Just hours before sunrise, Blaine’s heavy heart led him to the top of the South Tower. He knew what he would find there, and yet he could not force his feet to stop the long ascent to the highest rooftop of the castle.

In the early morning darkness, the moon still visible in the sky, Blaine approached the slight figure, slim but strong, sitting on the very edge of the rooftop. His long legs hung over the side, over a hundred feet from the ground, swaying gently. Long, thin fingers rested on the cold stone on either side of his hips and he tilted his angelic face to the sky.

When Prince Kurt felt the presence of the man he loved, his only movement was to let his head fall so that he could gaze out over the dark blue landscape of Dalton. If he looked hard enough, he could see the ocean. He sighed, thinking of home.

Blaine stood a mere foot from where Kurt sat, eyes glued to the horizon as well. They were silent, physically ignoring the others’ presence, but mentally becoming overwhelmed by it.

“I hate myself,” Blaine finally said, his voice quiet enough to remain a piece of the fading darkness.

A soft breeze touched them, ruffling their clothes and their hair with a gentle caress. The cool air reminded Kurt of the wetness on his cheeks, but he did not stop the tears from sliding down his pale face.

“I hate you, too,” he replied a minute later.

They were quiet again.

At last, Blaine sat down on the ledge of the tower, his leg almost touching Kurt’s. Still they did not look at one another, but enjoyed what they knew to be the other’s favorite time of day. When the world was still dreaming and glittering souls drifted through the air, whispering peace into your ear.

A light fog hung over the farmlands in the distance and the outlines of mountains slowly became more apparent as the sun grew closer and closer to awakening.

“We could jump, you know,” Blaine whispered.

Kurt sniffed loudly and dragged the silk sleeve of his shirt roughly across his eyes to dry them. “I’ve been thinking about it all night.”

“Have you been sitting here that long?”

Kurt finally turned his face towards Blaine and, not for the first time, Blaine felt as if he was being plowed down by a gust of beauty that he did not have the capacity to take in all at once. The two pairs of eyes that had met so many times before, each time with unique expressions, looked upon the other boy with an unfamiliar sense of loss.

“What stopped you from jumping?” Blaine asked. Never had he spoken of death so casually, not even with his dearest friend.

Kurt shrugged his shoulders, the thin fabric of his shirt shifting over the peaks of his shoulder blades. “I thought about my father and my sister and my people; how sad they would be to lose me. I thought about my mother, too; about how disappointed she would have been in me, even if it meant I could see her again.”

“Kurt, I--”

“Did you know that I stood on the other side of that tapestry hours ago and listened to the man I loved more than anything betray me?”

A ripping sensation overtook Blaine’s chest, surprising him. He did not think his heart could have been injured any farther.

“It didn’t--”

“Blaine, do you really think that you are the only gay person in Dalton?” Kurt said, his voice growing harder, raising a fraction in volume. “There are probably thousands of people wishing they could love freely. You could bring so much happiness and change to this country. You are letting so many people down. Including me. You’re just a coward.”

Blaine swallowed the lump in his throat. “My father, he--”

“Your father is a coldhearted man, Blaine,” Kurt spat. “But, you, you are full of so much love. You are better than him. You could be a great King, if only you stopped trying to please him.”

“I don’t think I have the strength to defy him.”

At those words, Kurt slapped the stone of the ledge with his hands, letting out a growl of anger. “You were supposed to fight for us, Blaine!” he screamed, turning a face twisted with anguish towards him. Blaine’s eyes widened with shock. “You promised! We were going to love each other forever! You were supposed to fight.”

Kurt choked on the final word and let his head fall into his hands, shoulders shaking violently with loud sobs.

Blaine did not dare touch him, but watched as he destroyed his soulmate.

He thought again briefly about throwing himself off the side of the Tower, ending it quick. Would Kurt follow after him? Or was Kurt so disgusted by him now that he would not even want to spend an afterlife with him?

“I’m going home,” Kurt finally said, voice trembling. He swung his legs around and stood, walking swiftly across the roof to the trapdoor that led to the stairs below.

Blaine leaped in action, scrambling off the edge of the Tower and running in front of Kurt to stand on top of the wooden door. Kurt just stared at him.

“Let me go,” the Prince of McKinley said sharply.

“Don’t leave me,” Blaine pleaded.

Kurt sighed. “I’m deeply sorry, but I cannot remain here and watch the man I love torture himself. I must go home. Once I leave, please do not expect to see me again, Blaine. It would only hurt too much.”

“No, no, no, Kurt, please stay with me,” Blaine said, falling onto his knees and grabbing Kurt’s small hands in his larger ones. “I promise I’ll fight for us,” he sobbed.

“You already promised me that once before,” Kurt said, yet he did not pull his hands from Blaine’s grasp.

“I mean it, Kurt, I love you. Please say you love me,” Blaine’s voice was thick with tears as he looked up at his salvation. “Please love me. Love me.”

“I can’t.” Kurt finally pulled his hands from Blaine’s grasp.

Blaine leaped up and grab Kurt’s wrist instead, tears flowing freely down his face. “I’m begging you, Kurt. I don’t know what I’ll do without you in my life. I need you.”

Kurt was silent.

“I’ll fight,” Blaine gasped.

Kurt still did not say a word.

“I won’t stop until I can call you my husband. I promise I will love you forever. Even if you leave me here, I will go on loving you, no matter what happens. You aren’t something I can let go of, Kurt. Without you, life is meaningless. I would sooner die than let you fall from my grasp.”

Nothing.

“Please say something.”

Instead of speaking, Kurt threw himself into Blaine’s arms, kissing him fiercely. A painful eruption of healing fire spread throughout the boys’ bodies, not only fusing the pieces of their hearts to together, but fusing their lives into one collective soul. Blaine was strong this time. He knew what he wanted. He knew what he had to do.

Between kisses, Blaine gasped out desperate words. “I love you so much. Kurt, please don’t leave me, ever. Forever, Kurt. Forever.”

And when Kurt replied with a choked, but joyful, “I love you, too,” Blaine’s future finally snapped into place.

He and I, forever.

He would go to his father in the morning.

He would give Rachel her life back and then live the rest of his existence in Prince Kurt’s arms.

And they would all live happily ever after, Blaine assumed, forgetting a very large piece of the puzzle.