I do not own Glee or anything affiliated with it. If I create a character of my own, I will state so. But unless I say I own it, I don't! Also, this story is AU, meaning it is an alternate universe. It is not meant to be exactly like the television show that we all know and love. Long Time Coming is loosely based off of canon but is not intended to be/follow canon.

Long Time Coming
By: CrazedLunatic

"I don't know. I didn't think it would happen this early, you know? I've still got a year of school left. But he's about to graduate UK, he's going to go to a law school. Why wouldn't he be ready to settle down? We know we'll be together forever. What am I supposed to wear? What do you wear when you're about to be proposed to?"

"This is so exciting!" Rachel Berry squealed. "Finn should be proposing any day now. This is perfect. Do you think we should have a double wedding?"

"I think that's a terrible idea." Kurt Hummel, who had been looking through his closet while Skyping with Rachel and Mercedes Jones, poked his head out and stared at the screen. "No."

"Double wedding." Mercedes snorted. "Rachel, have you lost your mind? Kurt's been planning his wedding since he was, like, seven. I don't think you're in that picture."

"What? We could agree on colors. Personally I like orange and brown."

"We're not having a double wedding!" Kurt, who had left the immediate area once again, called from the closet. "I have nothing to wear. Nothing."

"It's Blaine. I doubt he cares what you're going to wear."

"But every time he takes me to Maggiano's, we always dress really nice and… Aha!" Kurt let out a triumphant noise as he pulled the desired shirt out of his closet and immediately grabbed the pants that he knew would go best with it—and he was a fashion-designer-in-training, so he knew exactly which ones those would be. He tossed them on his bed in his excitement, leaning down by his computer. "The next time you talk to me, ladies, I will be engaged."

"Your skinny white butt better call me the second you two are done getting it on, okay?" Mercedes said. "I want to hear all about it. Or Skype me, that way I can see the bling."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Mint green and pink, Kurt!" Rachel called just before Kurt shut his computer.

The last thing he heard was, "Hell to the no, Rachel. Hell to the no."

…

It wasn't going to be that bad.

No.

It couldn't, right?

After all, this was Kurt. Kurt loved him. Kurt wanted him to be happy, right?

Blaine had turned the tables and gone to lengths he maybe shouldn't have to ensure that both Kurt and Blaine went after their dreams. He'd applied to Harvard for early admissions without telling Kurt. In fact, the only people he had told were David and Wes—and they had both been sworn to secrecy.

Then there was the thing about how he lied when he said he was going to Harvard with Wes to offer moral support. Well, it hadn't been a complete lie. Well, maybe so. But Wes did have an interview mere hours after Blaine's interview. And they were definitely morally supporting each other through the whole process too. Blaine had never seen Wes so anxious in his entire life.

At that point, though, Blaine still wasn't even sure he would attend Harvard even if he got in. After all, the idea of moving hours away from Ohio was scary. Even if he'd lived multiple places in the state and sort of hated it, it had been his home since he was born. He had never lived anywhere else if you didn't count his barely three month stint in that apartment in Kentucky. And Blaine liked to not count it because he hadn't had to pay much anyway, so it had really sort of been like attending Dalton and rooming there. He was used to Ohio. The thought of leaving… of course it was scary. Did he really want to uproot and move his entire life? He wasn't sure. Not then, at least.

Truth be told, he hadn't realized how bad he really wanted to go to Harvard until he walked out of that interview hoping—no, praying, that he hadn't messed it up. Of course he had wanted to get accepted before going into the interview, or else why would he have gone? As soon as he walked out of that interview, though, he knew it. Blaine suddenly wanted to belong to the school more than he'd ever wanted anything in that moment. In fact, he'd been struck with the want so hard that he had sat down on the floor of the hallway for at least thirty minutes, watching students walk the hallway together chattering about mock trials and due dates. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be there bad.

How had he even considered anything but Harvard, really, now that he thought about it? He belonged with Kurt, of that he was sure. But couldn't he belong in more than one place?

Kurt would understand. He knew Kurt felt the same way about attending Parsons, and it became that much clearer that Kurt had to go there and this… it was perfect. If it worked out, if Blaine got into Harvard Law… they would be thirteen hours away for one school year. Two measly semesters. Then they would be four hours apart, just like when he had been at UK and Kurt had still been in high school. It had to work out, it just had to.

The worst part about the whole thing was the waiting to see if his new dream could become reality.

He waited.

And waited. And waited some more, praying that Kurt wasn't the one to get the mail because he didn't want that pitying look when it was a rejection letter. Nor did he want that surprised, "I didn't know you applied to Harvard" look either.

And then it had come, two days after Wes' acceptance letter.

But he didn't open it.

Instead, he stuffed it in the one place he knew without a doubt Kurt wouldn't look—his old soccer bag with his running shoes.

The letter had stayed there four whole days before Blaine finally got the courage to open it. He made sure he had at least three hours to himself just in case he didn't get in, he sat himself in his usual seat on the couch he so often shared with Kurt, and then he did it. He carefully opened the envelope, slowly pulled out the paper, and unfolded the sheet with his chest pounding. At that point, he didn't even know if he was breathing.

And he'd been accepted. Accepted.

The words "I am delighted to inform you…" had never been so utterly and completely amazing. He had been accepted into early admissions for Harvard Law School. He would still apply to the other schools on his list. OSU, Toldeo, Capital University and University of Cincinnati were the ones in Ohio. His other options were University of Chicago, University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Cornell, and Vanderbilt. They spanned from twenty minutes from his current apartment to several hours. He had options open to him. Blaine, who had been afraid he wouldn't get into any law school, had options.

He still applied to his long list of schools and the acceptances all rolled in, sometimes one at a time and one day he even got four at once. They didn't change anything though. He'd had his interview. He knew where he wanted to go. He knew where he had to be.

Tonight he would finally tell Kurt what he'd done. Perhaps he wouldn't say, "I found out a way we can both get what we want, applied behind your back, I'll be leaving, and now you can go on your merry way to New York and we'll have sex every other weekend." He knew however he said it wouldn't matter. All Kurt would see was the fact that Blaine had gotten into Harvard Law—and that he'd secretly applied and had even gone as far as to lie about it in regards to his interview. Still, though, he hoped Kurt would see past that after the initial shock and then be proud of him.

Blaine had worked his ass off for three years to get caught up, to get exactly here even if he hadn't known exactly where here was until his interview.

Of course everyone else's reactions mattered too but Kurt… Kurt was the person he was going to send the rest of his life with. Kurt's opinion mattered the most. He wanted to make Kurt proud. He wanted Kurt to be proud to be with him. And hadn't it been Kurt who had said, over and over, that long distance could work? Also, weren't David and Mercedes (still together now, and well on the way to being engaged) living examples of how well long distance could work? Sure, Blaine hadn't had faith in it.

But he had faith in him and Kurt. Kurt was going to be proud and happy for him. Blaine would go to Harvard and Kurt would go to Parsons a year after; they would finish school and then begin their lives together. Everything was going to go perfectly. He and Kurt could do anything. Blaine just knew it.

…

Was it really happening?

Kurt couldn't tell.

He was excited. Blaine was clearly nervous—and it was adorable. They were just as dressed up as they always were when they visited Maggiano's though, and Kurt had thought maybe Blaine would be just a little more dressed up for their proposal, but that was okay. He was more than used to Blaine's casual clothes by now—which seemed to become more casual as the years went on, partly to Kurt's disappointment.

"Kurt, I… have something to tell you." Blaine said after their food had been placed in front of them, taking a deep breath.

"Okay." Kurt said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. "What?"

"I got into all of the law schools I applied to." Blaine said slowly.

"Oh my God! Even Vanderbilt? I am so proud of you!" Kurt said.

"Capital, Cinci, OSU, Toledo, and Harvard." Blaine said, this time quickly. Almost too fast for Kurt to catch the last one.

"Wh—What?"

"I got into Harvard." Blaine breathed. "Kurt, I got into Harvard Law."

Kurt blinked several times with wide eyes. "But… Harvard is in… Harvard isn't in Ohio, Blaine."

Blaine felt his chest tighten. Kurt didn't look happy. He didn't look proud. He looked annoyed and hurt. He's shocked, Blaine reminded himself. You would be too.

"I know. It's in Boston. Vanderbilt isn't either." Blaine said calmly.

"I thought you applied to the others as safety schools if you didn't get into Capital." Kurt said slowly.

"Kurt…We discussed this. I told you that I was applying a lot of different places and that I wasn't sure where I wanted to go and I did mention Harvard…" Blaine said, trying to not feel upset. Kurt was in shock. It was okay. This was to be expected. He was just shocked. It would pass.

Kurt's eyes widened and he suddenly hissed, "You lied to me when you went with Wes!"

"No, I didn't! I went with Wes!"

"You can't get into Harvard without having an interview!" Kurt exclaimed.

"But I mainly went for Wes. I didn't think I was going to get in!" Blaine said in a hushed whisper. It probably wasn't best to say that you could get into Harvard without an interview but that an interview looked much better. Besides, this wasn't really even about the interview. They both knew that. "I applied, but I never knew I was going to get in or I would have told you."

"You never told me." Kurt stood.

"I did tell you it would be my top choice."

"You didn't tell me you applied! There is a big difference in 'Oh, gee, I'd love to go to Harvard but I don't think I'll get in' and 'Kurt, I just applied to Harvard' or even 'Kurt, I applied to Harvard and got an interview.'"

"I told you two years ago." Blaine said. "It's not my fault that you didn't take me seriously."

"I can't believe you're pulling that card. That is completely unfair." Kurt said. "Why did you keep sending applications in? When did you accept it? Did you accept it?"

"I have until May but I want—I'm going to accept it. I wanted you to know before I sent it in." Blaine said. "I kept sending applications in because I wasn't sure but… Well, I… I don't know, Kurt."

"When did you send it in? The Harvard one?" Kurt asked slowly.

"October."

"And when did you get accepted?"

"Kurt…"

"When? How long have you known?" Kurt questioned, although the look on Blaine's face told him that his boyfriend had known a while.

"December 15th." Blaine said.

"It is April." Kurt stood. "You have known for four months that you were… I…"

"Kurt, please—don't—." Blaine began.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt asked, tears springing to his eyes. "We have an apartment, okay? We have a lease to live out! We have this life together and you just went and—."

"Kind of like you and your Kent stunt?"

"You did not just say that." Kurt hissed, snatching his phone off of the table. "It's about the fact that you brought me here like this and then tell me that you're leaving me!"

"Like this? Like what? Kurt, I-I'm not—."

"I can't do this. Not right now." Kurt turned, rushing out of the busy restaurant. "We'll talk later."

Blaine sat, staring at his untouched plate of food, completely stunned.

Blaine braced himself when he heard the front door to his and Kurt's small apartment open the next day. He and Kurt hadn't spoken since the night before in the restaurant—they hadn't even slept in the same bed, mostly because Blaine couldn't muster up the courage to face Kurt who he was pretty sure had been crying at some point or another.

"Kreacher, stop… Kreacher… Fine, but you better stay out there! And don't bring any dead animals this time, alright? Just because we live in Ohio doesn't mean you have to be a hunting dog. You're a freaking Coton de Taluer." He heard Kurt saying, sounding exasperated.

Blaine was sitting there, trying to determine whether he should say "hello" or crawl into a hole and hide when Kurt made it into the living room. "Hi." Blaine sputtered, voice sounding more nervous than he would have liked to admit. He was how old? Too old to be feeling this nervous.

"Hey." Kurt said, voice soft. He gently sat his bag down and then sat next to Blaine on the couch, biting his lip.

"Kurt—." Blaine began.

Kurt looked up, blue eyes intense. "I'm really proud of you."

Blaine took a deep breath, meeting blue eyes with his own hazel ones, and nodded.

"I am." Kurt repeated, reaching up and touching Blaine's face. "You—That's… It's… It's outstanding. You're… You're outstanding."

"Kurt…" Blaine said, feeling his heart swell up.

"Listen… I wish we had… I wish you'd told me that you were going forward with this Harvard idea. I wish I'd been involved because I… I would have liked to have… been there for you. And I also wish I had been involved in knowing that you're… leaving me." Kurt trailed off, trying hard to say what he wanted to say in the best way possible. "I guess I should have taken your Harvard comment back then a little more seriously, but I still feel like you should have told me you were really going to apply. But that's not what's important. That is the fact that you got into Harvard Law and I am so proud of you."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was applying. I… I never thought I would even get an interview and after that I didn't think I would actually get accepted." Blaine sighed. "I just kept waiting for something to go wrong. By time the acceptance came it was almost Christmas and I didn't want to upset you before Christmas… and then it was January and February and by that point I should have already told you, so I got really nervous."

"You kept applying to all of those schools though. I don't understand why you didn't just tell me this was what you wanted. I would have understood… even if I'm upset now, I still understand…" Kurt let out a soft sigh and stroked Blaine's cheek. "I just want you to be happy. You've had such a hard life already and all I want is for you to do what makes you happy. I wouldn't have tried to stand in the way if you'd just told me it was what you really wanted… Is this what you really want?"

"I want it so badly." Blaine whispered. "I walked out of that interview and felt like I was supposed to be there. And it's only four hours from Parsons, Kurt. You can go there and we can see each other on weekends. We can drive and meet half way and see each other whenever we want."

"No. Forget about Parsons. Is this what you want?" Kurt asked, staring into his eyes. Reading him.

"Yes." Blaine took a deep breath and nodded.

"Did you do this because I said that I was going to possibly postpone grad school?" Kurt asked, still not looking away.

"Initially that played a part in it. I wanted to do it so you wouldn't be tied to Ohio and so that you would go… You didn't let me go to the wrong college four years ago and I wanted to do the same for you… but, Kurt, it's where I'm meant to be. I can feel it. And I know Parsons is where you should be. But this… Harvard… it's what I want. Now I feel like it's all that I've ever wanted. This is my chance to make a huge difference in my life and I have got to go after it because nobody is ever going to be able to give me the opportunities that Harvard will."

"If this is what you want, then we're going to make it work." Kurt took a deep breath. "It will be hard. You're leaving. You'll be thirteen hours away."

"I'm leaving, but I'm not leaving you. And I'll only be that far away for a year. Soon you'll be at Parson's. You've already been guaranteed a spot. After a year, we'll be closer and… We can do this."

It was hard to be angry with Blaine because he could see how happy he was even if he was hesitant and nervous. For once he seemed so sure of something in his life that didn't revolve around his friendships with David and Wes or his relationship with Kurt. It was also easy to see how desperately Blaine wanted his approval.

Kurt reached his hand that wasn't stroking Blaine cheek and squeezed Blaine's hand. "We will do this."