Blaine was miserable. Everyone around him, even Valerie, could see that something was dragging him down to the depths of despair. They could all see how his eyes weren't as bright, his smile not as beatific, and how his laugh was no longer warm and sincere like it once was.

But if he was being completely honest with himself, Blaine knew he was in pure agony. Not that he could tell anyone what truly caused his pain. None of his friends knew about Kurt, and sometimes, he envied them that ignorance. They never had the chance to fall for his charming wit and teasing sarcasm. His peers could live their whole lives without seeing his true smile that only appeared when he was caught in a fit of joy, the one where he actually showed his teeth, and they could be happy. The kind of happy Blaine knew he no longer deserved.

Blaine couldn't share that bliss, because he had been with the best man he could have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and he had tossed him away. He never thought of himself as cruel, but now he couldn't find another word to describe himself. What other kind of monster could break someone as pure and as innocent as Kurt, and just walk away when he heard their pain?

He didn't know how to make it right, but he swore to himself that he would find a way and that Kurt would be his again.

~.~.~.~

The first nights without any hope of seeing Blaine again were hell. Kurt still wasn't entirely sure how he was able to survive. After he had sent what may have been the last message to his love, he walked back into his bedroom, intent on organizing something. That was a brain numbing task that wouldn't let his brain deviate. His sobs had subsided, and he wasn't sure if it was possible to cry any more. But then he noticed the rumpled bed sheets. The memory of how happy he had been and how in love they were-or had been, at least-flooded back. The over-shirt Blaine had been wearing lay in a careless heap beside the foot of the bed.

He picked it up and held it close to his face. Blaine's scent still clung to the fabric, and he wasted no time in inhaling the clean, yet heady scent as he baptized it with fresh tears. He fell to bed, all thoughts of straightening up banished from his mind. That night, he fell asleep clutching the other man's pillow and shirt.

~.~.~.~

When he felt as if he could actually face the world beyond his house and workplace, Blaine ventured out to his favorite coffee shop. To anyone else, it may have been some kind of an improvement. He could have laughed at how wrong they all were. That shop was the very first place he had ever met Kurt. He thought himself a bit pathetic, but still he hoped that maybe Kurt had the same idea, and that they would both miraculously show up at the same place, and have a joyous reunion.

He wasn't there. Every time he saw a flash of coiffed brunette hair and pale skin, he whirled around in hopes of catching the man he loved. But every time, it turned out to be someone different, someone Blaine couldn't believe he had thought was Kurt, because there was no comparison. He came home shaking from nerves and exhaustion. He couldn't keep living like this. Maybe it was Fate that drove them apart, and if they were meant to be together, Fate would bring them back to each other. Isn't that how it always works?

~.~.~.~

Kurt knew it was sad, knew it would probably be a wasted, useless effort, but he couldn't resist going to the coffee shop. Their coffee shop. He wanted to see Blaine sitting with a medium drip outside with his guitar just like the first time they met. He quickly found himself lost in that memory, one of his happiest.

~.~.~.~

It was the very beginning of spring, and it was hitting everyone in Manhattan with a sweet sucker punch. New Yorkers and tourists alike milled about, taking in the placid air and thoroughly enjoying it. Except for Kurt. Not only was the line too long at the coffee shop, but he was running late to work, and on top of everything else, he was sneezing like crazy from all the damn pollen in the air. The line began to move again, but the idiot in front of him had to demand all of the poor barista's time by asking where a good pizza place was.

Idiot, Kurt scowled, it's New York City. There's a pizza shop on nearly every corner! Eventually, he was able to receive his grande non-fat mocha and head out the door, only to stumble over an open guitar case and dump his coffee on the ground.

"Damn it, really?" he almost yelled. The owner of the case looked up when Kurt turned on him and carefully put his instrument down as he stood.

"I'm so sorry," he amended quickly before any kind of scene could begin. "I thought I had moved the case so no one would trip over it, I guess I should have anticipated someone like you," he added with a nearly blinding smile. For a moment, Kurt was thrown off guard by the other man's eyes when the pink sunglasses were pulled away. They were an absolutely mesmerizing shade of hazel, with swirls of gold and green blending seamlessly with the tawny browns.

"You think this is funny? I'm already running late and I get a bit crazy without my coffee so I won't be able to function at all today, thanks to you." The other man shrugged and began strumming a few chords on his guitar.

"Look, if it's really that big of a deal to you, I'll just give you the money to buy another. And I'm sure your boss will forgive you for being late." Kurt scoffed.

"I don't mean to sound offensive, but if you're having to play outside of coffee shops for cash, I couldn't just take whatever change you're making to pay rent in some squalid studio apartment." The guitarist stopped strumming and looked up, clearly offended.

"Actually, I came out here to play because it's nice out and I felt like getting out of my brownstone for a while because I took some time off from my job. So, how much was your coffee again, and what was it so I can go get you another one?" Kurt blushed, mentally smacking himself over how stupid he was to not notice that the was wearing expensive True Religion jeans.

"Oh, it was a grande non-fat mocha. I'm Kurt Hummel, by the way." The man smiled and stood up.

"Blaine Anderson. I'll go get it, just make sure no crazy hobo or something comes and steals my guitar, okay?" Finally, Kurt thought, a name to add to the breathtaking eyes.

A few minutes later he returns with the drink in hand, and he smiles politely when he sets it down. Kurt takes a few sips, and he can almost immediately feel his mood change.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what I said before. I should probably think before I open my big mouth and offend everyone within a six yard radius." Blaine waved him off as he drank some of his medium drip.

"It's okay, you certainly aren't the first one to think that, I'm sure. However, you are the first one to actually say it. So, not that I don't want to talk to you longer, but weren't you just complaining about how you were going to be late for work?" he joked easily. Kurt contemplated his choices for a moment before answering. He could either stay and talk to the attractive stranger, or go arrange models for a fashion shoot.

"No, I was just being melodramatic earlier. Nothing important is going on with me," he paused. "Unless, of course, you have another commitment you need to be going to. In which case, I should probably go and stop monopolizing your time," he trailed off when he saw Blaine staring with a bemused look in his eyes.

"You're cute when you ramble. But as I said before, I took the day off from my job so I have no place to be for a while." Kurt flushed when he heard the word cute come out. If this guy just so happened to be gay, then his tripping over the guitar case really wasn't so bad after all. They spent the next hour talking about themselves, and when Blaine finally had to go, he gave Kurt his number and asked him if they could meet again.

Kurt hadn't even noticed his coffee had gone cold.

~.~.~.~

"Daddy, I like it when you take me to the park. We haven't been here in a long time, have we?" Blaine looked down at his daughter as they walked through Central Park, hand in hand. She smiled up at him, and it was so infectious he couldn't help but reciprocate immediately.

"I'm glad you like it. And you know why we haven't gone here lately, don't you silly?" She giggled and used her free hand to twist a shiny curl around her finger, a habit she had apparently learned from her mother.

"Well, Mommy said it was because you were…I don't remember the word. It started with a D though. But I knew it wasn't your fault, so I told her it was because of the snow because you wouldn't want me to get cold!" He couldn't help but feel the usual rush of love for Valerie. She never saw the worst in anybody, and if she did, she never believed it. They walked like that for a little while longer, Valerie asking about flowers and trees and people and Blaine answering easily.

"Daddy," she asked when they sat beside the pond for lunch. "Who's that man over there?" He followed her gaze, only to find her staring at Kurt. His breath quickened, and he tried to stop staring. Just in that one look, Blaine knew that they had both suffered since he had left.

"Valerie, c'mon. You know it's not polite to stare," he said hoarsely. She gave him a disapproving look, one that told him she saw straight through him.

"You only do that when you try to avoid something. You know who he is, don't you Daddy? If you do, you should go talk to him, 'cause he looks real sad. Like how you looked a few weeks ago," she added seriously. Blaine sighed and cradled the side of her face gently.

"When did you get so smart?" he asked. She still looked dissatisfied. "Okay, okay! You win! I do know him. I just haven't talked to him in a very long time." Valerie stood up and began to tug on his hand.

"Well if you know him, then why don't you go talk to him and cheer him up? That's what friends are for!" He stayed seated.

"I don't think he would want to talk to me right now, sweetheart," he trailed off. She still pouted down at him. "Okay, we'll go talk to him. You'll be special, because no one else that we know knows him." She smiled once he let her pull him up off the ground. As they began to walk over to where Kurt sat, she tugged on Blaine's sleeve so he would pull her into his arms.

Every step towards the other man felt like stepping into quicksand. When he finally stopped in front of the table where Kurt sat, his mouth was dry and his heart was beating fast in his chest.

"Uhh, hi, Kurt," he whispered when they stopped. Almost instantly, the taller man's back and neck stiffened before he turned around. He clutched his daughter closer to him, almost like a talisman against rejection.

"Blaine," he whispered breathlessly. Any thought that he was the only one suffering vanished when he saw Kurt's red eyes, not unlike his own.

"Look, I know that we haven't talked since I last saw you, But Valerie here wanted to meet you. Do you mind if I sit?" He gestured to the seat beside Kurt. Kurt nodded quickly.

"Of course, sorry. So this is Valerie?" he asked, eyebrows raised. Never once did he imagine that he would ever have the opportunity to meet Blaine's daughter. It was always sort of a fantasy to him, meeting her. Something that would only happen when Blaine let go of his fears. But now, she was right in front of him.

"Yeah, this is her. Valerie, say hi. You were the one that was so interested in coming over here," he teased. She lifted her head off of his shoulder to stick her tongue out at her father before turning to Kurt and waving.

"Daddy, set me down, please," she asked quietly. Once he put her on the bench, she immediately moved to sit beside Kurt.

"Val!" Blaine exclaimed jokingly "You don't want to sit beside me? I'm wounded!" He clutched his heart, earning giggles from the other two. She ignored him, choosing instead to turn towards the handsome stranger.

"You seem really nice," she observed after a few minutes of watching him watch her father. He jumped slightly when she spoke. So far, he and Blaine had been having a silent, mutual apology fest.

"Well thank you, people normally don't tell me that, so it's nice to hear. And you," he added as she picked at her purple tights, "are much prettier than your daddy let on." Blaine snorted dismissively.

"Are you kidding? I described her in perfect detail! Why is everyone ganging up on me today?" Valerie wrinkled her nose at Blaine and smiled. They spent the next hour talking, not even noticing the changing light.

Blaine was kind of amazed that Valerie took to Kurt as easily as she did. It was such an amazing experience to see the love of his life and his daughter talking and joking with each other, almost as if they were good friends and not a five year old and a twenty seven year old. As he watched, he noticed Valerie fighting tired yawns.

"Tired, Val?" he asked as her eyelids began to droop. She shook her head weakly, trying to fight the impending sleep.

"No, I want to stay here and talk to Kurt some more." Both men looked up at each other, and their eyes lit up like stars. Now that Valerie liked Kurt, that was one worry out of the way for Blaine. The next step would be to come out to Cassidy and get a divorce, then they could really be together

"It's okay, Valerie," Kurt assured her quickly "We'll see each other again soon, I'm sure." As he gathered the nearly asleep girl into his arms, Blaine smiled and nodded, reassuring him that they would see each other again.

"So, Kurt, will you do us the honor of walking with me out of here?" Blaine asked quickly, bracing himself for a no.

"Of course. I should probably get going as well." They smiled shyly at each other as they began walking out under the orange sun.

"I'm really happy Valerie saw you today. I had almost given up on ever being able to see you again." Blaine looked over at Kurt, only to see him staring back.

"I'm really glad she did too. She's just as perfect as you described. She looks just like you." He glanced away, and they both knew he was dancing around the big white elephant between them.

"Kurt, you have to hear me out, because I'm afraid this is going to be my last opportunity to see you if I don't say it now. I never wanted to give up on you, ever. The only reason I didn't turn up on your doorstep was because I knew you would hate me if I did. I wanted you to get over me and to find someone who could love you the way you deserve to be loved. But I knew that there was no way I would ever forget the way that I feel when I'm with you.

"And then Valerie here points you out to me and it's like everything I had done was in vain. I had to at least try to talk to you, even if it was just to hear you tell me you hated me, or that you had found someone else. But all you did was smile at me like the first day we met. And Valerie loves you so much, already. I've never seen her so taken with anybody else."

"Well I can't help but be loveable, sorry," he quipped. Blaine broke into silent chuckles so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping girl in his arms. "But it was kind of a useless effort on your part, trying to make me get over you. I'm already so in love with you, Blaine." He shifted the girl in his arms so he could reach down and twine their fingers together.

"Tonight," he said solemnly "I'm going to tell her everything, and then I'm coming to your apartment. It probably won't be with Valerie, but I will come, I promise." They had come to the exit. Kurt twined his arms around the shorter man's neck and leaned in until their noses touched.

"Okay," he breathed. "I'll wait for you, I promise. I love you." They leaned in just a few more centimeters until their lips met.

Neither noticed the camera flash or the menacing smile of the person who held it.