A/N: This is the closest I've ever come to writing angst. No warnings, except for a massive case of the feels, perhaps.

The room was silent. Blaine couldn't take his eyes off of Kurt, and Kurt couldn't take his eyes off of the floor.

Blaine was in shock. Paris? With Vogue's huge presence in New York, he'd never thought that Kurt's job offer could be out of the country. His heart sank in his chest. This was it. He'd let himself get wrapped up in his feelings, swept away by an amazing, gorgeous, talented, intelligent, perfect man in a few days, and now he felt more heartbroken than he ever had in his life. Their relationship was so new that he couldn't understand why this hurt so much. Yet here he was, trying desperately not to cry and…oh, god. Kurt was looking at him now and it was ten times worse.

"Blaine?" Kurt said quietly. They were still holding hands, and his tightened slightly. Blaine had paled a bit, and was looking at Kurt in a way that made Kurt's heart ache. He couldn't do this. He knew it was silly – they barely knew each other, after all – but he couldn't be responsible for putting that look on Blaine's face. "I didn't say yes, Blaine," he said hurriedly.

Blaine blinked rapidly a few times to shake off the increasing urge to cry. "What? Kurt, what do you mean you didn't accept? This is an amazing opportunity for you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Kurt admitted with a blush.

"So," Blaine prodded, scooting a little closer and taking Kurt's other hand so he was now holding them both. "You wanted this job six months ago, right?" Kurt nodded. "Well, then, what's changed?"

Kurt angled his head to the side and gave Blaine a look. "Come on, Blaine," he said quietly. "You know what's changed."

It was Blaine's turn to blush, but he couldn't let himself get caught up. "Kurt, listen," he began, looking sincerely into Kurt's eyes. "I'm just going to say this. You can't turn down this opportunity for me. Hear me out," he rushed when Kurt opened his mouth in protest. "I know this is a weirdly serious and probably very inappropriate conversation to have with someone you have known less than a week, but we've never been terribly conventional, have we?" he asked with a wry grin that Kurt returned. "I really, really care about you, Kurt. Probably more than I should at this stage of things. I think what we have is special, and I am so, so profoundly glad that I asked you to stay here that day." Blaine forced back the tremor in his voice as he continued to look into Kurt's now-glassy eyes. "But," he paused, hating the look of anxiety that flitted across Kurt's face at the tiny word, "we have to think rationally about this. You've worked so hard at Vogue for two years now. I know this kind of chance doesn't come along that often. You can't just turn your back on it so quickly. It wouldn't be fair to you, and it would hang over us – whatever we do or don't become – like a shadow. I couldn't live with myself if I kept you from doing something you really wanted to do with your career."

Kurt gave him a watery smile and leaned forward across their joined hands, unable to hold himself back any longer as he pressed a chaste kiss to Blaine's lips. Blaine returned the kiss warmly, stroking his thumbs over the backs of Kurt's hands in his.

"You are the most incredible man I've ever met," Kurt breathed when they parted. He leaned back into his original position. "How am I supposed to leave you?"

Blaine released one of Kurt's hands and reached up to cup his face. "Hey, we could work something out, maybe. I could come visit, or you could come back here…" he trailed off as Kurt immediately shook his head.

"I can't do long distance, Blaine," he said, a tremor in his voice. "I – I tried that once. With my college boyfriend. He was a year older than me, so he graduated first. He got a job in LA. We tried the whole long distance thing, but…he…I," Kurt faltered, then took a breath and looked back at Blaine. "Neither of us held up our end of the bargain, in different ways. I can't do that to myself – or to anyone else – ever again."

Blaine's face fell as his hand slid from Kurt's face to land back in Blaine's own lap. They were grasping at straws, he knew.

"I know I have no right to suggest it," Kurt said, his voice small as he broke the silence, "but maybe you could come? I mean, your family has properties in Paris, right? You could manage a hotel there the same as you could here?"

A shock of realization crossed Blaine's face as his hand flew up to cover his mouth. With all that had happened this evening, he had somehow managed to forget the most important thing – well, until Kurt's revelation – to have happened all day.

"Oh, Kurt," he sighed. He laughed mirthlessly, which worried Kurt. Blaine looked off to one side, seemingly at nothing, for a few seconds, then back to the man sitting so close to him. "I can't, Kurt. You see, as of this afternoon, I don't work for the Anderson family anymore."

Kurt furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you see, I kind of, well…"

"Blaine," Kurt said in the exasperated tone that Blaine secretly adored.

"I bought The Dalton."

That, Kurt did not expect. "You what?"

"The Dalton. I bought it. Well, technically, Warbler LLC bought it, but I am Warbler LLC, so…" Kurt still looked confused. They hadn't talked too much about Blaine's relationship with his father, but from what little Kurt knew, it was not a good one.

"But, your father – he sold it to you?"

"My father has no idea whom he sold it to. The Warblers were the glee club at Dalton Academy - he thinks Warbler LLC is run by an alum who wanted to remain anonymous," Blaine said with a slightly devious grin. "I guess I should explain," he said, settling further into the couch but still, he realized, holding Kurt's hand. "As you know, my father and I don't get along. At all. He can't deal with the fact that I'm gay. The only reason I'm even allowed to manage The Dalton is because my mother somehow convinced him to do it. He tolerates me here because I do a good job – not that he'll ever admit that to me – but that's about all.

"When I came to The Dalton…for the first time, I felt like I had found my place. I love this hotel, and I love this apartment. It is all just so right somehow," he smiled fondly. "So, a few months ago, I was talking to Sebastian during one of his stays here. He was the one who suggested that I buy the place and separate from my father's business. I immediately dismissed the idea, knowing my father would never sell to me and knowing that I didn't have the money anyhow." He smiled ruefully before adding, "Remember when I told you Sebastian was just a friend? Well,"

Kurt cut him off with an almost comical, "I knew it!"

"Take it easy there, Kurt," Blaine laughed, knowing the conclusion to which Kurt had jumped. "That's not what I meant. I was telling the truth when I told you we'd never been involved romantically. No, Seb is more like family to me. At least, what a family should be anyway."

Kurt reached over to the table for his tea and curled his feet up underneath him on the couch. He felt a story coming on.

"When we were at Dalton Academy together, we were rivals at first. I was in a bit of a bad place when I got there. I'd been beaten up pretty badly at my old school, and while Dalton promised a zero-tolerance bullying policy, I wasn't all that trusting of other guys. After my first few weeks, Seb decided to stop competing with me for Warbler solos and instead he spent the better part of a month trying to make me his next conquest." Kurt angrily sipped his tea but didn't interrupt. "I finally snapped at him and told him to back off – oddly enough, he did. He told me later that he wasn't necessarily interested trying to 'loosen me up,' as he called it." Blaine smiled fondly at old memories. "Sebastian was, and in some ways still is, a narcissist and a player, but he showed me it was okay to be me – to live out loud and not be afraid of being gay. He was the first really open, out guy I knew, and it was amazing to watch.

"Anyway, we wound up having a similar schedule and between that and being in the Warblers together, we actually became friends. That first year, when spring break came along, the prospect of going home wasn't a pleasant one. My parents' marriage had been bad for years, and had gotten worse when I came out, thanks to my dad's reaction, so I was dreading it. Sebastian offered to have me stay with him and his parents in the Hamptons for the week. It was the first of many vacations I spent with the Smythes. They were wonderful, welcoming people, and Sebastian was actually quite a different person around them. I realized the attitude at school was just his defense mechanism, and that underneath, he was really a decent guy.

"We became more like brothers than anything else, and his parents considered me an additional son." He paused, looking off into the distance as if he could see into his own past. "I loved Dalton Academy, and my time there was wonderful, but it was underpinned by some of the most tumultuous personal problems I've ever had – coming out, my parents' divorce, just being a teenager…Seb and his family got me through all of that." He looked back at Kurt then, blinking rapidly a few times and trying to shake off the specters of the past.

So," he continued, "that brings us back to a few months ago. When I discounted Seb's idea, he refused to let it go. He contacted his father, who is a business attorney, and set up a meeting before I even knew what he was doing. His dad helped me set up a business to hold the hotel, and helped me to put together financing for the deal. He wouldn't take a dime for the legal work other than expenses for filings." He paused and smiled. "Seb even put in some money to help me. I tried to refuse, but he said, and I quote, "What else am I going to do with all this underwear money?" I didn't realize it until we saw the billboard at Times Square – he must have had the deal in the bag already, which explains where he got the cash in the first place. Anyway, I argued with the two of them at length, but the Smythe men are quite a force to be reckoned with," he laughed.

Kurt softened his attitude toward Sebastian. He'd have to remember to send him something nice to make up for the snarky text he'd participated in earlier.

"When I was younger, I felt like I didn't have a choice in following in my father's footsteps. I hated myself for not standing up for myself and pursuing something different. The only odd saving grace was that I actually enjoyed the business. I worked at a few different properties, then…" he looked around the room briefly before looking back to Kurt, "I came here," he finished with a small wave of his hand. "It was like the feeling I got when I went to Dalton Academy the first time. A sense of – belonging, I guess. Of home. I never could have put up with my father's attitude otherwise."

Kurt nodded to show his continued interest, but didn't dare speak a word, not wanting to break the spell that had fallen over Blaine which had him sharing so much.

"I caught wind from my mother that my father was looking to divest the company of some properties, including this one. I am sure he was going to take quite the delight in kicking me to the curb without warning. That's where the conversation with Sebastian came in, and the idea of me buying The Dalton out from under my father's nose. Seb's father acted as my agent so I would never have to be in direct contact."

"Didn't your father suspect something when your best friend's father was involved?" Kurt couldn't help but ask.

Blaine shook his head and scoffed. "My father has no idea who my friends are, let alone their parents. That would entail him taking an interest in my life, which he never has."

There was a pause, and Kurt cursed himself silently for interrupting. Blaine seemed to take the moment to refocus before continuing.

"So you see, Kurt, why I can't go to Paris with you. God, there's a part of me that wants to," he said, leaning in subconsciously, catching the reflection of light in Kurt's eyes. "But I've put down roots here. I never thought I'd have a home of my own – a place to stay that wasn't someone else's. This hotel is my baby, my responsibility; I can't walk away from it, I can't…"

Kurt could hear that Blaine was getting upset, and so he finally cut him off. "Blaine. I understand," he said, clasping both of his hands around Blaine's for emphasis. "I didn't know. I never would have suggested you leave this place if I had known."

Silence fell again. They both knew what the next question was, but neither one wanted to ask it. Without saying a word, Kurt returned his teacup to the table and shifted on the couch, opening his arms. Blaine instantly melted into him, tucking his head under Kurt's chin as they sank backwards into the plush cushions.

They stayed that way for a while, just listening to the quiet and the sounds of each other's breathing. Blaine brought up his hand and rested it over Kurt's heart, finally taking the next step in the conversation with a simple, "So?"

"So," Kurt replied with a sigh.

"I think we know what this means, Kurt," Blaine said, feeling Kurt's heart speeding up.

"Blaine, I don't want to walk away from this – from you. You know that, right?"

"Of course, Kurt. But you have to do what is best for you. This job is a rare chance to follow your dream. You can't just dismiss that."

Kurt was silent. He couldn't believe this was happening. He knew what Blaine said made sense. It was perfectly logical. But that logic seemed at odds with the feeling in his chest when he looked in Blaine's eyes. Damn it.

Blaine spoke next, his head still nestled into Kurt's chest. "When do you have to leave?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

Kurt took a deep breath, closing his eyes in an attempt to memorize what that felt like with Blaine's weight upon him. "There has been a change in one of the management positions since I last interviewed, so they want me to meet with the new person before everything is official. I'm told it's a formality, but she insisted, and it makes sense."

He stopped and Blaine shifted to look up at him. Kurt wasn't sure what he saw it Blaine's eyes, but he knew realization and fear were part of it. "When, Kurt?" Blaine whispered.

"They want me on the red-eye tomorrow night. I'll be there a few days, provided the in-person interview goes well, to help with the urgent matter of the current issue. After that, I'd come home to settle things, and be back in Paris full-time within two weeks." He stopped, taking in a shuddering breath. "I'm meeting with Isabelle tomorrow morning, then I should go home to pack."

Kurt reached his hand out to stroke the back of his fingers across Blaine's cheek as Blaine closed his eyes in resignation. A tear slipped out of Kurt's eye when Blaine subconsciously nuzzled into the touch.

They stayed there for what might have been minutes or hours, just being together. There really wasn't much more to say, was there?

Blaine eventually moved, taking a deep breath through his nose and letting it out slowly as he disentangled himself from Kurt's embrace and sat up. Kurt followed suit and sat beside him. Blaine glanced over at the clock and saw that it was nearly two a.m. "We should call it a night, I guess," he said quietly.

Both men rose and made their way down the hallway towards the bedrooms. They reached Kurt's door and stopped. Kurt looked over at Blaine, who was staring at the floor intently. He tried desperately to think of what to say, but words failed him. Then, Blaine stepped away, towards his own bedroom, and looked back over his shoulder and extended his hand toward Kurt. Kurt looked at the hand, and then back up at Blaine. "Won't that make it more complicated?" he asked, hating himself for not just taking his hand immediately.

"Kurt, I'm not looking to have sex with you tonight," Blaine said bluntly, his voice low and a little husky. "You're right – that wouldn't do either of us any good in the long run. I'm not ready to let you go yet, though. I can't be in there with you in the next room. Just let me hold you tonight. Please." His hand remained in the same outstretched position as he spoke, his eyes locked on Kurt's.

Without any further hesitation, Kurt stepped forward and firmly took Blaine's hand, which he found was trembling. Or perhaps the trembling hand was Kurt's. The two smiled at each other softly, and moved together into Blaine's room. They got undressed quickly, down to their boxer briefs. Any awkwardness that might have surrounded their undressing and getting into bed together seemed to disappear under the weight of the circumstances. They didn't have time to be shy. This was all they had.

Soon enough, Kurt was wrapped in Blaine's arms under the covers. They knew their limits, but that didn't mean they were going to ignore their desperate need to be close. A long time was spent on slow, deep kisses, needy, roaming hands, and the tight press of bodies together. With the soft whispers and murmurs they exchanged, it somehow felt even more intimate than if they had taken things farther.

Mental and emotional exhaustion eventually overtook the two, who finally succumbed to sleep in each other's embrace.

A/N: I'm sorry! I'm a sucker for a happy ending, though. Hang in there.