36 Questions
Part 3
Twenty-Five: We
The first to arrive at the restaurant the second time around was Blaine. He waited outside for Kurt instead of accepting the hostess's offer to seat him. That way, when Kurt showed up, Blaine could give him a proper hug like he'd been yearning to do since their last hug 48 hours before.
The hug didn't disappoint. Kurt gave the kind of soul-warming hugs that seemed to relax and heal. Blaine couldn't be blamed if he hung on a little longer than necessary every time.
When they were seated side by side in the booth, Blaine jumped right in, eager to get to the end of the questions and see what was next on their path as a couple — romantic or platonic, whatever best suited Kurt.
"Make three true 'we' statements each. For instance, 'We are both in this room feeling …'"
Kurt mulled over the question, biting the straw in the water glass that had been set down in front of him moments after they reached their booth.
"We both have a passion for music, we are both enjoying each other's company, and…" A waitress passed with a tray of steaming entrées for the neighboring table and their stomachs growled in unison. "And we are both starving."
Blaine chuckled. "I just realized I forgot to eat lunch today."
"Blasphemy."
Blaine held up his hands in defense. "Maybe I was a little distracted by the prospect of a date tonight with an insanely handsome man."
Kurt blushed and sighed. "I suppose I can absolve you of your sins then."
Blaine flashed an award-winning smile in triumph.
"Okay okay, my turn. Tell me if I'm wrong. We are both feeling a little nervous." Kurt nodded reluctantly. "We are both attracted to each other." Another nod. "We are both going to leave this date to call our best friends and squeal about each other, as we've done twice already."
"I want to deny that one."
"But?" Blaine prompted.
Kurt's hands suddenly seemed too small as he attempted to use them to cover his flushed face while he answered.
"But I can't."
Twenty-Six: Share
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Their waitress asked, approaching the table and smirking at the two men straightening up upon realizing they had company.
"Just water for me for now," Blaine answered. "We will order drinks in a little while."
"And I'll have a Diet Coke, please," Kurt said.
When she left, Kurt cleared his throat. "Complete this sentence: 'I wish I had someone with whom I could share …'"
They both sat lost in thought for a few moments until Blaine answered.
"I wish I had someone with whom I could share everything."
"How did I know that would be your answer?" Kurt asked with a kind laugh.
"I'm getting too predictable in my old age." Blaine pouted, causing Kurt to pat his arm soothingly.
"You're hardly old, and I'm sure you still have some surprises up your sleeve." Kurt said, throwing him a wink.
"You don't have to lie, I know I'm a boring, single guy."
"Au contraire, I'm finding you anything but boring. Predictable does not equal boring. You could murder someone at 7:00 am each day and that would be predictable, but certainly not boring."
"Okay," Blaine agreed. "You got me there. So how would you answer the question?"
The silence precluding Kurt's answer stretched on so long that Blaine wondered if he'd heard the question. When he finally responded, Kurt's answer broke his heart.
"I wish I had someone with whom I could share anything."
"Oh, Kurt," Blaine said softly. He didn't resist the urge to take Kurt's soft hand in his.
"It's been so long since I've had a place to call home, and life on the road hasn't exactly provided the best circumstances to build a relationship. I've never admitted it aloud, but I would kill to go home at the end of the day and have someone there just to talk to. It sounds so lame, I know."
"No it doesn't, everyone deserves that. But remember, sometimes it's not a place you call home, but a person."
Kurt clutched their joined hands to his heart, realizing that Blaine was right. If he'd had someone to call each night while he was on tour, someone waiting for him to visit, it would have made all the difference in the world. "You're right. You're right an irritatingly large percentage of the time. You know that?"
"Not the first time I've heard that," Blaine said with a chuckle.
Twenty-Seven: Important
Blaine dropped Kurt's hand and turned away from him reluctantly to pull the paper with the questions in his direction.
"If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know."
"This question feels like cheating because it seems like we're already close friends, even though we've only known each other a short time." When he realized what he'd said, Kurt's panicked eyes darted up to Blaine to make sure he hadn't overassessed their growing relationship, and found Blaine nodding in agreement.
"It does, but you still have to answer. Tell me something I don't know yet."
"Oh, I know! I get really mean and unbearable when I'm exhausted. Like, stay so far out of my way I have to call a search party to find you."
"Wow. Noted. For the record, I can't imagine you being mean to me."
"I hope for your sake you never get to see it." He took a sip of his water. "What's something I should know about you?"
"Don't judge me."
"I make no promises," Kurt said, but smiled to let Blaine know he was joking.
"I'm very, extremely, debilitatingly afraid of the dark."
"How does a grown man end up afraid of the dark?"
"Stop judging!" Blaine kicked Kurt under the table.
"I'm trying! Help me understand!"
"Ever since I was little, my brother would turn off the lights at night time and jump out at me or chase me around. My defense was to drop to the ground into a ball and stay there until he eventually turned on the light. When the lights go out now, I freeze and curl up into that same little ball. It's an automatic reaction now."
"Do you sleep with a night light?" Kurt asked, teasing.
Blaine frowned and shook his head. "I'm not answering that."
"So you do."
Blaine aimed a few more kicks at Kurt, but Kurt caught his ankle with his feet and intertwined their legs.
Twenty-Eight: Like
"Thank goodness the next question will make you stop teasing me!" Blaine said with a fake frown, peeking ahead on the paper.
"Lucky break," Kurt said. "I wasn't really making fun of you, you know. I sleep with a night light too."
"You do?" Blaine looked skeptical. "Why?"
Kurt nodded. "I recently acquired a cat and I want her to be able to see at night if she has to go to the litter box."
"You know cats can see in the dark, right?"
"It's a common misconception," Kurt said, waving a hand. "They can see in light in which we can't, but in total darkness they can't see either."
"Thank you, Wikipedia."
"You're welcome. I am a wealth of useless knowledge." Kurt's ankle knocked against Blaine's affectionately. "On to the next question! Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you've just met."
"Wow, okay…" Blaine squirmed a little, but his discomfort was disrupted by the waitress taking their orders. They both chose the nightly special again, a pecan-crusted halibut, and Kurt's attention was back on Blaine. "I don't want to freak you out."
"You won't. Most likely."
"Promise you'll stay through the end of the questions even if I do?"
"Promise."
Blaine took a deep breath before spilling what he'd so far held inside.
"I like that I could see you as my partner." His eyes didn't so much as flicker up to gauge Kurt's expression. "I like that I could see us as equals, supporting each other and learning together to give the other what they need."
He bit his tongue to refrain from sharing fantasies of the future with kids and a house and large family gatherings. Then he looked up. To his pleasure and surprise, Kurt was beaming.
"I like the same thing about you."
"How dare you steal my answer." Blaine tried to scold, but it came out sounding awed and breathless.
"Then how dare you steal my heart."
With the way his breath caught in his throat, even if Blaine had wanted to say something in return, he couldn't have.
Twenty-Nine: Embarrassing
It could have been thirty seconds or thirty years that Kurt and Blaine stared at each other in some sort of lovestruck daze.
Kurt was the one to look away and break the silence.
"Blaine. You have to let go of my hand now. It's going to fracture if you keep squeezing it like this. Also maybe close your mouth if you're going to keep staring at me."
Blaine jerked upright with a furious blush and tore his gaze away from Kurt, busying himself with finding question 29.
"Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life. Hmm. Can I say that moment from five seconds ago?"
"No need for that. You should know that I'm feeling the same things you are. I'm just better at...building fourteen foot walls all around me and not letting my emotions show."
"No need for that. But seriously, thank you. It helps to know I'm not the only one forcing my heart down into its rightful place and keeping my head from floating up into the clouds."
Kurt smiled and placed a quick kiss on Blaine's cheek. "Not by any means."
They both burned where lips had touched cheek, the fire on the surface matching the fire inside.
"So what's the embarrassing moment you want to share with me?"
"Easy. I had gone on a couple dates with this guy and I thought things were going well. We were watching TV on his couch one night, a few glasses of wine deep, and someone knocked on his door. It was his older sister and his mom. He made me hide in the closet. In. The. Closet. When they finally left almost an hour later, he apologized and told me he couldn't let them see me because they'd think I was his boyfriend. So I sensitively asked if he wasn't out to them yet, and he said the most embarrassing and cutting words I'll never forget. 'I am, but I want them to see me with a hot, strong, masculine guy.' And then he told me I should probably leave and that he'd call me later."
Blaine's mouth hung open for an entirely different reason than a few minutes prior. "He actually said that? What an ass!"
"And, get this, he called me the next day to hook up again. I told him to go fuck himself, of course."
"Wow. That's awful. I'm glad you can laugh about it now. But is he stupid?"
"Well yes, but why do you ask?"
"Because unless you've changed a ton since then, I don't see how he could think you're anything other than hot, strong, and masculine."
Kurt looked down coquettishly then smiled back up at him. "Blaine Anderson, charmer extraordinaire."
"I'm not trying." He shrugged. "It's the truth."
"Exactly." Kurt paused long enough to thank the waitress for bringing their food over. "Okay, Romeo. Your turn."
"One time I got in a cab to go from my dorm to a restaurant to meet a friend. I'm the kind of guy who chats with my drivers, so I was trying to strike up a conversation to ask her about her favorite places in the city, but she seemed a little tense and like she didn't really want to talk. When we got to the restaurant, I asked her how much the fare was and she said she didn't know. Turns out I'd hopped in a random car parked by the street and the poor lady was terrified and thought she was being human trafficked. Once she realized my mistake, I begged her to come to dinner with me and my friend, but she politely declined, and I completely understand why. It took me about a month to even think about getting in a cab again."
"Oh god," Kurt laughed, wiping away a tear. "You hijacked her car! I just can't imagine anyone being afraid of you. The thought is so funny!"
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Blaine drawled. He turned to his steaming plate to dig in while Kurt came down from his laugh session, but was unable to fight off a few laughs of his own.
"Are you good now?" Blaine asked a minute later when Kurt had settled down.
"Yes," Kurt started, but then began laughing again. "Wait, nope. I started thinking about it all over again!"
Blaine sighed on the outside, but on the inside he was doing a happy dance.
Thirty: Cry
"Okay, okay. I'm done. I think."
Blaine, clearly not believing him, raised an eyebrow and waited.
"Yep. I'm good. Here's question 30: When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?"
"I think the last time I cried in front of someone was probably you the other day. But before that, it must have been my mom when I was lamenting about Luke. By myself...I cried to myself at night a lot before I met you."
"What happened when you met me?" Kurt prompted, setting down his fork to give Blaine his full attention.
"I remembered that there are good things in this world," Blaine said simply, "and that I should start looking forward instead of back."
Kurt shivered at how deep Blaine's comment reached.
"What about you?"
"I just cried laughing at you."
"Doesn't count."
"I can't remember the last time I cried in front of someone. But I indulge myself quite often. I watch those awful homecoming videos of soldiers reuniting with their dogs or children."
"Oh, those always do me in as well. It's good to show your emotions, Kurt."
"I almost cried in front of you just a few minutes ago," Kurt admitted.
"Because you can feel how universe-shifting this connection between the two of us is and you can't believe fate brought us together like this?"
Kurt stroked his thumb across Blaine's cheekbone and gave him an adoring smile.
"No, at how good these mashed potatoes are."
Thirty-One: Partner
"At least now I know the way to your heart is through food," Blaine said, still laughing at the potato comment.
"Through food and cute guys in bow ties, apparently." Kurt grinned as he ran a finger along Blaine's polka dot patterned bow tie.
Blaine's eyes lingered on Kurt's striking profile before he took one last bite of asparagus and asked question 31.
"Tell your partner something that you like about them already." He looked up, brow furrowed. "I feel like we answered this question just a few minutes ago."
"We pretty much did, but I won't say no to hearing more nice things about myself."
"You have to tell me nice things too," Blaine said.
"Of course! I like that you're so open and vulnerable. I like that you clearly take care of yourself. I like that you put family first. I like that you listen when I talk. I like your eyes. And your jaw. And your mouth. I'm sure there's more of you I like too. Maybe I'll get the chance to find out." Kurt caught Blaine's eye and shot him a flirty wink.
Blaine took a sip of water to wet his dry mouth, but he still didn't seem to be able to make it work quite right.
"I...uh...yeah...you too."
"Do I need to give you a minute to get your brain under control?" Kurt asked with a smirk.
Blaine nodded dumbly and took a minute before he could form an intelligent sentence, let alone thought, again.
"Sorry about that. It's been a while since anyone even insinuated anything regarding themselves and my body."
"It probably won't be long until the next time."
"Stop that or I won't ever be able to answer the question."
Kurt held up his hands in mock surrender.
"I like how you make me feel confident and supported. I like that you're multi talented. I like that you've been through a lot of hard things and you are stronger and better for it. And of course, I too, like your...everything. Let's change the subject before things get really embarrassing."
"All right, all right." Kurt had a mischievous glint in his eye, though, and Blaine knew he hadn't heard the end of it. "Hey Blaine."
"What?" Blaine was wary, but a smile tugged at Kurt's lips, so he relaxed.
Kurt leaned nearer and put on his best bedroom voice. "You look really hot when you're all flustered. It makes me wonder what you'll look like when you're—"
"Okay, okay, stop!" Blaine shifted in his seat and adjusted his napkin. "You'll pay for this."
Thirty-Two: Joke
"I'll be waiting for that payback. In fact, I look forward to it," Kurt said, voice back to normal.
Blaine put on his best "diabolical planning" look.
"We're ridiculous. I really love that we can have fun like this and not have to worry about what the other person is thinking."
"Me too. We're a good match. My mother has said 'I told you so' at least six times a day since our first date."
"Carole too. I suppose we can let them gloat just this once." Kurt thanked the waitress who had just come back to clear their plates. "Next question: What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?"
"Like, aside from the normal stuff like racism, sexual assault, genocide, suicide, etc., right?"
"I thought that was a given, but I appreciate your nonjudgmental approach to checking in on that," Kurt said diplomatically.
"Besides those kinds of things, I usually feel that laughter helps heal. If we can find humor in difficult things, we can make them easier." Blaine shrugged and left his answer there.
"I agree most of the time. Sometimes, if we can't laugh about it, what can we do? Though I will say that I hate it when people joke about my voice. I have a lot of bad experiences centering around my voice and my appearance and bullying, and it's not something I can change about myself. It just feels very personal when people make fun of it."
"I think your voice is lovely. And clearly so have some casting directors if you were in shows."
"Thank you. I've come to accept and even appreciate my voice. It's unique and turns a lot of people away, but it's me."
"Will you sing for me someday?"
"If you're lucky. Until then, you can only guess at what I sound like."
"Joke's on you," Blaine teased. "I dug up bootlegs of some of your performances after our first date."
"Traitor!" Kurt cried in mock outrage.
"I just call it doing my research. Plus, you have nothing to worry about. I think you sound beautiful."
Thirty-Three: Regret
"Can I get you two some dessert?"
Both men eyed the featured picture on the dessert menu, gave each other a consultative look, then Blaine said, "we'd like to share the monster brownie sundae, please."
Kurt leaned back to stretch out. "I'm so full I really shouldn't want to eat half my body weight in brownie and ice cream, but I'm defenseless when it comes to dessert."
"I'll keep that in mind," Blaine said, and gave a flirty wink before he lost his nerve. "Here's our next question: if you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven't you told them yet?"
"This is hard because I say what's on my mind most of the time. My dad and Carole know how much I love them, but I'd regret not telling them just how important they are to me and how their presence in my life has been the only steady thing for the last six years and it's kept me going through the tough times."
"Why haven't you told them yet?"
Kurt shrugged. "It's that weird thing with parents where you always say 'love you' and take it for granted that they know how much you appreciate them. I should do something nice for them, though, and tell them."
"I fully support that."
"What about you?"
After a sigh, Blaine answered. "I would regret not telling Luke that I forgive him and I'm working on not resenting him. For the longest time, I wasn't sure it was possible to move on, but as I've said, I'm starting to see things differently."
Kurt looked floored at the thought that he could have played even a small role in helping Blaine move on from his heartbreaking loss and betrayal.
"That's really amazing, Blaine," Kurt said in a quiet voice. "You're amazing."
Thirty-Four: Fire
Kurt realized that he had scooted so close to Blaine over the course of the past few questions that he was practically in his lap. He moved away with an embarrassed apology.
"I really didn't mind," Blaine told him shyly. "Being close to you is nice."
"I think so too," Kurt said, inching back over to Blaine, who placed a hand just above his knee and handed over the question paper.
"Next question," Kurt announced. "Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?"
"This question is really hard. Only one thing? Hmm…" Blaine mulled it over. "I think I would get the piano I grew up with. It was the one thing my dad used to support me in, and my mom and I would play together, so I have a lot of good memories with it. It's also the one thing I could do that my brother couldn't."
Kurt smiled dreamily. "That's nice. Maybe when we move out to San Francisco I can audition for some regional roles and you can accompany me."
"Oh, so we're set on this move to San Francisco now?" Blaine smirked. "Maybe I'll even write you an original song to audition with."
"Don't tease me like that," Kurt scolded. But when he realized Blaine wasn't joking, his eyes widened to twice their size. "You're serious? What a dream!"
"For both of us, really."
They held the other's gaze briefly before their waitress returned with their monster brownie sundae.
"Yum, thank you," Blaine said to her. Then to Kurt, "I don't know if we'll be able to finish this."
"You underestimate my abilities, Mr. Anderson," Kurt said before taking a massive spoonful of the dessert and shoveling it into his mouth.
"That is surprisingly attractive, honestly," Blaine said with a laugh before diving in himself.
When they'd eaten half of it, Kurt realized he hadn't finished answering the question yet.
"I would take my pillow."
"What?"
"From my burning house. I would take my pillow. I can't sleep well without it, ever, and the pillowcase used to be my mom's. It doesn't smell like her shampoo anymore, but it still is a comfort item."
"I love that."
Kurt, who had been nervous to share, lightly knocked his shoulder against Blaine's and took a delighted bite of brownie sundae.
Thirty-Five: Disturbing
"I don't think we should have done that," Blaine lamented, eyeing the all-but-licked-clean plate in front of them.
"I regret nothing."
"Guess you're rolling me to my car when we're done here."
"Oh!" Kurt exclaimed suddenly. "We got so caught up answering our questions that we forgot to finish out our drink ordering game."
A funny look crossed Blaine's face. "Do you want to order now?"
"Only if you really want to. I'm kind of dying to get out of here with you."
Kurt could tell Blaine agreed by his visible swoon.
Feeling a little more urgency and no need for further discussion, they tracked down their waitress for the check and headed out to the parking lot, even though they still had 2 questions to answer.
Kurt jumped in the passenger seat of Blaine's car and started making all sorts of adjustments to the position and recline, garnering an amused look from Blaine.
"What? Comfort is important to me." Kurt shrugged.
"Fine, fine. Ready for the next question?" Kurt nodded. "Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?"
"Why is this a question? There are so many things that could go wrong here."
"Seriously. Do it anyway."
Kurt laughed. "Okay. My dad, 100%. I've already lost my mom and my step brother. It would destroy me. Simple as that. But that's not to say I wouldn't care if Carole died, or my grandparents or anything. Anyway. Your turn to pick who you love the most."
"Ha, ha. See, I would say my mother, because of obvious reasons, but maybe my dad's death would be the most disturbing. There is a lot of uncleared air between us, and a ton of resentment. There have been times I said I wished he was dead. So I'd surely find a way to blame myself."
"I could see how that would be upsetting."
"But now I feel bad for not saying my mom."
"I told you, problematic question."
Kurt could tell Blaine was actually fretting over his answer.
"Don't worry, Blaine. I see your good heart and so does the universe. You don't need to justify yourself to either of us."
Blaine reached over to take Kurt's hand in gratitude.
Thirty-Six: Problem
"This is the last one. Can you believe we're almost done?"
"It seems like it's taken forever and no time at all, all at once." Blaine tried to play it cool and not show his nerves, but Kurt saw through it immediately.
"What are you nervous for?"
"And to think I was just thanking fate for helping me find someone who could see the true me."
"Sorry, it's all or nothing," Kurt said with an easy laugh. He traced patterns on the palm of Blaine's hand.
"I'm nervous for the questions to be over. I don't want it to be the end of this."
Even though Blaine didn't look up from their joined hands, Kurt knew he wasn't just talking about their date.
"I don't think you need to worry about that."
Blaine's shoulders dropped an inch in relief and he looked up with a crooked smile.
"Thank goodness. Hit me with the last one."
"Share a personal problem and ask your partner's advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen."
"Oh, have I got problems!" Blaine joked. "Here's one for you: my mother is so happy that I'm living back at home, but I'm dying to get out. I love her dearly. There's just a reason adults don't live with their moms. How do I break it to her that I want to move out?"
"It would help if you had a good reason for moving out and a plan. That would be less likely to hurt her feelings."
"Okay, but I don't have either of those things."
Kurt sat up straighter and looked hesitantly at Blaine. "So this has a lot of implications that I don't even want to think about unpacking...just take it for what it is. I'm actually looking for a roommate."
"Oh god, that would solve the problem for sure. She'd be over the moon if I said I was going to live with you." Blaine's grin soothed Kurt's apprehension.
"It could also create a hundred new problems," Kurt said, and Blaine nodded in understanding. "The offer is on the table, but I understand if you turn it down. This is good and I wouldn't want to ruin it."
"I agree. I'll think about it. Thanks. What's your problem?"
"Oh," Kurt began. He dropped Blaine's hand and looked directly at him. "There's just this guy I've gone on a few dates with and I'm really taken with him. He shared with me that he's ready to settle down and become a husband and a father. I want to tell him that I would absolutely love to give that to him someday, but I don't know if that's moving too quickly. What if he doesn't like me as much as I do him? Which, admittedly, is a lot. What should I do?"
Kurt watched as the stunned wonder faded from Blaine's expression and a beaming happiness took over.
"Follow your instincts. Speaking as a guy, anyone would be crazy not to want to be with you. And speaking as the guy, there's absolutely no chance he doesn't like you as much as you like him."
"Thank god," Kurt breathed.
Bonus: Eyes
"I think we have to do the eye thing now," Blaine whispered.
"What eye thing?"
"Stare into each other's eyes uninterrupted."
"Okay fine," Kurt huffed. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep his hands off Blaine. "How long?"
"I think four minutes."
"Yeah right."
"Show some respect to the process that brought us together, Kurt."
"Okay, Google, set a timer for 4 minutes. Starting now."
They were supposed to be looking. Just looking, no touching. But less than 20 seconds in and the tips of Blaine's fingers lightly brushed Kurt's waist and crept slowly up his side until they were against his neck, begging to sweep through his hair.
Every nerve ending was on fire, the build up from the past two weeks and their two dates making each touch feel like Kurt's first ever. The intimacy created by the questions, and by baring their souls to each other, left Kurt's heart wide open and his body eagerly accepting Blaine's caresses.
Kurt's fingers itched to do the same, and he slowly explored Blaine's jawline, discovering the contrasting textures of smooth skin and scratchy stubble. They then found the soft warmth of Blaine's neck, and Blaine shivered at the touch.
Kurt knew they were nowhere near the four minute mark.
"Sorry, process," he muttered.
There was only fierce longing and endless, victorious happiness in the way Kurt captured Blaine's face with both hands and kissed him senseless.
When the timer went off three minutes later, Blaine, who had somehow ended up on Kurt's lap, broke away with gasping breaths and leaned his head on Kurt's with a giggle.
"I want to do this with you," Blaine announced.
"I want to do this with you, too."
"If we thought our mothers were bad after our first two dates, imagine how they'll be when we tell them we're boyfriends."
"Yeah?" Kurt asked coyly.
"Yeah, if that's what you want."
"I don't think I've ever wanted anything more."
Blaine initiated the second kiss, having just recovered from the first.
"Want to come to my place tonight?" He asked mid-makeout.
"No," Kurt said, then before Blaine's heart could break, he added, "you live with your parents."
They dissolved into laughter, which really did nothing for calming their desire, and after another heated kiss, Kurt insisted Blaine go home with him, instead.
"Yes. A million times yes."
Later that night, over a mostly eaten charcuterie board and a bottle of wine with just a few drops left untasted, Kurt asked, "Do you think we would have ended up together like this without the questions?"
Blaine snuggled into Kurt's chest and sighed contentedly, knowing he'd have found Kurt across a thousand lifetimes. "Without a doubt."
Note: Here's the link (periods removed) to the namesake article:nytimes com/2015/01/11/style/modern-love-to-fall-in-love-with-anyone-do-this html