Four Months Later

A clip from One Direction's "Math Song" burst from Kurt's phone.

"Say hi to Dave for me," Finn muttered without looking up from his own phone.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "If you weren't glued to Rachel's virtual side 24/7, you could say hi to him yourself once in a while." He looked down at the screen. "Besides, it's just a text."

"Yeah? What'd he say?"

"Uh, not much. An address, and a date and time: Friday at 11 am."

Finn's nose scrunched. "Huh. Weird. What do you think it is?"

"No idea."

"So you gonna hit Google?"

Kurt frowned. "I don't know. For Dave to be so circumspect, he must want this to be a surprise. Maybe I shouldn't ruin it."

There was dead silence in the Hummel-Hudson living room.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Of course I am!" Kurt snapped as he opened up his smartphone's web browser. He quickly found out four major facts:

1) The address was that of the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

2) The event being held on the particular day was a mathematical conference with a suitably opaque name.

3) The particular event at the particular time was a presentation of a paper with a title that was, to Kurt, the purest gobbledygook.

4) Two of the authors on that paper jumped out immediately. One was "W. Schuester."

The other was "D. Karofsky."

"He's back," Kurt muttered under his breath.

The Past

When Dave presented himself to Prof. Schuester in that dramatic fashion that Kurt heartily approved of, it didn't take long to prove he was The One. Just a glance at the notes and papers he'd brought with him was enough.

Schuester immediately latched onto Dave's arm like a leech. He left class to his completely blindsided TAs, even though a major exam was coming up, then shepherded the rather discombobulated Dave into his office. Kurt was able to follow, mostly because he was pretty sure that the professor wasn't really aware of the world around him in his excited state.

He proceeded to spend a silent half hour reading over Dave's work. More than once, the two young men exchanged glances, but neither wanted to risk the possible consequences of breaking the silence. Finally, Prof. Schuester looked up.

"This..." He swallowed, and began again. "This is incredible work. Incredible. And you said you were self taught?" Dave nodded dumbly. "David... You have to be the most talented young person at this school. I... I don't have words to describe what I see here. It's... astounding."

"That's a word," Dave joked weakly.

"Your mind is one in a million," Schuester rambled on without seeming to hear. "Your thinking is more advanced than mathematicians three times your age! What did you say your major was again?"

"Phys ed," Dave admitted sheepishly.

"Phys—!" Schuester sputtered, horrified. "David, I beg you, please study mathematics. I practically guarantee you'd earn your PhD in no time. You'd have a huge scholarship, and you'd put this university on the map almost instantly! You could even have a teaching job if you want..."

"Teach?!" Dave repeated, now the one sounding horrified. "I'm not even nineteen yet!"

"I could make it happen, and considering what you've done with Kurt here, I think you'd be excellent." Kurt felt vaguely insulted. "But I won't push it; it's just an option. Just... The potential you have, the potential you've already demonstrated here..." He slammed his palm onto the stack of papers so suddenly that both students jumped in their chairs. "... Is limitless. If you've learned this much on your own, think of how much more you could accomplish with the backing of OSU...!" He leaned forward over his desk earnestly. "I don't know how much idea you have of what you're capable of, but you are special, David. Honestly, if any mathematician worth his degree saw any of this, they'd want to talk to you just as much as I did, maybe more. If this became public... well, at the least, every university in the world would headhunt you mercilessly." Dave visibly paled. "But I can guarantee one more thing: protection. You can start out collaborating with me and a special group of students, let your ideas out gradually. We'd help you speed up your theorizing and research, and I and the other members of this department have connections and experience that are at your complete disposal so you can get comfortable with the field at your own pace, before you become widely known. If you want to strike out on your own, I'd understand." But not be fine with it. That much was clear from his expression. "But Kurt has been very respectful of your desires and boundaries from the start..." Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt saw Dave turn towards him slightly at this revelation. "... So I think I need to do the same. You have my personal promise that this entire university will as well if you join us." For the first time, Schuester's voice turned pleading; Kurt had to admit the man had kept calm much longer than he'd expected. "Please join us."

Kurt suspected that a large part of Schuester's desperation had to do with that "collaborating" he mentioned, not to mention getting his name on papers with Dave's ideas, but the professor was cannier than he'd thought; whether he knew it or not, this pitch was perfectly tailored for Dave. It cast the rest of the academic world as a scary place, a step too far for a young man just getting his feet wet in the field, and OSU as a safe haven. Perhaps it was the only thing of value they could offer that MIT or Oxford couldn't, and it was something Kurt knew Dave valued indeed. Sure, he could extract similar guarantees out of other universities, but only after time and negotiation, not to mention moving to unfamiliar scenery. How much change could Dave take at once? At least here, he'd know people. He'd have his friends, comfortable surroundings...

Kurt wondered if he was being selfish when he hoped Dave would accept.

Dave didn't answer, but Kurt (and, it looked like, Prof. Schuester) didn't expect one right away. Dave's hands were clutching the armrests of his chair, as if searching for purchase on a cliff. More than once, he took a glance at Kurt, but Kurt looked away, as heartbreaking as it was; this had to be a decision Dave made himself. This was, after all, his life.

When Dave finally spoke, it was with a dry and cracked voice. "Can I think about this?"

There was only the barest flash of disappointment on Schuester's face; once more, he surprised Kurt with actual self-control. Remarkable. Maybe having the prize so close to his grasp was having an impact. "Of course. Feel free to come to my office or e-mail me anytime. Any time. I mean it." Of course he did; he'd probably rather shave his body completely bare than even countenance the possibility of missing out on recruiting a genius.

Dave still looked dazed as they left Schuester's office, then the building. "Penny for your thoughts?" Kurt asked tentatively. Maybe expressing them would help him process them, deal with them...

"I..." Dave shook his head. "I'm still trying to come to terms with all this. Now people know. It's like I can almost see my life changing, right now, no matter what I decide. Then again, that was kinda the point."

"Hm?"

"Why I decided to go to Prof. Schuester now."

"To be honest, I was wondering about that."

There were scores of students enjoying the sunny afternoon all around them, yet that very crowding provided a feeling of anonymity, of being lost in an ocean of humanity. But then, Kurt thought, Dave was never meant to be anonymous that way — neither of them were. He and Dave, they were both meant to shine. "I kinda realized something when I was thinking about this," Dave said. "I realized that these past few months... I haven't been this happy in years."

"I'm glad."

"I know. God, do I know." He shot a glance at Kurt that was... What word could possibly describe it? The best Kurt's mind could do was fond. He could feel himself blushing like a schoolkid. "But you're only part of the reason why."

"Only part?" Kurt asked in mock offense. "Why am I not your entire world by now?"

Dave laughed. "Man, you wanna be a star — you definitely have the ego already!"

"You think that's an insult, but it's not."

"Hah! God, Kurt, you're something else..." Despite its joking tone, Kurt could hear something deeper in that turn of phrase — something much more solid. But Dave didn't give him time to contemplate that. "Seriously, though, once you got me to be who I really am in front of other people... I found I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. That's why I was so conflicted when your parents didn't say anything to Finn. Once you helped me open the door, I kept wanting to open it more and more because of the way I felt when I did. I just... It felt so fucking good to finally be me that I decided I had to do something drastic to make sure I wasn't tempted to go back to the way things were before. So... I went to Prof. Schuester, because I knew once he knew, there'd be no going back."

"Indeed," Kurt said thoughtfully. "If I thought Prof. Schuester was clingy with me, it's likely to be nothing compared to what he's about to do with you." The two walked along in companionable silence, only barely registering the laughter and talk and general hubbub of life going on around them. "So what now for Dave Karofsky, math prodigy?"

"That's kinda what I'm wondering myself."

"You have other options besides OSU and Prof. Schuester. A lot of them, if what he said is true."

"I know. I used to think I had no choice about how to live my life if I wanted to be happy and accepted, but now I have so many, I'm having a hard time dealing with it."

"As I keep saying, you need to do right by you. You've taken the first step, and that's the most important one. Just keep doing what you've been doing: what you think will make you happy. Even if the decision you make ends up being wrong, it's not the end of the world. Remember, you'll have an entire mathematical community drooling over you. Decide that one place and one position isn't for you, the rest will be clamoring to be your rebound." Kurt smiled. "You've got the math world at your feet, Dave Karofsky."

Dave gaped, as if he'd never thought of that before. "Wow. I never considered myself, uh, attractive before."

"Believe me, you are." Kurt knew very well what he was saying, what it could mean to Dave's ears. But he still said it anyway. Because dammit, Dave was attractive, and the fact that he realized it now said a lot about the most attractive part of Dave: his soul. When he wore the false face of the average frat boy, all Kurt could see was the paunch and the attitude. But when he was Dave, he could see the color of his eyes, his crooked smile, his strong arms... Not every good person was attractive, certainly, but it was easier to see someone's attractive qualities when they were good.

Dave couldn't have failed to get the possible underlying meaning, and he didn't. He froze dead, nearly causing a coed behind him to have to do a quick dodge, all while not looking up from her phone. His head bowed, his gaze scampering to the side as if he were suddenly allergic to eye contact. "Shut the fuck up, man," he rumbled, his hands clasped behind his back in what Kurt was sure was some kind of white knuckled death grip.

"Ah, yes, good old David Karofsky deflection. I thought you were done hiding behind curse words and insincerity. What, do you not think you're attractive?"

"I mean... You're attractive..." Even though Kurt had heard that from Dave before, he couldn't help his heart skipping a beat again, as if this was a fresh revelation. Damn, when had he gotten so soft? "And I'm nothing like you..."

"For the last time, Blaine and I are not the only kind of gay man there is. You're living proof of that." He ratcheted his voice lower, but mostly out of consideration for Dave's comfort, not fear that someone would overhear. "Also for the last time, because I'm sick of repeating this, you be you. You're the only Dave Karofsky there is, so you might as well be him. And I don't think he's such a bad guy to be."

"Wow. I... I don't know what to say to any of that..."

"Say, 'I hear and obey, my lord.' That'd be a good start."

Dave punched him in the arm. "You fucking wish!" The two continued on their way; Kurt reveled in the thought that they were the only two people on this campus — no, the entire world — that were part of this moment that felt like a milestone. It made him feel as special as Dave was, as special as he felt when he was on stage. "You know... I think I've made up my mind."

"Really? That was quick."

"I think I kinda knew what I wanted to do. Like usual, you helped me realize it."

"And?"

"And... do you mind being my moral support for just a little while longer? I mean, I'm not gonna freak out completely without you, but... it'd make me feel better."

"You don't even have to ask, Dave."

Prof. Schuester looked like he was about to cry. One would think that a man twice their age would have a little more dignity, but apparently not. He pumped Dave's hand over and over; Dave himself was starting to look a little freaked out, plainly trying and failing to extricate himself from Schuester's death grip.

"You won't regret this, David, I promise," the professor managed to say, finally letting go of Dave's hand; Dave quickly staggered back a few steps, probably just in case. "This department — no, this university — is your playground. Whatever you want or need, you'll have."

If Dave had been a different person, Kurt was pretty certain this kind of power would've gone to his head. But Dave, being the man he was, just looked kind of overwhelmed. "Uh... You don't need to—"

"I'll get the paperwork done right away," Schuester went on heedlessly. "You'll still have to finish out this term in your current classes, but everything should be set up by next year. I think I'll be able to pull some strings to get some of your requirements lifted. You'll have your scholarship paperwork by tomorrow."

Dave gaped. "Uh... This is going kinda fast for me..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel pressured." Kurt was pretty sure that with the right stimulus, Schuester would've dropped to his knees in front of Dave like a pagan supplicant. "I know this must be a little overwhelming for you. When do you want to get started with mathematical work?"

"Uh... Actually, now wouldn't be bad. I'd at least like to see what I'm getting into." Besides, as Dave had told Kurt earlier, math was still a refuge for him — only now he'd have a greater goal to work towards. No doubt he could also use his work as an excuse to get Schuester off his back for a few precious moments.

"Great!" Schuester beamed like the sun. "Good timing, too; there's a special class session going on right now with some of my other handpicked students. Come on, I'll introduce you to them."

The two students followed their professor down the hall, up a floor, to a corner of the Mathematics Tower Kurt had never set foot in before. The hall lights were dim for some reason, casting the empty space in an almost spectral gloom. He couldn't help but shudder.

Schuester made a beeline for a door on the left; a bright line of light emanated from underneath it. He gave a brisk knock on this door, then opened it. Two people were inside; both looked up from the papers between them at the new arrivals. One was a brown haired young man in a wheelchair wearing an argyle vest and thick glasses. The other was an attractive blonde who would've looked more at home with pom-poms on a football field than in a math classroom.

"We have our newest addition to our little circle," Schuester said with a wide, dazzling, almost triumphant smile. "This is David Karofsky. David, these are Artie Abrams and Brittany Pierce."

"So who's that?" the boy, Artie, asked, nodding towards Kurt.

"A friend of Dave's," Kurt replied simply.

"This isn't a spectator sport, you know. If you're not in the math department, you're not going to get most of what we do."

Kurt shrugged. "This is part of Dave's world now. I just wanted to see it for myself."

Artie shrugged. "Whatever. Suit yourself."

"Artie!" Brittany scolded. She turned to them with a friendly smile. "Don't pay any attention to him. He just thinks 'cause he's smarter than most people that he's got, like, this obligation to be all jerkass genius and stuff. Nobody likes to feel stupid." Her smile flickered for a moment before it was back full force. "But he's a sweetheart, once he gets used to you."

"I am not a 'sweetheart'," Artie grumbled.

"We wouldn't have dated if you weren't."

"So, uh..." Dave finally managed to interrupt, "you guys are underclassmen too?"

"That's right," Schuester said.

"And she said Artie's a genius...?"

"So's Brittany," Artie said. "So are you, if Prof. Schuester's been straight with us."

"So why..."

"... Are we at OSU instead of an Ivy League?" Artie finished with a grin. "In my case, it's because my parents can barely afford to send me here, never mind Princeton, even with a scholarship. Besides, I kinda like Ohio."

"I got into a lot of other schools," Brittany said, "but OSU is the only one I interviewed with where they didn't make me feel like... I dunno, some kinda weird freak."

"There are only the three of you in this special session, but your combined knowledge is like nothing any other university has," Schuester enthused. "I feel incredibly lucky that this department managed to get even one of you, let alone three!" He clapped Dave on the shoulder. "Okay, I'm going to get the wheels turning on your paperwork. Artie, Brittany, make Dave feel welcome and get him up to speed. If any of you need anything, just text me." He hurried out of the room in almost a blinding flash.

The room was silent, but not for long. "He's something, isn't he?" Artie grinned.

"Uh... Yeah." Dave still looked a little overwhelmed.

"Ah, you get used to him. He's a pretty good mathematician, but it's like he lives vicariously through his students — especially us." He waved towards an empty desk, turned towards him and Brittany. "Sit down." Dave did so; Kurt followed suit in a chair behind him. "So you got any of your current work?"

"Yeah. Here." Dave handed them both copies of his projects, made at Schuester's request. It was remarkable to think about how hidden and secretive Dave had been about this work, and now, he was handing them out like they were class notes.

Artie flipped rapidly through the stapled papers, his eyebrows inching higher with each. "Wow. Okay, you definitely belong here."

"I'd love to talk with you about this one sometime," Brittany said in a hushed voice, tapping her finger on one of the pages. "I've always loved the Hadwiger conjecture." She smiled at Dave; something about it sent waves of what couldn't have been jealousy through Kurt.

"Later," Artie said crisply. "Right now, we're knee deep."

"In what?" It was Kurt who asked, not Dave, out of pure impulse and curiosity.

"In fixing Prof. Schuester's mess." He nodded towards the papers that the two had been going over before. "Or more accurately, our mess. We're co-authors on a paper he's presenting in a few months on ur-elements. Problem is, he found a flaw in it last summer. Our job is to figure out a way to fix it before the conference."

Somehow, this didn't surprise Kurt in the slightest. Dave picked up the papers and read through them for a few minutes. "Huh. Okay, I think I get it. I can see why you guys missed it, though; it's kinda subtle."

"We're pretty sure the basics are sound," Brittany said. "Artie and I think we have the right approach to make it work, but we're not there yet. We've been trying to figure it out for weeks."

"Yeah, it's kind of tricky, for obvious reasons."

Obvious? Kurt thought. Looking over Dave's shoulder, not a word of what he glimpsed made any sense at all. Dave merely nodded, then started a conversation that, even though it didn't actually go this way at all, sounded to Kurt's ears exactly like this:

Dave: So if you blah blah the blah, and adjust the blah blah blahs, you think you can blah blahs?

Artie: Right, exactly. The problem is the blahs. The damn blahs won't blah the way we want.

Brittany: And when we bring the blah blah blahs into it, that just causes a whole bunch of other problems.

Dave: Yeah, I see that... What if we blah the blah blahs, and try blah?

Brittany: But won't the blahs contradict the blah?

Artie: Wait a second, he might be on to something. We could blah the blah blah blah blah blah, and so it follows...

Brittany: The blahs blah! That's perfect!

Dave: Not quite. There's still the blah to deal with. Maybe if we blah blah blah...

And so on and so forth, for what seemed like forever. But even if Kurt couldn't understand anything any of them said, he was still fascinated — not over the conversation itself, but what it was doing to Dave. If Dave had become animated talking about math to him, back when all this started, it was nothing compared to now. It was like he was watching a flower, long buried under winter snow, come to life in the spring sun. Dave was writing down numbers, bantering back and forth with both Artie and Brittany, and he was smiling all the while — not the douchey falsehood of his frat boy persona, but so warm and genuine that it made Kurt's heart ache a little just seeing it.

Just like Rachel and Blaine were Kurt's people, Artie and Brittany were Dave's. He was in his element, among peers who understood him.

He was home. He finally found home.

Kurt only left when his stomach started demanding food, and the nerd trio showed no sign of stopping, or even slowing down. It was a bittersweet moment when he slipped out without Dave being the slightest bit conscious of it.

When the two met face-to-face next, it was a full week later. "You don't call, you don't write..." Kurt griped, though lightheartedly. He'd mostly expected such a disappearance; Dave was, after all, diving headfirst into a world he'd yearned for for years.

"I know, I know! But you're the first person I've talked to in days not named Artie, Brittany, or Schuester." Indeed, he looked like he hadn't shaved in two days, or slept more than a few hours in at least that long. But his eyes, though a little bleary, were bright and shining, and he moved and spoke as if hopped up on caffeine, although Kurt was certain that there wasn't a speck of it in his system.

Dave was, to use a cliche, merely high on life.

"So how is the world of high level mathematics?" The two arranged to get together at the same Italian place where they'd eaten after laser tag; Dave was bolting down his rigatoni in between gushes of sentences.

"It's unbelievable, man! I'm doing something I'm good at, something I love, every single day! The others, they have these great ideas too, and... I honestly never thought life could be like this. I could kick myself for not doing this sooner." He sounded in awe. "Artie and Brittany, man, they get me like nobody else ever has. Well... almost nobody..."

Kurt hid a smile under his hand. "So how's the repair project going?"

"Oh, yeah, that's the big reason why I haven't been in touch. We've been bouncing ideas off each other, and I think we've got a way to get the paper into publishable shape."

"Great! So you're almost done?"

"Not even close!" Dave said cheerfully. "Knowing what to do isn't the same as knowing how. But at least we've got a road map. The problem is..." The smile shattered from his face.

Kurt found his heart beating faster. "The problem is...?"

Dave sighed. "I'm kinda leaving Ohio for a few months."

"What?!" Kurt almost jumped to his feet, but somehow managed to keep his butt in his chair by a miracle. "What about staying at OSU?"

"I am, but it turns out that Prof. Schuester had his special group signed up for this summer math thing with several other schools across the country. It's being held at USC..."

"Southern California or South Carolina?"

"Southern California," Dave said with a grin. "And he wants me to join Artie and Brittany. That way, we can share our ideas with other mathematicians, take some real specialized courses, and be able to work on his paper all at the same time. Don't ask me how he swung my invite only a couple of weeks out, because I have no fucking clue." Dave's hands worried at each other. "I said yes. I'm leaving in two weeks, right after my last exam."

"Two...?" No, that was too fast, that was much too fast... "That was the right decision, Dave. I'm really happy for you." Kurt was almost surprised to find that he meant it. "And at least we have the Internet..."

"Yeah, but..." Emotions flashed across Dave's face, there and gone so quickly that it was almost dizzying. "I think I might not be very good at keeping in touch. At least not all the time."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Dave was playing with his napkin, but with fists clenched so tight he wasn't so much "playing with" as "ripping apart." "For one thing, I kinda need to start making decisions on my own, and if you're always right there, I'm gonna be tempted as fuck to just ask you advice all the time. For another..." He ducked his head; his next words were muffled, but still audible. "... I have a lot of work to do this summer, and you're kinda the biggest distraction I have in my life."

It took Kurt a little while to process what he'd just heard; it took him mustering everything he knew and thought about Dave to get a reasonable-sounding interpretation. When he did, a huge smile blossomed over his face. "Oh, really?" he said slyly.

"Yeah," Dave rumbled, his neck turning red. "I'd be stuck to my phone all the time, always tempted to talk to you. I'd be missing you constantly, and..." He huffed. "I know this is the completely wrong time to talk about this when I'm about to leave for months, but... You know how I feel about you, right?"

"Tell me," Kurt said softly.

Dave reached out, his fingers barely caressing Kurt's cheek, before he remembered he was in public and dropped his hand. "I can't do this," he whispered. "Not right now. The next two weeks are already gonna be full of me getting ready for the trip and figuring out a way to tell my parents, and... There's just not enough time."

"I know. There's so much to do, so much to talk about..."

"And it doesn't feel right to do something this important online, either. But I swear to God, Kurt, we will talk about it. I promise. I'm gonna be thinking about you this entire trip, whether I want to or not."

"I hope you lean more towards the 'want to' side." Kurt tried to infuse as much jocularity as he could into his words, but he could hear himself fail.

"But until I come back, can we... can we still be friends? At least until I... until we figure things out, and my life gets a little more stable?"

"For a genius, you ask stupid questions. Of course we can. Wasn't I the one who suggested this already? I think the trip is the perfect time to get some distance and calm to think things through."

Dave nodded gratefully. "There's another thing I promise I'll do."

"Oh? What?" But all Kurt got in return was a shit-eating grin.

"When I come back. But you'll find out. Then."

"You know, I'm not so sure I like this new, more confident you anymore. You're getting entirely too sassy for your own good."

Dave laughed, shaking his head. "God, I'm going to miss you." The levity evaporated; it seemed they could both feel how little of a joke it was.

"I'm going to miss you too."

That would be the last time Kurt and Dave met in person. The next two weeks were already a blur for Kurt as he prepared for exams and performances and reviews; he could only imagine what they were like for Dave, struggling to balance the last vestiges of his old life and his burgeoning new one. Bare hours after the last finals were over, Dave sent Kurt a photo of a United plane with the caption, "off to socal i'll see you soon."

Finn had to hold him for almost an hour before the tears stopped.

Over the next days, weeks, and months, Dave sent updates on Southern California and his math activities. They came sporadically at best, as Dave had predicted, but they came nonetheless. They managed to hold a semblance of a conversation, even with days separating query and reply, but it was enough.

It had to be enough.

Kurt only got bits and pieces of what was happening, but when he stepped back and looked at the big picture, there was one undeniable truth to come out of it all: Dave was happy. He was, finally, the same Dave Karofsky on the outside that he was on the inside. The terrors of responsibility, the burden of genius, once shared even in a small way, loosened their grip on him. Once he found others like him to further share with, his fears withered even further.

Once Dave kept his eyes on the ground, afraid of what would happen if he were to soar. But now... he was free. No matter what happened now, no matter what hardships it caused (like, say, the pain of separation from someone who was a dear friend, and perhaps something slightly more), that alone was worth everything.

Eventually, the ache in Kurt's soul also eased, and life began going on. Dave's intermittent contact became something precious, always a high point to his summer days. A new normal had settled in for him as well as for Dave.

Then came that text...

The Present

Kurt had never attended an event at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, so he knew very little about its layout. That was why he arrived at 9 am. As promised in a follow-up text, there was a badge waiting for him.

He wandered about, passing grey haired ladies and balding gentlemen in suits, all the very image of the stereotypical academic. Still no sign of Dave — not at the room the presentation was going to take place in, not in any of the lounges. He supposed he could've texted Dave and asked, but damn his stubborn, independent streak.

Kurt was just about to make his second complete circuit of the center and refine his vision of how to kill Dave if he'd decided to wait until the last minute to show up when (a non-existent) God intervened.

Once upon a time, so many months ago it might as well have been years, Kurt saw Dave sloppily dressed in a suit. Now Dave emerged from a crowd wearing a suit, only this one was much neater, much better fitted, much more put together, and much more flattering — so much so that Kurt almost forgot to drool in the middle of his approving critique of the creases and cuffs and rich red necktie.

They were across a vast room from each other, with scores of oblivious convention-goers passing between them, but somehow, their eyes still locked. Kurt felt detached from reality, almost ethereal, as the two slowly approached each other. Finally, after months apart, they were face to face once more. Dave hadn't physically changed much — who would in such a relatively short amount of time? — but his skin was noticeably bronzed, and his eyes sparkled with life and joy and everything that had been kept from him by his own fears, everything Kurt had always hoped he'd find. They said nothing for a long moment, merely staring at each other, until one of them finally broke silence.

"You're early," was all Dave said.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Dave? That's what you open with?"

Dave's mouth opened, then shut. "Could we... could we find somewhere more private to talk?"

They found one in an out-of-the-way back hall. Only the hum of air conditioning surrounded them now. Dave cleared his throat, then cleared it again. Kurt sighed inwardly; it looked like he'd have to take the initiative — again. "Hi, Dave. I'm glad you're back."

Some kind of spell must've been broken, because Dave almost visibly started before saying, "Th-thanks." Another silence. "You, uh... you look good."

"Thanks. You too." His fingers brushed against the lapel of Dave's jacket; he'd meant the gesture to be approving of the quality and material of the suit, but somehow it became more... intimate. "And yes," he said, dropping his hand back to his side before he did something they'd both regret, "I'm early. Surely you didn't think I'd just wait for you?"

"You already did," Dave noted quietly. "Four months."

"Well, I'd rather not have, but I did." Kurt had to consciously tell his feet not to shuffle against the carpet. "You didn't tell me you were done with the summer session."

"Yeah, well, I kinda wanted it to be a surprise. So... surprise?"

Kurt snorted; he could almost feel tension leaving his body. "I assume there's a reason why you didn't invite Finn too."

Dave exhaled. "Yeah. I mean, I'll catch up with him later. But this was something I wanted to share with you, and just you. For a few reasons. First is, you're the reason I'm here to begin with."

Kurt shook his head. "You got here on your own merits. I think you would've gotten here yourself eventually. Talent like yours can't hide forever."

"Maybe. The second reason is, my parents are here. And I could sorta use a friend around."

"I see. And how are things going with them?"

"I... kinda don't want to think about it right now. Later."

"All right," Kurt said. "So what's the third reason?"

Dave hesitated before answering. "It's that promise I made."

Kurt's brow furrowed. "Promise?"

"Yeah. Before I left. I swore I'd do something when I came back."

Kurt didn't quite remember that, but took him at his word. "All right... So what is it?" He nearly choked on his own spit as Dave reached out and gathered him in his arms.

Dave's eyes were locked on his, wide and intense, his face suddenly so close that Kurt could feel his breath on his nose. His hands were gently placed on Kurt's waist and shoulder. "Only if you want to," he said in a low growl. Kurt could only trust himself to nod, so hard that he felt his brain slosh around in his skull. But he lifted his face towards Dave's anyway, just in case.

That moment when their lips met reminded Kurt of when their hands brushed at the Italian place — only a million times more intense. Their tongues stayed in their own mouths — it felt too soon for that — but nevertheless, the heat of even this contact threatened to set Kurt's skin on fire. Kurt had had a few kisses before, fond and affectionate at the very least, but this... Those past kisses were sad, pale imitations compared to this. God, how had he not known they could be like this? How had he missed out all these years?

When they finally separated, it was with great reluctance on both their parts; they knew instinctively they couldn't stay that way forever, however much they wanted to. "I missed you," Dave said hoarsely. "I missed you so goddamn much..."

"I did too," Kurt admitted, trying to will himself not to cry.

"I've been thinking about you a lot these past few months. A lot. After a while, it kinda sank in that just the fact I was thinking about you so much answered all the questions I had." His hands tightened on Kurt's side and shoulder. "I don't know what this is gonna become, but I do know I care about you a whole fucking lot, and I want to try. I want to be yours... if you want me."

Kurt pecked Dave on the lips. "My God, quit assuming the worst when it comes to me. If this is some form of lingering self-deprecation, I hate it already. In fact, I..." He caught his breath before he was able to speak again. "I was a little worried. That you were having so much fun with your new life that you didn't have room in it for me anymore..."

Dave groaned. "Who's being self-deprecating now? Fuck, Kurt, this is exactly what I was afraid would happen all these years if people found out I was a genius. I'm not any better than anyone else — just smarter. And I may not need you anymore, but you don't need me either. And that doesn't even matter, because you taught me how to go after what I want, and you're one of them. I want you in my life — as a friend, at least, but I'd kind of prefer..." He turned away a little from Kurt, a tear forming in his eye, but he managed to turn back by what seemed to be physical force of will. "I want to prove to you that I can make your life better, the same way you made mine better. I really want that chance."

"Well..." Kurt said, mock indecision in his voice. This time, his caress of Dave's lapel was very deliberate, as was the similar one on the back of his neck. "We'll have to spend a lot of time together, now and in the future. You have to fill in all the details you didn't tell me about what you were up to in Los Angeles, and you have to go see Finn; he'll kill us both if he found out we met and didn't get him involved. So we'll have plenty of time to let things..." He didn't even bother to wipe the smile off his face or the wetness off his cheek. "... Run their natural course."

"I'd like that," Dave said, choked. "I'd like that a lot."

When their lips met again, it somehow felt different to Kurt — comforting, like the feel of Dave's arms around him. Like the start of something good.

It took an alarm on Dave's phone, which went off God knew how long later, for him to remember that he sort of had a presentation to attend. Kurt managed to wangle a front row seat. Prof. Schuester was the one who did all the talking, and the Powerpoint presentation was unsurprisingly arcane, but being just feet away from Dave, in front of an audience of his peers, nearly beaming with pride, was more than enough to keep Kurt engaged.

Schuester actually let his three students answer questions from the audience afterward. Dave handled his with confidence and aplomb, as if he were born for the role. Kurt had no idea of the accuracy or incisiveness of his answers, but the approving nods from the people around him seemed to indicate good things.

The best part of this, all of this, was this was only the first step for Dave — the first step towards his future in math, the first step towards the recognition and accolades he'd always deserved, the first step towards achieving his potential and finding a career doing something he loved...

The first step towards something lasting with Kurt. He found himself tingling with anticipation for them both.

When the room burst out in warm applause at the conclusion of the presentation, Dave sheepishly smiled and waved. Kurt immediately jumped onto the stage as the audience began departing, having to squeeze past Artie's wheelchair to get to Dave. This time, it was Kurt who swept up Dave in a hug. It was only when Dave gave him almost painful bro-type claps on the back that he remembered that Dave was still mostly in the closet.

Oh, well, one thing at a time.