This is an unbeta'd sequel to "I'll be right beside you, dear".
It won't make much sense if you haven't read that one.
Enjoy!
Starsleeper
Blaine nervously toyed with the graduation cap in his hands.
Peeking through a crack in the curtain, he scanned the auditorium seats quickly to check if they had arrived yet. His heart was about to sink to his stomach, when suddenly he spotted them. On the third row. His family.
Blaine's mouth quirked into a happy, relieved smile. They were all here. Everybody had shown up for his big day.
His parents.
Granted, they were no Burt and Carole Hummel. His mom and dad had always been a bit emotionally stunted; lacking when it came to warmth and understanding; but they still loved him. Last fall, when he finally – after much prodding from Kurt – had opened up to them about his problems, they had been surprisingly supportive.
A few days after his confession, his mom had taken him out for coffee, and spent the entire afternoon telling Blaine about the depressions that ran in her side of the family; and about the severe postpartum depression she had suffered from herself, right after Cooper had been born. When Blaine had admitted that it all sounded so familiar, his mom offered to take him to see a therapist.
Blaine had accepted, and it had turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life.
The weekly sessions with Amy had been an eye-opener to him. In all her subtlety and gentleness, she listened to him and challenged him to reflect on certain issues; helping him to see things in a different perspective. No matter how bad Blaine felt, he always left those sessions with hope in his heart, as if he could breathe again. Every session meant one step closer to being and accepting who he really was.
His dad had remained the same stoic he'd always been, but he did make an effort to talk to Blaine more often. Even if it was limited to a short "How was your day, son?", an awkward pat on the shoulder when Blaine was not feeling well, or a wobbly phrased compliment every now and then. At least he tried.
Blaine's eyes flitted over to Cooper, seated next to his mom.
Cooper was still very much Cooper, the giver of lousy advice and impersonator of half-baked accents. Except he was also Coop, the caring brother who gave great hugs and made Blaine laugh with his shenanigans.
Further down the row, Blaine saw Burt and Carole. A surge of warmth coursed through his chest. He remembered the first time he'd reached out to them, a few weeks after 'the talk' with Kurt. It had been a particularly bad day at school; his parents hadn't been home; and he'd driven around aimlessly for an hour and a half, before finally having the guts to pull up the Hummel-Hudson's driveway. It had taken him an additional ten minutes to work up the nerve to actually ring the doorbell. Blaine's heart had stopped for a short second when the door had flown open to reveal a grumpy looking Burt. Burt Hummel. The father of the boy who's heart he had crushed. But before Blaine had been able to turn around and run for the hills, Burt's mouth had relaxed into a smile and he'd invited him in, calling him "son" and telling him he'd arrived just in time for Friday night's family dinner. Blaine hadn't skipped a single one of those weekly dinners ever since. It was his breath of fresh air. A home away from home.
Blaine let out a sigh of contentment as he saw Kurt, sitting next to Carole. Kurt seemed to be scrolling through his phone, his mouth curled up into a small smirk.
Kurt.
His soul mate. His best friend. His everything.
Kurt, who had kept his promise, and had been there for him throughout this entire year. There were times when he had so much difficulty reconciling the shy, insecure boy he met at those stairs with the wise, confident man he knew now. According to Kurt, it was mostly Blaine's merit that he had even come this far.
Kurt, who never hesitated to tell how proud he was of Blaine, for every tiny or huge step he made forward.
The biggest step forward had been when one night, during a Skype call, Kurt had told him about running into Chandler on the corner of Broadway and 48th Street.
"I swear, Blaine, he wouldn't stop yapping about how it was destiny for us to meet again, and then he asked me out on a date tonight!" Kurt chuckled, as if it had been the most ludicrous idea in the entire world.
"Maybe you should take him up on his offer?" Blaine said hesitantly.
"Haha, good one, I- What? Blaine Anderson, are you seriously telling me you want me to go out on a date with another guy?"
Blaine shrugged, peering at his screen with the most solemn expression he could muster up. "Want to? No, I don't want you to. But it doesn't matter what I want, Kurt. I think you need this. That's what matters to me. So… go out with him. Enjoy yourself. You deserve it , Kurt." He said, throwing him a small smile.
"But… what about us?" Kurt frowned.
"Well… we're best friends, so you should definitely tell me about it afterwards." Blaine chuckled uneasily.
"You know that's not what I meant." Kurt huffed.
"I know." Blaine smiled. "Kurt… I love you so much." His voice hitched. "But sometimes, loving someone means you need to let go. I trust you, Kurt. I believe in us. But I think you need to experience what life has to offer you, before making any long-term decisions. And what better time to do that, than when you aren't committed to someone?" These words were so painful to speak, but Blaine knew it was something he had to do.
"Wow… you've changed so much, Blaine." Kurt replied, after a few moments of silence.
"I guess I'm growing up." Blaine answered, smiling in earnest now.
And so Kurt had taken Blaine's advice and gone out with Chandler.
And when he texted Blaine, later that night, to let him know that he and Chandler had kissed, it took Blaine every ounce of control he never knew he had to just reply with "How was it?"
"It wasn't you." Kurt had simply answered, and that was all Blaine had needed to know.
They were going to be alright.
A chirping noise came from his pocket, signaling a text message. Blaine pulled out his phone and peered at the screen.
COURAGE.
It was from Kurt.
He was about to type a response, when somebody tapped him on the shoulder. Twirling around, he found Sam, Artie, Tina, Sugar, Unique, Marley, Jake and Joe beaming at him. They were all his friends, who loved him for being Blaine. Not Blaine, Kurt's boyfriend or Blaine, Cooper's little brother; but just Blaine, the silly, confused, bow-tie wearing kid. It seemed so absurd that he'd once believed himself to be all alone and worthless; that there had been a time when his heart and eyes had been too closed to see all the people who had always been there for him.
"Come on, man, it's time to graduate!" Sam cheered, as he threw his arm around Blaine's shoulder and steered him towards the group. "You're A, Anderson, you're up first!" Jake grinned, slapping him on the back.
The next few minutes went by in a blur. He vaguely remembered being called out on stage, a scroll being pressed into his sweaty hands, and the customary applause that followed.
But Kurt's expression of love and pride would be ingrained into his brain until the day he died.
Before he realized what was happening, the ceremony had already ended, and everybody hurried off the stage to join their family and loved ones.
Blaine descended the steps with a gleaming smile. His parents and the Hummel family were waiting for him, and to his utter surprise, his father was the first to step forward and pull him into a hug. "Congratulations, son, I'm very proud of you." He muttered, patting him on the back.
The others followed, and then there was only Kurt left.
"Hi." Kurt grinned as he went to stand in front of Blaine.
"Hi." Blaine replied breathlessly.
"Um… Can I ask you a question? I'm new here…" Kurt said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"Kurt…" Blaine shook his head with a smirk.
"I love you. Will you be my boyfriend?" Kurt asked.
"Absolutely." Blaine answered, without missing a beat. Lunging forward, he swept Kurt into an embrace and crashed their lips together. A few breathless kisses later, they broke apart and stared into each others' eyes.
"You're the love of my life, Kurt." Blaine said, his voice choked with nerves and happiness.
"You're my soul mate." Kurt replied breathlessly.
They met in another passionate kiss; oblivious to their parents, who were watching the whole scene with clasped hands and teary eyes.
Burt nudged Blaine's dad in the ribs. "One hundred dollar says we'll be fathers-in-law within three years."
The other man turned to Burt with raised eyebrows. "Two hundred dollar says within two."