Dec. 18, 2011, 3:05 p.m.
The Epic Love Affair
Ambassadors Abroad: Chapter 64 - When did this Happen?
E - Words: 5,280 - Last Updated: Dec 18, 2011 Story: Complete - Chapters: 73/73 - Created: Jul 28, 2011 - Updated: Dec 18, 2011 908 0 0 0 1
The morning sun shone through the window and there was pounding at the door. “Blaine, Kurt!” It was Wes pounding. Why was he pounding?
“Blaine, what time is it?”
“Shit. Kurt, its 8:00! We forgot to get a wake up call!” Blaine frantically looked for clothes to put on. There was no time to think about the nagging pain in his ass. Since no clothes were found, Blaine opted for the sheet from the bed. “Coming!”
Blaine opened the door and Wes laughed at the site in front of him. “Overslept, did we?”
“Wes, we barely even slept.” Wes and David laughed. “Not like that, we were out late and then fell asleep…..forget it. Do we have any time at all? Kurt will never leave without taking a shower.”
“You really don’t have any time, but let me go talk to Mr. Shue and see if we can delay at all. Keep your phone on and answer it.”
“Kurt get up.”
“I can’t Blaine. My whole body is in pain.” Kurt looked down surveying his body. “OH SHIT! What happened to me?” Blaine came to Kurt’s side and traced the purple marks with his finger some with teeth, some darker than others.
Blaine looked at Kurt, hopeful that he would not be mad for too long. “I guess I got carried away. I love you Kurt.”
Kurt looked up at Blaine and gasped. “SHIT! I’m sorry Blaine.” The pain in Blaine’s body had not even registered until that very moment. “Oh my God, Kurt look at what you did to me.” He was covered in marks also. They paused and looked at each other. Their eyes filled with love and uncertainty of the other’s true feelings. Both of them eased into a smile when they realized that they didn’t care because the night before was the most awesome love making they had ever felt. Kurt reached up to touch a specific mark on Blaine’s hip bone and suddenly the images were back in his head. He remembered doing that. “I liked making that one.”
Blaine pulled Kurt to him. “Oh. Blaine I am so sore today. I don’t think I will be able to dance or move for that matter. How are you doing?”
“My ass is sore as can be expected. My muscles are sore like I lifted weights last night.” Blaine motioned toward the shower. “How did we even get this way? I don’t remember over exerting myself. Maybe a shower will help our sore muscles?”
“I’m pretty sure I was caught up in the moment, so I have no idea what I really did. Do we even have time shower? A bath might even be better.” Kurt was hopeful that they could take a bath. The warm water would do them both good.
“I don’t know. Wes was going to call me when he talked to Mr. Shue. As it stands we are supposed to pack up because after we sightsee this morning, we have a show and then we are off to Brussels.”
“Really?” Kurt was trying to map out in his head how much of the trip was left. It was tough to figure because they missed so many cities after the attack.
“What are you thinking about, Babe?”
“The trip is almost over.” Kurt looked sad.
“Yeah, but then we have the 4th of July when we get home and the rest of the summer. We have so many things to still do. We need to go back to Kings Island and maybe take a trip to Cedar Point. Maybe take the private jet here to see the cities we missed. We have wedding planning to start on. Whatever you want to do the rest of the summer. I just want to be with you the rest of the summer.”
“And then I am back at McKinley and you are back to Dalton.” Kurt looked down at his thigh and traced a mark that Blaine had put there.
“Kurt, we’ll figure something out. I promise. I want to be wherever you are too. And think about it, we will be together forever soon. We get to start OUR life after we graduate.” Blaine’s phone started to buzz. “Hey Wes. Yeah. Kurt’s not feeling great anyway.... okay …No… Tell Mr. Shue we aren’t going to hold everyone up…so on the way back?... we’ll get it from the front desk … okay. Yeah. Tell them we’re sorry. See you later.” Blaine scratched his head.
“Okay, what was all that?”
“I have no idea, but it seems they don’t seem to mind that we aren’t ready yet and they are okay with us staying if we want to and I want to.” Blaine was trying to figure out why all of sudden everyone seemed so accommodating to them. “We are going to meet them for the concert at a school on the outskirts of Amsterdam and then on to Brussels. They left the school address at the front desk.”
“So what time is the concert?”
“1:00.”
“So can we please lay down and go back to sleep for another hour Blaine. Pllleeeeease?” Kurt was whining like a child.
“Of course.” Blaine laid back down on the bed. Kurt pressed his back into Blaine preferring to be the small spoon today. Blaine gently kissed Kurt’s shoulder before they both dozed off into a comfortable slumber.
Kurt finally awoke at about 10:00. They had slept a little longer than anticipated and even now, Kurt was so comfortable he didn’t want to move. He was in a perfect spot with Blaine wrapped all around him. It was funny that most people would feel suffocated if they were in the same position as he was. Blaine arms were wrapped around his chest and one of his legs was flush against the back of his and the other draped around and entwined with his foot. Kurt was in a Blaine cocoon and he felt warm and perfect there.
Kurt’s stomach grumbled unexpectedly and Blaine laughed. “Hungry?”
“I guess. I can’t believe you heard my stomach grumble.” Kurt was embarrassed by his uncontrollable bodily function.
“Honey, I think I will have years and years of hearing your belly grumble. I have yet to hear you ever fart.” Kurt gasped horrified. Blaine laughed because he knew that would be the response he would get.
“You, Blaine Anderson, will never hear that from me. Ever!”
“I love you so much. How is it possible to love you more each minute I am with you?”
“It’s because I am so lovable.” Kurt smiled, yet there was still no movement. “You know we are going to have to get up. We still need to shower before we eat.”
Kurt finally moved to a huge groan by Blaine. “Ugh. I don’t wanna get up.” Blaine was whining. Kurt was facing Blaine kissing his face and lips. “Why can’t we just stay right here?”
“Blaine. We have to go. We missed so many shows already. I really don’t care much about the sightseeing because I just want to be with you.” Kurt’s brow furrowed a little and he turned a little hesitant after saying the last piece. Still in Blaine’s arms, he squeezed himself just a little tighter to him.
“You need to spill what’s going on in your head.” Blaine knew him all too well. There was no getting around telling him.
Kurt thought he should probably lie, but Blaine would know. Blaine new him better than anyone. “Will I regret this? I keep thinking that everything pales in comparison to spending time with you when in reality, we have forever. I get to stare at your beautiful face and body for the rest of my life, but this may not be here someday.”
“No worries, Baby. I promise to bring you back here.”
“You shouldn’t have to waste your money on me if I didn’t use my chance wisely.” Kurt was trying reason through his thoughts.
“You’re crazy Kurt. Any money I spend on you is worth it. To see you happy is worth more than the money it costs. You are so valuable and don’t even realize it.”
Kurt smiled at this. “Blaine, you must be the only person on earth that thinks that. When I was getting beaten up daily at Mckinley, it made me feel like less than a person. They wanted to make me feel like I deserved to be treated like less than human. You taught me differently. You taught me that there are tolerant people. People that could accept me and actually like me for who I am.”
“Do you want to know what you did for me?”
“I couldn’t have done that much. I was a broken person when I came to Dalton. I am so thankful for the time I was there, because I became a more confident person amid other confident people.”
“Kurt, you have no idea.” Blaine paused to think about the best words to convey his feelings. “I had no idea how much of myself I held back. How much I didn’t say before you. I would never have asked the Warblers to serenade someone off school grounds. AND I’m sorry that I put you through that, but the truth is you were right there with me supporting me and suddenly I had the courage to do it. I would never have asked the Warblers to do a duet before, but suddenly I wanted to share the spotlight with someone that was strong and supported me.”
Kurt thought about it for a minute. “While you are the biggest dork that ever lived, I feel lucky to have given you that strength. I’m glad it was me.”
“It could only ever be you. My granddad saw it, your dad and stepmom saw it and my dad.” Blaine closed his eyes and a smile appeared on his face. “See, you still do it. You gave me back my dad. It didn’t come without pain, but because of you, I have a dad that supports me and loves me. Kurt, don’t ever feel like you never did anything important, because you did. I will gladly spend a lifetime thinking of ways to make you happy every day.”
Kurt had tears in his eyes. “Then it’s settled. We are officially going to spend the rest of our lives trying to make each other happy. Right?”
“Right.” Blaine kissed Kurt needing to feel him on his lips. “Now, we can shower.” Blaine released his hold on Kurt and rolled out of bed pulling Kurt with him. “Ughhh.. I am still sore as can be. I think you ruined me.”
“Technically, the vibrator ruined you.” Kurt giggled. “Maybe if you let me, you wouldn’t hurt so badly.”
“Do you really want to? I just thought….” Blaine was afraid to finish it. The morning had been perfect and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin it with some stupid stereotypical statement.
“No Blaine. I am definitely a bottom. I admit I like being bottom. You know that I enjoy it, as long as it’s you on top of me.” Kurt winked and ran into the bathroom trying to shut the door but Blaine had gotten there too quickly. “You are a fast hobbit aren’t you?”
“There better not be anyone but me on top of you, ever!” Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist and Kurt kissed him with so much strength that he thought he might fall over.
“Please. There are very few worthy of all this.” Kurt turned around and shook his butt and lifted it trying to look at it. Kurt had always thought his butt was cute, but Blaine had given him more confidence that his body was just about perfect. While he didn’t think it was perfect, he did think he had a good butt.
Blaine cocked his eyebrow. “Few?”
“Okay, fine. One is worthy of this.” Kurt slapped his butt and turned to start the shower. Blaine came up behind him and kissed his neck and wrapped his arms around Kurt. Kurt turned his head savoring the feel of Blaine around him. “I swear I will never get tired of your touch, your smell, the feel of you all around me.” He sighed as Blaine continued to attack his neck.
Kurt washed Blaine and Blaine washed Kurt. Both boys were too sore to even consider anything else. “My legs hurt, my ass hurts, my…..” Blaine was stopped by Kurt.
“Shhh. You’re ruining a perfectly good shower. I’m sorry I hurt you. You seemed to like it.”
“I loved the last part.” Kurt’s eyebrows crooked not quite remembering what happened. “Think about it Baby.” Blaine carefully used a wash cloth to clean every mark he left on Kurt, kissing each one. It finally hit Kurt and he smiled brightly at remembering that he made love to Blaine last night. “Remember, did we?” Blaine kissed Kurt lovingly.
“Yes.. now I do. Ow.” Kurt felt pain as Blaine washed over his abdomen.
“Oops sorry. I guess I used too much teeth on that one.” Kurt didn’t care, he plastered his lips to Blaine’s and pushed past Blaine’s lips into his mouth tasting HIS Blaine. Blaine moaned into Kurt’s mouth as Kurt sucked on his tongue. His breath was taken away with the force and passion that Kurt kissed him. He liked this a lot. Blaine thought he would suffocate if he didn’t remove himself. “Babe, I need to breathe.”
“Okay, but just for a little bit.” Kurt took another washcloth and soaped it up and started to clean Blaine’s body. “Turn around Sweetie. I would like to clean your butt. I promise, nothing else but cleaning.” At this point, the kiss had Blaine half hard and he didn’t care what Kurt wanted to do to him. Kurt very gently ran the washcloth over Blaine’s ass. “Your ass looks delicious Blaine.” Kurt used his hand to rinse it then he got on his knees and parted Blaine’s cheeks slightly. He wanted to clean off Blaine’s butt hole but as he took the cloth to it, Blaine screamed. “I am so sorry Sweetie. I guess it was a little too much for you.”
Kurt turned Blaine around to see that his cock was getting harder by the second. He said nothing, just took Blaine into his mouth and began relieving his boyfriend from his predicament. “Kurt.. Love you.” That was all Blaine could get out of his mouth. Kurt wanted to do this for Blaine. He felt like he had all the control right now as he sucked and tongued Blaine’s cock. Kurt was so turned on by Blaine’s gorgeous body that he found himself hard in no time. He stroked himself in time with his sucking and in a minute or so, he was swallowing Blaine’s sweet seed and coming all at once. Blaine fell to his knees kissing Kurt with everything he had left in him as he collapsed. “God, Kurt. That was not necessary, but so good. I love you so much. Blaine sat down and Kurt leaned into him sitting on Blaine’s lap.
A few minutes passed and they turned off the shower and emerged ready to get clothes on. “We need to pack. Right?”
“Yes, we need to be completely ready to go to Brussels. I can’t even remember if we are going to The Hague. I guess we’ll find out.” Blaine grabbed boxers for both of them. “Here Kurt. Are these okay?” They were starting to actually have a routine. Blaine got ready while Kurt started to dry his hair. After Kurt was done with hair, they would trade places and Blaine’s would style hi hair in his standard gelled style. Kurt was thankful that Blaine was now leaving some curl in his hair.
“I like your curls, Blaine. I wish you could wear it more like this. Not that I would know because I won’t be able to see you during the day.” Blaine was starting to hear this more and more from Kurt and knew it would be very difficult when they got back. They were always together now and they were engaged. It would prove to be far too difficult for any couple to be apart as much as they would have to be.
“Let’s talk about this when we get home. I know we have to do something, but let’s not think about it right now, okay?” Kurt nodded.
“I’m sorry I keep mentioning it Blaine. I just can’t imagine that I won’t see you during the week when you are at Dalton and I’m at McKinley. It will be so hard. I haven’t spent 1 minute without you this summer and I don’t want to.”
“I don’t want to be away from you either.”
Blaine and Kurt found themselves in the hotel restaurant. After all, they were staying in a 5 star hotel with a 5 star restaurant right on a canal. The window seat that they requested made Kurt feel like he was sitting on the water. The day was a little overcast, but the sun still shone through.
Blaine took Kurt’s hand as they talked about music and whatever hit them at the moment. Kurt was rubbing Blaine’s fingers lovingly as they laughed and Blaine told some old stories about the Warblers past trips and some things he didn’t know about his Warbler friends. “You never told me that Nick and Jeff were pranksters. And they used to initiate new members.” The food was being placed in front of them. “Why did they never do that to me?”
Blaine rolled his eyes. “Do you seriously not know? Everyone knew I was in love with you even before I did. I was an idiot, but my friends, they were smart. They knew how mad I would be, so they never did anything to you.”
“Now you made me miss out on all the fun.” Kurt was being sarcastic and Blaine knew it.
“I could always play some pranks on you if you want?” Blaine winked. Kurt had no idea what he meant, but knowing Blaine, it would be good.
“Surprise me.”
“You know I will. It’s not a prank if you know about it.”
They took a cab with all their luggage in tow to the meeting place, which happened to be the school they were performing at. The Choir Director Mr. Van Galen appeared. “Is everyone here?” He looked around confused.
“No, we missed the morning trip, so we stayed back and just took a cab here. May we take our luggage inside?”
“Certainly. I am Mr. Van Galen, the choir director here.”
“I am Blaine Anderson, lead vocals for the Warblers and this is Kurt Hummel with New Directions.” Kurt shook his hand.
As they made their way inside, the choir consisted of about 20 male and female singers. They were introduced and they all waited for the others to arrive. Blaine and Kurt were offered seats in the front of the choir room. It was like they were on display. Since they had time, they did a question and answer about school in the US, things they did for fun, weather, houses, everything…
The girls started in on Blaine immediately asking if he had a girlfriend, what kind of car he drove, what’s it like to be at an all boy’s school. Finally 1 boy in particular said. “You answered that you didn’t have a girlfriend, right?” The girls looked at him in disgust. He was clearly not a favorite of the group.
“That’s right.”
“Well, then, do you have a boyfriend?”
Kurt worried immediately if Blaine would confess this in public and possibly bother people, but he had nothing to worry about. “I do in fact.” Some girls groaned, some gasped in shock, but they were all saddened by the news. “Kurt is my boyfriend. Actually, we just recently got engaged so I would say he is my fianc�.” Blaine held up Kurt’s left hand for all to see the diamond band that he proposed with. Some of the girls jumped up and ran down to look at it. It is beautiful.
Kurt proudly held his hand up and said. “Tiffany’s” As Kurt knew.. Every girl knows Tiffany’s.
“I’m going to try to call the group and see how far out they are.” Blaine returned shortly. “Bad news Mr. Van Galen. They are stuck in traffic. There was an accident and they are going to take back roads as soon as they can get off the road they are on. Why don’t we do a few more questions with Kurt? His group is a boy/girl group. We can share the songs we were going to sing, I guess.”
“That sounds wonderful Blaine.”
Kurt was under the gun. The first girl asked how they met. “I was once a Warbler at Dalton Academy also. I had transferred there for a while, but missed my friends so I transferred back.” This confused them and both Kurt and Blaine had to explain that the schools are about 1 hour apart and that one was private and the other public. They talked about their sexuality being discriminated against. Then they got to the music. “New Directions had plans to sing, Born this way…” he was interrupted by squeals.
“See Mr. Van Galen, they were going to do Gaga.” One of the girls noted.
“We were also singing, Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey, Sing by My Chemical Romance, Firework by Katy Perry and Tik Tok by Ke$ha. We also had 3 original songs we planned on.” The group groaned and one of the boys said that it was too bad they wouldn’t see it.
Blaine told them about their songs. “The Warblers had planned on Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, Raise your Glass by Pink, Misery by Maroon 5, Dynamite by Taio Cruz and I got a feelin’ by Black Eyed Peas.” They were all excited about the songs they would never hear. “Kurt and I had a duet also. We were going to sing All that you Are by the Goo Goo Dolls.”
Mr. Van Galen jumped in. “We would love to hear at least the 2 of you sing. Would you do that for us?”
Blaine looked at Kurt and he was ready. “Why don’t we sing our duet first? Let me get my guitar.” Blaine retrieved it from the side of the room and sat back down next to Kurt. “All that you are?” Kurt nodded and Blaine began. They sounded so good together. When they finished they got a standing ovation from the group.
“Blaine, sing teenage dream.” Kurt urged not sharing why he liked to hear him sing it.
Blaine shared anyway. “I met Kurt on the stairwell at Dalton Academy on my way to a Warbler performance to sing this song that we had just perfected the arrangement. I wish the Warblers were here to sing it with me, but I can sing it by myself. That day, I sang this song to Kurt and that was really the beginning of us.” The girls swooned the boys rolled their eyes but listened intently to Blaine. At the end, Blaine got another standing ovation.
“Kurt can sing I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles.” This was turning into a nice little concert with the group. After Kurt finished I want to hold your hand, they asked the group to sing something. Mr. Van Galen got them all together and they sang. Walk by the Foo Fighters and many of the boys and girls played instruments. Then they sang a Capella number by a local soloist. Blaine and Kurt gave the group standing ovations, but the next song was one that really got to them. The group sang Just the Way you are by Bruno Mars. It brought both Blaine and Kurt to tears because the words were beautiful.
“If you guys will indulge us a little. Kurt and I sang this at the Christmas Pageant last year. I know it’s not Christmas but we like to sing it. Maybe as a Christmas in July thing.” There were yells of approval from the audience. Blaine crossed to the piano and Kurt stood next to him while he played. Kurt knew from the moment he said Christmas that it would be Baby It’s Cold Outside. Kurt preferred to have the CD of the accompaniment because this put more pressure on Kurt to be a showman. Kurt looked to Blaine for the support he needed right at that moment and Blaine nodded with a wink and he knew he was ready. He ended seated next to Blaine on the piano bench and Blaine put his arm around him and kissed him on the cheek. Applause erupted and the girls in the room sighed at how adorable it was.
Mr. Van Galen thanked them for singing. “We still have a little more time, do you want to check on the group and see where they are at?”
Blaine excused himself and the group came down to talk to Kurt personally. Kurt was happy and felt accepted. They asked him about Blaine and their relationship and singing in competitions and how nervous he must get. Kurt had shared that he had a brother in the New Directions and that he wished they could meet him. In a few seconds, there was a loud rumbling in the hall as Blaine walked in with the entire group. Kurt crossed the room to hug his brother. “About time you guys showed up. Hey guys, this is him.”
The girls giggled and Finn looked questioningly at Kurt. Kurt just shook his head that it was no big deal. “I just told them about my brother and how tall you were.”
Mr. Shue apologized for being so late, but Mr. Van Galen suggested that the groups share a few songs. They ordered finger food and appetizers for the social and it would be delivered to the cafeteria, but it was not yet here so they had some time.
Some of the members of the choir yelled. Born this way and Mr. Shue nodded. “We’ll get changed into our costumes and the Warblers can sing a few songs while we do that. The song does not have the same effect without the costumes.”
Blaine grabbed the Warblers and they huddled to decide what songs to sing. They decided on Raise your Glass and Hey, Soul Sister. When they finished, the New Directions were ready. The Warblers sat in the audience mingled with the other choir and Blaine beamed when Kurt came and stood front and center. Kurt noticed it and gave Blaine a seductive smile. He had a surprise for Blaine today and Blaine would be surprised and he would really like it!
“It doesn’t matter if you love him or capital H-I-M” Kurt pointed to Blaine this time and that made him blush. He shed his flannel shirt sooner than normal throwing it at Blaine and he crooked his eyebrows in question as Kurt turned to the back of the group as choreographed and with his back to the audience there it was. LOVES BLAINE in big letters that were handwritten by Kurt. Kurt made his first turn back to the audience and swiveled his hips to catcalls as he continued to his marked spot. He noticed the huge smile on his fianc� and continued with his dance with confidence that Blaine was watching his every move. He planned to make Blaine as hot and bothered as he could during this performance. He had no reason at all for wanting to do this, except that he could and he wanted to and he owned Blaine.
The song ended and they went out into the hallway. Wes and David found Kurt and patted him on the back. “That was awesome. Blaine blushed when he saw it, but I know he loved it.”
“As if you would know anything about what I like, Wes.” Blaine had snuck up behind Kurt faced with the awesome words that Kurt, himself wrote. Kurt turned to see Blaine right there and wondered if he would be happy about what Kurt did.
There was no question as Blaine took Kurt in his arms and kissed him softly. “I love it.” He whispered breathlessly to Kurt. Kurt was pressed up against Blaine and smiled because he had the effect he was looking for. “Excuse us for a minute Wes.” Blaine took Kurt aside and to a hallway around the corner. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“I love you and I want the whole world to know that I do.” Kurt was proud and wanted to know that Blaine was too.
“I loved it. You could’ve warned me though. I almost got mobbed with fans when I left the room.” Blaine kissed Kurt on his neck his cheek and his lips running his fingers through the back of his hair.
“I see. You are happy.” Kurt smiled into Blaine’s lips.
“You knew what you were doing to me. You did it all on purpose. I saw that look and the way you purposely moved your hips. Are you happy now?” Blaine thrust his hips forward into Kurt to show him just how much he loved it. “I wish we could find a place for us right now.”
“Well, right now we have to go to a social and then we get on a bus to drive to Brussels, so sweetheart, you have a bit of time to wait.” Kurt kissed Blaine on the lips. “Maybe we can sneak out?”
Finn and Rachel caught the couple at the social. Finn really didn’t have too much fun. “you missed the fun guys. We got to see windmills.” Finn rolled his eyes.
Blaine answered. “We were just a bit tired after the fun from last night.”
“What fun?” Finn gave Blaine a look as the words fell from Rachel’s mouth. Blaine realized the HUGE mistake he made.
“Uhhh… We .. uh.. Kurt and I…” Blaine was searching and looked to Kurt for help.
“Rachel, we played a prank on Finn last night. We showed up at his room after curfew and tried to get him to sneak out… uh .. and we almost had him, but he got smart and forced us to go back to our room.” Kurt looked at Finn and shrugged. It was the best he could come up with.
“Why were you guys wanting to sneak out?”
Blaine cut in. “Um.. We heard about this gay Red Light thing and we were curious.” Rachel was starting to believe the story. “So, we went back to our room for a while and when the coast was clear, we tried to sneak out again and Finn caught us.”
“Yeah.. So that was fun.” Finn gave a really fake laugh, but Rachel had bought the story and gave Finn a hug.
“It’s so good that you are looking out for Kurt and Blaine. You are a good brother. I am so proud of you.”
Blaine and Kurt sat alone at a table just talking about the things they shared, a little about the night before and just the cool time they had with a concert that was just them. They wanted to give the rest of the group the opportunity to meet the other choir since they had quite a bit of one on one. They sat hand in hand with their coffee and just enjoyed.
On the bus, Kurt and Blaine took their normal seat toward the back of the bus. Kurt was especially tired from the night before as was Blaine. Blaine took his blazer and found a jacket in his suitcase before they put them in the bus. Kurt laid with his head on his arm against the window and Blaine tucked himself into Kurt and covered them up with the 2 jackets. Kurt was getting used to being the big spoon now since Blaine’s injury. He wrapped his arms around Blaine’s shoulders as they both fell asleep not long after leaving.
Rachel looked over at them and thought how beautiful they looked all bundled up under the coats. She snapped another picture.