The summer after they graduated from high school, Kurt and Blaine spent time with their friends. They were all scattering to various places all over the country, and they knew that as good as their intentions were to stay in touch, they'd drift apart. The boys were glad that their two best gals were going to be moving to Boston with them.

Kurt got his acceptance letter to Brandeis University right around spring break. He had applied early and knew that it was one of the best colleges in Boston for creative writing. Since he was a child, he'd loved to make stories up, and this would be a way for him to hone his skills and hopefully make a career out of writing. After deciding on Boston, Blaine had applied to Boston University and was accepted into their social work program. He knew that with this degree, he could provide therapy, but also, if he ever decided to take a break from it, he could do other things and not have to go back to school. This degree would be able to serve many needs should he choose to change careers at some point.

Brittany had gotten into Boston University and wanted to study to be an early childhood educator. She had always loved kids and had told Kurt on several occasions how much Mrs. Jones had impacted her younger years.

Santana surprised them all with her career path. Though, when Kurt thought about it, it shouldn't have been too surprising. She got into Harvard Law. Kurt had been her inspiration. Things went in his favor when Karofsky attacked him. She knew, however, that other kids aren't as lucky and didn't have people like Carter Anderson on their side. She wanted to help people who found themselves in shitty situations to not get lost in the system.

Since they were all going to be living together, their parents talked and agreed that if the kids wanted, they would rent them a house. Of course, all four of the kids were ecstatic. They loved each other and were glad they'd get to stay together a little longer. After their parents had given them a budget, the kids found a house that backed up to a golf course. It would be quiet so they could all concentrate on their studies, and it was big enough that they could have a guest room for when one of their families came to stay with them. The house had a total of three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. The kitchen had been recently updated with white cabinets and black countertops, complete with stainless steel appliances. One of the things they liked best was that it had a washer and dryer that came with it.

The girls had agreed to let Kurt and Blaine have the master suite as long as every once in a while, they could utilize the jacuzzi tub. Both boys agreed to this, and they spent what time they weren't hanging out with friends packing and trying to figure out what to take to Boston with them.

All four had done phone interviews for employment as well. None of them wanted their parents paying for everything, and they were adamant about helping out financially. Their parents would pay rent and utilities, and the kids would have to pay for everything else.

Santana found a job in the county court system. She was only getting coffee and running errands, but it would give her a chance to see how things worked. Blaine got a job as an attendant care worker with the community mental health center. Basically, he would be helping kids stay on task while in school and just hanging out with them over their breaks, making sure they didn't get into trouble and were making positive choices. He figured he'd need some sort of experience, and this might be a good place to start. Brittany got a job at a preschool as an aide. She would be helping the teachers out with their day-to-day lessons, and she couldn't be more excited. Kurt found a job with a tailor in town. Had he not gotten into school for writing, he would have gone into fashion. Doing this type of work let him exercise his creative muscles, and it gave him the opportunity to plot out stories in his spare time.

Two weeks before school started, it was time to finally move to Boston. They decided to take Kurt's Navigator and Brittany's 4-Runner. Both vehicles were packed tightly, as was the rental truck they had gotten to transport all of their larger belongings. Brittany and Santana's families couldn't go with them for the move due to obligations at home. Their goodbye was tearful, and they had all promised to see each other at Thanksgiving at the latest. Burt and Carter said they would drive the rental truck, and Claire and Elizabeth rode with the boys half of the way there and the girls the other half. They had all woken up early so that they could make the 12-plus hour drive with as much daylight as possible.

After as few stops as possible, they finally pulled into the rental property at 7:00 pm, the trip taking just over 14 hours after stops. During the drive, they had discussed moving as much as they could that night into the house and setting up the air mattresses instead of trying to get the bedrooms set up. With the eight of them, they were able to get everything moved in, though nothing was really where it was supposed to go. That would be the following day's task. The parents were staying for two full days before flying back to Ohio. Blaine, Santana, Elizabeth, and Carter all went to the supermarket to get food and anything else they would need while Kurt, Brittany, Burt, and Claire unpacked and began getting the house functional.

By the time it was time for the Hummel and Anderson parents to go home, everyone was tired and sore. They had gotten everything put away and had made more trips to the store than they could count. Brittany and Santana hugged the adults goodbye before Kurt and Blaine drove them to the airport. The girls decided to test out the jacuzzi tub, you know, to make sure it worked properly, not at all upset to hang back and let the boys have a private goodbye with their parents.

The goodbye at the airport was a tearful one for all six of them. Both sets of parents were saying goodbye to their baby boys, and both boys were unsure how they would live without their parents' constant presence in their lives.

"Promise me you'll call if you need anything," Carter said to his son. "I don't care if you want to complain about a teacher and everyone else is in class. If you need to talk to someone, call, okay?"

"I promise, Dad," Blaine said and hugged his dad tightly. Their relationship had never been stronger than it was right now, and Blaine was so thankful that his parents supported him.

"I love you, Kurt," Elizabeth said as she kissed her son on his cheek. "Please don't forget to call every once in a while."

"I won't, Mom," Kurt whispered, fearing if he spoke any louder he'd burst into sobs.

"Remember that we're only a flight away," Burt said to both boys. "If any of you, the girls included, need anything, call."

Kurt and Blaine nodded their heads, indicating that they would. Just then, the flight was called overhead, and their parents needed to leave.

"Let us know when you guys land," Blaine said, clutching Kurt's hand like he needed something to keep him there.

"Love you both," Claire said, and the other parents all echoed her sentiment.

"We love you all, too," the boys said at the same time.

Kurt and Blaine stood there until they couldn't see their parents anymore then walked back to the Navigator. Neither one spoke until they were sitting in the vehicle. "Well, that sucked," Blaine said, hoping to lighten the mood some. It worked, and Kurt let out a small, breathy laugh before he broke down crying.

"I'm so-so glad I h-have you," Kurt brokenly said.

"I've got you, baby," Blaine said, kissing Kurt's temple. "Just breathe." Blaine encouraged Kurt to match his breathing, just like he had done every time Kurt had gotten this worked up. It didn't happen often, but around the anniversary of the attack, he became jumpier and was much more susceptible to breaking down. They both knew it could have been so much worse had Kurt not gotten the help from Jill that he did when he got it. Trauma like that wasn't something that you ever completely healed from, but Kurt was doing amazingly. "When we get home, would you like to take a bath?"

"Please," Kurt replied.

"Okay, baby," Blaine said, placing another kiss on Kurt's temple. "Let me text the girls and let them know we're on our way home. I don't need to be walking in on them just yet. We might need to set up some ground rules at some point."

"Good call," Kurt replied, no longer sobbing. "Can you drive, please?"

"Of course," Blaine answered, and they switched places.

The boys went home and had that bath. They had a house rules meeting later that night over pizza and also set up a chore rotation so that one person wasn't always doing all of the housework.

Their school schedules were pretty compatible, which worked out well for commuting purposes with only two vehicles. Kurt would be driving himself, since his school wasn't near the other two, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He didn't have classes on Tuesday and Thursday and would be working those two days along with every other Saturday for four hours at the tailor shop.

Blaine, Santana and Brittany would all ride together in Brittany's vehicle on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to their campuses. Santana would drop the other two off at BU and then drive a little bit further to Harvard. The three of them also worked at their respective jobs on Tuesday and Thursdays and did the majority of the housework on Saturdays when Kurt was at his job. Since Kurt was the best cook, that was his main responsibility for the collective. None of the others complained about seemingly doing a little extra if he continued to fix them amazing meals every evening.

The next four years flew by way faster than any of them thought it would. They went home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the long Easter weekend each year to visit their families and any friends that were back. During their annual Easter visit their senior year, Blaine asked Burt if they could talk while Kurt and Elizabeth were out getting last-minute groceries for their meal the following day.

Burt had been expecting this talk much sooner if he was guessing right at what Blaine wanted to talk to him about. He knew it would be coming, and he almost wanted to make it easy on his soon-to-be son-in-law. Almost.

"Burt," Blaine confidently said. The man didn't intimidate him like he once had. He was like a second father to him now, and he knew that Burt would say yes to what he was going to ask him. Kurt, and Burt for that matter, deserved this, though. They deserved the respect of asking. "I love your son more than I ever thought possible. Ever since that first day of daycare, it's felt like he's been a part of me. I guess that has something to do with the whole soulmate bond; we were made for each other, like two pieces of the same puzzle that complete a whole picture. If you say yes and give your blessing, I'd like to ask Kurt to marry me after we graduate."

"Yes," Burt said, smiling so wide it was hurting his cheeks. "I've always known that it was you, ever since you two were three-years-old. You don't need my permission, though I thank you for asking. Have you got it planned out yet?"

"First, thank you," Blaine said. "I honestly wasn't worried you'd say no. I did want to ask out of respect for you and Elizabeth, though. Second, I've been toying with some ideas, though nothing is set in stone just yet."

"Well, let me know if you need us to do anything since we'll be there that weekend. It's sort of amazing that all of you are graduating the same weekend and not at the same times. Fate must really be on our side."

"I will...let you know, that is," Blaine replied. "I thought the same thing about the graduations. Kurt's already got that deal lined out for a series he's been planning out, and the rest of us are off to grad school… Actually, come to think about it, I just had an idea." Burt was all too happy to help Blaine with what he needed.

The morning of Brittany and Blaine's graduation, the house was in chaos. They were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and Kurt knew one sure way to settle them all down.

"I don't have time for dancin'
That's just gonna have to wait a while
Ain't got time for messin' around
And it's not my style

This whole town can slow you down
People takin' the easy way
But I know exactly where I am going
Gettin closer 'n closer every day"

By the time Kurt got to the chorus, the whole house had slowed down, and they sang together at the top of their lungs.

"And I am almost there
I'm almost there
People down here think I'm crazy
But I don't care

Trials and tribulations
I've had my share
There ain't nothin' gonna stop me now
'Cause I'ma almost there"

They finished singing the song together and managed to get ready in a calmer manner. When they were ready, they all piled into Kurt's vehicle and drove to BU's campus. They were meeting the parents and siblings there, and they were all going out to La Famiglia Giorgio's Ristorante to celebrate. Blaine had taken care of the reservations and let the manager in on his other plan.

The commencement ceremony was long. It was hot, and by the end, everyone was sweating. They were more than ready to get to the restaurant and into the air conditioning. Blaine was a nervous wreck, and if anyone noticed, they played it off as an adrenaline high from the graduation ceremony. Earlier in the week, he had dropped off the special item he knew he'd need in order to pull off his plan.

Once they were all seated and had put in their drink orders, Blaine clinked his water glass to get everyone's attention. They were seated in one of the private party rooms which was what Blaine had wanted. He wanted this to be a special occasion for their family, not everyone else.

"Thank you all for coming to Boston this weekend to support all of us during this momentous event in our lives," Blaine started. "I can't think of a single person alive who has a better family than we do. I consider us all family, not four separate ones. Before we all eat, I'd like to give Kurt an early graduation gift." He nodded to the server, who brought the package Blaine had left earlier in the week to him.

Blaine handed it to Kurt, who looked completely confused. They had agreed not to get each other gifts so that they could afford to go on a trip to Disney for a week as a reward to themselves for their stellar grades and four hard years of dedication to their studies. Blaine nodded to Kurt to open it, which he did. Inside, he found the storybook his mother had read to him as a child. Kurt gave Blaine another confused look.

"May I?" Blaine asked. Kurt handed him the book. Blaine opened it and began to read.

"Once upon a time, there were two people who liked each other very much, and they held hands. When they let go of each other, they saw a letter on their hand, right where the other touched them. The letter was called a mark, and that mark was the first letter of the other person's name, written in their own, unique handwriting. The two people didn't understand at the time, but later, they would find out that they were part of the chosen ones. When they got older, another letter appeared and that was the first letter of their chosen's last name. The chosen ones were people that found the one special person they were meant to spend the rest of their lives with. They were two parts of the same whole and were called soulmates. After that, people all over the world started having similar marks show up on their bodies from being touched by their soulmates. It was said that those lucky individuals would experience a love so deep and meaningful that others would be jealous of them until they met their soulmates. The marks are sacred and special."

Blaine closed the book and got down on one knee beside his soulmate. "We met when we were three-years-old. You walked into the daycare center, and I remember feeling something, a fluttering in my chest that I didn't have the words or knowledge to explain. I wanted, so badly, to take your hand and never let go of it. But, like this story, I knew that touching someone was sacred, and I'm not sure that my soul could have handled you not bearing my mark if we did touch and nothing appeared," Blaine said, steadying his breath and wiping the tears that escaped from Kurt's eyes away.

"That same day, on the playground before we went home, I think that our souls knew something that our bodies and minds didn't know yet. It knew that our hands were meant to hold each other, fearlessly and forever. It knew that we were meant to be together always. And, it knew that it was meant to happen then so that when the trials of our lives were to come, we'd have an anchor to help hold us together." Blaine took another steadying breath. He was determined to get through his planned speech before losing it.

"Fate knew what it was doing when it put us together, which is why it's never really felt like I've been getting to know you. Every step of the way, it's always felt like I was remembering you from something. As if, in every lifetime you and I have ever lived, we've chosen to come back and find each other and fall in love all over again, over and over for all eternity. And, I just feel so lucky that I found you so soon in this lifetime, because all I want to do, all I've ever wanted to do, is spend my life loving you." By this time in his speech, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Blaine and Kurt both had tears streaming down their faces.

"So, Kurt Hummel, my amazing friend, my one true love, will you marry me?" Blaine popped the box he was holding open, and inside lay a beautiful, white gold, infinity ring with two diamonds inlaid in it.

Kurt was nodding and finally was able to breathlessly answer, "Yeah. Yes."

Blaine slid the ring on Kurt's finger and then surged up to kiss him.

"I love you so fucking much," Kurt said after their kiss ended. Their family was cheering around them then coming to congratulate both boys with hugs.

The rest of the evening and weekend went smoothly. They enjoyed Kurt and Santana's graduations the following day and spent so much time celebrating that night that they all had hangovers the following day. It was perfect!

A/N: The song used is "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog.