Klaine Princess Diaries part 5
Mar. 13th, 2012 12:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tigriswolf Blaine went to bed without checking the news. He wished Kurt could’ve spent the night, but Burt dragged him away once Carole and Finn calmed enough to listen to Grandmother.
Carole had hugged Blaine after she realized he was the prince everyone’d been talking about. Finn had stared at Grandmother and Joseph, mouth moving like he wanted to say something, but he looked at Kurt and kept it to himself.
So Kurt, Burt, Carole, and Finn went home with their suits, and Blaine was left with Dad, Grandmother, Joseph, and the remaining army of suits.
Grandmother stayed for dinner, then she and all but two suits and Joseph left as well.
Blaine didn’t really sleep that night. He wasn’t at all looking forward to the next day – either everyone would hate him even more (but be unable to act on it because of Joseph) or he’d suddenly be the most popular boy in school. He honestly wasn’t sure which would be worse.
His phone chimed with a new text. It had exploded earlier, with calls, texts, and emails from New Directions and the Warblers, but he hadn’t replied to any. He picked the phone up: Wes. Barely a second later, David sent something, too.
Blaine owed them his life; he read the texts. Warbler Blaine, are you well? (Wes) and Blaine text me back! The news has gone crazy dude (David).
Blaine sighed and replied to both with, Im fine. Everythings crazy guys. Im a prince. Weird huh? He figured they’d been waiting till they both had a moment, since they were a continent apart.
I got panicked texts from all of last year’s Warblers, Wes sent. You didn’t reply to any of them, so they contacted me.
Blaine chuckled. I’m a bit overwhelmed you know. I’ll call tom or visit Dalton.
So all those news reportsare REAL? David asked. Blaine could just see his expression of disbelief changing to excitement. Dude!
Dude yeah, Blaine replied. He sighed, then sent to both of them, Im tired. Well talk tom. Thank you.
Night, David said. Goodnight, Blaine, Wes sent. Don’t worry too much.
Blaine smiled, then texted Grandma, Will you swing by soon? I need a hug. He left Grandmom a voicemail, rambling for five minutes about Grandmother, decapitation, and Kurt.
He texted Kurt, I love you, babe. He held his phone until Kurt replied, I love you, too, sweetie. Now go to sleep. Big day tom. I’ll be over in the morning to dress you.
Still smiling, Blaine set his phone on the table next to his bed. Tomorrow didn’t seem so scary anymore.
.
Blaine didn’t wake up till he felt the bed dip and heard Kurt sing, “Gotta get up, gotta get goin’, gonna see a friend of mine.” He kept his eyes closed, though, and reached up blindly, pulling Kurt down on top of him.
Kurt laughed and slid off him, tugging at Blaine to turn him over. “Time to get up, love,” he whispered. “We need to show all those doubters and haters that they can’t touch us.”
Blaine opened his eyes and smiled up at Kurt, who looked amazing, like always. Blaine liked fashion well enough, but he had no idea how Kurt could constantly put together such awesome outfits. “I’m not going to look as good as you, Kurt,” he said.
Kurt raised an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge, Blaine Warbler? Because there is a world out there waiting to stare at you, and we will give them something to stare at.”
Sighing, Blaine allowed Kurt to pull him out of bed.
“Joseph and your dad are downstairs talking to, um, Smith? And my bodyguard is on his way, apparently,” Kurt told him, pushing him towards the door. Blaine headed for the bathroom, where he stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, then went about his usual routine. By the time he made it back to his bedroom, Kurt had an entire outfit chosen. He helped Blaine into it (unnecessary, of course, but he kept caressing Blaine’s skin, and it felt so wonderful) and when Blaine was fully dressed, Kurt kissed him, long and deep.
“You ready?” Kurt asked softly as he leaned back. His hands rested on Blaine’s waist, and one moved to Blaine’s cheek.
“Yeah.” Blaine nodded and caught Kurt’s hand with his own. He took a deep breath and, with Kurt right behind him, strode from his room.
.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” Joseph said as they walked into the kitchen. Dad smiled and handed them each a plate of eggs and toast.
“Thank you, sir,” Kurt said, taking his to the table.
“Spencer will be here shortly,” Joseph told Kurt. “Marcom has returned to your father.”
“Um, thanks,” Kurt said with an awkward smile, putting some salt and pepper on his eggs. Blaine sat next to him and spread strawberry jelly on his toast.
Dad and Joseph discussed the day’s headlines while Kurt and Blaine ate in silence. Two suits – Kendrick? Eaton? Blaine really needed to learn all their names – lurked around, and just as Blaine drained his milk, Joseph said, “Spencer is here.”
Kurt looked up as a new suit walked into the kitchen, looking just like all the rest. “Spencer, meet Kurt Hummel and His Highness, Blaine Anderson,” Joseph said. “Kurt, this is Eliot Spencer. He’ll be your bodyguard for as long as you’re the Prince Consort.”
Kurt blushed as Blaine leaned over to whisper, “A lifetime, then.” He really liked Kurt’s blush.
“Sir,” Spencer said to Joseph, before looking at Kurt and Blaine. “Your Highness, Mr. Hummel.”
“Hello, Mr. Spencer,” Kurt said. “You’ll probably be bored.”
“Eliot or Spencer,” Spencer said. He studied Kurt for a moment before smiling. “And I very much doubt I’ll be bored.”
.
The same suit from yesterday drove the limo. Joseph and Spencer sat with them in the back; Joseph told Spencer last minute details while Blaine complained to Kurt about homework he never even started.
“You’ll get a pass, Your Highness, if any teacher demands an assignment from yesterday,” Joseph said.
“It’s not a big deal,” Blaine replied. “Don’t worry about it.”
Spencer smiled, ducking his head, and Kurt took Blaine’s hand, murmuring, “Let Joseph frighten teachers if he wants.”
.
At school, the driver opened the door. Joseph got out first, then Spencer, then Kurt, and finally Blaine.
Of course a crowd had gathered. Blaine tried to ignore all the gawkers, focusing on Kurt.
As the limo left, Joseph told Spencer, “Principal Figgins’ office first. You’ve memorized the schedule?”
“On the plane,” Spencer confirmed.
Joseph nodded. “Good.” He leveled a steely gaze on the kids in the way and they parted. Joseph and Spencer guided Kurt and Blaine through. Blaine found it almost humiliating, but Kurt was lit up with excitement. It was a taste of the life he’d been imagining for years, and whatever problem he’d had yesterday, he’d overcome it.
Mr. Figgins’ secretary told them to just go in and Joseph thanked her. “Principal Figgins,” he said, “Spencer will stay with Kurt. If you’d like to make an announcement of some sort, feel free.”
Spencer smiled. “Thank you for not makin’ this a hassle, sir,” he said, and Principal Figgins sat up tall in his chair. Kurt smothered his chuckle in a cough, and Blaine pressed his lips firmly together. “I’ll do my best to keep any situation under control,” Spencer continued.
“Of course,” Mr. Figgins said. “Our kids are a handful, but they’re good kids.”
Kurt’s cough covered a scoff this time. Blaine nudged him and Kurt rolled his eyes.
“We’ll not take up any more of your time, Principal Figgins,” Joseph said. “Good day.”
“Yes, have a good day,” Mr. Figgins replied.
“Thank you, sir,” Spencer said, stepping in front of Kurt as they left the office.
Joseph told Spencer, “We’ll meet at the cafeteria door for lunch. Do your best to keep your temper.”
Spencer nodded. Blaine smiled at Kurt and reached for his hand, squeezing it before following Joseph away.
.
It was a long day. Most of Blaine’s teachers ignored Joseph, but Mrs. Weinstein, his history teacher, freaked out and tried to throw him from her room. Joseph simply met her eyes and said, “Where His Highness goes, I go. Her Majesty and Principal Figgins agreed.”
Mrs. Weinstein didn’t listen. After her rant reached the five minute mark, Joseph gently escorted Blaine from the room.
“Where would you like to go, Your Highness?” Joseph asked once they were in the hall.
Blaine looked at him in shock. “You want me to ditch class?”
Joseph said solemnly, “I will speak to Principal Figgins about Mrs. Weinstein. You will not return to her class until she apologizes.”
“Why does she have to apologize?” Blaine asked, heading for the auditorium. “Did her rant bother you that much?”
Joseph laughed, shaking his head. “She will not apologize to me, Your Highness; she will apologize to you.”
“Why?” he asked, letting Joseph open the auditorium door and check for lurkers or something – whatever bodyguards did.
“She disrespected you as a person and the crown you represent,” Joseph said. “And she acted unbecoming for a teacher.”
Blaine chuckled, picking a seat halfway down the aisle. “She’s been – well, I don’t want to say hysterical, but she had a similar meltdown earlier this year. Kurt wore this awesome outfit and –” He paused, remembering that outfit. It had been the second week of school, and combined one of Kurt’s bondage jackets with a dark blue kilt and his ass-kicking boots.
Blaine had been very glad Dad worked late that day.
“Anyway,” he said. “I heard about it later. She yelled about decency and kicked him out. Kurt couldn’t stop laughing.”
Joseph smiled, sitting down next to Blaine. “We have forty minutes until lunch. I’m sure you have questions you hesitated to ask your grandmother.”
Blaine leaned back, putting his feet on the seat in front of him. “Will people really try to kill me?” He didn’t want to believe it, but his collarbone still ached when it rained sometimes. And if people he knew could do that when he was just another theater geek in Ohio… what would people he didn’t know do when he was prince?
“There are people in Genovia who are angry Her Majesty found an heir of the Renaldo bloodline,” Joseph said gently. “There are people who would hurt you because of your future throne.” Joseph paused, reaching out to lift Blaine’s chin with a soft touch. “And, Your Highness, there are people who would not care about you if you were dating a nice girl. But you are not dating a nice girl, and they will hate you for that alone.”
Blaine sighed, slumping back down. “So I’ll have a bodyguard forever?”
“Yes, Your Highness. You would anyway, but we’ll be extra-diligent with you and Mr. Hummel.” Joseph glanced around the empty auditorium. “I know that a place like this is your dream, Blaine. And I am sorry that your duty has changed your life. But you will be a wonderful king for Genovia, of that I’m sure.”
Blaine couldn’t think of a thing to say, so they sat in silence for a few minutes.
Finally, Blaine asked, “Do you think Kurt will stay? He promised, but he has his whole life waiting. He can still go to New York and rule Broadway, or make his own clothing line, or something. I don’t want to ruin his life.” He wiped at his eyes and looked at the floor, sure that Joseph would tell him to buck it up and be man.
Just like princes didn’t serenade boys at the mall, kings-to-be didn’t cry because they thought their soulmates would find something better.
“I believe that Kurt Hummel will stay by your side until you tell him to leave,” Joseph said. “He made that abundantly clear to me yesterday.”
Blaine lifted his head. “Really?”
Joseph smiled. “Really.”
.
For the rest of the time until lunch, Blaine replied to texts and emails from the Warblers. He said basically the same thing to everyone: Yes, it’s real. Thank you for the support. I’ll visit soon.
Joseph made phone-calls and relayed information via earbud to Spencer. Blaine tried not to listen, thinking it’d be rude, but when Joseph laughed and said, “I’m not surprised,” Blaine looked over. Joseph grinned at him, murmuring, “Your boyfriend has awed Spencer.”
Blaine grinned in response, looking back at his phone. All the Warblers had been answered, but there were still a dozen messages from New Directions. Blaine glanced over them and replied to all but Finn’s, which said, dude, wut? It had been sent before Joseph went to get him from Rachel’s. (Rachel’s message had rambled about being the perfect queen to his king. Blaine thanked her but said he’d much prefer her as a star than a spouse.)
When the bell rang, Blaine sighed. “Come, Your Highness,” Joseph said, rising. “Spencer and Mr. Hummel are waiting.”
Blaine stood, shouldering his bag, and trailed behind Joseph.
.
The cafeteria fell silent as Blaine and Kurt stepped in after Joseph and Spencer. Blaine held his head high and refused to let his nervousness show.
Brittany was the first to move; she bounced over, ignoring Joseph and Spencer (somehow – Blaine had no idea how) to grab both Kurt and Blaine’s hands. “C’mon, Lord Tubbington gave me questions for you!”
She dragged them to the table with most of New Directions; Joseph shadowed them silently while Spencer went through the food line with two trays. Brittany pulled Blaine down next to her, across from Tina and Mike. Kurt quickly took his other side.
Brittany babbled at Blaine about tiaras and unicorns; he replied as best he could, holding Kurt’s hand under the table. Joseph stood behind them and Spencer slid the trays in front of them. Blaine waited for a polite moment to turn and ask if they were eating, but Kurt did it for him, so he ate one of the chicken nuggets after Joseph and Spencer declined.
Artie finally broke in, asking, “So, you have bodyguards now?”
Blaine nodded. Artie stared up at Spencer and Joseph, and breathed, “So jealous. I’ll have an army of my own some day.”
Blaine decided not to mention that he already had an army of his own – though, it should be obvious, since he was a prince.
“So, Prince of the Fairies, what’s her name?” Santana asked with a wicked smirk. When Blaine frowned at her, she elaborated, “The hot number waiting to be your queen back home? Surely you have a betrothed?”
“I’m not betrothed,” he said, honestly confused for a moment, before deciding it was just Santana trying to stir up trouble. Like always. “But Grandmother is planning me and Kurt’s wedding.” Bit of a falsehood, but he’d rather not listen to Santana insult them every way possible. And he would marry Kurt some day.
Kurt ducked his head, blushing, as Santana made a rude noise and hand gesture.
“Is this why you stopped participating in New Directions?” Rachel asked, cutting across the entire table.
Blaine looked at her. Finn sat beside her, staring at his tray. Everyone else at the table quieted. “Yes,” he said. “I didn’t have enough energy to deal with Grandmother, school, and being shredded by people who should’ve been my friends. Something had to give.”
Rachel just stared at him. “You should’ve made time for both,” she said after a minute. “And Kurt!” She turned her glare on him. “You have no excuse for abandoning us. You, after all, are not the long-lost heir in need of training to take over a nation.”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “I had no choice, Rachel,” he said. “I chose what was best for me and Blaine. Walking out on glee was like excising a cancer.”
Rachel’s eyes widened, Finn sat up straight, and Mercedes, Tina, and Artie gasped. The rest looked confused. Not all of them knew how Kurt’s mom died, then.
Blaine touched Kurt’s hand. Kurt glanced at him in askance, so Blaine tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. Kurt nodded.
“We won’t be coming back to glee,” Blaine said, standing and picking up his tray. He’d somehow managed to eat half of the chicken nuggets, and wasn’t hungry for more. “We’d like to be friends, if any of you can manage that.” He smiled as Kurt stood next to him, having managed to eat even less. “Thank you, Brittany,” he told her before following Joseph out. Spencer brought up the rear.
.
The rest of the day went better. But by the end of the next day (and having been transferred to a new history class), Blaine was tired of being followed around by Joseph. Or following Joseph around. Both. He still liked Joseph; he thought Joseph was one of the awesomest guys in the world. But Blaine needed his space, and so did Kurt.
One of the Warblers, Sebastian, had invited Blaine by text to Scandals, a gay bar – the only gay bar anywhere close to Lima, apparently. So Blaine asked Kurt to go with him, and they both snuck past Joseph and Spencer, and met in the Scandals parking lot.
“I haven’t done anything like this since I sang on Wicked’s stage,” Kurt laughed, flinging his arms around Blaine.
Blaine laughed, too, and led Kurt in. There was no way their fake IDs passed muster (Grandmother would be livid), but the guy waved them in. Sebastian was at the bar, and he grinned at Blaine, though his expression dimmed when he saw Kurt.
“Hey!” he said. “Blaine, so glad you could make it.”
Blaine smiled at him, keeping one hand tight around Kurt’s. “Sebastian, this is my boyfriend, Kurt. Kurt, this is Sebastian, one of the new Warblers.”
“Hey,” Sebastian said, his grin a little frosty.
Kurt nodded regally. “Hello.” He glanced around Scandals, trying to keep the distaste from his face. “So this is Scandals,” he said. “Seems quite… scandalous.”
“Blaine,” Sebastian said, “dance with me.”
Blaine looked at Kurt, who rolled his eyes. “I’ll get us drinks,” he said. “Go dance.”
Sebastian kept getting closer than Blaine felt comfortable with, and his hands wandered, but on the whole, it was fun. Every few seconds, Blaine looked at Kurt, perched by the bar the entire time, and finally Kurt sauntered over, grinning as he pulled Blaine into a kiss. It was freeing, to be somewhere public and able to kiss without fear.
When they separated, breathless, Blaine was grinning, too.
Sebastian glared at Kurt and said, “Another dance, Blaine?”
“No, thanks,” Blaine shouted over the music, as Kurt put his arms around Blaine, getting in close as possible. Sebastian huffed and stalked back to the bar.
Kurt laughed and leaned in to whisper-shout in Blaine’s ear, “Someone’s jealous.”
Blaine twirled him around, exhilarated at how wonderful it felt to be able to touch and hold and kiss, and he kissed Kurt again and again and again.
.
After less than an hour, Kurt said, “It’s time to go, sweetie. We need to get back before anyone notices.”
They’d migrated to the bar; Blaine downed Cokes because the last (and only) time he got drunk was a disaster, and Kurt had nursed a water for twenty minutes.
“Too shy to stay?” Sebastian asked, smirking nastily at Kurt. He looked at Blaine, smirk shifting into a leer. “I’ll keep you company if your girlfriend’s gotta get home.”
Blaine said, “What?” while Kurt scoffed. “Is that really the best you have?” he asked. “Unimpressive, just like something else about you, I bet.”
Blaine’s eyes widened, and he raised his hand to muffle his laughter, but the man next to him laughed loud enough that a few others turned.
Sebastian straightened to his full height, a few inches taller than Kurt, and hissed, “What did you say?”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “You’ve been panting after Blaine since he visited Dalton, right? And you saw the news, so you’re after, what, the crown? Like Clarisse would let you sniff around for long.”
Blaine caressed the back of his hand, while he looked at Sebastian and decided to ignore the miniature pissing contest. “Thank you for inviting us, Sebastian, it’s been fun.” He tugged Kurt off the stool. “We need to get home.”
Sebastian glared at them both before smiling brightly. “It has been fun. But next time you should leave the boy-toy at home, Blaine. I can show you what a real man is like.”
Kurt studied Sebastian for a long moment, looking cold and remote and so beautiful Blaine’s breath caught. Then Kurt said, “Let’s go home.”
Sebastian trailed them to the door, and as the cameras flashed, he shoved between them, grabbed Blaine’s face, and kissed him.
Ohshit, Blaine thought, and then he pushed Sebastian away, falling back a step himself, and Kurt shouted something, and the cameras were still flashing when Sebastian yelped, Joseph caught Blaine’s arm, Spencer grabbed Kurt, and they were shoved into a black SUV.
Joseph said into his radio, “Braedon, Hunter – fetch the boys’ cars home.”
Blaine and Kurt sat as close as possible while Joseph leveled them a look from shotgun.
“Well,” Spencer said, turning the SUV out of the parking lot. “Joseph told me he’d trained you a bit. If we hadn’t been there, you’d’a kicked that little shit’s ass, right?”
“Yes,” Kurt said, holding his head high.
Joseph sighed. Blaine felt a little bad about having to be saved by their bodyguards, but Kurt was warm and strong next to him, squeezing his hand too tight, whole body strumming with tension.
“Where are we going?” Blaine asked, stroking the back of Kurt’s hand.
“To see Her Majesty,” Joseph said. “There will need to be damage control.”
“I’m not sorry,” Kurt told them all. “He’s an ass, and I hope he limps for the rest of his life.”
Spencer grinned into the rearview mirror. “I like you, kid.”
“The boy’s family may try to make trouble,” Joseph said. “We’ll deal with that. But the media will be difficult.”
Kurt shrugged, clearly still furious. Blaine himself was starting to get angry as the adrenaline faded.
Sebastian had kissed him.
Sebastian had kissed him. In front of cameras.
On purpose. The whole thing had been a set-up. From the start, when Sebastian invited him – he’d probably had it planned then. For what, his fifteen seconds of fame? Trying to be declared Blaine’s boyfriend, maybe?
Grandmother would’ve eaten him alive.
“We’re here,” Joseph said, opening his door. “Her Majesty is waiting.” He and Spencer got out.
Blaine looked at Kurt. “I love you,” he said. “I’m sorry about how the night ended.”
Kurt smiled. “It was fun, till the end. We should do it again sometime.”
“Yeah.” Blaine laughed. “If our keepers ever let us out again.”
“C’mon,” Kurt murmured, swinging his door open. “Time to face the music.”
masterpost
Carole had hugged Blaine after she realized he was the prince everyone’d been talking about. Finn had stared at Grandmother and Joseph, mouth moving like he wanted to say something, but he looked at Kurt and kept it to himself.
So Kurt, Burt, Carole, and Finn went home with their suits, and Blaine was left with Dad, Grandmother, Joseph, and the remaining army of suits.
Grandmother stayed for dinner, then she and all but two suits and Joseph left as well.
Blaine didn’t really sleep that night. He wasn’t at all looking forward to the next day – either everyone would hate him even more (but be unable to act on it because of Joseph) or he’d suddenly be the most popular boy in school. He honestly wasn’t sure which would be worse.
His phone chimed with a new text. It had exploded earlier, with calls, texts, and emails from New Directions and the Warblers, but he hadn’t replied to any. He picked the phone up: Wes. Barely a second later, David sent something, too.
Blaine owed them his life; he read the texts. Warbler Blaine, are you well? (Wes) and Blaine text me back! The news has gone crazy dude (David).
Blaine sighed and replied to both with, Im fine. Everythings crazy guys. Im a prince. Weird huh? He figured they’d been waiting till they both had a moment, since they were a continent apart.
I got panicked texts from all of last year’s Warblers, Wes sent. You didn’t reply to any of them, so they contacted me.
Blaine chuckled. I’m a bit overwhelmed you know. I’ll call tom or visit Dalton.
So all those news reportsare REAL? David asked. Blaine could just see his expression of disbelief changing to excitement. Dude!
Dude yeah, Blaine replied. He sighed, then sent to both of them, Im tired. Well talk tom. Thank you.
Night, David said. Goodnight, Blaine, Wes sent. Don’t worry too much.
Blaine smiled, then texted Grandma, Will you swing by soon? I need a hug. He left Grandmom a voicemail, rambling for five minutes about Grandmother, decapitation, and Kurt.
He texted Kurt, I love you, babe. He held his phone until Kurt replied, I love you, too, sweetie. Now go to sleep. Big day tom. I’ll be over in the morning to dress you.
Still smiling, Blaine set his phone on the table next to his bed. Tomorrow didn’t seem so scary anymore.
.
Blaine didn’t wake up till he felt the bed dip and heard Kurt sing, “Gotta get up, gotta get goin’, gonna see a friend of mine.” He kept his eyes closed, though, and reached up blindly, pulling Kurt down on top of him.
Kurt laughed and slid off him, tugging at Blaine to turn him over. “Time to get up, love,” he whispered. “We need to show all those doubters and haters that they can’t touch us.”
Blaine opened his eyes and smiled up at Kurt, who looked amazing, like always. Blaine liked fashion well enough, but he had no idea how Kurt could constantly put together such awesome outfits. “I’m not going to look as good as you, Kurt,” he said.
Kurt raised an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge, Blaine Warbler? Because there is a world out there waiting to stare at you, and we will give them something to stare at.”
Sighing, Blaine allowed Kurt to pull him out of bed.
“Joseph and your dad are downstairs talking to, um, Smith? And my bodyguard is on his way, apparently,” Kurt told him, pushing him towards the door. Blaine headed for the bathroom, where he stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, then went about his usual routine. By the time he made it back to his bedroom, Kurt had an entire outfit chosen. He helped Blaine into it (unnecessary, of course, but he kept caressing Blaine’s skin, and it felt so wonderful) and when Blaine was fully dressed, Kurt kissed him, long and deep.
“You ready?” Kurt asked softly as he leaned back. His hands rested on Blaine’s waist, and one moved to Blaine’s cheek.
“Yeah.” Blaine nodded and caught Kurt’s hand with his own. He took a deep breath and, with Kurt right behind him, strode from his room.
.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” Joseph said as they walked into the kitchen. Dad smiled and handed them each a plate of eggs and toast.
“Thank you, sir,” Kurt said, taking his to the table.
“Spencer will be here shortly,” Joseph told Kurt. “Marcom has returned to your father.”
“Um, thanks,” Kurt said with an awkward smile, putting some salt and pepper on his eggs. Blaine sat next to him and spread strawberry jelly on his toast.
Dad and Joseph discussed the day’s headlines while Kurt and Blaine ate in silence. Two suits – Kendrick? Eaton? Blaine really needed to learn all their names – lurked around, and just as Blaine drained his milk, Joseph said, “Spencer is here.”
Kurt looked up as a new suit walked into the kitchen, looking just like all the rest. “Spencer, meet Kurt Hummel and His Highness, Blaine Anderson,” Joseph said. “Kurt, this is Eliot Spencer. He’ll be your bodyguard for as long as you’re the Prince Consort.”
Kurt blushed as Blaine leaned over to whisper, “A lifetime, then.” He really liked Kurt’s blush.
“Sir,” Spencer said to Joseph, before looking at Kurt and Blaine. “Your Highness, Mr. Hummel.”
“Hello, Mr. Spencer,” Kurt said. “You’ll probably be bored.”
“Eliot or Spencer,” Spencer said. He studied Kurt for a moment before smiling. “And I very much doubt I’ll be bored.”
.
The same suit from yesterday drove the limo. Joseph and Spencer sat with them in the back; Joseph told Spencer last minute details while Blaine complained to Kurt about homework he never even started.
“You’ll get a pass, Your Highness, if any teacher demands an assignment from yesterday,” Joseph said.
“It’s not a big deal,” Blaine replied. “Don’t worry about it.”
Spencer smiled, ducking his head, and Kurt took Blaine’s hand, murmuring, “Let Joseph frighten teachers if he wants.”
.
At school, the driver opened the door. Joseph got out first, then Spencer, then Kurt, and finally Blaine.
Of course a crowd had gathered. Blaine tried to ignore all the gawkers, focusing on Kurt.
As the limo left, Joseph told Spencer, “Principal Figgins’ office first. You’ve memorized the schedule?”
“On the plane,” Spencer confirmed.
Joseph nodded. “Good.” He leveled a steely gaze on the kids in the way and they parted. Joseph and Spencer guided Kurt and Blaine through. Blaine found it almost humiliating, but Kurt was lit up with excitement. It was a taste of the life he’d been imagining for years, and whatever problem he’d had yesterday, he’d overcome it.
Mr. Figgins’ secretary told them to just go in and Joseph thanked her. “Principal Figgins,” he said, “Spencer will stay with Kurt. If you’d like to make an announcement of some sort, feel free.”
Spencer smiled. “Thank you for not makin’ this a hassle, sir,” he said, and Principal Figgins sat up tall in his chair. Kurt smothered his chuckle in a cough, and Blaine pressed his lips firmly together. “I’ll do my best to keep any situation under control,” Spencer continued.
“Of course,” Mr. Figgins said. “Our kids are a handful, but they’re good kids.”
Kurt’s cough covered a scoff this time. Blaine nudged him and Kurt rolled his eyes.
“We’ll not take up any more of your time, Principal Figgins,” Joseph said. “Good day.”
“Yes, have a good day,” Mr. Figgins replied.
“Thank you, sir,” Spencer said, stepping in front of Kurt as they left the office.
Joseph told Spencer, “We’ll meet at the cafeteria door for lunch. Do your best to keep your temper.”
Spencer nodded. Blaine smiled at Kurt and reached for his hand, squeezing it before following Joseph away.
.
It was a long day. Most of Blaine’s teachers ignored Joseph, but Mrs. Weinstein, his history teacher, freaked out and tried to throw him from her room. Joseph simply met her eyes and said, “Where His Highness goes, I go. Her Majesty and Principal Figgins agreed.”
Mrs. Weinstein didn’t listen. After her rant reached the five minute mark, Joseph gently escorted Blaine from the room.
“Where would you like to go, Your Highness?” Joseph asked once they were in the hall.
Blaine looked at him in shock. “You want me to ditch class?”
Joseph said solemnly, “I will speak to Principal Figgins about Mrs. Weinstein. You will not return to her class until she apologizes.”
“Why does she have to apologize?” Blaine asked, heading for the auditorium. “Did her rant bother you that much?”
Joseph laughed, shaking his head. “She will not apologize to me, Your Highness; she will apologize to you.”
“Why?” he asked, letting Joseph open the auditorium door and check for lurkers or something – whatever bodyguards did.
“She disrespected you as a person and the crown you represent,” Joseph said. “And she acted unbecoming for a teacher.”
Blaine chuckled, picking a seat halfway down the aisle. “She’s been – well, I don’t want to say hysterical, but she had a similar meltdown earlier this year. Kurt wore this awesome outfit and –” He paused, remembering that outfit. It had been the second week of school, and combined one of Kurt’s bondage jackets with a dark blue kilt and his ass-kicking boots.
Blaine had been very glad Dad worked late that day.
“Anyway,” he said. “I heard about it later. She yelled about decency and kicked him out. Kurt couldn’t stop laughing.”
Joseph smiled, sitting down next to Blaine. “We have forty minutes until lunch. I’m sure you have questions you hesitated to ask your grandmother.”
Blaine leaned back, putting his feet on the seat in front of him. “Will people really try to kill me?” He didn’t want to believe it, but his collarbone still ached when it rained sometimes. And if people he knew could do that when he was just another theater geek in Ohio… what would people he didn’t know do when he was prince?
“There are people in Genovia who are angry Her Majesty found an heir of the Renaldo bloodline,” Joseph said gently. “There are people who would hurt you because of your future throne.” Joseph paused, reaching out to lift Blaine’s chin with a soft touch. “And, Your Highness, there are people who would not care about you if you were dating a nice girl. But you are not dating a nice girl, and they will hate you for that alone.”
Blaine sighed, slumping back down. “So I’ll have a bodyguard forever?”
“Yes, Your Highness. You would anyway, but we’ll be extra-diligent with you and Mr. Hummel.” Joseph glanced around the empty auditorium. “I know that a place like this is your dream, Blaine. And I am sorry that your duty has changed your life. But you will be a wonderful king for Genovia, of that I’m sure.”
Blaine couldn’t think of a thing to say, so they sat in silence for a few minutes.
Finally, Blaine asked, “Do you think Kurt will stay? He promised, but he has his whole life waiting. He can still go to New York and rule Broadway, or make his own clothing line, or something. I don’t want to ruin his life.” He wiped at his eyes and looked at the floor, sure that Joseph would tell him to buck it up and be man.
Just like princes didn’t serenade boys at the mall, kings-to-be didn’t cry because they thought their soulmates would find something better.
“I believe that Kurt Hummel will stay by your side until you tell him to leave,” Joseph said. “He made that abundantly clear to me yesterday.”
Blaine lifted his head. “Really?”
Joseph smiled. “Really.”
.
For the rest of the time until lunch, Blaine replied to texts and emails from the Warblers. He said basically the same thing to everyone: Yes, it’s real. Thank you for the support. I’ll visit soon.
Joseph made phone-calls and relayed information via earbud to Spencer. Blaine tried not to listen, thinking it’d be rude, but when Joseph laughed and said, “I’m not surprised,” Blaine looked over. Joseph grinned at him, murmuring, “Your boyfriend has awed Spencer.”
Blaine grinned in response, looking back at his phone. All the Warblers had been answered, but there were still a dozen messages from New Directions. Blaine glanced over them and replied to all but Finn’s, which said, dude, wut? It had been sent before Joseph went to get him from Rachel’s. (Rachel’s message had rambled about being the perfect queen to his king. Blaine thanked her but said he’d much prefer her as a star than a spouse.)
When the bell rang, Blaine sighed. “Come, Your Highness,” Joseph said, rising. “Spencer and Mr. Hummel are waiting.”
Blaine stood, shouldering his bag, and trailed behind Joseph.
.
The cafeteria fell silent as Blaine and Kurt stepped in after Joseph and Spencer. Blaine held his head high and refused to let his nervousness show.
Brittany was the first to move; she bounced over, ignoring Joseph and Spencer (somehow – Blaine had no idea how) to grab both Kurt and Blaine’s hands. “C’mon, Lord Tubbington gave me questions for you!”
She dragged them to the table with most of New Directions; Joseph shadowed them silently while Spencer went through the food line with two trays. Brittany pulled Blaine down next to her, across from Tina and Mike. Kurt quickly took his other side.
Brittany babbled at Blaine about tiaras and unicorns; he replied as best he could, holding Kurt’s hand under the table. Joseph stood behind them and Spencer slid the trays in front of them. Blaine waited for a polite moment to turn and ask if they were eating, but Kurt did it for him, so he ate one of the chicken nuggets after Joseph and Spencer declined.
Artie finally broke in, asking, “So, you have bodyguards now?”
Blaine nodded. Artie stared up at Spencer and Joseph, and breathed, “So jealous. I’ll have an army of my own some day.”
Blaine decided not to mention that he already had an army of his own – though, it should be obvious, since he was a prince.
“So, Prince of the Fairies, what’s her name?” Santana asked with a wicked smirk. When Blaine frowned at her, she elaborated, “The hot number waiting to be your queen back home? Surely you have a betrothed?”
“I’m not betrothed,” he said, honestly confused for a moment, before deciding it was just Santana trying to stir up trouble. Like always. “But Grandmother is planning me and Kurt’s wedding.” Bit of a falsehood, but he’d rather not listen to Santana insult them every way possible. And he would marry Kurt some day.
Kurt ducked his head, blushing, as Santana made a rude noise and hand gesture.
“Is this why you stopped participating in New Directions?” Rachel asked, cutting across the entire table.
Blaine looked at her. Finn sat beside her, staring at his tray. Everyone else at the table quieted. “Yes,” he said. “I didn’t have enough energy to deal with Grandmother, school, and being shredded by people who should’ve been my friends. Something had to give.”
Rachel just stared at him. “You should’ve made time for both,” she said after a minute. “And Kurt!” She turned her glare on him. “You have no excuse for abandoning us. You, after all, are not the long-lost heir in need of training to take over a nation.”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “I had no choice, Rachel,” he said. “I chose what was best for me and Blaine. Walking out on glee was like excising a cancer.”
Rachel’s eyes widened, Finn sat up straight, and Mercedes, Tina, and Artie gasped. The rest looked confused. Not all of them knew how Kurt’s mom died, then.
Blaine touched Kurt’s hand. Kurt glanced at him in askance, so Blaine tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. Kurt nodded.
“We won’t be coming back to glee,” Blaine said, standing and picking up his tray. He’d somehow managed to eat half of the chicken nuggets, and wasn’t hungry for more. “We’d like to be friends, if any of you can manage that.” He smiled as Kurt stood next to him, having managed to eat even less. “Thank you, Brittany,” he told her before following Joseph out. Spencer brought up the rear.
.
The rest of the day went better. But by the end of the next day (and having been transferred to a new history class), Blaine was tired of being followed around by Joseph. Or following Joseph around. Both. He still liked Joseph; he thought Joseph was one of the awesomest guys in the world. But Blaine needed his space, and so did Kurt.
One of the Warblers, Sebastian, had invited Blaine by text to Scandals, a gay bar – the only gay bar anywhere close to Lima, apparently. So Blaine asked Kurt to go with him, and they both snuck past Joseph and Spencer, and met in the Scandals parking lot.
“I haven’t done anything like this since I sang on Wicked’s stage,” Kurt laughed, flinging his arms around Blaine.
Blaine laughed, too, and led Kurt in. There was no way their fake IDs passed muster (Grandmother would be livid), but the guy waved them in. Sebastian was at the bar, and he grinned at Blaine, though his expression dimmed when he saw Kurt.
“Hey!” he said. “Blaine, so glad you could make it.”
Blaine smiled at him, keeping one hand tight around Kurt’s. “Sebastian, this is my boyfriend, Kurt. Kurt, this is Sebastian, one of the new Warblers.”
“Hey,” Sebastian said, his grin a little frosty.
Kurt nodded regally. “Hello.” He glanced around Scandals, trying to keep the distaste from his face. “So this is Scandals,” he said. “Seems quite… scandalous.”
“Blaine,” Sebastian said, “dance with me.”
Blaine looked at Kurt, who rolled his eyes. “I’ll get us drinks,” he said. “Go dance.”
Sebastian kept getting closer than Blaine felt comfortable with, and his hands wandered, but on the whole, it was fun. Every few seconds, Blaine looked at Kurt, perched by the bar the entire time, and finally Kurt sauntered over, grinning as he pulled Blaine into a kiss. It was freeing, to be somewhere public and able to kiss without fear.
When they separated, breathless, Blaine was grinning, too.
Sebastian glared at Kurt and said, “Another dance, Blaine?”
“No, thanks,” Blaine shouted over the music, as Kurt put his arms around Blaine, getting in close as possible. Sebastian huffed and stalked back to the bar.
Kurt laughed and leaned in to whisper-shout in Blaine’s ear, “Someone’s jealous.”
Blaine twirled him around, exhilarated at how wonderful it felt to be able to touch and hold and kiss, and he kissed Kurt again and again and again.
.
After less than an hour, Kurt said, “It’s time to go, sweetie. We need to get back before anyone notices.”
They’d migrated to the bar; Blaine downed Cokes because the last (and only) time he got drunk was a disaster, and Kurt had nursed a water for twenty minutes.
“Too shy to stay?” Sebastian asked, smirking nastily at Kurt. He looked at Blaine, smirk shifting into a leer. “I’ll keep you company if your girlfriend’s gotta get home.”
Blaine said, “What?” while Kurt scoffed. “Is that really the best you have?” he asked. “Unimpressive, just like something else about you, I bet.”
Blaine’s eyes widened, and he raised his hand to muffle his laughter, but the man next to him laughed loud enough that a few others turned.
Sebastian straightened to his full height, a few inches taller than Kurt, and hissed, “What did you say?”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “You’ve been panting after Blaine since he visited Dalton, right? And you saw the news, so you’re after, what, the crown? Like Clarisse would let you sniff around for long.”
Blaine caressed the back of his hand, while he looked at Sebastian and decided to ignore the miniature pissing contest. “Thank you for inviting us, Sebastian, it’s been fun.” He tugged Kurt off the stool. “We need to get home.”
Sebastian glared at them both before smiling brightly. “It has been fun. But next time you should leave the boy-toy at home, Blaine. I can show you what a real man is like.”
Kurt studied Sebastian for a long moment, looking cold and remote and so beautiful Blaine’s breath caught. Then Kurt said, “Let’s go home.”
Sebastian trailed them to the door, and as the cameras flashed, he shoved between them, grabbed Blaine’s face, and kissed him.
Ohshit, Blaine thought, and then he pushed Sebastian away, falling back a step himself, and Kurt shouted something, and the cameras were still flashing when Sebastian yelped, Joseph caught Blaine’s arm, Spencer grabbed Kurt, and they were shoved into a black SUV.
Joseph said into his radio, “Braedon, Hunter – fetch the boys’ cars home.”
Blaine and Kurt sat as close as possible while Joseph leveled them a look from shotgun.
“Well,” Spencer said, turning the SUV out of the parking lot. “Joseph told me he’d trained you a bit. If we hadn’t been there, you’d’a kicked that little shit’s ass, right?”
“Yes,” Kurt said, holding his head high.
Joseph sighed. Blaine felt a little bad about having to be saved by their bodyguards, but Kurt was warm and strong next to him, squeezing his hand too tight, whole body strumming with tension.
“Where are we going?” Blaine asked, stroking the back of Kurt’s hand.
“To see Her Majesty,” Joseph said. “There will need to be damage control.”
“I’m not sorry,” Kurt told them all. “He’s an ass, and I hope he limps for the rest of his life.”
Spencer grinned into the rearview mirror. “I like you, kid.”
“The boy’s family may try to make trouble,” Joseph said. “We’ll deal with that. But the media will be difficult.”
Kurt shrugged, clearly still furious. Blaine himself was starting to get angry as the adrenaline faded.
Sebastian had kissed him.
Sebastian had kissed him. In front of cameras.
On purpose. The whole thing had been a set-up. From the start, when Sebastian invited him – he’d probably had it planned then. For what, his fifteen seconds of fame? Trying to be declared Blaine’s boyfriend, maybe?
Grandmother would’ve eaten him alive.
“We’re here,” Joseph said, opening his door. “Her Majesty is waiting.” He and Spencer got out.
Blaine looked at Kurt. “I love you,” he said. “I’m sorry about how the night ended.”
Kurt smiled. “It was fun, till the end. We should do it again sometime.”
“Yeah.” Blaine laughed. “If our keepers ever let us out again.”
“C’mon,” Kurt murmured, swinging his door open. “Time to face the music.”