I completed the epilogue last night. For me, this story is complete.

Oh my god. I don't know what to do now. Except tell you all to go to my Tumblr and bet on what you think the last word of the epilogue is as there are prizes for it. Because I was bored this afternoon. It should be directly underneath the link to this chapter which, right now, is second from the top.

Back to business. I just want to chuck this out there in response to yesterday's chapter. Most of the reviews were beautiful and heart warming but I did get a few, as expected, that found the concept a bit weird. What surprised me was that it wasn't so much them not kissing but things like them not living together before getting married. And why this is weird is because I don't plan on living with the person I'm going to marry before I marry them. I'm kind of old fashioned like that but I don't see it as a necessary prerequisite to getting married. Maybe that's just me. It just surprised me.

From Klaineandfinchel (Anonymous): what if kurt and Blaine are near where Blaine used to go to school and Blaine runs into some of his old bullies and they start harassing him and kurt comes up and starts acting like blaines boyfriend to piss them off then they kiss in front them.

Now, I know I'm going to get some 'too early' comments for this one. I hope I justified my reasoning well enough.

Victim

They didn't end up going for lunch.

That much was apparent when they had passed by all the food areas that Lima had to offer that were any good (all three of them) and were headed out of town. Kurt frowned out his window for a few minutes before figuring that maybe it was a good idea to ask the driver of the car where he was going and if it would be necessary to call his father for some kind of ransom demand now.

"I'm taking you out to see a part of my life that nobody else has seen," Blaine explained.

Right.

That helped.

But there was a tenseness to Blaine's shoulders that told Kurt that asking what was happening was probably not the best idea right now. After all, Blaine had just helped him out and been shoved around and told off for it, then had to deal with Kurt's mini breakdown in response. He had safely established by now that Blaine was one of the good guys and figured that whatever was going on now was for his sake, something else to try and help with what had just happened.

And Kurt was still struggling with that too, struggling with the full realization that his first proper kiss - his first kiss with a boy - had been wasted, taken from him forcibly by someone who spent their days hating him for who he was, who they both were. It hurt, a lot, and the last thing he wanted now was to keep talking about that and rubbing salt into the wound which was why it was good that Blaine wasn't talking.

After awhile - and just when Kurt was relaxing a little, resigning himself to the fact that he would never have the fairytale romance other boys got - Blaine leaned over and switched on the radio. Perfectly timed too because it was just starting to get a little tense and Kurt silently thanked Blaine for somehow knowing him this well already, knowing what to do to keep things as easy as possible.

The first song was Adele and Kurt grinned, suddenly realizing the opportunity he had been presented with. He had heard Blaine sing, after all, but Blaine had never heard him. As Blaine glanced over curiously, Kurt winked - actually winked what was wrong with him? - and joined in with the chorus. "But I set fire to the rain, watched it pour as I touched your face, let it burn while I cried cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name."

Blaine waited until he'd finished the song before commenting quietly; "Don't you ever let them silence you, Kurt."

And that was more of a compliment than any other he could remember receiving.

They sang together to the rest of the songs - mostly Top 40 but he could forgive that - and Kurt eventually lost track of time as he always did when a good run of songs were to be sung. So when they pulled up outside another school and Blaine turned off the ignition, Kurt glanced out the window, surprised. "Where are we?"

"This is Westerville High." Blaine's hands were still tight on the steering wheel, not quite to the point of white knuckles but there was definitely tension there. "The school I attended before Dalton."

Kurt sucked in a breath, shocked. "Blaine, you didn't -"

"I wanted to." Blaine turned to face him, releasing his hands from the wheel and knotting them together. "I'm not going to lie and say that this is easy for me, but what you went through today and what you've been going through hasn't been easy for you either. And I know when you came to Dalton, all you saw was a group of confident looking guys having fun but… it hasn't always been like that. For some of them, yeah, but not for me. Life is better now, so I wanted to show you where it began for me and that you can get out."

It was touching beyond belief and Kurt, horrified, felt the tears well up again. "I don't know what to say, Blaine. Nobody's ever done anything like this for me before."

Blaine's hand found his and squeezed gently. "You don't have to say anything."

In silence, Kurt left Blaine's car and crossed around to join him where he was leaning against the drivers door, staring at the building. "I haven't come back in years," Blaine admitted quietly. "I can remember three years ago, standing out here like this every morning wishing with everything I had in me that today would be the day that people stopped hating me, that things would get better or that maybe an alien invasion would hit and they'd ban school." Kurt laughed softly and Blaine smiled, shaking his head. "Yeah. Anything would have done. But in the end I'd have to walk in and deal with another day."

Kurt slid his hand into Blaine's, feeling how tense he was. "We can leave now if you want," he said softly. "I can understand how hard this is for you."

And he truly could.

But Blaine shook his head. "No, I - I want to go in. This is for me too, and class is in so we shouldn't run into anybody. I know you have your places in McKinley that you're terrified of going into now -" Kurt suppressed a shudder at the thought of ever having to set foot in the locker room again, "- and I want to show you mine. But more importantly, I want to prove to myself that I can go back there, that I'm a stronger person now. And that's not to say you're weak for being afraid," Blaine said quickly. "It just takes time."

"I understand," Kurt said again. "Let's go."

Blaine released his hand, Kurt not mourning the loss too much. He wouldn't hold another guy's hand at McKinley, after all, and since they were just friends there was no reason for them to walk around hand-in-hand anyway, no matter how right Blaine's hand was starting to feel in his.

Pushing open the gate, Blaine led the way onto the campus. Kurt glanced around at the worn looking buildings, cigarette butts in the gardens, graffiti on the walls and mentally tried to figure out how someone like Blaine had lasted more than a second here. Blaine shook his head as he took in the same sights. "I don't know whether being at Dalton has made me snobby and pretentious but I suddenly feel the need to shower."

Kurt laughed quietly. "Yeah, that's kind of the feeling after being at McKinley for a day. Though usually that's due to a slushy to the face or dumpster toss. Do those particular evils exist here?"

"They were usually a fan of the port-a-potties." Blaine gestured to a row at the edge of the football field and Kurt noticed his hand shaking a little. "Seven hours in one of those is enough to give anybody claustrophobia." Kurt had to wince because yeah, the dumpster tosses were gross and painful but at least he could get out once the jocks had left.

"We don't need to go over there," he said and Blaine shot him a grateful look. "Did you have a choir room here?"

Blaine's expression brightened and he was leading Kurt down to a set of classrooms near the back of the school. Unlike McKinley, all of the rooms were spread out with only a few blocks here and there so they didn't have to worry about corridors with potential enemies lurking around corners. "Choir room," Blaine said, gesturing to one of the rooms that looked just as plain as the others when Kurt peered through the window. "No instruments?" Blaine said, correctly interpreting Kurt's confusion. "We couldn't have anything that wouldn't get vandalized. So we had to bring in our own and the teacher would lock them up in the staffroom until the end of the day."

Kurt hadn't imagined there would be anywhere rougher than McKinley but Westerville was certainly coming close. "Is there anywhere you need to go?"

Blaine nodded but made no move to leave. "We had a Sadie Hawkins dance," he explained quietly. "I took the only other gay guy in the school and certain people didn't like that."

"What happened?"

Blaine ducked his head. "They - ah, they beat the living crap out of us."

Kurt winced again. "I'm so sorry." He hesitated for a moment before linking hands with Blaine again, feeling how tense he was. "You want to go back to -?"

"I don't but I think I need to. Obviously not right there but I just need to see it."

Kurt nodded. "Okay," he said as reassuringly as possible. "I'll be right there with you."

And whether Blaine knew it or not, this was one of the most helpful parts of the healing process for Kurt. Blaine had been through hell too, had people knock him down and hurt him and had so many bad memories from this place and yes, they were still with him. But he was at a point where he could come back to the place that had hurt him so much, face up to the past and realize he was stronger, he was past this. And it showed Kurt that one day he would be able to do the same.

The auditorium was across the other side of the school and Blaine's hand stayed in his the whole way, Kurt sensing he needed the comfort. It wasn't exactly a hardship after all. Instead of entering the building, Blaine led him around the side which linked to the student parking lot, currently filled with cars. "Here," he said quietly, gesturing to the area in front of them. "We were waiting for his dad, didn't realize they'd followed us out and left their dates to keep watch."

Blaine was trembling and Kurt wanted nothing more than to hug him but he didn't know how that would be taken. "It's over," he said instead. "It happened a long time ago."

"I know." Blaine took a deep breath and the shaking decreased noticeably. "I just - I can see it if I think about it hard enough but it's not as clear as it was. Like it's always going to be there but as time goes on, I don't have to be controlled by it."

"And that'll happen to me too."

It was barely a whisper but Blaine heard, turning to him with a smile. Not as strong or confident as before, but getting there. "It will. It hurts now but you're going to get there too."

Kurt managed to smile back. "Thank you, Blaine."

It was for much more than just today and Blaine understood. "You're welcome."

He turned back to stare at the spot for a few more minutes, Kurt letting him have the silence he needed. There were a few questions itching to be asked but Kurt left them, waiting. Finally Blaine nodded as if something had connected in his mind and turned back to Kurt. "Ask."

"How did you -?" He gave up, shaking his head. "What happened to the other guy?"

"Private school in another state," Blaine explained. "His dad arranged a transfer instantly, he was a bit more traumatized than I was. We keep in touch on occasion, apparently he's dating another guy now and he seems pretty happy."

Kurt smiled as they began to walk back towards Blaine's car. "That's good. I mean, not good that he had to move out of the state but good that you're both doing alright."

"Oh my god. Is that Anderson?"

Blaine completely froze up, his hand becoming an iron grip on Kurt's. He knew part of Blaine wanted to pull away, probably to run away but he couldn't move, just like Kurt knew with a certainty that the two boys walking towards them were two of the boys who had made Blaine's life a living hell when he was a student there.

"Told you it was his car," one said to the other, nodding imperiously at Blaine's car parked outside, just a few steps away, so close. "And look, he's brought another fairy with him? This your boyfriend?"

Blaine didn't answer and the second boy sniggered. "I doubt it. I mean, switching to guys because you can't get any girls doesn't mean the guys are gonna like you any better, does it? How much did you pay this one to come with you, huh?"

"More than you two would ever sell for, even as a double act," Kurt said immediately. "Nothing."

Confusion, and Kurt smirked because yeah, this was just as easy as baiting the other jocks at McKinley. Start using long words and not putting things clearly and insults to the face worked like a charm.

"So, which one of you takes it?" came the next unoriginal comment and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"For two supposedly straight young men, you seem very interested in the dynamics of a homosexual relationship. Need pointers?"

Oh, that was one of his best and more importantly, Kurt could feel Blaine's hold on him relaxing a little, clearly over the initial shock. "Did you just call us gay, fag?"

Kurt chuckled. "I was aiming more for bi-curious but if you want to label yourself that quickly then that's fine with me. I'm sure I can find you a pamphlet since your school seems very uneducated on the way to interact with or as a gay person. After all, beating the crap out of someone won't turn them straight." Blaine stiffened a little and Kurt squeezed his hand in apology. "Just like making you watch Broadway classics with us wouldn't turn you gay. Except you already are so -"

"Shut up!"

He had hit a nerve, Kurt could tell. But he didn't want to bait them too far considering these were the boys who wailed on Blaine and probably wouldn't be afraid to do the same to both of them, even if it was broad daylight. "Okay, how about this? You two can continue to live in your straight-denial lives and me and Blaine will go and be 'super gay' somewhere else."

"You two aren't even dating, are you?" Kurt rolled his eyes at another shot from the redhead. "We all knew a long time ago that Blaine would never find anybody, that the gay thing was just an excuse because he couldn't figure out how to get a girl to want him. And now he's gotten to the desperate point of bringing some guy around to try and show us that someone wants him when we know nobody does."

Blaine flinched and Kurt had pretty much had enough. "Actually," he said, looping his arm around Blaine's arm properly, "we were just trying to keep things modest enough for your sensibilities but since you've worked it out, there's no point in hiding it anymore. Is there, baby?" He didn't wait for a reply from Blaine - probably a good thing since he wasn't sure how good of a liar Blaine was. "That's alright. I always said I never wanted to keep you a secret, especially not from the people here. I was going to show them just how amazing a person you really."

"Oh god, really?" Kurt snapped his eyes back up to the second boy who looked bored. "That's a load of crap. I don't care if you're gay to the moon, nobody wants Anderson unless it's for a quick -"

"Okay," Kurt cut in, his anger finally boiling over in the same way it had when Karofsky had provoked him. "One, let's keep this PG. And two, do I need to show you just how much I want Blaine?"

Yes, it was a stupid stupid decision but Kurt was good at making those today. And he had already lost his first kiss to Karofsky, the first kiss that mattered, so really why was it such a big deal to grab Blaine, spin him towards him and press their lips together?

Oh, but suddenly it was a big deal because this wasn't some girl he was kissing to try and please his dad or some closeted jock who was forcing something on him. This was Blaine, someone who actually meant quite a bit to Kurt, someone who had helped him through a lot and understood him and was someone that Kurt was beginning to consider a very good friend. Someone who he was actually kissing of his own choice and this? This was his actual first kiss.

He couldn't take it back but he couldn't regret it. If it was considered a waste of a first kiss to help out a friend in need, then Kurt could consider his first kiss wasted. But he would never regret it.

Breaking away before he could really work out whether Blaine was responding or horrified or hating him, Kurt tugged on his hand hard and led him across to the car. The jocks were still standing still, staring at where they had been and Kurt knew it would only take a second for them to react. Blaine was shoved into the back seat as gently as Kurt could, door closed behind him and Kurt slid into the drivers seat. He had one last glance of the two boys headed towards them as Kurt floored it, leaving them behind.

Three blocks later and Kurt pulled over, turning the car off. He stepped out of the car, walking slowly around to the other side and opened the door to the back seat, settling in himself and turning to face Blaine who had his head in his hands. "Well," he said quietly, musingly, "it seems that all of my impromptu ideas and sticking up to bullying end up with kissing." Blaine began to shake and Kurt leaned in, alarmed. "Are you okay? Oh god, are you crying? I'm sorry, I -"

Blaine snorted and Kurt broke off as he lifted his head, realizing he was trying to suppress his laughter. "Kurt Hummel, you are unbelievable," he choked out. "You - I just - give me a second." Kurt rolled his eyes, waiting while Blaine got his laughter out. "I can't believe you just did that!"

"Well I wasn't exactly going to stand there and let them say crap like that about you," Kurt pointed out. "It shut them up, that was for sure."

Blaine sobered, staring at him properly. "I - Kurt, are you sure you won't regret that? After everything that happened with Karofsky and then this -"

"Shh," Kurt said quietly. "No, I don't and won't regret it. You're my friend, Blaine."

And then Blaine's head was resting against his shoulder, his breathing ragged. "Do you mind?" he asked a second later, sounding so insecure that Kurt's heart clenched. "I just need a moment to be weak before I can be strong again."

"You're not weak," Kurt murmured, smoothing a hand over Blaine's back reassuringly. "And you certainly don't need to be strong. But yes, take all the time you need."

Blaine sighed against his shirt and Kurt could feel the trembling ease, his breath evening out a little. "Thank you," came the murmur, so quiet that Kurt might have imagined it.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered back.

MusicalEscape:

"So...where are we headed for the honeymoon?" *bounces in excitement*

"Katy Perry's hometown."

*patented bitch please glare*

"Kurt, you're scaring me... Fine, it's Paris. By the way, I accidentaly left your skin-care product bag at home. So I bought you a stuffed giraffe to make up for it. Look, squeeze his foot! He sings P!nk songs."