"Rachel, wake up, wake up!" Rachel felt the hand on her shoulder and heard the soft and far-too- happy voice of her teammate. Her hand was still splayed over her notebook and pen. She had made progress in one of her songs, but she wasn't sure if it was good enough for Nationals.

"Why?" It seemed the best question to ask. Why in the world was Kurt waking her up so early in the morning, and so covertly?

"We're going to breakfast at Tiffany's," he announced. He was already dressed and clearly had been planning this. As much as it was her dream to explore New York City, should they really sneak out. "It'll be fun, I promise."

"You," she said with a groan, getting up, "are just looking for interesting stories to bring back home to your beloved." Kurt blushed. Despite the history between Rachel and Blaine (Kurt seemed determined to ignore it), the two best friends talked about their relationship a lot.

"Perhaps, but I also have some questions for you. Get up!" He bounced off the bed (and since when was Kurt a morning person?) and headed out of the room. Honorary girl he may be, but he would never watch them change (not that Rachel would allow it). Mumbling to herself, Rachel got up and put on a sundress that she believed would be deemed appropriate by Kurt, with a classy sweater over it.

Meeting Kurt right outside the door, and laughing as she took his offered arm, she said "You had questions for me?"

"Jumping the gun, Rachel my dear. We'll talk more at Tiffany's." The two of them must have been a very odd couple, even for New York, but she supposed those who spent time on Avenue B were very tolerant.

"Where are we even getting breakfast?"

"Rachel, this is New York!" Kurt exclaimed happily. "Therefore, we will get our breakfast on the street, as proper New Yorker's do. By the way, I must say that dress is an definite improvement of your... usual wardrobe." Kurt still had rather loud opinions on Rachel's clothing.

"I thought it might meet your standards," Rachel said.

"We're going to get into so much trouble for this," Rachel said giddily. It was so worth whatever punishment they would suffer if they were caught. Who would have ever dreamed that Rachel Berry, the talented ingenue who was incapable of making human conversation, would be having breakfast at Tiffany's with someone she knew would be a lifelong friend?

"True, but isn't it worth it? Just to watch the city operate and feel the energy around us? It's... phenomenal," Kurt said with a deep sigh. They had chosen a simple breakfast of (divine) bagels and coffee.

"Uh, you're the only one besides me who understands how amazing this place is! Which is why I have a secret to tell you. When we graduate, I'm coming back here, and I'm going to college here. This is where I belong." Rachel knew people had guessed that at the heart of her aspirations lied New York City, but it was the first time she had said it out loud.

"I am so coming to, and I talked to Blaine, he's on board as well." Part of Rachel was shocked that Kurt had made plans, possibly lifelong plans, with Blaine. Another, smarter piece of her brain knew how perfect the two were together.

"Good." Kurt was giving a dreamy smile to the air, clearly off in his fantasy future that now included Blaine.

"Speaking of amazing, talented boyfriends, why'd you turn Finn down last night?" Rachel was honestly surprised that Kurt had known about the plan. Despite the fact that Kurt and Finn were now step-brothers, they hadn't been very close since Kurt transferred to Dalton. Clearly, this showed on her face. "Finn does share things. Plus, he needed suggestions for New York, and I've had the street map memorized since I was eight years old."

"I had to! What am I going to do about him when I graduate? I really want to get back together, but I can't let anything keep me from my Manhattan destiny." It was destiny, Rachel knew that.

"Bring him along," Kurt's suggestion was straightforward. "He'll be great if we need to move anything heavy." Kurt was obviously attempting to cheer her up, but it wasn't as simple as he made it seem. If only.

"Finn won't come, he's too much of a country boy." Finn didn't want to be a Lima loser, but Rachel had gotten the feeling he wasn't comfortable surrounded by throngs of people. In addition, as well as Finn had adjusted to Kurt, he wasn't as accepting as was traditionally required to live in such a liberal city as New York.

"The age old dilemma, love or career. You're going to have to make a choice." Kurt wasn't sure she actually did have to make that choice. Finn would be more than happy to come along if it meant he could follow Rachel, and maybe make a few dreams of his own. He would adapt. He said this only because Rachel had to be sure that her heart would be in whatever decision she made.

"I-I don't know how."

"I do." This idea had been festering in Kurt's brain since he decided on breakfast at Tiffany's. "Follow me!" It was decided then.

It wasn't that far from Tiffany's to the Gershwin Theater. He gazed in awe at the theater towering above him. The feeling was overwhelming, that one building could hold so many dreams and fears, not only for Kurt and Rachel, but for so many Broadway hopefuls.

"I love the show, but it's not helping me make up my mind." Oh Rachel, his beloved Rachel, she had such an in-the-box mind.

"We have to go in. Strike that, we have to break in," he decided with a speculative look at Rachel, who gave him a horrified one in return. "Come on, you'll never learn to be free if you can't take risks."

It seemed shockingly easy to break into the theater. One of Rachel's hairpins and a few jiggles of the door, it slipped right open. Kurt followed to path to the stage like it was the path to heaven, half-listening to Rachel talk.

"We can't be in here. They say that if you get arrested in a theater, you're black-walled for life." She worried too much.

"Hey!" Kurt mentally swore. "You're not supposed to be in here!"

"We're extras," the horrified look Rachel was giving him was not helping his lie be believable. "They told us to come early." Please don't say anything, Rachel.

"We're, uh, um, being fitted for our munchkin costumes." This is why he didn't want Rachel to talk. Not only did she stutter and clearly fail at lying, he was 5'10" and not able to play a munchkin (though she probably could).

"You're from Indiana, right?" Huh?

"Ohio, actually," Rachel corrected automatically.

"You got some big Broadway dream about singing a song on a real Broadway stage." As true as everything he (haltingly) said was, it didn't sound good.

"Look, we're really sorry, we'll get-" Kurt tried to make amends.

"You got fifteen minutes." Oh My GlindatheGood! Kurt looked excitedly at Rachel just as she looked victoriously at him, they grabbed hands and ran for the stage.

Walking on to the Kansas background in front of the Clock of the Time Dragon, Kurt strode confidently to center stage. It felt like every dream he had ever had could come true on that stage. Rachel squeaked excitedly.

"If you have to make a choice," which you might not, he mentally added, "you have to visualize both of the options."

"How?" How? They were doing it! Being on the stage, and feeling the energy thrumming from it's very heart, Kurt had never felt more alive, or closer to his dreams. To think, a year before, they were fighting over a solo from this very musical, and now here they were. Center stage, right where they belonged.

"Sing." Kurt walked over and wrapped a hand around Rachel's waist. "Picture yourself standing in front on a whole audience, belting out the final song of one of the greatest musicals of all time." Rachel knew exactly what song he meant, she had to.

"There's no orchestra." Leave it to Rachel to be difficult.

"Make one in your mind," he replied with a smile.

The scenery changed to the solid Clock of the Time Dragon just as Rachel started to sing.

I'm limited. Just look at me.
I'm limited. And just look at you,
you can do all I couldn't do,
Glinda. Now it's up to you.

Rachel leaned forward to grab Kurt's hands and this was their future. Right here, in New York, maybe even on this very stage. Sweet Gaga, Rachel had a beautiful voice, Kurt couldn't deny that. Kurt could imagine a full audience, people cheering for him, for how unique he was, instead of jeering. It was breathtaking.

I've heard it said that people come into our lives
for a reason, bringing something we must learn.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true,
but I know I'm who I am today, because I knew you.

Rachel couldn't help but explore the fully set up stage as Kurt sang. His voice was as beautiful as it was unique, and he belonged on a Broadway stage as much as she did. One day, when she wasn't competing with him, she would tell him how amazing he truly was.

Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird in a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But, because I knew you
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good.

Kurt came to join her by the balcony, standing on the stairs. She could imagine, someday, singing this song for real, with an orchestra and a crowd, but it would never quite mean the same as it did with Kurt in that moment. When they first met, they butted heads and hated each other. Now, they were inseparable friends with the same dream. Whether they realized it at the time or not, they were the Galinda and Elphaba of McKinley High.

And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness,
for the thing's I've done you blame me for.
But then, I guess we know there's blame to share.
And none of it seems to matter anymore!

Rachel descended the stairs, grabbing Kurt's hand and singing directly to him. This verse meant so much. She had hurt Kurt, with her words and her actions, just as much as she had hurt everyone else. Kurt had hurt her too, but he also made her stronger, braver. They were very similar, but Kurt brought out the best of his qualities in her, and vice versa. Everything that had happened between them no longer mattered, they would always be connected.

Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun.
Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea.
Like a stream that meets a boulder, halfway through the wood.
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good.

They sang the last verse with all the power and strength they had. Kurt reached his hand out to Rachel, and she took it. He was probably the only boy she had ever met who could keep up with her vocally.(with the exception of Blaine. Why were gay guys always amazing singers?). Rachel had to hug him. Singing on that stage was the most amazing experience of her life (so far) and he had made it happen.

"Thank you, Kurt," not only for this, but for everything. For every amazing, selfless act he had done in the past two years, for every way that he had changed her. Kurt had touched her life in a way that nobody else could, and she had made her decision.

"I see it now," she was almost crying, love overflowing her. "I don't have to choose between my career and love because this, I mean, this stage, Broadway, New York, that's my true love." Kurt didn't have to say anything, Rachel knew he felt the same. The only difference was Blaine could be a part of his true love.

"We should rat you guys out for sneaking off, but that'd only be hurting ourselves. Get some sleep, and see if you guys have more ideas than we do." Tina was surprisingly the one who spoke up when Rachel and Kurt got back to the hotel. Rachel knew that, for the first time, someone was covering for both of them, Kurt wasn't just protecting her.

Kurt had gotten her to stop crying at the theater, but she already felt the tears welling up again. The rest of the team were working in the boys' room, and Rachel and Kurt were assigned to try and write them a successful ballad in the empty girls' room. Rachel was already hard at work at the desk, trying to think of a non-overused rhyme for 'love.' Kurt was texting, lying on his stomach, feet in the air, on one of the double beds, phone resting on the bed in front of him.

From: Blaine
'How do you like New York? It's amazing, isn't it?'

To: Blaine
'It really, *really* is. I'd tell you all about it, but then I won't have any stories for you when we get home. I miss you, though.'

From: Blaine
'I'm sorry that I couldn't come to support you guys. Apparently, the twenty-second birthday of my (currently completely high) cousin Phillip takes precedence over Nationals. I miss you, too *hearts*'

"Kurt? Are you going to help me at all?" Rachel asked, annoyed.

To: Blaine
'It's alright. I'm pretty sure I would get extremely nervous and completely choke if I knew you were in the audience.'

From: Blaine
'You'll do fine, I promise. If I were there, I could take you to your first Broadway show *sigh*'

To: Blaine
'Somehow, I think I'll survive *wink*'

"Kurt? I could really use some help!" Rachel exclaimed. She partially needed the help, and partially hated being ignored.

From: Blaine
'Oh my, what have you done?'

From: Rachel
'Could you please stop texting your beloved for five minutes to help me write this song?'

"Was it really necessary to text me? I'm right here!" Kurt lifted his head from his phone for the first time.

"Yes, it was entirely necessary. You didn't answer when I tried to talk to you!" Since when had Rachel been trying to talk to him?

"I'm sorry," he apologized with a smile. Rachel just rolled her eyes, a habit she had picked up from the counter tenor.

"I thought of what I needed," she lied. "Go ahead." Kurt smiled brightly, the way he did whenever Blaine walked into a room, and went right back to his phone.

To: Blaine
'I'm completely innocent, I swear!'

From: Blaine
'Lies *wink* How about I take you out to a nice dinner a few days after you get home? Before you argue, I'm paying'

To: Blaine
'Bossy, bossy. I haven't even said yes yet. Of course, the answer *is* yes. Why a few days after?'

From: Blaine
'Curiosity killed the cat.'

To: Blaine
'Everybody always forgets the *rest* of the saying: and satisfaction brought it back. You want to resurrect me, don't you? ;('

From: Blaine
'Because I thought it would be nice to give you a few good nights sleep? Also, I already planned reservations... with the dates wrong.'

To: Blaine
'Oh, my bright boyfriend. I think if I continue to ignore Rachel, she'll stab me in the head with her pen. I'll text you after Nationals? *squeals excitedly*'

From: Blaine
'You better.'

"Alright, Rachel, I'm all yours." Kurt put his phone under the pillow as if to prove it.

"Lies!" Rachel cried dramatically, coming to sit next to him on the bed. "You're still hopelessly dreamy about your incredibly dreamy boyfriend. You have that look." Kurt blushed. Whenever he was around Blaine, people claimed he had 'that look.' The problem was he had no idea what look they meant.

"What look?" Kurt said, sitting up. He would be frustrated, but talking to Blaine just made the day seem brighter.

"The 'I'm so in love I might just start crying or shitting rainbows' look." Kurt laughed, partly at her crude language (Rachel never swore) and partly at her actual answer. "What? You are so in love with him." Rachel smiled.

"I... maybe." Kurt wasn't entirely sure what love was. Puppy/stalker love was what he'd had with Finn, along with hero-worship. His mild, small crush on Sam was completely based on the hope that his affections would finally be returned. Blaine was... like no one else.

Blaine made him forget the world, and brightened his day with a look or a word. He smiled at Kurt like he was something precious, like he couldn't live without him. He listened to every word Kurt said and understood him like no one else. Blaine dealt with Kurt without coffee, or in one of his diva moods, and he could make Kurt smile when he felt like crying. Kurt wasn't sure what love was, but maybe that was it.

"Maybe? You can't even deny it! You're totally in love with him!" Kurt resisted the urge to tell Rachel she sounded like an overexcited five-year-old. "Admit it, you just totally had a zen moment when all you could think about was all the things you love him for." Kurt blushed only because... maybe he had.

"Well, what is love?" Rachel glared at him and Kurt laughed again.

"You sound like a sappy movie. Love is the way your face lights up whenever he walks in the room, the way he's the only one who could ever get close to your well-guarded heart, the efforts he makes to try to protect you and make you as happy as possible. Love is the way you can't take your eyes off of him, the way you miss him whenever he's gone, the way no one else can catch your attention when you're thinking of him, the way you would never look at anyone else but him, no matter how hot. Love is all of that and so much more." If Rachel was right, Kurt was completely head-over-heels in love with Blaine. But when was Rachel ever right?

"If you're right, I am completely in love with Blaine." Just saying the words made Kurt feel lighter, happier.

"Then tell him!" Rachel smiled brightly. Ever since she had gotten another chance with first Jesse and then Finn, she didn't begrudge him Blaine at all. However, she still claimed that Blaine was 'the only boyfriend I've ever had who could give me mildly Eurasian looking children.' Kurt just laughed whenever she said that.

"First of all, we can never guarantee that your judgement is correct. Second... he doesn't feel the same," Kurt murmured the last part quietly. He didn't want to push his relationship with Blaine. They were a sappy, romantic couple, it was true, but Kurt had fallen for Blaine long before the tenor had even given him a second look. There was no way that Blaine could have fallen in love with him so fast.

"You're out of your mind. He was in love with you the moment he asked you out!" Kurt had told Rachel every single detail about Blackbird and what had happened after, about Blaine's sweet words at their personal funeral for Pavarotti, as well as everything else.

"You're being silly and living in a rose-tinted world again," Kurt cleverly used Quinn's words against Rachel. As cruel as it would seem to the outsider, Quinn had some good points, and Rachel had only benefited from a more realistic view of the world.

"No. I'm only seeing what's right in front of your face, and you're too scared to put yourself out there." Rachel sounded annoyed.

"Maybe I have a reason, Rachel! Maybe I'm so tired pushing away my feelings for the fear that I'll be rejected, injured even! Maybe I've put every romantic, rose-tinted dream of mine deep in a part of my heart and it's hard to open up like that because I've been told over and over and over that those feelings were unnatural and wrong! Maybe I'm not ready to lay my heart on the line just to have the final crack break it into a million pieces, never to be fixed..." Kurt exploded, crying by the end. Rachel looked shocked.

"Kurt, I'm so sorry, I never meant to..." the female diva struggled for words. Who knew Kurt was still so broken inside? The moment Rachel asked herself that question, she mentally slapped herself. With everything that the small boy had been put through over the years, he may never fully recover.

"I'm sorry. That was unnecessary. I didn't mean to scare you, Rachel," he raised his eyes to meet her own teary ones.

"Come here," Rachel grabbed the counter tenor in a hug. Kurt hugged back gratefully.

"I am in shock," Rachel admitted to him. She had taken a long shower after Santana had finished freaking out on her (Kurt suspected she had been crying in there), and she was now wrapped up in a robe, just sitting in front of the mirror.

Kurt smiled softly at the diva. Some part of her blamed herself, he knew that, but he couldn't blame her. As unprofessional as the kiss was, it was passion and love, Kurt could tell, and he could never blame her for that. Getting off the bed, where he had been sitting, listening to her berate herself for the better part of an hour, he crossed to her bag and pulled out her (repulsively pink) hairbrush.

"If the club plans to beat me to death with that, would you do it? I have a feeling Santana would shove it down my throat and do me the embarrassment of ruining my voice as well as ending my life." Kurt just smiled at Rachel's melodrama.

"I am not planning to kill you, I promise," he said softly, moving to stand behind her, gently brushing her hair. "I'm brushing your hair for you."

"Why?" Kurt wasn't sure if the question meant 'why are you comforting me?' or 'why brushing my hair?' It didn't matter either way.

"You are being far too hard on yourself, and that's coming from me," Kurt joked, continuing to brush her soft, luscious curls. "We talked in this very room about love and the crazy things it makes you do. And you, my darling, are as in love with my brother as I am with Blaine." Rachel smiled at Kurt in the mirror, whether it was for the comfort or for admitting he was in love with Blaine, Kurt didn't know.

"Thank you, Kurt." Rachel just closed her eyes and relaxed as Kurt's capable hands slowly, gently brushed her hair. "So?"

"So what?" Kurt asked petulantly, knowing very well what she was asking.

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking, Kurt Hummel, don't you even try to deny it." Rachel clearly saw through him, though she didn't open her eyes.

"I love Blaine, Blaine-" Kurt glared at Rachel as she cut him off.

"Loves you just as much, and you know it." Still glaring (uselessly), Kurt yanked the brush through a particularly touch knot. "Ow, Kurt." He immediately felt bad and went back to soft, long strokes.

"Alas, nothing," Kurt said with a sigh.

"I will never understand guys," Rachel swore, meeting Kurt's eyes in the mirror again and smiling.

"Blaine, this place is really expensive," Kurt said hesitantly. As much of a mistake as the change of date had been, Kurt actually did appreciate the days for recovery, even if much of them were occupied in comforting Rachel and diffusing tension in the club. Le Crabe Belle was one of the most expensive restaurants in the state (and what was it with expensive restaurants and French names?)

"Don't even worry about it, Kurt," Blaine tried to appease him. Blaine's parents, as Kurt had discovered, were loaded. Their home was more of a mansion than a house, and they had money to burn. They could afford to sent 40 children to Dalton and still live in the heights of luxury. "How fancy can a restaurant named The Beautiful Crab be?" Kurt had to giggle at his boyfriend's joke.

"Alright," Kurt said with a slight sigh. Blaine, in his usual very courteous way, tried to beat Kurt to opening his door, which never happened. Stepping out of the car, and kissing the pout off of his boyfriend's fate, Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and started into the restaurant.

"It's a beautiful night," Blaine said softly, and it was true. The summer air was cool, but not cold, and there were millions of stars in the sky. Ignoring how the height difference made the position awkward, Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder, making the tenor smile.

The couple walked into the restaurant, and it was completely empty. "Blaine. Please tell me you did not rent out the entire restaurant!" The 'shit, I'm caught' look on Blaine's face answered Kurt's question. "Blaine Anderson!" Kurt couldn't really be mad, but he couldn't even imagine the dollar amounts involved in renting out an entire expensive French restaurant on a Friday night!

"You're not really mad at me, are you?" Blaine looked worried. "I just wanted some privacy." Kurt couldn't tell if that was a preemptive strike at homophobic comments or a desire to be alone together.

"I'm not really mad. I don't even want to imagine the dollar amounts involved in this." Blaine just smiled.

"You never have to worry about that." Never? Apparently, Kurt wasn't the only one making lifelong fantasies for the two of them.

"Okay," Kurt relented with a small smile, giving his boyfriend a chaste kiss before sitting down. Blaine frowned (he had been planning to pull Kurt's chair out for him, and Kurt knew that) before sitting down himself.

"So, tell me about New York!" Blaine had been to New York many times, and had been very helpful in choosing what adventures to do. He had also helped to pick the locations for Finn and Rachel's date, though Kurt wasn't sure it was safe for Rachel to meet him in Central Park.

Kurt told Blaine everything, from the results of Finchel's date to breakfast at Tiffany's. Blaine acted mock-ashamed as Kurt recounted breaking into the Gershwin Theater to sing For Good, but Kurt could see the jealousy in his eyes. That was one adventure in New York that Blaine had never had. Kurt told him about twelfth place, and how he wasn't really that disappointed. He quickly sang the choruses of Pretending and Light Up The World for him, and that was when he began to be glad for the privacy. Blaine laughed as Kurt reenacted Santana's screaming at Rachel. The only part of their trip Kurt neglected to tell him about was the discussions that involved him.

"You know, if you think about it, Kurt Hummel's had a pretty good year." Despite everything, it was true, and Blaine knew what he meant.

"Um, there is... kind of a reason I wanted to have a more... intimate setting. I, I was so afraid when I approached you after you sang Blackbird that I was making a fool of myself. That you were going to slap me or... think I was kidding, or something even more horrible. And, because of that fear of rejection, there was something I wanted to say that I didn't." Blaine was acting just as he had after Blackbird, one hand over Kurt's and just staring into his eyes.

"I..." Blaine swallowed audibly and took a deep breath. "I love you." Kurt's mind exploded. Blaine, sweet, loving, impossibly oblivious Blaine, had been in love with him for months... it didn't even seem possible. It shouldn't be possible, couldn't be possible that Blaine had said the very thing he had been hiding, the very thing he and Rachel had discussed so much in New York. The idea was completely overwhelming. "Say something," Blaine practically begged, then Kurt realized he had been gaping like a fish out of water while he thought all this through.

"I love you too." Kurt didn't even hesitate. "Of course I love you, I've been in love with you since Sectionals." Blaine looked shocked. Obviously, he had harbored the same fear as Kurt, saying it and not hearing it back. "I was actually going to try to muster up the courage to tell you that tonight," Kurt said with a soft smile.

"Uh, wow." It was probably the least articulate thing Kurt had ever heard Blaine say.

"Yeah." There was nothing else to say.

A/N: So, here's how New York should have happened (or an alternate ending that included deleted scenes, depending on how you look at it). Plot bunnies keep attacking me. The song is 'For Good' from Wicked if you really couldn't figure that out.

Reviews are Love.