At about 4:30 pm, about an hour before Kurt was set to leave work, Blaine sent him a text. His phone, which had been laying just above his keyboard, silent most of the day, buzzed twice, and Kurt picked it up immediately. He desperately needed something to distract him from his tedious task.
From Blaine, 4:31 pm: Hi! Hope you're having a great day! Meet me tonight at Harlem Meer for the Holiday Lighting?
Reply to Blaine, 4:32 pm: I'd love to! What time?
From Blaine, 4:32 pm: The lighting is at 7, so let's meet at 6:30? Dress warm.
Reply to Blaine, 4:34 pm: I'll be there. Love you!
From Blaine, 4:35 pm: Love you, too. ?
Kurt smiled at his phone, his eyes skimming back through the messages they'd just shared. Blaine undoubtedly had something sweet planned. In the almost-10 months they'd been together, his soulmate had been full of surprises, bringing him coffee at work, planning cute date nights, and showing up at his apartment unexpectedly yet exactly when he needed him. Kurt couldn't wait to see what was in store for him that night.
Blaine felt like a madman. He'd taken the day off of work specifically so he could make sure everything was perfect, and he was pretty sure that by the time Kurt finally showed up, nothing would be perfect. He'd convinced a group that had just started recording at the studio he worked at, The Merry Madrigals, to let him perform a Christmas song with them during their set at the lighting that evening. The plan was that he'd sing lead, surprising Kurt because he didn't know the extent of Blaine's performing prowess yet. Then, he'd exit the stage, and he and Kurt would have a quiet moment off to the side.
Then, he'd rented out some penguins-did you know you could rent penguins?-to waddle around on the ice with them while they took a skate together and sang a duet. He'd had to, of course, rent the ice rink, too, which wasn't cheap, but it would be so worth it.
Things just weren't coming together as he'd hoped, and he had less than two hours to get everything perfect before Kurt showed up. Then, he was on to sing at 7:00.
For starters, the lead singer of The Merry Madrigals was less than thrilled about him taking over her spotlight-especially for the opening number-and she was doing her best to outshine him, even though he'd specifically asked to sing lead on just this one song.
"Rachel," he said, exasperated, "once again, can you please not put your arms over me or even step forward at all on the final note? I want Kurt to just be looking at me."
"Well, you can't hog the spotlight!" Rachel spat back at him. "I-I invited my boyfriend, too."
Blaine sighed. "And, you have an entire set for him to watch you perform. I have one song."
"So? You're not a part of this group!"
"Rachel?" someone called from the back. "I think this is a good time to remind you that when we voted to elect a group leader, we didn't elect you. Just because you're the lead singer doesn't mean you get to make all our decisions for us."
Finding it difficult to hold back his snort of laughter, Blaine turned away, a hand flying up to cover his mouth until he could regain composure. When he turned back around, Rachel was glaring daggers at him.
"I could have been on Broadway, you know," she said, her voice low in the back of her throat. "I could have been a star, but one audition, just one audition, went wrong. So, now I'm here, singing lead for a bunch of people that don't have half the talent that I have, and a nobody studio boy stealing my spotlight."
"It's one song," Blaine replied, trying to keep his cool. Really, he wanted nothing more than to punch her in the face. He would never have signed her and her group if it had been his choice.
"It's Sara Bareilles!" Rachel roared back. "Sara Bareilles! Her voice, while not quite as brilliant as mine, is still the closest I'm going to come tonight to a ballad that can show off my range! Why don't you choose something else, something made for a man to sing?" Her voice was getting higher and higher as she became more and more outraged.
Blaine was just about to retort something about her clearly not being part of the music world since she didn't know that gender roles were meant to be broken, but he didn't get the opportunity when another one of her group members stepped forward, tapping her on the shoulder. Blaine thought he remembered the guy being introduced to him as "Jessie" or something.
"Rachel, apparently Tina is having some sort of costume emergency. She keeps asking for you."
"Oh my gosh!" Rachel was already stomping away as she said, "Can't anyone do anything for themselves around here? There is just not enough of me and my talent to go around to do everyone else's job, too."
Jessie watched her go, waiting until she was out of earshot to turn to Blaine with an apologetic grin. "Sorry about her. She really is talented, but she was raised all wrong. Her dads let her talent go to her head, and now she looks down that prissy nose of hers at everybody."
"I take it you know here then?" Blaine asked.
"Oh, yeah. We went to high school together. I even dated her for a while. She's a handful, but she's a good friend at heart. I know that must be hard to believe." He chuckled softly. "We'll do our best to keep her out of your way tonight. I've already talked to everyone else. I don't know if you can tell, but I was the one elected leader."
"I wondered," Blaine admitted. "And, thank you. It's just really important to me that I get this song down perfectly. I'm proposing to my soulmate tonight, and well…" He trailed off, not sure what else to say.
"I get it. If you want to run through it a few more times, I'm happy to," Jessie offered.
"Rain check?" Blaine asked. "I have a few other things I have to check on first."
"Sure," Jessie agreed. "Good luck, man, in case I don't get to talk to you again before the performance. I hope your man says yes."
"Me, too," Blaine replied, walking off. Then, to himself, he repeated, "Me, too."
Kurt couldn't help the butterflies in his chest as he left the office at 5:15. He wanted to run home for a shower and a change before meeting Blaine in Central Park at 6:30. It wasn't that he needed to, but for some reason, he felt he'd want to be fresh for going out tonight, even if everything they'd be doing took place after dark and no one would know what he looked like.
So, he hailed a taxi, happy that the ride home only took about 20 minutes. All the way up to his apartment, he whistled quietly to himself, and when he stepped into the shower, he began to sing I Choose You by Sara Bareilles, the first song that popped his head.
"Let the bough break, let it come down crashing
Let the sun fade out to a dark sky
I can't say I'd even notice it was absent
'Cause I could live by the light in your eyes
I'll unfold before you
Would have strung together
The very first words of a lifelong love letter"
Kurt smiled fondly as he sang the song to himself. He and Blaine had, basically, met to the tune of this song at the club on Valentine's Day, and it was definitely the song he'd fallen in love with Blaine to. When he closed his eyes and remembered that night, he could still feel Blaine's fingers tucked into his belt loops, could still see his narrowed gaze as he beckoned him to the dance floor. The song had been the perfect soundtrack to the magic of that night, and the words were still as true as they'd been on Valentine's Day.
"Tell the world that we finally got it all right
I choose
You
I will become yours and you will become mine
I choose
You
I choose
You, yeah"
Something about his coming evening with Blaine and the song playing in his head felt right, and Kurt couldn't stop singing it through his shower, getting dressed, and styling his hair. He felt the urge to do something a little extra, and he gave in, adding just a little more product and a little more lift to his hair. Maybe it was nothing, but he'd had that feeling before, and then he'd gotten Blaine. Kurt Hummel was no fool. He'd learned long ago to trust that instinct.
"Wha-wha-what is happening?" Blaine shouted as he ran toward the ice skating rink he had just finished talking to the manager of. There had been a mixup on the times he'd wanted it for, and instead of renting it from 7 to 9, he was renting it from 7:30-9:30. It wasn't a big difference, but it was still not what he'd been planning for. Now, it seemed like there was another problem he hadn't accounted for.
"Sir, are you Mr. Blaine Anderson?" a man asked, straightening up from where he'd been fiddling around with a cage.
"I am, and who are you? What's going on? Why are they...everywhere? Why are there so many?" He turned wide eyes to the man, hoping that whatever he was about to say would solve all of his problems.
It didn't.
"Sir, I'm Figgins. I'm delivering the penguins you're borrowing."
"Oookay…" Blaine said slowly. "But why are there so many? And why are they...out?"
Figgins looked down at a sheet on the clipboard next to the broken cage. "80," he said without looking up.
"Excuse me?"
"80," Figgins repeated. "That's how many you ordered."
"No. No, I did not. I ordered eight. Eight."
"Oh…" Figgins squinted at the paper in front of him. "I guess it might say eight…"
Blaine sighed, frustrated. "Can you take some back? And, I dunno, collect the ones running around? They're escaping!" He pointed to a few that were waddling further and further away, almost out of sight.
Figgins looked in the direction Blaine was pointing but made no move to do anything about it. "Cage broke," he said. "Nowhere to keep them."
"Well, what can you do, because-" He checked his watch. It was just a little after 6. Kurt could be there at almost any time. "I have somewhere to be, and you can't put the penguins on the ice until 7:30!"
Figgins shrugged. "Cage broke," he repeated.
"Yeah. I-I got that," Blaine bit out between clenched teeth. All of a sudden, he heard the sounds of The Merry Madrigals beginning to warm up again. He needed to go and run through his song one more time. "You just, just deal with this, okay?" he said, turning away. "I have to go…"
"Got it," Figgins called after him. "Don't worry."
Like hell I won't, Blaine thought as he hurried back toward the stage for the Holiday Lighting. As he went, he sent Kurt a text.
To Kurt, 6:03 pm: Saved us a seat at the front. Look for my blanket.
A minute later, just as he was stepping onto the stage to warm up and Rachel was spreading his blanket on the grass for him, placing his reserved sign, he got a text back.
Reply from Kurt, 6:04 pm: I'm already catching a cab. See you soon.
Shit, Blaine thought. I'd better hurry up.
Blaine had barely enough time to go through the song once before he needed to sit on his blanket and try to act natural until Kurt showed up. Honestly, that was a lot harder than it should have been. That last rehearsal-somehow magically without Rachel-had gone so well, and he was feeling relatively confident. But the runaway penguins and the late rental time on the ice rink kept gnawing at the back of his mind, making the nerves he'd been feeling all day return.
In fact, just as he opened his eyes from taking a few minutes to just breathe and try to calm his mind, he saw one penguin go waddling behind the staging area, the man that had brought them-Figgins?-chasing it a few yards behind.
He glanced at his watch. 6:28. Kurt would be there any minute. Blaine was just about to pick up his phone to call the company he'd rented the penguins from when he heard the musical sounds of Kurt's voice…
"...someone should know."
When Kurt stepped out of the cab at Central Park, he took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nostrils. The air was crisp and cool for the end of November, but there was something else in it, too, a scent that Kurt couldn't quite name. He liked to think it was hope and romance, because he still couldn't shake the idea that tonight was going to be special.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps into the park, however, when he noticed something strange.
Penguins. So many penguins. They were everywhere, waddling to and fro, flocking in groups of two or three. And, there seemed to be one person running around after all of them; he was less than successful, never managing to catch one in the whole time that Kurt watched him.
Kurt walked a bit further into the park and was able to see the stage, already filling in with people, where he'd agreed to meet with Blaine. It wasn't too far off, so as he walked, he pulled out his phone to dial.
"911. What's your emergency?"
Taking a deep breath, Kurt let out a little chuckle, ever closing the gap between himself and the stage. He thought he could see his soulmate sitting on a blanket right in front, and he made his way there, scooting between people. "I don't know that it's an emergency exactly, but there are, like, 800 penguins running around Central Park. Just thought someone should know."
"Really?" the 911 operator asked. "There are that many? Every time someone calls, the number gets bigger and bigger." They sounded exasperated, but still they said, "I'll add your call to the report. Thanks for bringing this to our attention."
"No problem," Kurt replied. "Have a nice night." Then, he hung up the phone just as Blaine rose, wrapping his arms around Kurt and giving him a tight squeeze.
"I'm so happy to see you," Blaine whispered in his ear.
They hugged for a few long moments, happy to finally see one another. Everything felt right in the world now.
When they pulled back, the first thing Blaine did was check his watch. 6:35. He had a few minutes to romance Kurt before it was time for his performance. "Come sit with me," he said, running a hand down Kurt's arm to tug at his hand, guiding him toward the middle of the blanket and onto the grass. "I got here early to save us the best seats," he explained as they got comfortable. "We just signed the opening act, The Merry Madrigals, to our record label, so I had an in with them anyway."
"That's interesting," Kurt agreed, snuggling close to his soulmate to ward off the chill. "Tell me about your day?"
At this, Blaine slightly panicked. What exactly could he tell him without lying or giving away too much about what he'd actually been doing?
When Blaine stiffened at the question, Kurt turned to look at him with a questioning gaze. "Everything okay?" he asked. "Did something bad happen today?"
"Oh, n-n-no! Nothing like that," Blaine stuttered, still not sure what exactly to say. He was about to wing it, and he wasn't always very good at that. "I was just trying to remember what all I did today," he supplied, feeling okay about that answer. "Today was crazy busy."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Um, well, this morning, on my way in, I had to run a few errands, pick up a few things. Then, when I got in, I had to find some coffee which took a while because I kept getting interrupted." This is good, he thought to himself. It's all true without being completely accurate. He went on, feeling more confident in himself. "Then, I had a little time to work before lunch. After that, I had a rehearsal, a few meetings, and another rehearsal before I could leave. Not really anything interesting, just busy. Lots of running around."
"I see," Kurt said with a nod. He couldn't decide if he really believed him, but his story sounded reasonable enough.
"What about you?" Blaine asked, jostling his shoulder a bit. "How was your day?" He leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to Kurt's cheek.
"So. Boring," Kurt told him. "I was working on designs all day, and nothing seemed to be coming out right. Everything I did, I hated; actually, I ended up deleting a lot of it and starting over shortly before you texted me earlier. Honestly, you were the best distraction ever, and I left work a little early because I was so excited to get out of there." He twisted so he could see Blaine just a little bit better to add, "Thank the stars it's Friday."
"Agreed," Blaine whispered, pressing another kiss to the tip of Kurt's quickly pinkening nose.
They made small chat for just a few more minutes until Blaine's phone buzzed in his pocket. When he glanced at it, he realized it was a text from Jesse, letting him know that they were going on five minutes. Kurt was in the middle of saying something, and Blaine waited impatiently for him to finish, not even really listening to a word he said. "Hey, Kurt," he said when his soulmate was finally done, "I need to run to the bathroom for a minute. Save my seat?"
"Um, yeah? I guess?" Kurt agreed, giving him a funny look. "Isn't the show about to start?"
"I'll be quick. Promise," Blaine said, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips before pushing himself up and disappearing into the crowd. He took the long way around, weaving in and out of the crowd for a few moments to be sure Kurt wouldn't be able to follow him with his eyes before heading back to grab the jacket he'd been told he had to wear. As he was pulling it on, Jesse approached him.
"You ready, man?" Jesse asked, clapping him on the shoulder. It's a big night."
Blaine took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nose. "I'm ready," he agreed. "I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm ready."
"Good man," Jesse said, smiling. "I'm rooting for you."
Just then, the mayor took the stage to announce The Merry Madrigals and let the gathering crowd in on the order of events. "Good evening," the mayor said, smiling and waving as the gathered crowd clapped and cheered. "I'm delighted to see that so many of you made it out tonight to see the lighting and hear some of our most talented choirs perform some holiday favorites for you. You're about to hear one of those groups now. Following their performance, we'll be lighting the trees on the water, and we'll follow that up with a poetry reading and some caroling. I hope you all enjoy your evening. Thank you for coming. Now, put your hands together for The Merry Madrigals!"
Blaine took a deep breath, waiting until the other members of the group had taken the stage before he grabbed the mic from one of the waiting stage staff and charged onto the stage as the opening notes of Sara Bareilles' song Love Is Christmas began to play.
Kurt, who'd stood up when the crowd around him began to cheer, gasped, covering his mouth with a gloved hand when he saw his soulmate on stage in a sparkling jacket, a microphone in hand. What is happening? What is happening? Kurt asked himself, taking a few deep breaths.
"I don't care if the house is packed
Or the strings of light are broken
I don't care if the gifts are wrapped
Or there's nothing here to open
Love is not a toy, and no paper will conceal it
Love is simply joy that I'm home"
Blaine sang the first few lines softly, his voice deep and low. He knew it was typically frowned upon to give a performance to only one member of the audience, but he couldn't help it. This was for Kurt, his Kurt, and he would be damned if any other member of the audience thought he was singing to them. So, he found Kurt and kept his eyes trained on him the entire time, watching his reaction. He already felt emotion after the first few lines, and he'd barely begun to sing.
Unable to take his eyes off of his soulmate, Kurt stared, too, watching as Blaine's eyes glimmered and glistened under the glow of a million Christmas lights decorating the area. When the light caught them just right, Kurt was sure he could see tears beginning to form in the corners of Blaine's eyes. But he watched with a hand pressed to his heart, a slightly awed look on his face as Blaine continued.
"I don't care if the carpet's stained; we've got food upon our table.
I don't care if it's gonna rain, our little room is warm and stable.
Love is who we are, and no season can contain it.
Love would never fall for that.
We sing oooooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooooo
Ooooooooooooooooooooooo
Let love lead us, love is Christmas."
As he began the second verse, Blaine, who'd been standing just in front of the rest of the group, swaying side to side with them as they sang the backup vocals for him, took a few steps forward, holding out his hand toward Kurt as he sang the next few lines. The feelings were beginning to be too much for him to contain, and he pressed his hand back to his chest, his head turning a little bit to one side as his eyes closed, his voice began to soar, and the power of the music and the love he was feeling began to course through him like a river.
Kurt couldn't take his eyes off of his soulmate. He was captivating, not only in the way he sang-and damn had Kurt forgotten how utterly breathtaking his voice was-but in the way he moved, in the way he felt each and every note that was coming out of his mouth, reacted to every word. It reminded Kurt of their first night together at the club, how Blaine hadn't been afraid to dance, even when almost every other person had left the dance floor, the way he didn't mind singing out loud in a crowded room where his voice was lost in the mix. This Blaine on the stage in front of Kurt was stirring up feelings in his chest, both those that mirrored that first night and new, more intense feelings that Kurt couldn't quite name.
"Why so scared that you'll mess it up? When perfection keeps you haunted.
All we need is your best my love, that's all anyone ever wanted.
Love is how we do, let no judgment overrule it.
Love I look to you, and I sing.
Oooooooooooooooooo
Oooooooooooo
Ooooooooooooooooooooo
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Ooooooooooooooooo
Let love lead us, love is Christmas.
Let love lead us, love is Christmas."
After he sang the final words, Kurt watched everything as if it was happening in slow motion.
Blaine reached behind him, dropping the mic as he headed off the stage, his gaze never leaving his soulmate's face. As he stepped down the two stairs and out of the spotlight, he reached into his pocket, his fingers grazing over the soft velvet of the box before they wrapped around it. Then, Blaine was falling to one knee in front of a very surprised Kurt. Behind him, The Merry Madrigals were beginning their next number, Rachel Berry leading the way. This was supposed to get the eyes of the crowd off of Blaine and his soulmate and back on the performance, but anyone who was within sight of the two men was definitely staring at them.
"Kurt Hummel, nine months ago on Valentine's Day, our eyes met across the club, I called you to come dance with me, and the rest is history. If you ask anyone who knows me, they'll be the first to tell you that I didn't believe in soulmates until you came into my life; now, I can't remember what my life without mine was like. Since that night, we've gone on countless coffee dates, we've laughed and cried together, and you've made me the happiest man on the face of the earth. I can't imagine anyone better for me than you. I think my soul, for all my life, has known something I couldn't know, that I was meant to find you, to hold you, to dance with you, fearlessly and forever. Each time we talk, I feel as though I'm remembering you from some other meeting long ago, as if I've fallen in love with you and will keep falling in love with you for all eternity. I'm already the luckiest man in the world, but I want to ask you to make me even luckier…" He opened the box, showing Kurt the ring tucked inside. "Kurt Hummel, my amazing soulmate, my one true love, will you marry me?"
There was no hesitation, just a look of surprise and adoration in Kurt's eyes as he nodded his head quickly, breathing out, "Yes. Yeah."
From all around them, there was applause, people hooting and shouting, "Congratulations!" Blaine had been so focused on his speech and slipping the ring onto his fiancé's finger that, at first, he thought the crowd was cheering for The Merry Madrigals. He quickly realized, however, that they were cheering for the two of them. Slowly, he cast a glance at the stage where the group had stopped performing to applaud for them, too. There was a smile on every face. Well, nearly every face. There was one sporting the biggest pout Blaine thought he had ever seen: one Miss Rachel Berry.
Quickly rising to his feet, Blaine leaned in to whisper, "Come on. Let's go somewhere quieter." Kurt nodded, and Blaine waited until he'd stepped off of the blanket to scoop it up, grab his soulmate's hand, and escort both of them out of the huge crowd and further into Central Park, away from the singing and the noise. When they were finally out of earshot, they found a bench and sat down side by side.
Kurt began to admire his ring, holding it up toward the light from one of the lamps illuminating the sidewalk around them. It was beautiful, a gold band engraved with their initials, K+B, and the day they'd met, 02-14-20. "Blaine, it's beautiful," Kurt breathed, leaning over to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "I love it so much."
"I'm glad you like it," Blaine admitted. "I wanted something simple that didn't make too much of a statement. I didn't want to take away from our soulbands."
"It's perfect."
"Were you surprised?" Blaine asked, already knowing the answer. "You didn't suspect it, did you?"
Kurt shook his head. "No. I didn't. You took me completely off guard. Ever since your text, I'd had this feeling in my chest that you were going to do something special, but I thought you might just ask me to move in with you or something. I had no idea you would propose."
Blaine twisted his body toward Kurt, his eyes wide. "I-is that something you want to do, move in I mean? Because we totally can. We can move in together; I'd love to have you in my apartment."
Just as Kurt opened his mouth to answer, a penguin waddled up to them, rubbing his head softly against Kurt's knee. He chuckled, "Well, hi, little guy? Where do you belong, because I don't think it's out, wandering Central Park." When he turned to ask Blaine what he thought they should do with the penguin, he caught sight of the pained expression on his fiancé's face. "What's the matter?" he asked, instantly concerned.
"I wonder where the penguin guy is," Blaine mumbled. "He promised to catch them all."
At that, Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Penguin guy? Were you involved with this somehow?"
Blaine nodded. "I, um, I rented them, but it didn't go according to plan. Actually…" he groaned, checking his watch. "Nothing that I wanted to do today really went according to plan."
Kurt's eyes grew wide. "There's more?"
"Well, yeah. Just a few things that I thought would be nice. I rented one of the ice skating rinks here in the park for us so we could have some time on the ice together, just the two of us. And, I rented some penguins to waddle around on the ice with us. I thought you'd think it was cute. But…"
"But?"
"But I wanted to rent the rink from 7 to 9, and we're not getting it until 7:30. And, I rented eight penguins, but the penguin guy brought eighty. When I went to talk to him, one of the cages had broken, and there were so many penguins out."
Kurt laughed out loud, leaning in to capture his soulmate's pouty lips in a kiss. "Something like that could only happen to you, my darling," Kurt whispered, "and I think it's adorable."
"It's not," Blaine pouted. "It's not adorable. It's horrifying."
"I think it's cute," Kurt replied. "Now, what time is it?"
Once again, Blaine glanced at his watch. "7:12," he announced.
"I say, let's get ready to ice skate," Kurt told him, rising and offering a hand to help his fiancé up. Then, hand in hand, they headed down the sidewalk toward the rink. After a moment or two, a penguin, the one who'd just been loving on Kurt a few minutes before, came into view. He waddled along happily beside them, content to go with them wherever they were going. Kurt smiled, stooping to brush his hand along the penguin's head and back for a moment. "He's so cute," he commented, smiling at Blaine.
"He is," Blaine agreed. He watched it walk along with them, taking tiny, quick strides to keep up, glancing over at them every so often to see if they were still there. "Look at him," Blaine cooed, feeling his heart melt. "Maybe we could… Can we keep him?"
"Absolutely not. Imagine how unhappy he'd be in a tiny New York apartment."
"You're right," Blaine agreed, pouting. Kurt was right, but he didn't have to like it.
Before long, they reached the rink and retrieved the skates Blaine had requested for them. Despite it being a few minutes before 7:30, the ice was already clear save for their penguin friend whom they'd let onto the ice as soon as they arrived. He was already sliding across the rink on his belly, having a grand time. Kurt had decided to call him Skimmer on their way over, and the name seemed to fit him well.
"You know," Kurt said as they were strapping on their skates, "I've never been ice skating before."
"You haven't?" Blaine asked with wide eyes. "I'm surprised at you! I thought that was one of the first things everyone did when exploring a New York winter."
Kurt shook his head. "I was too busy learning how to survive a New York winter to have time for skating." He smiled, reaching over to squeeze at Blaine's hand. "I'm glad my first time is going to be with you."
"Me, too," Blaine confirmed. When they were both ready, Blaine held Kurt's hand as they made their way to the ice, Kurt very unsteady on his feet. He held on tightly to the wall on the outer edge of the rink for their first few laps around the rink. Then, very carefully, he let go, making his way on wobbly feet only holding on to Blaine's hand. "You're a natural!" Blaine said, watching him carefully and doing his best to keep him from falling. "A little more practice, and you'll be skating like a pro!"
"I doubt that very much," Kurt replied, "but thank you." They did a few more laps before he said, "Well, I guess we have lots to do now."
"What do you mean?"
"Wedding plans. We have to find a date, pick a venue, hire a caterer, find someone to make a cake, plan decorations, buy rings, find an officiant, rent-"
Blaine cut him off with a deep kiss, pulling them to a stop at the center of the rink. When he finally pulled back, he said, "I'm hoping this isn't too forward, but I've already taken care of a few of those things."
"You have?" Kurt asked, leaning back a little. There was surprise on his features and a hint of unease in his eyes.
"Just a few," Blaine answered, wrapping his arms tightly around his fiancé's waist so he couldn't get away. "I was planning to tell you tomorrow, but I reserved Conservatory Garden for us on February 14th."
"Valentine's Day? Isn't that-" Kurt stopped, doing some mental math. "Isn't that a Sunday?"
"It is," Blaine confirmed, "and if I know us, we're anything but traditional."
"I love you so much," Kurt breathed, pulling Blaine in for another kiss.
This time, when they pulled apart, there was cheering. Glancing over to the far side of the rink, Blaine spotted the penguin keeper, Figgins, standing beside the rink.
"That was wonderful," Figgins called. "I love to see love."
"Thanks," Blaine called back, feeling a bit funny about the man watching them. "Is there something you need?"
Figgins pointed to the penguin on the ice. "Came for him," he replied. "Last one."
"Great!" Blaine called back, watching as the little penguin waddled over to Figgins when he held out a treat. The man scooped him, turning to wave at Blaine before walking off. Blaine watched him go, glad that that part of this day was finally over. The last thing he needed was to be worrying about 80 possibly-missing penguins when he and Kurt had so many things to discuss.
"Hey," Kurt said, drawing his attention back to him. "I know you paid for us to have the rink for two hours, but… Do you want to go get some coffee?" A sly smile came over his face as he added, "I think I want to get to know you better."
Blaine smiled, taking his hand and guiding him over to the edge of the ice. "I think I'd like to get to know you better, too."