The awkwardness of the whole scene was really getting to Jeff. He'd never handled awkward very well, usually ending up trying to talk more to escape the awkward, but in turn making it that much worse. He was getting the distinct feeling that the more he talked, the worse he was going to make things here, and he didn't really know how to respond to that. This was Nick. He had never in their entire time of knowing each other struggled to know how to talk to him, except for the period of time that had apparently led to Nick's arrival here. After they'd slept together for the first time, when both of them had shared a room, but almost actively avoided one another because neither of them knew what to say. After everything had gone down with Blaine, they'd realized quickly how damn important it was to keep from fucking things up further with anyone they cared about. That had been what led to the talk that would more or less become their defining of the relationship as what it went on to be. "You just... you learn to appreciate people more because they're all you have, huh? You treasure what you have because they're the people who matter the most."

"I... I saw him here," Jeff offered, glancing over at Nick before his eyes returned to watch the waves lapping at the sand. "I never thought I'd see Kurt Hummel with a tan, but I guess the beach does things for a guy. I just... I can't imagine what that must have been like. How scared he must've been... How scared you must've been. He forgave us all, you know. Even Sebastian. He's kind of friends with us all these days. You probably wouldn't even know him. He misses Blaine a lot. I knew that as soon as I got here. I was getting ripped a new asshole from the second I got here for not being Blaine. But he kinda recovered and ended up helping me out a lot. But you're right. There's just... It's like there's a card that he just won't lay on the table, no matter what.

Nothing really could've prepared Jeff for the question that Nick asked him then. He'd been so careful, trying to avoid bringing anything up that would directly implicate the fact that they were a couple back home. Nick had just said he had never really seen the point in knowing where his life had gone, and as painful as it was for him, Jeff had been willing to leave it at that for the sake of the love of his life. But then Nick was fucking asking, and when Jeff opened his mouth to answer, there was no sound. The best he could do was just offer Nick a very small, nearly imperceptible nod of his head before he turned his face away, forcing himself to focus on some kids playing in the sand a little way down the beach so he wouldn't completely lose it.