Setting: during the season four finale All or Nothing
Summary: Blaine—against everyone's advice—is determined to propose to Kurt because in his mind, it'll finally fix things between them. Before he does however, he gets one final piece of advice from the last person he expected. Will it be enough to change his mind, or will he proceed with his plans?
Story Word Count: 4,390
A/N: so I was watching reruns of Glee and saw the season finale and I just had to write this. I actually had it since the original premiere of the finale, but I pushed it out of my mind until the rerun. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Glee and all its affiliates belong to Ryan Murphy, FOX and the others. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and no money is being made from this.
"I'm home!" Blaine called out as he walked into his house. He let the door shut behind him and made his way to the kitchen where he could hear noise coming from.
When he got there, he saw his mother at the stove.
"Hi mom," Blaine greeted.
Amelia Anderson whirled around, her light brown eyes lighting up at the sight of her son, "Bambino! You're home early."
Blaine couldn't help but to smile in response as he walked over to his mother to hug her.
"I thought you had Glee?" Amelia asked when she pulled back from the hug.
"We got done early," Blaine answered as he moved to sit on one of the stools.
"I'm surprised at that," Amelia said as she turned back to the stove, "Your Signor Schue is always on about rehearsing for your competition."
"I know," Blaine nodded, "but he said he didn't want to overwork us. I guess he figured that we'd be burn out by the time Nationals came around if we didn't take a break, so, he let us go early today."
The scents of the kitchen finally assaulted his senses and his stomach rumbled, "What are you making?"
"Lasagna di formaggio con pollo, pasta al forno pollo and cannoli," Amelia grinned over at her son. (Cheese lasagna with chicken, baked chicken pasta and cannoli)
Blaine's mouth watered. Those were some of his favourite dishes.
"I know!" Amelia laughed. "There're your favourite. I realized I haven't made them in a while, and well, I wanted them myself. Now, andare e ottenere pulito e poi vieni a mangiare. È quasi fatto." (Go and get cleaned and then come eat. It's almost done.)
"Va bene mamma," Blaine responded as he grabbed his bag and hurried out the kitchen and up the stairs to his room. (Alright mom)
Amelia watched her son go and laughed. He was so full of energy. It was something she was glad to see he hadn't grown out of.
"Was that Blaine I heard?" Marcus Anderson asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Sì amore mio," Amelia nodded, "it was our son." (Yes my love)
"Oh," Marcus nodded, "dinner's almost done?"
"Pretty much," Amelia smiled. "I sent Blaine to wash up, you go too."
"Yes dear," Marcus chuckled as left the kitchen to go use the bathroom.
A short while later, the family sat down and ate. The table was full of smiles and conversation as each shared their day.
After dinner was over, and they were clearing the table, Amelia nudged her husband. All through dinner, the two had noticed that although Blaine had been engaging, there had been an air of nervousness around him.
"Blaine?" Marcus questioned, "Is everything ok?"
Blaine's head shot to his father, a look of surprise on his face, "What? Yeah, dad everything's fine."
Amelia bit her lip, much the same way her youngest son did, and spoke, "And Kurt? Things are ok with him?"
She knew, as well as Marcus, that Kurt was in town, and she also knew everything that had gone down with her son and the other boy. So naturally, she was a little concerned as to how her son and his ex were around each other with Kurt back in town these last few days.
Blaine sighed and placed the empty dishes in the dishwasher before turning to face his parents, "They could be better." He paused and then, grinned, "They will be better."
Marcus and Amelia exchanged looks.
"What does that mean quello piccolo?" Amelia asked, a smile on her lips. (Little one)
Blaine's eyes dart from mother to father as he realized that he had told everyone his plans…except for them.
It wasn't that he was nervous to tell them…okay maybe he was. But really, could you blame him? Especially after the way everyone else reacted? He'd told Burt first and he had tried to talk him out of it. Next he'd told Sam and his best friend had done the same.
Tina knew, and at first she had objected, but then she had changed her mind and had even helped him pick out the ring.
And so had Sam. Even though his best friend had initially objected, he had decided to support him.
Huh. So maybe, his parents would react the same.
"I'm gonna ask Kurt to marry me," Blaine blurted out.
Marcus and Amelia froze.
"What?" Marcus asked. He honestly thought he hadn't heard right.
Blaine swallowed, but his mind was made up. Nothing his parents would say would change his mind, "I'm going to ask Kurt to marry me, and before you say anything, I've already made up my mind. I've got the ring and everything. I am going to do it."
Neither one said anything. How could they?
Amelia stared at her son. She recognized the glint in his eyes. It was the same glint she had when she had decided to become an Administrative Assistant, it was the same glint Marcus got whenever he faced a challenging client, and it was the same glint Cooper had gotten when he had told them he was going to go to college for acting and not business.
Her youngest wasn't backing down. She knew that he was just as stubborn and determined as the rest of them were. Blaine had made up his mind, and it wouldn't be changed. But that still didn't stop her from believing he was making a big mistake.
As much as she loved Kurt, and as much as she knew her son and Kurt loved each other, she knew marriage wasn't the right thing for them now. But she couldn't outright tell Blaine that. He wouldn't listen, and he would just get married anyways.
Blaine looked at both his parents and then continued talking, overriding anything they could say, "I know you think we're too young—I've heard it all before—but I'm not changing my mind. I love him and this, this is perfect for us. Kurt needs to know that I'm serious about not messing up and about being with him again."
He paused, "I am going to do this." and with that, he got up from the table and headed to his room, leaving his parents staring after him.
~…~
Blaine was sitting at his desk on his laptop when a knock sounded at his door.
"Blaine?" Marcus called out as he opened the door.
Blaine sighed and bowed his head, "Are you gonna yell at me for how I acted and then tell me I'm making a big mistake too?"
"I could," Marcus nodded as he walked over to sit on his son's bed, "But I have a feeling even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference."
Blaine turned around to look at his father, "It's all I've been hearing since I first decided to do it. Everyone's been telling me that. Even my best friend! I mean, yeah he came around and helped me picked out the ring and everything, but he's still against it."
Marcus sighed and said nothing. Instead, he just stared at his son, cataloguing his features; with the exception of his nose, and eyebrows, Blaine was the spitting image of his mother. He had the same curly hair, the same smile, even his personality was more his mother's than it was his. On the other hand, Cooper was his spitting image, except he got his mother's eyebrows and smile.
"Dad?" Blaine called, brows furrowing slightly when his father was silent.
"Did you know your grandparents—my parents—had been against your mother and I marrying?" Marcus asked.
Blaine was shocked, "What?"
"Yeah," Marcus smile ruefully. "When we told them we were getting married, they were completely against it. At the time, we had thought that they were being unreasonable; Mia and I loved each other and we were certain that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, but my parents forbade us from doing it.
"Of course we didn't listen. We thought we were in the right, so, we went behind their backs and got married anyways. A year and a half later, Cooper was born and that made the estrangement even worse. They didn't talk to us, so for the first few years of Cooper's life—and of our marriage—my parents weren't around."
"What changed their mind?" Blaine asked. He had never heard this story before, and though he was wondering why his dad was telling him now, he couldn't deny that he was curious.
"Just after Cooper turned five," Marcus continued, "there was an accident. His school had had an outing and the bus crashed."
Blaine's eyes went completely wide with shock and disbelief. "WHAT?"
"No one was hurt," Marcus assured his son, "truth was, Cooper hadn't even gone to the outing. He had gotten sick from playing out in the rain. Your grandparents heard about the accident and thought that Cooper had been there. They flew down immediately and it was then we were told the truth."
"What truth?" Blaine asked.
"That the reason they had been so against us marrying," Marcus explained, "wasn't because they didn't love us or because they thought we weren't to be together but because they thought it was too much too soon. I was just getting up in the business and your mom was still trying to figure out what she wanted to do and they had thought that adding a wedding to all that would've been too much. Add in the fact that Cooper was a year and a half later. All they had wanted was for us to get settled into not only our jobs, but in us as well as a couple before we added marriage and children."
"Dad," Blaine started.
"No listen," Marcus cut him off, "I told you I wasn't going to tell you it's a mistake you're making and I'm not. I just need to know something; do you believe you and Kurt are soul mates? That you're meant to be together?"
Blaine was suddenly reminded of the conversation he had had with Burt a few days ago. So, he gave his father the same answer he had given Kurt's father. "Yes I do dad, but what if Kurt doesn't anymore? I know I messed up, but I love; always have and I always will. Kurt needs to know that I'm serious about us, completely serious, and that I'm not going to mess up again."
Marcus raised an eyebrow, "And this is the way to do it?"
"It has to be a grand gesture," Blaine said, getting slightly frustrated, "something big, and this is something big. Something to prove to him that I'm in it for the long haul."
"Blaine," Marcus said gently, "a marriage proposal should only happen as way to celebrate a love and if it's right for the two people, not as a way to fix something or to prove something either."
Blaine glared at his father, "But you and mom got married to prove a point to your parents!"
"We did," Marcus nodded, "and we were wrong. It took a while but like I said, we finally realized exactly why they had been so against the marriage. Blaine, at the early stages, your mom and I never got to be just Marcus and Amelia, newly married couple. We both had our careers, which were pretty much in their beginning stages, so we had to deal with that, being newly married and then becoming parents. We had no time to deal with any of it separately.
"We weren't really there for Cooper for a lot of things early on. Instead, we bought him expensive gifts and toys hoping it'd make up for our lack of attention and it didn't. Not really. That's why we made sure to always be there at your games or plays and whatever else you were into as a child. We didn't want to make the same mistakes we had made with your brother."
Blaine remembered all his soccer games and his school plays and recitals and how his parents and brother had been at every single one. Well, Cooper had kinda stopped during his last year of high school and when he had left, but still, his parents had been there.
"I didn't know that," Blaine said finally.
"No," Marcus smiled, "you didn't and we wanted it that way. Son, I'm saying all this to discourage you, I'm just trying to get you to think about this, to really think about this."
"But I have thought about it dad," Blaine insisted as he stood up and started pacing. "It's all I've thought about. Nothing more!"
Marcus looked at his son. He needed to get through to Blaine. He needed him to understand that if he did this, it would be a mistake and it might cause more harm than good to his relationship with Kurt.
There was one last thing he could try.
"Blaine," He called, gaining his son's attention, "I'm going to ask you some questions, and just answer the first thing that comes to mind."
"Dad," Blaine rolled his eyes, not in the mood.
"Just humour me," Marcus said.
"Fine," Blaine sighed.
"Do you love Kurt?"
"Yes."
"What's your favourite colour?"
"Green."
"Does Kurt love you?"
"Yes."
"Favourite magazine?"
"Vogue."
"Favourite movie."
"Moulin Rouge."
"Do you trust Kurt?"
"Yes."
"Favourite instrument?"
"Guitar."
"Has Kurt forgiven you?"
"Yes."
"Have you forgiven yourself?"
"Yes."
"Favourite language?"
"Italian."
"Favourite meal?"
"Lasagna di formaggio con pollo."
"Does Kurt trust you?"
Blaine opened his mouth to say 'yes' but froze. Did Kurt trust him? Yes Kurt had forgiven him, but did he trust him?
Blaine sank down onto his bed heavily.
Marcus reached out and grabbed Blaine's hand in one hand, and used his free one to turn Blaine's face to him. "That's why I said you need to really think about this. Blaine, I know you love Kurt, anyone can see that, just like anyone can see you two belong together. The two of made mistakes in your relationship and it led to you guys breaking up. Now, forgiveness was given and you were able to mend your friendship, but that doesn't mean Kurt trusts you."
The words made Blaine flinch and he tried to pull away.
"No," Marcus held tight, "I know you don't want to hear it, but listen. Kurt loves you, and he forgave you, but he doesn't trust you. You broke his trust Blaine and you didn't get it back just because you got his forgiveness. Once trust is broken, it has to be earned back.
"And I know you said you trust Kurt, but do you really? If you do this, do you trust him not to ignore your calls or miss dates or to put his job or anything else above you?"
Blaine couldn't answer because deep down, it was something that he had thought about. But he loved Kurt.
Marcus squeezed his son's hand, "This is not the way. How do you expect to propose to him when you're not even a couple?"
"I don't want to lose him," Blaine whispered, hazel eyes filling with tears, "and I feel like if I don't do this, I will."
"You won't," Marcus replied.
"How do you know?" Blaine demanded.
"Because you love each other and that kind of love doesn't go away because of a little bump in the road," Marcus told him.
"So what do I do?" Blaine asked, looking at his father, "How do I fix this?"
"Start over," Marcus said, "You and Kurt need to learn how to trust each other again, and to do that, you have to get to know each other again. You're not the same Blaine you were last year and he's not the same Kurt."
Marcus released his son and stood up. He walked over to the door, but paused when he got there. "Think about what I said, and know that whatever you decided, your mother and I will support you. Goodnight Blaine."
"Night dad," Blaine replied.
When his father left his room, he sighed and fell back against the pillows. His head turned to the side and his gaze landed on the side table where he knew a certain black box was.
He had a lot to think about.
~…~
(After the competition)
Blaine couldn't believe everything that had happened. The last few hours had been filled with shock and excitement. Not only had they won Regionals, but Mr Schue and Ms Pillsbury had gotten married.
They were still in the Choir room, celebrating the impromptu marriage.
Blaine stared at Kurt as he turned the box over and over in his hand. The conversation he had with his father a few days ago as still fresh in his mind.
He had had to make a decision, and he had made it. But he hadn't been too sure it was the right decision. Looking over at Mr Schue and Ms Pillsbury, or Mrs Schue, he knew without a doubt he had made the right decision.
Now he just had to talk to Kurt.
Hazel eyes scanned the room, and Blaine saw his ex talking to Marley and Mike. Smiling, he made his way over to them.
"Hey guys," he greeted.
Marley smiled at him, "Hey Blaine."
Kurt turned to smile at Blaine. "Hey."
Blaine only had eyes for Kurt, but he directed his question to Marley and Mike, "Mind if I borrow Kurt for a little bit?"
Mike shook his head with a grin. "Nah dude." He couldn't help but to chuckle as he watched Blaine watch Kurt. It was just like old times.
"Go ahead," Marley smiled as she touched his arm briefly, "I'm gonna go find Jake."
The two walked away, leaving the two boys along.
"What's up?" Kurt asked. He could feel a kind of nervous anticipation course through him. It was the same feeling he had had his first day back when Blaine had pulled him aside in the hallway. Of course, the conversation hadn't gone how he had thought, or hoped, and he had been filled with disappointment.
Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and led him away from the noise to a corner of the room for a little privacy.
"Blaine?" Kurt asked after they sat down, "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah," Blaine nodded. He took a deep breath and then let it out. "Ok. I wanted to ask you something, but I'm a little nervous because of our complicated history."
Kurt's heart started racing. This conversation sounded too familiar. "Blaine, you know you can ask me anything."
Blaine smiled, "Kurt, will you go out on a date with me?"
Kurt wanted to squeal, but he held it back. This was what he had hoped Blaine had been about to ask him a few days ago, and he had been so disappointed when the other boy hadn't.
Biting his lip to calm himself, Kurt nodded, "When?"
"Tomorrow night?" Blaine asked.
"Ok," Kurt smiled, "Pick me up at seven?"
Blaine's smile could've lit up the room, "It's a date."
~…~
The next night, Kurt and Blaine were at Breadsticks for their date.
Both boys were nervous, but happy and excited.
They ordered dinner, and as they ate, they shared small conversation, talking about New York and winning Regionals.
When they waitress cleared their table, Blaine decided to do what he had planned. He brought his hand up and placed the black box on the table.
When Kurt saw it, he froze.
After staring for a few seconds, Kurt raised his eyes to his ex. "Blaine?"
"A few years ago I told you that you moved me, and you still do," Blaine spoke. "Being with you was the happiest I'd ever been, but we messed up. Especially me. Cheating was the worst thing I could've done and I am so sorry about that."
"I know Blaine," Kurt interrupted. And he really did. The two of them had already had a long talk about what had happened and they had both realized that they had made mistakes; he had taken Blaine for granted, had assumed he could do whatever and that Blaine would always be there and Blaine had cheated.
They had talked and had acknowledged their part in their break-up.
Blaine smiled, "You're it for me Kurt. I honestly believe that you and I belong together. There's no one else I want. Kurt, I love you, so much."
Kurt felt tears fill his eyes. This speech reminded him so much of the speech that had started them in the first place.
Blaine pushed the box closer to Kurt. "Take it."
With trembling hands, Kurt grabbed the box and held it. A part of him was scared to open it, the other part desperately wanted to.
Blaine chuckled softly, "Go on…open it."
The last time Blaine had given him a box similar to this, he had thought it would hold an engagement ring and had been prepared to say yes.
Now though…
He opened it and gasped. It wasn't a ring; it was a bracelet. A charm bracelet to be specific.
Kurt felt relief, but also a slight tinge of disappointment. He squashed it down. Instead, he lifted the bracelet from the box and held it close to his face.
It was beautiful. It was silver and already had two charms on it; a bird and a coffee cup.
"They represent the first two important moment in our lives," Blaine explained, "Our first kiss and the first time we said 'I love you'."
Blaine recalled his conversation with his father, "Do you know why I asked you out? And why I'm giving you this?"
"Why?" Kurt asked, needing to understand.
"Because I want us to start over," Blaine said, "We made mistakes Kurt and we messed up, especially me. Cheating on you was the worst thing I've ever done. And I know you've forgiven me for it, but it doesn't mean you trust me."
"Blaine," Kurt started.
"Let me finish," Blaine cut him off. "Please.
Kurt nodded. "Ok."
"We broke each other's trust Kurt," Blaine explained, "You broke mine when you missed our dates and when you ignored my phone calls and I broke yours when I cheated. We forgave each other yes, but that didn't mean the trust was automatically restored. I'm not the same Blaine from last year who allowed his insecurities to cloud his judgement and you're not the same Kurt, overwhelmed and completely taken by New York either. I want us to be together again, better than we were before, but to do that, we need to learn to trust each other again."
He held out his hand, "So what do you say? Are you willing to give us a second chance? Can we start over?"
Kurt bit his lip as he thought about it. It was true; they had talked about the break up and everything that had led to it and they both had realized that they had made mistakes, not just Blaine alone. They had forgiven each other and had fixed their friendship, but Blaine was right; they didn't trust each other anymore.
He still loved Blaine, he really did, but love wasn't the problem. Trust was. He didn't trust Blaine not to cheat again, and apparently, Blaine didn't trust him not ignore him again. It hurt, but it was the truth.
Blaine was right. They needed to learn trust each other again. And there was only one way to do that. Besides, he missed him.
So, he reached out and grabbed Blaine's hand, "Ok."
The smile that graced Blaine's face could've lit up the restaurant and Kurt couldn't help but to smile in response. "Put it on me?"
"My pleasure," Blaine grinned as he reluctantly dropped Kurt's hand and grabbed the bracelet and putting it on. "Perfect fit."
"It's beautiful," Kurt breathed as he shook his wrist slightly.
"So are you," Blaine replied, the smile still on his face, his hazel eyes sparkling with pleasure.
Looking up at Blaine, Kurt decided to say what was on his mind.
"Can I be honest?" he asked.
"Sure," Blaine smiled.
"When I saw the box," Kurt admitted, "I had thought you were going to propose."
Blaine let out a sheepish laugh. "If this was a few days ago, I would've."
"What?" Kurt whispered faintly.
"Initially, I had an engagement ring," Blaine told him, "and I was determined to ask you to marry me. I even asked your dad for permission."
"And what did he say?" Kurt asked. He doubted that his father would've given his permission for his son to get married so young, no matter how much he liked Blaine.
"He told me it was too soon," Blaine admitted, "said if I really believed you and I were meant to be, then it didn't matter if I waited a few years. I didn't listen. Even Sam tried to talk me out of it. But then he changed his mind and helped me pick out the ring."
"So what changed your mind?" Kurt tilted his head slightly.
"My dad if you can believe it," Blaine laughed.
"What?" Kurt's eyes widened.
"I know," Blaine nodded, "I told him and mom that I planned on asking you to marry me during dinner. After, he came to my room and we talked. He gave some advice and then told me to think about it, so I did. And I realized he was right. And then, seeing Mr Schue and Ms Pillsbury get married yesterday, I remembered what they had gone through and how they had decided to start over and I knew I'd made the right decision."
Kurt smiled, "Well, if you had asked me to marry you, I would've said no. How could we have gotten married when we weren't even together? Your dad was right. We need to learn to trust each other again. I'm glad you listened."
"Me too," Blaine smiled in return and grabbed Kurt's hand, squeezing it.
After that, they changed the topic and their date continued easily.
They had messed up in the past and had made mistakes, but things were different now. They were different. They would learn from their mistakes and do things better. They had a second chance—something not many people got—and they weren't going to waste it.
A/N 2: and that's the story. I couldn't figure out how to end it, so if the ending is a little crappy, I am sorry. Review so I can know what you thought.