Chapter Thirty-Six: Goodbye Lima

Kurt had never believed he would actually leave Lima behind and move to New York, especially not with the love of his life. But here he was, packing the last of his millions of clothes into the boxes that surrounded him, piled high in his bedroom. He looked around at the boxes and bags and sighed. It had all happened so fast, he could barely comprehend it. The New Directions had spent the day and then the night after the party round the Hummel-Hudson home, playing with Lily and generally spending time all together, and after Kurt had visited his mum's grave, they'd all gone for dinner at Breadstixs with Burt and Carole, Lily sitting in her high chair and laughing at all of them. Photos had been taken and embarrassing stories had been told, tears shed by all when they finally had to say goodbye for the evening.

Blaine was due in two hours, flying in from Cicero with all of his stuff. They had spoke the night before, right before Blaine had to leave for the airport, and the prince had sounded ecstatic about the very thought of them moving in together the very next day.

Kurt looked up at a knock on his door, smiling at his father.

' All packed and ready?' Burt asked, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

' Yep, though I have come to realise that I may have too many clothes' Kurt pondered, knelt among the boxes, picking at the duct tape stuck on his skinny jeans. Burt chuckled.

' Never thought I'd ever hear you say that kid' he laughed, moving further into the room, hands behind his back. ' Maybe you should sell some of them?'

Kurt looked aghast, shaking his head furiously. ' I said may, plus you've seen the amount of closet space in the apartment. I'm sure Blaine will find some place for his suits'

Burt chuckled again, sitting on the bed next to the huge red suitcase on top of the spread. He moved his hands in front of him and in them Kurt saw an envelope. He frowned.

' What's that dad?'

Burt held it out silently, smiling at his son. ' From Carole and me. We did the same for Finn a few nights ago, and we're doing the same for you and Blaine'

Kurt opened the envelope, sliding out the cheque inside and gasped, hand jumping to cover his mouth in surprise. He looked at his father again with wide eyes.

' Dad, I can't accept this!' he exclaimed.

' You can and you will. You're my son and despite the fact that I don't like how far you're moving away, hopefully this can help you and Blaine so you don't have to rely solely on the Anderson's money' Burt insisted, holding up his hands when Kurt tried to hand it back.

' But…five thousand dollars dad! I'm sure you can't afford this'

' Well actually the garage has been doing very well recently, so we can stand to treat both of our boys' Burt smiled, reaching out and smoothing a hand over his biological son's hair, and for once Kurt didn't resist. Tears were starting to fill his eyes, he hated that he was such a baby still, even though he was nineteen now. Burt loved it of course, his son still had his baby-faced features, though they had refined through the years, just like Blaine's had. ' I'm so proud of you kid'

Tears started to spill down Kurt's cheeks now and tears were starting to fill Burt's eyes as well. Without another word, Kurt moved, pushing his suitcase out of the way and sitting on the bed, throwing his arms around his father's neck and burying his face in his shoulder. Burt pulled his son as close to him as possible, rubbing his back, tears falling freely now.

' Thanks dad, for everything'

Kurt waited anxiously, sat at the bay window and watching the street, perking up whenever a car drove slowly past, visibly wilting when each of them didn't stop.

' Kurt, come sit down, you're going to drive yourself mad' Sam said, lounging on the sofa with Finn and Mike, playing an X-Box shooting game. The New Directions members had returned once more to help pack up the moving van when it arrived.

' Yeah, he's not going to show up any sooner if you keep watch like some weird Labrador' Artie laughed. Kurt scowled, reluctantly moving away from the window, throwing himself into one of the armchairs, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to his chest.

' What time is it?' he asked.

' Dude, it's seven thirty, five minutes since the last time you asked' Finn sighed, rolling his eyes.

' Shut up, I miss him' Kurt grumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest.

' Yeah shut up guys, I think it's sweet' Rachel cooed, jiggling Lily on her lap, not paying any attention to the boys playing their games. The girls seemed to like nothing more than to coo other the baby girl throughout their visits, and were currently all making faces and waving toys for her enjoyment.

' Kurt, are you all packed?' Carole asked, eyeing the mountain of boxes and suitcases piled up at the bottom of the stairs.

' Yeah, that's everything that I'm taking with me, have you looked over the booklet I left on the island?'

' Yes dear, it's very sweet of you to write up all that' Carole chuckled, thinking back to the small booklet Kurt had printed out, explaining how to care for his father, the medicines he needed to take for his heart, his exercise routines and recipes that he enjoyed and that were good for him, as well as recipes for Carole and Finn. He'd left it on the kitchen island that morning, ready for when his stepmother got up.

' I hope it didn't offend you, it's just…I've looked after dad for so long…'

' Don't even think that sweetheart, I completely understand and love you even more for it' Carole smiled, stroking his hair lovingly.

' Thanks mum' Kurt replied, smiling back. He was really going to miss the woman who had become his stepmother.

' Do you want any…?'

Carole's offer was never heard because at that moment a loud horn sounded outside, wailing in a pattern that was unmistakably familiar. Kurt was on his feet in seconds, sprinting over to the front door, ignoring his friends' and family's laughter as he ripped it open, for once not stopping to check his hair.

A small van was parked up on the kerb between two black, shiny cars, the back door of one of them flinging open and Kurt felt a thrill of excitement as Blaine ran up the front lawn, dashing down to meet him, squealing when Blaine lifted him up, twirling them both round and round, making the slightly younger boy giggle, slapping at Blaine's shoulders, screaming at him to put him down.

' Baby! We're moving today!'

' Excited are we?' Kurt laughed as Blaine set him back on his feet, keeping his arms around his waist. Blaine nodded, swooping in to kiss him hard on the lips. Kurt blushed, shifting embarrassed when they heard the "awws" and "coos" from where Mercedes, Rachel, Brittany, Santana and Tina stood on the front porch, watch the reunion.

Blaine leant his forehead against Kurt's, not letting go of him yet and gazing into his eyes. ' I missed you'

' I missed you too' Kurt smiled, sliding his hands up to bury in Blaine's black hair. ' Don't leave me again'

Blaine grinned at the familiar words. ' Never'

They soon began loading up the moving van as soon as it arrived only twenty minutes after Blaine and his small entourage of security, who set off towards New York ahead of the two boys. The girls helped with the smaller, lighter boxes of Kurt's stuff. Mike, Artie, Puck, Sam and Finn, all home for the summer as well as the girls, were grunting and groaning as they loaded the heavier stuff, starting on the stuff in the back of the van Blaine had arrived in, Burt coming outside to help.

Blaine glanced towards the huge moving van they had hired so Burt could drive all their stuff down to New York rather than paying the air fees and his eyebrows almost disappeared in his hairline. ' Got enough stuff?'

' Shut up, I couldn't leave a lot behind! A lot of those clothes will help in inspiration!' Kurt protested, breaking out of his boyfriend's arms and walking towards the moving van. Blaine hurried after him with a noise of his own protest, catching Kurt's hand in his. It was early morning and the older boy was as clingy as ever.

' Kurt, Blaine' Burt called them over and Blaine smiled brightly at the other boy's father, holding out a hand.

' Nice to see you Mr. Hummel'

' How many times do I have to tell you kid, call me Burt, you're practically family anyway' Burt sighed, shaking his hand anyway, smiling. ' Now, I wanted to talk to you both, make sure you know exactly what the plan is for today?'

' We know dad. You're leaving in the moving van as soon as everything's packed; Blaine and I are following in our own cars with the others. Finn's coming with me, and Puck's going with Blaine, and then they're flying back with you' Kurt drawled with a sigh. ' It's not difficult'

Burt rolled his eyes, clapping both boys on the shoulders. ' So grown up' he muttered. ' Listen, I'm gonna stay to help sort things out for you, and I've called the electrician to come turn to electrics on, but he's only able to go tomorrow afternoon, at around lunch time, so Carole got you these' he handed Blaine a box of thick white candles and a full box of matches.

' Cool, thanks. I called the phone guy yesterday and he's coming tomorrow in the evening some time too, so I've made sure my phone's charged in case people need to call' Blaine explained. ' When's the bed coming again?' he asked, turning to Kurt.

' Day after tomorrow so we'll have to sleep on the mattress tonight…'

' BLAINE! COULDN'T YOU HAVE GOTTEN A SMALLER MATTRESS?'

The three turned at Puck's bellow, falling over with laughter as they spotted the boys struggling to load the huge blue, king size mattress into the back of the moving van, laughing harder when Finn lost his footing and his grip, all of them yelping when the mattress fell on all of them, who collapsed under its weight. The girls collapsed too, but in heaps of laughter, not moving to help their boyfriends.

' BLAINE! WE HATE YOU!'

' Why do you have such a big mattress?' Burt asked, chuckling.

' I like to spread out and I wanted to give Kurt plenty of room' Blaine shrugged, winking at Kurt when his father turned away, crossing the lawn to help the boys.

' Guess what?' Kurt said suddenly, excitedly.

' What?'

' My dad gave us five thousand dollars'

Blaine gaped at him for several moments. ' What?'

' My dad gave us five thousand dollars' Kurt repeated, giggling at his boyfriend's reaction. ' I was thinking we could put like three thousand of it in the bank so collect interest and the rest of it we can use for bills and food and stuff for the apartment, yeah?'

' Kurt, I've told you, you don't need to worry about money…'

' I know, but I want to pay my share, it's only fair, your parents have already bought such a gorgeous apartment for us. I don't want to seem selfish when people ask how we pay the bills and I have to answer that my boyfriend's royal parents pay for everything' Kurt protested. ' I'm not that sort of person Blaine, and I…'

Blaine silenced him with a kiss, chuckling against his lips. ' I get it babe, anyway, I'm too much of a gentleman to refuse the money'

Kurt giggled, leaning in for another kiss when one of the boys yelled across the lawn.

' If you two have time to snog each other's faces off then you have time to help us!'

It was nine by the time everything was loaded in the moving van, Kurt's boxes of clothes stacked neatly and securely, and Blaine's keyboard and guitar resting safely on top so they wouldn't break. Boxes of valuables were on the back seats of both Kurt's navigator and Blaine's Mercedes-Benz, and everything was ready to go. Kurt's eyes were already wet, but he burst into tears when he saw all of the girls in tears as well, throwing his arms around Mercedes.

' I'm going to miss you all so much!' he wailed into her top, sobbing when the other girls wrapped their arms around him as well.

' We'll miss you too! But we can visit and there's breaks and summer, and thanksgiving, and Christmas!' Rachel exclaimed.

' Yeah, we have to come up and see this amazing place of yours!' Santana insisted. ' We can go clubbing!'

' Not until you're twenty-one!' Burt called from the truck, making the teenagers giggle and Santana wink at Kurt. Burt and Carole knew about what had happened in Vegas, they just didn't know how drunk their sons and their friends had actually gotten.

' Be safe Kurt' Sam said, hugging him. ' Look after each other'

' Only if you promise to keep seeing Mercedes every chance you get' Kurt warned, smiling at his blonde friend, who chuckled, glancing over at his girlfriend.

' We bought web cams, so we're going to skype every day'

' Good, we'll all keep in touch, let each other know what we're doing and when we can meet up' Kurt told them all, hugging each of them in turn, clinging onto them longer than he probably should have, whispering thank you to each and every one of them. These people, these people stood in front of him, they were the reason he was still there, the reason he was moving to New York, the reason he was still alive. He knew thank you wasn't enough to show his gratitude to them all, but some day he would make it up to them, would thank them for everything.

As Blaine had also said goodbye to each of them, Kurt moved over to Carole, standing with Burt, Lily in her father's arms. He wrapped Carole in a hug, breathing her in.

' I love you mum, stay safe' he sighed. He could feel Carole let out a few shuddering breaths, and wetness on his shoulder.

' I love you too Kurt, my baby boy' she smiled as they both pulled away, staring at each other as she cupped his cheeks. ' Finn will always be my handsome boy, and you will always be my baby boy. I can't believe how lucky I am to have you as a son, such an amazing young man as a son'

Kurt sobbed, hugging her again before moving onto Lily, holding her tightly.

' I'll miss not seeing you every day Lils, but I'll send you toys and clothes from New York I promise' he told the baby, kissing her forehead. ' I love you baby girl'

Blaine briefly squeezed Kurt's hand before climbing into his car, waiting for Puck to join him. Kurt looked back at the group of New Directions, watching as Finn leant against the side of his Navigator and Puck moved towards the other car.

Lima was his home. Regardless of the homophobia and the bullying and the small mall and the ignorant people who didn't understand artistic talent anymore than they knew quantum physics, Lima in Ohio was Kurt's home. It was all of their homes. It was where they had grown up, where they'd gone to school, where they'd worked, where they'd met each other, where they'd sung together. He anted to get out of Lima, but it would always be his home, whether he was in New York or in Cicero, Lima would always be his home because it was where his life had begun in so many ways.

Kurt smiled, opening the door to his car, looking back when Artie called his name. He looked back at the smiling faces of Mercedes, Rachel, Tina, Brittany, Santana, Artie, Mike and Artie, tears in the eyes of all, though the guys were obviously trying to hide them.

' New Directions forever!' they all yelled, and Kurt looked round as Finn and Puck yelled too. He giggled.

' New Directions forever' he repeated, wiping the tears before climbing into his Navigator with Finn, waiting for Blaine to pull away from the kerb, slowly as he waved to the collection of onlookers on the grass, before following him, blowing a kiss to his friends, his stepmother and his little sister, watching them all out of the corner of his eye in the wing mirror as he drove off down the road, smiling at their cheers and waves.

' You okay dude?' Finn asked as soon as they were completely out of Lima, onto the interstate. He had stayed silent while they drove through Lima, speaking up only when another few tears slipped down his brother's cheeks as they passed the sign wishing them a good trip.

' I'm fine' Kurt sighed. ' Just a bit sad to be leaving'

' Not regretting this are you?'

' Definitely not'

' Good, I want you to be happy Kurt'

Kurt smiled over at his brother, reaching over to pat his hand, his smile widening when Finn caught his hand in his own, squeezing it for a long moment.

' Love you Kurt' Finn muttered as he let go, looking back at the road.

' Love you too Finn'

It was just over a ten-hour car journey to New York, but none of that seemed to matter once they'd reached the city, driving through it in the small convoy of three vehicles. Finn had taken over driving from Kurt five hours in, and Puck had done the same, giving Burt half an hour to recover before beginning to drive the long trip again; Kurt was relieved that the three of them were returning to Lima on a plane, the tickets bought by Blaine as an insisted thank you.

The two brothers watched as the towering buildings and the bright yellow taxis as they passed. They'd been to New York before, but never like this, never had they driven through, into the residential communities. They followed the line of Central Park; it was gone seven and the sun was slowly setting, causing the leaves on the trees to shine golden brown, radiant and bewitching, Kurt knew he would never get used to such a sight, however many times he watched it in the next few years.

Like the trees of Central Park, the apartment was unforgettable. West 59th Street, overlooking the Park – literally across from it. Their apartment was on the top floor, and the building was one of the fancier of the block, with an amazing gold and white foyer, though not the most luxurious in New York. Both the boys wanted something simple, nothing over the top like Michael and Isabelle's condo, with its doorman and bellboys. There were steps up to the main sliding doors, and the whole building was made of red and black brick. Kurt had fallen in love with it when he came there the first time, even more so once he'd seen the apartment.

The five of them decided to visit the apartment and gather their bearings before attempting the difficult task of hauling their stuff into the lift. So Kurt rode the golden elevator with his father, his brother, his friend and his boyfriend, all the way to top, where there was pretty much only a utility room and an apartment, their apartment, and as Blaine unlocked the door he turned to the rest of them.

' Okay, this may seem weird, but you three need to go in first'

' Why?' Finn asked, raising an eyebrow.

' Because I need a moment with Kurt' was the only explanation he got as the prince pushed open the door and ushered the three men inside. Kurt smiled at the gasps from inside, turning to Blaine.

' What did you want to talk about?'

Blaine shook his head, stepping closer. ' Not talk' Kurt rolled his eyes, closing his eyes as Blaine's face got closer to his. But he didn't get his kiss, squeaking when he suddenly felt Blaine's strong arms around him, pulling him off his feet and into the air, bridal style.

' Blaine! What are you doing?' he shrieked.

' Carrying you over the threshold' Blaine grinned, holding him easily and walking towards the doorway.

' Isn't that for when you get married?' Kurt asked, looping an arm around his neck to stop himself falling when Blaine suddenly stopped, mere inches from the doorway.

' Do you want me to be romantic or not?'

' Romantic, definitely romantic'

' Fabulous' he grinned, finally stepping into the apartment, to the amused looks of Burt, Finn and Puck, who didn't seem to want to step further into the huge luxurious apartment.

' We're so lucky the girls aren't here' Puck chuckled, snapping a picture of the two of them on his phone. ' They would have squealed our ears off by how cute you two are'

' Thank you Noah, and send that photo to me' Kurt said, kissing Blaine's cheek once his feet were back on the hard wood flooring on the small foyer. He took Blaine's hand in his, tugging him further into the apartment. It was as beautiful as he remembered, the foyer leading into the large living room, open plan and with a large black, modern cast iron fireplace in the left hand wall, surrounded by a light brown oak mantelpiece. The living room was connected to the kitchen by the breakfast bar that ran the whole way around it, and a wide corridor led down towards the two bedrooms and the would be study, along with the small bathroom, separate from their en-suite, since Kurt took ages with his hair in the mornings.

The far wall was practically covered by windows, light streaming in from the setting sun, a set of large double glass doors leading out onto a stone balcony, overlooking the views of Central Park. The sunlight was the only light in the room at the moment and Kurt and Burt quickly got to work setting out the pack of candles Carole brought for them and the battery powered lamps Burt had acquired for them, whilst the three boys disappeared to start unloading the three vehicles.

It took an hour and a half to get all of the boxes up the elevator and into the apartment, into their directed rooms, and another half an hour to squash the king size mattress into the poor, abused elevator, extract it and carry it through the front doorway, where it was abandoned in the living room, with the promise that it would be moved tomorrow by Blaine when he collapsed on it. The boys had bought most of what they needed before the move, and with the bigger furniture arriving the next day, there wasn't much unpacking to be done.

' Hummel, take care' Puck said, holding out a fist to his feminine friend, who hesitantly returned the gesture, bumping his smaller fist into his, feeling a bit disappointed.

' See you soon Puck' he smiled, giggling at the shock on Puck's face.

' You called me Puck!'

' No I'm sure you're mistaken'

' Dude, whatever anyone says or does, you're my boy, through and through, and I'm sorry for how us knowing each other started' Puck said, running a hand over his Mohawk uncomfortably. Kurt shook his head.

' Most good friendships start out badly, look at me and Mercedes, and me and Rachel, and me and pretty much everyone in glee club, and everyone else with everyone else in glee club, we all hated each other when we first started out' Kurt reminded him. ' You're forgiven, you were forgiven a long, long, long time ago'

' Cool, thanks. Stay in touch yeah?' Puck shrugged, glancing over at Blaine, who was smiling at the interaction in amusement. ' And you'd better look after my boy Kurt if you know what's good for you'

' You have my permission to beat me up if I hurt him ever again, you still need to get me for all the last times' Blaine said, the smile still on his face.

' I'll get you next time, when Kurt's not looking' Puck chuckled, suddenly and surprisingly pulling Kurt into a hug. ' Look after yourself Kurt'

' You too Noah'

Puck chuckled, releasing him and walking over to Blaine to bid him goodbye as well. Kurt watched him go for a second before a hand grabbed his arm.

' Kurt, you're the best brother in the world!' Finn said, yanking Kurt into a hug that pulled him off his feet. ' I'm really going to miss seeing you every day, I mean it was okay when you were in Cicero coz at least I knew you were eventually coming back, but this time…dude I'm just really going to miss you'

' I'll miss you too Finn, put me down' Kurt choked out from the middle of the bear hug. Finn grinned sheepishly, returning him to his feet.

' I'm sorry for everything…'

Kurt held up a hand against Finn's apologies, shaking his head. ' Like I told Noah, you were forgiven a long time ago. I know you're sorry and I love you even more for it'

Finn smiled, wrapping his arms around his smaller brother, pressing a quick kiss to the side of his head, so quick nobody else would have noticed it. Kurt gasped at the gesture, closing his eyes and relishing in the warm embrace from his brother from another mother. Finn cleared his throat awkwardly after several moments, releasing Kurt and ruffling his hair just as awkwardly, for once Kurt didn't care, giggling.

' Love you dude'

' Love you Frankenteen'

Blaine and Puck chuckled at the brothers. They were still so awkward together, after all these years. Finn moved away from his brother, holding out a hand to Blaine, and Kurt took a deep breath, turning to the last of their guests.

' This is it' Kurt said, looking up at his father, tears already streaming down his cheeks, hands reaching out to grasp Burt's tightly, like he did when he was little. ' Just…just…remember to eat healthily, and stick to your excercises and your medications, and look after Carole and Lily, and maybe see how Mr. Schue is doing from time to time. And don't work too much, or get stressed, and email me the ideas for nursery when you've short listed, and call me every week…no twice…no three times! And I'm coming back for thanks giving and for Christmas too so you'd better not decorate before I arrive. And remember to put flowers on mum's grave every week, because she likes them…I put roses on there yesterday so go for tulips or carnations next time, ask Carole to help you if it doesn't weird her out too much…and just…just…'

' Kurt!' Burt chuckled, letting go of his hands to wrap his arms around his son, holding him closely. ' I'm going to miss you too'

Kurt whimpered, clutching at the lapels of his father's jacket and nuzzling his face into his chest, breathing in the seemingly always present smell of motor oil, cologne and musk that came with his father. He had done the same when he was a child, and hoped his dad didn't notice that he'd stolen one of his sweatshirts just for when he missed him too much, and for when they spoke on the phone.

' It's weird, thinking about you not being at home, with me, making me food and looking after me' Burt sighed. ' It was just you and me for so long, it just seems second nature to have you with me all the time'

' I could come home now…'

' No. You want this; this is where you're supposed to be. Your mum would want this for you. I want this for you. I want to one day have a guy come into the garage or sit next to me in a bar, and be wearing a shirt, and me to be able to turn to him and say my son designed that shirt, you're wearing a Hummel' Burt told him, sounding proud at the very thought. ' And I know that's going to happen, and when it does then it'll be extraordinary, because I'll be more proud of you than I am right now, and I don't think that's possible'

Kurt sobbed, tightening his grip on the jacket, not wanting to let go. ' I love you so much dad' he whispered.

' I love you too Kurt, more than anything, and whatever happens, here and in Cicero, you will always be my baby boy, my son, the one person in my life at the moment who I can honestly say has been there for me their whole life, even when I should have been there for them' Burt said, pulling away slightly and cupping his son's face in his large calloused hands. ' You are the best thing I've ever done, the best thing I can give to this world, and the best thing life could give to me'

Burt gently wiped at the tears on Kurt's cheeks with his thumb, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his hairline, pulling him back in for another hug.

A/N Oh my gosh! Is it bad that I cried a little during the goodbyes, all of them! It was so hard to write coz I wanted to get the words just right, I mean the Burt/Kurt relationship is so lovely and heart warming that I wanted to make sure I expressed the extra right feelings in their words, in Finn and Puck's as well.

Hope you all liked it and are happy that Blaine is back, you'll see a lot more of him in these next few chapters ;P

Keep reading and reviewing! :D X X