Ugh, I'm so sorry guys! I hate how this has turned out, and I haven't even had time to send it off to be betaed. School has been really rather stressful, and I've found very little time to write over the last week. This chapter isn't at all how I wanted it to turn out, and I was so close to just telling you that there wouldn't be a chapter this week. But I love you too much. So, I hope this sad excuse for a chapter is better than none at all?
This chapter was going to include the whole of Friday, but I just wasn't able to write it. As a result, it will be even longer before we are back in Columbus with our boys. I'm afraid that this chapter is very much about the reunion and what the ND members have been doing since high school, rather than focusing on the Kurt-Blaine relationship. There is a tiny amount of fluff, but not as much as I would have liked to put in, nor as much as I usually include.
I have to say it up here, just cos. AlexiaD99 is an amazing writer, and she has recently uploaded a new chapter of Confusing Pretty Little Thing. Coatsy and I fangirled over it quite a bit :) She even mentioned me at the start, which made me scream and flail. Yeah, I do like to embarrass myself at school... :/
Hello also to paddyofurniture, for listening to me :) This community is all the better for you being here :D
If borogroves reads this, then WOW. Completely honoured. The Man with the Hippo Head Brooch is simply fantastic, and I urge everyone who hasn't already heard of it to search it out and READ IT!
Story so far...
Blaine and Kurt headed down to Lima for the annual New Directions reunion. They arrived and relaxed, listening to Rachel sing one of her new songs and ending up in tears.
-*T&C*-
Blaine awoke to the sight of sunlight dancing on the wall, and the sound of blues music being played downstairs. A smile flickered across his face and he wriggled backwards, closer to Kurt's touch. And a bit further. And a bit- BANG.
"What the hell was that?"
"Ow, my head..." Blaine sat up, rubbing his head vigorously. The sheet from the bed was half-covering him as he lay on the floor. He turned and looked up at his boyfriend. "I think I sort of forgot that we weren't in a double."
Kurt pouted sympathetically. "So this was my fault?"
Blaine started, eyes wide. "No! No, not at all!"
"Hey, I was kidding!" A frown played with his delicate features. "Are you okay though?"
"I'll live."
"Want me to kiss is better?"
Blaine grinned. "I'm hardly going to say no, am I?"
Twenty minutes later, the boys walked into the kitchen. Blaine's hair was still wet but Kurt, who had taken the first shower, had already styled his chestnut-coloured hair. Both were wearing jeans and a shirt; Blaine had a plain red shirt, hanging out of a pair of black straight-legs, while Kurt paired pale blue skinnies with a darker blue, checked shirt. Kurt went to the cupboard to pour himself a bowl of cereal while Blaine slid a couple of slices of bread into the toaster and searched around in the fridge for the butter and apricot jam. Finn and Rachel were sat at the breakfast bar, while Burt and Carole has taken up residence on the table, with the morning's newspaper and mugs of coffee.
"Sleep alright, son?"
"Yeah thanks dad." He decided not to tell him about the incident of Blaine falling out if bed while seeking warmth from his arms, and instead nodded to the paper. "Anything interesting?"
"Erm, they caught the train guy. And there was a break-in at the Gap store. You know, that one that Blaine seranaded that guy in?"
Blaine stared at Kurt. "You told people about that? Ughh." He collapsed into a third chair around the table, waiting for his toast to pop up. "Please, Rach, at least tell me he didn't tell you?"
"No can do, I'm afraid." The dark-haired girl turned her head to face the direction of where she had heard Blaine's voice come from. "I believe we had a girly sleepover and he even ate pizza without a second thought for his delicate skin. Oh, and he wouldn't stop going on about you and how much he loved you and hhfgh-"
"I'm sorry Rachel, but I'm only taking my hand away if you promise faithfully to shut the hell up and never say another word about that night."
"Mmggh."
"Just nod or shake." Rachel nodded her head underneath Kurt's hand. "Good." He removed his grip on her mouth.
"Fiiiiiiinn? How red is he?"
Her husband chuckled. "Very."
Blaine stood and crossed over to his boyfriend, kissing him squarely on his mouth. Kurt forgot his embarrassment and moaned into the kiss, placing his hands on Blaine's hips and pulling him closer, until their bodies were touching.
"Ahm, boys? It's too early in the morning for stuff like that. Put him down, Kurt."
Kurt pulled away and glared at his father, but walked over to the counter where he had been preparing his breakfast, wiggling his hips as he walked, teasing Blaine. Blaine heard a bleep from his pocket and pulled his phone out, reading the message. His face twisted when he saw it, and he hastily typed out a reply before sliding it back into his jeans and wandering over to the toaster to collect his toast which had just popped up. Kurt finished pouring his bowl of cereal and took it over to the table, taking the seat which Blaine had vacated. Blaine buttered his toast and spread on the jam before also taking his plate to the table and sitting opposite Kurt. He felt a foot and gently rubbed it with his own. When he recieved no reaction from Kurt, he rubbed a bit harder. Carole coughed, and Blaine looked at her. She had her eyebrows raised. He grimaced and apologised to her telepathically, then checked under the table, found the right pair of feet, and started climbing the legs attached to them. This time, he recieved a positive response from the gorgeous man sitting opposite him.
"Right, I'm off to the garage. You will be able to manage without me?"
Finn pulled a face at his stepfather and Kurt just snorted. "Dad, please. We're not seventeen anymore. We should be out of the house by eleven anyway."
Burt nodded and stood from the table, kissing his wife sweetly before leaving the house with a quick "bye!"
"Kurt! I need your opinion." Rachel's shrill voice rang out from the other side of the kitchen. She got down from her stool and stood where Kurt could see her whole body, swatting away the hand that she knew Finn would be holding out to guide her as to where she was going. "The dress: yay or nay?"
Kurt considered. "I actually like it. Reminds me a bit of your old dress-sense, and strangely it works. Did Finn pick it?"
"Yeah. He told me it suited me, but I thought I'd take your word for it. It's not like I can see it to tell. Mind you, you'd probably say that me being able to see it wouldn't make much difference!"
Kurt giggled. "Yeah Rach, maybe. But we all still wish that you could see it."
She smiled sadly. "Well, not much point in wishing for something that can't happened. Now, Finn, are you done yet? We should get some voice stretching in before the others get here."
They went down to the basement, followed by Carole who was roped in to give her opinions, and Blaine promised that he and Kurt would be down as soon as they were ready. By the way that Blaine continued to stroke his leg up and down Kurt's, they knew it could be some time...
"Don't stop believing. Don't stop believing."
"Kurt, could you get that?" Finn called up from the basement after hearing the doorbell go. Kurt laughed.
"You actually recorded us singing Journey to have as your doorbell chime? I love it!" He opened the door.
"Kurt! Buddy!" Kurt had to steady himself as he almost fell backwards from the force of the hug.
"Good to see you too, Noah. Pool business going well?"
"Yeah, great thanks man."
"Glad to hear it. Erm, the others are downstairs. You wanna go down now? Oh, and bring your bags."
They turned and were halfway to the basement door when they heard a voice behind them. "Not so fast."
They turned. "Quinn!" Kurt ran towards the blonde girl and embraced her. "How's the world treating you?"
"Yeah, it's good. Hi Puck."
"Hey Quinn. You still got that husband of yours?"
Quinn giggled and held her hand up, showing off her engagement and wedding rings.
"You know we're still upset at not having an invite to the wedding, yeah?"
She pouted. "Yes, Kurt. I'm sorry. But we wanted a nice private affair."
"But we haven't even met him."
"I know. But you will." The blonde seemed slightly embarrassed.
They went downstairs, Puck carrying his own bag as well as Quinn's. Once downstairs they greeted everyone else. Soon, the doorbell rang again. "I'll get it!" Blaine ran up the stairs two at a time.
"Artie! Hey!" Blaine embraced the man awkwardly as he had an overnight bag slung over his shoulder.
"Blaine, mate!" Artie patted Blaine on the back. "I'm still taller than you."
"Ooh, is that Sugar's car?" Blaine thankful for any distraction from his height, they turned and watched as Sugar pulled up. She got out, with Brittany, Lauren and Joe.
"Guys!" They had a large group hug in the driveway of the Hummel-Hudson abode. "How've you all been?"
"Lord Tubbington has a new pet." The group stared at Britt for a couple of seconds before moving on, careful not to embarrass her.
"Life's good. Church life still great. And Blaine?" The curly haired boy raised an oversized eyebrow. "You hair is even more wicked than mine."
"Thank you, Joe. It's for Kurt really." The group 'aww'ed.
"'Sushi' is going really well. I don't know what people were talking about when they said I couldn't open a sushi and sweet shop. But dad said it was the best sushi and sweet shop he had ever been in." Artie suppressed a giggle. He couldn't believe he had once wanted to date Sugar, but she was still a laugh to be around.
"I'm looking for some action with Puckerman." Again the group went silent and simply stared at Lauren. "What? The guy worships me!"
"Shall we, um, see the others?"
They followed Blaine downstairs. As they were nearly at the bottom, the doorbell sang again, and Blaine ran back upstairs, leaving everyone to greet each other downstairs. He opened the door.
"He- Rory?"
"Top o' the morning, Blaine. Howerya?"
"Um, great. You?"
"Oh, grand. You going to let me in?"
Blaine stepped back and let Rory enter before closing the door behind him. "So, erm, you're here?"
Rory had an amused look on his face. "Well it would certainly seem that way."
"I thought you were in Ireland?"
"I thought it was time that I popped over the Pond to see you again. You not happy to see me?"
Blaine shook his head and smiled. So much for the Dalton manners! "No, sorry. Just great to see you, that's all."
Rory grinned and dropped his bag on the floor. "C'mere!" They hugged, patting each other on the back, before Blaine led him downstairs.
"Guys, guess who I found!" He stepped out of the way to reveal the boy wearing all green.
"My leprechaun!" Brittany jumped up and attacked the man, jumping up and down while holding him.
"Em, thanks Britt. No, em, Satan with you?"
The group went quiet and Brittany let go of him, going back to the sofa where she had been talking about her beloved cat to Artie and Quinn. Finn walked over to the Irishman.
"She, um, left her, mate. Went to New York and hasn't looked back since. She hasn't even been to one of these. Unlike Mercedes who at least came to the first one before letting the fame go to her head. We haven't seen her in a couple of years either."
"Oh."
"Don't stop believing. Don't stop believing."
"I'll get it!" Carole stood up. Nobody had noticed her sitting in the corner keeping an eye on Rachel. But that's how she had wanted it. She made her way up the stairs and left everyone chatting and catching up. She reached the front door and opened it. "Hey guys."
"Hello Mrs Hummel," the group chorused.
Carole grinned. "I've told you guys before; I'm Carole. Please call me Carole."
"Sorry Carole," the voices chorused again, and the four of them broke down into fits of giggles.
"Come on in. They're downstairs."
Sam, Mike and Tina brought their bags into the house and started climbing down to the basement. "Hi guys!" The groups split, and they all huddled around the latest arrivals. They chatted and jabbered away, losing track of time.
Suddenly, Carole's voice called out from upstairs. "It's 12. Don't you have to leave soon?"
Finn swore. "The table is booked for half past! Come on, let's get going. We don't even know which cars we're taking yet!"
They made their way upstairs, Finn holding on to Rachel's hand as he led her up the steps. They stopped on the driveway and decided who should go in which car. Kurt offered to drive, saying that he didn't want to drink in the middle of the day, and Finn said that he'd take his. They arranged that Blaine would go with Kurt, along with Artie and Puck. Finn would take Rachel, Brittany and Lauren. Mike said that he might as well drive, and take the Chicago trio (himself, Tina and Sam) in his hire car. Quinn also offered her services as driver, and said she would take Joe. Sugar seemed too eager to prove her skills as a driver, so demanded that she take Rory. They realised that taking five cars was a bit extreme, so it was decided that Quinn would go in Mike's car and Joe in Sugar's, still allowing everyone enough room to not feel cramped. Rory gave Joe a thankful smile that he was going to be saved from travelling alone with Sugar.
It always amazed Kurt just how many cars could fit on their drive (plus the taxis that had dropped Artie and Puck off). However, he was thankful for it, such as for occasions like these. Everybody got in their allocated car. They buckled their seatbelts and prepared to travel to BreadStiX in convoy. Only Finn had left the drive when a limo pulled up on the opposite side of the road. When the door opened and somebody got out, the mouths of every member of New Directions fell open. A large suitcase was pulled out of the boot and the driver tipped his hat to the woman and drove off. She turned to look at the ex-members of New Directions. "Hi everyone."
Santana Lopez.
A little bit more car shuffling later (Santana was put in Sugar's car), they arrived at BreadstiX. The members of Finn's car hadn't been around when Santana had arrived, and had instead arrived early. Their car was in the carpark but they weren't in it, so they must have gone in ahead of the others. Nobody knew quite what to say to the Latino woman, so they kept their mouths shut until she burst and exclaimed "I've missed you guys so much. I'm so sorry!" and they all melted a little bit.
They walked inside the building, Kurt and Blaine in front. Santana hid at the back of the pack, wanting a combination of a dramatic entrance, and an escape from the inevitable wrath of her ex-girlfriend. They looked around to see where the rest of their group was sitting.
"Here! We're here guys!"
They saw the table seated for sixteen (luckily, although they had booked for fifteen, the restaurant had set for sixteen) and ambled over to it.
"Sorry that we left without you. We came to the end of the block and you weren't there. Did you get held up?"
"Yeh, you could say that." Rory looked back at the girl in the sequinned gold dress, who looked completely out of place with the lunch-time crowd at BreadstiX. She was still hidden from view from Brittany, and motioned to Rory to keep quiet, mouthing what looked like "say anything and your ass will be kicked from here to Lima Heights and you won't be able to sit for weeks". Same old Tana. Rory nodded in understanding, looking a little scared.
As everyone went to sit down, Santana realised that she couldn't hide for any longer. She took a breath and stepped forwards. "Hi, Britt." Silence fell on the large table and Finn and Lauren stared up at the Broadway star, Rachel's mouth falling open at the recognition of the familiar voice. Brittany had frozen too, but she couldn't bring herself to look up at the girl who had broken her heart. The girl who had been her girlfriend. The girl who now pretended to be straight. "Britt, please. Say something?"
Brit looked up. Her typical Brit-has-no-idea-what-is-going-on act had dropped. She looked into the dark eyes of the Latino and her heart froze over. "Oh, I didn't see you standing there. Hello, my name is Brittany S. Pierce. What's your name?" She held out her hand and when Santana looked at it in pain, dropped it again. Brittany returned to staring at the table, ignoring the dark-haired beauty. The atmosphere turned frosty as the group tried to move away from the awkwardness of the situation. They sat down, not worrying about working out who would be sitting next to who; they all liked each other well enough anyway. Santana ended up at one end of the table, far away from Brittany who was sitting near the other.
"So Mike, Tina; how's Chicago?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, it's been great. The musical scene has really picked up. I'm getting picked for so many dancing roles. Luckily they all want my gal working in wardrobe, so she is still doing the odd bit backstage."
"It means we get to see each other more, which is always refreshing. And his street performances are going brilliantly too."
"Are you still at that school?"
"Yeah. I have no desire to become anything more than assistant staff either. Elementary school kids are too much to handle any more than ten hours a week!"
"I have to agree with you there! The kids at the Sunday School are a right handful. My wife is brilliant though." Joe's expression turned dreamy.
Tina's laugh tinkled. "Well when you have a great wife, you have everything, right?"
A smile spread across Mike's face. "And when you have a beautiful rooftop view of the city at sunrise, there's really nothing better to do than to get down on one knee and slip a diamond on a deserving girl's finger."
Tina raised her hand above the table and everyone went silent. Then the congratulations came.
"Mate! You've finally had the balls!"
"Oh, that's grand."
"How big is that thing?"
"Aww, I always knew you two would last."
"Forever the romantic, Mike."
"Do we get to come to the wedding?"
The happy couple laughed. "Yes, you all get to come. And Sam over there will be my best man."
"Dude, you knew about this and didn't say anything?" Finn sounded mock-outraged.
"How did a mouth that big manage to keep a secret like that?" Everybody laughed at Santana and she relaxed a bit, thankful that they were giving her a chance.
"If you two are half as happy as Finn and I are, you'll have the most amazing married life." Tina leaned across the table to grab one of Rachel's hand and took it in her own.
"Thank you."
"So Rory. How's Ireland?"
"Grand thanks Artie. How's life for you?"
"I couldn't've asked for much better. I did a bit of music production for a while, but now doing my dancing, and a bit of directing here and there. I directed Mike's last show."
"Dancing? Man that's brilliant. My lad has his legs."
Artie beamed. "Indeed I have. It makes such a nice change from having all those years having people looking down at me, to having the surgery and being here, the same height as most of you, and a hell of a better dancer."
Rory chuckled. "Speak for yourself. Me viewers certainly appreciate me dancing skills."
"You viewers? What you doing now, bro?"
"I, em, make YouTube videos. I got together with me old mates and we make things into musicals. We've been working on an adaptation of some of the Doctor Who episodes with lads called Charlie and Alex. Our most popular so far though has been Titanic: Under The Sea."
"A musical Titanic movie?"
"Em, more of a filmlet, if that's a word. That one ended up being half an hour long. Taken from a three hour film, whose rough cut lasted thirty six hours."
"It's a great movie. Did you include that Dion song?"
"No, we wrote all our own. We got a lot of inspiration from Disney's Little Mermaid actually. Quite upbeat songs to counter the pain of the day. It is held as very important for all us lads in Ireland. We had loads of deaths from the event."
"The movie?"
"The sinking!"
"Hey, boy, I was only messing! But I'm glad that you've found something you like, mate. And I'm glad that you're back here again."
"Thanks. Me too."
"Puck, can you stop checking your phone and actually act like you're listening to me?"
"Sorry Finn." He slid his phone in his pocket. "Erm, you were asking about the pool business? Yeah, it's good."
"Who is she then?"
"Pardon?"
"The girl. The one who you really like but she isn't into you because she hasn't replied to your texts, and you're not used to being ignored."
Puck glared at his high school best friend. "She's not like that. And nor am I."
"Yeah. And I'm the newly crowned King of Sweden."
"Congratulations, mate." Puck had missed the sarcasm dripping off Finn's voice as he had fished his phone back out of his pocket after he felt it vibrate.
Finn rolled his eyes. "Sandy? Can I have another drink please? Anyone else for another drink, guys?"
"Just so you know, I still don't forgive you for what you did."
"Sugar!"
"What? It's not fair that she can pretend she's not who she is and expect us to all support her decision."
"It's alright Kurt, really." Santana gave him a shaky smile. "I deserve to be shouted at, and hated and despised. I deserve to not have Britt ever look at me again. I actually deserved to not be allowed in here. But I was. And I'm so glad. I'd love to be given a chance to explain myself...?"
"Of course!" Blaine butted in before Sugar could rant at her again, or, even worse, started talking about 'Sushi', her shop. "When we get back to the house, you can tell us everything. For now, just enjoy yourself. You're back, and to me, that's all that matters."
Santana smiled. "Thank you, Hobbit. Oh, I promised to be nice, didn't I? Sorry. Anyway, how are you and Kurt? Still together and as sickening as ever?"
"Of course!" Kurt grinned at his boyfriend. "Oh my god, Tana, need to tell you about what he did for my birthday..."
"Well, that was great. Thanks Sandy."
"Thank you Sandy!"
"Ta very much."
"Sorry about the Dine-N-Dash stunt a while back."
"Great as always."
Sandy smiled at the crowd that she had got to know so well when they were all still at school in Lima. It was rare for her to see any of them anymore, apart from Finn and Rachel who came in almost once a week. She had tears forming in her eyes.
"No, thank you. You've given me some of the best years of my life. Serving you lot has never been boring, but whenever I've been feeling down, you lot coming in and singing really brightened the place up. I guess what I'm trying to say, in a very long winded way, is thank you. Thank you and goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Brit's shrill scream pierced the air. Luckily, the other customers had long since all left, so it was only the New Directions alumni who'd had their eardrums damaged.
"Yeah, but we'll see you next year, yeah?" Puck was grinning at her. "BreadstiX will always be on our hit list for the reunion extravaganza weekend." He winked at her and she laughed.
"I'm sorry, but if you come again, I won't be serving you. I actually stopped working here two months ago. I came back for today just for you guys."
A murmur went around the group. "But why?" Sugar couldn't quite comprehend why she couldn't continue working at their favourite restaurant.
"I'm too old, love!" She let out a little laugh. "And this place needed to lay off some staff. I thought I'd make it easier for them." She saw the faces of everyone, looking sad and dejected. "Hey, stop looking so upset! I've loved working here, but it was about time I retired."
"We'll miss you."
Sandy looked lovingly at Santana. "And me you. All of you. I couldn't have asked for a nicer group of people to watch grow up."
"Group hug!" Rachel stood and all the members helped her into the hug. It was short but sweet. Anyone looking in would have seen a large mass of human bodies, all in their twenties, surrounding an older woman who was softly crying tears of joy.
"Might I be able to get an invite to next year's reunion?" Everyone laughed.
Please don't hate me. I will try to rewrite this, if possible, at a later date, and give you all the chapter you deserve to read. But, erm, a cheer for mentions of charlieissocoollike and nerimon? And, of course, for Rory having become an Irish Darren Criss?
No chapter title for this one yet, I'm afraid. Anyone like to suggest one in a PM or review?
I need to credit Coatsy for the idea about Sugar's past/future/whatever you want to call it. I tweaked it a bit so that it was a sweetshop which also sold sushi, rather than just being a sushi bar. I figured she was crazy enough!
I-might-BE-slightly-INSANE asked me for who originally sang/wrote the song in the previous chapter. I was really rather flattered! If anyone can guess, please say in a review or PM :)
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
I never feel like I do enough for charities. Sure, all my old stuff goes to Cancer Research and I am always in the charity shops in my town. But I want to just go up to collection pots and put money in. So, for every review I get for this story, I will donate 10p to a charity. If you have a favourite, please let me know in your review and I'll see what I can do. Let's see how much we can donate, eh?
I still have so much homework to do, but I promise to dedicate a couple of nights to writing the next chapter, to make sure it is better than this one.
Glee again on Thursday! Hand up who can't wait! If you got this far, tell me what you are most looking forward to about the new Season in your review :)