I know I've gotten behind in updating this story. My apologies; with the start of my summer break, I've been rather uninspired (though not where other stories have been concerned, surprisingly). Also, my apologies if this chapter and my chapter for "Choke" are brief and, for lack of a better word, boring. It's midnight where I am, and I'm tired, but I felt compelled to write these for you. The next chapters should be out within the next couple of days, and will hopefully come easier to me. Until then, cheers!
With Burt's permission, the boys had gotten a hotel room for the night, sensing that they would have old demons to hash out, for which they would need privacy, which couldn't be readily had at either of their homes.
At the moment, Blaine was more worried for Kurt than for himself. Having to crown Finn and Rachel must have brought back painful memories of the previous year's prom, and Blaine knew for a fact that Kurt had feared a repeat of their last prom together, which thankfully hadn't come to pass.
Blaine led Kurt over to sit on the edge of the bed and knelt down to remove his shoes. He felt Kurt's hand on his shoulder and paused what he was doing to look up at his boyfriend.
"Come here, you," said Kurt gently, smiling down at him. Blaine willingly complied, stilling only slightly when Kurt's hands found his still-ungelled hair and began to play with his curls.
"Kurt . . ." he said, though whether as a warning or a plea he had no idea.
"I love you just the way you are, Blaine Anderson," he whispered. "You shouldn't have to hide this part of yourself from me."
"But it's so wild and frizzy," Blaine complained. "I wouldn't say that I feared your reaction, necessarily, or that I thought you would leave me when you saw the way I really looked. It's just- I don't even like my hair when it's natural. Why should you?"
"Because I love everything about you," Kurt replied surely. "Just as you love everything about me, even my fear tonight that I would be crowned prom queen again. Kurt closed his eyes briefly. His whispered advice to Rachel had been as much for himself as for her. He returned his attention to Blaine, who was sitting patiently, just watching him.
"Let's go to bed," he whispered softly.
Taking what they needed from their overnight bags, they prepared to go to sleep, crawling beneath the covers and turning out the lights. Under the cover of darkness, Blaine dared to whisper to Kurt, "You're stronger than you know."
Kurt had heard him, and snuggled further into Blaine's sheltering embrace, relishing the warmth that came from sharing his bed with another person. He promised himself that he wouldn't ever let Blaine go. He'd do whatever it took to stay together and keep this amazing man by his side.