Blaine threw himself into finding a job on Broadway once the filming hiatus started. He had two months to find something before he was needed back to film the finale, and he was going to put his new found fame to good use.
It paid off after a few weeks – he landed a chorus role in an off-Broadway production. He promptly dived into the work, rehearsing and learning his part. When he wasn’t lighting up the stage at night, he was doing promo work for the show – photo shoots (from which Kurt was conspicuously absent) and interviews, all of them with forced smiles and speculation about who he’d pick.

He basically made sure to keep himself as busy as possible - anything that kept Blaine from thinking about Kurt and how Kurt had been gone that last morning when he’d woken up. Anything that kept him from re-reading Kurt’s note a million times in a row, to the point where Blaine could now recite it from memory in his sleep.

Dear Blaine, it had read. You were right – about everything. I do have feelings for you. I’m sorry that I lied and I hurt you and that I’m leaving you this note instead of sticking around. It’s better this way.
Please don’t try to contact me – you’d only be making it harder to do what has to be done.

Love,
Kurt


Blaine hadn’t known he could hurt the way he did when he’d first read it. It was one thing to think he’d been way off, that he’d mistaken Kurt’s feelings. It was another to know that Kurt felt the same way and was refusing him anyway. He nearly called Kurt a half a dozen times, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He’d been rejected enough.

Blaine had no idea how he would get through the finale and he still had no idea who he was going to pick. He kept putting off thinking about any of it until it was too late – the day of the finale had arrived.



Kurt didn’t know that a heart could actually break in two, but that’s what happened the morning after he snuck out of Blaine’s bedroom. He’d written that note, trying to hold back his tears, and then he’d snuck out without looking back (he couldn’t because otherwise he’d stay and he couldn’t do that either). Their night together had been amazing (so amazing that he could still feel Blaine’s hands on him sometimes, usually when he was drifting off to sleep at night).

His boss had been impressed with the show once it had been edited together and shown to him. He’d recommended Kurt for advancement and Kurt now had his very own Development Producer title. He couldn’t believe it.

If only he’d been able to get Blaine out of his mind – it was the one flaw in his perfect life.

He stayed away from the promotional work for the show, trusting the marketing department to handle it. Kurt knew he couldn’t risk seeing Blaine again. He had no idea how he would handle the finale filming – he’d been so hands on during the show so far that it would be bizarre if he wasn’t on set that night.

When the night of the finale finally arrived, Kurt found he wasn’t anywhere near ready to see Blaine again. He told himself that he was an adult, that Blaine was an adult and they could do this.

They had to.



Blaine stared down at the small black velvet box in his hands. One of the crew had just handed it to him and Blaine had simply sort of frozen upon having it place in his hand.

This was it. It was clear that the producers were urging him to pick someone to marry – of course they were. They wanted higher ratings and true love to come out of their show so it got more attention. They wanted to film a wedding special this summer with him and the guy he picked. Blaine took a shaky breath, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing in on him.

“Hey, squirt,” Cooper said, making Blaine jump by coming up behind him and clapping him hard on the shoulder. “Excited?”

“That’s not the word I’d use,” Blaine mumbled, adjusting the collar of the tuxedo he’d been forced into upon his arrival at the studio. They were doing the finale live there, from a set put together to resemble “ceremony room” at the mansion they’d filmed at. Then Blaine would be led outside to a garden set they’d put together, where he would “hopefully pick one of the guys”, as Bill had put it.

Blaine had been asked multiple times if he knew what choice he was going to make (by Bill, Gustave, the producers… basically everyone except Kurt). He’d simply just shrugged at all of them in reply, because Blaine had no freaking clue what he was going to do. Two months off hadn’t made his decision any easier. He sighed.

Part of him said that he should just propose to Sebastian, even though Blaine couldn’t quite picture himself settled down with him. Sebastian just… didn’t seem quite like the settling type. There was also that pesky notion that his feelings for Sebastian were nothing compared to his feelings for Kurt. In the end, Blaine knew that he wouldn’t be proposing to Adam, no matter how charming and sweet he was.

“You sound like you’re about to marched in front of a firing squad,” Cooper replied.

“That’s exactly how it feels,” Blaine whispered. He chanced a glance at Cooper, seeing his brother’s eyebrows furrowed at him with concern.

“You don’t have to pick anyone, you know,” Cooper pointed out.

“I know,” Blaine said. “I just…”

Cooper put his hands on Blaine’s shoulders and rubbed them soothingly. “Trust me,” he told Blaine. “Things will all work out like they’re supposed to.”

Bill called for everyone on set and Blaine let Cooper lead him over.

It was time to face the music.



Kurt tried to be as inconspicuous as possible when he arrived at the studio. He kept in the background, making sure everything was running smoothly. He kept away from Blaine, hiding and ducking and avoiding every time Kurt thought he’d caught sight of him.

The hardest moment of the night so far had been making sure the ring (in the shape of a bowtie, of course), was delivered to Blaine’s hands. He only cried for a few minutes after that, holed up in the bathroom until he could get himself together.

Bill led them all through a quick run through of what was going to happen during the show (including a live studio audience, as well as three VT runs, showing flashbacks from the show), and then what would happen after, for when Blaine would choose one of the guys. Kurt tried not to flinch at that part, hanging on the outskirts of the crowd. It sounded like Blaine had made up his mind and was going to definitely pick one of them, from the way the Bill went into detail.

Kurt tried to look on the bright side – at least the show would get good ratings. He knew that most of the fans were hoping Blaine would pick Sebastian – they had chemistry and a past. Kurt hoped he could make it through the night without another breakdown.



Blaine tried to stay as focused as he could on the reunion part of the show so he didn’t have to think about what was coming after. He laughed and talked with the guys, genuinely interested in what they’d gotten up to since the show had filmed. Evan was writing a book, Aaron had landed a modeling gig, Chandler was doing a radio show, Eli had gone on a lighthouse tour in New England, Nick and Jeff were now officially dating and living together, Adam had gone home to England to visit family, and Sebastian, well, he was Sebastian and didn’t seem to have done much of anything. Blaine talked about his show and they showed some of the behind the scenes stuff, much to the audience’s delight.

Then came a clip reel of different moments and Cooper led them through talking about each one – Chandler and the horse, Aaron admitting he wasn’t gay, Nick and Jeff going home at the same time.

Finally that came to an end, and Blaine knew he was simply out of time.



Kurt was trying to keep his distance as Blaine was led outside to the garden set, a microphone tucked into his jacket. Kurt could see him twiddling with the ring box and he clenched his jaw. He knew it wasn’t fair to be upset about this – he’d made his bed and now he had to lie in it.

It still hurt like a bitch anyway.

Soft music started as they came back from commercial break. Blaine was at the bottom of a staircase with Cooper off to the side, waiting.

Cooper introduced Adam and Adam descended the stairs, meeting Blaine at the bottom. Kurt watched as Blaine smiled and took Adam’s hand. He steeled himself, preparing for anything that might happen next.

He let out a huge sigh of relief when Blaine explained to Adam that while Adam was great, Blaine couldn’t imagine them getting married. Blaine kissed Adam on the cheek and Adam left the stage quietly. Cooper sent them to commercial break and Blaine looked like he was wandering around nervously, shaking his hands every so often.
Kurt wanted nothing more than to comfort him.

Cooper announced Sebastian and Kurt had to keep himself in check, reminding himself that it would be a very bad idea to rush Sebastian and smack the smirk off his face.

Sebastian came to a stop in front of Blaine and they joined hands.

“Sebastian,” Blaine said. “We’ve been friends a long time. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to decide if that friendship has turned into something more,” he continued.

Blaine paused and Kurt felt like his heart had stopped, waiting to see what Blaine would say next.
“I’m sorry, I just… I don’t think we’d do well if we got married,” he told Sebastian. Kurt let out a huge breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

Okay, so his show wouldn’t get a wedding follow up. It was fine. He had his promotion, everything was good.

“It’s okay, killer,” Sebastian said, kissing Blaine lightly on the lips before walking away. Cooper pulled Blaine to him, putting his arm around Blaine’s shoulders and turning him so they were both facing the camera.

“Tell us what you’re thinking right now,” Cooper urged him.

Kurt turned to leave. It was over – there was just some wrap up stuff now and then the filming would be done and Kurt’s first show would be successful and in the can and he could maybe learn how to breathe so it didn’t hurt.

“I just didn’t feel like there was enough for me to marry either one of them, though they’re great guys,” Kurt heard Blaine say as he started to walk away.

“And you’d think that’s where we’d leave it, right?” Cooper replied, and Kurt paused wondering what the hell was going on. He waited for the show to go to commercial, for someone to demand to know what Cooper was doing, but no one did. He caught Gustave and Bill both giving him looks but he had no idea what the expressions on their faces could possibly mean. “Except that something interesting happened on the set of the show while we were filming, something that only a few people know about.”

Kurt turned back around to see Cooper smiling charmingly at the camera. “My little brother came on this show to find love – and he did. Just not with any of the guys that had been picked for him.”

Blaine’s mouth was hanging open and he was staring at Cooper in shock and Kurt was pretty much doing the same thing from where he was standing.

“I noticed during filming that Blaine seemed closer to one person and, after following up with Blaine’s personal cameraman, I found I was definitely correct.” Cooper grinned at the camera and Kurt’s heart pounded in his chest. “Kurt Hummel, would you join us please?”

Kurt didn’t know what to do. He wanted to pinch himself and make sure he was dreaming because this was not happening, not here, not now, not live on his first show and oh, God, the network was going to kill him and – then he locked eyes with Blaine.

Blaine, whose amber eyes were pleading with him to please, please take a chance.

Kurt’s feet seemed to move of their own accord, walking toward Blaine like he was caught in some kind of magnetic pull.

“Kurt!” Cooper exclaimed, grabbing Kurt’s hand when he was close enough and joining it with Blaine’s. He barely kept himself from jumping out of his skin when their hands touched. “I knew I couldn’t let my brother leave this show without a chance at happiness, so I took a look at some of Gustave’s video, spliced it together, presented it to your bosses at the network and they loved it!” he crowed.

“You…” Blaine tried to say something but Kurt wasn’t surprised he couldn’t get the words out.

“Everyone sit back and relax, and watch the real love story of this show,” Cooper continued. The show cut to the video, playing behind them on the wall.

Kurt couldn’t believe it – everything from Kurt and Blaine meeting in the hallway after Blaine had gone swimming to even them kissing in Blaine’s room and slamming the door was in this video. Blaine’s face was red and Kurt was sure his was too.

“And that brings us to now,” Cooper started again, once the video was over. “To this moment.” He gave Blaine a look that Kurt didn’t quite understand, but Blaine seemed to because he nodded. Blaine took both of Kurt’s hands in his and then dropped down to one knee.

“Kurt,” he said, his voice choked with emotion, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “I know this is kind of crazy. I know it’s not what you expected. We probably don’t know each other well enough and this is probably the most insane thing that I’ve ever done, but…” he trailed off, letting go of one of Kurt’s hands and pulling the ring box out of his pocket and opening it. “Marry me?”

Kurt stared down at him, dumbfounded for a moment. Was this really happening? He still felt like it could all be a dream. He took a deep breath, smiled, and threw caution to wind for what might be the first time in his life.

“Yes.”

Blaine let out a choked laugh and slid the ring on his finger and then Blaine’s lips were on his.



The show was a success – the ratings through the roof. Kurt and Blaine opted not to get married on television – much to Blaine’s relief – even though the network had made them all kinds of ridiculous offers. The wedding of their dreams, any honeymoon location they could want. But their answer was still no. Their relationship was not for show. He’d had enough of making a public spectacle of himself.

Kurt stepped into the living room of their honeymoon suite, dressed impeccably for dinner. Blaine’s mouth watered at the sight of him, but Kurt wagged his finger as if he knew what Blaine was thinking.

“Uh uh,” Kurt said. “We’re actually keeping these reservations.” Blaine chuckled, because they really hadn’t spent much time outside their hotel room during their trip. “Cooper just called, by the way.”
Blaine groaned.

“He says he’s got a new idea for a show,” Kurt continued, staring at him with a critical eye. Blaine had no idea what kind of show it could possibly be, but he knew what that look meant.

“No way,” he refused. “Never again.”

Kurt just smiled.

“I mean it, Kurt,” Blaine said, glaring at his husband.

“Uh, huh,” Kurt agreed, taking his hand. He sounded like he didn’t believe Blaine in the slightest. Blaine sighed but couldn’t help the smile that crossed his lips as followed he Kurt out the door for dinner.