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"Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it"

~ Lucy Maude Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Days of Glory - Chapter One: Dream Come True

July 3rd, Warner Lumber Camp, Oregon

“Blaine!” Kurt shouted, making Claudius trot a little faster towards the other mule. Caesar was down the path a few hundred feet ahead because Kurt had stopped to take a picture of a hummingbird.

Blaine touched the reins to his mule's neck and the large animal stopped, leaning his head down to nibble at some kind of delectable plant that was growing beside the deer track they were following.

“Hey, slow-poke, having trouble keeping up?” Blaine teased. Kurt had been riding mules for almost a decade and still had problems from time to time. Blaine laughed to himself, watching as Kurt came around a bend in the trail and caught up.

“No, I'm not having issues with keeping up, I just wanted to take a picture of this hummingbird I saw on the side of the trail. I didn't think we were in a hurry, are we?” he asked, looking around to see if he recognized anything yet.

They were on their way to a place deep in the forest near a lake so they could have a quiet, private picnic.

“No, no hurry at all. As a matter of fact, we're just a little ways away from the clearing and the lake. Want to race?” Blaine asked, turning Caesar's face to the path once again.

“No – let's just go slowly. I think the forest is almost prettier today than it was the first day we came here. Don't you?”

“Yes. Anywhere is beautiful if you're by my side, babe. You know that,” Blaine smiled at his husband, love shining in his eyes.

“Getting a little sentimental, are we?” Kurt asked softly as he smiled back.

“I can't help it. I know we were legally wed in September of that year, but our private ceremony here in the wilderness will always mean more to me. Being here in this place with you – its as if all the things we dreamed up on that day have come true. Spending my life with you has been the answer to all the dreams, Kurt. I love you.”

“I love you, too. And for the record, my eyes get misty thinking about that day, too.”

Two Weeks Ago...

Kurt and Blaine had taken their first mule ride in a long time into the still-untouched forest on the side of the mountain. June 19th was the day Blaine went to visit his father's grave each year and they had gone with Kurt and Cooper this year to lay flowers and remember the man that the brothers idolized.

Kurt no longer felt as if he were intruding when they went to visit the grave, he had been doing it for six years now and he moved away from Coop and Blaine when they sat beside the grave to speak to their dad. After that, he joined in as they sang a few songs that the man had loved and quietly rode back to Kurt and Blaine's house in Warner Lumber Camp.

Shannon called out to Kurt as she saw him walk by and he hurried into the cook house.

“This came for you in the mail today, it looked important,” she said, smiling at the chestnut-haired man as he grinned at her. It was a large manila envelope addressed to Blaine and Kurt Hummel-Anderson with a return address in Corvallis, Oregon. Kurt kissed Shannon on her cheek and thanked her before he ran out the door, calling out to Blaine in an excited voice.

July 3rd, above Warner Lumber Camp, Oregon

The lake was in sight and both mules hurried their steps as they got nearer. The men dismounted and let the animals drink their fill before leading them to the high mountain meadow where they camped every year. Kurt and Blaine made quick work of setting up the tent and getting the fishing gear out to catch some lunch from the lake.

There was a slight breeze and Kurt walked out of the tent, checking on the mules to be sure they were close enough to the water to drink. He looked across the lake, seeing a fish jump and a flock of some type of water birds in the distance.

Behind the tent past the clearing was a forest of mostly evergreens: pine and fir trees along with some holly and other shrubs. Kurt could hear birds as they went about their business building nests and taking care of their young. There were sounds of some small animal scurrying through the debris of the forest floor and the man smiled – thinking about the time he and Blaine had rescued a baby flying squirrel and kept it until it was old enough to return to the forest. He recalled the look of adoration on his husband's face as he fed and cuddled the tiny creature in his hand; and Kurt remembered the feeling it gave him to see Blaine care for a baby animal which brought thoughts of one day having a baby that he and Blaine could call their own to love and care for. It was a sweet memory, but it brought with it more thoughts of the future and wonder about whether they might have that baby soon. He sighed and returned to the clearing in front of the tent.

With the mules on their pickets and the campsite all set up, Kurt sat down on a fallen log, watching as his husband chopped a little kindling. It was always a pleasure to see Blaine doing something physical and a tingly feeling crept up Kurt's spine as Blaine took off his shirt, the exertion making him too warm. Kurt was also feeling decidedly warmer as Blaine finished his task and walked back to the log to sit next to Kurt.

“Hey, you don't want to touch me right now, I'm sweaty,” Blaine laughed, knowing how fastidious his husband was most of the time.

“That would be true of anyone else, but I like the way you smell,” Kurt said, putting his arms around Blaine and pulling him closer, burying his nose in his husband's neck and taking a deep breath.

Blaine giggled.

“Stop that! Here, I was going to take a dip in the lake. Care to join me?”

Kurt grinned.

“Yes. Hey, I brought towels this time! Remember the first year when we dried off on the blankets and they were still damp when we went to bed?”

Blaine smiled. Memories of that day were the best, the day they made their life-long promise to each other. Blaine shook his head to clear it, there would be that kind of celebration later that evening.

Walking down to the lake shore, hand in hand, Kurt was no longer giddy and giggly at being naked in front of Blaine. Blaine still got a warm feeling at seeing his husband this way, free and happy in the noonday sun with no clothes to obstruct his view. In the six years since that day, Kurt had changed from the beautiful but shy boy with so much potential to a breathtaking and successful man. His muscles were developed now, the long, hard days of doing chores around the house and barnyard and walking everywhere they went had served to strengthen Kurt's body. His chest was deep and his abdomen had a definition that had only been hinted at before. His legs were still long but fit his frame better now that the growth spurts had stopped. Kurt was about two inches taller than Blaine – a fact that gave him unending hours of pleasure both in being able to tease and in other, more personal, situations.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Kurt said, turning to put his arms around Blaine's neck.

“My thoughts are always about you, babe. Always,” he said, his voice low and sultry as he kissed along Kurt's neck and down his chest.

“I thought we came here to swim?” Kurt teased.

“Yeah, we'll get to that.....” Blaine said, taking Kurt's arm and mouthing the sensitive skin on the inside of his wrist. Kurt hummed in appreciation and stepped closer, his other arm snaking around Blaine's waist.

Blaine continued to kiss up Kurt's arm, stopping at the inside of his elbow to lick – tickling enough to make Kurt giggle for a moment before he abandoned that spot and moved on up to his collarbone. They were standing very close now, the grass cool underfoot where they stood on the bank of the lake. Blaine kissed along Kurt's collarbone, leaving little nips and bites along the way as he licked Kurt's throat and felt him swallow.

Kurt moved another step forward, clinging to Blaine as their bodies touched and both sighed into the embrace. Blaine kissed Kurt's lips, just a brush left as a promise of so much more to come, then took his hand once again and they stepped into the cool water of the fire-blue lake.

Swimming out to a partially submerged rock, Blaine got there first and cheered Kurt on until he was climbing up to sit beside his husband. Kurt had gotten more beautiful with the years, but Blaine had also bloomed. He had been strong with hard biceps and calf muscles from the workouts he had been doing from the time he was thirteen, training to be a prize fighter under the watchful eyes of his brother and trainer. He had been the champion welter weight fighter in the lumber camps by the time he was 17. He had a victorious bout with the reigning champ just after Kurt met him.

Blaine had given up boxing because Kurt asked him to, eyes wet with tears because he was worried that Blaine could die if he were hit too hard in the ring. Blaine did it for love, but he missed it and had continued the exercises he'd learned in training and kept those up over the years. As a result, he was strong and quick – his body a showpiece of muscles covered with that golden olive skin that Kurt loved so much.

The two of them swam for almost an hour, playing in the water like two otters, giggling and splashing.

“Kurt, honey, I think we better get going. The sunscreen is probably wearing off and we need to get hooks in the water if we're having trout for dinner,” Blaine said. Kurt scrambled to get back on the rock beside Blaine and nodded his agreement just before grabbing his hands and sliding off the slippery rock, pulling his husband into the water with him. Once in the water, Kurt tugged Blaine close and wrapped his legs around him. He held tight as they surfaced and Kurt plunged his tongue into Blaine's mouth, his eyes closed and his chest flush against his husband's. Blaine kissed back, sucking slightly on Kurt's tongue and humming in satisfaction as a tiny moan escape.

That sound went through Kurt, stiffening his cock as he rubbed against Blaine. He moved both hands down to cup Blaine's cheeks and pull him closer to make the friction between them more forceful.

“Oh, my God, Kurt....that feels good,” Blaine whispered in his ear, holding on to Kurt's shoulders and kissing his neck. The movement got faster and Kurt was whining, Blaine moaning as their water-slick bodies thrust against each other until Blaine felt the heat gathering in his stomach and he gripped Kurt tighter.

“Oh, baby, come with me.....come with me, now..” and the heat rushed down his spine and up his shaft as he came hard. Kurt was panting a little but put forth a bit more effort and came moments after, Blaine's name on his lips.

They hugged tighter, neither one wanting to lose the closeness. Finally they realized they couldn't stand in the lake forever and broke apart.

“I love you, Babe,” Kurt whispered in Blaine's ear before diving back into the water to rinse off and climb out of the lake onto the grassy shore. Blaine watched him for a few moments, his heart so full and feeling so lucky to have Kurt. He sighed and swam to the shore, climbing out to find Kurt waiting with a warm towel and his clothes.

A while later, the two walked back into camp. They had caught three fish between them, gutted and cleaned them far from the camp, and cooked them a few hundred feet away. There was no sense in tempting the local bears with delicious aromas and then sleeping next to the scents. Cooking and eating were always done a distance away from where they pitched the tent to sleep and the mules were tethered close to the camp to warn of approaching danger.

After eating, Kurt and Blaine walked to the place in the meadow where they had sung to each other and said their vows they had written right here to each other. Each year they were able to repeat it – at least five out of the six years – they came here to do the same thing. Kurt quivered with anticipation as Blaine sang to him. The words meaning more now than they had meant even on that day:

Longer than there've been fishes in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there've been stars up in the heavens
I've been in love with you

Stronger than any mountain cathedral
Truer than any tree ever grew
Deeper than any forest primeval
I am in love with you

I'll bring fires in the winters
You'll send showers in the springs
We'll fly through the falls and summers
With love on our wings

Through the years as the fire starts to mellow
Burning lines in the book of our lives
Though the binding cracks
And the pages start to yellow
I'll be in love with you
I'll be in love with you

Longer than there've been fishes in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there've been stars up in the heavens
I've been in love with you
I am in love with you

Then they stood together, side by side and saidd their vows once again, looking into each other's eyes because they knew the vows by heart now:

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: “I love you, Blaine Devon Hummel-Anderson, and take you as my husband to love, honor, and cherish, always and forever.”

Blaine: “I love you, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel-Anderson, and take you as my husband to love, honor, and cherish, always and forever.”

“And it really is forever, isn't it?” Blaine said, his voice a little high pitched as he struggled not to let the tears fall with his emotions before he sang back to Kurt – the same song he sang on that day.

I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do
I will be strong I will be faithful
'cause I'm counting on
A new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning, yeah

I want to stand with you on
a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me

And when the stars are shining
brightly in the velvet sky,
I'll make a wish send it to heaven
Then make you want to cry
The tears of joy for all the
pleasure and the certainty
That we're surrounded by the
comfort and protection of

The highest powers
In lonely hours
The tears devour you

Oh can you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cause it's standing right
before you
All that you need will surely come

Kurt joined in at this point and they finished the song together, tears falling unashamed down their faces as they gazed into each others' eyes with love.

I'll be your dream I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do

I want to stand with you on a
mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to live like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me

The echoes of the song went through the forest and the couple held on to one another tightly for a long time.

Kurt took Blaine's hand and guided him to sit on the log. He went to the saddlebags that were near the tent and brought back the manila envelope that Shannon had given them a few days ago. He had shown the envelope to Blaine and they had agreed to wait the three days until this camping trip to open it.

“I'm scared to open it, Kurt. What if it isn't good news?” Blaine asked, his hand trembling as Kurt took it and kissed the fingers.

“Then we thank our lucky stars that we have each other to lean on, and we wait again,” Kurt replied with the speech he'd been telling himself for the past three days.

Blaine scooted closer and leaned into Kurt's side. He slit the envelope open with his pocket knife and papers came tumbling out. With a deep breath, Kurt leaned over and retrieved the papers, holding them on his lap as Blaine leaned closer to read along with his husband.