"Wow, this place is amazing!" Alex said as they walked through the double doors into Satire. Despite being friends with Kurt and Sebastian; Alex, Steph, Alice and Brody had had to wait with the rest of the crowd to be admitted.

"It is!" Alice agreed. "I can't believe we've never been here."

"Well, it's not like Seb or Kurt ever visited me at my work," Alex countered.

"You drive a Sprinkles delivery truck. How would that even work?" Brody chimed in.

"Details..." Alex said, and he looked around. "Do you think Seb will be able to get us a few free cocktails?"

"It's a benefit for charity, Al," Alice reminded him. "You're supposed to spend money. Besides, the ticket says one drink is included."

"Alright! I want one of those cocktails with a whole fruit salad on top!" Alex said enthusiastically. At the look on his friends' faces, he shrugged. "What? Peckish. You brought up Sprinkles."

Alice turned to Steph. "I can't wait to see Kurt and Sebastian's old school choir! Uniforms are so hot..."

"Well, they're all graduates," Brody said. "I doubt they'll have school uniforms on."

"Oh..." Alice's shoulders dropped.

"It'll still be good to see them!" Steph said. "I can see Seb behind the bar, c'mon."

They made their way through the crowd towards the bar where Sebastian, Marc and Danny were tending.

Sebastian saw them coming and smiled. "Hey," he said, topping off the drink he was making with a spirallised orange peel.

"Hey man," Alex said. "This place is amazing!"

Sebastian grinned at him. "We do our best. What can I get you guys?"

"Something fruity!" Alex exclaimed loudly, holding up his free-drink coupon. A man next to them turned to face him with a frown. Alex blushed. "I meant with fruit," he added shyly.

"Coke," Brody said, holding up his hand. He had an audition tomorrow and wanted to be fresh for it.

"Bio-" Alice started, but at the subtle shake of Sebastian's head, changed her order to "...alcopop?"

"Surprise me," Steph said, grateful that she was finally able to drink.

Sebastian nodded and started work on their drinks. He produced a bottle of coke and a cherry flavoured alcopop for Brody and Alice and then started on the cocktails for Alex and Steph.

He was finally starting to get his groove back with his flairtending and showed it off now by pulling off a couple throws.

"He's amazing, isn't he?" Steph sighed, looking at Sebastian.

"He is," Alice agreed.

"I taught him all he knows," Marc said, passing by.

"Oh really?" Alice replied. "Because Kurt said a lot of their tricks came from YouTu-"

"Baby, I was doing these years before YouTube was invented!" Marc said, flipping a bottle up in the air.

Alice blushed and sipped her drink through the straw. She liked Marc, but she got the feeling that he still hadn't quite forgiven her for her behaviour towards Sebastian and Kurt after Sebastian's attack.

She watched as Marc rolled the bottle around his wrist and threw it to Sebastian. "Well, you are all really impressive," she said. "I can't even catch my keys, let alone a heavy glass bottle."

"You have other redeeming qualities," Brody whispered, brushing her hair aside and kissing her cheek. It made Alice feel a lot better.

Sebastian placed two beautifully decorated cocktails down on the bar for Steph and Alex and cashed everyone's vouchers.

The room gradually filled over the next hour and with everyone wanting to claim their free drink, there wasn't a lot of time for Sebastian to talk to his friends.

Finally, the mad first rush ended and as Sebastian handed over his last order, the music died and the lights went down. Everyone applauded as a spotlight flashed on, illuminating the stage.

Joe and Kurt stepped into the light. Joe blinked rapidly, holding his hand up a little as if he was shielding his eyes from the sun. The lights were bright and there were so many people. He was both thrilled that it was so popular, and terrified about speaking to them all. He didn't do public speaking very well.

Nervously he glanced at Kurt next to him. He looked so calm and confident. It somehow calmed Joe down and he regained a little of his composure.

Steph observed Kurt up on the stage and smiled, turning to look fondly at Sebastian. She said, "this is his thing, isn't it? He feels right at home."

Sebastian looked up at Kurt and smiled. "Yes, he does...he was born to be in the spotlight."

Joe motioned for everyone to settle down, and raised his microphone.

"Alright. Um. Hello," he said, a little awkwardly, holding the microphone against his lips so it rustled with his breath. Kurt stepped up and pulled Joe's hand a little further away from his lips, whispering something only Joe could hear. He nodded gratefully and tried again.

"Yeah. Hi. I'm Joe Douglas, you guys probably know me, I'm the owner of this establishment.. I'll, uh, do a speech later on. For now, I just wanna say, welcome to everyone, out here and backstage...I'm glad you're all here. I hope we'll all have a good time... Um, some general things about safety: emergency exits are over there; and we have three panic button stations, they're like fire alarms; one's by the bar, the others are on the walls marked by the red lights…" He cleared his throat.

"He's not a very practised public speaker, is he?" Alex whispered to Sebastian, but before he could reply, Joe continued, his voice a little stronger and surer of himself now.

"And I just want to remind you that even though everything looks a bit different here tonight, with the stalls and the stage, our house rules remain the same: no sex on the premises-"

Somebody wolf-whistled and a few people awwwwed loudly, but Joe looked very stern so they quieted down quickly.

"-and no one harrasses my employees. I'm serious. In the light of recent developments I cannot stress that enough. This is not a three-strikes-and-you're-out thing." Joe raised a finger. "It's one strike - and I call the police."

For a moment, no one in the audience spoke. Then, they started applauding.

Sebastian clapped along with everyone else, but slower, taking in what Joe had said. He knew that Joe took their safety seriously, but to hear him address the audience like that was enough to heal another tiny crack inside of him.

Sebastian felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked around at Marc. "I'm okay," he said honestly.

Marc squeezed his shoulder. "You sure?"

Sebastian smiled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks dad."

"Anyway," Joe called through the microphone and Sebastian and Marc turned to the stage again. "Now that we got the formalities out of the way, I'd like to hand you over to Kurt. It's thanks to him that we've got such a great line-up for you this evening, so give him some love! Here you go, Kurt."

Everyone started clapping - Alice whistled on two fingers - as Kurt took over the mic from Joe.

"Thanks, Joe. Hi, everyone! My name is Kurt Hummel and I am a bartender here at Satire."

"KUUURT!" someone called out, and whistled. Kurt was pretty sure it was Alex.

"Some of you might have already seen a few videos of our performers on the club's Twitter or Facebook - and if you haven't you'll find our handles on the menus and business cards at the bar- and, by the way, likes to our page or tagged club selfies are free shots from a bartender of your choice-"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, offered his audience a mischievous look and tapped his chest, as if he knew he was everyone's favourite bartender, before continuing.

"We have a killer show for you tonight. Later on, we'll get to rock out to New York's own Starchild, the lovely Aquamarine is here to treat us all to a fabulous burlesque show, and we have a special one-night-only alumni reunion of Ohio's all-boy acapella choir the Dalton Academy Warblers. I might have a few songs up my sleeve as well…" He winked at the crowd and flashed them a grin. They applauded and whistled again. "But we'll start our evening off with an outstanding performer who took a break from her US tour as a special favour to me, my very dear friend: Mercedes Jones!"

The audience applauded and the intro to Born This Way started playing. Kurt took a little bow and switched off his microphone, making room for Mercedes and two backup dancers they had recruited from NYADA's dance majors.

Kurt made his way towards the bar and Sebastian held the hatch open for him. "Good speech," he said. "I thought Joe was going to have a panic attack!"

Kurt smiled and kissed Sebastian's cheek. "Thanks. He's so nervous. It's really not his thing. I helped him with his speech for later, too." He shrugged. "All those classes on self-presentation at NYADA had to be good for something, right?"

Marc nodded, half-distracted by Mercedes on stage. "She's really good," he mumbled, as the Lady Gaga song faded out and fused into Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Sebastian looked up at the stage and made a noise of agreement. Mercedes really was good. She had the vocal talent and stage persona that had the entire club captivated. Sebastian knew without a doubt that she would make it in her career.

"She's gonna fill the world with her music," Sebastian said. "I can't believe I ever used to criticise her."

"You were jealous and threatened by her talent," Kurt said offhandedly. "We have that effect on people."

Marc snorted. "We, huh?"

"Oh yes," Kurt continued. "The underdogs of the school choir. They all said we were never gonna make it. But tell me, where are our soloists now? Rachel flunked out, Santana is doing god knows what- or who- and Blaine's in therapy. Meanwhile Mercedes got a record deal and I'm graduating from NYADA next summer." He shrugged. "Who are the underdogs now?"

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt from behind and kissed his shoulder. "You're going to take the world by storm, babe...and I will stand by your side as you do," he added proudly.

Kurt hugged Sebastian's arms tighter around himself and they listened to Mercedes some more. Kurt enjoyed her version of Let It Go more than he had Rachel's, but that was no surprise. As she started her last song, Kurt disentangled himself.

"I promised Christoph I'd help with his costume," he explained, "and I have to get changed, too."

"I can't wait to hear you sing again," Steph said. "What will you be doing?"

"Just wait and see," Kurt said mysteriously and winked at her. He kissed Sebastian's cheek, and left the bar, heading towards the backstage area.

Sebastian watched after Kurt for a moment and then turned back to his friends, checking if their drinks were still filled up.

"How you doing, Seb?" Brody asked.

Sebastian smiled at him. "I'm doing okay, thanks...how are you?"

"Domesticated," he joked, nodding at Alice, who was stealing fruit from Alex's cocktail while he was kissing Steph. "And I like it. Want my man-card? It's yours."

Alice heard Brody speak and hit him in the chest.

"Ow," he said rubbing the spot. "See what I mean?" he added looking at Sebastian.

Sebastian laughed. "Maybe you should hold on to it," he said shaking his head.

"You know I hate jokes like that," Alice mumbled, even though she knew Brody was only kidding. No one was forcing him to do anything, and joking about being less masculine if he enjoyed an equal partnership pissed her off. Her mother had raised her to be a feminist, and had not named her after the rebellious daughter of Theodore Roosevelt for nothing.

"What's good here?" someone said behind them. They turned around in their seats and saw Paul standing behind them, wearing a zebra-striped shirt.

"Not the dress-code, clearly," Marc remarked.

Paul put a hand over his heart. "Hello to you too, love of my life. I make the effort to go home and change after work...and this is the thanks I get?"

Marc closed his eyes and let out a huff of laughter, shaking his head.

"At least you left the tiger print pants at home..."

"Wait, what?" Sebastian laughed. "I think Kurt has a hippo brooch to go with that."

Paul cocked his head. "Kurt and I understand each other. I'm sure he will like it. I'll show him when it's back from the dry-cleaners."

"Hey man, awesome shirt," Alex said, who had missed their conversation. "Very safari."

Paul beamed at him.

"Don't encourage him!" Marc pointed his finger at Alex in warning.

Mercedes finished her song, bowed and left the stage. The music changed and the next artist stepped onto stage, catching everyone's attention.

"Now that is an outfit!" Paul said, his mouth dropping open slightly.

Aquamarine had taken her place on the stage. She wore a long sequined gown with a mermaid trail, glittering in greens and blues in the stage lights, and a tall coiffed red wig with a tiara of blinking LED tube lights. The same fluorescent tubes snaked down her dress, blinking in turn from top to bottom, irresistibly drawing the viewers eyes down her hourglass figure. To complete the outfit, she wore glittering ankle boots with twelve inch plexiglass platform soles that looked as if they had a small aquarium inside.

The sultry runs of Christina Aguilera filled the room.

"Underneath the city lights, there is a world few know about - where rules don't apply, no…and you can't keep a good girl...down..."

For a moment, Aquamarine just vogued - taking a few striking poses, shifting her weight from foot to foot and jutting her hips out. But as the music started to pick up a beat, she stuck out a very long leg, took a hold of her skirt, and ripped off the trail exposing glittering fishnet tights, and started dancing for real, shimmying and jumping, dropping into squats and snaking back up. ("Don't need a sugar daddy, she can work it just fine - up on the table, she'll be dancing all night… ")

Alex was staring at her with wide eyes, his drink forgotten. "How...what…" he mumbled in awe, his head cocked to the side. "How can she dance in those heels?"

"How can she even walk at all in them?" Steph added, equally awed.

"And with a sprained ankle, at that," Sebastian commented, remembering how he'd seen Kurt glue gun one of Christoff's platform shoes back together after his fall earlier. "Performance adrenaline is like a natural painkiller."

"This may be the sexiest thing I have ever seen," Alice whispered.

Paul and Marc shared a look and smiled. "Shoes like that are actually surprisingly comfy," Paul said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" Paul asked innocently. "We've done our fair share of fancy dress in our day...any excuse to get these bad boys out." He put his leg up on the bar stool and ran a hand up from his calf to his thigh. "They really make your ass pop."

Sebastian stared at him with wide eyes, unsure whether he should laugh or die from embarrassment at the idea of Marc and Paul dressed up in sexy burlesque style costumes.

"Oh my god," he whispered.

"I don't think I'd ever hear anyone's dad say that," Alex said. "My sympathies, Seb." He raised his cocktail in a salute.

Marc just chuckled. He knew what Paul was referring to, and while it wasn't nearly as scandalous as he made it sound, Marc was enjoying their reaction. It would do the kids some good to be reminded that life did not end after thirty.

They watched Aquamarine shimmy and strip through several Hollywood classic show tunes. Her style was nearly acrobatic, especially in the heels, and it left everyone breathless. The applause was thunderous.

"Ohh, Kurt is up next, isn't he?" Steph asked excitedly, looking at Sebastian.

Sebastian smiled at her and nodded. "He certainly is."

"I've missed hearing him sing," Steph sighed.

"Me too," Alice replied.

"Me three," Paul chimed in. As the others gave him weird looks, he shrugged. "What? I've heard him sing. He lived with us, remember? He sang to the dogs when he thought no one else was listening."

Brody grinned. Kurt would . "Have you ever seen him perform?"

Paul shook his head. "Marc told me about the flairtending routines, but I've not had the pleasure, no." He looked at Sebastian. He'd never seen him perform either. Maybe one day he'd get that chance.

Brody wanted to say something more, but the lights dimmed for a moment to announce a new act, and the spotlight went back on to reveal Kurt, dressed sharply in a city-printed vest and a bright red shirt.

"Is that Moschino?" Paul mumbled admiringly, but none of his friends was able to answer that.

"Hi again, it's me again, Kurt," he said, and waited for the audience to quiet down and give him their attention. "Whew, Aquamarine...that's a tough act to follow, I'll tell you that!" He mimed wiping sweat off his forehead.

The audience laughed and applauded.

"But I'm not here to toot my own horn anyway-" he waggled his eyebrows a little, reaping a few more laughs, "I am here to celebrate Bennie Douglas. I believe music says a lot about a person. Now me, I'm a Gaga." He made a claw with his hand and waited for his audience to quiet down again as they shouted their preferences. "And I asked Joe what kind of music his brother was into, so that even though he's no longer with us, we might all get to know him a little. Grab your eye shadow palette everyone, we're going on a little trip...into the eighties!"

Multicoloured disco lights went on all around, and the unmistakable intro of Culture Club's iconic song started. "Is there loving in your eyes all the way? If I listened to your lies, would you say- "

"Eeee! I love this song!" Alice let out, jumping up and down. Steph was already singing along loudly next to her.

Kurt looked completely in his element as he pranced around the stage with his microphone. This song was perfect for his voice and personality. Sebastian beamed with pride.

Grainy snapshots of a young man in brightly patterned, oversized shirts were projected on the wall behind Kurt. A few of the pictures also featured a very young, moustache-sporting Joe by his side. The pictures flew, spun and zapped onto the screen animated like an old-time Power Point presentation, making it feel even more authentic.

"I'm a man, without conviction. I'm a man who doesn't know, show to sell a contradiction, you come and go...you come and go... "

"EVERYONE!" Alex shouted loudly. "KARMA KARMA KARMA KARMA KARMA CHAMELEOOOOOOOOON!"

"Wow," Paul said staring up at Kurt. "He really does have it."

"Owww yeah…" Alex said breathlessly. "That's my man Kurt."

Marc raised an eyebrow and looked at Sebastian.

Brody smirked. "He gets possessive about his friends' achievements," he explained.

Karma Chameleon merged into David Bowie's Modern Love and by now, the whole club was dancing. Kurt himself only did a simple side step, snapping his fingers to the beat, but it was like you could almost see the large shoulder pads. Kurt Hummel did not do anything half-cocked.

For the next song, it turned out the audience could get even more enthusiastic. The organ tunes of Walk of Life started, and Paul looked at Marc.

"I'm gonna dance," he announced, snapping his fingers and blowing him a kiss. Marc looked after him longingly, wishing he could join in.

"Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies- " Kurt started, using his lower register, and Alex stopped and looked to Brody.

"Is that really Kurt singing?" he asked with a frown.

Brody nodded, looking pleased.

Sebastian felt the tug of something inside of him at Kurt's voice. Yes , that was definitely Kurt singing.

He noticed the longing look in Marc's eyes and bumped their hips together. "Go dance," Sebastian said. "Danny and I can man the bar for five minutes."

Marc looked between Sebastian and Danny, and as Danny nodded, Marc quickly took off his apron. "Thanks, guys. I owe you one."

He hurried to Paul and they started dancing together, swinging their arms a lot and taking energetic side steps.

"Is it just me, or do the eighties dance moves all look like aerobics class?" Alex asked, looking at them.

Brody grinned. "It's not just you. They even dressed like they were going to the gym, sweatbands and all!"

The song came to an end and Kurt took the center stage for his final song. The lighting changed to a dramatic spot.

"Sweet dreams are made of this..." he sang in a sultry voice, "who am I to disagree?"

"How does he do that?" Alex asked, leaning over the bar. "Sound different for each song?"

Sebastian shook his head. "He's Kurt," he said simply. "I don't know how he does it...he just does."

"Amen to that..." Alice was staring up at Kurt with wide, hungry eyes.

"I'm right here, babe," Brody said, poking her in the side.

Alice reached for his hand and squeezed it. She knew how he meant it, and they both knew there was no one between them. That didn't stop her from keeping her eyes fixed on Kurt, his beautiful tailored vest that showed off his impossible waist and the way he was twirling his hips.

Kurt finished his song and took a bow. A visibly moved Joe came walking up to him, and wrapped him into a big hug. They exchanged a few words that the microphone did not pick up, and then Joe patted him on the shoulder and Kurt nodded. He handed Joe the microphone, showed him where to switch it on, and left the stage.

Joe waited for the applause to quiet down. When it did, he offered his audience a brave smile. "That was Bennie in a nutshell," he confirmed, his voice a little rough. "But I want to tell you a little more about him now."

He straightened his back and took a deep breath. "For those of you here who are my age-" he started, looking around the room, nodding at a few of his older friends, "I think it's safe to say we have all lost someone to AIDS. A friend, a colleague, a neighbour...a family member, a partner-" He paused. "There was a time where, by the end of every month, we could strike out another name from our address books."

He shook his head. "My baby brother Benjamin... Bennie; he lost many of his closest friends. People he went to school with; roommates, lovers. It was an awful time, no one knew where it came from or how it was contracted...people were scared. And when people get scared, they get nasty. The public already hated people like Bennie who were out and proud, and when the virus spread rapidly through the gay community, a lot of the public saw it as their dues, and turned the infected away. There was nowhere for them to go. They were shunned. Many of them had struggled coming out - only to have to go back into the closet about their status. Friends stopped calling, people were sacked from their jobs, families broken apart."

"It was shortly after his own diagnosis that Bennie came to me. He knew what was going to happen to him. We all did. 'I want to open a place for us,' he said. 'A place where we can come and be ourselves; a safe place. A club without judgement or fear. Somewhere where everyone belongs, regardless of their status.' And I said - 'so who's gonna pay for this?' And he was like, 'You!'"

Joe paused and grinned. Some people in the audience laughed.

"He knew I could never refuse him anything. So we looked around and found this place-" He gestured at the room. "We got a license, and I taught Bennie how to tend bar...We opened only on weekends, because I still had my day job to finance everything. 'I'll pay you back every cent, Joe,' he said. 'When we start making money, I'll pay you back tenfold.'" Joe shook his head. It was clear that he was struggling to go on, but he made himself.

"When Bennie got too sick to come in for work, I quit my other job. We had so many regulars and we were open every night...it was the logical thing to do. I figured, I would keep it running until Bennie got better, you know? We had stuff to do. We had plans."

He looked around and swallowed. "The night Bennie died, he asked me what I was gonna do with the club when he was gone. I told him I was gonna do what I'd been doing all along. My job. So here I am, thirty years later, still doing my job. For Bennie, and for all of you. Thank you."

Marc looked at Paul as Joe spoke. They were still standing in the dance floor, their hands linked, fingers entwined.

The look on his husband's face told Marc that he was remembering each and every person that he'd lost. Back then, Marc had been too young to understand what had been going on, and having no one in his immediate circle affected by it, it had been easy to dismiss it as something 'on the news'.

Silently, Marc wrapped his arm around Paul's waist and rested his chin over his husband's shoulder.

The lights went out and Joe left the stage. The audience broke into a slow clap. Marc could see a lot of love in the room - nearly everyone was holding hands or comforting someone. This is what Bennie wanted, he realised. A community.

There was a shuffling on stage and then silence. A blue spotlight went on over the stage, illuminating a group of young men wearing matching jackets.

Everyone turned to the stage. Sebastian put his mixing cups down - he expected no drink orders during this song.

"It's been a long day without you, my friend, and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again," Wes sang, his clear voice carrying through the room with ease. "We've come a long way from where we began and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again."

Kurt snuck down the back of the stage, still in his performance outfit. He didn't want to miss the Warblers singing. On his way to the bar, a few people recognised him and congratulated him on his set. He politely got rid of them, not wanting to draw attention away from his friends' performance.

Another Warbler stepped forward.

Why did you have to leave so soon - why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave me when I needed you the most?"

Thad's voice cut through Kurt's soul. He hadn't even been alive yet when Bennie died, but he knew Joe, and he knew about losing a brother. The song made him tear up. He reached the bar and let himself through the little gate for staff members. Sebastian and Danny were both watching the stage. None of the patrons were ordering; the song, with its heartfelt lyrics, entranced everyone.

Kurt walked up to Sebastian and stepped into his embrace. Without speaking, Sebastian knew what he needed and hugged him tightly.

"Cause I don't really know how to tell ya without feeling much worse - I know you're in a better place but it's always gonna hurt," Wes sang.

"Carry on-" Trent took over, "give me all the strength I need to carry on-" He carried the high notes admirably, and Kurt felt his heart soften a little. A year younger than his peers and misguided by his upbringing, Trent had made the wrong decisions, but he had grown and learned.

The other Warblers stepped up, surrounding the soloists, and filled the room with layered harmonies. Kurt opened the little window in his soul and let it air out, allowing his tears to flow freely and be soothed by the promise the song held. They would see their loved ones again, after this long day.

Sebastian, who's been watching his friends up on stage, felt a damp patch on his shirt and looked down to see tears rolling down Kurt's face.

He tightened his grip around his boyfriend.

He'd never really known Finn, but Sebastian knew that he and Kurt had been close. With all the talk about lost brothers it wasn't surprising that Kurt would be remembering him.

Sebastian presses a kiss to Kurt's forehead and hugged him close.

In the crowd, reactions were similar. Marc spotted Joe and his family by the side of the stage and pulled away from Paul. He nodded in Joe's direction and both men walked over to their friend. They hugged, exchanged a few private words, and Joe smiled through his tears.

Alice took Brody's hand. "I feel like we're trespassing a little," she said softly.

Brody shook his head. "Grief is pretty universal," he said.

"So let the light guide your way," David sung up on the stage." Hold every memory as you go.. ."

"And every road you take," Trent picked up again, holding the high note, "will always lead you home...home."

"Wow," Sebastian heard Alice whisper. "His voice is amazing." He smiled. Sebastian was glad he'd been given a lead role for the song.

Kurt burrowed himself closer into Sebastian's arms. Home. That was wherever Sebastian was.

The song slowly faded out, and it was like a deep breath went through the audience. Then, they started applauding. Wes stepped forward.

"Thank you. We're alumni Warblers of Dalton Academy, Ohio," he said formally. "And this is the first time we've performed together in public since graduation. If I may, I would like to introduce our singers; Warblers David, Thad, Trent-" he held out his arm at them and waited for people to stop applauding, "my name is Wes- and the soloists of the next song, Nick and Jeff."

"Niff," Nick said with a wink, and Wes let out a visible sigh. It was clear he had planned his little speech and, as usual, they stirred up his plans.

Alex snorted. "Niff! I like that!" he said loudly. "We're Aleph, right?"

Steph looked at him with her nose scrunched up. "Stelex, if anything," she argued. "I don't see why you should get more letters."

Sebastian snorted and shook his head.

"I like Stelex," Alice said. "What would we be?" She looked at Brody.

"You guys are Aldy." Alex said sagely.

"Isn't that the name of a German supermarket?"

"What about Brolice? Bralice?"

"I like Bralice," Alex said, leering a little and making it sound like 'bra-less'. He nudged Steph, who snickered.

"What are we then?" Sebastian asked, looking down at Kurt.

"That's easy," Alice said. "You guys are Kurtbastian."

Sebastian grinned. "What do you think, babe?"

Kurt was a little overwhelmed. It was definitely something else than having just one letter. "I guess that's okay?" he said. "Though I reserve the right to remain my own person." He looked towards the stage, where Marc and Paul still stood with Joe. "Parc?" he suggested, his smile returning. It was just more fun making names for other people.

On stage, Nick and Jeff took their places in front. Kurt hoped it was going to work. Wes had been on their tails for weeks to practise (they had complained about him in a private chat). With Blaine around, they had never gotten a real solo, and later, Sebastian had distributed lines evenly and treated them all as a team. Kurt knew this was a moment they had been waiting for for a long time.

The Warblers set up a rhythm and a background harmony, and Jeff began to sing. "No matter what they tell us, no matter what they do... No matter what they teach us, what we believe is true." He addressed the audience, and Kurt felt he was singing for all of them. It was quite clear who they were.

Nick looked out around the audience and held out his arms. "No matter what they call us, however they attack, no matter where they'll take us, we'll find our own way back."

Sebastian looked around at the crowd, once again they were all captivated by the group on stage. Sebastian was proud of his team. They'd really picked songs that worked.

"I can't deny what I believe, I can't be what I'm not ," both Nick and Jeff sung, their voices mixing well together. "I know I'll love forever, I know no matter what."

Kurt was entranced. Even though all of them could probably feel the lyrics in their hearts, he also felt like he was witnessing something very intimate between Jeff and Nick; something with a special meaning that was only for the two of them. He felt honoured to be a part of it.

The song continued into the verse about God, and Kurt sighed.

"And I will keep you safe and strong, and shelter from the storm..." He knew what the lyrics were supposed to express, and perhaps it comforted some people to believe in a benevolent God, but Kurt's atheism from high school had only been confirmed by recent events. If there was a God, why hadn't he kept Sebastian safe?

Kurt believed in himself; in Sebastian, in their love. For him, that kept them safe, no matter what.

"No matter who they follow, no matter where they lead, no matter how they judge us, I'll be everyone you need." Jeff and Nick were looking at each other now, the crowd melting away until it was just the two of them.

" No matter if the sun don't shine, or if the sky is blue. No matter what the end is, my life began with you."

Sebastian closed his eyes and swayed with Kurt as they listened to the song. The lyrics spoke right to him. He couldn't remember life before Kurt and he never wanted to imagine life without him.

"I know this love's forever, that's all that matters now, no matter what."

Applause rose and Nick and Jeff took a bow, then stepped back in line with the others. As they started into the harmony for the next song, Kurt laughed out loud.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

Brody snorted. "It's Mister Sandman," he replied. "I wonder if they will-"

"Mister Sandman, give me a dream...make him the cutest that I've ever seen..."

"Nope," Brody concluded, grinning. "It's the girl version. They didn't gender-bend it. It's a girl band song about finding a husband."

Alice looked around. "Well, that works," she commented.

"I think this lot would fry them alive if they did the boy version," Paul said, sliding up to the bar. "I like this group, they're good!"

Sebastian smiled proudly. Yes, they were.

"You were very good too of course, Kurt!" Paul added.

"Oh my god, yes!" Alice exclaimed. "I had no idea your voice could go that low!"

"Oh, I could talk down here all the time if I wanted to," Kurt said in a deep voice, then cleared his throat and switched back to his regular speaking voice. "It's just so much effort."

He thought about the time he had tried to butch himself up for his dad. After talking like that for a day, he'd need to drink tea with honey all evening. He envied guys who sounded like that naturally - but then, could they sing Madonna songs in the original key?

"I like your regular voice," Steph said. "It suits you."

Kurt smiled softly at her. "Thanks. It's been my ticket out of Ohio and into all of this."

"I like it too," Sebastian said smiling. "Though, I do also like the low register," he added quietly to Kurt in an attempt to sound flirty. He hoped it worked. He'd been trying to block that part of himself off for so long that it was taking some getting used to to slip back into it.

Kurt felt the heat rise in his cheeks and butterflies swirled in his stomach. He knew what Sebastian meant; there were times his voice deepened without any conscious effort. It had been a while since Sebastian had voluntarily hinted at that. Kurt swallowed and hid his face against Sebastian's throat. "Me too," he whispered.

Meanwhile, the Warblers finished their playful ditty and Wes announced that the following song would be their last. The audience dutifully protested.

Thad stepped forward, and with his rich, husky voice, started to sing. "I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the lord…"

"Hey! We should be out there doing this," Alex commented, looking pleased with himself. "This is our song."

The other Warblers hummed in a rising volume, setting up a flawless harmony for the first Hallelujahs, and then divided into beat boxing and melodies. David took the second verse.

"Okay ..." Alex whispered, sounding intimidated. "Maybe we can't do it like this…"

"Shhh!" Steph hushed him.

Sebastian stared up at his friends on the stage. He hadn't heard them do this song before. It must have been from before his time.

"Incredible," he whispered softly in French. It made up his mind.

Sebastian kissed Kurt's shoulder and hugged him. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom," he said quietly. "I'll be right back."

Kurt nodded and kept his eyes on the Warblers, who were letting the song slowly fade out. He couldn't get over Trent's solo on the last verse. Their applause went on for a long time, and it was well-deserved. People in the audience shouted for an encore.

Wes stepped forward and waited for them to quiet down. "Thank you so much," he said, looking pleased. "I am very proud to stand here today as a former head of the Warbler council and share the stage with some of the most talented singers ever to grace Dalton Academy; not just with our ensemble here-" he gestured at the others, "but also in the presence of former Dalton Academy student and fellow Warbler Kurt Hummel." He extended his hand out to the bar.

The audience applauded wildly, and Kurt ducked his head. Marc nudged his arm and Kurt shyly waved a little at the people turning his way.

"But what perhaps not all of you know," Wes continued, "is that after I graduated, a new leader was voted Captain of the Warblers, and his direction lead the Warblers to new heights. And, as I understand it," He looked to the side of the stage and nodded, "he has agreed to sing with us tonight…"

"Huh?" Kurt said out loud, looking around. Did Wes mean who Kurt thought he meant?

"Everyone please put your hands together for Satire's own Sebastian Smythe!"

Author's Notes:
Setlist (up to this point) :

MERCEDES -
Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Judy Gardland)
Let It Go (Idina Menzel)

AQUAMARINE -
Show Me How You Burlesque (Christina Aguilera)

KURT -
Karma Chameleon (Culture Club)
Modern Love (David Bowie)
Walk of Life (Dire Straights)
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)

THE WARBLERS -
See You Again (Charlie Puth)
No Matter What [Jeff & Nick solo] (Boyzone)
Mr Sandman (The Chordettes)
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen, but sung in the Pentatonix cover style)