Chapter 16: Epilogue
By GleefulPoppet

Prom Day
Saturday, May 15th, 2038
(25 Years Later)

"Oh, babe, those were the days, were they not?" Blaine brushed his fingertips over the Prom photo from almost exactly 25 years ago. "Look how little we were."

"We were so little. Can you believe how delusional all that was with Sebastian bursting into the Prom and thinking he could somehow reconcile with you? I haven't thought about it for a long time." Kurt laughed and kissed the top of Blaine's head where he was snuggled between Kurt's legs with his back to Kurt's chest, holding up the scrapbook he had made so many years ago.

"Delusional is the word! Sometimes, I wonder what his life turned out to be like."

"I hope he got his act together. He was such a pompous ass," Kurt said.

"He really was. It's nice to think about Landon and Dave, though. We received that announcement in the mail a few weeks ago about the two foster kids they adopted; it was adorable. Who would have thought it? They ran off and got married before we did! And Dave's the football coach for a community college in…"

"Nebraska. They've won a couple of state championships, and Landon is a teacher there. Astonishing when you think about it, how what happened to me with Dave drove me to Dalton, where I met you and Alex. Then, I returned to McKinley, and you transferred. Then Dave came back. Alex came to visit and told us about Landon, and then he fell in love with Dave and helped him find his potential. And Dave helped him in return. And somewhere in there, you and I finally said, 'I love you,' in the more-than-friends way." Kurt chuckled.

"We sure did. Best day of my life," Blaine hummed as he turned to another random page. They were having fun looking at the book out of order. "Oh, my heavens! My 18th birthday!" He started laughing and shaking his head. "We were still in the thick of our fake-dating ruse."

"I was pining for you so hard I think I had drool stains on my shirt. Look at you, so hot in that gray-and-white-striped shirt, bow tie with yellow polka dots, and your mustard yellow pants." This time, Kurt touches the photograph. "And I just wanted to turn off that damn karaoke machine and give you the world's most passionate kiss."

"Oh, yeah? Well, why didn't you?"

"Because that was impossible. You'd already given me what I thought was the world's most passionate kiss at Rachel's party."

"Little did we know…"

"How amazing kissing can be? And how sex gets better the older you are?"

"Exactly. I think it's hysterical we thought our sex life would be over after our 20s."

Kurt whispers in Blaine's ear, "Mmm... It's not, is it? How many times did I have you begging for more last night? How many times did I swallow your screams in my mouth to help keep you quiet? And we just turned 43 this year, so really, I think we should plan on enjoying ourselves into our 90s, don't you?" Kurt said as he nipped behind his husband's ear, causing him to shiver.

"At least." Blaine pushed back into Kurt; he could feel him getting interested. They went in waves, like this week, where they had the hottest sex ever for hours on end or even multiple times a day, which sometimes turned into maybe once a week and everywhere in between. "Don't start, love. Please ? Later. We're going to get in trouble again."

Kurt buried his head in Blaine's shoulder to stifle his laughter. "We so would. I'll be good. Next random page."

Blaine quickly closed the book and unfurled it again. "Our college acceptance letters! Remember? My parents came over, we had Carole's three-layer chocolate cake, and we opened all our letters together."

"Yes! We nearly broke our parents' eardrums when we got accepted to NYADA! We could have damaged our voices! After that, I don't think we even cared about the other letters."

"I loved going to college with you and living in that tiny little apartment with avocado-colored appliances and that sunshine yellow tile, constantly trying to make ends meet. You worked at the diner all those years, and I taught piano lessons, doing all we could to make our dreams come true one day at a time. And now look at us. We did okay, didn't we?"

"We did. Living in a brownstone and working on Broadway or off-Broadway productions for the last 20 years in one capacity or another. You, my exceptional husband, have two Tony awards, a slew of other awards, and a new show opening soon with your original music. It's been extraordinary."

"And how many do you have, Kurt?"

"Stop. I want to gush about you, not me."

"You have three, Kurt Hummel. Three Tony awards and you deserve every one of them. Not to mention, you were the first of the New Directions to get one."

Kurt chuckled. "Rachel has never forgiven me, not really. Hers wasn't far behind, though."

"Another page?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah. I think we have time for one more before we have to get ready." Kurt glanced over at the clock.

He flipped the pages again. "Oh, graduation day! That was marvelous."

"Yes, it was, Mr. Valedictorian! We thought that day would never come, and then it came and went in seconds, and now we've been together longer than we were alive in these pictures."

"Wow. There's some perspective for you."

"Do you remember what happened on graduation night? On our way to the final party at Rachel's, you were so desperate for it, telling me all the fantasies you'd had, that we pulled over in a darkened parking lot and climbed into the back seat, and you—"

Blaine cut Kurt's story off with his lips, tilting his head to get a more suitable angle with the way they were sitting, and opened his mouth to deepen it. He wanted to get lost in his husband's arms for just a minute. It still made Blaine's stomach flutter when he was fully present in the moment and felt so much gratitude that they'd made it this far, still so in love.

They heard a loud thump upstairs and then a chorus of girls laughing. "Dads! We're coming down. You'd better not be making out again!" A teen voice carried down the stairs.

"How do they know? How do they always know?" Blaine groaned as he reluctantly pulled away from Kurt's decadent mouth.

Kurt tipped his head back and laughed. "Would you like some more perspective? Our daughter is as old as we are in these photos, and we'll be adding her Prom and graduation pictures to her scrapbook this month."

"It's gone so fast."

When the four girls arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Blaine and Kurt gasped and jumped up from the couch. "You all look so beautiful!" they said in unison.

"You did a spectacular job with hair and makeup on each other," Kurt said, reaching out and twirling his daughter, Audrey, to inspect her. "So perfect. All of you," he said as he looked over their hair.

"Thank you, Dad," they chimed. Of course, only two of them were his. All their children's friends called them "Dad," and they had an incredible relationship with them. Their home was a haven for all the kids. When things in the outside world were scary and school was hard, everyone knew they were welcome at the Hummel-Anderson's for hugs, fun, advice when asked for, singing, a quiet zone study room, food from a kitchen that was never closed, and somewhere that was always safe.

At that moment, the front door flew open. "I'm home!" Spencer yelled.

One of the girls, Sophia, squealed, "Hide me! He can't see me yet!"

"Spencer, don't come in here unless you want the wrath of your girlfriend. Take your tux upstairs. I'll call you when it's safe," Blaine half-shouted as he headed towards the foyer to greet him.

"Thanks, Dad. That would've been scary."

"I agree," he said as he patted him on the shoulder and then headed back to Kurt.

"Hi, Papa! You going to help me?" he shouted as he bounded up the stairs two at a time.

"Yup! Tell me when you're ready," Kurt called back.

Sophia said, "Oh, thank heavens. You're going to do his hair?" which made their other friend, Lana, laugh because Spencer was notorious for laying down the hair gel despite everyone's grumbling.

"I am indeed," Kurt replied and then chuckled. "Whatever you threatened him with convinced him."

She nodded. "Thank you!"

"Anything for you girls. Now, do you have everything you need? Your gowns are still intact? Shoes are still in pairs? Nothing is slipping off and needs altering?"

"Yes. Thank you, Papa. You've checked a dozen times. We just have to put our dresses on when it gets closer. We thought we'd help with the food for Greer's party tonight since she helped us get ready for Prom." She poked her little sister, a freshman in high school.

"Well, that is sweet of you ladies," Blaine said. "Papa and I already finished it all, though, so why don't you go relax before the chaos starts and you have to get dressed in an hour?"

"You're sure?" Audrey and Greer asked simultaneously.

Kurt smiled, a warmth spreading through his chest. It had been such a privilege to see these kids get older and how they lived—each in their own way—what he and Blaine had tried to teach them. Their family motto, which hung in several places in their home, was C.O.U.R.A.G.E. (Communication, Open-minded, Understanding, Respectful, Adventurous, Grateful, Educated). His kids were always willing to help, so he didn't mind the insanity that was about to start.

"We're sure. Audrey, yours and Lana's dates and their parents and Sophia's parents should all be here in 90 minutes. We'll do pictures and send you off to Senior Prom. Well, Junior Prom for Spencer and Sophia. In two hours, all of Greer's friends should arrive, and once we make sure they are all here safely for their outdoor movie night—complete with a popcorn and candy bar, a cooler full of sodas, and six extra-large pizzas being delivered, including a gluten-free and vegan option—then we'll head out with all the Prom date parents for dinner."

"Oh, is that all?" Audrey teased.

"Well, Dad and I can still add volunteering as chaperones at your Prom!"

"Oh, Dads! No! We talked about this. You would sing every other song or dance in a dark corner. Ewww. Public displays of affection. I love you, Papa, but no. Thank you."

All the girls laughed and dashed upstairs.

Kurt pulled Blaine into his arms and kissed him playfully, parting with a mwwwah .

"You ready to get all dressed up for our hot date?" Blaine asked.

"I am indeed! Shall we?" Kurt offered his elbow as they headed toward their room.

Blaine beamed as he glanced at his husband. "What a wonderful, wonderful life."


Notes from GleefulDarrenCrissFan: Well, that's the end. I'm saddened that this is over. It became my baby (funny that this event took 9 months from beginning to end. LOL.) I want to thank so many people. First of all, I want to thank all of the writers. This was no easy task, and you all did such a great job. I am honored to have worked with every single one of you. I truly believe that we created a wonderful piece of work, and I couldn't have accomplished this without all of you. This is not my story. It's ours.

A massive shout out to Teddyshoney for editing this fic. That was no small task, and you did an outstanding job. I've seen a lot of readers say that this flows well and is formatted so that it's easy to read, in spite of the fact that there are 15 of us all have our own distinct ways of doing things. You are a rock star.

Another big thank you to GleefulPoppet, who created all the art for this fic. You did great work. I know that the readers and the authors alike appreciate the banners greatly. Writing the final two chapters was a big task to take on.

Thank you to Esperanto, for helping me in the early stages. Your advice helped me organize this so that it wasn't a hot mess.

Thanks to Kellyb321. Girl. I couldn't have done this without you. You know my inner demons like to mess with my head. Thank you for encouraging me and reminding me that I'm bigger than my anxiety.

Lastly, thanks to all of you who have left reviews, favorited, or recommended this fic. I hope that you enjoyed this. I'm currently taking prompts for the next event. Check out Tumblr to fill out the form or comment with a prompt before next Saturday. The event starts in July. check on my Tumblr pages for more info.

Until next time, stay well and read lots of Klaine fic.