[ARRIVAL. CLOSED TO KURT HUMMEL] "Waiting here so long to hear your voice telling me hold on..."

[warble_on_jeff]

Who? Jeff Hinton and Kurt Hummel
Where? The beach
Time of Day: Late afternoon
Open or Closed: CLOSED

The fact that Kurt and Blaine were getting married this weekend was a fact that Jeff was thrilled about. It was no question that his friends were well deserving of finally getting their happy ending with their gorgeous wedding. They'd fought so hard together for acceptance and a fair shot, and here they were, within a week of what was sure to be the happiest day of their life, and Jeff couldn't have been happier for them.

The joy for his friends, however, didn't mean that he was ready for himself and his other half to put a ring on it just yet. Of course he was crazy about Nick. Absolutely crazy about him. In fact, he was sure that one day, when they were a little older, they'd settle down themselves to the married life. But that sure as hell didn't mean right this minute, and Jeff couldn't for the life of him understand why the fuck this was suddenly such a big deal to Nick. They'd always had a bit more of a free spirited way of looking at life. No, that didn't mean that they were willing to share with other people by any means. But it did mean that their lives weren't as "normal" as some of their friends' lives, and Jeff loved that part of things. He loved that it was nothing for them to just decide to go travel for a week or two when they both could get time off work. Something about the concept of being married negated that side of things in Jeff's mind, and it was that particular concern that had him staring at Nick in shock when he asked him what he thought about their getting married.

What had ensued had been a hell of a fight, which, when it was over and done with, Jeff would wonder about. He and Nick very rarely fought in general, and they fact that they were, and badly, had Jeff worried. Unfortunately, when worry mixed with other emotions in his mind, it just came out as more hurt, anger, and irritation. And as it got worse and intensified, Jeff knew they were both saying hurtful things... Things that weren't quite like them, and things that they would apologize for later. And when the fight finally escalated to the point that Jeff knew he was out of line, and Nick was just trying to save face, suddenly, Jeff and Nick's living room disappeared, and with it, Nick himself.

The sound of waves washing over the shore quickly replaced the sound of Nick swearing in Italian, and Jeff's dark eyes showed about ninety different levels of shocked. That wasn't one of those nature sounds CDs that Nick listened to sometimes when he was painting. That was really and legitimately the sounds of waves on the shore. But the shore of what? Where the fuck was he?

And more importantly? Where the fuck was Nick?

Holding his hand up to shade his eyes from the sun, Jeff looked around in an utter panic, before calming down, if only momentarily. This had to be a dream, right? Just a really vivid dream? Jeff had serious ADHD, and maybe it had set up camp in his REM sleep. That had to be it. Because there was no other explanation to the fact that Jeff had been standing in his living room, yelling at the love of his life, and now he was standing on a beach that looked like something out of a movie.

Comments

[justbeingaqueen]

Kurt had been in a funk for three days since his anniversary now. He had handed over the running of Aquatique (the island's only gay nightclub) to his second-in-charge, cancelled all his appointments with fashion clients, and literally spent the last three day wallowing in his misery in bed. He only got up to shower and use the bathroom, he lived on tea, booze and cigarettes, and didn't see the light of day for the full duration of his grief. Quinn had let him be for three days only, just like she always did, and then staged the typical intervention. Bitching him out until he got up, had a good breakfast, showered, and then told him to go for a walk on the beach to clear his head. Not that his head ever really was clear, but the sea air always did seem to help him find his feet again after these bouts of desperately missing Blaine to the point of being unable to function.

He had been out for over two hours now, and had found a quiet little place on the beach to sit alone. He had taken his shoes off and was sitting with his knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them in a little self hug of comfort as he watched the waves lapping on the shore, once again praying and hoping over and over again that the island would send him his husband. He would literally cut off a limb and hand it over in exchange for Blaine. In fact, there had been a few times he got drunk and even offered to do that. As it was, he held two busy jobs just to keep his mind off his loneliness. Mostly, he coped with island life and had adjusted to it, but Blaine was a constant gaping hole inside him he knew he would never get over.

And that was when his tranquil solace was abruptly interrupted. It was a noise off to Kurt's left that caught his attention and he glanced over, seeing a guy standing there who wasn't there a few moments ago. New arrival. Without a doubt. When you had been here for awhile, you tended to get used to people popping up out of nowhere. Luckily, so far, the island had never dumped anyone on top of anyone. It also meant that Kurt had to play welcoming committee - again - and he sighed, burying his face in the crook of his elbow for a moment to work up some energy for this. "Don't worry, you're not going mental, you're ju-- JEFF?!" he cut himself off with a screech of shock at finding the familiar face.

[warble_on_jeff]

As Jeff stood there, the sand underneath his bare feet and glanced around, he realized quickly that he wasn't the only person there. In fact, there were plenty of people there, albeit far from where he was standing, just having a day on the beach, and as he looked down at his t-shirt and jeans, it hit him pretty quickly that he wasn't dressed for the beach by a long shot. Then again, how were you supposed to dress for the beach if you didn't know you were going to the beach? It really wasn't a fashion faux pas he could blame himself for, was it? Not when he'd been standing in his apartment with his boyfriend only seconds ago.

Still, in the few seconds he'd been away from Nick, Jeff had cooled off, and he needed to say he was sorry. He'd seen the hurt in his boyfriend's face as they'd fought, and he knew that he'd put it there, and he owed Nick an apology. But where the hell was Nick? What the fuck was going on? People didn't randomly just end up standing on beaches. Which left him right back at square one, where he started, convinced this whole thing had to be a dream. It had to be, right? Stuff like this didn't just happen to people... That was a ridiculous thing to even think. Clearly he at some bad food or something last night and his mind was paying him back for torturing his body like that.

And that was when he heard it. A voice he would've known anywhere, and his blonde hair flipped to one side as he turned in the direction the voice had come from. "Kurt?!" he exclaimed, running down the beach to the other man with a sigh of relief. "Kurt, dude, am I ever glad to see you... What the hell's going on? Where's Nicky?!"

[justbeingaqueen]

Kurt peered up at Jeff, trying to analyse when he was from. Another bi-product of the island, people tended to wonder when you were from as opposed to where first up. He blinked and rubbed his hand over his face, his brain not ready to catch up to this yet. That was when his wedding ring caught the tip of his nose and he was abruptly reminded of Blaine's absence. Wait. How the fuck?! How was this even fucking fair?! "Fucking hell! Why the fuck can't you be Blaine? It's not to much to ask, is it?!" He stopped threw his hands up at the air, yelling up towards the sky. "I fucking hate you all, bitches! Why can't you just bring me my husband?! You bring everyone fucking else! You bring Jeff! Goddamnit! Fuck... just fuck!"

He couldn't help it. He was reacting before thinking and he was seriously aching that someone else they knew had come and not Blaine. He stood up then, not even bothering to brush the sand from his clothing, and started to pace backwards and forwards on the spot. Tears pricked his eyes, but he blinked them back and had to take even a little longer to swallow the forming lump in his throat. He meant nothing against Jeff, even if his rude tirade made it sound like he did. It was just that it wasn't like Kurt could ever go home to Blaine, so he had to keep hoping Blaine would come here. This was beyond a kick in the nuts to him and he kicked at a stray seashell, pissed off as he once again went through the stages of grief at a rapid pace. Now he just had to wait for acceptance to come in.

"The Nick you left is highly unlikely to be the one I can tell you about," he had to finally state, giving Jeff another glance. He stopped pacing and looked at Jeff, throwing his hands up helplessly. "Why can't you be Blaine?" he asked in a small whimper.

[warble_on_jeff]

Well, that hadn't exactly been the reception Jeff was hoping for, although he really hadn't had enough time to expect or hope for any kind of reception at all. He was honestly just freaked out at this point, because maybe it wasn't a dream, and the sand was hot under his feet to the point that he was pretty damned sure it couldn't be fake. But then Kurt was ranting at him for not being Blaine, and Jeff just put up his hands, trying to stop him. "Kurt... What are you talking about?! Where are we? I was just... Nicky and I... We were fighting, and..." He paused. Kurt had just called Blaine his husband... Not fiance. Husband. "Your... Your husband?" he asked, confusion written all over his face. "You mean fiance, right?"

There was something unsettling in Kurt's reaction to Jeff's appearance, though, and in the midst of trying not to freak out, Jeff was also trying to figure out why Kurt was freaking out. What the fuck was going on? He was confused, and now he was being yelled... about? Not necessarily at, but certainly about, and he couldn't figure out what the hell he needed to do, or if there was any way to get Kurt to calm down. And honestly, he tried not to be hurt, but that wasn't really working for him either.

Jeff tilted his head to one side in confusion, Kurt's comments making no sense to him whatsoever. What did he mean the Nick he could tell him about and the Nick he left? Nick was Nick, there weren't two of him. Unless this really was some fucked up dream and just a damn realistic one. Some fucked up dream where there were two Nicks? Jeff loved Nick dearly, but that didn't mean he would have a clue what to do with two Nicks. "Kurt, I was... I was standing in my kitchen with Nicky, and we were... we were having a fight, and then it all just disappeared... Fuck, I'm losing my mind!"

[justbeingaqueen]

Kurt wanted to cry. God, did he ever want to cry. He wanted to sink to his knees in the sand and just sob. It was like he was losing Blaine all over again. It had been awhile since anyone from home had shown up on the island. Mike, Puck and Quinn had already been here when Kurt got here, then Nick came about a year after Kurt. Sam had been there for a short time, showing up after his father lost his job, but he had only been there about three months before he was gone again. This was just like an ultimate kick in the nuts for Kurt. All he wanted was Blaine, and it was like some sick joke that the island kept sending everyone but. He had nothing against Jeff at all. They had been close friends back home, but he just wasn't Blaine, and Kurt felt a heavy, hot aching pain inside that caused him to stop pacing and just stand there hugging his arms tightly around himself like a shield.

"You're not losing your mind. You're just... in a suspending reality, I guess. I know, very sci-fi," he began, though his voice was a little shaky and choked around that lump in his throat. "This is Être libre. It's a tropical island, and no one really knows where. Somewhere near France is the favoured theory because of the name, but no one really knows. It's a magical island, I guess is probably the best explanation. Somehow, it grabs people from their lives and pulls them here from a moment where they need an escape. Something happens in your life, and the island decides you need a time out from it. It brings you here. No one knows exactly how we get here, and you can't leave until the island deems you ready. It could be days... other people have been here for entire lifetimes and never make it home. People here can come from different times in their lives. You can leave and come back, but you won't have any memory of having been here before. The islanders will, but you adjust to that. You might arrive here now... but someone from your life might arrive two days later and be ten years older than you. It's pretty fucked up, but I guarantee, it's really happening to you."

There was a pause, and he watched Jeff quietly for a moment. "You're here from a time before mine. Y-You're before I di-- before Blaine and me got married."

[warble_on_jeff]

Jeff couldn't help noticing the look on Kurt's face, and he shook his head, for a moment there almost feeling bad about the fact that he wasn't Blaine. But it wasn't as if he could help it, and he just stood there, looking helplessly at Kurt and wondering if he was just going to have to stand here looking like a moron because Kurt was upset with him for not being Blaine.

"That doesn't make any sense," Jeff protested. And it didn't. In fact, he'd only thought he was crazy before. But now, here was Kurt telling him that this wasn't a dream, but reality, if a very strange reality, and he was nearly certain. "Kurt, I need to go home right now and apologize to Nicky. They can't just... keep me here against my will! That's illegal, right? It's..." And suddenly, no matter how much he thought he was going crazy, and how convinced he was that this was some figment of his imagination, he needed to know where Nick was and where he'd come from in time.

Jeff nodded in response to Kurt. "Yeah... You guys are... or... were? I don't know... When I was home, it was the weekend before your wedding. And Nicky was with me. But... I need you to tell me... Where's Nicky from now? Is it going to freak him out to see me? Because I need to see him." He needed to apologize, and the truth was, he was already missing Nick... maybe more so than he would've before because of the guilt and worry that he'd pushed that little step too far this time.

[justbeingaqueen]

Kurt couldn't fight it any more and a stray tear slipped down his cheek which he brushed away as soon as it dared to fall. He wet his lips and cleared his throat, still fighting to keep his emotions as in check as he could. It was honestly like he was grieving losing Blaine all over again and he wasn't coping so well. "Life doesn't make sense," was his eventual response. "And it's full of things we will never, ever be able to explain. Like people losing their lives before their time, like finding yourself in a strange place you never knew existed. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist just because you never knew. And I can assure you, Jeff, this place is very, very real. It's not easy coming here, and dealing with being dumped in a new place all at once, but that's the purpose. To seize you out of a moment and bring you here to pause and reassess."

"No one is keeping you. You can try to find your way home, but I wouldn't recommend it. It will possess you, and the longer you fight the escape, and the time out on your life, the longer it will probably keep you here. You will have a way home. The only way you don't is if you died and if you made it to our wedding, then that's not the case. The best advice I can give you is to just accept it and adjust. It's a beautiful place, it has everything any inhabitant will need, and then some. It's a luxury island, but like any place, it has it's share of forbidden things. It's a fully functional society all of its own. You adapt... or you try..."

He let out a slow breath, feeling the sun burn his nose yet again. "I'm stuck here. This is home now. And I think it's more going to be you who freaks when you see him. But you need to check in first so the island can log you in, give you a place to stay, and cater for you. You have six weeks on the island to survive to your heart's content. After that, you need to find a way to support yourself."

[warble_on_jeff]

There was so much in what Kurt was saying that Jeff wasn't sure how to respond to it. It was very clear from the other man's body language that he wasn't just making a generalization, but how Jeff was supposed to take it, he really couldn't know. Had something bad happened in what was Jeff's future, and Kurt's past? But then, what could've happened? They were a few days from Kurt and Blaine's wedding, and Jeff knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was nothing on earth that could've kept those two away from each other on their wedding day. "But... But what good does it do to bring me here if I won't remember anyway?"

"So, it's like a really fucked up vacation?" Jeff asked, trying to wrap his mind around the seven millions shades of crazy that this whole situation was. But just as he was starting to get a grip on that, Kurt spoke again, and while Jeff could be a little slow on the take, this particular time, he was pretty sure he was getting the drift.

Still, it was silently and with wide eyes that Jeff turned to look at Kurt. Wait... this couldn't be right, could it? He was in the middle of trying to somehow convince himself that he'd misunderstood when his mouth opened, seemingly of its own accord, and he just looked at Kurt and blurted out, "Kurt... Are you dead?"

[justbeingaqueen]

Kurt could only shrug at this. "I wish I had the answers, but no one really knows what happens when we go back. No one knows if we remember it when we get back there, or if we return to the place with a more empowered strength to deal with what brought us here in the first place. All we know is that if we come back, we don't remember being here before..." He trailed off and then gave a dry, humourless laugh. "Listen to me going on as if I even have the ability to any of that. Fuck, this place can really screw with your head when you're having an off day."

"Sure. Only it's not really fucked up. The place is amazing, and you probably couldn't afford a lifestyle like this that you get back home. But it's weird. It's confusing. People you knew back home are different here, from different times, with different memories. They're still the same people deep down, but not as you know them. That's the bit that fucks with your head. Then there is the added downside that they might not remember you as you are back there, or you might find yourself wanting people here who haven't been brought here."

That was when he stopped quietly and just gazed and Jeff in silence for a few passing moments. He was going to find out sooner or later. "I was murdered at our wedding. Shot. I died in Blaine's arms. The island sucked me here right before I took my last breaths and dumped me right at the feet of a doctor who saved my life here. I died back there because I didn't have the medical help I needed quick enough. But yeah, I'm dead. No going back for me. You can't go back to a corpse."

[warble_on_jeff]

"That... I don't understand..." was the only reply Jeff had to any of this, lame though it was. "Kurt, I don't get it. I need to apologize to Nicky. I need to tell him I'm sorry for being a jerk. He looked like he wanted to cry, Kurt, and it was all my fault. I was being an asshole." But if Nick here wasn't his Nick, it wasn't exactly like he could apologize for what he'd done, was it? Nick probably didn't even know about it yet... Or it had been ages ago for him. One or the other.

"I mean... The beach is beautiful, and I'm sure it's great and everything, but my... Do you know when Nicky came from? I need to talk to him... Or something. I don't... I don't know." He listened carefully to Kurt, trying to wrap his mind around this whole thing without being assured that he was going fucking nuts.

Jeff couldn't help it. His jaw literally dropped, and he stood there, staring at Kurt in shock and horror. "K... Kurt, no... No. Who the hell would murder somebody on their fucking wedding day? Why?" He shook his head as if somehow, if he shook it hard enough, the knowledge of what Kurt said wouldn't be true. "I'm so sorry," he finally said, feeling like he was choking.

[justbeingaqueen]

Kurt was choking up again. That lump never seemed to be very far before it was lodging itself back there and making it hard to speak or even breathe. He tried to give a heavy swallow to at least bypass it, but it was impossible and he couldn't respond at first. He kept walking beside Jeff, leading him up to the resort and even kept going when Jeff stopped walking. His eyes were trained again and his lips tightened just a little. "My murderer, apparently," he eventually managed, but it was choked up and he cleared his throat. "A gang on homophobes from the town over. We went back home to Lima to get married. I only know because Puck told me. He came from two years after my death. They caught them. So I guess that's something. I've never been able to shake the fear that they might have gone back for Blaine. Maybe they intended to get us both, but it was a botched job. I don't know..."

He led them up the sandy steps from the beach to the resort and the large, sprawling luxurious pool with lounges and tables with umbrellas dotted around the perimeter. He was about to continue speaking, when his eyes suddenly fell on a couple of people just up in the distance leaning against a wall around the corner from the poolside bar, and he baulked. He came to an abrupt stopped so quickly, Jeff bumped into him and Kurt had to close his eyes briefly at the bad timing of the whole thing. There was Nick and Quinn in a loving embrace, kissing leisurely, and he would recognise Quinn's happy giggle anywhere.

He drew in a small breath and wet his lips, glancing apologetically at Jeff who had now come up beside him and was just locking eyes on the scene in the distance. "I'm sorry, darling. Nick's from Dalton time. Your sophomore year, I believe. He's been here about ten years or so now, so he's aged to his mid-twenties, but he doesn't know anything. He wasn't even aware of Blaine and me hooking up but he knows now. But he doesn't know about you guys. He came from before you were anything but best friends."

[warble_on_jeff]

Jeff stared at Kurt in shocked horror. The very idea of someone carrying that much hate in their heart, that they would be willing to kill someone on their wedding day, shook to the core Jeff's faith in humanity. Jeff had always lived his life with optimism... a sunshiney outlook on things, that people were, on the whole, good, and that things would always turn out okay in the end. This, though? This pretty much put an end to that thought process altogether. "I just... I can't even imagine... Kurt, I'm so sorry." Sorry sounded like a stupid thing to say in this circumstance. He immediately found himself wondering what Blaine must have gone through when Kurt died. Was Blaine going to be okay? No... No, Jeff knew that answer. Knew it all too well.

The fact of the matter was, Jeff really had no other options, having no idea where he was, so he followed Kurt toward the resort, hoping he'd get a chance to find Nick soon and talk to him. This whole crazy mess was making his head hurt, and Jeff was prone to migraines, a plight he'd shared with Blaine over the years. He really hoped this wouldn't turn into one, because he couldn't handle that on top of trying to figure this whole thing out. He didn't mean to run into Kurt, but he was trying not to trip on the stairs. For a dancer, Jeff could be incredibly clumsy in normal movement. But when he looked up, nothing could've prepared him for what he saw.

He just looked at Kurt, tears filling his eyes. This couldn't be right. This had to be a bad dream. Nick loved him, not Quinn. This whole thing was just wrong, and Jeff felt relatively sure he was going to bawl his eyes out. "That's my... That's not right... This... This isn't right..." he protested, shaking his head as he stared at Kurt, as if trying to focus hard enough that it wouldn't be true anymore. "Nicky and I... We've been together for ages... He... He doesn't know that we're..." It was stupid, and Jeff realized he was more or less regurgitating everything Kurt had just said, but it wasn't making a connection in his brain, and he wanted to cry. "I want to go home..." he murmured, though he realized that saying that was an almost childish thing at this point.

[justbeingaqueen]

Kurt gave just a slight shake of his head and wet his lips. "It doesn't matter. I don't actually remember it happening. I only remember the wedding before it, getting ready to leave. Actually being shot, killed, or how it felt, I don't have recollection of it, which is something. Other people do, though, and I know that's hard for them. The worst part for me has always been knowing that Blaine was left back there in the wake of it, trying to cope with it. At least, I think he got left. He might have been killed too but no one has actually told me that. Maybe to protect me. Sometimes, I just want to know everything that happened to him back there, but other times, knowing I can't get to him, I think it would kill me. It's hard to even function some days without him."

But after witnessing this, Kurt knew how Jeff had to be feeling. The same way he would feel if Blaine showed up on the island married to someone else and was getting his snog on with them right in front of him. He stepped up to Jeff and put his arm around his shoulders with a squeeze. "I wish I could take you, Jeff. I would if I could. How about you just come up to the resort with me and we'll take it from there. I'd offer for you to stay with us at the bungalows, but I... well, I live with Quinn. Nick doesn't know he ever dated you, darling. When he came from school, no one ever really knew how to tell him once we started arriving from different times. From what the others have told me, too, Nick didn't even talk much about his sexuality when he first got here. Now he's out as bi, but he's been with Quinn since I got here."

[warble_on_jeff]

Coming from the time he came from, Jeff clearly had no memory of Kurt's death, because it hadn't happened yet. But he honest to God couldn't imagine Blaine without Kurt. It was like imagining the sky without the sun or something... Kurt was a fundamental part of Blaine. One didn't exist without the other in Jeff's mind. His heart ached for the loss that he knew his friends were going through without each other here by their sides. Blaine back in the real world without Kurt, and Kurt stuck here on this island without Blaine, never knowing if he'd show or not. "I guess... It's better that you don't remember all of that. I mean, it would have to just be... fucking horrible."

Jeff's heart sank as Kurt explained everything, and he just shook his head, wishing that this all didn't hurt so much. If this island was where you went to escape for a little while, to get your head on straight, why the fuck would it drop him right into seeing his boyfriend wrapped in the arms of someone else, looking totally and completely content... maybe even in love? He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, feeling for all the world like he was going to cry as Kurt led the way. "Get me out of here, Kurt... Take me somewhere that I can be alone. Please."