“I have a fundraiser this Saturday,” Kurt says, flipping his sketchbook closed and leaning back in his arm chair.

Blaine looks up from the lesson plans scattered around him on the sofa and smiles. “I know, Kurt. You told me this morning. You even asked my opinion of the two different suits you’re considering wearing.”

Kurt purses his lips. “And you said that they were both amazing but the first one was more my style whereas the second was a bit more preppy and discreet...”

“... which aren’t exactly adjectives I would use to describe your usual clothing choices,” Blaine finishes. He pauses, putting the papers in his hands away and straightening his back. “Is... I didn’t offend you with that comment or anything?” he asks, brows furrowing.

“No, god, of course not!” Kurt exclaims and waves his hand in the air, brushing Blaine’s concern away. “It’s just that... That other suit wasn’t actually for me.”

“Oh?” Blaine tilts his head.

“It was for you,” Kurt clarifies. “I was thinking that you could come to the fundraiser. With me.”

Blaine leans back on the sofa, blinking his eyes slowly. “With you?” he repeats.

“Yes,” Kurt says. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but I didn’t know how to ask you and then I got this amazing idea for a suit you could wear, complete with a fitting bowtie and a brooch and everything, and I wanted you to see it and ask you to come with me but you were almost late for work this morning and we...”

He stops when he sees Blaine’s reaction. This isn’t going how he thought it would go. Blaine is sinking into the sofa, not meeting Kurt’s eyes – and why on earth is he reacting like that, they have been together for weeks already and Kurt thought that this would be the natural next step, going to events together and letting everyone see that they are together and nothing can touch them after everything they’ve been through already.

“Are you... Are you worried that something might happen?” Blaine asks, obviously choosing his words carefully. He crosses his arms over his chest, and Kurt almost stops himself from reaching out for him before he realizes that yes, this is now, not then, and he can reach out for Blaine. He extends his arm over the sofa table and after a moment’s hesitation Blaine takes his hand, just like he always does, clasping it tightly.

“What do you mean? It’s not like we haven’t been to events together before,” Kurt jokes gently.

“No, I mean... That’s exactly what I meant.” Blaine tugs at his hand. “Do you need a bodyguard for that fundraiser because of some particular reason or...”

“Wait, what?” Kurt bends his neck until he can meet Blaine’s eyes. “Who said anything about a bodyguard?”

Blaine lifts his head. “But you said that you wanted me to...”

“Oh god.” Kurt laughs, relieved and a bit amused. “As my date, Blaine. I want you to come to this fundraiser as my boyfriend. You’re my boyfriend, not my bodyguard. Not anymore.”

Blaine blinks his eyes again, and then his shoulders relax, his whole body swaying towards Kurt and a small blush appearing on his cheeks. “Oh. I thought... I don’t know what I thought,” he chuckles.

Kurt grins and lifts Blaine’s hand to press a small kiss on his knuckles. It’s still weird sometimes, no matter how many weeks pass or how many mornings they spend lying next to each other on the same bed, skin against skin. Sometimes Kurt still expects Blaine to pick up the mail every morning, expects him to steer him away from crowds, and every once in a while he can see the curtain trying to fall back over Blaine’s face, can see Blaine struggling to push it away. It blows Kurt’s mind to know how different Blaine is now, how different they both are – but they still forget sometimes, misunderstand or assume things. Those moments are happening less and less, new memories and habits drowning them out, and they can work them out. Kurt wants to work them out, and the smile on Blaine’s face when he meets his eyes tells him that Blaine still wants the same. It’s worth it.

“I know it’s probably going to be a little bit weird because of our past,” Kurt starts, “but I would really like to take you as my boyfriend. You don’t have to protect me or steer me away or anything, you can just... hold my hand.” He moves his thumb over Blaine’s knuckles in emphasis. “Stand next to me. And make that unbelievably boring fundraiser more bearable.”

Blaine snorts and shakes his head. “It is going to be weird. I know that I haven’t been your bodyguard for months, I know things are different now, but the last time I was at an event with you, I was there to keep you safe and... I might revert back to it, Kurt. It could happen.”

“I know,” Kurt assures. Blaine looks genuinely worried, and he has no need to be worried about something so understandable. “It’s okay. I can remind you. And you can remind me if I start to lean into your touch too much or something.”

Blaine smiles fondly. “You already do that every time I touch you.”

Kurt smiles back and squeezes Blaine’s hand. “That’s because I like your touch. But seriously, Blaine, you don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. I just thought it could be –”

“I want to.” Blaine interrupts. “I do. It just... It will probably be weird, but I do want to go with you.” He looks Kurt in the eyes, his smile widening and looking so damn hopeful and adorable that Kurt just wants to jump over the sofa table and kiss him. “Might as well get used to it now.”

Kurt doesn’t know what to say to that, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed – so he just presses another kiss on Blaine’s knuckles, a promise of more to come as soon as there isn’t a table standing between them.

-

The suit looks amazing on Blaine. Kurt knew it, of course, but seeing how the jacket fits over Blaine’s shoulders and how the pants are snuck around his legs is a whole different thing, and he can’t help running his fingers over the fabric, over Blaine’s arms and back, feeling inexplicably giddy.

He asked Blaine to come with him because Blaine is his boyfriend now and because the thought of going to the fundraiser alone felt wrong, somehow, and because he loves Blaine – they haven’t said it, not yet, but Kurt knows that’s how he feels, knows that that’s the verb that describes it the best – but he can’t exactly help it if he also wants to... show off a little. He’s never really brought any of his boyfriends to events, but now there’s Blaine, gorgeous, kind and so, so, sexy, sitting next to him on the backseat of the taxi, not as his bodyguard but as his boyfriend, looking at him a little amusedly, and yes, Kurt wants to show off his boyfriend, is that so bad?

“Kurt?” Blaine asks. “Is everything alright?”

Kurt startles, shaking his head. “What? Yes, of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, you’ve been petting my arm for the last five minutes.”

Blaine smiles at him, and Kurt lets go of Blaine’s arm with a flustered blush. “Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts.” He pauses. “And you look really good in that suit.”

Blaine’s smile turns bashful and he takes Kurt’s hand, slotting their fingers together. “Thank you. Besides, it’s all thanks to you. You came up with this suit. And your own ensemble is just... breath-taking.”

There it is again, the way Blaine looks at Kurt sometimes – like his breath has literally been stolen away, like he can’t believe that he is here or that Kurt is here, like their relationship is the most precious thing in the whole world to Blaine – and it makes Kurt’s heart beat a little faster every time.

“Well, I can’t help but pull focus,” he jokes, and Blaine gives out a soft laugh.

“We’re here,” the taxi driver interrupts them, sounding bored and pulling up next to the curb outside the restaurant where the fundraiser is held.

“Are you ready?” Blaine asks, tightening his hold on Kurt’s hand.

Kurt takes a deep breath. “I am. And shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“Well, you said it yourself: this is new for both of us.” Blaine glances out of the car window, furrowing his brows. “I thought there’d be a red carpet?”

“No, this is a smaller event. Probably just a few random photographers waiting outside the doors.” Kurt nudges Blaine with his shoulder. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

Blaine turns to look at him, and after a moment he leans closer, ignoring the way the taxi driver is drumming his fingers anxiously against the steering wheel, and presses his lips against Kurt’s, slowly and tenderly. Kurt closes his eyes and kisses back, his hand instinctively squeezing Blaine’s and his body swaying closer to him. Blaine gives his lips one last lingering kiss and then pulls away, resting his forehead against Kurt’s and breathing out.

“I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” he says in a low voice.

Kurt smiles, as encouraging as he can, and whispers, “Let’s go then.”

“Okay.” Blaine blinks his eyes and laughs, quiet and breathless. “Okay.”

There are a few photographers waiting for them when they get out of the cab, and Kurt spares them a quick glance before focusing his eyes on Blaine’s face, looking for signs that tell him how to proceed. As he watches Blaine takes a deep breath, closes his eyes for a moment – and when he opens them, there is a small smile on his lips, confident and comfortable, and his eyes have lost the traces of nervousness Kurt could see in them during the whole ride here. It’s not a mask, not a different kind of a curtain, because Kurt has seen this expression on Blaine’s face before, back when they were still in a professional relationship and Blaine was standing on the stage in a small karaoke bar and singing his heart out. He has seen it more recently as well whenever he has caught Blaine rehearsing for his classes, standing in front of a mirror and making faces and gestures (Kurt had giggled at first, but then Blaine had explained that it was his way of getting into his teacher persona.)

It’s Blaine’s performer smile, and for some reason seeing it on Blaine’s face right now makes Kurt think that everything will be alright.

“Mr. Hummel!” one of the photographers shouts, snagging a few photos of them as they walk past. “Who’s your friend?”

Blaine squeezes Kurt’s hand, and Kurt straightens his back, turning to look at the photographer over his shoulder. “Not friend,” he says, loud enough for everyone to hear. “He’s my boyfriend.”

He doesn’t wait to catch the reaction to his comment, just keeps walking and chances a look at Blaine instead, right before they step inside the dimly lit restaurant. There is a small blush on Blaine’s cheeks, and his smile has turned a little shy.

“Are you showing me off?” Blaine asks, keeping his voice down as Kurt shows his invitation to the doorman (their invitation, it’s theirs now, the words ‘Kurt Hummel plus one’ written on the paper in a cursive font). Kurt can hear the amused undertone in Blaine’s voice and just shrugs non-committally.

“Perhaps.”

He smirks and tugs Blaine after him, leading him into the restaurant and nodding a greeting to the few people he recognizes. They make their way through the crowd, through the swarm of suits and tuxes and elegant dresses, until Kurt can finally lean against the bar and watch as Blaine orders them two glasses of wine. It’s a habit of his, finding a vantage point at first in every party he goes to, and he feels somewhat relieved when he realizes that his gaze doesn’t linger on anyone, doesn’t search for the stalker’s features from the crowd.

“Maybe I’m showing us off,” Kurt murmurs as he watches the way people’s eyes keep flickering to him and Blaine, curious and confused. Some of the people he knows well catch his eye and give him a smile because they know how big a deal this is, how important Blaine is to Kurt, and a part of Kurt feels like preening, like going around the whole room and introducing Blaine to everyone.

“Here,” Blaine says and gives him his glass of wine, leaning against the bar next to Kurt, so close that their shoulders are brushing. “Is it just my imagination or are people staring at us?”

Kurt turns to look at Blaine. “They are. Is it... Are you okay?”

Blaine takes a sip of his wine before answering. “I think I am? I almost started to guide you through the crowd when we came in, but then... Then you started to lead me towards the bar.” He pauses, twirling his glass in his fingers and furrowing his brows. “And it... I don’t know. You kept holding on to my hand.”

Kurt glances over his shoulder, seeing that the bartender has already disappeared to the other end of the bar, and then leans closer to Blaine. “I did say I like touching you,” he says.

Blaine looks up and gives a small smile. “I know. I just meant that I guess that sort of... made me forget everything about those bodyguard flashbacks I was afraid I’d have. You didn’t hold my hand when I was your bodyguard, not like that, and I...” He pauses, considering his words. “It just makes this all seem more real. More present.”

“That’s good.” Kurt clinks their glasses together. “Because I don’t feel like I’m here with my bodyguard either. I feel like I’m here with you. With the man I...” He stops, blinking his eyes and swallowing the verb that tries to rush out of his mouth. Not here. Not yet.

Blaine’s gaze softens and he gives a quick kiss to Kurt’s cheek. “Well then. That’s good.” He leans away again, taking another sip of his wine. “So. What is it that you usually do at events like this? When you don’t have a bodyguard following you around, I mean.”

Kurt shakes his head to clear his thoughts. “Well, usually I just mingle – go through the room and talk to people, try to make new contacts and remind different directors that they should hire me every now and then.”

Blaine hums next to him, and Kurt looks around the restaurant. There is a band on the small stage in the corner, the singer sounding a bit like Mercedes as she sings an Aretha Franklin song and sways her hips with the rhythm. A few couples are already dancing close to the stage, and Kurt can see many other people just moving to the beat as they sit at their tables or move around the room. The band does sound good, and Kurt finds himself humming as well.

“Do you want to go mingle?” Blaine asks, nodding towards the crowd.

“Mmm, not right now,” Kurt says softly. It’s nice, having someone to talk to, someone who he can call his own, someone who understands and supports him. After Blaine left he spent countless parties either getting dragged around the room by an over-enthusiastic Rachel or standing nervously by himself in a corner, hoping no one would come ask him any awkward question about the so-called assistant that used to follow him everywhere. He even skipped several events, not feeling like going, but now... He feels calm. Calmer than he has felt at any event in months. He looks at Blaine, at the way Blaine’s eyes are looking around the room, and surprisingly he isn’t reminded of bodyguard-Blaine – Blaine doesn’t look cautious or professional, just curious and like himself, like Blaine, and Kurt inwardly sighs in relief. This is another thing they can work out. Another thing they have worked out.

“So, what’s your initial reaction to being my boyfriend at an event?” he asks, bumping his shoulder against Blaine’s.

Blaine grins. “I like it. And I’m thankful that I’m not getting any weird bodyguard flashbacks.” He downs the rest of his wine and puts his glass down on the bar. “But actually... I was wondering if we could do something.”

“Oh?”

Blaine moves to stand in front of and holds out his hand with a smile. “Dance with me?”

Kurt gapes at him for a moment. He remembers Geoffrey’s birthday party, remembers how nervous he was; remembers Blaine standing in front of him in a similar way and asking him to dance with him. But that’s where the similarities end, because Kurt isn’t feeling sad now, he isn’t feeling lonely or miserable like he was at that ballroom – and Blaine’s face is like an open book, giddy and excited, not a trace of nervousness left, and sometimes Kurt is still struck by how open Blaine is around him these days, how much love and adoration he can see in Blaine’s eyes. How he can see that Blaine knows just as well as he does how different things are now, in a good way. In a very good way.

“Yes,” Kurt breathes out. “Let’s dance.”

This time he doesn’t hesitate when he takes Blaine’s hand and allows him to pull him away from the bar and to the dance floor.

The band starts another song, a soft tune that Kurt doesn’t recognize, something about the days to come and tomorrows, and he wraps his arms around Blaine, resting his chin on Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine hums the tune in his ear (because of course he would know the song, of course) and starts swaying to the melody, pressing his own cheek against the side Kurt’s neck, warm and comforting. Kurt forgets everything about the fundraiser, forgets the people all around them, and just focuses on Blaine’s body moving against his own, on Blaine’s nose nuzzling his cheek tenderly, on breathing in the faint scent of Blaine’s hair gel and aftershave.

It feels like home, being in Blaine’s arms like this, and Kurt thinks about the verb still lodged in his throat, the feelings that try to bubble out of him at least once a day, and he knows that he’ll let them out one day. One day very soon.

-

Later that evening they stumble into their apartment, giggling and a bit tipsy, and Blaine kisses Kurt in the hallway, his lips wet and messy and tasting like the wine they had drunk. Kurt’s limbs are tired and pliant from all the dancing, his hands reaching out and untying Blaine’s bowtie at the same time as he tries to lead them towards the bedroom. He stumbles and almost trips over the carpet, but Blaine catches him, giggling breathlessly against his lips.

“That was...” Kurt whispers, nipping at Blaine’s jaw line. “That was probably the best fundraiser I’ve ever been at.”

Blaine laughs again, tilting his head back. “Kurt. You’re drunk.”

“So are you,” Kurt counters and gives a small noise of victory when he manages to pop open the uppermost buttons of Blaine’s shirt. He can finally see a sliver of tan skin underneath the shirt, and oh, how Kurt loves Blaine’s skin.

Blaine’s arms circle around Kurt’s waist, his fingers pulling at the hem of his shirt. “I’m a little drunk,” he concedes, kissing the curve of Kurt’s neck. “But I’m also glad you had fun.”

“Mmm,” Kurt mumbles, not willing to let go of Blaine. They almost bump against the doorframe, but somehow Blaine manages to navigate them through the doorway and into the bedroom. “Will you be my date to the next event I have?”

Blaine leans back for a moment, his eyes surprisingly clear in the dim lighting, and his lips curve into a grin. “Only if you want me to,” he says.

Kurt can’t help himself, so he kisses Blaine again and mumbles, “Of course I do”, against his lips.

“Then I will,” Blaine whispers. “I will proudly be your date for as long as you’ll have me, Kurt.”

The backs of Kurt’s knees finally hit the mattress and they fall on the bed in a tangle of drunken limbs and kisses. Blaine cups Kurt’s cheek with his hand, his thumb stroking over his skin as he leans down to press their lips together, smiling into the kiss, and Kurt’s whole skin is tingling again – the night went so much better than he had expected, they both have moved on from their professional relationship, and Blaine’s knee is inching closer and closer to his crotch, so why on earth shouldn’t his skin tingle in that excited way that Blaine always seems to bring out in him?

Kurt doesn’t know if it’s the tingling sensation or the alcohol coursing through his veins that makes him say it, but when Blaine’s lips move to his neck he suddenly breathes out, “What if I want to have you forever?”

Blaine pauses, lifting his head and looking into Kurt’s eyes. His gaze is a little surprised, but soon it softens into something so tender and gentle that Kurt can’t even feel embarrassed about how ridiculous and silly he must have sounded just now.

“Then you’ll have me forever,” Blaine says, his voice even and sincere.

He leans down slowly, and the kiss he presses against Kurt’s lips feels sweeter than any of those they’ve already traded tonight. It’s not a reassuring peck shared in the backseat of a cab or a heated kiss as they try to make their way through the apartment – it’s the safe and lingering pressure of Blaine’s lips moving against Kurt’s, sure and loving.

It feels a lot like a promise.