Hello friends! This is it the last installment of this little fic. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed sharing it with you. Thank you for sticking with me through this ride!
The Hummel-Hudson home had a high-speed computer, several screens, and earphones in the basement where Kurt, Finn, and Rachel could sit and watch footage from their latest Ghost Investigators shoot. They would cut and edit the footage, listen for any strange sounds they should highlight, and see if there were shadows or what Rachel called "anomalies" they could say might be a spirit. Generally, editing was a chance to do their best to make it their exploration into a ghost investigation and not just three people walking around an old building and acting crazy.
Working on the Whispering Wolf episode was completely different.
Kurt insisted that he watch the footage on his own the first time through. He sat alone, lights off, and knees tucked up to his ching as scenes from the Whispering Wolf flash by - it was a surreal feeling. He wanted to watch it all again to really analyze everything that happened, but neither Rachel or Finn were particularly patient people and they both eventually crept downstairs and crowded around the desk.
"What is that!" Finn stuck a finger out to point at one of the screens before Kurt swatted his hand away.
"No fingers on the screen, Finn!"
"Yeah, okay but what is that?"
"Seriously Kurt, did you see something that night?" Rachel chimed in pulling her chair so close to Kurt he was sure she was trying to push him out of the way. He didn't give up an inch of ground. Kurt knew what they were talking about, but didn't know how to answer.
Finn reached across Kurt to hit the spacebar and pause the stopped on the strange white apparition the first time Kurt and Blaine had seen it in the dining room before the storm had reached its peak. It was very blurry and hard to make out - Kurt remembered it being much clearer in person - but there was unmistakenly something caught on screen.
"I don't know what it is," Kurt admitted with a sigh knowing his time to watch and rewatch the footage alone was over.
It was a weird thing to watch the evening unfold on camera, it shed a new light on everything that had happened. Most importantly it gave him time to really watch Bailine. Which was a lovely thing to do. Kurt smiled every time he saw Blaine's handsome face on screen as Rachel speed through the footage looking for the apparition and Finn got more excited every time they saw it.
"So Kurt…" Rachel spoke up after about an hour of going over the film. "That Blaine Anderson. I always thought he didn't like you. And knowing he was there to foil our evening seems to confirm that but…" She pressed pause and the screen froze on a shot of Blaine as he turned to look at Kurt. His lips were tipped in a smile and his eyes sparkling. "That expression on his face is not the kind of expression you'd expect from a rival."
"Yeah, he's basically in love with you in every shot," Finn added bluntly.
"Oh god," Kurt moaned and held his face in his hands, but he couldn't keep from smiling.
Kurt had noticed Blaine's apparent besotted gaze, he had rewound several key examples while watching on his own. It made his stomach flip pleasantly and his skin feel too warm.
"Kurt? Explain." Rachel demanded.
"I… it was. Blaine isn't what we, what I, thought he was."
"Mmmhmm." Rachel nodding knowingly and he didn't inquire what she was assuming, she was probably right.
They continued to watch and Kurt continued to blush. The footage of him wasn't any better than Blaine's. He had no idea he'd spent most of the night grinning like a lovelorn teenager at Blaine. In fact, even with the building storm and the weird apparition, the most noticeable thing in the film from the Whispering Wolf were Kurt and Blaine's increasingly enamored behavior towards each other.
It was sweet and romantic and made Kurt fall even harder for Blaine. It was also mortifying.
Carole came down a few hours in and brought them dinner and the three of them were up into the early hours of the morning pouring over the footage and talking about how to format the episode.
They were in disagreement on what to focus on.
"Trust me Finn, the scariest part of the night was the tornado, it could have killed us."
"But Kurt! You got a real live ghost on camera!"
Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose, not knowing if he should point out again that ghost weren't real or the fact that if they were they wouldn't be alive.
"What do you think?" Finn asked Rachel who had been uncharacteristically quiet. "The show is called Ghost Investigators, not Storm Chasers."
"I'm not saying cut out the apparition!" Kurt's hands flew to his hair in frustration, "I'm just saying, as the person who was actually there that evening, the most compelling thing going on was that storm!"
"Your both wrong," Rachel answered. Finn and Kurt turned to Rachel to find her sitting primly with her arms crossed over her chest and a smug smile on her lips. Kurt never like it when she had that look on her face, it rarely boded well for him.
She leaned forward, "Despite the fact that you said we can't use the kiss," she said glaring at a furiously blushing Kurt. "I have an idea."
Kurt had watched that kiss in the basement countless time already, it was a wonderful and heavy feeling to have something so passionate and intimate caught on tape. Not to mention he would always have a record of his first kiss with Blaine. He heart pounded at the thought.
He was less than thrilled when Finn and Rachel saw it, they were never going to let him hear the end of it. Though, they had agreed that they wouldn't air "the kiss" without Kurt's permission, which he wasn't about to give.
Rachel seemed to have her own plans as she scrolled through the footage to find to the part she wanted. "This," She said as she pressed play, "This is our story."
The screen showed the dark interior of the Whispering Wolf's basement, before its impending destruction, the light of the camera illuminated a small area and it must have been one of the times they had it propped up on a shelf because both Blaine and Kurt were on screen.
Kurt bit his lip to suppress his smile at the sight of Blaine chasing him and then pinning him against a bookshelf. Kurt leaned close to the computer as, on screen, Blaine leaned into Kurt's space - whispering so the camera barely picked out his voice.
Rachel paused the video on a shot of Blaine inches away from Kurt, his body angled towards him and their eyes locked.
Kurt cleared his throat, had it gotten really hot suddenly?
Finn just smirked at him.
"This is not another ghost story, Kurt," Rachel dramatically waved a hand at the screen, "It's a love story."
"I don't know that I'm in love-" Kurt started but Rachel barreled over him just as he was thinking, I'm not in love yet, but god, he was well on his way.
"Not just a love story between you and Blaine, but between Henry and James over sixty years ago. That's the narrative. Ghost and storms, of course - but romance paramount. This is going to be our best episode ever! And I'm not even in it!" She flopped back down in her chair sweeping her long dark hair behind her and pouting.
"She's right," Finn spoke up and Kurt knew she was.
"Okay," Kurt gave in with a sigh, "But if we are going to focus on Blaine and me we need to run it by him first."
"Of course, he can be here for the whole editing process, plus... that means you get to spend more time with him." Finn winked and nudged him.
Kurt rolled his eyes, but couldn't deny that he was excited about the prospect. He glanced back at his and Blaine's figures on the screen and covered his smile with a hand. Yeah, extremely excited.
Blaine arrived at Kurt's home bouncing on his toes and his heart fluttering. He hadn't see Kurt in a full twenty-four hours since leaving the Whispering Wolf and it was killing him.
Kurt flung open the front door with a grin on his face, "Blaine!"
One glance at Kurt's dazzling face, his cheeks rosey and his blue eyes dancing, and all Blaine could do was rush forward and wrap him in a hug. "Hi." He said, face nuzzled against Kurt's neck.
Kurt laughed and hugged him back. "Hi."
They stood like that for a moment before Rachel loudly cleared her throat behind them. He turned to see Rachel and Finn grinning at him.
They all ended up in the basement where Blaine was let in on the plan they had for the Whispering Wolf episode. He of course agreed to it, Kurt liked the idea and besides, he would say yes to any excuse to spend more time with him.
Blaine loved every moment helping Kurt, Rachel, and Finn cut together the Whispering Wolf footage. They ended up splitting the investigation into two episodes, there was so much going on that they didn't want to cut out too much.
Finn and Rachel would come and go and over the next few days and Blaine and Kurt did the bulk of the work editing this particular investigation. Blaine watched the tape with parted lips and flushing cheeks. It was apparent he was smitten with Kurt from the start, even before his mind had caught up with things. "Oh god, I look like an idiot."
"You look adorable," Kurt said bumping his shoulder and looking at him fondly. The few times Kurt was caught on screen clearly checking Blaine out balanced things out and helped Blaine not feel like such a fool. Or at least, they were both fools together.
Every so often they would get distracted and end up on the sofa in the basement, bodies close, and lips pressed against one another. Kissing Kurt Hummel made Blaine's heart race and his skin sing. It was the best thing in the whole world.
Rachel or Finn came down to help every so often so they never got as much time alone as they wanted. It was okay, they were focused on the episode right now, there would be time later for just him and Kurt - because there was no way he was letting Kurt out of his life now that he knew what it was like to be with him.
Blaine found he really liked Finn and Rachel, he'd never much cared for them in the past, but that was because they were Kurt's friends and he thought Kurt hated him. Now, he found Finn was sweet and funny... and Rachel, well Rachel was intense, but she reminded him a little of Kurt and when she invited him to a karaoke night their friendship was sealed.
He was sitting with Kurt on the sofa in the basement one evening three days into editing. Their legs were stretched across the couch and ankles tangled as they read over the love letters from the box they'd found.
"We could use this part," Kurt said lifting up a letter in his hands. They had read most of the letters by now, Henry's words to James were both beautiful and hunting considering they knew how things had ended for them. Still, if they were going to tell Henry and James' story they wanted to include some of Henry's words.
Kurt cleared his throat and started to read, "Every thought of you fills my heart with longing." Kurt's eyes flitted up to Blaine and down again, "Your eyes, your laugh, your smile, they are my constant meditation day and night. My heart feels more for you than I ever thought it could know."
Blaine ducked his head not able to meet Kurt's eyes. Henry's words summed up how he felt about Kurt, but he knew it was too early in their relationship to say anything like that - yet. "Yeah, that's good. You should do the voice over for that part."
Using the letters was a mutual decision Kurt and Blaine made, they felt both men deserved to have their story told, to have people know that they had loved each other, and that is wasn't wrong, or sinful, even if that is what had been believed at the time. Blaine and Kurt wanted to focus on the love, not the tragedy, as much as they could.
They ended up keeping most of the letters to themselves. It didn't matter that these men had been in love over half a century ago, some things felt private, scared, not for mass consumption. Like the screen time of Kurt and Blaine's first kiss, trapped in the basement and huddled in that old crate. That was just for them.
It took a full week of Blaine spending all his free time with Kurt, something he was absolutely not complaining about, to get both Whispering Wolf episodes of Ghost Investigators ready.
"I can't believe we're doing this," Kurt sat rimrod straight in his chair by the computer a week later, as the four of them gathered around, ready to post the first episode online, "I feel like I'm putting my private life right out there for the whole world to see."
"That's what happens when you make out on camera!" Rachel quipped.
"Hey! We aren't even using that."
Blaine laughed and ducked in to press a kiss against Kurt's cheek, "It will be okay." He assured him as Kurt clicked the button and posted the episode online.
Kurt walked Blaine to his rental car that evening, he was still waiting for the insurance company to pay for his car that had been blown away and Kurt was in a similar predicament. Their hands were clasped and swinging between them. "So, now that editing is done and the first episode is posted I guess we won't be spending so much time together." Kurt teased.
"Humm…" Blaine leaned against the car, hand still held in Kurt's "You're right. I can't think of a single reason to spend time with you now."
"That's too bad really. You're a pretty good editor."
"I guess the good times are over now," Blaine's could feel his smile growing to match Kurt's own.
"Goodbye then, Anderson." Kurt said in mock seriousness.
"Goodbye, Hummel." Blaine leaned in to give Kurt a soft, but lingering kiss to the lips, "See you tomorrow morning for coffee?"
"Obviously."
Blaine grinned all the way home, a week after that fateful night at the Whispering Wolf and he still couldn't believe he and Kurt were together. Every day he woke up and kicked his feet out in pure happiness thinking of Kurt.
Between spending time with Kurt, editing the Ghost Investigators episodes, and his college courses, Blaine had had very little free time. What he did have he'd used thinking about the apparition they'd seen that evening. He was obsessed with the notion that the misty apparition at the Whispering Wolf was the spirit of James Doyle somehow lingering and protecting, while also leading them to the letters.
It was the angle they'd taken in the episodes. Despite Kurt's refusal to believe the theory that the apparition was James, or even a ghost at all. Kurt just shook his head and fondly kissed Blaine's hand agreeing it was a perfect story for the episodes.
Blaine was lost in thoughts of love letters and friendly ghosts and Kurt's perfectly coiffed hair as he sat across from him at the Lima Bean.
"I thought we'd go back out to the Whispering Wolf this morning." Kurt said pulling Blaine out of his musings.
"Really?"
"I mean, you said that demolition crews would be out there in the next few weeks to finish the job the tornado started and I… I just want to see it one last time."
"For closure?"
Kurt shrugged and took a sip of his non-fat mocha, "I guess."
"I'd love to do that."
They dove together to the remains of the Whispering Wolf pulling into the parking lot and parking by the streetlamp they had made out underneath over a week ago.
In the stark morning light, what little was left of the Whispering Wolf was more overwhelming than Blaine remembered. A chill ran up his spine thinking again how lucky he and Kurt were to have walked out of that building alive. And together.
Kurt was quiet as they walked around the border of the now dilapidated hotel. "You okay?" Blaine asked squeezing his hand.
"I want to tell you something, but I don't want you to read too much into it."
"Okay…"
"When we were leaving that morning, after the storm, I looked out the window and I saw that white floaty… thing, right there." Kurt pointed to the middle of the hotel and the hole in the ground that lead to the basement. "It drifted up until it got lost in the clouds and I couldn't see it any more." Blaine watched Kurt as he arched his long neck and tilted his lovely face to the sky.
"I… that's amazing Kurt." Blaine felt awestruck, by the news and by Kurt's beauty, "And you still don't believe in ghost?"
Kurt laughed and shook his head, "Sorry, still a skeptic, but since you are convinced it was James helping us out all evening I thought you'd want to know. If he was stuck here, and I'm not saying I believe that, but if he was, I don't think he is anymore."
Blaine looked up to the clear morning sky and then back down to Kurt, "Thank you, Kurt."
Kurt smiled coyly and bit his lip, "Anything to make you smile like that."
Blaine laughed and swooped in to kiss him, only yards away from where they'd shared their first kiss. They walked back to the rental car together, arms linked.
"You know, Finn thinks he has found the next place to tape Ghost Investigators." Kurt said, "There is an old hospital a couple hours from here that has a wing that's been shut down and is supposedly haunted."
"A haunted hospital? Creepy." Blaine shivered, but felt excited at the thought, "Sounds like it will be a great episode for you."
"Actually, I was thinking. If you had time… and you wanted to…" Kurt stopped outside of the car.
"Kurt?"
"What if you joined us? We could be a four person investigation team."
Blaine's mouth fell open, he'd been a guest star in their show by default because he'd been there when Rachel and Finn were absent, but he never expected to actually be invited to come back.
"Or not. Maybe you don't want to after almost dying last episode," Kurt added nervously.
"What!? Are you kidding. I want to! I really, really want to."
Kurt's face broke into a grin, "Really?"
"Yes! Are you sure Finn and Rachel won't mind?"
"I already talked to them, and since the first episode of the Whispering Wolf has already received over twice as many views as any of our other episodes and our fans are clamoring for the next instalment, they both thought you'd be an asset to the team."
"Kurt! This is going to be amazing!"
"Besides," Kurt said reaching out for Blaine's coat and pulling him in by the lapels, "If Rachel gets to ghost hunt with her boyfriend, I should get to ghost hunt with mine."
"Boyfriend?" Blaine asked, his heart leaping in his chest and his face only inches away from Kurt.
"Yes, Blaine, boyfriend. How does that sound to you?"
Blaine nodded and smiled as he leaned in for the kiss, "That sounds perfect."