Author's Note: This is it!

This chapter takes place after chapter 10. It is meant to be an alternate ending and can be swapped for chapter 11.

Let me know which one you like best. :)

Thank you all!

Another Life

Chapter 12

AU Kurt & Blaine

Sunlight streaming through the slats in the blinds woke Kurt up. He yawned and stretched, and his arm hit something warm and soft.

"Ah!" He yelped, scrambling to pull himself off the bed.

Where was he? And who was he in bed with? What had he done? He had the unsettling sense that something serious had happened without his knowledge.

How had he ended up in a stranger's bed? Was he date raped?

Calm down, he tried to tell himself. There wasn't any proof that he had even had sex. He glanced down at his unclothed body. Hmm.

He had to get out. Now. Kurt dashed around the room, picking up his clothes and throwing them on. He was trying to be quiet, but his nerves were causing him to trip and knock things over.

The man in the bed stirred.

"Kurt? What are you doing?" He grumbled groggily.

Kurt froze, stunned. The man lying before him was absolutely extraordinary. And so, so familiar. It took him a moment before he could speak, and even then it was tentative and choppy.

"Who-what-how did I get here? How-Who are you?"

Blaine felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Kurt, the person he had bared his soul to, whom he had let in unlike anyone else, didn't seem to know who he was. He struggled to get upright, but was twisted in the sheets, so he settled for leaning up on his elbow to take in the scene. Kurt was half-clothed, holding his shirt and socks in his hands, and was reaching toward the door. He looked like Blaine felt. He looked nauseous. He looked afraid. Could this be what Kurt had been talking about? He had said he might not be himself...but he didn't seem to remember anything about Blaine. He remembered what Kurt said. Fight for us. Please don't let me forget.

"It's me, Blaine. We had a fight but then we made up and you stayed the night last night. Remember?" Blaine asked desperately.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't…" Kurt turned to leave.

"Wait! Please. Stay."

But Kurt was already gone.

Blaine stared at the spot Kurt where had been standing. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around what had happened. Kurt had warned him that something might happen, but this was too much. He wanted to go back to yesterday afternoon when they had made up, kissed, napped together, and kissed some more. When Kurt had given him the letter.

The letter! Blaine launched across the room to his desk where he thought he remembered stashing it.

Hold onto his until you need it, Kurt had said. Blaine didn't realize that moment would come so soon. When you need to connect to me, it'll be here.

Oh, how he needed it. He needed it to keep himself together, to convince himself that he wasn't losing it. He needed it to feel the comforting presence that was Kurt. Blaine dug through the piles of papers on his desk, but couldn't find it anywhere. He dashed out to the kitchen to look there.

Sebastian was sitting at their dining table, leaning back in his chair, looking at something in his hands.

"Morning sunshine. Looking for this?" He held up the handwritten letter he had been reading and waved it around. "Holy hell, Blaine. Put some fucking pants on. A man should be able to live in his own apartment without being subjected to seeing his roommate's dick!"

Blaine rolled his eyes, way beyond caring.

"Sebastian! That letter is personal! You can't read it! Give it to me or I'll...I'll walk around here naked all the time!" Blaine swiped for the letter and Sebastian jerked out of the way.

"Oh god, okay, okay, you can have it! Just don't touch me with that thing!"

Blaine snatched the letter from him and retreated back into his room in a hurry.

Sebastian rubbed his temples, worrying. He had seen how messed up Kurt was when he left. He knew what had happened and why Blaine was in such a panic. He hated seeing Blaine like this. But there was nothing he could do but wait.

Blaine,

Getting to know you has been nothing short of life-changing for me. I was a little bit lost when I met you, looking for answers, and going about it all the wrong way. The most surprising thing you gave me was not the answers to my questions, but rather, the knowledge that I didn't need to be asking them.

If you're reading this, it means the inevitable has happened. I'm sure you have many questions right now. I am sorry that I cannot give you all of the answers. Maybe you, too, will find that it's not necessary to ask all of those questions. In the end, what matters is you and me. Wherever I am, there you belong too. You just have to fight for it.

Once, you told me that you thought I was hand-crafted for you. I never told you, but I feel the same way. There are so many things I haven't had the chance to tell you. Like how perfect you look when you're asleep. How I feel it in my soul when you play your music. How you shine so brightly that it is almost blinding. But even through your blinding light, though, I still see you. I'll always see you. You're all I've ever seen.

If I give you the power to become the man you've always wanted to be, then you give me the courage to make the leaps I've been too afraid to make on my own. You give me a safe place to come back to. I can't imagine living my life any other way.

No matter what happens, you have to believe in me. In us. You need to have faith that we belong with one another. I may need a reminder, but our connection will always be there. Hold onto it as tightly as you can. Don't ever let me go.

All my love,

Kurt

Thank god for Rachel. She had talked Kurt down off the ledge he'd been precariously perching on when he arrived back at their apartment. He had seen the date on the calendar and lost it. It was 6 weeks later than the last day he remembered. What had happened to those 6 weeks? Why couldn't he remember? And who the hell was Blaine?

So Rachel calmed him down, making him tea and telling him that she wasn't sure why he didn't remember, but he had been there for the past month and a half. She explained that she knew Blaine, who he had been dating, and that he was a great guy whom Kurt liked very much. She suggested he give him a chance.

She was very Rachel about it all, sounding so matter-of-fact and convicted that he had no choice but to believe her.

Now he paced, deciding what to do. Did he call Blaine and apologize? He wasn't really sure what he was apologizing for, but he trusted Rachel, and weirdly, he seemed to trust Blaine. Did he take a few days to himself to collect his thoughts and come to terms with having missed out on 6 weeks of his life? That would be the logical thing to do, but his heart seemed to be winning out over his brain on this one. After seeing Blaine this morning, it was like his heart knew something he didn't yet. He was dying to see the gorgeous man who was supposedly his boyfriend. To see what it was about him (other than his face and his body and his eyes and his arms and his back…) that made Kurt's heart do somersaults whenever he thought of him.

In the end, he didn't have time to agonize over it too much, because the boyfriend in question showed up at his door a few minutes later.

Kurt stood staring. Blaine was shorter than he had imagined, and he looked ragged. His eyes were red and his hair stuck out at all angles. He looked fragile, but still so beautiful. Kurt had the sudden urge to protect Blaine and give him anything he wanted.

"Blaine, hi. Come in." Kurt led him to the couch where they both sat awkwardly, trying not to brush knees or elbows.

Kurt was looking anywhere but at Blaine. Why did he have to be so damn awkward? It's not like he hadn't ever dated anyone before...okay, maybe he technically hadn't. Or maybe it was that he knew they'd slept together, but didn't even know his last name.

Just then, Blaine took his hands. A warmth rushed through Kurt, spreading courage all the way to his fingertips. He met Blaine's eyes. The sense of familiarity from this morning struck him again. Now he knew why.

Blaine started speaking. "We met at a piano bar. I was playing and you were there with Rachel. I was a different person back then. I was guarded, and I lived on the surface, never going very deep. I didn't know that meeting you was all it would take for that to change. I was in the middle of playing a song and looked up to see you, glowing in the lights, the picture of perfection. I almost had to start the song over again because my fingers wouldn't work right. Because not only had I laid eyes on the most beautiful human being I would ever see in my life, but because you were watching me. And the way you were watching me...it was like you knew me. I was helpless from that first look. I felt compelled to play to you, so I did. It was the most connected I'd ever been to my music and to another person. There was a spark that just kept growing and growing as I sang, and I couldn't wait to get to you. And then, you were gone."

Kurt had hardly breathed while Blaine spoke. His stomach was clenched tightly, mirroring his hands, which clung to Blaine's. His eyes begged for more of the story. Blaine gave him what he wanted.

"I found you the next day. You shouldn't have liked me. I was so cocky and arrogant. But somehow you saw through me. That was the first time we kissed. You breathed life into me."

Kurt hung on every word as Blaine continued his side of the story. When he finished, they were inches apart, having leaned in without realizing it. Blaine sat back to run his hands through his hair and Kurt remembered to breathe.

"Kurt, let me prove to you that this is real. That it's meant to be. Let me take you out to dinner tonight."

They both knew that Blaine was offering so much more than a date. If Kurt said yes, he was agreeing to not only dinner, but also to their relationship. To Blaine.

The sound of their heartbeats filled the room as Blaine awaited Kurt's answer, knowing that if he said no, it would be a crushing blow he wasn't sure he could come back from.

Kurt pulled his hands away and wound them around Blaine's back in a hug. He couldn't explain it, but all of his qualms had been wiped away. He had the terrifying yet liberating feeling that he would do anything this man asked.

"Yes. A million times yes."

The last 6 months had been a complete whirlwind. Kurt dove into his relationship with Blaine, and didn't regret a single second of it. It was not perfect, not at all, but he had never been more confident, more fulfilled, more in love.

And now, they were on a plane together to celebrate Christmas in Ohio. They were going to spend Christmas together.

"There's something I want to tell you," Blaine said, turning to Kurt as they coasted through the skies.

Kurt stared, but Blaine's face wasn't giving anything away.

"If you took me up here to break up with me while I'm 30,000 feet in the air and surrounded by witnesses, your plan backfired. I will still slap you and then leave using the emergency escape."

Blaine's composure broke and he laughed. "I'm not breaking up with you. Here." He handed Kurt a piece of mail with the NYADA logo on it.

"What's this?" Kurt asked suspiciously. Blaine just shrugged in response. Kurt flipped the envelope over, but the seal was already broken.

"Okay, I may have peeked."

"Why would I be getting mail from NYADA?"

"I may have re-submitted your application."

"You did WHAT?! But they already turned me down."

"I may have recorded you performing the song we wrote together and sent it to them."

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "Is there anything you may not have done?"

Blaine thought. "I may not have waited to share the news with your dad and Carole."

"News? There is news. Oh my god. Can't breathe." He ripped open the envelope and read his acceptance. He shrieked, eliciting shushes from the other passengers. He threw his arms around Blaine.

"Blaine!" He jumped up and down in his seat. "How did you do this? Why?"

Blaine shone like the sun. "I may go a little crazy when it comes to making you happy."

Kurt grabbed him by the face and kissed him senseless.

"I may be so in love with you."

It may have been the best Christmas ever.

Original Universe Kurt & Blaine

Kurt woke slowly from his dreams. He smiled, still half-asleep, as he realized his arms were around little spoon Blaine. He hadn't woken up in bed with Blaine in so long, and it felt amazing. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, but for the first time in a long time, he felt right.

His thumb absently reached up to rub at his engagement ring, the smooth metal comforting against his skin.

Wait…

Kurt's eyes flew open. He was in his own bed. In his own apartment. Pictures of him and his partner scattered the room. His scarf rack stood in the corner, boasting dozens of colorful garments.

And Blaine. Blaine. It was his Blaine. Kurt knew it like he knew he had ten fingers and ten toes.

His breathing had become erratic, overwhelmed by feelings of relief. He tightened his arms around Blaine, pulling him closer. He squeezed and squeezed until he was sure he was pushing all of the air out of his fiancé, and then he squeezed some more. He buried his face in the crook of Blaine's neck and breathed him in, soapy and spicy and the lingering trace of hair gel.

Then he dissolved into hysterics, turning over the events of the past few weeks in his mind. He gasped for breath, wrapping his body around Blaine's with no intention of ever letting go.

"Kurt," Blaine's voice was urgent. He struggled to turn around in Kurt's arms. When Kurt realized what he was attempting to do, he loosened his grip just enough for Blaine to turn to face him, then resumed his vice grip. They were now face-to-face, and Kurt could see the concern in Blaine's eyes. The years worth of love that were reserved only for him. This sent him further into his uncontrolled spiral.

"Kurt," Blaine implored again.

"Is it really you?" Kurt clutched at Blaine's shirt in disbelief. Blaine rubbed a soothing hand over his back.

"It's really me."

Kurt felt dizzy at the mix of emotions coursing through him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized for his blubbering. "It's just...I had a nightmare."

"I know."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't a nightmare."

Kurt snapped his head up to look at Blaine, who wore a sly smile. "What do you mean?" He asked again.

"I was there, Kurt."

"You were…there…?" Kurt tested out the words.

Blaine nodded. "It was like I was inside of his head, watching it all happen. I was there."

A whole new wave of panic hit.

"So you know everything? You know how crazy I was? You...oh my god...you know I slept with him!"

Blaine went rigid.

"Slept with whom, exactly?"

"With Blaine," Kurt said like it was the most obvious thing.

Blaine's whole body relaxed and he pulled Kurt in closer. He laughed. "You mean me?"

"Yes, but the other you. I don't...I wasn't thinking. I'm so sorry, Blaine. Please don't…" Kurt struggled to find the words.

Blaine was shaking with laughter. "I'm not mad at you, Kurt. It was still me."

Kurt batted at him lightly. "Don't laugh at me! I've been so worked up over the fact that I thought I cheated on you!" He wiped his eyes, then started laughing with Blaine. They were still wrapped around each other, and the friction created by the laughter was enough to get them both going.

"You know, I do have a question, though," Blaine's voice was low. "When you saw the other Blaine for the first time, I could tell from your face that he excited you. You were practically screaming 'take me right here on your piano, Hipster Blaine!'"

Kurt glared, offended that he was so transparent, but then again, it was Blaine, so he wasn't actually surprised that his thoughts were so evident.

"That's not a question."

"Answer it anyway."

"I love you just the way you are. Let's just say that Hipster Blaine is a fantasy I may enjoy indulging in every now and then," Kurt winked.

Blaine swiveled himself and sat back on his heels so that he was straddling Kurt's hips. He ran his fingers through his hair, brushing out the remainder of last night's hair gel so that his curls were free and loose. He then placed his hands on Kurt's chest.

"So you mean, this might turn you on?"

"Mmm hmm," Kurt gulped.

Blaine leaned down to kiss him, and Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's back and pulled him down against his chest. The atmosphere shifted from one of lust to one of love.

"I can't even tell you how happy I am to be back here with you. It was terrifying and confusing and made me feel so uncertain. But there were some good parts, too. Actually, one really, really good part. I got to fall in love with you for a second time." Blaine looked so touched that tears collected in his eyes.

Kurt lifted his mouth to Blaine's for a quick yet romantic peck, then continued. "I am so sorry for how I acted before. I should have never made that wish...I understand now that I don't ever want to be the person I would be without you."

"The same is true for me." Blaine kissed his neck.

"You're always so quick to forgive me. I don't deserve you."

"That's insane. You deserve everything good the world wants to give you." Blaine's eyes had darkened once more. "For example, you deserve this," Blaine rolled his hips against Kurt, making him cry out in pleasure. "You deserve this," Blaine kissed him down his neck and across his chest. Blaine sat up and opened his mouth to speak again, but Kurt cut him off.

"I think I know where this is go-unghh!"

Blaine's fingers were around him, working their magic.

"It's still your birthday weekend. How do you want me, birthday boy?"

Kurt thought for a minute, considering his last sexcapade with other Blaine, remembering how amazing it was when he took Kurt off the edge of the bed.

Blaine's mind must have been there too, because both boys spoke in unison.

"We need to get a taller bed."

Four Years Later

Blaine and Kurt walked hand-in-hand through the streets of Paris. Their wedding had been small and intimate and nothing like what Kurt used to imagine when he was younger. It was perfect. And to top it all off, their family and friends had pooled their gift money together and sent them to Paris for their honeymoon.

They'd done all of the things Kurt had always dreamed of doing in Paris. Spent an entire day at the Louvre, climbed to the top of Montmartre, hung a lock on the Pont de l'Archevêché, sang a duet in front of the Moulin Rouge, had coffee and croissants in the morning while peoplewatching outside their rental, and had newlywed sex. Lots and lots of newlywed sex.

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand. "What are you thinking about?"

He blushed, not wanting to admit what he had just been thinking. "How amazing this all is. Paris. Being on our honeymoon. Being married. To you."

"Most every day with you is amazing," Blaine cheesed.

"Glad you qualified that statement with a 'most,'" Kurt laughed.

"There's always room for improvement," joked Blaine. "But honestly, I would love to go back and do it all over again. This has by far been the best week of my life." Blaine leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder.

They walked in silence toward their destination, wrapped up in their obsession for one another and the life they built together.

"There it is! How beautiful!" He pulled Kurt's hand and stopped in front of the Fontaines de la Concorde.

Kurt's eyes widened in fear as Blaine pulled out a euro. He knew that people threw coins into fountains and made wishes, but those were people who had never lived through a wish-come-true-gone-wrong.

Blaine's arm was poised to throw the euro into the fountain.

"I wish that everyday-"

"BLAINE, NO!"

"-was our wedding day."

He tossed the coin.