He was seated promptly and he was happily surprised when he realized he knew quite a few of the visiting dignitaries since many of them had ties to England and he spent the time chatting and catching up with people he hadn’t seen since his cousin William’s wedding. Once the ceremony began Blaine shifted in his seat to make sure he had a good view. He loved the pomp and ceremony that went along with official events and he could sit through the longest speeches keeping a completely interested fa�ade even when his mind was wondering elsewhere after all he was a member of the British Royal Family!

He had just settled in and was actually anxious to hear what this new administration had to offer its citizens when he happened to glance at the President’s family. He noticed the woman standing next to him and assumed that she was the President’s wife and then he zeroed in on the two men whom he assumed were their sons standing by her side. One was dressed in his military uniform and towered over all of them and then he noticed the other son. His eyes were seeing someone but his brain could not process who he was seeing. He couldn’t believe his eyes! There – standing next to the First Lady was Kurt – his Kurt!

He leaned over to the Ambassador and whispered, “Who are the two men standing next to the First Lady?”

“Those are the President’s sons. The one in military uniform is Private Finn Hudson, who is currently serving in the Army and the other one is Kurt Hummel. Kurt is actually enrolled at NYU,” answered the Ambassador. “Are you okay, Lord Clare? You look rather pale?”

Blaine quirked an eyebrow at the formal title – the Ambassador normally referred to him as Blaine but he figured since they were at an official function titles were appropriate. “I’m fine thank you, just feeling the chill in the air.”

“How could his Kurt be Kurt Hummel, the son of the President of the United States?” he wondered to himself. His Kurt was Kurt Allen – freshly graduated high school student visiting London as his graduation gift from his parents. Was it possible? “Of course it’s possible, you idiot!” Great now he was hearing the Queen calling him an idiot in his own head. That hit to the head must have really rattled his brain.

Kurt must have been travelling in disguise. This was nothing new to Blaine. The Royal Family used aliases quite a bit when they wanted some privacy. Hell, he himself had used an alias when he was with Kurt – he just never thought Kurt would have lied to him. Blaine couldn’t look away. He continued to stare at Kurt noticing how truly gorgeous he was.

Blaine knew that the Hummel’s would be busy all day with the luncheon at the Capitol and the Inauguration Parade. Due to the attempted assassination of President Hummel, security was extra tight. Nobody and they meant nobody was allowed anywhere near the First Family today without an official specific need.

Blaine couldn’t wait until the Presidential Dinner and Ball being hosted by the British Government that evening. The Hummel’s were planning on attending up to 10 balls that evening but they had accepted the British Government’s invitation to dinner. Relations with England were solid and both countries wanted to maintain their friendship. As the Queen’s representative Blaine would be acting as host and he really hoped that Kurt would accompany his parents to the Ball.

As soon as the swearing in ceremony Blaine exited the VIP seating and headed back to the embassy with the Ambassador. He could barely keep his excitement in check. “Blaine, are you okay?” asked the Ambassador.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking. The excitement of the day is contagious. I can’t wait to meet the President this evening. Everything is set isn’t it?”

“Of course, everything is taken care of. You just have to greet the guests and play host. Make sure that the President and his family understand that England is looking forward to working closely with President Hummel and they have the full support of the Queen and Parliament.”

Blaine just nodded and nervously bit his lip.

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“You okay kiddo,” asked Burt as they walked along the parade route. He had noticed Kurt looking around apprehensively at the thousands of people lining the parade route.

“Yeah, just kind of nervous. There are a lot of people out there and some of them probably don’t like you or the causes you champion. Just gives me goose bumps thinking about anyone else trying to hurt you.” The last few months had been stressful ones for Kurt. He kept thinking about how close the assassin had come to killing his father.

“We can’t live our life always worrying about what could happen, Kurt. The Secret Service is good at what they do so let them do their job and quit worrying about me. They haven’t lost a customer in a long time, you know,” he said cheekily and Kurt couldn’t help laughing. “Hopefully that statistic doesn’t change anytime soon.” They continued walking down the parade route and finally were able to get back to their apartment to get ready for the night’s festivities.

Kurt was helping his dad with his cuff links. Burt always felt like an over-dressed penguin whenever he had to wear a tuxedo and he kept pulling on his jacket. He was only ever truly comfortable wearing jeans and his flannel shirts unlike Kurt who loved fashion. He looked over at Kurt and noticed how handsome he looked. “You excited kid?”

“I’m really excited about the British Ball. Is the British Ambassador hosting the Ball?”

“No, the host is Lord Something or Other. I need to remember to check in with the protocol officer on duty before we leave. He is supposed to give me a quick rundown on Who’s Who. He will be close at hand tonight but I like to actually get all the information beforehand in order to plan just in case. Actually, he should be here in a few minutes. Do you want to sit in? We don’t want to cause some international disaster because we forget someone’s title, do we?” Kurt was about to respond when there was a knock at the door and the protocol officer was shown in by the Agent in Charge of the protective detail.

“Mr. President, I have printed out the names of the people you need to make sure you touch base with as well as the hosts of tonight’s festivities,” said Major Stevens handing the President a folder.

“Who is actually hosting the British Ball?” asked Kurt. He was on pins and needles. He was really hoping to meet a member of the Royal Family but of course there was no guarantee there would be any of them present at the event.

“The host is the Earl of Clare.”

“Is he a member of the Royal Family?”

“Lord Clare is actually a member of the Royal Family. He is 20th in line to the British Throne. He is the Queen’s representative tonight and will be acting as host.”

Kurt could feel his face turning red. He could barely keep his laughter from bursting out and he was horrified to hear squeaks escaping. Before he knew it he was laughing uncontrollably and for the life of him he couldn’t stop. It reminded him of that day in London when he had confessed his fantasies to Blaine. The thought of Blaine quickly sobered him up and he apologized to his father and Major Stevens.

“I’m sorry – not sure what happened there. Do you have any other information about Lord Clare?” Kurt could barely look at Major Stevens. He was so embarrassed that he missed the smile on the officer’s face.

“We do have his statistics but we are running out of time and need to get moving or we will be more than fashionable late.” Kurt couldn’t believe he was actually going to get to meet the poor bastard that was 20th in line to the throne. Kurt pictured him as a kindly, dotty, old chap who had tea with the Queen once a month and discussed corgis and all things British. Seriously Kurt could not wait to meet Lord Clare.

He had not indulged his love of the British Monarchy since London but he figured it was time to get over the thought of what could have been and start living life. He knew his brain kept telling him this all the time but it was about time his heart jumped on board. He didn’t know what it was about Blaine that wouldn’t let him move on. It’s not like he had been in an actual relationship with Blaine. He had only known him for a few weeks but somehow or other he had imprinted himself in his heart. Imprinted???? Great, now he sounded like the Twilight werewolves. He needed to get his shit together before he went crazy he thought as they headed to the dinner.

Kurt followed his dad and Carole into the British Embassy. He noticed that Lady Gaga and her entourage were walking right behind him. He was so going to make an attempt to talk to her later on he thought. He was too busy trying to figure out how he was going to start a conversation with her that he didn’t notice that Finn had stopped moving. He ended up bumping up against Finn’s back when the procession stopped at the main doors of the embassy. He shook himself and ran his hands down his jacket to make sure there weren’t any wrinkles. He really wanted to make a good impression on Lord Clare, 20th in line or not the man was still a member of the Royal Family and Kurt was in awe of the institution.

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Blaine couldn’t seem to keep still. His nervous energy kept him twitching and the Ambassador had already given him a strange look. Blaine was a charmer and his whole life had been spent among the rich and famous. He knew how to compliment someone and how to make the person in front of him think they had his undivided attention even though his mind was miles away.

He could see the President and his family making their way towards the front of the reception line. President Hummel was busy shaking hands and accepting congratulatory hugs and handshakes from his constituents. Blaine couldn’t see Kurt but he had been told that the entire First Family would all be in attendance. He would just have to wait until Kurt was in front of him. He wondered how Kurt was going to react. He hoped he wouldn’t be upset.

Blaine had just finished talking to the Japanese Ambassador and his wife when he saw the President step up and put his hand out and Blaine automatically shook his hand, congratulated him on his victory and waited to be introduced to Carole.

“Lord Clare, let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife Carole.” Blaine bowed and kissed her hand. “This is our son Finn Hudson who is currently serving in the military.” Blaine shook his hand and nervously watched as Finn stepped aside so that Burt could introduce Kurt. “And last but not least our son Kurt Hummel.” Kurt had been too busy making sure his outfit was perfect and trying to eavesdrop on Lady Gaga’s conversation to have been paying attention to the introductions but he quickly pulled himself together and glanced up with a smile on his face and promptly drowned in a familiar pair of hazel eyes.

He didn’t realize his dad was talking to him until his dad nudged his elbow. Blaine was holding out his hand pleading with Kurt to take it. Mechanically, Kurt shook his hand mumbled something he couldn’t for the life of him remember and felt his dad’s hand on his back guiding him forward.

“What’s wrong?” asked his dad. He was worried. Kurt was pale and seemed out of it.

“That was Blaine,” murmured Kurt.

“Blaine? THE Blaine – the one that didn’t exist?”

“The very one – not only does he exist but it seems that he is a member of the Royal Family and heir to the British throne,” Kurt could feel his voice getting higher and higher and there didn’t seem to be enough oxygen in the room. He was glad that they were being seated for the dinner. He needed to regroup and try to figure out what the hell was happening.

“Well at least he isn’t a murdering terrorist,” quipped Burt which earned him a sharp look from Kurt.

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Years of being in the public eye and knowing how to keep his cool under any circumstances, and knowing the Queen was depending on him were the only things that had kept Blaine from pulling Kurt into his arms and showering him with kisses. He could tell that Kurt was shocked to see him. Blaine had felt the exact same way yesterday so he totally understood Kurt’s shock.

Blaine had a job to do but eventually he was able to proceed to the dining area. He had switched a few of the name place cards around to ensure he was seated next to Kurt. He stared at the main table and could see Kurt speaking to his father. He took a deep breath and made his way to the table.

He got to the table and took his seat. As soon as he sat down Kurt grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly, “LORD Clare?” he asked.

Blaine nodded. “Lord Clare as in the poor bastard that is 20th in line to the throne?” hissed Kurt making sure no one could hear their exchange.

Blaine laughed out loud and knew in that moment that things would be okay. “Kurt, I’m really sorry I didn’t mention who I really am…”

“Blaine, there is so much I want to say and I have so many questions but I really don’t think this is the place or time. Let’s just enjoy ourselves tonight and we can talk tomorrow,” interrupted Kurt.

“That sounds good. I actually am here on an official capacity and I can’t afford to get whacked on the head by the Queen one more time.” Kurt looked at him quizzically before his attention was diverted by his dad.

The night progressed and before too long the President and his family had to leave. They still had quite a few stops to make before they could call it a night. Kurt wanted to stay at the British Ball with Blaine but the President’s schedule was set in stone. There was no room for any changes. Kurt was disappointed but decided that his dad’s safety was paramount. As they said their goodbyes both of them made sure to get each other’s contact information. There was no way in hell either one of them wanted to lose touch with the other. These past few months had been tough on both of them. They made plans to call each other the next day and go from there.