LATER THAT NIGHT, Lindy sat in her bedroom, her legs cris-crossed on her bed as she stared at her walls. There were so many posters, so many decorations that she had coated the white paint with that she wondered how she would manage to take them all with her to college.

College. It was still hardly fathomable to her that she was actually going to be able to go to UW.

When her and Lee had returned home from lunch, Lindy had patiently waited until his attention was honed in on a baseball game before she had made the phone call to UW, accepting her place at the school for fall.

Telling Lee that she would be leaving was something that nauseated her, but it couldn't outweigh the pure joy she felt at knowing her one dream that she had had for years was coming true.

Lindy pulled Trae's check out of her nightstand drawer, smoothing it down and staring at it in wonder. What a blessing it was — not only was it a gift from her brother, but also from her mom, who was surely still looking after her despite the fact that she was gone.

Hannah had granted Lindy the best gift in the world with the sum of money she had left behind. It was a chance to follow her path, to do what she loved and prove to everyone that she could fulfill her own dreams. She especially hoped to show her father what she was made of. She wanted to see the look on his face when she would one day graduate from nursing school.

And along with such bliss came the knowledge that Kurt was likely going to be following her to Seattle with the band. Krist and Shelli had discussed renting a home outside of the city where all three of them could bunk, splitting the monthly payment. A new drummer would be needed, but Kurt didn't seem to really mind that. He was craving someone new for the band anyways.

Lindy would miss Trae desperately, but the previous night he had mentioned to her that he was most likely leaving Spin City to work in a nearby mechanic's shop. Apparently, the kind, elderly owner had offered him a job after inquiring about his familiarity with cars. It had been a well-rounded enough answer to get him the job.

Things were falling into place. They were falling into place so quickly in fact, Lindy felt as if she couldn't keep up. The excitement of it all had her blood flowing straight to her head, dizzying her into a spinning rush. It was a happy rush, though. It was a culmination of all sorts of delight that had evaded her for years.

From outside below her window came a low whistle. She smiled eagerly, scrambling out of bed and rushing to greet her visitor.

As she pushed the windows upwards, careful to keep quiet, she looked down at Kurt smiled up at her. 

"I had a feeling you'd show up," she called down to him.

"Of course I would. It's a night for celebration."

Feeling brave, Lindy considered her options. She was already dressed in her oversized night shirt and she certainly didn't feel like going out in that or changing. Boldly, she made a snap decision.

"How about you come up here?"

Kurt raised his eyebrows, appalled at her suggestion. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, I am. Just come up and be quiet and we'll be fine." Lindy scrunched the hem of her t-shirt in her hand, suddenly nervous. Her heart was picking up speed, but she didn't care. It was pounding in her ears as she stared down at Kurt's silhouette. 

"You want me to ring the doorbell too?" Kurt asked sarcastically.

"No." Lindy rolled her eyes. "See the shed? There's a ladder in it. Prop it up against that, climb on top and you can come through."

Lee had conveniently placed his tool shed directly beside Lindy's window. It would be a risky  stretch for Kurt to climb in since the shed was shifted a few feet beneath the window, but it would work.

Kurt sighed heavily but grinned, always willing to push the limits around him. He went into the shed and did as told, softly leaning the ladder against it and climbing up the rungs gingerly. Once on top of the shed, Lindy reached for him, struggling not to giggle as she pulled him through the window.

"I've got it," Kurt said under his breath, pushing himself up on the ledge so he could swing his legs inside. His feet landed on the floor with a muted thud.

"I can't believe I let you do that," Lindy marveled aloud. She could see Kurt smiling in the darkness of her room, the moonlight shooting faint beams across his face. 

"I'm glad you did. This is a nice change of scenery."

Kurt looked around, examining the walls and the trinkets that were brimming in every corner of Lindy's childhood bedroom. She felt her palms go slick when she realized that she hadn't prepared for this.

"Sorry it's . . . um . . . a mess." Lindy anxiously grabbed a stuffed bear off of her bed and tossed it beneath, knowing humiliation would find her if Kurt stumbled upon something strange.

He didn't seem to be weirded out in the slightest. On the contrary, Kurt appeared to be totally enthralled by Lindy's bedroom, his eyes roving the area with admiration.

"I like how you've decorated the place," he commented, brushing his fingers along a creased poster advertising The Reading Festival, circa nineteen-seventy-five.

"It's cluttered, but it's home," Lindy granted with a shrug.

Kurt absentmindedly drifted over to Lindy's dresser where her diploma sat. He picked it up, opening and closing it before setting it back down. His brain was turning over something that he had wanted to make clear to Lindy since earlier that morning.

"Lindy, I want you to know something. I know I haven't always acted like it, but I want you to feel like you can share your success with me. You don't have to hide your accomplishments when I'm around."

"What do you mean?" Lindy asked, confused.

"I mean that you didn't want to wear that yellow graduation thing today because it meant you were smart. Smarter than me, no doubt. I know you know I'll be the first to shit on anyone with an education. But that doesn't matter with you. I want you to be better than me, Lindy. I want you to go farther than I'll ever go."

Lindy leaned the backs of her knees against her bed, clasping her hands at the small of her back. She felt guilty that Kurt had caught her trying to cover up the truth. And apparently, it had affected him quite more than she had thought.

"I can agree to that. But me going farther than you? That's not going to happen. You're going to be the world's favorite rock star, Kurt."

Kurt frowned. "Maybe if I was, then it would be me paying for your school and not anyone else."

"You do enough already," Lindy insisted, touching his face and sensing his jealousy over Trae's benevolent gift to her.

"No, I don't. Don't you understand? I want to do everything for you. And I can't and it kills me. If this band thing takes off, just know that you will always be cared for on my part, okay?"

Lindy couldn't will herself to protest. Kurt spoke with so much passion that she didn't dare contradict him. It was clear that he wanted to take care of her, similarly to the way she wanted to take care of him. Nobody in his life had done that — simply cared. Now it was his turn to enjoy the feeling of loving someone enough to tend to them. 

"Okay," Lindy agreed.

Kurt appeared satisfied with her answer, taking a deep breath before continuing to lope around her room with curiosity. He paused by some things, even stopping to glance at a few pictures taped to her mirror.

"Would you look at this?" Kurt approached Lindy's hand-me-down guitar from Trae, picking it up by it's neck.

"Don't play it!" Lindy warned, knowing Kurt couldn't resist playing any instrument that fell into his hands.

"I'm not, I'm not. But I wish you would."

"Another time," Lindy offered with a smile, figuring he would give anything to hear what hidden skills she may have had up her sleeve. 

Kurt placed the guitar back gently, stepping back and thinking to himself. Finally he spoke, his voice quieter than before.

"And yet, I didn't think I could love you more."

Lindy felt a sudden flash of heat on her skin, as if the sun had replaced the moon and caused her body to burn beneath its blistering warmth. Maybe her ears deceived her, but she swore she had heard Kurt say the word love.

"You love me?" she whispered. Her voice cracked around the word and she felt small, small in the way a child could be, standing in front of him wearing only her night-shirt. 

Kurt turned to face her, his face stricken with a mixture of fear and embarrassment. It had been a long, long time since he had ever felt feelings of love. And even then, he wasn't sure if it had been love back then.

"I do love you. I love you very much."

"I love you too," Lindy replied, her declaration firm and full of truth. She had never known romantic love before, but with Kurt, it came easy. She was sure that ever since the day she had met him, she would love him. It was an inevitable thing, something she cherished.

Kurt took a few steps, getting closer to where Lindy stood. As he did this, Lindy became very aware of the fact that she wasn't wearing any pants. Her sleep shirt just barely grazed past her backside. The thought made her face grow hot.

"I love you enough to ask that you don't ever leave me, okay? No matter what happens with your schooling or where you end up for a job or if I have to go somewhere far away for the band. Don't leave me, Lindy. Okay?"

Lindy closed the gap between them, unable to resist feeling his skin on hers in that moment. They were so close that she could feel his breath on her face, warm and soft like a caress.

"I won't ever leave," she assured him, feeling her stomach turn with nervous anticipation when Kurt slid his hand around her waist.

"I love you," she added, reveling in the way those three words rolled off of her tongue.

Kurt didn't respond. His body language said it all as he pressed his lips to Lindy's, pulling her to him so that her body curved into his. Lindy felt a thrill as he did, gaining the confidence to kiss him more intensely than she ever had. All she wanted was him. In the midst of her happiness, she had to have Kurt.

Tentatively, Kurt allowed his hands to snake under Lindy's shirt, gliding past her hips and back. Lindy's breath hitched in her throat, but she continued on, knotting her fingers in Kurt's blonde hair as his hands pressed into the bare skin of her back. 

In a tangle of movement, they were on her bed, Kurt rolling on top of her. She didn't stop him, hoping he couldn't hear her heart racing or tell how achingly bad she wanted him.

He kissed her neck softly. "Is this . . . okay?" he asked timidly. He was a gentleman to her, even when his burning need was so palpable that she could feel it coming off of his body in hot ripples. 

"Yes, of course," Lindy breathed, shivering at the feel of his mouth touching her so tenderly.

Kurt began to continue, but a thought struck Lindy suddenly and she grabbed his arm.

"Wait. I have to tell you something." Her nerves were rattling as she broached a truth she feared to say aloud.

"What is it?" Kurt brushed back her hair so that he could gaze clearly into her eyes. 

"I . . . I, um, I haven't done this before," Lindy admitted, averting her eyes as she finished her sentence. It was something that she had never been ashamed of until now, especially when she chose to disclose it in the heat of the moment. 

"Do you want it to be with me?" Kurt asked her gently.

"Very badly," she whispered in response, pressing her fingers into his back, urging him not to stop.

"If you were wondering . . . I've, erm, done this before, but this time it's different for me," Kurt confessed, hoping he didn't sound like every other male with a sex drive. It was Lindy's turn to stroke the length of his face affectionately, staring into his blue eyes with love.

"I want you," she affirmed, hurrying to no longer linger on such an awkward subject. She felt more confident than she ever had, lying there with Kurt, and she silently clutched him closer and found his lips again as they continued on, Kurt's arms never loosening their hold around her.

[ WOAH okay i could barely get through this chapter as i am NO good at writing sexual scenes at all. i don't always see kurt *sexually* so this was nerve wracking to write, but nonetheless, i hope you guys enjoy! ]