This is the final chapter and the epilogue, the angst is over!
Blaine stood in his kitchen chopping up tomatoes for his dinner and singing along to the radio. He couldn't wait to just eat his food and then go to bed, he was exhausted.
He had worked through so many emotions that day he could barely make it through the drama-fest that was glee club. He had gone from being entirely hopeful to completely devastated, to be terrified for Kurt and then thoroughly confused.
He tipped the tomatoes into a saucepan and reached over to stir the pasta. It was the same meal he always made, but it was the only thing he knew how to make and once again his parents were out for the night.
Kurt didn't have any time to respond to Blaine's revelation, Mr Schu had returned a few seconds later and told Kurt that his dad was on his way. After that Kurt had completely shut down, refusing to speak to either of them until his dad arrived to take him home.
Blaine had spent the rest of the afternoon going over what had happened. Kurt had been able to see the ghost of the man hanging in the corner. Did that mean that he could see ghosts as well now? And why now, had the attack done something to him? Had his time in the spirit world made him able to perceive its inhabitants now?
He idly wondered if he had had a near death experience when he was young that would explain why he was able to see ghosts. He'd have to ask Cooper next time they spoke.
A small part of him pitied Kurt, if that was the case. He knew how awful it was to have this so called 'gift' thrust upon you. But another, shamelessly larger then he cared to acknowledge, part of him was a little bit thrilled. After all, hadn't he always wanted someone to believe him? If Kurt shared this gift he could hardly deny Blaine was telling the truth.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as the doorbell rang. He wiped his hands on a dishcloth and walked to the front door, opening to reveal Kurt standing on his doorstep.
'Hi.' Blaine said, hoping he didn't look as confused as he felt to find Kurt at his front door.
'I don't know why I'm here.' Kurt frowned.
'Oh, ok.' Blaine replied. They paused for a second before Blaine held open the front door. 'Do you want to come in?' Kurt nodded and Blaine led him through to the kitchen, pulling out a chair for him and returning to preparing his dinner.
Kurt remained silent and Blaine didn't try to make him talk, after all Kurt had been through a lot and Blaine didn't want to push him.
'I don't know why I'm here.' Kurt repeated quietly after a few minutes of silence. 'I'm not even sure how I know where you live.'
'How are you feeling, after this afternoon?' Blaine asked.
'Um, ok I guess. Dad is still pretty worried about me, he didn't want me to go back in the first place and now I don't think he'll let me for a while.'
Blaine nodded and they both fell silent for a moment.
'Um, about what happened this afternoon.' Kurt started, staring intently down at his hands. 'I don't think I understand...'
'Ok.' Blaine started; his heart began to pound in his chest, nerves rising as they did every time he was made to actually talk to someone about this subject. 'Well, you saw the guy hanging in the classroom right?' Kurt flinched slightly, but nodded slowly.
'Yeah, I saw him; you said he was a ghost.' Kurt replied.
'Yeah, he is.'
'But ghosts don't exist.' Kurt whispered, although he didn't sound as if he believed himself.
'They don't.' Blaine said, making Kurt look up at him finally. 'Not to the majority of people. Most of them can't see ghosts. But there are a few, and I mean very few, people who can see them.'
'And you can see them too?' Kurt asked.
'Yeah, I always have been able to, ever since I was young.'
Kurt fell silent for a moment, looking as though he was either going to say something else or flee the room entirely.
'When I woke up in hospital my Dad and Stepmom were visiting. But my Mom was there too.' Kurt said quietly. 'My Mom died when I was young.' He looked up and Blaine could see tears welling at the corner of Kurt's eyes. 'She was only there for a second, but I could see her, then she went. When I thought about it later I thought it was just something to do with waking up after so long or maybe I'd suffered a bit of brain damage from the attack and I was just hallucinating.'
Blaine nodded; no normal person would automatically think they were now able to see ghosts when they saw one.
'But later that night when everyone had gone a woman came into my room, she started screaming at me, saying I was in her room and I had to get out. Her face was burned and she looked horrific.' Kurt said with a shudder. Blaine noticed that he was trembling and was tempted to reach out and touch him, to reassure him in some way that he was safe, but something about Kurt's posture told him that it wouldn't help.
'I started screaming, she was terrifying, she just kept shouting at me and came towards me. Two nurses came in and the woman just vanished but I was still screaming. They gave me shot of something to calm me down and when I did they left. But I couldn't get to sleep; I was so scared that woman was going to come back.
'After a while someone else appeared in my room. It was my Mom. She literally appeared all bathed in light and I know it sounds ridiculous but I instantly felt so much calmer. She stayed with me and sang to me a little until I had completely calmed down. Then she told me about you.'
Blaine's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
'Wha- um, what did she say about me?' Blaine stuttered. He reached over to turn out the pasta and the sauce and settled down at the table opposite Kurt.
'She said that you had been taking care of me and that I was going to need a lot of help and that I should trust you.' Kurt replied. 'When I woke up the next morning I thought I had dreamed everything, but then Finn was visiting and he was telling me about everything I've missed, and he told me about a new guy in Glee club that just so happened to have the exact same name as the boy my Mom told me to find. That's why I was so keen to meet you and asked Tina to introduce us. I was still so sceptical of everything that had happened, but when I met you I really felt as though I knew you already. ' Kurt blushed slightly. 'It made me start to think that maybe it had all happened after all. Then I saw the... ghost thing in Spanish class that proved it.' He scoffed slightly.
'Yeah that'll do it.' Blaine smiled.
'Can I ask you something?' Kurt said softly, narrowing his eyes and looking at Blaine with such an intensity he knew this was going to be something important, something Kurt was trusting him with.
'Sure.' He replied.
'When I was in a coma, was I a ghost?' Kurt looked like he expected to be ridiculed for asking that. Blaine reached over and clasped both of his hands around one of Kurt's, grasping firmly. A spark of electricity shot through him at the contact, thrilling him to have proper physical contact with Kurt at last. The frenziedly assisting Kurt to the nurse's office earlier that day didn't seem to count.
'You were.' He answered simply, not wanting to bombard Kurt with information he might not want.
'And did you see me?'
'You were hard to miss.' Blaine smiled. 'You were shouting at Rachel during Glee club for taking one of your solos.'
'Oh.' Kurt replied, and then he smiled. 'Yeah that sounds like me.' There were a few moments silence where he stared at Blaine's hands enveloping his own, but he didn't move. 'She said you helped me wake up.'
Blaine nodded. 'Yeah, I did.' Story of ghost hunts and chasing murderers were probably best left for another time, he thought.
'But I don't remember any of it.' Kurt said with a frown.
'You apparently do a little.' Blaine replied. At Kurt's puzzled look he added. 'You found your way here didn't you?'
'Oh.' Kurt gasped. 'How did I get here?'
Blaine laughed, he couldn't help it, everything seemed so absurd and yet completely normal. Kurt looked scandalized for a split second before joining in on the laughter.
'So I see ghosts now?' Kurt said when they had both calmed down. Blaine nodded. 'Seriously?'
Blaine bit his lips to stop from laughing again. The situation was bizarre, but also a bit tragic. He didn't want Kurt to be plagued with the same 'gift' that he had. But at least now he could help Kurt through it, so that he didn't have the same experience as Blaine did discovering it.
A small part of him was also celebrating the fact that Kurt was still here, still holding hands with him, not running for the hills or calling him a freak.
'So was my Mom right? Can I trust you Blaine?' Kurt asked. 'Will you help me?'
'Of course I'll help you Kurt.' Blaine said sincerely, squeezing tighter on Kurt's hand and grinning when the other boy smiled.
'Thank you.' Kurt replied. 'And... Thank you, you know, for not thinking I'm crazy.' He blushed again.
'I could say the same thing.' Blaine laughed. 'Um, do you want to stay for dinner? It's just pasta, but you're welcome to stay.'
'I'd love to.' Kurt grinned. 'Can we talk some more about, you know, the craziness? I have a lot of questions.'
'Sure we can.' Blaine was almost trembling with the effort not to run around the kitchen cheering. He finally had someone in his life that not only believed him, but now also shared his problem.
'Great! Is it ok if I call my Dad first? I kinda ran out without telling him where I was going and... Yep, nine missed calls.' Kurt said, pulling his phone from his pocket.
'Sure, the living rooms through there if you want some privacy, dinner will be ready in a bit.' Blaine said, pointing towards the other room.
'Thanks.' Kurt disappeared into the other room and Blaine waited until the door had closed before he literally started jumping for joy.
Things weren't perfect; Kurt didn't remember anything specific from their time together and was now cursed with the same gift as Blaine. But Blaine couldn't help but be happy. He had someone to share things with, someone who he knew he could trust.
And it was better now. Kurt was real, Blaine could reach out and touch him, hold him, even kiss him. Well, maybe not just yet, he smiled to himself. But there had been something there before, something that was real even if Kurt hadn't been. They could regrow that closeness, after all Blaine already had a head start, he knew Kurt and knew what he liked.
Blaine served the pasta and sauce on the kitchen table just as Kurt came back into the room. His heart fluttered at the sight of him and he had to restrain himself from rushing over to Kurt and kissing him. As much as Kurt said he had already felt a connection Blaine knew that would be taking it too far.
Besides, they had time now.
Kurt sat down at the table and inhaled deeply over the pasta dish, reminding Blaine strongly of the last time he had done that as a ghost.
'Smells fantastic.' Kurt grinned.
'Thank you.' Blaine replied, sitting down and picking up his own fork.
'So Blaine, tell me about yourself.' Kurt said. Blaine smiled and set down his fork, gazing over at Kurt and for the very first time in his life he said with absolute confidence:
'I'm Blaine Anderson, I'm gay, in my junior year and I see dead people.'
Epilogue:
'Alright everyone, five minutes!' Mr Schuster called through the door of the dressing room before disappearing again.
The excitement in the room doubled as everyone rushed to finish getting ready. They were in New York City, five minutes away from hitting the stage at the National Show Choir Championships.
Blaine could feel his hands tremble a little as he straightened his tie in the mirror. He had the opening lines of the first song; he'd be the first one on that stage out there, exposed and alone to the crowd.
'You're going to be fine.' Kurt smiled, coming up behind him and reaching up to finish adjusting his tie.
'I know, I'm just-'
'You're amazing; you're going to knock them dead.' Kurt insisted, resting his hands on Blaine's shoulders and looking him in the eyes. 'I know you will.'
Blaine smiled as Kurt's words settled the nervousness dwelling in him, as they always did. Whatever the situation, whether it was facing up to bullies at school, fighting for a solo or even standing up to his father, Kurt always seemed to know the right words to steady Blaine.
He leant in to close the few inches between them and placed a chaste kiss on Kurt's lips, whispering a heartfelt 'I love you' against them.
They had started out as friends; the instant connection Kurt had felt cementing the relationship fairly quickly. But after just three and a half weeks Blaine had opened the front door one night to find Kurt standing there, just as he had been the first night he had come round.
'I love you Blaine.' He said as soon as Blaine had opened the door. He had stepped inside and took both of Blaine's hands in his own. 'I know we haven't known each other for very long but I feel closer to you than anyone I've ever met. I hate every second that we're apart and I just- I love you.'
'I love you Kurt.' Blaine whispered, using Kurt's grip on his hands to pull him in and kiss him deeply, something he had wanted to do for so long.
Since that moment they had become even more inseparable then before.
Blaine took it upon himself to teach Kurt everything he could about their shared gift so he wouldn't be surprised by anything like Blaine had been. He had eased Kurt in slowly, taking him to places where he knew the more friendly spirits haunted. Kurt had been scared and Blaine had held him while he shook with fear, but eventually Kurt calmed down. He slowly learned how to live with seeing the spirits.
Blaine had found it so much more of a relief to talk about it with someone then he had thought it would be. Being able to talk to Kurt and to be believed meant the world to him. He was finally able to get everything off his chest and share his thoughts and fears.
His life was better now. After some frank discussions with his parents he was getting on better with them, he had friends at school now who didn't think he was a freak and he had someone he could share everything with.
So even though he saw the ghost of a young girl who had clearly had her throat cut still sitting at a mirror and adjusting her makeup, it was ok. Because Kurt could see her too and insisted that he and Blaine use the mirrors at the other end of the room.
'The lightings better.' He had insisted. And no one had argued or thought it strange. Having someone else in it with him made the situation better for Blaine. They could deal with it together.
'Anyway, how are you holding up today?' Blaine asked, looking at his boyfriend with concern.
'I'm fine Blaine, really. Sitting around and worrying about it won't change the judge's decision.' Kurt insisted.
Today was the day that Kurt's attacker was being sentenced. Blaine's phone call to the police had indeed led them to the man's computer where they found hundreds of images the man had taken of his victims. He had been arrested and linked to many crimes, a lot of which hadn't even come up on Blaine's investigation.
The discovery had created a media storm and the story came up almost every day in the news. It was one of the biggest stories to hit America for a long time.
'There's no way he's not going down, all the judge is deciding is how long for.' Kurt added. 'I might as well get on with my life. After all, I came so close to losing it all together.'
Blaine tightened his grip on Kurt's hands; he hated to think how close he had come to losing Kurt before he even had him.
'Alright guys it's time!' Mr Schuster appeared at the door again, ushering everyone out of the room and towards the stage.
Blaine gripped Kurt's hands even tighter as nerves threatened to take over once again.
'You ready?' Kurt grinned at him.
Blaine took a deep breath and looked into his boyfriends eyes. If Kurt was with him then everything was sure to be fine.
'I'm ready.'
A big massive THANK YOU! To everyone who has been reading and commenting on this story, I've never enjoyed writing a series so much before and I owe it all to your wonderful reviews! I really hope you've enjoyed reading!