"Calm down? You want me to calm down! Do you have any idea how much there still is for me to do? The flowers, the cake, the music! Not to mention..." Kurt was pacing his room which was littered with countless lists and plans and bridal magazines. The phone was clamped to his ear as his free hand waved erratically.
"Kurt," interrupted Blaine, "breathe. Just make sure you remember to breathe."
"Sorry, all I've done is go on and on about this wedding..."
"Don't be sorry. It's nice for me to hear you so happy and passionate about something for a change!"
Kurt smiled momentarily to himself, with the wedding and with Blaine it was almost possible for him to forget about Karofsky. Almost. No matter what he did, Karofsky was always there, hanging around like a dark cloud threatening to rain all over him at any moment.
But for the time being, it was nice to put that out of his mind and just chat freely with Blaine. They chatted for hours and hours every night and they texted all day. Kurt was finding it hard to believe he'd only met this guy four weeks ago.
"Kurt, I'm sorry, but I've really got to go." Blaine hated this part. Kurt hated this part. "I promised Wes I'd do some homework with him."
"Right, okay. I should get back to writing the play list anyway."
"Good night, Kurt."
"'Night Blaine."
Blaine almost said 'good night' again, but he wouldn't let his and Kurt's conversations turn into a gooey repetition of 'no, you hang up first!' So regretfully he hung up and pulled out his Maths text books.
Less than a minute had past when Kurt's phone buzzed.
From Blaine: Good night :)
To Blaine: You already said goodnight...
From Blaine: I know, I just wanted an excuse to talk to you some more
To Blaine: You don't need an excuse. You can talk to me anytime. How's the maths going?
From Blaine: I'm not being obtuse, but you're acute!
To Blaine: Oh dear gaga, that was awful. I take it back. Never contact me again!
...
...
...
To Blaine: Blaine? I was only joking.
From Blaine: :)
To Blaine: you're evil...
From Blaine: And you can't help but love me for it ;)
To Blaine: I forgot to ask, are you coming to the wedding?
From Blaine: Why Mr. Hummel, are you asking me on a Date?
To Blaine: That depends; are you coming?
From Blaine: Defiantly. See you Saturday.
From Blaine: Oh, and go to sleep. It's late and you've done more than enough planning for today.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
As if Kurt wasn't stressed enough planning the perfect wedding for Carole and his father, he now had the added pressure of fitting Blaine into the whole event and finding the perfect moment to introduce him to everyone. Oh god, he would have to meet his father...
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
As Kurt stood outside his locker, after talking with his soon-to-be-brother, that dark cloud came back more stormy and violent than ever.
As Karofsky came up to him, Kurt's insides sunk, knotted and squirmed, his legs turned to jelly and his 'fight or flight' instinct was over ruled by the illogical need to stand still , frozen, glued to the spot. It was no longer mindless aggression. Kurt could deal with daily dumpster dives and slurs shouted at him from across the hall. If anything, they had become second nature to him. And even being slushied, while feeling as though he was bitch-slapped by an iceberg, didn't hurt him nearly as much as thinking what was going on inside Karofsky's warped mind. The kiss. His first kiss, stolen by this monster and tarnished even more by the sick twist of hatred and desire Karofsky looked at him with as he stole the wedding cake topper Kurt had ordered specially.
Instead of curling up and crying, something he always felt like doing after such a confrontation, he simply took a deep breath and thought of Blaine. Courage.
By the time Mr Shuster took him to 'Principal Sue,' he was almost coherent but the whole time he was there, all he could think was how much he needed Blaine.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
Blaine picked up the call on the second ring; it was very unusual for Kurt to call in the middle of the day, they usually chatted in the evenings, after school.
"Hey, Kurt. What's up?... Kurt? ... Kurt?"
When all Blaine heard was a strangled sob, he knew Kurt needed him. It broke his heart to think of Kurt suffering without him there to console him and wipe away the tears.
"Blaine... sorry... I didn't know who to talk to and I -sniff- I just thought of you."
Blaine understood instantly. He'd been there for Kurt through most Karofsky incidents since the pair had met. "Kurt, I can't come down today, I'm sorry. I leant David my car to see his girlfriend upstate-"
"No, I wasn't expecting you to come down... I just wanted someone to talk to."
Blaine grimaced to himself, thinking what to say. If he knew Kurt at all, he knew that what Kurt was really looking for was something to take his mind off everything "Hey, I thought you were going to teach your dad and Finn to dance this evening?" he asked conversationally.
"Yeah, I'm meeting them in the choir room later."
"You know, if Finn is half a bad a dancer as you make out, I'm fully supportive of the idea of you using hidden cameras and putting the videos on youtube..."
Blaine could have sworn he heard a choked laugh from Kurt. That was good.
"What do you know about dancing? All you Warblers do is strut and smile!"
"But we look good doing it!" Kurt smiled to himself, he could sense the grin and the wink through the phone...
"Blaine... thank you." He all but whispered.
"It's all going to be okay, Kurt."
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
"Dad, you shouldn't have done that." scolded Kurt as he served up boiled haddock and new potatoes with a green leaf salad.
Kurt turned up his nose but ate anyway. It suddenly dawned on them that this would be one of the last few times they'd eat together, just father and son.
"Although," Kurt continued, "I will confess, it did feel rather good seeing him be the one pushed around for a change..."
Burt said nothing, still getting over the shock that something so terrible could have been happening to his son without him noticing.
"um, dad..."
"Yeah?"
"Well, I was wondering, if it would be okay for me to bring somebody to your wedding."
"Somebody? Like a date somebody?" asked Burt with a raised eyebrow. As far as he was aware, Kurt didn't know any other gay boys.
"Uh... kinda. Maybe. Not really... he's just a friend." Explained Kurt as his cheeks threatened to blush.
"Well who is this friend?"
"His name's Blaine. He's a junior. He goes to this wonderful boarding school called Dalton Academy... The guys from glee convinced me to go to spy on their glee club - we're competing against them at sectionals – and well, the lead singer, Blaine, did I say that already?, anyway I got talking to him and I'm sure you're not interested in hearing more. But would it be okay if he came?"
"Uh... sure?" answered Burt, hit by a wave of information overload.
"Excellent!" clapped Kurt as he picked up his plate and headed to his room, "I'm just off to confirm the florist, caterer, registrar...
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
Kurt had already checked (double checked and triple checked) all his bookings for the wedding. So when he plonked down his plate at his desk he instead dialled a number that he'd called so much it was committed to muscle memory.
Blaine picked up on the second ring.
"Hey there! I was just going to call you..."
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
The glee club arrived fully dressed (well partially dressed; there were still ties to be tied and flowers to pin) but they were late. 5 minutes late, but still enough time to throw Kurt's entire schedule off.
"Tina! Will you stop it with the eye shadow, I said tasteful, that means no Goth!" he screeched as he checked off his lists on a clipboard he was carrying.
Kurt was only made aware of the arrival of Blaine as a wave of giggles and whispers from the glee girls reached him.
"Kurt?" Blaine tapped Kurt on the shoulder, quite afraid off interrupting his wedding-planner duties.
"Blaine!" Kurt dropped everything – literally – and flung his arms around Blaine and just clung to him. The thought of finally seeing Blaine again was all that kept him through the last few days. Blaine more than understood, so he just hugged Kurt tightly back, whispering reassurances into his shoulder.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
Blaine followed Kurt like a puppy, being introduced to people here-and-there as Kurt went about his organising. So far, he'd met Finn (after being scolded for not caring about Kurt earlier that week, he made sure to give Blaine the 'Big Brother talk') Rachel ('I'm completely supportive of any relationship between you and Kurt. After all, I have two gay dads.') And Brittany ("You said he was a dream... can I see dreams now?" "No Brittany, I said he sang Teenage dream.")
Next on Kurt's list: Check dad has his vows and is dressed satisfactorily.
This was what Kurt had been dreading.
"Hey, dad." Kurt entered his dressing room and Blaine followed. "This is Blaine who I was telling you about."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Hummel." Blaine began formal as ever, as he reached to shake Burt's hand.
Burt gave him the once over; he seemed smart enough. And polite.
"Kurt says you go to a Boarding School."
"Yes, sir. Dalton Academy."
"Any good?"
Blaine smiled. "Yes. It's very nice, the only problem being it's over an hour away from Kurt."
Kurt felt like swooning. Then blushing. Then looking at his father to check with his reaction.
Burt only smiled and asked Kurt to tie his bowtie. So far so good.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
Everything was running smoothly, the guests were all seated, the glee club were ready, Burt and carol were ready... everything was perfect. Everything except:
"Blaine? What are you doing here? You're not meant to be here! That isn't part of the plan..."
Kurt was shut up with a chaste peck on the cheek. "Chill, not-even-the-bride-zilla. I just wanted to wish you luck," the older teen explained before hastily taking a step back to return to his allocated seat.
"Wait a second!" interrupted Mercedes as she saw her friend dazedly touch the spot on his cheek where Blaine had kissed.
"What is it?" he asked, coming out of his daze.
"Blaine should take my place."
"What?"
"You heard me, he looks pretty fabulous in that tux and you two are adorable."
"Mercedes, are you sure?" asked Kurt, secretly already loving the idea of dancing down the aisle with Blaine.
"Course I am!"
That just left Blaine. Kurt looked up at him and offered a tentative smile.
Blaine didn't answer; he just took Kurt's hand and led him towards the doors. Rachel and Finn had already started singing.
Quinn and Sam were waiting to make they're debut.
"Where's Mercedes?" Quinn asked Kurt.
"Change of plan, Blaine's going to sing instead."
"Oh really?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well, it makes sense for you to go next then. It's your father after all..." she mused.
"But, that wasn't the plan!" Kurt protested.
"Too bad," replied Sam and Quinn in unison as Rachel sang 'Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you.'On what should have been their cue, Quinn and Sam threw open the doors and pushed Kurt and Blaine through them.
Kurt was momentarily fazed but Blaine led the first part of the song and dance.
"Well I know this little chapel on the boulevard we can go-o-o-o..." As he sang perfectly, he pulled Kurt down the aisle with him, before stopping and starting deep in his eyes, "No-one will know-o-o-o... Come on girl!"
Kurt couldn't help but grin as he carried on the song: "Who cares if we're trashed got a pocket full of cash we can blow-o-o-o, shots of patron-o-o-o, and it's on girl!"
Of course Blaine new the words, he'd helped Kurt to choose it one evening as Kurt was having a melt down over the perfect song. Blaine then may or may not have listened to it repeatedly, imagining a certain brunette countertenor in a tux singing it as he smiled and skipped down the aisle with his friends...
They twirled down the aisle together, oblivious to anyone in the room until they were joined by Sam and Quinn and the foursome danced around each other: "Don't say no, no, no, no-no; Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah..."
They were followed by Artie and Brittney, Santana, Puck, Tina, Mike... Mercedes brought up the rear and for the group part of the dance, Blaine effortlessly followed Kurt's lead and the pair stared dreamily at each other, only stopping to look up as the groom danced down the aisle, followed by the bride.
The whole glee club, besides Finn and Kurt, made to take their seats. Before he stepped away, Blaine gave Kurt's hand an affectionate squeeze.
"Please, be seated..."
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
The vows reduced almost everyone to tears. It was a bittersweet ceremony, seeing four people, all of whom had lost and was missing someone important to them joining together to make one big, happy family.
Blaine sat next to Mercedes and Quinn for the ceremony. Afterwards, he had to fight the uncontrollable urge to run to Kurt and hug him and wipe away his tears because – no – these weren't sad tears, they were tears of joy and Kurt needed to be with his family now.
So after the wedding, Blaine made his way to the reception with Kurt's glee club and he had to hand it to them, they were very accepting of the lead singer of a rival glee club, after all, he'd heard all about what Kurt had dubbed 'Jesse-gate,' and wouldn't have been surprised if they all ignored him completely.
But instead, they were nothing but welcoming.
"So how long have you known Kurt?" asked Quinn.
"About two months," answered Blaine surprised at how it felt so much longer.
"Kurt met him when he went to spy on the warblers!" supplied Mercedes who had been told all the details, firsthand, by Kurt.
"Wait a second... Kurt actually went to spy on them?" asked Puck. "Sweet! My boy's got guts!"
"Well, luckily for me," added Blaine, "He wasn't a very good spy!"
This comment earned Blaine the attention of almost a dozen sets of eyes, all trained on him.
"So..." began Quinn.
"Are you and Hummel doing the nasty?" asked Santana, much less politely than Quinn had intended.
Blaine tried to string a coherent sentence together "Wha- no – no, we're not – we havn't – we don't-"
"Leave the guy alone!" Puck interrupted, saving Blaine whatever little dignity he had left after his flailing... Puck then turned back to Blaine – "Just be good to our boy, alright?"
"Right," nodded Blaine who was then whisked away by Mercedes and Rachel to talk about other, much less personal, things
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
The reception went off without a hitch. The food was all perfectly chosen and Blaine couldn't help but smile every time he noticed a detail or a decoration he knew Kurt probably antagonised over choosing. Kurt really was an excellent wedding planner. Blaine pondered what Kurt would pull out if it was their wedding! But he quickly checked himself, you haven't even kissed the guy, stop fantasising about your wedding!
After the first dance, during which Blaine couldn't look away from Kurt who was so adorably counting along with the music and offering reassuring glances to his father, Finn took centre stage and made his best man speech.
Blaine didn't know the whole history behind Finn and Kurt but from the sincere and heart warming speech, he could tell Kurt and his new brother were going to have a special relationship.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
As Finn sang 'just the way you are' Blaine thought to ask Kurt whether the wedding had been sponsored by Bruno Mars.
But seeing Kurt's friends – no, Kurt's family – all pull together and do that for Kurt quickly made Blaine forget any jokes and just smile, unnaturally wide.
He smiled because it made Kurt smile, and for the first time he saw with his very own eyes that Kurt had true friends who would be there for him so that he could stand up for himself, be proud of who he was and survive the bullies, survive Karofsky. Kurt could do this, he could do what Blaine couldn't, he could be brave. His friends could give him courage.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
After that, Kurt took his position of wedding organiser very seriously. There was still so much to oversee – the cutting of the cake, the music playing, the bouquet toss... Kurt realised guiltily he'd invited Blaine to this wedding and hardly spent any time with him! Kurt had just left him to sit with people he didn't really know... So once he was sure things could go on smoothly without him, he found Blaine, sitting at a table with Puck – Puck? –and tapped Blaine on the shoulder to get his attention.
"May I have this dance?" he asked coyly.
"Oh? Don't you want to keep making sure everything is perfect?" teased Blaine.
"I do want everything to be perfect," answered Kurt, "that's why I want to dance with you.
The pair made their way to the dance floor together. After an awkward second where they both went to lead, the just held each other close and contentedly swayed to the music.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
The wedding was perfect, full of so much love and happiness.
That was why, not two days later, Blaine was truly truly surprised when he got a phone call from Kurt at eight in the morning.
"Blaine... I'm sorry... I tried, I can't do it anymore... I can't be here anymore..."
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
The very next morning, when Kurt arrived at Dalton, Blaine was there to pull him in a tight hug. "Shh," he soothed as Kurt silently wept for the life he was leaving behind him, "it's all okay, Kurt. It's all going to be okay. I promise."
As Kurt clung to him, Blaine quickly buried all the feelings of longing and lust and want deep inside of him. That wasn't what Kurt needed right now. He needed a friend, he needed safety and security.
Blaine could wait.