Spoilers for 3x22. Back away if you haven't watched. We won't get into my opinion of the episode - suffice it to say, I share the same opinions as a large majority of the fandom and spent a lot of time sorting out my feelings in fic. This is the first one I've completed - there are others in the works.

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"Dude, there you are," Finn called, jogging into the auditorium where Blaine had been tinkering around on the piano. "I was hoping you hadn't left yet."

"No, I was just waiting for Kurt. He said he had something to do with you and Rachel this afternoon, and that we'd head out afterward. I take it you guys are done?"

Blaine only then took a moment to really study Finn's face. It was filled with disappointment, uncertainty, and concern.

"Finn, what happened?"

"I think I better let you talk to Kurt about that. He's in the choir room."

"Thanks, Finn." Blaine leaned over to grab his messenger bag, which had fallen beneath the piano bench.

"Wait!" Finn said. Blaine stopped and turned to face Finn. "I brought this. It might help."

"What is it?"

"It's warm milk. Puck helped me break into the cafeteria to make it. Kurt always brings it to me whenever he wants to talk."

Blaine stared at the paper cups that Finn held out to him. "You think it's that bad?"

"It ain't good. He needs you, man."

Blaine nodded solemnly and took the milk Finn offered him. "You don't look good either – are YOU okay?"

"I will be. I'll see you later," Finn said, leaving the auditorium. Blaine followed quickly, anxious to get to his boyfriend. Warm milk was for lady chats and rough days, and he knew it wasn't going to be the former.

Blaine approached the choir room and heard some random melancholy notes being struck on the piano. He rounded the corner to find Kurt huddled up on the bench before it, pounding on each key with one single pointed finger.

"Kurt, honey?" he ventured.

"What?" Kurt's response was muffled; the way he was sitting, his face was half buried in the fabric of his jacket.

"A little birdie… well, a really tall birdie, that is… mentioned you might have something to tell me?"

"Yeah, I have something to tell you," Kurt said angrily. "Your boyfriend is destined to be nothing but a Lima Loser."

"There is absolutely nothing about you that says loser, Kurt."

"I beg to differ."

Kurt thrust a crumpled sheet of paper in Blaine's general direction without turning to look at him. Blaine gingerly took the paper and smoothed it enough to read it.

"Dear Mr. Hummel, we regret to inform you that… oh god, Kurt, no…"

"Yes. I'm a reject. Again. They might as well have addressed it, Dear Loser."

"But… but I don't understand. I know I might've been watching with the 'boyfriend blinders' on, but I saw your audition. You NAILED it. It was the most incredible performance I've ever seen from you, and Ms. Thibideaux seemed so impressed…"

"Yeah, well, I guess 'seemed' doesn't mean squat." Kurt chuckled humorlessly. " You want to know the real kick in the pants? Rachel got in."

Blaine's eyes shot up from the page in his hand that he was rereading over and over, desperately trying to find one morsel of information that would help him understand why Kurt wasn't accepted. "WHAT?" he cried. "But – but… she CHOKED at her audition!"

"Yep."

"TWICE!"

"Uh-huh."

"And she harassed Ms. Thibideaux. Repeatedly."

"That's her."

"An – and all her extracurriculars besides the musical and the Glee club are bullshit – she just joins to be in the pictures!"

"Believe me, Blaine, you're not telling me anything I don't already know." Kurt sighed heavily. "Just another case of the effeminate gay kid getting the shaft." He winced. "Oooh, sorry, that was an inappropriate unintended pun."

"Kurt, this is musical theatre. In New York. Gay and effeminate don't matter."

"Well pardon me for not thinking straight right now."

Blaine carefully perched himself on the edge of the piano bench next to Kurt. He wanted to wrap his arms around Kurt in the biggest, tightest, warmest bear hug he could manage, but the way Kurt was curled up on himself, he figured he had better wait until Kurt seemed more receptive.

"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked delicately.

"I don't knowwww," Kurt almost whined.

"I know getting into NYADA was so important to you, but please don't tell me you don't have a backup plan."

"Of course I do," Kurt replied indignantly. "What, do you think I'm stupid? Or Rachel Berry?" He fiddled around with a piece of fuzz that had dared land on the sleeve of his jacket. "I applied to a few other schools. Tisch and University of Michigan for musical theatre, though it's probably too late for that since arts programs generally require auditions – oh WHY did NYADA take so long to notify us? – um, Parsons, just for grins, OSU… that was as a joke, but it's kind of not a joke anymore now, is it?"

"Have you gotten letters from any of them?"

"I've gotten letters from all of them, but they're sitting in a drawer, unopened. I guess I thought I'd be jinxing NYADA if I entertained any thoughts of attending any other school."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Blaine jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands together. "Well, Kurt Hummel, here's what we're going to do. First of all, you're going to drink this warm milk that your brother so thoughtfully committed B&E to make for you, and you're going to let me give you the giant hug that I've been so patiently refraining from bestowing upon you. Then we're going to your house to open those letters and see which school will have the honor of your presence in the fall."

Kurt looked up at Blaine, smiling softly at his enthusiasm but not really feeling it. "Honestly, I thought maybe I'd just stay here in Lima for the next year, get some generals done at the community college, and then we could coordinate our plans and applications in the spring. Then we wouldn't have to be apart…"

"NO!" Blaine thundered. "Whoa, that was really loud. Um, I mean, no, Kurt. Don't you dare think of giving up now. I can't deny that I'd love to have you here while I finish school, and the thought that you'd do that for me? It makes my heart truly sing. But Kurt, you are WAY too good for Lima. You need to go somewhere appreciative of the magic that is Kurt Hummel. Wherever you land, I WILL find you next year. You said we'd work out the long distance relationship, and I'm going to hold you to it. We're going to email and text and Skype and plan amazing reunions with each other, and we're going to have an amazing summer together before it all happens."

He reached out a hand, and when Kurt took it, he pulled Kurt up off the bench and into his arms. He stood on tippy toes to kiss Kurt right on the tip of his nose. "Come on. We're going to get this all figured out. I'm anxious to see where I'll be visiting you over weekends and breaks!"

Kurt allowed himself to be dragged out of the auditorium and to the parking lot to his car. After the speech Blaine gave him, he almost didn't care where he ended up, because as long as he had Blaine, he knew everything would be okay.

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A/N: Because instead of getting any talks with Blaine or with Burt or any sort of resolution or ANYTHING to cling to over the summer, we got a full length Rachel song of her looking at New York. BORING. Don't know if my little idea here was all that great, but hell - it would've been SOMETHING!