Rachel and Quinn.

Sebastian. The sword. All of it was gone.

As he pulled himself up the sky shook again with a clap of natural thunder, and the rain came down in a pounding wave.

He blinked rapidly against the torrent of water, pushing his hair away from his face and trying to ignore the sharp flare of pain in his limbs as he dragged himself across the floor to Blaine.

"Where did they go?!"

Blaine shook his head rapidly, hands frantically sweeping over Kurt's chest the moment they reached each other, checking for wounds.

"Where did they go?!" Kurt shouted at him.

Blaine met his eyes, and that was all it took; the sadness there, the helplessness, and the last lingering twist of light going out as they knelt in each other's arms under the pounding rain. Kurt let out a choked sound.

"They're gone," Blaine said. "I'm so sorry, Kurt. I failed."

"Rachel?" Kurt asked, bewildered. "She- she knew what was happening, why would she touch the sword?"

"They did it to save us," Blaine whispered brokenly.

"No." Kurt shook his head rapidly, still blinking against the rain. "No."

"Kurt-"

"They can't be gone, we- we have to find a way to get them-" he hauled himself to his feet, grunting, "-get them back."

Blaine pulled himself up, shoulders rigid and eyes squinting to keep water out. "There's no way, there's - the sword was the only way in or out."

"What about the mirrors?" Kurt asked desperately.

He pushed past Blaine, rushing to the line of antique frames and frantically wiping at the glass surface of each mirror in turn to clear away the water, only to be met with his own pained expression.

"Kurt," Blaine said gently as he came to his side, resting both hands on his shoulders to try and calm him. "We can't get through."

"There has to be a way!" Kurt shouted, searching the open balcony in quick glances. "There has to be something!"

"The sword was the only thing powerful enough," Blaine told him. "And it's in their hands, now."

"So," Kurt turned on him, eyes lighting up. "They could use it?"

Blaine's mouth fell open, trying to shape thoughts into words. "I- I don't know. I don't… I don't think so."

Kurt swallowed roughly, lifting both hands to push through his wet hair in helpless frustration.

"We need to get inside," Blaine said. "Please, Kurt."

After a small pause lost in thought, Kurt nodded quickly, letting Blaine wrap his cape over both shoulders and guide him beneath the high arch of the balcony doors.

Their footfalls echoed through the huge, darkened ballroom; eery in its magnitude. The antique bones of the walls stuck out, picked clean of decoration, leaving only the floor-to-ceiling mirrors to cast too many creeping shadows over the seemingly endless floor.

Kurt shuffled through the empty space, eyes wandering over nothing, saturated clothes dripping puddles on the floor.

Blaine's arms were around him before he could even think to cry. His eyes were so dry they felt sore and heavy, too weary and burning in relief when he finally let them fall closed.

Everything had gone so wrong.

In one split second, one blinding flash of light, everything they'd planned had vanished into dust. All along he'd felt that this was the right plan, the right move to make. This will work, he'd told himself, over and over. Everything is going to be alright.

He was wrong.

His shoulders slumped as he leaned into the warmth of Blaine's body, content to simply be held until his heart remembered how to beat on its own again without the limp stutter of shock and loss.

"I will do… everything in my power," Blaine promised him in hushed tones. "I can go back to the library. Read … everything I can find that could be something, some clue as to how we can find the power to get back."

"I'm fairly sure there's no how-to guide for portals to fairytale lands," Kurt mumbled dryly, stunned at how hollow his own voice seemed.

Blaine was unfazed, and simply pressed a kiss into his hair. "I will find one, or write one. We'll find a way."

Sighing heavily, Kurt opened his eyes. The weight of them was suddenly intense, almost too much, and he wondered why he even had to keep them open. Why couldn't he just close them again? Why couldn't he simply rock into Blaine's arms and sleep, and forget what the night had stolen away?

He was drifting, lost in the ebb and flow of hazy fractured thoughts when he saw it. It wasn't much; just a flicker, a flash of light in the reflection of the wall. He stiffened in Blaine's arms, blinking.

There it was again.

He pulled forward against Blaine's bicep, peering into the glass, trying to catch the spark of light again. After a quick glance over his shoulder to check for a source, he looked back, puzzled. There was no lantern or light source behind them, no late night guard or janitor carrying a flashlight.

The light swept across the surface of the mirrored wall in a wave this time, lightning-fast and golden in hue. The sharp hiss of Blaine's breath let Kurt know he wasn't the only one who'd seen it.

"What is that?" Kurt whispered, just loud enough for the two of them to hear over the tattoo of rain outside.

It trickled across the glass again, slower this time, rushing in golden fingers of light until a form took shape. Gradually, their own images faded from the reflection of the ballroom, blocked out by the building globe of sunlight.

He felt Blaine's arms tighten around him protectively, felt the angle of his body shift as Blaine tried to move between him and the mirror.

"Wait-" he dropped a hand to rest on Blaine's arm, "I don't think it's Sebastian."

Blaine narrowed his eyes, ignoring the rivulets of water trickling down his temples from his wet hair, curls plastered to his damp forehead.

"No green smoke," Kurt clarified.

As the embers of a silhouette separated into two and grew larger, the hues shifted into pale skin, and ripples of red and blue. The ballroom remained, somehow, in the mirror - void of their own reflections, as if it were somehow now just a sheet of glass between two identical rooms.

When the lights faded away, Kurt let out a shuddering, relieved breath. His eyes widened in awe at the smiling women staring back at him.

"Rachel… Quinn - you're-"

"Safe," Quinn said. Her voice was clear but tinny, like it came from far away.

"We're alright, Kurt," Rachel added, smiling at him.

He took a moment to let it sink in, eyelashes fluttering as he tried to understand.

His weary mind absorbed the fragments of the whole picture slowly, took in their gowns; so similar yet still so different than the ones he'd seen them in half an hour ago, sweeping back in long trains and ruffles, rich hues of scarlet and royal blue interwoven with leaves. It wasn't until he noticed the elegant, silvery crown perched on Rachel's head, and a similar on Quinn's, that his jaw fell open in surprise. He hadn't felt Blaine's arms fall away from him, he was still reeling in shock.

Blaine had fallen to one knee, pressing a fist to the floor and bowing his head.

Kurt stepped back, blinking. "What-?"

"Blaine, come on. Up," Rachel insisted, laughing gently. "It's just us."

"But-"

"Blaine." Quinn's voice was firmer, but still fond. "You need never bow."

He rose carefully, keeping his eyes down. "Your majesties, I had no idea. Please believe me, had I known-"

"Blaine!" Rachel cut him off, grinning.

Kurt held up both hands, overwhelmed. "What just happened?"

"The Queens of Daltasia," Blaine uttered, fighting the overwhelming urge to kneel again. "They are… the …"

"Dual Queens?" Kurt asked, his voice loud and twanging on the air of the empty room. "Seriously?!"

Blaine's eyes flashed in a silent plea, and Kurt had to force down the giggle that threatened to burst out of him at the look on his face, the tiny begging eyes that said, please don't insult my mythical deities.

He reached out and rubbed at Blaine's back soothingly before he glanced back to the mirror.

"What - what happened?" he asked, twisting the heavy, wet cape off his shoulders and casting it aside. "We saw you disappear with him, but- then nothing?"

"When midnight struck, the spell began," Rachel said. "The sword drew itself back, and anything and everything it was touching came with it."

"So you're-"

"We're in Daltasia," Quinn confirmed. "When we got back, the royal guard were already waiting for Sebastian."

"Seems someone figured out what happened to the late Queen," Rachel said sadly, fixing Blaine with a sympathetic gaze. "Sebastian has been banished to the outlands."

"Good," Blaine said softly.

"More than that, the guards found us and - well," Quinn shrugged, "I think the dresses helped."

"And the fact she was holding the Queensword," Rachel added.

Kurt smiled, brow knitting together in delayed shock and confusion. "But you've only been gone for… for half an hour?"

Rachel's eyes widened, and she glanced back over her shoulder at Quinn.

"Kurt… we've been gone three days," she said carefully.

"It took that long to harness the sword. To find a way to talk to you again," Quinn said carefully.

"Your majesties," Blaine interrupted softly. "Kurt speaks the truth, this side of the mirror it has only been a short time."

Rachel smiled gently. "Well, I'm glad the shorter span was on your side."

Quinn's hand found hers, and they exchanged a soft look, grateful their friends hadn't suffered for days wondering where they'd gone.

"The time doesn't matter," Quinn said. "We're - staying here."

Blaine beamed at them, eyes sparkling and lit up with the muted golden light emanating from the mirror.

"You're staying?" Kurt asked, shocked. "Wh- why? You can't stay, you have-"

"Kurt," Rachel cut him off, her tone even but aching. "You know this is what was meant to happen. Quinn leaving her job. Us finding each other again, me taking a break - wanting something bigger, something better, for myself. The … the whole Dual Queens legend, the dresses, all of it. You really think this was all a coincidence?"

Kurt seized a stunted breath as all the pieces of the puzzle snapped and locked together in his mind, completed now and perfect in the vision of his best friend, gazing back at him through the mirror.

After a long time simply staring at her, lost for words, he let out a huff of laughter. "You're going to make quite the Queen."

She grinned at him, tipping her head to the side affectionately.

"I don't know if it was always supposed to be us," she said. "But we certainly seem to fit the bill. And you know me, I always play the part, to the end."

"This place needs us," Quinn chimed in. "There's so much good we can do here. It's like… we've both known, for a long time, that we never truly fit in that world. Maybe we were always meant for this one."

"One red, for passion and love and spirit," Blaine said softly, glancing between the two. "One blue, for law and logic and reason."

Kurt gasped quietly, and Blaine slipped an arm down around his waist to steady him.

"Plus I always did look good in a tiara," Rachel added with a cheeky smile and a tiny tip of her shoulder.

"But I-" Kurt's heart sank when realisation came flooding in, sharp and strong and bitter. "I'll never see you again."

Watching him sadly, Rachel swallowed and gave a short nod. With a tiny step, she reached out and rested her hand on her side of the glass.

Kurt mirrored her movement, unable to stop the sudden prickle of tears at the corners of his eyes.

"You don't need me," Rachel scoffed, holding back tears of her own. "You have your prince. And he has his."

He laughed wetly, wishing he could feel her hand under his and not just the cold, smooth glass. "I'll miss you."

"I already do," Rachel said with a little smile. "But maybe… this is how we both get our happily ever after."

Kurt nodded, letting his hand fall and sinking into Blaine's arms as they circled around him comfortingly.

"We'll always be here," Quinn told them as Rachel stepped back to her side. "Just behind the mirror."

There was a strange surge of comfort in his chest at that. The awareness that past every surface, somewhere in the deep, Daltasia was real, and thriving.

"No goodbyes," Rachel insisted, scrunching her nose up slightly. "And when you tell your kids about all of this someday, hey," she gave a tiny shrug as their figures started to glow and dissipate again, drifting into golden hues of light and fading back to Kurt and Blaine's own reflection, "you know how the story starts."

Kurt watched them fade out, resting his head against Blaine's, unblinking until all that was left in the mirror was their own reflection.

He let out a shaky breath, and said to the empty hall; "Once upon a time…"

Blaine shifted to kiss his temple, eyes closed, breathing roughly. After a moment, he grew restless, clinging tighter to Kurt's body and holding him close.

Still reeling in the wake of everything that had just happened, it took Kurt a second to realise that Blaine's hands were drifting over his back and his shoulders, clutching at him desperately as he pressed tiny, tear-stained kisses into his hair.

"Hey, hey," Kurt turned against him, cradling his head as it came to rest on his shoulder.

Blaine sobbed gently.

"It's alright," he said in gentle, hushed tones. "They're safe. We're safe. It's alright."

"No, it's-" Blaine voice was thick and unrecognisable. "Everything. My home is... Daltasia is whole again. And my people are safe, and the prophecy has come to be. Lady Rachel has her princess, Sebastian is banished," his fists tightened in Kurt's shirt as he pressed against him. "We get to stay."

Kurt smiled, running his fingers through the still-damp curls of Blaine's hair and resting his cheek against it. "We get to stay."

"I get to stay with you, Kurt, we can- I get to- we can stay."

Blaine was crying openly now, broken and shaking with disbelief. Somehow, everything he'd ever wanted for himself, for his people, just came true, and the relief was earth-shattering.

It was all Kurt could do not to let them both sink to the floor and simply cling to each other to keep themselves from breaking under the unsteadying, potent mixture of adrenaline, exhaustion and gratitude.

Instead he held on until Blaine finally settled in his arms, breathing evenly at last. After a long pause, Kurt found himself squirming uncomfortably in his wet clothing, grimacing at thought of the state of his hair.

"We should go home," he suggested softly. "Get warm."

Nodding against his collarbone, Blaine finally shifted and pulled back, eyes red and still bright.

"Home," he said breathlessly.

Kurt smiled at him, rubbing his arm gently. "Come on."

The cab ride home seemed to take mere seconds as time drowned out in the endless open swoop of the city, suddenly so grand again and laid bare all around them. New York was theirs, the world was theirs, once again. Kurt didn't know whether to laugh or cry at their ridiculous fortune, but settled for holding Blaine's hand in his own, thumb stroking softly over the line of his knuckles. The universe had broadened, had grown so much more vast in the aftermath of a fairytale reality, and Blaine would always be his anchor.

They climbed into the shower together when they got home. They'd stripped of their soggy armour for the evening quickly, stepping under the barrage of scalding water, content to simply breathe deep the rising steam.

Kurt didn't care how long they'd been in there, letting the heat sink in and stroking and pressing against each other lazily under the spray of water. He didn't care what time it was or what day it was anymore.

When they finally shut the water off and clambered out, wiping themselves down, they didn't go any further than Kurt's bed - their bed - happy to simply collapse onto the mattress and curl up in the quilt, naked and pressed skin to skin, riding on the ever-present need to be closer to each other, to feel the other in their bones.

He felt the strong lines of Blaine's hands trailing down his spine, cupping the curves of his ass, sliding over his thighs and loving every inch of him in sweet, lazy strokes; familiar and warm and perfect. With a contented, exhausted sigh, he settled down on Blaine's chest, mouthing an open kiss over his bare shoulder before he rested his cheek against it and closed his eyes.

He was drifting, floating on a tide of peace and weariness, still tinted with the lightness of relief, when he heard Blaine's voice against his ear.

"What?" Kurt asked softly, blinking his eyes open and shifting to look at him.

"I said," Blaine mumbled, eyes half-lidded and just as sleepy. "I think I already love happily ever after."

Kurt snuffled softly, shaking his head. "No, no, this isn- there is no-" He sighed in frustration. "There is no happily ever after, that's not what this is."

Blaine's hands ghosted over his back again, stroking him gently. "Kurt, I love you," he said, eyes dark and sincere. "After everything that's happened tonight, after everything we've been through, you honestly still believe that?"

Closing his eyes, Kurt dropped his forehead to Blaine's chest. "I -no. Just. Don't say it, please," he whispered.

"Oh," Blaine's eyes widened. "I think - I understand."

Kurt didn't look up, but nuzzled against Blaine's neck, pressing a tiny kiss to his throat and another to his jaw.

A hand came up to cup his cheek, to guide his face up so their eyes met. Kurt looked down immediately, embarrassed.

"You don't want happily ever after," Blaine said. "You never wanted happily ever after because… because that's the end of the story?"

Kurt nodded softly, pressing his cheek into Blaine's palm and letting his eyes fall closed again.

He wasn't surprised when Blaine surged to kiss him, and he opened up under the sweep of Blaine's tongue, the perfect drag of his lips. Blaine crashed their mouths together desperately, sucking on Kurt's lip and holding it for a moment before he pressed in again, hot and sweet and exquisitely familiar.

I could do this forever with you.

"I love you," Kurt breathed as they pulled apart.

Blaine pressed a soft kiss to his lips, and another to his nose, gathering his hand in his own to press a third to his fingertips.

With that, Kurt dropped down again, stretching out over Blaine's body and using his chest as a pillow, warm and thrumming against his cheek with a (steady, real, perfect) heartbeat playing like a muted drum. He let himself sink down into the bliss, revelling in the peace that came with what felt like the ending of a story.

And tomorrow, they could begin a new one.

"I will…" Blaine whispered to him, "always love you. No matter what the storybooks say."

Kurt smiled, eyes closed, body rising and falling with Blaine's breath.

"Because that's the thing about happy endings," Blaine said, meeting Kurt's loving gaze when his eyes flickered open, and smiling back. "It's not that they live happily ever after -

"It's that they live."