October 31st: Halloween

Kurt finished singing his solo and sat down. He felt like he had boundless energy and it was increasingly difficult for him to settle down and sit through the next student's song. It was October 31st, Halloween, and he and Blaine had a party tonight. Finn and Puck were at home decorating and as soon as his class let out, Kurt would be meeting Blaine in the parking lot before heading home.

Kurt was feeling kind of down. He had not wanted to make Blaine jealous, so he told Jeff it probably wouldn't work out for him to be his accompanist. Jeff looked sad, but took it in stride. Since then, Kurt had tried two more piano players, but they just didn't work out. He was determined to make something work, getting an A in this class was important for him to keep his scholarship. The last person was up for their solo and he sat through it, thinking critical thoughts of the girl who was obviously nervous. Kurt shook his head – here he was being unkind and he knew Blaine would be disappointed in him if he knew. He clapped for the girl and gave her a warm smile. Somehow it made him feel better than if he'd been mean.

After class, Kurt made his way to the SUV and saw Blaine leaning against it. He was wearing his navy pea coat and a scarf that Kurt had knitted for him. Blaine had been surprised that Kurt knew how to knit – a surprise for both of them when they had given each other knitted scarves for Valentine's Day as Blaine could also knit. Kurt's was made of a silk and wool blend yarn and it was a light blue with shades of navy, cornflower, aqua, and a little gold blended in. Blaine said it was all the colors of Kurt's eyes. The one Kurt made for Blaine was made of lamb's wool in shades of green, brown, and grays to remind Blaine of the forest.

As Kurt approached the parking lot, he saw there was someone talking to Blaine. It was Nicky again. Would that man ever leave Blaine alone? Kurt had been in a great mood earlier, but now? He tried not to show his irritation as he approached.

"Hi Blaine, how was Forestry Eco class today? Did you save a forest?" Kurt asked, looking deep into Blaine's eyes with raw emotion that had nothing to do with the words he had just spoken. His eyes burned into Blaine's and he got very close, his lips almost touching Blaine's. Then at the last possible moment, as Blaine was leaning forward to kiss Kurt, Kurt turned away and pulled back as if he were just noticing Nick for the first time.

"Oh, hello, Nick! How are you?" he cooed at the man, ignoring Blaine all of a sudden. Blaine glared at his fiancé.

"Ah, I'm fine, Kurt. Blaine was just inviting me to your party tonight." Nick smiled a shaky and crooked smile at Kurt and backed away. "I'll see you tonight, Blaine. Thanks again for the invite!" Then Nick was gone across the parking lot to his own car, not looking back.

"Well, that was abrupt!" Kurt said, looking at Blaine.

"You make him nervous," Blaine explained. Kurt chuckled.

"Good. I don't like other boys hanging around what's mine."

Blaine sighed. Sometimes Kurt's unfounded jealousy was hard to live with. They had spoken about it before, but Blaine didn't have much that he could complain about since it was his fault that Jeff wasn't Kurt's accompanist any more. He sighed again, this time Kurt looked at him with a guilty face.

"I'm sorry, Blaine. I promise to be nice to him at the party. I just don't want anyone taking you away from me," Kurt apologized.

"I think we need to talk about that. We have both been jealous when there was no need of it. I was unfair to tell you I didn't want Jeff to be your partner in the music class. Do you think he still has an opening?" Blaine asked.

"I invited him to the party, so we can ask him then. Thank you, Blaine, you didn't have to do that you know but I'm glad you did," Kurt said before kissing Blaine. "Now, let's get home and get the party started."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jeff walked up to the house, he wasn't sure if this was a place he should be – all the lights were out and it looked like nobody was home. He walked up on the porch and reached to ring the bell just as something that felt very like a spider web fell on his head. He shrieked and tried to get it off, jumping around in a frantic dance until he heard laughing coming from a window. Hanging out of the window were Blaine, Puck, and Finn, all having trouble getting their faces back to looking serious.

"Okay, you got me...now come on, let me in!" Jeff demanded, trying not to break into laughter.

"It's open, c'mon in," Puck called as they disappeared from their perch at the window.

Inside, Jeff found a dozen people all eating snacks and dancing to loud music. They were all dressed in costumes and as Jeff walked into the living room, he donned his mask. He had come dressed up, too. He had a long string coming out of the top of his hat with a tag attached. There were two white trash bags folded at the top and attached at his shoulders and each was filled a quarter full of dried leaves. Across the front of the bags and on the tag it read: LIPTON TEA. He was wearing a black mask and laughed when he came in and saw some of the other people in costumes.

Finn had on a pair of torn trousers and had painted his entire body green. He was walking around showing off his muscles and saying, "Hulk Smash!" Puck took advantage of his hairstyle and had dressed like a Mohawk, breech-clout, leggings, and all. He had oiled his body and his muscles were on display for all to see.

Kurt was dressed as a Venus Flytrap, his hands the traps. Blaine had hidden himself in the bedroom after everyone was there to put on his costume: a leather-look tight fitting body suit with cat ears and a long tail. It was skin tight and left nothing to the imagination. He walked down the stairs, slinking along until he saw Kurt in the kitchen. He cleared his throat and Kurt looked up, then did the best double-take Blaine had ever seen. Kurt stood there with his mouth open, staring as Blaine walked down the hallway like a cat, his eyes on Kurt. They met, Kurt's hands reaching around his fiancé to hold him close, trying to cover him up a bit from all the guests.

"Oh, my stars, Blaine! You can't come to the party like that!"

"Yes, I can. I'm decent!" Blaine protested and pulled away so he could go and say hello to the other guests. Kurt followed in his wake, glaring at anyone that looked for too long or in the wrong direction.

The music was loud, the party-goers even louder as they played games and laughed and had a good time.

"The first game is going to be: bobbing for apples!" Finn announced. "Yes, I know the last time you did that you were all in kindergarten but we're doing it now. The tub with apples floating in it is right in the center of the porch."

A mad scramble to get to the side of the huge washtub resulted in splashing and giggling as the participants got soaking wet trying for an apple of their own. As a few of the party-goers were able to get an apple, they moved away and more took their places.

Kurt was sitting on a bench at the end of the porch. He had seen Blaine walk this way, but lost track of him. The next person he saw lean over was none other than Blaine in his skin-tight cat suit, waving his ass in the air as if anyone could just look at it. Kurt growled under his breath. This was not going to happen. He got up to walk over to Blaine and someone was already there, no doubt ogling his fiance.

"Mine," Kurt said, oblivious to who was standing behind Blaine. Puck turned around and grinned.

"Hey, Kurt, what's up, dude? Having fun?" Puck asked.

"Ah..yes. Thanks for all your help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a few words with Blaine," Kurt replied.

Puck nodded and walked over to a small group of coeds wearing skimpy harem costumes.

Kurt coughed, getting Blaine's attention. Just as Blaine turned around, apple in his teeth, Kurt's hands slicked down his sides and across his butt. He leaned in close to Blaine and whispered, "Care to meet me upstairs for a quick moment?"

Blaine stood up and curled himself around Kurt, rubbing his body in all the right places and Kurt took his hand. They disappeared up the stairs.

Jeff moved forward, having watched the play between Kurt and Blaine, and kneeled down by the tub to have Finn tie his his hands loosely behind his back. He leaned over to get the apple he was targeting in his sight and just as he went for it, whomever was across from him went for the same apple and they bumped heads with a resounding thump.

"Ouch!" he said, pulling his hands out of the string Finn had tied him up with. He looked across to see who he had bumped and the world just sort of stopped moving.

The boy across from him was kneeling with his eyes closed, struggling to undo the string holding his hands. Jeff was up in a split second, rushing over to untie him. He didn't know who it was – the lights were very dim on the porch and the boy was wearing a mask over his eyes. Jeff got his hands loose and helped him to his feet, arms around him to steady the poor kid. It was a good thing, too, because the boy was swaying and would have fallen if Jeff hadn't caught him. He ended up almost dragging him to a sofa and settling down next to him.

Most of the other people who had seen it were concerned a bit, but upon seeing Jeff take care of it they went back to their activities.

"Th..thank you..." the boy said, rubbing the lump on his head.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy. Wow, Jeff, you have a hard head!" the masked boy said and Jeff tried to place the voice in vain.

"Hey, I know you, your voice....?" Jeff stuttered.

"Jeff, you don't know me? After all I did to get your attention with the apple dunking?" the boy snickered.

Jeff reached over to take off his mask.

"Nicky?"

"Who else? Jeff, I've been trying to get your attention for weeks. Don't you.....ah.....?" Nick said, suddenly thinking that perhaps Jeff wasn't attracted to him as much as he was to Jeff. One look at his face told a different story, though. Jeff's eyes were wide and he looked at Nicky's face, trying to assure himself that this wasn't some elaborate joke. He decided it wasn't and leaned forward, placing his lips on Nicky's mouth the way he had thought about since meeting the boy at the beginning of the year. Nicky responded and they slid down on the sofa, kissing while the rest of the party swirled around them, oblivious.

The party went on, some of the guests getting a bit drunk but most just enough to have fun. They played more silly games from their childhood - -the sillier the better as a round of musical chairs ended up with both Blaine and Kurt being disqualified for sitting in each others' laps, Puck tried to start Seven Minutes in Heaven but Finn, Blaine, and Kurt put an immediate stop to that, thinking about the drunken night at Santana's house.

Kurt gave the instructions for the next game. Everyone got into one of three lines and the first person in the line was given a grapefruit. He put it under his chin and held it to his neck with his chin. He had to pass it to the next teammate without dropping it, they could only use their chins to hold the grapefruit. By the time one team had won, there were giggles and nervous laughter as the contestants passed it, having to get very close and almost lip to lip to get a hold of the grapefruit.

Kurt's team won.

They played half the night away and the guests left a few at a time until it was just the four housemates, until they went into the lounge to find two boys tangled together: Jeff and Nicky were asleep on their sofa.

"Should we wake them up?" Puck asked.

"No...they look so peaceful, let's let them sleep. Since when are they together?" Kurt asked.

"Shhhh...I haven't seen them together, maybe it was when they bumped heads at the apple dunking?" Finn asked.

"It took a good head pounding to make Jeff come to his senses? Don't tell me he hasn't noticed Nicky giving him doe eyes for weeks? Well, I think it was inevitable," Blaine said.

"Let's let them sleep. I'm going to bed, we can clean up in the morning," Puck said, spreading a quilt over the two sleeping boys.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

November 2nd.

"Are you sure this is okay? I've had Kurt angry at me before and it isn't pretty," Finn whispered to Puck.

"No, it's cute and sweet and they're going to love it. Trust me," Puck reassured Finn.

"Ah...I'm not so sure. Maybe we should just leave it inside the door and run?" Finn suggested. He thought it was a good idea a little while ago, but was rethinking it now.

An hour ago: Finn and Puck were coming home from early morning football practice. Puck wasn't on the team, but with his enrollment starting Spring semester at the college, the coach allowed him to come to practice with the rest of the team. They stopped by the grocery store to get milk and eggs and bread for a big breakfast when Finn asked the clerk what day it was so he could write a check.

Walking to the parking lot, he turned to Puck.

"You know, today is the day Kurt met Blaine, hard to believe it was only a year ago."

"How did you remember that?" Puck asked.

"I made posters when Kurt went missing. When we finally found him he told me that it was November second when the train stopped in the lumber camp and Blaine found him. I wonder if they remember?" Finn said, looking at Puck.

"Are you kidding me? Kurt is the most romantic guy I have ever met in my life. Of course he remembers. I think maybe we should find somewhere to be tonight so they can have the house to themselves."

"We can do that. Let's go over to play Mario Kart at the frat house. I'll call Frank."

"You know, we should get them something," Puck said.

"Yeah, but what? I don't think anything is opened but the grocery," Finn said.

Puck put out a hand to stop Finn and pointed out a little girl sitting at the edge of the parking lot. She had a large cardboard box with a blanket over it and a small sign, scrawled with crayon: FREE KITTENS. The boys looked at each other and grinned.

"So, now is not the time to back out. Be brave, you know they'll love it," Puck encouraged.

"Okay," Finn said reluctantly.

They knocked at the door. A scramble of bedcovers and some whispering was heard, then: "Come in?"

They opened the door and there were Blaine and Kurt, both looking a bit frazzled, their lips red and kiss-swollen, their faces with the same blush of red, the nervous twitching of hands as Kurt's fingers sought and found Blaine's.

"What's up?" Blaine asked.

"Just wanted to wish you a happy anniversary, but if we're interrupting something?" Finn said, getting ready to leave.

"No, no. We were just, ah, just....." Kurt started to say.

"....celebrating!" Blaine finished his thought.

"This won't take a minute. We brought you breakfast in bed. French toast, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Orange juice, fresh squeezed." Finn said, carrying the heavy tray over to the bedside table, trying not to see the open bottle of lube there.

"And we brought you a present," Puck said, handing them a box, unwrapped. "Better open it right away."

Blaine took the box, letting the blanket fall down to his naked waist. Puck whistled but Blaine ignored him. He opened the lid of the box and out stepped a tiny kitten with long hair and golden eyes. She was mostly black with a white chest and a few white markings on her face and paws. Blaine's eyes lit up.

"I named her 'Figaro' after the kitten on Pinocchio, but you can change her name if you want to," Puck said. Kurt smiled at the boys.

"Thank you, she's beautiful. I cannot believe you remembered our anniversary!"

"I am a bit forgetful, but I'll never forget that day, Kurt. We were so afraid we'd lost you. I just want you to know I wouldn't be the same if we hadn't found you again, and we have Blaine to thank for that I think," Finn said.

"We're going to leave you two to your breakfast. I set up the stuff for the kitten in the hallway, we can figure out the details later," Puck said.

"We're going over to see Frank at the frat house later, probably spend the night. We'll see you in the morning," Finn added and they were gone.

"Wow, subtle, huh?" Blaine laughed.

"He was never known for his subtlety," Kurt giggled. "So, we have the house to ourselves tonight."

Blaine smiled, gathering Kurt against him and dragging him under the blanket once more.

"Hey, we have breakfast out there!" Kurt argued. Blaine sighed and pulled the blanket off. They ate, feeding each other little bits and kissing the whole time. It wasn't long before the food was forgotten and they were back under the blankets.

Blaine turned to Kurt and smiled. He kissed him, just a brush of lips to begin with and all of his concentration was on those lips: the warmth, the softness of the caress, the breathy gasp as Kurt kissed back turning it into something more than just a kiss. It was a memory of what had been. It was a promise of what was to come. It was the immediate love and need and want that they felt at this minute.

Blaine eased his lover back on the mattress, stroking his hands down his sides and just gazing into those smoky blue eyes. He studied them, seeking to find what Kurt was thinking. Kurt looked back with a steady gaze, his eyes seeming to turn from the ocean blue with bits of gray, green and highlights of golden sun to a darker, stormy blue as his pupils dilated. It took just that unintentional change, something Kurt didn't even control, to make Blaine so hard he was aching.

"Kurt...oh, Kurt..." Blaine started but discovered he had no words to speak. Kurt reached up a finger and placed it over his lips to ask him not to speak. He pulled Blaine down so their chests were pasted together as Kurt kissed him again, this time licking his way into Blaine's mouth and tasting the sweetness of the orange juice he had just finished. As always when he wanted to prolong things, Kurt explored Blaine's mouth: finding the back of his teeth and then softly rubbing the roof of his mouth and tangling with his tongue as Blaine whined to have more.

Being a bit impatient, Blaine pulled back, moving to kiss down Kurt's neck to the place he could never resist where his neck met his shoulder. A place that never failed to bring good shivers down Kurt's back and swirl in his belly where his blood raced along carrying it to his cock. It was Kurt's turn to whine and Blaine kissed his way back to Kurt's jaw and up to his ear, Kurt's goose bumps were running down his arms and he shivered.

The ache in Blaine's groin was getting worse and he was torn between doing something fast and hard to alleviate it and going slowly to savor every minute for Kurt. He hadn't come to any conclusion when he felt Kurt buck his hips so their cocks were side by side, the silken skin over the rock hard muscles sliding together in an amazing friction that would very quickly end this. Blaine would have protested and asked for the slowness and torture of making it all last, but then Kurt opened his mouth and what came out bordered on obscene, it was almost enough to make Blaine come just from the sound.

"Oh, my stars, Kurt, I can't wait...." Blaine whispered.

"Don't wait then..." Kurt managed to whisper back between moans and whines. He wanted Blaine right now, wanted to feel him, wanted to hear him - - and he wasn't disappointed. Blaine wailed as the friction increased and every nerve was tuned in to the feeling, every blood vessel and capillary was open to the blood rushing through Blaine's body to feed his cock as the warmth and the anticipation grew. He was at that point when he knew it was inevitable he was going to come, but it wasn't quite there, just that nanosecond when the want was going to be fulfilled but just a moment...and then he looked at the wanton face of his lover, and Kurt had the most beautiful face Blaine had ever seen and it was enough to make him close his eyes to keep that in his memory forever as his body exploded with the hot fireworks that made him stop everything to experience the unbelievable joy of an orgasm with the love of his life. It went on forever and Kurt's hand held their cocks together as both of them stopped all motion to try and come down from their climax together.

A while later the two were cleaned up and lying in the bed once again, Blaine's head on Kurt's chest as they spoke quietly about all the memories of the past year.

"It seems like more than a year, Kurt. It's like I have known you all my life - -or at least like I was waiting for you all my life and then the day I was picking up coal to feed the fire and saw the bouncers remove a body from the empty train car...that was the day my life actually started. Before that, it was seventeen years of waiting," Blaine said.

"I don't remember much about the train, just that I was thirsty and sucked the rainwater off the floor of that filthy car, and was thankful for every drop. I think I had given up. Then I opened my eyes and saw the most gorgeous boy I had never even imagined, like an angel. I truly think we were meant to be together, Blaine. I honestly do." Kurt put his fingers in between Blaine's and held tight for a moment, then relaxed his hand as Blaine pulled it close to his mouth and kissed Kurt's knuckles.

"I do believe that, with all my heart. I saw your face as you opened your eyes and I knew you had been sent there for me. You were in my heart that very first day and you haven't left it."

"And we're going to spend the rest of our lives together," Kurt said and Blaine turned his face up for Kurt to kiss.

"Hey, remember the bear when we were camping?" Kurt asked.

"All the years I spent on that mountain and that was the closest I had ever seen a bear, it scared the crud outta me!" Blaine laughed. "Funny though, I wasn't scared for me, I was more scared for you. Scared I wouldn't be able to save you. Thinking back, that bear wasn't the least bit interested in us, he was just curious about the things in camp. It made me so frightened just the same," Blaine confessed.

"I miss being there with just you, Blaine. I love going to college and I love it that we see Finn and Puck and all our friends here - -but I miss the days when it was just you and me. I have given that a lot of thought lately and I have come to some conclusions. I need to talk them over with you, Blaine, but I was waiting for the best time," Kurt said, suddenly serious.

"You know I will always listen. You sound sad somehow? Just how serious is this thing?"

"Life altering," Kurt said with a sad smile.

Blaine sat up, pulling Kurt to be next to him and this time as they leaned against the headboard Kurt was the one with his cheek against Blaine's chest with Blaine's arms tightly wrapped around him, holding him.

"I have always wanted to be on a Broadway stage, since I was a little kid. It was my life's dream. It was what got me through the bad days at school, what made me get up in the morning and get dressed even when I dreaded another day of bullying. It was the motivation of my whole life, Blaine. I can't explain it other than to say it: I loved belting out a song, getting the applause, being in the spotlight. Then things changed. I found you. Now all my days, all my hours are living my best for you. Broadway might have been nice, but being in this music program isn't something I need any more. I used to need the attention it got me like I needed food to eat and air to breathe, but this semester at school? I like music, I even love music and want it as part of my life – but, Blaine, it isn't what I need to live any more. You are. Our life together is," Kurt said, barely able to get the words started but when he did it all came tumbling out.

Blaine was silent, letting Kurt talk, just kissing his hair softly and running his thumb over his knuckles of the hand he held.

"I began to look within myself, to wonder what I needed to do to make our life happen, what would let me shine with the same passion I had for music. It seemed right at the tips of my fingers, but I couldn't grasp it. Blaine, you found it for me. I should have known the answer to the question of us would be just that...something to do with us," Kurt started to explain.

"But what? How did I change your mind, pull you away from the music you love? Oh, Kurt, I would never want to do that to you. You don't have to change a thing to be with me, I love everything about you and we can make the music work. I can get a job in New York. We would be happy there together," Blaine protested, but Kurt put up a hand to stop him.

"The day I fell and hurt my knee again, the day you had to do my schedule was a turning point in my life, though I didn't know it at the time. This semester I found that while I enjoyed the singing and the music classes, I look forward to drafting class each day. It just fits me. There are rules to follow, exact things that must be done in a precise manner, meticulous detail is essential, all things I love in everything I do. The end product is exact and useful, but what makes it so good, so wonderful is that by following all the rules you can be free to design anything your heart desires. I found it hard at first, all the exacting things that I never knew were part of it, then the discovery that by knowing the rules, I could be free in my mind to imagine it all and get it on paper so it could become a reality. That is the thrill of it. I've already spoken to the professors in that department and I can switch to Civil Engineering next semester. What do you think?"

Blaine sat still for a few minutes, turning it all over in his head. He didn't want Kurt to give up on a lifetime dream just for him.

"Kurt, I don't know what to think. I have this fear that you are deceiving yourself about what you want – that maybe you want to be with me so badly you have made yourself believe that you don't want Broadway anymore, when in reality it is still your dream that you have squeezed into a tiny part of your heart to make room for me. And while I find that very flattering, I'm worried that it will eventually eat away at you and make you resent me or hate me for taking that dream away," Blaine said, tears pooling in his eyes.

"So, are you saying that you don't believe me?" Kurt asked, beginning to sound offended.

"No, of course not. I don't think you know you're doing it. I think maybe you've convinced yourself that you don't want that dream anymore because you don't want to disappoint me, but Kurt – if you still want to go ahead and sing and make a career of that I don't want to stand in your way. I can change my major and study something else. I've never lived in a big city and who knows? Maybe I would love it. We won't know until we try," Blaine said as Kurt backed away a little.

"So, what you're saying is that it's okay for you to sacrifice your dream for me, but not okay for me to sacrifice mine for you? Really, Blaine? Because that is just saying my dream isn't as important as yours in the whole scheme of things, that my sacrifice wouldn't mean as much? That I'm not allowed to change my mind and go after something that I believe in my heart is the right thing, something I could grow to love as much as -if not more than – my childhood dream?" Kurt was getting more angry by the minute, huffing and slitting his eyes at Blaine. He got off the bed and began going through his drawers, taking out clothes and throwing some on the floor as he pulled on briefs and an old T-shirt, moving to the next drawer to find his yoga pants. He couldn't find his socks, so he put on a pair of Blaine's pink argyles and his Converse trainers.

In the mean time, Blaine was arguing, saying their dreams were worth the same, it was an equal relationship and he was just trying to make it right but Kurt was the most stubborn mule he had ever come across, but Kurt wasn't listening. Blaine was going crazy, he knew when Kurt got this worked up, he did things without thought. It was their anniversary and this is not the way he had planned it in his head.

"Kurt. KURT!" Blaine tried to get through to him, but it wasn't working. He would have to do something more drastic, much as he hated to.

"And another thing, Mr. Anderson, while we're at it...." Kurt started, but found a hand over his mouth and his arm twisted behind his back. He couldn't move without damaging his arm, so he tried to bite Blaine's hand, but to no avail. He tried once more and found himself face down with Blaine's knee in his back and his arm still twisted behind him.

"Are you going to stop and listen to me, Kurt?" Blaine asked in a steady voice that did not betray the anxious man behind it.

"Let me go!" Kurt shouted.

"No," Blaine answered. He knew Kurt had the advantage of weight and reach, but Blaine had been in the fight game too long to let any little advantage go unused and he kept his knee in just the spot to keep Kurt from turning over or gaining any leverage. Kurt fussed and fumed, getting angrier by the second. Blaine appeared to be absolutely calm on the surface, which infuriated Kurt all the more.

They struggled for most of fifteen minutes, Blaine not giving Kurt a second to retaliate. Kurt finally wore himself out, the red hot anger seeping through him. He relaxed his muscles and just laid on the floor like a damp dishrag.

"Are you willing to give me two minutes to speak to you, Kurt? Without saying anything, without judging me?" Blaine asked.

"Yes, just let me up," Kurt agreed. Blaine let him up, giving him a hand to hold as he got to his feet. He let the hand go as if it were burning him and glared at Blaine. "Okay, you have two minutes, then I'm leaving."

"Kurt, please don't go. I will go if you want me to, but you promised you would never run from me again," Blaine said. Kurt nodded.

"I have something I want you to read. Then I want to say something, is that alright?"

"Agreed."

Blaine walked over to his dresser and opened his top drawer. He got out a box and removed a wrinkled piece of notebook paper and smoothed it on the dresser top, then handed it to Kurt. On it were their vows:

I promise to put your happiness before my own.

I promise to do the stuff neither of us wants to do, if you really don't want to do it more than I don't want to do it.

I promise to defend you to others, even if you're wrong, and save the argument about it until we are alone.

I promise to make sure it is not just that I am feeling sick or hungry or grouchy BEFORE I get angry with you.

I promise to give you the benefit of the doubt. I am not marrying an idiot and I will trust you to do the right thing, even if I can't see the outcome right away.

I promise not to give in to you for the sole purpose of using that against you in the next argument.

I promise not to keep score.

I promise not to put the children before you. (within reason)

I promise that it will not matter if you get old, fat, skinny, or anything else. I love you, not just the package you come in.

I promise to listen to your heart, not just your voice. If it's something we cannot say with words, we will find a way to make our thoughts known to each other.

I promise to keep an open mind at all times, and give you permission to remind me of this if I lose sight of it from time to time.

I promise to let you have space to breathe and make your way in the world without me suffocating you. But at the same time, I promise to be there with you every step of the way - and we will find the balance we need to achieve that.

I promise to clarify my expectations. How can we know what the other wants or needs if they don't tell us?

I promise never to go to bed angry. We will stay up until we can work it out, no running away.

And I promise that my love for you will endure anything the world throws at us, that we will cleave together against it all, and respect each other for always.

Kurt sank down on the bed, reading each line over twice, and by the time he was done, he was crying. He held out his hands to Blaine and they hugged, Blaine rubbing Kurt's back in little circles, trying to comfort him.

"I love you, Blaine," Kurt said, his head down in shame as he thought about what he was about to do. "I don't know why I get so angry. I thought I had such a great idea, I'd planned it all in my head – I could be a civil engineer and you could work for the Bureau of Land Management or the Forestry Department and it would work out for us. But it felt like you didn't have any faith in me, as if I were some child that said he wanted to be Santa when he grew up. I really have given this a lot of thought, Blaine. I don't want to throw my life away just to be with you like some albatross around your neck. I want to work this out so we can be together and be happy. I don't think one of us has to give up all of our dreams. I don't," Kurt said with such sincerity Blaine was now tearing up. His eyes burned and he couldn't think of words for a moment.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Kurt. I should have listened to you. I jumped to the conclusion that you were just giving up and I didn't want to be the person to take your dreams away. Forgive me?"

"Yes, we both need to work on communication and remembering our vows. I don't like it when we fight," Kurt said and threw his arms around Blaine, kissing him.

"Let's talk about it then. I do want to listen and you can tell me what you're thinking," Blaine offered. "But let me get some clothes on first. We can go lay in the hammock and talk about our future while we sway in the sunshine."

Kurt had made lemonade with raspberry juice for its pink color and the boys were swaying together in the hammock, Kurt's head nestled on Blaine's chest once again.

"I wasn't kidding when I told you how much I love that drafting class, Blaine. It just grew on me. I was thinking that if you work for something in the forestry field, chances are you will be gone from time to time, but mostly you need to work near the forest, right? Well, if I am designing buildings and things I can do it anywhere. Such as a small town in Oregon? Then we can be together and it won't do too much to stress one of us more than the other, right?" Kurt proposed.

"I can see that working. If you truly love it, Kurt, because I was serious about not wanting to crush your dream of Broadway. I don't want you to resent me a few years down the line," Blaine repeated what he had said earlier because he wasn't sure if Kurt had heard him.

"Blaine, I do love music, but I can sing anywhere. I don't need an audience to enjoy it the way Rachel does. What you said about us influencing the other -well, in a way that is true, but not in a destructive way. Living with you in the Logging Camp was what changed me, Blaine. I don't think people who make careers of singing on Broadway or acting in movies or anything like that are bad people, not at all. But for myself, I want to make a difference in this world. I want to leave it a better place than when I found it in some small way. If I can design a house that uses less resources, that takes advantage of solar power for example, I will feel like I accomplished something even it is a small thing. I want to be a good person, Blaine," Kurt looked at his fiancé with his eyes large and his lip quivering. "I want you to be proud of me."

"Oh, Kurt, don't you know I'm proud of you every day. You are the kindest, most generous person I ever met and I love you. I think your idea is wonderful. What can I do to help?" Blaine asked.

"Hand me the glass of lemonade and we'll talk about it. I might need some help figuring out finances because I'm here on a music scholarship. I need to apply for other grants and scholarships for next semester if I'm going into design. Actually, I'm pretty excited about it all."

They planned and wrote lists and kissed until noon, then decided to let it all rest for a while.

"Hey, Blaine, would you like to go down to the beach and just sit in the water?" Kurt asked. Blaine was quick to agree and they packed the necessary things and were off in the Navigator in under an hour. Parking near the beach to walk to the ocean, they were as happy as they had ever been. Kurt, smeared with SPF 70 sunscreen, was the first in the ocean and he splashed Blaine as he came close.

"Oh, if it's war you want?" Blaine asked, then began splashing Kurt until he fell into the wave, giggling. They swam a little ways out, paddling around and holding on to each other. Blaine swam away and Kurt chased him, dunking him when he caught him. Blaine came up, shaking his head to rid it of the water his curls held on to and covering Kurt with salty spray. Kurt lunged himself at Blaine, relying upon his fiancé to catch him as he fell backwards into the water.

With his arms surrounding Kurt, he kissed him, pulling him closer to try to absorb some of Kurt's heat in the cool water. Kurt was more than willing and wrapped his arms around Blaine, dragging himself over Blaine's steadily rising arousal.

"Hmmmm, Kurt," Blaine hummed, enjoying the feel of Kurt's hard cock rubbing against him. It didn't take more than a few moments before he was just as hard and the two of them were sliding together and holding each other in the waves. Blaine reached over and pulled Kurt's swimsuit down enough that he could hold him in his hand, running it up and down Kurt's thick length while he whined for more. He couldn't let go of Blaine because he might lose him in the waves, so he held on for dear life as Blaine pumped his hand over Kurt's swollen cock. Kurt was quick to return the favor, all the while holding tight to Blaine's arm to keep from drifting away. Kurt pulled back, pulling up his swimsuit.

"Let's head back to the shore, this cold water is getting to me," Kurt said, coaxing Blaine along with kisses. Blaine followed along, taking Kurt's hand in his as they neared the shore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~