The next morning they lazed in bed for as long as they could discussing what they would do. “I just- I don’t want to put the ring back on,” Blaine said burying his face in Kurt's neck kissing the spot he found there. “Are you sure we can’t tell your parents before the showcase?”

Kurt was having a hard time concentrating, “I’m sure, they have plans and I don’t want to tell them in a rush. You’re right though, I don’t want to put my ring on again either.”

“Then what are we going to do?” Blaine whined against Kurt’s skin.

Kurt leaned away, both so he could look at Blaine and also so he could focus. “Do you think your mom would come up for the showcase?”

“I don’t know, why?” Blaine asked.

“Invite her and we will tell them all after. And I will wear your ring until we do.” Kurt said with a smile.

Blaine huffed a laugh, “And what I am supposed to do? Keep my left hand in my pocket, your ring won't fit me.”

“Well, you see,”Kurt kissed him, “My beautiful soulmate,” another kiss, “hurt himself terribly ”kiss” and has to wear this “kiss” bandage on his hand.”

“I like the way you think,” Blaine said against Kurt’s lips and that was the end of the discussion.

Before leaving the apartment they cleaned up all evidence of their night before.  Kurt grabbed Blaine’s ring, washed the blood off it and slipped it on his own finger before wrapping Blaine's hand hiding his mark from view.

He hated not being able to see the black lines of their marks, but knew it was only for a little while.  They left the apartment together.

Blaine was a nervous wreck.  He was sitting sandwiched in between his family and Kurt’s. His mother and her soulmate John, a soft spoken man, who Blaine liked almost instantly, on one side and Burt and Carole on the other. The theatre was filled with family and friends, but also with casting directors and agents.  It seemed like a lot was riding on this night, both personally and professionally for Kurt. He tried to distract himself looking at the program as well as the headshots and resumes placed in everyone’s seats.  The dimming of the lights didn’t come soon enough for Blaine’s liking.

The show was going great, and Blaine couldn’t help but marvel at the talent his school housed. But these students were leaving and it seemed going on to great things.  He could feel his heart race each time Kurt stepped up on stage, he was glad no one was watching him because he was sure that anyone could tell from his face that Kurt was his soulmate by the way he couldn’t help beaming at him.

His soulmate- the idea still didn’t seem real and he couldn’t believe how scared he had been for Kurt to remove his ring.  Only the embarrassment he would have faced in the ER had spurned him to consent to Kurt’s plan. He was glad the heartbreak he thought was inevitable never came. 

The showcase was almost over Blaine was still shaken and teary eyed. Rachel’s performance of ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again’, followed by Kurt’s ‘Blackbird’ had left most of the audience in tears. He knew that Kurt too was affected, he could see the tears in his eyes from where he sat. There was a girl dancing alone on stage and he knew Kurt must be rushing to change for their finale, a full musical production of ‘Let the Sunshine In’ from Hair.  The music shifted and Kurt ran on stage with several of the other students. He was dancing energetically with them, his hands waving in the air.  It took Blaine a moment to notice something was different, not only was his costume different but his hand was now bare.  Blaine wasn’t sure what happened, but he could see Kurt’s mark plain as day.  He glanced around and soon saw that he wasn’t the only one to notice.  He caught sight of Burt who was now sitting forward slightly in his seat his mouth and eyes wide.  Carole had her hand over her heart a teary smile on her face.  She looked over at Blaine and he could feel his face flush, he gave her a small smile.  He then looked to his other side just in time to catch John grabbing his mom's hand and nod toward Kurt on stage. His mom turned to John who mouthed ‘ring’.  Blaine watched her head snap up to the stage and her eyes too filled with tears.  She grabbed Blaine’s hand, unmindful of the bandage, and squeezed. 

Kurt felt like he was flying, his performances had been flawless and he soaked in the applause as he took his bow.  He backed up and Rachel took his left hand and squeezed it as they all bowed together before the curtain fell. Rachel however didn’t let go of his hand but held it in a vice grip. He turned to look at her as the other seniors left the stage riding on their own performance highs. “What is it Rachel?” He asked surprised to see her face so pale.

“You’re not wearing your ring,” she said not even waiting for him to answer before lifting his hand.  He stared with her at his now ringless finger and the black mark it now revealed.

“I must have lost it during my last costume change,” he whispered wondering if anyone else had noticed.

Rachel looked upset, “How long have you known? You could have told me-” Tears welled in her eyes. 

“Hey,” Kurt said, trying to sooth her, “It wasn’t you. It happened last night and we knew we couldn’t tell everyone before the showcase. I was wearing Blaine’s ring, it’s a little too big, it must have slipped off- but we weren’t hiding it, just waiting for a good time to tell everyone, including you.”

“Why in the world did you do it last night?” She said looking at him like he was an idiot. 

“It wasn’t exactly planned-” Kurt began, “I was frankly terrified but who knows how long it would have taken us to have the courage to look. Come on, let's get changed, I’m ready to get out of here and tell everyone.”

Once the show was over, Blaine clapped as long as he could, trying to avoid the attention of the four people around him, but when the curtain fell he had to face them, tell them something. 

His mom spoke first, “Why didn't you tell me Nonoy?” She asked, a smile on her face.

He could see everyone waiting for an answer, he wished Kurt was there. “We wanted to tell you all together,” He looked over at the Hummels to make sure they understood the point, “This wasn’t part of the plan. We were going to tell you at dinner, I honestly don't know what happened.”

Burt laughed, “Knowing my son, any number of things. So tell me did you really hurt yourself?”

Blaine ducked his head nodding, “Yeah, I did.” Blaine chuckled, “It’s kind of a long story, can we save it for when Kurt gets here? He really wanted to be the one to tell you himself.”

Burt rolled his eyes, “I’m sure he did.”

Carole said, “John, Leizel, we would love it if you would join us for dinner. It seems as if we are going to be spending a lot of time together in the future.”

Leizel smiled back, “So it seems, I can’t wait to meet your son.”

They talked about other things while waiting for Kurt to emerge from backstage.  They saw Rachel greet her dads, but Kurt still wasn’t there. She ran over and gave Blaine a hug, whispering “congratulations,” in his ear before hugging Burt and Carole and promising to see them tomorrow for lunch at the apartment. She left with her dads but only said, “He was right behind me,” when Blaine asked about Kurt.

Twenty minutes later, the rest of the theatre empty, Kurt finally emerged pale faced but smiling. 

Kurt hugged Blaine first, “What took you so long,” he whispered in Kurt ear.

“I’ll tell you later,” Kurt said kissing his cheek. 

“So,” Burt's voice boomed in the quiet of the theatre, “you got something to tell us bud?”

Kurt looked at his father and he knew that he knew. “Surprise?” Kurt said sheepishly. He then looked to Blaine, “I’m sorry, I seem to have lost your ring somewhere backstage.”

Blaine's smile was huge as he replied, “That’s okay, I don’t need it anymore.”

At dinner that night, Kurt and Blaine told their parents the story of revealing their marks. They both glossed over just how scared they were and what happened after. 

“Are you going to have a ceremony?” Leizel asked.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a look, “We haven’t discussed it yet-” Kurt began.

“But if Kurt has his way, I’m sure they will.” Burt interrupted with a laugh. 

“I want to” Blaine said quietly. 

Kurt’s heart flipped at the idea, “You do?” He whispered back, a private conversation though everyone could still hear them.

“Yeah- I mean, I always wanted a wedding when I found my soulmate,” he replied with a smile.

“Yeah, me too.” Kurt said, unable to resist the urge to kiss Blaine right there at the table.

“Well,” John laughed, “You can have any date but July 3rd. That date is taken.”

“Really? Mom?” Blaine asked looking to his mom who was blushing.

“Yes Nonoy, we just set the date.” Leizel said taking Blaine’s hand.

Kurt could see the sincerity on his face as he said, “I am so happy for you, you deserve it.”

“So do you,” he heard her whisper.

They bid goodbye to their families with promises to see them the next day. John and Leizel also deciding to stay in town to join the festivities. As they made their way to Blaine’s apartment, he asked, “So why were you so late getting out?”

Kurt squeezed his hand excitement coursing through him, “I was stopped by someone at the stage door, and as much as I wanted to get to you and our families- I really needed to listen to what he had to say.”

“Who was it?” Blaine said looking worried.

Kurt took a deep breath, “A casting director- he wants me to audition for a show they are putting together- for Broadway.”

“No way!” Blaine yelled stopping them in their tracks so that he could face Kurt, who was glad, this wasn’t something he wanted to discuss on a casual walk. “What is it, tell me about it?”

“It’s just an audition, he didn’t promise anything, but it’s a musical using Beatles music. He said he liked my ‘Blackbird’ and wanted the producers and directors to hear it.”

“That’s amazing Kurt!” Blaine told him taking him in his arms. Kurt couldn’t relax yet. 

“As I said, it’s just an audition. I can’t get my hopes up. I mean it sounds amazing- it also sounds too good to be true.” He could feel the tears burning his eyes and tried to look away so Blaine wouldn’t see.

“Hey,” Blaine said trying to catch his eyes, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s stupid-” Kurt tried to deflect. 

“Obviously not, if you are upset. Please Kurt trust me- tell me.” He persisted.

“It just seems like everything I ever wanted is happening- right now- and l’m terrified that I am going to lose it just as quickly.” He said swiping the tears away that dared to fall.

“I’m not going anywhere- so whatever happens we will get through it together.”

Kurt couldn’t help his teary smile, “It’s you and me against the world, right?”

‘“Always,” Blaine said taking his hand, “Now let's go back to my place, I believe I was promised more soul mate sex.”

Kurt’s heart seemed to swell as he took in Blaine’s coy face. “Always.”

Kurt was making dinner, his dad had called earlier saying we was bringing some people over. He really needed to have a talk with him about being more specific than just ‘I’m bringing guests,’ if he wanted a proper meal.  How was Kurt supposed to know if guests was two or twenty people?

Kurt laughed, of course knowing his dad it probably wasn’t twenty people, however, they most likely would be living off leftovers for a few days.  Kurt didn’t want to run out. 

When his dad walked through the door he was followed by a kind looking woman and a giant of a boy he would know anywhere. “Finn?” He asked.

“Hey dude,”  He waved looking uncomfortable before adding, “Do you know what’s going on?”

Kurt looked at him like he was crazy.  He wasn’t the one arriving with the others, so he was sure Finn probably knew more than he did.

Then he looked at his dad and it hit him. His dad was smiling and had his arm around the woman. They were sharing a secret kind of smile. “Oh my god, you found her didn’t you? You know it’s her don’t you?”

All three of them looked startled, though Finn still looked confused. Burt then chuckled, “You know kiddo, I would have liked to have shared the news myself, - but yea, this is Carole, my new soulmate.”

Over dinner he learned that they had met at the shop when Carole had brought her car in to be serviced and had been dating for a couple of months. “I wanted to tell you,” Burt said, “but we were talking and- we just had to know first.”

Kurt wasn’t sure what to make of her, she seemed kind and said all the right things but he wasn’t sure he could trust that. Finn was her son and while he was never a leader he had participated in the bullying, though less so in recent months.  Since junior high Finn and his friends had used every opportunity to make Kurt feel like less of a person, coming out last year had not helped matters. He had to get it from somewhere, right?

“I’m gay,” he blurted “I’m gay and I want to go to school in New York and study musical theatre and meet my soulmate, a man, and get married and grow old with him. Can you handle that?”

Carole’s smile turned sad, “First I want to get to know you, and then I would love to watch you achieve all your dreams- and maybe even help you achieve them. If that’s okay with you?”

Kurt nodded, “I think that will be lovely.” Maybe his dad’s new soulmate wasn’t just a perfect fit for his dad, but also for their family. The thought made him smile.