"Hey kiddo, whatcha doing?" Burt asks, leaning against the doorway to his bedroom and watching as the precocious 5-year-old digs through his mother's dresser drawer.  Elizabeth is sitting on the bed and looks to her husband with an amused smile on her face.

"I'm getting married, daddy!" Kurt flails about, still rummaging through the socks in front of him.

"Really, now?" Burt raises a curious eyebrow at his wife, who only shrugs, her grin even wider.

Kurt ignores him, but then shrieks in delight as he pulls out a pair of white stockings clutched in his tiny fist as he turns toward his mother.  "Whatta ‘bout this, mommy?"

"For what, dear?"  Elizabeth leans closer.

"For the-the..." Kurt makes a flappy gesture with both hands above his head and she laughs.

"The veil?" Kurt's freckled face lights up in confirmation.  Liz looks to Burt for a second as he watches quietly before she turns back to her son.  "You know what?  I have something even better."

Kurt looks at the fabric in his hands then up at her.  "What is it?"

"How about you go finish getting ready and I'll bring it to you."

"Like a suhprise?"

"Yes," she laughs.  "Now scoot!"  She shoos him out.  Burt ruffles his hair as he passes, chuckling when Kurt turns around to glare at him, quickly patting at his head as he continues walking down the hall, stockings trailing behind him on the carpet.

Liz meets him in the doorway with a quick kiss before retreating into the closet and Burt follows.

"Never thought I'd be a father-in-law so early," he jokes as he watches her move boxes around on the top shelf.

"Well," she brings a slim white box down, "he's special.  Who wouldn't want to marry him?"

"So who's the lucky-" Burt's cut off by the doorbell ringing repeatedly.  One of the neighbor kids, then.  "I'll get it."

"You do that," she giggles and makes her way to Kurt's room.

Sure enough, when the door swings open, Burt looks down to find Mercedes looking quite seriously back up at him--at contrast with her all hot-pink outfit and her hair done up in braids.

"Mister Hummel is Kurt ready yet because we've been waiting forever and Blaine says his mom said he has to be home for dinner," she points behind her where a group of kids are standing under the tree in his yard. 

He can remember a few of their names and spots Mike and Artie playing tag around the trunk of the tree, and Rachel and Tina sitting on the grass playing a game.  Then Blaine, standing quietly and kicking at the dirt at his feet, dressed up in an oversized red neck-tie that practically reaches his knees and top hat that must have come from Artie's magic set.

"Oh.  Oh yeah, he's just-" Burt starts but is cut off as Kurt comes barreling into his legs, wrapped up in the light blue sheet from his bed.

"Hi DeeDee!"

"Kurt!  We're ready."

"Okay!"  Kurt claps his hands and is about to sprint outside when Liz turns the corner of the hall.

"Don't you want the finishing touch?" she sing-songs, catching both kids' attention.

Kurt turns around and Burt can't stifle his snort of laughter at how comically wide Kurt's eyes go at the object in his mom's hands.

Burt moves out of the way to let Liz crouch down to Kurt's level.

"This is the veil that mommy wore when she married daddy," she says softly, glancing up at Burt as she says it.  "And I would be honored if you wore it on your special day."

Kurt takes a tentative step forward, clutching at his sheet and Mercedes crowds in behind him for a better look.  Kurt's eyes haven't left the pearly beaded headband and filmy veil attached.  He keeps reaching out a hand as if to touch it, then pulling back, clearly unsure if she is being serious.

"Boys can't wear those," Mercedes breaks in.  She looks up at Burt with big brown eyes. "Can they?"

Burt isn't sure what to say.  Kurt's expression is extremely unsure now, but he's still staring at the veil.

"Of course they can.  Why not?" Liz asks gently, her eyes kindly waiting for the inevitable questions.

"I dunno," Mercedes just shrugs.  Then, as if that was all the explanation she needed, her tone switches.  "It's pretty."

Kids can make things so simple.

"I can?"  Kurt finally looks up at his mom, his hesitation now mixed with hope.

"If you want to," she answers sincerely.

Kurt nods his head excitedly, looking between the veil and her face.

"You have to be very, very careful, though, okay?"

"Okay," Kurt says in a tiny voice.

"Kurt, let's go!  Blaine's waiting," Rachel suddenly appears in the open doorway, hands on her hips.

Liz pushes the headband onto Kurt's head and Kurt's face finally breaks into a beaming smile.

"Perfect," she says, her blue eyes sparkling, and Kurt's own mirroring them.  "Well, don't leave him waiting.  Go on!"  She places a kiss on his cheek and then Kurt is off, being pulled across the lawn by Rachel and Mercedes trying to catch up and pick the dragging sheet off the ground.

They watch as they kids rearrange themselves, Artie standing next to Blaine while the others form an aisle.  They see Blaine's face light up and he practically squeaks, "Kurt, you look great!"  Kurt just covers his face and flounces into place.

"So..." Burt starts.

"It's adorable," Liz cuts in.

The kids start singing, Dum dum da dum--Rachel's voice soaring over the others'--as Kurt steps exaggeratedly slowly.

"How do you always know the right things to say and do?" Burt wraps an arm around her waist.

She just looks up at him and winks before directing her attention back to the kids.

The ceremony is incredibly short.  Burt gathers that it consists mostly of Artie saying, "Blaine do you promise--mumble mumble--forever?" as Blaine fiddles with the tie around his neck and nods his head earnestly.  Then Artie asks Kurt the same, and the grin on Liz's face is blinding as Kurt shouts "I do!"

Artie pronounces them, "Blaine and Kurt for ever and ever," as Blaine practically hurtles himself into Kurt's arms for a bone-crushing hug.  All the kids screech in delight before running in separate directions, clearly finished with the activity already.

Kurt tosses off his sheet--which Mike promptly picks up and ties around his neck, pretending to be a superhero--and runs back toward his parents, stopping to delicately take off the veil.

"Congratulations!" Liz shouts after him as he goes to join the game of hide-and-seek now in full swing.

"You're incredible," Burt places a kiss on the top of her head, burying his nose in her hair and trying to memorize the scent and the moment.  "It's all your doing that he's such an amazing kid, you know that?"

"I do," she smirks, before wandering down the hall and sparing him one flirtatious glance as she turns the corner.

Burt turns back one more time to check on the kids, to find Kurt and Blaine swinging their hands between them as they walk the perimeter of the lawn.  Blaine has ditched the hat, but the tie is still there.   Burt can't help but smile contentedly at them and sigh quietly, scratching at the back of his neck before following after his wife.