Author's Note:
And the cycle continues. You know, the one where I apologize for being late and then posts my next chapter late... Sorry.
I promise I really am trying!
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
(P.s. if you like this story but are getting annoyed about my inability to post chapters on time, please hold on! Now that summer has started I can write way more often! Plus, Klaine is meeting in this chapter. Things are just getting good.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter FourTwo years. It had been two entire years since Blaine had seen his older brother. So, with Nick at his side, he searched the sea of young men surrounding him. That is until a loud and cheery voice sounded from behind him, causing both boys to jump.
"Blainers!" Cooper hugged Blaine so tight he thought his ribs might break.
"Hey, Cooper! It's been forever since I last saw you! What have you been up to?"
"Oh, you know," Cooper said casually, "just single-handedly saving the entire kingdom."
Cooper hadn't changed a bit. He was still the goofball big brother that Blaine had grown up with. Always joking, making himself seem a bit big-headed when in reality he was a real sweetheart.
"Still very humble, I see." Nick hadn't spoken until just then and because of his silence Copper hadn't noticed him.
"Nick?" Growing up, Cooper spent more time with Blaine, Nick, and Marley than he did with anyone his own age. They even started their own club, though no one knew what the purpose of the club was. Regardless, they made a lot of good memories. "Little, tiny, baby Nick? What happened to you? You look so… grown up. You've even passed up Blaine."
"That's not very hard to do."
"Hey!" Blaine protested while Cooper and Nick laughed.
"Aw, come on," -Copper slung an arm around either one of them- "we love you, you short little stack of pancakes."
Just then, King Burt stepped through the great palace doors and onto the grass where the boys were gathered.
"Oh, that's my cue." Cooper released his grip on his brother's and friend's shoulders. "I have to go stand next to the king and look all authoritative," he said, making a face. He took his place, standing slightly behind the king on his left side. Almost immediately his stature changed. He was straight-backed, broad-shouldered, and had a stoic face.
Maybe he changed more than I thought… Blaine thought.
As if sensing his worry, Cooper sent Blaine a subtle wink and a small smile. Still, it was almost frightening how quickly he could make the switch.
King Burt finished his little speech, at the end introducing his commanding officers, then dismissed them to settle in. Cooper and the other high-ranking guards lead them through a maze of corridors and into the guards quarters, a long hallway with rows of identical white doors lining either side. A small plaque displayed the name of the occupants of the room on each one. Nick and Blaine looked at dozens of names (Sterling, Montgomery, Puckerman, Chang, ect.), before finding their own. They were surprised to find they were roommates.
Suddenly, Cooper was behind them once again.
"Ah!" they both exclaimed. Cooper, of course, found their outburst very amusing.
"How do you do that?" Nick said, smacking him in the arm.
"I have my ways. Which is also how I got you two knuckleheads in the same room. You're welcome." Cooper pushed open the door and all three boys stepped inside. "Welcome to your new home."
The room was quaint but practical. Each side of the room was an exact copy of the other. A bed which frame had drawers in the bottom, making it a bed-dresser combo. There were a few shelves on either side and each person had their own small desk.
"Well this is homey," Nick said sarcastically, dropping onto one of the beds.
"You get used to it," Cooper said. "Now, come on, I've got a surprise for you two." Blaine and Nick exchanged a look. "Oh, don't be like that. This isn't like that time with the lobsters. You'll like this, I promise."
Together the trio strode through the halls. Blaine got dizzy just trying to remember all the twists and turns. How did Cooper keep track of where they were?
Soon they arrived at their apparent destination. They stood there for a minute before Nick broke the silence.
"Is there something special about this door?"
"Just wait." As if on cue, the door swung open and groups of girls shuffled out. Last, Marley stepped into the hall.
"Marley!" Nick exclaimed joyfully. She turned, noticing them for the first time and the madness began. Squealing, hugging, laughing, and more hugging broke out between the group. You'd think they'd been apart for years rather than weeks.
"What are you doing here?" Marley asked.
"We joined the royal guard. After the attack…" Blaine trailed off. "We heard a lot of terrible things, Marley. Are you okay?"
"Oh, that," Marley said, waving a dismissive hand. "Most of those reports are exaggerations. A rock was thrown through a window I was next to and I got cut by some glass."She rolled up the sleeve of her dress to reveal her arm, wrapped in a bandage.
"Oh my…" Nick gently grabbed her wrist to examine the bandages. "Marley,"-he looked into her eyes now- "this is not going to happen again. I won't let them hurt you." he had a protective and almost… dangerous air to him. Marley looked a little taken back.
"Nick, are you okay?" Blaine put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Yeah, I just need to cool down." with that Nick headed back down the way they came from. Blaine and Marley looked at each other, both sharing an expression of concern.
"Don't worry about it too much," Cooper said. "I'm sure he's just stressed. Joining the royal guard is something that is life-changing." Cooper looked sad as he said it, then shook himself out of his thoughts- whatever they were-and shot them a signature Cooper smile. "Come on, Blaine. We better let Marley catch up with the others."
Marley watched her life-long best friends walk away. "Oh, Nick," she whispered to herself. "I'm sorry." Then she turned to catch up to Rachel.
On the walk back to their rooms Blaine had started to ask Cooper about what had just happened with Nick, but the conversation was quickly brushed aside by his older brother. "So how is everyone at home?" Cooper inquired. Blaine knew he was genuinely interested in the answer but he couldn't help but wonder if was also trying to avoid talking about Nick.
"Everyone's doing good," Blaine stated, eyeing Cooper. "Mom's still working at the restaurant on the weekends, sewing during the week while dad is at work. She's started to teach Penny some sewing too."
"My little Pen-Pal is sewing? No way! She's too young! What is she, like three?" 'Pen-Pal was the nickname Cooper had been calling Penny for as long as either of them could remember. It had nothing to do with them writing letters to one another, though Copper did have a small collection of pictures she'd sent him taped above his bed, he just called her that because she was his 'pal' and her name was Penny. Maybe not the most creative nickname, but she loved it.
"She's eight, Cooper." Blaine shook his head in pretend disappointment. He knew Cooper knows how old their baby sister is. "Oh! You know the cutest thing? Sometimes when watching the news we see you on the TV and she practically combusts with joy."
Cooper grinned. "I would love to see that." As they reached Blaine's door, his smile faltered. "Blaine… I love this job. It's honorable and I've met a lot of good people here, but, before today, I hadn't seen you for two years. It takes sacrifice is all I'm saying. Goodnight, Blaine." Cooper hugged his brother then left without another word.
That night Blaine was restless. Earlier, after Cooper left, Nick came into their room, dropped onto his bed and fell asleep almost instantly. But Blaine was not having the same luck.
After shifting into a new position once again, Blaine figured he wasn't falling asleep anytime soon. He sighed and threw off the covers then made his way to the door. Blaine started walking aimlessly around, unable to stop recounting the day's events.
What Cooper had said was really bothering him. It takes sacrifice is all I'm saying. What did he mean? Of course, being a part of the royal guard took sacrifice. Heaven only knows how long it will be until he gets to see his family again! That was going to be awful. Maybe worse than he could know until he actually feels the hollowness of not having them near. Was that what Cooper was referring to?
And he was worried about Nick. Watching Marley throughout the Selection...It would be hard for him. Blaine hated to see the people he cared about hurting.
Blaine then realized he hadn't been paying any attention to where he was going and found himself in front of a beautiful glass door that leads out into the palace gardens. He suddenly felt constricted by the walls around him and was filled with a longing to get out.
He threw the door open and practically ran into the crisp air. Breathing felt like freedom.
Blaine continued deeper into the garden, lush with trees so thick that eventually, he could not see the door he had come through. It felt so private like a secret little world. Most of all, it was peaceful. The scent of flowers and freshly-cut grass, the quiet chorus of crickets that could not be seen, the pale moonlight shining in broken patterns on the ground as it was obstructed by the tall trees that stretched to the stars.
Penny would love this place, Blaine thought which made him smile. He could see a small clearing up ahead and made his way to it. Just as he reached the edge, he froze.
Prince Kurt Hummel, the Prince Kurt Hummel was sitting on an elegant stone bench in that clearing. He looked… lovely. Blaine wished he hadn't noticed just how lovely.
"Oh! Your Highness," Blaine rushed out, dropping into a bow. "I'm so sorry! I didn't expect to find anyone here, especially not you! I mean, I guess it's your castle so you can go wherever you want-"
"Woah! Slow down there!" The Prince waved his hands in the air. "You'll run out of oxygen and I am not prepared to drag you all the way back inside." Blaine sucked in a breath and laughed a little. When he looked at Prince Kurt again, he was giving him a strange look. "What are you doing out here anyway? I would be concerned you were going to kidnap me if I hadn't seen you earlier talking to Cooper."
"Oh, um," Blaine started. He wasn't sure it was appropriate to share his personal worries with a prince of Illéa, especially not while in his pajamas. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to take a walk and somehow ended up here." He swept his eyes across the foliage surrounding them. "It's beautiful, by the way. I feel like I'm walking through a fairytale."
Kurt made a sound that resembled a scoff. "Fairytale," he muttered. Now it was Blaine's turn to give a strange look, though the other boy was no longer looking at him. He seemed to have found something very interesting about a tree to his right.
It wasn't until that moment that Blaine had wondered why the prince was out here in the middle of the night. Maybe he too liked to go outside when something was bothering him. But what, if anything, was causing him such distress.
They were both silent for a bit and Blaine started to get uncomfortable. "Man, I'm starting to wish I was here to kidnap you." After Blaine said it he immediately regretted it. "Wait, no! That's not what I meant! I just mean it's uncomfortably quiet and if I were kidnapping you, I wouldn't really have to say anything and I well-" Blaine stopped talking abruptly. Kurt was laughing. Genuinely laughing. Blaine gazed at the prince, head tilted slightly to the side.
"What?" Kurt asked, noticing Blaine's stare.
"Oh, um," Blaine fumbled as he realized that not only was he staring but Kurt had caught him in the act. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. It's just- your smile. It was… different."
"What do you mean?"
"Well-and I don't mean to speak of things that are none of my business-" He put his hands up in a defensive manner. "But I've seen you on TV for as long as I can remember, and you always have the same smile on your face. A smile for the camera. I'm starting to think that's all it is. When you laughed just now, it felt real. Genuine." They both fell silent for a moment.
"No one has ever said that to me before," Kurt whispered.
"I'm sorry," Baine spoke quickly, "I really didn't-"
"I'm not getting mad at you," Kurt interjected. He turned his head away and was, once again, quiet.
Blaine walked over to the bench Kurt was sitting on. "May I?" he asked. Kurt gestured for him to sit. Blaine sat and chose his next words carefully. "Look, I'm sure there are so many people you can talk to, but most of them are relying on you for something. You are going to be king, after all." Blaine laughed half-heartedly. " But I am just a regular guy. I don't expect anything from you. Anyway, my point of all this is that if you ever wanted to talk, I'm willing to listen."
"I, um, thank you…"
"Blaine."
"Thank you, Blaine."
"Well," Blaine stood up. "It's getting late. Shall we?" Together they walked back to the palace and shortly parted ways.
"Goodnight, Blaine."
"Goodnight, Your Highness."
"Oh, please," Kurt waved a dismissive hand. "No need for such formal titles."
Blaine smiled. "Well then, goodnight, Kurt."
When Blaine got back to his room he fell onto his bed, still smiling. Oh no, he thought.
Kurt's stomach had been doing flips the whole way back to his room, ever since Blaine had smiled as he wished him goodnight. "Oh no. You can't do this, Kurt," he told himself. "Don't start to like him. Please."