Epilogue
Blaine keeps his promise to Kurt. He pulls his grades up and manages to get into a good college. It isn't hard for him to decide what he wants to do with his life. Ever since his encounter with Kurt, he has been wanting to help people, so he decided to become a doctor. The first time he worked with children during his internship, he knew his path in life.
Being a pediatrician isn't easy, but it's fulfilling. There are great days, good days, bad days, and then there are days like today. Gale, a seven-year-old boy who had been fighting leukemia on and off for five years, finally lost the battle. Nothing is worse than when such a young child dies.
After a day like today, Blaine wishes, more than anything, that he didn't have to come home to an empty apartment.
He'd tried dating over the years, but no man could compare to the memory of Kurt. Not a day goes by that Blaine doesn't pray that Kurt is alive and safe, hoping someone up there is listening.
It's silly; it's been fourteen years since Kurt was pulled from his bedroom for judgement. It's too late now to make a difference; still, he's not ready to give up hope.
On his way home, Blaine stops to get some takeout. He's planning on spending his night eating greasy hamburgers while watching cheesy chick-flicks before falling asleep on the couch. He's glad he has the day off tomorrow; he's not ready to work with sick kids all day so soon after losing Gale.
He'd liked Gale; he'd always been so happy, no matter how much pain he was in. Gale had always been the sunshine on his rounds. Gale's death hadn't been sudden – the boy's health had been deteriorating for weeks – and he'd been preparing Gale's parents for the worst-case scenario, but he'd never considered preparing himself. It isn't the first time Blaine's lost a child, and it won't be the last, but something about Gale made this time worse than the others. Blaine couldn't quite put his finger on what was so special about the boy, maybe it was his bright blue eyes that always sparkled with life. Seeing those eyes so lifeless was horrible.
The good times do outweigh the bad, but tonight he has a lot of trouble remembering them.
He puts on a fake smile for his doorman; there's no need to make the man worry over him. The elevator ride seems to take longer than normal, the happy song playing over the intercom mocking his mood. Blaine's relieved when he finally puts his key in the lock; now, he can shut himself off from the rest of the world.
When he opens the door, he immediately notices that something's off. There are soft sounds coming from the living room. Blaine hopes that it's a cat or something that somehow got into his apartment, and not some serial killer out to get him.
It's definitely not a cat. There, on his couch, is a man. Not just any man, it's Kurt! A fully clothed Kurt, to Blaine's disappointment.
"Kurt?" Blaine asks.
"Blaine!" Kurt jumps up from the couch, but immediately falls back down with a painful moan.
"Shit!" Blaine runs towards Kurt. "Are you okay?"
"My wings," Kurt says between labored breaths. "They tore them off. It's still healing."
"Let me take a look," Blaine says. At Kurt's sceptical look, he adds: "I'm a doctor now."
"Really?" Kurt asks. "Blaine, I'm so proud of you."
Blaine flushes at the compliment. "Now, take your shirt off and let me take a look."
Blaine helps Kurt take the shirt off. Bandages are wrapped clumsily around his chest.
"I hope you don't mind that I took some of your clothes and used your bandages. I didn't want you to see me in the state I was in."
"You saved my life, Kurt. This is seriously the least I could do for you." Blaine notices Kurt's hair is wet. "Did you take a shower?"
"Yes. I had to wash up the blood. I cleaned everything as best as I could, but there was a lot of it."
Blaine takes off the bandages and looks at Kurt's back. Pink skin covers his shoulder blades. It's still healing, and there will undoubtedly be two large scars when it's completely healed. Blaine touches the new skin, and Kurt winces.
"I should have just enough power left for the wounds to heal," Kurt says. "There will be scars, though."
"I don't think you need new bandages," Blaine says. He helps Kurt back into his shirt and goes to throw out the bandages. He notices that there are a few bloodstains on them. Kurt really is a quick healer. He remembers the way the hickeys he tried to leave on Kurt's neck almost instantly healed that night, fourteen years ago.
"So, what's happened?" Blaine asks when he reenters the living room.
"I got called back to The Elders for judgement. They considered killing me instantly. Luckily, they wanted to see how much damage I had done on my little trip. They were pleasantly surprised to see I'd actually done good and that you'd turned your life around.
"They started debating my punishment. They heard your prayers for my safety, and they were so touched that a human could care so much for an angel. I was touched as well."
Blaine is so glad to hear his prayers hadn't gone unheard.
"You saved my life," Kurt says as he smiles at Blaine. "The Elders decided to take away my immortality and my wings for punishment, and to send me back to earth. To you.
"I don't know how long it's been," Kurt admits. "And I don't know it you want me in your life, but I have nowhere to go, so..."
"I love you," Blaine blurts out the words he'd wished he'd said to Kurt all those years ago. "I have always loved you. I would be honored if you were to come live here with me."
"Blaine," Kurt says, his hands gripping his shirt. "I... I love you, too. Thank you so much for opening your home to me."
Blaine is once again baffled by how humble Kurt is.
"Not my home," he says. "Our home."
After that day, Blaine never came home to an empty apartment again.