A/N: I'm so sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday. I had an Open House at work (just opened my own place), and I was all out of energy by the time we finally got home after going to my BIL house so he could help the hubs fix my car before I leave for training next week. On the plus side, you will get TWO chapters today, and tomorrow's is already finished. I just have to plug the song in.

When the kiss broke several minutes later, the two simply stared into each other's eyes. They could see into the depths of the others' soul, and in that, they could almost see their lives play out in front of them. They saw love and laughter. They saw time apart and time together. They saw grief, and they saw joy. They saw it all, and it was perfect because they were together through it all.

"Kurt," Blaine whispered, "I want to tell you something I think you already know. And most people would say it's too soon to say this, and I don't care. It's what's in my heart, and I want you to know. I love you. And I know you're it for me."

The smile on Kurt's face could have lit up the darkest dungeon on Ecrulia, or at least, that's what he imagined anyway. "I love you, too. And where I'm from, there is never a too soon for that. Our hearts speak to who our hearts speak to, and that's that. Istus has always been one of my favorite goddesses."

"What is Istus the goddess of?" Blaine asked.

"Fate, Destiny, Divination, the Future, and Honesty," Kurt answered.

"She sounds amazing," Blaine said. "I think I'm all packed and ready."

"Shall we head to Dad's, then?" Kurt asked. "I am starting to feel antsy, and it's odd. I feel settled with you, and I just… I have this feeling that I need to have that feeling with him, too."

"No need to explain," Blaine said. "Let's get going."

They locked the house up and loaded Blaine's truck. The drive was quiet and peaceful, both of the men thinking about what they just declared to the other and where it would lead. Blaine was already planning on how to expand the little cabin just enough for Kurt to have some of his own space there. He didn't imagine the half-elf would want him to change it too much, which he was happy about because he loved the little place. Whatever Kurt needed, though, he would help provide.

Kurt was also thinking about their future, and what he would do. If he were home, he'd be getting ready to learn magic and utilize that to help pay his way through life. He'd have to figure out something he could do here. That was something he knew could come when it was time. Both Burt and Blaine seemed fairly stable and content in their lives, and they didn't seem stressed out or concerned to have him to take care of until he figured it out. Without really even being conscious of it, Kurt started singing a song.

There was a time
I had nothing to give
I needed shelter from the storm I was in
And when it all got too heavy
You carried my weight
And I want to hold you
And I want to say

That you are all that I need
For you, I give my soul to keep
You see me, love me
Just the way I am
I said, for you I am a better man
I said you are the reason
For everything that I do
I'd be lost, so lost, without you

The highs and lows of the notes were beautiful with Kurt's countertenor voice. Blaine was in awe, and he somewhat startled Kurt when he started singing the next verse, at which the half-elf simply stopped and listened to the voice of the man beside him serenade him.

Under the stars
At the edge of the sea
There's no one around
No one but you and me
We'd talk for hours
As time drifts away
I could stay here forever
And hold you this way

Luckily, Blaine had pulled up to Burt's house when he had finished singing. He put the truck in park quickly and then turned toward Kurt. With so much conviction and desperation and love in their voices, the two sang the last bit of the song in perfect harmony, bringing them both to overwhelmed-by-love tears by the end of the song.

'Cause you are all that I need
For you, I give my soul to keep
You see me, love me
Just the way I am
I said, for you I am a better man
I said you are the reason
For everything that I do
I'd be lost, so lost, without you
No, no, no...
I'd be lost, so lost, without you

"We're going to be alright, aren't we?" Kurt asked after he was able to catch his breath from the magnitude of emotion from the song.

"We absolutely are," Blaine said and leaned over to kiss Kurt on the cheek before he got out of the truck and ran around to open Kurt's door.

Neither one saw Burt watching them from the door. He looked up to the sky and sent a thank you to whomever was there—Lizzy, Kurt, the universe, any multitude of deities—for sending this Kurt to them. Not only was he thanking them for sending Kurt to him but also for sending him to Blaine. Burt had known since he met Blaine that only someone as special as he was could capture his heart, and he couldn't be happier that it was Kurt.

Burt went outside and greeted the pair. "Hello, boys!"

"Hey, Burt," Blaine said. "Mind if I work in the office? We brought some fish for supper and thought you might be able to smoke it and make your amazing potato salad."

"Sounds perfect," Burt replied. "Do you want to help, Kurt?"

"I would, actually," Kurt said with a smile.

Kurt took his pack and Blaine's overnight bag up to the bedroom they had shared the night before and then met Burt back downstairs in the kitchen. Blaine had already made himself scarce and was in the office, working away, or at least that's what Kurt figured since his love wasn't in the kitchen with Burt and he hadn't seen him in any of the rooms he passed. Burt was getting out ingredients.

"What would you like help with, Dad?" Kurt asked. And it was in that moment that he became conscious of what he was calling Burt.

Without missing a beat, Burt answered, "All of it, if you'd like. I was going to get the rub ready for the trout. Would you prefer sweet or savory?"

Kurt blushed. "I actually have always had a bit of a sweet tooth."

"Sweet it is," Burt said with a smile. "And me, too."

As he was getting out the ingredients, he was naming them for Kurt and telling him the various uses for them. He pulled out the brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

"I usually use a touch of cayenne pepper, which gives it a little spice," Burt explained and then let Kurt smell and touch the tiniest bit to his tongue.

"Ooohhh, I like that," Kurt said. "I don't think we have anything quite like that back home. We have hot stuff, sure. It's used more for potions and not so much for eating, though."

Burt smiled again, watching how Kurt was experiencing the new tastes and smells he was introducing him to. He then pulled out the potatoes and a pot to boil them in. "Before we put the fish on, we need to get these started so they have enough time to cool off."

The two worked side by side all afternoon, cooking and sharing stories. Burt was entranced by learning about Kurt's world and childhood. He was thinking it all sounded so similar yet different from his own son's life here.

"You know," Burt said after they'd put the fish in the smoker and were sitting on the porch in rocking chairs, looking over the forest as they waited for the potatoes to cool, "you are quite the storyteller. I know people who would love to read your stories."

"Like how Blaine writes?" Kurt asked.

"Sort of," Burt clarified. "He writes songs. You could write books. And there is always a market for fantasy stories."

Just having Burt say that sparked something inside of him. "You really think people would want to hear my stories?"

"I absolutely do," Burt replied.

Kurt thought about it off and on while they finished the potato salad and even into the evening while they ate and watched a show on the TV—Kurt was glad to learn the name of it so he didn't have to keep calling it the big rectangle thing. By the time they went to sleep that night, Kurt felt connected to Burt in a way he hadn't before. He felt settled with everything around him, and when he and Blaine crawled in bed that night after bathing—baths in the jetted tub, Kurt was certain, were going to be his new favorite thing—he knew that he was going to have the very best life with these two men by his side.

A/N: The song used is "Better Man" by James Morrison. Istus is a D&D goddess. HERE is the recipe for the trout rub.