Kurt is nothing if not a team player, but spending six months fundraising is a little tedious, even for a great cause like the American Cancer Society. He has dutifully raised the expected amount of money, but his heart is not really in it. First, he's not into camping outdoors, excessive exercise and no sleep. Six months is a long time to work at something and the only thing that's making this even a little bearable is the fact that Kurt has it on good authority that the New Directions have a team, too. There has been good-natured competition along the way, because the Warblers started this whole situation when one of them - Kurt isn't sure who - decided it would be a great idea to start a team of their own. As usual, all of them backed each other, and it was instantly embraced as a Warbler project.
The team captains - Wes and Rachel respectively - have kept one another motivated and updated on their team's progress. The New Directions have apparently all pitched in to arrive at their fundraising goal. Rachel has insisted they reach the Rising Star Level, since according to her, they are all rising stars.
Kurt has listened day in and day out as Finn updated the family about the car wash the guys did. The bake sale the girls did, which only raised twenty dollars. How individual efforts by certain members really pushed them to meet their goal. Santana talked to the owner of Breadstix about donating a portion of the profit. Quinn put up Fetch & Favor fee flyers, volunteering herself as an errand girl. Artie had lived on social networking sites advertising and updating the New Directions online fundraising. Brittany was the last to bring in some major dough. In perhaps the most creative undertaking Kurt had ever seen, Brittany spread hideous little hollow lawn gnome statues all over yards in Lima. A note was fastened to each gnome's hat, and a slot had been cut into each creature, for donations. Kurt even found one in his own yard. He was shocked when Finn reported that the gnomes had collected $200. The Warblers raised considerably more, but it's never been about who has money, it's about working together for a cause.
Kurt supposes he might be happier if he and Blaine were going to this event together, but Blaine has insisted he has something he needs to do first. He'll be there with this family. But he's promised to walk with his team.
Kurt arrives a little bit late because parking is crazy, and starts trying to seek out Wes or David or Nick, or anyone familiar. The survivor's lap is starting and Destiny's Child's I'm a Survivor blasts over the loudspeakers. Kurt squints at the track and can only make out a sea of purple Survivor shirts. Around the edge of the track, thousands of people have gathered, clapping and cheering them on.
"Kurt! Oh my God, you made it! We missed you!" Mercedes exclaims, hugging him tightly.
He gasps, not surprised by the greeting but by the familiar name being announced as a cancer survivor.
Blaine Anderson.
Nephroblastoma.
Seven years.
Kurt can't wait for the lap to be over. The rest of the New Directions have gathered around him to offer comfort and express their shock at what they just heard.
"I didn't know that. Did you?" Rachel asks quietly. "I mean, Wes never mentioned it to me."
"Blaine never mentioned it to me," Kurt responded.
Kurt feels like someone punched him in the gut. Even though this is supposed to be joyous, Kurt can't shake the knowledge that Blaine has had this secret and never once mentioned anything about it to him. The more Kurt thinks about it, the more he realizes just how little Blaine actually says about himself. From day one, at Dalton, Blaine has been a constant support for Kurt, asking how he can help, what he can do, what's going on in Kurt's life? But when was the last time Kurt reciprocated?
When the survivors' and caregivers' laps are completed, Kurt seeks Blaine out immediately. Kurt admits he still can't pick out Blaine, but his mother is easy enough to spot with her adorable fashion sense.
"So nice of you boys to come! Thank you so much!" she says, kissing Kurt's cheek.
"You're- You're welcome." Kurt stutters.
"Come on. Let's find the guys," Blaine urges.
"No. Let's walk," Kurt decides, taking Blaine's hand and pulling him back out onto the track, despite the fact that he just walked two laps. "I want to talk to you."
The sight of Blaine in that purple shirt breaks Kurt's heart, even though he knows it shouldn't. He should be proud, but all he can feel is regret, pulling him down like a weight. How has he not known this?
Blaine agrees, holding Kurt's hand as they walk slowly around the track. This will be a long night, but suddenly, Kurt doesn't mind. He has so much to say. So much to ask.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt asks. He tries to keep his tone gentle. Unaccusing.
"About this?" Blaine asks, gesturing to the shirt. "No one knows about this. When Wes came to me about the Warblers forming a team, I just went with it. When people know you have cancer or even that you had it once upon a time? It changes things. When I was diagnosed, I stopped being the kid who was good at soccer and swimming and who loved to catch frogs and play baseball and I became the kid with cancer. I'm proud of being a survivor, but that's not all I am, Kurt. I do the Relay for Life every year. I have ever since I was nine, after I was released from the hospital."
"I just feel like there's so much I don't know about you," Kurt muses.
"What do you want to know?" Blaine asks, with a half-smile. "We've got just under twelve hours. You think that's enough time?"
"Blaine, I feel terrible about this! You know everything about me, and I'm realizing I know next to nothing about you. I found out more in the last ten seconds than I've known in months of being your boyfriend," Kurt explains, squeezing Blaine's hand.
Blaine raises his eyebrows, an invitation.
"How old were you?" Kurt asks tentatively.
"Eight."
"What kind of cancer. In the queen's English." Kurt asks, trying to keep the mood light.
"Kidney."
"Was it bad?" Kurt presses.
"It wasn't good."
"How long before you were okay?" Kurt wonders, his voice shaking.
"Just over a year…Now, can I ask you something?" Blaine wonders, after a brief pause.
Kurt nods.
"Will you promise not to treat me differently? Please? I'm still just Blaine," he says, and Kurt can see the world in his eyes.
"I'll try," Kurt concedes and kisses him gently.
While Kurt has given his word to treat Blaine the same as ever, the purple shirt has an even more unexpected effect on Finn. Suddenly, Kurt's stepbrother is rushing toward them and taking Blaine by the arm.
"Dude, are you okay? I asked Wes and David to come and fill in for you, okay? And I can take over for Kurt. So he can go with you. Kurt, why don't you take Blaine over to those chairs. I got him a plate of something and-"
Blaine holds up his hand, cutting off Finn's stream of words. "Thanks, Finn, but I'm fine. I've been considered cured for years now. No reason to worry."
"But still…I mean…you had it…" Finn manages, casting wild looks between Kurt and Blaine. "Kurt, come on! Help me out here!"
"And we each lost a parent," Kurt says, gesturing meaningfully to himself and Finn. "Should Blaine worry about mentioning his mother to me every waking hour? Or his dad to you? Blaine is perfectly okay," Kurt reassures, though he can understand Finn's worry. "Thank you for your concern though."
The night is more moving than Kurt can put into words. The luminaria ceremony chokes him up, and he and Blaine stand side by side, crying quietly for the lives of those lost. The solemnity of the moment makes Kurt viscerally regret his own selfishness. He vows to fight for a cure for the rest of his life, because, had things been just a little different, Blaine might not be here beside him now. His name might be written on one of these paper bags, lit from within and spelling the word HOPE. Lighting the way around the track.
By a long shot, though, Kurt's favorite moment of the entire night is when, as the sun is coming up, Wes and Rachel wake both teams, and call them out to the track. They walk the remaining laps together, holding each other's hands.
Though their teams are comprised of nearly 50 musically talented students, they don't sing. They are silent.
But they keep walking. They keep moving forward, together, so that someone else's child, or mother, or boyfriend - so that someone else's everything - can have the chance to experience everything in life that they are meant to.
Kurt squeezes Blaine's hand and watches the sunrise, feeling just how fortunate he is to have Blaine Anderson by his side. It is a miracle Kurt never even knew to be grateful for. But he is now. He will always be grateful, now that he knows that he and Blaine - something so meant to be - might not have ever been, had things been different.
Blaine raises their joined hands, and presses a kiss to Kurt's own.
It's a beautiful day.
The End.
A/N: In memory of M. Your sweet, fearless spirit is loved and missed every day.