Blaine watched Burt's mouth fall open and then shut again before forming a pressed line. He supposed he was springing a lot on Burt on once. The man was still trying to grasp the thought his son would be graduating next week and now was being asked for his blessing.

“At graduation?”

“Yes,” Blaine answered, smiling nervously. “I figure, you're in town and so is my mom and everyone will be already celebrating anyway and there and Kurt and I have so many memories on that campus…”

“Well,” Burt started, “as long as I don't have to sing a line in whatever flash mob you got planned, I'm okay with it,” he teased.

“Thank you!” Blaine laughed, embracing Burt.

“Hey,” Burt spoke through a laugh, his arms stiffened from the sudden surprise of an armful of Blaine. He patted Blaine on the shoulder before fully hugging him back. “This is good.” The two pulled away, respectively. “I needed another talented son to brag about. I'm pretty sure Kurt was getting embarrassed.”

“I promise I'll take care of him.”

“That's an awful big promise,” Burt noted. “But I trust you, Anderson.”

Blaine broke out into another grin.

-

Blaine fidgeted with his cap and ran over certain words and phrases in his head he had to be sure to remember to tell Kurt when he proposed. The ceremony was moments away, some students already getting into alphabetical order, and Blaine started to wonder if he had chosen the right day.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Blaine echoed, turned to face Kurt.

“We're graduating,” Kurt whispered, stepping forward to knock his shoulder against Blaine's, his eyes still trained on the stage before them.

Blaine could hear Kurt breathing, no doubt recounting various memories at NYADA within the course of the four years. Blaine could barely recount his freshman year. He hadn't known Kurt his freshman year. But he was sure they had to have passed each other in the cafeteria or the hallway. Blaine couldn't even imagine a time without Kurt now.

“It's not fair we have to wear these, you know,” Kurt interrupted the comfortable silence, looking over his shoulder. He smirked when he noticed Blaine had been staring at him.

“Not fashionable enough for you?” Blaine guessed, feeling silly for blushing. He was about to ask this man to marry him. He had been with Kurt for three years. He could stare without being embarrassed for being caught. And Kurt looked too damn good to not be stared at.

“No. What's the point of having a boyfriend with a last name at the beginning of the alphabet if I can't even fully appreciate watching from behind?” Kurt murmured.

Blaine's voice caught in his throat and nervous laughter bubbled out of his throat when Kurt pulled him forward with a good grasp on his ass.

“Kurt, you're going to wrinkle it. And we still have to take pictures. And wrinkles do not look good in pictures. And our parents could be anywhere. And we have to line up soon. And what's gotten into you?” he asked, a little breathless, hands still holding onto Kurt's arms from where they instinctually rested from being yanked forward.

“I'm nervous,” Kurt admitted, releasing Blaine after bumping is nose against his boyfriend's. “And what's gotten into you? You're all jittery.”

“I can't be nervous too?”

“Blaine. You never get nervous.”

“I never get stage fright. I get nervous,” Blaine corrected.

“You'll do fine. Now, come on. We need to line up.” Kurt kissed Blaine and grabbed his hand, leading them towards the other graduates.

Blaine would always appreciate Kurt's never-ending support. Even when it came to helping Blaine find the courage to propose to him. Even if he didn't know it.

-

“Well, I did it,” Kurt whispered, his hand, intertwined with Blaine's, swinging back and forth as they walked away from the group of graduates. “I got out of Ohio, got into my dream school, and just graduated from said dream school... and I managed to meet the love of my life along the way. Minor detail,” Kurt teased, bumping into Blaine. He frowned when Blaine didn't do the same. “Hey, I was joking, you know. You're everything to me.”

“And you mean that? You wholeheartedly mean that?”

“Of course. Blaine, you're shaking.” Kurt gingerly rested the back of his hand to Blaine's forehead. “If you're feeling sick, we can skip those parties and ask our parents to cancel dinner.”

“I'm not feeling sick. I'm feeling a lot,” Blaine answered, trying to calm his uneven breathing. “I wanted to be sure about the last three years before I got started. Because I'm in a really weird place right now. I've never felt like this before and never will again, but it will all be worth it if I can just do it.”

Blaine walked Kurt the last few steps to a bench, still shaking.

“Kurt, Ive spent nearly three years with you, and they have meant more to me than the rest of the years in my life. You have guided me and shaped me into the person before you and, well, you're the only one who has ever been able to make me like this,” Blaine said a little breathlessly, motioning to his shaking form. “You've changed my life in so many wonderful ways. You know that, right?”

“Of course. I feel the same way. I can't imagine anyone else I could possibly start the rest of my life with,” Kurt softly spoke. “You've been a part of my life for a while now and now you're just… part of me.”

“I am so glad you said that,” Blaine said around an unsteady laugh, reaching into his pocket.

At the start of their relationship, Blaine seemed too good to be true. He seemed a figment of Kurt's imagination, like he could slip away from Kurt at any moment. But Kurt had watched Blaine become real during the years they had spent together. The larger-than-life, always “on” personality was peeled back to show a normal person. Living and breathing and going about life the way normal people do. With ups and downs and beautiful, normal flaws. Blaine was just a normal person. A normal person who loved Kurt with all of his being. So when Kurt wondered if he was good enough for Blaine or if they would last, he reminded himself that Blaine was normal. Real.

Blaine had never looked more real than now. A shaking, gorgeous, very real mess. Kurt was about to tell Blaine how stunning he was until he noticed Blaine moving to kneel on the ground.

“You have made this life more wonderful than I could imagine, and there are so many lives I want to share with you,” Blaine uttered. “Please, Kurt. Marry me?”

“Blaine,” Kurt whispered, feeling his heart leap out of his chest. “Of course.”

Blaine's eyes squinted up and the happiest noise fell out of his mouth as he jumped up, kissing Kurt deeply.

“Of course.”