"Distance sucks! Fuck distance! I hate it!" Blaine was shouting into the phone, sounding angrier than he really was. Kurt had learned that when he got riled up like this, there was usually a meltdown coming on the other side of it. "Fuck distance and working the stupid fucking nightshift to make ends meet out here. I HATE it! Why did I think it was ever a good idea to go back to LA? Why?"
"Honey—" Kurt started, stopping when Blaine abruptly cut him off.
"I mean, I was actually fucking happy in Lima! I had you. I had a job. My dad was happy. I had everything I needed, and now, I'm out here in dumbfuck LA. I hate it!"
"You can always come home," Kurt said quietly.
"And be a failure again? I don't want that."
Kurt heard the quaver in his voice. The meltdown was almost upon them. "You won't be a failure. You went out there, and you tried. No one can blame you for quitting something you hate."
"Except my dad." Now, there were tears lacing his voice.
"Your dad won't hate you. He loves you."
"No. He only cares about success…" A sniffle. "Damn it! Why did I have to go and come back to LA? I fucking hate it! I hate it!"
Kurt could imagine the huge, hot tears rolling down his soulmate's cheeks. "Blaine, stop," Kurt said, his voice stern. "Please. Take a deep breath. Let me hear you."
From the other end of the phone, he could hear Blaine sigh, raggedly taking in a lungful of air before letting it out slowly between pursed lips.
"Thank you. Now, where are you?"
"In my living room."
"Go into your bedroom and find that bear I sent with you."
"My Build-A-Bear Kurt?"
"Mhm." Kurt waited patiently, listening to Blaine's breath growing steadier as he made his way back to his bedroom.
"Okay. I've got him." He was quiet now, reserved. Not so angry but still on the verge of future tears.
"Good. I want you to hold him close to your chest and give him a squeeze." He paused for a moment. "Did you do it?"
"Yeah." The word was more air than sound.
"What did you feel?"
"His heartbeat. Your heartbeat."
"And what did you hear?"
"Your voice..." There were tears in Blaine's voice again, and the sound tore at Kurt's heart.
Softly, he asked, "What did I say?"
"You-you said, 'I love you, Blaine, more than anything else in the world.'"
Kurt spoke the words along with his boyfriend. "I love you, Blaine, more than anything else in the world." Then, he asked, "What does that mean to you?"
"That I'm an idiot for being out in LA when I have the perfect man at home, waiting for me?" There was more pitiful sniffling from the other end.
"No. It means that no matter what, whether you choose to stay in LA and work the nightshift at Taco Bell, or whether you choose to come home, I love you, and I'm going to support your decision. I want you to find what makes you happy. Is that LA?"
Blaine was silent for a minute. There was a bit of rustling and some sniffling but no words.
Kurt expected, when Blaine finally spoke, to hear the usual answer when they had this conversation: "I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out." Tonight, though, he was met by a new answer.
"No."
His heartbeat quickened. "What did you say?"
"No." Blaine's voice was stronger, steadier. "My happiness isn't in LA."
"So… What does that mean you're going to do?" Kurt could hear a lot of rustling on the other end of the phone now, and he wasn't sure what was happening. Blaine was doing something, though.
"So, that means I'm coming home. I'm packing my bag right now, I'm going to drive down to Taco Bell and tell them I quit, then I'm buying a ticket on the first flight out of here, and I'm coming home. I'm coming home to you, Kurt."
There were tears on Kurt's face this time as he said, "Blaine, are-are you sure? You-you don't have to. You can stay there an—"
"No. I'm sure. The distance isn't worth it. I'm not getting anything out of being here. My dreams aren't coming true here because my dreams aren't here anymore, and I'm coming home to you. I can't stand being apart any longer."
"I love you. I can't wait to see you. I've missed you so much."
"I can't wait to see you," Blaine replied. "You should go to bed like you usually do. Don't wait up for me. I'll text you about the flight I find, but I don't want you to stay up all night. Kurt, I love you so much, and I'll be home soon."
"I love you, too," Kurt answered. "Be safe." Then, he hung up, making a beeline for the coffee pot in the kitchen. He didn't care what Blaine had said. He was going to stay up all night waiting for him, because he wasn't about to miss Blaine's first moments back in his arms, back home, exactly where he belonged.