{}o{}o{}o{}o{}J-13{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Sunday morning Kurt lay snuggled tight in Sam's arms, back in their own bed. He lay still hoping to let Sam sleep longer since it was only 6:04am according to the clock and still dark outside. They had forced themselves to stay awake until 9:00 Ohio time the night before in hopes of sleeping until a reasonable time, which he had managed to do, more or less. He lay there thinking.
It had been an amazing month in France. Kurt had taken so many photos that he had burned five DVDs. Sam had filled a notebook full of sketches. They had visited so many of the places that Kurt had wanted to see. He couldn't actually think of a single place he had wanted to go in Paris that they hadn't gone to.
One day I want to go back and see more of the country – the castles, the villages that look like time had stopped, and everything in between. I want to go everywhere and see every amazing thing. Me and Sam, traveling the world together would be so cool. Maybe some day.
"Morning, gorgeous."
"Did I move? I was trying so hard to hold still."
"Your breathing changed."
"I'll have to figure out how I breathe while I'm asleep so I can keep doing it after I wake up so you can sleep longer."
Sam kissed him on the back of the neck. "I wasn't sleeping soundly anyway – jet lag. It's Sunday Snuggle time anyway." He ran his hand along Kurt's arm and down his leg and back up. "Sexy snuggles with my sexy husband."
Kurt took a deep breath and let it out. "I agree. I have a very sexy husband. I had amazing time with you in Paris. One day, if we can, I want to go more places with you. Every beautiful place – I want to go there with you."
"Sounds perfect." He kissed the back of Kurt's neck, and then pressed his nose into the nape of his neck and breathed deeply. "Mmm. I confess that my ideas for today are straying past snuggling."
"Oh? Some kissing?"
"A lot of kissing." Sam began kissing down Kurt's neck and across his shoulder. "Lots and lots of kissing."
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A couple of hours later, they were in bed still, sated several times over. Kurt was practically lying on Sam. Every part of their bodies were intertwined in some way.
"Feeling better now?" Kurt asked.
"Definitely." Sam kissed him on top of the head. "I love you."
"I love you too. More snuggles?"
"Yeah, but let's listen to the book for a while."
"I'd have to get up to do that."
"Never mind. Quiet is good."
"As you wish."
Sam laughed. He ran his hand up and down Kurt's back. "I already have what I wished for."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
As much as they both really wanted to lie in bed all day, they knew that they couldn't. They had stayed in Paris as long as they could and they had to get ready for the new semester that started the next day.
Once they finally made it out of the bed, they checked their schedules, packed their bags and lunches, and worked on their second semester calendar. Kurt worked on a handwritten calendar while Sam cooked. Once they had eaten, they added everything in and made a M-F block schedule. They both looked at what Kurt had put on the preliminary calendars.
"Next weekend, after we've gotten all of our semester syllabi, I'll input all of this into the computer and make a nice copy to keep on the wall," Kurt said.
"We're going to be crazy busy again until spring break," Sam said. "Sunday mornings just have to be the time we tell everyone 'no'."
"Unless the school demands our presence, 'no' is the answer to any Sunday morning request." Kurt blocked out Sundays until noon.
"That's better. I'd like longer, but I'll take what I can get. No chores then either. And we'll have slices of banana bread and yogurt so we don't have to make anything. And let's make twice what we eat for Saturday dinner, so we can just eat leftovers for lunch on Sunday. I'm serious about our time together. We tried last semester, but we still let things push their way into our time. I need that time with you."
Kurt got up and sat in Sam's lap. He wrapped his arms around Sam's neck and hugged him. "I need you too."
He wrapped his arms around Kurt and kissed him. "We can do this."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}F-14{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
A very stressful month had passed since they had sat down to work on their calendars. Sam was not coping well with Kurt cancelling plans and rearranging his schedule randomly. He was getting frustrated with Kurt calling to be picked up at unplanned times, sometimes hours after Sam had expected Kurt to have already been home. All the while Sam had no idea where Kurt was because his phone was off due to department rules.
Sam had worked on a special Valentine's dinner for Kurt for over an hour and right as he was about to back out to go get Kurt, he got a text rescheduling Kurt's pick up time at theater for the 11th time in 11 days. He put the truck back in park, got out, and went back inside.
He sat down on the sofa really angry. He knew that there was no way to salvage what he had prepared and have it taste the way it should. He could put it in the refrigerator and warm it up later, but it wouldn't taste the same. Some things were really only good served freshly cooked.
He took a deep breath and got back up to go back into the kitchen. He pulled the plates out of the oven and turned it off. He took the foil off, ate the artichoke hearts, and then ate all of the eggplant as well. He sliced the chicken cordon bleu in half, lightly toasted some bread, added mustard, and made two half-sandwiches for each of them for their lunches the next day, and then put them in the fridge. He packed some baby carrots and peeled two oranges and added them to the sandwiches. He put the plates in the dishwasher and turned it on.
In an attempt to calm down, he went in the living room to practice his guitar for a while, but it wasn't enough. He still had an hour left. He went in the study and used gesso to prime the three blank canvases that he had, which didn't fill the remaining time and hadn't accomplished his intended goal of calming him down.
He knew that Kurt hadn't chosen to stand him up, but there had been nothing but non-stop stress since the semester started and the weight of it had come crashing down when he had gotten the text. He got Kurt's yoga mat out and did crunches until he couldn't do any more. He put the mat away and changed to doing squats. Once he had exhausted himself, the tears of frustration came. He took a shower and dressed in pajamas when he came out.
He drove to the theater and pulled into the pick up area in front. When he didn't get another call delaying the pick-up time, he called the Thai restaurant and got no answer. He called the Chinese place with the same result. He realized that it was after 10pm on a Thursday and more than likely nothing but Taco Bell would be open. He leaned forward and put his head on his hands on the steering wheel. He jumped when Kurt tapped on the window for him to unlock the door.
"Sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to make you jump." Kurt got in, closed the door, and slid to the center, putting his bags in the passenger seat. He clicked his seatbelt. "Hey, what's wrong?" Kurt reached out for him and turned Sam's face to kiss him.
Kurt's kiss broke through his frustration and he kissed back. He put the truck in drive, pulled out of the pick-up zone, and drove back home.
"Your hair's damp and you're in your pajamas?"
"Yeah. I was exercising and I took a shower afterwards."
A couple of minutes later, Sam pulled up and parked. They both got out. Sam opened the door and locked the door behind them. They both stopped to hang their coats up.
"It smells really good in here."
"Why don't you go take a shower? You can eat, and then we can take a bubble bath if you want."
"Alright." Kurt couldn't figure out what was going on, but he took his stuff with him. He stopped in front of the laundry closet and put his dance clothes from his bag into the washer. He grabbed his other dance clothes from the laundry basket in the bedroom and tossed them in and left the clothes he had on in the basket. He put his school bag in the study next to their desk. He started the small load, and then went into the bathroom and showered quickly.
While Kurt was in the shower, Sam made him an omelette with some diced peppers and onions from the freezer.
Kurt came out in his towel. He looked at the plate confused, but took it. "Thank you."
He sat down and ate while Sam washed and dried the skillet and spatula, and then put them away. As soon as Kurt finished, Sam took his plate and washed it as well.
Sam noticed the clock on the stove said 11:13. "If you'd rather, we can just go to bed. It's already really late."
"I think the washer has another 10 minutes before it's done. I'll go grab some pajamas. Maybe we can dance for a little bit?"
"Sure." Sam connected his phone to the speaker and started some instrumental music. As soon as Kurt came back in the room, Sam wrapped his arms around him and held him close while they practically just swayed in place.
When the washer finished, Kurt kissed Sam gently and went to hang his clothes up. Sam disconnected his phone from the speaker, checked the doors, turned the lights off, and went into their bedroom. He turned the timer for the twinkle lights to an hour, undressed, started some Spanish guitar music at a very low volume, and got in bed.
As soon as Kurt finished hanging his clothes to dry, he joined Sam in bed. He realized that Sam wasn't wearing his pajamas anymore, so he sat up and took his off and lay back down. He scooted over and laid his head on Sam's chest.
"I know you're not angry with me personally, but I know that you're angry. I can't apologize for the way the musical is going because it's not me who keeps causing the rehearsals to run long. We open tomorrow night and the two main characters are still struggling. I'm not sure how it's going to go tomorrow. I hope somehow between now and then, they manage to dig deep and find some way to portray the beginning part better. They seem about as interested in each other as I was in Brittany."
"Yikes." Sam ran his hand along Kurt's arm.
"Yeah."
"You're right that I'm upset. I'm frustrated because I made chicken cordon bleu, the eggplant au poivre you love, and garlic and butter artichoke hearts for us for dinner. I spent a lot of time getting the food just right and the timing just right. I was in the truck, starting to back up when you texted the change in time."
"Oh, sweetie. That sounds wonderful. I loved that eggplant dish when Aunt Lydia made it. And you know I love artichoke hearts. That's why it smelled so good when I came in."
"The chicken cordon bleu has been turned into sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. I ate the eggplant and artichokes myself because neither one tastes good reheated. Things have been so rough and I just wanted dinner to be really nice. It was delicious, but I wanted to eat it with you. I tried to get your favorite Thai, and then Chinese, while I was waiting for you to come out, but everything was closed because it was so late already. I should have just make a crockpot stew that would have been okay being served later than expected. It's not like this is the first time you've come home late in the last five weeks."
Kurt reached out and ran his hand through Sam's hair. "I don't know what to say or how to make this better. It was super sweet of you to go to so much trouble to make me a fancy dinner. Thank you. I really do appreciate all of the effort you put into it. I wish I had gotten to eat it with you."
"Me too. I loved all the little notes you put in my bag and even in my glove."
"You didn't find the one in your wallet?"
"I didn't buy anything today, but I'll for sure look tomorrow. Let's try to sleep. I know you have an early class tomorrow."
Kurt scooted up and kissed Sam and got comfortable. "I love you."
"I love you too."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}F-24{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Ten days later, Finn, Trish, Burt and Carole attended the final performance. They had an early dinner together before the four of them left.
"We'll see you in a couple of weeks," Burt said, as they headed out the door.
Kurt nodded and waved. He closed the door and went and plopped down on the sofa. "It's done."
"It is."
"I'm exhausted."
"Spring break is in two weeks," Sam offered cheerfully.
"I'm glad. How about we strip down, take a bubble bath, and get in bed to snuggle? I need snuggles."
"I happen to have an unlimited supply of those, just for you."
"Perfect."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Kurt lay back against Sam's chest and relaxed. "Spring break is for doing nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"Well, that's a bummer. I was looking forward to unlimited bl–"
"Of course. Yes. Not 'nothing'. We can definitely do that. Nothing that qualifies as work, unless it is a chosen activity like painting and sewing, which can be both for fun or work."
"So I don't need to cancel my order for those–?"
"You didn't."
"I most certainly did."
"Sam!"
"What? You said you thought they looked interesting. I didn't order 50 or anything. If neither one of us likes them, we'll give them to Nick and Jeff and they can see if they do."
"YOU can give them to Nick and Jeff."
Sam rolled his eyes. "You're blushing."
"Hush you. Kiss me." He repositioned himself. "We were robbed of Valentine's Day, and two Sunday Snuggle mornings. I need lots of kisses." Kurt turned his face and puckered up.
Sam met his lips with a peck. "Always kisses. Even if we've had our Sunday Snuggles."
"I feel like it's been ages since we just had time to talk and I don't like it. I love performing, but if it's going to overtake my whole life, then I'm not sure how interested I am anymore." He pressed his lips back to Sam's. "I promised to put you above all others and I've not done that lately. I know that we can say that it wasn't a choice. And even though I can't think of any way to have changed the last six weeks, I haven't done right by you. I'm so sorry. I don't know how to change it, but I need to figure it out."
"You do realize that we can't actually just do nothing for spring break."
Kurt sighed. "I know. We're leaving that Friday night to go to Aunt Eunice's for the first weekend. Finn and Trish and Carole are driving from Lima and picking Dad up on Columbus on the way. It's our first weekend of spring break and their last weekend. It will be fun. But when we come back, no work. We can hang around the house in our underwear all week and not even create any laundry to wash."
"Oh, well that sounds like an interesting plan, which I'm sure you'll change as soon as Nick or Jeff knocks on the patio door."
"Wait. They aren't even going to be here. They're going to South Carolina."
Sam laughed. "Gotcha!"
Kurt ran his fingers up Sam's ribs, causing him to laugh even more. "Trickster. Tickles for a trickster."
Sam put his hand over the top of Kurt's and pressed down just enough to prevent him from tickling him anymore. "I love you. I've missed being tickle tackled. That's definitely on the to-do list for spring break."
Kurt slipped his hand out from under Sam's and wrapped it around the back of Sam's neck and turned his face to kiss him again, this time passionately. When they broke to catch their breath, he said, "I love you too. Are you ready to rinse off and move the snuggling and kissing to the bedroom?"
"Definitely."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-15{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Friday morning of spring break, Kurt and Sam were in the study working on art and design projects when Kurt's phone started to ring. He got up and went to the bedroom to grab it.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, kiddo. I need to you to pick me up in Cleveland in a few hours. It's the first flight I can get back to Ohio."
"What's wrong?"
"Finn's been in a wreck. I can't get a flight to Toledo until tomorrow morning and I don't want Carole to have to go to Columbus or Dayton to get me and not be there with Finn."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"I don't know. We don't have any details yet. I have to get to the airport. I'm sure that Carole will call you once she has any news."
"We'll be there." Kurt hung up. He sat on the edge of the bed and started to cry. He looked at his phone again when it buzzed for an incoming text message with Burt's flight information.
When he didn't come back, Sam went to look for him. He found him crying. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Finn's been in a wreck and my dad is flying in to Cleveland. We have to go get him in a couple of hours. His flight lands at 12:30."
"Is Finn going to be okay?"
"I don't know. My dad didn't have any details, but it must be bad if he's flying out to come home immediately. We need to pack to stay for the weekend. We have school again on Monday, but we can stay the weekend." He got up and grabbed some clothes and started to fold them. He put them on the bed. He took off the clothes he had on and changed.
Sam went to the bathroom, cleaned his hands, and came back in the room. He pulled out clothes as well. Kurt packed all of their stuff into a duffle. He grabbed their travel toiletries bag and packed it as well. He went in the kitchen and moved all of the leftovers to the freezer except a few things to have for an early lunch. He went back to the study and put his stuff away. Sam continued to work on his painting. He cleaned everything up and changed right before they left.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Burt got into the backseat as soon as he came out of the airport. He slid his small suitcase into the seat next to him. Kurt pulled out and headed straight to Toledo. During the nearly 2-hour drive no one felt like talking. Burt hadn't heard anything else and Carole hadn't called Kurt.
Once they were finally inside the hospital, they were met by a sobbing Carole.
"Trish is here too, in the waiting room." Carole let Burt hug her before she started walking back towards the waiting area. "He's in surgery. We don't know anything still."
They all sat down near Trish and waited. About an hour later, they heard "Family of Finn Hudson" called out. They stood up. The nurse came towards them.
"Go ahead and have a seat." She pulled one of the chairs up and sat down as well. "I'm sorry someone didn't come out here sooner. He's been out of surgery for a while. The impact caused his appendix to rupture, so that was removed. He has a significant amount of bruising. He has two broken ribs and his left arm is broken, but it was a clean break. No pins were needed to set it and he shouldn't need any surgery for that. It will heal on its own. He has a significant number of small lacerations on his face from the windshield shattering. They've been cleaned and bandaged. He was rushed into surgery when the CT scan showed the ruptured appendix. The rest of the issues were dealt with after he came out. He's been sedated through the procedures. Removing the small glass pieces took quite a bit of time. He should come to fairly soon."
Visibly trying to remain calm and speak without crying again, Carole said. "We still don't even know what happened."
"A deer ran in front of his truck or more like jumped onto the hood of his truck. It shattered his windshield and he drove off the road and hit a tree. Fortunately, the oncoming traffic was far enough back to stop before his truck crossed the center line and he wasn't hit head on by another vehicle."
Trish started to cry again. "It's all my fault."
Carole said, "I find that very unlikely. Unless you were the one that intentionally spooked the deer."
"I stayed up all night last night to get this paper done that I had to turn before noon today. He left like he was going to class, but he left like an hour too early. I bet he was going to this little coffee shop we found to get me a huge coffee to help me stay awake all day."
Carole ran her hand up and down Trish's back, soothingly. "Well, whether he did or didn't go out to get something for you, you didn't make a deer jump in front of him."
The nurse spoke again. "She's right, honey. No one caused this but a spooked deer. He's in recovery now, but someone will come out again in about a half-hour to tell you his room number. You can all go up to see him then."
"Thank you," Carole said. "There's no brain trauma?"
"Not that we know of. He came in unconscious, so we're observing him as he comes out from under the anesthesia. That's why it will be a bit longer before he's in a room." She stood up and pushed the chair back to where it was on her way out of the room.
Carole let out a huge sigh. "That's so much better than I had feared. His arm will heal and plenty of people get along just fine without their appendix. The small lacerations will heal and he can use some scar ointment on them and they probably won't even be noticeable."
"He'll be sore with the broken ribs," Kurt said. "But it's so much better than what I was afraid of."
"Me too," Trish said, still sniffling. "He loved that truck. He's going to be really upset that it's messed up."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
"Mom?" Finn said, as he tried to focus his eyes.
"Yes, Finn. We're all here." She stepped closer to the head of the bed and touched the side of his face very gently.
"Where's here. Why can't I move?"
"You're in the hospital, honey. You had an accident this morning."
"I did? What happened?"
Trish was standing on the other side of the bed. "You don't remember?"
Finn turned his head towards her. "Hey, babe." He smiled at Trish. "Um, I remember you staying up all night and I went to get you some coffee to surprise you and help you stay awake."
Trish broke down crying again.
"Come closer. Why are you so upset?"
"You got into an accident on the way to get the coffee. We haven't seen your truck, but we were told that a deer jumped out in front of you and you drove off the road and hit a tree. I feel bad. I didn't plan my time well and now you're all banged up and your truck is probably totaled. You love that truck."
He reached out and she took his hand.
"Hey, don't cry. I love you way more than the truck. Maybe Burt can fix it. What exactly is wrong with me? I think they have me on too much stuff for me to know what hurts."
Kurt laughed. He got up and stood next to Trish. "Probably. You have two broken ribs and your left arm is broken and in a cast. The windshield glass breaking caused a lot of small cuts on your face."
Trish added, "And your appendix ruptured, so that's why you had to have surgery."
"Oh. Whatever they have pumping through me is doing a good job then because none of those places hurt. Nothing hurts. My mouth is dry. Can I have a drink?"
Carole said, "I'm sure you can. Let me ring the nurse now that you're awake."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
The doctor came in a couple of hours later. He introduced himself and examined Finn before speaking to them. "You're looking good. Were you experiencing stomach pain in the last few days?"
"Um, yeah. My stomach started hurting Wednesday, but I thought it was just because I ate too much lasagna in the cafeteria for lunch."
"And did it go away?"
"Not really. It kind of changed, but it was still hurting. I just tried to ignore it. I ate less hoping that would help."
"Well, I'm pretty certain that your appendix was on its way to rupturing, probably by tomorrow. Being in the accident just sped the timeframe up. You'll be on IV antibiotics for a few more days and you'll be able to go home probably on Monday. You'll still have to complete a round of oral antibiotics. Taking them is of utmost importance."
"Okay."
"Your arm should heal up fine and the cast should come off in 6 weeks. It's a waterproof cast. No need to worry about getting it wet once you can shower. You'll be sore for quite a while with the broken ribs. No heavy lifting for 4-6 weeks with the combination of the surgery and the ribs."
"Got it."
"No dietary changes are required after an appendectomy. A couple of months from now, all of this should be healed up and you'll be good as new."
"Thanks."
"It was nice meeting all you." He headed out of the room.
Carole was the first to speak. "Well, that was good news. I'm so relieved."
"What time is it?" Finn asked.
"6:23," Trish responded.
"That would explain why I feel so hungry. I haven't had anything to eat since last night."
Carole said, "Press the nurse's button and tell them you're hungry."
He did and about five minutes later, a nurse came in with a tray. Trish moved out of the way so the nurse could put it on the table. He slid it over to the bed and left quickly. Trish took the cover off the plate and the lid off the bowls.
"Well, you have vanilla pudding, chicken broth, and mashed potatoes. Mmm," she teased.
"Whatever. I'm so hungry that I don't even care. Can you help me sit the bed up and put a straw in the broth? I'm not even going to attempt to use a spoon with it sitting that far away. I want to eat it, not wear it."
That made everyone laugh.
Trish took the straw from his water cup and pushed the button on the side of the bed to raise the head of the bed up. She stuck the straw into the bowl with the broth and guided the straw into Finn's mouth. It didn't take long before the bowl was empty. She held the mashed potato and pudding bowls close enough for him to feed himself.
"Better?"
"For like 20 minutes, then I'll need another dinner."
Kurt laughed. "I think we can rule out head trauma."
"I'll go talk to the nurse and find out if we're allowed to bring you other things to eat," Carole said. She left the room.
Burt stepped up to the bedside, where Carole had been. He put his hand on Finn's shoulder gently. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Weren't you in DC this week?"
"I was. I flew into Cleveland on the first flight I could get. I rode over with Kurt and Sam."
"Won't you get in trouble or something?"
"No. I sent one my aides to the committee meeting I was supposed to go to this afternoon to take notes. I'll read them and talk to her about the meeting. Don't worry about me. You just need to rest so you can get out of here as soon as possible."
"Yeah. If they're going to limit me to the kind of food I got for dinner, I've got to get out of here quick – before I starve to death."
Burt laughed.
Carole came back in the room. "You can have more of the same food tonight, if you're hungry later. That's the best you're going to get for today since you had surgery earlier. Tomorrow you'll get more of a variety."
"I hope so. Actually, I'm really tired. I think I need a nap."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-22{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
A week later, Kurt came in before dinner, hung his coat up, and called out, "Sam?"
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm painting."
Kurt took his bag down to the study. "You know how I wasn't sure whether to feel disappointed or excited that I didn't get a role in Midsummer?"
"Yeah."
"Now, I'm certain that I'm glad. I found out that I was selected to work on the costuming and the pieces I'm doing will be my final project for the semester in my Costume Design course. If I had been cast, it would have been so stressful."
"Well, then I'm glad you didn't get a part. You've been in two productions this year. That seems like a lot to me for a freshman."
"I think it's enough. I know there were freshmen who didn't get cast in anything. I don't know if there were any that were cast in more than two. I think I prefer doing the costuming for a play that's so late in the semester." Kurt's phone began to vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket to look at it. "Why is Rachel calling me?" He answered her call. "Rachel?"
"Yes, it's me, Kurt. I just had to call the one person who would know how much this means to me."
"How much what means to you?"
"I auditioned for Funny Girl and I got cast as Fanny."
"NYADA is doing Funny Girl? We just finished a 10-day run of Spring Awakening a couple of weeks ago."
"No. Freshmen can't be in NYADA productions. Funny Girl is being revived on Broadway and I'm going to play Fanny."
"Oh, wow. Well, congratulations, Rachel. I'm sure you'll be a fantastic Fanny."
"Thank you. Rehearsals don't start until the end of May or some time in June, but I'm so excited."
"It's an amazing opportunity. Like I said, congratulations."
"Thank you."
"I'm sure you have other people to call. I won't keep you."
"I do."
"Goodbye, Rachel." Kurt ended the called and put his phone back in his pocket.
"I heard," Sam said. "She was talking so loud that I could hear her."
"I wish her all the best. Far be it from me to wish anything else, but it's going to take a miracle to keep her from diva-ing out. She just said that NYADA freshmen aren't allowed to be in the productions, so she's 18 and the only real role she's ever had was being Maria last year in West Side Story. She worked with Artie and two teachers who knew nothing about directing, which meant she called the shots when it came to how she performed. Going from a high school production straight to Broadway will be a culture shock for sure. And honestly, I'm envious. I knew deep down I would never best her, but I never considered that she would audition already. Then again, I didn't know anyone was staging a revival of Funny Girl."
"I've never seen Funny Girl."
"It's Rachel's Favorite Barbra Streisand musical. The song she said for audition, 'Don't' Rain on My Parade' is from the musical."
"I'll be right back." Sam stepped out of the room to wash his hands and came right back.
"I want to be happy for her, and I am, but I'm also envious. She will always have it easier and that's just that, but it is frustrating. I'm glad I'm not in the same program with her. Watching everyone fawn all over her would drive me nuts."
"Stand up for a second." He waited. He wrapped his arms around Kurt and held him close. "It's okay to be envious. It is. She pushed you to the background all the time. And now she's being given a chance to shine. Only time will tell if this is a good move for her or not. Only you can decide whether you're doing what you want to now or not. Are you regretting your choice of turning down your NYADA offer?"
Kurt let himself be held. He closed his eyes and thought. "I'm not ready to be on Broadway right now. I have so much more to learn. I'm learning a lot here. I don't regret my choice. Not at all. Even if I get there some day, no amount of applause can make me feel like this." He kissed up Sam's neck. "What I want most is it this. No screaming fans can make me feel the way you do. You know the real me and you love me."
"That's true. I do love you. How about a pre-dinner snuggle?"
"Sounds great."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}A-19{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Kurt was sitting on the sofa when Sam put his key in the lock. He hopped up and stood in the entryway. It was far from the first time he had done it and Sam laughed instead of jumping when he opened the door to find Kurt standing there waiting for him. Kurt let him get the door closed and relocked before he relieved him of his bag. He put it on the floor behind him against the wall and reached back up to wrap his arms around Sam's neck and kissed him before he had time to speak.
"Well, hello to you too," Sam said, once they broke apart to catch their breath.
Kurt didn't let go of him. "Hi," he said, as he started to kiss down Sam's neck.
Sam started moaning. Before he let it go much further, he pulled back a bit. "Aren't you supposed to be at the theater dressing people?"
"In two hours. My 3:00 class got cancelled. Come snuggle me?" He kissed Sam again and started to walk backwards.
"Yeah. Of course."
Kurt turned and walked to their bedroom. He lay down on the bed and waited for Sam to do the same. He scooted up close to Sam and wrapped himself around Sam.
Sam kissed the top of his head. "Is something wrong?"
"Everything is very right. I'm right where I belong." He slipped his hand up under San's shirt and put his hand over Sam's heart. "It's going to be a long 10 days since I'm working on the show. I just want to be with you before it starts."
"Be with me?"
"Mmm hmm."
"How?"
"Any way you want. I just want to make you feel loved because I love you so much."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
An hour and 50 minutes later, Kurt hurried to Sam's truck. Sam grabbed his backpack, locked the door quickly, and followed Kurt. He was met with more kisses as soon as he was in the driver's seat. Sam had to focus to get his seatbelt on. Kurt sat back in his seat and put his on when he heard Sam's click. He slid his hand over to Sam's thigh.
Kurt took a deep breath and let it out. "Three more weeks."
"We've got this."
It didn't take long for Sam to pull up to the loading area. Kurt took his seat belt back off and turned back to Sam and kissed him again.
"I'll see you when the show is over."
"I'll just come back out and sit in the truck. Text me when you're done and I'll pull back up here. I'm going to go study for a while."
"I know. You came home to study and didn't get any studying done."
"Oh, I studied plenty of things, mostly anatomy, very important for an artist, you know."
Kurt laughed. "A+ on the thoroughness of your research."
Sam leaned in for another kiss. "I think I need you to model for me again soon."
Kurt met him halfway for the kiss. "We'll work on arranging that. I'll see you later. I love you." He slid toward the passenger door to get out.
"I love you too." Sam pulled forward and went to park after Kurt shut the door.
Kurt checked his phone on the way into the building. He had a text from Trent, asking him to call.
"Kurt!"
"Hey, Trent. I just now saw your text."
"Thanks for calling back. I just wanted to tell you that I got into Juilliard! I'm going to study composition and conducting. My dad's going to pay!"
"Trent, that's fantastic news! I'm so excited for you."
"I wanted to thank you personally. If it hadn't been for your support, I probably would be headed to Columbia for pre-med. I still haven't…"
"There's not timetable for that. You've got four years ahead of you to study what you wanted to study. Focus on that. Work hard and make yourself proud of your own accomplishments. The other either will or won't work out, but you loving your life will make a big difference either way." Kurt pulled the door to the building open. "I'm on my way in to the theater to start dressing people for opening night. I'm going to have to let you go, but thanks for letting me know. We'll get together again sometime soon. I'll text you with dates and we can work it out."
"See ya."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-11{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Three weeks later, the first year of college was over for everyone. They opted to spend the weekend at Aunt Eunice's. Late Saturday morning, Finn and Trish came in from riding and headed upstairs to clean up a bit before lunch. Kurt and Sam had come back about 10 minutes before they had and were helping set the picnic table for lunch when the other two came back downstairs. They grabbed a dish each and carried it outside. Carole came out behind them with the last one and sat down.
Before anyone picked anything up to start to serve themselves, Finn cleared his throat. "Um. So, this morning when we were out riding, I proposed to Trish."
"And I said 'yes'," Trish said. She held out her hand for everyone to see her ring. It was an 8cm titanium band with a geometric pattern engraved into it.
"I thought a lot about a lot of the things that Kurt and Sam and I talked about and I really liked how Kurt got both of them rings to wear. You know, how they were equals and engaged to each other, not just that Sam wore a ring and Kurt didn't since he was the one that asked. I guess I just didn't like the idea that a lot of guys feel like they call the shots and that once a girl says 'yes' that she's 'tied down', but without the same level of commitment since the guy isn't wearing a ring. I'm not sure that I can explain it all that well." He extended his left had and show that he was wearing the same ring, but in a 12cm width. "Anyway, I got rings for both of us."
Carole got up and looked at their hands. "I like them."
Trish said, "Me too. Finn knew that I didn't want any kind of ring that had a raised mounted stone. I didn't even want one that had a 'top' to it. You know, like a flat mounted stone that was supposed to be on the center top of the ring? I've never worn rings and this one is perfect. It's not gold or silver, so it won't get damaged when I play sports. And I liked the part about him wanting other girls to know that he's taken. I thought it was sweet." She turned and kissed him near his temple.
"Well, congratulations," Burt said. "Are you thinking of getting married soon?"
Trish answered, "We didn't talk about it really."
"That's fine." Burt picked up a plate of food and served himself some green beans and passed the bowl to Kurt.
"I'm really happy for you two," Kurt said.
"Yeah, me too," Sam added.
Once the food was passed around, everyone started to eat and talk again.
"You're sure I can't convince you to come back to Lima for the summer and work in the shop, Kurt?"
"I'm sure, Dad. I'm sorry, but we're going to work in Kent. I had two interviews last week and one offer. I'm supposed to hear back from the second place on Monday."
Sam spoke up. "Since we talked a few days ago, I got offered a position at a day camp that I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago."
"We knew about the interview," Carole said. "That's great about the job offer."
"It really is," Sam said. "I've been assigned 3rd and 4th grade. The camp has a new theme every week, so it should be pretty fun. It's not an art camp, but they do have an art time every day. That's what really tipped the decision towards staying in Kent. I can't really think of anything even remotely art-related that I could do full time in Lima."
Burt nodded in understanding.
"Trish and I are both working at the Y camp this summer."
"That's cool," Sam said.
They continued to talk about their summer plans as they ate.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}J-8{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
"This has been a great mini-vacation," Kurt said a couple of weeks later, standing out on the balcony of the DC apartment with Sam.
"It has." Sam stepped behind him and wrapped his arms around Kurt. "And I loved our anniversary celebration."
"Mmm hmm. You generally do love spending all of Sunday morning in bed with me."
"I really do." He kissed the side of Kurt's neck. "I love you so much."
Kurt stepped to the side just a bit and turned his head and kissed Sam. "I love you too."
"I'm glad I held out to hear back from Stein's Garage. I actually really like it there and the pay is good. I do feel bad that we're only going to have the last two weeks off that Sebastian and Dylan are going to be in Ohio though. At least they were able to change their plans and come in August instead of July, even though it means waiting another month to get to see them."
"I'm glad too. We're going to be ready for a break when they get here. They'll have fun on their road trip the first two weeks."
"Yeah. I wish we could go with them, though."
"I know. But we had fun the first week we were in Paris, even though they still had classes."
"We did. We always have fun together. We better get inside and clean everything up. Dad and Carole will be here in a couple of hours."
"I can think of something I want to do again before we clean everything up." Sam kissed up Kurt's neck.
"Oh, really?"
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Sam started his job the next day, which he really enjoyed. Over the summer, they had quite a few TV series marathons with Nick and Jeff who split their time over the summer between Kent and Findlay. On the weekends, they went to different places that were within an hour or two drive.
They fell into a comfortable routine. Not having evening obligations like rehearsals and homework gave them more free time together than they had ever had. They cooked together, trying out recipes from all around the world. They danced and sang together. And they had their Sunday morning snuggles which spread into the afternoons frequently.
Sooner than seemed possible, August arrived. Sebastian and Dylan spent the first two weekends in Columbus with Mark and taking a road trip south and southeast of Columbus during their first two weeks in Ohio. They drove through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Caroline, and South Carolina.
By the time Sebastian and Dylan arrived the third weekend in August, Kurt and Sam were more than ready to spend two weeks with them. Dylan had gone to Niagara Falls with his dad before they had left to go back to Europe, but no one else had been before.
The Y camps were over for the summer just like Sam's camp. Kurt arranged a trip for the eight of them to go. From there, they drove to the Adirondacks for a few days. Trish and Finn went back to Lima when they got back from the mountains.
The second week, they spent one day at Aunt Eunice's and camped out overnight. The next day, they went to the adventure place with the ropes and zip lines and paintball that was nearby. They spent the last weekend back in Columbus with Mark.
The Evans family drove up and stayed with them in Kent over Labor Day weekend. They took everyone on a tour of campus and showed them the art building and the theater. They went back to the lake nearby to go swimming and hiking as well.
{}o{}o{}o{}2013/14{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
The school year started again the next day. Kurt got a role in the fall musical and worked on the costuming for the fall play. The crash of being so busy again hit Sam hard. It was a struggle to never be able to count on when Kurt would be home. This time around, Kurt began to see the distress sooner. He quit allowing himself to be kept past arranged meeting times, citing that he had another commitment to keep. Within a couple of weeks, people realized that Kurt was serious about not staying past 8:00, unless he was required to by a professor.
The end of the third week of September, Kurt and Sam got an email inviting them to the opening of Funny Girl for early October. Since Kurt was in rehearsals for Plain and Fancy, he couldn't miss rehearsals to go. He replied back that they would attempt to come on a weekend after his production ended, if they could.
A few days later, he got a notification from Facebook, which he rarely bothered to look at, but what it said shocked him. He called Rachel. He tried to convince her that dropping out of NYADA was a bad choice, but she rebutted with some really cutting remarks about him playing it safe and not taking risks. He ended the call rather quickly, still insisting that she was making a mistake.
He looked up her reviews after opening night to find that she had done a fantastic job. He wrote to her again congratulating her on the great reviews.
Kurt took jobs making costumes, but paced himself and didn't overwork himself the week before Halloween like he had the year before. This time he had the advantage of people knowing about his skill, so he had people lined up earlier in October.
Rachel called Kurt near the end of October. She told him about the opportunity to go to LA and have a TV show made about her life. Kurt cautioned her once again. He reminded her that Funny Girl and Broadway was what she had always wanted. She had everything she had ever dreamed of and that if she wasn't happy, she should figure out why and not just walk away. He reminded her of her contractual obligations to the show and how much it would hurt the show for the lead to leave not even a month into the show. She wasn't swayed. He gave up trying to convince her and ended the call as soon as possible.
Kurt and Sam finished out the fall semester and split winter break between Kent and Lima, spending Christmas Eve through New Year's Day in Lima. During the time they were in Lima, they met up with Mercedes, Tina, and Artie for lunch one day. Mercedes was still attempting to work her way up in the music industry. Tina was studying drama at Brown and Artie was attending film school in New York.
The spring semester was less stressful because Kurt did not get a lead part in the musical, giving him less rehearsal time with a smaller chorus part. They spent spring break in DC with Burt and Carole, overlapping one weekend with Finn and Trish being there as well, like they had done at Aunt Eunice's the year before.
Finn and Trish found a nice two-bedroom place to rent just a couple of blocks off campus that they had moved into the weekend they had to move out of the dorm. Kurt helped them decorate, just as he had said he would.
A couple of weeks later, Finn and Trish got married in a small, mostly family service in Trish's backyard. For their honeymoon, Finn and Trish spent a week in a cabin along Lake Erie. Kurt and Sam stayed in a cabin not far away for the weekend before returning to Kent.
After several delays in the process, the pilot episode of Rachel's TV show called That's So Rachel aired mid-June. It was far worse than anything Kurt could have imagined.
Kurt and Sam spent the summer working at the same places they had the year before, as did Trish and Finn. Nick took an internship at an architecture firm in Akron for the summer. Jeff took a job at a plant nursery in Akron, hoping to learn about landscaping to work alongside Nick and their dads in flipping houses. He had finally chosen to study advertising and marketing.
Sebastian and Dylan didn't come to Ohio that summer. Kurt and Sam started saving up for another trip to France.
{}o{}o{}o{}2014/15{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
At their Labor Day Cookout in Lima, Kurt heard through Finn, who found out from Puck, that Rachel was back to Lima after no one hearing from her for months and that she wanted to work with the Glee Club at McKinley, but had been turned away because only faculty members were allowed sponsor school clubs and Miss Pillsbury was still sponsoring the club with occasional help from Coach Sue with choreography.
Kurt got one of the lead roles in the fall musical. He had quite a few orders for Halloween costumes and put the money he earned back for their trip to France. Some of Sam's pieces were chosen for an art exhibit at a gallery in Akron and he sold four of them, putting that money back as well.
In October, they got an invitation to Dylan and Sebastian's wedding in the mail. They had set the date for the second Saturday in December. Kurt and Sam were both relieved that they had already been saving up.
Burt ran for re-election and won his fourth term.
Kurt and Sam made it through the semester with less stress than the previous two years. They finished their final exams early Friday afternoon. They left for Paris on an evening flight out of Columbus with Mark that evening.
Sebastian and Dylan had their ceremony in a venue similar to a country club that had event rooms that could be rented. Sebastian's and Dylan's families and a few friends came. It was a simple affair and they had a party afterwards that lasted until the early hours of the morning.
Dylan and Sebastian opted to do something similar to what Kurt and Sam had done. As unusual as it might have seemed to outsiders, Kurt, Sam, and both sets of parents went with the newlyweds to the Loire Valley for three days together. Dylan and Sebastian had decided that the two of them could spend time alone together for a few days anytime, but it was probably their only opportunity to spend time with their families together.
Kurt and Sam had saved up enough to spend a few days in the Loire Valley when everyone else had gone back to Paris. They stayed in Paris for the rest of winter break.
Kurt got a role in the spring musical and work on the costumes for the spring play again. Sam began to spend his evenings working in the studios on campus in the evenings creating pottery and small sculptures. He had opened an Etsy shop early in the semester and began making custom sci fi items and doing custom sketches, caricatures, and digital art.
They spent half of spring break in Lima since they had gone to France for winter break. Sam was offered a position at the camp he had worked at the summer before, which he took. Kurt went back to Stein's to see if there would be an opening for the summer and he applied for it.
Jeff and Nick went to Findlay for the summer to work for their dads for the first time. Kurt got the position at Stein's. Finn and Trish came and stayed in Kent for a weekend before their Y camps in Toledo started for the summer. Kurt and Sam went to Tennessee for a week before they started their summer jobs.
{}o{}o{}2015/16{}o{}o{}
Much to Kurt's surprise, Rachel was at the callout meeting for the Improve Club the first Tuesday of the semester. She took the seat next to him, and since he didn't want to make a scene, he said nothing. Sam came in a couple of minutes later and saw her. He took a seat in the row behind Kurt and just waited for the activity to begin.
Afterwards, she followed them out of the building and explained that she had spent the previous school year auditioning and taking small parts in Toledo and Dayton community theater productions and she applied to a few schools in Ohio, using references from the community theater directors and co-workers. Kurt just nodded and listened. She told him how a few of her NYADA credits didn't transfer and that she was technically a freshman, but that she planned to take courses over the summer to have enough be a junior by the fall. They stood around and listened to her chatter for a while, but eventually managed to extricate themselves and head home.
Kurt's audition for the fall went well and he was cast in the musical. He continued to work on costuming for the other theatrical productions. He also worked hard on the part he had in the New York Showcase early in the spring semester.
As much as they wanted to go to France, they spent a few days in Lima instead because Kurt needed to stay in Kent over break to work on the Showcase pieces. He knew full well that as soon as the spring semester started, he would be buried in rehearsals for Thoroughly Modern Millie because he had gotten the lead male role of Jimmy. Sam worked hard on his senior project.
It was a tough semester for both of them, both academically and emotionally. They knew their time as students was coming to an end and the real world of finding jobs and providing for themselves completely was fast approaching. A lot of days, they seriously considered the idea of staying in Kent for another year, working and saving up. Other days, they were determined to make the move to New York. They also applied to graduate schools in New York and Paris, at least considering the option of more schooling if they got scholarship offers.
Rachel hanging around all year like she was waiting to reclaim the title of Kurt's best friend didn't help Kurt's nerves either. He did not appreciate her efforts to ingratiate herself into the department by riding his coattails. He had worked hard for the standing and respect he had in the department and she was constantly trying his nerves.
By the middle of April, Kurt had a few offers of auditions from the showcase, but he couldn't leave Kent to go to them since he was working on the costuming for the spring play. They had also gotten answers from the schools they had applied to. They both got into a couple of the programs they had applied to, but hadn't gotten enough in financial aid offers to make it financially doable.
{}o{}o{}M-14-2016{}o{}o{}
The weekend before, Carole, Burt, Kurt, and Sam had gone to Trish and Finn's graduation in Toledo. This weekend, the four of them travelled to Kent to attend Kurt and Sam's graduation.
Over lunch at Kurt and Sam's, Finn and Trish talked about their plans. Finn applied for jobs teaching in Columbus, which is where Trish had gotten a scholarship for graduate school. They were moving into Finn's room in Lima and moving their furniture into the dining room until they could find a place in Columbus. Jeff and Nick hadn't found positions anywhere yet, but were still looking and had set up a couple of interviews.
Kurt and Sam had found a furnished place in Manhattan to rent until the beginning of July. They had six weeks to find jobs and another place to live. Howard, Jerry, and Burt agreed not to put the house up for sale until the second weekend in July to give the guys time to find new places to live, while still allowing an investor time to find renters for the fall semester.
After lunch, Burt, Carole, Kurt, and Sam went to Akron so that Burt and Carole could see Sam's second gallery exhibit. Quite a few of the pieces had already been bought. Since it was the last day of the exhibit, they brought the rest of the pieces back home with them. The other four headed to Lima from the gallery.
By the time Kurt and Sam went to bed about 11:00, everything that could be packed was already in boxes and stacked in the closets.
{}o{}o{}M-15-2016{}o{}o{}
When they got up the next morning, they spent some time snuggling and took one last bubble bath in their amazing tub while the bed linens washed. They ate what was left in the fridge while the dryer ran. One it was done, they folded and packed everything, except the quilt, which they put back on the bed for the house staging.
They took their suitcases outside to the Navigator and the truck. They went back in one last time to make sure the lights were off and everything was set for the showings. Quite a few tears were shed as they walked through the house hand in hand talking and thinking about all of the memories they had made over the four years they had lived there. Eventually time pressed them to stop reminiscing and lock up.
They drove to Lima, where they left their vehicles. Carole drove the two of them and Burt to Toledo to fly out. They got their luggage out, hugged, and said their goodbyes before she pulled off. Kurt and Sam got in line to check their luggage after giving Burt one more hug. He hurried off to get through security because his flight was schedule to take off before theirs. They went through security and headed to their terminal to wait.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
They arrived at their apartment about 9:00 that night. Kurt unlocked the door and they pulled their luggage in.
Sam found the light switch and flipped it on. "It's definitely small," he said. "It's about the size of our living room." He locked the door behind them.
"But at least it looks clean. Let's see if we see anything with the black light we got." He took it out of his satchel.
Sam turned the light back off. They examine the sofa, opened it up to examine the fold-out bed, the throw rug, and the curtains.
"Nothing," Sam said.
"Good. That means someone either fumigated, and then cleaned, or there haven't been any in here. Do you want to unpack or just shower and get ready for bed?"
"It's not that late. Let's unpack. I know we've got to hit the streets in the morning and see what we find." He flipped the light back on.
Kurt wrapped his arms around Sam. "We're here. We're in New York City."
"We are." He kissed Sam.
"I miss everyone already. This is going to be really hard. We had an amazing time living next to Nick and Jeff. So many TV series marathons, movies, games, and just being together and now they're so far away. And the weekends with Trish and Finn. And even the occasional visits from Santana and Brittany and our trips to Columbus. And we can't just drive to Aunt Eunice's and ride the horses. I'm going to miss them too. I'm just being whiny, but I'm scared."
"I know. Me too. If living here doesn't seem like it's what we want to do, we can move somewhere else after a year of giving it a chance. For now, we find some place to live and find jobs. We'll put our all into it making it work."
"You're right, of course. And we have each other." He tipped his head back so that he could kiss Sam. "I love you. There's no one else I would want to attempt such a crazy thing with."
"Me neither." He kissed Kurt. "I love you too."
{}o{}o{}J-8-2017{}o{}o{}
A little more than a year later, they were standing in their kitchen area leaned again the counter. "Five years. We've been out of high school and married for five amazing years."
Rather than alcohol, which Kurt had never acquired much of a taste for, they were drinking sparkling cider.
Sam added, "Here's to another 70."
Kurt clinked his glass against Sam's gently. "Here! Here!" Kurt said, happily and took a sip before he put his drink down on the table nearby. "Did you get an email from Rachel today?"
"I did, but I didn't open it."
"Since we didn't go to the reunion last weekend, she sent us an update on the McKinley Class of 2012, plus Tina and Artie."
"Oh, okay. So, what did it say?"
"Most of it was stuff we already knew. Santana and Brittany got married in Lima last summer. They opened a dance studio in Columbus. We already knew all of that."
"Right."
"Rachel just finished her third year of college. Artie graduated from film school – no job listed yet. Tina graduated from Ohio State and majored in education. She's already gotten a position as a teacher in Columbus."
"That's cool. It's too bad she didn't like Brown since she wanted to go there so badly."
"It is, but we know that she loved Ohio State. I think she'll be a really good drama and chorale teacher. Let's see. Puck is an electrician, which we also already knew."
"And Finn is working as a coach and PE teacher in Columbus and Trish is still in school."
Kurt took another sip. The oven timer went off. He turned and pulled the baking dish of lasagna out and put it on top of the stove to cool. He pulled his phone out and sat down at the table.
"Mercedes is still in LA. Her CD is set to drop next fall."
"Which we also knew."
"I know. Mike is here in New York, which we also knew. Who did I leave out?"
"Quinn and Blaine."
He scanned the email. "She graduated from Yale last year and got a role in an indie film that won some awards."
"Good for her."
"Blaine graduated from NYU. He and Wes got married two years ago. They live here in New York. Oh, I got an email from Dave. He got that promotion and is moving out to Denver."
"Cool. What did she write about me?"
Kurt read directly from the email. "Sam Hummel-Evans – Married to Kurt since June 2012. Summa Cum Laude BFA from Kent State University in Sculpture and Expanded Media and Jewelry/Metals/Enameling. Currently works as a freelance designer for specialty items for a variety of theatrical production companies and fashion designers in New York City, as well as his part-time position in the art department at Vogue."
"She didn't write that. You did."
"I wrote both of ours. Mine says, 'Kurt Hummel-Evans – Married to Sam since June 2012. Summa Cum Laude BFA from Kent State University in Musical Theatre and Costume Design. Currently works on Broadway as Cornelius Hackl in the revival of Hello Dolly!, as well as his part-time position at Vogue."
"That's it?" You had like a bunch of roles in musicals at Kent State that you didn't list. And here you were in The Book of Mormon for three months, replacing that dude that broke his arm, and in Hamilton for three months before you got the role you have now."
"The people who actually care already know those things." He got up and cut the lasagna and put it on plates and carried them to the table. He kissed Sam on the side of the neck as he put his plate in front of him. "Happy anniversary."
"We did a good job. It looks fantastic."
"It does." Kurt took a bite. "It came out great."
They finished eating in silence, enjoying the meal they had prepared together. When they finished, they packed up the leftovers and cleaned everything up. They moved to sit on the sofa together. Sam propped the throw pillows and leaned against them. He put his right leg out on the coffee table and made room for Kurt to sit up against him.
"Are you happy here?" Sam asked.
"I'm happy with you."
"I know, but are you happy here."
"Sometimes. Other times, I think about our life in our little house in Kent and I miss it. This place is cramped and there's not much natural light. It's noisy all the time and the white noise machine gets on my nerves sometimes. We turn it on and music too. We make noise to block the noise. And yet, we can't really make noise of our own or the neighbors complain. I like working on Broadway and at Vogue. We can't afford anything nicer than this because my work could end at any time and so could yours. We have to live on a shoestring budget to make sure we save enough to be able to live for a few months without any pay. It's a trade off. I'm not sure which way the balance is tipping most days. What about you?"
"Pretty much the same. I know with your current role, we have to stay until next April, but between now and then, let's do a bunch of research, just like we did when we looked at colleges."
"Excellent idea. I have one of my own."
"What's that?"
"Let's shower and move the snuggling to our bed."
Sam changed to a posh British accent. "That is an excellent idea, my good fellow. Onward, shall we?"
Kurt laughed and got up.
{}o{}o{}J-10-2017{}o{}o{}
A few days later, Burt and Carole were in town to see Kurt's show.
"Kurt, honey, you were fantastic," Carole said when she was finally able to get close enough for him to hear her. She pulled him into a hug. "I need you to sign my playbill." She handed it to him.
He signed it and gave it back. "I'm so glad you guys could come. It's a madhouse here though. Why don't you and Dad head down the street and find a place to sit for a bit? I'll do what I can to meet you soon, but there are a lot of people here."
She nodded and Burt stepped forward. "You were amazing, kiddo. You did it. Well, you did it months ago, but we finally got here to see you. I'm so proud of how hard you've worked."
"Thanks, Dad. Go with Carole. Sam and I will meet up with you two as soon as I can."
{}o{}o{}J-11-2017{}o{}o{}
"And the winner for this year's Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical goes to Kurt Hummel-Evans for his role as Cornelius Hackl in the revival of Hello Dolly!"
Excited screams were heard in Nick and Jeff's living room as Finn and Trish, Santana and Brittany, and Tina gathered to watch the Tony Awards in Columbus. Equally enthusiastic whoops were heard in Burt and Carole's hotel room.
"He did it! He won!" Burt said proudly. "He won." Tears streamed down his cheeks as he remembered the shows Kurt put on when he was a little kid.
Kurt made it to the stage to accept his award. He took it from the announcer and held it. "I would like to thank all of the wonderful people that are a part of Hello Dolly!" He looked around the audience and nodded and smiled to a few people in the cast he saw. "You have all been amazing to work with." He looked toward the camera. "And I'd like to thank my family and friends for all the love and support, especially my father." He looked towards where he had been sitting. "And finally, I like to thank my amazing husband, Sam, for supporting me through thick and thin." He looked back and scanned the audience as he spoke. "For any young people watching, just remember that dreams, even the ones that seem so far beyond the scope of reality that they are more of a fantasy than a dream – even those dreams can come true, if you put your all into making them a reality." He exited the stage with the presenters for the press photos.
{}o{}o{}A-20-2018{}o{}o{}
A little over 14 months had passed since the Tony Awards. "Why did we say that we'd do this?" Sebastian asked.
"Because you were in Ohio the first two weeks and with us in New York for the past week. You only have nine days of vacation left and you love me," Kurt sassed back.
"Right. But I better get a really good dinner after helping you move boxes and furniture."
"Of course," Sam said. "But first, less complaining, more moving."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
"So, I want to see them," Sebastian insisted.
"See what?"
"Your Tony Awards."
"Award."
"But the musical won as well."
"The cast doesn't get an award for that. The producers and the writers do. Just like when a cast album wins a Grammy. The singers didn't get an award. Just the composer, the producer, and the lyricist."
"Oh, okay."
"You'll have to wait until we unpack the boxes that say 'living room' to see it."
"I know the show closed, but you could have auditioned for other parts. Why move to Nowheresville, TN? I know I asked before, but you didn't answer me."
"I'll answer. Are you two going to stay in school forever?"
"That's the current plan."
"We were losing ourselves in New York. It's amazing and it's awesome and it's time-consuming and noisy. It takes forever to get groceries, forever to get to where there's space to breathe, and we were only getting scraps of time together with Sam working on projects for different theaters and us working at Vogue in the mornings and me at the theater all evening and into the night. If I were single, it wouldn't have been that bad. We did a lot of research. We're honestly not sure where we want to go or do in the long run. But we bought this 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house with a workshop in the garage for twice what we've paid in rent for that barely-more-than-efficiency we've lived in for the last two years. Plus, Sam was paying for co-op space to work on projects in the evening because our place was too small to do anything in. We paid for this house outright with the savings we had. We need some fresh air. We need some space. We need to find ourselves and each other again. He's more important to me than getting another Tony Award. I did what no one thought I could do, even me sometimes. I don't have anything left to prove to myself or anyone else. I think I can finally learn to let go and just be. Here we have a bedroom, a studio, a guest room, and our own fenced-in yard. There we had a shoebox with a view of an alley and too many noisy neighbors."
Sebastian nodded. "I guess I just figured that if you left New York, you'd go back to Ohio."
"Dad is running for re-election the last time this fall. If he wins, he will have spent nine years in office by the time he quits. He had never considered politics, but he's done his best and he's not going to continue past this term. If we love it here, they may consider relocating. Or we'll just set aside time to go visit them there. He knew I would never move back to Lima."
"I knew you wouldn't go back to Lima, but I really thought you'd move to Columbus. That's where Trish, Finn, Nick, and Jeff are. And they all like it there."
"We considered it. We may still end up there. We're going to give this a try first. We're near Nashville. We can take the train in. It's no different than living in Brooklyn and commuting, except that it's nice and quiet here. There are theaters and places for Sam to get commissioned work there."
Dylan came in the room. "There you are. You two are slackers."
Kurt and Sebastian followed him out of the room and started unloading more boxes and helped move the furniture in. Even though it had been years since his injury and surgery, Sam still refrained from lifting heavy objects, not wanting to risk being unable to earn a living doing what he loved. Eventually they got everything inside.
"Alright," Sam said. "To the U-Haul drop off, and then to the amazing dinner you so rightfully earned. It's southern BBQ time."
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"A few more inches and I'll be as tall as you," Stevie said, as he walked up to the porch two weeks after Dylan and Sebastian had left.
Sam puffed his chest out. "But I'll always be your big brother, even if you get taller than me."
Stevie rolled his eyes and let Sam pull him into a hug. Stacey was already hugging Kurt.
"It's going to be so fun for you to live near us," Stacey said. "We haven't lived near each other since forever ago."
"That was forever ago."
Sam held the door open as the three of them stepped up onto the porch. They walked through the door and through the living room into the kitchen and dining room area and put the food they had brought in on the counters.
"Kurt said, "I can't believe Stevie's a sophomore and Stacey's in the 8th grade. There's everyone else," Kurt said, looking down the road. "I'll wait here. Go ahead and help them."
Dwight pulled up with Carole and Burt. They got out and brought their suitcase in.
"That train station nearby is nice," Carole said.
"It is," Kurt agreed. "Come on in. Sam, Mary, and the kids are in the kitchen setting stuff up."
Burt and Carole stopped to hug Kurt on the way in. Kurt took their suitcase and took it into their spare bedroom, and then went to the kitchen. Everyone was lined up to get their food, which they took out back to eat on the convertible picnic tables that Dylan and Sebastian had helped them build and stain.
"This is a nice place, boys," Burt said. "You like it so far?"
"We do," Kurt said.
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Sam scooted closer and put his head on Kurt's chest. "Hear the crickets? It's perfect. I can tickle you. We can dance whenever we want to whatever music we want. You can tickle me. We can sing and laugh. I love you so much. I didn't even realize how on edge I'd become." He went into full octopus snuggle mode, causing Kurt to laugh.
"I love you too. I'm not going to try to get way. I'm yours. All yours. Always yours." Kurt paused for a second, making sure to say it correctly. "Metxe'lan 'awsteng mì tìme'em."
"Metxe'lan frakarr 'awsteng mì tìme'em."
"You added a word."
"Two hearts together forever in harmony."