It didn’t help that they had all decided he was their new favorite person. He and Kurt had spent most of the dinner recounting their hasty elopement to Canada. Rachel spent most of the meal grilling him about Dalton and the Warblers before Kurt pointedly reminded her that they’d graduated and Blaine was graduating the next day, so why should they be worried that he was up to some kind of subterfuge? Blaine was grateful because he’d had no idea how to answer half of her questions.

Finn spent most of the meal glowering at them while the others had made him feel like he was in the middle of the Spanish Inquisition. He assumed that his brother-in-law was still upset at him and Kurt running off to get married. Blaine had no idea what he could do to make that better – probably nothing, since it was between Finn and Kurt. He wished he could help, though.

The parents had taken up the other end of the table – Blaine had no idea whose parents were whose, but they were all talking very intensely. Blaine wondered if they were discussing his and Kurt’s marriage and once again felt terrible. He was imposing himself on Kurt’s life, making Kurt lie to his friends, and his family and he hated it.

He hated himself for being too stubborn to track down Cooper, and for his parents for putting him in this mess in the first place. At the same time, though, he knew he couldn’t back out now. Kurt needed the money. Blaine knew that even if he found some other way to get it, Kurt wouldn’t just take it – and that left him kind of stuck. He sighed.

Kurt’s hand suddenly covered his on the table, where Blaine was clenching his fork tightly in his hands. “You okay?” Kurt murmured. Blaine could only stare at their joined hands in surprise. He was pretty sure that was the first time Kurt had voluntarily touched him. All other instances had been instigated by Blaine. “I know Rachel’s a handful, but murder by fork is both messy and a federal offense.”

“Thank goodness I have you here to remind me,” Blaine managed to get out, tearing his gaze away from their hands to look at Kurt’s face.

“Well, you look amazing, and I couldn’t stand the idea of you staining your suit,” Kurt replied, grinning.
Blaine smiled back, squeezing Kurt’s hand lightly.

“So, Blaine,” Rachel interrupted their moment. “What are your college plans?”

“Oh,” Blaine said, turning away from Kurt. “Um, NYU. In the fall.”

Rachel’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open a little, as if she was shocked by the news. Blaine wondered what she could possibly have to say about him going to NYU for school but his thoughts were cut off by a shriek.

“You’re going to New York!” Rachel practically shouted, quieting down the table.

“Yes,” Blaine answered slowly, feeling self-conscious. “That’s where NYU is.”

“Not you,” Rachel waved her hand at him. “Kurt! You two are married, so he’s going with you, right?”

“Yes, Rachel,” Kurt spoke for him and Blaine was silently grateful. “I’m going to New York.”

She shrieked again, and then launched herself out of her seat and around the table to throw her arms around Kurt. “Then I can finally tell everyone my amazing news,” she announced. “I got into NYADA.”

Kurt was shrieking then, hugging Rachel hard. “I am so proud of you!” he exclaimed. Blaine forced a smile on his face.

He had a feeling Rachel would be a permanent part of their lives for the next year.

Blaine took a sip of water while everyone congratulated her and she and Kurt talked about plans. He glanced up to see Carole wiping tears from her eyes and looked away guiltily, only to lock eyes with Finn, who was glaring at him harder than ever.

*

“New York?” Carole asked softly as the four of them went into the living room, having just gotten home from dinner.

“I was going to tell you,” Kurt said. “Blaine’s going to NYU in the fall, and I’m going to New York with him.”

“How are you guys going to pay for a place to live together?” Carole wanted to know, sitting down in what Kurt would always consider his father’s chair (it was actually Finn’s father’s chair, but Burt had always sat in it once the Finn and Carole had moved in).

“I have a trust fund,” Blaine answered, moving to settle on the couch, Kurt following him.

“I see,” Carole said. “So is this the ‘thing that came up?’” she wanted to know. Kurt’s heart pounded – had Carole figured it out? Did she know what Kurt had done to help them out?

“What?” he squeaked out.

“You got married because you didn’t want Blaine to go to New York and leave you here,” Carole said. Kurt glanced at Blaine and they agreed with a look.

“It’s one of the reasons,” Kurt confirmed. “After what happened with Dad, I… I couldn’t…” he trailed off, unable to find the right words. Something in his face must have made up for it though, because Carole’s expression softened and she looked both happy and upset.

“Oh, sweetie,” she replied. “I get it. I just wish you’d waited until you were a little older.”

“Finn and Rachel are engaged,” Kurt pointed out, knowing he was grasping at straws. He’d been against Finn and Rachel getting married since Rachel had told him back in February and hadn’t exactly been quiet about it. Carole raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“You and Blaine are not Finn and Rachel,” was all she said, and Kurt figured that she was just keeping her feelings to herself. She didn’t want to alienate Finn after everything, and if marrying Rachel was what he wanted, Kurt knew Carole would support him. “What do your parents think about all this?” She looked at Blaine. “I know you said they’d be against it…”

“My parents… they don’t want anything to do with me,” Blaine spoke softly. “Unless I change my ways, I’m no longer welcome in my parents’ life, effective tomorrow.”

Kurt was surprised to see Blaine get a little teary eyed and he reached for Blaine’s hand. It was becoming instinctive now, to reach out and touch Blaine. He’d never had the kind of relationship with a boy where he could do just that – touch. Kurt could count on one hand the number of times he and Finn had hugged – and the guys at school, while “cool” with Kurt, certainly didn’t go out of their way to touch him. Blaine squeezed his hand tightly, lacing their fingers together.

Kurt wondered when he’d get used to that feeling – but he pushed that thought away because he shouldn’t get used to it. He and Blaine were just a temporary thing.

“That was the other reason why we rushed it a little,” Kurt interjected. “And I know we didn’t really talk about it earlier, even though Blaine brought some stuff in, but we were planning on staying here until we leave for New York, if that’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” Carole said.

“I’m going to bed,” Finn suddenly announced. He strode out of the living room and up the stairs, his footsteps echoing behind him.

“He’s really upset about me and Blaine, isn’t he?” Kurt asked, guilt twisting the knot in his stomach a little tighter. He felt sick, gripping Blaine’s hand tighter.

“It’s more than that,” Carole replied. “He got his letter from Pace today.”

“He didn’t get in,” Kurt breathed out, closing his eyes. “And Rachel got into NYADA.”

Carole “hmm’d” in agreement. “I’d give him a few days.”

Kurt nodded. “We’re going to turn in – we’ve got to run errands tomorrow, and then Blaine has to get his stuff from the dorms at Dalton.”

“My graduation is tomorrow night,” Blaine added.

“What time?” Carole asked.

“Same as Kurt and Finn’s tonight,” Blaine told her.

“Good,” Carole said. “I’ll be there.”

“Mrs. Hu – Carole,” Blaine hastily corrected himself off a playful glare from Carole. “You don’t – I mean, I don’t expect…”

“You’re family now, Blaine,” Carole replied, reaching over and patting his knee. “I’ll be there.”

Blaine gave her a shaky smile and Kurt took that as his cue to lead Blaine upstairs to get ready for bed.

*

Blaine let himself into Kurt’s (their?) bedroom and shut the door behind him. The room was tastefully decorated and Blaine loved it. It just screamed Kurt at him – something Blaine knew even after just a couple of days. Kurt was seated at his vanity in the corner, already dressed for bed in a matching pajamas set. He was rubbing some kind of cream on his face.

“Sorry,” he apologized, seeing Blaine standing behind him. “I have a whole moisturizing routine.”

“It shows,” Blaine said before he could stop himself. He wondered if the skin on Kurt’s face was as soft as the skin on his hands. He ignored that thought (and all the other thoughts he’d been having about Kurt since Kurt had sung earlier) and glanced at the bed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to sleep in the guest room or on the floor or…”

“Don’t be silly,” Kurt told him. “We’re married and Carole and Finn would expect us to share a bed. And I wouldn’t subject anyone to sleeping on my floor.”

Blaine slipped off his robe, leaving himself clad on his white t-shirt and pajama bottoms. He was glad to get a moment to himself while changing his clothes – Carole had struck a nerve, unintentionally, and Blaine had needed to pull himself together. He was determined not to let his parents get to him and he hated that such a simple statement from Carole, calling him family, was enough to make him lose control.

He folded up his robe, setting it on the chair near the bed, lost in thought.

“You okay?” Kurt’s voice broke through his haze and Blaine jerked his head up.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Blaine answered. “There’s just a lot of stuff I – we need to get done tomorrow.”

“Bank first, right?” Kurt confirmed. Blaine nodded.

“Yep. We have the certificate. Wes is going to meet us there. Then I’ve got a quick Warbler rehearsal for graduation and I was thinking that maybe you could get a head start on packing the rest of my stuff while I’m doing that?”

“Of course I will,” Kurt agreed, turning off the light near his vanity and heading to the bed. The only light in the room that was on now was the one on the nightstand and the dim lit made Kurt look almost otherworldly.

They both set about climbing into Kurt’s bed, which was a lot bigger than the one they’d slept on in Canada, so there was plenty of room.

“Then I figure we’ll grab a quick dinner somewhere and head to the ceremony,” Blaine continued. Kurt nodded, reaching up and flicking the light off. The room plunged into darkness. “Good night, Kurt,” he whispered.

“Good night, Blaine,” Kurt murmured, already turned on his side, facing away from Blaine.

Blaine raised his arm behind his head, under his pillow, and closed his eyes. He was exhausted. Sleep should have come, swift and sure, but it didn’t. Every time he started to doze off, Kurt would shift slightly and the motion kept waking him back up.

“I’m sorry,” Kurt apologized quietly, after an hour had gone by. “I don’t really sleep anymore. I guess after last night I had some hope…”

“Can I try something?” Blaine asked, leaning up on his arm, toward Kurt. Kurt turned so he could look back at Blaine’s face.

“Like what?” he wanted to know.

“Just…” Blaine trailed off, turning on his side and sliding closer to Kurt. Kurt practically jumped out of his skin. “Relax. I’m not going to grope you.”

“Sorry,” Kurt mumbled. “I’m not really used to… having a guy in my bed.”

“Me either,” Blaine chuckled. “My ex was not the cuddling type.” He slid his arm around Kurt’s waist and found Kurt’s hand, locking their fingers together. “Now,” Blaine said, “try to match your breathing with mine.”

They laid there together, breathing gently in the darkness, Blaine wrapped around Kurt, holding him tightly. It wasn’t until Kurt had been asleep for about twenty minutes that Blaine allowed himself to drift off, a satisfied smile on his face.