Author's Note: All's well that ends well :-) Thank you for coming with me on this adventure, and please let me know what you thought of it. I love chatting with my readers :-) Chapter 11: Isabelle's Wedding
"And will you promise me, never to enter into such an engagement?"
"I will make no promise of the kind."
(An excerpt from Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Blaine hadn't been expecting any reply to his e-mail, but got a terse note back. Message received. All right, then. Moving on.
He threw himself into his work. By now, he'd pretty much become Cooper's right hand, well-versed in the tricks of the trade, and maybe not as good at networking as his brother was, but a lot more efficient when it came to all the practical stuff.
And he liked the work. Coop did ads for all manner of things, so it never got stale, and each new contract brought fresh challenges Blaine could sink his teeth into.
Coop had carefully sounded him out over the summer to know if he considered staying on at Anderson Advertising after he graduated. "I'd give you half of the shares. We're a good team, aren't we, bro?"
Wow. Things were serious when Coop didn't even call him 'squirt'. But it was true that they worked together well, and complemented each other. So Blaine readily agreed to stay on, provided he could do other jobs on the side whenever an opportunity presented itself.
The week before his classes at NYU would start again was grueling. Long hours, clients from hell wanting to micro-manage things though they didn't have a clue what they were doing, lots of fetching and carrying and sorting out small disasters before they could become big.
"Hamptons this weekend?" Blaine asked his brother on Friday, while locking up the warehouse.
"Sure, sounds great. Oh, but tonight, you're on your own, 'cause I have a date. I'll come to the Hamptons on Saturday, all right?"
Blaine shrugged. "Fine."
He drove to the Hamptons in Coop's convertible, enjoying the wind in his hair. He'd been uncomfortably sweaty all day, and couldn't wait to jump into the pool.
Once he arrived at the house, he started stripping immediately, grimacing at his sweat-soaked clothes. He hesitated for a second, and then peeled his underwear off, too.
Much better!
The Uptons next door were on a cruise anyway, according to Coop, so Blaine could do as he pleased. And that included jumping straight into the swimming pool without hunting for his speedo first. Humming happily, he strode out of the house, stopping at the parapet for a moment to soak up the sun and enjoy a soft summer breeze on his skin, and then diving into the pool.
Aah, bliss!
He'd barely done two laps when he heard someone next door, calling for 'Kurt'. Could it be?
He swam to the side of the pool and looked into the neighbours' garden. And yes, it was Kurt! He had his back to Blaine, but he'd recognize that quiff and that profile anywhere.
Kurt was wearing tiny yellow shorts that hugged his butt beautifully, and a T-shirt with flamingoes on it. It was the most casual outfit Blaine had ever seen him in, and it stirred feelings in him he desperately tried to squash.
He hasn't noticed me. I should get inside and put some clothes on before I talk to him. Or I could just forget about him entirely and stay in the house until he's gone.
Quickly, he hoisted himself out of the pool and grabbed a towel, meaning to head inside and get dressed, but his subconscious had other ideas. Before he knew it, his feet had led him into the neighbours' garden, and he'd called out, "Kurt?"
Kurt turned around, and his mouth fell open when he took in Blaine's state of undress.
Just when Blaine internally started berating himself, he caught a glint of heat in Kurt's eyes, and he noticed that Kurt's shorts had become just as snug in front as they were in the back.
Oh. Oh! I can work with that!
Blaine gave Kurt his most seductive smile and unobtrusively pulled his towel a little lower.
Kurt's Adam's apple jumped up, and his voice sounded high and thready when he greeted Blaine.
Blaine couldn't help but feel a bit smug about the effect he had on Kurt, though he kept the conversation general and light.
And then there was that other voice again, and a tall and handsome guy, who looked vaguely familiar, sauntered up to them.
Suddenly, Blaine felt very underdressed and foolish again, and jealous of how Tall and Handsome moved into Kurt's personal space as a matter of course, putting an arm around Kurt's shoulder as he introduced himself to Blaine.
Elliott. Where have I seen him before? Oh, yes, at that very first wedding, officiating, right?
Much as he wanted to resent Elliott for barging in on his tête-à-tête with Kurt, he couldn't, because the guy was so nice and welcoming. And apparently, a fellow NYU student, who also took Music History, albeit on Mondays, and was in Steve's study group.
Before Blaine knew it, he'd agreed to join them for dinner, and was walking back to his own house to get dressed.
He could feel eyes following him, and with a grin, he loosened the knot of the towel, letting it fall off him entirely just before he slipped into the veranda.
Go on, take a look. You know you want to.
K&B
Dinner proved to be a noisy and informal affair. Kurt and his friends didn't stand on ceremony. They just grabbed the take-away box with the food they wanted and dug in. Rachel didn't stop talking for a minute, and in between bites, the others chimed in, too.
Blaine ate ravenously. He'd skipped lunch again because he'd been kept so busy, and he felt so hungry he could eat a horse.
The only one who noticed his less than dapper table manners was Kurt, who quirked an eyebrow at the sauce smeared all over his cheeks and his chin and gave him a paper towel to wipe his face clean.
Oops, totally forgot about making a good impression. Yep, Mr. Sloppy here, sorry about that…
Blaine tried to make up for it with a charming grin, and got a small smile back, which he counted as a win.
After dinner, there was singing. Blaine enjoyed the group songs, and loved jamming with Elliott, but the absolute highlight of the evening proved to be Kurt's solo.
From the very first line of the song, Blaine was blown away by Kurt's voice, which was clear as a bell and so pure that it brought tears to his eyes. Kurt's performance was heartfelt and deeply moving, and Blaine felt himself falling more in love with him with every word he sang.
When it was Blaine's turn to sing, he picked an old favourite of his, Teenage Dream. His eyes found Kurt's, and he sang every word to him.
Kurt's expression started out as polite interest, but his smile grew warmer and bigger with every verse, and when Dani took over from Blaine with a bluesy ditty, Kurt came towards Blaine of his own accord.
Soon, they were chatting like old friends and getting on like a house on fire, because of course Blaine had read Patty Lupone's memoir, and of course Marion Cotillard was his favourite Vogue cover, that went without saying.
They talked until they were hoarse, and Blaine volunteered to go to the kitchen to get them both a glass of water. When he got back, Kurt had conjured up a blanket from somewhere, claiming he felt cold, and Blaine took that as an opportunity to put his arm around Kurt and cuddle in close.
Kurt shot him a thankful smile and shared the blanket with him for the rest of the evening.
Blaine was hardly aware of others being present besides themselves, having no eyes for anyone but Kurt. This was everything he'd ever wanted ever since he'd first clapped eyes on Kurt: this amazing guy noticing Blaine and liking him, and wanting to get to know him better.
When Kurt dropped his head onto Blaine's shoulder, and started yawning, first discreetly, and then jaw-breaking yawns he couldn't hide behind his hand anymore, Blaine knew that the polite thing to do would be to say goodnight and go home.
He threw a furtive look at the others, and found Mark grinning at him and winking.
Blaine grinned back, and shuffled around until he and Kurt were lying down instead of sitting, Kurt's head on Blaine's chest.
Blaine softly stroked Kurt's hair, and Kurt nuzzled closer and made a content purring sound.
Within minutes, Kurt was out like a light. Blaine tucked the blanket in around him, and then just luxuriated in the feeling of having him so close-by and so trusting, grinning dopily at the ceiling and humming along whenever one of the others sang a song.
He didn't fall asleep until long after everyone had gone to their respective bedrooms, feeling too jittery and hyper for his brain to slow down.
He half-woke early in the morning when Kurt got up to pee, but didn't fully wake until a delicious smell wafted into his nostrils.
He sniffed appreciatively and opened his eyes.
Kurt was no longer with him on the sofa, but he wasn't far away, bustling around in the kitchen. And baking, apparently. He was just taking a tray out of the oven, and the way his shorts stretched around his booty was as mouth-watering as the treats he'd made.
Blaine adjusted himself in his shorts and got up, stretching to get the kinks out of his back.
"Nice view," said Elliott, waggling his eyebrows as he passed by Blaine on the way to the kitchen, and then "Ow!" when Dani poked him and hissed, "No hitting on other people's boyfriends, you've got your own!"
Blaine beamed at being perceived as Kurt's boyfriend. He saw everyone trickling in and grabbing cinnamon buns, so he hastened to take one too before they were all gone.
He took a big bite and closed his eyes as flavours exploded in his mouth.
His first bun was gone in mere minutes, but when he took a second, Kurt lifted it out of his hands again.
Before he could start pouting, Kurt handed it back to him, now dripping in glaze. And mmm, that made the bun ten times better still.
It must have been that level of perfection addling Blaine's brain that made him suddenly blurt out a marriage proposal to Kurt.
Everyone took it as a joke, including Kurt, but the scary thing was that Blaine meant every word. He'd liked Kurt from the beginning, because he seemed to be the whole package: gorgeous, stylish, smart, witty, a great cook and a caring person, who went out of his way to help his friends. Last night had proved that they also had very similar tastes in music, movies and fashion, and that they shared the same views on relationships and life goals. And yes, it had taken Kurt far too long to notice Blaine, and there had been plenty of misunderstandings and road blocks on the way, but they'd established a connection now. They really clicked, just like Blaine always knew they would. It felt amazing, and Blaine never wanted to spend a day away from Kurt anymore.
Calm down, tiger! Slow and easy wins the race. You've made progress last night. Definite progress.
That seemed to be on Mark's mind too when he asked what was going on between Kurt and Blaine.
If Blaine had any hopes of Kurt acknowledging this growing bond between them, they were dashed at once when Kurt brushed off the question and didn't even look in his direction.
Quietly, Blaine excused himself and went home.
Kurt gave him some extra cinnamon buns to take with him, but he couldn't muster up any enthusiasm about that.
Have I been misreading things again?
It was all the more confusing because Kurt smiled sunnily at him and told him to come over again that evening, and when Blaine mentioned his brother, nonchalantly said Coop could come along too, as if it didn't matter one way or another.
The mixed signals made Blaine's head whirl, and as soon as Cooper was awake, he discussed it with him.
"Well, I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure," Coop hedged, "but there certainly seems to be something going on between you two. You know what, I'll invite the lot of them to dinner tonight. If you'll do the cooking. Then I can observe the two of you and tell you what I think. All right? We'll do that. But for the record, squirt, I think you're doing great. Just, don't mope tonight, okay? Even if he's being confusing, running hot and cold. Keep your cool and make sure you're the most charming, interesting and sexy guy in the room."
"Easy for you to say, Mr. Hottest Billionaire Under Forty."
"Hey, you've got a lot going for you, squirt, and I've seen Kurt looking!"
Blaine sighed. "But Elliott's going to be there too, and the guy's this glitter rock vampire. Wears eyeliner and earrings, has plenty of tattoos. Cool factor through the roof! How can I ever compete with the likes of that?"
"Blaine."
"Yes?"
"Who did Kurt talk to all evening last night?"
"Me."
"That's right. So don't put yourself down. You have what it takes to get his attention. Make yourself so irresistible that this Elliott doesn't even make a blip on his radar. Wear those red chinos of yours that do wonders for your butt, and DON'T gel your hair."
Blaine saluted his brother. "Aye aye, sir."
That evening, when Kurt and his friends arrived, they brought a spectacular dessert, and it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Kurt had made it. Was there anything he couldn't do?
As he had promised his brother, Blaine didn't mope, not even when Kurt sat far away from him at the table, or joined Cooper's team to play Pictionary.
After the game, though, he took his chance to sit next to Kurt when Rachel gave up that place to go check out Cooper's karaoke machine.
He jumped up again at once when Kurt asked if they could talk in private, and led the way into the garden.
Apparently, Kurt felt bad about misjudging Blaine, and wanted to clear the air between them so that they could start over.
Well, that was encouraging, so Blaine reassured Kurt as best he could, and then asked him to dance, right there in the garden.
He got so swept away by the romance of it all that he kissed Kurt mid-dance, and then jumped back, horrified at his lack of impulse control. Kurt didn't seem to mind, though. He kissed Blaine right back, and they stayed in the garden until it got too cold.
Blaine walked Kurt back to the house next door, and then drew him in for one more kiss.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" Kurt asked, a little breathless.
"You will. If this is not a dream I'm about to wake up from."
Kurt's eyes danced with mischief. "Want me to pinch you, honey?"
"I want… I want so many things. But I'd better shut up and go home before I scare you off."
Kurt framed Blaine's face with his hands and moved in until their foreheads touched. "Relax. I'm not easily scared. You can blurt out as many marriage proposals as you like. Fair warning, though: one of these days I might say yes. So don't ask unless you mean it."
Blaine huffed out a laugh. "Oh, I mean it. Marry me, Kurt?"
Kurt tapped his nose playfully. "One day, maybe. Keep asking. Good night, honey."
Blaine was reluctant to open his eyes the following morning, convinced that it had all been a dream, but when he arrived in the kitchen, Coop was there and demanding "Deets, bro!"
Blaine blinked at him sleepily.
"You disappeared with Kurt and didn't show up again all night. So, what happened? You didn't elope, did you? Cause I'd have to disown you if you cheat me out of a wedding!"
Blaine filled a mug with coffee, drank deeply and then sat down at the table, helping himself to a piece of toast and buttering it. "Don't worry, there was no elopement. I wouldn't do that to you."
He'd added strawberry jam to the toast and eaten half of it before Coop spoke up again. "But something happened, right?"
Blaine felt the corners of his mouth tilt up of their own accord.
"Spill!"
Just then, Coop's cell phone started ringing, and when he checked the caller ID, he laughed and answered the call at once. "Hey Kurt! You're on speaker phone."
"Hey Cooper! I just realized that I have your number, but not Blaine's. I forgot to ask last night."
Blaine made a grab for Cooper's phone, but Coop held it out of his reach and laughed again. "Now why would you be needing my brother's number, Mr. Hummel? What are your intentions with him?"
Blaine groaned, "Coop!"
"Oh hey, good morning, honey!" said Kurt's chipper voice.
Coop mouthed "Honey?", but Blaine made a throat-slash movement and gestured for him to hand the phone over. Coop didn't, though. He put it behind his back and wagged his finger reprovingly at Blaine.
Kurt's voice floated out of the speaker again. "To answer your question, Cooper, I was hoping to ask Blaine out on a date."
Blaine, grinning ear to ear, jumped Coop and tried to wrestle the phone away from him. After a short struggle, he managed to grab it, and ran away. "I'll be in my room if you need me, Coop!"
As soon as he was in his room, he said, "Good morning!"
Kurt laughed. "What did you do, steal your brother's phone?"
"I borrowed it. Tell me more about this date, please?"
"Well, how do you feel about going for ice cream this afternoon?"
K&B
After that first date, many more followed, and for months on end, Blaine felt like he was floating on air because he was so happy.
The proposing had become their inside joke, and whether or not they were together, the last thing Blaine said or texted each day was "Marry me, Kurt?"
Kurt always answered with some kind of quip, or with a kiss, but Blaine kept hoping that one day, he'd actually say yes.
They were both extremely busy, Blaine with school and work, and Kurt with school, work and the preparations for a high profile wedding. Isabelle, his boss at Vogue dot com, was getting married, and insisted on having Kurt as her wedding planner. Seeing as it would be a high society affair, with over three hundred big name guests, Kurt was determined to make it a wedding to remember.
"If all goes well, maybe I'll be asked to plan other weddings," he told Blaine. "I mean, professionally. Getting paid for it and all. I've planned loads by now, but those were always favours to friends and family, and if anything, I spent money on them instead of earning any."
"You'd like to do this as a job?"
Kurt nodded. "Maybe not exclusively, but I love planning events."
Blaine discussed this with his brother, who promised to network on Kurt's behalf at Isabelle's wedding. Coop knew Isabelle from his modelling days, and they had several friends and acquaintances in common, so that would be a good start.
Coop took Blaine to the wedding as his plus one again, but this time around, Blaine didn't protest. He was actually eager to go, and see his boyfriend in his element.
Thanks to Kurt's flawless taste and planning and Isabelle actually having a decent budget to work with, every aspect of the wedding was perfect, down to the minute details. Blaine smiled to himself as he took in the overall effect.
Isabelle looked splendid in a voluminous dress and a hat that looked like a bird flying away, and the ceremony was moving.
During the reception, Blaine let Cooper flit through the crowd schmoozing, content to stay on the sidelines and observe. Only… That led to him hearing a conversation he was definitely not meant to overhear, between Kurt and Isabelle.
"I must say, Kurt, you've outdone yourself!"
"Thank you, thank you! And thank you so much for inviting Cooper, who's been talking me up to everyone he knows! I've already had ten people ask for my business card because they want me to plan their wedding, too."
"Oh, of course I invited Cooper. Who else would buy me a Solange Azagury-Partridge necklace as a wedding present? Everyone else has bought me boring gifts."
"Useful, you mean," Kurt laughed.
"To you, maybe. A necklace is far more useful to me than a set of Japanese knives. Those will just collect dust in the kitchen."
"How tragic… Thank heavens Coop bought you something you like!"
"Hmm… So you're in demand as a wedding planner now, huh, thanks to Cooper? I bet you're glad now that he accepted that fake invitation of Brittany's that forced you to organize an actual wedding!"
"Oh, that wasn't the first time I planned a wedding. That would have been my dad marrying Carole."
Blaine paid no attention to the rest of their talk. He'd heard enough. So that wedding HAD been fake! And Blaine HAD been right calling them out about it!
Anger swelled inside of him like a balloon, and as soon as Isabelle moved away from Kurt to talk to other guests, he grabbed Kurt's arm.
"Oh hey, honey! What… Are you okay?"
Blaine glared at Kurt. "No, I'm not!"
Kurt's eyebrows went up. "I know it must be boring for you, but I'm working tonight. I need to keep an eye on things, and stay here until the party's over to make sure everything goes as planned."
"Oh, it's not that."
"Then what?"
"I heard you, just now. Brittana's wedding was fake! Exactly as I thought! And you made me feel horrible for calling them out!"
Kurt's eyes flashed. "Well, you WERE horrible, Mr. Snob! Dissing all my hard work and calling it cheap!"
"You tricked my brother into spending a fortune!"
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I doubt it even made a dent. He's a billionaire. We gave him a party to remember in return, and he was perfectly content. The only one who was a stick-in-the-mud about it was you!"
Someone cleared their throat behind them, and they turned around.
"Father!" said Blaine. "What are you doing here?"
"Manners, boy! I was invited. So this is the twink who's got his hooks in you? Hmm. Not a very good influence on you if he's got you screeching like a fishwife. If you really have to pick a guy instead of a girl, why don't you choose one with breeding? One with a pedigree instead of a mongrel. The Smythes have brought their son along. Sebastian. He's a barrister, I believe, and he's also chosen the gay lifestyle."
Blaine pinched his nose and told himself to stay calm. "Nobody CHOOSES to be gay, Father."
"Hmm. I'll send Sebastian your way."
Edward Anderson didn't wait for an answer and walked away.
"Well, I'll let you and the pedigree dog get acquainted, then," Kurt said. "Careful, though. If he's the guy I think it is, he's been harassing several waiters, copping a feel and offering them money to give him a blowjob in the backroom."
"Kurt, I'm…"
But Kurt was gone before Blaine could apologise, and when Blaine followed him, he was stopped by a tall guy with green eyes and a smirk.
"Blaine, if I'm not mistaken? I'm Sebastian Smythe. Pleasure."
"Hi… Yes, I'm Blaine. Excuse me."
Blaine wanted to step away from the guy and go find Kurt, but Sebastian grabbed him by the arm. "What do you say we go to the restroom and get better acquainted?"
"Uhm, no, thank you. Excuse me, I have someone to see."
"When your father pointed you out to me, I thought, nah, not my type, but then I saw your ass and I thought, well…"
Sebastian goosed Blaine so firmly that he yelped.
A moment later, Sebastian was the one in discomfort. Kurt had come back and had taken Sebastian's ear in a death grip, hissing, "Okay, that's IT! Out with you!"
Kurt stalked out of the ballroom, tugging a whimpering Sebastian after him by his ear.
Kurt escorted Sebastian out of the building, only stopping at the reception desk of the venue to tell the security guard that Mr. Sebastian Smythe was on no account to be let back in.
Then he went back upstairs without even acknowledging Blaine, who had followed him and tried once again to apologise.
Uh-oh. He's really mad.
Blaine stole back into the ballroom with his tail between his legs, standing quietly against a wall and observing again, but he no longer enjoyed it.
And then he saw his father talking to Kurt, and they both left the room. What was going on?
He debated following them out, but decided he'd done enough eaves-dropping for the day, and angered his boyfriend enough as it was.
Kurt wasn't away for long. His face was impassive when he entered the ballroom again, and his shoulders stiff.
Edward Anderson followed a little later, his face a thundercloud. He looked around until he spotted Blaine, and headed straight to him.
"I forbid you to marry him. Understand? I will cut you off without a cent!"
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Haven't you done that already when I went to college?"
His father's face turned puce. "You…"
"Yes?"
"There's no arguing with either of you, is there? Stubborn fools! I offered the twink up to four million dollars to stay away from you, but he said no."
Blaine smiled thinly. "We don't need your money. I've enough of my own."
His father froze. "You are NOT to marry that twink. If you do, neither your mother nor I will ever speak to you again."
Blaine quirked an eyebrow and drawled, "That would be a terrible hardship."
A vein on his father's forehead swelled up to the point where it could explode any moment. "Are you mocking me? Ugh, I'm washing my hands of you. From now on, I only have one son. Goodbye."
Blaine watched his father go.
Well, that happened… But surely, if Kurt refused Father's offer, that means he won't stay mad for keeps, right?
Right at that moment, he felt someone encircle his waist and hook their chin over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, honey."
Blaine turned around in Kurt's embrace and nuzzled his cheek. "I'm not. Good riddance, really. Cooper is all the family I need. And you, if you'll have me."
"Always. Even when you're being a blockhead."
Blaine beamed at Kurt. "So you're saying yes?"
Kurt quirked an eyebrow. "To what question would that be?"
Blaine plucked a ring box from his inside pocket, opened it so Kurt could see the ring, went down on one knee and asked, "Kurt Hummel, will you marry me?"
Kurt pulled him up again and kissed him, then held out his hand for Blaine to put the ring on. "Yes. Yes, I will. I can plan the wedding, right?"
Blaine laughed, and then squeaked when his brother lifted up the both of them like they weighed nothing, twirled them around and boomed, "You'd better!"
When Cooper put them down again, he grinned and said, "I get to be your best man, right, Blaine? I've got LOTS of fun stories to share!"
Blaine groaned, and then grimaced when Kurt laughed delightedly and said, "I want to hear them all!"
Cooper clapped Kurt on the shoulder. "You will, bro-in-law! So, tell me, what do you guys want as a wedding present? Pick something fun, please!"
Kurt tilted his head to the side. "Hmm… Maybe a nice honeymoon? I've always wanted to visit Europe. London, of course. Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, afternoon tea at the Ritz. Paris, to go see the Louvre and Versailles. Milan during fashion week. What do you think, honey?"
Blaine grinned. "Just the platform? Let's do a whole Harry Potter tour! And go to Legoland!"
Cooper whooped. "Awesome! You get cracking on planning the wedding, and I'll book you the perfect honeymoon. It's going to be so much fun. Can I come too?"
"No!"