a/n: OKAY OKAY I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT WRITING DIRTY PAWS. *hides. there's just so much happening irl right now and i don't really have too much inspiration for it at the moment - but it's not completely abandoned, i promise. anyway, here's some au-ish klaine fluff i don't know, i found it on my drafts on tumblr and it might be a bit weird? the title is from when you were young by the killers, by the way

Saying goodbyes is the hardest part. Kurt cries, Blaine cries, Finn almost cries, Carole cries and even though Burt doesn't actually cry, he hides his face into his sleeve and hugs Kurt for good ten minutes. They promise to visit them whenever they can, they promise to call and text, and eventually they have to run to get into the plane. Kurt never stops crying and Blaine grasps his hand tighter.

It's worth it, though.

Kurt wipes away his tears with the back of his hand and smiles, his eyes shine and Blaine smiles back, they hold hands and run through the airport, uncontrollable joy bubbling out in a breathy laugh. Kurt kisses Blaine's cheek in the middle of a sentence and hides his face in his hands, looking embarrassed but triumphant, his lips curving into a smile and a few people smile at them as they pass them. Blaine doesn't know if it's possible to smile wider, but somehow he does, grabs Kurt's face and kisses him. And no-one bats an eyelash.

And they kiss again in the plane over New York city because they can.

Their apartment is small. It's already furnished, the apartment decorated tastefully but simply, and honestly, it's the best thing Blaine has ever seen.

"Cozy", Blaine comments as he opens the door and throws his bags on the floor. Kurt frowns (because seriously, why would you handle your bags so carelessly?) but smiles then, a little hesitantly at first but his grin slowly widening and gingerly places his own bags onto the small couch in the corner of the room and smiles widely in a way Blaine can't remember him smiling in ages.

They eat cereal and oranges and share a bed and no-one tells them to leave the door open, but they do so anyway because they can and it's their house, their home. The thought is thrilling and Blaine almost laughs again, feeling giddy and lightheaded. Kurt curls up into Blaine's arms and throws his arm around him, sighs into his neck and closes his eyes.

And they kiss again, a little more, and Kurt looks so happy, his eyes shine and Blaine has to kiss him again, just once more, because he's so beautiful and he can and Kurt sighs.

"I'm so, so in love with you", he says, and Blaine kisses him again.

And that's how their days are.

Kurt goes to school, kisses Blaine goodbye in the doorway and waves, comes home with coffee, smells like Kurt and absolutely shines.

"Can you believe, no-one mocked me, no-one once said one bad word about my clothes, and one girl in my class said that my shirt is fabulous" he says, shines a bit more and Blaine kisses him.
"She's right, it is fabulous, you are absolutely fabulous", he says and kisses him again when Kurt smiles. It feels like they've done nothing but kissed for the whole week, but still, he haven't gotten tired of the feeling of kissing him. He doesn't think he ever will. Kurt kisses him back, bats his hand playfully and places one last kiss on his cheek.
"Stop it Romeo, I have homework to do", he says and Blaine smiles, kisses his cheek and lets go.

"I love you!" he shouts as Kurt walks into his (their) room. He can almost hear how Kurt smiles.

"Look Kurt", Blaine says happily, apparently trying to drown into the giant pile of red and yellow leaves. "It's fall".

Kurt snorts.
"Well observed, Blaine. Now we have to rake all these leaves up again, though".
" Doesn't matter", Blaine mumbles into the leaves, nuzzling his face into them.
"That coat was expensive".
"Trust me, I know".
"You have no idea what is on those leaves".
"I don't want to know".
"It's getting all cold and dark".
"These leaves keep me warm".
"What about you get up and come inside with me?"
"Don't wanna".
"Blaine".
"Kurt".
"Anderson".
"I though we were over that".
"We were."
"But are not anymore?"
"No".
"Okay".
"Fine".
"Fine".
"You're not getting any of the delicious cookies I'm going to bake."
"Fi- cookies?!" Blaine gets up faster than the speed of light, already halfway in the door and shouting a "Hurry up, Hummel!" before slamming the door closed.

Blaine gets a job, as he still doesn't know what he wants to do, and Kurt kisses his cheek, says "you could be literally anything", pats his arm playfully and goes to make coffee.

Blaine starts as a salesman in a coffee shop a week later.

Kurt usually stops at the coffee shop on his way home, gives Blaine a hug and buys a coffee (non-fat mocha, every time, and Blaine doesn't really bother asking him anymore), sits at the table close to the desk and talks with Blaine if it's quiet. If it's busy, he sits on his chair, drinks his coffee quietly and stares at Blaine the whole time.

"You are the best salesman ever", he says conversationally, leans over the desk to grab Blaine by his collar and kisses him.

The girls in a table close to them squeal before they can stop themselves and Kurt smiles against Blaine's lips.

When snow used to be cold, gray and disgusting in Ohio, it's pure, beautiful and wonderful in New York. It's still cold, sure, but Blaine doesn't really care.

"C'mon, Kurt, we need to make snowmen, c'mon", he shrieks, halfway out of the door and his hat covering his eyes, and Kurt shakes his head.
"You're such a child, you know", he sighs, but gets out with him anyway.

He doesn't touch the snow, hugs his arms close to himself and whines all the time, but Blaine ignores him. "Look, that's me", he says, gesturing towards a pretty much deformed snow figure. There's snow on his face and clothes, and he's smiling so widely Kurt shakes his head again.
"Are you my boyfriend or my five year old son?" he asks, mostly to himself but Blaine hears him anyway.

"Fuck you, I'm six and half!"

Still, the six-and-half-years-old Blaine makes another snowman, steals one of Kurt's scarves and puts it on the snowman, claiming that it's Kurt. He draws a smile on snow-Kurt's face, smiles just as broadly himself and Kurt shakes his head again.

"You're right, Blaine Warbler, you're not five. You're four".

They fly back to Ohio just before Christmas when Kurt is not so busy and Blaine doesn't have work, they drop their presents to Blaine's family and spend the Christmas with Hudson-Hummels.

Burt cries (subtly) when he sees Kurt on his doorstep. So does Carole. Finn is mostly awkward, but Rachel, who's visiting them, cries openly as she hugs the life out of Kurt.
"I missed you", she mumbles into Kurt's (fucking expensive!) shirt through her tears, and Kurt says something that sounds like "Yeah, I can see that" under his breath and Blaine snorts.

Rachel and Carole hug Blaine, then, as Burt stands awkwardly on the background with Finn. Finn has grown even taller, if that's even possible (or Blaine didn't remember how tall he actually was) and he has to bend over to be able to hug Kurt.

Blaine wants to believe it's the best Christmas he's ever had, and when they finally go to sleep little after two am he can hear Burt saying "The door stays open" gruffly, Blaine laughs a little and hears Kurt doing the same.

They leave the door open anyway.

The goodbyes are easier this time. Even though Kurt's face crumbles very slightly he doesn't cry and Carole cries less than last time. Rachel travels on the same plane but completely on the different end of the plane (thank God, Kurt sighs) and they hug after the check-in, promise to meet in New York someday when they're not so busy and run to the plane.

Kurt throws his bags to the floor more carelessly this time, throws himself on the couch and moans.
"My legs are so sore", he whines, and Blaine smirks in a mischievous way of his.
"No", Kurt warns, raises a hand and bats the air lazily. "Don't you dare to, Blaine Warbler, I swear to God-", but Blaine doesn't listen, throws him on his shoulder easily and carries him to the bedroom.

"Ohmygod Blaine", Kurt says breathlessly, flails helplessly and falls on the bed softly. "I hate you", he huffs, rolls over and pouts playfully. "I could have fallen on the floor and died, Jesus fucking Christ. You're sleeping on the couch".

Blaine smirks, jumps on top of Kurt (carefully) and stretches lazily.
"I wonder where my boyfriend might be", he says in a mock-wonder and looks around the room.
"Get off of me, dumbass. You're not funny", Kurt grumbles, flails a bit more and groans a bit involuntarily when the action forces the air out of his lungs. "Move, Blaine. I'm dying."
"I think he might have said something about hating me" he continues, not giving a shit about Kurt who's flailing even more helplessly underneath him.
"I love you, you moron, just get off of me", Kurt grunts, and pushes at Blaine, who rolls over and wraps his arms around Kurt. "Still not letting go?" he asks, now mostly amused as Blaine buries his face into his hair.

"Never."

"Ugh", Blaine says as he throws himself onto the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight.
"Okay", Kurt says absently, a pen worried between his teeth and a focused expression on his face.

"Ugh", Blaine repeats, sounding more demanding this time.
"Honey, you need to be more exact."
"I hate snow".
"..okay. That's not what you said hardly two weeks ago".
"I know".
"Care to explain?" Kurt asks, putting his sketchbook aside.
"It's cold", Blaine shrugs. Kurt pats his arm gently.
"That's what I have told you since like forever".
"I know".
"Okay".
"Mmh."
"Can I continue this now? The deadline is tomorrow and I've fallen horribly behind".
"No".
"Blaine, you're not an octopus. Get your legs off of me immediately".
"I am, though".
"I'm dating a five years old octopus".
"Six and half. And you love me".
"I do".

So when Finn calls Kurt and tells him that he and Rachel are getting married, Kurt positively explodes.

"I don't have time to organize their wedding, I'm already too busy!", he says, his arms flailing as he walks around their apartment looking more than a bit panicked.
"Did they say that they want you to organize their wedding, though?" Blaine asks from the couch. "I thought they had someone to organize it already". Kurt stops pacing on the floor and looks at Blaine like he just grew another head.
"No, but of course they think that I'm going to help them, I'm Finn's brother-" "Step-brother, Kurt-" "- and they will most likely kill me if I don't help them and they won't invite me there and you're going to have to go alone and-" "Breathe, Kurt-" "- I DON'T HAVE TIME!"

And as if to emphasize his point, he falls face first down on the couch next to Blaine.
"They're going to hate me", he says in a small, muffled voice from somewhere half-way inside the couch. Blaine tries hard not to smile.
"Of course they're not going to hate you. What about I call them and tell them what you just said and I'm sure they'll understand", Blaine offers, pats Kurt's head and gets up from the couch when Kurt doesn't protest.

When he comes back, however, he finds Kurt sitting on the couch with his glasses on (meaning he's sketching), his sketchbook on his lap and his pencil case next to him. He looks up from the sketch as Blaine enters the room, his face lighting up.
"Blaine! I have an awesome idea for the colors! If Rachel's dress is kind of like light champagne and Finn's tie is too, and then - "

After finding out about the wedding Kurt spends ridiculous amount of time shopping with Rachel, even more time buried deep under his covers and claiming that he's too busy sketching to actually get up and Blaine feels kind of pathetic, walking around the apartment aimlessly and trying to think of something to do.

The things are honestly getting a little… tight (Blaine made that joke a few days ago. Kurt wouldn't talk to him for hours) between them, and it nearly exploded one day, but Blaine still has his old punching bag in their closet, so wordlessly he gets it and after a few hours everything feels better and he can hear Kurt singing in their room. It isn't perfect, still, but these things hardly are so Blaine gets up from the floor and kisses Kurt's cheek, apologizes and it's okay. Of course it's okay, but Blaine really doesn't want the things to have to stretch that far ever again.

So, when Finn calls him a few days later (apparently he's feeling just as bored and frustrated), Blaine is almost immediately out of the door and walking towards their apartment (Finn moved there only a few weeks ago and Blaine wonders if they're really going to last, after all).

It's kind of awkward, really, but Rachel is talking on the phone the whole time and finally the boys decide to go to the nearby mall and watch the new movie Blaine has heard so much about, and in the end they really have a really good time. They say goodbye and Finn promises that they will meet again sometime soon, "Rachel's wedding stuff makes me go crazy and like, it won't stop", and Blaine fist-bumps him and walks home with his head clearer and heart lighter.

After that Blaine doesn't feel half as annoyed every time he sees Kurt sitting on their bed and sketching, because even in his jealous and abandoned state of mind he realizes, that some bro-time with Finn isn't actually bad.

The wedding is actually really good.

Blaine has never been a fan of weddings, because well, they're boring, formal and okay, he just doesn't like them. This, though, is different.

Maybe it's because it looks like Kurt, or maybe it's because Rachel and Finn look so happy, or maybe it's in the way Kurt cries when they say yes - but on their way home Blaine promises that their wedding is going to be just as epic.

And maybe there was a tear or two in his own eyes back then.

It's a long, warm spring that year.

Kurt hates it, of course, mainly because he has to lose his precious layers and thick sweaters are still in, and no matter what Blaine does, he can't make him lose the sweaters. Kurt walks around determinedly in crowds of people in t-shirts and miniskirts with a thick black sweater a size too big ("Blaine, it's called fashion!") even when people look at him funnily.

Blaine, himself, practically moves outside in the beginning of May, the air thick and dusty inside their apartment and he just needs air he can actually breathe. Kurt refuses to leave the air conditioning the indoor life provides, and honestly, Blaine is sure it won't take too long until Kurt will just give up and join him on the warm, long grass in the backyard. He always gives up, in the end, if Blaine is persistent enough. Sometimes it's enough if he just ignores him.

And sure enough, after just two weeks of sunbathing alone he hears the soft sound of footsteps approaching, the tentative echo in them so strongly there, and Blaine fights the smile off of his face. He knows how hard it is to Kurt to lose. He keeps his eyes closed and arms stretched behind his head, the grass tickling his arms as he shuffles a bit.

"I hope you're happy", Kurt grumbles, hugging his short-clad legs as he sits, curled into a ball. He looks so uncomfortable in the thin t-shirt and shorts it's adorable, but Blaine kind of pities him. He's picking on the grass like he hates it, and maybe he does. Blaine wouldn't know.

"I am", is what he says, and Kurt kind of smiles. "You could wear your stupid hot sweaters, though. If you want to", he says, and Kurt scoffs next to him.

"Of course I could", he says. Blaine opens one eye to look at him. Kurt has fixed his eyes on the piece of grass he's currently pulling at. It gets ripped, of course, and Kurt wipes his hands.
"But?" Blaine starts carefully. Kurt looks at him, his eyes so clear blue in the pale sunlight.
"But", he says slowly. "Honestly, they are hot. And not just hot, but also temperature-wise hot. And you're here all alone with all your stupid skin and curls..." he pauses, swallows. Closes his eyes. When he opens them again they're dark. "And I missed you so much", he confesses, his voice husky and rough, and wow, okay, alright. Blaine isn't protesting. He smiles up at Kurt, who's still looking at him from the sitting position he's in, his eyes wide and calculating. "Come on, then" he says, his voice low. Kurt licks his lips, looking straight at Blaine, weighing his options, strung tight like a cheetah ready to sprint.

It's kind of ridiculously hot, honestly - but Jesus, there can't be anything sexier than the look on his face, the dark look he sends to Blaine just before the pounces.

Blaine's got a huge hickey on his collarbone for at least a week, and when it begins to fade it takes only a hour or so before Kurt's at it again, and Blaine ends up carrying the hickey for a month. Kurt claims that it's because it's summer, duh, but there's something wicked flickering in his gaze every time he looks at it and Blaine knows it's not just that.

But honestly? He doesn't care.

Because there's Kurt and Blaine and the stupidly small apartment with a messy hallway and the whole world is waiting for them. And right now what's enough is the smell of coffee and a promise of forever.