"So as soon as I'm done with the show, we'll sneak out the back, into a cab, and be on our way to Ohio!" Rachel said excitedly as she stirred a sugar into her coffee. "I'm so excited, I could explode!"

Kurt laughed as his best friend rambled on about her plans to make it to Ohio in as little time as possible. He never thought he'd see Rachel so excited to head back to the middle of nowhere they once called home. He couldn't believe how excited he was either, although New York wasn't feeling very homey lately.

It had been another three months, and things between Kurt and James were so back and forth that Kurt thought he was getting whiplash. James moved back in for a while, and things were good. But it seemed the longer Kurt spent with his fiancé, the more tense things became. They were glossing over issues. They were ignoring their conflicts. And then when one or the other finally spoke up and voiced their complaints, things went to shit again.

They had agreed a couple weeks ago to have an extended break from each other – no texts or calls or Facebook messages. They needed time to figure themselves out. And Kurt had elected to do that by taking his work with him back to Ohio, and staying with his parents for the holidays. It would be a much needed break from an increasingly lonely city. Sure, he had Rachel, but with her recent run as Eponine in Le Mis, Kurt hadn't seen much of her. Today's coffee break was an unusual occurrence.

"Are you all packed up for your mini home-cation?" Rachel asked as the pair sat in the café chairs closest to the window. A very light snow was falling from the December sky, but Kurt was warm in his cashmere sweater and fleece lined pants. He packed much of the same, since he expected the Ohio winter to be even worse than New York's.

"All packed," Kurt confirmed, before taking a sip of his nonfat mocha. "I'm going to be brightest beacon of fashion in a 300 mile radius out there," the man joked, knowing that Ohio was never one to appreciate his eclectic and forward thinking taste. He may have toned it down just a bit, especially since he planned on spending plenty of time holed up in his teenage bedroom, but he'd still be ages ahead of any native Ohioan. Even his sweatpants were designer nowadays.

"Oh I'm sure you will be," Rachel agreed in a slightly patronizing tone. Kurt just rolled his eyes. "I, on the other hand, packed nothing but sweatpants and hoodies."

"I'm sure Sam's future wife will be thrilled you attended the reception in your best 'PINK' pants" Kurt mused comically, raising and eyebrow, and sassily sipping at his drink.

"Oh, shut up. You know that's not what I meant," Rachel quipped, lightly slapping Kurt's arm. "I'm wearing that little blue dress you made me for my 23rd birthday. I finally fit in it again!"

"Is it because they're starving you to look more 1789 French… how do you say…. Sans abri?" Kurt asked, melting into his fake French accent.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "They can't stop me from eating the biggest slice of wedding cake I've ever seen tomorrow." Kurt chuckled. Rachel was definitely invested to her character. She dropped nearly 15 lbs for the role. Kurt tired to make sure she stayed healthy. He was pretty sure she hadn't eaten bread in months, though. "You know, I heard through the grapevine an old friend of yours is best man." Rachel noted, a sly look crossing her face.

"An old friend of mine? Rach, who was I friends with that you weren't? And since when is there a grapevine? Last I checked you only talked to me and that deadbeat boyfriend of yours," Kurt noted.

"Oh shut up. You know Vince got a job three weeks ago," Rachel responded, a small smirk crossing her face, knowing well Kurt was just joking. He and Vince got along pretty well, so Kurt knew Rach wouldn't think he was serious. "And for your information, I heard from Tina who heard from Mike who heard from Sam's brother Stevie that Blaine is Sam's best man!"

It took a moment for Kurt's brain to process what Rachel had just said, not so much because he couldn't believe it, but because until this moment Kurt hadn't even thought about the fact that his ex may be at the wedding. "Wow… I didn't know they stayed so close," Kurt noted, trying to think back to the last time he talked to Sam. And honestly, it wasn't so long that he felt like he shouldn't have heard something about Blaine if they were so friendly. Unless Sam had simply avoided the topic, which wouldn't have been overly surprising.

"Yeah… apparently Blaine is the one who introduced Sam and his lady. Brianna was it?"

"Brielle," Kurt corrected.

"Right, right. Brielle. Damn, I need to get that right before we get there tomorrow," Rachel mumbled- cursing herself for being so awful with names. "But yeah, Blaine introduced them. They're all super close actually, according to what I've heard."

"Interesting," Kurt mused, mind suddenly cloudy with thoughts of what it would be like to see Mr. Blaine D. Anderson after 8 years. They broke up on not-so-great terms, but Kurt would be lying if he said he never wondered what Blaine was up to. Not so much in the past few years he'd been with James, but the thought was always in the back of his mind. He never heard from Blaine after the Christmas Burt was diagnosed with cancer, and Kurt couldn't find any trace of him on social media the few times he checked.

"I thought so too. I tried to Facebook stalk him to see if the rumors are true. Turns out Blaine's profile is like… super private. Lock tight. But there were a few photos of him and Sam on Sam's page. He looks good, you know. He stopped using all that hair gel." Kurt laughed at the mere idea of Blaine without hair gel. He wondered if the man would be able to muster a formal event without it. While 8 years could change a lot about a person, Kurt wasn't so sure he believe it could change such ingrained grooming habits. He was slightly entertained that Rachel had been thinking the same thing – that the internet was the first line of action when trying to read up on an old face.

"It'll be nice to see him," Kurt finally decided with a small nod. Sure, it may be awkward, but with it being such a big event, the two could ignore each other if need be. Kurt hoped they could get past it, and catch up a little. Blaine was one of the most amazing people Kurt ever knew. He was so easy to talk to, and incredibly genuine. Sure, Kurt couldn't help but be a little bitter about the fact that Blaine cheated. But Kurt hadn't been the best boyfriend either, looking back. And no matter how mad he was when they broke up, Kurt would gladly reintroduce tall those good qualities back into his life if Blaine allowed it. And being nostalgic would certainly help pull Kurt away from his current troubles.

"I think so too," Rachel agreed, just as a buzz and a melodic ring came from her coat's pocket. "Ugh, damn," Rachel said, pulling the glittery pink-cased iPhone from it's place in her purse, and tapping the screen twice. "I gotta get going," Rachel sighed, tucking the phone away again now that the alarm was silenced. "I'll see you backstage tonight! Remember, our plane leaves at 4 am! We're going right from the show to Newark!"

"Yeah yeah, don't remind me!" Kurt said, waving Rachel off. He wasn't excited about the prospect of arriving at an airport at 1 in the morning, but Rach had set them up with a semi-private jet. They had to leave super early, though, since another set of passengers needed to get to San Francisco by 8am Pacific Time. He decided in that moment he should go home and take a nap, or he'd look like a zombie for the wedding. He had no clue how Rachel was going to survive. "I'll see you tonight."

Before he got up to leave the café, however, Kurt decided to open his phone and do a little exploring himself. He opened his facebook app, and made his way to Sam Evan's profile, navigating to his photos and beginning to scroll through. There were a lot of pictures of venues and cakes – clearly Sam doing his part in planning for the wedding. Facebook wasn't a platform Kurt used much anymore. Frankly, for everyone it was more of a place to store photos nowadays. It took a good few minutes of scrolling before Kurt finally came across what he was looking for.

Kurts eyes widened a bit at the picture before him. "Damn," he muttered, clicking the photo to see it full screen – as if he had to be sure that, yes, the man in the picture was indeed Blaine. He was at a bar with Sam, and the quality certainly wasn't the best, but from what Kurt could tell, time had been good to Blaine. His hair was certainly a surprised – not slicked back and contained like it used to be. The crazy curls were somehow tamed, longer, and effortlessly sitting on the man's dome. He had facial hair, which was kind of blowing Kurt's mind. Last he knew, Blaine only had to shave once a week because the hair came in so slow. Now his beard was full, but close shaved.

He looked… mature. He looked… very different from the Blaine Kurt once knew. But it was definitely sill Blaine. Same toned arms, same dorky smile. Same bowtie, suspenders, and pink sunglasses hanging from his belt-loops Blaine. Kurt closed the app quickly once he noticed how much he was smiling. Tucking his phone in his pocket, he gathered himself and headed out the door and back toward his apartment, thinking about how he hoped it really would be the same old Blaine behind those curls facial hair.