Author's Note: This is a short one-shot written for the Glee-themed roleplay group Breakout Gleeks on Tumblr. It focuses on Dave Karofsky and his budding relationship with one of the group's original characters, Justin Hall.

Seated at a table for two, a mug of coffee in front of him, Dave Karofsky tilted his head back and yawned hugely. The past 48 hours had been exhausting. The flight back from Dallas seemed to take forever, and it was 3am by the time he'd finally dragged himself into bed. But even after that Dave hadn't slept well. He was too restless, replaying the interview over and over in his mind. Now it was close to 11am, Justin would be here any minute, and Dave knew he looked like hell. He wished he'd texted and tried to reschedule.

A sudden hand on his shoulder made Dave jump and jerk his cup so hard that coffee sloshed over the tabletop.

"Whoa! Crap, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." Dave looked up just in time to catch the man's amused smile before he was gone. A few seconds later he was back, holding a pile of napkins which he dropped into the frothy puddle.

Dave grinned, shifting a little as his stomach flooded with nervous excitement. "Hey, Justin."

"I didn't get any on you, did I?" Justin asked worriedly, sliding into the chair opposite Dave.

"Nah, you missed."

"Oh, good. I'd never forgive myself if I ruined your…" Leaning to the side, Justin scrutinized the other man's lower body.-Completely non-descript Walmart-brand clearance jeans."

"Shut up." Dave rolled his eyes, biting back the huge smile that was trying really hard to break across his face. He was so happy to see Justin again, it was almost ridiculous. It had been about a week since they'd last Skyped and even longer since they'd been together in person. Now sitting across from him, Dave's heart felt like it might just explode. He kept his hands firmly cupped around his drink as he fought the urge to simply lunge across the table.

Justin's enormous answering smile made Dave catch his breath a little and automatically drop his eyes to his hands.

"I missed you."

Dave blinked and looked back up, his expression totally blank. "You… you did?"

The other man smiled again, more softly this time but unembarrassed. "Yeah, I did. I know we don't see each other all the time, but knowing you weren't just a short drive away… I felt sort of lonely. So I'm really glad you're back." After a small pause, Justin reached across the table and gently tucked his hand into Dave's larger one. Then the two were quiet for a minute, both staring at their interlocked fingers.

Though other people still talked and laughed and dishes clattered around them, everything at their little table was suddenly very still and quiet. Dave could hear his own pulse thrumming away in his ears. Hesitantly, he stroked his thumb across the back of Justin's hand. The skin there was soft and warm. After a moment he felt Justin's fingers moving too, slowly brushing themselves along the underside of Dave's palm.

"I missed you too," Dave rasped, not looking up.

It was a few minutes before they started talking again. Fingers still entwined, they grinned shyly at each other and passed over a few menial topics before Justin cleared his throat with the air of someone getting down to business."So. Now that you've slept on it, tell me more about the interview. What happened?"

Dave's face fell as the memory of the previous day rolled over him and after a little more prodding, he explained in detail about the experience and the very lukewarm response he thought he'd gotten from the interviewer.

"-Maybe they already found somebody before I got there. I mean, the guy was just… he didn't even seem like he was listening sometimes. If he hadn't given me the tour I'd say there's no way he was even considering me." Dave slumped back in his seat and scowled at his coffee. The whole thing was so frustrating. It had cost a lot of money and he'd missed classes to fly out there for the interview. Now he just felt stupid for thinking he'd had a shot at it.

Justin was frowning too. "I can't believe they asked you to go out there if they were just going to treat you like that," he said, mirroring Dave's thoughts. "But you know what… Don't worry about it anymore, seriously. It's over now, and you've done all you can. If they don't hire you, it's because they're stupid and it'll be their loss."

Dave smiled at the indignant tone in Justin's voice. He paused, turning a question over in his mind, and then said as casually as he could manage, "So I was thinking. Um. If I did get this job, I would be moving … kind of really far away." When Justin didn't reply immediately, Dave continued, staring firmly at a dent in the table's surface. "And I know we haven't really been talking for that long, but it did get me wondering a little about.. About what we are a-and how .. how things with us would go if that happened…."

He swallowed, his throat now very dry. Bringing this up was so embarrassing, and even though he felt sure that Justin did like him (for whatever reason .. Dave still wasn't sure about that), Dave was still scared that he could be pushing the boundaries here. What if Justin didn't see this the way Dave did? Was this all too rushed? What if he just freaked Justin out? Why wasn't he answering? What did Dave just do? Oh god oh god oh god-

"David." Justin's voice was calm, measured. It made Dave's stomach clench. Surely this was the moment when Justin would say that they weren't anything serious, that they should see other people, or that"David, look at me."

Dave looked up, biting his lower lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't He stopped, puzzled by the smile on the other man's face. "… What?"

Justin's grin widened and he laughed. "David, sweetheart, please relax. You look like you think I'm about to slap you or something. And stop apologizing," he added, and Dave shut his mouth. He had been about to apologize.

Justin smiled and squeezed Dave's hand. "Look. I know you've never been in a relationship before, so I've just been taking things at your pace with this. I didn't want to.. y'know.. scare you off or anything. But if you want to be more serious, all you have to do is say so." He chuckled at the completely bemused look on Dave's face. "I think you are amazing, David, and (I hope this won't freak you out) I want to be your boyfriend no matter where your job takes you. I just… I didn't want to go shouting it in the street before I knew you wouldn't think I was crazy."

Dumbfounded, Dave blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You are crazy."

Justin laughed loudly. "I know. But you only think that because you don't see how incredible you are. I don't know everything about you yet, but I know enough to be damn sure I'm not going to let a little distance get in the way. Texas isn't Mars. Look. The smaller man leaned forward, his expression serious now. "If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. But I really, really like you and I want to at least give it a shot. That's what I want. Now what do you want?"

"Uhh." Dave blinked several times, pulling his focus out of Justin's eyes and back to his words. "I want His throat was so dry. He didn't have to think about his answer, but that didn't make putting voice to the words any easier. "You." Though it was all he could get out, he saw from the spark of excitement in Justin's eyes that he'd gotten his point across.

Fingers untangled themselves from his and Dave felt the warm pressure of Justin's hand on the back of his neck. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to be gently guided into the kiss. It was sweet and warm and when it was over they sighed softly against each other's mouths, totally blind to the stares they were attracting. For a few moments they simply held there, foreheads gently touching, brown eyes staring back into green.

The world was holding still.