A/N: This chapter is later than I had hoped it would be, but I've had a bit of a rough month. It's an especially short one. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy.
Blaine paces the hallway, arms wrapped tight around himself. He hates this, hates the way he feels his guard coming up in preparation for Kurt's arrival.
Kurt is his husband. He shouldn't need to have his guard up around his husband.
But he does.
It's not the only thing between them that isn't as it should be.
He wonders how it's come to this.
He hasn't seen Kurt in nearly two weeks. He hadn't planned on that, but it's what happened. They've talked, just a little. Blaine knows Kurt's been staying at a hotel. They'd come to the mutual decision that they should take a little bit of time apart, and it should have bothered Blaine how quickly and without argument they'd agreed to it, but it hadn't.
He'd thought it would be lonely, all alone in this big house without Kurt.
It turns out there's a big difference between being lonely and being alone.
It turns out sometimes being with somebody else can feel lonelier than being alone.
He hates that he feels that way, but, well. It's not like Kurt has been trying to do anything to fix it, so he shouldn't feel guilty, he supposes.
He still does.
He's felt guilty every day. Not for asking Kurt leave, but for being glad that he did. Because he's not happy, certainly not, but he's better, and, god, weren't they supposed to make each other better?
He wonders if Kurt has been better, too.
He hopes so. It would make this conversation easier.
The doorbell rings.