Okay, so I met Chris Colfer on Sunday. No big deal. OH MY COLFER IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!

My full account is on my blog, but basically when I met him, I lost my tongue. Everyone says they're starstruck. I just... yeah. "Hi sweetie." "Ohmygodicantbelieveitsreallyyou." *crickets* But then Alla picked up my letters which I hadn't realised I'd dropped and was lovely about the bookmark and as he's amazing and OH HOLY COLFER! I met Him...

And thank you so much to QuietKurtsie, who I met in the queue. It away so amazing to meet you and even more to experience that with people who understood references like the navy and red ties. I felt like I was home.

Update: I can't find a title for this chapter. Can anyone help me?

Story so far...

Blaine returns and makes up with Kurt. The next morning he goes into work and his Warblers are worried about him. And his limp. Ahem. He explains why he was missing, gives the boys a valuable lesson about achieving your dreams, and setting your aspirations free to make space for the more important ones. Meanwhile, Kurt...

-*T&C*-

"Kurt! Are you okay? Oh god, Reggie told me what happened. How are you? Has he-"

"Gina, please, let me get my coffee and then I can talk?"

The red haired girl blushed before stepping out of the way so that Kurt could take a step into the break room. He made a beeline for the kettle and, after turning it on, stood watching it with a mug, waiting for it to boil. Anyone would think that he didn't wake up with a mug of coffee every morning, either boiled by himself or was waiting for him when he awoke to Blaine's kisses. This morning had been one of those latter ones, the coffee cooling on his bedside table whilst Blaine hovered above him, their naked bodies not quite touching as Blaine pressed kiss after kiss onto his chest and neck. He was still trying to apologise. Kurt couldn't see anything to apologise for in the first place, apart from making him worry, but even if there was, the debt would have been thoroughly paid after last night.

The kettle boiled and Kurt emptied it into his mug, taking a gulp of the addictive nectar before topping it up: he knew how annoying it was for the kettle to be left empty, and he never did it for anyone else. Personally, he believed they should get a coffee machine, but apparently they weren't allowed such luxuries. He took his mug to their usual table and sat, smiling at a wide-eyed Gina opposite.

"He came back," was the first thing he said, and Gina's face relaxed. Her posture became less tense, and her hands unclenched.

"Thank God for that. How was he?"

"Shaken," Kurt nodded, trying to find the right words, before adding, "and very apologetic." He looked into his coffee for a few seconds, wondering what he should tell her. He took a sip. "When he first stepped through the door, I was so relieved. I mean, I'd been worried sick about him. I didn't know where he had been or if he was coming back. So I was so, so thankful. And then he... He went into our bedroom, pulled a suitcase from the cupboard, and started to fill it. He had come back only to leave me again."

Gina gasped, her bright eyes wide. "No..." she said, disbelievingly. "So what happened?"

"I managed to convince him to hear me out," Kurt shrugged. "And so I talked and he listened and he understood my side. After I... After I turned him down I did a lot of thinking. I thought that maybe I'd maybe made the wrong decision, that I'd thrown away the best thing that's ever happened to me. I started to think that if he came back and he said he'd only stay with me if I said yes then I would. But, really, I couldn't've done that; it wouldn't've been right. It would've been me trying to keep him, working a compromise, him leaving me an ultimatum. However much I loved him, I knew I couldn't do that. So, I was prepared to leave him."

Gina's eyes remained wide, scarcely believing what she was hearing. She wondered if Kurt had told Blaine this. She figured not.

"But he listened to what I had to say. He understood that it wasn't time, that we have so much here that we can't leave and that we can't get married here. Maybe in a few years, Ohio will change their laws. Or maybe we'll feel more ready to leave. But now... It wasn't time. Thankfully, he understood that."

"And so you're back together? For good?"

Kurt was about to respond by singing back the sentence Gina had offered, but he was interrupted.

"Kurt, have you got your portfolio with you?"

He turned to see Janet by the door. "Yeah, why?"

The bubbly forty-year old came further into the room and stood behind Gina's chair. "I've had a call about Head wanting some more for the winter line, and asking if we had someone with potential in their designs. I instantly thought of you. Can I have a look?"

The countertenor blinked. "Uh, y-yeah," he stuttered. "It's, um." he stood, trying not to knock over his coffee. Was this really happening? Did Janet really think of his doodles as above the designs of everyone else in Columbus? Might he actually see some of his work on a coat-hanger and with a price tag?

He fumbled around in the cupboard at the back of the room. Initially, he'd kept his book at home, but after a few months he realised that he hardly got to see his boyfriend after he returned from work, and preferred to design more when he got breaks at work. He drew out the book and brought it over to the table at which Janet was now sitting at, talking to Gina. "Here it is," he offered.

She spread her hands out to him. "Show me what you have. They've given me a brief but I want to see something first."

Kurt nodded dumbly. He'd need to call Blaine in his lunch break to tell him about this. Or maybe he'd be busy. If he knew the boys at all, he knew that they would be eager to hear Blaine's story. Blaine the Performer would give them a story. But maybe Blaine the Performer would be replaced by Blaine the Teacher. Maybe he could use what had happened as a lesson for them. He shook his head, shaking thoughts of his boyfriend away. He needed to concentrate on this.

He sat back down at the table, setting the folder in front of him. He ran through in his mind the designs which he had inside it, and selected one which he thought would be suitable. He opened the book, smiling when he landed on the correct page. He swivelled the book around, preparing to present it to Janet.

"I was thinking about winter coats, and realised how little you saw coats with..."

"Kurt blinked as he stepped out of the building. Everything around seemed brighter, the air lighter, and the people happier. He spotted things he'd never noticed before, such as the poster of a man pasted onto a nearby wall, or the gum walked into the pavement. Everything was sharper and his world was more in focus. He felt wonderful.

Ten minutes after Janet had entered the room, Gina had had to make her exit, her shift starting after, of course, glaring at Kurt in what she wanted to mean "you're telling me the rest of your story later". Kurt had made to leave too, but Janet had held him back, then decided that maybe her office would be a better place to continue their discussions.

In the office, things had gone even better. He'd even showed her some of his other work: the shapes he'd drawn, the materials he'd discovered. She seemed captivated. They had talked right over lunch, and after Kurt felt guilty, excusing himself to return to the shop floor. After some coaxing, Janet had let him go, making him promise to return to her office after he finished. He'd agreed.

At four o'clock, he went to collect his bag from the break room, cleaning up the mug that he hadn't had the chance to before. Then he went to Janet's office. There had been a sheet of paper on the door addressed to him.

Kurt-
I've had to run, but I'll see you again tomorrow. I've taken your portfolio home; I hope that's okay. I'll return it to you. You're also not working tomorrow because I want to talk more with you. Come here when you arrive.
-Janet

The words were still playing over in his head. This could really happen...

So, next week. Maybe I'll be a little more coherent. I'm just struggling not to cry now. I just really wish I could remember what he said.

-* Don't forget to check out luspeak. wordpress. com for updates, deleted chapters and spin-offs! *-

Tell me... tell me about the best day of your life.