Saturday morning started long before it was light outside. The car service arrived at 5:00 to drive them to the airport. They left not wearing coats so their rouse of flying out to Florida looked convincing. The car service dropped them off at the passenger drop off. They got out, went inside, and walked all the way through the airport to the car rental area and picked up the keys to the car they had rented. They opened the suitcase they had put their three coats in and put them on and loaded all of their luggage in the trunk.
Kurt was the only driver insured to drive the car, so he got in the driver's seat. Thad took the passenger seat and Sebastian got in the backseat. They drove out of the car rental area at 5:45 and it was still dark outside. The darkness helped Kurt feel more confident that no one could tell that it was him in the car. Plus, he had borrowed one of Jeff's knitted winter hats with earflaps with braided tassels hanging down, something he would never usually willingly wear.
Four hours later, they parked and headed into the Ripley courthouse to get a marriage license. They had all of the documents they needed. All they needed to do was fill out the forms and pay the fee, which only took a few minutes. They took a seat on a nearby bench and waited for their names to be called to pick the license up. Once they had it, they were back out in the car headed to Buffalo.
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Kurt drove them directly to the first destination on their itinerary - the Pierce Arrow Museum.
"A car museum?" Sebastian asked.
"You're forgetting that Kurt is a mechanic."
"Right. So, let's go then."
"It has a full-size gas station inside that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright."
"Well that sounds cool." Thad said.
They went inside and spent two hours looking at the cars and other vehicles and the exhibits. The filling station was really interesting.
"Well, you get a 10/10 on the museum I didn't think I'd like when we pulled up. That was really cool," Sebastian said.
Kurt wrapped his arm around Sebastian's shoulders. "Good. I'm glad you liked it. Hop in. We're going somewhere else."
Kurt pulled into an Arby's so they could all get something to eat before going to the next place. A little while later, they pulled into the lot of a gorgeous domed building.
"A garden?" Thad asked as they got out of the car.
"Yes. I've never been to anything like this and the pictures were beautiful," Kurt said raising up on his toes like he did when he got excited.
"Well, then let's go see the flowers," Sebastian said. He had been to botanical gardens before in Paris, but Kurt looked so excited that he couldn't bear to be anything but enthusiastic
It was amazing inside. More flowers and plants than Kurt had ever imagined even existed. He took lots of photos with his new phone. Thad caught Sebastian watching Kurt come alive again and nodded discretely.
When Kurt had walked over to take a closer look at something, Sebastian whispered, "He's more fun to look at than the flowers."
Thad nodded and smiled. "I hate what those jackasses in Ohio do to him. He was like this at school last year, after we started dating. He had opened up to everyone and the Warblers started including him. This is the Kurt I saw every day all day long last summer. Every place we went to over the summer - the Zoo, the museums, the library, even the mall when we didn't spend a penny. The day we went to Lima and got thrown in that dumpster with him they stole away part of the man I love. I hate them so much sometimes. And then I remind myself to stop because he's still in there. All of him. I just have to be patient. Three months and we can take him away where he can be himself, all of himself."
They saw him approaching and Thad stopped talking.
"Come here. You can't see this really cool red flower unless you stand over here."
They followed him and looked suitably impressed given Kurt's level of enthusiasm. Kurt smiled.
They toured all 10 areas of the garden before they headed to their hotel. Kurt talked about the flowers non-stop on the way there.
They checked into their room. Kurt hung up the outfits they were wearing for the ceremony on Monday. He had even brought his steamer to use on them if the wrinkles didn't come out by then.
"So, now what?" Kurt asked.
"Why are you asking us?" Sebastian answered.
"Well, I did all of the sightseeing planning and that's done for the day. Nothing like that is open at night. So, what do we want to do now?"
"Well, we could go swimming in the hotel pool." Thad said.
"Sounds fun, except I didn't bring swim trunks," Sebastian said.
"Oh, I have more than one pair with me," Thad said. "You can wear a pair of mine."
"Alright then, let's get changed," Sebastian said.
"First, don't we want to eat?"
"True. Good idea. Here or go somewhere?"
"I'd rather not drive around anymore. I've done a lot of driving already today. Let's just go outside and look around and see if there's anything that looks good. If not, we can order a Domino's pizza or something and have it delivered. We can find a nice place to try tomorrow. Mostly I just don't want to go to bed hungry."
They headed back to the elevator and stepped outside. "It looks like pizza to me," Thad said.
They went back up to the room and took turns changing. They decided to go ahead and swim first and order a pizza afterwards.
When they got back from the swimming, they ordered the pizza. Sebastian showered first and went down to wait for it to be delivered, giving Kurt and Thad some privacy for a few minutes. They got in the shower and took advantage of Sebastian's offer to wait downstairs. By the time Sebastian came back up with the pizza, Thad was propped up against the head of the bed and Kurt was back in the bathroom doing his moisturizing.
"You should buy stock on those potions," he said as he walked past the bathroom on the way in.
"Hey, be nice. I like him all soft."
Sebastian laughed. He grabbed the desk chair and pulled it between the beds and put the pizza box on it and opened it. Kurt came out and they practically inhaled the pizza.
"I was hungrier than I thought," Kurt said.
"I'd say," Sebastian said. "I don't think I've ever seen you eat so fast."
"Well, I'm happy and excited. I've been looking forward to this trip for ages."
"You only asked him two weeks ago," Sebastian pointed out.
"That doesn't mean that I only started thinking about it then."
"Point taken."
"So, tomorrow?" Thad asked.
"Niagara Falls. It's supposed to be nice weather for this time of year."
"Anywhere else?" Sebastian asked.
"You'll have to wait and see," Kurt answered, sticking out his tongue.
"I suppose I will." Sebastian laughed. Sassy Kurt was always a hoot. Sebastian always tried to stay on the side of the line of just barely irritating Kurt. He was on his best behavior for the weekend since it was such an important event for him and Thad. He grabbed the pizza box and moved the chair back to the desk and folded the box and put it in the trashcan.
"This hotel has an all-you-can-eat hot breakfast, so we're doing that first."
"I hope they have turkey bacon," Thad said.
"If not, I'll buy you some when we get to Florida and make it for you," Kurt teased.
"My hero," Thad said batting his eyes.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I don't want to get up super early, but how about we leave at 8:00. Is that too early?"
"Not if we go to sleep now," Thad said.
"Then to sleep we shall go!" Kurt said in his best super hero voice.
Sebastian hit him with a pillow.
"Sleep, Sebastian," Kurt said in his most soothing hypnotic voice. "Sleep." He moved his hands around in a swirling motion like he was putting a spell on Sebastian.
Sebastian allowed himself to limply fall over onto the bed.
Kurt stood up to turn the light off and once his back was turned, Sebastian took him by surprise and grabbed him and tossed him onto his bed and started tickling him.
"Let me up." Kurt squalked. "Stop."
Sebastian stopped immediately. Kurt took the advantage and flipped them and started tickling Sebastian.
"I give, I give. You win!"
"Say it."
"You're the best tickler of all time," he said in flat monotone.
"Say it like you mean it."
"You're the BEST tickler of ALL time," he said like a 6 year old girl.
"Sebastian!"
Kurt has lost his focus and Sebastian flipped them back. "Ha! Say it."
"No."
"Say it."
"No."
Sebastian let go of Kurt's wrists to start tickling him again and Kurt managed to get the advantage once more and Sebastian ended up on his back again.
"Two to one. Say it."
"You're the best tickler of all time," Sebastian managed to get out through the laughing.
"You bet I am!" Kurt put his arms up flexing his biceps.
Thad wolf whistled. "Nice arms!"
Kurt rolled his eyes and let Sebastian up. "No more for tonight. I'm tired. Get up."
Sebastian stood up.
Kurt wrapped his arms around his neck. "Thank you for coming with us."
Sebastian hugged him back. "Of course I came." He let Kurt go and pulled the covers back on his bed and got in.
Kurt turned the light off, without being grabbed, and got into bed with Thad. He lay on his back and moved his arm so that Thad could lay his head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around Thad and used his free hand to stroke the side of Thad's face. He silently kissed the top of Thad's head. Thad nuzzled in and they fell asleep.
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Sunday the three of them spent the day exploring the Niagara Falls area. They viewed all three falls from different locations. They had opted for a tour, even though it cost because they knew that Thad could not walk the distance they would need to cover in a single day, plus it was really cold outside to spend that much time walking outside.
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Monday morning, Kurt woke up really early. He was really excited and a little nervous. He wanted to marry Thad, but they were so young. He pushed those doubting thoughts away and started kissing Thad on the back of the neck. Thad stirred and turned over and started kissing Kurt. Thad's kisses pushed the lingering doubts far from Kurt's mind.
Kurt kissed Thad's jaw around to his ear and whispered, "I love you. Today I get the amazing honor of becoming your husband."
"I'm so excited," Thad said.
They lay there wrapped up each other's arms for a while, enjoying the soft caresses they were sharing.
"Shower?"
"Yes, definitely yes."
Kurt and Thad did their best to be absolutely quiet in the shower, but they were glad that Sebastian was a sound sleeper.
"I'm definitely more calm now," Thad whispered, smiling as they were drying off.
Kurt laughed and winked. "I would think so."
"The built in seat in the shower is nice," Thad said. "And the handrails are conveniently located."
Kurt laughed again. "That they are. And the padded non-slip mat makes kneeling comfortable."
They were hardly able to keep from cackling at that point. So much for keeping quiet. Kurt turned the blow dryer on in an attempt to cover up their laughing. Every time they'd look at each other, they'd just start laughing again. Kurt passed Thad the dryer after he got his brace on and could use it.
They slipped their pajama pants back on and went back out into the room. The sun had started to rise while they were in the bathroom, so it wasn't completely black in the room anymore.
Thad sat on the end of the bed while Kurt repacked their suitcase. He put outfits for them to wear on their flight in the suitcase that originally had their coats in it. He packed everything else in their other suitcase.
Thad woke Sebastian up and they all got dressed in their outfits for the ceremony. Sebastian packed his pajamas and other stuff back in the backpack he'd brought on the trip. They looked around the room to makes sure they hadn't left anything behind. Sebastian grabbed one the suitcases and Kurt grabbed the other. They put all of the luggage in the trunk and went back in to eat breakfast and pay their bill.
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They arrived at the courthouse and signed in. Kurt had made the appointment right after Thad had said yes, so they would be sure to get in when they needed to. They had chosen to write their own vows, but they had kept them secret, waiting to share them until the ceremony itself.
While they waited, Kurt set his phone to silent so that Sebastian or someone could take photos without the phone making any noise.
"I have something for us," Kurt said to Thad. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small box, which he handed to Thad.
Thad took it and opened it to find two brushed stainless 9mm wedding bands. He took one out to look at it. He realized that the inside was engraved. He turned it so he could read it. "–TOUJOURS – Kurt & Thad – 5-3-12"
"I know we have decided on the finger tattoos, but after I thought about how hard it would be to keep them hidden at school, I thought we could hold off on getting them until after we graduate. There are stainless chains underneath the cotton layer in the box that we can wear the rings on at school."
"I really like them."
"I got them wide enough that they will cover over the tattoos if we don't want them to show for any reason."
Sebastian held his hand out to look at one. "Those are nice. You put the date European style."
"I figure we're going to live in Europe, so I had them done accordingly."
"Kurt Hummel and Thad Harwood." The lady at the counter called them up.
They put the rings in their pockets and Kurt put the box back in his satchel.
"Through the double doors. The judge is inside. If you have a camera, you can give it to the attendant in the room."
"Thank you," Kurt said.
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The three of them walked into the room and Sebastian closed the door behind them. Kurt laid his bag on a bench and handed his phone to the attendant. He and Thad approached the judge.
"Kurt and Thad?"
"That's correct, Sir," Kurt said.
"Alright then. Just step forward and stand facing each other in front of my podium."
Kurt and Thad faced each other standing where they were told to.
"Do you both come before me today of your own volition to be joined in lawful marriage?"
"We do," they responded in unison.
"And you have brought a witness?"
"We have," they responded.
"Please join hands and say your vows to each other."
They held hands and looked at each other.
"Thad, I give to you everything I am and everything I will ever be. I value our friendship beyond measure. I promise to share your dreams and help you achieve your goals. I will never stand behind you or in front of you, but always beside you. I will listen to you with an open heart and an open mind pledging my honesty, compassion, fidelity, and forgiveness. I promise to love you, no matter what tomorrow brings. I will always be your most loyal friend and your loving husband now and forever."
"Kurt, you are the person I want to share my life with. I know I can count on you because you are loving, helpful, trustworthy, and dependable. Your smiles and laughter light up my days and there is no one else I would rather spend my time with. I promise to love and encourage you, to be there in the dark times and the times that are full of joy. I will support you in all your endeavors. I give you my trust and promise to be worthy of your trust. I will remain by your side now and forever as your faithful husband."
"The exchange of rings."
Kurt took Thad's ring out of his pocket. "This ring is a symbol my neverending love for you." Kurt slid Thad's ring onto his finger.
Thad took Kurt's ring out of his pocket. "This ring is a symbol of my neverending love for you." Thad slid Kurt's ring onto his finger.
"In witness to the vows you have made to each other and by the authority granted to me by the state of New York, I declare the two of you to be legally married. Congratulations. You may kiss, if you'd like."
They stepped toward each other and kissed gently, followed by an energetic hug. Kurt's smile could not have been any bigger. And Thad's wasn't far behind.
"Please step around the podium and sign the marriage certificate." He handed them both a pen.
Kurt wrapped his left arm around Thad's waist so they could both fit and sign at the same time. Sebastian and the attendant both took pictures of them signing.
"Sir?" The judge called Sebastian forward.
He took Kurt's pen and signed as well.
"Congratulations," the judge said again.
"Thank you, your honor," Kurt said.
"Thank you, sir," Thad responded.
"Could we get a picture of you with the three of us?"
"Sure." The judge stood to Thad's left and Sebastian stood to Kurt's right and the attendant took a few shots.
"Thanks again," Kurt said. "This is my dream come true."
"I'm glad to have been a part of that," the judge said. "One day the rest of the country will get their act together and young men such as the two of you won't have to drive out of state to get married."
"That's the hope," Thad said.
They all three shook hands with the judge.
Kurt walked toward the attendant and asked her, "Can you take a photo of the three of us?"
"Sure. Stand over there against the wall."
Kurt and Thad stood next to each other, shoulders not quite touching, while holding hands. Sebastian was taller than both of them and stood behind them. Kurt stepped another half-step away from Thad so that Sebastian could be seen better. The first couple of shots were fairly serious.
"Come on guys, a little more lively," she said.
Sebastian put his arms around their shoulders and they put theirs around his waist and gave the attendant great smiles.
"Much better."
"Thanks so much," Kurt said as he put his hand out to get his phone back from her.
"You're welcome. Congratulations!"
Kurt grabbed his bag and they all three grabbed their coats and exited the judge's chambers.
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They went up to the observation deck of the building. It was freezing, but the view was spectacular. They all took photos of the view. They also managed to take several selfies with the three of them in the shots. Sebastian also took a few of Kurt and Thad.
Kurt pointed to a building not that far away. "That's where we're going next."
"To a church?" Thad asked.
"Yep. I saw the photos. It looks amazing. I may be an atheist, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate magnificent architecture and art. There's also a fantastic pipe organ in there and if we're lucky, maybe someone is playing it."
It didn't take long to get to the church and it was every bit as magnificent as Kurt thought it would be. There was someone available near the entrance to ask questions. Kurt asked if there was anyone scheduled to play the organ that morning.
"Go inside and look around. I'll find out."
A few minutes later, Kurt saw someone enter and sit at the organ. He pulled out his phone and started video recording. The person played a single piece that Kurt couldn't identify, but it was beautiful. When the song ended, they walked around for a while just admiring the art and architecture. When they were leaving, Kurt thanked the docent.
"Thank you for having him play for us. Can you tell me his name?"
"You're welcome. I hope you enjoyed your visit." She took out a tiny notebook from her pocket and wrote the musician's name on it and handed it to Kurt.
"We did, very much." He took the sheet and put it in his wallet.
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From the church, they drove to the airport. They went directly to a bathroom and with a lot of focused effort, Kurt and Thad managed to change their clothes without violating any of Kurt's germ rules.
They packed their coats and their dress clothes into the empty suitcase and were fully dressed in summer attire for their arrival in Miami later that afternoon. Sebastian was taking their dress clothes and coats back to Ohio with him.
They went to the food court area and ate lunch together before separating for their boarding areas to wait for their flights.
When they got to the point where they had to split, Kurt hugged Sebastian. "Thank you for coming with us. It means the world to me that we're friends."
Thad hugged him next. "Thanks for everything."
"I'll see you both on Sunday. I'm having the car service pick me up and take me to the airport to pick you up."
"See ya!" Kurt said.
Thad waved and turned to walk toward their terminal. He took Kurt's hand an interlaced their fingers.
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"Are you sure about this?" Kurt asked.
"I'm sure."
"I don't want you to do it because you think I want you to."
"I know that I can decide whatever I want to and you're fine with that. I don't feel the least bit pressured."
"Alright."
They went into the tattoo parlor that they had visited before that specialized in tattooing over scars. Kurt had brought photos and drawings of what they had chosen. Kurt bought the numbing cream because he read that tattooing over scarred skin could hurt a lot more than normal.
"Hey guys! Long time no see," Zach said.
"You know we don't live here year round Zach," Kurt said, teasing him.
"I know, I know." He smiled. "So, are you two ready?"
"As I'm going to get," Kurt said. "We're going to hold off on the finger tattoos for now. We can't figure out how to keep them hidden at school and visible tattoos are against the dress code, unfortunately. We'll be back for those after we graduate."
"Good deal. Can't get you kicked out of school a few months before you finish over something you can do later."
"Exactly."
"We have to wear long sleeves all the time, so no one will see our forearms," Thad said.
"Alright then, have a seat and we'll get started. I already the templates with your designs. I'll take you back as soon as I've got everything ready."
Zach was back in just a couple of minutes and he took both of them to the back. "Charli is going to do Thad's. She's really good with all of those intricate lines that those trees are going to require."
Thad sat down and Charli got to work on his arm.
Kurt sat down at Zach's station on the other side of the room. He put his arm out on the armrest and closed his eyes, but some tears were escaping.
"Hey, Kurt. It's gonna be okay. I've done this a lot."
"I'm not afraid. I've just kept it hidden. I know I showed it to you when I came in for the consultation, but looking at it still causes me to flashback to that night. I just want it gone." He used his left hand to wipe the tears off his face.
"I understand."
"I know."
Kurt closed his eyes again and let Zach work his magic on his arm. After two hours, both of them got up and walked around a bit. They looked at each other's arms, grabbed a drink and sat back down. Kurt applied more numbing cream when he was allowed to during the process.
Another two hours later and they were both getting closer to being done. They walked around a little. Charli and Zach stretched too.
They all sat back down and worked through the final portion.
While Kurt's design was a lot less technically complicated than Thad's, Zach had to work with the scarred skin and getting the image to look right as he went along, altering and working to keep it the way it was supposed to look. Working on skin that was scarred was a lot more difficult than nice smooth skin.
Kurt looked down at his arm when Zach was done. The tears started flowing freely. "Thank you. It's beautiful."
Once they were both finished, their arms were wrapped. They were given written directions along with the products they needed to use to take care of the tattooed area for the next week or maybe longer.
"Thank you," Kurt said again.
Zach hugged him. "You're welcome. Come back before you leave and let me take an after photo. The non-release you signed prevents me from using your name or the photos. I just keep a personal photo album. It helps me some days."
"Alright."
He handed Kurt some tissues. Kurt hadn't managed to stop crying just yet. It was like the floodgates of all of the pain just came pouring out.
"Hey, Kurt." Zach got Kurt to look him in the eyes. "Something's going on. Do you want to talk?"
"Things have just gotten a lot more complicated since Christmas," Thad answered since it was clear that Kurt was unable to speak right then.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"There's nothing that can really be done and it's just hard."
"I get that. I won't push. If you decide you want to talk, just come by sometime."
Kurt nodded.
"Thanks again," Thad said. "You've made things better when there isn't a lot that does that right now." He took Kurt's hand and they left the shop.
They had taken the bus to the shop, but Thad walked them down the street to a bench and called a cab. It didn't take long for it to arrive and they were home quickly.
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Thad got Kurt inside and they went upstairs. He pulled the covers back on the bed and undressed Kurt. He got him to lie down in the bed and covered him with the sheet. He went in the bathroom and got a washcloth wet with cool water and twisted the excess water out. He sat next to Kurt and gently wiped his face, then folded the washcloth and placed it over Kurt's eyes, which had to be stinging from crying so much.
He undressed and got in bed and lay down next to Kurt. It only took a few seconds for Kurt to reach out for him. Thad took his hand and interlaced their fingers. They lay that way for close to a half hour. Kurt had run out of tears and had calmed down.
He squeezed Thad's hand. "I didn't realize how that would affect me. I mean, I had read other people's stories, but..."
"It's okay. You don't have to explain anything to me."
"I love you so much. Your tattoo is beautiful. Do you like it?"
"I do. A lot. And I think yours is fantastic. Zach did a great job."
"He really did. I think that's what made me so emotional. I mean I wanted it covered up and gone, but I think I really thought I'd still be able to see it when I looked at my arm. Like when you try to use make up to cover up a blemish or cover over freckles. It looks good from far away, but up close you can still see whatever you are trying to hide. But with my arm, when I looked down, all I saw was the musical notation, nothing else."
"I'm glad you're pleased with it."
"I am. I'm also really happy that we're here. I love being here with you. I'm so excited about going to the beach tomorrow. That wet suit idea was fantastic. Now we can go for a walk along the beach more easily."
"I know. I'm excited too. I loved the creative ways you've managed to get us to the beach the last couple of times, but walking will be so much easier."
"I always want you with me, even if it means ordering a sled and having it shipped to Florida," Kurt laughed.
"I love you. I'm glad we're here too. I've been looking forward to spring break since we went back to school in January. This has become my favorite place - here with you."
"Me too." Kurt rolled over and got up on his hands and knees and crawled over the top of Thad and started kissing him.
"Mmm." Between kisses Thad said, "I was... going to… ask you... what you wanted... to do...but I like...this idea."
Kurt started kissing down his neck, "I thought you would." And then down his chest.
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Kurt was lying on his back and Thad' was on his side, with his head on Kurt's chest, their limbs all intertwined.
"Well, that was a big surprise," Kurt said. He turned his head and looked toward Thad. He hadn't expected to get a massage like the ones he always gave Thad.
Thad pulled back a bit and looked at Kurt. "I've been wanting to do that for so long. I've been specifically working on it since we got back after Christmas when the PT said I was okay to start. I had to build muscle first. The brace is a necessary evil, but it restricts the movement in my leg muscles, making me less flexible and some muscles weaker. But I've fixed that over the last couple of months."
"I saw. I like." He smiled.
"Me too," he said waggling his eyebrows. "Shall we order some dinner to be delivered? It's already dark out. I don't want to go out shopping now."
"Sure. I'll be right back. I'll go downstairs and get the menus."
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"Well, that was very good and there's enough left over to eat it for breakfast before we go out shopping tomorrow," Thad said on their way back upstairs. "We'll have to take a taxi back from the store though. I still can't carry anything."
"We need a wagon. I should have ordered one of those on Amazon to be delivered here," he laughed.
"We'll put wheels on the sled."
"Interesting idea."
"I have a better one."
"You do, do you?"
"Me, you, the shower?"
"We have to read those directions again first. I don't want to do anything to mess our tattoos up."
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They were reclining against the headboard, propped up on pillows, relaxing and holding hands.
Thad ran his fingers over the palm of Kurt's hand and then over Kurt's ring. "We're married."
Kurt responded, "You've made so many of my dreams come true. I have to give Sebastian credit for helping with one of my dreams coming true though. We're going to France and he's letting us live with him. I thought I'd have to wait another five years or more to save up enough to be able to stay in France for a few weeks. But we're going to live there. It's amazing. You're amazing and we're married and I love you so much. I have just one dream left, I guess."
"What's that?"
"I'd like to get a job doing something I enjoy. I already have the most amazing husband who's my very best friend and this past year I managed to acquire a second best friend, who is also your second best friend. We have to find him a boyfriend when we get to France," Kurt laughed.
"We can't pick for him." Thad laughed.
"Of course not, but he'll have to pass the Hummel-Harwood test."
"And what, pray tell, is that?"
"He has to like both of us. Sebastian's kind of a package deal now," Kurt laughed. "To become the fourth musketeer, the guy's going to have to be pretty awesome."
"You're full of yourself tonight," Thad laughed.
"Of course, I am. I'm married to the sexiest, most awesome, incredibly talented, smartest, sweetest guy I know."
"I see." Thad laughed. "Right now, we look a little silly only wearing these arm sleeves you got for football, but I will grant you that they are the perfect solution to keeping the bandage on the tattoos while being able to move freely." Thad turned and got back up on his hands and knees and crawled over Kurt and sat down in his lap and leaned forward to kiss him. "Where are those necklaces? I'd like to put my ring on it."
Kurt pulled the box that the rings had been in out of his satchel. He opened the box and took the necklaces out and handed one to Thad.
"Oh, they're kind of like lanyards."
"Yeah, but the clip part is strong and it opens halfway up the side which prevents the ring from falling off, even it gets bumped. The way the clip is on the necklace makes the ring lay flat on your chest. Kurt put his necklace on, slipped his ring off and attached it to the clip. "See." He turned so Thad could see his chest better. "If we just slipped them over a chain, they wouldn't lay flat."
"You are amazing." Thad leaned forward and kissed him quickly. "I really like the rings. And the necklaces are awesome." He fastened his ring to his necklaces and hooked it on the knob on the bedside table drawer. He took Kurt's necklace off and hung it with his. He slipped the rings they'd been wearing on their thumbs off as well.
Kurt gave him a puzzled look.
"I have plans for your hands that don't include any rings being on them."
"You do, do you? That sounds intriguing."
He leaned over and opened his backpack that was leaned against the bedside table and pulled out a bag. He sat back up in Kurt's lap and dumped the contents of the bag onto the bed next to them.
"I see." Kurt blushed.
"While you were doing romantic things like ordering rings and necklaces for us, I ordered this stuff."
Kurt laughed and kissed him.
Thad pressed into the kiss and deepened it and leaned forward pushing Kurt back into the pillows. "I really, really want to try. If it hurts, I'll tell you, I promise."
"I want to."
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"All the trouble of getting all of this on was absolutely worth it," Thad said. "I missed this so much." He stepped away from Kurt, extending their arms, still holding his hand and he twirled himself back into Kurt and leaned up and kissed him.
Kurt spun him back out and then twirled him around and grabbed his other hand and started waltzing, or their best attempt at waltzing, in the ankle-deep surf. "Sebastian says that there are places we can go dancing together in Paris, like old-fashioned waltzing and foxtrotting and whatnot."
"That will be awesome. I won't be very good at it with this brace on."
"It's not about being good at it. It's about doing it together." He kissed him. "He twirled Thad around and spun him back out. He closed the gap between them and kept walking. "Look!" Kurt pointed out in the distance, practically bouncing. "Dolphins! That's so cool."
Thad smiled and squeezed Kurt's hand. "They are really cool."
They spent the rest of their morning walking along the beach and back, taking breaks along the way.
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"You know what? This is a beach town. I am absolutely leaving all of this on, except I'm putting real shoes on, and I'm going to the grocery store just like this."
Kurt laughed. "Fine with me." I'll just leave my beach stuff on too and put my chucks on. I'll just hose my feet and legs off, dry them off and go get our regular shoes and some socks. I won't sit down on anything."
A few minutes later, Kurt was back. Thad had sprayed his water shoes and feet off, and was working on his feet. He came out of the shower area and sat down.
"Alright then, socks, shoes and off to the store. If people laugh, I do not care one little bit."
They both finished getting their shoes on.
"The swim trunks over the wet suit is a bit funny looking."
"Better than everyone seeing just how much I enjoy being near you," Thad said and laughed.
"Point taken. That's only for me to know, and see." He kissed Thad and pulled him up out of the chair and stepped in close and kissed him again.
Between the kisses, Thad said, "We'll...never...get there...this way."
Kurt pulled back, "I can't have you starve."
Thad leaned in and resumed the kisses, pausing to say, "It's impossible for us to starve in five days." And kissed along Kurt's neck up to his ear.
Kurt was breathing hard. "You just said you didn't want to take that outfit off yet."
"Right, right." Thad stepped back, catching his breath. "Shopping, food, market."
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Kurt put the suitcase on the extra bed and dumped his backpack down next to it. He turned and walked back to Thad and kissed him soundly. "That was the best spring break ever. Nothing will ever beat it."
"I agree. Get changed, though. Showing up late isn't a good way to show leadership."
Kurt started stripping and throwing his clothes across the room at Thad.
"Now, now. How am I supposed to focus if you're going to do a strip tease?"
"Just turn your back," Kurt teased, making a twisting motion in the air with his index finger.
Thad made a buzzer sound. "Wrong answer." He took his clothes off while continuing to watch Kurt.
Kurt moved his ring from his finger to his necklace while walking over to his closet to pull out a uniform. "I'm glad you got us added to the Regionals competition in Cleveland, but it's a long drive each way. We've got to get downstairs in 10 minutes. Our flight taking off late is making this hard."
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They managed to show up with about 30 seconds to spare. They got on the minibus.
Thad whistled and got everyone's attention. "Before we leave, I want everyone to be 100% honest. No one told anyone about this, correct? I mean, if you did, we'll be frustrated for forfeiting, but I'll call and do it now. We can't go if anyone said anything to anyone about us competing today."
No one said a word.
David spoke, "If we find out later that any of you did tell someone, you'll be stripped of your Warbler membership. Does anyone want to say anything?"
Trent said, "Last chance..."
"Alright, then. Let's go," Thad said.
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They arrived at 6:20, 10 minutes before the start of the competition. They had drawn the 5th slot out of 6, so they still had time to warm up. They had done some vocal warm ups and sung through their songs once on the bus.
They signed in and were given a classroom number. They spent about 20 minutes in the room and then quietly moved to their backstage area. They only saw the group before them perform from the wings. They were good, but not fear-inducing good. The curtains came down and the other group filed off the stage.
The Warblers took their places on the risers. Kurt and Sebastian killed their songs and their group number rocked the audience. The dance lessons had definitely paid off. They still used a staggered system with the least coordinated dancers in the back, with each subsequent row doing more difficult moves with the best dancers in the row right behind Kurt and Sebastian.
Their performance was met with thunderous applause. They exited the stage and stayed in the wings, out of the way during the last group's performance since they didn't have any seats to return to in the audience.
After the group left the stage, the Warblers went back to the classroom and waited the 15 minutes of the judging intermission. The bell rang and they went back to the stage area. All six groups were in the wings, three on each side. The three finalists were announced: Vocal Adrenaline, Soaring Notes, and the Warblers. The other three groups left the wings and sat in the audience.
The announcer went in front of the curtain and announced the names of the groups. The curtains opened and the three groups were standing in the risers.
"And in third place - from Akron, Vocal Adrenaline."
"The second place trophy goes to Soaring Notes from Cleveland."
"And first place, moving on to Nationals in Chicago - from Westerville, the Warblers."
They had won. They won! The whole group turned into a hugging pile of teen boys in blazers. They were shocked. They came to their prep school senses and stood back in formation. Thad, David, and Trent walked up to the announcer, who handed the trophy to David. He carried it back over to the group. They stayed in formation until the announcer had finished speaking. The curtains closed and they resumed hugging and high-fiving each other.
"So, Chicago, here we come!" Jeff exclaimed.
They quieted down and exited the stage and went straight back to their minibus. Once everyone was on and seated, Thad whistled again to get their attention.
"Remember your pledges of secrecy remain until further notice. There will be no discussion of our competitions."
Everyone nodded.
"If you want to be on the team, you'll keep our group information to yourself. Warbler matters are only to be discussed in the Warbler practice room. Nowhere else. Any questions?"
No one said anything.
"Congratulations to all of you," Mr. Browning said. "We're going to Pittsburgh next weekend for the quarter finals of the a cappella competition, so be sure to get all of your homework done by Friday before we leave if at all possible. I know it will be a tough week because this week is midterms. Pace yourselves, focus, and stay organized."
Trent reminded everyone, "We'll be singing these same three songs. Regular rehearsal times during last period, no extra dance rehearsals this week to give everyone more time to focus on their schoolwork during the week."
They all nodded in understanding. After that, they went back to talking to each other quietly or resting during the rest of the 2-hour drive back to the school.
When they got back to the school, the minibus pulled around to the back loading dock where they had gotten on it. They filled into the delivery hallway and then out into the school. Mr. Browning made sure the door was locked after the last Warbler came through. He had the trophy with him. He took it to his office and put it in the corner on a file cabinet so it faced the wall and the inscription couldn't be seen. It would go in the trophy case with the photo he took of them on stage at the end of the year, just like Kurt had asked him.
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The Warblers doubled down on their homework assignments like they had been told to do. They worked extra hard in practice so that they'd be ready to perform at the end of the week. Kurt had also managed to talk to each one of them individually and assure their attendance at the lacrosse team's first scrimmage of the season on Friday afternoon.
They met in the Warbler room, wearing their sweater vests and letter jackets and headed out to the pitch to sit together and cheer Sebastian on. He was surprised to hear his own cheering block, which was exactly what Kurt had been going for. The huge smile on his face when he realized that everyone had come to see him was totally worth the effort of sneaking around and arranging it. Dalton won the scrimmage.
Kurt and Thad waited around for Sebastian to finish showering and changing in the locker room and they went to dinner together. They sat with the other Warblers. Everyone was silent.
"Why is no one talking?" Kurt asked when they sat down.
"Well, because the minute one of us starts to open our mouths, we think about NOT saying anything about the things we want to talk about. So, we decided we should just not talk and make sure we all kept our word," Jeff answered.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Kurt, we're not upset. We're just being trustworthy Warblers. We'll have plenty of time to talk this weekend," Trent said.
"So, Sebastian, why don't you explain the rules of lacrosse to us? Some of us didn't have time to look them up before we went this afternoon," Michael said. "It's not a sport that was played at my middle school last year. It was exciting to watch, but I'm sure it will be more fun when we go again if I'm not clueless."
That got the conversation around the table flowing quickly. Sebastian started talking and then other lacrosse aficionados started adding in their information and 30 minutes later, everyone had eaten and learned the rules and no one felt weird sitting at a table in silence.
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The next morning before sunrise, all of the Warblers were in the loading dock hallway in their letter jackets, white button ups, sweater vests without ties, and dark jeans instead of their gray dress slacks. They loaded their bags into the minibus and headed off to Pittsburgh. They had planned a trip to IHOP for breakfast as they drove into Pittsburgh. From there, they were headed to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for the day.
The competition started at 6:00. They were 4th out of 6 groups. That gave them the opportunity to watch the first half of the groups before they went to the green room area to warm up. They performed the same three numbers that they had the weekend before. They had practiced until they had their pieces really synchronized and the harmonies were spot on. The crowed clapped and cheered after they finished. They went back to their seats in the audience and watched the last group. After the judging intermission, the announcer approached the mic stand and tapped it.
"Will the following three groups please come up on stage? Note Nation, the Warblers, and Sync City Singers."
The three groups were applauded and assembled on stage.
"In third place, Sync City Singers." The audience clapped and their leader retrieved their trophy.
"In second place, Note Nation and first place goes to the Warblers, who will be moving on to the semi finals in Buffalo, New York." The crowded cheered. David, Thad, and Trent brought their trophy back. They remembered to stay in formation this time.
Once the curtain closed, they all started high-fiving and hugging each other.
"We're going to New York!"
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Kurt and Thad had their own room with just one bed in it, in a handicap accessible room, which gave them the privacy they had missed from when they were in Florida. It had been a week since they came back, but it felt like longer since they had been completely alone.
"We're alone at last," Thad said.
"We're going to have to get Sebastian a white noise machine or convince him to install surround sound systems in our rooms when we move. I don't want to feel like we're disturbing him all the time and you're not very quiet," he smirked.
Thad blushed and pushed Kurt back into the wall gently and started kissing up his neck. "It feels too good to be quiet."
"Mmm hmm." was all Kurt could manage to get out while Thad was kissing him like he was.
Thad moved his hands from the sides of Kurt's face to his collar and loosened his tie. He pushed the blazer off of his shoulders and got his tie off.
"Here let me help you." Kurt slipped away from Thad and hung his blazer and slacks up and stripped the rest of the way down to his underwear.
Thad was close behind, but was slower because the brace still made everything take longer.
Kurt had pulled the shower seat down and stabilized it by the time Thad came in the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the seat and Kurt took his brace and put it on the counter. They enjoyed a long, steamy shower. Afterwards, Kurt moisturized both of them. They were still having to pay special attention to their tattoos. They had been wearing the athletic sleeves to keep their bandages in place all week and they put them back on after they went through the proper tattoo care steps.
The rest of their evening and night was spent they way they had spent them in Florida. They knew they'd be tired the next morning when it was time to leave to go to the Carnegie Science Center, but they didn't care. They planned to take a nap on the bus ride back to Westerville after they left the museum.
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Unfortunately for them, the bus ride back was too rowdy to sleep through. Since they had been given an early curfew the evening before, everyone else was still full of energy. And they were hyped up about getting to go on to the semi-finals at the end of April. Song suggestions were tossed around.
"Any official song suggestions should be submitted tomorrow at rehearsal. We'll vote at the end of rehearsal," David reminded everyone.
"One song for Kurt, one for Sebastian, one with multiple split leads. Think hard. We have six weeks to be ready," Thad said. "AND I have to arrange the songs before we can start to rehearse."
"Will we sing the same songs for the Show Choir Nationals?" Xavier asked.
"Yes," Thad answered. "We have one week after we come back before AP exams, then the AP exams, the next week is our last week before finals and Nationals is the Saturday before finals week."
"For the new members of the group, you need to really make sure you stay on top of your schoolwork. None of you will be taking AP exams, but Dalton's finals are quite comprehensive. You need to focus on your schoolwork. As much as we all want to win, you can't sacrifice your grades," David told them.
"I will arrange one song right away," Thad said. "And we'll start to work on it, hopefully by Thursday. The others will have to be ready by the following Monday. Some of you who are interested in arranging need to participate. The group is going to need someone to take my place on the council for next fall. I'll put a sign up sheet out with the song recommendations sheet at rehearsal tomorrow."
The conversations split apart again as different subgroups started singing songs they thought might work.
As they pulled back up to the back of the school, Mr. Browning reminded them again to keep what they had done over the weekend to themselves. He took their new trophy to his office and put it next to the last one.
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At the beginning of rehearsal on Tuesday, David announced the songs that had been chosen - "Pocketful of Sunshine", "Skyscraper", and "Breakaway".
Trent explained, "We will feature our six seniors on 'Pocketful of Sunshine,' which means Kurt, Sebastian, Thad, Nick, Jeff, and Richard, for anyone who didn't who our seniors are. Kurt will sing lead on 'Breakaway', leaving 'Skyscraper' for Sebastian. Our choices were supposed to have a theme for the Show Choir Nationals and we felt that these three songs best represented a theme of overcoming. We'll be singing 'Unwritten' as our fourth piece for the a cappella competition, which we've been rehearsing for a while now since we're singing it for graduation this year."
"Anyone who signed up yesterday to work on the arrangements needs to move over to the piano area. Everyone else can work on homework or help Jeff and David with choreography ideas," Thad said.
The group working on the arrangements gathered around the piano and got to work on the arrangements. They all stayed for about an hour past the final bell, except for Sebastian who had to go to lacrosse practice.
Jeff and David had a couple of people willing to bounce ideas around for choreography, mostly just saying what they thought of their ideas. Any real work would have to wait for Sebastian and Kurt could join them.
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Kurt left the group working on the arrangements at 4:20 so he could call Burt at 4:30, which had been their arranged time to speak for the last few weeks. Kurt had removed his other phone from his parents' phone plan a few days after Thad had given him the new phone. Burt hated that he didn't have a number to contact Kurt directly, but he took down the new email address that Kurt had created for just him and Carole to use. Kurt promised to check it several times a day in case his dad needed to talk to him.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, kiddo. How are things going?"
"Busy, like usual. Lots and lots of schoolwork, as always."
"I know they give you all a lot of schoolwork."
"Well, I'm taking all advanced classes, the type I can get college credits for."
"i remember you telling us that you were doing that."
"So, how are things with you?"
"Busy too. Being two places is tough. I feel like I'm shortchanging the shop and Carole a lot of the time, but she comes with me when she can."
"How's Finn?"
"Well, did I tell you they won Regionals?"
"We didn't talk about that last week. I'm sure he's excited."
"The competition is in Chicago this year, but you probably already know that."
"Yeah."
"So, he's less excited than he was last year. I guess Chicago doesn't seem as exciting, plus he's still moping somewhat. But a lot less since he and Dave have gotten closer. That boy's done a total 180. He's like his dad described him that day - polite, helpful, doing well in school, seems to enjoy being in Glee. The two of them are having a good time. They're at Disney today."
"Uh huh." Kurt wanted this topic to end quickly, which is why he brought up Finn so infrequently."
"They're both really excited about being here in Florida. Carole and I are loving it too. This area is really pretty."
"I'm glad you're having a good time."
"It would have been better if you had been able to get out of school to come with us."
"Yeah, sometimes things don't go the way we want them to."
"I know, bud."
"I don't really have anything interesting to tell you, unless you want to hear about the research paper I'm writing for advanced French."
Burt laughed. "I think I'll pass."
"I figured. I'll call you next Tuesday. And if anything changes, I'll email you and let you know ahead of time. Have fun on your vacation."
"We will."
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"I missed you at dinner," Thad said when he came in the room.
"I wasn't hungry."
"I figured as much since it was your weekly check in time."
"Yeah. I don't really want to talk about it."
"That's fine." He walked over to Kurt's desk and leaned over to kiss him. "I love you."
Kurt stood up. He needed the contact. He needed Thad. "I love you too." He wrapped his arms around Thad and held him close. "Thanks for coming up to see me. I know you have to go work on the arrangements."
"Actually, I told them that I'd meeting them in an hour, well an hour from then - that I had something I needed to do first." He wrapped his arms around Kurt's neck.
Kurt leaned back to look at him. "Oh?"
"I needed to see you." He kissed Kurt.
"I needed to see you too. I just didn't know how much until now." Kurt nuzzled into Thad's neck and just held on tight and inhaled the scent of the man he loved.
They spent another ten minutes or so kissing and holding each other before Thad had to get going to be able to make it back to the Warbler practice room when he was supposed to.
After Thad left, Kurt turned to his pastime of cleaning and organizing when faced with too many things weighing on his mind and no one to spend time with. He tackled the laundry and cleaned everything in sight.
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Sebastian got back to his room that evening and found it spotless and all of his laundry done and put away with the exception of things on he drying rack. He went looking for the cleaning fairy that had visited him. He loved Kurt, but he knew things were dragging him down when he resorted to this instead of showing up to work on the choreography that he was supposed to be helping with.
He knocked on Kurt's door. Kurt opened it and let him in.
Sebastian shut the door behind him. "I came to thank the cleaning fairy, although I'm not sure that Jeff and David will be thankful that you skipped the choreography meeting to clean my room and do my laundry for me."
"Oh, no. I completely forgot. I'm so sorry."
"Just don't tell anyone what you were doing and look pleased with your quick recovery from whatever you had that made you skip dinner. When you didn't come down, Thad told everyone you were feeling sick."
"Well, that's not exactly inaccurate."
"I figured." He handed Kurt a sack.
Kurt looked confused, but took it and opened it.
"Thank you." He pulled the salad out and sat down at his desk. "Sit with me?"
"Sure." Sebastian slipped his shoes off and fluffed the pillow and propped it against the headboard and leaned back. He knew Kurt was more likely to actually eat the food if someone stayed with him.
Kurt pulled out some envelopes that he had put in his bag earlier in the day when he picked up the mail from his box.
He opened an official looking letter from New York. Their marriage certificates came. Kurt showed Sebastian, who smiled. Kurt took them and put them in his mini safe in his closet and sat back down in his chair. He opened a couple brochures for summer enrichment programs and a few about earning college credits over the summer at different programs. He opened the last one and read for less than a minute and dropped the paper.
"What's wrong?" Sebastian hopped up and retrieved the dropped sheet of paper.
Kurt shook his head.
Sebastian read the letter.
You have been repeatedly warned to stay in that school. You left the school and participated in Regionals in Cleveland. Just because you turned your phone off doesn't mean no one can find you. Don't go to Chicago. No more warnings.
Sebastian put his hand on Kurt's shoulder for a few seconds. He took the salad and put the lid back on. As he was putting it back in the sack, he said, "I'm going to go stick this in the floor fridge." He grabbed Kurt's pen and put his name on the sack. "I'll be right back." Sebastian walked out of the room and dashed to the kitchen. On his way back to the room, he texted Thad to come back right then.
When Kurt didn't get up to let him in, Sebastian went back into Kurt's room through the bathroom. Kurt was still sitting at his desk staring. Sebastian took the letter and put it on the dresser. He stood behind Kurt and put his hands on his shoulders because he didn't know anything else to do.
After a few minutes, Sebastian sat down on the unused bed again and sat close to Kurt, within his field of vision in hopes that Kurt at least realized that Sebastian hadn't left him alone.
Fifteen minutes later, Thad was struggling to get his key in the lock, obviously distressed by Sebastian's text. He opened the door and gave Sebastian a questioning look. Sebastian looked at the dresser. Thad nodded. Since Kurt had cleaned everything, the only thing on the dresser was the letter. Thad picked it up and read it and put it right back down. He nodded, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Sebastian got up off the bed and headed toward the bathroom to go back into his own room. Thad hugged him as he walked past. Sebastian just nodded and went on to his own room.
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Thad hung his blazer up, walked through the bathroom and quietly told Sebastian that he wanted the bathroom in 15 minutes. Sebastian nodded. Thad went back to Kurt. He undressed himself, got their bed ready to sleep in, and waited to hear the knock on the bathroom door. He went locked the bathroom door leading to Sebastian's room and went back to get Kurt ready to get in the shower.
Kurt moved to autopilot once they were in the shower. He helped Thad the way he always did. Once they were out and dry, Thad turned the doorknob, releasing the lock so Sebastian wouldn't be locked out of the bathroom.
He quickly hung their towels up and moved to the other side of the door and locked the door from the inside of their room. Kurt hadn't really moved much past a few steps into the room, waiting on Thad. Thad got in bed and took his brace off and Kurt came right over to take it and put it on Thad's desk next to the pajama pants that were there. Kurt climbed into bed and used Thad as a body pillow. Thad covered them up and held Kurt.
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Thad had the forethought to put his phone under his pillow when he got their bed ready the night before, so he pulled it out and texted Sebastian to tell the nurse that Kurt was sick again, like he had been the last time and that hopefully he'd get Kurt out of bed and to the counselor's office some time that morning. They lay there in silence for another hour, Kurt not asleep, but not opening his eyes.
Thad attempted to break Kurt out of his nearly catatonic state by gently kissing him. "I love you, Kurt. I'm here for you - whatever you need."
Thad was surprised that Kurt responded and kissed him back. Thad took that as a good sign and began to slowly and gently run his hand up and down Kurt's arm. Kurt snuggled in closer and deepened the kiss.
"I love you too." He began to let his free hand roam freely, lightly running it along everywhere he could reach on Thad. After a few minutes, he got up and turned his iPod on and turned it up just a little louder than he normally did since everyone had gone to class. He went to their dresser and removed the small fabric bag where they kept their supplies and took it over to the bed. He got back in bed and under the covers with Thad. Kurt returned to kissing Thad deeply and passionately. "I love you so much. Thank you for coming back and taking care of me."
"I will always take care of you it it's in my power to do so." He ran his fingers down Kurt's cheek and the down his body, giving Kurt the chills. Thad asked with his eyes and Kurt nodded. Thad scooted over and lay back flat.
An hour later, they were back in the shower, starting a third round before they actually showered. After they showered, they lay down in the bed they didn't normally sleep in and snuggled up again.
"Nap time?" Kurt asked. "I'm thoroughly exhausted in the absolutely best way." He had a completely content smile on his face.
"Me too, but we can't go back to sleep unless we set an alarm."
Kurt grabbed his phone and set an alarm to go off in an hour. "Done." Kurt wiggled to get flat on his back and got Thad to lie on him for the nap, reversing their positions from the night before. He wrapped his arm around Thad and ran his hand through Thad's hair and kissed the top of his head.
Twenty minutes later, they were kissing and cuddling and touching everywhere, with no nap in sight.
"I thought you wanted a nap," Thad teased.
"Obviously, I want to kiss and touch you," he laughed. "I know we have to get up and go see Headmaster Carlson or Miss Webber. I'm tired of backing down. I don't want to let the group down. I don't want to give up the only thing that means anything to me except the people I love. But I don't know how to make that happen."
"Let's think about what it said. The letter only mentioned you going to Cleveland as proof that you had left the school. There was no mention of our trip to New York or, subsequently, Florida."
"Right. Right!" Kurt grabbed his phone. He opened Safari and typed "Dalton Academy Warblers" into Google. "Right there. The results were the Cleveland Regionals were in Cleveland's online newspaper, which is accessible without a subscription. Rachel used to talk about shower choir blogs or chat rooms or something. I bet people who were there talked about our performance on those sites too."
"So, we have no evidence that he knows that we went to Buffalo or Niagara Falls. What else comes up in the Google search?"
"That we won the quarter finals for the a cappella event we went to in Pittsburgh over the weekend. I bet this letter was sent before we went there. I hadn't picked my mail up since...I'm not even sure. One day last week. We were so busy, I just never went to look since I haven't ordered anything recently."
"So, he's going to be able to find out about Pittsburgh, which means that he'll know we're headed to Buffalo for the semi-finals."
"That would be my conclusion. Speaking of Buffalo, there's good news that I missed out on sharing because of that stupid letter."
"What?"
"Our certificates came. I put them in my mini safe."
Thad's face lit up. "It's officially official."
"It is!" Kurt kissed the top of his head.
Thad repositioned himself and kissed Kurt. "We really do need to get up and get ready. We might have to wait to see one or both them and we need to make it to lunch and our afternoon classes."
"We'll, Mr. Hummel-Harwood, I have had a fantastic time playing hooky with you this morning." He kissed Thad.
Thad rolled back onto his back so Kurt could get out of the bed.
Kurt grabbed Thad's brace and handed it to him.
Thad changed the subject completely. "We need to decide whether we're going straight to France or whether we're going to go to Florida for a while first."
"I think Florida because it will a long time before we can come back. Tickets from Europe to Florida are probably 10 times as much as tickets from Ohio to Florida."
"They can be, but we might be able to get a better price than that. So, a week, two weeks?"
"I'm not sure. I think we need to talk to Sebastian and find out when Solange's wedding is and when she's moving out of their place. I don't want to show up and make her feel like we're rushing her to move out."
"Good point."
They headed into the bathroom to finish getting ready. Thad paused on the way in and put the letter in his bag. When they came out, they put their blazers on, grabbed their bags, and headed down to the main office.
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"Well, as I see it, there are only a few options," Headmaster Carlson said. "You can drop out as a team. You can drop out individually. We can send one of the school guards with you. Or there's the option of you hiring personal security."
"A bodyguard. The school would allow a personal bodyguard to travel with me to the competitions?" Kurt responded.
"Yes, Kurt. I suspect that Art could make good suggestions on a reputable personal security company."
"Alright, then. I'll look into that. Thank you for your time."
"I'm sorry that these people won't leave you alone. You're sure that going to the authorities won't help?"
"You can look at the letter if you want, but there is absolutely nothing identifiable on it. I mean the threat itself is vague. 'You've been warned.' isn't specific enough for the police to do anything about."
"I suppose so."
Kurt stood, Thad followed his lead, and Kurt said, "Thanks again for your help and concern."
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Kurt and Thad stopped by Miss Webber's office to get a pass to take to the nurse to show that Kurt was ready to go back to class and to excuse the two of them from missing their morning classes.
From the nurse's office, they headed to the cafeteria to eat.
Kurt only put a drink on his tray. Thad wasn't pleased. He knew that Kurt hadn't eaten what Sebastian had gotten him last night and neither one of them had eaten breakfast.
They sat down at a table alone, near the windows.
"Did I hurt your throat?" Thad asked as he took Kurt's hand.
"What?" Kurt paused, then blushed. "No, no. Of course not."
"Then, please eat something."
"I'm not hungry."
"I know you don't feel hungry. But your body needs some energy. We have extended rehearsals all week."
"You're right. There's chicken rice vegetable soup up there. I'll go get a bowl." Kurt came back a couple of minutes later. He sat back down. "Don't forget that tonight's Sebastian's first real lacrosse game. Art's coming too."
"It's at 6:00, right? So, we need to end the extra rehearsal time by 5:00 to have time to eat dinner and get out there."
"Right." Kurt ate the soup, more to make Thad feel better than because he wanted to eat it.
"Are you going to get a bodyguard?"
"I think so. I don't know of any other way to get to participate. I'm going to ask Art about it tonight when he's here. How much progress did you make on the arrangements last night?"
"Well, since you can sing 'Breakaway' in its original key, I just downloaded the official orchestration of the Kelly Clarkson version. I'm close to being done since I just had to rewrite the score for voices. 'Skyscraper' will be harder. I have to transpose it down for Sebastian. I need to work with him a bit and see just how high he can sing and support it, while not flipping into falsetto. 'Pocketful of Sunshine' will be easier like 'Breakaway' because you're going to be on lead and you can sing it in the original key. Actually when we put you on lead last year and this year, it has made my job a lot easier because you can sing the songs in their original keys, saving me the trouble of doing so much modulating and transposing."
Kurt smiled. "Was anyone upset that I'm singing lead on two songs for the a cappella competition rather than doing a second group number?"
"Not that I've heard. I doubt anyone would feel like they've been slighted since, other than Sebastian, no one else sings lead anyway. Plus, all of them saw you be bullied out of performing the role you rightfully earned in the musical."
"Alright. I don't want people to think I'm being a spotlight hog."
"No one thinks that."
"Okay."
"Nick and Jeff are both mature enough to realize that you and Sebastian make stronger leads than they do. I'm not eligible and that was my choice. You know that my choice is to write or arrange, not be the front man. And Richard is a beatboxer. I'm sure he's never given a single thought about being the lead. His contributions can always be heard. Anyone else interested in singing lead can audition for next year."