Dec. 26, 2012, 1:13 p.m.
Now & Always: Chapter 30
E - Words: 1,230 - Last Updated: Dec 26, 2012 Story: Closed - Chapters: 38/? - Created: Oct 01, 2012 - Updated: Dec 26, 2012 259 0 0 0 0
Blaine spent the entire ride from the orchard grinning. Their time at the orchard was just what he needed to zap himself out of his rut and the funk he'd been feeling for weeks. While he was there, it didn't matter that Kurt was far away or that he felt sort of lonely back at McKinley. This outing – actually, this whole weekend – proved that he and Kurt really were going to be okay. As long as they took the time to talk, connect and show each other that they cared, they could last forever.
Forever.
When he had told Kurt that he wanted to marry him earlier that weekend, he kind of surprised himself. Sure, he'd thought about the future and he certainly wanted Kurt to be a part of it, but they had never talked about "the m-word" and he certainly hadn't ever spoken those words "I want to marry you" out loud to anyone. He knew in his heart that it was something he wanted, but it wasn't something he had openly admitted until just a few days ago.
But feeling Kurt's hands tenderly linked with his own as they drove in comfortable silence, he knew he'd made the right choice by saying it that day. He never meant it more than he did then, and he was already thinking of their life together before Kurt interrupted his thought.
"I have one more thing for us to do today before we go back to your house," Kurt said.
Blaine groaned playfully, "Do I have to put that mask back on?"
Kurt shook his head.
Blaine smiled and went back to staring out the window as he watched the trees pass by the road, eager to find out where their adventure would take them to next.
"Kurt, this is the middle of nowhere. Why are we stopped?"
Blaine was perplexed. It felt like they had been driving down a dirt road for the past half an hour, which meant they were really off the beaten path.
Kurt sighed. "Don't you trust me? I promise, this is going to be amazing."
He was right; Kurt had already done such a great job planning their morning that he couldn't possibly go wrong with their plans now.
It was still light out, but the sun's hesitation on the horizon meant that darkness was only an hour or so away. The way the trees had covered the dirt road made it feel as if they were in a long tunnel with the sun and sky obscured from view. Now that they were out in the open, Blaine gasped at the sight before him as he and Kurt walked hand in hand out of the arbor archway into the open field.
It was a giant hot air balloon.
He couldn't help it anymore. Tears pooled in Blaine's eyes and one crept down his face. He looked over at Kurt who was smiling at him, reaching his hand out to catch the tear that had fallen onto Blaine's cheek. As he looked into Kurt's eyes, all he could see was "I love you" emulating each glance. He gave him back a small smile of appreciation as Kurt's fingers delicately touched his cheek.
"Come on, Blaine. We better get up in the air before the sun sets."
Blaine was happy to be tugged along by Kurt. He was still silent, words not able to sprout from his lips since he was still baffled by all of today's events. Kurt approached the man handling the air balloon as Blaine stood back staring at the balloon in front of him.
He couldn't believe that Kurt had done this for him, all of this. What had he done to deserve something – rather, someone – so wonderful? Was this karma's way of giving him goodness in his life after all of the homophobic remarks that dwelled in his past? Was a higher power looking down and smiling on him? Did he just get lucky? It all seemed too good to be true. It was like his life was out of a romance novel, things like this certainly didn't happen to normal people. So why did this happen to him?
"Hey – are you okay?" Kurt said as Blaine felt his boyfriend's hand connecting with his own. Blaine hadn't even noticed that Kurt had come back over to him and was, apparently, talking to him a few moments ago.
More tears welled up in Blaine's eyes. "Why did you do this?"
Kurt looked surprised and kind of hurt by what Blaine said. "Do you not like this? Are you afraid of heights or something? Oh – god – do you have a horrible fear of balloons…"
Blaine cut him off by squeezing his hand. "No. Why did you do this for me? I absolutely love it, but why are you doing this? I'm certainly appreciative, but what's the occasion? It's just…" he sighed, "You are the sweetest, most thoughtful person I've ever met and I don't feel like I deserve it sometimes. These big romantic gestures…"
Kurt's hand on Blaine's face had turned his cheek up to face him, causing Blaine's eyes to be encountered with Kurt's. Kurt just looked at him for a moment before speaking. "There have been times in our relationship where I haven't done enough to support you, like when I was auditioning for NYADA and when I had become consumed with my new job at Vogue. I haven't always been the best in being there for you. This weekend, you've been through a lot. You're really dealing with a lot of things right now, Blaine, and I remember when I was dealing with some of the same. It's rough being a senior in high school. You have so much you have to plan for, so many things to consider and even more decisions to make. And I know that it's hard. And I hate that I'm not here for you when you might need me."
"But you are…" Blaine said, before Kurt pressed his fingers to Blaine's lips in order to silence him.
"I mean physically here. You know I'm always there for you." Blaine sighed, relieved. Kurt continued. "But not being able to hug you when you need it, or rub your back when you're stressed, or kiss you when I want to is hard. I wanted to do these things for you because I wanted to try to show you in one day just how much you mean to me. And how much I want to be there for you. And how much I love you."
It seemed like Blaine couldn't stop crying this afternoon and Kurt's thumb pushed the tears away as he pulled Blaine in for a kiss. It was gentle and light but what the kiss meant had more depth than anyone aside from the two of them could ever know.
Kurt broke their kiss and rested his forehead on Blaine's. "You deserve nothing short of a fairytale romance, Blaine. Let me be your Prince Charming."
Blaine gave a light laugh as he went in to kiss Kurt again. "You can be my Prince Charming. And I'll be your knight in shining armor."
Kurt laughed his time and Blaine beamed at the sound of Kurt's riotous laughter. That would never stop making him smile.
"We are horribly cheesy. Does anyone else talk like this?"
"Definitely not, Prince Charming. We talk as if a bunch of fan girls write our dialogue. But I don't care. I mean every word."