Title: Ten Years
Author: sillcasca
Rating: T
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Word Count: 1,540
Summary: Kurt and Blaine made a promise when they were nine, that in ten years they'll meet again.
Kurt knows very well how silly this is. How stupid of him to think for a second that maybe... maybe somebody cares.(—cared, because he doesn't speak with Blaine anymore.)
He wants to go home and cry, and forget everything about Blaine. But he can't. (—not just because Hummels never give up.) Because he believes in romance, and he wants so desperately to believe that Blaine is going to come, that he's just waiting for the sunset, that he's stuck in traffic, buying flowers or something.
Kurt sighes, and looks at the children's playground from under the tree's big shadow.
That is where Blaine and him met for the first time, ten years ago.
He's the kid that makes the other children run to their mothers and cry ("mommy, mommy, please don't die like his mama!"). He's the kid they stare at, but never play with. He's the kid that stays on a bench, alone.
Blaine is the first person that doesn't look at him with horror or pity. Blaine is the first person that doesn't excuse his rudeness just because his mother died. Blaine is his first enemy (—but he's not, Blaine is his first friend, his ex-best friend.)
The first time he sees Blaine, Kurt thinks he's an idiot. Not because he's drinking from a paper milk cartoon without a stray, nor because half of the milk is on his shirt, but because he is barefoot.
"Do you want something?" Is the way Kurt strikes up a conversation, annoyed at the time, because of all children in the park, he sat down near Kurt.
The child, that was currently looking above, is surprised.
"My shoes are caught in the tree."
Later, Kurt will find out that Blaine himself had thrown the shoes there, to have an excuse to talk to him (—Kurt thinks this is a lie, because, really, who would have wanted to talk to him?)
"My dad says I'm an excellent climber," Kurt replied, not wasting an opportunity to boast.
Blaine smiles wide, showing his dimples. "I bet I can climb higher!"
And thus, the first competition between Kurt and Blaine began.
In the end, they do manage to get the shoes, after many failed attempts(—Kurt slipped once, but only because the other children were whispering.)
Blaine decides that his left shoe will be named Kurt, after his savior, which makes Kurt blush a little, because children are never this nice to him.
But as the sun sets, parents are coming to pick up their children, and Kurt knows that he and Blaine will have to go too.
"Mom says that big trees like this ones are good for promises," Blaine tells him.
It hurts a little inside, and he hates Blaine a little more because he has a mother.
"So what? Do you want to make a promise?" Kurt asks, trying to sound indifferent.
"We should promise to meet here in a thousand years!"
Kurt sighs. "Nobody lives for a thousand years."
"Well then, ten years!"
"You'll never remember the date," Kurt says.
"My birthday was two days ago."
Oh, this hurts him, because this two weeks ago his mother died. This month should be about his mother, but now she'll have to share it with Blaine, and he wonders that if him and Blaine would still be friends in a year, whether he'll be invited to his birthday.
"If I came and you weren't there, I'll leave a scratch on the tree," Kurt adds, playing along, having no idea that in ten years from then he'll be actually waiting there.
When they say goodbye, they promise each other that tomorrow they'll play again. And they do. Almost everyday.
That is, until they were thirteen.
Blaine and him go to different schools.
Kurt's the kid that all the other children laugh at and point to. He's the kid that's teased everyday. He's at the bottom of the food chain.
Blaine is popular and liked. He's even got older friends, because he's so likeable.
It's Kurt's jealousy that breaks them apart.
It's Kurt that changes his e-mail, his phone number, and tells his father to never let Blaine in the house again.
It's Kurt that cries for days because. (—he really was gay, he liked Blaine.)
It's Kurt that never tries to contact Blaine ever again, but instead picks up a fashion magazine, thinking that one day, fate will bring them together and Kurt will finally deserve Blaine (—and maybe turn Blaine gay.)
He's crying as he looks at the watch, it's 6.45 pm, and he's been sitting here since 10 am. Blaine's not coming. Blaine nineteen now, with a hot girlfriend and probably living in a big city, with a scholarship and a nice part-time job.
Blaine's probably forgotten about Kurt.
And so, with tears in his eyes, he scratches the bark of the tree with his house key and leaves.
Blaine's living in New York, and he has many friends, with a scholarship at NYADA, a part-time job in a café, and he's single.
His friends (—a few Warblers and some new friends from college) threw him a party on his birthday, where Blaine lost count of tequila shots and glasses of vodka.
Which is why he missed his plane to Lima, had to sleep in a airport and book another flight, this one landing and 6 on that day (—that day, THAT day, can you imagine?)
Blaine was excited and nervous at the same time.
Because he was going to see Kurt after six years. Kurt.
He's imagined this a million times. He's imagined a thirteen year old Kurt waiting for him, unchanged. He's imagined a chubby Kurt and an attractive Kurt and a Kurt with glasses.
He never imagined a scratch on a bark waiting for him. A 'K'.
Blaine's heart never hurt as much as now.
But at he looks at the ground, he can't help but notice footprints left on the grounds.
This is it. He is going to catch Kurt. Blaine can't let him go again.
Kurt is still crying five minutes later, as he walks (—how could you be so stupid, so naïve?)
"Kurt!"
He freezes. Is that...? Don't look back, don't look, don't look.
The sound of feet pounding on the ground reaches his ears, it's getting nearer, and Kurt stands there, clenching and unclenching his fists, until—
Bam.
Strong arms encircle his waist and Blaine's hugging him from behind. He can feel Blaine's head on his back, he shorter than Kurt, but stronger.
"Blaine?" he asks, crying even harder than before.
"I missed you so much," Blaine says, and lets go of Kurt.
This really is Blaine. His eyes are the same, warm and kind, but he's grown, he's... wow. He makes Kurt's heart speed up. This is the boy he was in love with.(—is in love with.)
Blaine's looking at him, too, and Kurt feels self-conscious. He's a mess, his face probably red from all the crying, and his hair out of place because he's waited eight hours.
And out of all the things he expected Blaine to do, he didn't expect to kiss him.
These type of things don't happen to Kurt. He's nineteen and took a gap year because he didn't get into NYADA, and his friends are gone, he's going to Parsons next year, but now... now he's kissing his childhood love.
And from now on, every year this is not the saddest month because his mother died, but the happiest because he met the love of his life.
And every year, they go from New York to Lima and sit at the shadow of the tree in whose bark was etched 'K+B'.
Fin.