You, You Ought to Give Me Wedding Rings: Husbands, Part 1/3, continued
And then the music changed again. They looked at each other, a steady, weighty gaze, then Kurt stooped down, handed Lily the bottle of soapy liquid that he hoped beyond hope wouldn't be a complete disaster, and nudged her toward the aisle.
“It's go time, Lily Lou.”
“Dad?” she said, turning around, questioning. “Blow bubbles with me?”
“We'll be right behind you, Lil,” Blaine whispered, blowing her a kiss. “Those bubbles are all for you.”
She smiled at that, and walked forward, happily blowing bubbles into the evening sky. A soft “Awww,” rose through the crowd of people, and she spun around with the wand, her favorite thing to do with them at home, and shrouded herself with them, squealing happily. She blew a string of them straight up, for the “angels to catch,” as she told her dads. She then caught sight of her grandpa up toward the front and started toward him, leaving trails of the iridescent orbs floating in the air all around her.
And Blaine and Kurt walked forward in her wake, hands clasped together, beaming. They'd waited a long time to take this stroll together, and they were going to take their time. As they meandered forward, trying to see the faces of all their guests, they saw their little girl suddenly stop. She looked around, seeming to be searching for something, then turned and spotted them. She threw her bubble bottle to the ground, having lost interest (daddies were always better than anything, bubbles included), and bolted back toward them. Blaine kneeled down and caught her in a bear hug, then picked her up. They could hear murmurs of laughter from their guests.
“Daddy!” she said happily, throwing her arms around his neck. “I blew them, did you see? Did you see me?”
“Hey sweetheart,” he laughed, nuzzling his face into hers. “I saw you. You did a great job.” More than a few people were wiping tears from their eyes as Kurt and Blaine, with Lily in tow, continued to the front of the aisle.
When they reached the front, Blaine moved to put Lily down, but she shook her head violently.
“No, Daddy, no. Hold me, please.”
“Baby, will you go sit with Grandpa and Nana and Uncle Finn for a few minutes? I promise you'll get to come back up here with us in just a little bit,” Kurt explained softly to her.
She solemnly nodded, and let Blaine set her down on the ground. Burt, who was sitting on the end of the bench one row back, held out his arms for her, and she ran and crawled into his lap.
Once she was settled, Wes smiled at them and began to speak.
“It is my deep honor and privilege to join you all here for this joyous occasion. Today, Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel will be joined in legal matrimony.”
Whoops and cheers rose up from the crowd sitting on the benches.
Wes continued. “Every person here today has played a role in supporting and loving and guiding Blaine or Kurt, or both of them together, throughout their lives. They wished for me to express their gratitude to all of you for that. They've faced adversity and struggle since the time that they first met - eighteen long years ago-” (at this, Blaine rolled his eyes at his friend, and the audience laughed) “but they've never backed down from the fight, and they've never given up on each other because it's too hard or it's not worth it. Because anyone who knows them will know that their relationship is worth it. They are one of the strongest couples I know, and their love is one of the truest, most steadfast things I've ever seen.”
Kurt and Blaine grinned at each other.
“So we're here to celebrate Blaine and Kurt, and their love, and what they mean to us. We're here to celebrate their marriage to each other. And here to help us out with part of that celebration are some old friends...” Wes made a motion, and a huge throng of people stood up from the benches and made their way off to the side of the tree just a bit. “Blaine, Kurt … consider this a wedding gift from all of us.”
They stood in shock as they saw members of the Warblers and nearly all of the New Directions file over to their places in the lineup. The Warblers started their background harmony with the New Directions joining in, and Finn stepped forward and started to sing.
You looked like the sun
I was the only one
who could stare until you were done shining on me...
Kurt felt his heart grow three sizes bigger, Grinch-style, as he watched his brother smile at him, singing to them.
“Thank you,” he mouthed silently, and hoped that Finn could see him.
After the first stanza, Tina stepped forward and joined Finn, harmonizing to the remainder of the first verse.
As the chorus came, the entire group broke into beautiful harmony:
The rest of my life can't compare to this night
And only the heartaches have given me sight
They bring me to you, yeah
They bring me to you, yeah
And then, much to everyone's delight, Jeff and Nick stepped forward to sing the second verse, torn between gazing at each other with stars in their eyes and looking at Kurt and Blaine with ridiculous grins on their faces.
Moon pours through the ceiling tonight
embraces us tight
Shows me we're right for each other
And as we lie here and let the world fade away
the sunrise tries to end it while we try to stay
While they were serenading the couple and all the rest of the wedding guests, Kurt leaned in and whispered to Blaine.
“This is everything I ever hoped our wedding would be.”
Blaine took his hand. “I'm so glad. Was it worth it, all the stress? We could've just gone to the courthouse 9 months ago, you know?” he gently teased.
Kurt's eyebrows shot up. “Me? Kurt Hummel? Get married at the courthouse? I don't think so, mister. I've been waiting my whole life for this night.”
Blaine leaned in closer. “So have I. God, you have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now.”
“Mmmm,” came his murmured reply, “Me too. But patience, my darling - let's get hitched first.”
Blaine nodded. “Right. You look stunning by the way, I don't know if I've mentioned it...”
Kurt felt a blush creep up his neck. “You have. Several times. But I'm not sure I've told you how perfect you look tonight, Mr. Anderson-Hummel.”
They sighed and leaned against each other as they listened to their friends finish the song, Blaine's lightly-moussed curls pressing on Kurt's cheek.
When the final line was sung, Wes trotted back up to the front as everyone else made their way back to their seats.
Blaine pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Wes. That was perfect.”
Wes smiled at both of them. “It was our pleasure. And you should just wait until the reception...”
He continued on with the ceremony, leaving Kurt and Blaine to wonder what on earth their friends had in store for them as the evening progressed.
“As a judge, it has been my distinct pleasure to be able to join people in matrimony over the years, but I have to say, the last 9 months have brought me some of the most poignant moments of my career. There are a lot of people out there who've done what the two of you did, waiting until the entire nation has rights to marriage before taking the step yourself. But I don't think I've ever been so honored or moved when asked to do a wedding, to marry two people, as I was when you asked me. It means so much to me to be here on this day with the two of you.”
He paused as tears gathered in his eyes, and he brushed them away. “Marriage is not the end-all-be-all of a relationship. Which is obvious to you, as you've been going strong for 17 years without any sort of contract at all. Being married isn't going to magically fix - or tear apart - anything that you already have. After tonight, you, Blaine, will still have an inexplicable tendency to climb on furniture. You will not magically start liking avocados, no matter how hard Kurt tries to get you to eat them. And you, Kurt, will still be just as picky about color-coding your post-it notes. Being married isn't going to suddenly decrease your extensive facial routine by even a second. But what it will do, for both of you, is publicly - and legally, now, which is just incredibly exciting to me - solidify what you have. Tomorrow you'll wake up next to each other with a renewed sense of love and devotion and respect for each other, and I can say that because I speak from experience. You both know this already, but with time, a good, healthy love will grow and deepen and spread and change, and it will be a little different every year, but it will grow continuously better.”
Blaine took Kurt's hand and squeezed it.
“Kurt, Blaine, marriage is a beautiful, beautiful thing, but you have to work to make it thrive and flourish. It doesn't just come naturally. A lot of people in opposition of the marriage equality laws have spoken about the sanctity of marriage, and how letting same-sex couples tie the knot would destroy that. Let me just say a few words about the sanctity of marriage - a marriage's sanctity is only destroyed when the two people in that marriage allow it to fall apart. Please don't misunderstand me - I'm not saying that divorce is wrong, or shouldn't be an option, but if you want to talk about things that are sacred, they are always things that last. A marriage that ends in divorce is a marriage without sanctity, and it will leave permanent scars. So I implore you today - if you want to keep your marriage sacred, to fight the outcries that same-sex marriages are sacrilegious and detrimental to the community around you - treat your marriage with as much devotion as you have for each other. Love it and care for it, and it will stay strong. Neglect it, and it will fall apart. Make it a point to be just as honest with each other as you promised you would be seventeen years ago, and always be open and forthcoming and loyal. Trust each other, and be trustworthy.”
He took a deep breath as if to steel himself and continued. “I've had the good fortune to watch your relationship unfold from the beginning. You've always been an inspiration to me - to this day, I try to model the way I treat my lovely wife after the way you've always treated each other. You're better people because of each other, both of you, and I have no doubt that if you simply continue doing what you've done all this time, your marriage will flourish for years to come.”
He then addressed the wedding guests. “Kurt and Blaine have chosen to exchange traditional wedding vows as well as their own, and it is my pleasure to bear witness to what they're about to pledge to each other. Kurt, Blaine, please face each other and take each other's hands.”
They did so, and nothing in that moment could have kept the smiles off of their faces.
Wes took a deep breath. “Alright, I told myself I wasn't going to cry during this part.”
Soft laughter rose from everyone seated on the benches.
“Blaine, will you repeat after me? I, Blaine Anderson, take you, Kurt Hummel, to be my husband.”
He repeated the line, beaming at Kurt. Husband. Oh, how he'd waited for so long to be able to say that.
“I promise to strive always to consider your needs in addition to my own;”
“I promise to strive always to consider your needs in addition to my own;”
“to be a source of strength for you; to accept your strength for myself;”
“to be a source of strength for you; to accept your strength for myself;”
“to share freely my thoughts and feelings; to listen when you share yours with me.”
“to share freely my thoughts and feelings; to listen when you share yours with me.”
“I make these solemn promises, to keep in times of plenty and in want;”
“I make these solemn promises, to keep in times of plenty and in want;”
“in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health; for as long as we both shall live.”
“in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health; for as long as we both shall live.”
Each line that Wes spoke, Blaine repeated, his voice breaking ever so slightly when he got to the last line about joy and sorrow. They'd had enough of both to last a lifetime, he felt.
“Kurt, please do the same. I, Kurt Hummel, take you, Blaine Anderson, to be my husband.”
“I, Kurt Hummel, take you, Blaine Anderson, to be my husband.” Kurt was tearing up by the last four words. He sniffed, dabbed his eyes with the pocket square he knew he'd be using, and glanced over at his father. Tears were streaming down Burt's face, and Kurt had to look away or it would just be waterworks from there on out.
“I promise to strive always to consider your needs in addition to my own;”
“I promise to strive always to consider your needs in addition to my own;”
“to be a source of strength for you; to accept your strength for myself;”
“to be a source of strength for you; to accept your strength for myself;”
Kurt's voice slowly grew stronger, less tearful, as he repeated the words, meaning every last syllable.
“to share freely my thoughts and feelings; to listen when you share yours with me.”
“to share freely my thoughts and feelings; to listen when you share yours with me.”
“I make these solemn promises, to keep in times of plenty and in want;”
“I make these solemn promises, to keep in times of plenty and in want;”
“in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health; for as long as we both shall live.”
“in joy and in sorrow; in sickness and in health; for as long as we both shall live.”
As he finished, they both breathed a heavy, relieved sigh, and let out breathy laughs. Wes was wiping away the tears he'd sworn he wouldn't shed.
“The rings you wear now currently represent what is going to be - by moving them to the other hand today, you'll be symbolizing what is. These rings are an outward sign of your love and commitment to each other, and a symbol of the vows that you just made. Wear them with pride and with loyalty.”
“Blaine, take the ring off Kurt's right ring finger, and place it on his left while you repeat after me: With this ring, I wed you, and pledge my love to you, now and forever.”
Kurt felt the cool metal slide over his knuckles as his husband - husband - recited the words that Wes had instructed him to say.
“With this ring, I wed you, and pledge my love to you, now and forever.”
“Kurt, take the ring off of Blaine's right ring finger, and place it on his left while you repeat after me: With this ring, I wed you, and pledge my love to you, now and forever.”
He did as Wes instructed, and Blaine could have sworn that his heartrate doubled when Kurt looked him square in the eye and repeated the vow with a firm, resolute voice.
This was real. They were really doing this. And Blaine wasn't sure if he could get through the next portion of the ceremony or not.
I'm so sorry ... LJ is totally being crack-y this morning...
Next AGAIN!