Blaine was not a morning person. Mornings were for curling up under his warm, snuggly blankets and dozing while the sun bathed his bed in early morning light. Blaine liked to wake up slowly and lazily linger in bed until he finally started feeling functional, which wasn't usually until at least 10 AM. In college, he'd avoided as many early morning classes as he could. The one time he'd had to take an 8 AM, he'd been late to half the classes and had only been able to stay awake if he'd consumed at least 2 cups of coffee. So when he'd finally accepted that he needed to find a job, any job, to pay his rent while he waited for an audition to work out and had ended up with the 6 AM shift at downtown coffee shop, Blaine had struggled. After almost getting fired for consistently showing up late, he'd finally discovered that having an established routine and going through his morning like a well-programmed robot was the only way to get to work on time.

For the first two weeks of his new routine, Blaine was a total zombie. The world was just a blur of colors and noises as he made his way from his apartment to the subway. He stared blankly out the window of the subway, only vaguely registering where he was enough to recognize his stop. A few mornings, he actually missed it and had to get off one stop later and walk further. After a few weeks, though, Blaine was finally starting to adjust to the new schedule. He still hated mornings, but he started to be awake enough to at least notice his surroundings. He became familiar with the routines of other people and started to make them part of his own. As he walked to the subway, he nodded a greeting at the old man shuffling down the sidewalk with his large dog, who probably weighed more than his owner. He waved at the friendly shop owner who always called out a "Good morning!" as she unlocked her shop. He smiled to himself as he watched the frazzled dad trying to corral his three young kids toward his car.

On the subway, he always got in the exact same spot, far enough down the platform to avoid ending up in a crowded car. There were a few other regulars who always seemed to be on the same car, and Blaine started to nickname them based on their resemblance to characters in Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. There was Sleepy, a young guy who was always curled up in a seat near the end of the car, sound asleep. Blaine wondered if he ever actually got where he was going. Happy was the middle-aged woman in the business suit who was way too awake for 6 in the morning, always smiling down at her tablet screen and humming quietly to herself as she typed away. Sneezy appeared to be the unfortunate victim of perpetual allergies, though everyone gave her a pretty wide berth in the morning just in case she was contagious. Bashful was the girl about Blaine's age who looked up and smiled shyly at him as Blaine slid into the seats across from her before turning back to her book. Doc was an obvious choice – a sharp-eyed woman down the car wearing scrubs and sipping coffee. Grumpy got on the stop after Blaine, his face arranged into a perpetual scowl as he typed furiously on whatever device he was holding that morning.

Blaine's favorite part of his morning routine, though, was by far the man he had dubbed Snow White, who got on two stops after Blaine. He was by far the most beautiful man Blaine had ever seen, with pearly white skin, clear blue eyes, and dark brunette hair that was always impeccably coiffed into a stylish upsweep. His clothing was perfectly fitted and elegantly fashionable and made Blaine drool a little with jealousy. Blaine would not have been surprised to learn he was a supermodel, except Blaine didn't think most supermodels were riding the subway at 5:30 AM. Blaine had to make a conscious effort not to spend the rest of the ride staring at him and often passed the time daydreaming about the beautiful man. In his mind, Snow White was Blaine's ideal man, a perfect combination of talent, charm, wit, and humor. Blaine imagined taking the man to dinner and watching his face light up with a smile over something Blaine said, or strolling hand-in-hand through Central Park on a warm afternoon, or singing silly duets as they made their way home from a Broadway show. Blaine knew it was unlikely that his fantasy man was the hot guy riding on his subway car in the morning, but it was nice to dream. Since Blaine was in no shape to be striking up conversation with attractive men at 5:30 AM, nor did he think Snow White would welcome being hit on during his peaceful morning commute, it seemed like he would never have the opportunity to find out.

For months, Blaine spent his morning commutes in silent admiration of Snow White, wishing for the first time that New York was a smaller city so he'd actually have a chance of running into Snow White elsewhere. As it was, the only thing he knew about Snow White was his usual subway stop. Blaine had accepted that Snow White was just a wonderful fantasy, and he was content to leave it at that.

One random Thursday about four months after Blaine had started his new job, Blaine hopped on the subway to head home around 5 PM, much later than he usually caught it. He'd just come from an audition that had gone really well, and he was smiling to himself as he slid through the doors of the crowded subway car. As the train raced through the underground tunnels, making several more stops, the car grew more and more crowded, and Blaine found himself pressed closer and closer to the strangers around him. As the car made yet another stop and Blaine shifted to allow people nearby to get off the train, he stepped on someone else's foot. He glanced down and cringed when he saw the beautiful and undoubtedly expensive designer shoe he had just crushed under his own. "Oh my gosh, I am so… sorry," he finished weakly when he realized the person whose shoe he had probably just destroyed was none other than Snow White.

Snow White's gorgeous blue eyes widened in surprise. "It's you," he said, his voice clearer and more beautiful than Blaine had even imagined.

"It's you," Blaine repeated with a surprised laugh.

"I was beginning to think you only existed on the 5:31 AM subway," he replied with a broad smile that made Blaine's insides melt a little.

Blaine laughed. "That's the one place I wish I didn't exist."

Snow White frowned. "Not a fan of your job?"

"Not a fan of mornings," Blaine replied.

"Ah." Snow White nodded sympathetically. "I can understand that."

"Not a fan of mornings either?" Blaine asked.

"Not particularly," Snow White replied, stepping closer to Blaine as more people filtered onto the crowded car. Blaine's heart started to beat a little faster at their proximity. Blaine almost wondered if Snow White could hear it, because he gave Blaine a wide smile. "Though they do have their perks."

Blaine's lips curved into an answering smile. First a great audition, and now casual flirtation with his fantasy man? What a fantastic day this was turning out to be. "I agree. The early morning commute definitely has some… attractive features."

Snow White laughed. He stopped abruptly as someone behind him jostled him on the way to the exit, knocking him into Blaine. "By that, I assume you mean the relative quiet and the lack of crowds," he said, glaring as he righted himself.

"Of course," Blaine replied cheekily. "What else could I possibly have meant?"

"I have no idea," Snow White replied knowingly. "I'm Kurt, by the way."

"Blaine," he answered.

"Well, Blaine, at the risk of sounding forward, would you like to arrange a meeting outside the subway sometime?"

Blaine arranged his face into a horrified expression. "Outside the subway? Above ground?! I don't know if I can handle that."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "What are you, a badger?"

"I prefer to think of myself as a meerkat. Adorable, friendly, charming…"

"Are meerkats charming?" Kurt asked skeptically.

"…a great entertainer; lovable to everyone, even warthogs and lions…"

"Slightly obnoxious…"

Blaine gasped. "Timon is not slightly obnoxious!"

"Who said anything about Timon?" Kurt teased.

"Well. See if I go out with you now," Blaine huffed.

Kurt ignored him, pulling his phone out of his pocket and passing it to Blaine. Blaine accepted it and typed in his contact information. Kurt smiled as Blaine handed back the phone, then nodded toward the doors of the slowing car. "This is me."

"I know," Blaine replied. "I've kind of seen you before, remember?"

Kurt laughed. "Right. Well, I'm glad we bumped into each other this afternoon. Or more accurately, you bumped into me."

Blaine had forgotten about stepping on Kurt's shoe. "Oh! Is your shoe going to be okay? I hope I didn't get it too dirty when I stepped on it. I'd hate to have ruined something designed by the fabulous Alexander McQueen."

Kurt smiled as he stepped away from Blaine. "They've survived worse." Just before he disappeared into the crowd between Blaine and the door, he added, "Plus, it would have been a worthwhile sacrifice."

Blaine grinned. Maybe his subway fantasy man really would be turn out to be everything Blaine had dreamed. For now, though, Blaine was just excited for tomorrow morning.

Three months later, Bashful's usual smile of greeting was particularly bright when Blaine and Kurt got on the subway together at Kurt's stop, grinning adorably at each other as they settled into their seats.

[Author note: Before you ask (assuming you liked this enough that you would ask), I'll probably end up writing a follow-up chapter about their first date in the near future, but for now I'm marking this as a complete one-shot. Thanks for reading!]