Pure fluffy mcfluff from flufferton, with a slight sprinkling of angst. This is basically a rewrite of something I once wrote a long, long time ago in a website far away, where I was still very much into writing bandom (okay, earlier this year, but that's a long time for me). This is set in the not-so-distant future where Kurt and Blaine are living together in Ohio. I am fully aware that this is not particularly realistic, and I don't have the foggiest idea about the military. At all. However, for storytelling and dramatic purposes, let's pretend I know what I'm talking about. Italics = Flashbacks. Also...Blaine in an army uniform? Yes. Please.
I don't own anything, 'Glee' is the intellectual property of Ryan Murphy and Fox, and the title comes from the musical 'Les Misérables'.
"Don't leave me," Kurt Hummel whispered in a desperate voice, pleading against the soft lips of his boyfriend as they were tangled together under the sheets. Blaine Anderson sighed. It broke his heart to see the young brunette look so broken, and part of him wished that he could tell Kurt that he would never, ever leave him...but he couldn't. Instead, Blaine held him close to his bare chest, revelling in the warmth for the last time before god knows when (neither of them could bring themselves to think it could be the last time ever).
"I'm serving my country, like I've always wanted," Blaine said, repeating what he's said so many times, "Now that I can. Now...now that I don't have to hide who I am."
Both boys had been so excited when the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" act had been repealed. It was the chance for Blaine to finally join the army, something he had been dreaming of since childhood but had always seemed out of his reach because he was so proud and open about his sexuality. However, the time between him joining and now flew past in a heartbeat, and suddenly they found themselves here, spending one more night together.
Kurt buried his head in Blaine's neck, unable to suppress a sob, "But...I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too. There are no words to describe how much I'll miss you," he placed two fingers under Kurt's chin so that honey-coloured eyes met blue. Even in the semi-darkness of the bedroom, Kurt's eyes were striking. Striking and broken. Blaine pressed a soft kiss onto the other boy's lips, trying in that one final embrace to show Kurt everything that he meant to him. It was slow and lingering, "I love you," he said when their lips eventually parted, "Never forget that."
It seems to long ago since that final time that Blaine and Kurt had been together. Memories of the wonderful times were the only thing that had kept Blaine sane during the long months spent in some God-forsaken desert, far from everything he knows. Don't get him wrong, he still feels privileged to be a soldier, serve his country, and help some people who were in real need but it has been a long, trying year. He has seen comrades and friends die. He himself sustained a near-fatal injury; below his army uniform, his torso is still heavily bandaged. The war has taken its toll on him.
The bus pulls up in the station, a short distance away from the military base that Blaine had arrived in when he returned to the USA. To Blaine, the destination on the display reads the name of the boy that was left behind when he joined the army. Moving tenderly because of the injuries, he picks up the heavy bag beside him and boards the bus, though it isn't until he is sitting down that he becomes aware of the stares that he is attracting from other passengers. Perhaps it is because they didn't agree with the war he fought in. He is not so naïve to believe that everyone was on their side. Perhaps it is more simply that they didn't expect to find a lone soldier in their midst. It could almost be a scene from a cheesy, romance; a soldier having just come home from the war, desperate to get home to the one he loves, not caring how he gets there. If he had to, Blaine would happily walk.
He smiles a little. Though life has the tendency to be unpredictable, it's still a sucker for old clichés.
Kurt lay curled in the foetal position on the couch, making to attempt to halt the choked sobs coursing through his body. His head and eyes hit but it was nothing compared to the wrenching pain below his ribcage. On the TV across the room the news was showing footage of the war; soldiers yelling, bombs exploding...pictures of the soldiers who had so far lost their lives in the conflict.
Clutched in Kurt's white-knuckled fist was a tear-stained letter, crumpled from being read and re-read over and over again. As if reading it more would change what it said. It had been sent to him earlier that same day from one of Blaine's comrades. He had barely read what the rest of the letter had said. Only three words had caught his eye, and they were the cause of the hopeless dread consuming his heart;
"Missing In Action."
City and valley and wilderness goes by, day passing into evening at an agonisingly slow pace. Why is every second taking an eternity when the days with Kurt passed by in an instant? Every one of these seconds that pass fill Blaine with a sense of mounting anticipation, accented by fear. He has been waiting for this moment for so long but despite knowing deep down that Kurt will never stop loving him, every scenario has played out in his head. There is a nagging voice whispering that Kurt has grown tired of waiting, and has found someone else. Blaine doesn't think he would be able to take that if it was the truth. Although...perhaps it would be enough just to see the other boy happy.
But no. He couldn't think like that. Instead he let his mind wander back to those school days, stolen moments in the Dalton corridors. Most importantly, the fateful day when Blaine plucked up the courage to tell Kurt what he had been thinking since the first instant their eyes met.
"Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you forever."
It doesn't get any easier as time goes by. If anything, it's so much worse. Kurt knows it would absolutely destroy him if the news came back that Blaine is dead (he has often found himself praying to a God that he doesn't believe exists that he will be okay) but this uncertainty is driving him to breaking point. At least some kind of closure would be enough, and Kurt isn't sure how long he can carry on this charade of coping. He is on auto-pilot, trudging through the days and waking up to constant nightmares at night on the bed they once shared.
It seems false to him to carry out all these mundane day-to-day tasks like going grocery shopping, or doing laundry, or washing the dishes (as he is doing now). Home isn't home without Blaine there and he doesn't see why he should pretend otherwise. However, he still has some of his pride and he has grown tired of the looks of pity that he got from his friends and family. He is trying to persevere for their sake. He tries not to linger on the crippling emotions but it's getting harder and harder. Every little thing he does reminds him of the man he could – without a second thought – call his soul mate.
At first he thinks the sound of the front door opening is purely his imagination. After all, it's played cruel tricks on him before. He pauses mid-way through drying the glass in his hands and listens carefully. When all he can hear is the Katy Perry album that he has playing quietly in the background (he doesn't like Katy Perry's music much but she was-is Blaine's favourite singer), he dismisses it and returns to what he is doing.
Then come the footsteps. Footsteps that grow louder before abruptly halting.
"Kurt," a voice says in no louder than a faint whisper. Yet the word might as well have been screamed. This voice is one that Kurt has got so used to hearing only in his dreams, he isn't sure whether or not to believe it. It can't be. He slowly turns around...
...the glass he is holding slips from his grasp and shatters against the kitchen floor but it goes unnoticed as Kurt falls into Blaine's arms, sobbing.
"You came back, you're here..." he babbles, breathing in that familiar musky scent. Every second of waiting suddenly seems worth it. Every little uncertainty. The man he loves is back here with him, where he belongs. And damned if Kurt is going to let him go away for so long again.
"That's right," Blaine whispers softly in reply, "I'm home."
He uses the pads of his thumbs to wipe away tears from Kurt's cheeks, who manages a watery smile as he says,
"Oh, there you are. I've been waiting for you forever."
The End