Blaine had a hard time keeping a straight face, no matter how much he tried. Exhaustion was making him a little punch drunk, not thinking as straight as he normally would.

Kurt glared at him, expressing more with his big eyes and fierce pout than a five-minute rant.

Turning away, Blaine couldn’t help giggling a little. He looked back sheepishly at Kurt. “I’m sorry, hon. It’s just that you remind me of Norma Desmond sometimes. ‘We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces.’” He said the quote with a haughty tilt of his head, doing his best impression of the silent film star in Sunset Boulevard.

Kurt grabbed his carry-on bag, and stomped towards the customs line-up, getting in the long queue.

Rolling his eyes a little, Blaine loaded their bags onto a luggage cart, and jogged to catch up to him. Kurt pulled out his passport, not looking Blaine’s way as the line moved along slowly.

A custom agent signaled to them, and Kurt walked forward, not waiting for Blaine at all. Blaine followed, wondering how long Kurt’s mood would last with a small sigh.

“Welcome to Thailand. Passports please.” The young agent intoned, looking a little bored.

They passed them over, and waited as the agent reviewed them, and checked things on his computer. “What is the purpose of your trip?”

Blaine dared to step a little closer to Kurt, and gave a smile he hoped was genuine. “We are here for our honeymoon, actually.”

That got the agent looking them over more carefully. Blaine had been warned by friends who had visited the country that homosexuality was generally tolerated, but to keep public displays of affection toned down a little outside of the touristy areas.

“How long do you intend to stay?” The agent asked Kurt.

“Um, a month. We go back on the 5th.” Blaine held out his return ticket, and nudged Kurt to show his.

The agent passed them back after a minute. “Where will you be staying?” This time, he pointedly looked at Kurt for the answer.

Blaine smiled, trying to use his charm to save the situation. If they got delayed, it would be even longer until they could get to their hotel room and sleep. It had been a twelve-hour flight to Dubai, with a two hour stopover before the last leg of the trip. Another six hours on the plane. “One night in Bangkok, to catch up on some sleep. And then we head out to stay with Kurt’s step-mother, volunteering at her health clinic.”

Pulling out the email with the directions from Carole, Blaine passed it over to the customs agent.

The agent read over the email, and then looked straight at Kurt. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Shit. They had been hoping to get past him without this coming up. Kurt bit his bottom lip, looking over at Blaine, and he could tell his moodiness was just being tired, and not as able to move past the frustration he normally would have shrugged off.

“He has damaged vocal chords and cannot speak.” Blaine put a hand on Kurt’s shoulder in supportive gesture.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, the agent gave them both an assessing look, clearly suspicious. “We can get a sign language translator here if you require one. You will need to wait in a holding room until they arrive.”

Kurt shook his head, and looked down, his shoulders slumping a little.

Blaine saw that, and it made a surge of protectiveness rise inside him. “Look,” he started with an irritated huff. “We have been travelling for over twenty hours, and the electronic device he uses to communicate died halfway here. He borrowed mine, and the battery power was gone a couple hours ago. He doesn’t sign.”

“Electronic device to speak?” Clearly, the agent wasn’t believing anything Blaine said anymore.

“Yes!” Blaine was feeling exasperated, and tried to keep his cool. Getting emotional or angry with a customs agent wouldn’t help things. “Look, can I borrow your phone for a minute?” He pointed to the cellphone lying on the counter nearby.

The agent grabbed it, scooting his chair back.

“I’m not going to take it or something.” Blaine said through tight lips. Now Kurt was the one putting a calming hand on his shoulder. “Fine. Just google Kurt Hummel on there. You will see that he was a singer and damaged his vocal chords.”

The agent still looked skeptical. “Stay here, gentlemen.” He took their passports and his cellphone, heading to a back office area.

Blaine turned to Kurt, who was looking very stressed. “Look, you have your charger in your bag. If we have to go into the office to discuss this, you can plug in and be talking in no time. We’ll figure this out.”

Nodding slowly, Kurt didn’t seem very convinced.

There was really nothing more they could do but wait and see what the agent wanted to do. Even Kurt’s small ability to talk wouldn’t help, since he had overdone it a week ago and the doctor had made a strict no talking order to see if his vocal chords repaired themselves, or if further treatment was needed.

Minutes seemed like hours as the rest of the people from their flight streamed past them, excitedly talking, eager to get to their hotels.

Finally, the office door opened again and their customs agent returned to them, an older man with a fancier uniform following him. Upon spotting Kurt, his stern face broke out into a huge smile.

“It is true! Kurt Hummel! Here!” The manager rushed forward, stopping right in front of Kurt, his eyes wide with amazement.

Blaine had been with Kurt long enough now to see how his old fans still reacted when they saw him. Looks of recognition and staring were common. Cellphone pictures frequent. Most approached him, shyly smiling and mentioning how much they enjoyed his work, often requesting a picture with him, or an autograph. Kurt always made them feel appreciated, always agreeing to pictures even when he was in a rush.

This man’s adoration was clear to see, and Blaine automatically categorized him as a ‘super fan’ in his mind. It was amusing to find one in an airport halfway around the world.

Kurt was smiling graciously, bobbing his head in acknowledgment as the man babbled on about how he owned ever song Kurt had recorded, proudly showing him a playlist of them on his phone.

The manager’s eyes finally glanced over at Blaine. “Oh, and your beautiful husband! Oh, you are here for your Honeymoon! Visiting your step-mother, of course!”

It didn’t seem to matter that Kurt couldn’t currently reply. The man hardly stopped for breath as he gushed on and on. He knew everything about Kurt, saying how sorry he had been to hear about his father, the accident, and Adam. Blaine couldn’t help but grin a little and like this man when he referred to Kurt’s ex as a ‘horrible scoundrel’.

“Would it be too much to ask to have a picture with you, Mr. Hummel? Or is it Mr. Hummel-Anderson now?” The man looked troubled, being unsure and not wanting to offend them.

Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt’s waist, giving him a little squeeze. “We decided to keep our own names.” They were both in the public eye, and it just made things easier professionally. “Are you OK with a few pictures?”

The hearty praise from his fan had brought Kurt out of his bad mood. He still looked tired and rumpled, but he still smiled as he gave a little nod.

“Pictures are fine.” Blaine told the manager.

He had expected a quick selfie or two, the manager with Kurt, but the manager shouted out to his staff in Thai, and they all stopped working to rush to his side. He posed everyone, with Kurt in the middle, and passed his phone to Blaine. He snuck a few pictures of the set-up with his own phone as well, chuckling.

Eventually, they were in the back of a taxi, swerving through traffic, just happy to be on their way.

...

Blaine rolled over with a groan. “You can’t sleep either?”

Kurt was propped up with pillows against the headboard, working on his iPad Mini. “It’s 2 in the afternoon in New York. Even though I’m tired, I just can’t sleep.”

Snuggling up against his new husband, Blaine took his hand, and placed a kiss on the knuckle above the worn gold ring. It still sent a pang straight to his heart, seeing his grandfather’s ring on Kurt’s hand. A sign of love, a connection to the past, a promise for the future.

Kurt brushed his hair back off his face, and then shifted down on the bed to give him a kiss. He pulled back, his eyes seeking Blaine’s in the dim light of the hotel room. He picked up his left hand, playing with the worn gold band he had so recently placed there. It felt right seeing his father’s ring, the ring of a man who loved and truly understood him, on this man’s finger. Blaine had seen Kurt at his lowest points, accepted and loved him as he was.

When his eyes met Blaine’s again, they were soft with understanding and caring. “Sometimes I want to pinch myself that we found each other. Now married. I love you so much.”

With a bit of a shy grin, Kurt held up his right hand, folding down his middle and ring fingers. Knowing he shouldn’t speak yet, he mouthed the words to his husband. I love you.

Blaine glanced down at his hand questioningly, and then back to Kurt’s eyes.

Picking up his tablet again, Kurt clicked on the screen, and passed it to Blaine.

The image onscreen was of a hand in the same configuration.

Kurt took the tablet back, and went to his voice app. “It’s the sign for ‘I Love You’.”

Grinning, Blaine tried to make the sign himself. Kurt chuckled in his silent way, moving his fingers into the correct position.

“You are learning sign language?”

Nodding, Kurt picked up his tablet again. “Well, what happened at the airport made me think it might be a good back-up. Just in case.”

“That is smart. Plus, we could use it to talk from a distance. Like at the grocery store, I could sign ‘Do we need bananas?’” Blaine obviously thought it was a great idea, his boyish enthusiasm lighting up his face.

Kurt’s eyes went a bit wider. “You want to learn it too?”

Chuckling a little, Blaine gave him a light kiss. “Of course. It will be handy for you to communicate with me that way if your phone isn’t nearby, and I’ll need to understand what you are saying. Plus, the bananas situation.”

“Well, we better try to find an English bookstore in Bangkok to buy an ASL book before we get on the bus tonight. There isn’t good internet access where Carole lives.”

Blaine pulled the tablet out of Kurt’s hands, something he rarely did since it was his way to communicate. After a couple minutes, he passed it back. Displayed was an online course for ASL. “How about we just download this? We can do a lesson every night and practice it together.”

“I’d say that is perfect, Mr. Anderson.” Kurt smiled. “I’m glad I learned this new way to tell you I love you, but I still like the old ways too.” He set down the tablet, and picked up Blaine’s hand, he placed a kiss on the worn gold ring there, still getting a thrill from seeing it. He started massaging Blaine’s hand, smiling at the small groan he got in response and the way his husband sunk into the bed.

It had been a happy accident, just wanting to help Blaine when he started playing his guitar more in the past year. He had complained that he was out of practice, and his hands got sore if he played too long. Kurt had given him an impromptu hand massage.

He got so much praise from Blaine, he did it often. Kurt had even researched techniques, adding in new strokes just to see how Blaine would react to it. Now, he would barely start and Blaine would become a boneless puddle at his feet.

Using the pad of his thumb, he circled Blaine’s first knuckle firmly, repeating the motion on each joint and then finishing with tugging lightly on his finger. He repeated this with each digit, feeling his tension lessening. Holding his hand, he stroked Blaine’s palm in circular motions with both of his thumbs.

After finishing both hands, Kurt stroked lightly up Blaine’s arm, not massaging now, but simply touching. Admiring his olive skin, such a contrast to his fair skin. Tracing the curve of his bicep, the muscles of his shoulders. So beautiful, his man.

When his eyes met Blaine’s, he was warmed by the love and heat in them. Even after being together so long, they still had a spark that was quick to ignite. Kurt happily leaned in to kiss him, sinking into it with a pleased sigh.

Blaine’s arms came around him tightly, giving him a firm hug as the kiss deepened, became hungry. He rolled Kurt onto his back with a bit of a growl. “Fuck, you know how much I love it when you massage me. Touch me.”

Biting lightly on Blaine’s neck, Kurt had to hold back from whispering in his ear. So often, he used the few words he could speak each day for times like this. When they were close together, intimate and so open to each other. Instead, he settled on pulling on Blaine’s earlobe with his teeth, before sucking on it.

They were only wearing briefs, and those quickly came off, grinding together until they were both a bit breathless. Kurt grabbed the bottle of lube from the bedside table, handing it to Blaine. He let his eyes show what he wanted.

The sex started slow, both savoring the sensations, meeting each other’s eyes. But soon Kurt’s legs were wrapped around Blaine, arching off the bed to meet every fast thrust, both sweaty and panting.

Afterwards, they both welcomed how relaxed and sleepy they felt, cuddling together. Blaine whispered to Kurt, “I love you.”

Kurt smiled, meeting his gaze to mouth the words back, before dropping his head to his chest. Splaying his hand out over Blaine’s bare skin, Kurt curled his ring and middle finger down to his palm, making the ASL sign for ‘I love you’ as he fell asleep.

...

-A/N: So, here’s the first chapter of the ‘We All Shine On’ sequel. I haven’t written the other chapters yet, so I’ll hopefully post once a week or so. I think there will be about six chapters.

-“We didn’t need dialogue, we had faces.” This quote is from the fantastic movie ‘Sunset Boulevard’. Norma Desmond’s expressive face and hands, her overly dramatic silent film style, is perfectly captured in this clip here.

-ASL ‘I love you’ here.

-Some online ASL courses here.

-‘One Night in Bangkok’: The title comes from a big hit song from 1984, rapped by the British actor and singer Murray Head and the chorus sung by the Swedish singer and songwriter Anders Glenmark. Video here.

It was part of a concept album released to raise funds for the musical ‘Chess’ that opened in London in 1986 and ran three years. A Broadway version debuted in 1988 but only played two months. The musical had music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of the pop group ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a politically driven, Cold War-era chess tournament between two men—an American grandmaster (loosely based on Bobby Fischer) and a Soviet grandmaster—and their fight over a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other