Woah, this is the second to last chapter! I can't believe it! :) I hope this chapter stops anyone hating me after the last one! :D
Also, I really hope you all aren't getting bored of this story! I love you all! :)
Chapter thirteen
3rd July 2023
He missed Kurt. He missed him so much he couldn't breathe.
Everything was suffocating. He was on a walk but even the fresh air was choking him. Walking wasn't the same without Kurt there to hold his hand.
He missed Kurt more than he could ever say.
Good thing he was coming home from London Fashion Week within the hour. Blaine smiled. The past year had been difficult. The accident had thrown him so much. He'd been stupid enough to think that everything was perfect and that they were untouchable. He'd been naïve. There was still so much bad in the world.
Almost losing Kurt had thrown everything into a new sort of clarity. It had only made Blaine more positive that he couldn't live without Kurt and that he never, ever wanted to try. He told Kurt that every night now; he could never bear to let Kurt forget it.
Kurt always replied the same way, but it still brought Blaine immense comfort. "I'll never leave you."
Blaine believed him.
It had taken Kurt a long time to wake up after the accident. He'd slipped into a coma for three days. Everyone who knew Kurt had come to see him, even though he was unconscious. Fans of his gathered outside the hospital, waiting for news. The media reported on his condition daily. Everyone cared, but none more than Blaine.
He refused to leave Kurt's side. He didn't eat, drink, sleep or speak to anyone other than Kurt's body for three days, very nearly putting him into a hospital bed beside Kurt. By the third day, he was forced by the hospital to eat and drink something, though he could do it by Kurt's bed. It had been lunchtime when Kurt woke up. Blaine had just finished his mandatory meal and downed a bottle of water. Everyone else was in the cafeteria, having lunch.
Blaine was sitting by Kurt's bedside, resting his head on his husband's chest and listening to the comforting sound of his breathing; the only sign that he was still alive. It had quickly become Blaine's favourite sound in the world. He'd made sure Kurt look pristine, washing him every day and combing his hair. He had wanted Kurt to look as much like himself as possible.
He spoke in a hushed tone to Kurt. It wasn't the first time Blaine had begged Kurt to wake up and he had a feeling it wouldn't be the last but he tried anyway.
"This has been such a steep learning curve – in the worst way possible. It's only made me more certain that there's no way I could ever be without you, Kurt. You're my life. You're what keeps me going. You've saved me so many times and I feel so useless knowing that I can't save you. You need to save yourself, Kurt. You're so strong. You can do this. I believe in you. I've always believed in you. I love you so much, Kurt. I just can't bear to lose you like this, not when I've only had a few years with you. It'll never be enough. I want to stay with you until the day I die, Kurt and when you go, I go. But this is too soon. Please, Kurt. Just stay with me." He dissolved into tears, so many that he almost missed the sharp intake of breath that came from above him.
Blaine raised his head and for the first time in days, he was met with startlingly blue pupils. "Oh, Kurt," he cried, throwing his arms around his husband's neck and hugging him gently, "oh my God, you're awake, you're okay, I can't even –"
"Blaine," Kurt croaked out, voice hoarse, "I'll always stay with you. I'm so sorry, I –"
"Hey, hey," Blaine soothed, tears spilling from his eyes, "it's okay. You're here with me now and that's all that matters. It's okay, baby."
"I love you," Kurt replied, reaching out a shaking hand to cup Blaine's cheek. Their lips met in a soft kiss.
"I love you too," Blaine breathed against Kurt's lips, "I'm so glad you're safe."
"Me too," Kurt said, voice soft, "I missed you."
"I missed you so much, Kurt," Blaine replied, "don't ever do that to me again."
"I promise," Kurt told him, laughing slightly at his choice of words. Blaine just listened to his laugh, drinking in the sound. Despite his initial hope, there'd been a part of him that was so sure he'd never hear it again…
The door slammed shut and Blaine leapt off the sofa and took a running dive into Kurt's arms. Thankfully, he'd dropped his bags in time to catch Blaine, holding him close.
Blaine nuzzled into his husband's neck, smiling. "I missed you," he breathed, arms tightening around the younger man. He very deliberately kissed the scar on the side of Kurt's neck, a sure sign of the accident a year ago.
"I missed you too," Kurt replied, "so much."
"Please tell me that's the last trip for a long time," Blaine asked, pulling out of Kurt's arm long enough to kiss him deeply.
Kurt resurfaced, smiling. "Baby, I'm only going out for the major fashion weeks. And that's only a few times a year. Apart from that, I'm all yours."
Blaine scooped his husband back up into his arms, lifting him into the air and spinning him in a circle.
Kurt shrieked, clamouring to be put down. When he was placed back on the floor, he pulled Blaine's face towards him, kissing him.
"I love you," Kurt whispered, ghosting kisses down Blaine's neck as they hugged again.
"I love you too," Blaine replied, smiling.
"But I may reconsider my love for you if you're telling me that you're really gunna wear that to the interview," Kurt chided, reaching for his bags to take through to the bedroom. Blaine beat him to it, sticking his tongue out playfully as he carried the bags down the hallway.
Processing what Kurt had just said, Blaine paused before he reached the bedroom. "Wait…interview?" He asked, dropping the bags into the room before turning to face Kurt again.
Kurt popped a hip and raised an eyebrow at Blaine. "Please tell me you didn't forget."
Blaine tried to recall anything that was said about an interview. Suddenly, it all clicked. "No," he replied, lightly, forcing a smile, "of course not, darling."
Kurt's jaw dropped. "This is worse than I thought if you're calling me darling. It's okay if you forgot, Blaine!"
Blaine's smile faded. "Okay, I might have forgotten a little bit," he admitted, looking sheepish, "but only because I was so focussed on you coming home and how much I missed you that I couldn't think about anything else!" He defended, truthfully.
Kurt smiled, flitting past Blaine and into the bedroom. "Okay, but for this I get to dress you!"
Blaine groaned. Well, he supposed he deserved that.
It wasn't the first time Kurt Hummel-Anderson had done a TV interview and he was fairly sure it wouldn't be the last. But it was his first one since the accident. He knew a year was a ridiculously long time to leave it but it was a sensitive topic.
He knew it was harder for Blaine to talk about than him, which is why he'd been in two minds about bringing his husband to the interview. But Blaine was as much in public demand as Kurt these days. They were a highly regarded couple in the tabloids and very much in the public eye. They had fan clubs everywhere – everyone thought they were oblivious to Tumblr, but they'd managed to find it one day and were shocked by the amount they saw themselves on there – which was a far cry from the initial homophobia they'd received as children. Though it had taken some getting used to, it was highly flattering.
They settled in their seats in the TV studio, the interviewer smiling at them over the desk partition. The audience was assembled and soon came the countdown to when the filming would begin. 3, 2, 1…
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the prestigious Kurt and Blaine Hummel-Anderson!" The interviewer – Nancy someone, who was apparently highly regarded in the industry, though neither Kurt nor Blaine had ever heard of her – introduced them.
They both raised an arm in greeting to the audience, who had burst into applause. Kurt was amused to even see there was a sign being held aloft by one member of the audience reading KURT+BLAINE=FOREVER. He nudged Blaine to get his attention and pointed to the sign. Blaine smiled and replied, "I'm gunna need to get one of those."
"Now, we're honoured to have you two here with us today. Kurt, it's your first television appearance since your much-talked-about car accident." Kurt nodded, clutching Blaine's hand a little tighter in his own. "Now, there have been plenty of speculations about what happened, but due to the lack of information that has been given out, there have been some wild accusations. Is it true that a crazed fan tried to climb into your car?"
Kurt snorted with laughter. "No, of course that's not true! I was just over tired. I mean, every person here who's employed knows how work gets on top of you and it was just a severe case of that. I shouldn't have been driving, it was irresponsible –"
"No," Blaine cut him off, "I should have noticed and made sure you weren't driving."
Kurt fixed him with a look. "No, Blaine. I was irresponsible. End of."
Blaine snorted but gave Kurt a wink to show that he was joking. "Whatever you say, hun,"
The interviewer smiled brightly. "Now that is just too cute," she commented, before turning serious again, "and there are rumours that you slipped into a coma, Kurt. Blaine, how did you deal with something of this severity?"
Blaine shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the subject of the conversation. Kurt picked up on this immediately. "I don't think he –" he started, but was cut off by Blaine.
"No, Kurt, I – it's fine. Just a little sensitive I guess. But words can't describe what I was feeling. If anyone here, or watching, has ever been in a similar position to the one I was in, then you'll know. It's like your world has ended," Blaine met Kurt's eyes as he said this, "and nothing's right. You just feel so useless because there's nothing you can do. You just have to watch as the most important thing in your life is suffering and I can genuinely say there is nothing in the world that's worse than that. But in some ways, it taught me a lot."
"Like what?" The interviewer pressed.
"That my life and happiness is 100% dependent on this man here next to me," Blaine told her, simply. He smiled at Kurt, noticing that his husband's eyes were brimming with tears.
"Man, that'd be one hell of a break up," the interviewer laughed, receiving loud boos from the audience.
"That won't be a problem," Kurt replied, sharply.
Nancy backtracked quickly, sensing Kurt's bitch-please attitude. "So, Kurt, how do you juggle home and work life?"
"Well, of course it gets difficult. But Blaine understands. I mean, I just leave him the menus of every take out in the state and he's still alive when I get home." Laughter broke out and Blaine elbowed his husband playfully.
"Does your fame impact your relationship as a whole?" The interviewer asked, leaning over the desk with a carefully practised interest.
Kurt and Blaine exchanged a glance, considering this question. Kurt indicated that Blaine could answer, and the older man did so. "We're perfectly happy. When you've got the person you've been looking for forever in your life, stuff like that doesn't matter. I mean, when I'm with Kurt I forget we're famous because it doesn't matter. To be honest, we're both doing what we love. The fact that other people love it enough to promote us to fame is just a bonus." Blaine paused. "But frankly, I wouldn't care if Kurt was a beggar on the streets."
"I would!" Kurt replied, indignantly, though his voice had a joking undertone. "I just couldn't rock that look."
Blaine laughed along with the studio audience at that one.
"So, Kurt and Blaine, there are probably a lot of people out there right now who are struggling with their sexuality. Seeing you two as successful, professional people who happen to be in love and are respected by the world must create such a great role model to them. What advice would you give someone who's struggling?" Nancy asked.
"Well," Kurt started, "twelve or so years ago, that was me. High school was hard for both of us. We both had tormenters and frankly, it was difficult to get by. But right now – and I can't speak for Blaine here, so this is just my opinion – I'd say that all the trouble we got from bullies was worth it to be here, to be where we are now. Luckily, I had an amazingly supportive family but I know that many –" he shot a look at Blaine as he said this, "- aren't that lucky. I would encourage anyone who's struggling to speak out. And don't let the bullies get the better of you. Love is love. No one has a right to define it to gender."
Everyone, including Blaine and the interviewer and the studio audience, broke into applause at this. Kurt blushed profusely, ducking his head slightly. It might have been his stint in the Warblers, but Kurt had found himself hating attention since he'd left McKinley as a teenager. Mainly because all of the attention he received before that was bad attention. He was no way near used to getting good attention. Except from Blaine, but the wedding band around his finger kind of made it his job to do that.
"Back to your love life quickly," Nancy said, smiling once the applause had settled down, "there have been lots of different stories, and so tell it to us straight. How did the two of you get together?"
Kurt laughed at this, throwing his head back and declaring that the floor was officially Blaine's on this subject.
Blaine blushed slightly before starting. "Okay, I kind of hate myself for how I handled the whole situation, so please don't judge me. Actually, feel free, I kind of deserve it. But, we've been friends for years. Over a decade. We met at Dalton Academy High School in our last year and well…we hit it off." Blaine supplied, grinning at the memory and watching Kurt blush. "But instead of going down that route, we decided to be friends."
"Despite the fact that I'd been in love with you for about a year," Kurt filled in, laughing.
"And then…yeah, I got in some trouble. I wasn't a very nice person for a long time and treated Kurt horribly. I mean, we'd decided long ago that we weren't together but we kept blurring the lines. We dabbled in being more than friends for a long time, but it never seemed to go anywhere. But there was always something pulling us together. I loved Kurt, I knew I did. But I just didn't know what to do about it. Stupidly, we decided to see other people and that…well, that didn't work. Even when we were both single and in love with each other, it took us a long time to get together because work kept getting in the way and…well, it took me a while to realise that the perfect time wasn't going to just come, I had to make it happened. So I ambushed Kurt at a fashion show and demanded that we finally committed to each other. Permanently." Blaine said, smiling. "And then after a year, I knew I never wanted it to end. So I proposed and thank God, he said yes."
"Of course I did!" Kurt cut in, laughing. "I'd waited over a decade for that!" He paused. "But it was so worth it."
TBC…:)