"Kurt, our train departs in an hour – get ready!" Rachel shouted, stuffing the last of her key essentials in her handbag.
Thanksgiving was finally approaching, and with it came the promise of seeing family and friends. Rachel's dads had been more than willing to let her come home any weekend she wanted, but Rachel chose to stick it out and Skype when she needed her dad-time.
"Kurt!" Rachel bellowed, placing her large suitcase and duffel bag at the apartment door. The plan was for Kurt and Rachel to take the train out to Lima and getting to Ohio around midnight, and leave Sunday afternoon to return for the city. "You know I'm fully prepared to leave without you," she threatened, mentally checking to make sure that all necessary items were accounted for.
"Chill, Rachel," Kurt scoffed, armed with two suitcases.
"We're only staying for five days," Rachel said, narrowing her eyes at the luggage. "You are coming back to the city after Thanksgiving weekend, right?"
"Yeah," Kurt smirked. "I've also packed samples for Vogue– no reason that I can't squeeze a little work in this weekend."
Rachel hid a smile. "I thought we were both committed to taking some well-earned time off."
"Are you going to tell me that you didn't pack any textbooks," Kurt laughed, gesturing to the bulge in her luggage.
"Finals are coming up – now's not the time to slack off," Rachel said, smoothing her hair. "Are you ready to leave?"
Kurt nodded his head, following her out the door and into the hallway. Kurt made a point of tipping his hat to the elderly neighbors down the hall as Rachel pushed forward, touching the door handle. Rachel raised her right hand for a taxi and smiled when she got one on her first try. "I knew I'd get the hang of the city eventually," she grinned, giving instructions to the cabbie.
"I have to admit, the city is more 'us' than Lima ever was," Kurt commented with a nod, goodbye to the studio apartment in Bushwick that had been their home for the past two months. It turned out that a lot could be done with the space, and with ground rules on boundaries, Kurt and Rachel found themselves fairly well suited as roommates – provided that they keep bathroom schedules, which was the biggest bone of contention between the two of them.
"So are you excited to see Blaine?" Rachel asked, stealing a glance behind her to make sure that the luggage was safe.
"He's the other part of the reason that I'm running behind," Kurt admitted. "Long distance relationships are hard work."
"No one said it would be easy."
"We can't get our schedules to match. Every time he's available, I'm at work or working at home for the magazine. When I'm available, he's off at glee rehearsal or joining every club at McKinley."
"Well maybe he wants to build his resume – so that he can join us in the fall."
"He didn't have to run for Senior Class President," Kurt scoffed. "And win to boot."
"Don't tell me you're jealous," Rachel teased, remembering Kurt's anti-bully platform last year.
"He's already doing so much; I never get to talk him." Kurt turned to Rachel. "I love the way you and Finn write to each other."
"Why don't you suggest something like that with Blaine?"
Kurt shook his head. "I do enough writing for Vouge, and I want to have an actual one-on-one conversation with my boyfriend. Not a two minute phone call or letters spread out over a few months."
Rachel nodded her head. "It hasn't been easy for me and Finn either. There's so much I want to tell him, so much that I can't talk about in my letters."
"Have you told him about your good friend Brody?" Kurt winked.
Rachel playfully pushed Kurt. "I have written to Finn about my tutor Brody – he's the best thing about Dance 101. He said he'd help me next semester with Dance 102."
"Must be nice – having someone to spend all that extra time with you…"
"We're just friends," Rachel said, shutting down a conversation that she had had more than once with Kurt. The first time Rachel invited Brody to the apartment – to celebrate her first month at NYADA, Kurt raised his eyebrow and locked himself in his room. He told Rachel that he didn't want to end up in the middle of any drama between her and Finn. Rachel had assured him that Brody was nothing more than a tutor and platonic friend – but that didn't stop the little lingering feeling of guilt that occurred when Brody touched her while dancing, or laughed with her at the apartment. Over time, Rachel had developed a few close friendships at NYADA, but Brody was the person that she spent the most time with – whether they were practicing in the dance room after hours, or studying for exams.
"If Blaine knew that I was 'just friends' with another guy, he'd want to know more," Kurt remarked.
Rachel folded her hands and looked at the skyline. "College is about experiencing life and making new friends. I've never really had 'guy friends," Rachel said quietly, receiving a stern look from Kurt. "Outside of you of course," she remarked, patting him on the hand. "Brody knows all about Finn – he thinks it's romantic that we write letters to one another."
Kurt shrugged. "Part of me is surprised you didn't invite him to Thanksgiving."
Rachel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "He's got plans of his own with friends at NYADA – and my dads would have a heart attack if they thought they were going to have to entertain a houseguest on Thanksgiving weekend."
"And then there'd be the issue of Finn…" Kurt trailed off.
"Finn and I don't keep secrets," Rachel reminded him. "We run on full disclosure."
"Must be nice," Kurt mused, thinking of Blaine again. "Do you think they look different?"
"Finn and Blaine?" Rachel asked. "I'm sure Finn looks great after all that intense training."
"And Blaine's got to be exhausted from all that work," Kurt muttered.
"Look," Rachel pointed, eying their destination. "We're that much closer to home." Rachel and Kurt thanked and tipped the driver for lifting the luggage out of the trunk. Hauling their belongings to the depot, they double checked their tickets, ready to start their journey.