Jersey City

The sun was completely down by the time the four of them had settled into their temporary housing. They were fortunate enough to find some canned goods left in one of the kitchen cabinets, as well as clean utensils in one of the drawers. There was also a small supply of water. Someone had likely left this house with the intention of returning, Adam noted guiltily. Judging by the growing layer of dust, this had been a while ago, however.

Sebastian had even lucked out and found some painkillers in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. He took some after they had eaten, and then, promptly called “dibs” on the couch, where he was soon snoring.

They agreed to sleep in shifts, as they often did. Kurt and Adam took first watch, which meant Elliott could go sleep for several hours in the bedroom. For a while, all was still and silent.

Suddenly, Kurt took his hand and held it tightly. Adam looked at him, caught somewhere between affection and concern, and could see his mind working on something. “Everything okay, love?”

Kurt had apparently decided holding hands was not enough physical contact and pulled Adam into his arms. Adam quickly returned the embrace, sensing that Kurt needed this. For several long seconds, they said nothing, and Adam felt some of the tension go out of Kurt’s body.

“I love you,” Kurt said, at last.

“I love you, too, darling,” Adam responded, “Is everything alright?”

Kurt reluctantly released Adam and replied, with a sigh, “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s just…God, we had way too many close calls today, and I’m starting to re-think our whole plan.”

“We survived though, didn’t we?” Adam said.

“I mean, yes, but—” Kurt began. He paused, trying to find the right words. “Tomorrow we might not, and there are a lot of miles between us and Lima, and after Paramus, it’ll just be two of us again.”

“We might’ve died just staying in New York,”Adam said, “We could’ve even died in New York pre-apocalypse. Tomorrow’s never been a guarantee, that’s why we have to make the best of today. Which we did, by not dying.” He placed a gentle hand under Kurt’s chin, guiding his love’s worried gaze from the floor to his eyes. “It isn’t gonna be easy. We knew that heading out. It’s going to be difficult and dangerous, and yes, we might not make it, but we won’t give up just because of all that because if there’s one thing I know about Kurt Hummel it’s that once he sets his mind on something he doesn’t give up.”

Kurt’s eyes shone, and a smile tugged at his lips, pulling them out of the hard line they had previously formed. “You’re right,” he said, “I almost wish you weren’t, but you’re absolutely right.”

--

They left early the following morning, just a few hours after sunrise, making sure to take advantage of the house’s food and water stores one last time. The entire night had passed without event, and that was a trend they all hoped would continue into the following day.

Everyone was in better spirits this morning, after a nice rest and some time spent in peace. They didn’t completely let their collective guard down, but there was certainly a feeling among them that they could perhaps breathe easier. They even dared to fall back into normal conversation.

And it was in this fashion that they managed to leave Jersey City behind them once and for all. On to whatever was next, on to hopefully survive another day.

And hope that his one had fewer close calls than the last.