There's not enough historical AU Klaine in this world, y'all.

Blaine felt mechanical as he walked up the driveway of his family's sprawling country house for the first time in three years. It somehow looked both exactly the same and entirely different to him, as though everything had been shifted a centimeter to the right in his absence but was still set up as he had left it.

Or more accurately, as his brother had left it.

The pang of loss at the thought of Cooper consumed Blaine so fully that he was properly inside the estate before he became aware of his surroundings again.

"Lord Blaine," the butler, Schuester, greeted. The address was not technically correct - Lord Westerville was Blaine's proper title - but the servants at Dalton never referred to their masters formally unless speaking to an outsider. "I know I speak for the entire staff when I say that we are all thoroughly grateful that you have returned to Dalton."

"I cannot believe how fortunate I am," Blaine replied seriously. "This war took too many promising lives, and I was certain my own would be one of them after…."

His voice trailed off there, memories of his nearly fatal accident still too fresh in his mind to discuss casually. Thankfully, Schuester was perceptive after his many years serving the Anderson family.

"I sent Kurt up to your room to ensure it was prepared, my lord," he said, deftly changing the tone of the conversation. "He shall once again be your valet whenever you require one."

"Thank you, Schuester," Blaine said, smiling almost imperceptibly at the mention of Kurt. "Is Mother expecting me for supper?"

"She is, as are Lord and Lady Lopez," Schuester informed him. "Lady Santana will not be in attendance, though."

"I will be ready," Blaine said, nodding to Schuester before making his way slowly up the grand staircase. He couldn't help but emit a light sigh of relief as he left, grateful that he wouldn't have to encounter that particular thorn in his side so soon after returning home.

Instead, he focused on getting to his room in one piece, pausing briefly to call out a cheerful hello whenever he passed another of his cherished house staff in the long passageway that led to his suite. He hesitated on the threshold, suddenly afraid of how Kurt might react when he saw him.

He had no reason to fear.

The second he opened the door, a tall brunet tornado hurled itself at him, engulfing him in an embrace so tight Blaine thought he might swoon.

"Blaine! You're home, you're back, you're alive," Kurt said, a little hysterical.

"I promised you I'd return," Blaine said, pressing his face into Kurt's neck and muffling his words slightly. "I don't break my promises, especially to you."

"And you're not hurt?" Kurt asked, pulling away - much to Blaine's disappointment - to run his hands all along Blaine's body frantically and check for himself.

"I have all my limbs, mercifully, but my right leg may never fully recover," Blaine said, grabbing Kurt's hands and stilling them over his own chest. "I was almost unable to walk up the staircase, truthfully. I should have put my pride aside and left my cane out of my luggage."

"Yes, you should have!" Kurt chastised. "You're supposed to be the smart brother, Blaine, Lord Cooper's the one-"

He cut himself off abruptly, flushing a vivid pink and looking down at the floor.

"It's all right, Kurt," Blaine said softly, rubbing a hand over his arm. "Sometimes I forget he's gone, too. If they had ever found his body…."

They fell into another, more comforting embrace. Blaine could tell he was using Kurt for both emotional and physical support at that moment, as his bad leg was threatening to give way beneath him. Finally, Kurt broke away, pushing Blaine toward his bed.

"Sit down before you collapse, dear heart," Kurt said firmly. "I could feel you shaking against me, and not because you were crying, either."

"How do you know it wasn't because your mere presence causes me to tremble?" Blaine teased, needing to distract himself from the grief that was always so close at hand.

"Then your bed is the perfect place for you to be," Kurt rejoined, smirking. "I even plan on undressing you, though I'll be reclothing you immediately."

"Pity," Blaine said, pouting playfully. "I could claim my rights as lord of the manor, you know."

"The droit de seigneur was abolished ages ago, Blaine," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. He knelt down to unbutton Blaine's shirt as he continued, "Also, Lady Pam would come up here and kill you herself if you were late for dinner with her bosom fr- bloody hell."

He shoved Blaine's shirt off carelessly, staring at the jagged red scar that now ran from his breastbone to the left side of his ribcage, the most permanent marker of the plane crash that had nearly taken his life.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Blaine said, flushing lightly with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you see, I'll make sure I've always got a shirt on-"

"Blaine, no," Kurt interrupted, looking him directly in the eye. "I'm not disgusted. I knew you had been injured on a flight. I simply didn't realize how close I came to losing you until I saw this scar."

He leaned forward and kissed it, lips pressing against the part closest to Blaine's heart.

"Thank you for coming home," he whispered.

"Thinking of you is why I made it through," Blaine replied, pulling Kurt up to sit next to him so they could kiss properly. "You give me strength, Kurt."

They kissed hungrily until the sound of tires on gravel alerted them to the imminent arrival of the Lopezes and Kurt had to help Blaine finish dressing.

"Can you be with me tonight?" Blaine asked softly before leaving his room. "Is it possible for you to get away?"

"I already requested to move into the chambers adjoining yours in case your injuries needed constant care," Kurt said, straightening Blaine's lapels. "I wanted to be as close to you as I could once you returned."

"Your cleverness is one of the many, many reasons I love you," Blaine said, leaning in for one last, brief kiss. "Until tonight, darling."

"Until tonight, my sweet."

Unfortunately, the bliss of returning to Dalton and Kurt couldn't last forever.

"Blaine, dear, I need you to join me in the library for a moment," Lady Pam called out, a month after his homecoming. When they had taken their seats in two of the plush armchairs by the bay window, she continued, "I don't mean to be intrusive, and I apologize for what I am about to ask, but...did your injuries leave you incapable of, mmm, continuing the Anderson line?"

Blaine flushed at the question, but answered in the negative.

"Then it really is time for you to look into taking a wife," Pam said, all business. "The war left us all devastated, of course, but how better to console ourselves than a wedding?"

"Mother-"

"And while you will naturally be able to choose your own bride, I must admit that ever since you and Santana were born in the same year, I have secretly hoped that one day, you two would come together as one," she said, speaking over Blaine. "Maribel has mentioned similar desires to me, and it would put you in the impressive position of controlling both Dalton and McKinley Hall one day, as Santana is their only child and McKinley is not entailed."

"The land isn't-"

"But if you are already thinking of another prospect - Lady Quinn, perhaps, or Lady Rachel - I won't stand in your way," Pam finished, looking quite pleased with herself. "As long as you are happy, Blaine, then I will be as well."

"I haven't begun to think about a wedding yet, Mother," Blaine said, happy to finally have a chance to speak. "I've only just returned to Dalton, and I've been focusing on making sure everything is in order after my years away."

"An admirable task, dear, but surely you've almost finished it by now?" Pam asked. "I see no reason why you couldn't set up an engagement with someone and finish doing the accounts while she plans the wedding."

Blaine pressed his lips together, out of excuses for wishing to remain unwed - he very well couldn't tell his mother the truth, after all.

"I'll pay a call to Santana tomorrow," he said, hoping his unwillingness wasn't obvious. "We have always been fond of each other, and maybe with time…."

"I suspected as much!" Pam said merrily. "Oh, you two will be the most gorgeous pair. Do you think she will want a winter wedding? Only think of how lovely all the white would look."

"You will have to ask her tomorrow," Blaine said, making to stand up. "If you'll excuse me?"

His mother nodded, and he left, feeling an ache in his body that had nothing to do with his old wounds. He immediately called for Kurt when he arrived back at his bedroom.

"My mother has informed me that I am to marry as soon as possible," he said when Kurt appeared, hoping not to prolong the torture. "Tomorrow, I will go to McKinley Hall and ask Lady Santana if she would be willing to make the dreams of our parents come true."

"Willing?" Kurt asked with a snort. "She'll be as willing as you are, and for the same reason."

"What?" Blaine said, stunned.

"It's well known - at least to the help - that Lady Santana spends her days in the gardens because she favors Brittany, the gardener's daughter," Kurt explained. "She may tell her parents it's because she prefers to make the arrangements herself, but one of their footmen came across the girls having relations in one of the bowers once. The only people who are unaware are her parents and your mother, I suppose."

"I can already see how love-filled our marriage will be," Blaine said bitterly. "It will be a miracle if we can produce the heir my mother so desperately wants."

"Will you...I'll understand if you try to find me a place somewhere else, my lord," Kurt said, soft and hesitant. "If my presence would keep you from doing your duty with Lady Santana…."

"If you want to leave, then I will do everything in my power to help, but I will not send you away," Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand in his. "I came home for you, Kurt. Even if I must wed another, my heart will always be yours."

"And mine, yours," Kurt said, eyes misty. "I don't want to go, Blaine."

Kurt's renewed use of Blaine's given name inspired Blaine to surge forward and kiss him eagerly.

"Your place is here, just as mine is with you. We will work something out. Perhaps Santana and her Brittany will be as interested in formulating a plan as we are," Blaine said, doggedly optimistic.

"We can start a foundation. 'Lord and Lady Westerville's Home for Aristocrats in Love with Their Same-Sex Servants,'" Kurt said, laughing.

"There you go again with the clever ideas," Blaine said, chuckling along. "This is why I could never let you go, my love."

"Is that the only reason?" Kurt teased, a familiar glint in his eye.

"The only one I can recall currently," Blaine replied, a smirk on his face.

Hours later, Blaine could remember a few other reasons why he could never be parted from Kurt.

"Courage, Blaine. You can get through this. You must," Blaine muttered to himself as he paced across his bedroom. "She won't reject you, if what Kurt said is true. Her parents have likely pressured her as much as your mother has you."

He made sure his tie was straight and made to leave the house, grateful that Kurt was having his day off. If he had had to get ready with Kurt's assistance, he wouldn't have been able to go through with the proposal.

As he crossed the entrance hall, Blaine noticed a large, black sedan pull up the driveway. His brow furrowed with confusion - no one was due to visit, and he didn't recognize the car at all.

Blaine watched from the window, seeing a chauffeur escort a small, blonde woman from the backseat before helping a dark-haired man out and bracing him against the woman's shoulder.

Realization hit Blaine instantly.

"Cooper!" he screamed, running out the front doors like a bat out of Hell. "Coop!"

"Blainey," Cooper replied, smiling beatifically. He let out a grunt as Blaine collided with him in a vigorous, long overdue hug. "Oh, little brother, it is so good to see you."

"How?" Blaine asked, only able to get out one word through his tears.

"I was knocked unconscious when my plane was hit in an airstrike," Cooper said. "Kitty found me on her father's farm and had him carry me to their barn, where I woke up a week later. Since then, I've been focusing on getting well enough to come home."

"Is that all you've cared about?" the woman who must be Kitty teased.

"Well, and you, darling," Cooper said, turning to drop a kiss on her forehead.

"That's what I like to hear," she said, beaming up at him.

"So...you're home and you've found someone to marry?" Blaine asked, dumbfounded.

"Is that a problem?" Cooper replied, confused.

"No! No, it's just - I was about to - tell Mother I'm not going to McKinley today," Blaine said, beginning to dash off. "She'll understand, especially when she meets Kitty."

"Blaine!" Cooper yelled, but it was too late. Blaine had other things to do.

"Kurt!" Blaine called when he reached Dalton's gardens. "Kurt!"

He stumbled upon Kurt sitting and reading among the rose bushes, startled at Blaine's unexpected arrival.

"Blaine? What's happening?" Kurt asked, alarmed. "Shouldn't you be at McKinley?"

"Cooper's back," Blaine said. "He just came home, he's going in to see Mother right now."

"Cooper - Lord Cooper is back?" Kurt repeated. "But he-"

"He didn't die, he told me - but that's not the point," Blaine said, finally regaining his breath. "The point is, I'm not the Earl of Westerville anymore. I don't have to marry Santana."

"But your mother-"

"-Will be thrilled that Cooper is home and can carry on the Anderson line," Blaine said. "That's the only reason she wanted me wed. Now that the true heir is back, I can do what I want. I can be a lifelong bachelor in the eyes of society."

"And what will you be in actuality?" Kurt asked, a knowing look in his eyes.

"In actuality, I will be fully committed to my gorgeous, loving valet, Kurt Hummel," Blaine said, moving to sit next to Kurt on the stone bench. "Do you think he will be amenable to that?"

"I think that's all he's ever dreamed of," Kurt replied.

The kiss they shared at that felt as bonding as a marriage license, at least in Blaine's opinion. He was sure Kurt would agree.