There was a cementing feeling, moving boxes into the house, even in its bare form it was a real place and Kurt fell in love with the space all over again. The girls cooed over everything he loved about it too, only furthering his feeling that this was the right place. A small part of him yearned to imagine what it would be like to have grown up here, but looking around at his friends helping bring life into this place he knew it all happened for a reason. Maybe even a hundred small ones. And right now it felt worth it. Despite everything, they still had each other.
"What's got you looking so sappy?" Rachel asked, tilting her head.
"Do you remember Sophomore year when you said I might be lonely, but I'm not alone?" Kurt asked, looking to her.
She nodded after a moment of thought, smiling. "Yeah, and then we sang our flawlessly executed duet together."
"We did." Kurt agreed, nodding. "I was just thinking about it all. I'm not alone, or lonely, not anymore. I know this year was hard, but I'm glad it didn't get the better of us forever."
Rachel softened, hugging his arm. "We're divas together forever, Kurt. Besides, we've both worked too hard to give up now."
"Exactly." Kurt smiled.
"Come on. Let's finish with your stuff. We have a surprise for you." Rachel said, pulling him to the Navigator to get the last of his personal things."
"More surprises?" Kurt asked. "How many do you plan to fit into this visit?"
"As many as we can." Rachel said with a nod, smiling confidently. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Kurt snorted, grabbing the tote bags from the trunk.
"I think we've got one more trip around and it'll be good." Burt said, inspecting the living room, boxes stacked to the side and floors still bare.
"Where is Carole?" Kurt asked.
"She went to see about the furniture delivery. We were going to wait on it, but with everyone's help it's moving a lot smoother than we were worried about." Burt admitted. "We were initially only expecting it to be the four of us."
Kurt nodded. "The girls want to steal me after we're done."
"I expected as much," Burt smiled and shook his head. "Just stick around for a bit and help with the last load and then you can go wherever, I don't mind."
"Deal." Kurt said, going to help with the kitchen boxes while they waited for his stepmother to come back.
And she certainly didn't disappoint, horn honking as the large IKEA truck pulled to a stop in front of the house, followed by three cars that parked nearby. Blaine came out with Nick and Jeff, Wes and David in the second, and Thad and Trent in the third.
"What...?" Kurt asked, coming out with the others.
"We heard you might need reinforcements so we offered our help." David said, grinning.
"You guys." Kurt said, looking speechless.
"You didn't think we weren't going to help our best friend on such a big day?" Jeff teased, soft punching him in the arm. "As if."
"You're a full fledged Warbler now," Wes said with a small smile. "You should start getting used to your brothers being here for you."
"Are you saying everything you did before wasn't you being there for me?" Kurt teased.
"It was the least we could do." Wes said, making Kurt snort.
"Well if you're here, might as well get to work." Kurt said, guiding them to truck.
There were generally warm hellos between the Warblers and the Lima kids, not having seen each other much since Nationals and those who went to the anti-prom. Kurt was still surprised by just how many people they had helping them, but it felt kind of befitting at the same time. New and old helping new and old. They unloaded the furniture in small teams, dividing the work by rooms to make it a little easier on everyone and keep from overcrowding one space.
"It's cute," Jeff said, looking around the house. "Kind of quaint."
"Quaint is what middle aged women say when they find something tacky but don't want to be rude." Kurt said, deadpanning at Jeff.
"I don't mean that!" Jeff was quick to say. "It's a little small, but it is cute. It fits your family, a cozy little home for new good memories."
Kurt rolled his eyes, but smiled. He glanced at the girls who all looked a little guilty and he pointed a screwdriver at them. "None of that. We're working so we can go do whatever it is you three of conspired behind my back."
That perked them back up, Jeff peppering the girls with questions to try and guess what they were up to, but the girls didn't budge on any important or giving details as they helped assemble Kurt's bedroom pieces and the boys helped put it where Kurt directed. By the afternoon they had a late lunch of pizza and soda they got delivered, most of the biggest pieces put into the house.
"It's really starting to look like something, huh?" Burt asked with a happy sigh, sitting on the living room couch and looking around the space.
"Yeah," Kurt agreed, sitting next to him. "We did it."
Burt looked to him at that, smiling as he nodded. He reached over, a hand between Kurt's shoulders and rubbed up to the back of his neck. "We did."
Kurt looked to him and they both chuckled at the unspoken question. Burt patted his back and nodded.
"Go, go on." Burt said. "You're free to go."
Kurt didn't need to be told twice, grinning as he went with the others to help clean up the pizza boxes and take the trash bags out to let Burt and Carole take a breather. The girls had taken one of his smaller travel bags and made it up, waiting patiently at the driveway when the others drifted out. Tina quickly linked arms with Kurt, hugging him close.
"As nice as your help as been, it's time for some special girl time. You can go back to hoarding him for the summer later," Mercedes said.
"No worries," Blaine smiled. "We know when we're no longer needed."
"Thank you for coming," Kurt said sincerely.
"Enjoy your new home," Wes said. "Before long we'll be in Perry House and focusing on the rel work."
"Alright, we're going to go before Wes feels the need to start talking about time tables," David said, steering his friend by his shoulder towards the cars. "See you around, Kurt. Ladies."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Jeff grinned, winking at their little group.
"That is a very short list and not at all helpful," Nick said, slinging an arm around his boyfriend's neck to pull him after Wes and David.
"I should go before they forget me," Blaine said, he and Kurt laughing.
"Yeah," Kurt said, glancing at their friends.
Blaine grinned, but nodded, waving to the girls as he trailed after the group, making sure that Nick and Jeff didn't actually forget him in their playful flirting. The girls chuckled at their expense, Tina nudging Kurt as they went to the Navigator. Rachel giving instructions to the nearby motel they had got a room in, knowing the house wasn't really visitor ready and Nick's family had been more than generous for the summer.
"You and Blaine are so cute," Tina said, leaning in the passenger seat.
"What?" Kurt asked.
"Oh please, boo. You two said goodbye like a couple of lovesick puppies who didn't want to actually say goodbye," Mercedes teased. "You've been around each other for over a month and you're still acting like you did at our first competition together."
Kurt tried to ignore the fact that his cheeks and ears felt warmer than usual at their teasing. Jeff and Nick were so used to them they didn't ever really comment on how he and Blaine talked, or how he would always walk him to his car when he left for the day, or lingered together in the drive way for a few extra minutes before actually leaving. His dad had been giving him a few looks here and there when he would see them from the guest house, but had refrained from asking any questions.
"We're not that bad," Kurt protested, but it sounded weak even to his own ears.
"Mhm," Mercedes hummed, clearly not believing it either.
"So what are we doing?" Kurt asked, trying to change the subject.
"We're having a girls night," Rachel said. "We've packed all the essentials since we knew the likelihood of being surrounded by boys meant no real spa time."
Kurt softened at that, unable to hide his smile. They really had put a lot of planning into this, trying to make the most of their time. He quizzed them on some of the finer details as they drove halfway across town to the cleanest motel Rachel could track down, the reservation under her father's card. As questionable as most motels seemed to Kurt he had to admit it was very nice to change into a robe and soak his feet while Tina put a vitamin infused clear coat on his nails and they took turn helping with face masks.
"I can almost feel my pores crying in relief," he sighed, leaning back on one of the beds to let his feet air dry.
"We'll need monthly trips up to Dalton for spa days," Tina grinned.
"You just want to sneak into an all boys school and cause a stir," Kurt teased.
"The attention is nice," Tina laughed. "Plus I'll get to see Mike."
"Using me to facilitate booty calls with your boyfriend," Kurt admonished.
"I'm an opportunistic woman," Tina said, making the group dissolve into giggles.
They put on some movies, Rachel having packed a cooler of healthier foods and snacks which after the pizza and soda Kurt had to admit was a smart move. He helped twist curlers into Tina's hair as they debated on the most over-hyped leading actor in chick flicks, shaking his head when Rachel demanded separate voting for men above and below forty. The conversation circled back to relationships when Mike texted Tina to check in.
"While I lament again that Finn and I won't be the Carmel High power couple of glee club, I have to admit Dalton has it's benefits for helping him with his football dreams and getting into a good college," Rachel sighed. "Carmel cut their football team to just a lacrosse team to give the arts a better budget for the spring musical, which I'll be singing in of course. I won't say I'm guaranteed the lead, but with my talent surely it is almost a given."
"Rachel Berry, caring about the future of someone else, you really have grown up," Kurt teased lightly, but smiled at her comment on the spring musical.
"Finn is an exception, he's going to be my husband someday, so naturally I'll have to make sure our paths compliment each other," Rachel said.
"I don't know how you're going to do the long distance," Mercedes said.
"Kurt will help us," Tina said.
"Excuse me, I was not in a long distance relationship," Kurt said.
"A long distance, mutual crush then," Tina said, waving her hand. "Essentially the same thing."
"The only one getting the best end of this is you, boo. Senior year with your boy, no more bullies, or Sue," Mercedes said.
"He's not my boy," Kurt said. "We're still just best friends."
"Best friends who are totally in love with each other," Tina pointed out. "There's no way you two won't end up together, living in the same dorm house, attending classes and meals and glee club."
Kurt felt his face warming under the mask.
"Why haven't you already made it official?" Rachel asked. "We've already established you're on the path of soul mates."
That phrase made Kurt snort, so they were back to that mentality. At least she didn't seem jealous anymore about everything. He sighed and shook his head.
"Between being driven out of Lima and getting everything together up here, we both agreed that trying to expect a relationship just because we're both here would just be adding to everything and it would be smarter to let the summer be used for putting my life back together," Kurt admitted.
The girls cooed at his words, making him roll his eyes and shoo them away from his side of the bed, flustered but smiling softly. It felt nice to gossip like this, see their perspective of things again like they used to every time a letter would come through. He eventually caved and told them about the day Blaine took him to the festival and the little stops. It gained a new round of questions and teasing, but the giddy feeling he got in his stomach made it feel worth it.
…...
It was a somber mood the next morning when they left the motel and went to his new house to meet up with Sam and Mike so they could head back in the Tahoe. Kurt was swamped in long hugs, not minding as much as he usually made it seem like. He hugged Mercedes twice, feeling a little lump in his throat at the knowledge it would probably be at least a month before they could see each other again.
"Thanks for helping me make this place a home," he said.
"Of course, boo." Mercedes smiled, looking a little teary too. "You deserve a place fit for a diva."
"You do too," Kurt said. "Carmel better know how to show respect."
"Oh you know they will once they meet me," Mercedes said. "Someone has to keep Rachel on her toes. She'll think she's safer without you there, but I'm not a background character forever."
"We shine far too bright for that," Kurt agreed, sharing a soft laugh with her. "I love you."
"I love you too," Mercedes said, kissing his cheek. "Don't forget to video call at least every other day, and text me. No matter what time."
"Same," Kurt nodded.
Rachel came back out from saying goodbye to Finn, hugging Kurt last.
"I'm sorry we lost as much time as we did last semester," she said. "I'll miss having you close, but I know New York is still waiting for us."
Kurt hadn't expected the apology but he smiled and nodded.
"Divas forever," he said.
"And ever," Rachel said, linking her pinkie with his. "Make sure Finn doesn't fall in love with any Crawford girls."
"I will," Kurt said with a humoring grin.
"See you on the other side, dude," Mike said, clapping his shoulder.
Kurt nodded, "I'll send you the pdf of packing supplies so you can make sure Sam doesn't pull a Finn and forget all the important things."
Mike chuckled, but nodded. "Your hands will be full enough with the real Finn."
"What about me?" Finn asked from the doorway.
"Nothing," Kurt and Mike said, grinning as they parted ways.
Kurt watched the car until it was completely out of sight, trekking back inside where Carole was waiting with a maternal smile and a warm hug.
"Welcome home, Kurt," she said.
Kurt finally let some of the tears fall at that, thankful that this time they were happy tears. He looked at his dad sitting in the living room with Finn, Carole still smiling softly. Very happy