A/N: I don't own Glee (Ryan Murphy and Fox do) or Disney or anything else you might recognize here, but use them here with love.
[Cue the Glee voiceover guy] Well, years have gone by, and our little group of ex-furs and -faces has moved on. So, wait,, why are they back at DisneyWorld? I thought you'd never ask!
"So, Kurt Hummel-Anderson, how's it feel to be back?"
Kurt smiled, inclining his head a little as he caught Blaine's eye, then Sue's. He reached down to brush away the curls that had fallen on his daughter's brow. "Great. Everyone's been so welcoming, and being a part of this special is an honor." He looked down again at his sleeping toddler, then back at the crowd of microphones pointed at him. "But we're kind of bushed from travel, so we're looking forward to calling it an early night. Lots to do tomorrow!"
"I have a question for Blaine," another reporter called out, trying to catch the man's eye.
"Sure!" Blaine dazzled her with what Kurt recognized as his show smile. Blaine was kind to his fans to a fault, but not tonight, he mused, reaching his hand out to hold his husband's, which was resting lightly on the handle of the stroller. No one's gonna keep you up late, not while I'm around, he promised himself. Kurt saw that Blaine caught his look, and probably read his mind. He couldn't wait to get to a shower and bed.
"I think my fans are glad you work when I do," Blaine smirked as he closed the door to the SUV and driver the hotel had waiting for them.
"They can adore you later," Kurt growled. "Tonight you're mine, completely," he sang to his husband in a low voice. "You give your love so sweetly."
"Tonight the light of love is in your eyes," Blaine sang back, then Kurt joined him to sing, "will you still love me tomorrow?"
Blaine leaned forward to brush his lips to Kurt's cheek, then smiled at Liz as she slept in her car seat in the back row. "Good thing she sleeps so well when her daddies sing."
"She's gonna be up all night, isn't she?" Kurt frowned, raising a brow as he studied her.
"Nah, we've had such a busy day, Kurt, and she barely slept on the plane. Not to mention how much she ran in the airport." Blaine chuckled as he looked back at her.
Kurt sighed. "You always say that, but forgive me if I don't share your optimism. But at least Dad and Carole are meeting us here tomorrow."
"Um, no. No, they're not," Blaine said, furrowing his brows.
"What! And you're telling me this now!" Kurt spat, narrowing his eyes.
Blaine waited a moment, then knew he couldn't keep it in anymore. Breaking into a huge grin and interlacing his fingers with his indignant husband's, he leaned forward and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "that would be because," he paused, watching his husband's face closely, "they're already here, waiting for us."
"Oh my God!" Kurt shrieked, then, straining against the seat belt, caught his husband in a tight hug. "You are the best!"
"Daddy, are we there yet?" They both turned to the back row now, and watched Liz rub her eyes. "I wanna meet Minnie Mouse and Tigger and, and … are they here?" She peered woozily outside.
"No, honey, it's dark out, and they're in bed," Kurt crooned to her.
"But tomorrow morning I bet you'll meet them," Blaine smiled at her, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "And, you know, I do know who you'll see tonight."
She yawned hugely, pouting a little. "Who?"
"Grandma and Grandpa!" Kurt beamed at her.
Blaine watched in amusement. Kurt really did know how to distract her, which was a very good thing. At three years old, she was showing signs of being every bit as intense as Rachel, and only their skill in redirecting her saved them from major melt-downs. But this was working, as he knew it would: little Liz (or, more properly, Tracy Elizabeth Hummel-Anderson) adored her grandparents. He congratulated himself for this tweak to the plan, which Burt and Carole had been happy to conspire with him to pull off.
"Can I have ice cream when we get there?" She asked, directing puppy eyes at her daddies.
"Of course, sweetie. We've had a long day," Blaine added.
"Soooo long," she rolled her eyes. "So many days," she shook her head sadly, dropping to look at her feet, clearly angling for pity.
Kurt giggled, enjoying the dramatic display, and saw that his husband was just barely keeping his own mirth inaudible. He cleared his throat, figuring he'd be better at keeping his face straight and his voice in control. "Just one, punkin," he reassured her, "but we're almost there. I can see our hotel now!" Kurt prayed that there would still be ice cream available, as he watched her snap to full alertness. There damned well better be ice cream, he thought, knowing it was not a detail his little one would forget.
"Yayyyy!" She bounced in her seat.
"You're a genius," Kurt murmured to his husband.
"I know," Blaine answered.
"This is pure heaven," Kurt purred as he finally sunk into the oversized bathtub and into his husband's lap.
Blaine nuzzled Kurt's neck and murmured, "really, Kurt? Florida? With the bugs," he leaned forward to kiss Kurt's collarbone, "and the humidity," his lips returned to the side of Kurt's neck, "and way too much sun -"
Kurt melted into his husband, eyes fluttering closed as an expression of pure bliss took over his face. "It is. For now." He turned around to return some of Blaine's kisses. "Perfect."
"That's what I was going for," Blaine agreed.
"Daddy! Papa!" Liz squealed as she launched herself across the hall at exactly 7:30 the next morning.
Blaine was there, door already open for her, as he mouthed to his in-laws, 'thank you' while he reached down to scoop her up.
"Did you have fun, sweetie?"
Liz giggled. "Oh yes!" Her eyes danced as she rambled on. "We had ice creams, and Grandpa and Grandma took me to go see some fireworks, and we had ice cream again," Blaine's eyebrows shot up as he looked at the guilty parties, "and we watched The Little Mermaid in a big, big bed in the hotel room."
Kurt joined them, fresh from styling his hair, and reached over to hold her. "Ice cream twice, dad? Who are you, even?" he smirked as he glanced over at his father.
Burt shrugged and squeezed Carole's shoulders, then made Kurt laugh by sticking out his tongue, before addressing his son. "She's fine, Kurt. One night of ice cream for dinner -"
"And dessert!" Liz interrupted him, giggling again at her dads' pretend-shock.
"Is just fine for my little granddaughter."
"And just how did this happen?" Kurt questioned him, as Blaine fixed her hair bow.
"Well," Carole smiled, "she said was hungry and thirsty and wanted ice cream when you dropped her off, and after the fireworks she sort of begged for some more. I think she was hungry again."
"It was delicious," Burt agreed. "But enough of that, we've got a big day, kiddo," he said to the little girl, reaching back to pick her up again.
"Daddy! Papa! I'm gonna meet Minnie Mouse! And Tigger! And Peter Pan, and, and -" she ran out of steam, "I don't know, everyone! They get to eat breakfast with me!"
Blaine leaned forward to kiss his daughter's forehead, then Kurt did the same. "I think they're very lucky," he said in a serious tone. "Be very good for your grandparents."
"We love you," Kurt said. He looked up to address his father again. "We'll see you this afternoon. Oh, and dad?"
Here it comes, Burt grinned, as he waited for it, regarding his son with a look of mild solicitude. "Yes, Kurt?"
"No ice cream until after lunch. A real one. With actual food."
"Okay, you win," Carole grumbled, taking a day pack with supplies from Blaine and then reaching into her wallet for some cash.
"Not again," Kurt moaned, rolling his eyes as Burt hooted and collected the cash from his wife.
"Kiddo, you make it too easy. And hey? Telling you we had ice cream twice last night all but guaranteed I'd win."
"Kurt? We've got to get going or we'll be doing those interviews on an empty stomach," Blaine reminded him. Blaine tried to stifle his amusement at Burt's gentle teasing. From the narrowed eyes Kurt shot at him, he surmised that he'd failed at this.
Kurt rolled his eyes once more, smiling this time, kissed Liz one more time, and Blaine did the same, as the adults settled on plans to meet up later.
"They're not gonna ditch us for breakfast, are they?" Sue wondered, reaching for another sugar packet for her coffee.
"No."
Sue frowned at her husband. "No? Just like that? C'mon, they're not here yet, so you go tell me what makes you so darned sure."
Rob nodded his head and smiled at her. "Okay, for one, Blaine is the politest person on the planet, and he promised they'd meet us for breakfast. That would be enough right there. And two, we both know that Kurt can be downright evil if deprived of both food and coffee."
"A right Mr. Hyde under those circumstances," she nodded, agreeing, then glanced to the doors. "Oh! And there they are!" She waved them over with a big smile, and got up to hug them both.
"Good morning! Hope we're not late," Blaine said to their friends, after hugs all around.
"We're on time, Blaine," Kurt reminded him. "How's the breakfast buffet here? And where are your kids?"
"Same place as yours, I expect," Sue drawled. "Camp Grandma."
"You should have seen them disappear this morning," Rob added. "For once they were easy to get out of bed."
Blaine went off to get coffees. "I'll be right back."
"Where's Rachel and Brody?" Sue asked.
"I think in our same hotel, but she made no promises when it came to breakfast," Kurt answered.
"Poor baby, probably wants sleep and breakfast in bed."
"That, and she hardly lets her baby out of her sight," Blaine added, easing into their booth and handing Kurt a coffee.
"Do you think she'll bring her to the interview?" Sue cooed.
"Darlin', your baby stealing tendencies are no secret," Rob teased her.
"She might," Kurt sipped his coffee and smiled fondly. "We're lucky we could talk her into traveling."
"Well, it helps that Brody's on our side. He wouldn't want her to miss this, and he knows her well enough to know she'd regret it if she didn't come," Blaine said. "You want me to get your breakfast, Kurt?"
Kurt narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized the buffet. "Nah, I'll go with you."
"Those two are still the cutest things," Sue sighed. "Though Rachel and Brody give them some decent competition there."
"You just like taking credit for all the happy couples," Rob teased her.
"Just statin' the facts," she insisted.
"I think the fans are going to love hearing from the lot of you," he went on. "Me? I at least get to stay out of it."
"Well, I happen to think your perspective would be interesting, but it's their loss," she said, snuggling into his side. "But I'm glad you'll be there, sweetie."
"Me too." He kissed her hair. "Besides, you know the kids are going to grill me for all the details, not to mention insisting I wangle autographs for them shamelessly!"
"I'll make it up to you later," she promised.
"Sounds like fun," he agreed.
"You're up," Blaine said softly, his lips near his husband's ear.
"Why do I have nerves like this all of a sudden?" Kurt fretted, biting his lip and looking straight ahead.
Blaine rolled his eyes and smiled fondly at him. "Kurt Hummel-Anderson, major Broadway star, and you're all nervous?" He stopped, noticing that Kurt's nerves were real, and sidled in closer to him, planting his hands on his husband's shoulders, his face beside his now. "You, my love, are gonna totally kill it. I have no doubt." And he pecked him on the cheek before giving him a gentle shove towards the brightly lit studio.
Kurt smiled back at him, looking more relaxed now, shaking his head at his husband's look of pure love and confidence before crossing the last few steps to his seat.
"Now, Kurt, you know the general outline of the questions we're going to cover," Serena, his host said, in a friendly but business-like tone.
"I do," he nodded.
"But we want it to sound spontaneous, within those constraints," she went on.
"I get it," he agreed.
She flashed a brilliant grin at him. "Thank you so much for coming." She turned to her crew, and a gopher stepped forward with coffees for both of them, placing them on the coffee table.
Kurt reached for his and took a grateful sip. "Nonfat mocha grande," he said, looking like he was in heaven. "You know my coffee order?"
He heard Blaine's laughter in the wings at this. His host didn't seem to notice.
"Of course we do! We here at The Mouse are nothing if not thorough."
"Right," Kurt said, wondering just how far that went, but then deciding not to obsess about it.
"Places, everyone," she said. "Quiet on the set!" She looked at the camera crew, nodded, and it started.
"Now, we welcome back to Orlando one of our own, Mr. Kurt Hummel-Anderson!" she said, beaming for the camera and leading in the applause the studio audience joined her in.
"It's nice to be back," he answered, angling towards her with a smile. "Sometimes on Broadway it seems like all roads start here."
"We do claim a lot of Broadway stars as our own," she said to him. "We're proud to say we've helped launch some exciting talents over the years." She leaned towards him and raised an eyebrow. "Now, I've been given special permission by the highest authority -"
"The Pope?" Kurt smirked slightly, warming to the banter.
"The Mouse," she corrected him. "In more than one case, starting as a Cast Member here – and for those who don't work here, that could mean anyone working in the Disney theme parks – led later on to embodying that exact role on Broadway. And sitting here in front of me, you are the first example of that."
"That's true," he agreed, and remembered the official talking points. "I mean, it was a natural progression." He saw her smile and nod of encouragement, and found the place to look at the camera so that it would look like he was addressing the viewing audience. "When I was a child, I loved the movies, and the Disney on Ice shows, which had been around a long time, toured a lot, so I got to see those a few times."
"Which was your favorite?" she asked.
Kurt smiled fondly, looking off in the distance for a moment. "Beauty and the Beast. It was also the scariest. That sequence where she's in the forest surrounded by wolves and those eyes everywhere! I couldn't look away, but my mom said I held her hands so tightly she could still feel it hours later. I loved it all – the costumes, the music, the dancing." He paused a moment, remembering. "I didn't get to see any of the shows on Broadway as a kid, but I knew about them and I couldn't wait to go see them."
"So, how'd you become a Cast Member?"
He smiled, but was interrupted as Gina walked onto stage to join them.
"Gina!" He launched out of his chair and met her half way.
"Folks, this is Gina Newton, Kurt's boss back in the summer here ten years ago. Tell us what you've been up to!" Serena said as Gina took a seat next to Kurt.
"Well, I supervise some of best Disney magic-makers – the hard-working people you see dressed as beloved characters, or suited up to look like cartoons," she said, beaming proudly at Kurt. "I still work directly with our new people, still get excited to help them learn how it's done."
"It's so great to see you!" Kurt said, clearly excited.
"Oh, sweetie, it's great to see you too," she cooed. "Not that it's been that long."
"Well, yeah, I always make sure you get the best tickets to my shows," he admitted.
"So, tell us about the part you played in Kurt's future on Broadway," Serena prompted.
Gina beamed again, looking like a proud parent. "I'd mentioned in management meetings before that if they wanted to find talent for the next theatrical productions, they should try us first. A lot of our key talent are theatre majors, after all. When I heard they were finally following up on my suggestion, I was happy and excited – and I couldn't wait to hear what show they were looking to do next."
"It just so happens we have some visual aids of our then future Broadway star we can share," Serena smiled for the camera, as Kurt murmured something no one could hear and buried his face in his hands.
"And a brand new version of Peter Pan – close to the classic Disney cartoon, but with some elements of the older play, was in the works," Gina continued, as they saw on the monitor in front of them what the audience would see in the special.
"Oh no," Kurt breathed, smiling awkwardly.
"Oh my God, he was so cute!" Serena fan-girled. And there was Kurt, ten years earlier, in his full Disney park style Peter Pan regalia, posing with a little girl, then another shot with a family, then another of him drawing his sword against a cartoonish Captain Hook.
"The Cast Member official pictures were one thing, but I could also tell them what experience each one had." Gina tried to look stealthy as she stage-whispered, "there is more than one of each character on staff at any time, but they never appear together. Of course."
"Of course," Serena added, solemnly.
Gina patted Kurt's arm affectionately. "The pictures were helpful, but couldn't convey something really major for him and for this part."
"His voice," Serena supplied.
"Exactly." Gina squeezed his arm lightly. "They wanted to try something new – a male to act as Peter, who was not a child, but could also handle the vocals, and the physicality of it, and who could exude a certain something that would make his presence otherworldly, but not too much so, on the stage. I told them I had just the guy."
"Now, we all know how this story ends, but what other experience did he have that you knew?" Serena asked her.
"Gymnastics. Including being a key squad member for his high school's award-winning Cheerios," Gina said, then glanced at the monitors, which now showed clips of Kurt as a high school cheerleader, flanked by girls, starring in an elaborate routine, surrounded by the marching band. "I figured he'd be able to handle the wire work required for the part, knowing what he could do without wires back then."
"Oh, Gina, how could you," Kurt giggled, from behind his hands as the parts of his face that weren't covered glowed red.
"Legend has it you didn't tell them everything," the host went on.
"I didn't." Gina smiled again. "I let them meet a few of the other Peters, and then had Kurt go last. But," she held up her hand, "I had them listen to his audition tape right before meeting him."
"What did I sing?" Kurt wondered aloud.
"As If We Never Said Goodbye," Gina reminded him. "Perfect! They couldn't wait to meet you."
"At the time, I didn't know what they were scouting for," Kurt said. "I thought maybe one of the in-park shows or something."
"Well, they told me that day they were putting you on the top of their list, with auditions starting in September."
Kurt chuckled. "And you told me to go back to NYADA. Insisted really, when I was planning on going back to college in Ohio."
"Your father sort of helped me there," she admitted, satisfied by the shocked look on his face.
"What!" Kurt spluttered.
Serena danced in her seat, loving the reactions, knowing this would make good television. "Spill it, Gina!"
"I sort of told your father to encourage you to go back to New York, that you'd have an important audition in September that I couldn't tell you about yet."
"But you could tell him?" Kurt asked, his brow furrowed.
"Not exactly. But I knew I could bend that rule a little, and he promised me he wouldn't tell you."
"And the rest is Broadway history, folks." Serena turned towards the cameras again. "Kurt Hummel-Anderson became the first in a string of Orlando to Broadway success stories, in a role he originated on the stage, Disney's Peter Pan, the Musical."
She gave the signal that showed a break in filming, and Blaine rushed to join them, hugging Gina along with Kurt, and stealing glances of the Broadway footage the monitors were showing.
A/N: I'm back! And while I was planning on this chapter being the last, once I had this idea in mind (flashing forward ten years and showing how our friends ended up) it became more than that. We know part of what happened with Kurt now, and in the next chapters we'll see … no spoilers! More happy fluff. That, for sure.
I'm on tumblr, as nightingale63. If you enjoyed this story, I'd so love to hear from you (and I'll be honest, encouragement makes it easier to find time to commit the rest of it to writing). Thank you so much for your support, dear readers!