Pairing: Kadam
Words: ca 2500
Genre: romance
Rating: K
Summary: Set about a year after s4; Adam graduated and Kurt's in a big NYADA show. This ended up having a lot of Blaine (and friendship!Klaine) in it- not sure how I feel about that. Clearly I needed some more closure after all the s4 drama… This is a very spontaneous headcanon for Kadam and just one version of many possible things the boys might get up to together :)

Timing is Everything

"He's not coming."

"Of course he is, Kurt."

"Then why isn't he here? It's five minutes until curtain call, Blaine. Five minutes."

"He'll be here."

"And what if he won't? What if something happened on his way here? What if there's been some kind of traffic accident or someone hijacked his cab or he's been robbed in broad daylight and lying somewhere stabbed on the pavement or-"

"Kurt!" Blaine grabbed his ex-boyfriend's shoulders and shook him. Kurt's hand flew up to secure his hairstyle. "Stop it," Blaine said firmly. "He'll be here. Enough with the doom scenarios. I know you're nervous, and I know this is an important night for you, but this is not the time to freak out, okay? Here-" He switched off the button of the audience monitor that was installed in the dressing room. It did Kurt no good to stare at all the people- or Adam's empty seat in the front row. He looked into Kurt's eyes. "You can do this. You are made for this stage, Kurt. Now switch off your worries and give me your show-face."

Kurt took several deep breaths and closed his eyes. As he opened them again, he raised his chin and nodded at Blaine. He could do this. He knew Adam was on his way. He wouldn't miss Kurt's first official NYADA show for the world. Blaine was right. He couldn't break down. Not now. "Thank you, Blaine. For everything. All those nights you helped me practice…I don't know what I would have done-"

Blaine shrugged. "You would have practiced with Rachel."

"Right."

Blaine smiled. "Break a leg."

Blaine quietly took his seat next to Rachel. She frowned. "Where were you? It's about to start!"

"Backstage. Kurt needed my help."

"Doing what? And where's Adam?" Rachel whispered urgently. Blaine just pulled up his shoulders.

Rachel gasped. She knew the guys were close, but to be the last one to talk to Kurt before he went on, that was like, super close. Those were the kind of moments where you blurted out your feelings or kissed, or both, and- oh my god, had they? She shook her head. She shouldn't let such gossipy thoughts distract her from her best friend's showcase. A one-night-only NYADA staging of The Boy from Oz! Kurt was made for the part. She was so proud. Besides, Kurt and Adam had been together over a year now, and even Blaine had come to accept their relationship, though it had taken him longer than others. But when he moved to New York and was confronted with the reality of their relationship, Blaine had finally understood that Kurt and Adam fit well together. Adam made Kurt happy. Which meant Blaine had decided to try and get along with him. One very late night at a karaoke bar and one drunk performance of 'Everybody Needs Somebody' had finally broken the ice.

She looked over to the other familiar faces in their row. Burt and Carole Hudson-Hummel were there, of course. Next to them, Finn, Puck and Santana. Things hadn't really developed the way she expected after Finn went to college, but it was probably for the best. She needed to concentrate on NYADA anyway. Mercedes had also come to watch Kurt. It felt good having a part of the old gang here.

"Dude, that chick on the balcony is totally checking me out," Puck whispered to Finn. "She even has binoculars." He winked up at the woman, who quickly put her binoculars down. He grinned. At half-time, he was totally tapping that.

Carole squeezed her husband's hand nervously. "This is it," she whispered, sounding a little weepy. "Look at all those people here. They've all come to see our son." She turned in her seat. "I just wish Adam would hurry up." Burt nodded tensely. He was about as nervous as his son.

Before she could say anything else, the lights were dimmed, and a last reminder to switch off all cell phones was played over the intercom.

Adam had never been so short of breath in his life. New York traffic was monstrous at the best of times, and today of all days, it had to be extra bad. And that while he was already running late! So, a few blocks away, he had decided to literally start running, and had gotten out of the taxi to get to the theatre on foot. Kurt was going to kill him, -or worse: break up with him- if he didn't make it to the show on time.

Just before the curtains went up, he managed to squeeze into his seat, earning a slap from Rachel for making her worry, and then it was show time.

After the first Act, the director came backstage. She was looking neutral, as she always did. Rumor had it that she had no feelings and hated all of her singers, but Kurt suspected Botox. Either way, he didn't let her remarks or cold stares discourage him-he had been on the Cheerios! Best practice for life.

"Kurt- I need a word."

Kurt gave her a blank expression- he could manage that without Botox too- and stepped up to the director.

"What's going on? Why are you ignoring my stage directions?"

"What?" Kurt brought out, frowning. He hadn't been ignoring anything!

"Your marks- you were at least two to three steps off in several scenes, we had to readjust the spotlights. You're confusing the extras. You're too far to the front. What are you trying to do, jump into the audience? You're blocking view for the balcony, and I'm going to tell you this because you are new- those are the expensive seats."

"I know that," Kurt replied quietly, more distracted by what she said than by her sarcasm. Had he been skirting the footlights? If he had, it was only in hopes of seeing Adam in the front row, but it was pointless. He couldn't see anything. Slowly, his director's tirade came back into focus.

"…what are you waiting for, Hummel?"

"Sorry, what?"

"I said, get out there and walk through the positions with Kelly. The curtain is down and I want you back on your regular marks, that means the ones we rehearsed, Kurt, for the second half. Don't make me call your understudy."

"Okay. No! I mean, yes- I'll walk through it." He looked around for the stage assistant, still mulling over his performance. At least she hadn't said anything about the fumbled lines in the second song or the cheers that had gone up backstage as one of the back-up dancers proposed to his girlfriend in between scenes. Kurt rolled his shoulders and did a few kickball steps to loosen up his ankles and jazz himself up for his performance. He needed to focus entirely on the part for the second act. When the lights went on, he'd see his lover again, in the front row, where he belonged.

The curtain went down, and Kurt was nearly bowled over by one of the background singers. "We did it, Kurt! You did it! You're the best Peter ever!"

Kurt smiled broadly, still breathing hard from the last song and the excitement, and after his fellow student had found her feet again, let go of her to take her hand for the applause. Everything felt surreal. The applause was deafening, and as the curtain went up again, bright lights and a massive wall of sound smacked into their faces. For the first few seconds, Kurt saw absolutely nothing. Then, shapes were starting to form, and the audience came into focus.

Rachel couldn't help it. She was crying. Kurt was just so unbelievable. He had really achieved everything he said he would. Well, almost everything. She glanced at Adam and smiled. That probably wouldn't take too long any more either.

As soon as the floodlights went on in the audience and Kurt's eyes had gotten used to the brightness, he scanned the first row. Carole, his dad- he vaguely saw the New Directions jumping up and down and waving, but it was from the corner of his eye only, because he had found Adam.

The applause went on and on, and the crew came back again and again, taking even more bows, when all Kurt wanted was to jump down into the audience and kiss his boyfriend. 'I love you', he mouthed, signing with his right hand. There was no way Adam would hear him over the noise anyway.

When they were finally allowed to leave the stage, after a long thank-you speech from the director (who still looked completely unaffected), Kurt hurried backstage, wiping at his make-up and trying to fix his hair. He was sweaty and sticky, but he didn't want to waste any time cleaning up. He wanted to see Adam and his friends!

He was stopped several times along the way. Some people he knew, others he didn't, but all wanted a piece of him or pressed flowers into his arms. He knew this was the moment he had been waiting for, but really, couldn't they just let him through to Adam already?

Finally, there was no more than a few feet between them, then a few steps. Kurt unceremoniously pushed the flowers into Rachel's arms and ran to his boyfriend, wrapping himself around him and kissing his neck, his ear, and any other part of his face he could reach. "You're here," he said breathlessly. "You're here, you're alive, you're in once piece, and—" he pulled back and looked into the other man's eyes, "…what?"

Adam looked guilty. "Kurt, I'm so sorry I was late," he started, glancing at Blaine, who had been filling him in on Kurt's little pre-show breakdown. "One of my kids got arrested for smoking pot and she used her phone call from the station to call me instead of her parents because she was terrified, so I had to go pick her up and it took forever, and then my cab got stuck in traffic, and… Please don't be angry with me, I saw the whole thing, I promise."

Kurt just beamed at him, unable to express how happy he was to see his lover alive and well. "Adam, it's okay. I'm not angry. I was just worried. I know how much your kids mean to you. Will she be okay?"

Adam breathed out with relief. It wasn't the first time his job at the culture center for disadvantaged kids had demanded more than just his singing and coaching skills but this night was supposed to have been all about Kurt. "It'll go on her record, but I think I might be able to convince her parents to keep her in the program. Their wanting her to drop out was probably what made her relapse, anyway."

Kurt squeezed his boyfriend's arm comfortingly. He admired him so much. Adam had chosen a rather prestige-less job, but it suited him a lot better than running after Broadway parts with the rest of the NYADA graduates. Besides, he'd get enough of the glamour life once Kurt graduated- as Kurt would demand his presence at his arm at every premiere night.

He looked at Adam and realised he had a little apology of his own to make. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Adam…I know I've been insufferable the last few weeks and practically made Blaine move in with us- I never thanked you for putting up with all that." He leaned over and kissed Adam's lips. "So, thank you," he whispered. "I would not have gotten this far without you."

"They are so adorable," Rachel whispered to Santana, looking at the couple while she clutched Kurt's flowers to her chest. "Though I think Adam really could have made the effort to take the day off. I mean, it's Kurt's first show!" Santana just rolled her eyes. Of course Rachel would expect Kurt's significant other to drop everything – she'd expect that from her own partner too. No wonder she had such a hard time tying anyone down.

One after the other, Kurt's family and friends came to congratulate him. After Kurt's dad finally let him go he was smothered in Carole's kisses until Finn pulled his mom off of him, smiling awkwardly. Before he could say anything, Blaine stepped up to Kurt.

"Kurt."

Kurt turned around at the sound of Blaine's voice and looked at his ex-boyfriend. He was standing there in his velvet suit, his hands in his pockets, a casual smile on his face. Kurt was astounded by how much he still resembled that boy in his blazer he had met the first time he visited Dalton Academy. And yet, Kurt knew there was a world of difference between then and now. Being among his NYADA peers had taken the edge of Blaine's Dalton-bred arrogance; it was hard to feel like a star if everyone around you was just as talented as you were. But instead of dampening his spirits, it had made him shine in other ways. Kurt couldn't deny how unselfish he had been, sacrificing every last hour after college to practice with him. He had become Kurt's best friend again- and maybe even a better one as when they were dating.

Kurt bounced on the balls of his feet. "I did it, didn't I?" he asked excitedly.

Blaine smiled. "You did."

Kurt let out a small sound of victory. "And Adam got here in time."

"I told you he would."

"Blaine, I don't know how I can ever-" Kurt broke off when Blaine shook his head.

"Just keep doing what you do. Singing with you made me better, too. And hey, I know all the lyrics of your songs now, I could totally apply as your understudy," he teased. Kurt laughed and held out his arms to hug him. He didn't know why he had deserved friends like this, but it must have been pretty good.

"Wait, wasn't Puck here, too?" Rachel suddenly asked, looking around.
"Well, you were all busy hugging Kurt, so I thought I'd use the opportunity to find my own welcoming arms," Puck replied, walking up to the group with a woman in a cocktail dress on each arm. "Ladies, these are the New Directions, family, friends- and Kurt Hummel."

"Oh my god," one of the women squeaked. "I love you so much. Every time I hear your perfect voice, I cry." Her voice was already shaking a little.

"Told you I knew him," Puck added quickly, hoping to win a few points.

"Uh…I'm sorry about that," Kurt replied, looking a little puzzled. "Or is that a good thing?"

Adam smirked. "It's a good thing, honey," he whispered, pulling Kurt close and kissing his forehead. "A very good thing." He hoped the after-party wouldn't last too long. As much as he liked Kurt's family and the NDs, he couldn't wait to have Kurt to himself in their little apartment and tell him exactly what he thought of those gold pants in the last act.