What If?

                 Chapter 24 – Fun in London

The next morning the sun was shining and the boys are happy and smiling as they are leaving their problems behind them as they cherish the time they have together. Blaine has made coffee for Kurt and brings it to him as he was relaxing in bed and thinking about what they would do today. “What do you need to do today Blaine?” Kurt asks and then drinks some of his coffee. “I need to speak to the event producers this morning at 10 o'clock. I'll know my schedule better after that. What about you, when are you meeting with the London producers?” Blaine asks as he stares at Kurt's face. “I'll be meeting them at 1 o'clock this afternoon at the theater. I'm a little nervous about meeting them though. I don't want them to change their mind about running the play for a while because they don't like me or they think I am not the correct choice for the lead.” Kurt says as he shares his anxiety about the meeting with Blaine. “Kurt, you are going to do great. Are you going to perform a song from the play for them?” Blaine asks. “I hadn't planned on it. I am not sure exactly what they want to know or see.” Kurt explains. “Okay, go get your script and find the most challenging song you have and we are going to practice it so if during your meeting they sound hesitant you show them what they would miss if they don't bring this play to London for an extended time.” Blaine suggests confidently. The boys practice until Blaine needs to leave. Kurt sends Blaine on his way and then Kurt gets cleaned up and dressed for his meeting. Before he leaves he checks his e-mail to see if he has received any last minute directions from the New York City producers. He hasn't received anything new so he heads out as he plans on walking to the theater because it is such a lovely day.

Blaine is meeting with the charity concert producers and they ask him to sing three songs. He agrees and then he has an idea and asks them if one of the songs he sings could be a duet and they agree that would be fine. They ask for the name of the other person and he tells Kurt Hummel. “I will be singing Teenage Dream and All of Me and then the duet will be Perfect.” Blaine informs the producers. Before he leaves he goes to the stage and practices his songs for an hour before he heads back to the hotel to wait for Kurt and then give him the good news.

Kurt's meeting was going alright but not great. They were concerned about the lead not being a well known person so Kurt followed Blaine's suggestion and they went to a stage and Kurt performed the song from the play he had practiced. After the performance they were speechless. They really loved the performance and they couldn't wait to see the complete production. Kurt had succeeded and the play would be coming to London and Kurt was thrilled. He realizes that he and Blaine together as a team were unbeatable and he couldn't wait to share his news with Blaine.

Kurt opens the door to Blaine's hotel room and looks around trying to find Blaine. He sees him in the living room and yells his name as he runs to him and jumps onto him knocking them both to the floor as he kisses Blaine passionately and speaks quickly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! They are going to bring the show to London because I did the number we practiced and they loved it and want to see more. It's all because of you Blaine. You came up with the idea to do a song from the play for them and it worked wonderfully.” Kurt stands up after kissing Blaine again.

“I'm glad I could help you Kurt and I could get used to greetings like this.” Blaine says as he stands up with Kurt's help. “I have some news for you too. I am singing three songs at the benefit and two are solos and one is a duet. Do you know of anyone in London who will be able to sing a duet with me tomorrow night at the Royal Benefit?” Blaine asks as he looks at Kurt with a smirk on his face.

“I would love to. Oh my God I am going to sing in front of the Royal Family. I can't believe you are doing this for me. You are so good to me!” Kurt says as he hugs Blaine.

“You deserve the best Kurt. We are going to sing Perfect just like we did at McKinley in the choir room. So do you have time to practice or do you need to be somewhere?” Blaine asks.

“I am free until I leave to go back to the states.” Kurt says with a smile as they start practicing for their duet. After practicing for a few hours they change their clothes and get dressed in something fashionable as they head into the city to find a nice restaurant to enjoy a lovely dinner.

As the boys explored the city they found a quaint little restaurant and went in and they were seated off to the side and in a private area. They ordered their meals and then they started talking. “Blaine what do you want from me in our relationship? What did I need to do for you to be happy and fulfilled?” Kurt asks as he holds Blaine's hand.

Blaine takes a moment to think and then he says. “Kurt, I need you to be honest with me. I want to know if you are having a problem with something or if you need to make a decision that would affect both of us I would like some input before you make it. I would like you to tell me if I am doing something that upsets you or you don't like before it causes you to explode. But mostly I need you to just love me and be there for me when I am having a good time or a tough time.” Blaine tells Kurt as he looks at Kurt's blue eyes letting his heart speak. “What do you need from me Kurt? What can I do to make our relationship good for you?” Blaine asks seriously.

“Blaine I agree with everything you said. To be honest, communicate with each other, to be there for each other whether we are celebrating or need to be helped up if we get knocked down. Blaine, I want to ask you to stop making my life wonderful at the expense of your life. If you are not happy Blaine I won't be happy no matter how well things are going for me. You can't be the only one making a sacrifice because that is not fair and not what I want. We have to work together because as a team we can't be beat. Just look at today. You told me to go to the meeting ready to perform and it sealed the deal. Tomorrow we are going to sing a duet and we are going to be the talk of the town. We just need to understand that it is okay to rely on each other. That's what you do when you are in a relationship. I think we can do this if we put forth the effort and work on it together.” Kurt tells Blaine as dinner arrives and Blaine makes a toast. “To us, may we build a loving relationship that lasts forever and is filled with honesty, trust, communication, and respect for each other.” Blaine says as they clink glasses. They finish their dinner as they discuss their duet, Kurt's play, and they laugh a lot as they remember things they used to do when they were dating back in Lima. They walked back to Blaine's hotel room and sat on the couch looking out over the beautiful city of London lit up at night.

The next morning Blaine was wide awake and up in the living room going over his performance in his head. Kurt came out of the bedroom and watched Blaine go through his routine and simply smiled.  “You are looking good Mr. Anderson.” Kurt tells Blaine as he stops rehearsing and walks over to Kurt and hugs him good morning. “Let's eat breakfast and then we can rehearse our duet.” Blaine suggests as the phone in the hotel room starts to ring. “Hello this is Blaine Anderson. Just a minute please. It's for you Kurt.” Blaine informs Kurt who is eating a piece of toast. “Hello, this is Kurt Hummel. Yes I can I'll be there in about an hour if that would work for you. Okay, I will see you at the theater, goodbye.” Kurt tells the caller as he hangs up the phone. “That was the London producer and he wants to meet with me to discuss some things about the play in an hour. So I need to finish breakfast, get cleaned up, and head out. What time are you leaving for the venue?” Kurt asks. “The show starts at 7 o'clock so I figure around 5 o'clock.” Blaine says. “Okay, I will make sure I am back here in time to leave with you.” Kurt says as he leaves to change and then heads out. Blaine continues to practice and then he takes a short nap before he begins to get dressed for the charity concert event.

Kurt has been meeting with the producers and now he is waiting for the play's costume designer to arrive to discuss costumes. “I can't stay too much longer I am going to the Royal Family Charity Concert tonight. I am going to sing a duet with Blaine Anderson.” Kurt informs them. “You know Blaine Anderson? We admire him very much. He was fantastic in Big Dreams as Butler.” The producer says as they continue to wait. “Yes, he is my boyfriend.” Kurt says with a smile. “I need to go or I will make Blaine late.” Kurt tells them. “Listen Kurt, why don't you call him and tell him we will drop you off at the theater and he can meet you there.” The producer suggests. Kurt calls Blaine and he agrees to meet him at the theater but reminds him that the show starts at 7 o'clock and that they are in the first half of the program. The costume designer finally arrives and they go down to the basement area where he works. He is showing Kurt his possible ideas about the costumes for the play and he discusses possible fabrics. He and Kurt are getting along really well when he finally looks at his watch and it reads 6:45 p.m. “Oh my God! I need to leave right now!” Kurt shouts as he is running towards the producers begging for a ride to the theater. “How long does it take to get to the theater where the charity event is being held?” Kurt asks as they get in the car and head to the charity concert.

The event has started and Blaine keeps looking for Kurt. He keeps asking the security people if they have seen Kurt and if they do to let him in immediately. The traffic on the roads is terrible because everyone is heading to the theater. Kurt looks at his watch and it reads 7:05p.m. “How much longer until we arrive to the venue?” Kurt shouts as he is losing his patience. “About 10 or 15 minutes.” The producer informs Kurt. “I'm sorry Kurt this is my fault I shouldn't have asked you to stay. I knew you had a commitment for tonight.” He apologizes to Kurt. It is 7:15 and the announcer says. Joining us tonight from the United States is a gentleman who just finished a successful run on Broadway in Big Dreams and is a former American Idol winner. Let's give a warm welcome to Mr. Blaine Anderson. Blaine walks out and bows as he stands next to the mike and starts strumming his guitar as he explains the importance of this song to him. He performs ‘Teenage Dream' and receives a rousing ovation as he walks to the piano and introduces the next song as he looks to the side of the stage for Kurt but he's not there. He starts singing ‘All of Me' and has the audience in his hands especially when he sings the falsetto parts. The crowd is enchanted with Blaine's performance and is showing him by their loud cheers and ovations. Kurt finally gets to the front doors and can hear Blaine singing. He is running to the back with security leading the way as Blaine introduces and starts singing ‘Part of Your World' from the Little Mermaid. When he finishes the song he stands and bows. The audience is screaming and yelling encore. Blaine starts walk to the side of the stage. As he walks off the stage a producer stops him and says they want you to do an encore. He notices that Kurt is standing off stage and he goes back to the piano. “I am honored to do an additional song for you. I want to make it special so I am going to ask a friend of mine to help me sing this song. Please welcome Kurt Hummel to the stage. We sang this song together when we were in high school because we always wanted the other to know that we were perfect just the way we are. It's called ‘Perfect.' They sang the duet and it was fantastic. They both bowed and left to loud cheers and applause. When they got off stage Blaine asked. “Are you alright?” Kurt looked at Blaine and explained what had happened and he apologized for being late but he could tell by the look on Blaine's face the damage was already done. A Royal helper came up to the boys and asked them to follow her because the Royal family wanted to thank them personally. They followed silently and they were introduced to the Royal family. They thanked them for performing and the boys accepted their thanks. They were led back to the green room of the theater. “Listen Kurt, I am going to go back to the hotel room. I'm pretty tired and I have a headache but you can stay and attend the after party.” Blaine tells Kurt as packs up his guitar and heads out. “Blaine, can I go with you back to the hotel?' Kurt asks not knowing what Blaine is going to say. “Kurt, you are an adult and you can do whatever you want.” Blaine says as he leaves the theater and starts walking back to the hotel. Kurt decides it would be best to let Blaine go by himself. He figures that Blaine needs to be alone to sort things out and get his emotions under control without him breathing down his neck. Kurt walks to a coffee shop for something to drink and to think about what happened today and what he needs to do to fix it. He finally decides it's time to walk back to the hotel room. He takes a cup of coffee for Blaine hoping to talk.

When Kurt unlocks the hotel door the living room is dark. He decides to look in the bedroom and he slowly opens the bedroom door to see a sleeping Blaine with tears tracks on his face. Kurt decides to sleep on the couch but he can't sleep because he knows he has hurt Blaine again. What's really bad is they had just talked about being there for each other and Kurt wasn't there for Blaine when he promised he would and it hurt Blaine a great deal. He knew he would have to do something to make it right if Blaine would let him because everything they had accomplished these past few days was destroyed and they are back to square one.

Blaine comes out of the bedroom and makes some coffee. Kurt wakes and walks into the kitchen and says. “Blaine, I am so sorry. I never meant to be late. What can I do to make you understand it wasn't intentional?” Kurt begs Blaine. “Stop saying you're sorry for one. Look I get it. You got caught up in something important to you and lost track of time. Don't worry about it. It's over and done with. Look, I'm finished in London and there is no reason to hang around so I was able to reschedule my flight and I'm leaving in a few hours. So excuse me I need to go pack up my things for the flight home.” Blaine tells Kurt calmly as he stands and heads to the bedroom. “NO!” Kurt yells and stands in front of Blaine and grabs his hand and says. “Blaine, you are not going to do this to us. I made a mistake! I'm human. I never intended to miss the performance. I got mixed up in some costume talk about the play and I lost track of time. My mistake should not be enough to break us up. We were getting closer to each other and we were coming to an understanding of what we would need to be in this relationship. Blaine don't give up on us. Don't give up on me.” Kurt says as tears are pouring down his face.

“Kurt, I'm not mad at you. You got caught up in your dream and I want you to follow your dream. I'm giving you that space. If I'm not around you don't have to worry about me or take care of me or meet my needs. Can't you see that? We said we would be honest with each other and the truth Kurt is when you are going after your dream nothing or no person is more important to you. You have blinders on and you are so focused on that dream that you don't see what else is happening around you. That's who you are Kurt and that's okay. Some day maybe you will figure out how to juggle your professional life and personal life together and be able to live in both worlds easily. Until that happens follow that dream and be the star you are. Now excuse me because I have to pack and the room has been paid up for the next three days so enjoy yourself and get your play figured out so you will be a smash hit when you open.” Blaine says as he goes into the bedroom and starts packing. After Blaine shuts the door Kurt gets the phone and makes a phone call.

Blaine has put his carry on in the overhead compartment while the last few passengers get settled. Blaine closes his eyes and wants to get home so he can make some decisions about his future. He is listening to music as the plane increases its speed as it begins to take off. He takes a deep breath glad to know he is heading home. “Excuse me Mr. Anderson but for your information I am not going to let you get away from me without putting up a fight for the man I love.” Kurt tells a surprised Blaine who is looking at Kurt like he is seeing a ghost. “You are the most important person in my life and I am not going to let you run away so you don't have to face the truth. The truth is when we are apart from each other we are two very unhappy individuals and our lives are miserable. That's the truth and you being this gallant knight in shining armor to save me from choosing my true love over my dreams needs to retire. Do you understand me Blaine Devon Anderson?” Kurt tells Blaine sternly. “Now, we will have some time to talk about this calmly because we are not going anywhere for the next seven hours. Would you like to go first or should I?” Kurt asks Blaine as he grabs his hand and kisses it as they look at each other and smile.