Season 5, yay! :D
WELL, this got ridiculously long. I feel kind of horrible about it because now the rest of the chapters are going to seem SO short... this is almost three times as long as my usual goal word count for each chapter. I'm sorry! This is a big episode for Kurt and Blaine, and I had the longest time to work on it since this was the first episode of the season, so... whoops?
A word about Finn. In my mind, he's still alive at this point. (Until "The Quarterback".) So, I like to think that Finn was at Kurt and Blaine's engagement, even thought Cory couldn't be.
The first bit of this chapter is taken from the very end of the previous chapter (the season 4 finale), just to get you back into what's happening at this point. Also, there's a little scene with Kurt, Rachel, Mercedes, and Santana – a sleepover – the night before the proposal, and that dialogue (and the idea of the sleepover as a whole) comes from the original script for this episode, not my weird little brain. ;)
Alright, I think that's all for my pre-chapter ramblings. Enjoy! :)
(I do not own Glee or any of the characters, dialogue, or songs from the show. It's all just for fun!)
BLAINE
New Directions won Regionals.
As the curtain swished closed, hiding New Directions from the audience, everyone was still hugging and jumping up and down.
The former students who had helped them prepare arrived quickly. Mike, Mercedes, and Finn had been watching from wings, so they joined the celebration almost immediately. Kurt, Santana, and Mr. Schu, who had been watching from the audience, arrived shortly after.
Kurt ran across the stage into Blaine's arms.
"Congratulations!" he cheered as Blaine squeezed him tightly.
"I'm in shock," Blaine laughed. "I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too," Kurt agreed happily.
"Guys!" Finn interrupted, raising both of his hands into the air so Blaine and Kurt could high five him at the same time. "Yeah! Great job, Blaine. Awesome!"
"Thanks," Blaine smiled. "We wouldn't be here without you."
"Yeah, probably not," Finn teased before Sam grabbed his arm and dragged him away as the group started to make its way to the choir room.
"Better call Cooper," Kurt reminded Blaine before he, too, disappeared into the crowd. "You're going to L.A.!"
Blaine ran to the choir room, nervous that someone might go through his bag and find the ring. When he saw that his bag was still safely where he had left it, he hopped up to sit on top of the piano.
"McKinley High's officially on its way to becoming a Regionals dynasty!" Artie declared as Kurt pushed him into the room. The trophy was in his lap.
"Only twenty four more of these babies before we catch up to Vocal Adrenaline," Sam determined as he took the trophy from Artie and put it on top of the piano beside Blaine.
"Oh, please," Mr. Schu scolded as he entered the room. "Vocal Adrenaline's time has passed. The present and the future is all about the New Directions! And we are going to prove it when we go to sunny Los Angeles for Nationals and take home our second national championship in a row!"
Everyone cheered.
"Ms. Pillsbury!" Mike suddenly noticed. Everyone turned to see the guidance counselor and a priest walking into the room together. "Who's her friend?"
"Uh, Ms. Pillsbury, you're supposed to bring someone in to bless the team before the big game," Sam explained.
"Okay, thank you," Ms. Pillsbury acknowledged.
She and the priest walked to where Mr. Schu was standing in the middle of the room.
"Um," Ms. Pillsbury said, glancing around as everyone fell silent so they could hear what she had to say, "I figured out that I can't handle the pressure of a big wedding."
Blaine didn't hear the next few sentences because all he could hear was his own pulse.
Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury were going to get married.
In the choir room.
Right now.
"Are you guys seriously throwing a surprise wedding?" Kurt exclaimed excitedly. "Just like Brooke Burke and David Charvet?"
Blaine couldn't believe what was happening.
"Yes," Mr. Schu laughed.
"No music, no reception, no planning," Ms. Pillsbury explained. "Just me, the one true love of my life... and then we'll have a little dinner at Breadstix."
"Alright, then," Mr. Schu smiled at her. "I'll see you momentarily."
As Ms. Pillsbury hurried out of the room to wait in the hallway until they were ready for her to walk down the "aisle", Blaine hurried to where his bag was sitting on the floor near the back of the room and retrieved the ring box so he could put it in his pocket. Intellectually, he knew there was more of a chance of someone finding it if he had it on him than if it was left in his bag, but he wanted it near him.
The students made two parallel lines – the edges of a makeshift aisle – between the door and the center of the room, and Ms. Pillsbury walked down the aisle to the sound of New Directions humming Here Comes The Bride.
Once Ms. Pillsbury and Mr. Schu were together in the center of the room, the students moved to form a circle around the bride and groom. Blaine made sure he ended up beside Kurt, with Sam on his other side. And then they all watched and listened as Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury exchanged vows.
It was beautiful, Blaine thought. They talked about little moments that had been meaningful to their relationship. They talked about how much they loved each other and about how they were meant to be together.
Blaine spent the entire ceremony with his hand closed tightly around the small ring box in his pocket.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said happily when all the vows had been spoken.
Blaine glanced at Kurt as Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Kurt looked happy and relaxed, bouncing on his toes with excitement, and Blaine felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and held it carefully behind his back, twirling the little box around in his hand to release some of his anxiety.
He didn't care if they were "too young". He didn't care if things were complicated between them.
All that mattered was their love.
Kurt turned his head to smile at Blaine and seemed surprised to find Blaine already looking at him. Blaine panicked and quickly stuffed the ring box back into his pocket as Kurt studied his face.
"You okay?" Kurt asked.
Blaine nodded. "Emotional," he confessed, tilting his head slightly toward Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury.
"Yeah," Kurt said softly, and his gaze dropped briefly to Blaine's lips before he turned his attention back to the newly married couple.
The glance was all the encouragement Blaine needed.
"Can we... talk?" Blaine asked, bumping his hand against Kurt's at his side. "Somewhere else?"
KURT
Kurt knew he had to say yes; he had stalled long enough. They needed to talk about what had happened between them, and Kurt needed to decide if he wanted Blaine to be his boyfriend again.
"Sure," he agreed, catching Blaine's hand. He pulled Blaine away, out of the choir room (after Blaine insisted on grabbing his bag), and down the hallway to the now-empty auditorium.
"You won Regionals here tonight," Kurt teased as they walked onto the stage and Kurt released Blaine's hand.
"I can't believe it," Blaine smiled, but his posture was tense. He was nervous.
Kurt was nervous, too. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the stage, letting his feet dangle. Blaine sat down beside him, and a mostly-comfortable silence filled the room.
"I want to explain," Blaine finally said, breaking the silence. "I know we had a heart-to-heart at Christmas, but I want to explain myself again, if that's okay?"
"I don't really want to hear it," Kurt admitted.
"I know," Blaine acknowledged.
Kurt stared at Blaine for a moment before giving up and nodding for Blaine to speak his mind.
"You left for New York," Blaine said, "and I felt like everything that had tied me to this place," he motioned around them, "was suddenly gone. All of the sudden, our friends seemed like maybe they had just been your friends who also put up with me."
"They love you," Kurt disagreed.
"I know," Blaine nodded. "I know that now, but at the time? I... felt abandoned. You were off in New York, in a cool new apartment with Rachel and working for Isabelle Wright, of all people! I didn't see where I fit into any of that."
"Please don't cry," Kurt begged quietly as the sudden appearance of tears in Blaine's eyes brought them out in his eyes, too.
"I thought you had moved on," Blaine explained. "Every time we talked, there was something new, something fresh in your life. And I was... running for president of my high school."
"That's important," Kurt scolded.
Blaine shrugged. "It didn't feel important, not compared to your life in New York," he clarified. "And our phone calls and Skype dates turned into short, hurried conversations, and–"
"And your first thought, before even mentioning this to me, was to go out and find someone who was... 'into' you?" Kurt said skeptically.
"I should've been honest about how I was feeling," Blaine agreed, "but I thought you weren't interested in me anymore! I tried to fix it by calling you more often, tried to schedule more Skype dates, tried to make more time for us so you'd... remember."
"I never stopped loving you," Kurt said firmly. "We talked about it before I left! We just had to wait a year, and–"
"Just because you thought everything was fine, doesn't mean I felt that way," Blaine argued gently.
"And that's your excuse for cheating on me?" Kurt snapped. "Because I couldn't read your mind?"
"That's not what I'm saying, and you know it," Blaine replied sharply.
Kurt did know it, so he closed his mouth and waited for Blaine to continue.
Blaine paused briefly, studying Kurt's face, before he spoke again. "I felt completely alone," he explained, his voice unsteady and his eyes shiny with tears, "and numb, like nothing mattered. So, I called you that day and you 'had to go' and I couldn't get in touch with you for the rest of the day... it felt final."
Kurt couldn't speak through the huge lump in his throat, so he just nodded that he understood and let Blaine keep talking.
"So, I went to that guy's place," Blaine recalled. "I did not go there with the intention of cheating on you, but there's no excuse."
"Honestly," Kurt said, struggling with his lingering anger, "the thing I don't understand, more than anything, is why didn't you just... not? When that... started."
Blaine looked so sad. "I wanted to feel something," he shook his head, frustrated, "other than an emotionless fog."
"What happened to 'that's why they invented masturbation'?" Kurt remembered a conversation from before they had been intimate for the first time.
"It wasn't a rational thing," Blaine clarified softly.
There was part of Kurt that understood. In a moment of emotional desperation, Blaine had done a crazy thing to try to jolt himself back to feeling like a human being. But, even with that understanding, it hurt Kurt to his core that Blaine had assumed that he didn't love and want him.
There was also a part of Kurt, buried in the brutally honest corner of his mind, that wondered if – maybe – the person he had been back then might not have dealt well with a call from Blaine about Kurt not paying him enough attention. No matter how carefully worded and well-intentioned, the confession from Blaine would've been difficult to hear.
Kurt reached out and grabbed Blaine's nearest hand in both of his. Blaine's infidelity had broken them, but Kurt knew he had played a part in cracking their foundation.
"I forgive you," he said.
It felt so good to say it. To mean it. The burden of should I forgive? had been weighing Kurt down since the night Blaine had come to him to confess his betrayal.
The question of forgiveness had clearly been weighing on Blaine, too, because his tears turned quickly into sobs, and Kurt quickly released Blaine's hand to pull him into a hug. Blaine sobbed into Kurt's shoulder while Kurt tired to pretend that he wasn't crying just as hard.
"Also, what you did was not my fault," Kurt clarified as they finally sat back, both wiping their eyes and reaching for tissues that Blaine pulled out of his bag, "but I'm sorry. I... knew. Knew that you were worried about the distance, physically and emotionally. I should've thought more about how you were feeling instead of getting so caught up in my life."
Blaine was still too emotional to speak, so Kurt kept talking.
"You're my best friend," Kurt affirmed. "I love you. But–"
Blaine was already nodding.
"– I need to know that I can trust you."
"You can," Blaine found his voice again. "I promise, Kurt."
"I want to," Kurt admitted tearfully.
Blaine dropped his gaze to his lap and stayed silent.
"I know it's not fair to you," Kurt said. "My indecisiveness. Let me process this conversation a little bit, and let's reconvene... it's Sunday today, so maybe Tuesday?"
"You're leaving to go back to New York on Tuesday," Blaine recalled, lifting his head to look at Kurt again.
"Not until late," Kurt clarified.
Blaine nodded. "Lunch?" he suggested.
"Perfect," Kurt agreed. "I'll bring a picnic."
That idea loosened Blaine up. "A picnic sounds great," he approved.
Kurt climbed to his feet and offered a hand to help Blaine up.
BLAINE
"Is there anything else?" Kurt wondered as he helped Blaine to his feet.
Blaine stared at him, struggling with whether or not he should make the grand gesture now or later. Kurt seemed relaxed, but also a little sad.
It wasn't the right time.
Blaine leaned over and picked up his bag. He had quickly stashed the ring in an inner pocket when Kurt had let go of his hand to sit down on the edge of the stage, worried that Kurt could possibly notice it in his pocket.
"I love you," Blaine said seriously as he stood up. "And I'm so, so sorry."
"I'm sorry, too," Kurt nodded. "But I'm... looking forward to our picnic."
Hope bubbled up from deep within Blaine's soul. "Me too," he agreed as Kurt's mood seemed to lighten with the mention of their Tuesday meeting.
"You should probably go change," Kurt commented, motioning to Blaine's outfit. He was still wearing his Regionals uniform.
"Yeah," Blaine agreed. "Are you– will you come to Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury's party at Breadstix?"
"Maybe," Kurt teased as he turned to walk away.
"Okay," Blaine smiled after him. "See you there."
KURT
Dinner at Breadstix – Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury's makeshift wedding reception – was the most laid-back, enjoyable dinner Kurt had been part of for quite some time. He sat at a booth with Blaine, Finn, and Sam, and spent the evening laughing and eating ridiculous amounts of pasta and trying to be as discreet as possible about rubbing his ankle against Blaine's every few minutes. He was reasonably sure that neither Finn nor Sam noticed, because neither of them mentioned it, despite Blaine squirming in his seat every so often and Kurt struggling not to laugh.
By the time the restaurant was ready to close and they all had to leave, Kurt knew he was going to be Blaine's boyfriend again on Tuesday by the end of lunch. Blaine was his family, like his father and Carole and Finn. What had happened between them in the past couldn't be changed, but Kurt felt drunk with the power he possessed to change his – and Blaine's – future. If he didn't give them a second chance together, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He would wake up one day and be crushed with guilt that he had let his black-and-white view of Blaine's betrayal rob them both of a life spent loving each other.
"That was so fun!" Blaine said brightly as they walked together into the parking lot.
"It was," Kurt agreed, smiling at Blaine as they slowed to a halt beside Blaine's car. "Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury definitely know how to throw an enjoyable reception."
"I think it's the company," Blaine suggested, raising his eyebrows slightly, "more than the party."
"Mmm," Kurt allowed, thinking back to Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury's previous wedding reception after their failed wedding on Valentine's Day. There was a large part of him that wanted to grab Blaine and climb into Blaine's car together – both as an homage to the reconnecting he and Blaine had done on Valentine's Day and because he was desperately turned on – but he resisted. He needed to spend the remaining few hours of the evening getting to work planning their Tuesday picnic, and that would not happen if he was otherwise occupied with Blaine.
Plus, he was enjoying watching Blaine squirm with anticipation.
"See you Tuesday," he said.
Blaine was disappointed, although he tried to hide it, but he nodded. "See you Tuesday," he agreed. "Goodnight, Kurt."
"'Night," Kurt said, and he turned and hurried away before he had time to change his mind about his plans for the evening.
BLAINE
In glee club on Monday, Mr. Schu walked to the white board and wrote BEATLES, and it was the first moment since the evening before that broke Blaine out of his nearly constant string of thoughts about Kurt.
Most of the rest of the group was equally excited.
"I don't think we've ever spent two weeks on an assignment, Mr. Schu," Tina commented.
"Hey, the Beatles are so epic that we need two weeks to do them justice," Mr. Schu explained as he walked closer to the students. "This week is all about the early years of the Beatles, when all they had was a belief in each other and a belief that, together, they could do anything."
Kitty scoffed unhappily. "This school year seems like it's never ending," she whined, "and now we're wasting two whole weeks on a band from the 1940s? Seriously, can anyone still relate to the Beatles?"
"Pretty much the entire world," Blaine explained.
"Yeah, I can definitely still relate," Ryder added.
"Yeah," Mr. Schu agreed.
"Why?" Kitty asked, twisting around in her chair to look at Ryder. "Were the Beatles dyslexic and catfished by transsexuals?"
"And you wonder why everybody hates you," Tina scolded.
"When George Harrison was a kid," Marley spoke up, explaining how she could relate to the Beatles, "he was made fun of because his dad was a bus driver."
"John Lennon's dad wasn't even around," Jake acknowledged. "He walked out of John's life when he was five."
"I don't really know the Beatles," Unique admitted. "I'm a little on the black side..."
"And Ringo Starr was a sickly little kid," Artie said, "which probably means he was sitting down a lot."
"And they decided to form a band," Mr. Schu picked up the conversation, "which changed the world. Now, you guys are really going to have to challenge yourselves this week. Bring your A plus games. Perform these classic songs in new and exciting ways. If we can push ourselves to a whole new level, like the Beatles did constantly, we can win back-to-back national championships and form a New Directions dynasty!"
The group cheered, and the bell rang to signify the end of the class.
"Alright, see you guys tomorrow," Mr. Schu said as everyone stood up to leave.
As Blaine walked out of the room, his mind was full of ideas. Blaine had realized that he had feelings for Kurt – more than feelings of friendship – when Kurt sang Blackbird at Dalton. And they both loved the Beatles, overall. The summer before Kurt left for New York, they had spent countless hours of their free time adapting Beatles songs into duets and making up silly choreography.
He needed to use a Beatles as part of his proposal.
"Hey!" Sam said, catching up to him in the hallway. "The Beatles, right?! Amazing. We totally have to do something, and definitely with costumes. Chicks dig it. And, oh! Speaking of chicks, or, you know, lovers or whatever, how's Kurt?"
"He's great," Blaine smiled. "We're going to have lunch tomorrow to talk about things, and I'm thinking, tentatively, I'll be ready to tell everyone the big plan on Wednesday in glee club."
"Cool," Sam approved.
"Don't tell anyone before that," Blaine reminded him.
"Duh," Sam agreed. "But, wait, isn't Kurt flying back to New York tomorrow?"
"He's supposed to," Blaine confirmed distractedly as a new idea started to shove its way into his mind, "but I think I can convince him to stay. I have to go..."
"Alright, see you tomorrow." Sam agreed as Blaine turned and hurried away. He stopped by his locker to exchange a few of his books and then hurried to the band room.
"Hey," he greeted the few students who were still lingering around. "Do you have a minute?"
He wanted Kurt to stay a few extra days. It was Beatles week in glee club. So, what better way to convince Kurt to leave later in the week than with a Beatles song?
Blaine spoke with the band members for ten minutes about his plan for lunchtime the next day. They seemed highly amused, especially when he told them which song he wanted to use, but, luckily, they told him that they knew the song and they were comfortable with the courtyard setting. They would wait at the top of the large concrete staircase, hidden from view, and plant a student at the top of the stairs to wait for Blaine's signal.
Blaine thanked them profusely, grateful and excited, and then hurried to his car for the drive home.
As he was walking through the door to his house, he checked his phone and found a missed text message from Artie.
Group outing to the carnival tonight!
Blaine thought about it for a moment before initiating a call to Kurt. The carnival could be a fun pre-meeting date.
"Hey!" Kurt answered cheerfully. "What's up?"
"Just wanted to say hello," Blaine smiled at Kurt's calm, happy attitude. "And to invite you to the carnival tonight, if you're free. Artie's getting a group together. I think we're meeting there at nine? I could pick you up?"
KURT
"Uh," Kurt panicked, "I'm, um, with Finn. Hanging out at... his dorm."
He regretted the lie immediately, both because it was a stupid lie and because he knew what Blaine was going to say next.
"Bring him along!" Blaine said immediately. "The more the merrier, right?"
The truth was that Kurt was at McKinley, meeting with the marching band to plan a performance for Blaine as part of their picnic the next day. He had called the band's drum major that morning to set up a meeting for a few hours after school so they could secretly rehearse. He was sitting on one of the steps of the courtyard, not in Finn's dorm room.
"You know, I have to finish getting everything together for our picnic, too," Kurt told him, not lying this time. "So, um, I think I'm going to pass, this time."
"Oh," Blaine said, his voice suddenly markedly less animated. "Well, uh, okay."
"Thank you for thinking of me, though!" Kurt tried to rescue Blaine's enthusiasm.
"It's okay," Blaine reassured him. "Say hi to Finn for me, okay?"
"Wait," Kurt sensed the conversation was about to end and felt bad about blowing Blaine off (which, Kurt was keenly aware, had been an issue between them in the past), "I, uh, I talked to Rachel today!"
"Yeah?" Blaine sounded genuinely interested. "How is she? Did Santana get back to New York?"
"Yes, she did," Kurt told him. "And Rachel had her chemistry reading for Funny Girl! She was upset when I talked to her – she overheard the director and Paolo, the guy playing Nick Arnstein, questioning whether or not she's ready, so she's convinced she's not going to get the part – but I tried to persuade her that, just because they aren't sure yet, there's still a chance!"
"She's so perfect for the role," Blaine enthused. "She's totally going to get it. If they're smart, they want a fresh face! Someone new."
"I tried to tell her that!" Kurt agreed, happy that Blaine had taken to his change of subject. "But, you know, it's stressful, I guess."
"Paolo San Pablo, though," Blaine appreciated the actor who had been cast as the show's male lead. "Wow."
"I've seen that bootleg version I have of Camelot ten times at least," Kurt agreed with Blaine's admiration.
"People might be making bootleg recordings of Rachel soon," Blaine laughed. "Crazy."
"Don't you dare mention that to her," Kurt scolded jokingly.
"I won't," Blaine acknowledged. "Well, um, have fun with Finn! Are you sure you don't need me to bring anything for the picnic tomorrow?"
"No," Kurt confirmed, "I've got it. Thanks, though. Have fun at the carnival!"
"I will," Blaine said. "Love you, Kurt. See you tomorrow."
"Love you, too," Kurt told him, smiling as he thought about surprising Blaine with the song. "See you tomorrow."
BLAINE
The carnival was fun. Blaine, Sam, and Tina spent most of the evening together, going on rides and playing silly games and eating enough junk food that Blaine felt mildly unwell by the time he finally made it home at almost one o'clock in the morning. He took a quick shower to wash off the sticky feeling of being outside all evening, touching things that had been touched by so many other people, and then collapsed into bed.
He woke up two hours before his alarm because he was so nervous about his picnic with Kurt, and couldn't fall back asleep, so he just stared at the ceiling and let his mind wander.
Kurt was going to agree that they should be a couple again. Since they had talked in the auditorium after Regionals, Kurt had let his guard down with Blaine. He was happy and relaxed and flirty, teasing Blaine in all the ways he knew Blaine loved most. But, until Kurt actually said the words, Blaine couldn't get rid of the nagging worry that Kurt might change his mind at the last second.
In addition, Blaine's whole plan to propose hinged on his ability to convince Kurt to stay through the weekend. Which, Blaine thought, might be difficult. He had looked into the fees involved in changing Kurt's flight, and they were minimal, but he wasn't sure what Kurt's class and internship schedule looked like for the rest of the week. He had contemplated emailing Isabelle Wright to ask her if Kurt could have the rest of the week off, but he had decided against the idea in the end. It would be too much of an overstep into Kurt's freedom to make his own decisions.
So, Blaine was just hoping that Kurt would be eager to stay, and that Got To Get You Into My Life would fuel that desire. He needed Kurt to stick around until Saturday, so he could plan and pull off the kind of proposal Kurt had been dreaming about all his life.
KURT
Blaine met Kurt in the McKinley visitor parking lot on Tuesday at lunchtime to help him carry their picnic lunch from Kurt's car to the courtyard.
"Hi," Blaine greeted Kurt with a huge smile, wrapping his arms around him for a quick hug. "How are you?"
"I'm great," Kurt returned the smile, butterflies churning in his stomach. "How was the carnival?"
"Fun," Blaine said as he picked up the large picnic basket out of the trunk of Kurt's car (Burt's car, actually, but Kurt was using it while he was back in Ohio). "Missed you, though."
"Well," Kurt teased, "now we're even. I went to the amusement park without you that one time, when you were pouting about Cooper –"
"I was not pouting!" Blaine whined as Kurt picked up the remaining things he had brought for the picnic and they started the walk to the courtyard. "I was– okay, sure, laugh at me– maybe I was, a little. But, in my defense–"
"It was cute," Kurt interrupted. "You're cute when you're pouty."
"Thank you," Blaine said lightheartedly, as though the compliment had been an apology.
There were already quite a few students in the courtyard eating lunch by the time Kurt and Blaine arrived, but they managed to find a spot in the middle of one of the lower stairs where they could set up the picnic basket on the stair above where they were sitting.
They talked about unimportant things at first, as they got their food and drinks ready, but Kurt could tell Blaine was anxious to get to them.
Kurt sat back against the stairs, his legs stretched out in front of him, and waited.
"So, are you excited to go back to school?" Blaine asked, almost immediately once they had the picnic set up. Kurt fought back a smile as he heard the implication in Blaine's voice. No more stalling.
"Yeah," Kurt admitted casually. "Fashion week is coming up." He glanced at their picnic basket. "But this farewell picnic's been perfect, though."
"What's the story with this New York guy?" Blaine pressed, not quite able to meet Kurt's eyes as he asked the question.
"There's no story," Kurt explained honestly. "He was nice and people liked the idea of us as a couple, but... it never got serious."
Blaine narrowed his eyes, skeptical, and Kurt pretended he still wasn't sure what he wanted. "Alright, let me break it down for you," Kurt said, "alright? The last time we tried dating, and I was in New York and you were here, you cheated on me, alright? Unacceptable."
"We've been through this," Blaine replied quickly as Kurt turned his head to stare out into the courtyard where he would be singing to Blaine very shortly. "I thought you were done with me! I thought it was over! I thought I was completely out of the picture in your life!"
Kurt turned to look at Blaine again as Blaine continued. "Look at me in the eyes when I say this. I am being beyond serious. I will never, ever, ever cheat on you again."
Kurt believed him.
"I'm gonna need you to sign one of those non-cheating contracts," Kurt teased. "You can get one on Oprah's website."
"I will sign whatever you want!" Blaine agreed, smiling as he realized that Kurt had essentially just agreed that they should get back together. He leaned toward Kurt and briefly put his hand on top of one of Kurt's. "Just please say that you and I can be boyfriends again."
Kurt could not resist drawing it out a little more, teasing Blaine along. He pretended to grimace.
"What?" Blaine asked, sounding pleasantly desperate.
"I don't know if relationships actually work," Kurt wondered. "I mean, weren't Bethenny and Jason supposed to be forever?"
"For every Bethenny and Jason," Blaine countered, "there is a Will and a Jada." He scooted a little closer. And a Kurt and a Goldie."
The butterflies in Kurt's stomach were starting to flutter in a way he hadn't felt – he hadn't allowed himself to feel – in what felt like an eternity.
"Come on," Blaine urged, "can we at least just... give it a try?"
"But I'm Goldie, of course," Kurt confirmed.
"Of course you are," Blaine agreed contentedly.
Kurt stared at his feet for a moment, relishing the way his body felt like it was vibrating with happiness.
"Okay," Kurt finally agreed, turning his head to look at Blaine again as he let the smile he had been holding back stretch across his face, "I can't believe we're going to do this again."
Blaine was elated. "I was hoping you would say yes," he said in a rush of words, climbing to his feet. "Actually, I was kind of planning on it, which is why I sort of, um, put something together to try to convince you to stay a little longer –"
With a jolt, Kurt realized what was about to happen just in time to stop it before it got started.
"Uh, no!" Kurt protested before Blaine could signal his band, wherever they were hiding. "No, no, that's not going to happen, okay? I'm not sitting down and listening to you sing to me anymore."
Blaine looked concerned as he quickly sat back down. "Okay," he reluctantly agreed.
"Which is why I prepared something," Kurt grinned. He pulled a whistle out of his pocket and blew it, and the marching band began the song below them in the lower level of the courtyard.
Blaine turned his head to look at the band emerging from around the corner, and he laughed as Kurt stood up and began to sing.
"I was alone. I took a ride. I didn't know what I would find there. Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there."
Kurt grabbed his sunglasses from the girl he had planted to hold them for him, and Blaine caught on quickly, turning to take his yellow sunglasses from a girl behind him. Then, he picked up the song.
"Ooh, then I suddenly see you. Ooh, did I tell you I need you every single day of my life."
They had sung this song together many times, so Kurt had guessed that Blaine would end up singing with him, but he was a little surprised at how immediately Blaine had joined in. Blaine ran down the stairs, jumping up onto a table at the bottom of the courtyard, and threw his arms out as he and Kurt sang together.
"Got to get you into my life."
Kurt turned and ran up to the top of the staircase, only to be surprised with more of the marching band. He dodged quickly, turning back around to play it off as though he had meant to go summon them, and realized that they must've been part of Blaine's plan.
"What can I do? What can I be? When I'm with you I want to stay there. If I'm true, I'll never leave, and, if I do, I know the way there." Blaine sang as he returned to the steps, back to where Kurt was waiting for him so they could sing together.
"Ooh, then I suddenly see you. Ooh, did I tell you I need you every single day of my life."
They ran down the stairs together, leaping up onto tables on opposite sides of the courtyard as they sang. "Got to get you into my life." They jumped off the tables, running between all the marching band members around the courtyard. "Got to get you into my life."
Kurt was having a blast, and he could tell Blaine was, too. It was so nice to just be happy and have fun together. Kurt had missed this. "I was alone. I took a ride. I didn't know what I would find there."
Kurt climbed onto a table and looked down at Blaine as Blaine sang up at him. "Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there."
"And suddenly I see you," Kurt sang, coming down from the table and pushing Blaine back with a finger pressed against Blaine's chest.
"Did I tell you I need you?" Blaine leaned forward and poked his finger into Kurt's chest, too, before they turned and ran back to climb onto the table together.
Blaine's sunglasses were off by the time they reached the tabletop and finished the song ("Ooh, I got to get you into my life!"), and Kurt tore his sunglasses off as Blaine wrapped an arm around his waist and crushed their lips together.
The crowd cheered wildly as Kurt and Blaine kissed, pulled apart slightly, and moved back in for a shorter, sillier kiss. Then, Blaine jumped all the way from the tabletop to the ground and turned around to help Kurt climb down.
"I love you," Blaine grabbed Kurt's face in both of his hands once they were both standing on the ground, kissing him again.
"I love you," Kurt gushed as he pulled out of the kiss. "I've missed you. I've missed this ridiculousness," he motioned around them. He couldn't stop smiling. He didn't want to.
He grabbed Blaine's hand, and they went to thank the marching band.
"Wait," Kurt asked as Blaine thanked the drum major and said something about the song being better than he imagined, "you knew about this?"
"No," Blaine beamed at him, "I planned it, too." He squeezed Kurt's hand. "I want you to stay. A few more days."
"You... we did not just plan the exact same song," Kurt rolled his eyes, slightly embarrassed at how in sync they were about this kind of thing.
"We did," Blaine said proudly.
"Oh, god," Kurt moaned, but there was something about it that felt nice.
The crowd was slowly calming down, getting back to lunch, and Blaine swung their intertwined hands between them as he and Kurt wandered back to their picnic basket.
"Everyone's staring at us," Kurt commented as they sat back down. It wasn't unpleasant – the other students seemed surprisingly casual about the whole thing – but it was noticeable. He felt like they were waiting to see if something else was coming up.
"Well, we did just make quite a scene," Blaine shrugged before downing the remaining drink in his cup in one go.
Kurt took a long sip of his drink, too, but he was distinctly not hungry. He felt a little sweaty and very full of adrenaline after all the singing and dancing, but he mostly felt like he wanted to be alone with Blaine as soon as possible.
Blaine sighed unhappily as he set his glass down.
"We should've done this for dinner or something," he realized. "I've still got half of my classes left after this."
Kurt was shaking his head before Blaine finished the sentence. "Let's just blow it off," he suggested.
Blaine hesitated.
"Blaine," Kurt threatened lightheartedly, "you are not actually considering going to class instead of going back to my house right now."
Blaine's eyes lingered on Kurt's lips for a moment. "No," he finally agreed. "No, you're right. Let's get out of here."
They packed up the picnic and carried everything back to Kurt's car, and Blaine wondered out loud if they should drive to Kurt's house separately or in one car.
Kurt wanted to go in the same car, but he knew it was probably a better idea to take both cars.
"Let's drive separately," he suggested reluctantly. "That way we don't have to come back later to get the other one."
"Works for me," Blaine winked, leaned in and kissed Kurt once, then again, and a third time a little more intensely, and then tore himself away and jogged across the parking lot to his car.
When they arrived at Kurt's house, he was ready to abandon everything and go directly inside, but Blaine motioned for Kurt to come over as he climbed out of his car.
"I got you this," Blaine said as Kurt approached. "At the carnival."
Blaine pulled a large stuffed teddy bear, colored like a panda that was purple where a normal panda would be black, and held it out for Kurt, smiling broadly.
It was silly and unnecessary, and Kurt was completely smitten. He took the bear and hugged it to his chest as Blaine closed the door to his car.
The bear was quickly forgotten as soon as they made it to Kurt's bedroom. With Burt and Carole at work and Finn away at college, the house was theirs for the entire afternoon.
They spent some time making out on the bed at first, fully clothed, because undressing seemed like such an effort. Blaine was completely uninhibited, his every move purposeful and gentle and full of love. Kurt didn't feel so composed; he just reacted to whatever Blaine was doing, enjoying the emotional and physical pleasure of letting go and trusting Blaine with everything.
When Kurt finally decided that it was time to make the effort to get undressed, tugging Blaine's already-untied bowtie off as a hint, it took them twice as long as it should have to get their clothes off because they didn't want to sit up or stop kissing. By the time all their clothes were piled on the floor, they were both giggling uncontrollably, and more than ready for an entire afternoon together in bed.
After one of the most tender, passionate rounds of sex they had ever had as far as Kurt was concerned, they cuddled up together under the covers and talked. They talked about their respective schoolwork and their families and friends and interesting things in the news and, finally, about Kurt's plans for the week.
"Please stay through the weekend," Blaine begged. "The fee to change your flight is minimal, and–"
Kurt turned and grabbed his phone to check the time.
"I'm supposed to leave for the airport in two hours," he said. "My dad will be home in about an hour, by the way, so we should probably clean up."
They got out of bed, cleaned off and cleaned up, and got re-dressed as they continued the conversation.
"You can change your flight up to two hours before your departure time," Blaine explained.
"You looked into it?" Kurt grinned.
"Please?" Blaine whined.
"I have to get back to school," Kurt said. "And my internship. It's–"
"I know, I know," Blaine interrupted, "but we just got back together and I miss you."
"I miss you, too," Kurt agreed. "I'm just... through the weekend?"
"We can do this every day," Blaine flirted, tipping his head toward Kurt's bed.
"You're going to skip the second half of your classes every day for the rest of the week?" Kurt doubted.
"Well, no," Blaine allowed. "But we can have lunch. And we can see each other after school. And don't you want to spend more time with Finn? And, uh, your dad and Carole? Plus, it's Beatles week in glee club. That's fun, right? We could go to the carnival together if you want, since you missed it, and we should have dinner at Breadstix at least one more time, for old time's sake. And–"
"Blaine," Kurt cut him off, "okay."
"Yeah?" Blaine's face lit up.
"I'll change my flight today," Kurt said, "but I don't know about the weekend. I usually go into Vogue dot com on Saturdays..."
"If you change your flight more than twenty four hours before takeoff, there's no penalty," Blaine offered eagerly.
Kurt laughed.
They changed his flight to Thursday night, and Blaine pouted about it for a few minutes before Kurt kissed him enough times that Blaine couldn't keep up the act.
"I'll think about it," Kurt told him in regards to the possibility of staying through the weekend.
BLAINE
The next morning, Blaine woke up feeling more content than he had felt since before Kurt left for New York. He had been loath to leave Kurt's house the night before, but he knew he couldn't stay the night. He was trying to impress Burt, hoping for a little help from Kurt's father for the proposal, and Burt was never particularly fond of the idea of Kurt and Blaine alone in Kurt's bedroom.
So, after staying for dinner with Burt and Carole – "We're officially a couple again!" Kurt had announced proudly, and neither Burt nor Carole had seemed surprised by the news – Kurt had walked Blaine out to his car and they had spent five minutes pressed together against the driver's side door before Blaine managed to pull away long enough to decide that he had to go home.
He had slept so, so well.
As soon as he got to school the next morning, Blaine went to talk to Mr. Schu.
"Hey, Blaine," Mr. Schu greeted him as he walked into the teacher's office. "What's up?"
"I'd like to make an announcement before we get started in glee club this afternoon, if that's alright?" Blaine asked.
"Sure," Mr. Schu agreed. "Is this possibly related to your colorful duet with one Mr. Kurt Hummel in the courtyard yesterday?"
Blaine ducked his head as he realized he had completely forgotten to tell anyone that he wouldn't be at glee club. He tried not to think about all the talking about him that must've gone on when he didn't show up.
"We're officially back together," Blaine told Mr. Schu what he already knew.
"I'm very happy to hear it," Mr. Schu approved. "So... that's your announcement?"
"No," Blaine said, bracing emotionally for Mr. Schu to object to his plan, "my announcement is: I'm going to ask Kurt to marry me."
Mr. Schu was understandably surprised.
"Wow," he absorbed Blaine's words, "okay."
He didn't try to talk Blaine out of it.
"So," Blaine elaborated, "I want to ask everyone for their help."
"Nothing but a big song-and-dance proposal for Kurt, huh?" Mr. Schu guessed.
"He's going to love it," Blaine nodded.
"Alright, then," Mr. Schu agreed. "The floor is yours this afternoon."
"Thanks, Mr. Schu," Blaine said, grateful that the teacher hadn't put up a fight or tried to tell him they were too young. "Have a great day!"
BLAINE
Blaine ran into Mr. Schu in the hallway outside the choir room before glee club, so they walked into the room together.
"Okay, listen up, everybody!" Mr. Schu got the group's attention. "Blaine has a very special announcement to make."
"That's right," Blaine smiled as he walked through the door and paused in front of the group. "So, as most of you know already, um, Kurt and I are officially back together!"
His friends applauded as he walked to his seat.
"But," he added as he sat down, "what most of you don't know – and this is top secret – is that I'm going to ask Kurt to marry me."
Silence.
"Yeah!" Sam exclaimed, jumping to his feet and clapping loudly. "Guys, come on, get up! Come on, guys, this is my best friend! Gay marriage: good! It's good! It's good things! They're all happening so fast, let's go!"
Blaine stood up and followed him to the center of the room so he could stop him.
"Sam," he put a hand on Sam's shoulder, "not now. Anyway," he turned his attention back to the group, "I want this proposal to be... just incredible, so I'm asking for all of your help. But I'm also asking for some of our competitors' help. Like the Warblers and Vocal Adrenaline and the Haverbrook School for the Deaf."
"Vocal Adrenaline?" Unique scoffed. "No, ma'am."
"The Warblers are evil incarnate little craps," Ryder disapproved, "that –"
"Are you crazy?" Tina interrupted, pushing past Ryder to get to the center of the room where Blaine and Sam were standing. "Are you insane? Good god, have you lost your mind?"
"Tina," Sam scolded, catching her before she could reach Blaine. "Everybody! Hear him out."
"Look," Blaine explained, "I want this to be more than just an ordinary proposal. I want this to be a cultural statement!"
"Sure you do," Jake said from his seat beside the piano.
"Hey," Blaine said, turning to face Jake and Marley as they exchanged an amused glance, "our generation is at a turning point. People everywhere – except, like, Russia – are beginning to see that it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, or even what god you believe in! They're beginning to see that people really aren't all that different and, honestly, if we can get a bunch of cutthroat show choirs to stand side-by-side and unite in something? Then anything is possible."
"Okay," Artie said. "Okay, look, Blaine is just using the world of rival glee clubs as a metaphor for this incredible time we're in right now."
He paused, studied Blaine's face briefly, and added, "I still think you're too young."
Blaine was ready for their doubt.
"Help!" he sang, turning in quick succession to each of his classmates as the band backed him up. "I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone. Help!"
The group was happy to join in, and they sang the song and danced around the room. When the song was over, Kitty sighed dramatically.
"You really are too adorable to say no to, sometimes," she lamented. "It's so annoying."
"Alright, alright!" Sam approved in his Matthew McConaughey voice. "Let's go!"
They went to Vocal Adrenaline first, sneaking into a rehearsal to ask the students to help Blaine propose to Kurt. The rival show choir was hesitant at first, but eventually agreed. Their captain suggested that they start rehearsing right away – that afternoon – so Blaine invited the whole group along to help persuade the other schools. They went to the Haverbrook School for the Deaf next, and then took the rapidly-growing group to Dalton.
"This is where we met," Blaine explained once he had the Warblers' attention. "This is where we fell in love. And I know our," he motioned between the Warblers and himself, "history is a little complicated, but you guys mean the world to me and it would mean so much to me and to Kurt if you would be part of our engagement."
"We need an official vote," Trent said, "but, in the spirit of brotherhood and cleaning up our tarnished reputation, I think we'd all be happy to help."
"Uh, Trent," Sebastian intervened, "we said I'd do the talking."
Sebastian glanced around at the other Warblers in the room. "All in favor of helping Blaine?"
It was a unanimous chorus of "aye"s, and everyone applauded. New Directions, Vocal Adrenaline, the Haverbrook School for the Deaf, and the Warblers, all crammed into the Warblers' practice room. Blaine high-fived Sam and then turned his attention to Sebastian.
"Thank you, man," Blaine said, stepping forward to hug him.
"Kurt's going to love this," Sebastian approved.
"I'd love to do it here," Blaine raised his voice and explained the details to the group while one of the Warblers interpreted for the students from the School for the Deaf. "We met on the stairs out there," he motioned toward the doorway, "so, I was thinking..."
They spent the next hour hashing out how it would go. Where everyone would stand, how they would move Kurt from room-to-room along a specific route, how the song would be arranged. Sebastian was put in charge of getting official permission from Dalton. Tina was in charge of costumes. The captain of Vocal Adrenaline would handle the choreography. The captain of the Haverbrook School of the Deaf's glee club volunteered her team to come early and make sure everything was set up and clean. Artie was in charge of bringing a few of his friends to record and photograph everything as it was happening. Sam was in charge of the ring. Mr. Schu would get food and drinks for everyone so they could celebrate once the whole thing had been successfully executed.
And Blaine needed Burt to agree to bring his son to Dalton at the appropriate time.
He stopped by Burt's tire shop on the way home after dropping Sam, Tina, and Artie, who had ridden with him to all the different schools, off at their houses. The man at the reception desk knew Blaine, so he waved him through, telling him that Burt was somewhere in the back. Blaine wandered into the shop and found Burt working on a car in the back corner of the room.
"Mr. Hummel?" Blaine tried to grab Burt's attention as he approached. He shook his head as soon as the words left his mouth; he sounded so serious.
"Mr. Anderson," Burt teased as he straightened up and turned to look at Blaine.
Blaine breathed out a mostly silent laugh and took a deep breath. "Do you have a second?" he asked.
Burt glanced around and wiped his hands on a rag as he walked over to stand near Blaine. "I like to come in here and get my hands dirty when I'm home," he explained as he tossed the rag onto a table covered in tools. "Keeps me from turning into a stuck-up Congressman. What's up?"
"I'd like to talk about me and Kurt," Blaine explained.
"Alright," Burt agreed.
Blaine reached into his pocket and retrieved the little black box that held the ring he was planning to give to Kurt. He held the box out in his palm and Burt took it from him and flipped the lid open.
"I know we don't agree about the timing," Blaine said as Burt studied the ring in the box, "but... I am going to ask Kurt to marry me."
Burt snapped the box closed and looked at Blaine.
"I figured as much," Burt acknowledged as he handed the ring box back to Blaine so he could put it back in his pocket. "So, you're here... for advice?"
"No," Blaine shook his head, not bothering to hold back the huge smile that stretched across his face as he thought about his plan. "I'm here to ask for your help."
Blaine paused to gauge Burt's expression, which was difficult to read, and Burt gestured for him to continue.
"I want to do it at Dalton," Blaine explained. "Where we met – right where we met, on the staircase in the music building – later this week before Kurt has to go back to New York. And I want it to be... special. Really special." Blaine laughed as he said, "We both know that Kurt has been dreaming up extravagant proposal scenarios for a long time, so it has to be extraordinary."
"Something tells me you're not here to ask me for help with a big musical number," Burt pressed him to get to the point.
Blaine nodded, reining in his smile. "Having you there would mean the world to both of us," Blaine said seriously. "I'm here to ask if you would please come and let me convince you with my actions and my words that this is the right thing for me and for Kurt."
Burt took a deep breath and studied Blaine's face for a long moment.
"What are you going to do if he says no?" Burt asked.
"I... if–uh..." Blaine struggled to answer. He hadn't thought about it. Kurt was going to say yes.
Burt put a hand on Blaine's shoulder and squeezed it briefly before letting go. "Relax, this isn't an interrogation."
"If he says no," Blaine recovered and spoke firmly, "I will tell him that I love him and put the ring back in my pocket for another day."
Burt opened his mouth to speak, but Blaine had to add, "But he's going to say yes."
Burt laughed. "It's not every day a dad gets invited to his son's proposal," he said, "so I can't see myself saying no."
Blaine's smile returned immediately, and he quickly extended his arm to shake Burt's hand. "Thank you," he beamed.
Burt shook his head, a nonverbal "this kid", but he was smiling, too. Blaine felt immensely relieved. "I'll let you know the details," Blaine told Burt as he started to walk away.
"Probably best to text me," Burt offered. "If Kurt catches my phone ringing and it's you on the caller ID, he's going to know something's up. But he won't go through my text messages."
"Okay," Blaine agreed. "Thank you so much."
He texted Rachel as soon as he climbed into the car in the parking lot of the tire shop. THIS IS TOP SECRET: I'm going to propose to Kurt on Saturday afternoon. Please come?
By the time he got to Kurt's house – Kurt had actually gone to spend the day with Finn this time, so Blaine had suggested that they meet up for dinner – he had eight new text messages from Rachel.
Oh my god!
Yes, OBVIOUSLY I'm going to be there! I'm going to come Friday. Looking at flights.
OMG, what's your plan? This is soooo romantic! A secret proposal with all of his friends there! DO YOU HAVE A RING?
Do you want Santana to come, too?
She's coming. We booked our flights. We're actually coming tomorrow night! Is that too early?
I went ahead and texted Mercedes and told her, sorry if you wanted to! She's obviously coming, too.
Where are you? Are you driving or something? Don't answer if you are.
YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED! Oh my god, I'm so excited! He's TOTALLY going to say yes he loves you SO much!
Blaine texted her back before he got out of the car to go into the house. Arriving on Thursday night was perfect; the girls could distract Kurt on Friday so he wouldn't wonder why Blaine was doing something other than hanging out with him. The plan was to propose at Dalton, on the stairs where they met. He did have a ring. Of course Santana and Mercedes needed to be there. And he was glad she approved.
See you tomorrow night! He texted at the end. I'll tell you all the details then.
Kurt wasn't home yet, but Carole was, so Blaine spent half an hour chatting with her (she was excited about the proposal; if she disapproved of their age, she didn't say so) before Kurt arrived. The three of them ate dinner together, and Blaine felt like at any moment Kurt was going to somehow read his mind and the secret was going to be ruined. He felt like he was radiating I'm going to marry you vibes so intensely that Kurt couldn't not catch on, but Kurt chatted happily about his day with Finn and how excited he was to get back to New York the next evening, but that he was also really, really unhappy to leave Blaine and his family and friends behind. He didn't seem to notice that anything was going on.
After dinner, Kurt and Blaine went up to Kurt's room and cuddled on the bed for an hour, casually flipping through a few magazines and talking about nothing important. But, when the time came to leave, Blaine knew he still had official proposal work to do.
Kurt made it easy for him when, as Blaine climbed off the bed, Kurt fell back onto the pillows, sighed unhappily, and said, "I'm going to miss you like crazy."
"Then stay," Blaine urged, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Just... book a flight home for Saturday night or something. That way, you'll have a full day on Sunday to get re-adjusted to New York before the week starts on Monday."
KURT
"I'm supposed to work on Saturday," Kurt reminded him. "Isabelle has been so nice already, letting me have this time off."
"I know," Blaine agreed, "but... also, the Million Dollar Listing finale– we have to watch that together, right?"
Kurt narrowed his eyes. "I cannot change my flight just so we can watch TV together. We can Skype during –"
"No, I know," Blaine said, "but, it's not just the finale. It's just being together, right?"
Something was going on.
Blaine kept asking him to prolong his stay. He wanted Kurt around on the weekend for some reason, and he was desperately making up excuses to cover up the real reason.
Kurt's curiosity made the decision for him.
"Fine," he agreed. "I'll make sure it's okay with Isabelle. But I have to go home this weekend, Blaine."
Blaine leaned over and kissed him. "I can't wait until we live in the same city again," he said warmly.
Kurt felt hot all over as he thought about Blaine moving to New York. Moving in with him. The freedom was going to be amazing.
"Goodnight," Blaine said as he handed Kurt his laptop so he could change his flight.
Kurt tilted his head for another proper kiss as he took the laptop from Blaine's hands. "Goodnight," he said. "Thanks for coming over tonight. Love you."
"I love you so much," Blaine kissed him one final time and then stood up. "Lunch tomorrow?"
"Sure," Kurt agreed. "I think I'll just bring something from Breadstix or something this time, though. That picnic basket is heavy."
Blaine laughed. "Sounds great," he smiled as he reached the door. He waved and then disappeared into the hallway.
BLAINE
When Blaine pulled into his driveway that evening, he sat in the car and stared at the front of the house for a few minutes before he worked up the courage to go inside and tell his parents his plan.
They were predictably unhappy. Like Burt, they were mostly worried about the timing, rather than the concept of Blaine spending his life with Kurt. "Why not wait a few years, until you're done with college?" "You're so young; there's plenty of time for this later when you've experienced more things and had plenty of time to think about your future." But, by the end of the conversation, Blaine was shocked to find that both his mother and father were reluctantly on board. He had a feeling it had more to do with not wanting to strain their relationship with their youngest son rather than true enthusiasm, but he didn't care. They weren't going to try to stop him.
He didn't invite them to the proposal. He wanted it to be about Kurt. Kurt's loved ones. They could celebrate with Blaine's parents later.
He didn't call Cooper. He wasn't sure if Cooper would keep the secret. He had a horrible mental image of Cooper tweeting something vague like Big day for my little brother today! on the day of the proposal and ruining the surprise. He would tell his brother the news after Kurt said yes.
BLAINE
It rained during lunch the next day, so Blaine ran out into the parking lot and jumped into Kurt's car, and they spent the lunch period sometimes eating and sometimes making out as well as they could over the console between the two front seats.
In glee club that afternoon, Blaine inadvertently found something to distract him from his proposal plans.
"Okay, guys! Week one of our Beatles fest has been epic," Mr. Schu announced. "I think we've really unpacked what made the Fab Four such an instant sensation. But now I want to turn to their oft-ignored middle period."
"Mr. Schu?" Tina raised her hand and stood up, speaking without waiting for an acknowledgement. "Would you say that the early Beatles looked out for each other even when they didn't want to be looked out for?"
"Oh god, no," Artie said.
Mr. Schu glanced at Artie before turning his attention to Tina. "If I understand your question, Tina... yes, the early Beatles always had each other's backs."
"In that case," Tina said, "I'm sorry Artie, but this is for your own good."
She turned to face the students.
"Everyone, Kitty and Artie are dating," she informed them. "But Kitty's making Artie hide it because she's embarrassed by him, and I think that's emotional abuse. Artie is a great guy and he deserves to be loved openly and proudly and without conditions."
Everyone turned to look at Kitty.
"For once, we agree," Kitty said after briefly considering her response. "It's true. Arthur and I are dating."
"We are?" Artie asked, hopeful. "Officially?"
"And, for the record," Kitty continued, "and, not that it's anyone's business, especially not yours, Tina Cohen-Agitator, I did want to keep it hush-hush."
"Because you were ashamed," Tina scolded.
"Yes, Memoirs of a Lame Geisha," Kitty said as she stood up, "because I occupy a certain place in the McKinley hierarchy and you all occupy a different, lesser place in that hierarchy, and before exploding said hierarchy by jumping up and down on Oprah's couch declaring my undying love for someone who is, let's face it, not my usual body type... I wanted to be sure."
"Of what?" Marley asked.
"That I really, really liked him," Kitty confessed, moving to sit down on the bottom level of the riser so she could be at eye level with Artie. "And that I would be willing to risk not just my social standing, but also getting hurt by letting him wheel into my heart. And, even though I know he's getting ready to graduate, and we're probably just as doomed as every other sad, broken, backwards relationship that's ever started in this Jesus- and love-forsaken choir room –"
"Kurt and I will have a happy ending," Blaine protested before realizing that he and Kurt had actually met and gotten together at Dalton, not in the McKinley choir room.
"– I do like you, Artie," Kitty ignored Blaine. "You make me laugh, and not just with those stupid YouTube fail videos you're always showing me."
She reached out and took both of Artie's hands in hers.
"Look, asking you to keep our stuff private wasn't cool, and I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Kitty," Artie said, a smile on his face. "But, um... as far as, like, updating my Facebook status...?"
"Yes," Kitty returned the smile, "we are officially, publicly, shockingly... a thing."
They kissed, and everyone applauded, but Blaine noticed immediately that Tina looked unhappy. When he thought about it, Blaine realized that Tina was unhappy most of the time, lately. Something had to be done.
He grabbed his phone and texted Sam, Ryder, and Jake. Secret meeting in the choir room after glee rehearsal. Just the four of us.
"Do any of you know why I called you in here?" Blaine asked once everyone but the four boys had left the choir room after rehearsal.
"Uh," Sam guessed, "is it to get prepared in case the North Koreans invade through Mexico?"
Blaine rolled his eyes.
"I just saw Red Dawn, okay?" Sam explained. "It could happen."
"One of our own has turned into a mean, bitter, and angry person," Blaine explained why he had called the meeting.
"Tina," Jake guessed.
"Tina," Sam agreed.
"That would be Tina," Ryder said.
"She didn't used to be like this," Blaine mused. "She was a sweet girl who dated Artie until he dumped her because he found out she was faking her stutter. And then she dated Mike Chang until he dumped her because she wasn't Asian enough, or something."
"Wait, is that really why he dumped her?" Jake wondered.
"Yeah," Sam said.
"Look," Blaine explained, "the point is that it's time for us to step in. She's falling apart. I walked by the Too Young To Be Bitter Club this morning, and she was the only one in there. She was just sitting there, eating–"
"Oh my god, yeah, I saw her with those little cakes this morning!" Ryder interrupted. "Those ones they sell at that bakery near the dentist, you know?"
"Those cakes are truly awesome," Sam commented with a faraway look on his face.
"Dude, those things are moist and chocolaty at the same time," Ryder agreed.
"Totally," Jake nodded as the three of them high-fived. "Totally."
"Guys, this isn't about the cakes," Blaine scolded. "I know how good they are; I've had them, too. This is about us trying to help Tina!"
"No, of course, Blaine," Sam said. "You know, even though this is all clearly your fault, you know, whatever you think we should do, we're in."
Blaine barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes again.
"Prom's coming up," he reminded them. "And Tina needs a date. So, I'm thinking... we'll all offer our services, and let her choose."
"Yeah, whatever," Ryder agreed. "She's going to choose you, though."
Jake unsuccessfully attempted to stifle a laugh.
"Well," Blaine said, "that's fine! The point is that she has multiple guys to choose from."
"Oh my god!" Sam shouted.
"Dude, what?" Jake scolded, startled.
"We should, you know, sing a Beatles song to her or something," Sam suggested.
"Yes," Blaine agreed. "Yes, good idea! We can do I Saw Her Standing There. We could recreate the video. You know, the iconic one from when–"
"Hold up," Artie suddenly appeared in the doorway, "I know you are not planning to make a video without me."
Blaine had to cancel dinner with Kurt that evening so he, Sam, Ryder, Jake, and Artie could rehearse and set everything up for the performance for Tina the next day. Kurt seemed surprisingly okay with it, saying something about beauty rest and telling Blaine to have fun before practically hanging up on Blaine. Which, Blaine thought, was better than hurting Kurt's feelings a few days before he hoped they were going to get engaged.
With all his attention suddenly focused on the new project, Blaine completely forgot that Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes were all arriving that evening until they suddenly showed up in the auditorium, interrupting the boys' final dress rehearsal.
"Oh my god, you all look so adorable!" Rachel approved. "What's this for?"
"Tina," Blaine explained, stepping down off his podium to hug her. "She's been really down lately, so we're going to sing to her and invite her to go to prom with one of us."
"That is so sweet!" Rachel said. "But oh my god, you have to tell us all about the proposal!"
"I think that's our cue to leave," Jake mumbled.
"Yeah, okay," Blaine agreed, glancing over his shoulder at Jake, Sam, and Ryder. "Thanks for this, guys," he motioned at the set on the stage. "We'll do it tomorrow during lunch, alright?"
As soon as the guys were gone, Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes gathered around and Blaine told them all the details of the proposal.
"I have to say," Santana said when Blaine finished talking, "that even warms my cold, dark heart. He's going to cry, for sure."
"Aw, you guys, remember when Kurt first came back after that first trip to Dalton?" Mercedes remembered. "He was so flustered and adorable!"
"I thought you were mad at him about suddenly wanting to spend all that time with Blaine instead of you?" Santana recalled.
"Shut up, Santana," Mercedes rolled her eyes, turning to walk out of the auditorium.
"He's going to just... it's so perfect, Blaine, amazing," Rachel gushed, hanging on his arm as they walked out of the auditorium together. "Kurt is so lucky."
"Thanks," Blaine said. "Do you guys have plans with Kurt tomorrow?"
"I convinced these ladies that we shouldn't let Lady Hummel know we're here until tomorrow," Santana interjected. "Let the poor boy get some sleep before the insanity that's going to happen to him the day after tomorrow."
Blaine nodded. "Good idea," he agreed.
"I'm going to text him in the morning," Rachel explained as they reached the parking lot and paused at the point where they were going to have to split up to go to their respective cars. "And see if he wants to have lunch. And then we're going to have a sleepover!"
"We'll keep him plenty occupied," Mercedes reassured Blaine, prying Rachel off his arm. "So you just focus on the dress rehearsal at Dalton and don't worry."
KURT
On Friday morning, Kurt found a text from Rachel waiting for him when he woke up.
Surprise, I'm in Lima! Breadstix for lunch?
Incredibly confused, Kurt put his phone down on his bedside table and went to have a shower to make sure that he was really awake before he responded.
What are you doing in Lima? Is everything okay?
Everything's fine! Rachel reassured him. Just wanted to visit home.
Okay, Kurt agreed. Blaine's busy during lunch today, anyway, so it'll be nice to have some company.
They arranged a time, an early lunch only a few hours away, and Kurt got dressed and did a load of laundry to get a head-start on getting all this stuff together to pack into his suitcase the next day.
It was completely insane that Rachel was spontaneously in Lima. She had just started a new job at a diner Kurt had not yet been to and she was right in the middle of the Funny Girl audition process. What if the producers or the director called and wanted to meet with her as soon as possible?
He assumed he would receive more information about Rachel's sudden trip home during lunch, but he was mistaken. Instead, he walked through the door into Breadstix and discovered that it wasn't just Rachel who had returned to Lima. Santana and Mercedes had come, too.
Something was definitely going on. Something involving him. All of his friends were suddenly flying back to Ohio from opposite ends of the country.
There was really only one thing that Blaine could be planning that would warrant that kind of commitment.
Kurt barely touched his lunch as Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes chatted with him and each other about everything but Blaine.
Blaine was going to propose.
His suspicion was all but confirmed when, at the end of lunch, Rachel had a proposal of her own.
"Let's have a sleepover!" she suggested excitedly. "With sleeping bags and pizza and everything!"
Kurt knew he had to say yes. This was part of the plan: keep Kurt occupied.
"Sure," he agreed cheerfully, feigning ignorance.
"Amazing!" Rachel clapped her hands. "It's going to be so fun, you guys! Like old times!"
Kurt allowed himself to be led around to wherever the girls wanted to go for the rest of the day. They went to the mall and found new outfits for all three of the girls ("Clothes are just so much less expensive here, you know?" Mercedes explained). They decided to do the sleepover at McKinley (Santana was confident she could bribe one of the Cheerios to leave a door unlocked) and went to each of their houses to get supplies. Pajamas, clothes for the next day, toothbrushes, sleeping bags, pillows, money for pizza.
Finally, as the sun was going down, Kurt heard from Blaine while he was sitting in the car with Rachel and Mercedes waiting for Santana, who had run into the pizza place to pick up their order.
Artie finished editing the video of our performance for Tina today! Blaine texted, with a link to a YouTube video.
After a moment spent blinking at the link in surprise – he had assumed the "performance for Tina" was a cover for some kind of setup for the proposal – Kurt held the phone out so he, Rachel, and Mercedes could watch the video together on his phone.
Amazing! Kurt texted Blaine back when they reached the end. You look so cute with your hair like that. Please tell me she loved it.
She did. Blaine reassured him. She's going to go with Sam to prom!
That surprised Kurt, too, but he didn't comment.
How was your day? Blaine asked.
Good! Kurt replied. Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes are all randomly in town! So, I spent the day with them.
What? Blaine pretended he had no idea what was going on.
Yeah, Kurt texted him back, we're going to have a sleepover.
Sounds fun! Blaine approved. Want to grab breakfast tomorrow morning?
Kurt's stomach churned with nerves. Tomorrow was Saturday; he was flying home that evening. The proposal was definitely going to happen at breakfast.
Sure! he said. Where?
Lima Bean? Blaine suggested.
Kurt was glad that Blaine couldn't see him – he felt clammy and anxious – as he responded, Perfect. What time?
Eight? Blaine suggested.
Okay, Kurt agreed. See you then!
Have fun with the girls tonight! Blaine said. I love you.
I love you too, Kurt replied.
Blaine texted him back a little red heart, and Kurt stuffed his phone into his pocket.
By the time he, Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes got to McKinley and snuck in through the unlocked door, Kurt had to know. The anticipation was overwhelming.
"So," Kurt addressed his friends as they walked together down the familiar hallway toward the auditorium, "as much as I enjoy breaking into a school none of us actually go to anymore, will someone tell me what we're doing here, exactly?"
"We thought, since we all happened to be in town," Rachel explained brightly, "it might be fun to have a pizza party/sleepover for you –"
"Uh huh," Kurt cut her off. He knew that part. He wanted to know why. "And I'm here because Blaine keeps making up excuses for why I should stay – the latest is that we have to be together for the Million Dollar Listing finale – but why did you guys come?"
"I was going insane waiting to hear that I didn't get Fanny," Rachel said immediately.
"The Health Department raided the diner," Santana shrugged.
"I'm signing copies of my CD at the Lima Mall Borders," Mercedes explained.
Kurt narrowed his eyes at them. Liars.
"Borders is closed and no one buys CDs anymore," Kurt countered. "Look, ladies, let me save you a lot of trouble. I know you're in cahoots with Blaine. Probably the entire glee club. I'm not blind; I see what's going on. I have a pretty good idea of what's coming."
"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked innocently as they walked through the doorway that led them to the auditorium stage.
"Zip it, Berry," Santana interjected. "The sashaying cat is out of its sequined wedding bag." She turned her attention to Kurt as they stopped walking in the middle of the stage. "Okay, you figured it out. What are you going to say when he asks you?"
It was real. Blaine was going to propose.
"Yes, it has to be yes," Rachel begged, clutching Kurt's arm, "please prove that true love still exists–"
Kurt had been thinking about it nonstop since lunch, when he had realized what was going on. What was he going to say? At first, he had tried to reason it out in his mind. If he said yes, blah, blah, blah. If he said no, blah, blah, blah. But, in the end, he knew that he really didn't need to analyze anything. Blaine was the love of his life. The person he wanted to grow old with.
"I think..." Kurt glanced briefly at each of his friends and suddenly couldn't keep from smiling, "I am going to say yes."
All three girls squealed with delight, and Rachel threw her arms around him from the side and squeezed him tightly.
"And you three have to be my bridesmaids!" Kurt added excitedly, letting himself imagine just a little piece of what their wedding could be.
"And I will be raising the roof at your reception," Mercedes acknowledged as they all started laying out their sleeping bags and pillows, "but Kurt... are you sure? It's such a big step..."
"I know," Kurt reigned in his excitement to address Mercedes' doubt. "But I've dreamt about marrying Prince Charming ever since I saw my first Disney musical. I just never thought it would be possible."
He hadn't thought it would be possible – not really – just a few years prior. Until his path and Blaine's collided and everything seemed possible.
"But the world's changed," Kurt continued, "and... more than anything, I want Blaine and me to be a part of that change."
He wanted to marry Blaine. Legally. He wanted the government to acknowledge that they were more than just long-term roommates; he wanted to hold a marriage certificate in his hands and make it official.
Rachel clasped both of her hands over her heart, nodding her approval.
"It's so incredible," Rachel said. "I'm so happy for you, Kurt! You're nineteen and you've already found the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with – grow old with –"
"Old?" Kurt whined.
"That's right, Liberace-face," Santana said, moving toward Kurt so he would focus on her as she spoke. "After your big, amazing, Behind the Candelabra-like wedding comes eighty years of sex-less, hen-pecking, antique-collecting, co-dependent marriage, followed by gay divorce or death." She shrugged. "I, for one, couldn't be happier for you."
Rachel huffed disapprovingly, but she and Mercedes were already turning their attention to the pizza boxes and weren't paying much attention. After a quick "good luck!" smirk, Santana turned and went to join them.
Kurt's stomach felt suddenly tight with nerves, not hunger, and he stayed where he was, staring out into the empty auditorium.
He could potentially be married to Blaine for eighty years. Even if they only lived to be eighty years old, rather than a hundred, they could be married for sixty years. That was three times as long as Kurt had been alive.
As panic swept through his body, Kurt tried to reason with himself. Yes, sixty to eighty years is a long time. But isn't that a good thing when you've found the love of your life? Sixty to eighty years of loving Blaine and being loved by Blaine every day.
But what if he never got to spend more than one or two days alone for the rest of his life? What if, one day, one of them realized they wanted to know what else was out there and regretted their marriage? What if he was setting a bad example for his friends and younger family members by marrying so young? What if people in New York looked down on him for being that Ohio boy who married his high school sweetheart in his early twenties? What if they couldn't find a way to have children? What if they did have children to take care of? What if they ended up irrevocably broken as a couple and devastated their children by divorcing?
What if he just thought he was in love when, really, he was just a stupid kid who was too obsessed with "happily ever after"?
"When you're done panicking about your future," Santana called from where the three girls had settled onto the floor with their pizza, "you should probably eat something. You only need to fast for, oh, six months before the big day, and you're not even actually engaged yet."
"Santana," Mercedes scolded before turning her attention to Kurt. "Come here," she beckoned with her arms.
Kurt walked over and sat down, and Rachel handed him a slice of pizza.
"Eat," she commanded.
Kurt obeyed, and his dread quickly started to dissipate as he ate and chatted with his friends about non-marriage-related things. He wanted to marry Blaine. He was just freaking out in the face of such a long-term commitment. Which, Kurt hoped, was just a normal obstacle to overcome and not his mind attempting to warn him that he would be making a mistake if he accepted Blaine's proposal.
It wasn't until three o'clock in the morning that they all settled down to get some sleep. Kurt thought he was going to lie awake all night, his mind whirling about what was going to happen the next day, but he was so tired by the time his head hit his pillow that he didn't have any time to think before he drifted off to sleep.
BLAINE
That night, Blaine barely slept at all.
The dress rehearsal that afternoon had been a spectacular success. All the people involved – even the ones who didn't know Blaine or Kurt at all – were so excited and eager to make it perfect. They had run through the whole plan three times, and there had never been a significant problem. They were ready.
But Blaine wasn't sure he was ready.
He thought about calling Sam or Tina to come keep him company as he went over and over and over his proposal speech, but he decided that he didn't want anyone to hear it before Kurt. He had it written down – meticulously edited to perfection over the past few days – but he couldn't stop pouring over it, trying to find flaws or places where he could make it better.
Eventually, he grabbed his phone and gave the speech to his voice memo app so that he could listen to it instead of just reading it over and over (and to make sure he had it memorized). Then, he listened to it four times in a row, just to be sure.
It was short, but it was them. It told their story without being overly wordy, and it felt romantic without being cringe-worthy to all their friends.
Blaine had a shower, brushed his teeth, put on his pajamas, and climbed into bed shortly after two o'clock in the morning, but he knew he wasn't going to get any meaningful sleep.
He was proposing to Kurt in less than twenty four hours.
KURT
The next morning – Saturday – Kurt's alarm went off at seven o'clock and he jolted awake with only one thing on his mind.
What was he going to wear? He had nothing with him but a normal outfit he had stuffed into a bag to bring to the sleepover.
He shook Rachel awake, panicking.
"I'm meeting Blaine for breakfast in one hour," he whined. "Help."
Rachel sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Meeting Blaine for breakfast?" she frowned, confused.
Relief washed over Kurt as he realized breakfast must not be the big moment. Even in a half-asleep stupor, Rachel would remember the plan.
"Never mind, go back to sleep," he shoved Rachel's shoulder and she fell back onto her pillow.
Kurt showered and got dressed in the locker room and then drove to the Lima Bean to meet Blaine. Blaine was already there when Kurt arrived, typing on his phone as Kurt walked through the door.
"Hey," Kurt walked over to the table where Blaine was sitting.
Blaine looked up at him and smiled like seeing Kurt there was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
"Hey!" he stood up and reached out for a hug. He kissed Kurt's cheek as they stepped apart, and Kurt felt strangely calm. Blaine was proposing later that day. No big deal.
They got coffee and some pastries and returned to their table. Blaine told Kurt all about the performance for Tina the day before and Kurt told Blaine about the sleepover (skipping all the I-know-you're-proposing-to-me-later stuff). Kurt tried to coax a few details about the proposal from Blaine without giving away the fact that he knew it was coming by asking Blaine what his plans were for the rest of the day, but Blaine was ready with an answer involving Sam and Tina and a fabric store they were going to visit in Columbus to look for fabric for their Nationals' costumes. ("And then I'll meet you at the airport," Blaine reassured him. "To see you off.")
Blaine wasn't going to give anything away.
When they were finished with breakfast, they lingered by their side-by-side cars in the parking lot, finishing a conversation about Kurt's plans for the following week when he would be back in New York. Then, Blaine cupped Kurt's face in both of his hands.
"See you soon," he said softly, his eyes full of affection and a hint of anxiety.
"Have fun in Columbus," Kurt was proud of himself when the words came out without even a hint of a laugh.
Blaine kissed him gently. "I love you, Kurt," he breathed against Kurt's lips as he pulled away.
"You're amazing," Kurt encouraged him, hoping it might help to calm Blaine's nerves. "Best boyfriend in the world."
His words had the desired effect. Blaine's face lit up.
"Luckiest boyfriend in the world," he corrected cheerfully.
"I love you," Kurt laughed.
"Good," Blaine approved. He leaned in and kissed Kurt again, and this time Kurt grabbed a fistful of the front of Blaine's shirt and held him there until things started to get heated enough that Kurt abruptly realized they were standing in the middle of the Lima Bean parking lot.
"Okay," he managed to gasp as he gently shoved Blaine back. "You should go."
"I should," Blaine beamed at him and opened his car door. "Bye."
"Bye," Kurt waved as Blaine got into his car and closed the door, then walked around to get into his own car and go home. He had to get ready for the most important question he might ever answer.
KURT
Burt knew. He and Carole fussed over Kurt all day. Carole made a huge lunch of Kurt's favorite foods. Burt spent thirty minutes in the garage vacuuming the inside of the car and then washed the exterior in the driveway. They both reminded Kurt twice that they had to leave early for the airport because "there might be traffic".
Kurt texted Rachel and asked her what Blaine was planning to wear.
What's he going to wear to what? Rachel replied so quickly that Kurt thought she must've been holding the phone in her hands when he sent his message.
I know what's happening today, Rachel, Kurt reminded her. This is literally the last chance to do it. I have a plane ticket in my bag for later today.
Fine, Rachel replied, and Kurt could hear the pouting in her voice through the simple word. You should wear that amazing teal suit.
I am not taking fashion advice from you, Kurt scolded.
Rachel didn't text him right back, but Mercedes did. Wear the teal suit.
If it clashes with anything, I'm going to kill you both, Kurt replied to both Rachel and Mercedes.
Okay, Mercedes agreed.
I love you, Kurt! Rachel replied.
Kurt shoved his phone into his bag and went upstairs to his room to get ready.
He had showered earlier that morning in McKinley's locker room, but he didn't feel clean enough, so he showered again. He used his favorite moisturizer (also Blaine's favorite, because he liked the way it smelled), styled his hair, ironed his shirt, made sure his suit was perfectly clean, and got dressed. Then, he rummaged through the box of pins and other accessories he had left behind in his bedroom when he moved to New York and found one of his mother's pins to wear. A silver heart.
As he was pinning the heart to his jacket, Burt knocked on his door.
"Kurt?"
"Come in," Kurt allowed.
Burt opened the door. "We, uh, let's head out soon, alright? Where's your suitcase?"
"I can get it," Kurt said, grabbing his packed suitcase from beside his bed as he made his way to the door to his room.
They didn't say much else as they prepared to leave. Carole gave him a long, tight hug before he climbed into the car, apologizing for having to go to work instead of going with them to the airport, and then Kurt was alone with his father in the car.
BLAINE
After breakfast with Kurt, Blaine drove straight to Dalton.
He couldn't stop thanking everyone. There was almost nothing for him to do – he was basically in the way – as everyone prepared for the big moment, so he just wandered around and talked to everyone and thanked them and tried to find something specific to do to help.
Eventually, Santana caught him by the elbow and steered him away into an empty room.
"You're going to lose your voice or something," she scolded. "Just stop talking."
Sam wandered in shortly after that (and Santana left), and his presence calmed Blaine down a bit. "Have you even seen the way Kurt looks at you, man?" Sam reassured him, flopping into a chair. "He would've said yes to you if you had proposed while you were both still here at Dalton, probably."
"Remember when you came and delivered pizza to us that one time?" Blaine reminisced as he paced slowly around the room, unable to relax quite enough to sit down.
"Yeah," Sam recalled. "I didn't even know you then, really. But you opened the door and Kurt was there with you, holding your hand. Totally adorable," he teased.
"Thank you so much for helping me with this," Blaine said, pausing near Sam's chair.
Sam stood up and hugged him, patting him on the back a few times before releasing him.
"I like how happy this makes you," Sam told him. "And Kurt."
Rachel and Finn arrived next. They each hugged Blaine and expressed their happiness about what was about to happen, and Rachel handed Blaine a warm tea they had brought from the other room. "To make sure your vocal cords stay nice and warm," she instructed.
As more and more people started to arrive, Blaine felt more and more at ease.
They were all here to celebrate his and Kurt's love. This wasn't a competition or a showcase. It was a simple serenade, with a simple question at the end. They were all playing for the same team today, with a single goal in mind: to make Kurt feel special and wanted and loved.
KURT
Kurt felt mostly calm after leaving the Lima Bean that morning, until the car pulled out of the driveway and he and Burt began the drive to... not-the-airport. Doubt started to claw its way back into his mind.
He couldn't get engaged. He was way too young for that kind of responsibility. He had no idea how to be a husband. And what was wrong with waiting? Why did they have to be engaged? Couldn't it just be enough, for now, to be faithful and in love?
Burt made some small talk, asking Kurt about things in New York and telling a few stories about his adventures in Congress, but Kurt did not feel talkative so the ride was mostly quiet.
As they approached Columbus and had not yet deviated from the route to the airport, Kurt knew where they were going.
"Look, I, uh, know we usually take the highway to the airport," Burt explained as they finally made a turn that took them the opposite direction of the airport, "but somebody told me about this shortcut through the back roads."
"Dad, you can stop it," Kurt said, battling the heavy blanket of doubt that was trying to smother him. "I know you're driving me to my surprise proposal."
"I should've known you knew," Burt realized. "You're the kid who planned his own surprise party for his tenth birthday."
"That Justin Timberlake piñata was a perfect likeness," Kurt recalled.
"Well, I wouldn't know," Burt said. "You okay? You look like I'm driving you to your execution."
"I can't tell," Kurt admitted. "I mean, I really love Blaine. He makes me feel so connected and safe and loved. And I don't think I'm ever going to find someone else who's going to make me feel like that."
He glanced at Burt, but his father didn't say anything.
"But we're both so young," Kurt added.
"Your mom and I met when we were twenty two," Burt reminded him, "and I asked her to marry me six months in. We were just kids."
That made Kurt feel a little better. Tragically, they had been married less than a decade before the accident that had stolen his mother's life, but his parents had been so in love. So together.
"Yeah, it was really hard at first," Burt recollected. "You know, you go in with all these fantasies about what your life together is gonna be like. Nothing but laughing and dancing around in your underwear. Cookin' pasta. And sex. A lot of sex."
They were silent for a moment as Kurt thought about that and tried not to panic as they arrived at their destination. Dalton Academy.
"It's hard being married, though," Burt explained as he turned off the car and climbed out. "It's hard enough being in your twenties."
"Do you wish you'd waited?" Kurt asked as he got out of the car and walked around the front, watching his father across the hood of the car.
"Not one second more," Burt said without hesitation. "I wish I'd met her ten years earlier. I didn't know then that I was only going to get so much time with her, you know? That she was going to leave us so soon."
Kurt wondered what his mother would think about Blaine. About Kurt and Blaine together. He had worn her pin to the proposal to carry a piece of her with him, so her essence could be there, even though she couldn't.
"I'd take fifty more years of late night fights about, you know, me working late or the gas bill or her letting the milk go bad, for just... ten more minutes with her next to me," Burt continued. "We only get a few days when it you come down to it, Kurt. You know that better than anyone."
Kurt didn't know what to say. He did know. And he didn't like thinking about losing Blaine.
"Look, totally being honest here?" Burt confessed, walking around the front of the car to stand nearer to Kurt. "Blaine asked me what I thought about this, and I gave him my opinion."
"Which was?" Kurt asked, ready for his father's thoughts.
"My opinion doesn't matter here," Burt explained. "You're your own man now."
Kurt appreciated the sentiment, but it was not the answer he wanted. His friends were all caught up in the romance of the whole thing, so they wanted him to say yes. He wanted to know what someone older, someone wiser, someone who was married, thought he should do.
BLAINE
"Oh my god," Rachel whispered loudly, hurrying away from the window, "he's here. He's here!"
Blaine's heart lurched like it was trying to break free of his chest, and he closed his eyes. Calm.
"Okay," Rachel said, taking a cue from Blaine's body language and quieting down, "you can do this. Don't worry; it's Kurt! He loves you so much."
She straightened Blaine's bowtie as he opened his eyes, and brushed off his shoulders to make sure his suit was spotless.
"Thank you," Blaine mouthed silently at her as she turned and hurried to her place behind him with Santana and Mercedes and the music began.
He was ready.
KURT
"But giving you a choice means you've got to make one," Burt said to Kurt, tipping his head in the direction of the nearest building. "So, relax. Hear what the guy has to say. I mean, all you've gotta do is say 'yes', 'no', or 'maybe'."
"Is there another option?" Kurt asked, only half joking.
Burt laughed as the beginning of a familiar song blared out from the music building. Kurt's stomach fluttered wildly, mostly from anxiety, and he turned to look at the building, then back at his father.
Burt looked happy. And relaxed. And he was here. He was okay with what was happening.
Kurt turned and walked toward Dalton's music building, and it didn't escape him that he had walked this exact route two years prior. The day he had come to spy on the Warblers, mostly to spite Puck. That day, Dalton had represented everything that he didn't have. Now, the fancy brick exterior and everything (and everyone) waiting for him inside felt like a homecoming. This was a place that had profoundly changed his life.
A few members of the marching band and some of the Warblers were emerging from the building in front of Kurt – the band directly in front of him on the ground floor, and the Warblers above on the balcony – and Kurt was struck by the fact that Blaine had organized this. For him.
Kurt saw Blaine as soon as he stepped up onto the sidewalk that led to the door. He was wearing a bright yellow suit as he emerged from the building, walking toward Kurt and singing the song the band and the Warblers had started.
"There's nothing you can do that can't be done. Nothing you can sing that can't be sung. Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game. It's easy."
Blaine stopped in front of Kurt and tipped his head back toward the building, asking Kurt to follow him back inside.
Rachel, Mercedes, and Santana were waiting for them just inside the doorway. Blaine continued to sing – the Warblers backing him up nearby – as Kurt hugged each of them, feeling a little more at ease with every passing second and every word Blaine sang.
"Nothing you can make that can't be made. No one you can save that can't be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you, in time. It's easy."
Blaine moved again, further into the building, and Kurt followed him.
Their friends from McKinley were there, waiting for them in the hallway. Finn was first in the line, a huge smile on his face, and he tugged Kurt into a firm hug. Then Sam, then Tina, then Artie. The new members of New Directions were there, too. And Mr. Schu. All singing.
"All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need."
Blaine and Kurt stood in the middle of the hallway as New Directions and the Warblers danced around them and Blaine sang.
"Nothing you can know that isn't known. Nothing you can see that isn't shown. Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be. It's easy."
Kurt was overwhelmed, excited, and impressed. Blaine looked so sure.
Suddenly, Rachel and Mercedes grabbed his hands, and started to lead Kurt away from Blaine, further down the hallway. As he allowed himself to be pulled along, Kurt realized there were people in the crowd he didn't know. He paused with Rachel in the doorway between the hallway and a room full of people dancing together, choreographed, and realized that they were from Vocal Adrenaline.
"All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need."
Rachel pulled him through the dancers, around a corner, and up the back staircase. Kurt's heart was pounding as she led him to the top of the building's grand, spiral staircase with the large glass dome overhead. The students of the Haverbrook School for the Deaf were there, signing along to the song.
"All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need."
Kurt could hear Blaine singing again, but couldn't see him. The space below started to fill with people and the song started to wind down, and Rachel hugged him again and motioned for him to walk down the stairs.
"Love is all you need (Love is all you need). Love is all you need (Love is all you need). Love is all you need (Love is all you need). Love is all you need (Love is all you need). Love is all you need (Love is all you need)."
As Kurt started to descend the staircase, red rose petals started fluttering past him from above. He glanced up and saw a bunch of the Warblers flinging the petals into the air from the walkway at the top of the stairs.
When he turned back to concentrate on not falling down the stairs, Blaine was there. Walking into the room, to the bottom of the stairs to wait for Kurt.
"He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Blaine sang joyfully as Kurt finished the descent and paused a few steps from the bottom. "He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah! He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Something inside of Kurt settled into place at that moment, as he watched Blaine beaming up at him. Blaine knew that this was right.
And so did Kurt.
The room roared with applause as the song ended. New Directions, the Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline, and the Haverbrook School for the Deaf were all there, cheering for the successful performance and for what was about to happen.
Mr. Schu was there, too. And Burt. They, plus Finn and New Directions, were gathered around Blaine at the bottom of the stairs. Rachel, Mercedes, and Santana were behind Kurt on the staircase.
Kurt applauded with them briefly as he stared around the room, shocked. This was extravagant, even for Blaine. It made him feel warm inside. Important and wanted.
Then he turned his attention back to Blaine.
This was where they met.
Blaine had shaken Kurt's world to its core that day. He had challenged everything Kurt thought he knew about confidence and kindness and courage. About what his life could be.
And now, Kurt thought, as he stared down at Blaine and recalled how much better his life was on this day than it had been that day, Blaine was about to change his life again. This time, with a very clear purpose.
"We met right here," Blaine explained to the group, raising his voice so everyone could hear him. "I took this man's hand and we ran down that hallway." He motioned off to his left, down the hallway. Kurt had never really asked Blaine about that moment. About why he had taken Kurt's hand when he could've just asked Kurt to follow him. Kurt was glad Blaine had done it; something about that touch, so uninhibited, had sent Kurt's heart fluttering into his throat in a way that it never had before.
"And," Blaine continued, glancing around at their friends and peers, "for those of you that know me, know that I'm not in the habit of taking people's hands I've never met before." He laughed, and Kurt felt that same fluttering in his core that he had felt the first time they met. Affection.
"But, I think that my soul knew something that my body and my mind didn't know yet," Blaine continued, the excitement and joy on his face morphing into confidence and warmth as his gaze landed on Kurt and stayed there. "It knew that our hands were meant to hold each other, fearlessly and forever."
"Which is why it's never really felt like I've been getting to know you," Blaine said, moving forward to climb the few stairs that separated them as tears filled Kurt's eyes. "It's always felt like I was remembering you from something. As if, in every lifetime that you and I have ever lived, we've chosen to come back and find each other and fall in love all over again. Over and over, for all eternity."
Kurt felt breathless and nervous and exhilarated. He also felt frozen, like he couldn't move even if he wanted to. Every piece of him was completely focused, hanging on Blaine's every word.
"And I just feel so lucky," Blaine said tenderly, "that I found you so soon in this lifetime because all I want to do – all I've ever wanted to do – is spend my life loving you."
Kurt reminded himself to breathe as Blaine reached back, without looking away from Kurt, so Sam could place a small black box in his hand.
"So," Blaine said before taking a deep breath and glancing down at the ring box in his hands, "Kurt Hummel..."
Blaine lowered himself down to one knee on the stairs, and Kurt tried not to allow his tears to overwhelm him before Blaine got the words out.
"...my amazing friend," Blaine gazed up at him, "my one true love."
Blaine paused and looked down at the ring box as he opened it. Then, he looked up at Kurt. "Will you marry me?"
Kurt had worried that he wouldn't know what to do when the question came. That he'd have to say "maybe".
He wished he hadn't spent so much time worrying. He had never been so sure.
"Yeah," he said softly, nodding his head. "Yeah."
Blaine stood up quickly, moving in for a long, tender kiss that left Kurt breathless when Blaine finally pulled away. Kurt got his first good look at the ring as Blaine put it on him, sliding the cool metal onto his left ring finger. It was silver in color, shiny around the edges and matte in the middle.
He threw his arms around Blaine's neck and shoulders and hugged him, happy to the core of his soul.
Kurt squeezed Blaine as tightly as he could, relishing the feeling of Blaine's arms wrapped securely around his waist, and felt Blaine take a deep, satisfied breath. As Blaine exhaled a sigh of contentment, Kurt twisted his head toward Blaine's ear.
"Thank you," Kurt said softly, hoping Blaine could hear him over the roar of approval and excitement from the crowd around them.
Blaine's grip on Kurt's waist loosened, and Kurt let go of him so Blaine could step back.
"Thank you," Blaine beamed at him, reaching out to grab both of Kurt's hands in his.
"I'm overwhelmed," Kurt admitted as he realized his hands – and Blaine's – were shaking with nerves and the adrenaline rush of what had just happened.
Blaine turned and glanced behind him, and Sam immediately raised his voice and addressed the group.
"Alright," Sam shouted, "let's go!"
Kurt narrowed his eyes at Blaine as everyone quickly and orderly left the room.
"I thought we would prefer a moment alone before the onslaught of well-wishes," Blaine explained, smiling widely. "There's food in the other room." He tilted his head toward the door where everyone had exited.
Kurt snorted out a laugh. "There's a reception?"
Blaine shrugged happily.
"I think I need to sit down," Kurt decided as he stared down at Blaine on the stairs below him and felt the magnitude of what had just happened settling into his brain. He didn't wait for an acknowledgement or response; he sank down onto the stairs and pulled Blaine down to sit beside him.
Once they were sitting side-by-side on the staircase, Blaine beckoned for Kurt's left hand. "What do you think?" he asked, apprehensive, as he tapped the silver ring on Kurt's finger.
"Well done," Kurt teased, nudging Blaine's shoulder with his own.
"Honestly, I want you to love it," Blaine said seriously, "so we can –"
Kurt tugged his hand out of Blaine's grip. "We are not even going to think about returning my ring," he pouted.
He expected a laugh from Blaine, but, instead, he glanced at Blaine and saw tears in his eyes.
"I love it," Kurt added, grabbing Blaine's hand again.
Blaine used his free hand to wipe at his eyes.
"Everyone thought I was crazy," Blaine explained his tears, "but I knew you would say yes."
"You are crazy," Kurt said as tears pooled in his eyes, too. "This is crazy, but in the best possible way."
Blaine lifted their joined hands and kissed the ring on Kurt's finger.
"Remember Jan and Liz?" he grinned as he lowered their hands back onto Kurt's knee.
"Oh my god, they gave you the idea to do this?" Kurt guessed. "They were completely adorable."
Blaine shook his head. "No," he smiled, "they got the idea from me, I guess."
"What?" Kurt wondered.
"They own the jewelry store," Blaine glanced down at their hands, "where I got your ring."
"No," Kurt gasped. "Honestly, did everyone in Ohio know about this before I did?"
"Probably," Blaine winked.
Kurt decided not to tell him that he had known beforehand, even if he had been one of the last to know. He looked around them, at the now-empty staircase, littered with rose petals, and tipped his head back briefly to look at the glass dome shining overhead.
"I never knew this was possible," he said softly before his emotions started to restrict his voice. "And you– ugh, I don't want to cry about it, never mind."
"It's okay," Blaine leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. Kurt wasn't sure if he meant It's okay, you don't have to say anything or It's okay, you can cry about it. He blinked a few times as Blaine sat back, and decided to continue.
"Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me," Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand. "Aside from being born, obviously."
Blaine's answering smile made Kurt's heart pound with fondness. It was that look, that friendship and unashamed affection, which had changed his life.
"You opened my mind," Kurt said tearfully, "to a new world of possibilities. You looked at me like that, like I was special and normal, and you took me seriously. You were everything– you are everything I didn't know I could actually have. My dearest friend. The love of my life."
He paused to compose himself, gazing down at the new ring on his finger, and then looked up at Blaine again.
"Every day, you make me better," Kurt told him. "I cannot wait to be your husband."
They both laughed at the word husband, giddy with the newness of the word, and Kurt leaned over for a kiss.
"Everyone's waiting for us," he whined as he sat back. "And, oh my god, my flight is... what time is it?"
The very last thing he wanted to do in the immediate aftermath of getting engaged was fly back to New York.
Blaine stood up and pulled Kurt to his feet. "We – me and your dad – secretly changed your flight to tomorrow," he said, mostly proud of himself, but also a little nervous about how Kurt was going to react.
Kurt threw his arms around Blaine's neck, relieved, and crushed their lips together. Blaine reached back to hold the handrail with one hand for balance, wrapped the other around Kurt's waist, and kissed Kurt back enthusiastically.
"Alright," Kurt said when they had to stop to breathe, "we– we have to– Blaine–"
"I know," Blaine agreed, kissing Kurt one last time before releasing him. "Let's go."
Kurt didn't keep track of how much time passed between that moment and the moment when they were finally done being congratulated and hugged and photographed by and with everyone, but it felt like an entire day. Blaine made a short speech, thanking everyone for being part of their special day and complementing the group on how beautifully the whole thing had been executed. Kurt and Blaine snuck out into the parking lot in the middle of the craziness to call Cooper, which resulted in Kurt laughing uncontrollably and Blaine promising that he would send photos and saying multiple times that he was sorry he hadn't called beforehand. Then, they went back inside and Kurt was relieved to see that many of the people from Vocal Adrenaline and the Haverbrook School for the Deaf were leaving. The room seemed much less overwhelming with just their friends and the Warblers around.
Eventually, the Warblers left, too, as did New Directions (plus Santana and Mercedes), and Kurt and Blaine collapsed into chairs at a table in the corner while Burt and Mr. Schu chatted at a table nearby.
"Where's Rachel and Finn?" Kurt wondered after a moment spent enjoying the peace and quiet.
"Last I saw them," Burt motioned with his hand toward the parking lot, "they were carrying some stuff to the car. You ready to leave?"
Kurt glanced at Blaine. "Sure," Blaine agreed.
As Kurt walked to the parking lot with Blaine, Burt, and Mr. Schu, he was relieved to see that Rachel and Finn were just standing together by Burt's car, not hiding somewhere, making out, like he had imagined.
"Hey!" Rachel waved at them as they approached. Kurt hurried over and yanked her into a hug, squeezing her tightly.
"Thanks for coming, Rachel," he said, surprised when his voice quivered with emotion.
"Are you kidding?" Rachel said as they stepped apart, tears shining in her eyes, too. "You just got engaged, Kurt! I would not have missed it for anything. Or anyone, short of Barbra herself. And even then..." she teased him with a little shrug of his shoulders, and Kurt shook his head.
Rachel moved away to hug and say goodbye to Blaine, and Kurt was left standing alone with Finn.
"It's been really nice getting to spend some time together this week," Kurt confessed, thinking about the time he had spent with Finn at college over the past week. Finn had shown him around campus and told him all about his classes and his newfound passion for becoming a teacher. He and Finn didn't talk every day, but Kurt felt like they had settled into a really nice every-week-or-so routine of catching up via text message over the last few months. Finn felt like a real brother. It felt good.
"Yeah," Finn smiled. "It has. Sucks that you live so far away, right?"
Kurt nodded. "Well, it's your turn to visit me next," he determined.
"Alright," Finn agreed.
"And... thanks for being here today," Kurt said, blinking back tears again. "It means so much to me and to Blaine."
"Blaine's going to be my brother-in-law," Finn mused approvingly. "Huh."
"You'll be my best man, right?" Kurt requested. "You're pretty great at wedding toasts, as I recall."
"That would be so cool, man, yes," Finn agreed happily. "I've got to think of the perfect song..."
Kurt laughed and stepped forward to hug him.
"Congratulations, Kurt," Finn grinned at him as they stepped back from the hug. "Honestly, you two are perfect for each other."
"I agree," Kurt nodded, laughing as Mr. Schu walked over to where they were standing to wrap Kurt in a crushing hug.
"Thanks so much for coming, Mr. Schu," Kurt said warmly. "Thank you for everything."
"I couldn't possibly be happier for you, Kurt," Mr. Schu told him as they released each other. "I'm so proud of you."
Kurt just exhaled heavily, nodded his thanks, and had a moment of clarity about the emotional wreck he was going to be on his wedding day if this day was reducing him to tears.
Mr. Schu clasped him on the shoulder and turned and walked away.
"I think I'm going to head out, too," Finn said to Kurt. "Safe flying back to New York."
"Thanks," Kurt nodded. "Good luck with the rest of the semester."
Finn offered a thumbs-up. "Passing grades, here I come!" he joked.
Kurt rolled his eyes affectionately. "See you later, Finn."
"See ya," Finn said as he started to walk away. "Bye, Blaine! Congrats!" he raised his voice and waved at Blaine, who was standing with Rachel and Burt, and then looked at Kurt again. "Bye," he smiled.
"Bye," Kurt echoed as Rachel left her spot beside Blaine and rushed after Finn to say goodbye. Kurt wandered over to Blaine and his father, suddenly wondering what was going to happen next.
"Well," Burt answered the question for him before he had to ask it, "your suitcase is in Blaine's car." He motioned to the car beside them. "It's been so nice having you home, Kurt."
"I feel like I haven't stopped crying all afternoon," Kurt tried to laugh as his father pulled him into a hug.
The day he had arrived in Ohio, he had been full of anxiety about his father's health and the status of his relationship with Blaine. Now, he was leaving behind a father who was cancer-free and a new fiancé. Life had taken a dramatic turn for the better over the past two weeks.
"Thank you, Dad," Kurt wiped at his eyes when Burt released him. "I love you."
"I love you, Kurt," Burt said fondly. "Congratulations."
As his father walked away, Kurt turned to Blaine.
"We're engaged," he said seriously.
"We are," Blaine agreed, trying to emulate Kurt's seriousness and failing completely. He reached out and touched the heart pin on Kurt's jacket. "I like this, by the way."
"It was my mom's," Kurt told him. "She... would've loved this. And you."
"I hope so," Blaine nodded seriously.
"So, we're going to your house?" Kurt wondered, glancing at Blaine's car.
"Actually," Blaine said, a fresh twinkle in his eyes, "I booked us a hotel. It's not too far from the airport, so we can have a lazy morning before you have to leave."
"This day couldn't possibly get any better," Kurt approved, turning to hurry around the car so he could climb into the passenger's seat.
"We'll see," Blaine teased as he climbed into the car, too.
"Oh my god," Kurt rolled his eyes, his face flushing with a mix of embarrassment and anticipation.
BLAINE
The drive to the hotel didn't take long; the airport (and their nearby hotel) was only about twenty minutes from Dalton. Which, Blaine thought as they parked and he got out of the car, was probably a good thing.
Kurt was exhausted. He had been up so late the night before with Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes, and Blaine guessed that he probably hadn't slept particularly comfortably in a sleeping bag on the auditorium floor.
Blaine, on the other hand, was wide awake.
Everything had gone so well. The proposal had happened exactly the way he had imagined it, maybe even better. Kurt was happy. Really, really happy. And the fact that he was responsible for that happiness flooded Blaine's body with warmth every time he thought about it.
They were engaged.
Kurt was his fiancé.
Blaine grabbed Kurt's suitcase and his own little bag out of the trunk of his car, and they went into the lobby to check in. Kurt didn't say much as they waited behind another couple at the desk and then as Blaine confirmed their reservation and got the key to their room, but he hovered close to Blaine and smiled at him every time they made eye contact.
"It's been a long day," Blaine commented as they reached their room and dumped their bags on the ground just inside the door.
"The best long day," Kurt clarified. He made a point of turning slowly and locking the door, and Blaine's knees suddenly felt unsteady.
"We don't have to– you're exhausted, so–" he tried to protest, to make sure Kurt wasn't just doing what he thought Blaine wanted or expected.
Kurt turned back around to face him after locking the door, and the look on his face expressed a very clear "no more talking."
They made it to the edge of the bed, stumbling and kissing and trying to kick their shoes off all at once, before Kurt stopped them.
"Wait," he gasped, "wait. We have to hang up these clothes or we're both going to hate ourselves in the morning."
Once their outfits were neatly hung in the closet, they climbed into bed and didn't even consider leaving it again until Kurt nearly fell asleep in the middle of a sentence and Blaine realized it was really, really dark in the room. They hadn't bothered to turn on any of the lights when they arrived, content with the sunlight streaming in through the window, but the sun was now long gone below the horizon.
"I'm starving," Kurt mumbled, trying not to fall asleep with his head on Blaine's chest.
"I think they do room service," Blaine gently moved Kurt to a pillow and sat up, searching for the menu, and couldn't see it. "I need to turn on the light."
"Mmm," Kurt agreed.
With the room illuminated by the lamp by Blaine's side of the bed, he could see the clock.
"It's only eleven," he marveled, climbing out of the bed to find the room service menu. It was on top of the dresser. "There're a few options... here, do you want to– Kurt?"
"No," Kurt mumbled, an answer to both Do you want to look at the menu? and Are you asleep?
As Blaine found a robe and then ordered them something he knew they would both like off the menu, Kurt found the mental strength to climb out of bed and wander to the bathroom.
"Shower," Kurt explained as he walked past Blaine, who was still on the phone ordering their food.
Blaine really wanted to get into the shower with him, but one of them had to be in the room in case their meal arrived quickly. So, they took turns showering and, by the time Blaine emerged, the food arrived. They ate mostly in silence, enjoying each other's presence and their dinner, and then they climbed into bed to get some sleep.
"I feel like I'm going to wake up in the morning and realize I dreamed all of this," Kurt said softly as they settled into a comfortable position, cuddled together on the bed with Blaine's face nestled into the side of Kurt's neck.
"It's real," Blaine reassured him.
"Thank you for loving me like this," Kurt wiggled his left hand above them briefly, showing off the ring. "I'm so glad you're in my life."
"Forever," Blaine sighed contently. He felt like his body was going to melt into the bed; he was so tired and so content. They were fiancés. One day, they would be husbands, officially together forever. People would be able to look up their names hundreds of years in the future and see that they were married. That they loved each other.
"I love you, Blaine," Kurt reiterated. "Today was... perfect."
"A happy day," Blaine agreed. "I love you so much."
Silence settled over them until Kurt laughed suddenly. "Okay," he said, "I just have to say it... this," he motioned with his hand around the room, "is so, so much better than sleeping on the floor of the auditorium."
Blaine smiled and pressed a soft kiss to the side of Kurt's neck. "Goodnight, Kurt."
Kurt exhaled a long, content sigh. "Goodnight," he said quietly. "See you in the morning."
The end!
Kurt and Blaine are back together in a big way, y'all! This episode was SO GOOD to them. Drama and conflict can be great and interesting, of course, but THIS is just so nice and fluffy and SWEET... so good. Thank you, Glee.
Thank you all for your patience with my unplanned little delay in starting to post this season's chapters. My update schedule for this is going to be every weekday (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday). Sometimes I'm not at my computer much or at all on Saturday and Sunday, so it's just going to be less stressful for me to know that I'm not keeping everyone waiting to see if I'm going to update or not. :)
A reminder: I'm the same username over on Tumblr if you want to say hi over there. :) Aaaand, I think that's all I have to say for this chapter! Thank you for reading!
Up next (on Monday!)... 5x02: Tina In The Sky With Diamonds!