Directly following their loss at Nationals, the New Directions were huddled in the airport in varying degrees of depression, disbelief, anger and disappointment. Rachel, however, was arguably the worst-off after having been yelled at by Santana and being given dirty looks for the better part of an hour. She was curled up on one of the chairs in the terminal, facing the wall with her head pillowed on her jacked when Kurt found her.
"I'm sure you're here to yell at me too," Rachel whispered. Her voice shook, and Kurt could hear the tears in her unusually faint tones.
"While I am also upset that we lost and I do hold you partially responsible, that is not the reason why I'm here," Kurt replied. "I came to remind you that while we didn't place, you and Finn didn't really lose – you got each other out of this, and that beats a lousy trophy, don't you think?"
And with that, Kurt arched a perfectly sculpted brow, turned on his heel, and stalked off, leaving Rachel in stunned silence.
"A boyfriend is not going to get me to New York!" Rachel called after Kurt's retreating form.
"But that's alright," Rachel whispered as she turned to look at where her boyfriend was waiting in line for Starbucks. "There's always next year."