Five years later

With a sigh Blaine closes the instrument box of his guitar. He can’t help but grin, reliving every single moment of the last two hours. At that moment, someone is knocking at his door. “Come in.” His tone is as light and careful as he feels. The door opens to reveal the face of Kurt, smiling wide at his boyfriend.

Even after all this time I can’t help but forget everything else, just by looking into his eyes…

Blaine can read every emotion in them – excitement, pride and most of all love.

“Blaine! You did it!” Kurt closes the distance between them and wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist. “You gave a concert in front of a large audience! And they loved it! I knew they would, but seeing their happy faces…” Blaine grins even wider, amused by the fact that his boyfriend seems to be even happier than he is. “I know. It felt so good!” He reaches out to take Kurt’s hands in his, letting his fingers run over Kurt’s skin softly. “But to be honest, I wasn’t playing for them. It was only for you. Without you I never would have had the courage to live my dream, Kurt. If it weren’t for you believing in me, and supporting me, I wouldn’t do what I love. And I will be thankful for that forever.” Kurt’s breath hitches at the other man’s words. At moments like this he asks himself what he had done in a previous life to deserve Blaine. “I love you.” He brushed his lips against Blaine’s, not allowing him to respond. Like all the other times they touched, the sparkling fire emerges and Blaine immediately presses in closer, parting his lips to deepen the kiss. Just as Blaine starts to lick at Kurt’s bottom lip, asking for permission to enter, there is another knock on the door, softer than Kurt’s and insecure in a way. With a sigh Blaine detaches his lips from Kurt’s, bringing enough distance between them to appear appropriate. “Come in.” he says one more, this time less enthusiastic. The door opens and reveals two figures entering the room. “Mom, Dad! What a surprise, I wasn’t expecting you! Why haven’t you told me you were coming?” His mother hugs him tightly, just as she always did. “Honey, I am so proud of you. You were amazing!” His father is squeezing his shoulder firmly, his voice light. “We wouldn’t have missed it for anything in the world. I have to say Blaine, I’m very proud of you too, the concert was impressing. If I knew you were that talented, I wouldn’t have tried to keep you from doing it. Your gift is unique, and I understand now that you have to share it with other people.” Blaine has to swallow, and his expression gives away how touched he is by his parent’s words. In that moment, the hazel-honey-gold of Blaine’s eyes find Kurt’s deep blue ones, and by his smile Blaine can tell that Kurt knows how he feels. Kurt is standing alongside, watching the family he has become a part of the last years. The way Blaine’s smile lights up when he looks at Kurt says more than words. “Kurt, dear! I’m sorry we ignore you, but we had to congratulate our baby first.” With that she lets go of Blaine and rushes over to wrap the other boy up in a hug. “Oh, don’t act as if you like me more than him, that’s just impossible!” Blaine whines in a playful tone. Kurt sticks out his tongue at Blaine. “Oh, I nearly forgot: Mr. Hummel – I mean Burt – told me to send you two his best regards. Both he and Carole are very sorry they weren’t able to make it today. They invited us all for dinner on Thanksgiving and told me they won’t accept no as an answer.” Kurt grins. “That is wonderful. I hope Finn and his family will be there too.” Blaine’s mother smiles widely. “I hope so. I never had a chance to see him after last Christmas. Oh, and speaking of family: Blaine, I got a letter from Maria last week.” Blaine looks up surprised. He hasn’t heard from her for almost two years. He still feels slightly guilty about breaking up with her so ungentle, and he can’t lose the feeling that she still is upset about it. “Really? How is she?” His mother nearly beams at him. “She married a year ago and she just gave birth to her first born. She named the baby Blaine Elizabeth.” Both Kurt and Blaine gasp at those words, gaping at the woman in shock. Maria had told them she was okay with their relationship, but they certainly weren’t expecting this.

I should write her a letter soon.

They keep talking for a while, before Blaine’s parents say goodbye, leaving the two boys alone once more. As soon as they are out of the door, Kurt wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist, pressing his chin in the place between Blaine’s shoulder and neck. Blaine covers his arms with his own, turning his head to the side and pressing a soft kiss on Kurt’s cheekbone.

“Should we pack up my remaining things and head home?” He tries to move, but Kurt’s arms don’t allow him to. “First I want to do something.” The whispering sound of Kurt’s voice so close to Blaine’s ear sends shivers down his spine. Kurt withdraws his arms from Blaine’s middle, only to grab him at the shoulders softly and turn him around so they stand face to face. “I thought about this for a long time, and I think this evening is perfect to do it.” Blaine isn’t sure he understands the meaning behind Kurt’s word, so he just waits curiously for him to continue. Kurt looks flustered, his cheeks flushed in a light red color, his eyes sparkling, even in the slightly dulled light of the room. Blaine can’t suppress a shudder when he hears Kurt taking a deep shaky breath, and his heart flutters when Kurt takes his hands in his. “Ever since that day you ran into me in a corridor, I knew you were special. And in the last few years I learned that not only are you special, you are wonderful, and I never met anyone that meant as much to me as you do. You are my soulmate. What we have is extraordinary. I know that a lot of people don’t want to see it, but they don’t know us, they don’t know what we have, and they have no idea how it feels like. And what I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we know how we feel. And I do.” By this time, both of their eyes are starting to filling with tears. Blaine wants to say something, but Kurt continues already. “I love you Blaine. I have loved you from the first moment on, and I never stopped. My feelings even grew throughout the years, although I never would have thought that it was possible.” Kurt slowly reaches in his pocket and pulls out a small box made out of red velvet. He opens it, his hands shaking slightly, and reveals a plain silver ring. “I know we can’t get married, but I want to give you this. It’s a promise. I know that sometimes, you are afraid that I will stop wanting you and loving you. That I will run away again, just like I did the first time. I can see it in your eyes every now and then, and it breaks my heart every time. I need you to know that it won’t happen. You are the best thing that has happened to me in my whole life, and I want you to be a part of every single moment of it. And I will never say goodbye to you again. I love you too much.” Blaine opens his mouth and tries to speak, but he can’t get a sound past his lips except his shuddering breath. He hadn’t known that Kurt was able to see his fear and he certainly would have been embarrassed if he did, but hearing these words he was thankful he had. He feels like a weight is lifted off his heart, a weight he hadn’t even been aware of. And all that remains is love. Love and perfect happiness.

Without Kurt I wouldn’t have either of these things.

“Kurt –“ But he doesn’t know what to answer, how to put his feelings into words, so all he can do is wrap his arms around Kurt and kiss him with all he has.

When they make love this night, it is tender and sweet, assuring each other that they are loved with every touch, that the time of loneliness and hiding is over forever.