YAY, NEW YORK! I was already writing this for a future part in "All The Courage You Have Left" (I'm currently stuck on the next part. Damn writer's block!) and then i found out that NY legalised Gay marriage and after freaking out for a bit, this was created. I'll also include it in ATCYHL, because I just wanted to upload it as a part of the celebrations! I'm sorry if this is kinda all over the place - I seem to write at 6am a lot... but enjoy!

There's one thing that everyone has in common - something that's very simple (so simple, in fact, that most of the time we aren't aware of it) but at the same time it's something that impacts anything and everything we do.

We can't help it, of course. We see something as simple as the cover of a book or someone that looks vaguely familiar and words just come to you - we look at a duck waddling down the road and remember that one time a friend ran after one of the exact same shade, or we're listening to a song and automatically associating it to something that took place in the past.

The thing, of course, is thoughts. The words that swirl around in your mind almost all the time, strings of words that never really stop bugging you until something else comes up or you simply forget about it. Thoughts are the truth, whether you think you love the kid next door or hate that one person in school or think oh my god what the hell are they wearing, and they are capable of changing the world around us.

Everything starts off as a thought – that kid with the nice smile is rather cute; imagine if that existed; why is everyone reacting like that? – and sometimes it can end as a thought, too. It's something everyone does.

But just because everyone thinks, doesn't mean that they necessarily think the same way – there's the ones who overthink and the ones who don't think as much; there's the ones with their heads in the clouds and those with their feet planted firmly in the ground; there's the ones who ponder on the same thought (running away with the one they love, smiling for the paparazzi, getting your family's approval) over and over and over again until it feels like reality and the ones that let it spark in their mind (that they have a shot at this, and this can really happen) but extinguish it before it has the chance to burst into life.

And everyone tends to mix and match - dreaming of a better tomorrow but then backing down when the opportunity to get away from it all finally arises; being critical with everything you do and everything you say (and heck, maybe everything you wear) but hoping that you catch someone's eye and that maybe, just maybe, there could be a future that allows you to feel good about yourself; always looking at the positive side of everything, and others looking at the negative…

Then there's a certain way to think, too. Some people pause halfway through sentences or stop functioning while they ponder; others may mumble to themselves and glare at anyone who dares interrupt them; some simple smile and continue on with their lives.

But there's one that is rather… rare to find. It's one that is constantly exaggerated in the entertainment business by someone throwing an arm behind their neck and allowing their fingers to gently scratch at their scalp or humming aloud while tapping a finger against their chin, head normally tilted to the side and eyes looking towards the skyline of wherever-they-are. In reality, however, it's the kind that causes your eyes to glaze over, or makes you worry your bottom lip between your lip and sigh. Sometimes your brow will furrow and your nose will wrinkle, lips will purse and your hands twist together so you can hold onto something (anything). Inside your mind, thoughts are whirring to life at an enthusiastic rate, blood and adrenaline pumping around your body and your heart thumpthumpthumping at a faster rate than normal. Incoherency is common because your thoughts are moving so fast and you just can't keep up because you feel as though your eyes have been wrenched open and hey, maybe the one thing you were stuck on seems so much clearer now, or you've just realised how amazing life can be once this thing happens. A smile or a frown blooms on your face and, depending on the realisation, you feel (un)stoppable. It doesn't matter if you're a pessimistic or an optimistic thinker – the reaction will always be of a mind blowing quality.

They're the thoughts that could possibly change your life.

Those moments happen a few times in everyone's lives, and it's during the summer of his junior year that Blaine finally has this thought.

It begins off slow – Kurt goes and, thankfully, returns unharmed from New York after placing twelfth in Nationals; Blaine accidentally let's slip that he loves Kurt (and he hasn't been this happy to hear 'I love you, too' since… well, ever); they both work on "Pip, Pip, Hooray!" and Blaine's audition for Six Flags; they occasionally meet up with the other members of New Directions and his fellow Warbler's…

Yeah, it's slow, but Blaine likes slow and he likes – no, loves – the glacial pace everything is moving at at the moment.

So when he's sitting in his room watching the proceedings in New York on marriage equalities, the silence that reaches him as the realisation that it's actually been passed hasn't hit yet is staggering. The phone is pressed tightly against his ear, mouth agape at the screen and his mind trying to ignore the haggard breathing he can hear down the line as static applause rings out across the room.

It only takes five words (spoken in a tone of disbelief and shock and excitement and oh my god he's pretty sure he can feel his other half trembling as his voice cracks halfway) and a squeal to break Blaine out of his stupor:

"Blaine, we could get married."

And the word 'married' echoes in his ears, cancelling out the sounds of the TV and everything in the background. He feels himself literally buzzing, eyes wide and breathing shallow as his palm becomes slick with sweat at the realisation that hits him.

His pulse is racing and the hand on the phone is gripping tightly as he envisions his future – moving to New York with Kurt; getting a job that pays well and moving out of a shabby apart used in college into a two-story home; planning an engagement behind his lovers back and Kurt's face as he realises that Blaine planned all this when he gets down on one knee in front of his family and friends; seeing perfectly coiffed chestnut brown hair at the end of the aisle and staring into glasz eyes as they take their first dance as husband and husband; adopting kids, looking after grandchildren and nieces and nephews and children – heck, Blaine can even see them getting a dog and a cat – and growing old together…

He never really thought about it before, but now he can't see his future without it.

Blaine zones back into reality with the sounds of Kurt cheering in his ear and many people on his screen celebrating the news, the voice on the other end of the line babbling endlessly about whatever comes to his mind. A smile graces his face when a timid voice calls his name, and he can't help but chuckle a little bit when Kurt becomes convinced that he's scared him away.

"I love you, you know that?" he speaks softly, picking at a stray piece of string on the blanket he's sitting on.

Kurt sighs in relief. "Of course I do." There's another pause and a sharp intake of breath. "So, I didn't scare you away, did I?"

Rolling his eyes, the Warbler lowers his tone as he plays back the fantasy in his head. "No, you didn't." He smiles wider, raising his gaze as he reaches his favourite part, "If it helps you calm down, I was thinking about our two-point-five children and our pets."

The silence on the other line lasts longer than Blaine was expecting, and he's beginning to regret opening his damn mouth when he hears a muffled squeal, causing him to roll his eyes.

"So, you don't mind us discussing our future after college? Because so far we've only talked about going to New York after we've finished High School and I want to make this seem okay – "

Blaine chuckles again. "You're so cute when you're flustered. If I could kiss you right now, I would." He doesn't need to be there to know that Kurt is blushing heavily, and after a short confirmation from his boyfriend about reciprocating the movement (and he rolls his eyes at the other teen ignoring the beginning of the sentence) he continues. "No, I don't mind at all. It would be nice to see what you think."

"Always the gentleman," Kurt breathes out and Blaine allows his smile to widen even further, "Alright, so I was thinking that when we pass our exams…"

Blaine relocates himself from the centre of the bed to the headboard, picking up a pillow as Kurt talks about proposals and squeezing it lightly out of anticipation. He's well aware that life isn't as easy as his thoughts make it appear to be, and as he hears Kurt rambling on the other side of the phone ("…we can have horses pull the carriage and doves circle around the area as the ceremony goes underway and I just… I can't believe that this could happen to us…") the grin that crosses his face makes him realise that even if they don't manage to get the kids or the nice house or the respectable pay check that he's hoping for, he's at a mutual agreement with his thoughts – he's going to try his hardest to become a loving husband to Kurt Elizabeth Hummel and that's all Blaine needs to make this work.

It's with those life-altering thoughts in mind that their summer kicks off with a bang.