An obligatory fic to celebrate three years since Klaine's first meeting. A little late for those of us on the East Coast, but since it's still the 9th in half of the US, it counts, right?
Un-beta'd.
Blaine wakes to the sound of gravel crunching under tires and Merlina whining "Daaaaaddd. You missed the turn for Lima, like, an hour ago. Did you get us lost?" from the backseat.
"It's your father that gets us lost, sweetheart. I always know where we're going. Now shush before you ruin the surprise." Kurt responds in a loud whisper to the teen, but Blaine is already straightening in the passenger seat to peer out the window.
He gasps as he's met, not with the sight of Lima's stereotypical middle class neighborhoods that he was expecting, but rather, the old, wrought iron gates that haven't been closed in decades that he's still familiar with almost twenty years later. The place has aged well in the years since he were last here; the timeless look of a beautiful, early-1900s estate surrounded by trees grasping onto the last pieces of autumn.
Dalton Academy.
He glances down at the hand resting lightly on his thigh, gaze tracing up his husband's arm to his smiling face, "Surprised?" Kurt asks softly. Both of them try to ignore the exaggerated gagging sounds coming from the backseat.
"Absolutely. But what are we doing here?"
Kurt shakes his head, pulling his hand from Blaine's leg to place it back onto the wheel as he pulls the car into a parking space in the practically empty lot, "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it? Stay there." Kurt explains, leaving Blaine to watch and laugh quietly as his husband rushes around to the passenger side of the car and pulls the door open with a mock bow, "If you would follow me…"
Blaine shakes his head good-naturedly and follows him across the parking lot. He watches as Kurt lifts a hand, fingers counting down — three… Two… One… A car door slams from behind them, Lina's grumbling getting louder as she hustles to catch up.
He leads them right through the front doors, only stopping long enough to make sure they're still following before continuing determinedly forward. And… As they walk, Blaine starts to understand. He knows this path, and a smile fights at the corners of his lips.
The halls are silent aside from the echoing of their footsteps, students long since gone for the day, floors swept and mopped, doors shut and locked behind teachers on their way out. He remembers how he and Kurt used to joke about McKinley High being some sort of time vortex, intent on keeping them separated for as long as possible, but walking through Dalton is like stepping back in time to their teenage years. The school looks much the same as it did back then, secure in its identity as an upper class private school complete with chandeliers and old oak doors unmarred by vandalism.
"How did you get permission for this?" he asks, voice quiet as if he's afraid to disturb the peace permeating the halls.
Kurt nods his head back and forth, looking much too proud of himself, "It's funny what the headmaster will let you do in exchange for sponsoring a full-ride scholarship for next year."
"But we were going to donate that anyway." It was an idea they'd been mulling over for a while, since their Broadway careers had taken off and they'd become more than financially secure. Considering all that Dalton had done for them, it felt like the least they could do now.
"Mm, yeah. But I wasn't about to turn down an offer like this." Kurt responds. They continue down the hall in silence until they finally come to an abrupt halt at the top of the stairs with Kurt throwing his arm out in front of Blaine to stop him.
It's the stairs. The stairs where, two decades ago, two teenage boys happened to meet each other through sheer luck (or destiny, when Blaine's feeling particularly romantic) without any idea just what it would mean for the rest of their lives.
And Blaine can't help it; he's already tearing up as he lets Kurt lead him by the hands down the stairs, slowly, one step at a time. He's turned on the last step, gaze automatically finding Kurt's eyes, shining with tears, as it always does. Over Kurt's shoulder, he can see their daughter leaning against the banister at the top of the stairs, hands crossed over her chest and smiling.
"Twenty years ago, on this very day, on these very stairs, a dumb, lonely teenage boy thought he'd try his hand at spying. And standing there in the worst mockery of a private school uniform in history, in a crowd of strangers, he tapped another boy's shoulder to get his attention and he said, 'Can I ask you a question? I'm new here.'" Kurt looks down towards his shoes, smiles shyly, looks back up at Blaine through his lashes, "And that other boy smiled back at him and introduced himself. And then he grabbed that lonely boy's hand and led him down that hallway back there and, in that single instant, changed his entire life."
Kurt is absolutely beaming then, grasping Blaine's hands in both of his, "Then, two and a half years later, they came back to these same stairs for a proposal, and that boy knew he would never have to worry about being lonely again. …I… We've always celebrated a few more anniversaries than most. The day we became a couple. The day we became a couple again. But it's this anniversary, the day when we met and the day that, four years later, we finally married, that I'll always treasure the most."
It takes him a moment, he struggles to find the words through the onslaught of emotions, but finally Blaine pulls his hands from Kurt's only to throw them around his shoulders instead, pulling him close and whispering, "I love you so much."
"I love you, too."
They linger for a few moments longer until Blaine pulls away, patting eagerly at his pockets and finding nothing. If it's not in his pockets, then he must have left it in the… His expression sinks in a way that's almost comical to watch until a nudge in the center of his back catches his attention. He turns around just in time for the box labeled Saks Fifth Avenue to be shoved into his hands and Lina mouthing "You're welcome" at him. And, god, she looks so much like Rachel in that moment…
Blaine kneels down to present the box to his husband, "I was going to give this to you later, over coffee at the Lima Bean, but since you just had to go and steal my thunder…"
"I can't help it, honey."
"…Kurt, my best friend. My soulmate, happy anniversary." He lifts the top off the box, watching the expression on Kurt's face flicker from love to shock and back again as he reveals the silver puzzle piece cufflinks nestled inside.
"We are such saps." Kurt shakes his head, laughing wetly, then pulls him up and into a searing kiss. Blaine is more than happy to return it enthusiastically.
They could have lingered there for hours in the silence of Dalton's halls, if it weren't for the clearing of a throat behind them, "This is adorable and maybe a little awkward, and I'm sorry for interrupting, really, but we did kind of tell Gramma and Grandpa we'd be there in time for dinner."
They stare at each other for a moment more until Kurt sighs and takes Blaine's hand to lead him up the stairs and back toward their daughter, "What would the world do without you to keep your fathers in line?" He wraps his free arm around Lina's waist and pulls her in close, "We've got another anniversary coming up, you know. Have we ever introduced you to the restaurant where your mother offered to be our surrogate?"
Their daughter's horrified gasp is more than worth it.