Blaine chuckled as he stepped away from the railing and posted his picture to Twitter. Now all he had to do was wait and hope Kurt understood. He told Mercedes and Jeff where he wanted to end the night, but he wanted Kurt to figure this one out on his own.
He turned back to the railing after his phone was in his pocket. He looked out at the city and drew in a deep breath. The air was much colder on the deck, he hoped once there were more bodies moving around and dancing, things would warm up. If that didn't help, he had a few outdoor heaters as well as the fire pit.
He went over in his head the mental list he had made for setting up the yacht. He hadn't given himself too much time, but he was pretty sure everything was perfect for when Kurt and the rest found him.
He smiled out at the light trickle of snowflakes falling on the water. He stuck a leather mitten out to catch one. To look at its carefully planned uniqueness. He remembered hearing so many times throughout his life that each snowflake was unique. He had always questioned it. How could there possibly be that many different combinations made out of beautiful white crystals? Now that he was older, he realized that the thing about snowflakes was less about the actual little winter flutters and more about the general idea that no two things can be identical.
He looked down at the few flakes starkly contrasted against his black glove.
"Reminds me of when you were a little boy." The voice behind him was icier than the bay and Blaine froze in his spot. The scarf around his neck doing nothing to keep the cold from his chest.
Feet stomped over to the railing beside Blaine. His gloved hand solidly holding the snowflakes he had caught. He thought maybe if he didn't move, the man beside him would think he had disappeared and would go away.
"You were always strangely interested in snowflakes. I never understood it." The man chuckled in a mocking tone. It made Blaine squeeze his eyes closed. "Though I never understood much about you."
The air in front of Blaine's mouth puffed as he breathed out. "Dad."
"Son."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was invited to a wedding."
"You specifically were not." Blaine finally dropped his arm and turned on the man. Raising his chin to make himself feel taller beside the behemoth.
"Your mother received an invite."
"And you did not." Blaine pressed his lips together. Breathing out of his nose in heavy puffs.
"I didn't come here to crash the wedding." Mr. Anderson leaned over the railing casually looking out over the water.
"Well you are crashing it by being here." Blaine tried to sound strict and loud, but his father began talking as if Blaine hadn't spoken at all.
"I came here to stop it." He was still looking nonchalantly off the boat. At the city full of people Mr. Anderson would never begin to understand.
"Well that's not happening. I am marrying Kurt. Nothing you say or do will stop that."
A huff of a breath came out before his next words. "I hurt you a lot when you were younger, Blaine."
"Do you regret it?"
Mr. Anderson finally looked back at his son. His eyes a near replica of Blaine's, "No."
"I want you to leave." Blaine was gnashing his teeth together. He became very aware of the fact that he didn't have any bodyguards with him. He hoped Jeff would be here soon, but upon realizing that once Jeff arrived Kurt would too, he changed his mind and hoped they were miles away.
"Just listen to me, son. I don't think you should marry that boy. You believe you are your lifestyle choice. Nobody is inherently gay, Blaine. It's just something people come up with to cope with the fact that they will never be real men. You don't need to do that, son. You have proven yourself enough with your music." His father scoffed then, rolling his eyes. "Though I would hardly call it music, people seem to like it. So try out a few of the women throwing themselves at you. I think you'll find that the company of a woman is much more…compliant."
Blaine's breath was more visible with each word his dad spoke as his entire form was heating up with rage. His dad continued on. Walking slowly around Blaine.
"You don't love that boy. You just want to marry him because you think if you don't you'll move on and realize you prefer women and you don't want to risk making a fool of yourself after you've demanded that you are a homosexual. But Blaine. I will give you this out right now. If you don't marry him tomorrow and find a nice young woman instead. I won't say a thing about the last ten or so years."
Mr. Anderson ended his speech with a smile. A smile that burned Blaine to the core. In that moment, he didn't feel his usual ability to control a situation. He didn't feel that anything that happened in the next two minutes was either right or wrong. There was only the desperate need to hurt his father. In every imaginable way.
He charged after the taller man. His fighting wasn't as agile since he was in such a rage. His father strong armed him. He grabbed him around the neck and pulled him in.
"Last chance."
"I would rather die."
"I won't kill my son."
"You are not my father. I am not your son. Do your worst." Blaine spit on the man's face, causing Mr. Anderson to drop him. Blaine took this as a chance to land a few good hits.
Soon enough, Mr. Anderson was up and back to holding Blaine off. Unfortunately, his father hadn't lost any strength in his age. Blaine was throwing his fists at the man. Punching him square in the jaw once and a few quick jabs to the torso. Nothing seemed to wear him down.
"I thought after a while I might regret having treated you how I did. But Blaine, I can see now that you just can't learn to act the way you should." He tightened his grip on Blaine.
"You disobey my orders. You attack me." He sighed and easily pushed Blaine back against the railing. His hand on Blaine's chin, causing him to bend backwards over the cold metal. "It seems you just can't learn."
Mr. Anderson bent down, so his lips were beside Blaine's ear. "You will not marry that boy tomorrow. Or any day after that. You are no son of mine and you never have been." With one final shove, Blaine was pushed over the railing by the head. He watched the world spin around him as the glassine water inched nearer.
No words or lyrics could describe the cold Blaine felt when the waves splashed out from beneath him. The water in the bay was freezing but that didn't nearly match the chill in his soul.
He couldn't breathe very well, but he lay in the water. Pretending to be dead. Maybe hoping a little bit as well. He peeled his eyes open just enough to see the demon above him turn and walk away. He waited until the roar of an engine signaled his safety to get out of the water.
He dragged himself through the rippling cold, paying little attention to the feeling of glass shards in his sinews as he moved his arms and legs. He finally made it to the back of the boat where there was a step ladder for him to climb. Pretty soon, he was sliding across the floor pulling himself into the lower level.
He just barely made it into his music room, when he collapsed. He was still conscious, but the edges of his vision were going black and he couldn't feel his hands or feet. The only feeling he had was spikes everywhere.
He shivered and his teeth snapped in an effort to keep his head warm. The only warmth he felt was a few tears falling sideways over his nose and down his face. He knew now that this was a sick joke some god had played on him.
His father didn't kill him. He would live long enough for his beloved to find his dead or dying body on a scavenger hunt the night before their wedding. He knew this was how things were for people like him and Kurt. It never got better, you just had to expect to deal with it.
He was laying on the ground, feeling every millimeter of his freezing clothes against his pin pricked skin, when he heard them.
He would have smiled. If he still could. Sure, they were on the boat, but would they even find him? He didn't want to ruin their night, by being nearly dead on the floor in the downstairs of the yacht. That was too much like an 80's mystery novel and it made him self-conscious.
"Blaine. Come out, come out wherever you are. We found you." Blaine wanted to move. He wanted the warm and welcoming voice of his lover to melt all the ice and hate away, but he remained. His voice only croaked with unsung lyrics. Things he realized now he would never be able to say to Kurt before he went.
"Oh, I know where you are." He heard the murmuring just around the corner of the doorway. "Ha found you!" Blaine tried and managed to tilt his head down just enough to see Kurt throw himself around the doorway. The look of a man expecting to find his happy, healthy fiancé sitting there with a guitar, transformed instantly into that of a widower, just now seeing that his love was lying on the ground. Unmoving.
"Blaine! Oh my God!" Kurt ran into the room and threw himself down at Blaine's side. His focus already blurred by tears. "Blaine. What happened to you?" He was muttering under his breath as he debated what to do. He finally regained a level of composure that allowed for him to help his fiancé.
"JEFF! FINN! BRING DOWN THOSE HEATERS!" He called over his shoulder. Looking once more at Blaine's numb body, he rubbed a warm hand against Blaine's jaw, then went to work on the buttons of his shirt.
"Stay with me, baby." Kurt whipped an afghan off the small couch and put it over Blaine's now bare chest. He started unbuttoning his pants and fumbled to get the sopping material off his legs. Blaine was covered with the blanket and still shivering.
"JEFF! FINN!"
"We're right here. Geez calm down. What's the—" Finn's face dropped as he looked at Blaine's form on the ground.
"Blaine. Oh God. What happened?" Jeff was panicking.
"Put the heaters down and get back upstairs. Keep everyone calm they will only make it worse if they know and start freaking out." The two men just stared blankly at Kurt. "Do you understand?"
"Yes." They nodded and jogged back up the stairs to come up with an excuse for what Blaine and Kurt were doing. It wouldn't be hard, after all Blaine and Kurt were kind of known for disappearing together around friends.
Kurt set up the heaters in the small room and closed the doors. He hauled Blaine up onto the couch to get him out of the cold water on the floor. He looked at Blaine, who was still shaking with nearly lifeless eyes.
Kurt got down on his knees beside Blaine and took his hand, blowing warm air on it. Blaine turned his head ever so slightly.
"M-my d-d-d-dad."
Kurt's face dropped more than it had been. "Your dad was here?" He squeezed Blaine's hand tighter. "Did he do this to you?"
"He t-t-told me not-t-t to marry y-you." Kurt's brow furrowed. "I'm g-g-going to marry y-you Kurt-t-t. T-t-tomorrow."
Kurt offered a weak grin and closed his eyes as he pressed a hard kiss against Blaine's icy hand. "You can only do that if you get better."
"W-warm m-me up, l-love." Blaine tried to smile, but Kurt could see the pain it caused.
Suddenly he remembered the most important thing he had learned as a survival technique for freezing and he was ashamed he had forgotten it. Especially in this setting. He took off his coat and started unbuttoning his own vest and shirt. He anxiously fumbled his clothes off and threw them across the room. He slid under the blanket and pushed his body against Blaine's. He could almost hear the sizzling as their contrasting skin temperatures collided.
They lay like that for quite a few minutes. Skin- to-skin, Kurt whispering encouraging words in Blaine's ears. After a while, Blaine turned to Kurt and kissed him.
"Thank you."
"Can you feel all your body parts?"
"Yes." Kurt twinged at the sultry tone with which Blaine answered the question.
They could hear music upstairs so they knew their friends must have decided to keep the party going regardless of what was happening below them.
Tiny, feisty feet pattered to the door and they braced themselves. Rachel slammed the door open to find them laying naked together under a blanket.
"Really? You guys couldn't wait one more night? What are you down here just to hog all of the heat?" She glanced at the heaters and Kurt smiled as Blaine laughed heartily before snuggling into Kurt's shoulder.
"Go away, Rachel!" Kurt laughed with Blaine and she stuck her tongue out before closing the door and tromping back upstairs.
"We should get you to the hospital."
"You didn't get to finish your party."
"One dance. Then you have to go to the hospital."
"Well Mr. Anderson it looks like you are all clear. No signs of pneumonia or any other threatening ailments." Kurt smiled at Blaine and put a hand on his knee.
"Thank you." Blaine put his hand over Kurt's.
"Maybe just refrain from drinking too much on a boat in the winter time. You should probably have put it in a marina anyway."
"I was trying out the in water method of winter storage. It's where Kurt and I had our first date and we are getting married tomorrow. I wanted it to be special."
The nurse grinned at them sweetly. "Aww. Well now you've spent the night before your wedding in a hospital." She frowned feeling like somehow it was partially her fault they were there.
"That's not all too unfamiliar to us." Kurt giggled and Blaine gave him a reproachful stare. He still didn't like Kurt joking about his hospital visit in Ohio.
The nurse took them all the way up to the front desk to get their discharge papers ready. Blaine and Kurt walked hand in hand to reception. They chuckled at the sight that befell them in the waiting room. In one row of seats was Jeff sitting up straight with his head tilted back against the wall watching whatever was on the tv. Santana was leaning against one of his shoulders and Louis was against the other. Both asleep.
Sitting caddycorner from them were Finn and Rachel. Finn was staring blankly ahead of him while Rachel had her legging clad legs throw over his lap, leaning against the opposite armrest reading an outdated copy of Instyle. Burt and Carole were whispering quietly on the opposite side of Finn.
Everyone looked up when they heard the doors close behind Kurt and Blaine.
"What are you all doing here? We told you to go home." Blaine gave Rachel a hug as she threw herself from her chair.
"I'm so sorry I made fun of you guys earlier. I thought you were just. Uh. Well. You know? I didn't realize that you were dying."
"I wasn't dying Rachel, and it's fine it was funny."
"You didn't all have to stay." Kurt yawned and looked at everybody. He knew Jeff was going to be here. He figured Santana would want to stay, despite her bitchy exterior she cared a lot about Blaine. He wasn't even sure how his parents had heard about it.
"Finn called us to let us know what happened." Burt put a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Are you alright, son?" Blaine nodded with a small smile at his soon to be father-in-law, he sensed Burt knew something more. Kurt was the only one who Blaine had told what really happened. Everyone else heard the same story as the nurse. Blaine was tipsy and slipped on ice.
"If you all want to step outside and pull the cars around. I'm going to have a quick chat with our boys." Burt's tone was light and conversational, but Kurt and Blaine both knew there was something hidden.
As soon as everyone was out the door, including Carole, who kept looking over her shoulder concerned, Burt pulled them over to the chairs.
"I know the story of how you ended up in the water. But Blaine, I want you to be honest with me. Is that what really happened?" Blaine was silent. He should have easily been able to tell Burt Hummel what happened. It would be like telling Kurt, which he realized originally took him a while. Instead of opening his mouth and letting the sobs come out he just closed his eyes and shook his head.
Kurt pulled his face into his neck and looked at his father.
"It was his dad."
"He's not my dad." Blaine gruff voice was quiet in Kurt's scarf.
"Mr. Anderson found him on the boat and threatened him. Told him not to marry me. To renounce being gay. Blaine tried to fight him off, but his d—Mr. Anderson threw him from the boat. Then left thinking he was dead or close to."
Burt's eyes were welled up with unshed tears. "Blaine. I'm so…" He cleared his throat a few times. "I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. You've been more a father to me than anyone."
"I should have stopped him."
"You couldn't have stopped him, dad." Kurt was frowning at his own father while brushing back the loose hairs on Blaine's head.
Burt looked again toward the doors then back at the boys. "He came to me the other day. After the invitations went out. He came to me and asked how I could be okay with my son marrying a man."
Blaine looked up at Burt then. Kurt's eyes were fixed on his father. "Why didn't you tell me, dad?"
"I didn't think anything of it. I told him I had always been okay with who you are, Kurt. I thought he would just not show up to the wedding."
"You saw what he had done to Blaine's room. You thought he would just drop it?" Kurt's nostrils were flared, and his voice lowered as he looked at his father with a contempt that made Blaine uncomfortable.
"I knew he had a temper. But Blaine, I'm so sorry. I should have known." Burt's eyes were wet, but none of the tears fell. He reached a hand out slowly to put on Blaine, but Kurt slapped it away.
Burt understood and drew his hand back. Blaine scooted forward, keeping his head against Kurt's shoulder, but reaching forward to take Burt's withdrawing hand.
"None of this is your fault, Burt. It is 100% his and there was no way you could have known what he planned to do. Thank you for being honest with me and telling me what he said to you."
Kurt was still looking at his father with contempt. He felt like his dad had put Blaine at risk by keeping that exchange to himself and that was something he couldn't be forgiving about. Anybody that hurt Blaine was on his list, even if they unintentionally assisted.
"We should head out there."
"We're right behind you." Blaine smiled and tipped his head up, a hand still on Kurt. Once Burt was out of earshot they locked eyes. "You can't be mad at your father, Kurt. He didn't know. It's not his job to know every messed-up thing about my past." Blaine was shaking his head at Kurt, who's lips were still rolled into a thin line.
"If he would have mentioned that when it happened, we could have prevented this."
"That's not necessarily true, Kurt. Please, tomorrow is your wedding day. You can't be mad at your dad."
Kurt lit up, as if suddenly remembering what tomorrow was. Or today rather, as it was nearing 3 am. "Oh my God. I'm going to have bags under my eyes!" He shrieked and ran out of the hospital, Blaine slowly following behind.
Once they got to the cars, Blaine and Kurt held each other tightly.
"No, Kurt." Burt shook his head. His arms crossed in front of him and his lips pursed.
"But he nearly got pneumonia. He needs a warm body beside him to keep him warm during the cold winter night."
"We'll snuggle him real close for you, Kurt." Jeff and Louis stepped up and tried tugging Blaine away from Kurt.
They looked deep into each other's eyes. Not wanting to be separated.
"Oh come on. You guys will have plenty of time to never leave each other's side once you're married. But that's not for another," Santana looked down at her phone with drooping eyes. "Twelve hours. So break it up. Auntie Snix needs her beauty sleep. This doesn't just happen." She circled her finger around her face.
"One more kiss before you go." Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand to keep him from being pulled toward the SUV.
"The last one before we're husbands." Blaine chuckled and leaned in.
Everybody cooed at their adorable, gentle kiss. Once it became more than that, Burt was tugging on Kurt's sleeve to get him to the Jeep.
"Finn, aren't you coming with us?" Jeff called over to where Finn and Rachel were standing beside her small sedan.
"Uhh Rachel's gonna drop me off at Blaine's. The SUV just looks like it will be crowded and it's on her way." He was mumbling and using his hands. Everyone knew he was lying, but Carole was too tired to reprimand him for staying the night with Rachel. At this point, what could she do to convince him not to? He, like so many other kids in their life, was young and in love.
Blaine winked at him and nodded. Santana was already throwing herself in the backseat. Blaine followed, and Jeff and Louis hopped in the front. Blaine's hand was on the window as they pulled away. Kurt and him both looking at each other with sad puppy eyes. Apparently forgetting that the next time they would see each other would be in just a few hours at the end of an aisle.
Blaine: I'm cold and miss you.
Kurt: Are Jeff and Louis not warm enough?
Blaine: Louis is comfortably in the other room while Jeff demanded that I needed warmth. Also, Santana is curled at the end of the bed like a cat and I'm not entirely sure why.
Kurt: Should I be concerned that the night before our wedding you have a man AND a woman in your bed?
Kurt watched the dots signify that Blaine was typing, or rather in his case that he was thinking. Now that he knew, he wasn't sure how he felt about Jeff in his bed. He listened to his best man beside him, quietly whispering Louis's name. Blaine laughed lightly, Jeff had long moved on. And he was probably having a steamy dream about his man right now.
Blaine thought about it again. Having a man who is having one of those dreams in his bed was a different story. He lightly kicked Jeff to wake him up, then pretended like it was an accident.
"Sorry man, my foot twitched."
Blaine: No, but I should be concerned that you're not here too. :(
Kurt: Rules are rules. Traditions are traditions.
Blaine: I think we pretty much blew tradition out of the water.
Kurt: Is it crazy that I kind of want to sneak out and go see you? I guess hanging out with a bad boy is rubbing off on me.
Blaine: I'll rub off on you alright. ;) How is your fire escape looking? Maybe I'll sneak past my guard cat and come to you.
Kurt: It is a beautiful night maybe I should step out for a breath of fresh air.
Blaine: I don't think you will regret it.
Blaine waited a few minutes. Staring at the phone with a smile on his face. He was hoping the reason it was taking Kurt so long to respond was because he was enjoying his moment on the fire escape. A part of the scavenger hunt he had included on the off chance that Kurt might find himself out there tonight.
Kurt: I am so glad I am marrying you.
Blaine wiped a warm tear from his cold face.
Blaine: I fall in love with you more every day. Daisies make me smile so I tried to find enough daisies to showcase how many times you've made me smile. I don't think I even managed half enough.
Kurt: Every square inch of the fire escape Blaine. When did you even do this?
Blaine: I've been slowly working my way all week. I finished up while you were doing your hair before the party.
Kurt: You are the most loving, most romantic man alive.
Blaine: Second only to you. Goodnight Kurt. I love you and I cannot wait to see you looking stunning as ever in a custom crafted Burberry suit.
Kurt: Don't talk dirty to me now. I'm trying to sleep. Goodnight, Blaine Anderson. I love you.