Author's Note: So, here we are at the end of the road. It's intentionally a little ambiguous, but I hope that it ties everything together the way that you all thought it would. Thanks for all of your support along the way... and here you go:

And in the middle of the flood I felt my worth
When you held onto me like I was your little life raft
Please know that you were mine as well
Drops of water hit the ground like God's own tears
And spread out into shapes like
Salad bowls and basins and buckets for bailing out the flood

Epilogue

"Would you stand still?"

Blaine sighs. Jesse is standing in front of him, straightening the tie that's a little too tight around his throat, but Blaine just can't stop bouncing. He tries to still his legs, but his knees shake like they're going to give out on him if he doesn't keep moving. So, he doesn't.

"Blaine. You're acting like a two year old."

"I'm nervous, okay?"

This time, Jesse sighs. His hands drop from the bow tie and land on Blaine's arms, holding him still and together. Jesse says, "You're being ridiculous."

On one hand, Blaine feels ridiculous. On the other…

"I haven't seen him in months," he retorts.

"You talk to him on the phone nearly every day."

Blaine snaps, "That's not the same and you know it."

Another gruff sigh.

"How can you be so calm?" Blaine asks. "You haven't seen Rachel, either. Or met Puck."

Jesse shrugs. "If I were as nervous as you, neither of us would make it out the door," he replies. "Not only that, but it wouldn't make anything easier. If tonight is going to be awkward, that's how it's going to be. I don't think we'll have that problem, but being scared of a dinner table isn't going to improve the situation regardless."

"…I'm not scared of the table."

Though, the next thing Blaine knows, Jesse is smirking and pulling him into his gentle arms. Blaine folds, letting himself relax at the touch and return the embrace. Jesse's lips are at his ear, assuring him that things are going to be fine, that he needs to stop worrying, that Kurt will be thrilled to see him and that he's sure Sam is wonderful. These words should be empty, but they're comforting to Blaine because Jesse is speaking them and he trusts that man more than anyone in the world, sometimes even himself. Because Jesse seems to be so, constantly sure and confident that Blaine can't imagine him ever being scared. He's so cool and collected that his words are the ones Blaine desperately needs to hear, because Jesse always knows what to say. It's like he knows exactly what Blaine needs to refute his thoughts, or like Jesse has been intentionally crafted to be the exact opposite of Blaine in that way so it's natural to counter his insecurity. Perhaps he is.

When Blaine pulls away, he just says, "thank you," and Jesse winks at him in his own, slightly smug you're welcome. They walk out the door hand in hand and Blaine guesses that maybe Jesse is a pretty good catch, as far as being destined for a smug jerk goes.

Or, okay, maybe just in general, too…

They very intentionally don't go to the same restaurant as before. In fact, they go somewhere several blocks down, almost as if they planned on not even passing the place. Jesse and Blaine walk in to find Rachel and Puck already waiting, Kurt and Sam trickling in a few moments later. It's almost weird how Rachel immediately gets up and hugs Jesse, as if she's greeting an old friend as opposed to someone who was once her fiancé – and then she hugs Blaine too, like he isn't the one who stole him. Though, Blaine supposes, Rachel did originally strike him as the sort of woman who always wanted to make things right (if her assistance in wooing Jesse was any indication), so maybe she's just trying to be warm. Puck is slightly less so, and Blaine gets the impression that he isn't quite the warm and fuzzy type. Though, he seems nice enough as he shakes Jesse's hand when it's offered to him, and then reaches out to Blaine. He's a little surprised that Rachel ended up dating someone with a Mohawk after being with Jesse for so long… but maybe that's part of the appeal.

Kurt doesn't embrace Blaine, but that's not all that surprising; he never really was much of a hugger. Jesse shakes his hand, though, ever the gentleman, and that's when Kurt goes to Blaine and gives his shoulder a little squeeze. Okay, so they're still a little awkward, but Blaine tries not to dwell. Sam shakes his hand and Blaine decides that he's nice enough too, and they do look quite nice beside each other… even if the way that Sam looks at Kurt gives Blaine a little shiver. It's just so surreal, still, seeing someone else look at Kurt that way. It's not quite jealousy he feels, but Blaine's not exactly fully accustomed to it all, either. Sometimes he still feels like it's not quite real, just because it's nothing like he imagined his future would be. Somewhere deep down he knew, but he guesses that maybe he just never expected to have to witness someone else being in love with Kurt. It isn't conventional and Blaine still squirms a little when he thinks about the fact that things will never be conventional for any of them, because they don't live in a conventional world.

They settle down into the booth, settle into conversation. Blaine asks Kurt how things have been going and Jesse talks to Rachel about their next projects. Sam and Puck start talking about comic book characters, and then Blaine jumps in as soon as he knows what's going on. The conversations merge and then they're all talking together, catching up and learning about each other, coexisting and bonding and paving the way for new relationships. It feels natural in a way that Blaine can't explain.

But, then again, has Blaine been able to properly explain a single thing throughout this entire mess? Could anybody explain these strange connections in a way that makes sense?

One empty seat on a crowded subway. A spilled cup of coffee. Two people cut from the same mold falling in line at a store together. A pen rolling beside your neighbor's foot in a classroom. These things, these inexplicable coincidences that often lead to the most valuable connections - are we truly meant to believe that that's what they are? Coincidence. Happenstance. Meeting the right person, falling into perfect unison, making friends, falling in love, all exactly at the correct moment. Just because. Right place, right time. Is there really such a thing? How beautiful can the world be to offer such kind accidents? How lucky must you be to run into exactly what you need, exactly when you need it – even when you don't notice it at the time?

That's the thing though, isn't it? The world isn't so kind. The world is harsh – cruel, even, from time to time. Could a world so imperfect just hand out the most perfect accidents? Could two people, seemingly made to mold together, just so happen to live in the same town? Walk the same route? Make the same stops on the subway? It seems peculiar that some people are so fortunate. So, perhaps it's not fortune at all. Perhaps there is something twirling the world on its axis and being certain that the right people fall together.

No one knows where the Timers came from. No one knows who decided what or why evolution deemed them necessary. No one knows if there's a God that put them there or a Devil that led others to dead ends. It's all quite the mystery and so seemingly clean cut. Some people are meant for others, some, unfortunately, are not. So it makes us wonder… what of the people left in the latter category? Their Timers are set to zero so their dance with Fate must come to a close. That's the end of the road for them. Of course. What else is there? The rest of their lives, they're on their own. There's no need to pay any attention to the ones who are left alone and then subsequently take the second to last seat on a subway or walk straight into a hot coffee facial. It's all coincidence. Happenstance. Right place, right time.

Because if you believe anything but that, the Timers become worthless, don't they? If you believe that there is more to the fate of the world than that – if you believe that there is life beyond the predestined mark, more than just a tattoo pulling the strings – not having a match isn't so scary. Even having a match is less important. Love stops being the center focus and you begin to wonder what else waits for you – who else in your life will mean something wonderful? Things start to come into focus. You realize that perhaps there is more than one sort of soul mate in the world. Perhaps there's a whole other kind of love that's being overlooked, tossed aside in favor for an ancient belief in numbers on wrists and worlds turning on their axis. Maybe no one has looked closely enough at their friendships to realize that they're just as clandestine, just as important, just as ever-connected and brought together by something greater than happenstance.

The definition of soul mate does not exclude itself to one life. Rather, it means, "Two people linked by Fate or karma or divine purpose"; the word speaks not of two connected people, but connected souls – forever tangled in a universe greater than we can imagine, tumbling together through incarnations and manifestations. They're thrown together in every life, in every way imaginable… so who is to say that there's only one mate for each person?

Kurt, Blaine, Jesse, Rachel, Sam and Puck – six people sitting around a table, tangled in an utter mess, joyful and laughing and together. Meeting in the middle. Perhaps it's not what's been told for centuries about soul mates, but maybe that's the point. So Kurt and Blaine aren't meant for some happy, romantic ending full of bells and whistles and clichés this time. At first, Blaine was totally convinced that meant that they were left with nothing… but as he looks across the table now, he still sees his best friend. He's still Kurt, still meant to be something truly important in his life – and then there's Sam, Rachel, and Puck – also supposedly destined for dead ends, instead beginning a whole new chapter that doesn't involve being afraid of zeros on wrists that can easily be likened to shackles. Blaine looks at them and sees nothing but strength.

So perhaps he and Kurt were meant to feel that pain, only so they could come together this way. Perhaps when Kurt's Timer went off for him while his remained silent, it didn't mean that Blaine's soul was not permanently attached to his, but that all of their souls were connected in a giant circle. Kurt is as connected to Jesse as Blaine is, just as Blaine is connected to Sam and Rachel. Puck didn't spill his coffee on Rachel by accident, nor did Rachel give him a chance on a cheap whim. It's always these six, falling together in various manifestations, tangled and twisted but always together.

As motionless cars rust on driveways and curbs
You take off your raincoat and stretch out your arms
We both laugh out loud and surrender to it
The sheer force of sky and the cold magnet Earth

End

Author's Note: I also have a playlist for this fic that I made along the way, which I'll probably post on my Tumblr (jamieberry, though it's yuletidetardis for the holidays). I'll link to it on my profile here once it's up, in case anyone is curious what songs I apply to the story besides those mentioned.