Are you excited?:)
I dedicate this chapter to Mara as a late birthday present.
Blaine bit his lip nervously as he watched a stunned Burt Hummel getting paler and paler with every passed second.
"Please, say something" Blaine said finally.
"So... you want to marry my son. Again" Burt said.
"Yes" Blaine nodded excitedly. "Well, I know the last one was too early, we were young and foolish but it's different this time."
"Are you sure?" Burt asked seriously.
"Yeah, of course" Blaine replied.
"Look, Blaine, I'm really happy for you but I don't think it's the right time to take this step" Burt said.
"Why not?" Blaine frowned.
"Because you only got back together a few months ago" Burt answered.
"You're right, normally, it would be a short time" Blaine said. "But we weren't strangers. We have known each other for years and we both know that we want to spend the rest of our lives together."
"Are you sure it will last longer this time?" Burt asked.
"Of course it will!" Blaine answered without hesitation. "Look, we made a few mistakes. Huge mistakes, that's right, but I can only say again: we were too young then. I should have waited for him to be ready and not rush into a marriage. I knew he didn't want it so soon but I didn't listen. That was really my fault. But now we're going to be parents and I want our baby to grow up in a real family."
"And you think the solution is a quick wedding before she's born?" Burt asked quietly.
"Uhm, no, I don't think we would get married so soon" Blaine answered. "It's up to Kurt but I think he would want to organize his own wedding."
"You can be sure of it" Burt smiled.
"So... what do you think?" Blaine asked hesitantly.
Burt fell silent again, considering his answer.
"Since you don't really need my permission..."
"But I would appreciate it" Blaine cut in.
"If Kurt wants to marry you, I will give you my blessing" Burt said finally.
"Thank you!" Blaine said happily and hugged Burt without thinking about what he was doing. He only realised what he was doing when Burt didn't react, he just stood there, unmoving. Blaine jumped back immediately. "Oops."
"We should go back. Kurt should notice our absence in any minute" Burt said after clearing his throat.
Blaine nodded and went to the door. His hand was on the handle when Burt called after him. He turned back with a raised eyebrow.
"You should skip the Beatles part this time" Burt said.
Blaine threw his head back and laughed.
"Fine" he nodded and tried to stop laughing as he opened the door.
~ o ~
There was something else Blaine needed to do before proposing: he had to talk to his mother. When he had been young, Pam had showed him the engagement ring of his grandmother and made him promise that he would use that ring to ask the love of his life to marry him. The last time when he had proposed to Kurt, he had known his mother would never accept him marrying so soon, so he had bought another ring for Kurt. But this time... everything was different. They were old enough and ready for the marriage.
Sadly, he had had no opportunity to talk to his mother during the baby shower, there had beenx only a few guests left after his talk with Burt and Kurt would have noticed them disappearing in the bedroom. So he had to meet his mother again. He wanted to ask Rachel to help him first but then he remembered the first time, when Blaine had asked the woman to help him with the secret proposal and how his secret had been out in no time. No, this time he had to keep it secret and the best way was to keep it from everybody. He needed Burt's permission but he knew the older man would never tell Kurt about the proposal. Neither his mother. But he couldn't tell anybody else.
So he asked his mother to meet him the next day and made sure he 'accidentally' left a window on Kurt's laptop open about Ralph Lauren baby clothes on sale. He smiled when Kurt ran to him twenty minutes later, telling him that he and Rachel would go and buy a few clothes the next afternoon. Blaine smiled and leaned back on the couch.
The next day, when he was sure Kurt wouldn't come back for his forgotten things, he grabbed his jacket and left to meet his mother in the nearby café. Pam was already there, waiting for him with her coffee in her hand.
"You're late" the woman said and stood up to greet his son.
"I know" Blaine said and kissed his mother's cheek. "I didn't want Kurt to know about this meeting."
"Oh?" Pam raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, of course not" Blaine smiled. "Did you bring the ring?"
"Yes" Pam said and after searching in her bag for a minute, she pulled out the small velvet box. "I didn't even think you remembered it."
"I remembered" Blaine smiled and opene the box to look at the shiny little ring. "You told me you would give it to me if I wanted to propose to my chosen."
"Yes, I told you..." Pam's eyes widened in realisation. "You want to ask Kurt to marry you!"
"Mom, a little quieter, please" Blaine muttered when he saw some of the guests looking towards them.
"You want to ask him, right?" Pam whispered excitedly.
"Yes" Blaine nodded.
"Oh my God!" Pam shouted and jumped up to hug his son again. "I'm so proud of you, Blaine!"
"Thank you, mom" Blaine smiled. "But I don't know if he would say 'yes'."
"Of course he will say 'yes'" Pam replied without hesitation. "I watched you the other day. You're so in love!"
"I want Elyse to grow up in a real family" Blaine explained. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with Kurt, so this is the right step. I know it didn't work out... for you and dad but I want to try it with Kurt."
"This is the right thing to do" Pam agreed. "And don't worry about the future, Blaine. I know my marriage with your father wasn't perfect at all, but we still had a few beautiful moments I will never regret."
Blaine smiled and looked down at the table.
"Now tell me about the proposal" his mother said and grabbed Blaine's hand.
"Can I have a coffee first?" Blaine asked and stood up. "Kurt won't be back for a few hours, we can talk about it."
"Be quick" Pam said and let go of her son's hand.
Blaine came back minutes later with a cup of coffee and two slices of cheesecake.
"I thought you would like it" he explained.
"Cheesecake? Always" Pam said as she grabbed her fork.
"Kurt loves it, too" Blaine smiled.
"Now tell me about the proposal" Pam said and took a bite of her cake, humming happily.
"Okay. So I want a romantic proposal. You know, flowers, dinner, and I want to sing something before the proposal. Oh, maybe I could ask my students to help me!" Blaine said excitedly.
Pam sighed and shook her head.
"Look, Blaine, I know you love romance and big gestures but I don't think that's what Kurt needs right now" she said carefully.
"Why?" Blaine asked in surprise. He thought his idea was great.
"Look, Kurt is only a little over a month away from giving birth" Pam started slowly. "It's getting harder and harder for him every single day. I'm sure all he wants is a great meal and a comfortable chair. He doesn't need a dozent students to be there when it's one of the most intimate moment of yours."
"Maybe you're right" Blaine said, thinking. "But what should I do? I want it to be special."
"It will be special, Blaine, but you don't need special accessories to it. Just be yourself and tell him how much you love him" Pam said.
"Thank you, mom" Blaine said, hugging his mother. "You're the best."
"Of course" Pam laughed.
~ o ~
Blaine decided to not wait for too long. They had only a few weeks left before the baby's birth and he wanted to know Kurt's answer before that. So he called the restaurant that afternoon, right after he got home and made a reservation for the next Friday, so he had three more days to prepare everything. He decided to buy Kurt a large bouquet of roses, some chocolate, some candles, cheese and alcohol free champagne – to continue the romantic night if everything went well – and a new outfit for himself for the big day. He made sure he hid everything in his wardrobe as he waited for Kurt to get ready. He told him that he wanted to have dinner with him before the baby's birth since they wouldn't have the opportunity for a while. Luckily, Kurt didn't know what was going on. He took his time to get ready, just like the other times, so Blaine had enough time to go through his speech as he dressed up.
"I can do this... I can do this" he muttered over and over. It was so hard. Last time when he had asked Kurt to marry him, it had been so simple. He had had no fear or doubt, he had known what he was doing. But now...
"What can you do?"
Blaine jumped and turned around with wide eyes to find Kurt standing at the open door.
"Nothing!" Blaine said, running his fingers through his hair. "I... uhm... I have some trouble with my tie but I can manage it."
"Well, tell me if you're ready because I definitely am" Kurt smiled and turned to leave.
"Just five more minutes" Blaine called after him and went back to the drawer. He hid the box in there because he knew Kurt would never search through his things. But now he had to place it into his pocket to be ready for the right time. He finished dressing and went after Kurt into the living room. "I'm ready."
Kurt stood up from the couch, swaying slightly because of his huge baby bump. When he looked at Blaine and noticed the new outfit, he smiled and licked his lips.
"You look great" Kurt said.
"Yeah, I... I saw these clothes and couldn't leave them in the store" Blaine said awkwardly.
"No wonder. You look great" Kurt said as he ran his fingers down Blaine's chest.
"Thanks" Blaine blushed. "Uhm... Can we go now?"
"Yeah. Yeah, of course" Kurt said.
Blaine checked the time and grabbed Kurt's hand, leading him to the door hastily – or as fast as he could a pregnant man with a huge belly. They were late and he wanted that evening to be perfect.
In the restaurant, the waiter led them to their table which was right beside the band. Blaine promised he wouldn't sing with his students but it didn't mean he couldn't ask the band to play some of Kurt's favourite songs that night. The pregnant man deserved it. Just like the flowers they found on the table. Blaine had asked the manager to place them there, so the bouquet was the first thing Kurt saw when they stepped to the table. Blaine rushed forward to pull out the chair for Kurt.
"Thank you" Kurt said as they sat down. Beside them, the band started playing a soft tune. "I love this song!"
Blaine smiled knowingly and stroked a petal of the closest rose.
"I know" he said quietly.
"And the flowers a-and everything! God, Blaine, this is perfect" Kurt said as he grabbed Blaine's hand.
"I'm glad you like it" Blaine replied and kissed his gently.
"I love it" Kurt whispered against Blaine's lips. "And you, too."
"I love you, too" Blaine smiled, putting a hand on Kurt's neck.
They ordered their drinks and food and as they waited, they enjoyed the music and made small talks. Blaine was getting nervous and it was harder and harder for him to focus on what Kurt was talking about. He knew he had to pay attention because he didn't want to ruin their date, but they were getting closer to the proposal and he couldn't help it.
"Is there something wrong?"
Blaine looked at Kurt with wide eyes.
"Uhm... No. Of course not. Why?" he asked.
"You seem so nervous today" Kurt smiled.
"I... I just want you to feel good tonight" Blaine replied quickly.
"I do" Kurt smiled. "This is perfect, Blaine. Thank you."
"You deserve the best" Blaine smiled.
They got their dinner and they started eating in silence, their eyes never leaving the other's. The food was delicious but it was hard for Blaine to eat it. He was waiting for the second when he could kneel down in front of Kurt and tell him everything he needed.
"Can you hear this?" Kurt asked, smiling.
Blaine put down his fork and listened to the song the band was playing.
"Of course" he said.
"We wanted to sing it to each other on our wedding day" Kurt said.
"Yeah. Our silly teenage dreams" Blaine laughed.
"They weren't silly at all" Kurt replied.
"Would you like to dance?" Blaine asked. "You-you don't have to if you don't..."
"I would love to dance with you" Kurt cut in.
Blaine stood up from the table and helped Kurt up to his feet. He led him into the centre of the room where a few more couples were dancing. It was a little awkward with Kurt's huge baby bump but Blaine managed to put his arms around him as the band kept playing 'Come What May'.
"You know, I dreamt about this once" Kurt smiled. "After Mr Schue's almost wedding. We watched Moulin Rouge with the girls when we couldn't get out because of the snow. When I heard this song, I imagined ourselves singing it."
"Well, we would sing it perfectly together" Blaine said.
"That's true. It was perfect" Kurt agreed.
The song ended and they went back to their table. Kurt sat back down and as he looked up at Blaine, his eyes full of happiness and love, Blaine knew his moment arrived. He reached into his pocket with a shaky hand and pulled out the small box.
"Kurt, there is something I have to tell you" he said and kneeled down in front of the pregnant man. Kurt's eyes widened and gaped at him as Blaine played with the box in his hands. "There's so much I have to say but I try to be quick because it's not the time of a long speech..."
He shook his head and took a deep breath.
"And I really don't want to repeat my first speech but there are things that didn't change. I fell in love with you that first day when we met at Dalton but I was so stupid, I didn't realise what you meant to me. When we finally got together, I thought that I was the happiest person of the world. But I was wrong."
Kurt raised an eyebrow. He didn't know what Blaine wanted with this. Elyse made a strange movement in his stomach and he put a hand over his bump to calm her.
"I didn't realise how important you were until I lost you" Blaine continued. "I was... devastated. And when I got you back, I still couldn't keep you. I know I made a mistake by forcing a quick wedding when I knew you weren't ready for that. And it cost five years of our lives."
Something wasn't right with the baby. Why did she get so active? It couldn't be because of her father's proposal, right? Kurt stood up and tried to move slowly to make his daughter calm down.
"Okay, I will be quick, I promise" Blaine said hastily as he watched Kurt. "Uhm... what I want to say... Now I know that I'm the happiest person of the world. After all these years, I finally got you back and I'm so grateful for that. And you're carrying our beautiful baby daughter, the other most important person in my life. I know my life is finally perfect and I want to spend my remaining years with you. I want to grow old with you, Kurt, and it doesn't matter how much trouble we have to go through, I won't leave you ever again. Because you're my soulmate, my one true love. The person who makes my life complete. So, Kurt Hummel, will you marry me?"
Kurt smiled as he looked down at Blaine. Maybe because of the pregnancy hormones or because of Blaine's words, he didn't know, but he was crying in happiness. He opened his mouth to answer the question when he heard a popping sound and in the next second, he felt warm water running down between his legs, soaking his pants.
"Oh, no" he muttered as he looked down with wide eyes.
Blaine's eyes widened. He was so lost in his proposal speech that he didn't notice what was happening to Kurt.
"No? I-I..."
"Blaine, my water broke" Kurt explained when he saw Blaine didn't understand him. There wasn't too much water but enough for him to know that it was time to go to the hospital.
"You're in labour" Blaine gulped and looked at the guests by the nearest table as he stood up. "He's in labour."
"That's right" Kurt rolled his eyes.
Blaine turned back to him, finally understanding what was going on.
"You can't be in labour! You have a month left!" Blaine shouted.
"Well, it looks like our daughter doesn't want to wait any longer" Kurt replied.
"I will call the ambulance" the manager said as she rushed into her office with a worried looking waiter.
"Thank you" Kurt smiled weakly. He didn't feel pain at all but he felt slightly dizzy. And his panicked boyfriend wasn't helping at all.
"God, it's bad. You shouldn't be in labour" Blaine muttered again.
"Well, I am. So would you put yourself together and help me?" Kurt asked angrily. It wasn't the right time to be panicked. They had to go to the hospital as fast as they could.
"Right. Hospital. Ambulance. Got it" Blaine nodded and took a deep breath. Kurt was right, he had to remain calm.
"Thank God" Kurt sighed and with the help of Blaine and one of the waiters, he walked to the front door to wait for the help to arrive.