Kurt looked from his father to Carole and back again. Their hands were clasped tightly over Carole's knee and they smiled nervously, waiting for his verdict. He thought they'd just wanted to see him for a weekend, but he realised they wanted a serious discussion when they politely suggested Blaine go to stay with his own parents and sat Kurt down with a cup of his favourite gourmet coffee, the stuff Burt usually said was too expensive.
"You know, Kurt, if you don't want us to do this then we won't. We don't want you to feel uncomfortable coming back home or anything. But you know it won't change how we feel about you."
Kurt nodded. Of course he knew that. And these days he didn't really come back to Lima all that much, not now that Blaine was in New York with him, but – he took a deep breath.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, sweetie, anything."
He looked at Carole, her eyes filled with more hope than he'd seen for a long time.
"Why do you really want to do this?"
He saw Burt's shoulders tense up, as if he was ready to defend himself. A sure sign that he knew Kurt might not like his answer.
"You know, a lot of people would think it's a brave thing to do. There are kids that need homes, and the older ones have a much harder time getting placed-"
"But Dad-"
"But nothing. We could really make a difference to somebody's life."
"I'm not arguing with that."
"Burt, honey," Carole put her hand on her husband's arm, "it's okay. He's just trying to look out for us." She looked at Kurt.
"Is it because of Finn?" he asked.
After a pause, she nodded slowly.
"Yes. But- but not the way you think. I'm not trying to replace him. We would never try to do that, because we both know it's not possible." She took Kurt's hand. "Kurt, do you know how happy Finn was after we got married? I know he made a fuss when we first moved in together, but it did him so much good having a real, stable family. I just- I want to be able to do that for another child. Maybe it's a little because I miss- I miss being somebody's mom," she had to pause and swallow past the lump in her throat, "but does it matter? Should that stop us from trying to help someone?"
He started feeling a little guilty. Maybe he should have spent more time at home, maybe he'd been selfish staying in New York so much – but he knew Burt would admonish him if he said so out loud. New York was his home now, with Blaine and the others, and he didn't have to punish himself for what happened to Finn. If it had taught them anything, it was to make themselves as happy as possible when they could.
He wrapped his hands around Carole's, leaning towards her. Her eyes were full of tears. He knew exactly much say he had in this, and it made him feel uncomfortable. With one word he could put a complete stop to this, and there was no way he could do that to Carole. She was a mother. Whether or not she had a child to take care of, Carole Hudson-Hummel would be a mother for the rest of her life. If there was any chance this could work, Kurt couldn't be the one to stand in the way of it. And he couldn't deny what good parents they both were, and how much they could help some poor kid with no family.
He made himself smile.
"If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I'll be the best big brother ever, you wait and see."
Kurt barely realised Carole had stood up before her arms were thrown around him and the fluff of her sweater was on his tongue. He glanced at his dad over her shoulder, smiling and nodding. He mouthed 'thank you' at Kurt.
It took months. Kurt only got the occasional update via phone or Skype, but it sounded stressful. Of course, Blaine was as involved as possible, always offering words of support and asking tonnes of questions.
"So are they like… qualified now? Is that the right word?" he asked one evening while setting the table for dinner, Kurt busy draining the pasta. They had the loft to themselves, but had decided to be incredibly boring for the evening – meal, studying for a couple of hours, sex and sleep. Santana would roll her eyes, but they secretly enjoyed the domesticity.
"Approved. Yeah, I think so. Well, they've had checks and interviews and everything, and they've been cleared. They're going to this open day at a home next weekend, so they can meet a few kids and see how things go."
Blaine stopped in his tracks and looked up at Kurt.
"So- they might actually, you know, meet them? The kid they're going to adopt?"
Kurt paused.
"Um. Yeah. I guess so."
Blaine put the box of matches down, figuring lighting the candle can wait. He swept up to Kurt and slid his hands onto his waist, pressing a quick kiss to the back of his neck.
"That's so exciting! Kurt, you're going to get a little brother or sister soon! This time next week we might know their name!"
"Well, it's still early. They've been told not to get their hopes up."
"But, Kurt. It could work. They could get to be parents, oh my god, that's amazing… so what's the next step? If they click with one of the kids, do they meet up with them a few more times, take them out for a day, have them to stay at the house…"
"Woah, honey, slow down. They're still in phase one. I don't know all the steps."
"Wow. I think it's so amazing that they're doing this. So brave."
Kurt smiled, put the utensils down for a second and turned around in Blaine's arms.
"Yeah. Yeah, they are." He'd been proud of his dad for years, but now his heart swelled with pride at the idea of them both expanding their family, letting a child into their home after they've been through god-knows-what. His hand skated up to Blaine's shoulder. "Why are you so interested in all of it anyway?"
Blaine looked down to where their hands were linked.
"Well, you know I love your dad and Carole. I want everything to work out for them. They're going to be my family too soon, remember?"
Kurt grinned and kissed his cheek.
"Yeah, that rings a bell."
"And," Blaine added with an attempt at nonchalance, "we're going to need to know about this stuff, aren't we? And how it all works? I want us to be prepared."
Kurt's eyebrows shot up. Deep down he knew that had always been… implied between them, but they'd never said it out loud.
"You- you think about that?"
Blaine was blushing, but trying to pretend it was no big deal.
"Of course I do. I mean, isn't it kind of a given?" Kurt didn't let on that he could hear the hint of worry in Blaine's voice, that tiny fear that maybe that wasn't what Kurt wanted. Just like Blaine, though, he wanted it more than anything.
"I hope so. How many did you have in mind?"
Blaine beamed.
"Two? Three? Seven?"
"We could put on shows."
"We could send Christmas cards of all of us wearing matching ugly sweaters."
Kurt let out a little hum and leaned forward to kiss his fiancé.
"That's the sexiest thing you've ever said to me. You still hungry?"
"God, no. Come on." He kissed Kurt again and tugged his hand, both of them scampering to the bedroom with a giggle.
"You know," Kurt muttered in between kisses after they tumbled onto the bed, "I- I really like that you think about that stuff, okay? It's nice."
Blaine made himself stop kissing for a second so he could look at Kurt properly, even though he was panting a little.
"You're nice. Or else I wouldn't be thinking about it. Kurt, whichever kid gets to be your little brother or sister, and gets to be a part of your – ofour family – they're the luckiest kid alive."
Kurt glared at the two girls walking into the lecture late. His philosophy was 'turn up on time, or don't turn up at all'. It distracted professors and broke concentration and it just pissed him off. He could be a very irritable student at the best of times, but this was his busiest semester of the year, and when he heard the muffled bleeping of a phone ringing he could have choked someone – until he realised it was coming from his bag. He pulled it out, desperate to put it on silent, but saw his dad's picture pop up on the screen.
That's weird, he thought, he knows I have a class now-
Fuck.
Today was the day.
He ran out of the hall without a second glance at his lecturer.
"Yeah? Is it good news?"
He clenched his fist, picturing the little girl he'd seen photos of, desperately hoping without even having met her that she was the one. Hearing them talk about her was more than enough.
"Yes! It's very good, it's- we're- she's coming home with us! Kurt, you have a little sister!"
He booked his flight home as soon as he hung up.
They planned the first meeting in detail – probably too much detail. Blaine wasn't going to be there the first time. They didn't want to overwhelm her, or confuse her with too many new faces. Kurt was terrified. He sort of wished Blaine was there to calm him down, to reassure him that she would like him, but he also wanted it to be just the four of them for the weekend. Maybe part of him was scared she would like Blaine more and he wanted some kind of dibs. He wanted it to be totally clear that he was her big brother, that they were her family. Blaine could be a part of that soon enough.
He glanced around the arrivals lounge nervously, scared of missing them. He'd already gone months without seeing them, and after the week he'd had he kind of just really wanted a dad hug, even though he knew meeting Olivia was more important. He could always spot Burt's cap from a mile away, and he saw him and Carole standing with a little girl between them, clinging to Carole's hand and holding it in front of her face. She was eight, and wearing a yellow scarf over her head. They'd told Kurt all about her alopecia – brought on by stress – and it broke his heart. No eight-year-old should be that anxious. There were some light brown strands hanging just above her shoulders, but she obviously wanted to keep her head hidden.
He saw Carole point to him excitedly, and the little girl smiled even though she was huddling even more closely to Carole. Apparently her father hadn't been the nicest guy, and she still got worried around men. For now, she was bound to gravitate more towards Carole. Kurt had been reassuring Burt about it down the phone all week.
When he got to them, he suddenly had no idea how to talk to humans. Should he shake her hand? 'Pleased to meet you, I'm Kurt Hummel.' Slightly clinical.
"Sweetie, here he is! Do you want to say hi?"
Kurt knelt in front of her, a soft, warm smile on his face.
"Hi, Olivia. I'm Kurt. I've heard a lot about you."
He could hear his voice wobbling a little. He was trying way too hard to keep his tone light and he wanted to slap himself, but at least she was still smiling. She let go of Carole's hand for a second to wave, then grabbed onto her again.
"Are you my brother?"
"I'd like to be. If that's okay with you."
She stared straight into his eyes for a moment, and nodded, her expression serious.
"Okay."
She let go of Carole again and stuck her hand in Kurt's direction. He couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness flash across his father's face, but he wrapped her hand in his own and they walked to the car. He took a second to squeeze Burt's arm and lean into him, to remind him that Kurt would never be too old to need him, no matter what.
"So, how was the drive here? I hope this one made sure you put your seatbelt on. He used to get at me about it all the time and if he doesn't do it to you too he might like you better than me."
Olivia giggled and held his tighter.
"Yeah, he did. Burt probably likes us the same, right Burt?"
Burt grinned.
"You bet."
She got more and more animated on the drive home. He hooked his phone up to the car stereo and picked songs he had a feeling she would like – boybands, musical numbers, stuff he and Blaine listened to all the time anyway. When they got home she kept a hold of his hand and pulled him upstairs to her room. Finn's room. But now it was yellow, with a new bed, new desk, new lights. Kurt imagined how hard it must have been changing all of this. Maybe the thought of Olivia being in here instead made it a little easier. A fresh start.
"So do you like it here?"
She nodded, nibbling on one of the brownies Kurt had brought back for her. He wasn't above bribery.
"Yep."
"And… the yellow in here? That's okay?"
"Uh-huh. I like yellow."
He looked around. It was pretty bare. She had everything she needed, but it could use a little something extra. How had he expected them to decorate a single room in this house without one of his mood boards?
"You know what? I think we could make it better. Tell me what kind of stuff you like. Favourite animal?"
"Umm…" For a moment he panicked. Maybe she'd never really spent time with animals before, or she didn't know any animal names, or she was scared of animals because she'd been bitten by a dog when she was smaller, or- "butterflies. I like butterflies."
He smiled.
"Okay. Do you like drawing?"
She nodded.
"Can you draw a really good butterfly?"
She nodded harder.
"We're going shopping."
They very politely asked to borrow the truck and Burt's card, and an hour later, after pretending the blue tiles on the floor of the hardware store were water and only hopping on the brown ones to avoid drowning, they came back with a bag full of paint samples, reds and oranges and golds, some stencils, and a bunch of different paintbrushes. After some drawings, more brownies, and the creation of the perfect pop playlist, they covered up in some old shirts and got to work.
"Kurt?"
"Yeah?"
"You know the ring on your finger?"
"Yep."
"Are you married?"
"Almost. Didn't Dad- I mean, Burt- tell you about that?"
"Um…"
He realised that she probably knew everything, but wanted a way of asking about it.
"Well, I'm engaged."
"To… a boy, right?"
"Bingo. His name's Blaine. He's back in New York right now."
"Okay. Hey, I think we should put a butterfly right up there."
"Oh, I don't think I can reach- wait. Come here."
Kurt ducked down so she could climb onto his shoulders, sponge and stencil in hand. They kept talking as she dabbed paint on.
"So, um. Do you love him?"
He nodded and smiled.
"Yes. With all my heart." She wobbled a little, but he reached up to support her, one hand on her knee, the other on her elbow. "Woah, I've got you. Would you like to meet him some time?"
"Yes, please." She stopped painting and caught Kurt's eyes in the mirror. "Do you think he'll like me?"
"I think he'd be crazy not to. If he didn't I'd probably have to break up with him."
"What? No! But you love him!"
He took her hand.
"Well, if he loves me, he has to love my little sister too."
She beamed and hugged his head.
"Thank you, Kurt."
He helped her back down to the floor, kissed the side of her head and held her close. She insisted on him sleeping on her floor that night. They stayed up talking until way past her bedtime, but Burt and Carole said they didn't mind.
"So, Livvie, are you happy here? You feel, you know, at home with Burt and Carole, right?"
She pulled her covers up to her cheek and nodded.
"Uh-huh."
"Carole's awesome, isn't she?"
She nodded again.
"Yup."
"And you know…" he didn't want to overstep any boundaries, but he had a feeling this would be okay. And he kept remembering his dad's face at the airport. "You know my dad's pretty crazy about you. I don't want to brag, but you and I have got the best dad ever."
"Mmm."
"Honey, I know- I know some stuff hasn't really been easy for you, with your dad and everything, but- he's not like that. I promise you."
"I know."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He's really nice. But I think- I think it's easier with Carole. She's a girl."
"And Dad's-"
"He's not very girly. I don't think he likes butterflies."
She was right, actually. He once referred to them as 'moths that got too big for their boots'.
"Okay. Well, do you know what I liked when I was your age?"
"No."
"All the same stuff I like now. Musicals. Fashion. Baking. Boybands. Unfortunately One Direction were before my time." She giggled. "But you know the thing about Burt Hummel?"
"What?"
"He'll do whatever it takes to spend time with you. He'll take you to Sound of Music singalongs. He'll have a tea party with you and your toys. Whatever you like, he'll like it too, because he wants you to be happy."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep. When I was your age, I felt so different to all the other boys, because I liked all the wrong stuff. But he made me feel like there was no wrong stuff to like. He told me to like whatever I wanted. Anybody who didn't like it could just go…" he remembered he wasn't at the loft anymore, "some… place else. I swear, he'll have your back no matter what, and if you want him to help you practise your ballet moves with you, he'll do it in a heartbeat. And you will definitely be better than him."
She laughed again, her nose scrunching up in the dim light. Kurt knew it didn't make any sense for her to look like him, but that smile was pure 8-year-old Kurt Hummel.
"Okay. We should probably go to sleep."
"Yeah, probably. Hey, Olivia?"
"Uh-huh?"
"Have you ever been to a wedding before?"
"No."
"Well if you're free in June, Blaine and I need a flower-girl." Her eyes opened wide, but he held up his hand so she would keep listening. "Now, it's a lot of responsibility. You'd be in charge of your own basket of petals, and you'd probably have to come stay with us in New York for a couple of days, and we'd have to pick out a dress or whatever you want to wear. Which you could keep, by the way."
"Honest?"
"Definitely. And if you were staying with us, we'd probably have to have a big sleepover just like this, but with Blaine and our roommates. I know they'd love you. See, when I was little, my whole family was just me and my dad, but then there was Carole, and Finn, and now my friends- they're my family too. That means they're your family if you want them. They'd be lucky to have you."
"Um… do you think Mom and Dad would mind?"
Kurt stopped himself from gasping. He'd never heard her call them that. He grinned.
"I think I could talk them round. But only if you want to. I promise you I won't leave your side the whole time. I won't let a single bad thing happen to you. That's what big brothers are for."
Kurt woke up with a sugar hangover and his flower girl snuggled up next to him on the floor.
"Can we go looking for dresses now?"
"Slow down, Livvie. What do we have to do before we do anything else?"
She sighed.
"Call Mom and Dad."
"Bullseye. And then we need to go back to my house and drop your bags off, because there's no way I'm hauling this around with me all day." He lifted her suitcase with a groan. "I guess we needn't call Mom and Dad if you brought them with you. What do you have in here?"
She laughed, looking a little embarrassed.
"Just clothes and stuff. I wanted to make sure I had really cool outfits for when I meet your friends. They all looked so pretty in the pictures you showed me."
"Oh, that was them all dressed up. I swear they don't look that glamorous the rest of the time. Although I'm sure Blaine's going to make a special effort."
"Really? For me?"
"Of course! And he's waiting for us at home so we can all go shopping together. And maybe we can get milkshakes while we're out."
She grinned.
"Yes, please."
Blaine was just checking the blankets were truly secure over his head when he heard the door slide open.
"We're home!" There was a pause. "Blaine?"
Blaine scrambled out of the fort – one of the best he'd ever made, if he said so himself – to see Kurt looking half confused, half 'I probably should have seen this coming', and a little girl holding his hand with her mouth wide open as she stared at his creation.
"Is this your house? You live here? All the time?"
She still hadn't even looked at Blaine. He didn't think he'd ever been this nervous in his life.
"Well, it's not always quite like this… I thought you might like it for tonight?"
He'd already blown it. Destroyed the illusion of the coolest sort-of-grown-ups ever. Shit.
"You mean… you made it for me?"
"Oh, um, yeah. Is it ok?"
He couldn't help letting out an 'oof' when Olivia ran up and hugged him.
"Thank you, Blaine. I love it."
Blaine hugged her back tightly, and looked up to see Kurt grinning at him.
Fashion for Kurt had always been a gut feeling. Something was right or wrong. Something could be perfect one day, and he was mature enough to admit a month later that it was heinous, but in the moment he knew what he wanted. Which is why he was so utterly confused now.
"It's fine."
"Fine?" Blaine exclaimed. "Liv, you look like a princess. A queen. An angel. This dress is beautiful, and you look beautiful in it."
Bless his heart; he'd managed to be equally enthusiastic about every dress she'd tried on.
"Honey, like I said last time – if this is the perfect dress, you don't have to take it. We want you to feel special walking down the aisle. I know plenty of other places. Oh! I've just had an idea. Livvie, why don't try this one, and I'll go make a phone call. Two minutes."
He gave Liv's hand a squeeze and Blaine's cheek a kiss as he swept outside. Blaine was frowning. He sat on the floor next to the little girl looking sadly at her reflection.
"Is there something about it that you don't like? If we figure out what it is that makes it wrong, then we know what not to get with the next one, yeah?"
"I said this one's fine. It doesn't matter."
"Of course it matters! Hey, you know if you'd rather not get a dress that's okay. You can wear something totally different if you want. What would feel more comfortable in?"
It was obvious that she was on the brink of crying, and as she breathed in so she could answer, there was a blatant tremor.
"There's no point. I still won't look like a flower girl."
He took her hand.
"What do you mean?"
She sniffed.
"It's just… flower girls are supposed to be really pretty, with a nice dress and long hair… and I barely have any hair any more. I've never seen a bald flower girl."
She was still trying to pretend she wasn't crying, despite the snot starting to run from her nose. Blaine pulled a handkerchief out and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Hey, hey, come here." He pulled her into a hug, and she fell into it limply. "I promise that you are going to be the prettiest girl there. Tied with your brother for prettiest person. Do… do you want us to get you a new scarf to go over your head? I bet Kurt could make you one, something really stunning, any colour you want-"
"It doesn't matter. It won't make a difference." She sniffed loudly next to his ear. "I'll still look weird."
"Right!" Kurt called as he walked back into the shop. "Isabelle said we're welcome to- what's wrong? Livvie, sweetie, are you okay?"
She pulled out of Blaine's embrace, but clung to his arm. He took that as his cue to explain for her.
"I think she's a little worried about the- the hair situation."
Kurt nodded solemnly.
"Olivia, would you believe me if I told you I had an idea that might make you feel a lot better? Do you think you can trust me with this? Taking into account that if we go to one more place and you still don't feel happy, then we will cancel the whole wedding and just go home and eat a tonne of ice cream?"
She looked up at him, searching his eyes, before nodding slowly. Blaine held the hand that was still gripping his sleeve. Even with the wedding of the century on the line, he had total faith in Kurt. This was just making him want to marry him even more.
"Where are we going, Kurt?" Olivia asked.
"We're going to a place that only a handful of people are allowed into, with the most beautiful dresses in the whole world. Dresses that have been worn by real life princesses. And some Disney ones. How about you get changed and we'll get a taxi?"
Olivia couldn't help feeling a little excited again. She'd never been in a taxi before.
The three of them stepped out of the car in front of an incredibly impressive building. It looked so big and impressive to Olivia, that it amazed her to look at Kurt and see him looking – well, he was excited, but not overly intimidated by it. She looked to Blaine, holding her other hand, and was glad to see him a little awe-struck.
"This is where I work. And it's where we're going to find you the perfect look for the wedding."
As they walked through halls and down corridors, Kurt getting nods and smiles from colleagues, Blaine had to reign his imagination in. The two of them, strolling around his work, a little girl grinning between them, each of them holding one of her hands… it felt like cheating. Like he was getting a sneak peek, a spoiler of his own future. He didn't feel that guilty though. With a future like this, who wouldn't want to live in it at every opportunity?
Isabelle was ready to let them into the vault (Kurt was well-liked at , but there were limits) as soon as they got to the right level.
"Well, if it isn't the world-famous Miss Hudson-Hummel? Can I get you anything? Champagne? Caviar? A juicebox?"
Kurt beamed. She really was a fairy godmother. Olivia was a little shy at first, but she smiled and happily let Isabelle wait on her. Aside from the setback in the store, she'd already become so much more confident and happy since he'd first met her just six months ago. He thought about how good it had been for her, having a stable, loving family, having Burt and Carole taking care of her. His heart leaped at the idea that he might have been a part of that – maybe having the chance to come all the way out here by herself, having him and Blaine so excited to have her, maybe it all helped her feel wanted, loved. Isabelle had even got an intern to be her server for the day, holding the juicebox so she never had to risk getting juice on the dresses, offering different pieces of jewellery for her to peruse, and her eyes lit up at everything she saw.
"Now, your big brother's been telling me that you'd like to try a different look instead of this scarf – which, I must say, is exquisite." Olivia was still smiling, but she wasn't quite as giddy as before. Kurt's stomach squeezed. She'd just started to forget about her hair, and now she had to remember again, remember that she wasn't like all the other little girls. But he knew it was all about to be okay. "I have to say, I agree. This is just perfect for day-to-day wear, but I think we can do better for a wedding. How about we leave the boys behind for a minute and go and look in a secret room over there?"
"Can I, Kurt?"
He nodded. She took Isabelle's hand and followed her through a curtain to another room, still white, still full of glass and touches of chrome, but this room had more. This room had rows upon rows of wigs. Short, long, blonde, brunette, pink, green, blue… every one of them was beautiful.
"Sweetheart, I know you just want to look normal. But a girl as special as you should never have to settle for normal. You can take as long as you want to try these on, wear them with different dresses, different tiaras, and whichever colour you like, we'll get one made just for you. And if you get a little bigger as you get older, you can ask me for a different colour, a different style, and I'll get it sent to you. I promise, you're not leaving here until you feel beautiful."
Olivia just stood and stared for a moment. Then her eyes filled with tears. Then she buried her face in Isabelle's stomach, wrapping her arms around her waist. Isabelle stroked her hair and bent forward to kiss the top of her head. Sometimes she hated being part of an industry that made so many people feel bad about themselves, but moments like this made it all worth it.
"She loves you."
Kurt rolled his eyes.
"She doesn't really know me. I'm the one who's there every now and then, who lives in the big city, who can get her into the Vogue vaults."
He felt Blaine's hand wrap tightly around his.
"Do you love her?" Kurt nodded, blinking quickly. "Well if you can love her, then she is definitely capable of loving you back. That little girl adores her big brother."
It was all suddenly a little too much – he was someone's big brother, but his big brother wasn't here, and they were planning for the wedding that his big brother couldn't go to, and there was a perfect little girl who'd come from a crappy life and found this one, where she was happy, and if Finn hadn't died then maybe she would still be unhappy, she wouldn't be in the next room right now trying on wigs and getting to feel like a real princess.
And there was Blaine.
So steady, so brave, so completely in his corner no matter what. A boy holding his hand, ready to keep doing it forever. A boy who'd made a blanket fort for a sleepover with his little sister.
Kurt cupped Blaine's cheek and kissed him, softly, briefly.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For making me happy."
"I'm just getting started."
Kurt grinned and kissed him again, less briefly, and after a couple of minutes there was nothing soft about it. He couldn't quite put anything into words. His brain was throwing out a stream of you've done so much for me; I don't even want to think about how my life would be if I hadn't met you; seeing you with children makes me go weak in the knees; I don't know how I would have survived this year without you; I'm so glad you're here while Olivia's here because I don't think I'd know what to do with an eight-year-old for a whole weekend… but he could explain it all properly later. Maybe he could write it down. For now, he was more than satisfied with a make out session surrounded by ballgowns.
Blaine and couture. This must be what Heaven feels like.
He was just sliding a hand down the back of Blaine's pants, Blaine's leg hitched up around his hip, when a throat cleared behind him.
Right. Public.
Blaine's foot dropped back to the floor and they cut back to just holding hands, but they both let go and ran over to Olivia as soon as they saw her. She was wearing the turquoise dress that went with their colour scheme, and a violet wig with long, tumbling ringlets that clashed yet somehow accentuated it. It was topped with a tiara. Kurt and Blaine had no choice but to drop to their knees in front of her.
"Your Highness," Blaine breathed, "it's a honour."
"This is so perfect. Has Isabelle talked to you about sizes and stuff?"
She nodded.
"She said she's going to get me one made just for me for the wedding, but she said I can have this one for now. Is it okay if I wear it home?"
"It sure is! As long as Blaine doesn't mind all the looks we're going to get from people wondering what someone as amazing as you is doing with a couple of dorks like us. Babe?"
"It would be an honour."
The three of them were in their pyjamas, Olivia still in her wig, when the others arrived - Santana, Rachel, Mercedes, Sam, Artie, Brittany, Elliott, all similarly dressed – and within an hour the fort had been expanded to make room for all the people and the food they'd brought. There was more cake than Olivia could ever comprehend, and strawberries (Kurt told the others they were her favourite so everybody brought some), and non-alcoholic punch and home-made shortbread and a few different kinds of take-out, so she could get the true 'melting-pot vibe of NYC', according to Sam. Blaine figured he didn't want to cook. He was grateful. Elliott brought his guitar, figuring if any crowd would enjoy a sing along, it would be this one.
Everyone was besotted with Olivia, and Kurt had never heard anyone laugh or seen anyone smile as much as she did that night. She was grinning and giggling, her cheeks flushed pink.
"Sweetie, are you too hot? Shall we take a couple of blankets down, get some air in here?"
"Or turn off a few of the eighty strings of fairy lights in here," Santana added.
Olivia shook her head.
"No, just- let me-"
She took a deep breath and reached up to taker the wig off. There were a few more wisps of hair there than when she first came home with Burt and Carole, but there was still more scalp than hair. They'd all be told about this in advance, and Sam had been told to say absolutely nothing just to be on the safe side. Santana took her hand with a bright smile. Brittany, who was sitting directly opposite her, slowly reached across to run her fingertips across Olivia's head, smiling in wonder. Kurt and Blaine started to wonder if they should have put a gagging order on her too, but she simply sat back and sighed.
"You're so beautiful. I can totally tell you're Kurt's sister."
Kurt and Olivia smiled at her, and he leaned over to press a kiss to her temple. Britt was right.
As the credits rolled at the end of Clueless, Blaine was the only one still awake. He glanced around at his friends, the creases on Santana's cheek from the pillow, the spot of drool next to Sam's mouth. He smiled at Kurt curled into his side and Olivia's head on his lap as she snored softly. This was the weirdest little family he'd ever seen, but he was so proud to be a part of it. All he would ever want was more of this, more Kurt, more kids, more late nights with their friends talking through movies until they fell asleep.
He tugged a blanket over from the now dismantled fort and draped it over Kurt and Olivia, who hummed and nuzzled in perfect sync.
They weren't kidding about the long engagement.
By the time the wedding finally rolled around, Olivia was firmly settled in as a Hudson-Hummel.
"You. Need. To. Chill."
"Liv, today is six years in the making. If it's not perfect then we'll have wasted almost a decade of our lives."
She smiled at him in the mirror where he was still tweaking his hair, even though it had been exactly how he wanted it for well over an hour. She took his hand.
"Sure. Wasted. You've just been lazing around, graduating, becoming Features Editor at , living with the man you love… god, it must have been torture."
He sighed. "Point taken. Right, no more mirror. Let me look at you properly. Oh, sweetie, you look fantastic!"
He squeezed both of her hands tight as he said it, and she looked down, blushing. She really did look stunning. She was fourteen, an age that was supposed to be awkward, but thanks to Kurt (and a long-distance, fashion-centric friendship with Isabelle) she carried herself with an air of self-assuredness, and dressed herself with a reigned-in panache that Kurt didn't really have nailed down until he was twenty. She had a healthy mane of hair styled into a bold pixie cut, and her silver (as the years of the engagement went by, fashions and colour schemes changed) dress just about showed the hint of a waist starting to appear.
"I know. Now, do you have everything you need? What about all the old, new, borrowed, blue stuff? Do you do that when there's no bride?"
"Oh god. We didn't talk about it. All the ridiculous details we almost came to blows over and we forgot that. Should I have done it?"
"Woah, woah, deep breaths. There aren't any rules about this. It doesn't matter if you haven't done it."
"But isn't it good luck? What if we don't do it and we get bad luck? Olivia, why are you doing this to me?"
"Shut up! Chances are you've already done it anyway. Your suit is new. You borrowed Dad's cufflinks, and they're older than you."
Kurt knew for a fact he was conceived very close to those cufflinks. That was a conversation that haunted him.
"Right, right, so… what about blue? I don't have anything blue!"
Olivia grinned.
"I actually have something that might work." Kurt frowned as she turned to her bag and pulled out something long, straight, and electric blue. "Just for the ceremony. If I try to dance in it I'll boil." She put the wig on, and God, Kurt thought, as blue strands hung over her shoulder,fourteen-year-old me would have worshipped you. "Now you have everything you need, with… six minutes to spare. Am I the best groomsmaid ever or what?"
He was already speechless, and nothing had even started yet. All he could do was grab her into a hug.
"I'm so glad you're here," was all he managed to force out.
The ceremony was perfect, albeit a little tearful. The speeches, however, were an utter shambles. They went for an 'open mic' approach, a ridiculous idea given their friendship group, and saved themselves until last when they had already been put through the ringer a dozen times.
Santana set herself the challenge of 'get at least one dick joke past Burt without him realising it was a dick joke'. Despite no less than nineteen valiant attempts, she failed spectacularly, if Burt's raised eyebrows were anything to go by. Rachel gushed about how Kurt was her platonic soulmate and how they'd been through so much together, and she couldn't wait for whatever was coming next. Brittany started with an equation and somehow brought a tear to everyone's eye.
Puck stood up, look at the happy couple, cried, and sat back down.
Blaine's father thanked the caterers, the bar staff, the guests, all a little stiffly, before saying just how proud he was of his son. Cooper congratulated Blaine on the marriage, and then on the hotness of his female friends. Santana whooped.
Burt, along with a few jokes about Kurt's teen years and more than a few comments about how much he admired and looked up to his son, said that Blaine was the only other person he'd ever met who was as dedicated to Kurt's happiness as he was.
Carole's was short but sweet: "I feel so lucky to have seen you two grow into the men you are today. I have no doubt that you will bring each other happiness until you are even older and greyer than my husband and I are now. I wish you all the love in the world." Kurt gave her a huge hug after that, knowing just how hard it must have been for her.
Kurt hadn't expected Olivia to say anything – as confident as she was, it was still a lot of pressure for a fourteen-year-old – but she stood for a minute or two, the wig gone by that point, to tell the whole room how lucky she was to have Kurt and Blaine as her big brother and her brother-in-law. Kurt cried again.
Blaine's turn more or less destroyed everyone.
"I can't believe it's been eight years. Eight years of holding this hand, of hearing this voice every day, of having this amazing friendship like nothing else I've ever known. And the two of us could tell you plenty about friendship just from our time in glee club [a raucous cheer from a mostly drunk New Directions], where we met the people we still proudly call our friends, while they call us at ungodly hours for a catch-up [a collective glare at Puck, who had apparently done this to everyone at some point] and appear out of the blue and eat all of our food [a yell of 'ayyyyy' from Sam] and 'accidentally' walk in on us at the most inopportune moments." Santana howled.
"Well, sorry guys, but you all who my favourite was in the New Directions. The man sitting next to me. My best friend, my partner, my soul mate, and now, my husband. I've been agonising over what I'm going to say today for months. Years. But now that we're here, it doesn't seem necessary – not just because I've had a lot of champagne, but because you know it all already, and I've got the rest of my life to try to explain it to you. Suffice it to say – you're my favourite. You make everything so much brighter. You're the most loyal, passionate, fascinating person I've ever met, and the love I have for you goes above and beyond what I thought was possible. My world is better for having you in it. I love you so much, Kurt."
Kurt let out a laugh/sob. Blaine leaned down to kiss him softly before holding his drink in the air and facing the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would love for you to join me in toasting my beautiful husband, Kurt Anderson-Hummel. To Kurt."
"To Kurt," they all repeated, no longer nudging each other suggestively or making any lewd comments. There were very few dry eyes left in the house, and they didn't belong to Kurt.
"Oh, God," Kurt said as he forced himself to stand up and take the microphone, "I can't believe I have to follow that. You awful man, making my eyes all puffy when I'm about to make a speech." He grinned at Blaine through his tears, and Blaine held his hand, finally letting his own tears roll down his cheeks.
"I'll make it up to you later, darling."
He gave a scandalised gasp, his timing impeccable.
"Darn right you will." He kissed Blaine's hand. "It's so crazy that we're finally here. Two years dating, six engaged, and now almost three hours married. I think the weirdest thing for me is that this doesn't feel weird. At all. We've been family for so long that being here, with your hand in mine, feels like the most natural thing in the world. And family is kind of what I want to talk about.
"I'm used to my family changing. When I was eight we went from three to two. It stayed that way for a long time, and I'm so grateful to my dad for everything he did to try and give me a normal, happy childhood, but it wasn't until our two became four that things really started to feel… real again. You once said that what we had before wasn't really living, and I don't think I really understood that until later." His hand shook as it held onto the card. Blaine stood with him, kissed his cheek, and rested his palm on Kurt's lower back. Kurt smiled at him. As you all know, and a lot of you will remember, our family became smaller again. I lost my big brother, and one of my very best friends, and I just- I couldn't picture a time when my family would feel right again. Of course I still miss Finn and my mom with all my heart, and I so wish they could be here today, but I'm lucky enough to have my little sister here. I remember her being so grateful when she first came to us, to my parents for taking care of her and loving her so much, and to me for… decorating her room, I guess…" a small laugh from the audience, "but I don't think she ever realised just how much she did for us. She brought so much fun and happiness into our house again, when we thought it was impossible. I remember worrying so much when Carole told me they were thinking about adopting, and now I realise that was stupid. The idea of these two not putting their excellent parenting abilities to good use is preposterous. So I'd like to make my first toast to my family, those who are here and those who couldn't be. You mean the world to me. My mom, my brother, my wonderful new mom, my amazing, supportive dad, and my something blue, my flower girl, my little sister. The Hummels."
"The Hummels," everyone chimed in.
"Not to get too sad on all of you, but I was a pretty lonely kid. I felt like a weirdo. I liked weird clothes and musicals and, obviously, boys. Loser, right?"
"Yes."
"Thanks for backing me up, Tana. Well, when I was fifteen I found a bunch of other losers, who can be found drinking me to bankruptcy at table three. You'd think they'd have learned their lessons by now. Well, those losers mean more to me than anyone can ever know. They made me feel accepted, wanted, valued, when the rest of the world tried to tell me I wasn't. We were part of something truly spectacular in our ridiculous little choir room. I love every single one of you. So, here's toast two of three: To the McKinley High New Directions."
The room repeated after Kurt except for the toastees, who howled and whooped and clapped for themselves.
"And finally. The reason I'm still standing right now. The reason we're all here." He sniffed and took a slow breath while he turned to look at his husband. "Blaine. When we first met, you dragged me down the worst shortcut I've ever seen and sang a Katy Perry song to me. And you had no idea how huge it was. Teenage me had literally dreamed of meeting somebody like you. When things were at their worst you were there for me, and as they got better, you stayed. I'd always figured that kind of love just wasn't for people like me, but you proved me wrong. Not usually something I'm fond of, but for you I can make an exception. I- I have a tendency to be guarded. Cynical, sarcastic. Kind of a grouch. I think it's a little too easy to be like that sometimes. But you changed that. At first I thought you were some kind of wise, gay Confucius sent to guide me through adolescence, but it turned out you were just a little ball of sunshine. You made me smile and you sang and danced with me and you made me feel so safe and so, so happy. You listened to me and believed in me when it felt like nobody else did. You understood. And that was before we even started dating. Since then you've just lifted me higher and higher and really made me feel like I matter. Blaine, everybody in this room is family somehow, but you are such a huge part of that. I'm so excited to start the next chapter with you. My family, my home, my soulmate, my teenage dream, my grown up reality, my love, my husband. I love you so much. To Blaine."
Again, the guests joined in the toast. When they'd all downed their champagne, Kurt kept talking.
"I never want to think about my family getting smaller again. From here on, it's just going to grow."
Blaine grinned.
"You sure? Now?"
Kurt nodded.
"We weren't actually going to say anything today, but um… last week-" he squeezed Blaine's hand while their audience frowned in confusion, "we got a phone call. I know that for the wedding we've been agonizingly slow, but I promise you we're not taking the same approach to anything else. It's just that there have been delays because of some other stuff- projects we've been working on. A lot to organise. What I mean is- we're, um-"
"We're getting twins," Blaine cut in, "in a month. A boy and a girl, three years old."
His words were drowned out by gasps and then applause. Kurt and Blaine took advantage of the noise and kissed, finally not having to worry about giving anything away. Burt ran up to hug both of them, then grabbed the microphone.
"Look, I know we've already had like a billion toasts, but we need one more. To family!"
He was met with a huge cheer, and the room was full of chatter and excitement as people started rushing forward to interrogate them and find out how they'd kept it all so secret, but they brushed them all off. They were far too busy enjoying their wedding to deal with questions right now. Blaine picked up the mic.
"Listen, guys. We promise to release some kind of statement answering all of your questions soon. But for now, we have a first dance to attend. Now sit the hell down so I can grope my new husband in front of all of you."
Before Kurt and Blaine ran to the dance floor, Kurt swept up to Olivia and gave her an enormous hug. She was still so surprised she almost forgot to hug him back.
"Kurt, God, this is so amazing, I'm so happy for you, I-"
"It's all because of you, Liv. We want to make a family, just like Mom and Dad did. Knowing how happy you've made them, made me, how amazing our family is – that's why we're doing this. I love you so much, honey."
She sniffed, her throat tightening as she kept hugging him.
"I love you too."
As Kurt held Blaine close, Blaine's face tucked into his neck, he closed his eyes and breathed the moment in. The hall full of people they loved, happily watching them, Blaine's hand in his. So much was just beginning, but it really felt like more of a continuation. Blaine was the love of his life, just as he was when they were in school, and after their honeymoon they would go back home as normal, and keep loving each other. Same as always. With extra rings, extra titles (titles they'd been referring to each other as for years anyway), and soon, two extra people in their house. Everything and nothing had changed. He wasn't sure what he expected to feel right now – relief that it had gone smoothly, scared that it would make things different, exhausted from trying to run everything – but here he was, just feeling content. Comfortable. At home.
"I love you," Blaine whispered to him for the hundredth time that day.
"I love you too."
He kissed him on the cheek.
Olivia stood with her parents and watched, and she grinned at Kurt when he opened his eyes. He definitely wasn't scared to be a husband or a father. The one thing in his life he'd always been certain about was family.