Kurt went home and sat on his couch for what felt like hours. He felt numb inside and he didn't want to do anything but crawl into bed and never get out again. He called Rachel and instead of saying what he had planned out in his head, he sobbed into the phone. Rachel had Puck get a cab for her and within twenty minutes she was in his apartment and let him cry for hours. He fell asleep with tears on his cheeks and a shattered heart. Thankfully, he wasn't currently doing a show, so he could hole up in his apartment and watch Netflix for days on end. He ended up choosing to watch One Tree Hill and after the first half of the season in, he realized what a mistake he had made, but he suffered through the first two seasons in two weeks. He didn't leave the house, had his groceries delivered, and didn't even turn his phone on. He ignored the door whenever someone knocked or rang the bell and he knew Rachel, Brody, Finn, and Puck had tried at various times to contact him, but he just didn't care. The biggest absence from his life was his conversations with Eli. He truly felt bad for falling off the face of the earth, but he could just not deal with anything in his life at the moment but existing.

Two weeks after the incident as he started thinking about it, he woke up and realized that Rachel's due date was close and he felt bad for not being there for her in her last weeks up to her delivery. He turned his phone back on, deleted all the missed calls and text messages and called her. She yelled at him for twenty minutes, then told him she loved him, and told him to go to her apartment for dinner that night. It was the last friends dinner they'd have for months, since she was being induced the next day. So Kurt dressed in the cutest outfit he could find, shaved for the first time in two weeks and prepared himself for what was sure to be an awkward dinner.

He showed up with a bottle of Chianti for Puck and a Slurpee for Rachel who had been craving them her whole pregnancy. David was sitting in their living room with Brody and Elsa looking at the pictures from the baby shower and he instantly felt butterflies and dreaded the awkward conversation that was sure to follow. Dave nodded at him, but kept his distance and barely made eye contact all night with Kurt. Rachel and Puck suggested some board games and made it a couples challenge. Of course Elsa and Brody and Rachel and Puck teamed up, leaving Kurt and Dave to be partners. This forced Kurt and Dave to interact together and for the first time in a long time, they actually got along and worked well together. They ended up winning and sharing a few laughs. At the end of the night, as Kurt was saying goodbye to everyone, Dave pulled him aside,

"This was actually nice for once, Kurt. It was nice to see you."

"You too, Dave. Why do you think we were able to work so well together?"

"I think it's because for the first time in years that there's no unresolved tension between us. I think we both have finally moved on. I'm glad too. What we had before was dysfunctional and didn't work."

Kurt couldn't help the twinge of pain that entered his heart at those words. He simply nodded and turned to leave,

"It was nice to see you, David."

"You too, Kurt".

With that, Kurt left and headed home. He could feel the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks but refused to cry over David ever again. David didn't get those anymore. If David had truly moved on, so would he.

He went home and signed on to his computer for the first time in two weeks. He answered a few emails and then signed onto the dating website chat. Eli wasn't on, but he left the chat signed in while he ate some takeout and watched another episode of One Tree Hill on Netflix. Eventually he heard his laptop ping and he sat down to see that Eli had sent him a chat message. It said, "Hey, I've missed talking to you. Glad to see you're back." Kurt smiled and wrote back, "Thanks. I've been dealing with some personal stuff for awhile, but I'm back and it feels good." They spent the rest of the night talking until five in the morning and Kurt realized just how much he liked Eli. He was sweet and caring and he gave him great advice. It was nice to have someone to talk to who listened to him and didn't judge and who he could share some of his hopes and dreams with and for the first time in his life, he shared things with Eli that he hadn't shared with anyone, ever. He told Eli that he had dreams of actually writing his own Broadway show, that he had never had a surprise birthday party, that his dream vacation would be to Greece, and that he eventually wanted to get married, have a family, and live in the suburbs. He told him about his love of karaoke and how he was in his glee club during high school and missed it. He told him about how he wanted to replace his mother's headstone at her grave. When she had died his dad didn't have a lot of money and it was small. He wanted to get her a large one and one big enough to fit his dad's name on it. When he had told Eli about it, Eli asked him gently about Carole and if he was sure his father would want to be buried with Kurt's mother. Kurt hadn't had someone challenge him and push him to think about others since David had left his life and he had missed it. Kurt made a list that night of the qualities he needed in a man. His top choices were loyal, steady, kind, compassionate, someone who challenged him to be a better version of himself, someone funny, someone flexible and willing to learn and someone who made him feel safe and secure. The more he talked to Eli, the more he thought it might be him.

Kurt went back to work and booked two more shows to costume and one to perform in. When he wasn't working he was talking to Eli on chat and each day he forgot about Dave more and more and thought more and more about Eli and how much he hoped Eli was who he said he was. Eight months passed and then came the fateful message from Eli, "Would you like to meet?" Kurt was terrified that he would turn out to be catfished, but he said yes. They agreed to meet in a small coffee shop in Brooklyn. Kurt would wear a red scarf in honor of Anne from Anne of Green Gables and Eli would wear a pair of suspenders in honor of Gilbert.

Three nights later on a Friday evening, Kurt sat in the coffee shop with a delectable salted caramel macchiato and waited for his date. The coffee shop had bookcases and a fireplace and it was a nice shop for people to come in from the bustle of city life and escape. Kurt grabbed Anne of Avonlea and read the part where Anne realizes that Gilbert is the only one she ever wanted and needed. He looked up as the door swung open and his breathe caught in his throat, he thought for a minute it might be Eli, but instead he saw Dave walking in with a thin and very tall man. Kurt sighed to himself. Of course it would be his fate that Dave would show up with a date on the night he's meeting his blind date.

Dave smiled at him and walked over. He plopped down in the seat across from Kurt and grinned even wider as Kurt was taken aback.

"What the hell, David?!"

"What? Can't I say hi to my friend, Kurt?"

"We're friends? Since when?"

"Oh, you're funny, Kurt."

"I'm not trying to be. What are you doing here?"

"Just getting some coffee with my coworker, Neil."

"Fellow sports agent?"

"Yep. He just moved here and he's very nice and we just got out of a showing of the latest Spiderman movie."

"Oh, that's nice. Well, I'm actually waiting for someone here, so you need to go."

"Oh, you have a date? How nice!"

"Yeah, and if you're sitting there he might get the wrong impression."
Dave just laughed and got up.

Something about this carefree attitude about running into each other while on dates.

Dave and Neil got their coffee and left and Kurt waited for Eli.

Kurt waited for two hours and Eli never came. He knew he had been set up and he didn't get what he had done wrong. He thought things had been going well and Eli had been the one to suggest meeting and he couldn't figure out why he'd stand him up after talking nonstop for months.

He went home and left a very nasty message to Eli on the site about proper decorum and rudeness and manners and to never contact him again.

Eli sent him a reply that same night apologizing and telling him that he had been stuck at work all night and in meetings and he felt horrible. Kurt calmed down considerably and told Eli that it was okay but he also told Eli he wasn't sure he wanted to meet again for at least a couple of months, because it took him awhile to get his nerve up. Eli told him understood and didn't press the issue further.

A few more months passed where Eli and Kurt shared more conversations, each one more intimate than the last and three months later, Kurt was ready to try meeting Eli again. Kurt was thinking of telling Eli he was ready to meet him, when the invitation came in the mail. It was Sarah's first birthday and Rachel and Puck wanted him to be there. He after all was Sarah's godmother along with David. He went to FAO Schwartz and bought a handful of toys that he was sure Rachel would hate, but Puck and Sarah would love. He got the party a few hours early to help Rachel set up and Dave had already arrived.

As soon as Kurt saw Dave again all the old feelings came rushing back. Kurt really cared for Eli, but he hadn't met him and he didn't know if he'd feel the way about Eli that he did about Dave. It was like a chemical reaction that happened in his body whenever he saw Dave and it was disconcerting and uncomfortable and annoying. And he loved it. He loved that he could feel that way about someone. Dave caused that in him, passion and love and a spark that he had been missing with Frederick and Jeff. He felt it when he talked to Eli and after spending the afternoon at a birthday party, he decided that night he would tell Eli he wanted to meet him. He went over to Dave and for the first time since he could remember things weren't awkward and tense. He asked Dave how Neil was doing and Dave looked confused by that. He said Neil was fine and that he was a good coworker. Kurt asked him if he was seeing anyone and David smiled. It had been awhile since he had seen Dave smile like that and the last time he remember seeing it was the day Kurt had told him he was willing to take a chance on him and their love. Dave said he was currently insanely in love and he was very happy and that it was the best relationship he'd ever been in. Hearing that gutted Kurt, but he kept the smile on his face and told Dave that he'd been seeing someone as well and while he wasn't in love yet, he hoped he would be soon. David just smiled wider and wished him luck.

Kurt went home that night and left a message for Eli:

Hey, Eli. I just wanted to let you know that the last few months of talking to you have been some of the best of my life. I had a very rocky relationship with someone I thought was my destiny and true love and when it ended badly, I was heartbroken. But talking to you has been a true highlight of the last year. I would like to meet for real and see if our conversations on here can translate to the real world. If you're interested, I'll be at Central Park at the pond on the rocks this Saturday at 11 a.m. If you don't come, I'll assume that you do not wish to take this further and I won't contact you again.

-Fiyero

Kurt went through the rest of his week thinking about Saturday morning. This would be the day he'd either make the connection of a lifetime with a potential new love or find out he's destined to be alone and single forever. Friday rolled and around and Rachel called him to tell Kurt what clothes to wear and how to act when he met his new man. Finn texted him with encouragement and even Dave sent him a text message that was a simple, "Good Luck."