Chapter 20: Future Mr. Hummel

October ended and November began in relative peace. Blaine hadn’t transitioned since the last of Cooper’s appearances, and hadn’t had a panic attack since that unfortunate lunch date. Instead of focusing on the past or his disorders – which he was determined not to do – he put all his efforts in composing. He’d given up his attempts at songwriting when he realised his audiences tended to prefer covers, so he decided there was no point in continuing his endeavours. Now, however, he had a new source of inspiration in the person of Kurt.

New melodies and chord progressions were sneaking into his mind, filling him with joy and a tentative pride. He was still unsure about all of his songs, refusing to let Kurt hear them, but they kept him in a better mood than he remembered ever being in, especially without medication.

Ever since that first gig, Kurt hadn’t missed out on a single one of Blaine’s performances. They always took place in one of a few small bars scattered all over Manhattan, and each of them had its own specificity. On the Friday after Halloween, he was playing in the biggest of the bars that hired him. The interior was a mixture of brick, glass and metal, filling it with a strange fusion of warmth and cold. The small podium was lit from behind, enveloping Blaine in a bright halo. Kurt took up a strategic position right in front of the stage and gave his boyfriend an encouraging smile, as Blaine sat on the stool with his guitar.

‘Hi, everyone,’ he said to the microphone. ‘My name’s Blaine Anderson and I’ll be trying to entertain you tonight. First off, I wanted to play this old Keane song, and dedicate it to my wonderful better half. Kurt, this is for you.’

The dedication caused Kurt’s head to spin, partly because of the astonishment, but mostly out of the sheer happiness. Blaine sang Somewhere Only We Know hardly removing his eyes from Kurt, and when the song ended, his boyfriend was the one who clapped the loudest and longest.

Next Blaine proceeded to play Wish Upon A Star and Kurt settled himself comfortably to listen, when a sudden sharp tap on his shoulder made him jump back up and turn around.

‘Santana!,’ he exclaimed, almost loud enough to drown down Blaine. ‘What are you doing here?!’

He threw his arms around his friend in a bear-hug. The last time he’d seen her was on huge posters promoting her nation-wide tour.

‘I’m having a quiet night out in NYC,’ she responded with a wide smile.

‘This is quiet?,’ Kurt asked dubiously.

‘In comparison to being up there, yes.’ She waved towards the stage and sat at Kurt’s table without bothering to ask if the seat wasn’t taken. ‘So- that cutie’s yours?’

Kurt blushed and bit his lip to stop the silly grin that was forcing its way to his lips.

‘Yeah. The dedication kinda gave it away. I don’t think there are many other Kurts in this joint.’

Santana nodded with a chuckle.

‘He is pretty good,’ she said. ‘Where did you find him? Don’t tell me you’re his only groupie.’

He sent her a glare.

‘No, actually, we met at a gay club,’ he said. ‘Sort of.’

‘Lady Hummel goes to gay clubs, that’s a new one.’ She elbowed him playfully. ‘Did you have a brain transplant or what? And what do you mean, “sort of”?’

‘Well, to be honest, I went there once and I’m not planning on repeating the experience, thank you very much,’ Kurt told her sarcastically. ‘Blaine isn’t much of a clubber either, so we kinda fit together.’

Santana rolled her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest and her very deep neckline.

‘Oh, like little pieces of the same Disney-themed jigsaw puzzle,’ she chimed. ‘So how did this happen? And again, why “sort of”?’

‘It’s a long story, Santana, and I’m not sure it’s even my story to tell.’ She frowned, opening her mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to stop her. ‘The important thing is that it’s been a month and I’m happy. He’s happy, too, and that’s much more than either of us expected.’

‘Okay.’ She eyed him suspiciously, but let it go. ‘I’ll figure it out at some point anyway.’

Kurt barked out a bitter laugh.

‘I don’t think so, not even your Mexican third eye could figure this one out.’

They spent the rest of the set catching up and listening to Blaine play, with a couple of interruptions from people who recognised Santana and asked for a photo. Kurt was still in awe for his boyfriend’s talent, and his admiration seemed to only grow stronger. The loving stares he sent towards the stage were duly reciprocated, and Santana could tell that there were moments when nothing in the world existed for the two of them except each other.

‘Does he have any original stuff?,’ she asked Kurt when Blaine was playing the last encore.

‘He does, but he wouldn’t let anyone hear it, not even me. He’s a little self-conscious about it, and he says people like covers better.’

‘Maybe his songwriting skills suck,’ Santana remarked, earning an angry look from Kurt. ‘Okay, okay, he’s definitely the awesomest songwriter that has ever graced this earth.’

‘Yes, thank you.’ Kurt smiled at her, nodding his head in conviction.

A few minutes later, Blaine jumped down from the stage with his guitar still in hand and greeted Kurt with a kiss on the cheek.

‘How was it?,’ he asked, before realising there was someone else at the table.

‘Amazing, as always,’ Kurt replied brightly. ‘Blaine, I’d like you to meet-‘

Blaine’s eyes darted to the brunette and bulged when he recognised the face that he couldn’t make out earlier because of the lighting.

‘On my god, you’re Santana Lopez!,’ he blurted out and blushed.

‘The one and only,’ she confirmed. ‘That was a pretty good set, even though it lacked beat and was kinda sappy.’

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Blaine looked back to his boyfriend.

‘Yeah, well, so that’s Santana, don’t listen to her, this is how she talks,’ Kurt told him.

‘You know Santana Lopez?,’ Blaine asked incredulously.

‘Me and Lady Hummel here went to high school together,’ she explained.

‘Same glee club,’ Kurt added, eliciting an even wider smile on his friend’s face and an even greater shock on his boyfriend’s.

‘Right, you’re from Ohio,’ Blaine said. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Santana.’

‘Likewise, future Mr. Hummel.’

She flashed them a smug grin, as they exchanged quick uneasy glances.

‘It’s a little early to call me that, I guess,’ Blaine mumbled.

Kurt nodded vigorously, feeling his cheeks burn. He hadn’t admitted to Blaine that the thought of their wedding would enter his mind from time to time and it was very appealing, even though Blaine was right to say it was too soon to discuss it seriously. Still, Kurt couldn’t help his heart skipping a beat, when Blaine didn’t really protest beyond stating their relationship was in its infancy, although Santana had probably forgotten his name and that was the entire explanation of calling him that. But what mattered was the tiny smile that crossed Blaine’s lips at her words.

***

‘That glee club of yours must have been something,’ Blaine said later that night, snuggling closer to Kurt. ‘National champions, former members on Broadway and Top 40. Ex-Warblers are only bankers or lawyers, or struggling musicians.’

‘May I remind you that a former leader of the New Directions, a.k.a. my step-brother, works in my Dad’s tire shop, and that is not much of an achievement,’ Kurt replied jokingly. ‘But yeah, Santana and Rachel have made it and I’m happy for them. And you’ll make it, too, someday.’

Blaine sighed and Kurt ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s neatly gelled hair.

‘I probably won’t, but playing bars isn’t so bad, and I don’t really have to worry about money, ‘cause my Grandma left me everything, so-‘

‘So basically you’re loaded,’ Kurt stated, unsure whether he should be upset Blaine hadn’t shared that piece of information. ‘I guess I should’ve known, Dalton and all.’

‘It doesn’t really matter.’ Blaine shrugged. ‘My Grandpa made a lot of money in real estate, Grandma sold his business after- you know, so that she could take care of me twenty-four seven. I don’t even remember Grandpa. And the money doesn’t make any difference at all. I can pay for therapy and meds, and live comfortably in New York, but I’m still sick. No matter how loaded I am, the crap in my life won’t just go away.’

Kurt pressed his lips to the top of Blaine’s head, tears welling up in his eyes. If he only could, he’d give up everything to make Blaine healthy.

‘I know, honey,’ he murmured. ‘I wish it wasn’t like that.’

Blaine nodded weakly, but stayed silent. His mind drifted off to their conversation with Santana, who turned out to be quite lovely, when you looked past her brusque façade. She also didn’t look down on them, like he’d expect from someone with a celebrity status.

‘You know that thing Santana said...,’ he broke the silence tentatively.

‘Which one?’

‘When she called me “future Mr. Hummel”,’ Blaine explained, sitting up to look at Kurt. ‘I wouldn’t mind that.’

‘You mean marriage?,’ Kurt asked uncertainly. ‘I thought you said it was too early-‘

Raising his hand, Blaine silenced him. He’d already started saying what he wanted to say and he needed to finish.

‘It is too early,’ he agreed. ‘I want to get married at some point, though, and right now I can’t imagine my husband being anybody other than you. And I really hope you feel the same way.’

‘I do,’ Kurt interrupted.

Blaine smiled at him, pausing his speech just for a moment.

‘What I meant, though, was that I wouldn’t mind taking your name. If that was okay with you.’

‘Why?,’ Kurt asked simply.

With a sigh, Blaine fell back onto his bed. It was depressing it say all of this out loud. Hearing those words would feel like validating them even more.

‘Because I don’t really feel like an Anderson,’ he said. ‘All my life, I’ve never been close with that part of my family. My Mom and Cooper were my family. My Grandma. Not the Andersons.’

‘What about your father?’

Blaine rolled his eyes, trying to detach himself from all the toxic things that would flood his mind whenever he thought of Richard Anderson.

‘I barely remember anything about him from before,’ he said quietly. ‘He was constantly working. Or screwing his secretaries. I’m not sure which one he did more often.’ He snorted with disgust. ‘It was mostly just me, Mom and Coop. And when he was home, I remember it quite vaguely, but my Grandma told me it was all true- They were fighting all the time. It wasn’t a good marriage, not even close. My Mom didn’t divorce him, because she was Catholic, she believed in the whole “till death do us part”, she took it very seriously. I can’t help but think that if she had, maybe we wouldn’t have been in that car that day. Anyway, I don’t have many good memories that would have to do with him. Whether he wanted to or not, no matter if he even knows that, he’s made my life hell.’

His voice trailed off. Despite how hard saying these things was, his chest felt much lighter. He glanced at Kurt, who’d been listening with a sad, sympathetic expression and squeezing Blaine’s hand tightly.

‘If this is what you want,’ Kurt said, ‘if we do get married, I’d be honoured to share my last name with you.’

‘Thank you,’ Blaine whispered back with gratitude.