Summary: "Blaine forgot to sing. Blaine forgot to breathe. Hell, Blaine forgot how to do anything except stare at Kurt." LOTS of insight to 2x16 with missing scenes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of its characters. If I did, Klaine would've happened ten episodes ago because that was one hell of a wait.

A/N: Obviously, as a successful college student, I spent my math class writing this. Obviously a lot of people are posting new fics about the kiss, but hopefully this one is a little different. No specific point of view, but a nice little glimpse into Kurt and Blaine's thoughts during "Original Song" that I might continue in April if people like it, giving their perspectives on future episodes, as well.

This Moment

Blaine watched Kurt cross the room, dressed in all black. The sunlight from the large Dalton windows illuminated the tears streaming down his face as he sang, and Blaine forgot to sing. Blaine forgot to breathe. Hell, Blaine forgot how to do anything except stare at Kurt.

Kurt's voice was beautiful. Blaine had only heard Kurt sing solo a few times... he forgot how beautiful the countertenor's voice really was. Even so, somehow, this was different. This wasn't a performance. This wasn't a cry for attention. This was Kurt bearing his soul and letting go of his emotions. It was full of feeling, and it was the most beautiful thing Blaine had ever seen.

It was like he was seeing Kurt for the first time, and in a way, he was. The Kurt standing before him was different than the Kurt he was used to seeing. This wasn't the unsure, self-doubting Dalton Kurt that he saw in school on most days. Blaine knew that Kurt had given up on speaking out against the Warblers most of the time and had just resolved to keeping his mouth shut-he only shared his concerns with Blaine, if he voiced them at all.

This also wasn't the sassy, sarcastic Kurt that came out around his McKinley friends. Honestly, while Blaine thought it was refreshing to see Kurt be himself more around his other friends, he recognized that a lot of Kurt's wit was a defense mechanism. There was always something there keeping him from showing what was really going on in his head.

But this... this was just Kurt.

Blaine wanted to pull Kurt into his arms. He wanted to kiss away Kurt's tears, and he was pretty sure those weren't normal thoughts to have towards your best friend.

Of course, he already knew that Kurt liked him. Kurt had told him at Valentine's Day, and Blaine stupidly said that he didn't want to mess up what they already had.

He watched Kurt finish his song and thank the Warblers. Blaine was sure he had been mistaken before. Kurt had been there all alone, loving and beautiful and perfect.

Blaine had never wanted anyone more.

xxx

Blaine couldn't sleep that night. He just wanted to see Kurt... to hear him sing, to hold his hand, to kiss him senseless...

He knew Kurt wanted to sing at Regionals. Blaine wanted to hear Kurt sing at Regionals. He knew the counsel wouldn't give up one of Blaine's solos last minute and give it to Kurt... Kurt was right-the Warblers were all about Blaine.

He suddenly flashed back to Christmas, when Kurt helped him practice his duet for King's Island. It was so simple and fun and flawless... flirty and in perfect harmony, like they were supposed to sing together.

Blaine got an idea.

xxx

Blaine was acting different, Kurt realized. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about the way Blaine was looking at him lately made his stomach twist in a new way. Honestly, he'd been trying to give up on Blaine. He really had. But with the way Blaine had been looking at him lately was making him forget how to breathe, and he realized he was nowhere near over his best friend.

He had been surprised when Blaine spoke up in Warblers practice. He had been stunned when Blaine said he wanted to sing with Kurt. He couldn't help but wonder if this was all because he had complained about Blaine getting all of the solos for their competition. Blaine knew that Kurt was jealous. Kurt was nowhere near denying it. He wanted to sing. He wanted the spotlight he never got when he was at McKinley. He wanted Dalton to be different. But he didn't want a solo out of pity...

The councel hadn't even voted to have a duet at Regionals. None of them agreed with the idea, but as soon as Blaine said he wanted to sing with Kurt, their hands all shot up, and Wes actually smiled. Wes was normally so serious about the Warblers, so when he banged his gavel on the table and congratulated Kurt, Kurt knew that something was different.

He tried to focus on something else. If he was going to be singing with Blaine, he would have to worry about the competition and not about his stupid unrequited feelings. He searched for distractions, and settled on meticulously decorating Pavarotti's casket. Of course, Blaine would choose to interrupt, effectively eliminating the distraction.

Kurt was surprised by Blaine's song choice. He honestly still couldn't get over the fact that yes, he and Blaine would be singing a duet in front of a thousand people and all of his friends from his old school and that Blaine didn't care what anyone said about two boys singing together. But still, he had to ask. "Why did you ask me to sing that song with you?"

Blaine suddenly changed his demeanor. The smile that had been on his face when he walked in was gone, and he was suddenly very serious. "Kurt, there is a moment when you say to yourself... Oh, there you are! I've been looking for you forever." Kurt felt his heart skip. What? What had he said? Were those real words? Kurt decided he couldn't be imagining it, based on the intense stare of Blaine's hazel eyes. Suddenly, Blaine's hand was on Kurt's, warm and comforting. Blaine took a deep breath. "Watching you do Blackbird this week... That was a moment for me... about you," Blaine explained.

This wasn't happening. There was no way this was real. Kurt had been chasing after Blaine for months and had finally resolved that Blaine's feelings for him would never change to anything romantic. His breath caught as he realized Blaine was still speaking. "You moved me, Kurt." Suddenly, Blaine seemed nervous. He was quieter and his voice was even a little shaky. "Doing this duet... would just be an excuse to spend m-more time with you."

Kurt vaguely noted that he hadn't said anything through this confession. He was too stunned to form words. He knew he should say something, anything, to let Blaine know that, Yes, I want to spend more time with you, too! but before he could regain his ability to speak, Blaine started leaning towards him... Oh, sweet holy hell, Blaine Anderson was going to kiss him. Blaine was going to kiss him. Blaine was kissing him!

Kurt froze for a second out of pure shock. This was what he had been waiting for, what he had been dreaming of. This is the first kiss he had always wanted-not the forced make-out session with Brittany or the assult of a kiss from Karofsky. His chest swelled as he remembered to breathe. The muscles in his hand stretched out instinctively. His heart felt warm and he decided that he never wanted to kiss anyone who wasn't Blaine ever again.

And Kurt, who had always pushed others away, brought his hand to Blaine's cheek, encouraging him to stay exactly where he was. His defenses were down. He deepened the kiss, letting his tongue graze against Blaine's. He thought he might explode from sensory overload. Then Blaine was pulling away, studying Kurt's face. Kurt was sure he looked like an idiot. Blaine thought he looked beautiful.

Blaine was suddenly shy and embarrassed. He had a smile on his face and adjusted his hand a few times, trying to process that, wow-he had just kissed his best friend, his best friend who he loved more every day, and it was incredible. "We... we should practice," he said, looking back to Kurt, who had a slight smile on his kiss-swollen lips.

"I thought we were," Kurt teased. Blaine was done for. The breathlessness in Kurt's voice and the way his lips moved-they both practically launched themselves into another kiss. The first kiss had been careful, experimental, and introductory. This one was full of need-all of the months Kurt had spent daydreaming about Blaine and watching him chase other people and see right through him. Well, Blaine was definitely seeing him now. Their breathing was heavy and they were longing for closeness-tongues meeting and teeth clattering through gasps for air and desperate clinging hands...

Kurt was breathless as Blaine pulled away from him. He opened his eyes to see Blaine smiling at him.

"Hi," he said stupidly.

"Hi," Blaine laughed. He reached out to hold Kurt's hand again. "Kurt, I... I know that I'm not good at this. After everything with Jeremiah and with Rachel... I realize I was just trying to force something that wasn't there and... ignoring what was." He squeezed Kurt's hand. "And I know that last month I told you I don't want to screw up everything between us, and I don't, but... even if I suck at Romance, I'm willing to try, if you want to."

Kurt didn't know what to say. He just nodded slowly. "I..." He almost laughed. "I've been chasing afte ryou like a lost puppy for the last four or five months, and right when I start to give up..." He shook his head slowly.

Blaine kissed him again. He rested their foreheads together as he pulled back and he let his thumb sweep across Kurt's cheek. "I'm sorry I took so long," he breathed. Kurt's stomach twisted pleasantly.

"I think it was worth the wait," Kurt admitted. Blaine smiled that impeccable smile of his before moving to kiss his new boyfriend again.

xxx

"So your big competition is coming up, huh?" Burt said over dinner in the Hummel-Hudson home.

"Yeah," Finn said. "We can't really talk about our setlists, but it's gonna be awesome."

"Let me guess," Kurt teased, "Rachel sings a ballad, then the two of you lead New Directions in an anthem aout being knocked down and ultimately coming out on top." Finn flushed at Kurt's accuracy.

"Oh shut up. Let me guess-Blaine sings everything," Finn shot back, sticking his tongue out childishly.

"Not completely." Kurt blushed. "We uh, have a duet. Me and Blaine."

"Really? Honey, that's great, that you get to really sing," Carole said. Kurt nodded.

"Yeah, it was really unexpected. He stood up in front of the council and said he wanted me to sing with him..." He smiled a little at the memory.

"I'm not sure how I feel about that kid," Burt said, reaching for his beer.

"Dad, he's my... best friend," Kurt frowned, not sure this would be the best time to break the news of their new development to his family.

"And I get that, but a few weeks ago he was drunk in your bed, and last week he advised me to give you a sex talk, so I'm not so sure if I sould take that as him looking out for you of him trying to bed you." Kurt choked.

"He did what?" Burt nodded. Kurt kicked Finn under the table for laughing.

"Yeah, showed up at the tire shop and said he was worried about you. It's kinda weird to talk to him sometimes. He's hard to read."

"I can't believe he did that. Oh my god." Kurt covered his face, making a serious mental note to speak to Blaine on his parent-etiquitte later.

"Although he sure knows how to suck up to someone. Told me how he's blown away by our relationship and that you're... what was it, the most moral and compassionate person he's ever met." Burt almost looked amused.

"Well... I uh, I guess I'm glad he talked to you. I can assure you that the reason the topic came up in the first place was Glee related and having nothing to do with his intentions." Finn and Burt both looked confused.

"Okay, what does sex have to do with Glee club?" Burt frowned.

"Yeah, I'm confused," Finn said. "We had Glee sex-ed from Ms. Holiday, but..." Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Coach Sylvester told Blaine and I that to beat you at Regionals, we should work on our sex appeal, and it made me uncomfortable so Blaine tried to talk to me about it and I got freaked out and didn't want to talk about it, so I guess he got worried about me." He paused. "Although Dad, maybe if you gave Finn a sex talk more like mine, he wouldn't have such a messed up love life." He let out a fake cough that sounded suspiciously like Santana.

"Can we not bring that up?" Finn asked, red-faced. "I like to pretend it didn't happen."

"Rachel still calls me to complain that you lied to her about it," Kurt frowned. "The lovely benefits of being best friends with my brother's ex-girlfriend, let me tell you..."

"I don't care! She needs to stop-Rachel isn't my girlfriend. Quinn is." Kurt made a face.

"Really? You're back with Quinn? The same Quinn who cheated on you with your best friend, got knocked up, and lied for months saying it was yours? Is that why she and Sam broke up-because of you?" Finn groaned.

"You make it sound really bad, okay, but it isn't like that. We started talking again and after she quit the Cheerios she kissed me and... I mean, I never really got over her after the whole deal last year. It just really messed me up for a while. And yeah, I feel bad about Sam, but he's got Santana, and it really isn't my fault. I didn't tell her to cheat on Sam, I told her to pick one, and she didn't want to and Sam ended up breaking up with her." Finn shrugged.

"Okay, so you break up with her for cheating on you... then go out with Rachel, then leave Rachel so you can date around with Brittany and Santana, then went back to Rachel when Santana basically used you... then lied to Rachel about Santana and so Rachel kissed Puck because she was being stupid and upset and you break up with her for cheating on you... then you go out with Quinn again, who just cheated on her boyfriend with you? Finn, I'm pretty sure I dodged a bullet with you. You really have no idea what you're doing."

"Dude, it's more complicated than it seems, okay? Relationships are really hard. You can't tell me that Blaine's honestly the only dude you're into," Finn reasoned.

"Except he is. I don't know what's with the rest of you people-Rachel was chasing you for ages and ended up dating Puck because she couldn't have you last year, then dated Jesse when she still liked you, and even though you're with Quinn right now I can already tell that you and Rachel are going to get back together eventually and I don't really get how you guys can really convince yourselves you're in love with so many people at once."

"And you think that you're really in love with Blaine?" Finn asked skeptically. Kurt sighed, pushing his plate back and folding his hands on the table. Burt and Carole were shooting each other glances but didn't bother to interrupt.

"This is how I look at it," Kurt said. "When anything happens to me, good or bad, Blaine is the first person I want to call. He's the first person I want to see every morning and the last person I want to talk to at night. Even when I'm aggravated with him, if he smiles at me, it instantly vanishes. I actually can talk to him about things that I normally wouldn't feel comfortable telling to anyone else, and if I had the choice between peforming my favorite song in front of a sold out crowd or singing along to a musical I've seen a hundred times on our living room couch with Blaine, I'd choose him every time.

I don't like it when he isn't around. I don't like not being able to see or talk to him for too long. And we're always honest with each other, even if it's painful or awkward. And I actually want him to be happy and recognize that everything isn't about me-when I found out he liked that stupid Gap manager, even though I was upset, I helped him out and encouraged him to take a chance, because if it made him happy, I could learn to deal with it. I wasn't even like that with you, and you were my longest-standing crush. I spent all of my time trying to manipulate you away from Quinn and make Rachel unappealing to you. Obviously those things both failed but regardless, the point is, yes, I think that I'm really in love with Blaine, and I feel like I'm a better person because of it."

Finn didn't know what to say. Carole pressed a hand to her heart. Burt gulped down the last of his beer.

"Damn," Finn finally said. "If you see all of that in him, then what the hell did you see in me?" Kurt just shrugged.

"You let me take off my expensive jackets before your friends threw me in the dumpsters and you told Puck not to impulsively throw me into lockers. Considering that's probably the nicest anyone was to me you seemed like a knight in shining armor," he scoffed.

"Finn!" Carole said, surprised by her son's behavior. "Your friends threw him in dumpsters?" Finn winced.

"I never actually did it myself," he reasoned.

"You and your friend threw pee balloons at me," Kurt reminded him.

"I already apologized for that. And for the last time, I wasn't there when they nailed your lawn furniture to your roof. I was grounded I was totally at home." Burt's mouth fell open. "Dude, Burt, I'm really sorry. That was all a long time ago, before I joined Glee."

"As long as he never pulls any shit like that again," Burt says. "You shouldn't pick on kids." Finn nodded quickly.

"I know, I'm really sorry. I didn't really... think about what I was doing." He frowned.

"It doesn't matter," Kurt said. "All in the past. It'll be even once we kick your butts at Regionals." He stood to collect the plates from the table.

xxx

Backstage after Regionals, Blaine watched Kurt congratulate his McKinley friends. He knew the loss was bittersweet for Kurt, because he was happy for his friends. Blaine didn't feel too bad about losing... in his mind, he had won something much better.

"Are you and Kurt together?" Blaine looked up to see Finn hovering next to him. Blaine saw no point in lying to him, and nodded. Finn nodded, too.

"Okay, good. Just take care of him, okay? He really, really likes you... more than I thought was possible, anyway, especially in like, high school." Blaine was confused.

"What do you mean by that?" Finn shrugged, watching Kurt talk to Rachel about her original song.

"The other night at dinner he like, gave this whole long speech, I guess. He was telling me that he doesn't get how people can claim to love so many people at the same time and, I mean, I didn't know if you two were together or whatever but it was pretty common knowledge that he was into you, so I asked him if you were honestly the only guy he's into, and he just... went off. Not like, in an angry way. I was afraid he was going to assult me or something, at first, but... I guess I didn't realize he likes you that much."

"Yeah?" Blaine smiled. "I'm really glad that he does." Finn nodded again.

"He said... that you make him feel like a better person, and all this stuff about how... what was it? Oh, yeah, he said if he could sing his favorite song in front of a sold-out crowd or sing along to a musical he's seen a billion times on the couch with you, he'd always pick you, so... I just wanted to tell you that he really, really cares about you, so if you mess up and hurt him I'm oblidged to kill you."

Blaine was stunned. Not by the threat, but by Kurt's words. "I won't. I promise." Kurt looked over to where the two of them standed and smiled. Blaine smiled back.

"Congrats, Kurt," Finn said, patting him on the back.

"But... we didn't win," Kurt said, confused. Finn smiled and nodded to Blaine.

"Not what I'm talking about, dude." He winked and went back to his team.

"You told him?" Kurt asked, turning back to Blaine. He wasn't angry, just surprised.

"Nope. He figured it out on his own. Said you gave a speech about me at dinner the other night and that if I hurt you he's going to murder me." Kurt blushed.

"Well I already have to hold one funeral; I'd hate to have to go to yours, too," he said.

"Speaking of which, have you found a place to bury Pavarotti, yet?" Blaine asked carefully, not wanting to upset Kurt. Kurt nodded.

"I was planning on doing it tomorrow."

"Just let me know when, and I'll be there," Blaine assured him. Kurt was a little surprised, but he smiled.

"Thanks."

xxx

Blaine took Kurt's hand and the two walked away from the tiny bird grave.

"You're right," Kurt said. Blaine looked at him, confused. Kurt wasn't meeting his gaze. He stared at their joined hands between them. "...About losing Regionals. Having you is much better." Kurt looked up at him. "The same goes with Pavarotti. It's the end for him, but it's only the beginning for us, right?" A huge smile spread across Blaine's face. He pulled Kurt closer to him and gave him a sweet, soft kiss.

"Absolutely," Blaine assured him. "This is only the beginning."