Author's Note:

Hello Beautiful Readers! You are all amazing. Thank you so much for following and favoriting and reviewing! Every email makes me so happy. I hope some of your questions are answered in this chapter. Though I suspect that more will be raised!

I hope you all are enjoying the chapter songs and are maybe listening along. In the end we'll have a lovely You Are Mine playlist. :-)

My beta is awesome, she really is.

"Let it go
Fly away
And say goodbye
To yesterday

'Cause you're never alone
And I will always be there
You just carry on
You will understand."

~ A Great Big World

Blaine and Santana endured ten hour drives with each of their parents from Westerville to New York City, listening to 70's music, bad books on tape and lectures about subjects of which they wanted absolutely no part. The only thing that saved their sanity was the ability to text back and forth the entire drive. And knowing that in just three short days they would be free of all the trappings that tied them down.

The apartment had been vetted by the families' real estate agents and accountants. As the Dom, Santana's family was in charge of all financial aspects of arranging it, though Blaine's estate would pay his share of the rent. Santana had insisted that the apartment be two bedrooms and in a safe neighborhood but without a doorman. She didn't want anyone else tracking her sub's moves, she told her parents. In actuality, it was Blaine's moves she was the least worried about. Brittany would move in after her parents' left and she had no idea whether or not a doorman would report back to them. Which was the absolute last thing that either of them needed to deal with.

They blocked the street with their SUVs and rented trailers and the movers her parents had hired arrived to carry the furniture and belongings they had brought with them up to their 3rd floor apartment. Blaine and Santana stood outside, hand in hand, looking at their new neighborhood.

"This is it," Blaine said quietly, squeezing her hand. Their mothers were inside putting things away and their fathers were behind the trailers directing traffic. "This is freedom."

There were trees along the sidewalk of their East Village apartment complex and delicious smells of nearby restaurants wafted toward them, filling their senses with both sweets and spices. They could hear music coming from a nearby building and they knew that this was the perfect place to begin their new life.

"Alright lovebirds, come on upstairs and see what your moms have done with the place."

Blaine and Santana glanced at each other, secret smiles on their faces. The truth was theirs, for them and them alone, to share with whom they wished. Blaine leaned down slightly and kissed her on her cheek, a gesture that Santana's father watching them took as the love of a true submissive. And it was, in every way that mattered to them at the time. Santana was everything he wanted and needed, and he had two more days of her completely to himself to prove it.

"Hey bitches, I'm home!" Brittany yelled from the doorway.

Santana squealed and ran to her, hugging her tight and giving her a playful swat for the language. Blaine blushed and looked away, the gesture he was so familiar with feeling so much more intimate between the girls. His heart grew heavy and he wanted more than anything to hide away in his room until their reunion was over, but he knew that would just upset his Dom. Santana had promised that Brittany did not want to come between what he and Santana had and he had promised to give her a chance. So instead of hiding he went to their side and offered to take Brittany's bags.

Santana's hand was on his back immediately. "You don't have to do that sweetheart," she told him gently. "Brittany can handle her own bags."

The hand on his back grounded him and gave him the strength to look back up with a smile. "Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't carry them for her? You two catch up, I'll bring them in."

Santana eyed him suspiciously. Whether she was looking for signs of sadness or mischief he wasn't sure but she found neither. He simply smiled helpfully and she smiled back. "Alright," she allowed. "No funny business though. The last thing I want to be doing our first night together is spanking either of you, understood?" She looked back and forth between her sub and her girlfriend and they both nodded. But mischievous glances that did not go unnoticed by Santana passed between the two, and though she knew that it was going to take a little time, she also knew that they were all going to be alright.

A month into their stay in New York, Santana had met with the Claiming Counselor with both Blaine and Brittany. Blaine's contract remained virtually the same with the added allowance for a secondary claim. What was written in the contract between Santana and Brittany Blaine did not know, but only a small part of him was anxious to see it. He was certain his curiosity would be better satisfied in person anyway. It was a Wednesday that they all went to the Office of the City Clerk to re-file Blaine and Santana's updated contract. Written white, filed as adults in the state of New York, Santana assured him that it could not be touched by anyone.

On Thursday Santana went off with Brittany. Blaine had opted not to go with them. It wasn't that he wasn't happy for them or that he was jealous of Brittany. He was actually jealous of Santana. Seeing the two of them together the last few weeks had made him begin to realize for the first time just how much he wanted a love of his own; someone he could kiss on the lips, someone he could go to bed with at night, someone he would wake up beside in the morning. Someone he could submit to in every way imaginable. And he was beginning to imagine a lot.

But he would never begrudge Santana and Brittany that and he loved having Brittany around. The two of them shared everything, whispering for hours about Santana on the couch after dark until their Dom yelled at them to go to bed. He could share with Brittany the things that he couldn't share with Santana, the things that only another sub understood. They were different in their needs, he and Britt. She craved guidance, he craved accountability. She avoided punishment as much as she could while he sought it all too frequently. But despite their differences, they understood each other all the same. They both just wanted to belong to someone and to be worthy of their love.

So he celebrated with them the completion of their contract but stayed behind while they held their private claiming ceremony. Instead he decorated the apartment and cooked a celebratory meal. Brittany had been working hard all summer at the Ailey School for American Dance and she would be continuing on in the fall. At her mother's behest, Santana had been volunteering with the Sociedad Educativa de las Artes over the summer. And Blaine had found a job, playing piano at a local restaurant. Claiming ceremony notwithstanding, he thought the three of them deserved a celebration for surviving their first summer in New York, and Santana and Brittany's commitment to one another was just the icing on the cake.

Flowers were splayed out all over the apartment, banners of congratulations hung from the hard wood archways that he loved so much, and a delicious smelling meal of a strawberry avocado salad, creamy pesto shrimp, a simple Swiss chard, and a perfect chocolate fondue was nearing completion. He set the music, lit the candles and dimmed the lights romantically only moments before the new couple entered through the door.

Brittany's eyes went wide, her hands flying to her mouth. Santana grinned, eyeing her first sub with the utmost of love. "Oh Blaine, I can't believe you did this for us," she said, tears brimming for the second time in one day. She opened her arms wide. "Come here sweetheart, I love you so much." He glided into her arms, closing his eyes to the feel of her warmth and her dominance flowing through her to him. "You are more precious to me than you know," she whispered softly, kissing him on the cheek.

Blaine was wiping away his own tears now. "I just wanted to show you and Brittany how much I love you and support you," he said. "I wanted your new life to start beautifully."

"Our new life," Santana corrected him firmly. "It wouldn't be as beautiful without you."

Blaine smiled, the reassurance everything he needed and he self-consciously laughed his way out of her arms. "I should get dinner ready."

He suddenly felt Brittany's hand on his arm. "Let me," she said, her eyes dipping. "It's the least I can do after all you've done for me."

Blaine glanced at Santana who nodded her approval. He turned back to Brittany and smiled. "Okay," he agreed. "But we'll clean up together."

"Deal," she grinned.

"So how was the ceremony?" Blaine asked, settling into his place at the table. Brittany brought over the salad and Blaine waited for Santana to serve herself before taking any for himself.

"It was actually really nice," Santana said. "Because it was just us and the Justice of the Peace we could read the contract aloud, and Brittany looked so beautiful and innocent," she added. Brittany blushed a rose pink that only glowed brighter against her white dress as she brought over the hot dishes and sat down to join them.

"Santana was hot," Brittany said, throwing her Dom a glance. Done up in a slick red dress, even Blaine could agree. "I just wanted to fall to my knees the minute she said I do."

Blaine nodded but looked to his plate. He remembered that feeling like it was yesterday. The power those words had over him. It would take him a while, he thought, to not feel a bit of possessiveness when it came to that feeling. He still wasn't sure if sharing it, sharing her, with someone else would ever be easy. Santana knew. She placed a gentle hand on his leg beneath the table and gave it a small squeeze. He didn't look up, but the tears that had been forming retreated. Whatever unspoken words she exchanged with Brittany he didn't see, but the conversation easily shifted away.

They talked for a while about all the preparations they needed to make in the next week. Blaine would be starting NYADA, Santana would be beginning her pre-law program at Fordham and Brittany would be starting her fall courses at Ailey. They had been lucky so far not to have to worry about money, but today marked the day that changed everything. They would keep this hidden for as long as possible, and they hoped that they could last through college, but they knew it wouldn't last forever. And when their parents found out there was no way they'd be able to count on submissive dowries or continued support. They would save whatever money they could from jobs and allowances. They would plan for their future together on their own.

All the while ignoring that they both hoped and hated that Blaine would very likely not be a part of that future. At least not in the way he was now.

But that time was far away and after finishing their meal, Blaine and Brittany cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, working in tandem to make it a quick job. Blaine gathered the fondue plates and Brittany grabbed the bowls of fruit and they turned to put them on the table. But both froze when they saw Santana standing in the center of their living room, holding two beautifully wrapped boxes.

"Put dessert on the table, come here, and kneel," she ordered them both.

Submission tingling up their spines, they did as they were told, emptying their hands and crossing the room to stand before their Dom. Together, for the first time as her claimed subs, they knelt beside one another at her feet.

It was the most beautiful thing that Santana had ever seen and her dominance reached out to them both. "When I was little," she told them, "I used to worry that I would never find a sub. I knew I was different but it was easier to chalk up my fear to not being pretty enough, or strong enough, or dominant enough." Blaine and Brittany both stifled a laugh. Neither one of them would ever doubt that Santana was strong and dominant enough. "But now I have two subs, the two most beautiful and perfect subs in the world and I could not be more blessed to have you in my life." She looked down at them, their eyes glowing with deference as they returned her gaze. Her heart nearly burst with happiness. "I love you both so much, differently and yet the same. And I want both of you to know that no matter what happens, I am yours forever."

She knelt down herself and Brittany and Blaine both sat back on their heels. She leaned forward, cupping Brittany's face in her hand and kissing her softly, passion and love flowing between them both. When they parted, Santana smiled and handed her one of the gifts.

Blaine bowed his head, jealousy biting at him. He knew exactly what Brittany would find in her box; a beautiful golden cuff to slip on her wrist and tell the world that his Dom was hers. He waited, watching her out of the corner of his eyes as she carefully unwrapped the foiled paper and tucked the bow in her hair. Flipping open the box she pulled it out, a delicate open spiral gold cuff that would fit halfway up to her elbow, claiming her for all the world to see.

Two years. It had been two years since his and Santana's ceremony and his wrist had been bare the entire time. They didn't need one in Westerville, Santana would tell anyone who asked. Everyone knew he belonged to her and if they didn't he better make sure that they did. But they both knew that wasn't the real reason why. Wearing a golden cuff without a golden claim was a lie that neither Blaine nor Santana were willing to tell.

"Open yours," Santana told him softly as she held it out to him. He looked up. She knew he didn't want to, knew exactly how he was feeling. She knew everything about him and it pained him that he'd never been able to share that with the world, not in the way that it mattered to them. Not in the way that Brittany could the moment she was claimed. He was proud of what they had, he wasn't ashamed. She was his best friend and soulmate and the perfect Dom and he'd always wished he could declare it on his wrist. Tears filled his eyes as he unwrapped the package, not knowing at all what was inside. But lying on a bed of cotton was the absolute last thing he'd ever expected. He looked at Santana, eyes full of wonder. She smiled hopefully. "Do you like it?"

He pulled it out as if it were the most precious thing he'd ever seen in the world because it was to him. Epsom white leather with silver hardware, the Hermes Collier de Chien cuff was engraved inside with the words Truth, Love, Trust, Respect, the cornerstones of their contract. On the outside, four silver studs marking those promises surrounded a center ring. Claimed. His eyes filled with tears of joy and he stifled a laugh. "I love it," he whispered.

She reached out and ceremoniously put it on him, linking her finger in the ring. "It may be that no one recognizes what it means," she told him. "But you will know."

"It means I'm yours," Blaine said, his voice thick with emotion.

Santana nodded to him and smiled. "Yes sweetheart. It means you are mine."

Blaine escaped to the practice room in the music building after school, not wanting to go back home after what he'd heard that morning. He'd known very well he shouldn't have gone back into the apartment after forgetting his music. He couldn't pretend he didn't see the gold band hanging on the doorknob and he knew that entering with the band on the door was completely forbidden. If he had snuck in quickly, gotten his things and raced out without listening he maybe could have escaped the emotions flooding him now. But he'd chosen to ignore the angel on his shoulder and listened in when he shouldn't have and now he couldn't get what he'd heard out of his mind.

"Please Santana, please," he'd heard between the blows. "Please just let me come."

"You can come when your punishment is over Brittany and not a minute sooner."

The words had played over and over in his head all day. He'd hoped that drowning himself in the requiem would help, and it must have because he didn't even notice the door open.

"Santana sent me to find you," Brittany said softly.

Blaine looked up from the keys though he didn't stop playing. The music at his fingertips soothed him. Mozart was far from his typical fair but NYADA required their musicians to be eclectic, and he loved the sounds of classical music.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked. He knew he was later than he thought he would be, but he'd also texted to let Santana know. And she couldn't possibly have known about that morning.

"No." Brittany smiled softly, closing the soundproof door of the practice room. "What are you doing?"

His brow furrowed and he worried his lip between his teeth. "Trying to get this piece right," he said. "I have an evaluation coming up but I can't get the ending right."

"Can I listen?" she asked sweetly.

"Sure," he said, starting to play again. She climbed up on the baby grand piano and laid back, spreading her arms out. The first time she'd done it he'd thought it was strange, but Brittany's eccentricities were what made her special. And she had told him she liked to feel the vibrations in her whole body. It was the dancer in her.

"I love listening to you play," she revealed closing her eyes. Her voice was as soft as the melody. "It's the only time I get to hear all the things you keep inside."

She was right. He was as much of a dancer as she was, though his dancing was predominantly in his fingers on the keys. Still what they both had in common was the way they poured every emotion into their performance. "What do you hear?" he wondered.

"Sadness. Longing." She pressed the tips of her fingers to the wood beneath them. "And hope. I think you always have hope."

His hands faltered and he withdrew them from the keys, folding them in his lap. Brittany could seem oblivious to everything going on in the world but moments like these he understood exactly what Santana saw in her. "What's it like?" he asked, his voice timid, almost breaking.

Brittany rolled over onto her side, propping her head up on her hand. Blaine was staring at his lap and she knew it wasn't submission that kept his eyes downcast. "What's what like?" she asked.

"Having her love you." Hazel eyes flickered up at her, trying to escape scrutiny but Brittany held nothing of the kind in her glance. The only thing in her bright blue eyes was compassion.

"It's like a world that has always been fuzzy comes suddenly into sharp focus." She sat up, crossing her ankles beneath the rim of the piano. "Things that were confusing make sense. I'm brave where I once was scared. I know she'll always care for me. Just like she will you."

"What about…" Blaine trailed off, his face reddening just from the thought of asking the question. But he needed to know and Brittany was a sub. He could ask her. Especially after what he'd heard that morning. It had sounded so different from his own experiences. "What about when she's punishing you?"

She smiled softly, a sparkle in her eyes as she turned them downward, not having to remember further away than that morning. "It's like this exquisite pain that I never want to end and at the same time I want it over as quickly as possible. Because it hurts but also this pleasure builds inside me and I just want to let it go. But she doesn't let me, no matter how hard I beg, until she's satisfied I've learned my lesson. And then when she finally does let me fall over the edge, it's the most amazing feeling because I know she's there to catch me and she's forgiven me and she loves me and everything is okay again. And I can forgive myself."

Blaine just nodded, a lump building in his throat because he didn't feel that with Santana, not entirely. "It sounds beautiful," he whispered.

"It is," Brittany said. "It's not the same for you?"

Blaine returned his fingers to the keys and breathed out a sigh. "No," he said softly. "I don't think it's the same for me."

She laid back down on the cold wood and she breathed in and out as he started to play. She could tell his mind was elsewhere though. "You're missing the harmony," she told him after a time.

He stopped playing and stared at the keys. He had the melody and the base but the harmony was eluding him. "You're right. I am."

She remembered the days before she had Santana in her life and she knew it felt just like the music Blaine played. It made her sad. She hoped he found his harmony soon. She jumped down and reached a hand out for him. "We should go. Don't want her to worry."

Blaine looked up. He offered her a sly smile and cocked a brow. "Don't we?"

Brittany laughed as he gathered his music and put it in his bag. Then she linked her arm in his. "Not tonight," she mused as she flipped off the light of the studio. "Once was enough for one day."

"Santana?" Blaine came around the corner from his room holding back against the wall. He knew Brittany was out and would be gone for a while. It had been days since he and Britt had talked, but every time he'd tried to get up the nerve to broach the subject with Santana his nerves got the best of him. But his nights filled with dreams and it was becoming too much to be able to manage on his own. Three times last night he had awoken in a sweat, hard and desperate. So racing heart or not, he was determined that today was the day. "Can I talk to you?"

Blaine's voice was small and Santana knew immediately that there was something wrong. The uneasy smile on his face was unnerving to her but it also made her dominance surge. She put her book down on the table and patted the sofa next to her, offering him a warm smile. "Of course sweetheart, you can always talk to me."

Blaine made his way over and sat down warily. He knew exactly what he was about to do, what he was about to confess, but he had no choice if he really wanted to explain himself. Besides, maybe it would get him exactly what he wanted. Fidgeting, he swallowed his fear and he cleared his throat. "The other day I forgot my sheet music for class so I came back home. There was a band on the door, but I thought I just needed one little thing I could run in quickly and get it."

Santana's smile faded, her eyes darkened. "You shouldn't have done that Blaine."

Blaine bowed his head. "Yes Ma'am, but that's not exactly what I wanted to tell you."

Santana pursed her lips. He knew she was contemplating whether to let him continue or address the issue now but it only took a moment to decide. "Go on."

Blaine took a breath. "I swear I had planned on just running in, grabbing my sheet music and running out, but then I heard Brittany in your room." He blushed wildly. He had no idea how to tell Santana what he was trying to say without it being completely embarrassing definitely for him, maybe for all of them, but he also couldn't go another day without her knowing. "I could hear that you were, you know, punishing her. But she was begging you to…to let her….you know…and you wouldn't let her." He couldn't say the words but he didn't have to. Santana did know exactly what he was talking about.

"You shouldn't have been listening to that Blaine," Santana reprimanded harshly. "There's a reason a band goes on the door even when I know you're not supposed to be home and I have made it very clear that in those situations you are not to come in under any circumstances."

Blaine hung his head in shame and tears came to his eyes. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, it's just…" He looked up at her. She looked angry and concerned and he hated disappointing her so much but she had always taught him to ask for what he needed. "I need that," he whispered.

Santana said nothing. He held his breath, waiting for whatever she might do or say. Then slowly, deliberately, she asked, "You need what Blaine?"

"I need what you and Brittany were doing." His voice was shaking but he knew he was going to have to say the words. "When you punish me. I need to want to…to come…and not be allowed to. For you to control that." And once the words were out they wouldn't stop. "I never knew that was something I needed, I didn't even know that it existed but now that I do I've been dreaming about it Santana. I've been dreaming about it, telling me when I can and when I can't and it just gets more and more each time and I can't-"

"No." Santana said firmly.

His heart dropped to his stomach. The tears flowed softly now, down his cheeks and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. "Please," he begged, trying one more time. He needed the dreams to stop.

"No," she repeated. "What you're asking for is a hard limit we agreed on. There is to be no sexual contact or control of any kind between Santana and Blaine at any time, for punishment or for play," she quoted.

A sudden surge of courage rushed through him. "Then I want to renegotiate," he declared.

Santana's eyes widened and he could see her flinch slightly. "You want to…" She shook her head and stood up, needing her space. She paced, folding her arms across her chest, then spun around. "Absolutely not."

Blaine gritted his teeth. He couldn't help but feel betrayed. Jealous. Abandoned. Exactly what he knew would happen as soon as she claimed Brittany because she was willing to give everything to her but not to him. "You can't just say no Santana! You're supposed to give me what I need!" he yelled.

"This is a want Blaine, not a need," she yelled back.

He stood up, fighting for his rights as a sub, needing her to understand how important this was, that she was wrong. "No Santana. It's something that I never knew about before so it didn't even cross my mind, but now that I know, my heart aches for it. It's all I can think about sometimes, I dream about it, I wake up with the memory of it, please you have to-"

"My answer is no!" Santana shouted.

The room went silent with nothing but the echo of her last word in his head.

And Blaine knew the answer was final. There would be no changing her mind. He sunk back to the couch, hugging himself in comfort, knowing that for the first time since he was ten years old Santana would not be able to soothe this pain for him. He looked up at her, the tremendous hurt he felt pouring out of him. "Why?" he choked.

Santana's face immediately softened. She came and sat beside him, taking his right hand in hers. "What color is your cuff," she asked gently.

Blaine's head dropped sadly. "White."

She lifted his chin with her hand, and the Santana he knew and loved was right there, her dominance and her love for him flowing out of her. "What you're asking for changes it to gold. Is that really what you need Blaine? Is that even what you want?"

He closed his eyes. He shook his head, knowing she was right. In his dreams it was never her. "No," he whispered.

"Come here." She opened her arms and he fell into them, letting the weight of them wrap around him and protect him from all the things he wanted and couldn't have. "That must have been a very scary thing for you to ask me. And very important considering how many rules you confessed to breaking just to tell me."

Blaine sniffled. "Are you going to punish me?" he asked.

She kissed the top of his head and rested her cheek on his hair. "I think the pain in your heart is punishment enough. Don't you?" Blaine nodded. The pain he felt was awful. "You know the band is on the door for a reason Blaine. And it's not to protect Brittany." He nodded again. He understood that now. There were things he shouldn't know yet. Things he wasn't ready to understand without a Dom who could guide him.

"It hurts," Blaine told her.

"I know," Santana soothed. "But he's out there Blaine. I promise you he's out there."

"Oh my god Rachel I feel like I'm about to pass out."

Kurt dragged himself into the loft, not even sure if his arms had the strength left to slide their heavy metal door closed they felt so much like jelly. He let his bag just slip to the floor.

"Well that's what happens when you decide to take stage combat right after ballet. I tried to tell you it was a bad idea," Rachel told him with reproach.

"Well luckily I don't have to listen to you," he muttered, collapsing on the couch with a groan. Everything hurt from his toes to his head. "Now be a dear and get me some ibuprofen?"

Rachel just rolled her eyes and smirked. "Yes sir," she teased. She went to the bathroom to grab the painkiller from the medicine cabinet then filled a glass with water. "Here you are sir," she mocked, handing him the pills and putting the water on the table. He inched up and swatted her on the leg.

"You're such a little shit," he said before popping the pills in his mouth. She just smiled, her eyes sparkling at her best friend and handed him her water. She was the only one who could get away with the things he let her get away with, and some days he couldn't decide why.

"Finn used to think so too," she said with a nostalgic smile that was slowly replacing the sadness.

And then Kurt remembered why. Because the closest he'd ever come to having a sister was Rachel and he would never take either the good or the bad of that away from them. "Yes, but he would have been a fool to tell you that," Kurt pointed out, an eyebrow raised as he pulled himself back to sitting. What he really needed was an ice pack. Or a heat pack. Or maybe both. "He'd find himself in as much pain as I'm in now if he ever said boo to you."

"More," she smirked but her smile faded. "He didn't need to say anything though," Rachel said, sitting gently on the coffee table, her voice growing softer as her eyes grew more distant. Her gaze fell to the finger that not that long ago had held a diamond engagement ring. "I always knew. And I loved him for it."

"Rachel-"

"I saw Jesse today."

Kurt's eyes grew wide before closing them wondering if when he opened them again this all would be a dream. But when he lifted his lids the only thing that had changed were her eyes now on his, pleading with him not to judge.

So he bit back every question and argument running through his mind and he just asked, "Where?"

"He's actually opening a show here in New York." Her voice was heavy with the weight of years. "It's Off-Broadway. A limited run of 16 weeks."

"And?" he prodded.

"And." She sighed. "He said he was sorry. For everything he did. For Finn. He got on his knees."

Kurt sat up straight now, no longer willing to just sit back and watch this unfold without comment. "Oh god Rachel, tell me you didn't-"

"I didn't," she assured him though it didn't come with much assurance. "But I wanted to."

He took a deep breath and took her hands in his, their knees almost touching. Tears were in her eyes, but whether they were for Finn or herself or just the cruelness of the world as a whole he didn't know. "You can't, Rachel, not yet. There's too much history there. You're still too angry and you'll end up taking everything out on him; your pain for Finn's death as well as the things Jesse did. I know you wouldn't mean to Rachel, but you'll hurt him."

"I know," she admitted, shaking her head. "I know you're right. Which is why I have to get back out there. I can't just keep sitting around all day wishing Finn were here. I can't mourn him forever Kurt. And maybe Jesse and I are meant to be together now that he's gone, but you're right, he can't be my first. I need to just go out and play." She looked at him, the dominance in her eyes driving into him even though he was immune to its effects. "And I need to not feel guilty about it. I need you to not make me feel guilty about it."

"Oh Rachel, I wouldn't," he promised, pulling her onto the couch and into his arms. "I would never make you feel guilty for following your heart, whatever it tells you to do." He pulled back slightly to kiss her forehead and he brushed her tears away. "Finn's gone, but he's always with us, and he wouldn't want you to live your life alone. He'd want you to be happy. Even if it did end up being with Jesse St. Sucks," he smirked playfully. She rewarded him with a wet chuckle.

"You know, I don't care what anyone else says, there's a boy out there in the world who doesn't know yet how very lucky he will someday be to have you taking care of him," Rachel smirked back.

Kurt rolled his eyes at her words but didn't dignify it with a response. "Come on, I'm starving and I don't feel like cooking," he said pulling her up. "I think tonight calls for pizza and cheesecake, what do you say?"

Rachel smiled. "I think I say I love you," she answered and got up to grab her purse.

Kurt linked his arm with hers and they headed out into the city. The past would haunt them. The future once so clear was now a great unknown. But on the streets of New York, all they could see was a big wide world of possibility.

~S~

"And change will come
It's on it's way
Just close your eyes
And let it rain

You'll be okay
You'll be okay
Just look inside
You know the way."

Author's Note:

Hello Kurt and Rachel. :-)

Reviews are love and I would love to read your thoughts! I'll be posting some pics through the week on my tumblr, AlexoftheGarden, of Brittany and Blaine's cuffs. Let me know if you have any other requests and I will try!