Blaine and Kurt had been blissfully dating for two weeks when he decided that he needed to buckle down on his "extracurricular" work. After school one day, while his mom was reading in the living room, Blaine decided that he'd need her help if he was ever going to succeed.

He went downstairs and stood in the doorway to the living room, wondering how best to alert his mother to his presence, how to not scare her. A thought occurred to him and he smiled and took it in stride.

"Mom."

"Yes sweetie?" Mrs. Anderson said absentmindedly.

Blaine couldn't hear her words, but he could see her reflection in the television screen and read her posture. She was relaxed for a moment longer, then froze, tensing, slowly lowering the book and turning to Blaine.

Blaine? she signed.

"Mom," he repeated out loud. It was the only word he was confident in speaking even though he had been practicing for the last few months. Ever since he met Kurt almost. Can you help me?

What do you need, honey?

I've been reading the books from the speech therapist and practicing. But I don't know how I sound or anything, and I don't want to make a fool of myself. Do you think that maybe you could teach me?

Oh, sweetie, of course!

Blaine ran back to his room to get the books and then took a seat next to his mother on the couch. They slowly began reading aloud, starting with simple words and then moving on to more syllables.

"Worl."

No, no - you're still dropping the end of most words. Make sure you get the D sound, his mother instructed, repeating "Duh" a few times aloud so he could see how it should look.

"W-worldd," he said shakily.

She smiled proudly. Perfect.

Really? It doesn't sound like a five yeard old with a lisp or anything?

Well, of course it sounds different, honey, but you'll get used to it. It just takes time. Want to try more or shall we end for today?

"Mare!"

Long O, Blaine, like this: "oo," Mrs. Anderson corrected gently.

"More."

Blaine didn't tell anyone at school about his extra lessons with his mother after school, especially not Kurt. He wanted it to be a surprise for his boyfriend. But they did notice a change in him. He allowed himself to laugh aloud more and make small noises and grunts in conversation. The first time Blaine's laugh had rung out in Sam's den while they were playing video games with the other glee boys, everyone had been so stunned at the sound of Blaine that they'd stopped playing and Blaine had managed to kill them all. They never made that mistake again.

"I ... I ha-hop to see you sone?" Blaine said tentatively.

His mother winced a little, but quickly schooled her features. You had most of it. 'Hope' has a long O sound in it so it sounds like hoe. She repeated the word out loud, allowing Blaine to watch and feel her mouth. And the Os in 'soon' almost sound like a U. Try again?

"I hope to see you sune?"

Closer. Try 'soon' again.

"Soon?"

Perfect.

"Soon. I hope to see you soon."

Blaine was integral - or so Mr. Schuester said - in the songwriting process for Regionals. Since they were writing their own, original songs, Blaine was sure he would be able to play them easily for the competition. He also knew the most about music theory and composition, as that had been a huge part of the process of teaching him piano. As the New Directions wrote the lyrics, they explained to him and Brad what kind of tone and sound they were looking for. The two musicians then messed around on the piano for a while until they came up with something that felt right.

Blaine felt a little overwhelmed as he attempted to write two original songs and learn to speak, but he knew it would all be worth it when the New Directions advanced to New York and nationals.

Simply based on how the other performances looked, Blaine knew that the New Directions were going to win. His suspicions were proved correct when they were announced as the winners. This time, Blaine was standing on stage with the rest of his team, and he smiled proudly as they all rushed to touch the trophy.

As soon as they were safely backstage, Blaine pulled Kurt into a deep kiss of congratulations.

"If I can larn to tawk, I don't want the ..." Blaine didn't want to even try to attempt to pronounce the words, so he finished his sentence in signs, cochlear implants.

Make sure you accentuate the "E" sound in learn rather than so much "A", Mrs. Anderson responded. She paused for a moment as she let the rest of Blaine's statement sink in. Why?

Because I don't think I'm broken, so why fix me? Plus, if I can talk out loud, then I can communicate well enough.

Okay. Like I said, honey, it's your decision. We just want whatever's going to be easiest for you.

"Kuh - Kay ... Kay u - yur tuh," Blaine said, sounding out the letters individually before trying to piece them together. This was the most important word he could ever learn.

"Kayurt," he said again, emphasizing the T as much as possible. "Kayurt."

It's not "kay" Blaine - it's "kuh," Mrs. Anderson explained, mouthing the syllables.

"Kuh - urt?" Blaine asked. Mrs. Anderson nodded in approval. "Kuh-urt. Kurt. Kurt."

Blaine knew his speaking skills left much to be desired, but he found that once he got past the first few hurdles, it was actually much easier than expected. It wasn't like he had to learn a new language - he already knew English and grammar. He just had to learn to pronounce it.

Spending so much time around singers was turning out to be the perfect way to learn. They were constantly warming up their vocal chords with tongue twisters and other warm-ups. Blaine mouthed along to them where no one could see and practiced them out loud at home.

He was confident in his plan as he followed Kurt on to the airplane to head off to New York.

I'm so excited! Kurt said, hands moving quickly. New York is my dream!

I know, Kurt. You've mentioned that a few times before.

Well, you can't blame me! I get to go to the city of my dreams with my amazing boyfriend. Why shouldn't I be this enthusiastic?

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be. I think it's adorable. I think you're adorable.

Shut up, you're making me blush.

All of the New Directions except Blaine went down to the hotel's gym to practice choreography for the competition. He declined watching them in favor of getting some of his own practicing in before he planned to surprise Kurt.

He stood in front of the bathroom mirror and began speaking. "Kurt. New York. Blaine. Kurt Hummel. Love."

He didn't hear the room door open, obviously, as he began attempting one of Rachel's tongue twisters.

"Irish ristchwash - no, wrist watch. Irish. Wrist. Watch. Irish. Wrist. Watch. Irish -"

The bathroom door opened. Blaine clamped him mouth closed and turned around in fear, only to find himself face to face with his best friend.

Sam, he signed guiltily.

What were you just doing, Blaine?

Nothing.

Really? You're going to try that? I could hear you.

I've just been trying to teach myself to talk for a while. Did it sound awful?

No, you sounded perfect! A little loud, maybe, but totally clear.

Blaine grinned at the praise. Please don't tell anyone? I wanted Kurt to be the first to know.

Of course, man. One condition, though.

What?

Can you say something now?

Like what?

I don't know. My name?

Blaine raised his eyebrows, but nodded his head. "S-sam."

A huge grin broke out on Sam's face. Wow, dude, that was awesome! Kurt's going to freak out!

You don't think he'll be mad?

No way. This is like, super romantic! He'll eat it up.

Thanks, Sam.

Blaine wasn't nearly as disappointed as the rest of his classmates when they didn't break into the top 10 at nationals. He was simply thrilled to be there, to be included in such an amazing group of people. He was also incredibly excited for what the group was planning to do on their last night in the city.

"Okay guys, I know that you're disappointed that we didn't do better, but I'm so proud of all of you!" Mr. Schuester said to the gathered New Directions. "We also had a bit of extra money, thanks to the plane tickets that Terri got for us, so I have a surprise for all of you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handful of tickets. "We're going to Wicked tonight!"

Rachel jumped up and screamed in delight while Kurt leaned over and kissed Blaine in excitement. Blaine smiled gently at all the happy faces of his friends - even Puck seemed excited - but he couldn't help but feel left out. He could watch TV shows and movies with subtitles, but a live show - even one he knows as well as Wicked thanks to Kurt - is impossible for a deaf person unless there's an interpreter present.

The same thought seemed to strike Kurt at the same moment. "What about Blaine?" he asked Mr. Schuester.

Everyone quieted down and looked guiltily at the boy. Sometimes it was so easy to forget that he was deaf.

"Well, that's the best part," Mr. Schuester said, not noticing the drop in enthusiasm in the room. "I called ahead and explained the situation to the box office. They don't have an ASL interpreter, but they do have this thing called i-caption. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it's a little device that basically functions as subtitles for the show, but from your hands!"

Blaine was shocked, and more than a little emotional. He was actually going to see a show on Broadway!

The return to Lima was a let down for everyone who had been to New York, but perhaps none moreso than to Blaine and Kurt. In just a few days, they had gotten so used to being able to be outwardly affectionate in public, and now they were back in the oppressively homophobic city of Lima.

Blaine was still holding on to the last dredges of adrenaline from the experience that was New York as he sat down across from Kurt at the Lima Bean. Kurt was signing something about plans with Rachel for next year when Blaine decided he couldn't wait a moment longer.

Wait, he signed, placing a gentle hand on Kurt's.

"Kurt," he said. Kurt gasped and looked up, catching Blaine's eyes. "I love you."

Kurt peeled his hand out from underneath Blaine's and folded down his ring and middle fingers. I love you. Tears beaded at the corners of both boy's eyes as they simply stared at each other.