A/N: You guys, once again you have overwhelmed me with love and support, and I thank you. But enough suspense!
Onwards!
6
"Kurt, stop! Stop!"
The desperate plea lingered in the air, like a whiff of smoke waiting for the wind to disperse it.
Blaine then began to thunder so fast down the path that he could not even see if Kurt was complying, and his breath came to him in stuttering gasps. He could barely distinguish between the ferocious crunch of gravel underneath his feet and the pounding in his head and the horror filled thoughts of, please don't let me be too late.
As he neared the figure, he could begin to make out Kurt's face and intricate clothes. With a joyful jolt in his chest, Blaine saw that Kurt had slowly turned and was obediently waiting for him by the front gate. A few seconds later Blaine skidded to a stop in front of him, gasping for oxygen.
"You – stopped," Blaine couldn't help but stutter with incredulity.
"You ordered me to," Kurt replied simply. His face and voice seemed devoid of emotion, but Blaine could make out faint tear tracks on his pale cheeks, and the purple skin beneath Kurt's eyes was thrown into ghastly relief underneath the night's grey moonlight. Kurt's knuckles clenched onto the handle of his bag until the skin turned white, and his traveling cloak was wrapped closely around him, as if to protect Kurt from anyone who tried to stop him.
"I – it wasn't – an order as such. More of a request," Blaine replied after his quick observations.
"Would you prefer me to leave?"
"No!" Blaine exclaimed, the very thought enough to shock him into action. "Why do you think I ran after you? You cannot leave! Why would you attempt to do so in the dead of night? What are you running away from?"
Kurt snorted. "Please do not insult my intelligence by pretending not to know. We both know why. I doubt that my absence will have much of an effect on you or the castle at large."
"I disagree, Kurt. I vehemently disagree."
There was fire in Kurt's eyes as he spoke. "Really? Then why is it that you only speak now when I finally intend to leave? I have been here for months, waiting! You did not need me in these past weeks while you looked for someone to spend the rest of your life with, and you certainly don't need me now. The previous few days have taught me that much."
"But I did, do, need you –"
"You need me to help you organize things. You need me to help find the love of your life. But your needs do not correspond with mine. Sam informed me of what passed between you and while he should not have said it, it was bound to become known at some point. You know now that I love you and have done so for some time. And after you have ignored me for this past week and now suddenly seem to have experienced a profound change of heart, as soon as I intend to leave no less, I do not wish to be here anymore. I will not be around as an object of your pity while you struggle to find a polite way of telling me that you cannot feel the same. So I say to you once and for all: Goodbye."
Kurt tightened the grip upon his bag and made to walk through the gate. Blaine swiftly moved in front of him. He took hold of Kurt's arms to stop him moving any further away from home, keeping their bodies close together so their faces were mere inches from one another.
"You do not need to leave Kurt, you don't understand-"
"I understand perfectly well! My feelings disgusted you and you did not wish to see me. But now it guilts your conscience to see me leave because of my feelings for you. I hereby absolve you of all guilt. I wish you well and hope that you find your life partner in the near future. Now please unhand me, I must leave at once if I wish to catch the next coach back to my home town."
"I do not want you to leave," Blaine cried out in frustration.
"Why?" Kurt cried with vehemence and angry tears threatening to spill onto his cheeks. "Haven't you caused me enough grief? I have given you chances time and time again, and not once have you bothered to put things right! I am sick of this, and I am sick of you telling me that you care when you clearly don't–"
The proximity was too irresistible and Blaine leaned forward and captured Kurt's lips with his own, effectively silencing him. The sensation of Kurt's warm lips pressed against his own dry ones thrilled him. Blaine's heart felt content to finally experience what he had desired for so long. It was bliss.
But conscious of how sudden it would appear to Kurt, he slowly pulled back, keeping his hands at Kurt's sides. "Now do you understand why I do not want you to leave?" Blaine murmured. However, he saw that Kurt was not responding and had a look of vulnerability and mortification on his face.
"Is this a form of joke, Sire?" Kurt whispered. "If it is, I did not know you to be so cruel."
"A joke? Why would this be a joke?" Blaine was perplexed by the accusation.
"You kissed me."
"Yes. Because I wanted to."
"I do not understand. Why would you want to?"
Blaine took Kurt's hands in his own and pressed them to his heart. "I kissed you because you were right about everything, as always. I kissed you because love can be found in the most obvious places, but sometimes these places are the last places you look. And I owe you a thousand apologies for that. I kissed you because I love you. I have done so for a long time, but my head and mind forgot what the feeling was and what it meant. So I ask you again, please do not go. Stay with me."
Kurt closed his eyes and shook his head. "This cannot be. You cannot have had such a change of heart overnight."
"Listen to what I am saying, dear Kurt. My heart has not changed; it has felt this way all along. I merely opened my eyes after I spoke with Sam and understood what my heart was telling me. I love you."
"I – I do not –"
"Kurt," Blaine said earnestly, "I am not asking you to change everything right in this moment. I understand this is sudden and a shock to you. I am not asking you to marry me instantly or demanding commitment; I just need you to know that I love you. I will wait for you, for as long as long as it takes to convince you of how I truly feel. I promise to wait as long as you need. Let me prove myself to you, as you have waited for me."
Kurt tentatively looked into Blaine's face and saw the truth written plainly there. He leaned in slowly and kissed Blaine, and then hugged him gently.
"I will stay."
Blaine looked at him with incredulity and happiness. "You will?"
Kurt nodded. "I don't know what I'm doing or how to convince myself this is real. But I will stay and try."
"Thank you, Kurt," Blaine breathed out, allowing a smile to take over his features. He noticed that Kurt was staring at him with a thoughtful expression. "What is it?" he asked.
"I have spent so long loving you alone that I hardly know how to progress from it, especially considering that I thought you despised me this past week. It is like my heart understands by my head does not. Why did you not speak to me before now?"
Blaine burned red with shame and embarrassment. "After Sam spoke to me, I realized that I love you. It crashed upon me and I went to speak to you that evening. Then I – I heard a conversation that I should not have listened to. Or at least, I should have listened to the entirety of it. I thought you and Sam were planning to run away together. I was so angry and jealous that I could not think straight."
Kurt laughed, surprising Blaine, who realized that he had greatly missed the sound. "Sire, you are truly one to confuse matters," Kurt said with a grin.
"Yes," Blaine replied, "when I spoke just now with Sam he clarified the matter. I have acted very badly, to both of you."
"All is forgiven and forgotten."
Blaine smiled his thanks. "Let us go back to the castle and sleep. You look exhausted. We can discuss more in the morning once we are well rested."
"You will met me for breakfast tomorrow?" Kurt asked.
Blaine kissed him again and replied, "Always."
They accompanied each other back up the gravel drive and into the castle. Blaine accompanied Kurt to his room and said good night before retiring to his own. As he lay in bed, he felt much more at peace and happy than he had in some time. For once, he realized that he may have gotten things exactly right.
The next morning Blaine awoke feeling contented and refreshed. It was the least troubling morning he had woken up to in some time. The previous night had been a success; he had won Kurt back and the ball had… Blaine frowned. What had happened at the end of the ball?
He bolted upright in bed, realizing that he had not said goodnight to his guests, leaving midway through without notice or explanation. He dressed himself and was about to hurry down to the dining hall to call a meeting with his aides when he noticed a handwritten note that had been slipped underneath his door. He snatched up the paper and instantly recognized Lord Sam's handwriting.
Sire,
I hope you will forgive me for this impertinent mode of communication, but I did not wish for you to be distressed in the morning. Last night I grew worried when you did not return, and I went to the front of the castle just in time to see you enter it with Kurt. Realizing that you intended to rest, I returned to the ball and informed the guests that you had been taken ill and were now indisposed, and I along with the other aides saw off the guests. I hope you do not think my actions presumptuous, I merely wished to make matters easier on you in the morning by giving a plausible explanation of your absence.
Yours &c,
Lord Samuel Evans
Blaine smiled at the note, reminding himself that he would have to thank Sam for his kindness and foresightedness in saving him from a great burden this morning. With a much lighter heart, Blaine dropped the note onto his bed and proceeded to skip down the staircase to the dining hall. He observed Kurt, graceful and beautiful as ever, sitting at the table. From his position at the door he called out a salutation, causing Kurt to look up with surprise and happiness.
"Did you sleep well, Kurt?" he asked once he had seated himself and filled his plate with food.
"Better than I have in some time," Kurt admitted. His clearer, pink coloured cheeks confirmed the truth of his answer. "And you, Sire?"
"Kurt, you know that you may call me Blaine now?"
Kurt blushed. "I – it seems like an impertinent form of address. I confess, I am half afraid to say it."
"You need not fear me in any case," Blaine reassured him warmly.
"B-Blaine."
"Was that so hard?"
"Yes. You do not realize – Blaine," Kurt said, emphasizing his name, "all your life you have had the freedom to address people as you choose. I have only had that luxury among my close acquaintances, none of whom I can speak with any more except Lord Sam. Being so intimate with someone is – it is novel. And a luxury."
Blaine squeezed his hand and said, "I am honoured to be that luxury."
They then turned the conversation to lighter matters for some time. Kurt's ever sharp mind however soon presented him with a problem, which he voiced in a hushed tone. "Sire – I mean, Blaine. What of your nuptials? You have told the kingdom of your plans, how will you call them off?"
Blaine smiled. "I shall inform the council today that the search is over, although I will not give them all the relevant information just yet. I would prefer us to have some more undisturbed adjustment time together."
"But how can you do this?" insisted Kurt.
Blaine raised a teasing eyebrow. "I have an advantage none other has."
"And what is that?"
"I am the king!"
Blaine did indeed inform the council that afternoon, with Kurt sitting silently at the back, that the search for his spouse was to be called off. There was an initial outburst, a clamour for explanations that were not given. But true to his word, once the king put his foot down (in as amiable a tone as possible) all complaints died away. His aides all suspected him of concealing something, but they resolved to trust Blaine's judgment and say nothing for now.
When Blaine was spotted strolling through the grounds with Kurt later that evening after their daily duties were complete however, the rumour mill produced hints as to what this concealed something might be. And surprisingly enough, the gossipers were extremely content with this resoltion.
It was not until Blaine walked Kurt back to his chambers that night that they spoke again of serious matters.
"If I hadn't been there to stop you, you really would have left, wouldn't you?" Blaine asked.
"Yes. I would have returned to my former home town."
"But why? You said you no longer liked the place."
"In my home village I still know some people who could have helped me reestablish myself. It was the most practical option."
"And what of Lord Karofsky?"
"I – I suppose I would have dealt with him when I had to."
Blaine paused before saying, "Another thing has been on my mind. You were in charge of the guest list for the ball where Karofsky cornered you. How did he get in?"
"I put him on the guest list," Kurt admitted. "I thought it would be suspicious of me to purposefully barr an eligible young man from the ball without an explanation. I never truly thought that he would attend."
"I suppose maybe he knew that he would find you there."
"Perhaps he did."
They reached the door to Kurt's chambers and Kurt leaned against it, looking at Blaine with big bright eyes.
"What do we do now, Blaine? Now that you have spoken to the council."
"I will discretely speak to the council again at the end of the week and inform them of my intention to court you. And then that will be announced to the kingdom. Once it is out in the open, we can take all the time we need. If that is agreeable to you, of course?"
Kurt smiled. "I think you have thought of everything."
"I need to. I have spent so much time thinking of nothing that I need to make up for lost time."
Kurt slowly put his hand over Blaine's and ran his fingers soothingly over the back of Blaine's palm. "We have both made mistakes Blaine. Let us forget them and attempt to move on."
He leaned forward and kissed Blaine softly, before pulling away and bidding him good night. For the second consecutive night, Blaine walked back to his chambers feeling light as air and happier than he had ever been.
Things were beginning to fall into place.
A/N: Hello everyone. Phew, monster of a chapter, longest one so far I think! I didn't want to put this at the start to annoy people when they were anticipating the intense reconciliation scene. So a few things:1/ Thank you again to everyone who alerted and reviewed. I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful all this support is and how much I appreciate it. I thank you, especially the anons who I can't PM personally with my thanks.
2/ This is the penultimate chapter. Sad right? I'm still undecided yet about a sequel/spin off from this, but I should be able to let you know in the next chapter.
3/ As for the finale, I'm sure you all have a pretty good idea of where I'm going. But I have a quick question to ask of you readers - does anyone particularly want a love scene/smut/m-rated scene/Klaine lovin' (or whatever term you prefer)? I haven't properly written one before and I'm conscious of ruining the story with a bad one - but I'll give it a go if the vast majority want it. So let me know - to M rate or not!
(4/ Random note: I finally started watching The Legend of Korra. What is that I see approaching nearby? Why I do believe it is a Bolin obsession... Be warned.)
Next (and final) update in about another two weeks I think. See you then, and let me know what you thought!