A/N: Hello you wonderful, wonderful people! Thank you so much for your continued support of this story; it means more than I have words for which is saying something cause like...I write stories, so. Anyways, the angst continues with this one but I tried to make sure we still had some fun moments. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

Chapter 15

It was hard. It was hard to remain present and thankful for their remaining time when all Kurt could do was think about that long drive back to New York and his barren apartment. A city that would be hot but not humid, or sticky, or right. Blaine had called it "future-tripping" and Kurt was doing an awful lot of it. He was painfully aware of their time limit, in everything they did. In every touch. In every word.

So he wasn't sure if this had something to do with it, maybe it was an attempt to ground himself. To root himself in the present. But when Kurt found himself lying awake in his lonely bed during a now rare night spent alone at Darla's, he couldn't take it anymore.

Blaine had said he needed to get a really early start to his Thursday and didn't want to risk waking Kurt up, insisting that Kurt stay with Darla. Blaine apparently had an inability to sit still for too long. Because even though the diner project had wrapped up, he had fallen into a series of little jobs around town. Small jobs like fixing faucets and patching up old plaster walls, nothing huge like the two renovations he'd done this summer. And Kurt knew it was silly and selfish and sometimes adult life didn't necessarily give you everything you wanted, but Blaine had told him that he was essentially taking the summer off to be with him. But here he was, alone in his bed at Darla's like the beginning of the summer. And he wasn't mad, but maybe just a little confused. Maybe a little hurt? Kurt felt like the more time he spent trying to untangle his emotions, the less sense they made, so he just stopped there, kissed Blaine goodbye and had gone home.

But now it was 5 a.m. the sun not even showing it's face yet and Kurt was pulling on some loose jeans and a white tank top. He was hopping into his car with absolutely no idea where he was going until he pulled up to the curb outside Blaine's house and cut the engine. He'd never been here alone before. And he wasn't really sure why he had driven here now. But he got out of the car and made it to the front door before realizing he didn't have a key.

He tried the door, just in case and it was locked. Which was good but also sort of inconvenient for him right now. He stepped off the porch and slowly began to walk the perimeter of the old, vacant house. He wondered how the town hadn't figured out that Blaine owned the place. Surely someone must have seen him coming and going at some point, right? But as he quickly scanned the dark world around him, he was reminded just how isolated the property really was. It was set far off the road with a front yard filled with old, huge trees. This place was a tiny oasis. Truly, a secret house. He wondered if most people even knew this place existed or if they thought it had been torn down long ago.

Feeling like he was casing the joint which, technically he was but whatever, Kurt tried the windows, each one firmly locked. He reached the back of the house, the wall of windows that lead into the large room in the back. The storage room. The dance studio. The bonus space that could be so many things. Kurt tried the back door and it opened easily. He smiled but also reminded himself to scold Blaine about this later. One simply could not own an isolated house and not lock all their doors. What if some rowdy teenagers found it? Or a bear? Could bears open an unlocked door? Kurt shook his head, I'm losing it.

He closed and locked the door behind him and was immediately surrounded by the comforting silence of the house. It smelled like dust and disuse but it didn't smell bad. He slowly, carefully began to ghost though the rooms, hardly touching anything more than the ground with his feet. With a sudden urgency, he wanted to feel those sawdust covered floors under his toes so he slipped off his shoes and reveled in the warm stickiness of the floors absorbed heat. He places his shoes by the front door, as if he lived here.

He continued to float from room to room, before ascending the stairs. He hadn't spent much time up there but his feet took him to the left, as if on autopilot to what was destined to be the master bedroom. He stood in the doorway for a long time. So long that the rising sun changed the sky from a dark navy to a pinkish red, to a golden hue that morphed into yellow. Bright and cheerful. Yellow daytime sunlight flooded the room. And Kurt stared and stared and stared and slowly but surely, he saw the room filling with images and ideas.

A large four post bed in the center. Something in a dark wood, rustic and handmade perhaps. He saw a creamy, oat colored comforter topped with one of Blaine's crazy summer quilts. He saw his own coat rack from his apartment in the corner, holding not so many coats or jackets as it did in New York. He saw a chair or two, small but comfortable. A place they could sit and drink their morning coffee. He saw his and Blaine's toothbrushes cohabitating in the bathroom and slippers by the bedside.

Kurt wandered out, unsure of how much time had passed but his feet were aching from standing on hardwood floors, so he assumed it had been a while. He floated through the other rooms upstairs. He saw guest rooms, maybe a music room for Blaine, a sewing room for himself. He thought maybe Blaine would want to get a dog and how he'd never considered himself a dog person but he could be. For Blaine. They'd certainly have the yard for it.

He found himself downstairs again, caressing the still counterless cabinets in the kitchen. A pale blue would look lovely here. Warm and yet cooling. A nice balance to the outdoors.

He heard the front door open, broken from the haze he'd been in. It was like reality came flooding back to him when he heard an unmistakable voice call from the front of the house, "Kurt? You in here?"

Kurt tried to respond but couldn't find his voice. To his shock, he found tear tracks dried on his face. The skin felt tight and he wondering how long his brow had been furrowed, a headache blooming behind it. He flattened it out.

"Kurt?" Blaine's voice was closer. And then he was standing at the mouth of the kitchen, eyes relieved and sad.

"Kurt, where have you been all day?" He said, a deep sigh breaking from his chest as he walked up to Kurt and folded him in his arms.

"All day?' Kurt croaked.

Blaine pulled back to look him in the eyes, "Yeah, it's one o'clock."

"Oh shit," Kurt breahed, feeling his pockets frantically and finding nothing, "I must have left my phone back at Darla's. Oh shit, Darla-"

"Darla was about to mobilize the entire town into a search party. She figured you had just spent the night last night but when you didn't show up for work, she started to panic. By the time she called me, it was about noon and I told her I hadn't seen you since last night. I got her to hold off. Told her I had an idea where you may be. And here you are."

"Here I am." Kurt echoed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even think. I just...I couldn't sleep and I couldn't sit still any longer. So I just...I don't know, I just got up and came here. I don't even know why to tell you the truth."

Blaine nodded thoughtfully before kissing Kurt soundly on the lips. "As long as you're okay. Now-" He grabbed the phone out of his pocket, "I'm going to call Darla before she has the FBI hunting you down."

Kurt felt bad lying to Darla as he grabbed the phone out of Blaine's hands and explained that he'd just run to Benton to fill out some paperwork for his doctor and had lost track of time, but he didn't want to jeopardize the whole town finding out about Blaine's house.

He hung up Blaine's phone feeling lighter and heavier at the same time.

"Hey, how did you get in here anyways?" Blaine suddenly thought to ask. "If you broke a window, you're gonna have to help me replace it."

Kurt laughed; he couldn't imagine himself ever breaking a window successfully. Puck had tried to teach him how to bust open a car window once in highschool, but he'd only listened to the lecture to humor his brother's best friend. He hadn't been taking actual notes or anything.

"The backdoor was unlocked." Kurt said with a scowl, "Which should go without saying is definitely not safe! What if someone broke in?"

"Oh broke in? You mean like you did?" Blaine teased.

"Fuck you," was Kurt's clever response.

Something dark and lovely flickered in Blaine's eyes and held. "I would very much like that, actually."

"Oh, actually? How flattering." Kurt smiled, his body drifting to Blaine of its own volition. His long arms wrapped around Blaine's neck and he felt the familiar weight of Blaine's strong arms wrapping around his waist, pulling them tightly against one another.

"Shut up and fuck me, Hummel," Blaine said, his tone oddly soft for the filthy words.

Kurt pushed him, in one fluid motion up against the counter and found his lips in a heated kiss. There was a kind of urgency that Kurt didn't want to address with words as his hands hurriedly found the hem of Blaine's t-shirt.

But Blaine's hand stilled his, a ragged breath coming from him, "Kurt, Kurt, wait."

"Don't wanna," Kurt said, lost in a haze of lust trying again to fix the whole 'Blaine wearing clothes' problem.

"Kurt," Blaine said again, gentle yet firm. Kurt stilled to find an earnest look in those hazel depths. "Can we...let's go to the master. I want...I want you in there."

It seemed like tears were always close to the surface nowadays as Kurt felt those words settle down deep in the pit of his stomach. He hastily nodded his head in agreement as he grabbed Blaine's hand and all but dragged him willingly upstairs.

They littered the staircase with their clothes, not really that many as the summer heat prevented much layering. Or any, really. And soon but not soon enough, Kurt had Blaine pressed against the wall in the empty master bedroom. Blaine's moans echoing against the white washed walls. It drove Kurt mad, seeing Blaine like this. Open and vulnerable and so, so accessible. It felt like he belonged to Kurt. And fuck, how wonderful if that were true, because Kurt knew he belonged to Blaine.

There was no bed to christen, not even a mattress on the floor. Kurt knew he'd regret it later but he dragged Blaine down to the hardwood floors, pressing him down on his back gently.

"Kurt," Blaine whispered, his voice sounding like it was drenched in awe. The pacing was all off. Kurt was supposed to be fucking him senseless, making him forget his own name but he coudln't keep it up. He slowed down, he looked, really looked at the incredible man laid out underneath him. His eyes were wide and honest and the simple sound of his short name on that exquisite tongue did things to him.

Kurt kissed slowly down his neck, paying special attention to the spot right behind his right ear that drove him absolutely crazy. "Kurt, oh-so good,"

"I got you baby, I've got you," Kurt said soothingly, pulling back to continue his journey downward. He lapped at his navel, once, twice. He nipped along his pronounced hip bones and got so wrapped up in the little whimpers they pulled from Blaine that he had to be brought back to reality by Blaine's fingers tangling into his hair and tugging firmly.

"Kurt," he pleaded, "please, I need you."

That was all Kurt needed. He trailed a finger down the sweaty mess of their skin, his finger becoming slick with perspiration and gently pushed into Blaine, keeping their eyes locked. He saw the dilation of Blaine's eyes, the awe magnified back at him. He introduced a second finger and watched as Blaine bit his bottom lip hard, to stifle the groan of pleasure.

Kurt bent down to whisper in his ear, "Don't hold back. I want to hear you. I want you to hear the echo of that moan in this room when I'm gone." It fucking hurt to say but the sound of Blaine letting go filled the silence between them and it was almost worth it.

"That's why I - oh fuck, right there - that's why I wanted you in here. I want t-that memory. Here. I-in this room." Blaine struggled through the words, his face red and dripping with sweat. Kurt wasn't fairing much better. He was so hard it was verging on painful but he continued to stretch Blaine until he had three fingers firmly inside, working their way open and closed, again and again.

"Need you, need you, need you," Blaine babbled, barely coherent as he spit into his hand and began to stroke Kurt, slicking him up. It was utterly obscene and should have grossed Kurt out but all he felt was want and need and the feeling of Blaine's skin sticking to his with the sweat in this airless house.

Blaine hitched his legs up to hook his knees over Kurt's shoulders, keeping steady eye contact. His pupils danced all over Kurt's face, as if trying to absorb every inch of him, desperate to remember every last detail. Kurt pushed in as slowly as he could, letting out a heavy breath between them. Blaine was impossibly tight, consuming him in a fire. It was heaven. How had Kurt ever hated the heat? The heat was what had given him Blaine.

"Blaine, baby," Kurt whispered, feeling himself shattering to pieces. He leaned forward, laying his full weight on Blaine's chest and pushing himself the last bit deeper. He swallowed the moan that pushed out of Blaine from somewhere deep in his belly. He kissed him lazily, feeling like all his energy was going into moving his hips. He pulled almost all the way back out, paused...and then rocked forward. Swift and steady, sheathing himself fully in Blaine again.

Blaine cried out, sounding like an angel in ecstasy. He moved his hips in time, building a rhythm that was steady and felt like it could last forever, and lord knows that was just what Kurt needed right now. He needed to believe that this would never end. That this was them christening their room.

But eventually, the heat pooling low in Kurt's belly felt like it was about to explode. He felt like he was about to explode. "Blaine," He spoke, feeling like that one word would break him.

"I know, me too," Blaine said. Did he mean he was close to coming? Did he mean he loved him too? He hated that this fuck felt like a goodbye.

And when his orgasm shot through him, sending Blaine over the edge as well, it felt almost like shutting a door. He held a shaking Blaine in his arms as his own arms shook violently, unable to prop him up anymore. He collapsed down on top of a heaving Blaine, melting into the man below him.

A long time passed as they attempted to regulate their breathing. The sun had begun to shift, ever so slightly. The quality of light becoming more golden, less yellow. Warmer and calmer and more settled, as Kurt wished he could feel. He willed the light to fill him up, to make him understand that when one day ended it meant that another one would take its place.

"Can we stay here today?" Kurt asked quietly. He had rolled off of Blaine to lay on his back, side by side, still on the floor.

"Sure," Blaine answered.

"I just want to pretend that...I don't know…" Kurt said, chickening out.

"I know." Blaine said, because of course he did, "Me too."

The silence descended upon them again, heavy and contemplative until Blaine said, "What kind of furniture should we get for this room?"

And the rest of the day they wandered through the house, pretending. Pretending everything was theirs, and ours, and we. Pretending it was all permanent. They held hands, dressed in their clothes after having cleaned up the best they could with the available resources.

It wasn't until around 6 pm that hunger finally set in in full and drove them out of the house. Blaine locked up (all the doors this time) and they walked slowly through the front yard. They were debating going to the diner or just keeping safe in their little bubble for the night when Kurt almost swallowed a fucking lighting bug just hanging in the air, completely unworried about the fact that a human was walking his way.

Kurt jumped back, letting go of Blaine's hand, ready to sacrifice him if necessary. "Jesus, Hummel, calm down." Blaine chuckled, looking around and then cupping his hands together swiftly and opening them to reveal a twinkling lightning bug. His grin came out easily, the likes of which had been a bit rare over the last few days. It reminded Kurt that while they only had a finite amount of time left, he wanted to spend it making Blaine smile like that: genuine and full.

"Ew, you just touched a bug. Like...on purpose." Kurt shamed, eyes sparkling with mischief,

Blaine rolled his eyes and scoffed loudly, "Oh come on princess, haven't you ever caught lightning bugs before?"

"Nope," Kurt said, popping the 'p'.

Blaine's eyebrows rose but he moved his eyes away from Kurt to survey the land. "Alright well…" he spotted one and walked over to it slowly, "it's pretty easy. They aren't too fast and all you have to do is-" he cupped his hands swiftly around another bug, letting it sparkle through the cracks in his fingers before letting it go. "-that. Easy."

Kurt's eyes flattened into a challenging glare. He didn't really want to touch a bug voluntarily, but he wanted to back down from a challenge even less. "Okay," he said with a pained expression and then turned to look for a target.

He spotted one quickly; they seemed to be every few feet, the yard probably filled with hundreds of them. He set his sights, walked up slowly and captured it, just like Blaine had, careful not to squish the poor, gross thing. "Oh my god, this is gross," Kurt whispered before letting it go, flapping his hands some, just to be sure.

Blaine laughed, a hearty sound even though Kurt was certain it wasn't all that funny. Kurt had to admit though, there was something so juvenile and young about it, something that pulled at his heart. He caught another. And another. And soon enough, he and Blaine were racing around the yard, catching lightning bugs, one after another after another. As the sun dipped lower and lower, it became ethereal. It looked almost magical as the color of dusk settled over the yard.

The lush green of the grass, speckled with untamed wild flowers made Kurt feel like he was untamed himself. Like he could just live in this field of a yard, guarded from the road by an army of old trees. Thick and sturdy, protecting he and Blaine from the outside world that wanted to tear them apart.

Panting and giggling, Blaine finally surrendered after having chased Kurt a country mile trying to put a lighting bug in his hair. He opened his hands, the lighting bug flickering on and off as it floated away, Blaine's palms up in surrender.

A loud boom suddenly echoed through the sky, a sound that seemed to bounce off the walls of the atmosphere.

Kurt jumped, a hand flying to his heart as he turned scared eyes to Blaine, "What the fuck was that?"

Blaine, a little spooked at first, let his shoulders droop as recognition filled his face. "Oh, it's just left over fireworks from the fourth of July." As if on cue, another pop sounded, something smaller that ended in that telltale bottle rocket whistle. A few more fired off in quick succession.

Kurt took a deep breath, his heart starting again. "Well, the moment is gone." he laughed and Blaine collected his hand, pulling him toward the truck.

"Dinner?" Blaine asked and Kurt's stomach answered with a resounding grumble.

"Dinner." Blaine said.

They decided on going to the diner, where they were guaranteed some level of levity. And sure enough, Ray's offer of free coconut cream pie and the huge hug Kurt had collected from Doug had made him feel lighter than air.

They sat in their booth, having just ordered their food when Cliff came in to pick up Josie as she finished up her shift.

"Hey guys!" Kurt called, seeing Jo, apron free and slipping her hand into Cliff's arm. "You guys want to join us?" He offered. It had become somewhat of a loose tradition when Blaine had been working on the diner. Whenever Jo got off and Cliff came to pick her up, they'd sometimes share a meal together.

"Sure thing! You want the meatloaf? They're almost out but I can snag you a piece?" Jo asked Cliff, who nodded his affirmation. Jo slipped back to the kitchen to place their orders while Cliff came over, clapping Kurt on the back and slipping into the side Blaine had vacated to join Kurt on one side.

"So congrats on your news, man." Cliff said to Kurt. News of Kurt's impending departure had spread like wildfire through the town, as all news did, and had been met with a mix of happiness and sadness that Kurt could only identify with too much.

"Thanks," Kurt said quietly, leaning further into Blaine's side. "It's um...it's...thanks." It's what? Great? Hardly felt like it.

"I bet you're excited to get back to dancing. Well like, real dancing." Cliff exclaimed, ever the energy of an overgrown puppy.

At this, Kurt did smile. Small but real. "Yeah, that's true. I've missed that." he couldn't believe he was being given what felt like a second chance at his dream. It felt very different from his first chance. A little more earned, a little less happy. It was strange.

Jo finally reappeared, slipping into the booth beside Cliff and smiling broadly at Kurt and Blaine. "Oh Blaine, are we still on for tomorrow?"

Kurt quirked a brow at Blaine, "Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?" Did they have plans he'd forgotten about?

Blaine's face seemed to pale ever so slightly but that could have easily been the harsh fluorescent lights over head. "Oh um, I'm doing some work for Cliff and Jo. At their place." He turned to Jo, eyes a little too wide and said, "Yeah, we're still on. Is noon still okay?"

Jo's smile looked a little forced, "Perfect. So Kurt! Heard your big news! Congratulations! I'm really gonna miss you, but I'm happy for you." Her voice became sweeter and less choppy as she went on. Her eyes soft and friendly.

Kurt squeezed out a smile and thanked her, praying that someone would change the subject or perhaps tell him why he felt like he was being lied too? All of a sudden Blaine has a larger project? And he has one at Cliff and Jo's that he hasn't heard about?

Mercifully, their food showed up, giving them all a welcome distraction. But Kurt's hunger from earlier seemed to have disappeared, a faint mimicry of what it had been before. He picked at his burger, carefully eating fries wondering if this was the beginning of the end. If that fuck had been a goodbye.

Maybe this was Blaine pulling back, distancing himself. And Kurt could hardly blame him, it was probably the sensible thing to do. But it still hurt. He thought Blaine had been willing to ride this out until the bitter, bitter end. But here he was, slowly disappearing before Kurt's very eyes.

He slapped a smile on his face and tried to remember that no matter what, Blaine's hand was still on his thigh, underneath the table, thumb rubbing soothing circles and that had to count for something.

Right?

A/N: I'm not going to lie, some of these chapters were really tough to write and this was one of them. That scene with the lightning bugs, I'd been waiting to write for a long time so I thought that would be something nice to break up the fucking heartbreak marathon we're on right now. So, what do you think? What will Kurt do? What's Blaine up to? Leave a review, follow or favorite! Pick your poison and I will see you next time!