I wish I could give a proper apology for this belated update, but life is busy for all the best reasons, and I hope you can be happy with me because I have a lot of good things going on - but writing this story is also a good thing, so I won't stop.
I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! I love hearing from you, so let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or anything else you recognize here, I just have fun borrowing and nodding to canon.
Blaine had grand ambitions for Valentine's Day, he did. He just wasn't sure what kind of plans would justify and meet the greatness Kurt deserved. He couldn't figure out how Ohio could offer the romance, courting and wooing Kurt should have on such a day, and their first as a couple at that. He spent days aching over this, all the while checking every online calendar for the closest cities to see if anything exciting was happening. A play, a concert, a fair, an exhibition – something that was more Kurt-appropriate, and gave him a better experience than just a mainstream romcom and dinner at some bland Italian place.
Blaine's worries are to no avail, though, when Kurt springs some completely unexpected plans on him. Blaine should really have known by now not to be surprised by anything that involves the extended New Directions.
"So, your Mr. Schuester is marrying the guidance counselor, on Valentine's Day?"
"He's not my Mr. Schue," Kurt rolls his eyes at him. "But yes, Emma and Will have decided on a rushed wedding on the most romantic day of the year, as if it makes it seem less of a shotgun-event."
"Do you think she's…"
"I honestly don't know. Mercedes hasn't heard any rumours of that kind, and Emma does strike me as the kind of woman who'd want to wait for her wedding night," Kurt scrunches his nose, not quite comfortable imagining the sex life of his old choir director. "But I thought she would have needed at least 18 months to iron down the details for her own wedding."
"Well, I'm looking forward to see you in a suit again," Blaine smiles exaggeratedly, and tries to ignore the disappointment. There's always next year…
"Hmm, yes, I hadn't thought of that. You do look very handsome all dressed up," Kurt murmurs, and leans in to kiss him.
"While now I look like a hobo, or what?" Blaine grins, shivering as Kurt moves a hand down his chest over a washed out t-shirt from a fencing competition two years ago.
"You'll always be gorgeous," Kurt admits shyly, "but that's despite of these," he curls his fingers around the waistline of Blaine's sweatpants.
"I could take them off, if they're that offending," Blaine winks, and quite enjoys the crimson blush on Kurt's cheeks. He loves how he's still shy talking about sex. It makes it all still feel so new and adventurous. And really, it is. Even if they've taken steps on that path, and are feeling more comfortable with the other's body, there are still a lot of uncovered ground for their adventure. Blaine hopes sex with Kurt will never stop taking his breath away. Blaine hopes being Kurt's boyfriend will always make him feel a little dizzy.
"The ping pong-tournament starts in twenty minutes," Kurt reminds him.
"We could forget about it?" Blaine asks hopefully, tugging Kurt closer in their heap of cuddles.
"No, I actually want to see Wes," Kurt grins, and kisses Blaine until his limbs relax sufficiently to let go of him, enabling Kurt to easily climb out of bed.
"Ah, yes, it is quite the spectacle, watching Wes fight his competitive strike against his need to prove that not all Asians excel in ping pong."
"So, are you half-good at this ping pong-thing?" Kurt smirks.
"Is that a height or a hereditary-joke?" Blaine asks faux warningly, one arm tucked into the sleeve of his cardigan.
"I love you," Kurt smiles sweetly, erasing all defenses in Blaine, and he takes the opportunity to kiss him when Kurt steps closer to adjust his collar.
"I need to change pants. Be right back."
They both changed out of uniform after Warblers, but while Blaine had felt lazy and in the mood for lounge-clothes, Kurt had embraced the opportunity to don one of his less tight pair of jeans and a mid-thigh sweater – which wouldn't wrinkle while cuddling. But if Blaine is going to strut his athletic skills in front of his boyfriend, he wants a pair of pants that makes his ass look better than it does in sweats.
Valentine's Day lands on a Thursday, but the schools in Ohio have Friday off to make it a long weekend. They don't have that luxury in Washington, though, so Burt won't be coming home from Congress until Friday night. Carole has spent a few days with him in the tiny apartment he has there, and will be returning with him.
Which means there is an empty house in Lima.
"Bro," Finn sighs over the phone, "you can be with Blaine in school every night. You know how strict Rachel's parents are. Please, let us have the house after the wedding. She's already told her dads Tina is having a sleepover with all the bridesmaids."
"You just got back together, clearly you're not ready to…" Kurt tries to convince Finn.
"Yeah, we're ready. I even bought condoms and all. If you add all the periods we've dated, we've been a couple for almost a year."
"It's not as if Blaine and I have the freedom to do whatever we want either," Kurt argues, not wanting to go more in detail with the more intimate sides of his relationship. Not Finn's either, come to think of it.
"I've seen Blaine's room at Dalton. Believe me, you have all the options in the world compared to Rachel and me."
"Fine," Kurt bites, "we might win that particular battle. But I still wanted to take Blaine home after the wedding."
"I'll make breakfast, if you promise not to show up until the morning after," Finn suggests, and Kurt can hear his smile through the receiver. They both know Finn usually sucks in the kitchen, but he makes a hell of a grilled cheese.
"And where do you suggest we spend the night?" Kurt asks, raising his eyebrows judgingly at his step-brother, even if he can't see him.
"Can't you go to Blaine's house?"
"That's a two hour drive from Lima. It's a waste of gas and money, if we're coming back the next morning."
"Maybe you could borrow Mercedes' room?" Finn suggests optimistically.
"Were will she be?" Kurt stops pacing, and plops down on his bed.
"With Sam. He booked a room in the motel where his family lived for a while. He doesn't exactly get a lot of privacy here, and Mercedes' siblings are always bursting into her room."
The familiar rhythm of Blaine knocking on the door pulls Kurt's attention abruptly from the conversation, and he skips across the floor to open the door, while halfheartedly listening to Finn updating him on the development of romance, dating, cheating and partner-swapping in New Directions. Surprisingly, every couple seem to be fairly stable at the moment, but that's probably to avoid drama and singledom before Valentine's Day.
Kurt waves Blaine inside when he tries to gesture he'll come back when Kurt isn't busy on the phone, and he kisses Kurt's cheek as he comes in.
"Kurt, pleeeaaase," Finn pleads. "I got Sam out of the house, even chipped in on the room he couldn't afford on his own."
"I just don't know where Blaine and I would go after the wedding reception," Kurt sighs. He wants to be the cool brother, he has no need to cockblock Finn – and he could need good material for when he needs Finn to do something for him. But he just doesn't know how to solve this one. "Let me think about it until tomorrow, okay?" he finally says, to postpone the rejection a little.
"Sweet," Finn laughs, and Kurt can easily imagine his wide grin. "Mom is calling, says she needs something on the top shelf again," he chuckles. "Talk tomorrow?"
"Talk tomorrow," Kurt parrots with a nod, before disconnecting.
"Hey," Blaine says, sitting next to him on Kurt's bed.
"Hi," Kurt smiles.
"I missed you," he sighs.
"You saw me at Warblers," Kurt smirks. They didn't have dinner together, as Blaine had to participate in a late meeting with the school administration. They had been served fancy sandwiches, so he was fed. But it had been probably three hours since they saw each other. An eternity, in other words.
Blaine looks at him intently, before cupping his face with both hands, and leans in to kiss him with an audible humming-sound. Kurt scrunches the fabric of Blaine's henley in his fist, pulling him in closer. He needs to find a way to spend Valentine's night alone with his boyfriend, without roommates and nosey dorm-neighbors.
It turns out Blaine is the one who comes up with a solution. Of course Kurt told him about the conversation with his brother. The next morning, Blaine came to Kurt with an offer.
"When you showed me the wedding invitation the other day, I noticed the reception is being held at the Holiday Inn. Would you mind if I booked us a room there? Then Finn could get the house," Blaine asks equal parts careful and eager.
After they talked, Blaine's been more sober with his money, not buying Kurt everything and anything just because he has the means, and also asking Kurt before doing something he might object to. Not that he's shed his gentlemanly tendencies. He still buys Kurt coffee, or goes to the local bakery to pick up a slice of cheesecake if Kurt is stressing over a test. But he also lets Kurt pay for their hot chocolates at Granny's or movie tickets. And he's learned that he loves being courted just as much as he loves spoiling Kurt. Sometimes, it's nice just to relax and let Kurt take care of him. So he's holding back a little, letting them be more equal economically, because it's important to Kurt to not feel like a charity-case. But sometimes there are pricey alternatives that'll make things easier, if Kurt would accept it.
He doesn't jump with joy at Blaine's idea, though.
"That's a lot of money," he predictably objects.
"Not really," Blaine parries, arguments prepared and ready for Kurt's expected initial refusal. "Guests of the wedding party get a decent discount."
"Exactly how big is that discount?" Kurt asks with narrowed eyes, and Blaine should have known Kurt would demand details.
"Fifteen percent," he mumbles. "But they are really nice rooms," he adds, fumbling with his phone to find the pictures that sealed the deal for him. "Look, the rooms have tubs. Wouldn't it be nice to relax with a bubble bath after the wedding?" he murmurs huskily in Kurt's ear. "I bet there's room for both of us in it. And in the morning we could have crepes from the breakfast buffet. Crepes, Kurt, and not the cereal here I'm honestly fed up with."
Kurt looks at him with one eyebrow raised.
"If we spend the night, we can let the car stay. It's a wedding – it's bound to be possible to steal a champagne flute or two," Blaine wiggles his eyebrows conspiratorially.
"Damn you, Blaine Devon Anderson," Kurt scolds, poking a finger not gently in his chest, "damn you for knowing how to push my buttons."
"You're in?" Blaine bounces a little on the bed.
"I'm in," Kurt rolls his eyes.
"You're in!" Blaine exclaims, and tackles his boyfriend to the mattress.
Because Valentine's Day is a school day, there's not much room for romantic gestures. Kurt and Blaine have to ditch their classes after lunch to get to Lima and the wedding ceremony in time. Principal Figgins had excused their friends in New Directions. Coach Sylvester had convinced him to consider it a school representation, as they are singing for their choir direction and guidance counselor. Fortunately, they both have excellent attendance, and hopefully they won't miss much. In hopes of avoiding too much trouble, they had explained their teachers the situation in advance.
But even if they had to sit through a few classes, romance wasn't absent. Blaine had woken when someone climbed into his bed – that someone of course being his lovely boyfriend, dressed and groomed in the Dalton uniform, and with coffee for both of them. He'd even taken the time to leave campus for quality morning brew, instead of the just decent machine-coffee outside the still closed canteen. How early he'd been up, Blaine doesn't dare thinking about.
"I got you something," Kurt beams, pulling out a little present from his pocket.
Curiously, Blaine peels off the paper. Out falls a long, thin piece of fabric – black, with tiny hearts in every colour of the rainbow.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Blaine," Kurt smiles.
Blaine runs the fabric through his fingers in reverence, and his thumb catches on a few stitches at the end. When he looks more closely, he sees a tiny K and H, something he's learned is a staple on anything his boyfriend makes.
"Thank you, it's beautiful," he gushes. "I can't believe you found time to make this for me."
"It really isn't that difficult," Kurt brushes it off. "It would have been easier if I had my sewing machine, of course, but I managed." He gestures for Blaine to hand him the bow, and ties it around Blaine's neck, who's still in his pajamas. "It looks good on you," Kurt smirks, and leans in. The rest of their coffees get cold while they make out until Blaine has to jump into his uniform and rush with Kurt to class.
In between classes, they are being a terrible couple, rubbing their love in their classmates' faces. The drawback to an all boys-school, is that almost all the students have their sweethearts in other schools. But Blaine and Kurt have each other, and even if they both acknowledge to themselves it's a tad silly, they can't help being more tactile and coupley on this day of love.
They're early for their second class, and Kurt gets seated by his usual desk. Blaine drops his book bag on the next desk, but then sits down sideways on Kurt's lap, resting against his chest. Kurt hums a whimsical little tune into Blaine's temple. One hand is caressing the thin sliver of naked skin above his collar below his hair, and the other hand is resting on his thigh.
"They don't make Hallmark cards this cheesy," Sebastian greets them as he enters the classroom. He sits down with crossed legs on Kurt's desk, smirking at them.
"What do you want, Smythe?" Kurt sighs.
"A show? Could be hot," he shrugs.
"I don't share," Blaine objects, but despite his statement, he leans in to kiss Kurt sweetly.
A few boys entering the classroom whistle at them, and Kurt blushes. Blaine simply laughs, but tucks his head in the crook of Kurt's neck again.
"Mmm, comfy," he murmurs, and Sebastian mumbles something about needing a paper bag.
They don't have time for lunch, and have to rush to Lima to get there in time. Because those things happens when time is of essence, Blaine's car won't start. The cold seems to have drained the battery, and they don't have time to fix it now. The cafeteria where everyone is having lunch is closer than the dorms, so Blaine sprints off to borrow a car from the first student with keys on him, instead of Kurt going back to his room to retrieve his car keys. They're running late when they finally leave in Thad's car, but there's no traffic, and Blaine is able to catch up some of the lost time.
"We can't park here," Kurt instantly objects, when Blaine kills the ignition in front of the church.
"Isn't it the right church?" he asks confused.
"Yes, but we're still in uniform, and I'm not giving the guests a peep-show in a Prius."
"No, I think we've already established that I don't like to share," Blaine winks, and backs the car to find a more secluded spot for their backseat shenanigans.
Getting into a suit while half-sitting really isn't as easy as it should be, especially not with two teenagers trying to share the minimal space while peaking at their hot boyfriend, and easily getting distracted. In the end, they do the finishing touches outside, trading on standing as a sort of bodily cover while tucking shirts into pants and making sure the flies aren't open.
Blaine can tie his bowties with eyes closed in a dark cellar, but he doesn't object when Kurt offers to help. There's something really intimate with how Kurt is standing so close, hands brushing against skin that isn't often touched. Knowing Kurt made the bowtie, makes it even more precious.
"There," Kurt nods, and brushes off some invisible dust from Blaine's jacket.
"Thank you," Blaine smiles, and gets up on his toes so that he for once can duck his head and kiss Kurt.
"Dork," Kurt mutters against his lips, but Blaine can feel him smiling.
"Ready to see if they say I do?"
They walk into the church, side by side, where their friends attack them with cheerful greetings. Let the madness commence!