AFTER LEAVING SONY Music Studios, Lindy was thoroughly disappointed that she could not congratulate nor embrace Kurt at the end of such a spectacular performance.

Instead, she was shunted out of the building with the rest of the crowd, except she was surprised to see a town car waiting for her. The driver held a sign that read 'Clayton' and she had turned beet red upon seeing it. 

Once inside the car, Lindy folded her hands in her lap, staring out the window and into the dazzling lights of the city. The sound and memory of Kurt on stage was playing on a constant circuit in her head and no matter how hard she tried to savor the glitz of New York City's night life, all she could do was replay the evening bit by bit.

"Good show?" the driver called from the front seat, glimpsing at Lindy in his rear view mirror.

She smiled. "The best I've ever seen."

She was dropped off in front of The Peninsula and as soon as she stepped out of the car, a helpful doorman held open the huge glass door ahead for her. Feeling almost like an undeserving movie star, Lindy thanked the man graciously and went up to her room. She was living someone else's life and she was sure of it. 

Even if it had all worked out between her and Kurt, just the way she had idealized it in the beginning, this isn't what she would have admittedly wanted. After the show, she would have preferred to sneak off with Kurt to the closest fast food restaurant before retiring to a motel to watch cartoons. There would have been no ritz and glamour in their lives. Having each other would have been enough.

When Lindy entered her room, the entire space illuminated by the handsome gold light that she had left on before leaving, she debated what she wanted to do next. She could have showered and went to bed, she supposed. Getting out of her tight dress would certainly be a priority.

Yet, her body was abuzz with energy, an effect of the aftermath of the show. Everything was so real and bright. The fact that the man she had watched sing so gloriously was the same man that she loved felt exhilarating. She was not only the luckiest girl in New York City that night, but the luckiest girl in the world. 

After a few moments of standing there catching her breath, she decided that she wanted to see the city, even if it only proved to be overhyped. She had no idea when the next time that she'd see New York would be.

As Lindy stripped off her dress and exchanged it for jeans and a sweater, she found herself wishing that she'd packed a disposable camera — Beth would definitely require photographic evidence that the weekend had indeed been real. And next to that, she would have never believed that Lindy had actually stayed at such an expensive hotel, free of charge.

Lindy walked back downstairs, avoiding people's eyes as they surveyed her selection of clothes. While everyone else in the lobby was dressed to the nines, her shabby attire stood out in clear contrast. She thought of Kurt again and smiled. 

Walking out into the night, Lindy wondered how she'd manage to hail a cab. Once again she was referring to what she'd seen in the movies and always had the characters in each one made it look easy. The only intimidating part was the speed with which each taxi whizzed by with.

In a stroke of luck, one of the yellow cars idled up to the sidewalk, the center light on its hood popping on in indication that it was about to be unoccupied. Lindy, her hands tucked into her UW sweatshirt pockets, walked toward the cabbie's passenger side window to ask for the ride.

She stopped abruptly when she saw who was exiting the back of the cab.

Kurt was stepping out into the sidewalk, wearing the same jeans from the MTV Unplugged performance, but now also donning a flannel and heavy coat. On his head was a trapper hat that obscured most of his face. Lindy wouldn't have been able to identity him if it weren't for the fact that she knew him so well, even when he was wearing his idea of a disguise. 

"What the hell," Kurt laughed easily, looking startled as he too realized who he was standing in front of. From inside the taxi, the cabbie looked behind his seat impatiently, waiting for Kurt to close the door.

"What are you doing?" Lindy whisper-shouted, her head whipping back and forth as she waited for a random super-fan or paparazzo to come running.

"Coming to see you, of course," Kurt said simply.

"You staying or leaving, buddy?" the cabbie shouted. Kurt saluted him with two fingers, slamming the door shut and allowing him to veer back into the busy street. He faced Lindy, his smile the biggest that it had been in ages.

"Kurt, this is crazy! What about Courtney?" Lindy asked, her voice laced with panic. As pleased as she was to see him (and she certainly was — her stomach had erupted into butterflies) she feared that his daring decision to visit her was going to fuck them both over in the worst way imaginable.

"No worries there," Kurt said. "She left with her heels blazing when we got back to our hotel. Didn't even say where she was headed. All I knew was that it meant I could come see you."

"People will see us," Lindy whispered urgently as Kurt stepped forward towards her. The door man was looking at them, waiting for a cue to welcome them inside.

"Linds, this is New York City. No one here gives a shit or bothers to stop when they recognize celebrities or whatever the fuck you call them. Trust me, no one will know and no one will care."

Kurt was close enough to Lindy to take her into his arms, sliding his fingers against the worn material of her sweatshirt and staring into her honey-flecked brown eyes. The second that they touched, Lindy felt an impassioned urge to kiss him.

"Let's not go in there at least," Lindy reasoned as Kurt inched closer to her. She didn't want to look over her shoulder and risk seeing the stares that she knew they were receiving.

"Okay. Let's walk," Kurt agreed. He wrapped his hand into hers, giving her a small tug as he began to lead her down the sidewalk. The night was filled with the sounds of rushing cars, honking horns and distant sirens.

"We shouldn't —," Lindy began, once more terrified of the risk of being seen with Kurt.

"Lindy, please trust me. Let's just enjoy this night together, okay?" Kurt interrupted, stopping them both so he could look into Lindy's face. When she looked back, she told herself that this was better than knowing what Kurt would be doing if he were alone. East-coast heroin was just as enticing as what he was served back home . . .

"Okay," Lindy finally obliged, feeling Kurt tighten his grip on her hand once more before he pulled her into the night.

_________

It turned out that Kurt had been incredibly right in saying that no one noticed him on the streets of New York. If they did, they gave no sign that they cared. Most of the people occupying the sidewalks walked fast, their heads inclined into their scarves and sweaters as they fought the bitter nip in the air.

It was an absolute dream for Lindy.

Never had she thought that she and Kurt would be able to leisurely take strolls together but despite the odds, there they were, walking down Broadway in Times Square with the gleam of lights shining down on them. The only thing that could have made the night better was if they were in Seattle. The grandeur of New York made the whole ordeal feel less real, as if she had just dreamed it up. 

"Pizza," Kurt insisted at one point, dragging Lindy into a hole-in-the-wall pizza parlor emblazoned with the name 'Joe's Pizza.' Inside, they were treated to two large slices of cheese pizza and Cokes. They sat by the window as they ate, watching people pass by.

"I didn't expect to be doing this tonight," Lindy admitted as she took a bite of her slice. Kurt smiled.

"Me neither. But I'm glad that I am."

"You did so amazing," Lindy told him gently. She had been waiting all night to tell him so.

"Yeah, well, thanks to you."

"No. That was all you Kurt. It had nothing to do with me."

"Yes it did," Kurt said seriously, his blue eyes gazing at her. "It had everything to do with you."

She let him win the battle as they finished eating and returned outside. Although it was late, the streets remained bustling and Lindy took pleasure in the idea that she and Kurt could walk the city all night if they wanted. It meant that she would have more time to enjoy him all to herself.

"Do you like it?" Kurt asked as he watched Lindy crane her neck upwards, squinting against the Times Square lights.

"It's not home," she said.

"I know exactly what you mean."

Together they continued their wandering, crossing various streets and avenues hand in hand. It was amazing to Lindy that no one stopped them. She was reminded of how she felt during the Unplugged session, like she and Kurt were the only two people in the room. Now, it was as if they were the only two people in New York City.

They ended up in Central Park, empty of its usual bustle of people and barely lit in the nighttime. The surrounding buildings managed to shed a little light on the park but it was otherwise consumed by the deep night sky. Its emptiness was something that Lindy found romantic and convenient as she and Kurt began to walk down a winding path.

"I really can't thank you enough for coming tonight, Lindy."

Lindy smiled at Kurt. "Of course. I wouldn't have missed it."

"I want you to know that even if you had missed it, I would have loved you all the same. I know that I was an ass about this kind of stuff back in the day, but I would have respected if you hadn't been able to show up. I'm grateful you did though."

"You know what I'm grateful for? That we're doing this right now."

Lindy waved her hands around the park, appreciating the scenic way that it encased them both in another world, one that was beautiful and absent of the problems they had back home in Seattle.

"I know. I'm glad Courtney left. I was so damn excited when she walked out that door."

"Any idea where she was off to?"

Kurt and Lindy sat down at a bench that faced a pond, its black water intermingled with ice chunks. On the bench, they kept their hands entangled.

"Sort of. I think it may have something to do with Billy Corgan."

"From The Smashing Pumpkins?" Lindy said, confused.

"Yeah," Kurt laughed hollowly. "It's just a theory though. All I'm saying is I find it odd that he ended up in the city at the same time as us."

"Coincidences happen," Lindy said, finding it strange that she would try to excuse the incident even though she half-hoped it to be true. She felt slightly ashamed at her readiness to paint Courtney as the villain when she herself was no better. 

"Nah. She and Corgan go way back. It doesn't matter, though."

Lindy pondered this, quietly keeping her eyes trained on the still pond as Kurt lit a cigarette. It's burning orange embers lit the space around them.

"So . . . would that mean that you and I . . . would be able . . ."

Lindy trailed off, reluctant to say exactly what she was thinking. She feared that if she spoke it into existence, it was sure to not come true.

"I don't think we can. Not yet," Kurt replied sadly. "It's not just an eye for an eye situation with Courtney. She's got to be the winner who comes out on top every time. And I know in this case, she'd play it up as the victim and then make sure I'd never see Frances again."

"I just want it to be like this all the time," Lindy whispered, sliding her fingers deeper into the spaces between Kurt's. "I want to be able to see you after your show and eat pizza and walk around a random city knowing we'll get lost. I want that with you."

Kurt remained silent, puffing on his cigarette and fighting back the heavy pain he felt knowing he could not easily grant Lindy's wishes. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side.

"Lindy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm so sorry for what I did to you. And what I'm doing to you. I'm so fucking sorry."

Lindy thought she heard a stammering jolt in Kurt's voice, a sure sign that he was near tears, but she was pressed to stop them before they came. There would be another time for that discussion, but all Lindy knew was that she didn't want it to be now. The night was going perfectly and she would stop anything from ruining it.

With careful fingers, Lindy took Kurt's cigarette from his mouth and threw it to the ground. For the first time that night, she fixed her grip on his chin and tilted her lips against his, kissing him deeply with the desire that she had felt since seeing him on stage at Sony. Not even the cold weather could have simmered the warmth that flared up inside her body.

"It will be okay," she murmured. "I love you."

"I love you," Kurt said back, but his voice broke on the word 'you.' He was too busy trying to find her mouth again, to claw his hands into her hair and hold her close.

It was not before long that they'd rushed back to her hotel, laughing and tripping over their own feet as they flew down the sidewalks back towards Fifth Avenue. All the pain, including the anger and remorse that Lindy had endured was far off in the distance, if not completely gone from that very night. What replaced it was the sort of joy she'd been seeking her whole life. Of course she had found it in Kurt. 

Once they were the past The Peninsula's doorman and the prying eyes of the front desk employee, Kurt and Lindy took refuge in an elevator where they immediately locked their bodies together in embrace. Lindy could not kiss him fast or hard enough and she was startled by his strength when he half-lifted her against the elevator wall with his hand hooked under thigh.

In her hotel room, Kurt performed at an impeccable speed when it came to removing not only his clothes but Lindy's as well. They laid discarded on the floor as Kurt's hands found themselves pressed against Lindy's bare skin, pushing her back gently on the bed. Her body reflected warmth against his own. He would have never been able to tell that they'd just been in the New York cold and was almost positive that the heat between them both could have kept the city warm for the rest of winter. 

As much as he wanted to move slowly, savoring the moment forever, Kurt could barely contain himself as he clutched a fistful of Lindy's hair and pulled gently, groaning with pleasure when she uttered a soft cry.

They continued on into the night, Kurt asserting his control and keeping Lindy's body beneath his as he exerted every ounce of his love for her into his movement, convinced that if his world were to end anytime soon, he would die happy.