They showered and dressed, Kurt quickly running through his moisturizing routine before they headed down to breakfast. The two grabbed a table, making sure there were a few extra seats because they knew New Directions would be down soon. They weren't wrong and soon Finn came and joined them, Rachel by his side. Finn looked half asleep, struggling to keep his eyes open while Rachel looked far too awake for the still-early hour.

"I've been warming up since 5am," Rachel explained as they ate breakfast. "When I get to Broadway I'm going to have to get used to the hours. Why not start now? My body clock needs to adjust."

Blaine hummed in agreement. He was finding that Rachel was very driven and passionate and as much as he admired her, it was a bit early in the morning for this much confidence.

"Too early," Finn mumbled, nearly falling asleep in his eggs. Kurt issued a swift kick to his shins and Finn jolted upright. "Ow, dude," Finn grumbled reproachfully.

Kurt smirked. "You eat your breakfast, Finn, not wear it."

Blaine rolled his eyes fondly at the two of them. They were truly acting like brothers. Considering a few months ago, Finn was acting like he hated Kurt; it was nice to see them being friendly now.

"Do you know when you're performing?" Blaine asked, cutting Rachel off as she rambled about her early morning routine.

"Eleven o'clock," Rachel replied, taking a delicate bite of her all-Vegan breakfast. "I've memorised everyone's times. We're after Vocal Adrenalin which is good. It'll really impress the judges when we blow them away with my amazing talent."

"You're still coming right?" Finn asked, scooping the last of his eggs onto his fork and Kurt wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Yes, we'll be there to cheer you on," Kurt winced as Finn continued to eat like an animal. Finn grinned and Kurt closed his eyes as he saw egg in his teeth, shuddering.

Will came up to the table and nodded politely at Kurt and Blaine. "Rachel, Finn, we need to start getting ready to leave," Will informed them. Rachel instantly jumped out of her seat and marched off. Finn rolled his eyes and stood.

"I'll see you later," Finn said. "Meet me after the performance."

"We will," Kurt replied, smiling and Finn nodded appreciatively before walking away with Will.

"I suppose we should get ready too," Blaine said, pushing his plate away.

"Yeah, I have to get the camera," Kurt stacked his plate on top of Blaine's and stood up, brushing away imaginary lint on his jeans. Blaine followed his lead and took Kurt's hand as they went back to their room. They grabbed their things, Kurt making sure he'd packed the camera 3 times. A little while later, they were sitting in a taxi heading to the concert hall in which Nationals was being held.

The place was huge and banners hung from every possible surface. It was busy, packed with families, friends and fans coming to watch. Kurt held Blaine's hand tightly, not wanting to get separated in the mass crowd.

"Let's go find our seats," Blaine whispered in his ear and Kurt nodded his assent. He tugged Blaine behind him as they weaved through the crowd. They found their seats easily; they were on the end of an aisle. They settled in their seats and watched as everyone filed in, searching for their seats.

Kurt set up his camera so that it was ready to record New Directions' performance. He smiled at Blaine and leant his head on his fianc�'s shoulder. "I hope they do well," Kurt said, "I'm so nervous for them."

"They beat us," Blaine pointed out. "They're good enough to be here."

"Imagine the Warblers on the stage," Kurt sighed. "We would kill it. You would be singing lead, David doing those crazy flips that give me a heart attack, Wes trying desperately to organise one of the rowdiest groups of boys I have ever seen before in my life."

"In other words, it would be a complete shambles," Blaine chuckled.

"Yeah, but a perfect shambles," Kurt replied, smiling wistfully.

Blaine hummed, slinging an arm around Kurt's shoulder and leaning in close. "You'd be amazing on that stage. You'd kill it," Blaine whispered in Kurt's ear.

Kurt sighed and took Blaine's hand. "One day maybe," he replied quietly. He didn't dare to let himself dream that big.

"One day definitely," Blaine corrected and pressed a kiss to Kurt's cheek bone.

The warning bell rang and the lights started to dim. The last few stragglers took their seats and the first group took the stage. Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand as they watched. They were impressive and moved well together. The groups moved through their numbers quickly and finally New Directions took the stage. Blaine and Kurt cheered loudly, grinning. Kurt took Blaine's hand again and squeezed it tightly. Blaine chuckled. No matter how much Kurt wanted to be on that stage, he still wanted New Directions to do well. The selfless side of Kurt was shining through and it was truly beautiful.

Rachel and Finn took centre stage and began their duet. The song had been written by Finn, so Kurt had been informed. It was called 'Pretending' and it was not only a perfect duet for Finn and Rachel, it was also beautifully heartbreaking. Kurt was so proud of his brother.

Their voices blended well together and they made a great duet. Finn was gazing at Rachel with love evident in his eyes. Kurt was surprised that love hearts weren't pouring out of his eyes like in a cartoon. He shared this with Blaine who sniggered. The final notes rang out and Kurt gasped as Rachel leaned forward and kissed Finn.

Nobody moved or made a sound.

"Oh god," Kurt muttered. "Oh my god, no."

"That's – wow," Blaine mumbled.

"I can't look away. I should, but I can't," Kurt cried, eyes wide. "This is a train wreck."

The two finally pulled away and looked a little dazed. Kurt could see that Will was the first to start clapping and eventually a few others joined in, Kurt and Blaine included.

Finn and Rachel pulled away from each other reluctantly and the rest of New Directions came up on stage. They all looked a little shocked and Kurt could see Quinn's murderous glare from where he was sitting.

"Oh, this is so not going to go well," Kurt muttered, slouching in his chair. Blaine wrapped his arm around his shoulder again and pulled him close.

Their second song – "Light up the World" – went much better with Brittany and Artie on lead. This time they got a much better applause which Kurt was thankful for. They dutifully watched the rest of the groups perform and finally it was all over.

"It's going to be close," Blaine commented, stretching. They waited until majority of the people had left before taking each other's hands and slipping out. They made their way through the crowd to try find New Directions. They found them near the leader board which read where everyone placed.

"Hey," Kurt called and Finn whipped around.

"You made it," Finn beamed and pulled Kurt into a hug.

"Yep and we got it all on tape," Kurt grinned, holding his camera and wiggling it.

"Thank dude," Finn clapped him on the shoulder and Kurt rolled his eyes in response.

"Mr Schue! Where did we place?" Rachel demanded when Will came wandering back. Kurt could instantly tell it was bad news from the expression on his face.

"Twelfth," Will replied quietly but they all still heard. Their faces fell and Kurt and Blaine shifted uncomfortably.

"Twelfth?" Rachel whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

"This is all your fault," Santana hissed at Rachel.

"Enough," Will said quickly and Santana looked murderous. "We need to get back."

"Finn," Kurt called and Finn turned to him. "We'll see you back at the hotel. I'm really sorry guys," he spared them a sympathetic look before leaving quickly with Blaine, not wanting to be caught up in the drama that was about to unfold.

"They did not look happy," Blaine sighed, shaking his head.

"No they didn't," Kurt agreed.

"While I understand passion, that was unprofessional," Blaine pointed out.

"Let's get some lunch and hope that Finn makes it out alive," Kurt said, taking Blaine's hand and tugging him towards the nearest cafe.

They relaxed, enjoying what little time they had left of New York. They were flying out tomorrow on the same flight as New Directions. They decided to walk back to the hotel; it wasn't too far from where Nationals had been held.

When they got back to the hotel, they found Finn in the lobby, slumped on a bench. He looked up when the two entered and smiled tiredly at them. "Hey," he greeted them half-heartedly.

"Hey," Blaine replied, sitting down next to Finn, Kurt dropping down on the other side of him.

"Everything OK, Finn?" Kurt asked.

"Santana went crazy at Rachel and me," Finn shrugged. "Everyone pretty much hates me now."

Kurt bit his lip; he could sort of see their point. "I'm sure they don't hate you," Kurt said carefully. "I think that mostly they are disappointed. I mean, I know you like Rachel, but you really could have chosen a better moment."

"I know," Finn moped. "I couldn't help it." He dropped his head into his hands.

Kurt sighed and patted his back gently. "It'll be OK," Kurt promised. "Just let them calm down."

"What does Rachel think?" Blaine asked, looking around Finn's back to shoot a worried glance at Kurt.

"We haven't spoken yet," Finn admitted, voice muffled by his hands.

"Why don't you go find her and talk to her," Blaine suggested, "instead of hiding out here in the lobby. That way, at least one good thing could come from this."

Finn lifted his head, looking at Blaine quizzically. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks dude."

Kurt scrunched up his nose and sighed. "Honestly Finn, can't you think of a better nickname?"

Blaine chuckled. "Find Rachel. We'll see you later, Finn." He said, patting Finn sympathetically on the back.

Kurt and Blaine headed to their room and as soon as they entered, Blaine went and jumped on the bed. Kurt rolled his eyes at his fianc� and looked around the room. They really needed to start packing; he knew they wouldn't have time in the morning. Kurt started moving about the room and started folding their clothes, packing them away into their suitcase.

Blaine watched from the bed, loving the domestic feel. He could picture a Kurt packing their bags, a little girl with his dark curls and Kurt's porcelain skin and blue eyes following him around, babbling happily. Kurt glanced at Blaine and saw his dreamy smile.

Kurt stopped packing and made his way to Blaine, stopping at the edge of the bed. Blaine sat up on the bed and leant on his knees, steadying himself by looping his arms around Kurt's neck. "What are you thinking about?" Kurt queried, cocking his head to one side.

"Our future," Blaine replied, honestly. "A family holiday."

"Yeah?" Kurt asked, a smile breaking across his face. "Just us?"

"And a little girl," Blaine admitted shyly.

"A little girl?" Kurt echoed, eyes alight with excitement.

"Or a little boy," Blaine said quickly.

"How about both?" Kurt suggested, quirking an eyebrow and smiling.

"Both? I could get on board with both," Blaine grinned, pulling himself closer to Kurt.

"I'd like that," Kurt smiled and pulled Blaine into a loving kiss.

Blaine smiled into the embrace, feeling completely content. The future was looking bright and Blaine couldn't wait to spend every second of it with Kurt by his side.