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Dave adjusted his tie in the mirror, taking a deep breath as he pulled out a small, folded-up piece of paper from his front jacket pocket. His hands were trembling as he opened up the paper and read the chicken scratch written in ink.
“Okay-- Honey, from the moment I first laid eyes on you-- No, why did I write that…?” Dave sighed, folding the paper back up and shoving it into his pocket. He didn’t feel like he could do this.
He heard the door opening up behind him and he turned around to see who it was; maybe it wasn’t too late…
“H-hey you,” Blaine said as he came into the room, slipping in quietly in hopes no one else would follow.
Dave’s face lit up immediately at the sight of his best friend and best man. “Blaine,” he greeted, sounding relieved.
Blaine took a moment as he leaned back against the closed door to just drink Dave in for a moment. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Dave in a suit but somehow he was more devastatingly handsome this time than the last. Maybe it was because they were running out of time. “You look… incredible...” he said as he swallowed hard. His heart had taken up residence in his throat and he couldn’t get it back down.
“Thanks,” Dave chuckled sheepishly as he looked down at his outfit before looking back up to meet his friend’s gaze. “I feel kind of silly all dressed up like this but y’know, it’s kind of the biggest day of my life so I guess I should look good, right?”
“Right,” Blaine replied in a gentle voice, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Ever since the day Blaine found out Dave was getting married he just knew any moment now Dave would realize that it was a mistake. He thought that putting a stop to their secret rendezvous would make Dave see what he was missing out on. The closer and closer they got to this day, he felt more and more anxious. There was more tension between them than ever. Any minute now Dave was going to call it off and promise Blaine that he could never marry anyone else but him. Blaine was so desperately in love with Dave and he knew in his heart that Dave felt the same.
Best friends didn’t look at each other the way they do.
And yet, nothing happened. Even still right there as they stood together alone in the room, Dave was readying himself to marry someone else.
“Okay, D, c’mon-- this isn’t funny…” Blaine shook his head, lifting himself from the door as he crossed his arms loosely.
Dave looked at Blaine, seemingly confused but when he saw the pleading look in his eyes he understood what he meant. “I mean, we both knew this day was coming…” he said, sounding a little disappointed despite it being his wedding day.
Blaine didn’t say anything further for a moment, just holding Dave’s gaze as he waited for him to say anything further. As they stood there in the pregnant silence, Blaine could feel himself getting more and more ansty. Shaking his head he let out a soft laugh. “So, this is really happening? You’re seriously going through with this?”
Responding with a shrug, Dave couldn’t bear to look Blaine in the eye for another moment. “Y-yeah, this is really happening,” he said, forcing himself to sound as sure as possible.
Blaine felt confused. He felt lied to-- he felt… almost betrayed. His stomach churned as he took a step closer to Dave; he did his best to keep his voice even but it cracked when he opened his mouth to speak. “After everything we’ve been through..?”
Dave’s hands roamed over hot flesh, his lover’s soft tanned skin making him moan with delight. His lips moved effortlessly and his tongue wrested with another for dominance. Shirts had been discarded as the two touched each other and moved together like a well-practiced dance.
“Jeez, you're so freakin' hot," he mumbled against supple lips. His erection was straining in his jeans and he undid the front to give himself a little relief. "Blaine…"
The sound Blaine’s name rolling off of Dave’s tongue made the shorter man groan aloud as the intensity of their kiss grew.
This hadn't been the first time nor would it be the last. An all-American, football-loving Dave Karofsky was a closeted queer and he enjoyed making out with other boys. More specifically, he liked making out with one Blaine Anderson.
Blaine was very much unlike him; he was out and proud, had experience with other men, and he was wholly confident in who he was and how he identified.
They couldn't have been any more opposite except for the fact that they were very attracted to one another. An unlikely friendship had turned into a curious kiss between "just friends" and then they were making out on the regular throughout high school and well into college.
"W-wait, I need to take a sec," Dave panted as he gently placed his hands on Blaine's shoulders and reared back to cool down. His cheeks were flushed, nearly as red as his lips while his pupils were blown wide.
Blaine’s chest heaved with heavy breaths, his own cheeks painted a deep crimson as he looked at his lover, nodding his head. “Y-yeah, of course,” he breathed, nodding his head as he let his hands slowly trail down Dave’s bare chest. “As much time as you need.” Blaine was always patient with Dave. As badly as he wanted to take that next step with him, he never wanted Dave to feel pressured by him so when Dave asked for a break, they took a break.
Dave closed his eyes and took a few breaths to steady himself. His body was getting ahead of himself-- Blaine had that effect on him-- and he just needed to calm down a little.
Blaine’s pulse was pounding in his ears in tune with his heart against his chest as he licked his lips, looking at the taller man as if he were a snack and Blaine was starving. Another reason Blaine was so patient was the fact that he was desperately in love with Dave.
"Sorry, I just-- you know I like you a lot, this is just… it’s a lot,” Dave confessed, opening his eyes to look into Blaine’s. Unlike Blaine, Dave was still in the closet and more often than not he resisted his urges. Some days he even refused to acknowledge that he was attracted to men-- even if that was a bold-faced lie.
“Hey,” Blaine cooed, lifting his hand to cup Dave’s cheek gently. “I know, okay? You don’t have to apologize.” He brushed his thumb over Dave’s cheek sweetly. “We can go as far as you want— even if it’s just this far.” Nibbling on his lip as he looked into Dave’s eyes, he let out a shaky breath. “You know how much I like you, too,”
Dave nodded, finding comfort in Blaine's touch. "It's just… I really feel like things will be easier if I just come out after I graduate, y'know? I hate the way word travels… everyone has to know everything about everyone else."
Blaine sighed softly, he knew that Dave was still apprehensive about coming out or even being honest with himself . He didn’t care; he’d play the long game. “I know.”
"I just… I want to do those things-- all of the things-- with you," Dave expressed, looking into Blaine's eyes. Despite his initial hesitation, there was a determination and a ferocity in his eyes that wasn't there before. "We've been doing this for, what-- three years now? I don't wanna do this with anyone but you."
Blaine shook his head as he scooted a little closer to Dave, his heart still beating quickly in his chest. “I know you don’t,” he whispered. “I don’t want to do any of this with anyone else but you either.” He moved so that he was straddling Dave’s lap, cupping his face again so he could gaze into his eyes. “It’s just you and me here, okay?” he promised, thumbing over his cheeks lovingly. “Nobody has to know,” his voice was just loud enough for Dave's ears even though they were the only two in the room.
Dave wrapped his arms around Blaine, his hands splayed across the smaller man's muscular back. He put his trust wholly into Blaine; there was no one else he could trust his secret with and he didn't plan on letting anyone else in, either. "Just you and me," he parrotted before closing the space between their lips and pulling him in for a fervid kiss.
Blaine made a soft noise as he automatically kissed Dave back, letting his hands slide down to his chest as they melted into each other. When they were with each other there was no telling where Blaine ended and where Dave began. Dave was giving Blaine his everything and Blaine didn’t dare take it for granted. Their first time together was slow, sweet, and a night to never be forgotten. Blaine would live their entire lives in the closet if it meant he could be with Dave forever.
Graduation came and went and Blaine still held the utmost of patience for Dave. They were twenty-five and they were still doing their little dance of fooling around behind closed doors. Their nights together had grown more frequent and it had at some point felt more like they were in a relationship. Dave would go out on dates with women that never became anything to keep up the guise that he was a straight man to the outside eye. To everyone else, he and Blaine just happened to be best friends.
“It’s just easier to be straight,” he said one day when Blaine had asked him about being true to himself beyond closed doors. They were lying in bed together in Dave’s apartment after having slept together.
Blaine sighed softly as he moved to lay more on his lover, placing his hand on Dave’s chest, resting his chin on his hand. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to be yourself, though…” He suggested gently, shrugging. “Then we could just be us together and you wouldn’t have to work so hard to hide— no more fake dates with girls. Just us, happy together.” He gave Dave a small little smile, drawing little imaginary circles into his chest. “You don’t have to come out to anyone… we could just be. Y’know?”
Even after so many years, despite him growing a little more antsy, Blaine was still set on waiting for Dave.
Dave gave a half-hearted shrug right back as he gazed up at his lover. As much as he knew he could potentially enjoy a real future together with Blaine, he didn't know if he could handle his family and other people knowing about him. He was afraid.
"Isn't that kind of what we're already doing now? I mean, I know you have your own apartment but you're over here so often it's like we're already living together," he joked, trying to divert the conversation where he was more comfortable.
Blaine smiled gently at Dave as he nodded his head; he wouldn’t press any further on the subject. “I know, sweetheart,” he spoke gently, patiently. Leaning in a little, he captured Dave’s lips in a slow kiss that lasted just a few moments before he was gazing into Dave’s eyes again. All of his feelings were right there at the surface where they stayed when they were together like this. “You know that I love you, right?” He offered his truth though it had never been a secret.
Dave couldn’t do anything but smile at Blaine’s declaration. “I know,” he answered quietly, bringing his hand up to cup the side of the other man’s cheek as he continued to stare into his eyes with such a soft gaze.
Even if the former had not been able to muster up those same words on his own, he never turned Blaine away and it had seemed like he was so completely in whatever sort of relationship they had that Blaine was certain Dave felt the same way for him, too.
Sometime after that, Paul, Dave’s father, introduced him to a young woman. She was affluent and her parents were old friends of the family. At first neither one of them was particularly interested in the other so Dave went through the usual motions whenever he dated a girl, but something about her made her different.
Maybe it was because she acted familiar with him from the get-go and there didn’t seem to be games when it came to what they both wanted. She was independent, strong-willed, and just didn’t refrain from speaking her mind. She had many qualities that Dave was envious of and he seemed to gravitate towards her because of that.
They began seeing each other regularly, and naturally she wanted to become intimate with him.
Thankfully for that night, Dave had helped himself to a few glasses of wine that he felt that he could go through with it. He bit down on his lip to keep from calling Blaine’s name as he climbed towards his climax with a woman he wasn’t in love with.
But as Dave lay in his bed with that woman wrapped around him and the sheets draped over their naked bodies, he knew that this was exactly what everyone else expected of him.
If everyone knew it had been Blaine who had kept his bed warm with him for nearly the past decade, there was sure to be whispers and murmurs-- Dave was positive of it. This mindset was exactly what he had when he talked to Blaine about his new girlfriend.
“It’s not really super serious; she’s kind of a family friend so she’s just sticking around more than the usual girls I date,” he told Blaine one Saturday afternoon.
Blaine sighed softly as he kicked off his shoes, they were settling into Dave’s apartment for the day just like usual. He listened as Dave told him about the new girl, not really interested, not really concerned. “Mm, well that’s great. I’m sure having her around makes you feel a little more relaxed on the family front, huh?” He asked as he got closer to Dave, placing his hands on his chest, slowly running them up to wrap around the taller’s neck. He felt like it’d been a hot minute since he’d had Dave alone and it was nice to be in their bubble.
Dave nodded. "With my family thinking that I'm serious about a girl, none of them probably suspect a thing," he said with confidence as he welcomed Blaine into a heated kiss.
Blaine returned Dave’s kiss easily with no hesitation as he pulled himself closer. "As long as I still have you I don't care,” he mumbled against his lover’s lips as he slipped his hands underneath the hem of Dave’s shirt to feel his skin. He was growing more needy by the second the longer they kissed. “Mm, take me to bed, D.”
"Gladly," Dave all but growled as he picked Blaine up with his strong arms and carried him into the bedroom. He plopped him into the plush sheets and then came crawling into bed after him.
As Blaine settled against Dave’s pillows, he placed his hands on the taller’s chest, feeling his heartbeat cause Blaine’s stomach to flip. He was about to mumble something affectionate when he caught a whiff of something… different. Dave’s bed didn’t smell like Dave— he smelled like someone else.
Dave noticed the look in his lover's eyes and stopped just short of kissing him. "What's wrong?" he asked, holding himself up above Blaine.
Blaine’s brow furrowed as he looked up at Dave, the thought crossing his mind that maybe he hadn’t been the only one in Dave’s bed lately. “Are…” he hesitated to even ask, it had been a big deal when they’d had sex for the first time and Blaine knew Dave didn’t sleep with anyone else. Neither did he. “Was… was she here… ? Did you have sex with her?” He felt his insides twisting as he carefully watched Dave’s reaction as he moved to sit up a little.
As Blaine sat up, Dave immediately reared back and sat back on his knees. He refrained from answering, his mouth hanging open stupidly as no words came out. He didn't want to lie but the truth wasn't a pleasant one.
Dave’s lack of answer was all the answer that Blaine needed. He felt a little sick to his stomach as he sat up a little more, raising his eyebrows. “You did…” He didn’t know how to feel, it was the first time since they’d begun their secret affair that he’d actually felt hurt by Dave’s actions.
"It-- it didn't mean anything! It just-- she wanted it and I didn't have a good reason to tell her 'no'," Dave tried to make an excuse. "I couldn't even go through with it sober; I did it drunk and I thought about you the entire time… I didn't even like it that much."
Blaine’s feelings were hurt when Dave suggested he had no good reason to tell her no. “I feel like you’ve managed this long without sleeping with someone else— what makes her so special?” This was the first time Blaine felt mildly threatened by someone else.
Dave frowned. "I don't know, I've never been on more than a few dates with the same girl and this was like, our ninth date. I didn't want her to think there was something wrong with me if I couldn't…" He shrugged again because he knew it wasn't a good excuse.
Blaine frowned as he glanced down away from Dave’s gaze, trying to process this information and his feelings about this information all at once. He was hurt by this, but could he really blame Dave? He himself had been encouraging of Dave doing whatever it took to stay in the closet if that’s what he wanted. Still, he felt a little heartbroken.
Leaning forward a little, Dave placed his hand on Blaine's knee. "Hey, she's nothing compared to you. What she and I have is just for show-- I'm using her to stay in the closet. I only have real feelings for you," he tried to reassure him.
Blaine raised his eyebrows when Dave said he had feelings for him. Moments where Dave told Blaine explicitly how he felt were rare and Blaine never took them for granted. “Yeah?” He smiled a little, glancing down briefly before looking at Dave again. “You have feelings for me?” He liked these moments. He lived for them.
"Yeah, of course," Dave affirmed, a faint blush kissing his cheeks. He grew bashful and briefly looked away before uttering his next words, "I mean, you're pretty much my favorite person in the world."
Blaine was a little taken back by Dave’s words, not expecting to hear that come from his mouth. Dave did most of his talking through his actions and that’s how he knew Dave loved him, there had rarely been verbal confirmation. His expression softened as he took a soft breath. “D,” he whispered, placing his hands on either side of Dave’s cheeks to look into his eyes. “You’re my favorite person, too.” He supposed that he could forgive this particular instance considering it had never happened before and he knew how Dave struggled.
He would just have to remind him why he kept coming back to Blaine.
Dave suddenly turned three shades of red darker and averted his eyes from Blaine, though he didn't try to move away from him. Putting his feelings into words made him feel like he was on the spot and even though he had nothing to be embarrassed about, he couldn't help but feel so when Blaine's attention was on him.
Instead of saying anything further, Dave closed the space between them and kissed Blaine firmly on the mouth. It was like he was sealing his words with his kiss.
Blaine’s breath caught in his throat as Dave kissed him. He felt the intention behind Dave’s kiss and the message was loud and clear. He had nothing to really worry about. “Mm, I’m sure you can find some way to make it up to me,” he mumbled against his lover’s lips with a teasing tone as laid back-- but not before reaching behind himself to grab and toss the pillows off the bed so the smell of the other woman was gone.
Even though Dave had insisted the relationship had been for show, Paul still offered up Dave’s late mother’s engagement ring. Dave had only been dating this woman for a little over six months but Paul argued that they weren’t getting any younger and a marriage would solidify their relationship.
“She won’t wait around forever if you don’t act sooner rather than later,” Paul tried to pass on some words of wisdom. “It’s time for you to get serious if you really care about her. Your grandmother also wants to have a great-grandchild before she passes on.”
The pressure to get married was all too real. Nearly everyone in his family had married young, including his father, and as Dave was inching into his late twenties he knew the expectation to get married would only grow.
Dave stared at the gorgeous diamond ring, the large gem flanked by smaller gems of sapphire. He didn’t really want to propose, but of all the girls he dated in his lifetime, he liked this one the best.
It was around this time Blaine’s patience had started to fray just a little. When Dave was standing in front of him telling him that he had proposed to this girl, Blaine couldn’t help the amused expression that had washed over his face. “You’re serious...” His eyes narrowed just briefly as he assessed Dave’s body language.
It was obvious that Dave's heart wasn't in it. Try as he might, Dave wasn't in love with her. She had confessed her love to him and he felt guilty for lying but said that he loved her, too. She had been so happy when he slipped the ring onto her finger that Dave truly felt like he could make it work. "Yeah, I'm serious," he stated, unable to look Blaine in the eye. "I mean, it's just easier like this, right? I can just keep pretending and no one needs to know…"
Narrowing his eyes again just for a moment, Blaine laughed under his breath. “Baby, if you think this is easier…” he trailed off, not wanting to argue. “Whatever you say.”
"If being in a serious relationship is a good cover for what we're doing, don't you think being married will mean no one would suspect a thing?" Dave asked, oblivious to how the real world worked.
“I don’t think being in love with someone else is the best way to start a marriage,” he said, shaking his head. Blaine had been fine with being in the closet and Dave kissing someone else so long as they could be together but between Dave having sex with this girl and now proposing to her, he wasn’t sure if Dave knew exactly what he was doing. “You know if you move in with her this, ” he gestured between them, “will be nearly impossible to keep up.”
Dave shrugged. "I can go on 'business trips' and maybe you and I can take a sudden interest in camping and go away for a whole weekend every now and then," he suggested. "She's got her own life apart from me so she won't even think twice about us hanging out. She hasn't yet, anyway."
Blaine couldn’t stifle the chuckle that fell from his lips again. “If fake business trips and fake trips are easier for you, then…” he shrugged, not sure how to end his sentence. “I think you’ll find it very discouraging when your wife wonders why you still smell like me after you’re married… because you know she smells me on you the same way I can smell her...” Blaine sighed.
Dave pulled the collar of his shirt up to his nose to breathe in, oblivious to what Blaine was talking about. "But she knows that we're best friends and that we see each other all of the time," he reasoned. "Like, I was gonna ask you to be my best man. I don't want to go through all of this without you."
Blaine shook his head with a slight look of bewilderment, unable to take any of this seriously. “Yeah, okay, I’ll be your best man. Sure. I need to be next to you anyway when you realize you can’t go through with it,” he teased.
With the wedding date set, Dave asked Blaine to go out with him to pick out their suits. Dave wanted to look his best for the big day and he trusted Blaine's opinion above anyone else's.
"She wants me to wear a light blue tie but I think I'd look better sticking to darker colors over a white shirt," Dave pondered out loud as he browsed through the selection. He was acting like this was just another day and nothing major was changing. Maybe Dave's delusions had gotten the better of him and he truly believed he could get away with keeping this secret locked up forever.
Blaine watched Dave with a furrowed brow as he spoke about suits. “I don’t think it matters, it’s not like either one of you actually cares,” he grumbled as he rolled his eyes. His patience was wearing thin finally as Dave continued to go through the motions of this fake wedding.
Dave picked out a black suit with a sleek lapel, holding it out in front of him for Blaine to see. "I care-- that's the whole reason why I asked you to be my best man and why you're here helping me pick out a suit," he replied.
Blaine just nodded his head, completely uninterested in the suit Dave was holding up. “Yeah, that one's great— also light blue is ugly. Don’t wear light blue.” He commented mostly out of disdain for this woman who was practically stealing his future right out from under him.
Dave carried the suit over to one of the workers who went off into the back to see if they had it in his size. He turned around to face his friend as they walked towards the fitting rooms. "See, this is why I have you here with me because at least now I can tell her you also don't think light blue looks good on me."
Blaine sighed heavily as he didn’t register anything Dave said; he was too much in his head. He had been waiting for years for Dave to be honest with him and now it was like they were running out of time and Dave just didn’t care. “Listen, David, I think we have to stop. I can’t do this anymore,” he said as he gestured between them, keeping his voice down so no one would overhear.
When Blaine lowered his voice, Dave stood directly in front of him and dropped his voice as well. "What do you mean? Is it just because I'm getting married..?" he asked, brows knitting together in mixed confusion and disappointment.
“Yeah,” Blaine nodded without hesitation. “You’re getting married, you’re having sex with someone else, you’re moving in with her, you’re going to have kids and a life with her…” My life with her. He shrugged, not tearing his gaze away from Dave’s. “It’s also because… because my feelings matter, too, David.” His voice quivered a little when he said that last sentence.
Dave let out a soft sigh. He knew it wasn't fair to Blaine but he felt he was doing what he had to do to protect his secret. "I'm not gonna have kids with her-- she doesn't even like kids," he said as he missed the point completely. He reached out to take Blaine’s hand in an attempt to reassure him. "Of course your feelings matter, too."
Blaine took his hand away from Dave’s after a moment, shaking his head. “I’ll always be your best friend, D, and I’ll continue to be your best man. But we can’t be… us… anymore. You can’t have us both, not like this.”
Nibbling on the bottom of his lip, Dave exhaled a sigh through his nostrils. He knew he was being posed with a deliberate choice and he couldn't continue having his cake and eating it too. It wasn't fair to his fiancée and it wasn't fair to Blaine. "Okay," he said with a frown, "I mean, you're the most important person in my entire life and I get it-- sneaking around isn't really fair to you; you deserve someone that can give you the hundred percent you deserve."
Blaine sighed heavily, sadly. He felt a little discouraged from Dave’s reaction. He had hoped the prospect of not being with him anymore would maybe push him along a little. “So, you’re okay with being just friends?”
"... I mean, no , but you and I both know why I can't go all in with you. It's just not in the stars for us-- for me," Dave replied with a shrug and a disappointed expression.
“But marrying this girl is ?” Blaine asked, his frustration growing in addition to his sadness.
Dave shook his head. "I already told you this thing with her is just for show; I'm not actually in love with her and I'm only doing it because she's at least tolerable as a person and my dad likes her. She and I are friends."
Blaine’s brow furrowed and he shook his head. “That’s not…”
Suddenly the worker returned with an identical suit in Dave's size and ushered him into one of the fitting rooms.
Blaine just watched as Dave went off and he let out a huff. He felt rather… annoyed by Dave’s words. They were unfair. Why couldn’t Dave at least just tell the girl? If they were such good friends she would understand. Then they could all be in on this little secret and he wouldn’t have to share the love of his life.
"After everything we've been through?"
Dave recalled their years together. They were much more than simply friends and try as he might, Dave couldn't deny that. As he looked at Blaine, everything he ever wanted to say was caught between his stomach and his throat.
"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Dave said instead, looking and sounding lost.
Blaine looked at Dave for a long moment, not saying a word as he stepped closer to him. “You love me, David,” he said confidently. “You love me, you’re supposed to choose me,” his voice quivered as his breath caught in his throat. He placed his hands on Dave’s chest once he was close enough. “I… I waited for you… for so long.” His golden eyes glistened with tears as he waited just a beat before lifting up to capture Dave’s lips with his own. He kissed Dave as if it was the first time and the last time he ever would, leaving his feelings there to linger on Dave’s lips long after the kiss was over.
Dave instinctively wrapped an arm around Blaine's waist as they shared their intimate kiss behind closed doors. It had been so long since he had kissed Blaine and it was just as good as he'd last remembered.
When they broke away from their kiss, Dave found himself a little breathless. "Blaine, you know how I feel about you," he said quietly even though they were the only two in the room. "But I know you know that I just… I can't. "
Blaine looked into Dave’s eyes, giving him one more moment to change his mind. Instead of saying anything else, Blaine just shook his head. Letting out a gentle sigh of resignation, he turned to leave the room.
After their moment together but before the ceremony began, Blaine had gone out to his car. He had every intention of leaving and not being Dave’s best man. If Dave could really go through with this then he would just have to do it without him. He couldn’t stand there and watch the man that he loved marry someone else knowing damn good and well that Dave loved him too.
What was he supposed to do? This was it. He’d spent the last almost-decade of his life having a secret love affair with this man and now it was just over? For good?
No. No.
He wasn’t going to accept it. This wasn’t how they were supposed to end, this wasn’t how they were going to end.
Determined, Blaine got out of his car, wiping his face up so it wouldn’t be obvious to anyone who didn’t know him that he’d been crying. He’d give Dave one last chance. One big, grand gesture of love. He’d pour all of the contents of his heart and soul out onto the table and if Dave didn’t take it, he’d walk away forever. He’d move away and never look back.
When he got back into the church, the ceremony had already begun and the officiant was talking. It was almost poetic that he had arrived at just the right moment. He took a deep breath.
“If anyone has reason to believe these two should not be joined in marriage please speak now or--“
Pushing open the mahogany doors, Blaine stood there at the opposite end of the aisle. Every pair of eyes in the room shot right to him but he could only see Dave there at the other end, his Dave. The love of his life.
Dave's eyes immediately went to Blaine and his jaw dropped a little as he realized what was about to happen.
Blaine’s hands were shaking as he swallowed. “I would never, ever do something like this if it wasn’t important. It’s not like me to rudely barge into a wedding like this but— I can’t let you marry her without you knowing how I feel.”
Dave's bride huffed and placed her hands on her hips, glaring from Blaine back to her groom.
Blaine chose his words carefully, he wasn’t planning on outing Dave at his wedding. He wasn’t planning on letting anyone in on their secret, he just needed Dave to hear him out. ”I’ve been in love with you for so many years, D.”
An audible gasp came from a few people in the room, most likely from her side of the family.
“I am so desperately in love with you that I’ve followed you around like a lost puppy for a decade. I-I know that it’s a lot to ask of you to just hear me out but I just… you can’t do this. You can’t marry her.” He shook his head, taking a step closer. “I-I love you, David. I love everything about you and I always have and I always will. I can’t just be your friend anymore. I want to be with you, I want to be yours, I want to marry you. I want to have a family with you, grow old with you.” With tears welling up in his eyes, Blaine shrugged, holding his arms out a little. “I would never make a fool out of myself like this for anyone else.”
At this point, Dave had turned his whole body, facing Blaine down the aisle of the church. At that moment it almost felt like it was only the two of them in that chapel.
“Y-you’re my soulmate and I believe that with my whole heart.” As the crowd was stunned to silence, Blaine had run out of things to say in that very moment, the weight of his actions weighing on his shoulders. He was not only making a fool out of himself in front of everyone, he was about to be rejected in front of everyone as well. “That… that’s all. I just… needed you to know,” he said, letting his gaze linger on Dave for just a moment longer before turning to leave.
As soon as Blaine had left, murmurs rose from throughout the chapel and all eyes were on Dave. His bride was fuming and many were either confused or just plain upset.
"Should I continue..?" The priest looked up at Dave with a worried look and it was then that Dave realized he still had a choice to make.
Blaine’s hands were trembling as he walked out of the church and into the parking lot, he could hear his heartbeat in his ears as the adrenaline pumped through his body. “I can’t believe I just did that,” he breathed to himself as he stopped at his car. With his hand on the door handle, he paused as he sucked in a deep, shaky breath. Removing his hand, he wiped at his cheeks to get rid of the stray tears that had managed to escape.
Taking off his blazer, he opened the door and tossed it into the back of his car. He loosened his tie as he thought of where he would go. He needed to go and never return. He couldn’t stay in town knowing that at any given moment he could run into Dave and his wife-- a simple grocery trip had the potential to send him spiraling and he couldn’t bear it. No, he needed to go far away and he needed to go now.
“Blaine.”
When Blaine turned towards that all-too familiar voice, he saw Dave standing in front of him just like they had been before the wedding ceremony. The taller man was still dressed to the nines in his suit. Blaine’s heart completely stopped. He did not expect Dave to follow him.
“Please don’t leave,” Dave pleaded before Blaine could say anything, reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Please, the fear of losing you is so much worse than the fear of having everything exposed. I can’t-- I don’t want to do anything without you.”
“Wh-” Blaine breathed, not able to form an actual word. He couldn’t believe this was happening. His head was spinning and he didn’t realize he was holding his breath as he looked down at their hands. Dave was saying everything he’d been waiting ten years to hear and it felt like he was dreaming. “David… I--” he didn’t know what to say.
Dave let go of Blaine’s hand to reach into his jacket pocket, pulling out a ring box. It wasn’t the box that held his bride’s engagement ring or even her wedding ring-- this was a different ring box entirely that Blaine had never seen before.
“Oh my god,” Blaine whispered under his breath, tears springing to his eyes as he looked from the box to Dave’s eyes. He was serious.
“I… I’ve always been too scared but this--” Dave glanced down at the little velvet box in his hand, “I’ve had this in the back of my closet for a while now. When I first proposed, I didn’t like it and it wasn’t anything like I imagined; I wanted it to be you . I wanted to be brave enough to propose to you one day and I know I-- I know I’m so late b-but…”
Carefully opening the ring box, Dave revealed a white gold band with a large oval-cut diamond set in the middle. The gem was nearly twice the size of the ring Dave’s ex-fiancée had on her finger. “All I want is you , Blaine. I can’t not have you in my life.”
In the distance, those that were in the chapel were slowly filtering out and standing at the top of the chapel’s steps. They were beginning to garner an unwanted audience but Dave paid them no mind as he kept his eyes on the man in front of him.
Blaine looked from the ring to Dave, the entire moment completely taking his breath away. It was everything he ever wanted right there being handed to him on a white gold platter. It was almost too good to be true. “Are… are you serious?” he whispered, his voice shaking. He shook his head. “Please, D…” he pleaded with him, wanting so badly for this to be it .
“I’m so freakin’ scared right now, b-but… Yes-- yes , I’ve never been more serious about anything-- or anyone-- in my life,” Dave stammered. He raised a free hand up to carefully cup the side of Blaine’s face before he leaned in to capture him into a kiss to end all other kisses. He still held the ring box in his hand but he wrapped his arm around Blaine’s waist and held him against his own body.
The murmurs and gasps of shock coming from their audience didn’t phase Blaine as he effortlessly returned Dave’s kiss. He leaned into his lover and gripped at his sides to hold him in place. He felt like he was quite literally floating on cloud nine and when their kiss came to an end, he made no move to pull away. His eyes fluttered open to look up at Dave, the smile on his face was wide enough to make his cheeks ache. “I love you so much,” he whispered, reaching up to cup Dave’s face as a stray tear rolled down his cheek. “There’s no one else for me but you, there never has been.” Blaine still felt as strongly for Dave, if not more so, than when they first began their relationship.
"I love you too," Dave said without hesitation despite the quiver in his voice. There were tears in his eyes and his hands were shaking as he held the ring box in front of Blaine. "I don't know what the hell is gonna happen between me and my family or all of my friends but… I know now that none of that matters if you're not with me. I… Blaine, will you please marry me?"
Blaine let out a watery chuckle as he nodded his head, brushing his thumbs over Dave’s cheeks. “I thought you’d never ask,” he whispered just for Dave’s ears. Gazing at his now-fiancé in complete adoration, he still wasn’t completely convinced this was real.
Glancing down to the ring box in Dave’s hand, he offered his hand so Dave could easily slip the ring on.
Dave let out a small laugh out of disbelief at Blaine's response, trying his best to keep his shaky hands steady as he took the ring out from its box and placed it on Blaine's ring finger. It was a perfect fit.
"I'm sorry I waited until the last minute," Dave apologized as he looked up from Blaine's hand and into his eyes. "But I promise I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you-- you're it for me. You're who I want to be with. No more screwing around and no more hiding."
Blaine shook his head, placing his hands on Dave’s sides to pull him close, shaking his head. “I’ve waited so long to hear you say that,” he said as he pressed his lips against Dave’s again. To kiss him without worrying or caring about who was watching was such a relief and it felt like the weight of the world just melted right off his shoulders.
As Dave kissed him again, he could feel just a bit more nervousness and tension melt away and he felt more certain in his choices. That weight that had been sitting in the pit of his stomach since before he was standing up on that altar was nowhere to be felt and it only reinforced the fact that he was doing the right thing.
When their kiss came to an end that’s when Blaine finally glanced towards the angry ex-bride and Dave’s dumbfounded family. He raised an eyebrow as he chuckled nervously. “Uh, do you wanna get out of here?” he asked, nodding towards his car. They could deal with the fallout another time if they so pleased.
"Yes, please get me out of here. Anything I have back up in my room is replaceable," Dave said with a slight laugh as he went ahead and got into Blaine's car. Any and all explanations to his family and friends could wait for another day; he just wanted to enjoy this moment with Blaine right now.
Blaine paused when Dave got into his car, giving a small little wave to the audience before getting into the car himself. He started it up and threw it into reverse before looking at Dave, his heart racing and adrenaline coursing through him. He reached over to take his fiancé’s hand. “You’re sure, right?” Blaine asked just one last time for reassurance.
Dave glanced down at their hands before looking back up at his future husband with a nod and a wide grin on his face. "I've never felt more sure of anything in my life."
And with that, all of Blaine’s worries melted away, his smile mirroring Dave’s as he brought the other’s hand up to his lips. “Me either.” He pressed a kiss to Dave’s hand before he took off out of the parking lot, leaving their secret love affair behind in favor of their next chapter.