(no subject)
Author: Rachel
Title: Save Every Day (17/17)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,226~
Summary: There’s a moment when you say to yourself, there you are -- I’ve been looking for you forever. Looking back on that moment and all the moments since, I’m glad to say we spent our lives together. And we were happy.
Author's Note: This is because of Blaine’s Time Capsule video, and thanks to pureklaination for suggesting that I write it. Thank you also to whenidance for being my sounding board, and aelora for being my beta. It is canon compliant up through the 5x01 (or at least the preview for it).
[ Previous]
Just like how some days were better than others, some rooms at the retirement home were definitely better than others - whether it was a particularly good day or not.
When Katie had started working at that particular home, she'd learned very quickly about some rooms, some residents.
There was Mr. Jackson, who talked to anyone who would stop to listen or talk back and, despite the fact that he'd been on medication for Alzheimer’s for many decades, had such vivid and clear memories from his childhood and growing up that he could keep almost anyone enthralled with the stories he told. Then there was Mrs. Bennett, who didn't have the same luck as far as her memory and mental state went, and who didn't recognize her family members every time when they would come to visit.
Most residents were pleasant enough, though some were mean, others sad. Katie supposed there was a mixture of all that sort at any of those kinds of places. There was always going to be a combination of those who were sicker, who hadn't had the luck or genetics to have aged as gracefully or well as others, but that was why they were there. It was why they were all there, it was just a matter of figuring out everyone's quirks and the best ways to keep them in as good of health as possible, to keep them entertained as they whiled away the days.
It was during her first week there that the nurse she was shadowing offered her a knowing smile while they walked down the hall toward a wing where she hadn't had the chance to go yet. That smile was the same one she'd seen when she'd been introduced to Mr. Jackson, and again when she'd first met a woman named Rosa who seemed to consider everyone who worked there part of her family, and who had immediately wanted to learn all about her life leading up to that point - including her favorite color so she could knit her a scarf. It was just that that time the smile was slightly different, and definitely the most intriguing she'd ever found it to be.
"Why do I feel like you're about to let me in on some secret?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If it's a secret, it's the worst kept one in the entire place," came the response, and the smile grew. "Room 206 - it's everyone's favorite place. I don't know a single person who's ever come out of there with anything less than a smile on their face. I'll warn you that it's easy to lose track of time, to get sucked in and forget that you're supposed to be working, but other than doing your rounds and checking in, it's a good place to go toward the end of the day, or if it's slow, or if you really need something to make you smile."
"Who's in 206?"
"The only married couple we have here - Blaine and Kurt Anderson-Hummel. They're as easy to work with as anyone here, both sweet, fun, wonderful gentlemen, neither of whom have any serious health issues that we have to keep a particular eye on. They tend to keep more to themselves than some of the others we have around, but I guess it makes sense because they have each other to keep company."
They drew up close to the door, which was partway opened, enough for Katie to glance inside and see the state of the room - cozy, very much made into a home, and with two elderly men sitting close together on a couch, looking down at a computer in front of them and smiling at whatever they were seeing. Even just from that, she could understand why that room was a place the employees liked to go, because it looked warm and inviting, and the men there looked the same, like they could be anyone's grandpas and just walking into the room would earn a hug and maybe a kiss on the cheek before being taken over to sit on the couch with them to catch up on what had been happening.
"What are they watching?" she asked quietly, glancing back to her companion, who was looking over some paperwork as she leaned against the wall.
"I couldn't say," she answered smoothly, and that knowing smile just grew as she moved away from the wall with a shrug. "Maybe you should ask them. Go introduce yourself, I'll come find you if I need your help with something."
Katie watched as she walked away before her gaze turned back to the door to the room, not quite open enough for an invitation but not closed completely for privacy either. She knocked lightly as she pushed it open the rest of the way so she could go inside, drawing their attention away from the screen and offering them both a smile as she crossed the room to get to where they were sitting to be able to introduce herself properly.
"Hi there, I'm Katie, I'm new here, just started working a few days ago and didn't have a chance to stop in and say hello to you before," she said, extending her hand first to one, then the other, not sure which was Blaine and which was Kurt, but figuring that mystery could be solved easily enough. "Kurt and Blaine Anderson-Hummel, correct?"
"Correct." The man closest to her spoke first, the one with the carefully styled hair and the bow tie smartly straightened beneath the collar of his shirt, an easy smile spreading across his features as he looked up at her. "I'm Blaine, and this is my husband, Kurt."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"And you," Kurt replied, sitting up a little straighter and drawing his hand back from where he'd reached up to shake hers.
"I didn't mean to interrupt whatever you were watching, I just figured I would stop in since I was down this way," Katie went on, and Blaine gave a small shake of his head to stop her from apologizing any more.
"It's fine, we're used to having visitors from time to time." He chuckled and reached over to rest his hand on Kurt's knee, his thumb rubbing over it lightly as he looked at him. "Isn't that right?"
"I can't remember the last time we didn't have a day where people dropped in," Kurt agreed, a little grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Luckily we haven't been doing anything that would cause a scandal..."
"Well I would hope someone would knock if your door was closed," Katie replied with a soft laugh, absently smoothing her hands over the front of her scrubs. "I heard that you had quite the popular room, so I just had to come and check it out for myself. From the talk, I expected there to be some kind of serious entertainment going on."
"Oh, there's talk?" Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow as he grinned softly. "I shudder to think of what rumors are being spread around the staff because of us."
"I hardly think it's anything horrible."
"It's nothing bad, I promise," Katie said, shaking her head and giving a quick glance around the room to take it in better since she was inside and able to see it all. "I just heard that you're both wonderful and make people smile - so clearly, nothing bad at all."
"You can sit, if you want." Her attention got drawn back to them, away from the pictures on the wall, when Kurt spoke, and she glanced down to see them both looking up at her with inviting smiles. "Unless you have work to do, of course."
"Nothing that would keep me from sitting for a few minutes," she conceded as she moved to sit on the empty cushion of the couch. "Thank you."
Once she was seated she could see the screen of the computer fully, the image that was paused clearly from the movie they'd been watching, but not something that she recognized. She didn't want to intrude in asking them what it was, but she figured it wasn't a question that could hurt - and besides, she'd been told she should ask them if she really wanted to know, so if it was something she shouldn't be asking she assumed she wouldn't have been encouraged to do so by someone who knew much better than her.
"What's this?" she asked as she nodded toward the computer, letting her gaze linger on the screen for a few more seconds before she looked back to them. Blaine's eyes were almost sparking at the question, and Kurt slid his hand to rest over where Blaine's was still on his leg.
"It's a video from, well... from when I proposed," Blaine replied, unable to stop the smile that spread across his features. "It was a bit of an elaborate spectacle."
"Which made it perfect," Kurt added, and Katie glanced back to the screen to try and discern them from the rest in the slightly blurred image that was there. "It was the most perfect moment of my life up until then."
"Here, I'll rewind it for you."
Before Katie could even register what was happening, Blaine leaned forward and ran the video back to get to the beginning, a spliced in interview of him talking to the camera by himself. She could tell it was him, so obviously the man sitting next to her - just so many years younger. He had those same sparkling eyes, that smile that seemed to brighten the entire room, and an earnestness about everything he was saying that she felt like she had no choice but to believe each word with every single fiber of her being. There was so much love in everything he was saying that it brought a lump to her throat, and that was before the video of the actual proposal itself started.
Blaine had been right when he'd said it was elaborate, and a bit of a spectacle, but she could tell both from the Kurt on film and the one sitting down the couch from her that it was exactly the right amount of spectacle and romance for the people involved. She couldn't help it when a few tears fell from her eyes, the raw love and emotion right there on the screen feeling like it was squeezing and pulling at her heart, all because of these two men she'd barely met ten minutes prior. There was so much love, and Blaine's speech was just as earnest and heartfelt as everything he'd said in the video before the proposal, if not more, and she quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks during the brief pause between the end of the proposal and them popping up on the screen again together after Kurt said yes, and they'd kissed, and given her easily the most romantic moment she'd ever seen captured on film.
It wasn't as though it got any less emotional then, because as soon as Kurt asked for Blaine to give him a minute, it was like she knew it was about to get even more so than it had been - and she was right. To her, it felt like she was looking in on a private moment of their lives, like she was seeing something that had only been meant for them - and maybe that was what it had been at one point, because why else would these moments have been caught on film? - but even with that slight feeling of intrusion, she was glad that she was seeing it because it was so beautiful and honest that she didn't even know what to say once the video was done and Blaine leaned forward to stop it.
"Wow, I..." she paused, clearing her throat to get a little more control over her voice as she gave a shake of her head. "That was beautiful, really beautiful. "How long have you been married?"
"Seventy-four years, eleven months, and a bunch of days," Blaine replied, leaning over to press a kiss to Kurt's cheek. "Our anniversary is next week."
"Next week?" Katie asked, the amount of time making her feel as though she hadn't heard them clearly and needed clarification. "I'm assuming there's been a celebration planned? Seventy-five years is definitely something worth celebrating."
"Oh, we've had some things in the works, but mostly we're just glad we've made it this far," Kurt said, lacing his fingers with Blaine's and giving his hand a noticeable squeeze. "And we've definitely got lots of years after that to go, because I'm no where near ready to be done."
"Me either," Blaine agreed quietly, the corners of his eyes crinkling as his smile spread across his features. "I'll never be ready."
"Well I'll have to make sure to be here for that," Katie said as she moved to stand up, feeling like she should get back to work even though she was sure she could have stayed there for the rest of her shift and been content. Truthfully, it was one part feeling like she should be working but at least two parts feeling as though she should let them get back to the reminiscing she'd interrupted when she'd come in. "Let me know if you need any help with the planning - I may be new but I'm sure there are lots of strings I could pull."
"We definitely will," Blaine replied, lifting up his free hand to catch hers and squeeze it gently. "Thank you."
------------
When the Anderson-Hummel anniversary happened, it was like everything else stopped - and rightfully so. Katie couldn't think of anyone else she knew that had made it to seventy-five years of marriage. It was a twinge of bittersweet for some of the other residents, those who had lost their spouses, but for the most part everyone seemed to be happy for the couple and just as excited for a celebration if nothing else. For people who had been described as those who kept to themselves more than socializing with others, Kurt and Blaine seemed to have a friendly relationship at the least with everyone else who lived in the home, so that seemed to surpass a lot of the bittersweet emotions that came through the door into the main living room that had been decorated for the occasion.
It wasn't just the residents who were there, but the staff as well - even those who had the day off made sure to come in to join in with the festivities, and the Anderson-Hummel family was sure to be there as well. Katie met their daughter Elizabeth, and her children, and their children, and every single one of them was so sweet that it was easy to see how they were all related to the men she'd had the complete pleasure of meeting less than a week prior - and had stopped in on to see every day since.
What Katie had quickly learned was that the proposal was just the beginning of all the moments they had captured on film, easily ready to watch and share. Getting to see the much younger versions of the men she quickly got to know in the short days of the acquaintance was something she'd never experienced before, and she was sure she'd never experience again. She could see them so clearly, the mannerisms that were the same from the day the video was made to them sitting there beside her, and the fact that there had always been so much love, and it had only grown over the years. Considering where it had started, it made her wonder if their hearts were somehow abnormally large - like how the Grinch's heart grew three times as big, but their hearts were just that way normally.
Watching the videos was something they always did, according to the staff, but it was usually just a video here or there, whatever they felt like watching at the time. Everything leading up to their anniversary had been deliberately planned, from the day Katie had first met them and seen the proposal to the day they all stood there in the living room, celebrating seventy-five years of marriage between them. The proposal had been first, but then it had been all the videos between then and when they actually got married, moments pulled from their lives and showing so much even through words that might not have meant that much passed between anyone else, but it was /them/ and every word seemed to carry the perfect amount of weight to show just how much it meant.
The videos were also the perfect amount of sweet and ridiculous to capture the men that she'd quickly gotten to know, because that seemed to sum them up just right. They /were/ sweet, and loving, and very much people she wish she'd gotten to know sooner, but they were also ornery and silly, and that wasn't showcased any better than when they were together and talking - or in the first video that showed up on the screen at the party, starting with a very young and sleep rumpled Blaine popping onto the screen and talking about how it was the morning of their wedding, which easily turned into him going to wake up Kurt, and the sheer love that was there on the screen with the ease of kisses passed back and forth and the joy of the day was almost palpable because of how happy the two of them were. The Kurt and Blaine standing in the room with her were unabashed, unashamed by what their past selves were doing on the screen, and she wouldn't have expected anything less even in the short time she'd known them.
It was like background noise when the ceremony came on. People were paying attention to it, but at the same time it wasn't as though they were focused in on every word being said. Katie could hear the vows being proclaimed from the speakers, but her attention was far more focused on the real life versions of Kurt and Blaine who were standing there not ten feet from her, mouthing along with them as if the words were still fresh on their tongues.
"I love you," Kurt murmured as he slipped his arms around Blaine, slowly starting to sway in time with the music playing on the video once the ceremony itself was over, and Blaine easily followed suit, as if it was second nature - which it probably was by that point.
"I love you, too," Blaine said softly, moving his hand up to take one of Kurt's, holding it in his own and bringing it up to brush a kiss against his knuckles. "All I ever wanted to do was spend my life loving you."
"You have," Kurt replied, tilting his head in to rest their foreheads together. "Please promise you'll find me just as soon next time, if not sooner? I don't want to have to wait for you any longer than I have to."
"We'll find each other, and we'll fall in love, and we'll have another seventy-five years or more to add to the rest. I'll never stop loving you, Kurt Hummel. Not in this lifetime, or the next, or the one after that. Over and over..."
"...for all eternity."
Title: Save Every Day (17/17)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,226~
Summary: There’s a moment when you say to yourself, there you are -- I’ve been looking for you forever. Looking back on that moment and all the moments since, I’m glad to say we spent our lives together. And we were happy.
Author's Note: This is because of Blaine’s Time Capsule video, and thanks to pureklaination for suggesting that I write it. Thank you also to whenidance for being my sounding board, and aelora for being my beta. It is canon compliant up through the 5x01 (or at least the preview for it).
[ Previous]
Just like how some days were better than others, some rooms at the retirement home were definitely better than others - whether it was a particularly good day or not.
When Katie had started working at that particular home, she'd learned very quickly about some rooms, some residents.
There was Mr. Jackson, who talked to anyone who would stop to listen or talk back and, despite the fact that he'd been on medication for Alzheimer’s for many decades, had such vivid and clear memories from his childhood and growing up that he could keep almost anyone enthralled with the stories he told. Then there was Mrs. Bennett, who didn't have the same luck as far as her memory and mental state went, and who didn't recognize her family members every time when they would come to visit.
Most residents were pleasant enough, though some were mean, others sad. Katie supposed there was a mixture of all that sort at any of those kinds of places. There was always going to be a combination of those who were sicker, who hadn't had the luck or genetics to have aged as gracefully or well as others, but that was why they were there. It was why they were all there, it was just a matter of figuring out everyone's quirks and the best ways to keep them in as good of health as possible, to keep them entertained as they whiled away the days.
It was during her first week there that the nurse she was shadowing offered her a knowing smile while they walked down the hall toward a wing where she hadn't had the chance to go yet. That smile was the same one she'd seen when she'd been introduced to Mr. Jackson, and again when she'd first met a woman named Rosa who seemed to consider everyone who worked there part of her family, and who had immediately wanted to learn all about her life leading up to that point - including her favorite color so she could knit her a scarf. It was just that that time the smile was slightly different, and definitely the most intriguing she'd ever found it to be.
"Why do I feel like you're about to let me in on some secret?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If it's a secret, it's the worst kept one in the entire place," came the response, and the smile grew. "Room 206 - it's everyone's favorite place. I don't know a single person who's ever come out of there with anything less than a smile on their face. I'll warn you that it's easy to lose track of time, to get sucked in and forget that you're supposed to be working, but other than doing your rounds and checking in, it's a good place to go toward the end of the day, or if it's slow, or if you really need something to make you smile."
"Who's in 206?"
"The only married couple we have here - Blaine and Kurt Anderson-Hummel. They're as easy to work with as anyone here, both sweet, fun, wonderful gentlemen, neither of whom have any serious health issues that we have to keep a particular eye on. They tend to keep more to themselves than some of the others we have around, but I guess it makes sense because they have each other to keep company."
They drew up close to the door, which was partway opened, enough for Katie to glance inside and see the state of the room - cozy, very much made into a home, and with two elderly men sitting close together on a couch, looking down at a computer in front of them and smiling at whatever they were seeing. Even just from that, she could understand why that room was a place the employees liked to go, because it looked warm and inviting, and the men there looked the same, like they could be anyone's grandpas and just walking into the room would earn a hug and maybe a kiss on the cheek before being taken over to sit on the couch with them to catch up on what had been happening.
"What are they watching?" she asked quietly, glancing back to her companion, who was looking over some paperwork as she leaned against the wall.
"I couldn't say," she answered smoothly, and that knowing smile just grew as she moved away from the wall with a shrug. "Maybe you should ask them. Go introduce yourself, I'll come find you if I need your help with something."
Katie watched as she walked away before her gaze turned back to the door to the room, not quite open enough for an invitation but not closed completely for privacy either. She knocked lightly as she pushed it open the rest of the way so she could go inside, drawing their attention away from the screen and offering them both a smile as she crossed the room to get to where they were sitting to be able to introduce herself properly.
"Hi there, I'm Katie, I'm new here, just started working a few days ago and didn't have a chance to stop in and say hello to you before," she said, extending her hand first to one, then the other, not sure which was Blaine and which was Kurt, but figuring that mystery could be solved easily enough. "Kurt and Blaine Anderson-Hummel, correct?"
"Correct." The man closest to her spoke first, the one with the carefully styled hair and the bow tie smartly straightened beneath the collar of his shirt, an easy smile spreading across his features as he looked up at her. "I'm Blaine, and this is my husband, Kurt."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"And you," Kurt replied, sitting up a little straighter and drawing his hand back from where he'd reached up to shake hers.
"I didn't mean to interrupt whatever you were watching, I just figured I would stop in since I was down this way," Katie went on, and Blaine gave a small shake of his head to stop her from apologizing any more.
"It's fine, we're used to having visitors from time to time." He chuckled and reached over to rest his hand on Kurt's knee, his thumb rubbing over it lightly as he looked at him. "Isn't that right?"
"I can't remember the last time we didn't have a day where people dropped in," Kurt agreed, a little grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Luckily we haven't been doing anything that would cause a scandal..."
"Well I would hope someone would knock if your door was closed," Katie replied with a soft laugh, absently smoothing her hands over the front of her scrubs. "I heard that you had quite the popular room, so I just had to come and check it out for myself. From the talk, I expected there to be some kind of serious entertainment going on."
"Oh, there's talk?" Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow as he grinned softly. "I shudder to think of what rumors are being spread around the staff because of us."
"I hardly think it's anything horrible."
"It's nothing bad, I promise," Katie said, shaking her head and giving a quick glance around the room to take it in better since she was inside and able to see it all. "I just heard that you're both wonderful and make people smile - so clearly, nothing bad at all."
"You can sit, if you want." Her attention got drawn back to them, away from the pictures on the wall, when Kurt spoke, and she glanced down to see them both looking up at her with inviting smiles. "Unless you have work to do, of course."
"Nothing that would keep me from sitting for a few minutes," she conceded as she moved to sit on the empty cushion of the couch. "Thank you."
Once she was seated she could see the screen of the computer fully, the image that was paused clearly from the movie they'd been watching, but not something that she recognized. She didn't want to intrude in asking them what it was, but she figured it wasn't a question that could hurt - and besides, she'd been told she should ask them if she really wanted to know, so if it was something she shouldn't be asking she assumed she wouldn't have been encouraged to do so by someone who knew much better than her.
"What's this?" she asked as she nodded toward the computer, letting her gaze linger on the screen for a few more seconds before she looked back to them. Blaine's eyes were almost sparking at the question, and Kurt slid his hand to rest over where Blaine's was still on his leg.
"It's a video from, well... from when I proposed," Blaine replied, unable to stop the smile that spread across his features. "It was a bit of an elaborate spectacle."
"Which made it perfect," Kurt added, and Katie glanced back to the screen to try and discern them from the rest in the slightly blurred image that was there. "It was the most perfect moment of my life up until then."
"Here, I'll rewind it for you."
Before Katie could even register what was happening, Blaine leaned forward and ran the video back to get to the beginning, a spliced in interview of him talking to the camera by himself. She could tell it was him, so obviously the man sitting next to her - just so many years younger. He had those same sparkling eyes, that smile that seemed to brighten the entire room, and an earnestness about everything he was saying that she felt like she had no choice but to believe each word with every single fiber of her being. There was so much love in everything he was saying that it brought a lump to her throat, and that was before the video of the actual proposal itself started.
Blaine had been right when he'd said it was elaborate, and a bit of a spectacle, but she could tell both from the Kurt on film and the one sitting down the couch from her that it was exactly the right amount of spectacle and romance for the people involved. She couldn't help it when a few tears fell from her eyes, the raw love and emotion right there on the screen feeling like it was squeezing and pulling at her heart, all because of these two men she'd barely met ten minutes prior. There was so much love, and Blaine's speech was just as earnest and heartfelt as everything he'd said in the video before the proposal, if not more, and she quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks during the brief pause between the end of the proposal and them popping up on the screen again together after Kurt said yes, and they'd kissed, and given her easily the most romantic moment she'd ever seen captured on film.
It wasn't as though it got any less emotional then, because as soon as Kurt asked for Blaine to give him a minute, it was like she knew it was about to get even more so than it had been - and she was right. To her, it felt like she was looking in on a private moment of their lives, like she was seeing something that had only been meant for them - and maybe that was what it had been at one point, because why else would these moments have been caught on film? - but even with that slight feeling of intrusion, she was glad that she was seeing it because it was so beautiful and honest that she didn't even know what to say once the video was done and Blaine leaned forward to stop it.
"Wow, I..." she paused, clearing her throat to get a little more control over her voice as she gave a shake of her head. "That was beautiful, really beautiful. "How long have you been married?"
"Seventy-four years, eleven months, and a bunch of days," Blaine replied, leaning over to press a kiss to Kurt's cheek. "Our anniversary is next week."
"Next week?" Katie asked, the amount of time making her feel as though she hadn't heard them clearly and needed clarification. "I'm assuming there's been a celebration planned? Seventy-five years is definitely something worth celebrating."
"Oh, we've had some things in the works, but mostly we're just glad we've made it this far," Kurt said, lacing his fingers with Blaine's and giving his hand a noticeable squeeze. "And we've definitely got lots of years after that to go, because I'm no where near ready to be done."
"Me either," Blaine agreed quietly, the corners of his eyes crinkling as his smile spread across his features. "I'll never be ready."
"Well I'll have to make sure to be here for that," Katie said as she moved to stand up, feeling like she should get back to work even though she was sure she could have stayed there for the rest of her shift and been content. Truthfully, it was one part feeling like she should be working but at least two parts feeling as though she should let them get back to the reminiscing she'd interrupted when she'd come in. "Let me know if you need any help with the planning - I may be new but I'm sure there are lots of strings I could pull."
"We definitely will," Blaine replied, lifting up his free hand to catch hers and squeeze it gently. "Thank you."
------------
When the Anderson-Hummel anniversary happened, it was like everything else stopped - and rightfully so. Katie couldn't think of anyone else she knew that had made it to seventy-five years of marriage. It was a twinge of bittersweet for some of the other residents, those who had lost their spouses, but for the most part everyone seemed to be happy for the couple and just as excited for a celebration if nothing else. For people who had been described as those who kept to themselves more than socializing with others, Kurt and Blaine seemed to have a friendly relationship at the least with everyone else who lived in the home, so that seemed to surpass a lot of the bittersweet emotions that came through the door into the main living room that had been decorated for the occasion.
It wasn't just the residents who were there, but the staff as well - even those who had the day off made sure to come in to join in with the festivities, and the Anderson-Hummel family was sure to be there as well. Katie met their daughter Elizabeth, and her children, and their children, and every single one of them was so sweet that it was easy to see how they were all related to the men she'd had the complete pleasure of meeting less than a week prior - and had stopped in on to see every day since.
What Katie had quickly learned was that the proposal was just the beginning of all the moments they had captured on film, easily ready to watch and share. Getting to see the much younger versions of the men she quickly got to know in the short days of the acquaintance was something she'd never experienced before, and she was sure she'd never experience again. She could see them so clearly, the mannerisms that were the same from the day the video was made to them sitting there beside her, and the fact that there had always been so much love, and it had only grown over the years. Considering where it had started, it made her wonder if their hearts were somehow abnormally large - like how the Grinch's heart grew three times as big, but their hearts were just that way normally.
Watching the videos was something they always did, according to the staff, but it was usually just a video here or there, whatever they felt like watching at the time. Everything leading up to their anniversary had been deliberately planned, from the day Katie had first met them and seen the proposal to the day they all stood there in the living room, celebrating seventy-five years of marriage between them. The proposal had been first, but then it had been all the videos between then and when they actually got married, moments pulled from their lives and showing so much even through words that might not have meant that much passed between anyone else, but it was /them/ and every word seemed to carry the perfect amount of weight to show just how much it meant.
The videos were also the perfect amount of sweet and ridiculous to capture the men that she'd quickly gotten to know, because that seemed to sum them up just right. They /were/ sweet, and loving, and very much people she wish she'd gotten to know sooner, but they were also ornery and silly, and that wasn't showcased any better than when they were together and talking - or in the first video that showed up on the screen at the party, starting with a very young and sleep rumpled Blaine popping onto the screen and talking about how it was the morning of their wedding, which easily turned into him going to wake up Kurt, and the sheer love that was there on the screen with the ease of kisses passed back and forth and the joy of the day was almost palpable because of how happy the two of them were. The Kurt and Blaine standing in the room with her were unabashed, unashamed by what their past selves were doing on the screen, and she wouldn't have expected anything less even in the short time she'd known them.
It was like background noise when the ceremony came on. People were paying attention to it, but at the same time it wasn't as though they were focused in on every word being said. Katie could hear the vows being proclaimed from the speakers, but her attention was far more focused on the real life versions of Kurt and Blaine who were standing there not ten feet from her, mouthing along with them as if the words were still fresh on their tongues.
"I love you," Kurt murmured as he slipped his arms around Blaine, slowly starting to sway in time with the music playing on the video once the ceremony itself was over, and Blaine easily followed suit, as if it was second nature - which it probably was by that point.
"I love you, too," Blaine said softly, moving his hand up to take one of Kurt's, holding it in his own and bringing it up to brush a kiss against his knuckles. "All I ever wanted to do was spend my life loving you."
"You have," Kurt replied, tilting his head in to rest their foreheads together. "Please promise you'll find me just as soon next time, if not sooner? I don't want to have to wait for you any longer than I have to."
"We'll find each other, and we'll fall in love, and we'll have another seventy-five years or more to add to the rest. I'll never stop loving you, Kurt Hummel. Not in this lifetime, or the next, or the one after that. Over and over..."
"...for all eternity."