please. There's nothing we can't get through as long as we try. We love each other too much.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 4:39pm: oh god, you don't love me anymore, do you. Oh god
That realization, even just the possibility of it, struck Blaine like a hammer in the chest. Thor's hammer, to be exact (and it was moments like this when he hated the way his brain worked – who thinks of movie references when their life is falling apart?) He thought they could work through this, thought they could talk about whatever had gone wrong and make it better and be okay again, but the idea that maybe Kurt didn't love him anymore broke those dreams. He couldn't understand what would have caused such a change so suddenly. They'd just talked on Thursday evening. They texted on Friday, but Blaine had late rehearsals for Regionals and Kurt was being dragged to a work party or something. Everything had seemed okay then, and they'd both confirmed their Skype date. Blaine skimmed through his phone just to be sure he hadn't missed something important in his texts.
From Kurt: Nov 2, 1:53pm: Hey sweetie! Having a good Friday?
To Kurt: Nov 2, 1:59pm: I am now! You always know how to make my English class more enjoyable. How's work today?
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:04pm: Elaine's driving me mad as usual. I'm redesigning two costumes for the show, and I've got to have the new ones made by Tuesday. I'll be busy with it most of the weekend.
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:05pm: Does this mean no Skype tomorrow?
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:07pm: No! I'm gonna make sure I'm free then. 7:30. I'll be there!
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:12pm: Are you still okay with that time?
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:15pm: Yeah, sorry, got stopped by Coach Sylvester in the hall. That woman gets weirder all the time.
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:17pm: lol – I didn't know that would still be possible. Everything okay?
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:18pm: yeah, fine.
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:20pm: She called me 'The Boy Who Lived' this time – it was … odd. But now I just have to sit through the last of Calc and it'll be time for rehearsal. Mr. Shue wants to rehearse late tonight since we're singing for homecoming soon and Regionals is coming up.
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:23pm: lol – you do look a little like Potter, I guess, but without the glasses.
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:24pm: I could rock the glasses if I wanted to
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:25pm: I have no doubt of that. I miss you.
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:28pm: I miss you too. I can't wait until Thanksgiving! Just 2.5 weeks until I can see you and hold you and kiss you and…
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:30pm: Yes, I'm looking forward to fucking you, too, my love.
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:36pm: You shouldn't say things like that when I'm in class. It draws far too much attention when I'm choking back my desire and blushing red hot like that.
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:37pm: But I love to get that reaction from you!
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:40pm: Save it for when you can see the reaction in person.
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:47pm: Reactions via text are MUCH larger than they appear…
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:48pm: ?
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:50pm: It was supposed to … car, side mirrors, joke, fail (clearly) Sorry.
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:51pm: lol okay, I'm caught up now. I love you.
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:51pm: I love you, too.
To Kurt: Nov 2, 2:54pm: End of class – I'll be busy rehearsing for the next couple hours. Have fun at your party (if possible) and I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Love you!
From Kurt: Nov 2, 2:55pm: I'll try, but it's a work thing, and you won't be there. Love you so much. Skype, 7:30pm, tomorrow, can't wait.
And that was it. He couldn't imagine what had happened between 2:55pm on Friday and 3:01pm on Saturday when that phone call came in. How could Kurt have stopped loving him in 24 hours? And the moment he asked himself that question, he thought back to the last time he'd thought Kurt didn't love him anymore.
April 21, 2012
The phone kept buzzing and Blaine finally decided it must be something urgent, so he picked it up to check it for Kurt.
From Chandler: Apr 21, 7:35pm: When we go to New York, let's go to the front of the plaza and reenact the end of The Way We Were.
From Chandler: Apr 21, 7:37pm: Can you sing into my voice mail? I want to make your voice my ring tone. :D
'Who the hell is Chandler?' Blaine wondered. He knew he was prying, but he couldn't seem to stop himself as he scrolled through Kurt's message history and discovered that he and Chandler had been texting back and forth for days. He recognized some of the time stamps as glee practice and finally understood what Kurt had been so busy with in there.
From Chandler: Apr 20, 7:51pm: I am pretty sure you were Cleopatra in another life. You've got a great asp!
And the day before that…
From Chandler: Apr 19, 11:43am: Are you an astronaut because your smile is out of this world.
He felt like his stomach was doing backflips and he was going to lose his dinner. When Kurt finally came back in, he couldn't help himself. He had to know what was going on. There seemed to be only one answer, though. The evidence was right there on the screen. Kurt was cheating on him.
November 3, 2012
That must have been it. Kurt had found someone else. He'd nearly done it before, when Blaine got a little distant last spring, and now, with the physical distance and Blaine being so busy with night classes and rehearsals and everything… their daily Skype sessions had slipped to just a few times a week, and yeah, he probably hadn't been texting as often this last month or so. He hadn't thought it was this bad, but that had to be it. Kurt found someone else, probably some super-hot New Yorker with his own place, maybe someone in college, or someone working at the theatre company with him. Someone who wasn't still stuck in Loserville, OH in high school. Someone worthy of Kurt's beauty and talent and love. He'd been afraid this would happen, but now that he was less than two months from graduating early and moving there, he'd started to lose that fear. Of course, as soon as he let his guard down, that's when his life fell apart.
He mentally ran through their last several conversations, trying to remember if Kurt had mentioned anyone that might have captured his attention. Bill, the leading man in the play they were working on, or Eddie, the neighbor that Santana mentioned once, complaining about his string of loud fuck-buddies. Of course, it could easily have been someone else. There was no telling, and ultimately, it didn't matter. Blaine couldn't really think about it. The idea of Kurt being with anyone else was just too painful, and if that's the way it was going to be, it would be best to just stop thinking about it as quickly as possible.
To Kurt: Nov 3, 5:16pm: Kurt, I think I understand now. I'm sorry I let you down, and I hope you'll be happy with him, whoever he is. I'll always love you, and I'm sorry I wasn't enough for you.
God, that text broke his heart to send, but he knew that if Kurt hadn't responded to anything by now, he was set on this. He knew Kurt so well, knew how his mind worked and how determined he could be. He knew Kurt wouldn't have done this unless he meant it, and he certainly wouldn't have ignored all those messages if there were still a chance in hell they could work it out. Blaine also knew himself. The quicker he accepted it, the better off he'd be. He took a deep breath and started trying to convince himself that he could get through this and it would all be okay. Then Tina tapped on his bedroom door and offered him a smile and a pint of Phish Food Ben & Jerry's and that's when he completely fell apart.