Prompt: Rock the Vote
Characters: Kurt and Blaine
Words: 566
Date: September 26, 2012
And I'd like to say that Ryan Murphy did a beautiful job filling this prompt Tuesday on The New Normal!
He was glad he had arrived in New York just in time to have a choice. One day later and he would have been locked out of the November election in his new city. But as he passed Obama and Romney posters on the walls of NYC, a certain excitement filled him. In 30 days he would meet his residency requirement and could register to vote on the last eligible day.
It was a choice he had to make. A choice his father had left up to him.
Voting in New York meant truly belonging to the greatest city on earth. He imagined holding Rachel's hand as the two skipped to wherever their voting booth might be, pulling their levers or punching their holes or filling in their little circles, whatever way the city counted the hopes and dreams of its people. They'd go out for coffee and they'd giggle and squeal about their first presidential election, feeling like real grownups in a city that held for them every opportunity.
But that image in his mind made the choice easy.
On a cold November 4th, he used his father's frequent flyer miles to travel back to Ohio where Blaine met him at the airport. With a brief kiss and a tight hug, they climbed into Blaine's car and clasped hands between the seats. There would be plenty of time for catching up. Today was a day that was bigger than themselves.
Kurt had thought that nothing could beat the year before when he'd walked into the voting booth for the first time and had the honor of pulling the lever for his father to become Congressman. But even then, he'd still felt like a child. This was different. Hand in hand with the man who he dreamed of spending the rest of his life, they walked into Lima Towers, where early voting was set up. Kurt heard Blaine catch his breath as he saw the voting booths, and he instantly knew that he'd made the right choice to be by Blaine's side for his first election. Pride filled Blaine's eyes and his skin glowed with it. Because this election was about them; their future, their rights, and the rights of so many like them. It was about healthcare for all, and the role of government to care of its weakest citizens, and first and foremost, it was about marriage equality in all fifty states.
Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand. "No matter what happens, Blaine, this is our chance to be heard."
Kurt and Blaine had both felt powerless so often in their lives. This was their time to take a stand and no one had a right to take that from them. Ohio was a battleground, and their vote could truly make a difference.
With quick smiles to one another before entering their own booths, they each looked over the names of the candidates who would soon have the power of their future in their hands. With great pride and responsibility, and tears in their eyes, they casted their vote for the ones they felt would hold their needs and their interests in their hearts.
On Tuesday night, Kurt would watch the results Skyping with Blaine and huddled close to Rachel. No matter what happened, he would watch the Ohio tally and know that two of the votes cast belonged to him and the man he loved.