Author's notes:

Final chapter, also the longest chapter.

This is completely AU at this point; canon through "On My Way".

As always, I don't own Glee or any of the songs/movies/television shows/websites/ real things referenced.

Rating is for language and some sexual content.

Approximate words this chapter: 18,000

Friday, March 4, 2016

David's truck hummed: it hadn't sounded this good in years, if ever. He'd had it for a long time, since high school, but having had the truck parked for the better part of three years meant that nothing on it had worn during that time. That it was parked in the two-car garage at the Karofsky family home meant that any rust on the body was minimal. During the Thanksgiving break, he'd had the people at Burt's garage examine it and compile a list of things which were likely to need to be replaced. The list was surprisingly spare. During the longer semester break, David and Kurt worked together performing a tune-up, replacing old belts and hoses, and completing other general maintenance tasks. David had the oil changed and the fluids topped-off the previous evening, and the sound of the smooth-running engine was sweet to David's ears. In reality, the truck was older, but it had to last for as long of a time as possible being that David, though graduated and employed, was burdened with a mortgage; and Kurt, though soon-to-be graduated, had no precise stream of income as of yet.

The sellers of the house in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh accepted David and Kurt's offer, though not without a lengthy period of delay and indecision. This actually worked to the benefit of David and Kurt, allowing David to more precisely analyze and budget their collective assets as well as placing him closer to the point where he was employed full-time. He still made himself available as a tutor as his time allowed: he honestly liked the work and the contact with students, and the extra income was certainly welcome.

The house officially belonged to David and Kurt as of Monday, January fourth, and David began moving himself and his things into the house that Friday, the eighth. That Kurt needed to be available to sign documents meant that he and David would, for the first time in two years, miss New Year's Eve in Times Square. It really didn't bother them to spend that time in Lima, however: the fact that New Year's Day fell on a Friday meant they had an entire weekend to plan their road trip back to Pittsburgh; and they didn't really care much where they were for New Years Eve so long as they were together.

The winter weather was largely over, and David had most of his personal belongings moved into his and Kurt's new home. A great deal of work needed to be done, though, so many of David's things were still in boxes or had not found a permanent station. His single-size bed, which he had been using for the last three-and-a-half years, was set-up in one of the upstairs bedrooms; his full-size bed was still at his parents' home in Lima. He would be driving to Lima during one of the coming weekends to collect his bed as well as other personal items from his parents' home.

David felt tiny living alone in the large, older house; but he never felt lonely or alone, even through the desolate, harsh February weather. He talked to Kurt daily and his parents frequently; and Jeff and Garry were a regular presence in David's life, helping him to do some preliminary work for the inevitable improvements which he would soon be undertaking. David's new job kept him busy, but he found the new routine energizing also. He'd had to abandon running on a daily basis, but he kept running with the running club three times a week. In exchange, however, he found that he was quite comfortable in many aspects of his job. He'd managed, one day while working the phones, to sell to one of his clients, an add-on package of services far exceeding their initial order. This gained him a sales-bonus for working a position other than one for which he was hired (and, needless to say, commendations from the company's owners).

He was, however, being only two months into his job, not eligible for vacation time. He would be when he reached his three-month and six-month anniversaries (three days and a week, respectively, provided he was available on-call as needed); but he already had specific uses for those allotted times. He did have sick-days, but opted not to use those. David was able to take this particular Friday off of work because he had agreed to work two additional hours each evening after his regular day had finished. It was not much of a burden, and it didn't interfere with his other activities.

He'd gotten into his truck and began driving that morning at eight o'clock. The air was brisk at the time, but it was unseasonably warm for so early in March; by noon, David was halfway across the state of Pennsylvania and the temperature was nearing a pleasant sixty degrees. He'd called Kurt twice that day already: once at about nine o'clock and a second time at eleven o'clock when he was at a toll-road rest-stop. He knew Kurt didn't have any Friday classes; he also knew that Friday was generally Kurt's day for doing laundry and answering the week's email inquiries concerning his fashion designs. David needed to be sure that Kurt would be at home in the late afternoon.

At the final rest-stop, an hour outside of his destination according to his dashboard-mounted positioning device, David made two final phone calls before embarking again for the final leg of his travels. The New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel was predictably congested: it was quitting-time on a Friday afternoon. The New York side of the tunnel always seemed to move more quickly, and he was driving against the greater flow of traffic. At this point, David was far more dependent upon the instructions from his digital pilot. The other times he'd been to visit Kurt, he'd traveled via Greyhound, then taxi cab; maneuvering his truck through the streets of the Village required concentration.

He'd found a parking place along the street a half-block from Rachel's house, the house where Kurt rented the downstairs apartment. David was dressed nicely but casually: burgundy dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, casual navy-colored sport-coat, and jeans. He'd wanted to be dressed more formally, but he knew that an eight-hour drive would undoubtedly take its toll on nicely-pressed dress-pants and his patience with anything as constricting as a necktie.

After emerging from his parked truck and checking the contents of the inside breast-pocket of his jacket, he turned and surveyed his late-afternoon surroundings. Over the bustle of foot-traffic and the hum of slow-moving street-traffic, the sky was turbulent: golden sunshine shafting through sparse clouds in the western sky with a fast-approaching cloud mass coming from the north. The wind had kicked up a strong northern breeze: it was cool without being cold; David found it energizing: it made him feel alive.

He pecked Kurt's number from the speed-dial on his phone and began walking in the direction of Kurt's residence.

"Hello, David?" Kurt's pitch went upward at the end as if almost fatigued.

"Hey, Kurt," David answered slowly in an exaggerated tone, sounding almost intentionally silly, "What's going on?"

"David, seriously, I'm folding towels and sheets," Kurt sounded somewhat annoyed. "This is the third time you've called today. Each time, I've been doing laundry. What's going on?" The last question sounded in a demanding tone.

By this time, David was approaching Rachel's house. The gray, swirling cloud-mass was almost directly overhead. David nodded at a group of people assembled across the street beneath a canvas awning, acknowledging their presence, a group which included Marcel, Rachel, and a few of Kurt's other New York friends.

"Well, Kurt," David's voice was intentionally slow and silly, mock-melodrama, "I'm standing on the sidewalk right outside your place."

"What?" Kurt's response was loud and shrill.

"Are you gonna come and let me in?"

Almost instantaneously, Kurt's incredulous face poked itself into the window near the top of the red front door to see David, smirking smugly, eyebrows raising, phone still in hand, standing in front of the house.

Kurt threw the door outward. "David! What are you doing here?" It was difficult to tell if Kurt's reaction was surprise, elation, or outrage. "Get inside! It looks like it's about to pour out there!"

David, grinning hugely, walked swiftly toward the doorway. "Let's go up on the terrace, Kurt," David suggested, sounding more like a statement than a request.

"David," Kurt attempted reason, "it's about to rain."

"Let's go up on the terrace, Kurt," David sounded, more exaggerated, more pleading this time.

Kurt shook his head in a frustrated giggle and pushed David toward the stairs to the house's upper level. "What are you even doing here right now?" Kurt's voice was shriller yet. "You're insane, David."

David laughed, almost a cackle before saying. "I have something I gotta talk to you about. Just humor me."

"I look like an unmade bed," Kurt protested as he opened the French doors to the terrace.

"Like I care," David appeased, "Like I haven't seen you looking a little disheveled before."

The two stood on the terrace facing each other. The wind was blowing through their hair: David's fluttered while Kurt's longer mane appeared wild and windswept. Kurt stood almost wide-eyed, as if waiting for David to begin. After a moment, expression now more serious, David did speak, purposefully and slowly.

"I've given this a lot of thought, and I've worked out the logistics. This is feasible. I want us to be married by the time you move to Pittsburgh."

With that, David lowered himself onto his right knee and reached into his jacket with his right hand.

"Oh my God, David, what are you doing?" Kurt's frantic edge remained, though mellowed somewhat.

David looked upward into Kurt's face. His expression was expectant, slightly pleading, but humble. The two were bathed in golden sunlight, caught by David's eyes, bringing to them an intensity, a burning, afire.

In David's right hand was a small, black, cube-shaped ring box. David took Kurt's left hand into his and, with his right thumb, flicked the lid of the box open. Inside was a striking ring. The thick band was struck in silvery white gold; the heavy, ornate setting was stepped in an art deco style. At the center was a sizable rectangular-shaped pink diamond flanked symmetrically on both sides with smaller, elongated rectangular black onyx stones. Despite the stunning shock of the pink stone in the center, the design was bold and masculine.

The gray clouds above began to spill sparse but large-sized drops of rain. David and Kurt, both craned their heads for a moment, eyes wide in wonder, the shafts of sun lighting the heavy raindrops like a hail of diamonds from the sky.

Returning his attention to his purpose, David spoke, "Kurt?"

"David, we're getting wet."

"I don't care," David's delivery was emphatic but not harsh. "This is me proposing, Kurt. Accept this ring and marry me. If you do, I promise to do everything in my power to make you the second-happiest man in the world."

"Second-happiest man in the world?" Kurt spoke trance-like, so faint as to be almost his mere breath. The rain was beginning to weigh upon Kurt's hair, running a stream of water down his forehead.

David's shorter, darker hair was sticking to his forehead. His eyes did not flicker. "Kurt, if you marry me, I will be the happiest man in the world. There can't be two of those, right?"

The sunlight struck the diamond, mixing its pink with yellow fire.

"Yes, David!" Kurt shouted as if being shaken into consciousness. "I want to be your husband."

David's expression shifted from awed anticipation to awed bliss as he plucked the ring from the box and slid it onto Kurt's left ring-finger.

"It's amazing. I want to kiss you, David." Kurt sounded quietly impatient.

"Wait. This isn't done." David reached into his jacket and produced a second, identical box. "We're both going to be husbands. I want you to propose to me too."

Kurt, taken slightly aback, took the box into his hand and slowly opened it. Inside was a ring, identical in design to the one David had just given to Kurt, although it was larger in size and the stones were reversed: a large black onyx stone in the center between two identical pink diamonds.

Kurt grinned impishly as he shook his head slightly. "Should I get down on one knee?" Kurt asked.

David smiled nervously, eyes trained upon Kurt's. "No, this is fine."

"David, will you marry me?" Kurt spoke quietly, but his tone was decisive and his delivery quick.

David shook his head, his smile becoming jubilant. "Yes, absolutely I will, Kurt."

Kurt took the ring from the holder, took David's left hand onto the palm of his own, and ran the ring onto David's ring-finger.

"Kiss me now, David. Please?"

David stood. The downpour had steadily increased though neither of them had noticed. They took each other into their arms and their lips met. There was the sound of cheers and applause coming from somewhere over the street-side of the terrace. Kurt attempted to look, but David gently held Kurt's cheek in place with his hand. They were thoroughly soaked when their lips finally parted. Rather than turn their attentions to the sound of the continuing ovation, each took in the other's expression: David's was one of exuberant achievement while Kurt's was a stunned elation.

After a moment, Kurt and David both turned to the applauding onlookers across the street. Kurt shook his head, incredulous, while David waved, almost saying a silent thanks.

"Marcel?" Kurt called quietly as he spotted the older gentleman holding his phone at eye-level, having just recorded the romantic transaction. "Rachel?" Kurt's voice was equally confused as she waved and smiled from across the avenue.

"I called 'em from a rest stop about an hour ago," David explained. "Told 'em to assemble some friends and hang out across the street."

"David. Paul. Karofsky. What am I going to do with you?" Kurt's voice sounded almost faraway, dream-stricken.

David reached his arms around Kurt from behind, taking Kurt's hands into his own. "You're going to marry me."

"Uh," Kurt sighed, blissfully defeated, shook his head and began giggling to himself.

"We are both soaked, and it's actually kinda cold to be out in the rain," David spoke quietly at Kurt's ear. "Let's go inside. I have an important phone call to make. And then I'm going to tell you my plan."

"I'll go get us some towels while you make your phone call," Kurt offered, shaking his head, still dizzy from the exchange, pulling the French doors open and letting himself and David inside.

Once indoors, David produced his cell phone as Kurt walked downstairs for towels. David searched his recent call list and dialed his father's phone.

"Hello, David," Paul answered from the phone.

"Hey, Dad."

"How is everything? How's the house coming?"

"House is fine. Everything's great, Dad."

"That's good to hear," Paul volleyed back, sounding like a comment made out of pleasant formality.

"Dad, do you remember, a few years ago, just as I was starting college, you were helping me move into my first apartment in Pittsburgh?"

"Yes, I remember," Paul's voice sounded uncertain.

"Well, specifically, I told you that I was going to ask a big favor of you someday. Do you remember that?"

"Yes! Of course! Now I remember that." Paul's voice sounded certain.

"Okay, here it is. Kurt and I are getting married. We've just proposed to each other and accepted. I want you to be my best man."

There was no sound from the other side of the phone.

" Hope you and Mom don't mind coming to New York for that," David added.

More silence.

"Dad?"

Paul's words came slowly but sincerely. "That's mm...great. And I'm happy. And I'm honored. And I'm kinda speechless, David."

"Dad, I'm gettin' married. I wanna be married by the time Kurt and I move in together."

Paul's voice betrayed an elated laugh. "David, I'm thrilled, and I'm flattered. Don't take this the wrong way, but you have some friends that you're really close with. Don't you think that maybe one of them would..."

"No, Dad." David stopped Paul's speech strongly but politely. "When I put the words 'best' and 'man' together in a literal definition of those words, two people come to mind: you and Kurt. You're literally the best men I know, the only two people worthy of that title to me. Kurt's unavailable for the job that day, so I gotta look to you to do this favor for me."

Silence passed as Paul's words were slow in coming. "David, yes. Absolutely. When you put it in those words, I can't refuse. Buh-but, it's really more of an honor for me, David."

"Well, it's a huge thing for me, Dad." David paused a moment before asking quietly, "So, you'll be my best man, then?"

"David, of course. I-I'm honored that you'd choose me to stand with you on your wedding day, and I know what this means to you and to Kurt in terms of... everything."

"Okay, Dad," David spoke. "Kurt and I have some details to iron-out and some plans to firm-up. I'll let you in on that stuff as soon as plans are more definite. Hopefully, I can get back to you with something later tonight."

"Your mother is going to be so thrilled, David," Paul said, a slight quiver in his voice.

"You think so?"

Paul chuckled. "Of course! She loves weddings, and her son is getting married. She will be leveled by this news."

"You want to tell her, or do you think I should?" David offered.

"No, no, you tell her. Lorraine?" Paul's voice trailed as he called for his wife. "David has something he wants to say to you."

"David?" Lorraine's voice sounded through the phone, "How are you, dear?"

"I'm great, Mom," David answered, quiet excitement audible. "Mom, Kurt and I are getting married."

"Oh, David," Lorraine nearly squealed, high-pitched in elation, "That's wonderful!"

"It'll probably be in June, in New York, so it'll be the real thing."

David could hear Lorraine pull away from the phone and both of his parents exchanging excited, jubilant words with each other, and he could hear what he took to be the sounds of them kissing each other; David also mused, with a smile, that this would be one of his parents' romantic bottle-of-wine nights.

"Hey, listen," David spoke up and broke his parents' amorous revelry. "I have some stuff I need to talk with Kurt about, but you will be first on my list to call when we get the details worked-out."

"Okay, we'll be waiting to hear from you," Paul spoke through an audibly smiling face as the sound of Lorraine clapping came through faintly in the background noise. "Goodbye, David, and congratulations."

"Thank you. Bye Dad. Bye, Mom."

The moment David ended the call, Kurt approached him quietly from behind, gently placing a towel over David's head, covering his face and blotting the rainwater out of his hair. As Kurt slowly pushed the towel back, revealing David's face, he closed the distance between them, meeting David's lips with his own.

"Your clothes are soaked, David," Kurt stated quietly, having quickly changed out of what he'd been wearing during the downpour and now wearing dryer-warm sweatshirt and sweatpants.

"I have clothes and an overnight bag in my truck," David offered. "Hope you can put me up for tonight and tomorrow night."

"Like I'd let you go anywhere tonight after pulling a stunt like that." Kurt's words sounded threatening though his face was smiling devilishly. "I don't care if all we do is cuddle and look into each other's eyes, you're mine tonight, David Karofsky."

"It was a long drive, but it was so amazingly worth it."

"Go get your overnight bag and get out of these clammy clothes," Kurt suggested.

David snickered and nodded as he and Kurt descended the stairs to the lower level. Kurt had just snatched an umbrella from a holder near the front door when the door burst open and a smiling, squealing Rachel entered with Marcel and several friends in tow. Rachel congratulated Kurt and David with a flurry of hugs and kisses while Marcel uncorked a bottle of champagne. The brief celebration went on for about thirty minutes at which point Rachel and the others left, Rachel promising to not return until around nine o'clock, leaving Kurt and David some much-appreciated time to themselves.

David did, after a celebratory glass of champagne and congratulatory embraces and handshakes, walk to his truck, retrieve his overnight bag, and settle into a fresh white T-shirt and a pair of flannel lounge pants..

In the silence of the quiet house, Kurt reclined into David's arms on the couch in the main room of the second floor, city lights visible distantly through the terrace doors. Kurt softly placed his left hand atop David's, holding both at a distance allowing him to visually take in both rings.

"The rings are incredible, David."

David smiled. "Thank you."

"They must have set you back a lot," Kurt commented.

"I'm not gonna lie. They weren't cheap, but it wouldn't have felt right to me any other way. I'm only gonna do this once so I better do it well. As soon as I saw the design, I knew that was it, and I felt that we both had to kinda, like, symbolically claim each other as belonging to the other."

"And the colors have, like, followed us around."

"Well, actually, I thought I should eventually replace that pink-and-black ring you lost the first night we spent together as boyfriends. You know, the one that broke on the floor of my bedroom?"

Kurt puzzled for a moment, then exhaled loudly, a revelation. "You are amazing. You remembered that?"

David chuckled. "Yeah."

Kurt shifted his hand under David's and lifted them both upward, placing a kiss onto David's hand, then pulling it close and pressing it to his heart. "Who did you call?"

"My parents."

"Of course," Kurt's voice was lazy and dreamy.

"My dad's gonna be my best man. I think you should have your dad be your best man."

"Oh, David," Kurt's voice betrayed that he was genuinely touched, "That's lovely, and it's something I never would have thought of."

"I explained it to him like this," David recounted. "I said that the two best men in my life are him and you, and you're going to be busy doing something else that day."

"You never fail to surprise me in the most amazing ways, David.," Kurt's words were quiet, nearly whispered. He leaned his head back against David's shoulder. "So, what's the plan?"

David shifted slightly, wanting to address Kurt's face more directly. Kurt accommodated the action, sitting up and allowing David to sit upright also until they were nearly side-by-side but still overlapping somewhat.

"Well, we get my parents and your dad and stepmom up here to New York," David began. "We figure out how we want to do this, who'll officiate the marriage, where we want it to be held, all that, all the documentation taken care of, anything else that immediately concerns the location of the actual wedding. We have it early in the day, in the morning if possible and a small reception immediately after, like an open bar, hors d'oeuvres and cookies and a small wedding cake. Then, you and me and our parents catch an afternoon flight to Lima where our bigger reception is waiting for us, scheduled to start late that afternoon or early in the evening." David was silent, waiting for a reaction. "I know it's a lot of jumping around, but it kinda covers all bases. Anyone who wants to come to New York to see the actual ceremony is welcome to do that. The reception up here will be for your New York friends and anyone else who wants to attend. The majority of our friends are either around Lima or would be more willing to make the trip there for our reception. It's also more convenient for my Pittsburgh friends to travel to Lima than it would be for them to go to New York, but they can do that also if they want to."

"You're right," Kurt spoke. "You did work out the logistics, and this certainly sounds like it covers everything pretty diplomatically." Kurt smiled at David who smiled in return, satisfied with the plan. "You will probably need to come back on some weekday between now and then to take care of some of the legal particulars," Kurt reminded.

"I should be able to work that out like I've worked this out," David responded. "Probably the sooner we take care of that kinda stuff the better. We'll settle on a date and see what we have to work with. I want to keep the actual wedding party small. Less people to move around."

"Actually, when you mentioned your dad as your best man, I just thought of my dad and Carole and your parents as the wedding party," Kurt mentioned. "If we get any of our actual friends involved, someone's bound to get jealous."

"That's true."

"Hey," Kurt interjected suddenly, excitedly. "I'm going to personally design and make all of our outfits: tuxedos for our dads and us and gowns for their wives, the groomsladies."

"'Groomsladies'?" David smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, a straight wedding has groomsmen and bridesmaids." Kurt defended. "There are no brides, so, groomsladies."

"Okay," David conceded, "I'll on board with that."

"I've seen some really nice gay-specific wedding bands," Kurt began. "We can look at some online while you're he..."

"Wait a second," David interjected politely. "I kinda want the most generic, traditional, plain wedding band possible. I've seen some of those same-sex wedding rings you're talking about, and, yeah, they're really cool. The thing is, when someone sees the ring I'm wearing, the one that marks me as taken, I don't want any doubt in their mind as to what it means. I want it to scream, 'this guy is married,' in the clearest way possible."

Kurt appeared momentarily disappointed before rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Your logic always kills me, David. I don't have a fighting-chance against it."

"Does that mean you're okay with that idea?" David spoke, quietly, almost affectedly apologetic.

"Yes, David, it's actually ideologically beautiful," Kurt sassed back in a whisper. "Even if I can't be fashionably edgy."

David leaned forward, kissing Kurt's cheek, causing Kurt to smile more naturally and disarmed.

"Are we going to write our own vows?" Kurt whispered, optimistically, eager.

"I am looking forward to that, Kurt," David smiled as he pulled Kurt more closely toward him. "Tomorrow, we should probably make a list of every little thing we need to do."

"I'm glad my classes are light this semester," Kurt remarked, "This is going to require every moment I can spare."

"Well, I don't do much in the evenings after work," David contributed. "My weekends are potentially busy with work around the house. I'm sure there's a lot I can accomplish on the weeknights."

"I'll need to get our parents together so I can get their measurements in time to make everybody's outfit," Kurt spoke.

"Well, you can get to Lima, or I can get our parents out to Pittsburgh and you can come there," David suggested. "Maybe make a weekend out of it for all of us. Put everybody to work painting walls or hardwood floors or something." Kurt responded with a chuckle as David reminded, "You can get my measurements right now or any time before I leave."

Kurt grinned. "You can't gain or lose an ounce between now and the wedding, then."

David laughed quietly. "Nothing to worry about. My weight hasn't changed since high school. I think I'm actually in better shape than I was in when I was in high school."

"Me too," Kurt added.

"What?" David questioned jokingly, "You're in better shape than you were in high school or you agree that you think I'm in better shape than I was when I was in high school?"

"Both," Kurt answered decisively. "And it's a good thing. I want us both to be around and together and healthy for a very long time."

"Me too," David replied quietly as he closed his eyes, pointed his head downward, and pulled Kurt close, pressing his cheek against Kurt's. "I'm hungry, though," David grumbled at a low volume. "I haven't eaten since this morning and that was just some crappy sandwich at a rest stop."

Kurt turned to David, kissing his cheek. "Let's get something delivered. In the meantime, I'll call my dad and Carole and tell them what's going on."

David turned to Kurt, smiling. "You think they'll like the news?"

Kurt smiled in kind. "Sure. But even if they don't, it won't change anything."

Friday, June 10, 2016

The three months which passed between the night of their proposal and weekend of their wedding were a blur: sometimes hectic, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes frustrating, often exhausting, but never dull. Kurt came to Pittsburgh on the weekend after their engagement began to convene with Burt, Carole, Paul, and Lorraine who had all made the trip there from Lima. Kurt needed to collect their measurements for the formalwear he would create for them. They all stayed the weekend at David's current and Kurt's future house; the weekend's remainder was spent on various basic home renovation projects: some painting, some updating of the bathroom fixtures, and installation of hanging overhead lighting to the dining room ceiling. Garry and Jeff were also on-hand to assist with the various projects for a large part of the weekend, and the kitchen proved itself fully-functional as enormous dinners were prepared variously by Carole, Lorraine, and Garry (or some combination of the three). Earlier that week, Paul had David's full-size bed shipped from Lima and delivered to David's new Pittsburgh residence; it was placed in the master bedroom, assembled in time for the weekend and, when combined with the bed in the guest room, provided sleeping facilities for both David's and Kurt's parents' weekend stay. Kurt and David themselves, however, relived earlier times, sleeping snugged together on the couch which formerly occupied David's apartment and presently resided in their living room. Neither David nor Kurt would berate the sleeping accommodations.

The following week saw David making another Friday visit to New York City for the necessary legalities of paperwork and issuance of a marriage license (this, of course, as previously, necessitated David working additional hours in the evening that week, but David took on the extended workdays without complaint, the goal of his work becoming more visible every day). David traveled by air to meet Kurt in New York this time, however, to insure that he would be there in time to fulfill the visit's requirements during the hours during which the public offices were available. The remainder of the weekend, this would be his last trip to New York until the day of the wedding rehearsal, was used to convene with Kurt, considering the list of necessary things yet to be accomplished before the wedding, and dividing that list into two smaller lists of items to be tasked to each of them. They had already compiled a guest list, but, for a while, names seemed to be added daily. The structure of the invitation necessitated that the invited persons return an RSVP response for both the New York wedding ceremony and short early afternoon reception as well as the evening reception in Lima.

Deciding upon a Lima venue for the reception was simple: a hotel with a banquet-room facility near the airport was perfect. It also allowed them the convenience to reserve a block of rooms for any guests traveling a fair distance to Lima as well as a suite in which Kurt and David could stay overnight themselves before David would drive Kurt and himself to Pittsburgh (It was also planned that, despite both sets of parents living in Lima, that they'd also stay the evening of the wedding at the hotel and have breakfast with the newlyweds the next morning).

Finding an appropriate place for the wedding ceremony and earlier reception in New York proved more problematic for the young couple, that is, until Kurt circulated the information that KayeLiz was designing exclusive formalwear for a same-sex wedding. Suddenly, there were three magazines in a bidding war over exclusive rights to the photos. Kurt's label might not yet have taken-off exactly, but there was a healthy buzz about it in the industry. The previous year's photos in MenMinutiae Magazine did result in a fair-amount of lucrative summer work for Kurt, so much that he'd needed to hire an assistant to help with the fabrication of the clothes; the photo-spread also served to tease the appetites of interested parties, and the relative absence of news about KayeLiz in recent months gave the label an undeniable mystique and aura of exclusivity. Finally, it was the offer made by MenMinutiae Magazine which Kurt finally accepted, though not before he'd negotiated a deal in which the photos would be taken during and immediately following the ceremony on the day of the wedding. Part of that deal also stipulated that MenMinutiae secure and pay for a location which would serve both as a background setting for the photos themselves as well as a functional venue for the wedding ceremony and the short reception which followed. Finally, once the magazine had run and used the photos as they'd wished, the images became the property of KayeLiz. Kurt would receive no actual monetary compensation as part of the exclusive magazine arrangement, but he and David and his designer label would receive wedding photography, a venue for the ceremony and reception, and free publicity and exposure in a widely-circulated magazine: three years of living in New York City had taught Kurt some invaluable lessons in being a shrewd deal-maker.

Early-on, David had suggested that the only wedding gifts he and Kurt would expect from their parents would be for them to cover the expenses of their flights to and from New York: David and Kurt both agreed that the presence of their parents at the expense of traveling inconvenience was a generous gift in itself. Burt was able to best this offer. A former New York representative owed Burt a few favors for voting with him during Burt's term-and-a-half as an Ohio congressman; as fortunes would have it, the former New York representative, a strong supporter of New York's July 2011 marriage equality legislation, lent the use of his private jet to the Hummel-Karofsky wedding party for the weekend of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth in exchange for invitations to the wedding for himself and his wife (it was basically a photo-op for the former New York representative, but none of those involved would argue with essentially free round-trip air transportation from Lima to New York). With the transportation concerns alleviated, the parents decided to pull their resources and contribute toward the expenses of the receptions themselves.

The physical invitations were minimal in style. Kurt had grown to dislike typical fussy invitations embellished with three-dimensional bows or printed on handmade paper with embedded flower petals. This was simple but striking: a white-on-white embossed art deco design with the text printed in black copperplate gothic lettering. The deco embossing was tastefully accented with a thin line of silver encompassing the design in a symmetrical geometric form. For his part, David was tasked with finalizing the list of people to be invited and sending the actual invitations. He would also track the number of responses to each of the events. Kurt and David had predicted that approximately fifty guests would attend the New York ceremony and reception; the actual number of responses to attend the New York event tallied seventy-two. The reception in Lima was somewhat less predictable. David and Kurt were expecting guests for the Lima event to be between one hundred and two hundred (with a possibility of the number reaching two hundred-fifty). As it happened, the responding number of attendees to the Lima reception totaled one hundred-twenty-two, well within the predicted estimate.

Kurt and David both would have loved an outdoor wedding in a botanical setting, but concerns about the unpredictability of weather and the physical time of the wedding ceremony (ten o'clock in the morning) mixed with the professional fashion photographers' requirements of optimum lighting conditions negated the outdoor possibility. Instead, the magazine proposed re-creating an outdoor setting within a large warehouse which they had used for fashion-shoots in the past. Kurt liked the idea. He liked the idea even more when he saw the space they had to work with. There were still a number of weeks before the actual wedding date, and this allowed the magazine to pull their resources and hire a set-designer to create an outdoor garden setting within the expansive warehouse. Kurt's initial desire of a koi pond with live waterlilies was nixed for budgetary reasons, but the set designer showed Kurt photos of an ancient-looking stone wall backdrop, complete with moss-covered stones and a large archway in the center: this was enough food for Kurt's fertile imagination to embellish without stressing the magazine's photography budget.

For music, Kurt found, through his network of theatrical contacts, a string quartet for the New York reception; where Lima was concerned, it was a given that Kurt would contact Will Schuester to secure the services of McKinley High School's current Glee Club. Kurt forwarded both the string quartet and Mr. Schuester a list of pieces and songs for the individual events.

Finding a suitable officiant for the ceremony was proving to be troublesome for Kurt, however. It seemed that the online profile of every officiant in the New York area seemed to connect the ministers to some religious affiliation, something Kurt wanted to avoid. One late morning, with the wedding a month away, Kurt was frantically surfing on his laptop at the local coffee shop when Marcel walked in and sat near him. It was a matter of ninety seconds before Marcel directed Kurt to Veronika Skepter, an officiant who specialized in Secular Humanist commitment and wedding ceremonies. One five-minute phone conversation later had secured Ms. Skepter's services (Kurt had extended an invitation ot the Lima reception to her, but she declined as her schedule allowed her the morning ceremony and early reception, but she had another wedding to officiate in the early evening hours of that day).

Coordinating the Lima reception long-distance was somewhat of a challenge, but Kurt was able to, with the assistance of Carole and Lorraine, order, plan, and place chosen decorations, table centerpieces, and wedding favors for the occasion.

Through all of this planning, Kurt had been boxing his personal belongings and shipping them via mail and parcel-post to his and David's house in Pittsburgh. As the wedding day approached, Kurt's basement-level apartment was stripped bare. The few clothes and belongings which remained would fit into two suitcases and an overnight bag which would travel with him to Lima between the New York reception and the Lima event.

David drove to Lima in the evening hours of Thursday June ninth and stayed the night at his parents' house. Early the next morning, the Karofskys and Burt and Carole Hummel departed for the Lima airport. By noon, they had convened with Kurt for the rehearsal at the warehouse site of the ceremony. The setting was surreal and stunning. Within the expansive, gray interior of the warehouse, there was constructed, at one corner, covering less than one-quarter of the floorspace, what appeared to be a structure made of scaffolding covered in reflective white fabric. One was transported once inside the structure.

The reflective panels of fabric gave the illusion of daylight indoors, the stone wall background was completely realistic, within the archway was literally a wall of flowers and ornamental foliage, the cement floor had been covered in turf so realistic that David actually attempted to pull at the blades of plastic grass to satisfy his curiosity as to whether or not they were real. The transformation was so complete that one actually needed to cast their gaze upward to the artificial sky and the gray of the warehouse between the panels of reflective fabric to believe that this created wedding garden was actually an indoor illusion. There were two sections of folding chairs, a center aisle formed between them. Behind the chairs were serving tables and a portable bar; the food and beverages would be delivered early Saturday morning. Balancing the area on the opposite side of the bar was the place where the string quartet would take their places for the service and reception.

The six people, the three couples, walked slowly, exploring the space, mesmerized by its sheer existential improbability. David slowly approached Kurt; they had not seen each other in over two months.

"Hey," David spoke quietly, tentatively.

Kurt turned, his smile welcoming upon seeing David. "Hi, David."

David, eyes wide and dancing around the interior space in the extreme quiet, spoke, "This place is amazing."

"They did a nice job," Kurt answered. "This is all the work of the set-designer and the magazine photographers. After our ceremony, they'll open up the bar to the guests, but we'll stay up here getting our pictures taken. They'll do some of that before the ceremony as well. We'll be doing a final fitting right after the rehearsal lunch. You and your mom and dad will be fitted by my assistant."

"Not you?" David asked, surprised.

"No, Carrie will be taking care of you," Kurt answered. "We won't see each other in our wedding attire until the ceremony itself."

At this David smiled. "You know, this is weird. When's the last time we'd been away from each other that we didn't, like, at least kiss each other within, like, two minutes?"

Kurt smiled demurely through his answer. "It's a little strange with our parents here."

"Yeah, I know," David answered. "Not like they're not going to see us kissing each other tomorrow, though."

"True as that is, it still seems a little awkward now," Kurt added. "They'll be expecting it tomorrow."

David nodded and smiled. "I get all of that. Doesn't mean I don't want to kiss you right now."

"Same," Kurt smiled as he held out his hand, offering it to David. "I don't think they'll have a problem with us holding hands, though."

Ms. Skepter, an attractive, wise-looking woman in her mid-fifties, arrived with her assistants well-ahead of her expected one o'clock arrival time, and the formalities of the rehearsal finished within twenty minutes. The group of them dined quickly as Ms. Skepter was tied to other appointments later in the day. By three o'clock, David and his parents were in their hotel room having their final fitting with Kurt's assistant Carrie. Carrie was a thin, raven-haired woman in her forties with a charmingly thick European accent and a disarmingly (sometimes alarmingly) bawdy sense of humor.

Just as the fitting session was ending, Carrie spoke loudly to David, "I weel neet your rheeng."

David's brow creased, confused, silent.

"Your engachment rheeng, I weel neet itt," Carrie tried to be more specific.

"Oh," David suddenly understood, reaching for his left hand with his right, but somewhat hesitant to remove his ring. "My engagement ring, why do you need it?"

"It weel be sohn into your lapel," Carrie explained. "Kurt has deesignt so it weel holt your boutonniere."

"Oh, okay," David replied, nodding somewhat nervously but agreeable, he removed his engagement ring from his left hand and placed it into Carrie's palm.

"It weel bee rheddee in fife minoots," Carrie informed. "Ev'ryting rheddee for tomoorrow. You look beautiful ant hansomm. Ant zeckzee."

"Thank you," David smiled, almost a laugh, shaking his head. "Do you need me to stay, or are you okay locking up the room when you're finished?"

"Noh, you go ahett, I weel lock up," Carrie assured David with a bright smile and she tossed his jacket in her arms.

David joined his parents and they regrouped with Kurt and the other Hummels in the hotel lounge. Paul and Lorraine joined Burt and Carole at a large table while Kurt stood, preventing David from sitting down.

"Where are you going?" David said to Kurt, almost under his breath.

"We're going to get lost for a while," Kurt muttered back to David, "Want some time with you."

Kurt then turned to the table and announced more loudly, "David and I are going to catch a cab to Rachel's so I can collect my suitcases and bring them back here so we're all ready to leave tomorrow."

"Ah," Burt voiced as the others nodded.

"Be careful out there, honey," Carole sounded a gentle warning.

Kurt shot her a sarcastic expression over his shoulder. "I've lived here for three years. I think I can handle myself here. We'll be back to meet you for dinner around six."

David snickered as the two of them made their way out of the lounge, into the hotel lobby, and, eventually, out onto the sidewalk. It took Kurt a few minutes to flag down a cab.

Kurt and David climbed inside the cab, seating themselves typically on both sides of the back seat, Kurt facing inconspicuously out of the window, his eyes squinted looking outward, David's gaze jumping from the outside to the back of the driver's head to the rearview mirror to the space between him and Kurt, a space occupied by their hands, inches apart. David lifted his hand and placed it atop Kurt's. A smile came to Kurt's face though his head did not turn. He did, however, turn his hand under David's, their palms met, their fingers slightly curled. David's eyes narrowed, nearly closed, and he smiled.

"So," Kurt began, "Dad and Carole told me that Finn didn't make it to Lima in time to catch the flight to New York."

David's smile faded slightly. "Yeah, I was kinda bummed. He called his mom from Chicago and said that his flight from there to Lima was delayed. He wanted to see us get married, but he'll be in Lima for the reception tomorrow. He's probably in Lima right now, actually."

"Yeah," Kurt sounded, disappointed, head downward, then faced upward toward David, mustering a small smile. "I am looking forward to seeing all of our old friends in Lima tomorrow."

David nodded, smile returning. "Yeah, me too. I haven't seen Sean in a while, not since before he transferred out to Portland for his last two semesters."

"He's in Portland?"

"Yeah," David remarked. "He likes it there apparently. Met a guy out there, and he's bringing him tomorrow."

"We saw Johnno and Gretchen over the break," Kurt recollected.

"Yeah," David nodded. "Everything goes as planned, we might be going to their wedding this time next year."

"Hey, do you know how Chris Strando has been?"

David chuckled. "Strando's doing okay. He'll be at the reception tomorrow with his girlfriend."

"Ooh, is he still with that Natalie girl?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, no," David explained. "They broke up a long time ago. He's been going out with this girl now for several months, though. Says they're getting along great. He openly admits that Natalie was, like, a first-girlfriend mistake. Neither one of them knew what they wanted, but it shouldn't have been each other."

The cab slowed and stopped in front of Rachel's house. Kurt paid the fare, and he and David exited the cab. The two walked up to the front door. Kurt unlocked the outside door then the inner door to his basement apartment and the two descended the stairs.

"I thought we were just gonna pick up your bags," David questioned, "Why not just have the cab wait for us?"

"Because my story about the luggage was just a ruse to get you away so I could have you to myself for just a little while today," Kurt answered.

David laughed and shook his head as Kurt pulled him close for a quick kiss. Kurt tugged David quickly to the bed where Kurt flopped and David lay beside him, both sitting partially upright, exchanging a flurry of kisses both brief and lengthy, David's hands caressing Kurt's shoulders

Finally, upon parting, David reclined onto his back, wrapping his arm gently around Kurt's shoulders, as Kurt rested his head upon David's chest and spoke, "I mean I am sleeping here tonight, and this is where the limo is picking me up to take me to the wedding site tomorrow morning."

"Speaking of that," David spoke, "the wedding site looked really incredible."

"It did," Kurt agreed, emphatic. "I know those people do some impressive work, but I was astounded at how good it looked. Some of it really wasn't anything I'd have specifically chosen or asked for, but I have no complaints about anything."

"All of the clothes look fantastic, Kurt," David remarked, sincerely. "My mom's gown looks great. I like how my dad's tux and my tux are different but they're not. It's like they match but not exactly."

Kurt smiled in his answer. "The same is true of my dad's and mine. All four of them have thematic colors, but no two are the same. Same is true of the dress that Carole is wearing. It's similar to your mom's and the same color, but different."

David smiled in return offering, "Carrie's kind-of a trip."

Kurt laughed. "She's great. I couldn't have done the projects last summer without her. For that matter, I couldn't have done the outfits for this wedding without her."

"She said I looked 'zeckzee' in my tux," David snickered.

"You are sexy, David, and I'm enitirely sure that you looked amazingly hot in your tux," Kurt hypothesized. "I can't wait to see my handsome, beautiful man in the outfit I designed and made just for him on our wedding day."

"Is that why you had Carrie do the fitting?" David asked. "Is that your contribution to 'wedding tradition', that we don't see each other in our outfits before the actual wedding?"

"Kind-of," Kurt admitted softly. "I mean, we're two men getting married. We can't be completely traditional, but, well, the way you proposed was a pretty traditional thing."

"Up to a point," David reminded.

"Well, we can be as traditional as think we can be," Kurt remarked, "but we're still two men getting married in a country that only allows that in a few isolated places." Kurt paused for a moment before voicing, "We haven't had sex since before the engagement."

"Yeah, it was the Christmas break."

"Is this another traditional thing?" Kurt inquired, smirking.

"I really didn't think of it that way, just that we're always so busy when we were together," David answered. "It's not like we haven't already done that and many times."

"Just seems curious, that's all."

David's face wrinkled and smirked, skeptical. "What? You think it's gonna feel different after tomorrow or something?"

Kurt's face straightened slightly but never lost its smile completely as he rose, addressing David's eyes. "David, I know you. From the first time and every time since, I know it's always meant something to you, to allow someone to get that close to you. So, tomorrow, we're going to be recognized as a married couple, even if it's by something as fragile as a piece of paper and as small a symbol as two rings. It's going to color how you feel about it."

David's expression disarmed and humbled. "You know me so well, Kurt. You tell me things about me that surprise even me."

"I've mentioned that before," Kurt said as he rested his head again onto David's chest. "I hope it's comforting to know that the person who knows you that well is the person that you're marrying."

"It is," David spoke, just above a whisper, as he took Kurt's hand into his, lifted it to his face, and kissed it before moving it downward and resting both their hands over his heart.

"That idea with the engagement rings have something to do with that tradition thing too?" David voiced quietly.

"Mmm-hm," Kurt confirmed. "Actually, an extension of your idea about the basic, simple wedding band. We're going to be greeting and shaking hands with a lot of people tomorrow. I didn't want anything to be distracting from our wedding rings. That's the most important thing. And this way, we'd still be wearing our engagement rings like a piece of jewelry."

"Mmm," David hummed, "Inventive idea."

Kurt giggled. "I remember you saying once, some years ago, that you weren't a jewelry-kinda-guy."

David smirked. "Yeah, I remember that. Mostly because you gave me a look like you knew I was wrong at the time."

"Well, I knew even back then that..."

"Aw, c'mon," David cut Kurt off quietly, "You're not gonna tell me that you knew back then that we'd be together and getting married and exchanging rings someday?"

"No, I couldn't have known that," Kurt furthered. "But I could see that you were someone who was focused on wanting that. The commitment. The way I knew that you'd be devoted to your partner one day. I couldn't know that we'd be together, but I knew that, if you found that person you wanted to be with, it was something that would happen for you."

"You're right. You always nail me. I've wanted this for so long. Even when I was angry and trying to kill that part of me, those terrible years when I was in high school, I just wanted someone, even in an abstract sense, that was gonna get me. Someone I wasn't going to lose."

"That's so long ago, David. You've come so far."

David pulled Kurt closer. "By this time tomorrow, we're going to be married."

"I know," Kurt smiled, settling into David's firmer hold.

"This time tomorrow, we'll be married, probably getting off the plane in Lima, a couple of hours away from seeing all of our friends at the reception."

"Mmm," Kurt hummed, contentedly. "Did you ever get an RSVP from Blaine?"

David's face sobered, his pitch dropped. "No. I never heard back from him."

"Oh, well," Kurt dismissed, raspy.

"It bums me out," David offered. "I was hoping that you two were going to be friends. I was hoping that we'd all be friends. It seemed like things were getting better between the two of you for a while."

Kurt shook his head slightly. "Yeah, and then it stopped, and I stopped hearing from him. Remember what you told me Chris had said about Natalie being a 'first-girlfriend-mistake'? Well, Blaine was my Natalie. We didn't know what we wanted, but it shouldn't have been each other."

"Well, that's not really fair, Kurt," David countered. "He helped you in a lot of the same ways that you helped me."

"That doesn't mean that we should have been together that way," Kurt spoke. "I'd have hoped that he would have helped anyone, not just a potential boyfriend."

"I still wished that it hadn't gone that way."

"Well, I can't lose sleep over it," Kurt spoke as he rose into an upright position then stood off of the bed and walked to the closet, now bare save for one item. "I have something for you, David."

David sat up, curiosity piqued, as Kurt reached into the closet and removed a familiar-but-long forgotten red-and-cream jacket. David's face grimaced slightly.

"Where the hell did you get my old varsity jacket?" David puzzled, "I thought I threw that thing away."

Kurt smiled. "I was helping you clean out your room and pack your things for college all those years ago. You told me to throw it on the trash pile, but I couldn't bring myself to do that, so I saved it for you."

David shook his head, an uneasy expression. "Kurt, that jacket reminds me of when I was the worst person in the world. That's why I told you to throw it away."

"David," Kurt smiled, voice pleading. "It's a piece of clothing. It in itself doesn't make the individual."

David raised a skeptical eyebrow but remained silent.

"Think it'll still fit?" Kurt asked. "Why don't you try it on?"

David rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it'll fit." David stood and took the jacket from Kurt's hands. As he slid his right arm into the sleeve, he noticed that the jacket smelled of cedar and storage. He pulled the other sleeve over his left arm and stood, uncomfortable expression, facing Kurt.

Kurt smiled slightly, shaking his head, arms crossed over his chest. "Those things don't look good on anybody."

David's face broke the trace of a smile. "It didn't fit me so well back then. I think it fits even worse now."

"You know what I want you to do now?" Kurt asked.

"No. What?" David's smirk became more pronounced, his voice cocky, slightly arrogant.

"I want you to hug me while you're wearing that thing."

David's smirk shifted to a more genuine smile as he approached Kurt, taking him into his arms. Kurt reacted, unfolding his arms from his chest and reaching over David's shoulders. As Kurt pulled David's head forward, David began to chuckle, a warm, genuine, sublimely happy laugh. Kurt's lips traced multiple kisses on David's forehead before the two of them stood, each holding the other, swaying as if to some inaudible music in Kurt's nearly barren apartment.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

"Surprised you're not wearing your letterman jacket," Paul ribbed David as they stood inside the warehouse on one side of the temporary wedding structure, just outside the right-side entry to the partitioned area.

"C'mon, Dad," David smirked.

"Well, when you showed up back at the hotel wearing it last night, it surprised all of us," Paul commented.

"It was Kurt's idea," David shook his head, smiling. "He saved it for me all of these years."

Paul approached David, smiling, and patted his shoulder. "You look great, David."

"So do you," David nodded, smiling. "Kurt knows what he's doing."

"Are you nervous?"

David shook his head. "No, I'm really not. I feel really sure about this. Like there's nothing for me to be nervous about. You, Dad?"

Paul shook his head, eyes still trained on David's. "I'm not nervous. I'm happy. I'm emotional right now. I might start crying. I know your mother's going to cry. I know you wanted this, and I wanted this for you."

David nodded, smiling. "And you were there the whole time. You were a constant; when I think about it, you were the only person that was there for me the entire time. That's why no one else could have been my best man."

Paul blinked. He would have probably started crying himself had Lorraine and Carrie not arrived into the small waiting area, chatting and laughing.

"Mom, you look great," David said as he took in his mother's image.

"David, you look so incredibly handsome," Lorraine smiled as she approached him, allowing him to take her into an embrace.

"I must feex yohr boutonniere," Carrie exclaimed as she approached Paul and affixed a deep dusty-pink-colored rose to his lapel.

She then approached David whose boutonniere was more elaborate: a rose-pink bloom at the center surrounded by two layers of black petals and backed with white dots of baby's breath. Carrie slid it into the engagement ring which had been sewn onto the jacket's lapel and fixed it further with a typical corsage pin.

Carrie then busied herself looking over the entirety of David's tuxedo, whisking minute spots of dust from the lapel area where she had fixed the boutonniere and checking his shoulders and back for visible imperfections.

David focused on his parents. Paul and Lorraine were both looking at him proudly. Paul's arm was around Lorraine's shoulder, holding her.

An usher appeared at the entryway, an assistant to Ms. Skepter. "We're ready to begin," he announced quietly. "Is everything ready?"

David shot his gaze over to Paul and Lorraine who both nodded in David's direction.

"We're ready," David spoke quietly to the usher.

The usher turned outward for a moment, giving a signal. David and his parents could hear the string quartet beginning to play an arrangement of the Beatles' "In My Life". At the start of what would have been the vocal melody, Paul and Lorraine stepped out into the greater part of the structure; it was the signal for Paul to escort Lorraine to their places to the right of the place where the officiant stood.

The beginning of the second verse was David's cue. He stepped out into the main area of the structure and walked toward the center of the created space, approaching from the far right side. To his left, he could see in his periphery that the folding chairs were filled, and the ambiance inside the structure was, indeed, one of convincing outdoor daylight. David kept his focus toward the center of the area as he approached, his gait sure and confident. His parents were standing to the right of Ms. Skepter, and he could see Burt and Carole standing on the other side of her. He slowed and stopped, standing before Lorraine and Paul, and turning to face them. He reached his arms to embrace his mother, and they exchanged a ceremonial kiss. David then embraced his father, and they similarly kissed each other's cheeks. David swivelled and stepped, taking his place to the right of the wedding minister, his gaze focused to the entryway on the opposite side.

Within seconds, David could see Kurt emerge from the opposite side. His steps were strong and keeping in relative time with the music. As he drew nearer, David saw that Kurt looked perfect: his complexion was aglow, his hair looked fastidiously-styled without appearing fussy, his attire tack-sharp. David watched as Kurt embraced and exchanged kisses, first with Carole, then with Burt, before taking his place on the other side of Ms. Skepter, facing David.

Burt and Kurt both wore black Victorian-inspired tuxedos. Burt's was a relaxed-fitting modern variation with a silver-gray vest and gray-on-gray patterned bowtie. Kurt's was a more fitted, traditionally-Victorian version with a longer jacket, higher-necked subtly-patterned gray vest, and silvery-gray ascot tie. Kurt wore a variation of the boutonniere which David wore: Kurt's was a single black rose surrounded with rose-colored petals, the colors of David's in reverse.

David's and Paul's tuxedos were black, Italian-styled variants. Paul's had a satiny shawl collar creating a black-on-black contrast, a patterned gray vest, and a gray bowtie. David's had a traditional lapel collar, once again a black-on-black contrast, a gray vest, and a gray-on-gray patterned tie in a soft, wide European style.

Carole and Lorraine's dresses were a subdued rose color. Both had smooth-profiled, sophisticated designs. Carole's had a bare-shouldered bodice while Lorraine's had a sleeveless v-neck. Both floor-length gowns had a sash at the waist and a removable shawl jacket. Kurt was familiar enough with both women to know that they would look good in sleeveless designs. The optional jacket, he felt, was an addition which completed the ensemble. Both women also carried modest bouquets of roses, an equal mix of pink and black blooms, strands of crystal and rose glass beads dangling from the arrangements.

"To all present I say, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of David Paul Karofsky and Kurt Elizabeth Hummel in marriage and the commitment they forge today." Veronika Skepter's voice was almost stunning in its clarity and power. She focused her eyes upon David and spoke. "Is there someone who gives this man to this other man in marriage?"

David answered, voice ringing clearly. "Being my own person, I come of my own volition, with the love and approval of my mother and my father, I give myself to his man, Kurt Hummel."

"And is there someone who gives this man in marriage?" Ms. Skepter's voice boomed as she turned to Kurt.

"Likewise, with the loving consent of my father and his wife, I come of my own purpose and give myself to David Karofsky." Kurt's voice, though lighter than David's, held no less conviction.

"David Paul Karofsky," Veronika's voice pealed, "please state your intent and promise."

David, wearing an expression of softened resolve, set his gaze directly at Kurt's eyes. "I, David Karofsky, give myself to you, as your husband, to share my life with you, in love, respect, and devotion; to be your strength when you need to be strong; to listen even when the words are difficult; to have you at your worst so that I may help you to be your best; to have you at your best so that you may know that you honor me with your companionship." David's voice trailed slightly softer. "To be committed, and to make the most of our time here together."

Veronika turned to Kurt. "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, please state your intent and promise."

Kurt's eyes met David's, a flicker of a smile on both of their faces. "I, Kurt Hummel, give myself to you, as your husband, as your life partner, in love, admiration, and loyalty; to shelter you in times of insecurity; to recognize your wishes and needs; to be grateful for your presence and strength; to acknowledge and temper your hardships and share in your joys; to be proud that you have chosen me to take this place at your side; and to hold in dear reverence your commitment, and to humbly return it in kind."

"Do you, Kurt Hummel, accept David Karofsky as your lawful husband?" Ms. Skepter asked of Kurt.

"I do." Kurt's answer was strong and decisive.

"And do you, David Karosky," Veronika turned to David, "accept Kurt Hummel as your lawful husband?"

"I do." David's answer sounded softer, almost melodic, in contrast to Kurt's.

Veronika turned to Burt, signaling silently. Burt responded by placing a ring into Kurt's palm.

David raised his left hand and Kurt took it into his own as he began to speak. "I, Kurt Hummel, give you, David Karofsky, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you." With these words he slid the ring onto David's hand. Kurt faced upward and their eyes met, composed but visibly joyous.

Veronika gave a similar wordless signal to Paul; and he likewise placed a ring into David's hand.

"I, David Karofsky, give you, Kurt Hummel this ring, as I give to you all that I am, and accept from you, all that you are." David ran the ring onto the ring-finger of Kurt's left hand.

Veronika faced upward, into the open space between Kurt and David, and spoke, voice clear and loud, "By the power vested in me by the State of New York, I pronounce you legally married." She faced her head downward toward the couple. "You may kiss." In her booming voice it sounded like a command.

Kurt and David closed the space between them, subtle traces of gratified smiles on their faces, and met in a kiss.

"Family and friends, witnesses, I present to you for the first time, Mr. Kurt Elizabeth Karofsky Hummel and Mr. David Paul Hummel Karofsky." Veronika's voice boomed, the gathering cheered and clapped, and the string quartet began playing an arrangement of Weber's "Invitation to the Dance".

David and Kurt faced the gathering, holding the other's hand. Kurt appeared mannered as always, though smiling subtly; David's face appeared slightly dazed, as if his composure was slipping, though happily so. The two proceeded to walk the center aisle between the two sections of seating as people stood and left their seats to make their way toward the center. Burt and Carole followed them directly and Lorraine and Paul traveled behind them.

As Kurt and David approached the rear of the space where they, with their parents would form a receiving line, they saw the familiar figure of Rachel waiting and waving; another familiar but surprising figure stood by her side. Both Kurt and David, still holding hands, nearly broke into a sprint. Before them was a jubilant Rachel standing next to a dazed-but-grinning Finn Hudson.

"Congratulations!" Rachel nearly squealed as Kurt and David both hugged her before turning their attention to Finn.

"Finn, when did you get here?" Kurt asked, confused, nearly squealing himself, as David waited for an answer, agape.

"I caught an early morning flight and got here just as everything was starting." Finn answered, sounding almost out of breath.

"So you got to see the whole thing?" David asked, still not quite sure of his eyes.

"Yes!" Rachel squeaked. "Just as the quartet started, I heard a voice asking if the vacant seat next to me was taken, and it was Finn!"

"Whoa," David smiled and shook his head.

"I'm so happy and proud of you guys, gimme a hug, dammit," Finn almost yelled as he reached his arms around both Kurt and David simultaneously, pulling both toward himself. "I have two brothers now, and I love you both." Finn turned his head first to the left, kissing Kurt's cheek, then to the right, kissing David's. "I had a feeling this was gonna happen someday."

"I remember you tellin' me that one day," David's voice was low, a gravelly whisper, on the verge of happy tears. "How the fuck did you know?"

As Kurt and David greeted, hugged, and shook hands with the wedding guests, the bar and food tables were opened. When the receiving line had exhausted itself, David, Kurt, and their parents returned to the front area and posed for the photographers. That the four photographers went unnoticed as they worked taking pictures throughout the ceremony was a testament to their professionalism.

After the formal photography session was complete, Kurt and David made their way to a table at the rear which held the first wedding cake of the day. David and Kurt cut the cake, a modestly-sized cake of three offset round layers embellished with black-on-white art-deco motifs. Marcel, who had taken on the task of un-official master of ceremonies of the small New York reception, led the attendees in a toast to the new couple. Best men Burt and Paul were glad to have Marcel handle that particular responsibility as they would be leading the corresponding toast at the day's later reception in Lima.

The private-jet flight back to Lima was a new experience for all but Burt and Carole who had flown in such private planes before. Finn and Rachel made the flight with them. Finn would be staying in Lima for the better part of the week while Rachel would be flying back to New York the next day.

The plane touched down in Lima over two hours before the seven o'clock starting time of the reception giving the wedding party time to check into their rooms at the airport hotel and rest briefly before the second reception. Kurt and David stopped briefly at their hotel room, primarily to store their luggage before the drive to their new home in Pittsburgh the next day.

Kurt unlocked the door to their hotel room, pushing it open with his shoulder. He was carrying two suitcases and two overnight bags; David was burdened with two suitcases, an overnight bag, and a garment bag. The juggling act required to carry all of these items onto an elevator and down a hall to the room was exhausting in itself, but, once inside the room and unburdened, neither would complain.

Though they had the option of renting a bridal suite for the occasion, they, instead, chose a standard room with a king-size bed accommodation. Placing their luggage and bags on the far-side of the room, they both sat next to each other on the bed.

David reached his arm around Kurt and they both turned to each other's face.

"We did it," David spoke softly. "We fucking did it. We're married."

Kurt grinned uncontrollably. He leaned and slid his head and back against David's chest. "Whoa," David chuckled. "Don't wanna mess up my tux or your hair. We still have someplace to be in two hours."

Kurt sat upright, settling into a chuckle, and reached for David's left hand with his, admiring the wedding bands as their fingers entwined the other's.

"I don't have words right now," Kurt spoke, sounding exhausted. "I just feel perfect."

David lowered his head to Kurt's level and initiated soft, tactile kisses against Kurt's lips. They would have increased in intensity had the text alert on David's phone not roused them from their collective amorous reverie. David reached into his jacket, produced his phone, and checked the incoming message.

"It's from Gretchen," David informed. "She says she's in the lobby and wants to know if we're around. Do we ignore it?"

Kurt exhaled, sounding stressed. "No, we should see what she wants. After tonight we'll have all the time in the world."

David rolled his eyes in reluctant agreement. "Yeah, I agree. Let's go see what's up."

Kurt and David locked their room and rode the elevator to the ground floor. A group of friends was waiting in the lobby.

"Hey," Gretchen ran to David and Kurt as she saw them walk through the elevator doors. "Congratulations! You both look so hot."

"Make no mistake, you look hot too," David spoke as Kurt nodded approval.

"Thanks," Gretchen intoned smugly. Gretchen, never seeming to repeat a look, had her hair done in a nineteen-sixties-style flip and was wearing a clingy black-and-white mini-dress with polka-dotted tights and knee-high boots.

Johnno and several others approached behind Gretchen, all seeming to voice words of congratulation at the same time making specific greetings seem impossible.

"Hey, Johnno," David spoke as Johnno pulled him into a hug.

"So glad to see you, and so happy for you and Kurt," Johnno said as he unlocked from David and hugged Kurt similarly.

"Hey!" The word rang out and held, exaggerated, as Sean approached with another man by his side.

"Hey Sean," David greeted as Kurt nodded the like.

"Hey, guys, meet John," Sean introduced a bespectacled, goateed, shaven-headed man with a slightly thicker-build.

"I gotta say, 'Sean and John,' it's got a ring to it," David commented smiling and shaking their hands.

Kurt smiled and shook their hands as well. "It's not often you see two redheads together. That's... really something."

"Sean's told me so much about the both of you," John spoke, smiling, as he shook both of their hands. "I'm glad to finally meet you."

"Well, we sincerely hope that you have a great time at our reception and that the trip out here was worth it," Kurt spoke, elated.

Finally, Chris Strando approached David and Kurt; his arm was around a smiling, busty, bubbly-looking young lady. "Hey, guys," Chris's smile was uncontainable. "Congratulations. Big congratulations. I am so happy for you two."

"Thank you , Chris," Kurt intoned as Chris threw his arms around David and held him for a moment.

Chris then turned to Kurt and hugged him with a similar vigor before introducing the young lady. "Guys, this is Georgina. Most people call her 'Gina' for short."

"Nice to meet you, Gina," David greeted as he shook her hand.

"This is Dave," Chris motioned toward David, "but I call him Karofsky 'cause we played football together."

Gina giggled like she completely understood Chris's explanation.

"And this is Kurt," Chris gestured toward Kurt as Gina shook his hand. "Kurt is Karofsky's uh, husband, I guess, huh? Damn, that's cool!"

"Strando, you are one of the best," David spoke, a laugh filled with the deepest friendship.

"And we will all be doing some shots tonight," Chris spoke to the entire crowd, sounding simultaneously friendly and threatening. "I will be drinking with my friends, and I won't take 'no' for an answer."

"I gotta drive and I'm still not twenty-one." Johnno volunteered.

"Okay, then," Chris rationalized, friendly, "you're excused."

"Where's Howie and his girlfriend?" David asked.

Gretchen laughed so hard she nearly snorted. "What? Chris mentions doing shots and Howie comes to mind immediately?"

David and Kurt both laughed and blushed. "That's totally not what I meant," David said.

"Howie will be around later," Gretchen assured. "Well, we dragged you down here so we could congratulate you before everyone else mobbed you, but there's another reason," Gretchen revealed.

"What's that?" Kurt asked.

"Got something to show you," Gretchen informed. "Gotta go over to the banquet room." The crowd began walking as Gretchen continued to talk. "You know there are security guards at the banquet room? I had to show ID and they checked me against a list."

"That would be my dad's doing," Kurt informed. "Same-sex wedding reception in Ohio: I'm surprised we don't have a police escort."

They approached the banquet room to see a security guard at the door. "I'll need to see your ID before I can let you in," the sentry informed.

"You've already seen our ID," Gretchen informed.

"I'll need to see their ID," he spoke nodding at Kurt and David.

"They're the grooms," Gretchen stressed causing Johnno and Sean to laugh loudly; Kurt and David snickered to themselves while John smiled with a hint of confusion and Chris and Gina, having found a bench further down the corridor, began to make out with each other.

After a moment of attempting to stare-down the guard, Gretchen took Johnno by his hand and pulled him into the banquet hall with her. "Oh, we'll just bring it out to you," she sneered at the guard.

"Hey, just doin' my job," the guard protested.

Johnno and Gretchen walked to the gift table where several gifts had already been placed. They pulled an oblong, wrapped gift approximately two feet by three feet and three inches deep and brought it out to the hallway.

"Wedding gifts don't get opened until the married people take everything home after the reception, but I wanted to be there when you opened this," Gretchen said as she and Johnno leaned the gift against a wall just outside the banquet room

David and Kurt tore away the giftwrap to reveal a painting beneath, the distinctive scent of fresh oil paint and solvent very apparent, no longer trapped by the paper. It was a double-portrait of Kurt and David. Both were depicted from waist-up against a background which suggested a fantasy city, as if inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Both were represented in three-quarters view with David facing toward the center-right and Kurt facing toward the center-left. Their gaze was cast downward toward their hands which were intertwined, holding three items: a red rose, an abacus, and a pocketwatch. Both of their faces wore subtle, sublime smiles. The artwork was slightly stylized, the composition obviously symbolist in nature, but the likenesses were unmistakable and flattering. The painting itself was encircled in a wide black-and-silver art deco-style frame, the relief work resembling stylized feathers.

David was speechless at first. Kurt merely whispered, just above a breath, "It's beautiful, Gretchen."

David nodded, tilting his head slightly, awed. "It's fantastic, Gretchen. I don't know what to say."

"It's a wedding gift," Gretchen answered, ever sassy, "'Thank you' is fine."

David and Kurt both snickered nervously. "I wonder if the hotel has a easel we can borrow," David mused. "I would really like people to see this."

"Oh, man, that's great," Chris Strando appeared with Gina, their attention drawn by the conversation.

"That's really beautiful," Gina commented.

"Really, I'd rather you didn't display it here at the reception," Gretchen commented.

"No?" Kurt mumbled while he and David shot questioning expressions at Gretchen.

Gretchen shook her head. "I think it turned out really nicely, but, like, I don't wanna bum anyone out. I mean, someone who bought you guys, like, a handmixer or something. How does that even compete?"

Kurt and David both laughed. "Gretchen, you still have the wickedest mind of anyone I know."

"That's right," Gretchen answered smugly, " and I'm not even gonna smack you around at your own wedding reception."

"Thank you for that," David lifted the painting carefully by it's frame. "We should probably take this up to our room, then, if you don't want anyone to see it. We'll catch you in a few when the actual reception starts."

David and Kurt bade temporary farewell to the gathering as they boarded an elevator, rode it up to their floor, and brought the painting into the security of their hotel room.

"It is really beautiful," Kurt commented, taking in the image of the painting in the subdued light of the room.

"Yeah, it is." David approached Kurt from behind and wrapped his arms gently around him, taking Kurt's hands into his.

"Quarter to six," Kurt reminded. "We're supposed to meet our parents in the lounge at six so we can be ready for our 'grand entrance' at seven-ish."

"Seven-ish?" David questioned.

"We have the option of being fashionably late," Kurt countered, twisting his neck to address David, flirty-eyed. "When we're both dressed to kill like we are, you'd better get used to it, my sexy man."

David chuckled and faced away.

"You think I'm kidding?" Kurt playfully threatened.

David closed his eyes and shook his head, grinning. "Hmm-mm. Never would you joke about fashion. I know better."

"Damned right," Kurt whispered before pulling David into a kiss.

Kurt and David approached the lounge to find Paul and Burt sitting by themselves at the bar.

"Where are the ladies?" Kurt asked,

"They went in to give a final check to the tables and things in the banquet room before the guests start arriving," Burt said.

"I wonder if they need help," Kurt spoke, "I think I'll go see if they need any assistance."

"You'll just get stopped by that security guard again," David reminded, smirking.

Kurt walked away in the direction of the banquet room, twisting his neck to yell back at David, "I think your mom and Carole will vouch for me."

"Sit down, Dave, have a beer with us," Burt invited, nodding toward and empty barstool.

"Sure," David agreed, shrugging.

"I've gotta go use the restroom," Paul said as he stood, "I'll be back in a minute."

David and Burt both nodded at Paul as David sat next to Burt.

"Been a really perfect day so far," Burt commented before hoisting his beer bottle to his mouth.

David smiled in reaction. "Yeah. I'm just so happy that this happened for Kurt and me. That this could happen. I'm almost dizzy. I wasn't this morning, but as soon as we were actually married, it's like I'm high or something."

The bartender brought a bottle of beer and placed it on the bar before David. He instinctively lifted it and drank.

"This has been a very happy day for me, David," Burt spoke, a disarming smile on his face but his eyes intense as ever. "I'm happy for Kurt, and I'm happy for you. I know that this is something you both wanted."

"Thank you, Mr. Hummel."

"Please, no, you're not calling me Mr. Hummel any longer," Burt scolded, good-naturedly. "Call me 'dad' or... call me 'Burt'."

"I couldn't call you 'Burt' any more than I could call my father 'Paul'."

"Then call me 'dad'," Burt settled.

"Okay, but that's gonna take some getting used to," David commented.

"No problem, take your time," Burt's mood seemed to lighten as David became more comfortable. "You know, Dave, you brought out some really amazing things in Kurt. That thing that you said during the wedding vows today about helping him to be his best? I feel you really did that. I'm proud to have you as a son-in-law."

"Thank you , Miste..., thank you, Dad," David choked down a laugh. "I might have brought some great things out in Kurt, but, make no mistake, he brought out the absolute best in me. That's why I put that in my vows. I wanted to be as amazing a person to him as he is to me. I feel like he's the best thing that ever happened to me."

Burt's expression sobered, the intensity in his eyes remained. "Stand up, Dave."

Both men stood from their barstools, David appeared slightly apprehensive.

"That thing you just said, about Kurt being the best thing that ever happened to you?" Burt began, reaching outward, and pulling David into an embrace. "Kurt's said that about you too. I'm proud of both of you boys."

By seven-thirty, the majority of the tables in the banquet hall had been filled, and the guests were awaiting the announcement and arrival of the wedding party. Kurt, David, and their parents were down the hallway, waiting out the time until they'd make their entrance. David thought the wait to be somewhat silly, but he went along without complaint because Kurt appreciated the drama and he liked watching Kurt savor the moment. They made their way toward the entrance to the room. From the threshold, they could see the tables around the room seating six to eight people, each with a floral centerpiece and black-and-white tablecloth. Kurt and David were quietly picking out relatives and friends when they heard the drummer of the jazz combo pound out the signature beat of their entrance song. A teenage girl, a current member of the McKinley High New Directions began singing, and Will Schuester took to the microphone.

The night we met I knew I needed you so
And if I had the chance I'd never let you go
So won't you say you love me? I'll make you so proud of me
We'll make 'em turn their heads every place we go

"Hello, guests," Will spoke, "The time is here to welcome the happy couple is here." Will signaled with his eyes to the doorway. "First, the groom's parents, Paul Karofsky and Lorraine Karofsky,"

On their cue, Paul and Lorraine entered the banquet hall, smiling formally, arm-in-arm, to the sounds of the enthusiastic revelers and the glee club which added what sounded like a wall of voices to the chorus of the song.

So won't you please?
(Be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby
(My one and only baby)
Say you'll be my darlin'
(Be my, be my baby)
Be my baby now
(My one and only baby)
Whoa oh oh oh

"Secondly, the other groom's father and stepmother," Will intoned, "Burt Hummel and Carole Hummel."

More voices entered on the second verse of the song, soaring behind the lead vocal. Burt and Carole entered, much as Paul and Lorraine did, arm-in-arm, also smiling, though somewhat less formally, both nearly laughing as they walked toward their table at the far side of the room, taking their places, standing on the side opposite where Paul and Lorraine stood.

I'll make you happy, baby, just wait and see
For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three
Oh, since the day I saw you, I have been waiting for you
You know I will adore you, 'til eternity

"And now, please stand for the arrival of the happy newlyweds," Will spoke, pausing dramatically before finishing, "Please stand for Kurt Karofsky Hummel and David Hummel Karofsky."

So won't you please?
(Be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby
(My one and only baby)
Say you'll be my darlin'
(Be my, be my baby)
Be my baby now
(My one and only baby)
Whoa oh oh oh

The attendees of the reception rose from their seats as David and Kurt entered the hall, hand-in-hand. Kurt was smiling dramatically, appearing nearly to be striking poses for cameras while David beamed a genuine smile which added a blush when the guests began to applaud.

Kurt and David took their places at the center of the far table: David next to his father and Kurt next to his. The crowd eventually quieted and the song came to an end, allowing Kurt, David, and the other members of the wedding party to be seated.

The band played instrumental background music while the dinner was served. David and Kurt and the rest of the wedding party made their way around the banquet hall, greeting the guests individually. David had been tasked with arranging at which tables the guests would be seated, and it seemed that there were no complaints. At one large table, Garry and Jeff as well as some of David's other friends from Pittsburgh sat with Rod and Ricky. Much to everyone's amusement, Ricky nearly tackled David with an obnoxious hug when he and Kurt made their way to their table.

Gretchen, Johnno, Sean, John, Chris, Gina, Howie, and his fiancée Renae formed another especially lively table. David was the first in his group of friends from Thurston to be married, though Gretchen, Johnno, and Howie would likely be married to their betrothed within the next year.

Several of Kurt's former fellow glee club members were collected at another table: Rachel, Finn, Santana and Brittany (who remained friends but were no longer an item), Mercedes, and her date, a blonde west-coast surfer who went by the name Bainbridge. Mercedes, never one to compromise her intentions, made both grooms promise to dance with her later in the evening.

Will Schuester and wife Emma, Rupert and wife Katherine, and Mr. and Mrs. Williams occupied a table to themselves also. Mr. Williams spoke with David specifically, observing that the act of being legally married to a same-sex partner was an extension of the award-winning academic work he did as a high school senior. Looking back, it seemed like a whole other life to David at this point.

The wedding cake, a larger-scaled version of the art deco-styled cake at their earlier reception was cut without incident, and David and Kurt returned to their table, seating themselves between their parents as they had earlier. Glasses of champagne had been poured for the guests; Paul and Burt both stood, glasses in hand, and began to speak.

"Pick up your champagne glasses if you're legal," Burt began. "If you're not get something to drink; it doesn't matter what it is. This is important."

"We came here tonight to celebrate the love and commitment of these two men," Paul began. "It's something I wanted to see happen for my son. His marrying the person that he wanted to share his life with. I didn't know if I'd ever get to see that happen, but I saw it today."

Kurt and David sat between their standing fathers, hands interlocked, eyes facing downward, listening, occasionally raising their gaze to glance at the other's reaction, breaking small smiles at the other: silent, subtle reactions.

"These are two very brave young men sitting with me tonight," Burt continued. "It's not because they're two men who loved each other enough to make their commitment legal. That was relatively easy. I saw both of these men struggle in the face of adversity. My son has taught me more just by being himself than I would have ever learned without having him in my life."

Paul began again. "Like Burt, I have learned a great deal from my son, for that I am grateful for having him in my life. His mother feels the same way. My wife and I are so incredibly proud of our son in that he's accomplished so much in his short life so far. My son is a hero to me."

"And my son is a hero to me," Burt added.

"And yet my son honors me by calling me his best man."

"And mine did the same."

Paul's gaze moved from the guests to his son, sitting next to the place where he stood. "When the best man in my life asked me to me the best man at his wedding, I was honored, and I was touched."

"When the best man in my life asked me to be the best man at this wedding, I was just blown away," Burt addressed the two young men seated near him. "The most important person in my life asked me to be the most important person at the most important event of his life. Well, other than the guy he was marrying, that is."

Kurt and David, still holding hands, still smiling with heads bowed and faces flushed, each feeling on the edge of giddiness, nodded patiently though they appeared as though they might burst at any moment.

Paul and Burt glanced at each other and smiled slightly before Paul spoke. "I think it's killing these guys, so let's not wait any longer. Let's proudly raise our glasses and toast this incredible couple."

With that the room filled with the noise of clinking glasses and applause. David and Kurt stood and drank from their glasses, arms locked.

Another round of champagne followed for David and Kurt before the lights dimmed and they stood facing each other in the center of the dancefloor, a single spotlight on their two figures. The arrangement of the song which they selected as their first dance was performed by the current New Directions with no backing instrumentation other than a drummer: all of the original song's instruments were replaced by the trained voices of the Glee Club.

First were the voices replicating the piano part of the song, then wordless, layered vocals creating more depth, then the quiet, whispered quality of the lead vocals.

David and Kurt both knew they were in a room filled with their friends and family members, but it felt as singular and perfect as the time four years ago when they, for the first time, clasped hands, face-to-face, when Kurt agreed to David's request that Kurt teach him to dance. In the light of the single spotlight on the dancefloor, they and the music were all that existed. David's face was calm with a hinted smile, eyes catching fire in the light; Kurt's fair, smooth complexion played statuesque in the white light of the spot, the shifting blue and green of his eyes moving as he and David traveled the hardwood. David's lips parted, mouthing the words so subtly that only Kurt could detect the movement.

I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
A way to make you smile

I read bad poetry
Into your machine
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice.
You always listen carefully
To awkward rhymes.
You always say your name.
Like I wouldn't know it's you
At your most beautiful.

I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
A way to make you smile

At my most beautiful
I count your eyelashes secretly.
With every one, whisper I love you.
I let you sleep.
I know you're closed eye watching me,
Listening.
I thought I saw a smile.

I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
A way to make you smile

Monday June 13, 2016

"This is it," David spoke as they stood on their porch before the double doors. David had placed the two suitcases and a large gym bag which he'd been carrying onto the porch floor; he was rolling his keychain in his hand, searching for the correct keys. There were two locks on the double-doors and a conventional lock and deadbolt on the interior door. Kurt was weighted down with two suitcases and two overnight bags slung across his shoulders. He had an impatient expression growing on his face.

David unlocked the double doors and the interior door. He had left the double-doors open, but had yet to open the interior door. He looked at Kurt.

"My hands are full," Kurt commented, trying to sound patient, "Aren't you going to open the door?"

"Put down your bags, Kurt."

"David, I don't want to put them down if I'm going to need to pick them up again."

"Put down your bags, Kurt," David repeated calmly, a humbled, shy expression on his face.

"Why do you want me to put down the bags?" Kurt's impatience was beginning to show.

"Just, please, put down the bags," David's face began to betray a smile with a hint of cockiness.

Kurt rolled his eyes, bent slightly at the knees, opened his hands, and lowered the suitcases onto the floor of the porch. He then lifted the straps of the two overnight bags from his shoulder and held them outward, allowing them to drop to the floor gently. "Okay, David, the bags are down," Kurt spoke quietly, "Now why?"

David leaned forward toward Kurt, eyes pointed toward the floor but unfocused, and whispered, "I want to carry you over the threshold."

About ten seconds passed while both stood deadly still and silent on the porch in the late afternoon before Kurt's face succumbed to a slowly-growing smile. Kurt wanted to be cranky and impatient, but his baser moods were no match for David's optimistic gallantry.

When Kurt raised his hand to cover his increasingly smiling face in a partial facepalm, David knew that he had won. He extended his left arm, and Kurt leaned into it, reaching his arm over David's shoulders in the same motion. David slid his right arm under Kurt's thighs, and Kurt jumped as if on cue. The lift seemed effortless; and David carried Kurt through the double doors, twisted the knob on the inner door, opening it, and carried Kurt into the foyer of their new house.

Once inside, Kurt lifted his other arm around David's shoulders as well and pulled David into a kiss. After a moment, David gently dropped Kurt to a standing postion as he they both walked out to the porch to collect the luggage they'd left there.

They made several additional trips to their cars. Kurt had driven his Navigator from Lima to Pittsburgh, following David's truck, and the majority of their wedding gifts, many still unopened, were transported via Kurt's car.

After moving luggage, boxes, and wedding gifts from vehicle to the floor of the great-room, Kurt and David found themselves sitting close to each other on the couch, each sipping from a glass of iced tea.

"Did I tell you that we got a card from Sam last week?" David asked.

"Yes, you did," Kurt answered. "I knew he couldn't make our wedding. I had talked to him about a month ago."

"He sent the RSVP back saying he wouldn't come," David mentioned. "His card is over on the dining room table if you want to see it. Nice guy, that Sam is."

Kurt smiled and nodded.

"Oh, that reminds me," David stood and placed his glass on the coffee-table, "I'm gonna go grab the mail."

David walked through front doors to the outside and reached into the mailbox which was fixed to the wall. The contents was a large handful of things which he brought back inside, closing the doors behind him.

"Lotsa junk mail," David rifled through a disheveled mass of sale circulars and advertisements, discarding them. There were a handful of envelopes, mostly bills, but one curious one, the size and shape of a greeting card.

"Looks like we got another card," David mentioned as he approached the couch. "It's got one of those melted wax seals on the back with the initial 'S'."

Kurt faced upward at the curious item, the red blob of wax visible from his vantage point.

"It's addressed to both of us," David mentioned, his face visibly puzzled. "The return address says 'Smythe'. Do you know who that is?"

Kurt's expression was vague for a moment as he looked into the airspace before him, then his head nodded slightly. "Yeah. Do you remember that guy Sebastian?"

David shook his head, facial expression betraying no memory.

"Okay," Kurt spoke, "you remember that PFLAG meeting you spoke at, there was that tall, thin kid with the shark-fin, light brown hair who you kinda went-off at?"

"Oh, yeah," David's face smiled as he recalled the event and the person. "Is that who this's from?" David asked as he passed the envelope to Kurt.

"Only one way to find out," Kurt spoke as he ran his finger beneath the flap of the envelope, breaking the seal.

There was a card inside with an image of the silhouettes of the profiles of two men facing each other as if about to kiss and a deep red rose in the foreground.

"Gay-specific wedding card," David commented, observing the image, impressed.

Kurt opened the card, and a folded piece of sheer vellum slid out. Kurt caught it and unfolded it to reveal a brief, handwritten letter.

"His handwriting is almost as nice as yours is, Kurt," David commented.

"Not even close," Kurt grumbled with a smirk as he held out the paper for both of them to read.

Dear Kurt and David,

I'd like to congratulate the both of you for your wedding. Blaine told me about it, and I thought it would be appropriate to send you a card. I'm wishing for you a lifetime of happiness together.

I travel a great deal for work, and I'm often in your area if you'd ever like to get together. My contact information is at the end of this letter, and I can guarantee a more pleasant experience than any of the times we've met in the past.

Once again, I wish you congratulations and much happiness.

Sincerely,

Sebastian Smythe

"That's just weird," Kurt commented as he refolded the letter and slid it, with the card, back into the envelope, his tone more bafflement than distaste.

"Eh," David shrugged, "Maybe he's actually a good guy now." David leaned back into the couch, taking Kurt into his arms. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to shoot him an email and have him over for dinner next time he's around the area like he said."

"I guess that'd be okay," Kurt said quietly. "When do you go back to work?" Kurt asked.

"I gotta be back at work Thursday morning," David answered, "but I'm on call until then, so we could be getting phone calls from the office at any time."

"No problem," Kurt answered. "I can live with that."

David reclined back further onto the couch, taking Kurt more comfortably into his arms, holding him closer. "The real honeymoon will hafta wait until next year."

Kurt shook his head. "That's not a problem. I have everything I could want right here."

Referenced songs:

"In My Life" by the Beatles
"Invitation to the Dance" by Carl Maria von Weber
"Be My Baby" by the Ronettes
"At My Most Beautiful" by REM (yes, again)

Referenced film: Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)