If Kurt had any idea that Blaine getting this job was going to ruin everything, he would have done everything in his power to stop him from going to that interview. As it was if Kurt didn't love Blaine as much as he did, he was sure he would have walked away months ago, but no, he's still here. Trying his hardest because he refuses to let go of almost seven years of marriage, but it just seemed like the harder he tried the worse things got. He loved his husband, he had been madly and deeply in love with Blaine for ten years now, and never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine he'd be spending night after night crying himself to sleep because he's completely miserable in his marriage with the man he still loves more than life itself. Unfortunately marriage, hell any relationship took a lot more than love. No matter how strong it was. He hated that every Friday during his weekly phone call to his father he always ended up in tears, the last phone call he'd even used the dreaded 'D' word...Divorce.

Before Blaine got this job Kurt never EVER would have considered a divorce. They were happy together, their marriage was perfect, they were planning on starting a family together...and not a day went by without either of them hearing the words "I love you". But then things changed, Blaine took a job that paid almost double what he'd previously been making at a very prominent law firm. Kurt had been proud and supportive of his husband at first, but then little by little a distance developed between himself and Blaine, a distance that seemed to grow with each passing day and no matter what Kurt did to try and bridge the gap, he always ended up disappointed and feeling as lonely as ever. It had been bad enough when Blaine had started staying after work for hours only to come home when Kurt had already gone to bed, and then the days he did come home in time for a late dinner he brought work home with him and ignored Kurt completely. Had it only been maybe once or twice a week? Kurt could have learned to deal with it, but 5-6 times a week? Kurt woke up and Blaine was gone, Kurt went to bed and Blaine was gone and even when he was home he was too busy to even notice Kurt was alive.

Hard as he tried he couldn't remember the last time he'd even been intimate with his husband, and it wasn't from a lack of him trying, but to be perfectly honest Kurt could only be rejected so many times by his 'loving husband' before he couldn't take the rejection anymore and stopped making an attempt. The last time it'd happened, he'd come up behind Blaine while he was looking over some papers for work and wrapped his arms around his shoulders and started kissing his neck asking Blaine when he'd be coming to bed, the last thing he'd expected was for Blaine to huff in annoyance and push him away saying he was busy and would probably be up late so he'd just sleep on the couch. Kurt had spent the rest of the night crying silently into his pillow feeling unwanted and unloved.

His dad's advice at first had been to talk to Blaine about how he was feeling, easier said than done since Blaine was never home. He'd then suggested maybe Kurt could surprise Blaine at work with lunch, do something nice for his husband to catch his attention and maybe tell him while he was there that he really needed to talk to Blaine about something. So Kurt had packed a picnic basket with a bunch of Blaine's favorite foods and dressed to impress making sure not even a hair was out of place before setting off to surprise Blaine. He got more excited with each step closer he got to Blaine's work he just kept thinking about the smile he was SURE would be on his husbands face when he showed up with his favorite foods for lunch, maybe if they finished early enough Kurt could even sneak in a little bit of lip action? After all it'd been SO long since he'd been decently kissed.

Walking into the office, Kurt was stopped by the receptionist who asked him if she could help him...well...sort of...she'd more so sneered at him and for some reason even scoffed when he said he was there to surprise his husband. When she asked who his husband was he told her it was Blaine Anderson and she actually didn't believe him and accused him of lying! Kurt then demanded she call Blaine right then and tell him that Kurt his HUSBAND was here to surprise him. A few different people had poked their heads out of their offices to look at see what all the commotion was about when Blaine came storming into the room and Kurt turned to smile triumphantly until he realized the anger on Blaine's face seemed directed at HIM as opposed to the bitchy receptionist, Blaine grabbed Kurt's arm in a tight grip and yanked him towards his office with a yell of "KURT WE NEED TO TALK!" Kurt followed behind Blaine brows drawn in confusion, hurt and humiliation as he heard the scoffs and laughter behind him along with a few "You tell him Blaine!" and "Get rid of the little princess!"

Once they were in the office and Blaine closed the door behind him turning a furious gaze on Kurt and crossed his arms "Kurt...what the HELL are you doing here?!" he said in an even voice. Kurt frowned and swallowed hard before lifting the picnic basket and quietly answering "I-I thought I could come an-and surprise you for lunch...I-I made your favorites..." he stuttered setting the basket down on the corner of Blaine's desk and twisting his hands together self-consciously. Blaine pinched between his eyes and huffed before asking "Do you...have ANY idea what you've done? You could have ruined EVERYTHING! As it is I'm going to have to do serious damage control now!" Kurt's breath hitched and his eyes stung, a ball of hurt forming in his stomach "I...Blaine I don't understand...I was just trying-""Exactly Kurt you DON'T understand! No one here knows I'm married, let alone GAY! This entire office is full of homophobes! Why else do you think I told you not to call me at work?!" Blaine ran a frustrated hand over his face. "I-I thought it was just because you were r-really busy during the day or maybe be-because spouses weren't allowed to call unless there was an emergency?" Kurt answered in a small voice before the rest of what Blaine had said sunk in.

Kurt's heart dropped into his stomach as he stared at Blaine in shock "Wait...no one knows you're gay?" he asked and Blaine nodded exasperatedly "No they don't, you'd be amazed how many people, including my boss have more than hinted at being homophobic in this office...So I told them I had a girlfriend...If anyone knew I'd be screwed and I could kiss that promotion I've been busting my ass for goodbye" Kurt's arms wrapped themselves around his midsection as if he was trying to hold himself together " But...how can they not know you're married? You wear a wedding rin-"he cut off when he looked down at Blaine's left hand that was missing the wedding ring that Kurt had slipped on it the day they said 'I do', the ring Blaine had said he'd never ever take off and Blaine shifted uncomfortably before saying "Well I couldn't exactly wear a wedding ring when no one knows I'm married can I?" and pulled moved to his desk to pull the ring out of the top drawer to show Kurt. Tears filled Kurt's eyes and he swiped at them quickly whispering "You're ashamed of me?" Blaine moved back around the desk in front of Kurt and shook his head "No Kurt it's not...You are completely over reacting....It's not the I'm ashamed of you...It's just....I can't have my personal life getting in the way of my work" Kurt stared at Blaine seemingly at a loss before he shook his head dejectedly and sniffled "Right, can't have that, heaven forbid anything get in the way of your precious job. I'll just...I'll just go, I don't know why I even bothered, have a nice lunch Blaine, don't worry I won't come back here again I promise." Blaine apparently didn't notice the sarcasm, or the fact Kurt's eyes were filled with tears because he gave Kurt a grin and exhaled in relief "I knew you'd understand" he answered then continued with "You should probably head home before anyone starts asking questions, but thanks for lunch I'm starving" with a smile Blaine gestured towards the door, with that Kurt hurried out the door and practically ran out of the building trying in vain to ignore the laughs and muttered taunts as people saw him pass by in tears. That night when Blaine got home Kurt was already in bed having cried himself to sleep...again.

During his next phone call to his father he told him everything, about how hurt and humiliated he was and how he wasn't even sure if he wanted to keep trying anymore. Burt was stunned, the Blaine that his son had married would have NEVER lied about who he was, lied about his own marriage to the man he called the 'love of his life' just because of a job. The old Blaine would have told his homophobic boss to go to hell and threatened to sue him for discrimination. But no, new Blaine? New Blaine was willing to hurt Kurt and lie just to get ahead in his job, it would be one thing if they were struggling and he desperately needed his job, but they were getting by just fine with Blaine's old job making half as much as he did currently. Not only that but since Blaine had started his new job he'd had many offers from other firms. The last thing he wanted to tell his son was to give up; to pack his bags and just leave, to tell Blaine what a jackass he'd been, granted at this point it'd probably be a few days before Blaine even realized Kurt was gone, he just hated hearing the pain in his sons' voice. He offered to give Blaine a call and talk to him but Kurt didn't want him to interfere. He spent the next few hours trying to soothe Kurt's hurt and trying to convince him things would get better.

After his failure attempt at surprising his husband at work, Kurt had barely looked at Blaine the few times he was home, it wasn't until Blaine had tried to ask Kurt if he'd made anything for dinner that he even realized something was seriously wrong with him. Kurt had glanced at Blaine with sad empty eyes lacking that sparkle Blaine had always loved, and shrugged responding with a soft "guess I forgot, normally I eat alone and tonight I just wasn't hungry" before walking defeated into the bedroom crawling into bed and curling into a ball hugging a pillow to his chest with his back to the door. Blaine stared at the doorway to their bedroom with a concerned look on his face before getting up from the table were he'd been working and moved towards the bedroom, he stood in the doorway and looked at the way Kurt was curled up making him look small and vulnerable, if he listened carefully he could hear slight sniffles coming from his husband. He walked in and sat on the bed reaching out to touch Kurt's back but the second he made contact Kurt flinched away from him and Blaine stared at him in shock. "Kurt?" he whispered and reached for him again ignoring the slight flinch at his touch. "I'm fine Blaine, just go back to your work, I know how important it is to you" Kurt answered sadly and Blaine responded with a concerned "Baby...you're crying, what's going on?" Kurt choked out what sounded like a cross between a laugh and sob before turning around to look at Blaine "Really Blaine? Now you notice? Now you care about my feelings?" he asked and Blaine confusedly stared at him saying "What do you mean 'now I notice'? Of course I care!" Kurt just shook his head and rolled back over to face the wall. "It's not as if this is the first night I've cried myself to sleep, maybe you'd know that if you were home more often".

Blaine stared at the back of Kurt's head taking in the shaking shoulders and muffled sobs. "Kurt...that's not fair...You know how hard I work" he tried and Kurt just nodded "Yea, I do. No time for your HUSBAND when you are so busy being a straight hotshot at work" Blaine sighed in frustration "I thought you understood why I had to do that?" he asked "Of course I understand, there's no room for me in this new exciting life you have with your new job, I get it Blaine really I do...by the way you must have forgotten your wedding ring in your desk tonight I guess huh?" with that Blaine looked down at his hand realizing it was bare and winced "Kurt...look...I'm sorry I forgot my ring, but I'm doing all of this for us you know, I work so hard so that we can have a nice life" Kurt finally sat up and stared at Blaine in disbelief "We already HAD a nice life Blaine! Back when you made it home each night for dinner! Back when we actually slept in the same bed! Back when you didn't have to lie about us being married! Hell this is the most we've spoken to each other in months because you are never here, it's like you don't even know I exist anymore!" Kurt cried and Blaine ran a hand over his face in frustration "Kurt, that's not true...You are being over dramatic...sure I've been a little busy lately but-"

Kurt held up a hand to stop him and sighed "You know what? Just forget it, you don't understand. Not like it matters anyways, just because I miss you doesn't mean you have to miss me. It's fine, just go back to work Blaine. I'm tired and I just want to go to bed" with that Kurt laid back down and pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes. Blaine looked at his husband in shock, was that really what Kurt thought about him? That he no longer cared? That was ridiculous! Not only that but him trying to make Blaine feel guilty for working so hard? His job was important! Besides things would settle down a bit once he finally got this promotion. He considered trying to make Kurt talk more but to be honest? He was exhausted and he still had a bunch of paper work he needed to finish tonight, so he simply got up and walked out of the room closing the door behind him. After all Kurt was probably just tired, he'd be better in the morning, maybe he could send him some flowers or something?

The next morning when Kurt woke up Blaine was already at work, and he was half way done washing his dishes from breakfast when he heard a knock at the door and he dried his hands moving to check the peep hole in confusion when he saw someone standing on the other side with a bouquet of flowers in their hand, he opened the door. The boy asked if he was Kurt Anderson and when he nodded he handed over the flowers, the bouquet was beautiful and Kurt brought them to his nose breathing in the sweet smell with a smile. He looked at the card attached and his face lit up in surprise when he saw they were from Blaine, the card said a simple "Kurt, I'm sorry - Love Blaine" and while the message was short Kurt couldn't help the warm fuzzy feeling he got knowing that his husband had taken the time to send him flowers. He couldn't even remember the last time Blaine had gotten him flowers, back before he'd gotten this job every other week Blaine would come home from work and surprise him with a bouquet of flowers and it never ceased to make Kurt smile and blush. Kurt thanked him and shut the door rushing to find a vase and fill it with water to set the flowers in before he picked up the phone to call his father and tell him the good news. Something he said must have gotten through to Blaine last night, with a new spark of hope Kurt decided to continue his plans for their upcoming anniversary in a few days. He'd planned on a romantic dinner with Blaine's favorite meal despite how long it took to make it with champagne and candles...he was sure a night of romance on the anniversary of the day they got married would do wonders for their relationship, bring back some of their old spark and passion. He especially couldn't wait for after dinner...it'd been far too long since he and Blaine had made love, and he was more than excited to spend a night curled up against his husband's strong chest once more.

Little did Kurt know things wouldn't be going the way he planned at all.

"I just don't know how much longer I can take this dad" Kurt said brokenly into the phone "I don't know how much longer I can keep trying to make this work, I'm trying so hard and it's like he doesn't even notice or care and every day that goes by nothing is getting better and it's breaking my heart". He heard his father let out a sigh "I know son...I know...my heart is breaking right there with you kid, I've never met any couple more in love than you and Blaine, the fact that you are even considering divorce is just...devastating, and as much as I love the kid I can't say I don't understand why, it's hard enough to make a marriage work as it is let alone when only one of you seems to be working on it, just try not to give up...Blaine loves you, I know he does...once the excitement of this new job finally passes I'm sure things will be better just try and hang in there".

"I don't want to give up on Blaine dad...I don't...I love him so much it hurts and the fact that I'm even thinking about the possibility of a life without him is killing me, before he took this job we were talking about starting a family, we'd talked to an adoption agency and everything and we were put on a list just waiting for family to pick us but it's like all of a sudden I don't recognize the man I married anymore, and I can't in good faith bring a baby into something like this, you KNOW how badly I wanted to start a family but I can't do it all on my own anymore and I just can't understand it because we were happy! We were so happy and now I just feel so empty and alone all the time and I'm sick of crying and feeling like I have to beg and scream just to make my own husband remember I exist and I hate it" Kurt's voice cracked at the end of the sentence and tears rolled down his face. "I just...I can't do this anymore dad...this is killing me, I feel like I'm dying inside and my heart is breaking over and over again. I don't know how many more times I can be rejected and disappointed before I lose it. I can't keep doing this to myself; don't I deserve to be happy? Don't I deserve to have someone who at least loves me back? I'm not this person Dad...I'm not this pathetic man who just keeps trying to make his own husband love him only to be continuously made a fool out of". Despite his father telling him not to give up hope and to hold on just another month Kurt couldn't help but feel like the last bit of hope he had for their lives together was gone.

By the time they hung up Kurt didn't feel much better at all, this was one problem talking to his dad couldn't fix. Looking around taking note of the half melted candles and scattered rose petals, the cold dinner on the table and the melted bucket of ice that held the champagne, the neatly wrapped gift and card next to Blaine's place setting with the words 'Happy Anniversary' on the cover, Kurt ran a hand over his face and rubbed at his swollen red eyes before standing up and running his hands down his now crinkled suit and moved around the room putting out the candles. He left everything else where it was, he honestly just didn't have the energy physically or emotionally to even bother. Walking into the bedroom he closed the door behind him and shed his clothes leaving them on the floor not even able to find it in himself to care and moved to Blaine's dresser pulling out a pair of his husbands pajamas and bringing them to his face to inhale the scent of his husband ignoring the tears that filled his eyes he slipped them on and got under the covers pulling a pillow to his chest and squeezing his eyes shut tight as the sobs finally broke through and wracked his body until he cried himself to sleep.

The clock read 1:13am by the time Blaine slipped his key in the door quietly trying his hardest not to wake up his husband who was most likely asleep at this point, last thing he wanted was to once again deal with Kurt trying to make him feel guilty for working late and he just knew Kurt would be pissed at him for wanting to unwind with a couple beers afterwards. So what if he wanted to have a drink with some coworkers after a long day? He busted his ass so that they could have the nice life they had and if he wanted to relax with a few drinks he should be able to right? Sure he probably should have called and let Kurt know his plans but he forgot, and either way it's not like he needed his husband's permission to go out, though he did feel slightly guilty about not being home on time after Kurt had asked him to be home by 6pm when he'd promised he would be, he figured he would just apologize in the morning and buy him some flowers or chocolates or something , they seemed to work really well last time after all. Walking inside he flicked on the lights and looked around nearly dropping his briefcase as he took in the sight before him "Shit..." he whispered as guilt filled his stomach, he set down his jacket and briefcase and moved to the dining room table to pick up the card and gift he saw reading the words 'Happy Anniversary' and he fell into the chair before him.

Raw hot guilt seared through his system and he opened up the card and began reading.

'My dearest Blaine

Today marks the 7th anniversary of the day you became my husband and we set off on starting the rest of our lives together, and all these years later I am even more in love with you than I was the day we said 'I do'. You are the absolute love of my life Blaine and with each day that passes I love you more and more. You mean everything to me and the day I became your husband was the happiest day of my life. No matter what ever happens I hope you know I will always love you with every breath I take and every beat of my heart till the day I die, you're my soul mate. I may have trouble believing in god, but if there is a heaven I can't imagine it would be able to compete with the feeling I get being in your arms, or the feeling I get when you kiss me. I've never wanted anything but to make you happy, to make you feel loved and I hope to spend the rest of my life doing exactly that. So tonight we celebrate 7 years of marriage, 10 full amazing years together with the hope of many many years to come.

With all the love in my heart,
Kurt'

Blaine wiped at his eyes as tears leaked out to run down his face clutching the card in his hand desperately. He'd forgotten their wedding anniversary, he'd forgotten the day he married the love of his life. He'd blown off his own anniversary dinner with his husband to have a couple beers with some of his coworkers, a bunch of homophobic assholes that he didn't even like. Looking down at the plate of cold food sitting in front of him he realized Kurt had made his all-time favorite dinner, a complex meal he knew took a good three hours to make, he saw all of the over half way melted candles, the scattered rose petals and the melted ice bucket and the image of an excited Kurt rushing around their apartment trying to make everything perfect popped into his mind as did the devastated look on Kurt's face when he must have realized Blaine wasn't coming home on time...again. He could just see Kurt fidgeting and pacing the floor staring back and forth at the clock and front door for hours trying to convince himself that Blaine was just running a little late, trying to convince himself that his husband hadn't forgotten one of the most important days in their life together. Placing the card on the table he reached for the perfectly wrapped gift opening it carefully making sure not to rip the paper to find a stunning watch engraved with both their names and their anniversary inside a heart and the words 'My missing puzzle piece, I'm complete'.

"What have I done?" he whispered into the silent apartment running a finger lovingly over the engravings on the watch before he took off the one he was wearing and replaced it with the new one. He stood and moved to the bedroom quietly opening the door spotting Kurt curled up in their big bed all alone hugging a pillow to his chest with his back facing the door, upon closer inspection Blaine noticed Kurt was wearing his favorite pair of pajamas and another pang of guilt stung his heart as he remembered the first business trip he'd ever gone on when Kurt had admitted over the phone he was wearing Blaine pajamas to bed because he said they smelled like him and it made him feel closer to him even though they were far away. He pulled out pajamas of his own and changed quickly and quietly before moving to kneel near Kurt's face. He frowned when he saw the tear tracks on Kurt's cheeks and the red swelling around his eyes, the way he gripped the pillow to his chest almost desperately. Blaine tried to remember the last time he and Kurt had fallen asleep together...hell he tried to remember the last time he'd even really kissed him and it broke his heart when he realize he COULDN'T remember, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd told Kurt he loved him. What he did remember was pushing Kurt away each time he tried to hold him when Blaine was looking over papers after work, he remembered Kurt asking him when he was coming to bed and looking crestfallen when he said he'd be up late working and would probably just sleep on the couch, he remembered how many times he missed dinner, he remembered snapping at Kurt that he was too tired every time Kurt tried to be intimate with him the few nights he did come home before Kurt was asleep. He remembered a few nights ago when he'd tried to brush Kurt off as being dramatic when he tried to tell Blaine how upset he was. When had he become this man? How many times was he going to mess up before Kurt finally had enough? When had treating his husband like shit become acceptable to him? This was Kurt, HIS Kurt, who loved him, supported him, who would do anything for him, his husband who kept trying to make their marriage work despite how many times he let him down.

"I promise you Kurt...I'll fix this, I'll fix us. I love you more than anything in this world Kurt and I promise you I'll make this right" he whispered as he caressed his husbands' cheek gently before leaning in to press their lips together savoring in the perfect way their mouths fit together and smiling a bit into the kiss when Kurt subconsciously began to kiss him back slightly. When he pulled away he kissed Kurt once gently on the forehead before whispering into his ear "I love you Kurt" causing his husband to shiver slightly and murmur a sleepy "Love you too B". With one last long look at his loves face he moved back into the dining room closing the door behind him and set to cleaning, the last thing he wanted was for Kurt to wake up and see this reminder of their disaster anniversary. Starting first thing in the morning he would dedicate himself to making this up to Kurt, to being a better husband.