A/N: Hey guys, Thank you for all the lovely reviews! They've been so wonderful for my self esteem!
Here's the last chapter-I have an epilogue going, and I may add on some extra scenes that didn't make it into this story pace. As I was writing this I realized I could only include certain things, even though I know what happens, say, directly after this chapter. It just made sense to end things here (with an epilogue). I know I hinted at smut, but it also didn't really fit in. So I'll add a couple 'deleted scenes' with ALL OF THAT.
Thanks so much for reading, it's been (and is still) a lot of fun!
Disclaimer: ""
Kurt kept sneaking him furtive glances during practice. Confused glances. Glances that Blaine was happy to respond to with a smile, and that made Kurt more confused.
Blaine had figured a couple things out during afternoon classes. Either Kurt didn't like him like that and they would still be friends, or Kurt did like him like that and they could be more then friends. They could hold hands. They could snuggle together. They could go on ice skating dates and he could kiss Kurt whenever he wanted. He wouldn't have to worry if someone else was hitting on Kurt or not. He wouldn't have to tamp down this feeling of needing to be close together.
If the former was the case, then even after Blaine proposed the idea of a duet, and if it became clear (somehow) that Kurt was not interested in him, Blaine could still say that he wanted Kurt to have his undoubtedly overdue chance in the spotlight, which was true. Even if Kurt didn't want to be boyfriends, he still deserved a place in the spotlight. He still deserved that feeling of surround sound applause. However, if Kurt did like Blaine like that, Blaine could say-what? I've fallen madly in love with you? No, that was too...weird. Too much like a proclamation to the masses. Besides, what if this wasn't love? It felt like love. What if this was like some hormonal teenage thing? What if this was a fluke? This isn't a fluke. He should probably hammer this down. So Blaine made a list. Normally he was not a list maker, but today's list wasn't so regimented, nor did he write it down. In his head, it looked something like this:
Kurt is now:
my own personal space beacon/magnet/lighthouse.
Really sexy. For instance: Kurt's skin, lips (oh god, kurt's lips), arms (lean and muscular, like a suprise in your cereal-you don't think they're there under the shirt but then WHAM! sexy arms), kurt's butt (yes. Just yes.), Kurt's height, and those sexy jokes Kurt makes (like, "Oh, I'll let you finish," from lunch-what was THAT?).
Kurt has always been:
the person I want to talk to about everything.
The person who likes the same things I like.
The person who makes me laugh the hardest.
The person who I can make laugh.
The person I worry about the most.
The person I don't worry about because I know that whatever choices he makes will be the right ones.
Someone who always knows the right answer.
Someone who calls me on my crap.
Someone who doesn't think I walk on water!
more confident than me.
someone who gets me
someone I can watch Wicked with! And RENT and Avenue Q and Urinetown and Les Mis and Anything Goes and Chicago and The Brave Little Toaster!
someone who knows how I feel all the time without me having to explain it.
The person I would call if I needed help, who I would want rushing to my side in desperate situations.
The person I sometimes fantasize about rushing to help in desperate situations.
I want Kurt Hummel to:
cuddle with me.
tell me my mouth isn't too big
come with me to college.
College was a question that...after a half a minute, Blaine decided he would think about college later. As in - many years in the future, later. Solid Plan, Anderson, Solid Plan.
Blaine reviewed his list instead of conjugating "etre" in French class. Basically the only difference now was he thought Kurt was sexy, and a space beacon. But actually he had sort of thought Kurt was sexy before this, hadn't he? Yes, there was that one time-several times, come to think of it - Yes he had been checking out Kurt's ass. At the time he had chalked it down to worrying about what his own ass might look like, because Kurt's was undoubtedly really good looking, perfectly round but not too prominent... Blaine could see that he had been checking it out. Ok, so there was that. Also there was that feeling that Kurt had like, changed the direction he was looking in. Kurt had shifted all of Blaine's parameters. Before Blackbird, Blaine felt like a bumper car let loose on the world, and watch out! The steering wheel on that thing wasn't so dependable. But this morning, after Blackbird, Blaine had started feeling like he was a train on a track, going around the whole world, seeing all the sights and picking up passengers and just flowing along really smoothly and evenly. So nice.
Ultimately Blaine had no idea what he would say to Kurt. He had figured out how he felt about the whole situation, more or less, metaphorically, but not what to say.
So he took it one step at a time. Practice this afternoon had gone well, really well, They'd gotten their lines for Raise Your Glass figured out, and Blaine had miraculously gotten the council to agree to a duet. He had shamelessly leaned on their emotions about Pavarotti, and pleaded to their sense of fairness, and then walloped them with a dose of competitiveness. It was weird because although David put up a token of resistance, and there were some grumblings, everyone had seemed to expect it. And there was absolutely no resistance at all to Kurt as his partner.
Blaine had been of two minds about that. Obviously he'd done an incredible job this morning, with Blackbird. The Warbler's would realize that and reward it. On the other hand, Kurt was relatively new, the last solo he'd done was a disaster, and the council tended to take their lead singer selections very seriously, considering not only for talent, but also weighing in junior or senior class standing, academic placement, and potential for future lead opportunities.
But if Kurt was ever going to get a solo, today probably would have been the best day to ask for it, with Blackbird fresh in their minds and Regional's so close at hand that auditions couldn't, reasonably, be undertaken.
The look on Kurt's face as he suggested a duet - awe and happiness and fear and confusion and something like hope put on hold - was worth it. So so very very worth it.
So as practice closed, and Wes spoke to the basses before letting everyone go, Blaine leaned over to Kurt Kurt's smell Kurt's warmth to whisper in his ear, "Hey Kurt, before they mob you with congratulations - after practice I'm going to see if I can narrow down song selections. I have a couple in mind. Do you have any you want me to show to Wes and David?"
"I don't think so? I mean, I could fill your inbox with Broadway, or Lady Gaga, but I tend to change the station when a slow song comes on. Not my forte."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, you go ahead, I'm sure whatever you pick'll be great. Plus, I have something I need to get started on."
"Ok. Meet me back here in like, an hour?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
Wes clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention. "All right! That's it for today; Congratulations once again to Kurt; Guys I expect that song selection given to me this afternoon. We'll practice back up for the new song tomorrow during free period, after school AND during lunch," everyone groaned. "Don't give me that! This is serious! If we want to beat New Directions we have to step it up! Those guys have been practicing round the clock for the past two weeks! They're on an IV drip at this point! They don't have to- Kurt, is there something you'd like to say?"
Kurt swallowed a cough. "Uh, No. No. You're right. Mr. Shue used to make us do a hundred pushups before we got to practice, so that we'd have to learn all our choreography while we were permanently exhausted."
Wes pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh my god. I didn't expect that. Ok. Ok. Guys, I can't stress enough how much I need you to focus for the next couple days. We need to get to Nationals; it will look really good on all of our college apps. So Marc! For God's sake no last minute trips over to St. Lillian's tonight or tomorrow. Jeff, please leave off the dying of your hair until Sunday. Then you can do it green for all I care. David?"
"Yes Wes."
"David, call your girlfriend, have her forgive you, and then ask her to drive over with some sort of baked good."
"Can do, Can do."
"Hey Wes?" Marc waved his hand.
"Yes, Marc."
"If I'm not allowed to sneak over there, can I have some of them sneak over here? I mean, if Jenny's going to be coming over anyway-"
"No, No No No. I want you focused, Marc, Focused!"
"But that helps me focus. I mean, we can't all be gay and get it on in our dorms, like some people-"
There was a general outcry. "Dude, Shut up!" "God Marc, you're so insensitive." "Man, Not cool!" and "They're right here."
"Oh come on, guys, like you haven't been thinking about how much easier it would be-" Marc continued.
Wes raised his voice to a desperate squeal. "Great! Guys I think we're going to have an awesome set list for this Saturday!" Then he whipped his gavel out and banged it on the nearest wooden surface, which happened to be a chair leg. "Meeting adjourned!"
Blaine stepped out of formation to grab his bag off the couch, but as soon as he made it into the hallway he was somehow surrounded by Warblers.
Joey slapped him on the back. "Sorry about Marc, you know he's a total horn dog. He didn't mean anything."
"Yeah I know."
"On the other hand, he has a point. You know. About dorm rooms."
"Um, I guess?"
"Just saying, Blaine, Just saying. Good luck, man."
"Thanks, I think." Joey slapped him on the back once more and then left, but Blaine didn't move because Marc and Ben came out of the lounge at that point and both of them high fived him at the same time. Marc even shouted, "Get it, Anderson!" as he walked by.
And then Trent showed up and shook Blaine's hand. "I'm really happy for you, I really am."
But he didn't let Blaine say anything else before he scurried off too, and then there was Jeff, who didn't high five or back slap but just paused, as he walked by, shook the hair off his forehead and said, "Just remember, Kurt's always right." Then Jeff winked.
Oh Dear Giles, did everyone know that Kurt was Blaine's lighthouse?
Kurt came out, next, but didn't stop, just shouted, "See you in an hour!"
"Ok!" Blaine tried to wave, but Kurt was gone.
"Soo. Blaine. A duet with Kurt, huh?" Thad wrapped an arm around Blaine's shoulders and neck and started walking the two of them towards the dorms.
"Yeah. He was really great this morning, with Blackbird. He deserves more time in the spotlight." Blaine smiled in spite of himself.
Thad kept his eyes straight in front of him. "Oh definitely. Definitely. No doubt about it."
"Everyone's cool with that, right? I mean I know we took a vote, but-"
"Blaine! Relax. We all like Kurt. We all like you. You guys'll be great together."
"Yeah, He and I have sung a couple times together before and our voices really match up well."
"You've been together before?" Thad looked surprised. "We didn't know about that."
"Um, yeah. I asked him to help me practice a song I had to sing for the King's Island Christmas special, and we've sung in the car together a bunch of times." Talking about Kurt was good. It meant that even if Kurt wasn't here, he was still sort of here and that trackless, lost at sea feeling from earlier wasn't as strong.
Thad said, "In the car? Kinky."
Kinky? "Uh, I think that's pretty normal. Don't you ever sing in the car?"
Thad snorted. "Who hasn't?"
Blaine readjusted his bag over his shoulder. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying."
"Of course it is. Totally normal to do it in a car. Tell me, where else have you practiced?"
"Um, we've sung a couple times in Kurt's room, and my room, and we did Baby It's Cold Outside here in the lounge, and-"
Thad looked at Blaine, eyes wide. "In the lounge?" Then he started laughing. "Well don't tell Wes about that, he'd have an aneurysm."
"Thad, what are you talking about? Kurt and I were just singing. I don't think Wes would mind that at all."
Thad looked thoughtful. "Maybe you're right. Wes has always prided himself on being very progressive."
"No he hasn't-Thad, I don't know what sort of sexual innuendo you're trying to draw here, but Kurt and I were just singing. I swear on Betty Crocker's brownies that we were just singing. That's all we've ever done."
Thad looked at Blaine with wide eyes. "Of course, Blaine. You guys are just friends. What, were you thinking 'doing a duet' was code for something?"
Blaine narrowed his eyes. "I wasn't thinking that, you were."
"Dude. Doing a duet is just doing a duet. You gotta relax, man." He gripped Blaine's neck and drew their heads together a little. "It's ok, Blaine, it's ok. We know you don't think of Kurt that way; you've said it like, a hundred times. You gotta stop being so defensive, or we'll think you're covering up your true feelings." He smiled, let go of Blaine, and took a few steps back. "For the duet you and Kurt are going to sing, just my advice, don't do anything too mushy or romantic. You know, it might give people the wrong idea." He grinned once more and turned around, jogging down the stairs and back towards the main part of the school.
Not too mushy or romantic, huh? Blaine let himself into his dorm room, pausing just a moment to breathe in the quiet, before he flipped open his laptop and spent the next couple minutes scrolling through his playlist. The song Kurt and he sung had to mean something, even if it wasn't mushy or romantic. He skimmed down his list of possible Warbler tunes. He had so many top forty hits, where was his musical diversity? None of those songs meant anything. They were written to sell to the masses; not because they came from places of real emotions. Sure they were great to dance to, but that was about it. He had a couple things Kurt had burned for him, and one mix CD from his sister. It would have to be one of those. He'd been half thinking about suggesting those songs to Wes anyway.
He ended up with two songs (one an obvious love song, and one was a breakup song that resonated with him anyway) and decided to ask David and Wes to choose between them. He loaded his ipod, flipped his laptop closed, and walked down the hall.
"Blaine, good you're on time. Where's Kurt?" Wes opened his dorm door to Blaine's knock, and Blaine could see David walking back and forth between the beds, on the phone, hands waving wildly.
Wes waved Blaine into the room and Blaine shut the door before leaning against Wes's desk. "He had something to do. I'm not sure-he said whatever I picked was fine with him."
"Oh, ok. What have you got?"
"Two songs, I wasn't sure which one would be better. 'Such Great Heights' By Iron and Wine or 'Candles' by Hey Monday. Here, listen." Blaine pulled out his ipod and waited while Wes listened to both songs.
"Huh. Good choices. How about we go with Candles? It has a stronger chorus, and I think the backups would be easier to arrange."
"Sure, sure. Great. I'll go tell Kurt and we'll have something to show you by tomorrow. Do you need to keep my ipod?"
"No, I'll get it from YouTube or something. Thanks, though."
"Sure, no problem." Blaine stuffed his ipod into his pocket and opened the door again.
"Hey Blaine?" Wes said.
"Yeah?"
"You might want to tell Kurt about the emotion you want to convey while singing this song. I mean, you don't want him onstage looking confused."
Blaine frowned a little before answering. "Um. No, you're-you're right, Wes. I. I'll. We'll talk about it."
"Great. See you later." Wes turned back to his computer.
"Right. See you."
Yup, that confirmed it. Everyone knew.
Wes's words, Thad's words, the whole day was echoing in his head, almost painfully. This was all going much too fast. He didn't need to tell Kurt about his new found feelings right now. They could wait until after regional's, surely.
But when Blaine saw Kurt hunched over something, boxes and beads spread out in front of him, his concentration total, Blaine felt that tugging forward that he'd had all day. That overwhelming need to be near Kurt all the time returned full force. He couldn't live like this; seeing Kurt, wanting to be near Kurt, and not able to. No, Kurt was drawing him in and the result was pre-determined.
Blaine stepped forward, a little hesitant. "What's that?"
Kurt responded without looking up. "I'm decorating Pavarotti's casket," he said.
Decorating Pavarotti's Casket. Ok. "Well, finish up. I have the perfect song for our number. I think we should practice."
Kurt finally set his attention on Blaine, and settled back a little in his chair. "Do tell."
Blaine looked at Kurt, his clear blue blue in this light eyes. "'Candles' by Hey Monday."
Kurt's eyebrows rose just a little. "I'm impressed. You're usually so top 40."
Blaine looked at the floor. He should just come out and say it! What was wrong with him? Hedging around the real issue. "Well, I just wanted something a little more...emotional." Blaine sat next to Kurt at the table, careful not to disturb any of the beads.
Kurt was still, for a moment, and then he narrowed his eyes a little. "Why did you pick me to sing that song with?"
Oh Shit. He knows. He knows. Everyone Knows. Oh God. Inevitable conclusion, right? Lie. Say it's nothing. Lie, say Wes picked it. "Kurt, there is a moment," Whatwhatwhatwhat am I doing? "When you say to yourself, 'Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you forever.'"
Oh Holy Tootsie Roll. What kind of cheesiness is this. Should have practiced should have practiced. Kurt was just staring at him, his eyes wide. Just do it. Just do it.
"Watching you do Blackbird this week, that was a moment," he paused, "for me."
Kurt's expression didn't change. He needed to make this clear. "About you." Good. Clear.
But now-how do you say magnetic, interstellar galactic beacon feeling, without saying that? How do you explain that sense of the world shifting, pointing towards one person after all this time?
"You...moved me, Kurt. And this duet would...just be an excuse to spend more time with you." The last part was the easiest, and it came out of his mouth like an exhalation. There. He was done. That's how it was. That's how he felt.
And Kurt-Kurt wasn't moving or doing anything. His face was so wide and open and lovely and Blaine felt like the clarity of the morning had disappeared, now he was all fuzzy and drowning in Kurt. His heart was beating so wildly and so erratically he briefly considered calling for a time out. But no. This was Kurt, there was no time out. Everything was real. And now his words felt empty. Hollow. What did a duet matter? There was still that space between them, that unbreachable gap.
So he leaned over, giving Kurt more than enough time to say no, and placed his lips, gently, against Kurt's.
Holy Wowza. Tingling, electric lips, Oh my god this is Kurt.
After a second Kurt opened his lips just a little, and then tightened them again in a kiss of his own. And then they both did it at the same time. And then Kurt's hand Kurt's hand cupped the side of his face. And their lips were moving against each other, and with each miniscule movement of skin against skin, Blaine felt lightning bolts headed straight down for his South American penninsula. They were kissing. He and Kurt were kissing. It was smooth and simple but they were both pressing forward, and Blaine couldn't get enough of this and maybe Kurt couldn't get enough of this too.
But Blaine ended the kiss, pulling back and looking at Kurt for just a second, because Kurt hadn't said yes but he hadn't said no, and Blaine didn't want to take without-without permission. He should give Kurt space. He sat back down in his own chair.
But By All the Knights of the Round Table, that's how THAT was supposed to feel. Yes. 100% gay. No question. 100% into Kurt. Yup.
Blaine could feel his face getting red, and he pressed his fist to his mouth. "We should practice."
And then beside him he heard Kurt as he breathed out, suddenly. And then Kurt said, "I thought we were?"
Blaine looked over at him, at the beginning of a smile, at his eyes already crinkling upwards, and he could feel The Magnet even stronger than before, if that was possible, and there was no choice but to practically leap out of his chair, and kiss Kurt again. And again. And again. Oh god, do not stop. This is amazing.
"This is amazing," Blaine said, between breaths. He was practically sitting in Kurt's lap, his hands cradling Kurt's head, stroking Kurt's hair. He smiled against Kurt's lips. Kurt held Blaine's head close with one hand behind his neck, and the other was on Blaine's bicep, trying to pull closer that way.
Kurt gave a short, breathy laugh. "I know. You're not-not close enough." Kurt said, and tugged Blaine's head forward, so they could drag their tongues and lips over each other's again.
After a moment Blaine scooched his torso a little bit closer to Kurt's, but found his way blocked by the arm rests of the chair. He sighed in frustration. "Never close enough."
Kurt laughed again. "I'm sure there are ways to be closer."
Blaine groaned, and rested his forehead on Kurt's. "Oh God, Kurt. We're in the lounge."
Kurt inhaled sharply. "Right. Right. Shouldn't. Right."
"Kurt, I-" Blaine looked into Kurt's eyes, and face. His chest and heart felt glued to Kurt's, felt like they were flying out the window. Why was he so stupid? Why was he so oblivious? How had he not known about this feeling? And Kurt had to put up with his ridiculousness. "I'm sorry it took me-I'm sorry I didn't know-I was such a dumbass-Really, I-"
Kurt crushed their lips together again and Blaine was perfectly happy to continue like that. When Kurt pulled back no-don't he was smiling. "Blackbird? Really? That's all I had to do? Cry while singing a Beatles song? I do that like, every other week."
"I don't know. I just. Everything fit together. You and. You and me?"
"Yeah. You and me." Kurt sighed, and they let their foreheads rest together, eyes closed. Blaine felt their breathing synch up and his whole world settled into place.
Blaine tasted like coffee, a little, and a little like man, and a little just like saliva. But mostly Blaine's lips felt like electric shock therapy to his system. Skin on skin felt so good. And now that Kurt knew why Blaine was touching him, he could just enjoy it, instead of tensing up and trying not to let himself get carried away.
Like now. They were singing, but their fingers were intertwined and their knees pressing together. He could stroke the skin of Blaine's hand, watch Blaine shudder just a little bit, and feel completely at peace with the entire situation. He wanted more, yes, he wanted more. But they had to do this. If they figured this song out then they could go up to his dorm room and watch Starship. Maybe they weren't ready for full frontal nudity or anything, but maybe Blaine would wash the product out of his hair, and they might put on pajamas, and then they could just breathe each other in.
Which is sort of what was happening now, anyway. Every time the song ended they ended up staring at each other for about thirty seconds without noticing the tape had gone off. Kurt could just look at Blaine, without fear. His jaw, his eyes, lighter and warmer than before, his hair, his skin, his everything.
God he was so beautiful. So Gorgeous.
Half the time he forgot he had a body, and felt like he was ethereally floating in front of Blaine like some sort of Casper; half the time he was aware of his body only because his cheeks hurt from smiling so much; and the other half of the time he wanted to burrow into Blaine, wrap himself in Blaine's arms and clothes and skin and hair and smell.
Blaine was his.
"You're mine." He whispered, when the song was over.
"All yours." Blaine whispered back.
"Kiss me."
And Blaine did.
David's phone rang just after he'd gotten off the line with Jenny and she had begrudgingly agreed to bring brownie bars-but only because Wes needed them, not because she was bringing them for David, who was still in the dog house.
So David was feeling pretty good, all in all. "Hello Trent! What's going on!"
Trent spoke in a harsh whisper. "The eagle has left the nest. Repeat, the eagle has left the nest."
"Trent, stop being so dramatic. What the hell is 'the eagle has left the nest' supposed to mean?"
"It means, if you'd be quiet, that I went back to the Lounge to see if I'd left my watch there-"
"I have your watch, Trent, you leant it to me in third period, remember?"
"Oh. Right. God! Shut up! This is important!"
"Then spit it out!"
"I found BLAINE AND KURT MAKING OUT ON THE COUCH."
"You WHAT?"
"I told you it was important! They were all over each other!"
"Vertical or horizontal?"
"Vertical, at the moment, but I don't know, maybe horizontal sometimes!"
"Oh my god. Oh my God. Wes, come here. No, just listen. Come closer or you won't hear him. Ok, Trent, say it again."
"BLAINE AND KURT, MAKING OUT, ON THE COUCH, IN THE LOUNGE."
"Oh my god," Trent could hear Wes gaping, and then smiling, and then he could hear the high five that David and Wes were probably giving each other at that very moment.
David laughed. "It kind of sounds like Clue. Blaine and Kurt making out in the lounge with...with the lube!"
"Oh god, David, stop that. That's not appropriate."
"Blaine and Kurt, in the library, studying up with the Kama Sutra."
"Give me the phone." There was a brief moment of silence, and then Wes's breath was back in Trent's ear. "I'm going to hang up now, Trent, and hit my roommate over the head with a book."
"You do that. I'll let everyone else know to stay out of the lounge."
"Great."
"Wes?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think they'll have practiced enough for us to win at Regional's."
Wes was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I kind of figured."
"It's still ok, though, right?"
Wes groaned. "Yeah. I mean there's nothing we could do about it, and even if there was-it was becoming physically painful to be in the same room with them."
"It might be worse now."
"Well, in your text, just tell everyone to keep their eyes out for empty closets and classrooms we can usher them into at any given moment."
"Got it. I'm really-I'm really happy for them."
"Yeah, me too."
Trent could hear David in the background, "Blaine and Kurt in the Cafeteria, heating up the sausages."
"Talk to you later, Trent."
Trent hung up and immediately began a Warbler-wide text, after carefully omitting Blaine and Kurt's names.
Klaine is officially official! Stay out of the main lounge, where they are currently making out! W says to keep your eyes open for any empty classrooms, deserted hallways, or open closets we can usher them into in the upcoming weeks, for our own sanity. Remember, subtlety is the name of the game!-T.
A minute later his inbox was flooded.
Bow chicka bow wow!- C
Get Some! WOOP WOOP!- M
Heading to the lounge now-TH
Nice. ;-) -M.N
Thank God, Finally.-A
YES! CALLED IT, u o me 20$, Ben!- J.M
Yup, they're still making out.-TH.
I bet u 20$ K's a topper.-B.R
ur on, have u seen K being a bitch? B falls on his knees for that shit-J.M
Dude, if they can get some, why can't I?-M
I have Jennifer's Body, if you want to watch, Marc.-J.T
Woah, seriously, guys, they're STILL making out.-TH
I thought they were already together? Isn't that what the 'duet' at practice was all about?-D
B is so whipped.-P
Boo Yah and a bottle of Rum. Hit it, Blaine!- Z
I've got two closets in mind. Used them last month with that Heather Chick.-M
They're like fish. I don't think they've come up for air once. -TH
Breathe through the nose, dumbass-J.M
Thad, come watch Jennifer's body with us, and leave Klaine alone- J.T
Do u have nachos. -TH
Yes. -J.T.
ur on.-TH
Despite driving the Warbler's hard on Friday, and getting them all up early for a big, protein filled breakfast on Saturday, Wes was not as surprised or upset as he thought he'd be when New Directions took first. After all, even Kurt hadn't seemed to know they were going to write all their own songs. IV drips, pushups AND song writing? When did these kids have time to sleep?
And it had been its own reward, watching Kurt and Blaine perform first for the Warblers, and then the competition itself. They had turned a song about being alone, about letting go of someone, and turned it into an epiphany song about new love. How had they managed that? Wes knew, once the judges were introduced, that Blaine and Kurt's hormones would fly all over the auditorium and set a couple key people on edge.
But honestly, that was probably a good thing.
Who could deny them this opportunity to stand in the spotlights, maybe five feet apart, and sing to each other, looking like they'd forgotten they were on stage at all? Kurt's chin dipped down and Blaine's dipped up when they sang, "Lost sight, couldn't see, When it was you and me," like they had turned that line into something wholey different than what the words originally intended, and actually Wes could belive that. He belived that Blaine (maybe Kurt, too) could see clearer now that they weren't separated any longer. In the last couple days, Blaine had seemed calmer, happier, and more able to focus, odd as that sounded. He was normally kind of all over the place, but now that he was with Kurt-he just seemed more mature, more grounded. "Blow the candles out, looks like a solo tonight," when it was actually a duet, just confirmed that, and then when they sang "I'm beginning to see the light," together, and their voices coalesced perfectly for "Blow the candles out, but I think I'll be all right," Wes didn't know how the audience didn't leap out of their seats, applauding wildly.
Oh, but those hormones, and those key people, and this was Ohio. Wes barely contained an inappropriate curse word.
Afterwards, when he saw Blaine and Kurt in the wings, holding hands and pressing their foreheads together, murmuring to one another, he knew it had been worth it. All of it was worth it. He also knew, when he saw Kurt run up to greet New Directions like he was still a part of that school, that group, congratulating them and exclaiming wildly over the original songs, that Kurt wouldn't stay in Dalton very long, and so, probably, neither would Blaine.
That hurt the most; he'd come to rely on Blaine and had thought he would be able to continue to do so throughout senior year as well. David was his best friend, but David was graduating in a couple months and Blaine was-Blaine was the voice of the Warblers. But as Joey had said in his text, Blaine falls on his knees for that shit, and would follow Kurt anywhere. And Blaine was only a temporary Dalton boy-he'd needed Dalton as a sanctuary, and could now leave Dalton in peace. He wasn't of Dalton blood, like Wes or David.
Maybe that was for the best. Wes smiled, to himself, a little, and went to herd the guys away from where Kurt and Blaine were wrapped up in each other back stage. They'd done their best, they'd made it to regional's, which they hadn't done last year. This was still good; still a win, of sorts.
You win some and you lose some. Wes would just have to explain to Blaine that he could do whatever he wanted as long as he was invited to the wedding. Yes. Good Plan. Good Plan.
And now-he could probably interest David in a good couple hours of Halo, since they now had less on their plates. Excellent.
END.
A/N: Epilogue coming shortly! And then maybe some deleted scenes. Just thought this was the appropriate place to end the story.