Happy Wednesday!
This is the end of Clear Skies. Please, read the author's note at the end.
I hope you enjoy!
On his birthday, Kurt woke up to an empty bed. He stretched his arm, fingertips searching for vestiges of warmth, but Blaine's side of the bed was cool to the touch. He sighed and nuzzled into the pillow, allowing himself a moment of laziness before he got up.
It was a pity that, today of all days, he didn't get to wake up next to Blaine. After all, it was one of his most favorite things.
He reluctantly pushed the blankets away and fished his underwear from under the bed before he headed to the dresser. He grabbed a pair of Blaine's pajama pants and a soft t-shirt and slipped into them. He loved wearing his clothes, the scent of Blaine's skin against his own, and knew Blaine loved seeing him in them as well, so it felt like a treat for the both of them. After a quick stop at the bathroom, he went downstairs.
The scent of coffee and breakfast being made guided him towards the kitchen. He was not surprised, but definitely pleased, when he stopped at the kitchen doorway and saw Blaine standing at the stove, flipping pancakes. He had put on sweatpants but hadn't bothered with a t-shirt, and this was already a great, great birthday…
"Do you want to put the chocolate chips in the pancakes?" Blaine asked without turning around, and Kurt pressed his fingers to his lips, trying to keep his smile in check.
"Yes, please!" A little voice said from somewhere behind the kitchen island, and then a pair of hands reached up in the air.
Blaine smiled as he picked their daughter up, letting her wrap her skinny legs around his waist and holding her easily with one arm, spatula in the other hand. "Alright. What do you think Papa will like best? White chocolate chips? Milk chocolate chips? Dark chocolate chips?"
"All of them!" Aurora exclaimed, reaching into the bowl of chips and dumping half of its contents into a single pancake.
Kurt tried to bite back his laughter and failed horribly. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not diabetic."
Aurora squealed and flailed until Blaine put her down. She ran towards Kurt, her gorgeous red hair flying behind her, still messy from sleep. Kurt caught her as she launched herself at him, and then held her against his chest, swaying her from side to side as he pressed kisses all over her face.
"Stop it, Papa, stop it!" She giggled. Kurt dropped one last kiss on the tip of her nose. She looked at him with big blue eyes she had gotten from him – just like her pale skin and freckled nose – and Kurt melted a little bit. "Why you up, Papa?"
"Were you two trying to surprise me with breakfast in bed?" Kurt asked, reaching to tickle her side a little, wanting to get at least one more giggle out of her. He succeeded.
"Yes, we were," Blaine said, moving towards them. "But you are impossible."
"You know I don't like waking up to an empty bed," Kurt pouted slightly.
For the sake of the three year old currently present in the room, Blaine didn't play along, but Kurt saw the glint in his eye. He knew his husband. Unfortunately, lazy mornings in bed together were a thing of the past. You couldn't properly get into it when your daughter started to pound on your locked bedroom door asking why you wouldn't let her in.
Still, Kurt thought as he looked at her, it was so worth it.
Plus, it was nothing a weekend at Aunt Rachel's or Uncle Cooper's couldn't solve.
"Aurora, why don't you go get your present for Papa?" Blaine suggested and she nodded excitedly before asking Kurt to put her down. She ran out of the kitchen, and Blaine immediately came closer, cupping his husband's cheek and bringing him into a slow, deep kiss. "Happy birthday, baby."
"Thank you," Kurt whispered, lips trailing up Blaine's jaw, feeling the scratchiness of his stubble against them.
"How does it feel to be thirty?" Blaine asked with a little grin.
Kurt pulled away a bit, just enough to be able to look at his husband. At forty seven, he was still as gorgeous as he had been the day they had met. His body was still maddeningly amazing, and the only thing that gave out his age were the laugh lines and the grey hair, which was a bit more abundant now, peppered all over Blaine's beautiful dark curls.
"Not much different from being twenty nine, if I'm being honest," Kurt laughed, pressing his hands to Blaine's chest, fingertips brushing the coarse hair there.
"Well, you still look just like you did when you were twenty one, so…" Blaine said, thumbs making circles on his hipbones. "You have nothing to worry about."
"I'm not worried," Kurt whispered. "I don't mind ageing. As long as I get to do it with you."
Blaine chuckled. "Darling, you'll have to put up with me for the rest of your life," he teased, and gently touched the ring on Kurt's finger. "You agreed to, remember?"
"Best decision I've ever made," Kurt said, as Aurora ran back into the kitchen. "Well… aside from coming home with you on that first night."
Blaine shook his head. "You were worried I thought you were a floozy."
"And you were worried I thought you were too old," Kurt said. "Look at us now."
"Happy birfday, Papa!" Aurora practically screamed, trying to get his attention.
Kurt smiled down at her. "Thank you, sweetheart. Is that for me?" He asked and she nodded and handed him a present wrapped in bright paper with pictures of unicorns on it. "Did you choose the wrapping paper? It's so pretty!"
"Yes!" She said happily. "I choosed everything."
"I took her to the store, and she picked it all by herself," Blaine said proudly.
Kurt took a moment to glance up at Blaine. The warmth in his voice, how dedicated he was to raising their daughter… sometimes it blew Kurt away, how amazing he was with her. He knew it was important to Blaine, being a good father. He had cut back on his work hours to be there for her, becoming practically a full time dad, only managing his business when she was at school or when she was sleeping, or when she didn't need him. He had learned to delegate and prioritize so he could be at home more. And he was so good with her that Kurt felt himself falling in love with Blaine all over again on a daily basis. It was wonderful.
He had been so terrified when Aurora was born, when they first put her in his arms. He had looked up at Kurt like he was scared to drop her, to ruin everything in the blink of an eye. And it had turned out that there was absolutely nothing to worry about, because he was a natural.
All the love he had stored inside of him, all the love he hadn't been able to give to his own family growing up, all the love he had felt he lacked and longed for, suddenly spilled out of him, and never seemed to deplete. Every single day he got out of bed and loved Kurt and Aurora more and more, and Kurt honestly didn't know what he had done to deserve this, to have this beautiful life they had built together.
He opened the present, pausing to stick the huge pink bow to Aurora's forehead, who giggled but didn't remove it. Inside, he found a blue filigree frame with a picture of Aurora inside, clearly taken at the park.
"Oh, Rory…" he muttered, touched. "Sweetie, this is beautiful!"
"You liked it?" She asked, beaming.
"It's perfect. This is my favorite present ever," he said, and kissed her soft red hair. "I'm going to put it on my desk at work so I can look at you all day long."
"As if you didn't have your desk covered in pictures of her already," Blaine snorted, but he was smiling, too.
"When did you take this? It's such a beautiful picture!" He said.
"Oh, I took her to the park on Tuesday, while you were stuck in that meeting. There are a million different pictures, she wasn't satisfied with any of them. But she picked this one, in the end." Blaine plated the last pancake and took breakfast to the table. "She looks so happy in it, don't you think? It might be my favorite, too."
"Daddy, can I has pancakes?" She asked, turning to Blaine, clearly over the whole present thing and more interested in the food now.
"Of course, my love," Blaine said, and helped her sit at the table. He cut a pancake in tiny pieces for her before he poured some orange juice into her cup.
Kurt sat and watched them, and felt his heart beating at a gentle, steady, perfect pace.
Blaine placed a cup of coffee in front of Kurt and frowned down at him. "Are you okay? You look a million miles away."
"I'm fine," Kurt reassured him, catching his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Just thinking. About how lucky I am. Sometimes I still need to pinch myself, you know?"
Blaine chuckled and leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Silly boy," he murmured fondly. "You have nothing more and nothing less than exactly what you deserve. And today's not over yet. Aurora and I have a whole day planned, with lots of surprises. Don't we, Rory?"
"Yes!" Aurora said excitedly. "Daddy got you lots of flowers, Papa!"
Blaine groaned and let his head fall. "Rory. I said surprises."
"Oops," she muttered with a grin, and stuffed her face with pancakes.
"I love it when you get me flowers, so don't worry," Kurt said with a laugh. "You might want to tell me what else you planned before she blows your cover, though."
Blaine rolled his eyes, but headed to the counter to retrieve something. He presented an envelope to Kurt. "She doesn't know about this one, but I thought it might be the right way to start your birthday."
Kurt opened the envelope and found two plane tickets to Italy inside, with a picture of a beautiful villa in the Tuscany attached. "Oh, Blaine," he said, standing up so he could hug his husband properly. "This is wonderful."
The tradition of giving each other trips for their birthdays had been started by Kurt and continued throughout the years, because they understood that what mattered the most were the memories they made together, and not the new pair of boots or the expensive first-edition books they could buy.
"I called Isabelle and she helped me figure out your schedule for the next month. Your parents will come over and stay with Aurora while we're away," Blaine pressed a kiss to Kurt's jaw, and Kurt could feel him smiling against his skin.
"I love this," Kurt said, with a happy sigh. "And I love you."
"Love you more," Blaine muttered.
The day would go on to be filled with more surprises, more presents, more moments to be treasured. They would spend the day together, all three of them, having lunch at Kurt's favorite restaurant and stopping at the park for a little while to enjoy the sunshine. That night, they would have dinner with their family – Tina and Mike, Sophie and Riley, Cooper, Rachel and her brand new husband, Santana and her fiancé – and Kurt would blow out the candles and feel like he couldn't ask for more, like it would be greedy to want more when he already had everything.
But this? This little moment, alone in the kitchen with his husband and his daughter, all of them still in pajamas and with messy hair… this was his favorite part.
They sat down at the table, Aurora's excited chatter the soundtrack to their morning, and had their coffee. And at one point, Kurt's eyes found Blaine's, and they held each other's gaze, and smiled. And they both knew exactly what the other was thinking, without the need for words: it wasn't just luck that had brought them here, but fate – they had belonged together since that very first night at Spotlight diner, even if they had been too scared to admit it at first. And through all the bumps in the road, through all the obstacles and the doubts and the heartache, one thing had remained certain: their happiness lied with each other. It was in Blaine making Kurt's coffee every morning exactly how he liked it. It was in the way they held Aurora's hands as they walked down the street. It was in getting into bed after a long, long day and just being there together, Kurt's head on Blaine's chest, or the other way around, heartbeat thumping against his ear. It was in their daughter's laughter, in the way she snuggled next to them when they watched a movie, in the kiss they pressed to her forehead when they tucked her into bed every single night. It was in living a fulfilled life – loving their jobs and coming home to each other, and spending time with the people they loved, with the family they had chosen and the one they had been incredibly fortunate to be born in. It was in the nights in which they made love, hushed moans and desperate hands, heated kisses and wet tongues, because they wanted each other just as much as they always had, their chemistry still burning after all these years. It was in their arguments, because even though they adored each other, sometimes they drove the other crazy, the everyday things getting to them, frustrating them, making them angry, and in the end… vanishing, because they didn't matter – it didn't matter who forgot to take the trash out or whose turn was it to vacuum the living room, because they were always there, present and supporting and ready to put in the work and the effort when it did matter.
It was in the way they loved each other, unconditionally, unreservedly, unquestionably, endlessly. Fearlessly. Forever.
Kurt Anderson-Hummel sipped his coffee and decided that tonight, when he blew the candles on his birthday cake out, he wouldn't make any wishes.
He was just going to be grateful for the wishes that had already come true instead.
I honestly cannot believe it's over. But this is what always happens. I can never believe it. It's months and months of hard work, endless hours writing and plotting and falling in love with new versions of the boys, coming to an end.
Clear Skies was difficult right from the start. It came after Solid Gold, which had overwhelming responses, both good and bad, and so I felt like it was a very daunting task, sitting in front of the computer to do it all over again. The first three chapters were torture – I honestly hated them so much, I couldn't get through them. But I'm glad I pushed through, because this might have ended up being one of my favorite things I've ever written.
As usual, I couldn't have done it without Christine, beta extraordinaire. Her support and her hard work through it all means the world to me. She's been making my stories better for almost a decade now. I feel so, so lucky to have her on my corner, and I can only hope we can keep working together for many, many more stories. Love you from here to Oz! I owe you more than you will ever know
For CS, I also had the support of my friend Sofi, who made the amazing cover art. She talked me out of more than one freak out, really cheered me on as I was writing, and always made sure to show me how excited she was about each chapter. She may have saved CS, actually, considering I was ready to give up on it so early on. So thank you for your friendship and help!
I wouldn't be writing without the support and encouragement from the people who take the time out of their days to read and comment, to share the story with their friends, to reblog and tweet and leave kudos. I cannot put into words how much I appreciate each and every one of you. I keep coming back because of you. Thank you for giving me an excuse to do what I love the most.
I have a new story almost completely written and I plan to start posting it this month. Keep an eye on my Twitter (theficwhisperer) and Tumblr (heartsmadeofbooks) for details and a preview soon.
Thank you, again. I could never say it enough.
See you again very, very soon,
Love,
L.-
