Day 4: Love Is in the Air (John Paul Young)

A/N: I may have taken "in the air" a different way…

Kurt hated flying. A lot. He hadn't flown often, and the trips he'd taken so far had been relatively short. Now he was facing his first cross-country flight from New York to LA, and he was dreading every second of it.

He'd arrived at the airport in good time, but the security lines had been a nightmare, resulting in him sprinting down the concourse to his gate. Naturally, then, he arrived to find his flight had been delayed one hour.

Perfect.

Slumped in an uncomfortable (and, he added derisively, insanely ugly) vinyl-covered bench-style seat, he was so focused on his misery that he didn't notice the sudden presence of a man standing near him until he heard a gentle clearing of a throat.

"Excuse me? Is this seat taken?"

Great. Just what Kurt needed, a weirdo parking next to him. He raised his head, ready to give some excuse as to why the stranger could not sit beside him. All thoughts of denial vanished like mist as he caught sight of said stranger.

"Oh," Kurt exhaled. "Um, no. Of course not. Please," he rambled, shifting to sit up straight and needlessly tugging his carry-on closer even though it wasn't in the way in the first place.

"Thanks," the stranger replied with a brilliant smile. He took the seat, settling his own carry-on under the bench and turning to Kurt once more. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but the waiting area is pretty full," he explained.

Kurt glanced around and noticed that the waiting area had, in fact, filled up while he'd been busy sulking. Just as he was about to address his new seat mate, a hand was thrust out in front of him.

"Blaine," the stranger – Blaine – said.

Kurt hesitated briefly, then took the offered hand and shook it. "I'm Kurt. Hi."

Blaine smiled a little bit brighter. "Hi," he returned. "Thanks again for letting me sit here."

Kurt responded that it was no trouble, and then an awkward silence fell between them for a couple of minutes. Kurt turned his attention back to the floor as his jitters began to set back in. His leg jiggled up and down nervously without him being aware of it. All he could think of was the upcoming flight and how he was going to handle being stuck on a plane for six and a half hours.

"Are you nervous?" Blaine's voice startled him, and he jumped in his seat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

"That's okay," Kurt sighed. "I just really, really don't like being on a plane, and I've never flown this far before," Kurt groaned. He paused and added, "How did you know I was nervous?"

Blaine smirked, throwing a glance to Kurt's bouncing knee. Kurt clamped down on it with his hand to make it stop, and reddened in embarrassment.

"Hey." Blaine pivoted in his seat to face Kurt. "No need to be embarrassed. Everyone has something they don't like or are afraid of. For you, it's flying."

"And you? What is it you're afraid of?" Kurt asked, feeling calmer as he was drawn into conversation with the handsome stranger.

Blaine leaned in a fraction of an inch and whispered loudly, "Running out of hair gel," he confessed, rolling his eyes upwards towards his heavily-gelled head.

Kurt couldn't help but laugh at that, and before he knew it, he was completely engaged in easy conversation with Blaine.

About half an hour later, the gate agent took her microphone in hand and announced that boarding would begin for first class passengers. Blaine wrinkled his nose and blushed faintly. "I'm afraid that's me." He reached under his seat for his bag and stood up, straightening out the mild wrinkles in his jacket. "I cashed in my miles for an upgrade," he offered by way of explanation. Kurt was about to say "Good for you," but was cut off when Blaine muttered, "I wish I hadn't."

Kurt smiled at the implication. Blaine was too sweet and smart and funny and handsome for his own good, Kurt decided. "Well, if you run out of caviar, come visit me in peasant class. I'm in 12A."

Blaine laughed aloud, a beautiful sound to Kurt's ears. "Sure thing. Have a good flight," he added, holding out his hand. Kurt took it in his own, holding it more than shaking it this time.

"You, too."

Blaine reluctantly let go of Kurt's hand and walked to the gate. Once his boarding pass had been scanned, he paused before entering the jetway, glancing back at Kurt. He gave a little wave, which Kurt returned, and then stepped through the door.

Kurt sighed. So much for travel romance.

xoxoxo

This was a nightmare. Kurt had finally boarded (giving another little wave to Blaine as he passed him in first class) and quickly got himself situated. Of course, who should sit next to him but a woman with a baby. Kurt had nothing against children in general, and felt badly for a woman trying to travel with one, but he really, really didn't need a screaming infant next to him for the next quarter of a day. Sure enough, the baby began to cry and fuss before the passengers were even done boarding.

It was going to be a long flight.

Kurt fidgeted around in his window seat, trying to settle in with his iPod and ear buds to hopefully drown out the worst of the noise. He dropped his chin to his chest, realizing he'd forgotten to charge the completely dead iPod.

"Excuse me?" a familiar voice said nearby. Kurt's head snapped up to find Blaine standing in the aisle next to the mother and baby. "Ma'am, I couldn't help but notice you're traveling with a little one. It's awfully cramped back here. I have a seat in first class that would be much more comfortable for the two of you. I've already cleared it with the flight attendant – would you like to switch seats with me?"

Kurt gaped in awe as he watched the woman half-heartedly argue and ultimately accept Blaine's generous offer. Blaine even helped her with her bag as she moved forward on the plane. He threw a wink over his shoulder and mouthed, "I'll be right back," to Kurt.

Moments later, Blaine took his seat next to Kurt, who still hadn't closed his mouth.

"We meet again," Blaine grinned.

"You…how did you…I can't believe…" he stammered.

Blaine shrugged. "She needed my seat more than I did – and I needed hers more than she did. Now, shall we get settled in for takeoff?"

Kurt paled at the mention of takeoff. He fumbled with his seatbelt, having trouble with the latch but figuring it out and tightening it to where it belonged. He started nervously drumming his fingers on the armrest when the plane began to taxi to the runway, then all-out gripped it hard as they started to pick up speed to actually take off. Suddenly, warm fingers wrapped around his, carefully prying them from the armrest and holding them firmly but gently. He found Blaine was looking at him softly. "Those armrests are germy things. You don't want to hold onto that," he playfully scolded.

With the lifting of the plane into the air, Kurt's stomach swooped and he instinctively clutched Blaine's hand tight, an action he tried to apologize for moments later, only to have the apology brushed off lightly.

"Kurt, it's fine. I'm happy to let you hold my hand if that makes you feel better."

Kurt's stomach swooped again, but it wasn't because of the plane that time.

"However, the best thing to do is to distract yourself somehow so that you don't really notice where you are or what you're doing." He noticed the abandoned iPod and earbuds in Kurt's lap. "Listening to music is a great idea!"

"The only problem is that it's out of juice," Kurt complained.

"Hmm, that is a problem," Blaine hummed, a twinkle in his eye. "Unless, of course, you happen to be sitting next to a handsome gentleman with an iPod of his own that he's willing to share." Blaine slipped a device out of his jacket pocket and held it up like a trophy. He held it out towards Kurt, but snatched it back before Kurt could accept it.

"Actually, I think you need the deluxe distraction package, which comes with a playlist specifically curated for your air travel needs," he quipped in a television announcer-type voice.

Kurt giggled. "And what exactly does that mean?"

"It means," Blaine said, reaching out for Kurt's earbuds and plugging them into his iPod before handing the ear pieces back to Kurt, "you listen, and I'll pick your songs."

"So, you're my in-air deejay?" Kurt asked.

"Exactly," Blaine agreed. "Go ahead," he gestured for Kurt to plug in.

Kurt complied, but only put in the earbud in the ear facing away from Blaine. Blaine raised an eyebrow, and he shyly explained, "I still want to be able to hear you and talk to you."

This time, he made Blaine blush and look down, which he attempted to cover by beginning to scroll through his music collection. "Let's see," he mumbled. "Ah, yes. Here we go."

With a flourish, he tapped the screen, and a song started playing in Kurt's ear.

Come fly with me, come fly, let's fly away…

Kurt huffed out a laugh at the obvious joke. He let the song play out while watching Blaine scroll through what appeared to be an endless list of songs. As soon as the first one finished, another began. Kurt hummed along with the refrain.

I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again…

Clearly, Blaine had struck a theme.

Song after song played, some rather creatively touching on the theme of flight. Kurt asked him to skip Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz. "Ooh, sorry. Yeah, listening to someone repeat, 'I want to get away' when you're feeling confined on a plane probably isn't the best thing."

He followed it up with what was probably the last song Kurt would have expected to hear.

Love is in the air, everywhere I look around

If they were in a competition to make one another blush, Blaine would be winning. Kurt felt the heat in his cheeks but dared to peek up at Blaine anyway. He immediately barked out a much-too-loud-for-a-plane laugh at the sight of Blaine bopping his head back and forth to the disco beat.

Time passed pleasantly enough. Beverage service had come and gone, and Kurt stifled a yawn as the day began to catch up with him. Suddenly, the plane jolted and Kurt froze in his seat. Blaine's hand once again took his, holding it tenderly and stroking Kurt's knuckles with his thumb. "It's okay, it's just a little air pocket," Blaine soothed.

"Sorry," Kurt grumbled.

"Here," Blaine started, shifting in his seat and moving their joined hands. He pushed up the armrest between them and shuffled as close as he could with the seat belt on. "You're exhausted. Go ahead and close your eyes," he calmly directed. Kurt noticed that Blaine had switched to some quiet piano instrumentals on the iPod a couple of songs ago, and the combination of the peaceful music, Blaine's voice, and the warm hand holding his were too much for him to fight. Settling back in his seat, he let his eyelids droop and close.

He woke up an indeterminate amount of time later to the continuing sound of piano music and a warm pillow beneath his cheek. Wait a minute. Pillow?

He jerked his head up and took in a sharp breath realizing he'd fallen asleep on Blaine's shoulder. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he focused on Blaine's smiling face. Judging from Blaine's tiny yawn, Kurt hadn't been the only one to drift off.

The pilot announced that they were beginning their final approach. "Good timing," Blaine observed.

Kurt felt like he should be embarrassed for having fallen asleep on a relative stranger, but found that he could not be. He hadn't felt this comfortable with someone in so long, and the feeling was incredible.

All too soon, the plane had touched down, taxied, and parked at the gate. The usual hustle of passengers disembarking ensued, and then Kurt and Blaine stood in the terminal together.

"Well," Kurt sighed.

"Yeah," Blaine answered.

"Could I have your number?" they blurted simultaneously.

"You know, I might have a music-related emergency while I'm here," Kurt teased.

"Far be it for me to leave a beautiful man in distress," Blaine replied, holding out his phone for Kurt to enter his number. Kurt typed swiftly, then texted himself to get Blaine's number in return.

Neither one seemed willing to leave, but they knew they couldn't stay in the terminal forever. They both had places to be, reasons they'd made this trip in the first place. Blaine broke first.

"Okay, Kurt. I should go, I guess, but I want to hear from you. Promise?"

Without thinking, Kurt threw himself forward into Blaine's arms, hugging him tightly. "I promise," he murmured into Blaine's shoulder. "I'll call you."

"You'd better," Blaine whispered, surprising Kurt with the tremor in his voice.

They held one another for a few seconds more, then slowly parted, swiping at eyes and sniffling softly. One more smile, and then it was time to walk away.

The funny thing about airports? Everyone has to walk out the same way.

They broke into a fit of giggles as they realized that after their heartfelt goodbyes, they would have to walk through the terminal together, and to baggage claim, and out to the taxi stand. The discovery that they were both staying downtown meant that it only made sense to share a cab – for the environment, Blaine insisted.

When they further discovered that they were both leaving on Sunday, and were on the same flight home, Blaine immediately went online in the back of the cab to change his seat assignment. It appeared they would be seeing each other sooner than they could have hoped.

Blaine dropped Kurt off first, giving him a chaste but firm kiss on the cheek before Kurt got out. As the taxi pulled away from the curb, Blaine popped in his earbuds and hit the shuffle button on his iPod, smiling and humming at the tune that played first.

Love is in the air, everywhere I look around.

A/N: I knocked this one out pretty quickly, so pardon any errors. Also, this NEVER happens to me on planes. *sigh*