Chapter 24

Blaine skips the rest of the school day on Friday.  He and Kurt drive wherever they please.  They go everywhere, only making turns when they feel like it, with a promise that Google Maps will get them back when they're ready.  They go to lunch at Thai Jasmine, winding up at the Easton in Columbus shortly after because they can.  They shop; Blaine buys himself a laptop so he doesn't have to mooch off of Kurt's for his schoolwork.  Blaine forces Kurt to pick out a few lingering pieces from the Mad Men Collection at Banana Republic.  They share a heaping slice of turtle cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and sit in the back row of the movie theatre, catching a movie they won't watch.  This is the best day ever; this is what it is to have freedom.

They slowly make their way back to Lima, more connected and in love than ever before.

“Before we leave for New York, I just need some closure.  I need to tell him what I think of him and how he really shouldn't have tried to mess with us.”

Kurt looks at him.  He nods.  “That makes sense, if that's what you want to do… just like it did when we talked about it a half hour ago.” 

“I know.  Sorry I'm obsessing over it.  You really don't have to come if you…  I don't want you to trigger…” His voice fades out, looking at Kurt then away just as quickly. 

“I will, for you.  But don't you have to be on his visiting list or something?”

“I found the paperwork to request visitation rights and I just sent it in for both of us because I'm a selfish asshole who didn't even ask if you would be okay with being on his visitor list.  They said I should have approval within a week.  Do you think this is all a good idea though?  I'm kind of torn.”

“It's a good idea if you think you'll find some comfort in seeing him.  You've obviously been planning this.”

“Just keeping the possibility open, I guess.  I think I should see him, because I want this time to be the last.”

“As long as you think it will help you, not hurt you.  Blaine, we've really gone through the wringer and I think it's time that we start looking up, and toward the future, no?”

Blaine nods.  “I think it'll be a good tool for me to move on so that I can look toward the future and not be held back emotionally.”

“Fair enough.  Let's get you graduated and then take a day out there, yeah?”

“God, I love you.”

“I love you too, honey.”  Kurt pats his knee.  “Speaking of graduation day…”

Blaine looks intently at Kurt in response.  He's a little nervous that his mom will show up, but he doesn't vocalize it because he knows that Cooper is going to be there, too and maybe he could manage to keep her away.

“So, um.  Since… since Finn passed away, a bunch of us gather at the school in his memory on graduation day.”

“Like, all of your friends from high school, that you graduated with?”

“And some that are younger than us, but we were all in Glee together.”

“Okay…”

“I'm telling you because I want you to know that's a thing I do every year, and it happens to fall on your graduation this year and I don't want you to think that I'm only there for Finn.  I'm absolutely there for you.  And Finn.”  Kurt's rambling; he's nervous that Blaine won't feel wanted.  It's an irrational feeling.

“Well, do you want me to go with you to this memorial thing?  Is it just for you guys?”

“No, I want you there.”  There's a pause as Kurt sucks in his breath.  “I need you there.”

“Okay.  Good, because I didn't want to leave you alone for that.”

“Okay.”

Blaine leans over and connects their mouths.  He wishes there were a way to survive with his mouth connected to Kurt at all times.

xK&Bx

On any given Saturday afternoon since the apartment's been finished, one could
find Burt making his rounds to all his guys or sitting in his office, hunched over with invoices and an endless amount of paperwork that Kurt refuses to help with.  This Saturday, though, he's watching Blaine intently with a smug look on his face.  This kid has officially proved him wrong, and not many do.  Blaine wipes the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, drags it vertically down his old tee shirt, and slams the hood of the Pontiac.  He removes the car from the garage and stumbles back in, heading toward the office to see what else is in the queue.

Burt's not sure when it became routine for Blaine to join him every single Saturday.  It was sometime between Kurt's attack and the (physical) recovery, he knows, but he can't pinpoint the exact Saturday that was the beginning of it all.  It frustrates him; he wants a mark on the calendar of the day that he finally started accepting his son's boyfriend for who he is and not for how old he happens to be.  Burt's grown to love the kid as his own, and honestly he's quite surprised that he's taken to him so well as Kurt's boyfriend, too.

Since that very first Friday Night Dinner where Kurt danced in and was happier and at ease more than anyone had ever seen him since New York – since Finn – he knew this kid doing something to his own was something special.  He was special enough to impress Kurt, so he had to be extra special enough to be accepted by Burt and Carole.

When the attack happened and Blaine stepped in to help in any way he knew how, he stuck around more than any other eighteen-year-old would have and Burt noticed.  And he squirmed right into the Hummels' lives like it was no big deal.  It means the world to Burt that Kurt is able to live happily with someone else.  It's why Burt accepts Blaine into the family. 

Blaine Anderson came into their lives like a hurricane and despite all the bad shit to happen because Kurt knew Blaine, it all seems to have worked out for the best.  The happy, passionate boy they once knew has resurrected.  He's matured but still has the glitter in his eye at the idea of anything – or anyone – he loves.  That's sort of what love does. 

xK&Bx

Blaine knocks sheepishly on the door leading to Burt's office, effectively snapping him out of his self-taught history lesson of his son's life since Blaine turned everyone upside down.

“Hey.”

“What's up, kiddo?  Shouldn't you be driving all over the state because you can?”

Blaine laughs.  “Nah, that was yesterday.  What's next?”

“You can go if you want, kid.  The guys can handle the rest of it.  What's Kurt up to?”

“Mmmm, he was at the Lima Bean when we texted at lunch.”  Blaine looks up at him, surprise and fondness glistening through his entire body, even by the way he sits up straight and proud.

“Wow.  And he's okay?  You should…”  Burt trails off but cuts himself off when he realizes that Blaine doesn't need to be told to protect Kurt.  Ever.

“So says Jules.  I may have asked for hourly updates from her.  She's the best.  And also, I'm kinda her boss, or at least I was until Kurt regained his courage today.”  Blaine grins, proud of Kurt finally making his way back to the place of his attack.  This shows progress.

Burt smiles.  Thank God for protective Blaine to watch over his damaged son.  “You're a good kid, Blaine.”

Blaine looks at him, confused by the compliment but he'll be damned if he doesn't take it.  “Thanks, Burt.”

“And you two are ready for New York?”

“Yeah. It'll be good to get out of here, at least until Thanksgiving.”

Burt sighs.  “I know New York will be better this time for him.  For both of you.  You best take care of him.”

“Of course.  And we'll be back for the holidays, if you'll have us.”

“That goes without question, kid.  You're always welcome back… can I use the word ‘home'?”

Blaine can only smile in response.  There's a break in conversation; they're both pondering.

“Come to think of it, he's usually the caretaker.”  Blaine stares out into nothing, focusing on the image etched in his head of his Kurt. “He's really changed my whole life; I'm not just saying that.”

Burt's not surprised, not one bit.  “Gets it from his mother.  She changed my life, too.  We've been infected with the doe eyes and the persuasive baking skills.”

Blaine laughs.  “See you at home.” He says with a teasing tint in his tone.  “I'm going over to the Bean.”

“Have fun. Lo-” Burt's eyes resemble Kurt's when he's nervous.

Blaine stands and looks at him.  He smiles sheepishly.  “Me too, Burt.  Seriously, thank you.”  He rolls his eyes playfully and rushes out of the building.

Burt watches the space where Blaine disappears from and sighs.  He's overcome with emotion, to say the least, and he's not sure he can handle it right now.  He dives back into his paperwork and tries to push away the happy tears flooding the backs of his eyes and he ignores the stinging fondness in his heart.

xK&Bx

Austin is staring at the numbers on the cash register as if he's trying to start a fire with black magic on an inanimate object.  There's a decent amount of customers spread among the couches, chairs, and tables and everyone is involved in some kind of activity, whether it be an essay, the Internet, or talking with friends.

Blaine pushes the door open and nods at Austin.  “Hey dude.”

“Anderson!  What's up?  Your boy's here, you know that?”

“Yeah, I heard.”  He grins as their fists meet each other's.  “Bored?”

“Been a steady flow.”  Austin shrugs.  “Whatever.  Four days until graduation, bro!  You pumped?”

“I can honestly say that I never thought I'd be about to graduate.  So yeah, pumped is a good word.”  He laughs.

“Yeah man.  At least you guys are getting out of this cow town.”

“You can too, if you want.”  Blaine smiles at him over his shoulder as he knocks on the doorframe to the back room where Kurt and Julie are slouched over Kurt's laptop as he explains the coffee buyer's relationship he's had since he took over for Rachel. 

Julie and Kurt look up with the same startled eyes; Blaine would think they're related if he didn't know any better.

“Hey.  Just wanted to put my two weeks' notice in.  And I need this weekend off.  I'm graduating and also visiting my father in prison.”

“Oh, Blaine.”  Julie sighs.  She attempts a joke, completely guessing on the delivery, hopelessly praying it'll work and not blow up in her face.  “We've already been interviewing for your spot.  We were going to fire you once we found a replacement anyway.”

Blaine looks to Kurt for confirmation and when he shrugs, Blaine laughs.

“Nice.  Thanks, Kurt.”

Julie breathes a sigh of relief and goes back to studying the screen of Kurt's laptop.  Kurt looks up at Blaine again and smiles.

“I had to see for myself that you were really here.”

“Fact, not fiction.”  Kurt winks at him as Blaine leans down and presses his lips onto Kurt's hair. 

“When do you think you'll be done?”

“Maybe another hour or so.  Stick around to make sure?”

“Boss, your interview's here.”  Austin peeks in.  “She's a looker.”

“Oh my God, Austin.  You can't-”

“Why?  You did.”  Blaine cuts in. 

Kurt blushes.  “Everyone shut up.  Julie and I will be with her in a minute.  Tell her to sit at Blaine's table.”

Blaine pouts.  “What the hell, pretty?  Blaine was gonna sit at Blaine's table.”  He holds on to Kurt's hips when he stands up and tries to get past his boyfriend.

“Sit at Kurt's desk, then.  I won't be long.”  He bops his nose and sidesteps around him to start the interview.

Blaine sighs and plops down in Kurt's chair.  He takes out his phone and goes through the calendar of things he needs to take care of before New York. 

Update Homeowner's Insurance Paperwork – Copy Pop-pop's Policy
Graduate!
Christian…
New York!

xK&Bx

This Saturday is a once-in-a-lifetime Saturday.  The boys wake, entangled in each other as per usual, not entirely sure whose leg belongs where and is attached to what hip.

Blaine sits up in the bed and pets Kurt's hair.  “Pretty.”

“Shhhhh.  Sleeping.”  Kurt's face is buried in his pillow and there's a wet spot from drool.

“Wake up, baby.  I have to graduate in like, an hour and a half.”

“Mmmm, proud.”

Blaine giggles.  “Kurt.  Please?”

“Go shower.  I'll be up when you get out.  Promise.”  Kurt shifts a bit, snuggling closer to the pillow and not for a second allowing his eyes to open.

“I want you inside me, pretty boy.”

“Prepare yourself.”  Kurt sits up slowly, elegantly rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his fists.  He blinks his eyes open and smiles at Blaine, who's already moved to position his finger where it needs to be.  “Mmmm, just kidding.  Allow me.  Right after I brush the stank out of my mouth.”  He rubs at his eyes again, tries to smooth down his hair thrown all over his head haphazardly, and heads in the direction of the bathroom.

The chilling scream from the hallway is loud and clear; Blaine drops his chin to his chest. 

Kurt scrambles back into their temporary bedroom.  “Blaine.  You are supposed to tell me if Rachel is here.  Wrapped in my brother's jacket.  Sobbing on the toilet Finn and I used to share.  Preferably so I don't walk around naked?”

“I love you?”

“Hmph.”  Kurt retrieves his underwear, handing Blaine a free show as he bends down to get them, slips them on, and rushes downstairs to the other restroom.

“I didn't know!”

When Kurt returns ten minutes later and after saying hello properly and somewhat clothed to his best friend, Blaine is stripped and writhing on the unmade bed, comforter already kicked down and off of the mattress, three fingers inside of himself.  “Jesus, Blaine.”  He sinks onto the mattress and feels from Blaine's shoulders to his hips, the faintest touch of the fingertips.  “You have to stay quiet.  Rachel's right downstairs.  She's going to come with us to graduation.”

“Please, baby… fuck me?”

“Yeah, babe.  Of course.”

“This is the last time you're fucking a high school student.  Fucking revel in it, old man.”

“Oh my God.”

xK&Bx

Blaine has an unnatural feeling in his stomach's cavity, almost like he's going to miss this place.  He might actually miss strolling down the hallways with his almost-friends but the other end of the spectrum is so enticing that he could barely tolerate to sit through this ceremony.  He doesn't let himself think about New York too seriously; it's all rather overwhelming that he gets to go there – with Kurt – after all of the shit he's endured in his life.  It's like the floodgates of Heaven are opening and he'll never look back to the physical world. 

There are several speakers, forcing roughly one thousand people to sit through a nearly two hour spiel essentially saying the same thing:  it's time to dream big, it's time to grow up, congratulations.  Everyone is packed like sardines across the boiling metal of the football bleachers.  The sun has several hours to torment each witness and it does to say the least, clocking in nearly triple digits the entire afternoon. 

There are whistles and even a foghorn (probably operated by Burt) blown loudly at the announcement of “Blaine Anderson,” thankfully one of the first of his class to graduate.  If there is anything Blaine is grateful for when it comes to his own blood and family, it's his father's last name beginning with an A.  It's a blur of names he'll never remember after that, diploma clutched so tight he thinks he might need reconstructive surgery of the way his fingers bend.  He's third in the pack to leave and as soon as the class starts to gather on the hill, there's a distinct buzz in his pocket.

Kurt:  Have I told you that you are the best-looking person in your class? 

Blaine:  Shut up.  J
Kurt:  How do you feel?
Blaine:  Uh, like I've been detached from you for too long.  Where are you?
Kurt:  Meet us by Finn's tree on the other side of the bleachers.
Blaine:  On my way, pretty.

Behind the crowd and down the hill, Finn's tree blows in the wind and it's an eerie feeling for Blaine, having never known him but somehow feeling his presence.  He unsnaps his graduation gown, allowing it to mimic the leaves on top of the tree, and approaches the group of people gathering around Finn's memorial.

The first person he sees is Kurt.  He's not facing Blaine, he's facing a crowd gathered all around the tree.  He hugs a guy with a mohawk, squeezing tight and leaning into his body.  The cluster seems like it's bigger than it should be and as he gets closer, Blaine realizes there are definitely people he doesn't know, including mohawk dude.

“Hey.”

Kurt whips around at the sound of his boyfriend's voice; jumping and clapping like a four-year-old.  “Blaine.”  He wraps his arms tightly around Blaine's neck and squeezes.  Blaine's hands are magnets every time, going directly to where Kurt's waistband meets his skin. 

“What?”  He smiles into Kurt's cheek before kissing it and lingering a few seconds too long.

“Mmmm.  Just Blaine.  I'm so proud of you!”

“Thanks, pretty.”  He smiles and plants a quick kiss on his lips.  “But who are all of these guys?”

“Ah, this is the National Champion Glee Club of 2003.  We've got… Rachel and Santana, who you know.  That's Quinn, Puck, Tina, Lauren, Britt, Sam, Artie, and Mercedes.  Mike's on tour, he couldn't make it.”  He rattles off the names and explanations while pointing to each figure.  They are all grinning up at him and obviously in the know, at least to the extent of Kurt's relationship with Blaine. 

Blaine glances to everyone and smiles shyly, then recognizes that Kurt's parents, the school's football coach, and Mr. Schue are all gathering around the tree as well.   “We meet here every day on graduation day.  To remember Finn.”

“But this year…” Santana singsongs the words and pauses for dramatic effect.  “We're also here for you, Anderson.”

Before Blaine can react in any plausible way, he is drenched in a rainbow of silly string and glitter confetti.  Rachel skips up to him and kisses his cheek, placing a signature gold star on his nose.  “I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, but we are all so truly proud of you, Blaine, and so happy that you can make our Kurtsie so happy too.”

Kurt is smiling with folded arms, observing the interaction. 

“Thought you weren't going to come back ever again, Berry.”  He is grinning so much today, it hurts.  He teases as if to say all is well. 

“We got rid of her for a solid seven years and now suddenly you're around and she's back twice.”  Santana chimes in, playing off the positivity of the entire conversation.

Blaine smiles at Santana then back to Rachel.  “You never came to these memorial things?”

She shrugs and backs away, not meeting his eyes.  “Someone told me recently that I need to move on.  This is the first step.  It's hard, but I'm trying.”  She grabs Kurt's elbow and squeezes, her eyes holding in the saline.

Kurt smiles down at Rachel and then to Blaine.  “Okay!”  He claps twice to get everyone's attention.  “Thank you all for coming.  This marks… God, nine years, and we all damn well know that it doesn't get easier at all, but at least it's not getting harder.  Should we begin?”

And they do.  They sit in a circle around the tree, crisscrossed at their legs, everyone touching the person next to them in one way or another.  They speak in order, detailing one specific time they each have wanted to call Finn in the past year, since last year's get-together.  Kurt delicately takes the group through the first time he saw Blaine, sparing most of the details about Blaine's condition that day.  The first thing Kurt thought to do, he says, was to help Blaine in any way he knew how.  The second thing he wanted to do was to call Finn and tell him all about this boy that waltzed right into his life and turned it upside down.  Then, when Santana so eloquently informed him that Blaine was seventeen (“At the time, guys!  Not now!  Not that it matters… did you know that Ohio's law is sixteen?”), all he needed was to have Finn there to calm him down.

Blaine stares at Kurt in awe while he's delivering the story to his friends.  There's a look in his eye that he's never seen before, having only been reserved for Finn.  He takes the opportunity to examine the group sitting in front of him and around the tree, their own makeshift family that legitimately got them through one of the toughest experiences they will ever have to deal with.  Losing someone is never easy (Blaine thinks he knows from his grandfather dying), and it speaks volumes of how everyone still cares so much about Finn and the loss of Finn.  He was a good dude.

Blaine could just tell how much Kurt treasured his brother every single day of his life.  By the end of the story, Blaine notices that Kurt is freely allowing his tears to fall down his cheeks as he does every year and Blaine is holding his own hands around Kurt's chest.  Kurt, sitting between Blaine's stretched legs is leaning his back to his boyfriend's chest.

The group sits in silence for about a minute before Blaine straightens his spine a bit and clears his throat. He continues to hold Kurt; he needs the physical support and knowing that he's there does wonders for his nerves as he addresses the group of Kurt's friends and family.

“So, umm, I know that I've hardly known most of you but I just wanted to say that the fact that you all stop your lives to remember Finn once a year is really touching, and I know that his family must appreciate every single one of you.”  He tightens his hold on Kurt and looks up to Burt and Carole, then back to speak further to the group.  “You know, observing the dynamic that you all have had with each other for the past ten years or so is really breathtaking, all I can think about is how I want friends that stick together like this.  From what I'm gathering, Finn was the leader of the group, kind of like the glue.  It's weird, because I didn't think being a human version of glue was a personality trait, and I know now that it can be passed along, brother to brother.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that Kurt has saved my life this past year and it's really weird to see that effect that Finn's had on all of you, because I think it's identical.”

Everyone's attention is on Blaine. 

“About time Hummel has what he fucking deserves, huh?”  Puck smiles, high-fiving Artie.  The laughter around the circle is a blur of feeling and love among everyone. 

Kurt leans farther back into Blaine's chest and tilts his head up to look into his boyfriend's eyes. “You blow my mind every single day, you know that?”

“I'll take that as a challenge, pretty boy.”  They kiss a bit too passionately for their surroundings and stop abruptly when Santana awkwardly lies across Kurt's knees and makes embarrassing pucker noises.

Things turn solemn again when it's time for Carole to speak; Blaine has to zone out in fear of being utterly overwhelmed by how much a parent could possibly love a child.  Before Carole and Burt, he never believed it could possibly be an unconditional love, no matter what or who the kid is.

The pity party ends there and Kurt informs everyone that he's booked the banquet room in the back of Breadstix for anyone who wants to join them for a bite to eat in celebration of Blaine Anderson:  High School Graduate.  Everyone makes their way to leave, going on and on about the disgusting breadsticks.

Blaine grasps Kurt's hand like a lifeline and pulls him through the sea of red caps, proud parents, and accomplished eighteen-year-olds, all collectively euphoric in the feeling of the fact that further education is completely optional.

“Cooper's here somewhere.”  Blaine says as he digs in his pocket for his phone.

“No, he's at the restaurant making sure everything's all set.”  Kurt smiles and tugs him along.

“Blainey!” 

Blaine freezes at the unmistakable voice behind him, and Kurt must sense the tension because he freezes as well.  Blaine turns to find his mother standing there with a bouquet of flowers almost as big as she is.

“Honey, I'm so proud-”

Blaine blinks and looks at Kurt.  “Um.  So, anyway.”  Blaine looks back to his mother then turns and pulls Kurt toward the car.

“Mmmm.  Are we ignoring that interaction right now?”

“We sure are.  Nothing is ruining today, pretty.”  Blaine smiles at Kurt and shrugs.  “We're not staying at Breadstix long, just so you know.  We have shit to do, sex positions to try.”  They make it to the car, still attached by the fingers and waiting for the Lima traffic cops to actually do their jobs and allow them all out of the parking lot in an orderly fashion.

“Oh, I know that.  It's more of a formality; we couldn't not throw you a party!”  Kurt looks over at him and smiles again.  “Seriously, B.  You're okay?”

“Yep.  Promise.”

“I'm proud of you.”

“Good.  I want you to be proud of me.  This New York thing is going to be really good for the both of us, you know.”  Blaine's thumb is familiar with Kurt's knuckles after all of this time, but the sparks he feels as he rubs them today are new.  He sighs, knowing that he can only fall deeper and harder and more completely as his life continues with Kurt. 

“I know.  Besides this party, what else do you want to do?”

“Mmmm, just you.”  Blaine lets go of Kurt's hand and brushes a piece of hair out of his face, smiling all the while.  It's been a good day.

Kurt shakes his head and laughs.  “I'll allow it.  I thought we'd actually drive down to Shawnee State tonight and enjoy a night to ourselves before we go to see Christian tomorrow?”

“Oh, how romantic you are, pretty boy.  Buttering me up before dropping me off at the prison to visit my douche of a dad.”

Kurt laughs.  “Shut up.”

“We're definitely not staying long.  I want to be in a hot tub with you, in like… four hours?”

Kurt hums in response as he whips his car into the VIP spot at Breadstix.  They deserve to park there, at least tonight. 

xK&Bx

The lodge is beautiful.  It's old and rustic, romantic and quaint.  They never make it to the en suite hot tub – it's too much of a romantic place to stay cooped up in their room.  The spend most of the night talking about their future, nestled together on a bench near the campfire.  They make friends with a couple from Upstate New York – an older lesbian couple – who just got married last week.  In lieu of a destination honeymoon, they're driving across the country to find the state they want to spend the rest of their lives in together. 

As the couple speaks about their lives together, Blaine doesn't dare let go of Kurt, continuing to look at him for a reaction to basically every positive thing they say.  Hotel staff approaches the four of them and give them long sticks and marshmallows.  They spend the next half hour laughing and verbalizing domestic fantasies, feeding each other dozens of browned and burnt marshmallows shamelessly. 

When it's late, they wrap their bodies up in each other and stroll back toward their room.  They climb in bed and have their way with one another, soft and slow, and more emotional than ever before. 

“Thank you for this, Kurt.  You'll never top this.  Tonight was perfect.”

“You're welcome, baby.  Let's get some rest, big day tomorrow, yeah?”

“I love you.”  Blaine kisses his forehead and rolls over to try and sleep.  He eventually gets there, but not before Kurt and definitely not before he plays every scenario of how tomorrow could possibly go in his head over and over again.

xK&Bx

“You're sure about this?”

“No.  What was I thinking?  I can't do this, Kurt.”

“I think that you might regret it if we drove all the way down here and you didn't go in.” 

“Why would you ask me if I'm sure about it if you're going to push me to go in anyway?”

“Hey.  I'm not pushing you, Blaine.  I'm simply suggesting that I think you really want to do this but the fear you have right now feels like it's all too much.  You are stronger than you know.”

“Let me just… sit here for a minute.”

A minute turns into ten and then into thirty, and Blaine can see that Kurt's getting restless, shifting more frequently as the seconds tick by. 

“Blaine?”

“Yeah.”

“Just… making sure you're still here.”  Kurt smiles at him then stares at the window just as quickly.

“Okay, okay.  God, you're right.  Let's go and get this over with.”  Blaine jumps out of the car and looks up, scared to death, at the barbed wire and the men in the distance with the orange jumpsuits. 

They sign in and wait nearly an hour to be called for visitation.  Blaine shakes the entire time, and it's not because he's cold, it's because he's frightened to death of the words that will ultimately come out of Christian's mouth.  He doesn't want them to trigger Kurt into any memory from the attack, but he also doesn't want them to trigger his own memories from life with Christian as a guardian.

After forever, they are led into a less-than-intimate room with a row of uncomfortable cubicles.  The cinderblock walls smell like paint; they must have refreshed recently and Blaine already has a headache.  A few cubicles are already occupied with wives and husbands and children and loved ones, staring back into the small-as-sin window, looking at the prisoners as though they are all mistakes and there's not one good thing about them.  The guard shows Kurt and Blaine to the second-to-last cubicle. 

Kurt irrationally measures the escape route to be a little over five hundred feet in total.  Just in case.

There has to be some sort of sick joke hidden within the lack of comfort as Blaine sits on the edge of the unpadded, periwinkle plastic chair in front of a window that would only allow him to see his father's face when it appears with the rest of his body.  Blaine's leg is shaking fiercely against the floor; his heel and ankle completely elevated doing all of the work to show his nerves flowing through his veins.  The double-sided plexiglass must be several inches thick.   Blaine taps on it with his pointer finger to make sure it's as thick as it looks and he nods in satisfaction to himself and sits back in the chair, leaning on the back two legs.  His foot catches the molding under the counter as support.  He looks to his left for his physical support, embodied in a single person.

Kurt is leaning against the wall of the cubicle that separates one visitor from the next, shoulder blades squared and arms hugging around himself.  He's putting on a brave face, but his shaky hands now balled into fists and resting on corresponding forearms are not slowing, despite how many birthing breath sequences he tries, all to stop from hyperventilating and going straight into a full-fledged panic attack.  When eyes meet, he smiles a strained movement only to show his unconditional support for Blaine. 

Blaine gets up from the chair without a thought but instinct and wraps his arms around Kurt, swaying them slowly to the tune of his own song in his head.  Each head drops to an opposite shoulder and they waver to and fro.  There are hitched gasps and stiff squeezes as they hold on to each other for dear life until there's a cacophonous strike three times to the thick window in front of them.

Blaine pulls away to look Kurt straight in the eye; they're still physically connected at every point.  “We don't have to do this, pretty.”

“You do, so we can move on.  Go ahead.  I'm right here.”  Kurt leans back against the wall of separation, hugging into himself again and watching Blaine with sharp eyes.  His words are supportive. His body language is scared.  Thankfully, he is outside of Christian Anderson's line of view.

Blaine sags, dropping into the state-owned seat, staring at his father in a way that he hopes intimidates.  At Christian's eyebrow raising, Blaine's eyes flicker with sadness, anger, and frustration.  He looks down at his folded hands, then back up at Kurt, then to the phone hanging limply on the wall next to the window.  He burns fire through it with his eyes and after what seems like years, he picks it up and places it restlessly between the top of his shoulder and his ear.  He immodestly holds it to his cheek, well aware that he'll need to scrub and exfoliate later.  He shifts the phone and stares at his father.  Christian doesn't let down, and the interaction turns into a competition. 

“I don't know what to say.”  Blaine finally squeaks.  He shrugs aimlessly, eyes now shifting anywhere but toward his father. 

“Why the fuck are you here?”

“I just… I don't know.” 

“Where's your boy toy?”

Blaine shrugs and looks away.  “I think it was a mistake to come here.”  He whispers the words so softly; Kurt can hardly make them out. 

Kurt watches Blaine intently as he transforms into a small boy, downright afraid of the man sitting in front of him, even if there is no way Christian can touch him now.  There's no possible way for Christian to touch either one of them, not today.

“I'm surprised you left your roach-infested bedroom on top of that faggot ass coffee shop to come see me after you're the one who put me here in the first place.  Can't believe your pretty boy could keep his dick out of your asshole for as long as it took to drive all the way out here, you fairy dust little bottom bitch.  The cold air getting to be too much, cocksucker?”

Blaine's eyes find Kurt's, all of four seconds away from unstoppable tears.  They both inhale and exhale in sync and reach for each other's hands, an unspoken promise that they're always here for one another. 

At Blaine's face distinctly breaking, Kurt slides down the wall until he's sitting on the ground and pulls his boyfriend swiftly into his lap.  He whispers anything decently supportive, seconds away from his own panic attack, lips rubbing against the shell of Blaine's ear with every movement of a different word.  “We don't have to be here, baby.  Do you want to go home?”

Blaine turns his head to look at the empty chair above them.  “I'm just going to… say goodbye, then.”

He pulls his weight upward onto the seat and looks through the window, picking up the abandoned phone.  “Dad, I just came here to say bye.  I'm moving to college next week, and I don't want to see you again.  So this is closure for me.  For Kurt.”

“They let you into college?”

“University of Washington at Seattle.  Pre-med.”

Kurt looks at him, all of the questions in his eyes.  Blaine doesn't need to look back to see them, but he shakes his head nonchalantly.  This is a translation for I'll explain later. 

“Poor little pretty boy gonna miss your gaping fuck hole?”

“We broke up a few months ago, actually.  I assume he misses it a lot, you know.  He was the greatest lay I've ever had.”  He pauses for effect, causing his father to sputter and look away.  In that moment, he glances at Kurt just for a second and grins smugly, winking and biting his lip for Kurt's reaction; he doesn't care about his dad's.  When he gets what he wants out of Kurt, he turns back to the window and sighs. “Dad, are you going to at least try to apologize here?  Has Mom come to see you?”

“I didn't do jack shit to you, boy.  Get the fuck out of my face.”

A fire is lit under Blaine; his number one pet peeve is when someone doesn't own up to what they've done.  It's why he bit his tongue and walked around shamelessly with a GPS attached to his ankle for so long – because he deserved it. 

“Oh, okay.  So you think that nearly killing me twice a week for years because I'd rather suck a dick than… do whatever it is you do with women.  That's nothing.  My ribs have been broken more than they haven't, do you know that?  Or putting my boyfriend, the love of my life, in the hospital for a month with surgeries and pain and suffering that he still deals with every day of his life?  That's jack shit?  Fuck you, seriously.”

“No.  That's reserved for the love of your life, fagboy.”

Blaine stands up with the phone, leaning over the desk to put his forehead to the window.  “Goodbye, Christian.  You are not worth the time I've spent thinking about you.”  He backs up ever so slightly and punches at the plexiglass, fully in touch with the fact that it won't shatter.  He spits aimlessly at the window and storms away and out of the room with the row of cubicles. 

Kurt jumps to his feet and peers into the window.  He glances in the direction of Blaine's legs carrying him as far as he can go.  He stares down the eerie hallway until his boyfriend can't be seen, and makes a decision in that moment.  Kurt rights the chair and slides into it sheepishly, raising the previously thrown-about phone to his ear, waiting for Christian to pick up his again.  They lock eyes for a second; Kurt looks away immediately. 

For a split second, Kurt wants to run too.  He wants to flail his arms, dragging his legs full speed down the stingy hallway.  He wants to burst out of the doors he willingly came through hardly an hour ago and never think about Christian Anderson again.  He imagines his car pulling away, heavy weights lifting off of his shoulders and Blaine's, never to be dealt with again.  He knows in the pit of his stomach that this escape he's been planning with Blaine couldn't possibly be reality without some sort of verbal closure.  He finishes what Blaine started.

“You think your words are going to hurt him any more than they already have?”  He wonders out loud, conveniently directly into the speaker of the wired phone.

“Brave, coming here to see me, lady boy.”

Kurt shrugs, his courage festering in one vein at a time, soon searing through his entire body.  “Mostly as support for Blaine's closure before we never set foot in Ohio again.”

“Following an eighteen-year-old across the country with no real plan?”

“Seattle's a great place for a coffee lover.”  Kurt's snarky attitude is nothing less than impressive; he is grateful he remembered the lie well enough to enforce some sort of fact in his words.  He nods for himself, egging himself on, and continues.  “Just thought you'd like to know that despite all of your shitty attempts to bring Blaine down, you somehow raised the most amazing, driven, intelligent man I have ever met and I can't wait to grow old with him, far away from here.”

“So you two are still together.  Your little fuck buddy lied to me.”

“I can only assume that he was trying to protect me from you.  But yeah, we've been together and you can't break us.”

“I am going to kill you and your faggot-ass boyfriend, boy.  You better be scared.  As soon as I come out, I'm coming for you.”

“That's cool.  If we go now, we'll have a ten-year head start on our escape we've been planning basically since we met.  I hope you fucking rot in hell, dear father-in-law.”  He wiggles his left hand quickly, although his ring finger is blank.  He knows he can play on Christian's emotions to the point where he might just be convinced that he saw a ring after all.  Kurt rises from the chair and smiles – genuinely smiles – and disappears from Christian's view.

Kurt follows Blaine's path calmly, trying to commit the euphoric feeling of closure into his memory.  He breathes heavily and steadily, lungs in sync with each step.  He heads down the stairs, ignoring the lingering throb to his shin.  He stops in his tracks when he sees his beautiful Blaine, crouched down next to Kurt's Navigator, his fingers tangled into his hair, chin to chest, sobbing a loud cry for anyone to hear. 

Kurt sits fully on the pavement next to him, locks their elbows together, and waits.  He flexes his legs straight, maybe still out of habit from the months he spent in a cast, crossing them at the ankle, and rests his head on the car's passenger side door.  He closes his eyes, thinking back to the scene that unraveled right in front of him.  Kurt's heard the stories from both Cooper and Blaine about how terrible Christian always was as they grew up and especially after Blaine came out to his family, but he's never seen it firsthand. 

“Kurt.”  The back of Blaine's head stays connected to the car door but he turns at the neck to look at his boyfriend's face.

“Hey.”  He tangles their arms more and eventually finds Blaine's hand, intertwining their fingers and holding Blaine's wrist with the other hand.  He turns slightly, body language proving just how in love he is with the boy next to him. 

“Mmmm.”  Blaine's smile almost pulls upward and he turns again to stare straight ahead.  “I'm going to try to break the habit of calling you ‘pretty boy.'”

“What… why?  You know I love that.  It does something to me, B.”  Kurt turns all the way toward him and tilts his head, smiling before abruptly allowing it to fade into the complete opposite.  “It's because of him?”

“It's how he refers to you, Kurt.  I can't be anything like him.”

“Oh, honey.”  Kurt inches closer and cradles Blaine's head in his arms and attaches his lips to the top of his boy's unkempt curls.  He smoothes the flowing curls out with his chin and commits to holding Blaine for as long as it takes.  “You are nothing like him.  You couldn't be if you tried.”

The muffled sound of wailing into Kurt's arm breaks his heart like a puzzle thrown into the wind.

He feels the need to continue.  “You can call me whatever you want, but that nickname was yours first.  That's such a tiny detail in the grand scheme of things, don't you think?  Jesus, Blaine.  You are nothing like him.”

“I'm sorry I told him we broke up.  I just thought…”

“I know.”

“I love that you always know.  I love you.”  Blaine sits upright again, and Kurt follows him to put his head to Blaine's shoulder.

“You know what I think we should do now?”

“Hmm?”

“Get the fuck out of here.”

“You are the world's best everything.”  Blaine jumps up and holds out both of his hands to help Kurt back to his feet.  “Hey, Kurt?”

Instead of words, Kurt uses his kiss to question what he needs.

“How much do you trust Santana?”

“Surprisingly, with my whole life.  Why?”

“Just wondering.  I might ask her to do us a favor.”  Blaine digs into Kurt's pocket for the keys and opens the passenger side door on the Navigator, moving out of the way to show Kurt wordlessly that he wants to drive.  “I think I should sign the place in New York over to her so that when he gets out, he would only look for properties that we own.  We'll be untraceable.”

Kurt climbs up into the seat and laughs at Blaine.  “This is like your own personal action movie, huh?  She'd probably agree.  She owes me a lot too, you know.”  He winks as Blaine shuts the door for him, and watches with heart eyes as he rushes around the front of the car and climbs into the driver's seat. 

The farmland goes on as they pass; tomorrow is the first day of their lives as they mean it.