Kurt was helping Finn fix his tie and hanging around the New Directions five minutes before places were going to be called for the Benefit Concert to begin. Kurt wasn't nervous. Performances were like drugs to him. He got an immense high from them and they were a bit addictive.

Places were called and they gathered together for a quick show circle. Kurt could see Blaine across from him and Blaine winked, making Kurt smile gleefully.

When everyone had cleared from the lobby and the seats were filled, Kurt gave Blaine a quick kiss. "Break a leg!" he wished him, knowing that to say "good luck" was bad luck." Blaine wished him the same and hugged him tightly. They'd be in different places in the auditorium, so he wanted to make sure Kurt got Blaine's "break a leg" hug that they always gave each other before every performance. They'd done this since Kurt started performing with the Warblers.

The lights in the auditorium went down and everyone took their places.

A single spot light came up and shown on Blaine, who was standing in the middle of the stage. He appeared to be alone. He looked out into the crowd and saw no one because the lights were too bright on his face. He liked it that way. He'd rather look out at the end when the lighting changed and see the faces of his friends, family, wealthy benefactors that kept the warblers a float, and teachers that crowded the sold out show. He took one last breath and opened his mouth to sing. He was confident in the pitch, knowing that he needed no music.

Do you know what's worth fighting for?

When it's not worth dying for?

Does it take your breath away and you feel yourself suffocating?

Another spot light turned on to his left and Trent was illuminated with the light as he sang his solo.

Does the pain weigh out the pride?

And you look for a place to hide?

One more spot light came up and James was lit up brightly to Blaine's right to sing his solo.

Did someone break your heart inside, you're in ruins

There was a pause and then the rest of the lights came up and the spot lights went away, showing all the Warblers in their glory behind their soloists. Their voices sounded their magnificent percussions and harmony to start the chorus. All the boys started bouncing in place to the beat of the song.

One, 21 Guns

Lay down your arms

Give up the fight

One, 21 Guns

Throw up your arms into the sky

You and I ...

Almost as if they came from behind no where, the Warblers parted and Mercedes, Rachel, and Quinn walked down the center and ended up walking next to one of the Warbler soloists each in the front of the stage. The Warblers continued softly in the background for the harmony and vocal percussion.

Rachel: When you're at the end of the road

And you lost all sense of control

And your thoughts have taken their toll

Quinn: When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul

Your faith walks on broken glass and the hangover doesn't pass

Mercedes: Nothing's ever built to last, you're in ruins

The spotlights turned and suddenly the added sound of the rest of the New Directions were bursting from their voices come from the aisles of the audience. They were dressed in Black pants, the boys with back shirt and gold ties, and the girls with gold tops and Black midsection belts.

Blaine took a quick look and saw the excited faces of the people in the audience.

The New Direction members started singing the chorus while they made their way to the stage and joined the Warblers.

One, 21 Guns

Lay down your arms

Give up the fight

One, 21 Guns

Throw up your arms into the sky

You and I ...

This pattern followed with the girls from Crawford Country Day walking out from the wings on different sides of the stage with their three soloists joining the three groups in front, one walking and singing over to a Warbler and New Direction member to complete three groups of three singers.

Did you try to live on your own?

When you burned down the house and home?

Did you stand too close to the fire?

Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone

When it's time to live and let die

And you can't get another try

Something inside this heart has died, you're in ruins

One, 21 Guns

Lay down your arms

Give up the fight

One, 21 Guns

Throw up your arms into the sky

Then as if all three choirs had become one, they started moving to a choreography and singing all as one.

One, 21 Guns

Lay down your arms

Give up the fight

One, 21 Guns

Throw up your arms into the sky

You and I

The song ended and there was an immediate standing ovation from the people in the audience. Wes was handed a microphone from an audio/visual kid in the pit.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming and continuing your support for the arts in our schools. As you know, we gentlemen in the dapper blue suits are the Warblers." Clapping came from the audience. "You may notice that there are quite a few new faces on the stage this year and that's because we were so grateful and thankful for everything all of you do," he pointed in the audience, "that we wanted to give you an extra special show tonight. So, if you'll be so kind to put your hands together in welcoming the singers from our sister school Crawford Country Day." Wes pointed out the girls in shiny electric blue dresses to the right side of the stage. The audience clapped, "And lastly, if you'll help me give a very warm welcome to our competitors who beat us out at Regional's this year, who went on to rank third in the nation, our new found friends, The New Directions!" Wes pointed to the left side of the stage and not only the audience clapped, but everyone on stage as well. The New Directions nodded in thanks and Wes continued. "Again, thank you all so much for coming. It means the world to all of us that you support the arts and we promise to have a great show planned for you." He turned the mic off and handed it back to the AV kid. The lights went out and when they came back up, the Warblers were standing in their normal semi circle alone.

The concert continued smoothly. The audience ate up every wink and gesture that came from the crooning Warblers, especially Blaine, and it was easy to tell that his family was in the audience because Jared and his father were whistling very loudly whenever he sang a song with a solo, which was pretty much all of them.

The New Directions were up for their first set and sang a ballad to counter the effects of the awesomeness that would their Born This Way. The chose a song they sang last year: Keep Holding On. The choreography was easy and the vocals were flawless.

The song ended, the lights went down and the New Directions bolted off stage. Members from the other choirs were waiting in the wings to help them switch their shirts for Born This Way. The girls made it easy by just slipping their worded shirt over the gold tops they were already wearing. The guys were franticly unbuttoning their shirts while someone else was ripping off their ties. For convenience purposes, their cuffs were rolled up instead of buttoned.

Blaine was waiting in the wings with Kurt's "Likes Boys" shirt slung over his shoulder. Kurt had already begun to untuck his shirt when he ran up to Blaine and they worked out a system that had Kurt working his way from the bottom up while Blaine worked his way from the top of the shirt down. In seconds, Kurt's shirt was off and the other shirt was over his head. He shoved his hands into the armholes of the checkered jacket that went over it and buttoned it. Before rushing back on stage, Blaine grabbed him and kissed him hard on the lips. "I love you. I'm proud of you." Blaine clearly was still in awe of Kurt's bravery with his "Likes Boys" shirt.

Kurt gave him a quick kiss back. "Love you too!" he exclaimed and ran back onstage. He was waiting a few more seconds for a cue from Finn that everyone else was ready to go and Kurt gave his own signal to the AV kid to work his magic with the lights and sound board.

The lights came up and Kurt was standing there alone on stage, wearing his confident face and feeling charged from the energy in the room. Surely, none of them would see coming what the New Directions had in store for them next. He flicked his eyes up and saw that Rachel's dads were sitting on one side of his family and Blaine's family was sitting on the other side. One big happy family, he thought. He took one last breath.

It doesn't matter if you love him

Or capital H-I-M

The song ended and the lights went out for intermission. If they really looked they could see that the audience standing on their feet, moved for a standing ovation. All the New Directions could hear was cheers and whistles. He was proud. He went off stage, out of breath and was once again greeted by Blaine's open arms.

"I am so proud of you!" he said again.

"I'm sure we'll find out if everyone else in the audience is too," Kurt mused, but unphased by any negativity.

"Shush! I mean it! I love you so much!" Blaine felt his pocket vibrating. He had a text message. He looked at it. It was from his Dad. D- Meet me in the hallway. Bring Kurt. Blaine looked up at Kurt.

"What is it?" Kurt asked, concerned.

"Come with me." He took his hand and started tugging him to the exit doors.

"Why?- What?"

"Just come on." Blaine opened the doors and looked around at the sea of faces in the hallway. Parents were gushing to their children, choir members were relaxing on the benches. Then Blaine heard his name being called. He turned his head and saw his father making his way through the ocean of people.

Kurt saw Mr. Anderson too and his face froze. "N-No. I'll see him at dinner." Kurt began trying to rip his hand from Blaine's, but Blaine had a vice grip on it. "Now is not the time to meet your father, Blaine. Not when I'm wearing a "Likes Boys" shirt and holding his son's hand."

"Be brave."

"Don't feed me that courage crap. I have tons of courage. Meeting your father just isn't one of them." He was still trying to tare his hand out of Blaine's when Mr. Anderson finally made it over to the two boys.

"Well!" he started.

"Hi, Dad. I'm glad you could make it."

"I gotta say Blaine, this is an incredible show. You Warblers are nothing like they were when I went here." He turned his eyes to Kurt who was now trying to wiggle his hand out. "Hi, I'm Henry." He offered his hand out.

Kurt saw it and froze momentarily. He placed his hand in Henry's and did his best to shake Blaine's father's hand as manly as possible. "Hi."

"You must be Kurt. I've heard a lot about you."

Kurt still hadn't found words so Blaine spoke for him. "All good I promise."

"Blaine would you mind giving Kurt and I a minute?"

"Sure, Dad." Blaine looked at Kurt and gave him a reassuring confident look, but when he went to go, Kurt was now the one with a vice grip. "I'll just be right over there with Wes and David." He was stronger and was able to get his hand out of Kurt's.

Kurt gulped once he was all alone with Henry Anderson. "You don't have to be nervous, Son."

He called me Son.

"I just wanted to talk to you before dinner. I know we only have a few minutes before intermission was over, but I was hoping to get just the basics out."

"O-okay," Kurt managed to get out.

"First, I know that you probably didn't get the best first impression of me. I want you to know that I'm not like that anymore. I support Blaine 100% and I want him to be happy. It's clear to see that you're what makes him happy."

"I try."

"You succeed. Listen, I may not be the most accepting person, like your dad is, but if you'll allow me my faults, I'd really like to get to know you. I have a lot to learn about what it means to be a gay person, but my son is a pretty great person and he says that you are what makes him great."

Kurt blushed. He was calming a little. He was getting compliments from a stranger. "I'm afraid it's the other way around, Sir. Blaine is what made me a better person."

"Call me Henry. He told me that you'd be wearing that shirt today and while my first impression was that it was the wrong statement to make, he gushed about how proud he was of you and how brave you were for wearing it because it was your way of taking the things that people use against you to make it something you love about yourself. Then I began to understand. Then I looked down the aisle and saw your father's face and then Rachel's father's faces. They all were crying. Now I understand."

"I wasn't always like this. Blaine gave me every ounce of courage and confidence I have now." He wasn't going to go into a long diatribe about how much he loves Blaine and how Blaine was his savior in every way.

"Yes, well…" Henry paused. "Look, I just want you to know that I'm really looking forward to Blaine bringing you around the house and getting to know you more. You're father is a great man and I'm really grateful I met him. If he's as good a father as he is a man, then I'm sure you'll be able to teach me a lot and I'm thankful for Blaine to have someone in his life like that. That is to say that I'm glad he loves someone like you."

Kurt smiled. He could feel his heart beating out of his chest. "Thank you."

Henry clapped him on the shoulder. "The show is incredible so far," he said, changing the subject. "See you at dinner." He turned and started making his way back through the ocean of people and Blaine re-joined Kurt.

"That went well?" Blaine asked.

Kurt turned abruptly and threw himself into Blaine's arms. He was still nervous somehow and yet, he was relieved. He had be given Blaine's father's seal of approval and blessing. That made him feel good.

From down the hall, Henry turned around and saw his son embracing Kurt tightly. He smiled and turned back.

The second half of the show started, which opened up with the Warblers singing Animal. While the Crawford Country Day girls sang Kurt and Blaine were leaning on the wall in the wings and watching.

"You have a featured solo, right?" Kurt asked.

"Yep," Blaine answered with a smile.

"How come you never did it in rehearsal?"

Blaine had a thinking kind of look on his face, like he was trying to hold information back. "Mmm, beee-caussssse it's a secret." He dragged out the word because he didn't know what else to say. "The Warblers have seen it and approve."

"Is it for me?" Kurt asked with a curious expression.

"Do you have to ask?"

"What is it?"

"Can't tell you."

"Can you at least tell me who the original singer is?"

"Mmm…" Blaine scrunched his face up. "Darren Hayes."

"Who?" Kurt asked.

"I'm actually surprised that you don't know who that is. He's the lead singer in Savage Garden. He's been a solo artist since the band broke up."

"Oh!" Kurt exclaimed, now knowing who he was.

The Crawford Country Day girls were now exiting the stage. "You'll be watching?" Blaine was up next. He had changed out of his uniform and into a simple outfit with black skinny jeans, a white Henley shirt that had three buttons up top, and a black vest. Kurt thought he looked very sexy in a slight feminine undertone way. The Henley butched it up. He stared at him intently through the wings. Blaine sat at the grand piano that was wheeled onto one side of the stage and when he sat down Kurt could see that Blaine was able to look up and look at Kurt directly.

Hmm, Kurt thought. Planned ahead, much? The piano was also angled perfectly so that the audience could see him.

"Hi! I'm Blaine Anderson and I'm a junior here at Dalton. Before I start, I want to tell you a quick story. Near the middle of the first semester, I met an amazing person who forever has changed my life. To put it simply, I fell in love with this person and while they kept telling me how I influenced their life when in reality they made my life so much more worthwhile and I tell 'em this all the time, but if he'll let me to say it one more time… this song is called So Beautiful."

Blaine looked up, his cheeks holding a slight pinkish color and winked in Kurt's direction.

Whether I'm right or wrong

There's no phrase that hits

Like an ocean needs the sand

Or a dirty old shoe that fits

And if all the world was perfect

I would only ever want to see your scars

You know they can have their universe

We'll be in the dirt designing stars

And darlin' you know

You make me feel so beautiful

Nowhere else in the world I wanna be

You make me feel so beautiful

Whether I'm up or down

There's no crowd to please

I'm like a faith without a clause to believe in it

And if all the world was smiling

I would only ever want to see your frown

You know they can sail away in sunsets

We'll be right here stranded on the ground

Just happy to be found

You make me feel so beautiful

Nowhere else in the world I wanna be

You make me feel so beautiful

I have lost my illusions

I have drowned in your words

I have left my confusion to a cynical world

I am throwing myself at things I don't understand

Discovered enlightenment holding your hand

He stopped playing and when there was complete silence he looked up at Kurt, completely full of love.

You are..

So Beautiful

Full of energy and meaning every word of the song, Blaine stood up and started playing the piano vigorously, still looking at Kurt offstage.

Yeah darlin' you know!

That you make me feel so beautiful

Nowhere else in the world i wanna be

Yeah you made me feel so beautiful

Yeah darlin' you know!

That you make me feel so beautiful

You are beautiful. You are beautiful

Blaine sat back down.

You are, You are

You are so beautiful

Yeah darlin' you know!

You are beautiful, You are

You are

So beautiful

He stopped playing and the crowd started clapping, Hummel/Anderson fan club cheering much louder than everyone else. He smiled and bowed and skipped off stage in a comical fashion. Kurt was in tears.

Blaine walked right up to Kurt backstage, held his tear streaked face and kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you."

"You liked it?"

"I loved it."

"Why do you sound so sad?"

"I'm not. Really I'm not. I'm just…" He breathed deep. "Floored. I love you so much." He hugged him tightly.

"I love you too. I have to go change my clothes during the next two features."

"But you're not on again until the finale."

"I know, but your singing again and I want to watch."

Blaine left to change and Kurt wiped his face. Tina moved to stand next to him. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"I-I'm just continuously amazed at how happy we are. We're- what's that thing he said last night? Golden."

Tina smiled and nudged Kurt. "Yeah. I think you are too."

When the concert was over, Kurt and Blaine changed back into their regular clothes and told their parents that they'd meet them in the parking lot. Oddly enough, they beat them to the parking lot.

Blaine figured that they were in the lobby talking. They look a seat on a stone bench and set to wait.

"The concert was fun. We should do it together again next year."

"That's if you beat us again."

"If? Honey, we're ranked third in the nation… You'd be lucky to tie us for regional's again." They laughed together and Blaine reached over to hold Kurt's hand.

"Are you mad that I said 'they' and not 'him' in my speech?" Blaine asked suddenly.

"No!" Kurt exclaimed. "Not at all. You sang a love song to someone you loved and you weren't going to wheel out the soap box to do it. You slipped once and said he, I think. I barely even noticed. I love the song for what it was. You did awesome… I cried."

"Good. I wasn't sure cause you wore you're Likes Boys shirt and all."

"This isn't a competition of who's more out, Blaine."

"I know, but-"

"I know. You're proud of me. Don't forget, I'm proud of you too." Kurt smiled.

A few seconds past and Blaine looked at the skyline. "Do you think we'll always be this happy?"

"I'm sure we'll fight at some point. I may punch you again, you never know." Blaine chuckled. "But I think that if we both keep in mind that we love one another, we can make anything work."

"Even if you're flying around the world as a famous fashion designer?"

"Even then. Skype is a wonderful think, you know."

"You have all the answers, don't you?"

"Yes." They giggled some more and Blaine leaned over to give Kurt a kiss on the cheek.

"Get a room!" Finn yelled jokingly.

Their families approached them and they stood, Kurt's face blushing Blaine's favorite shade of pink. "At least you weren't trying to eat my son for dinner," Burt joked as he pulled Blaine in for a hug. "You did a great job, Kid."

"Thanks, Burt."

"You did okay too, Kurt."

Kurt laughed. "Okay? Just okay? Please! I was fabulous!"

"I know." Burt hugged his youngest son, giving him a peck on the top of his head. "You were very moving."

"Thanks, Dad."

They families exchanged compliments and introductions to the rest of Blaine's family. "Shall we?" Henry said after a few minutes. "We'll be early, but I made reservations. Italian food okay?"

They started walking toward the cars and Blaine looked up to the horizon. The sun was beginning to set. "What?" Kurt asked, seeing Blaine's expression.

"The sun it setting."

"Want to walk into it?"

Blaine chuckled. "Sure."

They giggled together and swung their entwined hands playfully, knowing that from here on out, they would only grow together in love. Their hearts would grow stronger; their hearts would grow fonder.

The End