Author's Note:
Thank you all for reading and reviewing my new story. Chapter 2 is a lot of exposition, which was necessary to move on to the heart of the story, but I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you to Jen (momaboutown) for being my sounding board and my cheerleader. You're the best!
I do not own Glee or it's characters.
"I just want to know how I got from there to here."
Blaine smiled at Kurt, and Kurt smiled back. Blaine nodded at his husband to start. Kurt looked at them both, eyes shining. "It all started 17 years ago, when your father and I met at a school called Dalton Academy in Westerville, Ohio."
"That's where you met Uncle Nick and Uncle Jeff, right?" Kayleigh asked.
"Right," Kurt said. "And Uncle Wes and Uncle David. You've seen pictures of us all in our uniforms. And you've heard a lot of the stories. Though only Wes met your Aunt Michelle while he was at Dalton. Nick and Jeff and David met their wives later."
"And that's where you named the club after, right Dad?" she said turning to Blaine.
Blaine smiled. "Yes sweetheart, that's where my club is named after. And where the color scheme comes from," he winked at Kurt. He remembered when they had first bought out the club. When they had challenged each other to shout out the name they wanted on the count of three, both shouted 'Dalton' at the same time. "Dalton is where your Daddy and I fell in love," Blaine shared.
"But I thought you both graduated from McKinley, where Uncle Finn teaches," Kayleigh said.
Blaine looked over at Kurt and frowned. He wasn't ready for the explanations. He never had been. Kurt knew it was time, but as always, he knew it was Blaine's story to tell, especially to his daughter. Blaine didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to tell her the whole truth.
"We'll get to that later sweetheart. There are some things you need to understand about your story first," Blaine said. Kayleigh's nose scrunched in confusion, and Kurt immediately drew her in for cuddles.
"All in good time, mon ange," Kurt said, and kissed his angel on top of her head.
"Let's talk about coming to New York," Blaine said with a smile.
When Kurt and Blaine were both accepted to different departments at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU they did not hesitate to make plans. After a year in Ohio taking community college classes, building a theater resume and a costume design portfolio, Kurt was more than ready to conquer New York City, especially with Blaine by his side. He had visited Rachel at NYADA a number of times that year, putting far more wear and tear on the Navigator than his father had really wanted, and he was absolutely certain it was where they both belonged. Kurt was in charge of finding an apartment that was affordable but fashionable and on his last trip out to see Rachel, he found the perfect one bedroom flat.
Saying goodbye to Burt was possibly the hardest thing that either of them had done. Since the summer after they first started dating, Burt had gradually become more of a father to Blaine than his own had ever been. Blaine loved his parents, as any son would, but two years was not long enough to recover from sixteen years of pain and neglect. Burt had given him everything he had missed and more, and he could no longer imagine life without Kurt's father.
For Kurt, tears flowed when they finally parted ways. His father had been his whole life for so long and had been his best friend when he had no one else. Through thick and thin, Burt had never failed to stand by Kurt's side; loving him, protecting him and caring for him better than any child could have dreamed. Burt had been his mother and his father and it terrified Kurt to move on without him. But in a way it also thrilled him. Especially since he was moving on with Blaine.
They weren't alone, they had friends around. Nick and Jeff had both headed out to New York too, and they were joining Rachel who was entering her sophomore year at NYADA. The week before college started was an amazing time that they would remember forever, full of laughter and reminiscing. Santana had spent it with them before heading back up to Ithaca, and when Blaine had to say goodbye to her, Santana snapped at Blaine for crying while she held back her own tears. They promised to call all the time and over the many months and years whenever they were apart, they made good on that promise.
To be in New York with the friends they called family, was the greatest feeling in the entire world. Of course it wasn't to last, as school started and the daily grind grew exhausting.
Kurt committed himself 110% to the drama program at Tisch, telling himself that there would be plenty of time to design after he became a star. He worked tirelessly in class and rehearsals to make a name for himself, one that put him in the good graces of his professors and didn't burn any bridges. He had every intention of graduating college, while performing as much as possible. Kurt spent every summer throughout his college career auditioning, in the hopes of getting his name out and known. The summer after his freshman year, he had leading roles in two Off-Off Broadway shows in tiny sweltering theaters that barely seated 50. The summer of his sophomore year, he had a small role in an Off-Broadway production that went nowhere, but at least had air-conditioning and appreciative audiences.
Blaine threw himself into his work at Tisch, soaking up everything he could possibly learn about recorded music at the Clive Davis Institute. He found a job his freshman year at a hot Karaoke bar not far from their apartment and his reputation amongst the patrons grew when they learned how talented a singer he was. Over the next four years, he rose in the ranks from busboy and waiter to assistant manager and then manager his senior year. Patrons frequently requested that he sing and he was tipped generously on the evenings he performed. During his senior year he was able to convince the owner of the bar to build a small recording studio for those who wanted to venture beyond Karaoke, and it became a huge hit as Blaine mixed their music and processed CDs for them.
Kurt and Blaine worked so hard in school and out, that they barely saw each other, but they were proud of each other's successes and were grateful every night for the tiny one bedroom apartment they shared where they could fall in bed together when the day was done. Most evenings they were both fast asleep in each other's arms before their heads even hit the pillow. But there were those special nights they set aside, free of work or school, where they made love until the sun came up, and those nights were glorious.
Mornings were sacred. They knew that as they got older and started working that they would have to sacrifice them, which was all the more reason to not let anything get in the way of them now. They would alternate who would get up and make coffee and breakfast, while the other enjoyed an extra twenty minutes in bed. Well, Blaine did. Kurt took the opportunity to do an extra long skin regimen on the mornings he had free.
It was one such morning on a cold day in January of their senior year. They had taken a quick trip to Lima for Christmas in December, but New York was home by now and their trips were getting shorter and more far between. Blaine had gotten the coffee on and was in the middle of cooking omelets when he heard Kurt's phone ring. He thought nothing of it as he dropped the asparagus, onion, broccoli and gouda into the egg mixture already on the stove. He found himself humming Kurt's ringtone, the latest Lady Gaga song, and laughed. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same, he thought to himself.
Kurt came out of his room slowly in his robe with his phone in his hand, lost in a daze. As soon as Blaine saw him, he put the spatula down and walked towards him. Kurt's face was flushed with shock and Blaine immediately thought the worst.
"What is it, Love, is everything ok? Burt? Carole? Finn? My parents?" Blaine rambled but Kurt kept shaking his head. "Then what is it?"
"I got the show, Blaine," he said softly and his eyes started to glow. Saying it out loud finally allowed the disbelief to be overcome by the reality of the phone call. His hands shook and he stepped closer to Blaine, putting the phone down before he dropped it. "I'm going to Broadway!"
Blaine stared in amazement and then laughed wildly as Kurt ran into his arms. Blaine immediately wrapped him up tightly and swung Kurt around and around, laughing and hollering. Tears of joy streamed down both their faces as Kurt's greatest dream came true. "I'm going to Broadway!" Kurt repeated again, still trying to believe that it was real.
Blaine put him down and cupped his hands around Kurt's head, kissing him passionately. When they pulled away for air, he swiped his thumbs across Kurt's cheeks, wiping away the tears. Neither of their grins could be wiped away. "I am so proud of you, baby," Blaine said. "You're going to Broadway!"
Blaine had rented out the Karaoke bar the weekend before their college graduation to hold a party for himself and Kurt. Kurt had wanted to help, but Blaine assured him that he had more time and would put the whole party together. Kurt couldn't argue. Blaine invited all of their family and friends, old and new. It was an amazing mix of people from their lives. Their families were there of course, even Blaine's father had come. Santana, Rachel, Nick and Jeff had come and Wes, David and Mercedes had flown in. Of course they also had some of the many friends that they had made since moving to the city; classmates from Tisch that they had grown very close to as well as a few of Kurt's fellow chorus members in his show. It was an eclectic crowd and a dangerous one for a Karaoke bar. Even Burt had gotten up to sing.
Only a few of the people in attendance knew Blaine's ulterior motives for the party; Burt, his mother, Nick and the friends who had flown in. Everyone else was as much in the dark as Kurt, which was precisely what Blaine wanted. When the party seemed like it was slowing down, Blaine took the microphone and asked for quiet. He glanced down at Kurt who was sitting in the middle of the room with his father and Finn, and he smiled softly as Burt took his son's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"I want to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate the amazing journey that Kurt and I have taken over the last few years. There were many days when neither of us thought we were going to make it to walk with our friends to graduate. Kurt fought to stay in school through his rehearsals and performances, and we have amazing professors to thank for him being able to wear the cap and gown, though frankly we are all a bit nervous to see what he is going to do with it," Blaine teased. Everyone laughed and Kurt blushed, but it was true. He had been designing in his downtime and he had great plans for his graduation outfit.
"As amazing as the two of us ending this part of our journey is, it's the next stage of our lives that I really invited you all here for today." Tears started welling in his eyes and he looked at Kurt, who gazed back nervously. He looked at his father and Burt nodded to him in reassurance. Kurt could see tears in his father's eyes as well, and his heart started to race.
"The Christmas of my junior year of high school, I gave Kurt a gum wrapper ring and a promise to always be his boy," Blaine continued. "That was back when we were poor high school students. He didn't like to talk about the future back then. He had amazing dreams he wanted to achieve, and he thought he would be thirty before they would all come true. Dreams of college graduation and Broadway. Well, I always knew better. While he went underappreciated in Lima, Ohio, I always knew that New York would welcome him with open arms. And here he is, 22 years old, about to graduate college, while he's dancing his heart out on Broadway every night. And now that he's a Broadway star, Kurt deserves a little bit more than a gum wrapper ring."
Kurt's heart stopped as Blaine pulled out a small blue box. His hands flew to his mouth. Blaine smiled, stepped off the stage and walked to Kurt. All eyes in the room followed him. He knelt down on one knee and chuckled as the tears already started rolling down Kurt's face. He could see Kurt's hands shaking and he knew that his were as well. "Kurt Hummel. I love you more than anyone or anything in this world. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that you would change my life forever. You are my light in dark places, my angel, my cheerleader, my teenage dream. You believed in me when no one else did. You knew me when no one else did. You saved me. And I don't ever want to be apart from you. I want to love you forever, and be by your side through thick and thin. I want to raise children with you and grow old with you. I want to be your husband."
Blaine opened the box to reveal an 18 carat white gold ring with a rectangle of round brilliant diamonds in the center. Kurt stopped breathing as a squeal caught in his throat.
"Kurt Hummel, will you marry me?"
Blaine held his own breath as Kurt shakily pulled the ring out of the box. So many thoughts rushed through his head, it was swimming and he couldn't think. The only thing he knew was that for the first time, Blaine asked him to marry him and he didn't want to run. He didn't want to change the subject, or tell him to wait. He didn't want to avoid the thought of the two of them with children running around driving them crazy. He wanted it all. The life, the forever, the children. He wanted to be Blaine's husband, and he sure as hell wanted that ring. Blaine was watching him so carefully, reading every thought that passed behind those glasz eyes. Kurt took the ring in his fingers and held it out to Blaine. "Yes," he said, shakily at first, then repeated it louder. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes, I will marry you!"
Blaine grinned widely and took the ring, placing it on Kurt's ring finger. It fit perfectly, as Blaine knew it would because they fit perfectly. Kurt and Blaine fell into each other's arms and hugged and kissed, not caring who was watching, as the entire room erupted in applause.
Rachel and Santana immediately jumped on stage and sang "Perfect," a song that they had sung years ago to each other and somewhat had become their theme song. Kurt and Blaine danced and though the party had been winding down, it now went on until the wee hours of the night. The congratulations didn't end for a long time. Blaine was delirious with happiness. He and Kurt were getting married.
Author's Note:
Reviews are love!
Anyone interested in seeing the ring, It is the Century Ring from Tiffany's. You can see it on the website, which I can't seem to link from here. I will try to post a link to it on my tumblr at GleekMom or ask and I can tweet it to you.
