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Blaine hung up the phone, letting the receiver slip slowly from his fingers while he tried to tamper the euphoria coursing through his body. He knew it was a lost cause, but he had to at least try to keep up the pretense of professionalism. The widening of his smile, however, made it apparent pretty fast that even the attempt was futile.
He’d done it. He’d actually done it. Almost five years of hard work had finally come to fruition. He had no idea what had given the final push, what had convinced some of his loudest nay sayers to cave in the end. It didn’t really matter, all things considered. Because he’d done it and nothing would ever surpass this feeling of accomplishment. This feeling of finally being free.
Marriage equality would become legal in all fifty states.
He crossed his arms on the desk and buried his face in them, taking deep breaths so he would calm down and not start to cry or something equally embarrassing. He’d started to doubt that his campaigning for this bill would ever come to fruition. Well no, that wasn’t strictly true. He was a believer; he wouldn’t be able to do this job if he weren’t. But there had been times when he’d thought his goal was too ambitious, that America wasn’t quite ready yet for this step to complete equality.
He’d been wrong and he’d never been gladder than he was at this moment.
“Is it true?”
Kurt’s voice startled him and he shot up in his seat. Kurt was staring at him, his blue eyes wide and his hand white-knuckled on the door where he was gripping it hard. Before Blaine could ask what he was talking about, Kurt took a step into the office and said, “I just got a text from Lydia telling me that the bill is going to pass. Is that true?”
Blaine couldn’t help the grin splitting his face at Kurt’s hopeful look, but just to make absolutely sure the other man got it, he nodded and replied, “It’s true. I just got the call. The house had only minor changes for the bill and the senate will vote on them in tomorrow’s session. We’re going to have the votes we need.”
“I...” Kurt started, then trailed off. His mouth was hanging open and his cheeks were a little flushed. He was obviously speechless.
Blaine let out a helpless laugh and buried his face in his hands. “I can’t believe we did it.”
“You did it,” Kurt amended, his voice full of wonder yet firm on that point. Blaine let his hands fall back on the desk to look at him.
“I can’t believe...” Kurt started but was interrupted when the door crashed against the wall and David and Wes appeared. They looked excited and happy and didn’t wait for Blaine to ask what they were doing before David exclaimed, “You lucky bastard, you did it!”
Blaine laughed again. “How did you...”
“Maureen over at the White House just texted me,” David interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. “Jesus, I thought this day would never come.”
“I knew you’d do it,” Wes piped up. “I wasn’t sure you’d do it in this term, but the next one for sure.”
Blaine rubbed a hand over his forehead. “Oh god, are you planning my next term already? Let me get this one right first!”
“You’ve been doing an excellent job,” Kurt said, and his eyes shone with the clear conviction that he believed it with everything he was. It filled Blaine with a warmth and confidence he’d been lacking over the last few weeks when negotiations about the bill had been at its peak.
He smiled at all three men and started to get up. His buckling knees nixed that plan, though. He sank back into his chair, surprised and a little confused, but then the shaking started to creep up on the rest of his body and he slung his arms around himself to stop it.
“Holy shit, what have I done?” he breathed, trying to get the shaking under control. Suddenly a warm hand was stroking up and down his back, trying to soothe him. He looked up and into Kurt’s concerned eyes.
“You need to breathe, sir,” he only half-joked, “or you won’t be of much use to us.”
Blaine tried to laugh, but something caught in his throat and he realized with dawning horror that he was about to cry for real. He tried to choke it back, but the hot prickling behind his eyes told him it was futile. He took in a shaky breath, then another, and then he hid his eyes behind his hand to prevent the others from seeing that they were growing wetter by the second.
“We’ve got to celebrate this,” he heard David by the door, but he didn’t look up.
“I agree,” Wes chimed in. “Let’s round up some champagne.”
“Not before tomorrow,” Blaine pressed out, risking a glance at Kurt, then over at his friends. “Let’s not jinx this. Let’s wait until the vote.”
Wes and David looked like they wanted to object, but then seemed to change their minds and nodded. “I’m still going to organize some champagne for tomorrow though,” David said, pointing his finger at Blaine. Blaine wanted to laugh, but the tears were too close to the surface and he couldn’t do more than nod at his friends. Oh god, he’d just written history, hadn’t he? As soon as he realized that, the shaking got worse.
“Could you guys give us a minute?” Kurt suddenly said above him, his hand moving up and tightening reassuringly on Blaine’s shoulder. Wes and David exchanged a look with Kurt that Blaine couldn’t read, but they didn’t object to the request, gave Blaine one last smile and closed the door on their way out.
The sound of it was like a permission to fall apart.
Before he even knew what was happening, his body was shaking with quiet sobs and Kurt had pulled him out of his chair and into a crushing hug. For once, ever since he’d started having feelings for Kurt, Blaine didn’t care about propriety. He just slung his arms around Kurt’s waist and hugged him back, his fists tightening in Kurt’s suit jacket.
Being in his arms was like heaven. But it wasn’t anything sexual this time. It was better than that; it was like Blaine was coming home. He felt protected and cherished and as if he could weather any storm if only he had Kurt by his side.
It took him a moment before he realized that Kurt was mumbling something into his shoulder. He tried to raise his head so he could hear him, but Kurt’s arms just tightened around his neck and Blaine let him be. A moment later, Kurt moved his head a little to the side and his warm breath drifted over Blaine’s neck. That's when he heard it, a quiet litany of “Thank you, thank you, thank you”’s whispered against his ear. Blaine bit his lip, tightened his own arms around Kurt’s waist, and held on.
Nobody in their office would understand how much this meant to both of them. Nobody could understand it. They hadn’t lived through the hurt and the hate and the double standards, hadn’t been two gay kids growing up in Ohio at a time when being openly gay wasn’t the safest thing to be. But they’d weathered it, they’d grown up and made their way in life and now they were here, they were finally here and nobody could deny them their rights anymore.
“We did it,” he whispered into Kurt’s shoulder, laughing a little while saying it. He felt Kurt shake against him, then he heard his answering laugh.
“Yes,” he whispered back, his voice sounding wet and wrecked. “Yes, we did it.”
Nothing went wrong. The next day, the senate voted on the minor changes and, just as Blaine had predicted, they had the majority of votes. The bill was through. While technically the president could still veto it, they already knew his stance on the whole thing. There wouldn’t be any problems.
The bill would be law.
Three hours after the day’s session ended, they closed their offices early and brought out the champagne. Blaine had no idea where Kurt had scrounged up this much food on such short notice for so many people, but there it was, an assortment of sandwiches, salads and cut up vegetables with various dips. He chalked it up to Kurt being awesome and a little bit magical.
Throughout the evening, various people came up to Blaine to congratulate him. He received slaps on the back, enthusiastic handshakes and a few hugs. Not all the people congratulating him were actually his employees; there had been an influx of people from many other offices ever since the vote had been finished. Not that Blaine minded; he had his breakdown out of the way and nothing but joy left for everyone else. And whenever he caught a glimpse of Kurt over the crowd, glowing and smiling so much that Blaine’s cheeks hurt in sympathy, something warm uncurled low in his gut, some feeling of accomplishment that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He’d drunk three glasses of champagne and eaten a ham sandwich by the time Kurt found him sitting on the floor near a filing cabinet in the outer offices. He didn’t even pause before he slid down the wall to sit next to Blaine, clinking their glasses together after he’d settled. Blaine smiled at him, then drained the small sip that had been left in his glass.
“I still can’t believe we’re finally joining the 21st century,” Kurt suddenly said. Blaine couldn’t help the small chuckle escaping him.
“You want to know something?” he asked, turning his head until he was able to look at Kurt. When he had the man’s attention, he confessed, “I’m only going to believe it’s true after the bill has gotten past the president.”
“Such a pessimist,” Kurt quipped, then giggled. Blaine stared at him in fascination. He’d never heard Kurt giggle before. It must’ve been the alcohol. Kurt was too poised to giggle, much less in public and in front of his boss. It didn’t prevent Blaine from smiling at the happy sound, though.
They stayed like that for a while, companionable silence surrounding them while the party chatter went on in the next room. Blaine stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how many people from his high school days probably hated him right now and, if he were a lesser or more petty person, how he would rub it in their faces that he had equal rights now and was allowed to fuck up a marriage just like everybody else.
Kurt brought him back from his musings when he asked, “So what are your plans, now that you’ve reached your main goal from your campaign?”
Blaine had to think about that for a moment before he shrugged. “Honestly? I’ll try to put my energies into getting re-elected first.”
When Kurt didn’t say anything, he turned his head to look at him. Kurt was already watching him, a slight frown wrinkling his forehead. “You need a message,” he finally said, sounding serious. “Your strong message was what got you elected in the first place. You’re kind of the only politician who touches the subjects everyone else avoids like the plague.”
Blaine let that sink in, then had to concede the point. He nodded before he turned his head back. “Well, looks like I have to take on women’s rights now.”
The startled laugh from Kurt made him turn around again, and at the sight of his bright blue eyes and flushed cheeks, Blaine had the sudden urge to lean over, put his hand against Kurt’s cheek and pull him in for a kiss. He bit down on his lip to tamp down on the impulse, but when Kurt’s eyes suddenly caught his gaze and he turned serious all of a sudden, Blaine almost lost that battle.
He felt himself lean in slowly when Kurt said quietly, “You’re a good man, Blaine Anderson.”
That stopped Blaine cold. Here he was, thinking about taking advantage of Kurt and his tipsiness, and Kurt was having so much faith in him, believed him to be unshakably honorable. It sent a chill down Blaine’s spine and he blinked at Kurt, at his serious expression and beautifully earnest eyes.
Blaine swallowed thickly when he realized what he’d almost done and carefully settled back into his place, leaning his head back against the wall before he closed his eyes. He felt Kurt shift next to him, but neither of them said anything for a long time. The sounds of the party that was still going strong in the next room settled over them, laughter and lively conversation a backdrop to their own solitude and Blaine’s thoughts.
A particularly loud laugh made him open his eyes and he was suddenly staring at Wes and his girlfriend through the open doorway. They were smiling brightly at each other and Wes was leaning down to whisper something into her ear. She threw her head back and laughed, her whole body shaking, before she wound her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoes to press a tender, lingering kiss against Wes’ lips. It turned heated pretty quickly and Blaine respectfully averted his eyes. It was the only reason why he caught the longing look on Kurt’s face who was still staring at the couple.
Something clicked for Blaine at that moment.
He’d obviously known that they were busy men. They had brutal schedules, and he’d known that Kurt hadn’t been in a relationship ever since they’d met. Their lives weren’t very conducive to maintaining relationships, but for some reason Blaine had always thought that Kurt was happy with his life. It may have been a busy one, but it was what Kurt wanted to do with it. Blaine had never thought that Kurt might not be as happy as he’d always thought.
Before he could censor himself, before he could even think about it, he asked quietly, “Are you lonely, Kurt?”
“Every day.”
The whispered words were like an electrical shock to his system, and Blaine only realized that they had slipped out without Kurt’s conscious decision when the man suddenly froze and turned white as a sheet. He seemed mortified that he’d said it, but Blaine didn’t have a chance to assure him it was okay, that he wasn’t alone. Kurt jumped up from his perch next to Blaine and, not meeting his eyes, said a frenzied, “I have to go.” His gaze flickered to Blaine’s briefly, but before they could make eye contact, he looked away, swallowed and turned around to hurry back into the main rooms.
Blaine stared after him, baffled and concerned and a little lost. It was obvious that Kurt didn’t want to talk about it, and yet... Blaine had the sudden urge to jump up and follow him, to draw him into a hug and assure him that everything would turn out to be fine. He wanted to comfort Kurt just like Kurt had comforted him yesterday in his office. But on the other hand, he wanted to respect Kurt’s silent request for privacy. It had been obvious that Kurt’s words were an accident, had disclosed more about him than he’d been willing to reveal.
Blaine debated with himself on what to do, for once in his life not acting on impulse. In the end, though, his heart screamed louder than his head, telling him to go after Kurt and offer the comfort he so desperately wanted to give. It would be up to Kurt if he took him up on it, but maybe it would help him to know it was offered in the first place.
Mind made up, Blaine scrambled up and made his way back into the main offices to search for Kurt. But it was too late, he’d waited too long.
Kurt had already left.