The Lead Up to The End

A/N: So, Fluff won, but well, enough people convinced me to post an alternate ending. For those who want all the good stuff, please scroll down about half-way down the page to the second Author's Note. That's where the fluff is. For those Angst junkies like me, the first part is yours, which by the way, was the original ending. Enough of this, please read on and do not forget to tell me which you liked better (if you read both, that is).

By the way, just to let you know, if something here seems… off… well, I'm listening to/ watching Jim Cantiello's Season 4 Gleecaps while I'm typing this, so my head's not into this 100%, just so you know…

Again, Version A is ANGST and I was crying when I was typing it up –and I don't just cry for no reason. Tissues please. Version B is FLUFF and Dar was rolling his eyes at it and he absolutely gets miffed by sappiness. You've been warned.

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PART FOUR: TEENAGE DREAM (Version A) (Prompts: Plaster, Saccharine, Teenage Dream, Blazer, Numb)

The first thing Kurt realized when he had opened his eyes, was that there was too much light. He brought a hand to shield himself from the glare of the sun. It was just too bright. Way too bright. For a moment, his glass eyes lingered on his knuckles –they were still raw and sore from the events of yesterday. The wall next to his bedroom door did not stand a chance. However, pain still managed to elude him while he beat the plaster senseless. It was only now that he felt the sting. Still, it was nothing compared to how painful it had been for him to breathe.

Ten hours. He had arrived from New York 10 hours ago. Twelve hours since his phone's screen cracked. And it only hit him full force just now.

From the airport he was welcomed by a raw-faced Sam and a stoic Cooper. He barely noticed them. He mechanically returned their half-hearted hugs and climbed in at the back of Cooper's Escalade. Sam rode shotgun. They had been throwing him surreptitious looks from the rearview mirror during the duration of the ride –not that Kurt actually noticed. His mind was far away, still trying to make sense of everything.

The last time he saw Blaine, the hazel-eyed young man bade him goodbye. Kurt's eyes welled up with tears at that memory.

'Did you know, Blaine? Did you somehow know that was the last time I'd ever see you?'

Cooper was quietly discussing something with Sam up front. The blonde was nodding in agreement to what the older man had said. Kurt's ears however were trained onto something else.

"I'll do it for you… Goodbye, Kurt."

Kurt bit his lip until it drew blood. He closed his eyes.

"Goodbye, Kurt."

Goodbye.

"Kurt?" Cooper brought him out of that painful trance. The man's hazel eyes, so much alike yet so different from his younger brother's were locked onto Kurt's aquamarines from the rearview mirror. "I was wondering if you would like me to drive you to your house first to freshen up?" Cooper's tone was expectant, but Kurt could sense the underlying command in there. He nodded. The rest of the drive went by in relative silence. Until Sam decided that the quiet was too much, and fiddled with the car's stereo.

Let's go all the way tonight, no regrets just love…

Katy Perry's saccharine voice cut through the somber mood like a dull hacksaw.

We can dance until we die, you and I, we'll be young forever…

And in that moment, Kurt was brought back to another pocket of time and space, where that song meant blazers and ties and blushes and kisses –where it also meant heartache and tears and loss of trust, confessions underneath a starlit sky. Somehow, the two images went hand in hand, one never leaving the other.

But right then, in that unfamiliar escalade, Kurt just felt numb. No love, no regrets, just nothingness. He wordlessly slid off the leather seat thirty minutes later and was met by a smiling Burt Hummel standing by the front door. The smile was fake, Kurt could tell, a front his dad would put up whenever he knew Kurt was having a tough time, a front Burt had not had to use since Elizabeth Hummel's death more than a decade ago.

Kurt returned the pseudo-smile, pushed past his father and wordlessly locked himself in his old room. After a couple of aimless hits at his wall, Kurt almost crawled to his bed and as soon as his head hit the pillows that Carole had turned down for him, he was out.

That was ten hours ago. His head hurt, his eyes stung, and his lungs labored with each and every breath. No matter, he needed to keep going. Cooper would be back in a couple of hours to take him to Westerville.

To Blaine.

Kurt pushed the covers off of him and robotically went through the motions of getting into the shower.

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PART FIVE: FIND ME (Version A) (Prompts: Snow White, Find Me, Prince, Magic, Saline)

(Song Featured: Find Me by David Gates –please listen to it if you're not familiar. It'll help.)

Blaine Anderson loved fairytales. Growing up, his favorite had been Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He absolutely adored the story, especially the part when the Prince woke the slumbering princess up with a magical kiss.

Cooper remembered. Of all the things he knew about Blaine, it was the one thing that he never forgot. The youngest Anderson's casket was fashioned out of thick glass like Snow White's had been. It rested atop a wide marble plinth, nestled amongst red and yellow roses. Blaine looked like he was sleeping; his dark curls were loose, his long lashes unmoving, his cheeks pale, his red lips still. He was dressed in a stark-white three-piece suit accented by a black bowtie. He lay in that glass coffin like Snow White did, as she awaited the arrival of her prince. The only difference was, no kiss, magical or not, would ever wake Blaine –and there was nothing that his own prince could do about it.

Kurt Hummel was not your typical prince. For one, his current outfit of a black button-down shirt and dark gray jeans, and black leather boots did not scream 'princely.' His hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot. He did not arrive in style atop a noble steed. Instead, he quietly slipped inside the chapel using an obscure side entrance.

He saw the glass casket and let out a broken sob. Cooper had earlier briefed him on what to expect, but seeing it for himself was an entirely different matter.

As Cooper was preparing Blaine's clothes, he chanced upon his younger brother's journal, a small but thick leather-bound notebook buried in the depths of his closet. An unseen force of the universe made Cooper pull it out of its ill-concealed hiding place behind Blaine's Dalton Academy Blazer, and when he flipped it open to check it out, he was glad that he did.

The final page of Blaine's journal was a beautifully morbid collection of Blaine's idea for his own funeral. Cooper held back a sob as he perused the miniscule scribbled down notes. By the time he reached the last item, tears were running down his cheeks:

# 26: "I have prepared a video for Kurt. I made it when I said goodbye to him. I don't know how things will be between us by the time I die, but I certainly hope he gets to see it… know how much he means to me. I never told anyone of this journal, but I'm thinking Coop or anyone else might snoop around when I'm already gone. Please, no matter how long it takes, let Kurt watch the video. I can't bear the thought of him not knowing. The DVD I made is hidden in a shoebox under my bed."

Cooper reverently sought the said shoe box. Blaine might've intended this for a future long to come, but now, now was the time. He drove Kurt to the Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel in Westerville, not before clearing the chapel out for this final special favor he was to fulfill for his little 'squirt.' He had politely asked the other mourners to retire to a nearby café for about half an hour before pushing Kurt inside the now deserted space.

Now Kurt was alone with Blaine. Cooper went to the Projector room behind the main altar where the congregation usually had their gospel song lyrics put up on display for when Mass was celebrated so people could follow them. Now, the projector would serve another more important purpose.

Kurt stood frozen, unsure of what to do next. He was torn between approaching Blaine and bolting out of the door. Was he really strong enough to do this? See Blaine like this? But again, his indecision was remedied by his knight-in-shining armor. Even from beyond, Blaine always came to his rescue.

"Hey, Kurt. I hope someone was able to get in touch with you to see this video I made. And I hope that you consent to watching me one final time."

The moment Blaine's voice came on, Kurt knew that he had to stay. The projection screen to the right of the main altar glowed to life with the cheesy grin of his – his soul mate.

"Don't hate me for saying this, but I –I have always known that I will die ahead of you. But God, I hope it was a rather cliché and cheesy death that would rather have you laughing instead of crying as you remember me by. Something like getting choked by a bowtie or dying in my sleep while the movie Moulin Rouge was playing on my old DVD player."

Blaine's face was as bright and as cheery as it could be, considering that when he had made the video, he had just said goodbye to the love of his life.

"The day I made this, was the day I told you goodbye. You have no idea how much I had wanted for it to be the opposite. I told you I'll be moving to California with Coop. I told you that I'd be giving up on Broadway and performing. I told you that –well, I lied. I'm sorry I lied. I know I should've fought for us, should've held on, but as I've told you, you deserve better, Kurt."

Kurt found himself gripping the nearest pew. His heart was going a mile a minute.

"You deserve someone you could trust, someone you could count on not to let go when the going gets tough. Between us two, you were always the stronger one, the fighter. You were my courage, Kurt. You should be with someone who can support you and not drag you down. I don't know when you will see this video, but the only thing I'm certain is that I'll try my best to be the man that you deserve while I'm away. I don't know how long it will take me, but I promise to do that. Now I know that you're thinking, 'what the hell is he talking about? He's dead now!' Well, I was planning to delete this altogether if we do get back together. But sadly, for some reason it seems that we didn't since you're watching this video. Either I died earlier than I expected or by the time I was ready to face you again, you were already happy with someone else. I'm hoping for the latter."

Kurt's knees lost all the will to keep him up. He ended up slumped on the polished chapel floor, tears streaming from his eyes.

"So yeah, I guess Fate fucked up. I was so sure you were my soul mate. Now I know you don't believe in the afterlife, but I sure do hope it's real, just so I could come and greet you when you decide it's time to leave the world with all your fabulousness and say 'I told you so.' Mostly it would be just so I could tell you how sorry I am that I never made the effort… well, yeah, you get the picture. Anyway, until then –because I know that we will see each other again and maybe I'd get another chance to be with you in that other life time. Until then, there is a song I'd want you to listen to. I know, I know, you'd be rolling your eyes and say 'not another Katy Perry song' but, no it's not. Kurt –"

Blaine paused at this point, evidently trying to compose himself as he picked up his guitar that was behind him at that time it seemed. Kurt took the chance to take a deep breath. When Blaine came back on the screen, his eyes were red; he had obviously been rubbing them in an attempt to keep his own tears at bay. His smile resumed as he faced the screen.

"Remember how 'Come What May' supposed to be our wedding song? Although that song still embodies everything that I felt for you, there is this song that I recently heard on the radio… And when you told me that you have already moved on, I thought… well, just listen to it, okay? And pardon the raspiness…"

The soothing sound of Blaine's guitar came on, and Kurt was transported to reality where time never moved on and everything was alright…

The skies are not as blue, when you're not with me
The stars, they never seem to shine as bright
And the hours crack like days across the ages
And a year or two pass by with every night.
It makes me know if i should ever leave this world before you do
When you follow you must promise, cross your heart and promise to

Find me...look hard, and don't stop, I'll be waiting 'till then
Don't sleep, and don't eat 'till I'm back, back in your arms again
I don't wanna have to spend all my forever without you.
Just knowing that you're out there somewhere too.
So darlin...please I'm begging you on bended knee...
Find me...

I've tried to tell this world how much I love you.
But they don't understand how deep it goes.
And I can't even find the words to tell you
So I'm the only one who really knows.
And though we have our times together, I am always wanting more
So if we get separated wont you do just like before and

Find me...look hard and don't stop, I'll be waiting 'till then
Don't sleep, and don't eat 'till I'm back, back in your arms again
Through a hundred million faces you will see me shinning through.
'Cause I'll glow when you come close , I always do.
So darlin' please Im begging you on bended knee..
We can share our love through all eternity
'Cause with you is all I ever wanna be...
Find me

All the while, Kurt was clutching desperately at his chest where his heart was supposed to be as he tried so hard not to let out the wracking sobs that were threatening to breach his lips. But his heart wasn't there. The first note of the song was enough to tell him that his heart was no longer with him but with the man singing to him… the one and only man who made him love and ache in a way that no other ever could. As the final strains of Blaine's guitar sounded, Kurt could no longer hold back. He let out a deep, primal, broken wail of necessity.

"BLAAAINE!"

"So there, heh. I'm not really good at expressing my feelings through words, but I hope the song was enough. Wherever I am Kurt, know that I'll be waiting. Yeah –that."

Blaine set his guitar down the floor and sheepishly grinned at the camera.

"Don't cry Kurty. You can't cry for me. I love you. I won't say no more, because if I go on…"

Whatever Blaine had intended to say was lost in the curly-haired man's bitter sobs of his own.

"Th- that happens. So yeah, I'll see you Kurt."

The projector blinked off, returning to its usual state of blankness. Kurt dutifully pushed himself off the floor, nevermore determined to get closer to the other half of his heart, his life, his soul.

Blaine looked beautiful, perfect, peaceful. Kurt approached on shaky legs. The area was empty still. The trek cost him but a few seconds, but every step towards Blaine had seemingly felt like a lifetime to him. He stopped at the foot of the glass case, wondering if now was the time to believe in fairytales. Kurt was always the cynical one between the two of them. The glass-eyed countertenor found his hands reverently caressing the cold, smooth surface. 'So near yet so far' had always been just a cliché phrase to him, until then…

But he had to try, did he not?

"I will, Blaine. Even if the afterlife didn't exist… I will dream it into life."

Gently, Kurt pressed a soft kiss on the glass right above Blaine's lips. There was at least six inches separating them, but to Kurt, it was as if he was miles away in cold, dark, and gray New York and Blaine was in warm, bright and sunny California.

Kurt had wanted to hold his breath and see if a magical kiss was all it took to wake up his sleeping prince, but he knew deep within him that no matter how much he desired for it to be real, it was too late to be caught up in all the childhood innocence of happily ever after. He pulled away, staring at Blaine's ever-still lips. He may forever be the cynic.

"I will. I will find you, Blaine. This doesn't end here, you hear me? Because you and me- we're endgame. Maybe not in this lifetime, but –" Kurt let out a shuddering gasp as the tears started to fall once again.

"I will find you Blaine, wait for me. Then we can continue our forever."

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A/N: Yeah, there's that. *sniffles. You can pause for a while, while you wipe off the snot running off your noses. Those wanting the fluff, here's your cue. Again, I do hope you still decide to read the angst if you had avoided it. It's one of the most moving ones I'd ever written and I never compliment myself, so… Anyway, without further ado, here's Version B. Again, enjoy.

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PART FOUR: TEENAGE DREAM (Version B) (Prompts: Teenage Dream, Alarm, Sunny, Regrets, Realization)

Kurt let out a strangled gasp as he woke up to his blaring alarm. The early New York sun burned holes through his eyes. He closed his lids, trying hard to remember why he felt like a herd of rampaging dodo birds trampled all over him –twice. Gaga, when did New York get so sunny? And then, it hit him.

This wasn't New York. And he wasn't in his makeshift room in the loft he had shared with Rachel and Santana. And that wasn't his alarm.

Kurt pushed off the familiar cream colored comforter off himself and his sturdy double bed inside his old room in his dad's house in Lima, Ohio. The second they touched the floor, Kurt's eyes were busy looking around for the source of that disturbance: his phone. A minute and a half later, he found the offending piece of convenient technology right where he left it last night –under his pillow. With a shaky tumb, he swiped across the screen and answered the call.

"Hello?" Kurt whispered, dreading the reply to come from the other end. "B-Blaine?"

"Uh no, it's Sam." Came the painful confirmation.

"Sam, why are you still using Blaine's phone to call me? Don't you have your own?" The return barb was meant to be bitchy, but it lacked its usual venom, 'Not now.' Kurt thought ruefully.

"Yeah, well, um, it broke- from the stampede in the shooting incident, you see, and –"

"Use Finn's for fuck's sake! Stop using –a dead man's phone! And why is it even with you? That should be with- with his family! For crying out loud!" Kurt knew that he was probably loud enough to wake the dead, but he didn't care. He would yell and scream as he damn well please!

"Whoa –dead –slow down, dude!" He heard Sam say on the other end. "I have no clue what you're talking about –and Finn's not here so I can't borrow his phone. He went off to go to college remember, getting his teaching degree? I'm at Blaine's house so I'm using his phone. Why are you so worked up? I'm just trying to be a good friend to both of you, okay? God knows how much pain you stubbornly subject yourselves into without needing to. I mean what was that that happened yesterday? I was there, and Blaine's audition went well, and then he calls me, pissed drunk –"

Wait. What?

"W-wait. WHAT?" Kurt almost wished he could yank Sam out of the phone's receiving end. "Evans –Say that again!"

"Uh, which one? Geez, Kurt. Is that a trick question?" Kurt ignored the sudden urge to face palm.

"The part about Blaine –wait –he's there –with YOU –as in –RIGHT NOW? He's –he's alive? BLAINE IS ALIVE?"

"Kurt, were you drunk too or something?" The unease in Sam's voice was radiating off in waves. "Is this a bad time? Maybe I should call some other time –"

"Just answer the damn question, Evans!"

"Un, which one?"

"SAMUEL LLOYD EVANS –"

"Fine, fine. I'll humor you," said Sam, his tone bordering on patronizing. "Your wasted sort of ex-boyfriend is living and breathing. He's passed out but that's the usual effect of inhaling liters of illegally acquired booze. He's bound to wake up soon though. There? All good?"

Kurt felt his heart stop –for an entirely different reason this time. Was the last 24 hours but a dream? A horribly realistic nightmare?

"You're telling me –you're telling me the truth?"

"Yes!" Sam sighed exasperatedly. "Why would I lie about something like that, Kurt? Blaine's fine. But he's abound to wake up with an incredibly sore back, a stiff neck and a pounding headache. Wait is he allergic to tomatoes? I don't know. But Puck told me about this hang over remedy with tomato juice and half a bottle of hot sauce and I was wondering if –"

"But –the shooting – Blaine –he he didn't get hurt?" Kurt had to know, ignoring Sam's litany about Puck's miracle hangover cure. He could almost see the blonde roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Seriously man, are you sure you're not hung over as well? The shooting was a week ago –it was a false alarm. I thought Tina already told you. It was Coach Sue's gun that misfired. She was sacked afterwards. There was a stampede where I unfortunately lost my phone –and it was entirely Jacob Ben Israel's fault, but people barely got some scratches. Now, will you get your head cleared and talk to me? It's time for an intervention, Hummel. You and Blaine belong to each other. I know Brits have cool accents, but really –"

"Blaine… he's alive…" Kurt barely heard the rest of Sam's words, as in a sense of weirdly twisted déjà vu, he dropped his phone on the carpeted floor of his bedroom, hit utterly relieved body, following suit. Kurt closed his eyes in a silent prayer of thanksgiving to whatever powers that may be as he clutched the earlier discarded comforter next to him like a lifeline.

"He's alive." Suddenly, the warmth, the sunlight, the world made so much sense. Kurt fought the urge to pinch himself to check if the reality he was experiencing now was indeed genuine. Instead, he settled for banging his forehead on the floor. When it stung, Kurt's face was torn between tears, and the biggest smile he had worn since breaking up with Blaine. The feeling of realization then hit him, full force. He stood up from his not so cozy spot on the floor, threw on the first jacket that he could, grabbed the keys to his Navigator and bolted out the door.

There would be no more regrets.

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PART FIVE: MY ONE AND ONLY YOU (Version B) (Prompts: Bathroom, Citrus, Undress, Role, Staircase)

(Song Featured: My One and Only You by Parokya ni Edgar –do listen to this song. I know that only a few of you (mostly Filipino Gleeks) would be familiar with this. Trust me, it is the PERFECT Klaine reconciliation song.)

Kurt parked his Navigator under the shade of an old oak tree. The engine had barely had time to fully rest when he pulled out his keys off the ignition and jumped off his seat. Half-running, he made the short distance from his car to the Andersons' front door in record time. Deftly, he disabled the security alarm as Blaine had once taught him, He closed the door behind him with a soft click.

"Who –Kurt?" Sam's blonde head peeped from the kitchen entry way. Kurt nodded and brought a finger to his lips to shush the younger boy. He quietly made his way towards him.

"He's in the showers still, I think. I've just managed to get him to go –I had to threaten him that I would throw out his citrus scented bath gel –don't know how, but it worked."

"I gave him that," said Kurt, intermittently looking at Sam and at the staircase leading up to Blaine's room. "I can't stay long, but I have –"

"Whoa, whoa, wait." Sam interrupted him. "This has got to stop. You guys have to talk it out. You can't just dance around each other forever when you both know that you two are end game. You're going to talk to him as soon as he finishes his shower and is decent enough."

Kurt shook his head.

"Not now, Sam –"

""No, you talk. I haven't seen Blaine look so broken like that, and that's saying something." Sam insisted. "Not when he came back from New York, not when you called him with news about that Adam dude –"

"I know, that's why I have a plan!" Kurt snapped at him. Sam looked shocked for a while, but that quickly turned to a wide grin.

"Are we smelling an epic 'getting-back-together' conspiracy here, Hummel?"

Kurt could not help himself but mirror the younger boy's grin.

"Yes – yes I am! Now quit interrupting me with your ill-placed high and mighty lectures and help me get my plan going!"

"Alright! Operation Nightbird is on!" Sam quipped. At Kurt's partially blank look, he clarified. "Blaine's superhero alter ego is Nightbird. And I, Blonde Chameleon, am ready for some action. Kurt, quick – you need a superhero code name!"

"NO!"

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Blaine sighed. When he had stepped out of the showers, Sam was miraculously already gone, leaving him with a note on his bed:

Meet me at the Auditorium. We have an audition to oversee. –Sam

Disregarding the fact that it was a Saturday, meaning school was supposedly out, and that he had no knowledge of any play or musical that needed auditions for and Glee wasn't really looking for new members, not when they were so close to Regionals, Blaine drove his Prius to McKinley High. Sam had been so supportive of his ugly lapse in judgment last night –ugh, he was never drinking again, ever –he can't just bail out on his friend. Well, if Sam did have a phone, Blaine would've been sorely tempted to just text him with an excuse, but the blonde didn't, so Blaine might as well drive over and meet with him. It should probably take his mind off of things for a while anyway. Probably. Not. He pushed the thoughts of yesterday away the best that he could.

After parking haphazardly, Blaine jogged all the way towards the auditorium, which was surprisingly empty. Wasn't there supposed to be an audition? Where was everyone else? Blaine was walking down the center aisle from the audience entrance when he noticed Sam on the stage, grinning at him.

"What took you so long?"

"Where's everybody? I thought we were here to oversee an audition. What's it for anyway?" Blaine asked as he neared the stage. To his utter confusion, Sam walked off, stage right, as the first strains of an acoustic guitar sounded from the auditorium speakers. The spotlights went off except for one in the middle, and for a second, Blaine thought he was seeing things.

"Hi, my name is Kurt Hummel. And I'm auditioning for the role of Blaine Anderson's boyfriend. Again."

Kurt. Kurt was standing in the middle of the stage, and all that Blaine could do was stare. Was this really happening? The hazel-eyed boy was frozen in his spot, trying hard not to blink, worried that if he closed his eyes one bit, Kurt would disappear.

It took one look
And forever laid out in front of me
One smile then I died
Only to be revived by you

There I was
Thought I had everything figured out
Goes to show just how much I know
'Bout the way life plays out

I take one step away
But I find myself coming back to you
My one and only, one and only you, ooh

Kurt was singing. Kurt was singing to him after he had deliberately pushed the older boy away. Kurt, the love of his life was singing to him, wanting to be with him again. After all the lies he had spun to push the only one he'd ever loved away, this was Kurt's way of coming back to him – to them. Blaine felt his breath hitching as it did the first time he saw Kurt on that staircase.

Now I know
That I know not a thing at all
Except the fact that I am yours
And that you are mine

Ooh

They told me that this wouldn't be easy
And no
I'm not one to complain
I take one step away
But I find myself coming back to you
My one and only, one and only you

Kurt placed everything and all that he had felt for Blaine in this one song. This had to work. It just had to. This was all of him –and all of him, he would surrender to Blaine, pride, trust and love, forever, always and eternity. There was no way he was letting anything get in the way of this. Life was too short. And if the dream he had last night was fate's way of telling him to shape up, then he would gladly do so.

I take one step away
But I find myself coming back to you
My one and only, one and only you

The final bars of the song faded away. Kurt's heart was thumping madly. With a soft smile, he met Blaine's gaze. "So, how did I do?"

Blaine was still seemingly stuck in his own fantasies. Kurt took the initiative. He jumped off the stage and walked towards the younger boy.

"I won't."

That seemed to have woken Blaine out of his stupor.

"You won't what?" Blaine asked, still clearly in disbelief over what had just transpired in the last five minutes or so. "Why –why are you here, Kurt? Aren't you supposed to be back in New York with your boyfriend?" The tone was both bitter and resigned. Kurt took a step closer.

"Well, you see, that's the thing. My boyfriend can't come with me to New York. Not until July. At least I hope he would reconsider doing so after his graduation." Blaine's eyes widened.

"You –WHAT?"

A small smile found its way to Kurt's lips.

"I know it might be too presumptuous of me, but you can't just leave and escape to California. You have a role to play, Mr. Anderson, should you choose to accept it."

"And –and that is?" Blaine asked. "Kurt, if this is–"

"My leading man, of course. What else?" Kurt declared with an almost smug smile on his lips. "Satine needs her Christian. Elphaba needs Fiyero. Heck, Ginny Weasley needs her Harry Potter –"

"But Adam –"

"Was just a stand in." Kurt finished, his gaze never leaving Blaine's. "All this time, I've been letting me hurt pride get in the way of what my heart truly feels. But no more. There's no other one I'd rather have beside me creating and fulfilling my dreams –our dreams with. Last night, I don't know exactly what it was, a dream, a nightmare, an alternate reality… but all I know is that in that time and space, I lost you and –" Kurt shook his head as if willing away the ugly thoughts plaguing him since waking up that morning. "All I know is that I cannot let that happen. Not when I have the choice –the choice to keep you beside me for as long as I could." Kurt's arms found its way circling the younger boy's waist. When Blaine did not shy away, he tightened the embrace. Blaine flushed.

"It –it won't be easy." The younger boy sighed. "How –how do we get it back to the way it was before, Kurt? How – how do I earn back the trust I've lost?"

"We don't go back to the way things were, Blaine." Kurt tore his eyes away from those gorgeous hazels and buried his face in the crook of Blaine's neck. Despite being the taller one, Kurt had always felt that fitted in the small nook perfectly. He breathed in the distinctly familiar scent of the only man he would love in any lifetime. "We make it even better. We'll take it one day at a time."

"Kurt, are you –are you sure?" Blaine asked, sounding almost scared. "I –I pushed you away."

"Do you not read, Anderson? Soul mates are forever. No matter how hard you try to push the other away, no matter how you try to escape each other's presence, they would always end up in each other's lives. You and I are endgame, Blaine Devon Anderson. No force in this universe can ever keep us apart –not the distance, not time, not –death. Kurt's voice shook considerably with that last word. "I know I asked for time and space –but I've had it with waiting –"

"Oh god, Kurt." Blaine gasped as he tightened his grip around the older boy. "I –I don't know what to say." The hazel-eyed man sounded half-triumphant and half-lost at the same time. "I thought – I thought we were over –I thought I lost you forever, and now –"

"Shh…" Kurt pulled away and looked into Blaine's now teary eyes. "Stop thinking, baby. We're back together and that's what counts. I'll never say goodbye to you Blaine, and it would be foolish of me to let you do so. So I won't. Ever." Then, bestowing a gentle kiss on Blaine's slightly parted lips, "I love you. Come what may. Until the end of time, and all that we've promised each other before. And just so its official, Blaine, would you be my boyfriend again?"

Blaine let out a choked sob. Letting out a long overdue a sigh of relief, he returned the chaste peck with fervor.

"Yes. God, Kurt. Yes."

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A/N: See? I'm not so bad. Blaine lives, hurray! I should tell you that there is an epilogue. And yeah, Dar's just informed me that this is the LONGEST chapter I've ever written. Ever. Like in my history of writing. So please, please, please, if you liked it, hated it or just plain ambivalent, please review! I may be inspired to post the HAPPY EPILOGUE soon enough. And yeah, if you've read both versions, please take special time to tell me which is better. I think I write better angst, but if you think otherwise, please drop me a line. I want to know which areas of my writing to improve on (except the typos –no matter what I do, there are those). A sequel is in the works as well, stuff that I think should be in Season 5, but that's still eons away. I have a lot on my plate right now and I'm still on and off sick, so there's that too. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed this. Until next time –C.

P.S. Talk to me: Twitter (..a..t..) heyitschesca or Facebook as eastwoodgirl.