I can't believe this is over. I am so honored by all the responses I've gotten: readers, favorites, alerts, and reviews. I have adored talking to all of you who have reviewed with your thoughts about this story. Thank you all for reading, for enjoying, and for supporting me throughout this whole process. As for my reviewers especially, wow. These are some of the best reviews I have ever received. Detailed, thoughtful, inquisitive, and just so lovely. I am so, so, so appreciative of all of you who took the time to write to me. Thank you!

And I am endlessly grateful to both of my betas, Lextempus and L'esprit! I cannot say enough good things about either of them. They have inspired me to look at my story through different eyes and to think deeper about my choices as to why I made the characters act in the way that they did. So many sections of my writing have been inspired by their contributions and support. Thank you both so much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything else you may recognize.

Kurt wakes up to the scent of fresh September air and pamphlets about apartments in Chicago lying on the table. He holds them loosely in his hand and looks up wordlessly at Blaine who stands nervous but determined.

"I know you miss your dad and you're worried about him," Blaine starts gently.

"I know I mentioned that when I was thinking about taking the job, but—"

"No, Kurt," Blaine interrupts, "let me finish." His voice quiets Kurt who sits at the table, pamphlets thick in his grasp.

"You can't leave me, you said that," Blaine continues, "but you never said we couldn't leave New York. We can go to Chicago together. It's so much closer to our families and your old glee club friends."

Blaine is alive with energy, the sort of energy saved special for singing. But maybe this is a type of song, Kurt reasons. Persuasion and passion and this is Blaine. This wide-eyed, sincere, dramatic boy that he fell in love with.

"Chicago is so amazing," Blaine says, striding across their tiny kitchen to hold Kurt's hand in his hot grasp. "There's a big art scene there and so much theatre. And there is so much for you there. I know you've been looking at grad schools and there are some fantastic schools in Chicago. And more community theatre, because I know you've always said you want to stay involved. There's everything for us there. We can work in the city, maybe someday live in the suburbs."

Kurt smiles like stars first appearing in the night sky, slow, but bright, like he can't believe this transformation. And maybe that is just the reaction Blaine's waiting for because he looks like he's bursting, like his skin is the only thing keeping him together.

"Maybe this all sounds too fast, but, Kurt," his voice breaks off and Kurt falls a little more in love. "I just want to be with you. We spent all those years growing apart and maybe now it's time for us to grow together."

If there are any more words, Kurt kisses them out of Blaine's mouth.

"Let's go."

They're packing up their lives when Blaine finds it.

It flutters out of the notebook before Kurt has a chance to pack it away in one of the many non-descript brown boxes surrounding them. It flips lazily in the air before settling stiffly on the ground. Blaine picks it up with deft fingers and Kurt only has to glance at the flash of color before he gasps with realization.

The courage collage.

The edges have curled slightly and the magazine letters carry all the typical signs of age, the e on the end particularly battered. Only Blaine's picture remains unblemished, still shiny and smiling in all his waxy perfection. But Kurt has long since preferred this new Blaine, curly hair and rolled up sleeves with untrained smiles and softer eyes.

Kurt's gaze rises from the page to Blaine's eyes, searching his expression as they sit in a sea of cardboard and heavy feelings. When Blaine speaks, Kurt doesn't think he's ever looked so beautiful.

"The bravest moment of my life was when I talked to you after singing Teenage Dream."

Clasping Blaine's hand tightly in his own, Kurt whispers that his bravest moment was cutting Blaine out of his life.

"It's a little ironic, don't you think? You needed to let me in and I needed to let you go. I couldn't love you the way I do now if I hadn't learned to love without you."

Together, they drive halfway across the country with their lives traveling behind them, packed up in boxes and sharing crowded space. The radio plays constant, a steady pulse of music an underscore to their breathing.

The trees rush past them and it seems like they might trip on the horizon, but Kurt can look at nothing but their hands twined together between them.

Briefly, their eyes meet and Kurt swears he can hear his heart sing.

"Is this what getting better feels like?"

Yes.

Please review.