"I think I've got everything…" Kurt said to himself as he looked into his open bag that was placed on the coffee table. It was only 6am, but Kurt hadn't been able to sleep much at all. He was going to see his dad… there had been no way Kurt was going to be able to sleep through the night peacefully.

He didn't have to take much with him. A bag with a few outfits, some beauty products – all necessities – and things like towels, food, money and his passport. Then there was a travel bag that was ready for Noodles to climb into. Kurt had packed up all the cat food he had and had set some water bottles aside for Noodles. He knew most people left their cats behind… they were left to survive by themselves, either still in their homes or outside in parks. The parks in New York were full with cats and dogs and lots of other pets. But Kurt could never do such a thing. He signed up for a cat and he took that responsibility seriously. And besides that, he also loved Noodles way too much to just leave him behind like that.

Blaine said he'd be outside Kurt's building at 7am. And that Kurt shouldn't be late.

There was one thing Kurt felt a little bad about. Al. Al wouldn't start work until 7:30am and he wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye. Kurt knew that Al sometimes stayed the night, but this night he hadn't. When he was helping Blaine out of the building, he decided he'd go and tell Al about their plans but he hadn't been there. His usual spot behind the front desk was empty.

So Kurt had left a note. Telling him he was gonna leave – he was gonna go home. Blaine, 'his doctor', was going to help him and he'd be fine. He could even come if he wanted to, Kurt had said, but knew he wouldn't get the message 'til after they'd left. So he'd also written down the address of his parents' house in Lima. He hated he couldn't say goodbye face-to-face, but Blaine had been right when he said they shouldn't waste time. Thirty minutes really could make a difference and Kurt wasn't willing to take the risk.

"Come on Noodles," Kurt cooed, his voice far too nice for Noodles to know exactly what was about to happen.

"We're gonna go on a trip." Kurt said, still in the same voice, making Noodles panic. It took Kurt a while to catch him and get him into his travel bag. Noodles hated the travel bag. Kurt had learned after going to the vets on the subway twice, that he was much better of hailing a taxi. Noodles wouldn't stop meowing until he was out of the bag – it sounded like he was dying in there. Kurt knew he wasn't. But the people on the subway didn't.

Kurt knew that Noodles would do fine on the backseat, in or out of the bag, but he didn't know if Blaine was okay with a cat chilling on his backseat… so hence the travel bag.

He decided he should go and wait on the first floor of the building, right by the window of the fire escape so he could see Blaine arrive and yet he'd still be safe. If only Noodles wouldn't make that much noise.

Kurt was early, but so was Blaine.

Blaine had gone home after packing the most important things in the stockroom. Medication, pain killers, bandaids, bandages- anything he still had left, he was taking with him. Some canned food, a few bottles of water and a pair of scissors he used to cut his hair. There was a moment of hesitation. He didn't want to be vein, as if was only a waste of time at this point, but he didn't want to look ungroomed to Kurt. Stores had run out of raisers long ago. People started buying them with the sole reason of committing suicide. They then wanted to put a stop to this, so factories stopped making raisers and if you wanted to buy them you needed a slip of a doctor claiming that you weren't suicidal. This resulted in people buying raisers for others to commit suicide. It had all been so ridiculous; like drug deals in dark alleys, people were secretly exchanging money for something sharp and easy enough to cut veins with without too much pain.

This meant people without electric shavers, were left to grow beards. Like Blaine.

Blaine didn't hate it, but he knew it didn't exactly make him look approachable. Which is something he needed to be, as a doctor.

After stopping at the stockroom, he went to his apartment to have one last shower. He figured he wouldn't see one in at least 3 days. After that he had tried to cut his facial hair with the scissors and managed to kind of make it look even, and short enough to pass as scruff. Still, not as clean and shaven as he'd like to be, but it was the best he could do.

If only he knew how to cut his own hair. Oh, it looked fine when it was wet and he could comb it into place. But when it started to dry, his hair would slowly creep back into its curls and leave him with a rather uncontrollable do.

Blaine kicked himself mentally after he caught himself worrying about his looks. This is not the time to vein, Blaine.

One backpack and a smaller across the shoulder bag were packed up, lasting them at least long enough to get to Lima and maybe even then they'd have enough food left to last a few more days. Blaine didn't know if Kurt was bringing anything at all, so he made sure there was enough for the both of them. He knew it would only take about 12 hours to get to their destination, but Blaine was uncertain of what they'd run into outside of this small part of New York. He knew what this place was like, and knew how it had gone from lovely and alive to horrid and dead... but he wasn't sure if it had been the same in other places.

The drive from Blaine's apartment block to Kurt's was a stressful one. Blaine had been scared of people hearing the car, and trying to take it from him. Or at least people trying to catch a ride. But none of the sort happened. Blaine realized Kurt really had been right when he had told him that this part of the city was dead.

Pulling into Kurt's street, Blaine looked to see if Kurt was already waiting outside. He wasn't, the street was empty. He looked up to see if maybe he was trying to climb down the fire escape. He wasn't, the fire escape ladder was still up. This meant he had to pull over and get out of the car which he didn't want to do… because he still feared people might run out of hiding and steal or trash it. He pulled up and waited a few seconds before opening his door and stepping out.

"No - way!"

The moment he'd stepped outside, he heard Kurt's voice.

"That is not your car!"

Blaine looked up and saw Kurt, hanging out of the window that he had to climb out of to step onto the fire escape.

"Are you not telling me something here, Doctor Anderson? Do you also work for the government?" Kurt joked, making Blaine look at his car and shrug.

"Hey what can I say," Blaine gave a crooked smile and watched Kurt climb out of the window with his bags.

"Do you need any help up there?" Blaine offered, seeing Kurt struggle with his luggage.

"Yes please, could you come up and take Noodles?" Kurt was so breezy and seemed to be comfortable with the whole situation that it made Blaine feel better about what they were doing. The last thing Blaine needed was someone who was socially awkward, like he could be sometimes.

Kurt lowered the ladder and Blaine climbed it, taking the travel bag and climbing back down. Kurt followed and when they were both standing on the ground, Kurt eyed Blaine suspiciously.

"Are you in the secret service?" he asked, making Blaine chuckle. Kurt wasn't wrong to question the vehicle they were both looking at. The black, shimmery Startech looked like it belonged to the mob.

"No. I'm not… although sometimes people think I am and let me park right in front of restaurants without giving me a hard time about it." Blaine said, now making Kurt chuckle.

"I'm serious though, for a moment I was too scared to go outside, thinking it might be the secret service, looking for survivors in this neighborhood." Kurt said as Blaine opened the door to the backseat, placing Noodles – who was meowing loudly – on the seat.

Blaine smiled at Kurt's words, taking the other bag of Kurt and placing it inside the car also before they both got into the vehicle themselves.

Kurt was verbally impressed with the car's interior too. The luxury of it, Kurt thought to himself as his hands went over the dashboard. Leather seats with built-in heaters, air conditioning from all thinkable angles, a DVD player in the middle of the dashboard where normally the radio would be… this was amazing. How had this car not been trashed or stolen, Kurt had no idea.

They took off, driving out of the neighborhood and into ones that seemed just as deserted. New York looked so lonely, Blaine almost felt sorry for it.

"It's technically not my car," Blaine suddenly said after eyeing Kurt for a while.

"No, because you gave it to me." Kurt said matter-of-factly. This was the truth, Blaine thought to himself. Kurt was right, but that's not what he meant.

"True. But I mean, it's not mine because it's my dad's… I just, get to drive it… I never wanted a car that looks like it belongs to a celebrity."

"Or the secret service." Kurt added.

"Right," Blaine smiled. "But my father insisted I'd use it." Blaine looked at the DVD screen that had popped on when he had started the car. He saw how Kurt was looking at it in awe.

"Do you want to watch something, or should I just put some music on?"

"Music is fine." Kurt said, his eyes big with anticipation of how Blaine was going to get the DVD screen to play music. Blaine cleared his throat, pressed a button near the steering wheel and a loud beep was heard over the speakers.

"Radio on." Blaine articulated perfectly.

The car took a moment to transfer Blaine's request, and after a few seconds music filled the car, making Noodles start meowing loudly again.

"Are we in a time machine… is that what this is?" Kurt jokingly panicked, making Blaine laugh once more.

"Hey, I also could've had a Fiat Multipla – take your pick," Blaine defended himself. Kurt immediately raised both his hands in defeat.

"I'm not saying this isn't a great car – because it's an amazing car! I just wouldn't have pictured you owning something that looks like this." Kurt shrugged. "So flashy."

"Really? What car would you have pictured me to have?" Blaine was curious, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Oh, I don't know…" Kurt shrugged, then thought of a moment. "Something green?"

"Green?" Blaine could understand that the whole car wasn't a right fit for him, but the colour was the only thing Blaine liked. Black with a shimmer. It made the car look more expensive than it already was, but it meant that Blaine barely had to wash it as it was the perfect shade to hide dirt and dust.

"As in environmental!" Kurt explained. "Like, I don't know, one of those hybrid things maybe…"

Oh.

"I could see you as a person that would try and save anything, even if you couldn't, but you'd still try." Kurt mused, making Blaine blush slightly.

"I guess," he said, but Kurt was right. He'd read him like an open book. If he could, he'd personally make sure every rain forest, every animal and every child was saved from whatever discomfort they were in. Whether that was the lack of a family or treat of extinction – he'd solve the problem if he could.

Which is maybe why the meowing of Noodles got to him. He quickly glanced at Kurt, who was looking out the window, watching New York (or what was left of it) pass by. He didn't even seem to notice Noodles crying out from his travel bag on the backseat.

Blaine swallowed.

"Is ehm… is he gonna make that noise the entire trip?" Blaine asked, looking in the rear-view mirror to see if Noodles was doing okay.

"Yea Noodles isn't a big fan of the travel bag," Kurt explained, turning in his seat to look at his cat. "I think it's because the only times I've used it, is to take him to the vets." Kurt pulled on the bag a little so he could see his cat through the sheer fabric on the side.

"It's okay Noodles, we're not gonna go to a scary doctor this time," Kurt said in a high cooing voice. "Although there might be one in this car," Kurt said, in the same voice, quickly glancing at Blaine.

"Hey!"

"But we're not gonna tell him that I said that," Kurt said, still talking to Noodles. Noodles replied with more loud meowing.

"Oh so you're not on my side here, are you?" Kurt raised his eyebrows at his cat, making Blaine laugh.

"If he, stays calm and just sits and doesn't jump out at us or something, it's okay if he wants to be out of the bag…?" Blaine suggested, both shoulders raised. Kurt stared at him.

"Really? But these are leather seats, I-"

"Are you being serious right now? Leather seats is the last thing I should be worried about right now." Blaine said, looking at an imaginary wrist watch. Kurt understood what he meant.

"And after all, this is your car now…" Blaine said, titling his head and throwing a quick glance at Kurt before turning his eyes back on the road. They were right in the middle of the city now, about to get on the roads that would take them out of it.

It took a moment for Kurt to accept what Blaine said, then undid his seat-belt and turned to sit on his knees so he could reach the backseat and let Noodles out of the travel bag. Kurt opened one zipper, and didn't need to do more as Noodles saw his chance and jumped out of the bag as quickly as he could.

"No jumping Noodles, have you not been listening to what the scary doctor was saying!" Kurt talked to his cat as if he were talking to a small child. "You're out of the bag, and you're not going back in unless you jump, understood?"

Blaine smiled at the situation next to him. Kurt was cute, he caught himself thinking. The minute he thought it, he straightened his face and sat up a bit. No time for nonsense like that, Blaine.

But he was. Kurt was cute.