Last chapter! Finally! This is the longest fanfiction I have ever written/completed, so thank you everyone for reading it and sticking by me (and nudging me to complete this). All of your reviews have been wonderful, and I am so glad to have such great readers as you!

20: The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades (Timbuk 3)

Ryan loved it when Kurt was imperfect. There was nothing sexier than his boyfriend with mussed up hair and kiss-swollen lips set in a delightful pout. Kurt wouldn't have believed him if he said anything about it; the soprano had convinced himself that he wasn't handsome unless his hair was perfectly quaffed and styled in the way that he liked, and would freak out if he was ever out in public with messy hair. He was wrong, of course. He was gorgeous, in Ryan's eyes.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Kurt asked innocently, his blue-green eyes looking into Ryan's questioningly. "It's freaking me out."

"Have I told you how beautiful I think you are today?" Ryan asked coyly, brushing Kurt's bangs across his forehead, his fingers lingering on the side of his face. Kurt blushed, his eyes looking away from Ryan's self consciously. He always had trouble accepting simple compliments like that; Ryan had no idea why, or who had hurt him, but there was definitely some damage there, underneath the perfect surface.

"Because you are probably the most gorgeous, sinful looking creature on the face of this planet," he whispered as he leaned in close to Kurt's ear, so that his breath tickled the sensitive skin. "And I love it." Kurt's blush grew deeper, so much so that Ryan could almost feel the heat from the blood collecting under the smaller man's cheeks.

"Shut up," Kurt said quietly, half-heartedly smacking Ryan's shoulder with an open palm. Ryan just snuggled closer, burrowing his face in the curve of Kurt's neck. He laid a gentle kiss on the pulse point at Kurt's throat, humming with satisfaction at the little noise Kurt made.

"No way," Ryan said, kissing his way slowly up Kurt's neck and along his jaw line. "I refuse to shut up. You are beautiful, Kurt, and I know about a thousand different ways to say it; why can't I go through every single one of them?"

"I can make you shut up, you know," Kurt countered, a determined look in his eyes.

"Oh, yeah? Try, then."

Kurt pulled Ryan's face up from where it was nuzzling his shoulder and captured his lips with his own. Ryan lost himself in the kiss, his hands unconsciously holding Kurt's thin hips a little tighter and pulling him closer. Kurt grinned against the taller man's lips, making a satisfied sound and pulling away. Ryan groaned at the loss, his eyes fluttering open at looking into Kurt's hazily.

"Told you I could shut you up," Kurt concluded matter-of-factly, leaning in and kissing his boyfriend lustily, his hands pushing off Ryan's newsboy cap and tangling in his short blond hair.

Kurt relished the moments of alone-time he got to spend with Ryan, because their busy schedules overlapped constantly, and it was so rare that they both had free time at the same time. Though there had been more time for each other since Ryan's audition was over with (he was no longer constantly in character, practicing for it), every single moment they spent together was still a precious one in Kurt's mind.

The intensity of their kisses increased, and Ryan's grip on Kurt's waist did too— probably leaving bruises from where his fingertips dug into the pale flesh, but Kurt didn't care enough to mention it. The heated occasion was suddenly stopped, though, earning a groan from both participants. Ryan's phone was ringing.

"Seriously?" Kurt groaned as Ryan pulled away, getting up and blindly searching the top of his dresser for the shrieking device. Kurt glared at Ryan incredulously as he picked it up, prepared to answer.

"It's probably Sharpay," he explained, wincing as it rung again. "Give me a sec to talk to her, and then we'll go back to what we were doing." He leaned in a pressed a promising kiss against Kurt's lips. "Honest."

Kurt rolled his eyes as Ryan answered the phone, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear. "Hello?" Ryan frowned. "Yes, I am Ryan Evans. Who is this—" He paused and licked his lips, suddenly looking apprehensive. "I see."

Kurt was looking at him, his own frown forming. He sat up slowly just as Ryan sat down, running a hand through his hair. Kurt watched his face as he listened to the caller. Obviously, it wasn't just Sharpay calling to chat. Ryan had this serious look on his face as he listened carefully, holding up one finger to signal Kurt to stay quiet a moment when he opened his mouth to say something.

"I... yes. Absolutely. Thank you," he mumbled, his face still serious and impassive. Kurt could feel his heart sinking. Something was wrong. "I will email you back as soon as I receive the information. Yes. Good-bye." He hung up and stood, carefully placing the phone back onto his dresser.

"Ryan, what's wrong?" Kurt asked quietly, standing up and reaching for Ryan's hand. His fingers were limp as Kurt slipped his own between them, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Who was that?"

Ryan stood stalk still for a moment, a look of shock gracing his normally calm features. He glanced at Kurt, who stood beside him, silently waiting for his answer.

"I'm going to be in a movie," he said, his voice sounding like he was unbelieving of this fact even as he revealed it to Kurt. "The producers loved my audition. They... they're giving me the part, Kurt."

It was Kurt's turn for his eyes to widen, his mouth forming a silent 'oh' at the realisation. Ryan nodded, his grip on Kurt's hand becoming tight as he regained some control over himself. He reached up with his other hand to brush Kurt's bangs off his forehead.

"I did it," he said, his voice growing even quieter. "I'm going to be in a movie."

Kurt didn't know what to say. But, for the first time since he'd heard the news about Ryan getting an audition, he felt no resentment at all. He had been holding back twinges of jealousy towards Ryan ever since the open house, but now... The look of pure joy that was filling Ryan's eyes along with tears of happiness was enough to rid Kurt of those feelings completely. He had never felt so proud of anyone before. A thought struck him, and he wrapped his arms around Ryan in a tight hug, tears in his own eyes.

"Ryan," he said, his voice cracking because of the sheer volume of emotion he was feeling. "I... I love you, you know that?" Ryan pulled back from the hug just far enough to crash his lips against Kurt's, kissing the smaller man like he had never kissed anyone before.

"I love you, too," he sobbed, the pressure that had been building up inside him finally bursting like a dam, the tears rolling down his cheeks in waves. "I could never have done with without you."

Kurt let Ryan cling to him, almost hysterical. When he imagined Ryan getting the part in this movie, he never expected this kind of reaction. He expected hugging, of course; he was more inclined to believe that Ryan would pick him up and swing him around happily, rather than burst into tears and compress his ribcage in a bone-shattering embrace. Not that he minded all that much. His heart was still beating rather quickly after the L-word had been exchanged.

"Thanks, Kurt," Ryan mumbled after a minute or two of happy-tears, wiping his face on his sleeve and leaning in to kiss Kurt again. "You're the best boyfriend a guy could ask for. You know that, right?" He didn't wait for an answer before grabbing him around the waist and pulling him back towards the bed, where they had been happily cuddling before this whole ordeal.

"So, where were we?" he asked with a grin, capturing Kurt's lips again to silence any reply he might have had. Kurt kissed him back eagerly for a moment, then stopped and pulled away. Ryan made a noise of annoyance at the retreat, an adorable look of confusion on his features.

"What—" Kurt put a finger to his lips to silence him, shaking his head.

"We can't celebrate until you tell your family about this," Kurt exclaimed, wiggling out from under Ryan's body and sitting up. "Don't you want to see the look on your father's face when he hears that his son is going to be a star?" Ryan pouted, reaching out the grab Kurt again, but Kurt dodged his hands and stood, straightening his clothing. "At least call Sharpay. Please? For me?"

Ryan heaved a huge sigh, rolling his eyes at Kurt openly to show his annoyance. "I hate you," he said facetiously, getting up and grabbing his phone from the dresser, his eyes never leaving Kurt's. Kurt shook his head, putting his hands on his hips.

"And here I thought you loved me," he replied, equally as playfully as Ryan held down the 2 on this phone; Sharpay was on speed dial.

"Oh, be quiet, mood-killer."

His attention shifted when his sister answered his call. "Hey, Sharpay. Listen, I've got good news. You know that audition I had with Coppola? ...Yeah, I got the part." He quickly pulled the phone away from his ear as an ear-splitting Sharpay-screech was emitted from it at such a decibel that Kurt heard it from several paces away. Both of them winced.

"Happy now?" Ryan said quietly, putting a hand over the phone so Sharpay couldn't hear him.

"Actually, yes," Kurt said smugly with a nod of his head, and Ryan rolled his eyes again.

"Sharpay, calm down," Ryan said loudly into the phone. Though Kurt could no longer hear what was going on in Albuquerque, he had a feeling she was hyperventilating with excitement over her brother's success. (Or, perhaps, sobbing over the fact it was not her success. He couldn't really be sure.)

"Shar— Sure, I'll get right on that. I promise. Okay. Bye, Sharpay." Ryan tossed the phone down, his mouth forming a huge grin. "Yeah, right."

"What's so funny?" Kurt asked, bewildered at Ryan's sudden amusement.

"She asked me to give Coppola her audition tape next time I see him," he laughed, shaking his head. "I'll tell her I did, but I'm not nearly career-suicidal enough to actually do that. I'm on that tape reading her opposing lines— and I wasn't good in it, at all." He chuckled, reaching for his giggling boyfriend again. "Can we resume where we left off now?"

Kurt frowned. "But you haven't told you parents—"

"Kurt, believe me, in an hour, all of New Mexico will know about this. My sister can text forty words per minute, and she's probably sending out mass-texts to everyone I know back home as we speak."

Kurt smiled. "Alright. If you insist," he laughed, wasting no time in shoving their lips together, hands fumbling with clothing. A minute later, Kurt came up for air, panting, and looked into Ryan's eyes lovingly. "I love you, Ryan." Ryan grinned and messed up Kurt's hair with one hand, making him look perfectly imperfect again.

"I love you, too."

Fin.

Yes, this is the end! I'm sorry to have to see it go, but this story has officially been completed. Maybe I'll do a sequel to it later, after all of the back nine have aired, but for now, it is done.

Thank you SO MUCH everyone who has read and reviewed this story. Every review means the world to me. I have very muched enjoyed writing this and hearing you guy's views; again, thank you. I hope to see more in the Ryan/Kurt fandom in the future. Maybe this will inspire some people to write about this couple? I hope so, because I love them. :)

~Jessi