"What," Kurt barked into the phone, not caring that it was Blaine. He cracked an eye open and saw the rain beating against his window, grimacing at the cliche of moods mirroring the weather before he buried his face back in his pillow, leaning the phone against his ear.
"Good morning to you, too," Blaine said, and Kurt could hear the smile in his voice, that indulgent one he wore when Kurt was having a spell, as Blaine called it, because Blaine was a dork and liked to use words and phrases from the wrong century. "Can I come over?"
"It's raining," Kurt responded.
"In your bedroom?"
"Fine. But use the key under the mat. I'm not getting up," Kurt grumbled, ending the call and tossing his phone back onto the table. His parents were gone for 3 days and god knows where Finn was and he had no intention of doing anything but wallowing. He didn't even know why he felt so horrible, like the rain outside was all there ever was and all there ever would be.
Except he did.
It was the first and last and only summer that he would have this. He and Blaine had been knee deep in college applications for months, in aptitude tests and career counseling and campus visits and he couldn't shake the sense of foreboding, the big neon sign hanging over his head that said "THIS IS ALMOST OVER," blinking garish blues and greens against the insides of his eyelids when he tried, and failed, to sleep at night.
He'd finally gotten everything he wanted; real friends, a family, a boyfriend who he couldn't picture a future without, and now he was being forced to try, to face the possibility that he would have to start all over. He and Blaine were determined not to be that couple, the one that followed each other to school and to first jobs and woke up one day hating each other because they felt stifled. And so they were letting the chips fall where they may, as Blaine said, because again with the stupid phrases.
"Get out of bed," the familiar voice came from behind him, and Kurt rolled onto his back, glaring where the object of his thoughts leaned against the doorframe, twirling a daisy in his fingers.
"No," Kurt said simply, and Blaine shrugged, toeing off his shoes and climbing onto the bed, tucking himself into the crook of Kurt's shoulder, burrowing into his chest until he felt Kurt relax and wind his arms around him. "Why do you have a daisy?"
"Picked it for you," Blaine smiled, lifting his head and kissing the corner of Kurt's mouth quickly. "Don't tell your neighbor." Kurt rolled his eyes and finally smiled, taking the flower and tapping Blaine on the nose with it.
"I'm not getting out of bed," Kurt warned.
"Why do you think I got in?" Blaine asked, settling back down against Kurt's chest. His hand snaked under the hem of Kurt's t-shirt and settled against his ribs, just under his heart.
—-
Kurt didn't know when he'd dozed off, but when he opened his eyes the late afternoon sun was streaming through the window and his mood was considerably brighter, although that was likely due to the way Blaine was tangled up in him, drooling on his chest. He laughed, trying not to move, but Blaine stirred and looked up with a sleepy smile.
"The sky's blue," Kurt cocked his head toward the window. "So what should we do?"
"It's summer," Blaine sighed. "We can do anything we want to."
—-
"Why am I in the woods?" Kurt whined, carefully picking his way through the tangle of branches at his feet.
"This is barely the woods, dummy," Blaine laughed at the small gathering of trees, throwing the rolled of blanket over his shoulder and reaching out to steady Kurt as he struggled to pull his foot free. "I told you not to wear those boots."
"Fashion requires sacrifice," Kurt scoffed, trailing off into a muttered string of ohfortheloveofgods and iswearifigetgrassstains. "Well why am I in barely the woods, Captain Suddenly Outdoorsy?"
"There's a clearing," Blaine shrugged, pointing noncommittally ahead of them. "You'll like it."
"I do enjoy a good clearing," Kurt drawled, dodging Blaine's attempt to poke him in the ribs. "What so special about—oh."
The trees gave way to a small…not a cliff, but something like it, over the dinky river at the edge of Lima. It was the only elevation to speak of in the area and Kurt could see why Blaine liked it; the sun was just beginning to set over the water, throwing everything into shades of pink and orange as it reflected in the water.
Blaine spread the blanket out and sat, reaching up to tug a still staring Kurt down into his lap. He pulled him snugly against him, resting his chin on Kurt's shoulder.
"I love you, you know," Blaine said softly after a few minutes, breaking the comfortable silence as the first tinges of purple crept in from the edges of the sky.
"I'm aware," Kurt said dryly, but still snuggled back a bit more, pulling Blaine's arms tighter around his waist. Blaine laughed and kissed his shoulder quickly before he spoke again.
"I don't just mean right now," Blaine smiled, tracing his thumbs over Kurt's knuckles. "I know you've been thinking. Overthinking. I can practically hear it. And you need to stop worrying. This…us. This isn't going anywhere. He turned his head and kissed the spot below Kurt's ear he had spent many an afternoon worshiping, grinning at the small shudder he felt ripple through his boyfriend.
"Oh, really?" Kurt asked, aiming for sarcastic and landing somewhere closer to desperate.
"No matter what happens," Blaine spoke directly into his ear. "No matter where we end up, together or apart, I'm planning on loving you forever. So get used to it."
"I guess I'll have to," Kurt said quietly, half turning in Blaine's arms and leaning heavily into him. "I have the same plan, you know."
"I sure hope so," Blaine sighed, watching the sky darken.
—-
"I love when my parents are out of town," Kurt sighed, laughing when Blaine squirmed in his arms as he peppered kisses along the back of his neck. "G'morning, you."
"Morning," Blaine smiled, rolling over, blinking into the sun streaming through the window and pressing his forehead to Kurt's. "What do you want to do today?"
"Anything we want to," Kurt shrugged. "We've got time."