"What are you doing here?" Blaine asked, walking out of CMJ—the law office he worked for. "Why do you look… did something happen to Kurt?"
"No, nothing happened to Kurt. I need you to go somewhere with me. We have to talk." Wes grabbed Blaine's arm, leading him out of the building.
"Wait, is your family okay? Can you let me tie my shoelace?" Blaine grunted.
"I need to talk to you alone." Wes let go of his arm. "Please hurry."
"Is David on the way? What is going on?"
"Everybody is fine. It's nothing you need to worry about." Wes said impatiently. "I don't want Adrian to see me dragging you away, though, so can we hurry?"
"Fine." Blaine raised back up and secured his bag on his arm. "Where are we going?"
"I need you to go somewhere with me and I'll explain but if I don't do it now, I'm going to lose my nerve." Wes finally made it to Blaine's car. "I walked so you can drive us."
Blaine got into the driver seat and unlocked the passenger door for Blaine. "I will drive after you tell me what's going on."
"I need to get a ring for Alicia." Wes took a deep breath.
"Wait… an engagement ring?"
"She's pregnant and… and I'm going to do the right thing. I love her a lot and I am scared as hell, but I need to do this."
Blaine's hand flew to his mouth and he stared at Wes in shock, eyes filling with tears.
"I'm freaking the fuck out but honestly… It feels right with her. We are a solid couple and… I'm comfortable with our relationship. Not comfortable like 'eh, it's the usual' but it feels right and all I want to do is see her smile and hear her laugh and… I mean, we didn't mean for this to happen obviously but we're in this together and I want to… always be together." Wes covered his face. "I sound so lame. Would you say something?"
"Wes, you love love her!" Blaine punched him in the arm. "And you didn't say anything! I didn't know it was that serious! Why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't want to jinx it. I don't know. But I was hoping you could go with me to help pick out a ring… I tried to see if David could make it to town today, but he can't. He said he'd try to come tomorrow, though, and I want to tell him in person…" Wes let out a deep breath.
"Of course I'll go with you!" Blaine exclaimed.
"Do you think Kurt can come tomorrow? I mean, his dad is doing better, right? Kurt's basically family in our group and I don't want him to find out after everyone else. He's important to the group because he's… yours."
"I'll ask him. I think Carole does have the next few days off work. I was planning to go down there but obviously I'm going to stay here for this… You think he's part of the group?" Blaine asked.
"Don't tear up or anything. Come on now." Wes scoffed and shook Blaine's shoulder. "He's always been part of the group. He just doesn't come around as much… and we have seen him a lot more this time around, which is awesome."
"You are my best friend. You and David. But you know." Blaine sniffled a little bit. "I'm so happy for you."
Wes grinned a bit. "I know, Blainers."
Blaine sat back up and wiped his eyes. "Jewelry store. Which one?"
"A good one? I got into my savings and—."
"Which savings?"
"My savings."
"What's the budget here?" Blaine pulled out his cell phone.
"Well… I don't know but I have $7,000 cash and a lot more in my checking account."
Blaine dropped his phone in shock. "And you couldn't front Asshole's rent for a couple of months?"
Wes snorted loudly. "Let's go to a nice place, okay?"
…
"I don't want help. I will know it when I see it." Wes said as they walked into the jewelry store.
"Do you know what kind of ring she would want?" Blaine whispered as Wes turned down someone's offer for help.
"I mean, an engagement ring is an engagement ring, right?" Wes asked. "How hard can it be?"
"What's her Pinterest?" Blaine asked.
"Wait, what? Pinterest?"
"It's a… never mind. What does her jewelry look like?" Blaine asked.
"I don't know. She doesn't really wear a lot of jewelry."
Blaine met eyes with him.
"What?"
"You have no idea what kind of jewelry she wears?"
"I'm not that observant. I'm usually distracted by other… aspects."
"Okay, well… Does she talk about her Hispanic culture a lot?" Blaine asked.
"No. She only says her entire family is huge, really loud, and they eat and drink a lot." Wes shrugged. "We joke because our families are stereotypical and…"
"You have to call Adrian." Blaine interrupted. "Right now."
"What? Why?"
"Because he is her best friend in Cambridge and you have no idea what kind of jewelry she likes. I mean… These people that work here can't help with nothing to go by. I tried to find a Pinterest and I'm not surprised she doesn't have one but… I can't help if you don't know anything about what she'd like."
"I don't want to… I'm not even sure if Adrian knows about the baby."
"Oh, he does. He's been acting weird for about a month when you two are in the room together. I thought maybe he had the hots for you or something but he's been trying to hide that he knows." Blaine waved his hand and pulled out his phone. "Call him. I have his number."
"Blaine…!"
"Do you want to get her a perfect engagement ring or something she'll wear but not love?" Blaine asked.
"What? She would tell me if she hated it."
"Let's put it this way. I went to Rachel and Alec when looking for a ring for Kurt. And girls have like this code apparently. They sometimes let their friends know in case their boyfriend asks when it's serious. And I'm not saying she showed Adrian rings or anything… and maybe she hasn't… but they've been friends since undergrad and I know they used to have sleepovers in college, so I'm sure he's seen her jewelry." Blaine whispered. "Call him."
"Can't I just—?"
"Call him."
…
"Ohmygod, you're going to propose to AJ?" Adrian gasped, coming up to Wes and AJ fifteen minutes later.
"He is!" Blaine nodded excitedly.
"Wait, you're not doing it because she's pregnant are you? Because she won't be cool with that." Adrian looked at Wes.
"No, it's not because she's pregnant. I mean, I'm doing it sooner than I would have otherwise but… it's not only because of the baby. I love her and I want us to do this the right way." Wes said looking uncomfortable.
"She loves you so much." Adrian said, looking excited. "I've never seen her this happy with any other guy and I mean there were a few that—never mind, oh my God. Why did you call me? You need help, don't you?"
"Please." Wes nodded eagerly. "She never wears jewelry around me."
"Well, she keeps it locked in a nice jewelry box in her closet. At least she did in college." Adrian said. "She hates gold and white gold is too much to keep up with. She also doesn't like rose gold either."
"So, no gold." Blaine chirped. "Of any type."
"Platinum?" Wes asked. "That's supposed to be better anyway."
"See? You do know something." Adrian nodded eagerly.
"Does she like simple?" Blaine asked.
"She does but she doesn't like traditional stuff, so I wouldn't do anything plain or one big diamond unless you pair it with something a lot... the word isn't flashier, but… flashier? She wouldn't want anything too flashy but she likes pretty stuff. She also likes unique stuff so I wouldn't worry about getting a set that is meant to go together." Adrian said.
A girl who worked there came up with three rings in her hand. "I was listening in and—congrats by the way—but maybe these? They aren't super flashy but they're pretty and can be put with several different types of bands."
Wes looked at them and then up at Adrian.
"She isn't a fan of… any gold really." Adrian admitted. "And wouldn't like that because it's too… big."
Wes looked from Adrian to Blaine. Blaine, of course, had been right. As (almost) always.
"You were smart to call the friend." The girl laughed before walking away.
"She's going to bring them in platinum." Adrian said. "Am I saying too much?"
"No. I need help." Wes shook his head nervously. "Thank you so much."
"Thank you for inviting me!" Adrian responded. "I didn't expect getting to help but I'm so excited for you all. Seriously."
The girl came back with some different rings, all platinum. They were also smaller, right in line with what Adrian thought she'd like.
"So, Wes." Adrian nudged Wes up to the front again. "What do you think about these?"
"Uhh…" Wes looked down. "I think she'd like the one on the right. It's not so flashy. But how will a band fit with this… whatever it is?"
"It's a cadenza halo ring." The girl smiled. "Do you know what type of band she'd want? You wouldn't want plain, though."
"Uhm…"
"I'll bring options." She smiled again and took the other two rings with her as she went back to another area.
"I think that one was prettiest." Blaine told, looking at the ring Wes was holding.
"Yeah. The others were… too…" Adrian hesitated. "How do I put this nicely?"
"Gaudy?" Wes asked. "Should I not say that in here?"
"You can say whatever you want." The girl laughed, making it back to them. "This is the one that matches the design of the band and it fits snug with the ring. Can I see it?"
Wes handed it to her.
"It's not my favorite but a lot of people like matchy matchy." She showed them. "Then I brought one that has small diamonds down the top which I like better."
"That definitely looks better in my opinion." Blaine said and Adrian nodded.
"The other one would fit underneath but you can see it's a mismatched band with alternating shapes and diamonds in it. I personally like this best because it doesn't look like someone made it to go with it. I think it looks unique and you probably won't see this kind of engagement ring paired with this kind of band too often." She put them on one of her fingers.
Wes looked at it, blinking a few times.
"Also, if she loves the engagement ring—which she will—but doesn't love the wedding band, you can bring her in to pick something else." The girl took the rings off.
Wes looked at Adrian.
"I think she'd love it personally… But she'd really love anything you got for her, so don't put too much pressure on yourself." Adrian said.
Wes looked at Blaine.
"It's beautiful." Blaine said.
"I'll do it." Wes told the girl, who was looking around and not being pushy in the least bit.
"Are you sure? If you want to look around some… or at other places…" She offered.
"No. I'm sure." He nodded.
"Great."
"She wears a size 7." Adrian told the girl and then said, somewhat embarrassed, "She made me go with her to get her class ring size when we graduated undergrad."
"She would." Wes shook his head, although he was smiling.
"What can I say? It happens when a gay guy's best friend happens to be a girl." Adrian shrugged as the girl went to check on if they had the rings in the right size. "So… I jogged here."
Wes looked at him like he was crazy.
"Okay, I lied. I was at the police station and walked here from there… can I get a ride home?" He gave a sweet smile.
"Are you next in line for a ring? You all have been dating for ages it seems like." Blaine asked.
"Oh God, no." Adrian's eyes widened. "We're just having fun."
"Having fun?" Blaine asked skeptically. "He sleeps over when he has the following day off… and when he works the next morning…"
"It's not that serious." Adrian said uncomfortably. "Honestly, he didn't even know where my last home was before… he had just been over to your guys—well, now, our place—a few times so it was hard to be like, 'Sorry you don't know where I live.'"
"He's really nice." Blaine said. "And it seems like he loves you."
"No. It's not that serious." Adrian shook his head.
"Why wouldn't you want him to know where you live? It's been like half a year, hasn't it?" Wes asked when he was sure the girl was still busy.
"I don't want to talk about it." Adrian said. "Is that okay?"
"Definitely." Wes nodded and looked down at his phone.
"Are you okay? I didn't mean to upset you or anything." Blaine looked at Adrian, worried.
"No, I'm fine!" Adrian reassured him. "I don't like the whole commitment thing. I had a horrible break up before I started undergrad and Matt honestly has been the first more serious boyfriend that I've had since I was like… nineteen. I'm not quite ready for a serious relationship."
"I'm sure that's difficult, though, so sorry that I made anything… go there." Blaine looked him in the eyes.
"I'm good. I promise." Adrian smiled brightly as Wes finished paying. "So, when are you doing it? How are you doing it? How do you feel about the baby? How do you feel about me being godfather? Seriously, though. Not the godfather thing, though…"
"I don't know how I'm doing it or when I'm doing it but it will be soon." Wes pocketed the receipt and took the two ring boxes from the girl, smiling brightly. "I am nervous as hell for a baby but the more I think about it, the calmer I feel… I don't know how my parents are going to take it, though…"
Blaine cringed. "Oh man. Your mom is going to be so excited but your dad…"
"It'll be a really bad reaction or a really good reaction." Wes finished for Blaine. "I'm pessimistically optimistic."
"God, if I got someone knocked up my parents would be so happy." Adrian said thoughtfully as they got into Blaine's car.
"Are your parents okay with you being gay?" Wes asked.
"Oh, yeah… but my mom is dying for a grandchild. She's in on my younger brother now, who just turned 22 a week ago." Adrian waved his hand. "Personally, I think they will have better luck with my twin sister but…" He cringed a bit. "Nobody probably wants that."
"You're a twin?!" Wes exclaimed. "I need to see the female version of you."
"How many siblings do you have?" Blaine asked as he pulled out into traffic.
"Twin sister, me, younger brother, younger brother, and younger sister." Adrian counted them out on his fingers. "Four siblings."
"I was serious about a picture." Wes said.
Blaine laughed as Adrian pulled out his phone, scrolling through some pictures.
"God, you're all attractive." Wes grumbled. "Hey, is that a hearing aid?"
"Yeah. My mom is deaf. Actually my mom and my twin sister are." Adrian explained. "We actually all learned sign language before we learned to speak."
"Whaaaa?" Blaine asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't think 'Oh, I should tell this person half of my family is deaf'." Adrian shrugged.
"You know, being deaf is interesting…" Wes said. "But how are you all so attractive?"
Adrian laughed. "Really, only my mom and my twin sister are deaf. But my fifteen-year-old has moderate to severe hearing loss. That's why he has a hearing aid."
"My mind is blown."
"AJ and I met in a sign language course at Boulder. Her younger sister is hearing impaired." Adrian pointed out as they made it to the driveway… coincidentally when AJ pulled up as well. "Give me the boxes. I got you."
Wes passed the boxes back discretely and got out of the car, going to open AJ's door.
"They're so fucking cute. I hate them." Adrian sighed as Wes kissed AJ and gave her a bright smile. "Not that I'm not happy for them."
"I know what you mean." Blaine laughed a bit. "I can't believe your mom and sister are deaf. That's why you say you're going to call your mom but we never hear you talking."
Adrian grinned. "I mean, I just never really remembered to bring it up. It's kind of weird but it's normal for me, you know?"
"Before law school I probably would have noticed I never heard you on the phone when you said you needed to call home but there's only so much my brain can take now, though, you know?" Blaine sighed.
"Right?" Adrian also sighed. "Law school will be great, they said."
"They must have been talking about the salary after you graduate." Blaine said, turning off his car. "I can't believe I didn't know you were a twin!"
Adrian got out as Wes and AJ went into the house, Wes carrying her backpack. "It's disgusting."
Blaine rolled his eyes. "What's more disgusting is your police officer boyfriend just turned onto the street."
A bright smile spread across Adrian's face as his boyfriend pulled into the drive way. "Can you hide the rings?"
"Yeah. Have fun." Blaine took the two ring boxes from Adrian and slid them into his messenger bag. "See you all later."
"Bye!"
"Dad, I've really gotta… Dad, seriously?" Kurt had walked into Blaine's rental house but hadn't even been able to greet Blaine since Burt wouldn't let him off the phone.
"I want you to tell him that he still—."
"Has to come to Lima. He knows, I know, we all know."
AJ, who had picked him up from the airport since she'd been on that side of town, laughed and closed the door behind Kurt.
Blaine took the stairs two at a time to get down, grinning goofily when he saw Kurt's irritated expression. "His dad?"
"Yeah." AJ nodded, pulling a small jar of peanut butter out of her purse. She then said, defensively, "Don't judge me, Anderson. You've still got those girl scout cookies from February."
"I have to go—please don't put Melody on the phone." Kurt hung his head. "Hey, Mellie… yeah, the plane didn't get struck by lightening…. No, the wing didn't fall off… No, no one opened the emergency… hatch? Where are you hearing all of this? Of course, Finn would."
Blaine pouted at AJ and then went to hug Kurt.
I'm sorry, Kurt mouthed before Blaine kissed his cheek.
Blaine pouted at Kurt this time and then tickled Kurt's wrist, grinning when Kurt scowled and moved his free arm behind his back.
"I'll tell him, Melody… yeah, I'll bring… what do you want me to bring back? … Yes, when I get back I'll take you to see Fiona the baby hippo at the zoo again but, Melody, is she considered a baby if she weighs a thousand pounds—" Kurt scowled. "She hung up on me!"
"Fiona the hippo?" AJ squeaked. "She's so cuuuute."
"My stepmom and sister are obsessed right now. They've been going every other weekend… and then every other weekend the whole family goes. It's a lot of Fiona." Kurt sighed. "Hi, Blaine."
"Hey." Blaine grinned and leaned to kiss him.
"But, like, how cute? I mean, she's still a baby even if she's one thousand pounds, right? And they're not going to take her away from her mom, right? Because that would be traumatic." AJ asked very seriously, her eyes wide.
"Uhm… I don't think they'd take her away."
"I read online that they may want her to breed with a hippo at another zoo but it's so far away and she'll need her mom… everyone always needs their mom. I need mine right now but she's in Colorado hanging out with Adrian's mom and…" Tears filled AJ's eyes and she whimpered, "I'm going to go find Wes."
When AJ was out of ear shot Kurt pulled away from Blaine and said, "She is pregnant."
"No, she isn't." Blaine arched his eyebrow. "Don't you think I know?"
"I bet you she is. That's what Wes is wanting everyone here for." Kurt pointed at Blaine.
"Well I bet you sex she isn't." Blaine sputtered.
"If you're right, I'll top." Kurt countered.
"That's so unfair!" Blaine hissed. "It's the brocode."
"You never stood a chance keeping it from me with her pulling peanut butter out of her backpack and crying about a baby hippo. Plus, she teared up when this teenage kid helped an old man cross the street on the way here. It's like a waterfall." Kurt shrugged. "I'll act surprised."
"Wes really wanted you to be here when he told everyone." Blaine said, taking Kurt's bag and leading him upstairs.
They could hear AJ across the hall, letting out sniffly laughs every couple of seconds.
Blaine closed the door.
"So why did you find out early?"
"Me and Adrian because he…" Blaine shuffled to his desk like a child excited for Christmas and pulled out the two boxes.
"OhmyGOD!" Kurt went over and opened them. "Damn, Wes did good."
"Adrian steered him in the far-right direction." Blaine explained.
"He's going to be such a good father. He's a goofball but he has a huge heart." Kurt said.
"I teared up when he told me about the baby… and again when he wanted you to be here today." Blaine admitted.
"Aww." Kurt kissed him. "I missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too!" Blaine hugged him tightly. "In about an hour I have to go and pick up David from the airport."
"I'll go with you." Kurt hugged him again. "Ugh, I hate that we don't get our summer mostly together like we wanted."
"Well, Bob is going on a three week vacation in July." Blaine grinned. "So, if you aren't up here by then, I will come to you."
"Really?" Kurt beamed.
"Yeah! Although I'm hoping we can spend some it of here… or at your place since Quinn…"
"Abandoned ship and left me with double rent?" Kurt scowled.
"I keep telling you that you should move in with David. He's easy to live with. He's clean, quiet, and spends a lot of his free time eating or reading up on stuff for being a family physician."
"Really?" Kurt asked. "I know he was kind of… not wanting to do emergency medicine."
"Yeah." Blaine nodded. "He's going to finish out at the hospital until graduation and he's going to start interning at a pediatrics office. It sounds like Eric set it up."
"So he's basically doing a part time internship and a full time internship?"
"This fall it will be two full time internships but after that I think he gets his doctorate. He's a bit ahead already and he finished undergrad a semester early, so…" Blaine shrugged. "He's almost done."
"He's doing better?"
"Yeah. Eric is keeping him out of the ER with traumas as much as he can, but he's bringing him in to cases with sick kids or kids that aren't injured too badly. His spirit definitely seems better… he doesn't seem so stressed and sad." Blaine nodded. "Do you not see him?"
"I mean, we get lunch when we see each other but that's maybe once a week. Plus, I don't want to ask him about stuff that stresses him out." Kurt shrugged.
"You should ask him about his internship coming up." Blaine suggested. "He's excited for it. I have a feeling he'll end up being a pediatrician."
"I can see that. Any time he's been around Melody, he's been awesome." Kurt smiled. "But all of the emergency stuff… is it wasted?"
"He says he can have permission to work in ER's with his patients or even take shifts if needed but I don't think he'll want to do that." Blaine looked at his watch. "We should go get him. Are you ready?"
"Yeah." Kurt nodded and hopped up.
...
"Seriously, though. I think you two would be good roommates and it would save you both a lot of money. You guys should think about it." Blaine said, opening the bedroom door and walking into the hallway. "Hey, Wes, I'm going to get David. You guys want to come? We can get lunch."
"I'm starving!" AJ hopped out of the bed.
"I take it that's a yes." Wes said.
AJ went to hug Kurt. "I'm so happy to see you again!"
"I'm happy to see you too!" Kurt gave her a bright smile. "Your shirt really brings out the color in your eyes."
AJ beamed and walked down the hall.
"Enjoy your nap?" Blaine asked.
"No." Wes whined a bit and then hugged Kurt. "Hey, your hair is taller again. The last time I saw you it was deflated."
"You mean when I was at the garage and your family dropped in to leave food for my family? That was horrifying." Kurt scowled. "You're still in trouble for that."
"Well my mom still loved you." Wes grinned.
"Can we stop somewhere with Mexican? I really need some hot nachos… like, spicy nachos. And some bean and queso dip." AJ came back after realizing they weren't behind her. "Man, I want a daiquiri so bad. Fuck."
"We can get Mexican, I'm sure." Kurt promised her. Who denied a pregnant woman that was about to get engaged?
"You are my favorite. Can Adrian come?" AJ looked at Wes.
"Uhm…"
"I think Adrian and Matt are, uhm…. Preoccupied today. Something about a six-month non-anniversary thing." Blaine said slowly.
"Ugh, sometimes he should put it away you know?" AJ pouted. "Maybe Matt can come too!"
"Yeah, maybe we can invite all of our cousins too." Wes joked.
AJ glared at him a bit and then said, "Do you have cousins?"
"Dunno. I'm Asian so I had my nose in a book my whole childhood." Wes winked at her.
"I'm serious." AJ said.
"No cousins. No aunts or uncles. Only one set of grandparents and a dog twice removed. Family history complete. Do you have cousins?"
"Like twenty." AJ said seriously, nodding. "And they are all so, so loud."
…
"So, uhm…" Wes said later that night after AJ had deemed herself tired enough to go to bed. "Alicia is pregnant and I am going to propose to her in the very near future."
"What?" Kurt gasped, not at all giving away that he knew this or that he'd already seen the rings.
David nearly spit his water out. "What?"
Wes kicked Blaine.
"Oh my God, this is so unexpect…ed?"
"You already knew!" David whined.
"Hey, when we lived together he was always last to know." Wes pointed out.
"Yeah!" Blaine agreed. "And it sucks, doesn't it?"
"I caught on to AJ being pregnant when she pulled a bag of peanut butter out of her bag and started crying at the idea of Fiona leaving Bibi."
"Fiona… the hippo?" Wes asked.
"She pulled peanut butter out of her bag? She's perfect for you, Wes." David let out a loud laugh.
"I had to tell him. I had to get the ring before I lost my nerve." Wes explained. "I'm sorry. I wanted you to be there."
"No, it's okay. I understand completely." David said seriously. "But that means Blaine can't be there when I get mine."
Blaine scoffed.
David smiled sweetly.
"Do you have it? I want to see!" Kurt asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I need to see this too." David looked at Wes.
"I'll be right back." Blaine stood to go and get the rings.
As soon as Blaine was out of ear shot, Wes said, "You two should totally room together."
"What?" David asked, raising his eyebrow.
"I'm not a charity case. I will manage." Kurt sighed.
"Quinn moved out of Kurt's apartment… well, she is in August. And it's small and expensive. You all could split rent. Which means you have more money for books and alcohol. Plus Kurt cooks." Wes said, as if he was trying to convince David to adopt a puppy.
"If you want to, sure." David said. "As long as you're okay with me coming and going at random times of the day and night. My pager is kind of loud but…"
"I'm a heavy sleeper—wait, this is crazy." Kurt said. "You seriously… is that weird?"
Blaine came back in.
"Their roommates now!" Wes declared.
"What? Really?" Blaine gasped.
"No." Kurt said.
"But we could be." David replied. "I mean honestly we're both so busy and we've hung out some lately and honestly if you can pay for some of the food, my loan is paying for the apartment."
"No, I can't do that." Kurt gasped.
"When I say my loan I mean my parents. My dad is a therapist and my mom owns this bougie pet hotel in Cincinnati. It's kind of ridiculous. My sister's school is paid for already, so they are basically throwing it at me." David said quickly. "You wouldn't be taking advantage of me."
"Dana would probably pay for your school loans too, Kurt. Our parents love Blaine to the extreme extreme. Any time he visits with me, my mom tears up and hugs him. Not me." Wes said. "It's kind of sad."
"That's… only true when it's been a long time since I've seen them." Blaine grimaced.
"Yeah, I get hugs an hour later when she lets go of him." Wes winked at Kurt.
"I don't want to not pay rent. At least what I'm paying at that apartment." Kurt said.
"$100 a month and the water bill?" David asked.
"That apartment is at least $5,000 a month. I'm paying $1,800 a month for the one I'm in now and it's a small two bedroom. I can't only pay you $100."
"Kurt, I'm not even paying for it." David whispered. "It's insane for you to pay me. Plus, it will be nice to not live alone. I see sick people all the time and sometimes it's bad sick people and I like talking to people who aren't sick or doctors. I should probably pay you for all of the mental health coaching you'll end up doing."
"I…"
"Please. Look, I'm too busy to even bring girls home. I'm lower maintenance than a dog." David laughed. "You need a solution and I am the solution. I can tell you so many stories about Blaine before you knew him."
"Oh my God, no." Blaine gasped.
"I literally have three journals. Just from Dalton."
"Seriously, Kurt. He is not lying about the journals." Wes cut in. "You'd be a lot crazy to not do it… it'd be saving you the $1,800 you spend now and you won't have to lie to your dad and pretend you still have a roommate… and then come up with the reason why there's only one bed, one chair, and a love seat in the apartment."
David literally covered his face with his arm, laughing into it. "One bed, one chair, and a love seat?"
"I mean I don't know what'll be left. I'm improvising here." Wes shrugged.
"I…" Kurt trailed off.
"I will literally walk your dog when you're in classes and I'm home." David began to laugh again. "I'm so tired. Why is everything funny?"
Wes burst into laughter too. "I wish Blaine's parents would pay my rent. I'd take advantage of that so fast. Like, fuck, pay my school loans too. Buy me a new car."
David's laughter grew louder. "I'm so fucking tired."
"Me too. She's up five times a night puking and then cries for half an hour after each time. What is sleep?" Wes laughed. "Blaine is going to have to start taking shifts or I'm never going to finish my last year in good standing… Maybe she got pregnant so she could be Valedictorian next year."
"Okay, okay, okay!" Kurt said. "Fine. That's… yeah. I'll do it."
David clapped his hands and then said, "Blaine, ring me."
Blaine laughed and handed David the two ring boxes.
"Oh man, you picked good."
"No. Adrian helped. I was useless." Wes shook his head.
"That's not true." Blaine protested as Kurt pretended to see the ring from the first time. "He led you in the right direction and you picked a ring using his suggestions."
"That makes it sound better than it actually was."
"They're so beautiful." Kurt said, making eye contact with Wes.
"I hope she likes it—loves it. And I hope she says yes." Wes let out a deep breath.
"Come on. You could be gum under a shoe and she'd say yes to this engagement ring." David snorted. "It's nice enough to not be too flashy but it's really beautiful and kind of subtle…ish."
"What if she says no?" Wes suddenly asked.
"She won't." David, Kurt, and Blaine all three said together.
"Wes, can you bring me some water? And a trash bag?" AJ called from their upstairs bedroom.
"I'll be right there!" Wes called before heading into the kitchen.
"Wes in love. Who would've thought?" David sighed, handing Blaine the ring boxes back.
"It's so sweet." Kurt let out a happy sigh.
"He's so happy." Blaine bent down, kissing the top of Kurt's head.
David let out a huge yawn, covering his mouth with his arm. "Can I sleep right here? I know Adrian offered up his bed but this is actually super comfortable."
"Yeah, if you're sure. We could probably all three fit in mine, though… I splurged." Blaine grinned.
"No, I'm good." David waved his arm. "And I brought my own blanket and pillow."
"You're my favorite kind of guest." Blaine laughed. "Are you ready for bed, Kurt?"
"Yeah. We need to get those boxes hidden again too." Kurt yawned this time.
"See you guys tomorrow." David gave a wave before grabbing his pillow.
"G'night." Blaine waved and led Kurt to his bedroom.
As they passed, they could hear AJ giggling and Wes saying something but they couldn't quite make out the words.
"Ugh. Too late for so much cute." Kurt teasingly groaned. "This is going to be a long week, isn't it?"
"You're here a week?!" Blaine asked excitedly, face brightening up.
"Surprise!" Kurt beamed. "Carole said she has it under control. She wants us to spend some time together."
"Well I want that too." Blaine closed the bedroom door behind them. "So… how tired are you really?"
"I could stay up a bit longer." Kurt gave an impish grin. "How about you?"
"You don't even have to ask." Blaine grinned back and turned off the light. "I'm crazy about you."
"I'm crazy about you too, Mr. Future Lawyer." Kurt kissed him. "I can't imagine all the ties and bow ties you'll have within the next five years."
Blaine let out a loud laugh as Kurt kissed down his neck. "Probably a lot."
"Mmm, it's time to stop talking now." Kurt gave a mischievous grin and pulled Blaine to the bed. "I want to show you how much I've missed you."
"Does it smell like bananas? I feel like I'm going to barf." AJ asked the following morning, coming into the kitchen table where Wes and Kurt were already sitting.
"Yeah, there's actually a semi-truck with bananas outside of the house. Something about getting order confirmation for an order you placed?" Wes looked up from his phone, expression serious.
"It's too early for jokes, Wesley." AJ sighed, sitting across from Kurt. "Good morning, Kurt."
"Good morning." Kurt said, having to hold in his laughter. Wes looked absolutely horrified at having been called 'Wesley.'
"Not so fun, is it, dear?" AJ grinned.
"It's just a habit now." Wes sighed. "I can't break it. I tried."
"Seriously though. I smell bananas." AJ looked towards the hallway and scowled. "Et tu, Sexy Police Officer?"
"Why are you always awake this early?" A very attractive, and very tired looking, guy said.
"She likes to see people on their walks of shame." Wes responded.
"That banana is making me sick, Matt." AJ complained. "If you're going to keep waking up here and leaving to protect the world, can you at least eat an apple?"
"Oh God." Wes covered his face. "I'm sorry."
Matt grinned and shook his head. "No more bananas, AJ. I promise."
"Thank you." AJ said cheerfully.
"Hi, I'm Matt." Matt came up to shake Kurt's hand.
"I'm Kurt." Kurt smiled.
"This isn't really a walk of shame. It's a quick walk because my shift starts in twenty minutes." He admitted. "It's nice to meet you, though. Blaine talks about you a lot."
Kurt's smile grew. "Well I've heard your name a lot too. Not 'Matt' though."
"Yeah. Sexy Police Officer." Matt jokingly sighed. "I have to go but I'll see you all around."
"Bye, Matt." Wes and AJ said together.
AJ then added, "No more bananas!"
"Sure. I'll bring plantains next time!" Matt called before shutting the back door behind him.
AJ hopped up and grabbed a jar of peanut butter. When Wes opened his mouth, she snapped (possibly teasingly?), "I do not have a problem."
"Adrian said you bought ten jars from Costco Tuesday… I'm concerned there are only two left in the cupboard." Wes held his hands up in the air defensively.
"There is no way…" She shuffled to the cabinet and opened it. There was only one other jar left excluding the one on the kitchen table where Wes and Kurt were seated. "Motherfuck."
"I'm only saying the doctor said it was good in moderation and 9 jars since Tuesday isn't… moderation."
"Firstly," AJ dropped back onto the table and grabbed her spoon. "This is only the ninth bottle. And I can stop."
"Can you though?" Wes tilted his head, grinning.
"Of course. Right after I finish the last two jars. We can't waste food." AJ stood. "I'm going upstairs to cuddle with Adrian… unless he's naked. In which case I will text him until he wakes up, wait for him to get dressed and change the sheets, and then cuddle with him."
"Have fun with that." Wes called as she walked out of the room. "AJ doesn't like it when Matt stays over. I get up early and she goes to sleep with Adrian until he gets up… and he tends to sleep in."
Kurt laughed.
"Apparently Adrian isn't a morning person and if they stay at Matt's house, Matt has to bring him home before his shifts… and then Adrian is very grumpy." Wes shrugged.
Kurt laughed again.
Wes took a drink of his orange juice and checked his phone before pocketing it.
"So… how are you doing with the change?"
"It's really weird. There's a tiny human growing in her." Wes tilted his head a bit. "And it's part her and part me… which is also weird. In six months there is going to be something I helped make walking out in the world… I mean, not walking but at least breathing and crying in the world."
"I bet that is weird." Kurt nodded.
"AJ was freaking out at first. About school and job interviews… she wanted to go to a clinic." Wes chewed on his lip. "I haven't told anyone actually…"
"It stays here." Kurt promised.
"We went in and they were about to do it and she just changed her mind. She came back out and said she was keeping it. Which I was hoping she'd want to keep it in the first place but obviously it's her body and her choice."
"Had you told her you wanted her to?"
"No. I mean the first thing she said after she was pregnant was that she didn't want to keep it." Wes explained. "But after she changed her mind about the abortion and we got into the parking lot I told her that I had wanted to keep it from the beginning and… all of a sudden it was different."
"Yeah." Kurt nodded, smiling.
"I know I don't have a great history with dating or relationships but… it feels right. As soon as we started officially dating and spending different kinds of time together… I mean, I love her. She's smart, beautiful, determined, and she's such a hard worker… and she is… bright. Not only smart, but she makes the world feel brighter and we fit together somehow. I don't know how because we totally shouldn't but we do. It's nice."
"That's so sweet." Kurt's smile grew.
"You didn't even ask about that." Wes raised his shoulders in a shrug, a dopey smile on his face. "I feel really happy that this happened. I know we're going to have to figure out finishing out school next year and job interviews and all of this stuff but I'm excited to be around her more and to have a baby and do all of this stuff that I never thought I'd do in a million years."
Kurt smiled again. "I'm happy for you."
"Thanks." Wes grinned back. "I have no idea how my parents will react, though. I'm going to Westerville in a couple of weeks to talk to them."
"Are you bringing AJ?"
"Yeah." Wes nodded. "They haven't met her yet. I haven't met her family either."
"That's okay. I'm sure they'll love her. She's adorable, funny, and she's always been nice to me."
"She is super nice." Wes nodded. "But how are you doing? I know you had a rough time when your dad had his heart attack… I'm sorry, by the way."
"I'm doing good." Kurt shrugged a bit. "Dad seems to be taking it more seriously than last time. He's been eating better and not being too physical. The doctors think he'll be fine as long as he keeps up with the diet and exercise."
"That's good. But how are you doing? Have you got a new internship yet?"
"Yeah, I'm kind of working a bit remote now until I'm back in New York but it sounds like it's going to work. It's with someone who works under Marc Jacobs." Kurt nodded. "Blaine doesn't know yet, though. I'm going to tell him sometime this week."
"That's awesome!" Wes looked genuinely excited. "He's really famous, right? I see his name on purses."
Kurt had to resist the urge to laugh much louder than he did. "Yeah, he's pretty famous. But I'm working for someone that works under him. Not him."
"Still, though. That's awesome. Is he on campus?"
"No. He has an office and he a town home in New York, though. I probably won't even meet him." Kurt shrugged a bit. "It's still kind of cool, though."
"Really cool." Wes nodded. "Are you staying in Lima all summer?"
"Probably not." Kurt admitted. "I'm kind of hoping to come back in a month… especially if I'm going to move in with David."
"He's great to live with. We lived together in undergrad after I came back from UCLA." Wes waved his hand. "He's hilarious too… especially when he's not working in all of those high stress ER and pediatric emergencies."
"I remember. You guys always made me laugh at Dalton. All three of you were so open and welcoming… and you still are."
"Shoo, you're one of us now. The sooner you admit it, the sooner you'll accept it."
Kurt laughed again, thinking that he hadn't laughed as much in the last three of four weeks since Burt had been admitted to the hospital.
"I can't wait until you and Blaine get married." Wes sighed. "If you get married in the next three years, I'll win the bet… and there's a lot of money in that bet."
Kurt shook his head.
"A lot."
"… … How much?"
"$6,000."
Kurt began to cough as Blaine sleepily walked into the room.
"You okay?" Blaine asked, sitting next to him.
"Did you know there's a bet on when we'll get married?" Kurt asked him, eyes wide.
"Kurtsie, David and I literally have a bet on everything. I won the bet for when you'd get back together. David won the bet on when you'd get together the first time. I won the bet on how long before you two would have sex." Wes began counting scenarios on his fingers.
"What?" Blaine's tone was sharp.
"Oh, come on. You're hornier than me when Kurt's around." Wes deadpanned.
"Why are we talking about Blaine being horny?" David came into the room, taking a seat across from Wes.
"The bet list."
"Ahh." David gave one nod.
"The big one. The big kahuna." Wes added.
"Babies?" David rubbed his face.
"Wedding." Kurt responded.
"I'm totally going to win it. As random as my bet seems, I'm going to win it." David said confidently.
"What is it?" Blaine asked curiously.
"You two will get engaged within the next… two years… and then you will start to process for children… before the wedding." David grinned.
"There's no way they would want kids before getting married. That's insane." Wes argued.
"I mean, listen. They're going to have busy jobs. Kurt working his way up in fashion, Blaine in law… They'll have a longer engagement to focus on work because Blaine is super practical… but Kurt's not going to want to wait too long to have kids… so they will start the process early… and get married between the first baby starting to cook and the wedding happening." David explained.
"That's ridiculous." Wes argued.
"But is it?" David asked. "Come on. They're more serious than ever. The rest of their lives in their careers are already on set. Why do they need to wait? Honestly with Blaine's inheritance, neither of them will probably need to work again. They are already putting the Harbor Springs house in his name."
"What?" Kurt yelped.
"I hadn't told him that yet." Blaine sighed. "Thanks."
"Wait, what?" Wes asked. "Why did you tell him and not me?"
"I didn't tell anyone but Alex." Blaine said, rubbing his face. "The town probably put it in the email newsletter."
"So I find out second hand because my parents don't have a fancy summer house on a beach? That's nice." Wes sulked. "When are we going up?"
Blaine covered his face with both hands for a few seconds and then lowered them and groaned, "It is way too early to go into the money stuff."
"But does that mean you're about to get the money too?" Kurt asked.
"No," Blaine said, speaking much more gently than he was to David and Wes. "They gave Alex his full inheritance. They're still working through mine because my grandmother went in and changed a bunch of stuff illegally. But there was a separate document for the house and the piano so they got that out of the way."
"You got the Charles Walter piano? Officially?" David gasped.
"Yeah. Your dad already got it moved into their house. And I'm supposed to go up to Michigan soon to actually look the house over and get an inspection since it's been empty so long and he was going to go with me for that too." Blaine shrugged. "I feel like a fraudulent adult. Alex has really been handling a lot for me and just mailing me stuff to sign."
"So you're getting a house and piano, but not the money?" Wes asked.
"No, they're going back trying to find old paperwork and stuff since they realized Dad put fraudulent ones in. There's a bunch of different places they may have to look through because with my grandmother being in government, it's untelling how many people were involved. I think they also have to subpoena some stuff from my grandfather's lawyer, but she moved out of state a long, long time ago." Blaine shrugged. "I'm not too worried about it. I'd prefer not even full with the house in Harbor Springs until after school but Derek says I need to do it as soon as possible."
Kurt put his hand on Blaine's thigh, squeezing it in what he hoped was a comforting way. He saw Blaine smile a bit and relax, though, and knew it had worked.
"Fine. We won't bother you anymore." David said. "But I want to say being able to go up to Harbor Springs and stay in a whole house without our parents will be awesome!"
Blaine stood, nodding. "Yeah. In a few years. But by then I'll be getting married, right?"
Kurt grinned and took Blaine's hand when he offered it.
"I'm going to spend some time with Kurt." Blaine told Wes and David.
"Oh, fine. All of you people and your perfect love life." David fake sighed.
Four days later, on Kurt's last day in Cambridge, Blaine and Kurt were both out in the backyard porch on a swing and holding hands.
"Thank you again for coming and staying so long… Wes really wanted you here and… I've missed you a lot. It's nice to come back from work and you be here."
Kurt smiled and laid his head on Blaine's shoulder. "I miss sleeping with you at night."
"I miss it too." Blaine's voice was soft and he squeezed Kurt's hand. "I'm going to try to fly to Lima for a long weekend before Bob's trip in July and I'll stay there with you the whole three weeks."
Kurt's smile grew and he squeezed Blaine's hand back. "What if… I'm back in New York by then?"
"Are you not wanting to stay in Lima?" Blaine asked.
"I'm going to stay as long as I'm needed. And the first three weeks I was but Dad is doing a lot better than planned, Melody isn't bouncing all over the place on him, and Carole's actually going down to part time since the garage has been doing so well." Kurt admitted, nuzzling Blaine's shoulder. "Plus Quinn is pretty much out already anyway and… it'd be nice to have some time for just us."
Blaine smiled goofily. "Okay, yeah. That sounds better. So I'll go down for a week soon and then in July we'll have three weeks… and you can always stay here when you're back and I'm still working at the internship. I'm always out by two or three… almost always."
"Are you sure it's not too busy?"
"No. This weekend was a bit crazy with Wes' announcement but usually we're not all four here at the same time until, like, seven or eight at night." Blaine sat up straight and looked at him. "Plus, Adrian's boyfriend isn't over a whole lot. Usually if they sleep over, Adrian will stay at his place. Only sometimes if Matt works early he'll stay over because here is closer to where he patrols."
"He was nice." Kurt said.
"Yeah, he is. AJ thinks he's the best thing to happen to Adrian in, and I quote, years." Blaine nodded. "And he does seem a lot happier since he's been around Matt."
"Do you think when the baby comes, they'll move in together?" Kurt asked. "And will you stay here?"
"AJ doesn't know that I know yet first of all. She's only told Adrian… and I just found out about the baby the day I asked if you could come." Blaine explained. "So nobody has talked about it but Adrian moved in not long ago because it was better financially for everyone and if she's three months along that means they probably already knew when he moved in. I don't think they'd have him move in to move out a few months later."
"That's true." Kurt nodded.
"I'm sorry that us living together didn't work out for this next school year." Blaine frowned.
"No, it's okay. Of course, I'd prefer living with you but… our schooling is so important for us to put it first. We can figure everything out about living together when we're out of school and know what's going on." Kurt smiled at him. "Think of how special it will be when we can live together and not worry with homework or traveling to school or studying all the time… We can settle in."
Blaine smiled a bit when Kurt squeezed his hand.
"Look, we've got this. This is it. We are going to be together until… until we are old with grandkids and… and maybe even great grandkids. We will finish school, get jobs, get a house, have the red door and the porch swing and… everything we've talked about wanting since we were seventeen." Kurt smiled. "Don't tell me you forgot about the red door and porch swing."
"I could never forget about the red door and porch swing, Kurt." Blaine's voice was soft and his eyes were very bright as he looked at Kurt. "I am so incredibly lucky to have you in my life."
"No." Kurt smiled. "We are both lucky to be in each other's lives. I'm so thankful we've been through all we have because I know it's you. It's always been you, Blaine, but there is no doubt in my mind that we won't die together in old age."
Blaine let out a laugh, his eyes watery. "Hopefully we won't have kids before we get married."
"Wes is just crazy." Kurt leaned over and kissed Blaine gently. "I love you so much that it hurts to breathe sometimes. And I can't wait to spend the rest of my life waking up beside you and going to sleep in your arms or with you in my arms. It's all I've wanted since the day I met you and… We are so lucky to be here."
Blaine pulled him into a hug, sniffling the tiniest bit into Kurt's shoulder.
"And I'm so proud of you and everything you've already accomplished."
"I'm so proud of you too. You're killing it. I heard you mention Marc Jacobs when I was in the other room before I came in the kitchen. That is so awesome." Blaine smiled brightly.
"It's not with him. It's for him."
"That's still… wow." Blaine shook his head. "How did I land you?"
"The curls obviously." Kurt leaned over and kissed him gently.
Blaine laughed into Kurt's lips and pulled him closer.
He couldn't wait until this was his every day.
Soon, he reminded himself as Kurt scooted closer, head calling against Blaine's chest.
Soon.