This one shot is based on the following two prompts...
MrsNessa91 prompted: maybe when Blaine decided to go to NY with Kurt or Kurt would stay in Ohio
SofiaMichelle (AO3) prompted: Blaine moving to NY!
*I've decided to combine these two prompts since it made sense to me. Since you guys wanted Blaine in New York, I present to you some snapshots of just that. The readers have spoken! :D (And, yes, it's kinda close to canon…)
Blaine was standing in the camera department of Best Buy about to drop four thousand dollars on the pro-grade camera he had been drooling over all summer when his phone buzzed in his pocket with a text message.
are we still on for dinner tonight?
He and Kurt had only been together for about a month, but every time Blaine thought about Kurt going back to college in New York and leaving him behind in Ohio, his stomach would feel queasy like it might feel if he was standing on the edge of a precipice about to throw himself off. He knew he would have to let him go, but Blaine wasn't happy with the idea of their relationship simply being a summer fling. Just thinking about it made throwing himself off a cliff actually seem inviting. Blaine cared too much about Kurt for it to be as meaningless as that.
The first semester of his junior year would begin in a little over a week, so his summer job had officially ended, making it possible for him to spend as much time as he could with Kurt before the inevitable heartbreak. Perhaps they didn't need to split, but the idea of a long-distance relationship was almost as unappealing as a short-lived one.
Every time Kurt would talk about New York, Blaine would go into a daydream, imagining himself among the city lights and the crowds, in the parks, and he even romanticized taking the subway. And in every daydream, he was there with Kurt, getting coffee at their favorite shop, exploring Fifth Avenue, maybe even going to Broadway shows. When he was ripped out of it and brought back to reality, he knew it was all just fantasy.
But what if it didn't need to be?
He could already hear his father's voice in his head, chastising him about being irresponsible, about how much they already sacrificed to put him through university for what he believed to be an impractical art. Blaine knew in his heart that he couldn't keep himself away from the things he loved, the things he was passionate about, regardless of what others thought.
He'd saved up a hefty amount over the summer and the last few years, and wasn't he an adult who was capable of making his own decisions?
yeah, we're still on.
Blaine hit send and slid his phone back into his pocket. He turned his back on the camera display and left the store empty-handed.
-s-
Nearly filled luggage sat on Blaine's bed, lacking only the final few essentials. It wouldn't feel real until he zipped up the cases, until they were in the trunk of a cab, until he was stepping off the plane at JFK…
The university was surprisingly understanding, his parents were not. In the end, his father had resignedly thrown his hands up and admitted that he knew his opinion didn't matter: Blaine would take off to New York like the stubborn son he had raised. His mother's only caution was the dangers of radically changing his life just to chase after a boy, but Blaine convinced her that this wasn't all about Kurt, it was for him and him alone.
The sound of the zipper sent Blaine's heart racing. He glanced around his bedroom one last time and swallowed hard. His boarding pass was in his messenger bag, which he shouldered before grabbing the handles of his cases. He knew that once he got on that flight, there was no turning back, but he wasn't going in blindly. He had a plan and a place to stay, which was more than he had expected to have in such a short time span.
He would find a way to make it all work out for him. Blaine's luck so far only made him believe that perhaps it was fate and he was making the right decision. There was only one way to find out.
-s-
Blaine rolled his suitcases down the hallway, coming to a halt before the door of the loft apartment. He checked the address numerous times to make sure it was correct, and then he brought his hand up, took a deep breath, and knocked. The heavy wooden door slid open and to the side.
"Blaine!" Kurt threw his arms around his shoulders, squeezing him tightly before letting go.
"I hope this isn't too last-minute for you," Blaine said.
"So you're the pretty boy toy who gave Kurt his cherry," a deep, smoky female voice cut in. "They may call you Mister Softee, but I happen to know that you have the opposite effect on my friend Kurt here."
"Santana," Kurt scolded, his cheeks taking on a light tinge.
"Don't act like you haven't been all up on that," she said, rising from the couch. "Since when have you been shy, Hummel?"
Kurt ignored her, focusing his attention fully on Blaine. "Don't worry, you're good. It's not like we hadn't discussed this at length the past few weeks."
"I know, I'm just nervous," Blaine admitted.
"And it's okay to be. It's a big move, Blaine, we both know that. And we know that things are going to be much different from here on out."
"I hope you two acknowledge how awesome I am for allowing a new roommate after we finally evicted Berry," Santana said.
Blaine looked worried, his eyes darting from Kurt to Santana and back to Kurt again.
"We did not evict her," Kurt said, side-eyeing Santana. "She took off to LA to shoot a television show. Do yourself a favor and don't believe most of what Santana says."
"Oh, a television show?" Blaine said.
"Yeah, and she dropped out of NYADA to do it. I hope it works out for her, because it was a huge sacrifice for her to make. It's not like she can just come back here and resume her old life -" Kurt stopped short, realizing what he'd said, and bit his lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean -"
"It's alright," Blaine said. "You're right though. We have to live by our convictions and sleep in the bed we make. No matter how things go - well or not so well - I'm not going to regret my choices."
"You're free to stay here for as long as you need to," Kurt said. "This is my last year at NYADA, but I haven't yet worked out a plan for after."
"I guess we just take it one step at a time and keep moving forward," Blaine said. "Sometimes that's the whole thrill of it, right? Figuring it out as you go? Like an adventure."
After a pregnant pause, Kurt asked, "Are you sure this is what you want?" Blaine knew he wasn't only referring to the move to New York, the leaving everything behind and taking a risk by starting over. Kurt was asking if it was the 'we' and the 'us' that Blaine wanted, if he was sure about the two of them.
Blaine exhaled, his mouth stretching into a broad grin. "I've never been more sure about something in my life."
-s-
During the first few weeks living in New York, Blaine slept in Rachel's old bed, but it wasn't long before he and Kurt were falling asleep on the couch together after marathoning Treme or watching a movie or two. And from there, Blaine gradually worked his way from separate rooms, to waking up in Kurt's arms on the couch, to being nudged awake halfway through the night and led into Kurt's room and bed. Eventually they fell into a comfortable rhythm, and it was almost as if Blaine had always been a part of Kurt's routine, a part of Kurt's life that just fit.
Blaine had reapplied to NYU for the spring semester and requested a transfer of credits, and, when he received his acceptance email and got everything worked out with admissions, he and Kurt celebrated by spending a night in with a bottle of champagne that cost a week's worth of Kurt's pay from the diner. Blaine felt guilty about Kurt's splurge in his name, but Kurt told him to shut up and kissed him hard until he finally did.
"You know you don't need to pretend to stay in the other bedroom now," Kurt said. "We're fooling no one, especially not Santana."
"I feel awful about fooling around with her here," Blaine said, whispering loudly and unnecessarily, the drink he'd consumed making him unsteady on his feet.
Kurt laughed softly. "Well, she's not here tonight…" he said, throwing his arms around Blaine's shoulders. He began to pull him along, stepping backwards clumsily toward his bedroom.
Blaine wrapped his hands around Kurt's waist as they went, and once they reached the edge of the bed, he pushed Kurt backwards into the mattress. Blaine climbed into the bed over Kurt and hovered there for a moment. Kurt leaned up a bit and pulled his shirt off over his head.
"God," Blaine said breathlessly. "Sometimes I wish I could capture all of this - all of you - you're so amazing and beautiful and - I wish I could just have a piece of you with me -"
Kurt brought a finger to Blaine's mouth, ceasing his rambling. "Are you going to kiss me or -?"
Blaine brought their mouths together, grinning against Kurt's parted lips. Being like this with Kurt was something that no camera could capture and no art form could contain or properly express. The love blossoming in his chest for Kurt was larger than life itself.
-s-
One night when Kurt was at work, Blaine was watching a documentary on Annie Leibovitz for one of his classes when Santana plopped down onto the couch beside him.
"So you and Kurt…" Santana began. "You really care about him, don't you."
"I'm in love with Kurt," Blaine said, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
"I saw all the photographs you have of him hanging around your room, and I think it's pretty creepy obsessive, but it's also…kinda cute."
He paused the film and turned to face her. "Have you ever…? Nah, forget it, it's silly."
"No, continue. Have I ever what?" Santana said.
"Have you ever found someone who you just feel so connected to, someone who you feel comfortable around and could never grow tired of spending time with?"
"Aw, thanks, Lady. You're not so bad yourself," Santana jested.
Blaine laughed despite the fact he wished she wouldn't make a mockery of his feelings. "But I was being serious."
"I know. I'm sorry." She patted his thigh and squeezed gently before letting go. "Only once. Her name was Brittany."
"If you feel that way about her, then why aren't you still together?"
"We went our separate ways. I was young and dumb and couldn't handle the long-distance thing, so I…I let her go."
"Do you think there's a such thing as soul mates?" Blaine asked after a long pause.
"Sometimes I do," Santana said. "Usually after a night of binge drinking and dancing with strangers only to come home alone."
Blaine was unsure of how to respond, and his heart ached for Santana.
He was about to open his mouth to apologize when the door slid open, and Kurt walked in, arms laden with takeout bags from the diner. Blaine rose from the couch to greet him and to relieve him of his burden, which smelled really good and reminded him that he hadn't eaten a proper dinner.
"How was work?" Blaine asked, wrapping his arms around Kurt and inhaling deeply. Even through the food smells on his uniform, Blaine could still make out the scent of Kurt's cologne, though it had faded over the course of the evening.
"It was stressful, but I'm glad I'm home now. And I brought you something." He pulled a small square container out of one of the paper bags and handed it to Blaine who eyed it curiously.
Blaine popped the flap out and lifted the lid, his eyes widening at the contents.
"You do like cherries, don't you?" Kurt said, unable to hold back an impish grin.
Blaine nodded, laughter bubbling up from deep in his belly. He set the container of cherry cheesecake down on the table and reached up to grab Kurt's face, bringing their mouths together roughly. Kurt giggled through it as Blaine continued to kiss him, the kisses gradually becoming slower and softer. Blaine finally pulled away, breathless, and held onto Kurt's hands, keeping him at arm's length to gaze into his eyes, eyes that twinkled with love and affection.
It was always the little things that meant so much.
"I'm going to need help eating that, you know. That slice is big enough for two," Blaine said.
Kurt reached over and plucked two plastic forks from the table. "I know. Maybe I cut it myself with that exact intention."
Blaine lifted the container again, turned toward the direction of the bedroom, then looked back at Kurt and cocked his head to the side. "Then what are we waiting for?"