what would you say?

So far, 2013 is looking to be a far better year than 2012 ever was. With Henry IV, Part 1 on the horizon and a shiny ring on his finger, Kurt can't help the extra spring in his step as he goes about his day, trying his best to manage it all— a healthy relationship with his fiancé, advancement in his art, and balancing the many friendships that he enjoys on the island. Today, his ventures include trying to perfect the art of no-bake cheesecake on an island where many of the ingredients are fairly scarce.

Fortunately, the bookshelf decided to cut him some slack, offering up recipes for vegan cheesecakes. But when his finished product sits on his kitchen counter, Kurt can't help but think that he'd prefer to have someone to share it with, good or bad.

Biting down on his lips, he glances through the empty cottage, knowing that Blaine isn't due back for hours yet. Instead, Kurt bounces on over to Billy and Teddy's place, hoping that one of them is home.

(It's really nice having them so close by.)

"Anyone willing to brave some questionable pastries with me?" he asks, knocking sharply on their door.

lucy takes the long way home

If there's one great weakness that Kurt feels, going into Henry IV, it's his combat skills.

Rote memorization of lines and proper inflection has never been an issue for Kurt, who has often looked at life as though from a great distance, finding it easier to think of himself as a character in a story rather than living everything out so closely, so personally, feeling the sting of rejection. He's lost himself in countless stories, preferring to run as far as he can from the narrow high school halls he's spent years in.

He can slide his way into another skin without any problems.

But there are some practical skills that he lacks, and self-defense may just be one of them.

He sits on the beach, on the very fringes of the sand, where the trees offer ample shade from above. There's a scene that he has in this play which requires a quick spar and a death, and there just doesn't seem to be enough time in initial rehearsals to worry about his form. Still, he carries a play sword and tries to swing it about, feeling its weight and trying to think of it as a weapon.

It's not really working.

Sighing, Kurt plops his way down in the sand and stares at an array of swordfighting books around him, hoping for some sort of clue. It's difficult when the pictures printed there don't move.

so hang me out to dry

Even though Kurt was doing his best to keep up with his overly ambitious schedule, there were days when he wanted to do nothing more than laze out on the trampoline. He had patterns to make, brunch recipes to plan, a part to rehearse, and a fiancé to consider, but something about that morning was just too much for Kurt to process, and so he laid out on top of the trampoline right outside of the Compound.

Just thinking.

Five minutes turned into ten, then ten into half an hour, and he could only stare at the unrelenting blue of the sky, fingers rubbing along the gold band on his finger.

It was a good day, all things considered, but so much had happened in the past couple of months that Kurt felt incapable of focus.

Licking his lips, he glanced up as he heard steps approach, brow arching to see if it was anyone familiar.