"Whether we have five years or fifty years together, they'll be the best of my life."

One would think everything would be easy once Kurt and Blaine declared their love for each other and, for a while, it was just that. People viewing them from the outside would think they had a normal, teenage relationship. One that would last through high school, then inevitably and heartbreakingly end once college happened.

Except Kurt and Blaine knew better, and their families did too.

That didn't mean, however, that they never argued. In fact, if you asked them, they would say that they were actually quite good at it.

The first major argument, which they now consider their most ridiculous, they had was one week after they moved into their first apartment together. Blaine was wanting to paint the walls, and Kurt, after having to look at hundreds after hundreds of colors, told him he was being ridiculous. They were renting, and they'd have to repaint them white again before moving back out.

Blaine was determined to liven up the place though, and continued showing Kurt more and more colors. It was late, they were already in bed, and they were both overly tired. Except Kurt was to the point where all he wanted to do was fall asleep, and Blaine was past that and at the point where a third round of energy had entered him and he couldn't fall asleep.

At one point, Kurt threw Blaine's book, The Color Palette Primer, across the room where it hit the wall and then fell onto the floor. Blaine informed him, as he got up to retrieve the book, that he needed to "calm down." And it all just fell apart from there.

"Calm down?" Kurt questioned, his eyes widening. He sat up in their bed, staring Blaine down, as if daring him to return to his side. "You did not seriously just tell me to calm down."

"Uh, yes, I did," Blaine replied, standing at the edge of the bed. He set the book down beside Kurt's left foot then crossed his arms, "Because you do."

Kurt's eyes moved to the book. "Get. that book. away from me. Now."

"What has the book done to you, Kurt? Huh? God, you act so immature sometimes."

"Oh, I act immature, Mr. I-gotta-spend-every-waking-moment-shoving-a-freaking-color-book-in-my-boyfriend's-face?"

"How is that immature? That's called being excited. Sorry if my excitement bothers you."

"It's not your excitement, it's the fact that you. can't. calm. down. Ever!" Kurt replied, gritting his teeth for the last few words, as he shoved the book off of the bed with his foot. It hit Blaine's shin before falling to the ground beside him.

"Ow! God, Kurt, what's the matter with you?"

"You! You are the matter! You and your stupid colors!" Kurt stood up, grabbing his pillow and the top blanket off of the bed. "I want to sleep, Blaine. You know what that is, right? It's what normal people do at two o'clock in the morning. Of course you wouldn't know that, being so far from normal."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaine asked, every word Kurt spoke now offending him.

"It means that you do weird things. You're weird. Not normal. Weird, weird, weird!"

"Says the guy who still whines to his daddy when he has a bad day at work or school!"

Kurt glared at Blaine, staying silent for a moment before speaking. "You wanna talk about whining? Okay then. How about all the whining you do when I take you to your doctor's appointments. How immature you act the entire way there. How you complain the whole time. How it didn't start until we moved away and you realized it was because your mommy was always there before."

"Kurt, stop!"

"You started it!"

They both just glared at each other for a minute, chests heaving with angry breaths.

"I'm sleeping on the couch," Kurt finally said, breaking the silence.

"Sleep wherever you want. I don't care."

"Fine! Maybe I'll just go sleep with the old man in the alley that always tells me how sexy I am!" Kurt yelled as he left the bedroom and walked down the hall.

"Great! I hope you two will be very happy together!" Then, to add effect, Blaine walked over to the bedroom door and slammed it shut.

Of course, when the next morning came around, and Blaine walked out to see Kurt half hanging off of the couch and looking both completely uncomfortable and indescribably hot at the same time, he decided to wake him up so they could talk. And they did talk, and they both realized how stupid they acted, and they both apologized and make a vow to never go to bed angry again.

And then there was the times when they had to have serious conversations about their future. One's that, if they would have gotten together later in life, they would have talked about very early on. But, that wasn't how their lives together worked. So, when they were twenty-six, Blaine decided to bring up something that had been on his mind for a while.

"Kids," He said out of nowhere as they were halfway through dinner.

Kurt paused, spaghetti right about to enter his mouth. "What?"

"Kids. We need to talk about kids."

Kurt slowly sat his fork down and looked right at Blaine, giving him full attention. "Okay. What about them?"

"I'm not… I can't… I don't…" Blaine sighed, then let everything out in one breath. "I don't want them. They're fine from a distance, and I don't hate them or anything, I just don't want them."

Kurt paused for a moment before replying. "So… Why are we talking about this again? Did I bring up something about children in my sleep? Do I sleep talk, Blaine?" He asked, looking slightly petrified.

"No. No, Kurt," Blaine replied, waving a dismissive hand at him. Kurt sighed in relief as Blaine continued, "It's just something you've never brought up, and I've never brought up, but I was afraid that you just didn't bring it up because you were waiting on me to bring it up."

"That was a really long sentence."

Blaine groaned. "Kurt."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Getting serious now." Kurt placed his hands on the table, motioning his fingers for Blaine to hold his hands. Once their hands were together, Kurt squeezed them and continued. "I've never brought up kids because I've honestly never thought about having kids with you. I like this, me and you. Some people might call that selfish, but I don't. I think it would be more selfish to have or adopt a child that we didn't fully want."

"So, if you wanted a child…"

"I would have told you so," Kurt finished.

"I love how I'm constantly reminded of how perfect you are for me," Blaine said with a smile.

Kurt leaned forward and cupped Blaine's cheek, then leaned in and kissed him sweetly. After a moment, Kurt pulled back and smiled slyly, "I'm glad you are too," He said before darting up and turning to go into the kitchen. Blaine smacked him on the butt before he could get far enough away, then smiled brightly as Kurt cackled while he got himself a drink.

Then, there were the moments that terrified them both. Like, when Blaine and Kurt were thirty-two, and Blaine had to be put back onto a donor list.

The doctor had used big, obnoxious words and descriptions that wouldn't make sense to any normal human, but when Kurt yelled at him mid-sentence to speak like he was from this planet, the doctor sighed and started over. The dumbed down version was that the heart Blaine had now was old. Really old. And it had been through a lot. It was tiring, and not working the way it should be.

Blaine already knew this though. That's why the appointment was made in the first place. He could tell that things weren't right. By the time he was nine he knew his body better than most people did their entire lives. But, he was still hoping that it wouldn't resort to him needing a new heart.

The doctor reassured him that the procedure had changed a lot since he was a little boy. Recovery time was shorter, and the success rate was higher. He informed Blaine that they could put in a pacemaker instead, but he recommended the transplant.

Six months later, they were at the hospital.

"How was he?" Nathan asked as he saw Kurt walk into the room.

Kurt looked up, eyes red rimmed, and let out a deep breath. "They just took him back," He replied. "He was good, though. Optimistic." He glanced around the waiting room. Nathan and Diane were sitting in two chairs in the corner, Carole was beside Diane, holding her hand, and Burt was beside Carole, holding her hand.

Just a half hour earlier, they had all been sitting in Blaine's hospital room. It made Kurt uneasy, them all being there. He knew it was just for support, but it still made him feel like he should be telling Blaine goodbye… but no, he'd never tell Blaine goodbye.

About ten minutes before they took Blaine away, he asked to speak to Kurt alone. He didn't tell him not to worry, because Kurt had informed him earlier that it was a pointless thing to say, but he did tell him that he loved him with all of his heart -then proceeded to make a "and I'll love you with the new one I get too" joke that Kurt didn't find all that funny. He laughed anyway though, because Blaine was trying to lighten the mood and make everything okay. But it just wasn't okay.

Then, Blaine got serious.

"Kurt, I… I want you to do something for me. For both of us."

"Wh- What?" Kurt asked nervously.

"I want you to lay your head on my chest. Just like you did when we were teenagers. I want you to hear her heart one last time."

And this is how Kurt got the red rimmed eyes. He began to tear up immediately. "But, Blaine, I told you a long time ago-"

"I know what you told me. You told me that this heart was mine now, not hers. It has a different rhythm. One you love, but it's not hers. I know what you said. But, it was once hers, and it's the last time you'll ever hear it beat. So, please. For us both."

Kurt climbed into the bed beside Blaine, not even caring that he was breaking so many hospital rules right now, and laid beside him. With silent tears steadily streaming down his face, he rested his head on Blaine's chest. They no longer worried about where hands should go, or how hard they should hold onto one another. It was comfort, being in each others arms.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine tightly, and Blaine did the same to Kurt. They both closed their eyes, and just listened and felt. Kurt to the thump… thump… thump… of Blaine's heart- a rhythm that was much weaker than it used to be- and Blaine to the grip Kurt had on him, steadying him and keeping him calm when he felt absolutely terrified.

Eventually, they did have to part, and after a very watery kiss and a "I'll see you soon," they rolled Blaine away.

Which led to now. Kurt, standing in the middle of the waiting room, having no idea what he was supposed to do.

"Kurt," Burt began, pulling Kurt from his thoughts. "You wanna sit down?"

Kurt took an unsteady breath. "No. No, I think… I think I need to walk or… something." He left the room quickly, hoping he was going in the right direction of the elevator. He couldn't think straight anymore.

"Kurt," A familiar voice called behind him. He turned to see his dad walking up to him, his face filled with concern. "Kurt, where are you going?" He asked when he reached his son.

"I… I just need the elevator," Kurt replied, a tear rolling down his cheek. He didn't even notice that he was still crying.

"You're going in the opposite direction of it."

"O- Oh." He laughed at himself. "I must have just… taken a wrong turn or something." He started to go past his dad, but Burt stopped him before he could even take a full step.

"Kurt, you're not okay. Stop pretending you are."

"Wh- What do you mean? Of course I'm okay," He replied as another tear escaped his eye.

A pointed look, and a simple "Kurt" and Kurt broke down.

He fell into Burt's arms, sobbing, his shoulders shaking. "Wh… What if something happens, Dad? Wh… What do I do? I f- feel so h- helpless."

"You have done so much for him, Kid," Burt replied, holding onto his son and rubbing his back gently, "More than most people your age would do."

"I h- haven't done any… anything."

"Kurt, you have spent the last six months taking care of him practically around the clock. You've had to rush him to the hospital multiple times, you practically learned doctor-language."

"You n- need to know w-what they're saying all the… all the time. S- Sometimes they tell you stuff d- differently when they think y- you don't know what they said."

"See. Like that." Burt pulled Kurt back a little so he could look at him. "Kurt, you have gone above and beyond. I bet, from all the research you've done, you could do the surgery yourself."

"That's what the d-doctor said," Kurt replied, calming down a little.

Burt brushed the tears off of Kurt's face with his thumbs, "See, even he knows you've done all you can do. The rest isn't up to you, Kurt. I know you wish it was, but it's not."

"It's just not fair though, Dad. Eleven months ago we were having a wedding, and… and now this?"

"I know. It sucks. But you've got the best surgeons in there, and if everything goes right, you and Blaine can have at least thirty years together. I know that, at this moment, it seems bad. But don't you think that thirty plus years makes it worth it?"

Kurt took a deep breath. "Y- yeah. Yeah, it's worth it."

"Okay then. Let's go sit and wait for you to get your husband back."

And he did come back. He healed much faster than when he was nine. He was removed from the ventilator in two days, and released from the hospital within a week, then spent two months under Kurt's overly-cautious care.

Within six months Blaine was back to his old self. Besides the regular visits to the doctor for checkups, the surgery was just something of the past.

"I wonder who the family is of the heart you got," Kurt wondered aloud one night, while they were snuggled close on the couch, watching a movie. The donor was anonymous this time, and neither Blaine nor Kurt knew anything about them or their family.

Blaine squeezed Kurt closer to him. "I don't know. But, I imagine their son will come looking for me one day, we'll become best friends, then fall in love, and spend the rest of our lives together."

"Ha, ha, very funny," Kurt said with a smile as he pinched Blaine's side.

Then there were moments, like now, that neither of them could really explain. It was just… happiness. But more than that at the same time.

"Kurt! Kurt!" Blaine yelled loudly from the bathroom.

"What?" Kurt exclaimed, dropping the dishes he was cleaning back into the sink and rushing out of the kitchen.

"Come here, Kurt! Hurry!"

"What's wrong? Are you o-" He stopped suddenly when he reached the bathroom door and saw Blaine awkwardly draped over the sink, as close to the mirror as possible. "What are you doing, Blaine? And why are you smiling? I thought something bad had ha-"

"Look!" Blaine interrupted, turning to him with wide eyes. He had both hands in his hair, flattening it down and, honestly, he looked kind of insane.

"Blaine, honey, what am I supposed to be looking at?" Kurt asked, speaking a little slowly as he was terribly confused.

"My hair!"

Kurt nodded. "I sort of got that part, but I don't know why I'm supposed to be looking at your hair."

"You don't see it?" Blaine asked, his eyebrows furrowing. He turned back to the mirror and looked again, his happy face returning. "It's so obvious though!" After looking in the mirror a moment longer, he looked back at Kurt, moving closer. "It's right… here." He said, pointing at a specific spot on his head.

Kurt sighed, "Blaine, I have no idea what you want me to-" He froze, finally seeing what Blaine had been trying to show him. "Oh my god! Oh my god, Blaine! You have a gray hair! Oh my god!"

"I know!" Blaine exclaimed, excitedly. He reached out and pulled Kurt close, hugging him as tightly as he could.

They both had ridiculous smiles on their faces, and were giggling like children who had just gotten away with eating ice cream before dinner.

True, they were only thirty-five, so gray hairs shouldn't be a happy moment. Also, it was in Blaine's genes to gray early, his dad had been completely gray by forty-five, so he shouldn't be surprised. But, if any two people were going to go against the grain, it was them.

Kurt knew early on that it was Blaine's biggest- and pretty much only- wish to have gray hair. "If I can just live long enough to go gray, and be a proper 'old man' I can die happy," He'd say.

They had gotten scared three years earlier that it would never happen. But now… now it was happening. And they just couldn't contain their excitement.

Kurt gasped. "Blaine, we have to celebrate!" He declared, pulling back enough to look at his husband. "Wherever you wanna go, we're going. And we're getting cake. And balloons."

And this is the moment where most people would say, 'It's just a gray hair.'

But no, not Blaine. "Oh, can we have cupcakes?"

"Duh."

"But I want regular cake too."

"How about this," Kurt said, turning around to head out of the bathroom, but keeping one hand locked in Blaine's. "We'll go out to dinner, then get dessert wherever we are. Then, we'll go to Mary's Cupcake Shack and get one of those each- and of course extra for home-"

"Of course," Blaine interjected.

"Then, we'll go to George's Pie Parlor and get some pie. Then, we'll go get balloons somewhere far away from where we live and walk all the way home with them so everyone around us can see and wonder what they're for."

Kurt turned to get his jacket off of the coat rack by the door, but Blaine pulled him back to him and kissed him hard. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Kurt returned with a smile. "Now, let's go eat more than our body weight."

"Yes!"

So that night, while the rest of the world wished they could stay young forever, Kurt and Blaine celebrated growing old.

"My dad often told me that, 'Sometimes you gotta look hard, but you'll always find a light at the end of the tunnel. It just might take a while to find it.' Well, he was right. I found it. It was you."

The End!

I thought it was appropriate to end with a flashback line, since that's how I started each chapter :) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and for putting up with me and my crazy schedules.

Someone mentioned that I should do oneshots based off of this fic. It didn't sound like a bad idea to me, but I wanna know what you guys think. Would you want to read oneshots that went with this story? It's not something I've ever done before, but I hate saying goodbye to IaH. It's my baby.

Anyway, thank you all again. Remember, I'm notalone88 on Tumblr.

God Bless!