The next thing he registered was that there was an arm draped across his hip. He let out a gasp and kind of jerked a little before it all came rushing back to him.

He was married now. He and Blaine had had to stay over because of the storm. Kurt had shared a bed with another man for the first time in his life and said man was currently pressed as close to Kurt as he could get. So close, Kurt could feel that Blaine was hard (oh, God, he could barely think that word without blushing) against the back of his thigh.

He leaned over slowly and turned off his phone alarm, Blaine sniffling behind him.

“Oh, sorry,” Blaine mumbled, sliding back and pulling his arm away in a rush. “I didn’t mean to.” Kurt turned over and looked at Blaine, who was blushing profusely.

“It’s okay,” Kurt said, knowing his face must be just as red. “Honest. It happens.”

“Yeah,” Blaine murmured. “We should probably get on the road soon, right?”

“Probably,” Kurt agreed. “Do you mind if I shower first?”

Blaine looked a little relieved, probably because he wouldn’t have to get out of bed in front of Kurt, and nodded. Kurt slid out of the bed and set about grabbing his kit – he might not have any shampoo but he could wet his hair and wash his face and brush his teeth.

It wasn’t until he got in the shower and turned on the water that he realized he’d slept through the night for the first time since his dad had died.

*

Blaine sprang for coffee and muffins on the drive home, the both of them a little quiet. He was still mortified about their wake up this morning – how he’d ended up all over Kurt with no chance of hiding his reaction to being pressed up against him. Kurt seemed to have forgotten about it though… he hoped.

“So, what do you think your stepmother’s going to say?” Blaine asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure. She’ll probably cry and tell me I’m insane and then once she’s sure that this is what we really want, she’ll say she’s happy for us,” Kurt paused, taking a sip from his cup before putting it back down in the cup holder and returning his hand to the steering wheel. “Or she could get really pissed and start throwing stuff.”

Blaine gave him a look of horror and Kurt chuckled.

“I’m kidding, Blaine,” Kurt told him. “Promise.” They were quiet again.

“Are you going to tell your parents?” Kurt glanced at him.

“No,” Blaine answered softly. “They’ve made where they stand pretty clear. I don’t care if they find out – they can’t stop me from getting this money and they can’t stop me from being married to you, so…”

“How long have you been out?” Kurt wanted to know. Blaine shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Kurt must have noticed because he continued. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I…” Blaine muttered. “It’s a little embarrassing, actually.” He took a breath, knowing if he was going to tell this story, he was only going to tell it once. “I’ve known I was gay since I was thirteen,” he began. “I couldn’t bring myself to tell my parents – I was terrified of how they’d react. It’s no secret that they have money and are incredibly conservative.
“Even after some incidents that led me to switching schools and going to Dalton, I still didn’t tell them the truth.”

“How did they find out?” Kurt asked, maneuvering the SUV around a truck going too slow on the freeway. They would be to Lima soon, and Blaine didn’t know what he would do then.

“They kind of walked in on me… in flagrante delicto,” Blaine admitted. Kurt’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and he looked at Blaine for a second. “I had never been more mortified in my life,” he muttered.

“I can only imagine,” Kurt said, his voice going higher and breathy, his eyes still wide and his cheeks pink.

“They gave me two months to change my mind, to ‘make the right decisions,’” Blaine practically growled. He was still angry about it, still so hurt that the parents who’d raised him had basically thrown him away like he was nothing and left him in a situation where he’d had to marry a stranger. Not that Kurt wasn’t amazing – Blaine had only known his husband for two days and he already knew that Kurt was the most moral and compassionate person he’d ever met.

“I’m so sorry,” Kurt breathed out. “That’s terrible. I don’t know what I would have done if my dad hadn’t been so accepting.”

“It was like a nightmare,” Blaine told him.

“I know that feeling,” Kurt agreed, steering the car through the quiet streets of Lima. It was mid-morning so the streets were pretty dead. Kurt pulled up in front of the shop and waved at the guys inside before getting out. Blaine hopped out behind him and followed him around back to where his station wagon was. Kurt stopped short and turned around to look at Blaine with panicked eyes. “I just realized – they’re not going to take your car, are they?”

“No,” Blaine replied, glad that’s all it was. “No, the car is in my name. I spent the last few summers working at theme parks and saved up for it.”

“Good,” Kurt breathed out. He helped Blaine uncover the car, and then Blaine unlocked it and sat inside.

“I’ll follow you,” he said. Kurt nodded and Blaine took a deep breath as he disappeared around the corner.

He realized that Kurt was right – the hard part wasn’t getting married.

The hard part was just beginning.

*

Kurt nearly jumped when his phone buzzed on the drive from the shop to the house. He picked it up blindly and answered it. “Hello?”

“Dude, where are you?” Finn’s voice sounded in his ear.

“I’m about five minutes away, why?”

“Did you forget about rehearsal? We have to be at school in an hour and I know how long it takes you to get ready,” Finn answered. “Rachel will have a fit if we’re late. She’s already freaked out about her NYADA letter coming today.”

Kurt took a deep breath. He’d forgotten that there was a last minute glee practice for the graduation ceremony that night. He’d felt guilty for ruining Rachel’s “NYADA dream”- which involved both of them going to New York together and had let her talk him into one last solo at graduation. He’d even managed to forget that Rachel and Finn’s letters would be coming. It didn’t matter now though, because he was married to Blaine and he was going to New York anyway, and he’d eventually get into NYADA.

“I’ll be home in a minute and I’ll be ready to go on time, okay?” Kurt said before hanging up. He pulled up in front of the house a few moments later, getting out of the car, his heart beating fast. Blaine pulled up behind him and got out as well, looking nervous. “I have bad news,” he told Blaine. Blaine’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“I forgot that I have a mandatory glee practice for the ceremony tonight and I have to leave in about an hour,” Kurt replied. “So that means you’ll be here alone with Carole, because she’s got the day off.”

“Oh,” Blaine breathed out.

“Yeah,” Kurt agreed as they headed up the porch. “Here we go.”

*

“You did what?” Carole hadn’t looked like a woman who would shriek, but Blaine was pretty sure she was doing just that.

“Blaine and I went to Canada and got married,” Kurt repeated, looking calm despite his stepmother’s outburst. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while and we love each other.”

Carole took a deep breath and Blaine reached over to hold Kurt’s hand. Kurt went stiff for a second before relaxing, their fingers lacing together on Kurt’s lap. Kurt shot him a small smile and Blaine returned it.

“You couldn’t wait a little longer? You know, until after you’d introduced him to us?” Carole asked, still upset. “How long is ‘a while’?”

“We were going to wait a little longer, but things… came up.”

Finn, who’d been strangely silent since they’d broke the news, spoke up. “I thought dudes couldn’t get pregnant.”

Blaine stared at Finn in disbelief. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,” Kurt muttered.

“What things?” Carole wanted to know.

“Look, can we talk about this later?” Kurt dodged the question. “Finn and I have to get to practice and I need to wash my hair.”

Carole sighed and waved her hand. Kurt hated the stressed look on her face – he’d seen it way too much since his father had died. The knot in his stomach, well on its way to loosening up, tightened up so suddenly Kurt thought he might be sick.

“Come on,” he managed, tugging on Blaine’s hand. “I’ll show you my room.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to sleep in the guest room?” Blaine wanted to know once they were safely ensconced in Kurt’s room. Kurt set about grabbing a change of clothes.

“No,” Kurt replied. “If you did that, they’d know we were lying about why we did this. We’ll just share my room until we move to New York and get a two bedroom or something.”

Blaine nodded and Kurt headed for his bedroom door. “I’m going to take a quick shower and head out with Finn – why don’t you start bringing in some of your stuff and then get changed while we’re gone?”

“Okay,” Blaine agreed. “What time is your graduation?”

“Seven,” Kurt said. “I think we’re going out for an early dinner and then probably out to celebrate with my friends after – but only if you want to go.”

“It would probably look weird if I didn’t,” Blaine said.

“I’d make it work,” Kurt told him, his voice quiet.

“It sounds good,” Blaine replied. “I could use some fun.”

“Good.” Kurt grinned. “l’ll be back here after rehearsal and we can start figuring out where your stuff’s gonna go.” With that, Kurt slipped out into the hallway and headed for the shower.

*

“So, Blaine,” Carole said as she followed him out to his car. She’d insisted on helping him carry in a few things. “Tell me about yourself.”

“Well…” Blaine began, uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure how much he should give away, so he kept it basic. “I’m from Westerville and I’m getting ready to graduate from Dalton Academy.”

“That’s a nice school,” Carole replied as they started grabbing things from the back of the car and loading up their arms. “Kurt almost went there once, but the tuition was too steep and they didn’t have any scholarships available.”

Blaine nearly did a double take at that news, but he held it in because that was probably the kind of information people desperately in love with each other would share. “Any siblings?” Carole continued.

“One,” Blaine answered as they went into the house with their boxes and bags. “He’s about ten years older. We’re… estranged.”

“That’s a shame,” Carole told him. Blaine shrugged. “What do your parents think about you and Kurt getting married?” she asked. Blaine stopped, setting down his stuff on Kurt’s floor to delay answering.

“Honestly,” Blaine said softly, “They’d probably tell me it was mistake – but not because Kurt and I are young.”

Caroled must have picked up on his tone, because her next question was, “Because you’re gay?”
Blaine nodded, fighting back a well of emotion. He’d kept it together this long, he wasn’t going to fall apart now. Silently, they headed back down for more boxes, and keeping the talking to a minimum this time. Finally, the last of the boxes were in Kurt’s room. His next task was a hot shower and finding something to wear to Kurt’s graduation.

“Thanks, Mrs. Hummel,” Blaine told Carole as she was leaving Kurt’s room, glad that Kurt had introduced her and included her last name, or it would have been a very awkward moment.

“Call me Carole, sweetie,” she replied, smiling. “I might not know all the details about you and Kurt yet, but one thing I do know is that Kurt doesn’t do things lightly. He must love you an awful lot to run off and get married without telling anyone, especially after everything he’s been through the last few months.” She reached out and took Blaine’s hand squeezed it gently. “So that makes you family, okay?”

Blaine nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. She let go of his hand and pointed out the bathroom before leaving him to his own devices.

He stared after her for a moment, guilt churning in his gut. Blaine did his best to shake it off and went to take a shower.