**•**Blaine's POV**•**
"Blaine!" Kurt's voice yelled from their room. "Have you seen my script?!"
Blaine paused from checking email on their laptop. "No!" He called back. "Why do you need your script? We're going on our honeymoon, Kurt! Don't be working while we're there!"
Kurt walked out from their room, a little exasperated. "We'll don't you have NYADA stuff to get caught up on this week? I know I do and I have a script to learn." He walked over to where Blaine sat on the couch. "I know we shouldn't work on our honeymoon, but there's plenty of time at airports and in planes to be doing homework. We have to fly from New York to Chicago to Denver and then to Los Angeles. That's like four airports and three plane trips that will provide you with ideal time to accomplish some things."
Blaine nodded. He had to agree with Kurt. He knew he would be stressed if he put it all off until their return. "Okay, I'll bring my work bag."
"So do you know where my script is?" Kurt asked again.
•••
Finally they were all packed and ready to go with two big suitcases and their book-bags full of homework as carry-ons.
Sam came and picked them up. Now that he was back in Lima he had bought a truck and had offered to be their chauffeur to the airport. Mercedes, Rachel, and Artie, Burt, Carol, Blaine's parents and Cooper, and Mr. Shue and Daniel would be there to see them off.
However, this wasn't some ordinary goodbye. Sam had a plan that wasn't for Kurt and Blaine. It was for Mercedes and everyone knew, but her. Sam was nervous and excited at the same time. Blaine could tell.
When Sam picked them up his hands were shaking slightly as he fumbled to put Blaine's suitcase in the back of the truck.
"Excited to leave the Big Apple for a week?" He asked them.
"Yeah." Kurt answered as he examined his hair in one of the truck windows to make sure it had stayed in place.
"Are you ready for The Plan?" Blaine asked his friend as he opened the door for Sam to put the suitcase into.
Sam fingered a rectangular-shaped thing he had bulging out of his shirt pocket. "I think so... Do you think it will work? I mean we've talked about it and we're ready. It just-"
"It will go fine." Blaine assured him with an optimistic smile. "Now let's get going since we've got NYC traffic to deal with."
They climbed in and before taking off Blaine heard Kurt mumble, "This is going to take forever. We should have just taken the public transit."
Blaine silently agreed, but Sam really wanted to do this for them so they didn't object.
•••
Everyone was there when they stepped through the airport doors. They had two hours before take-off. Plenty of time for The Mercedes Surprise, bag-check, finding their gate, and other last minute purchases and checks before they left the East Coast.
Their friends and family were in a corner either talking in small groups or being engrossed with their Wireless Communication Devices.
First, they briefly talked with their parents and with Cooper. Carol and Deb went through a mental checklist to make sure their sons had everything they needed for the trip and their fathers gave them pats on the back and wished them luck and to stay safe. Cooper gave them a check with a large amount of money on it, saying that he hadn't gotten them a wedding gift, but knew money was the best thing he had to offer them. They gladly accepted the check then went to find their friends.
Blaine noticed a stranger who was standing directly behind Rachel, his arms around her waist. He had wavy dark brown hair, similar to Blaine's, but was much taller and more muscular then Blaine. He wore fitted designer jeans, a blue and green cotton tee, and black loafers. Black, wide-rimmed glasses on his face made his brown eyes look striking. Blaine swore he had seen him before, but wasn't so sure.
When Rachel saw them she smiled and waved frantically. Blaine and Kurt released their hands from each other to wave back.
When they approached her Rachel led the young man towards them. "Kurt, Blaine, " she told them. "I want you to meet my boyfriend, Peter Mitchell."
Peter Mitchell put out a hand to shake theirs. Kurt and Blaine each shook his hand and mumbled polite, "Nice to meet you"s.
For a millisecond they looked at each other as if saying, She's finally ready to date again!
Rachel seemed to read their minds because she said, "I finally feel ready to pursue relationships again." She looked up at Peter affectionately. "I thought about what Finn would want me to do and I think he would want me to devote my life to another man when I was ready, though none will ever be quite like Finn was to me and I think Peter understands that and is okay with it." Peter nodded in agreement. She continued, "He goes to NYADA too, but he's graduating this coming May. He's a twin and has four brothers, no sisters. He's from Colorado."
Blaine and Kurt nodded. "That's great, Rachel!" Blaine told her. "How long have you been dating? You haven't said anything about Peter before."
Peter answered him, "We've know each other since she was a freshmen, but were just friends at the time. Then a month ago I asked her out and she thought about it for a week and then told me yes. We decided to keep it a secret until we were sure it would work out and we think it will." He brought Rachel's hand up to his lips and kissed it lightly. Rachel smiled and pecked his cheek.
"Hey, guys!" Mr. Schue came up to them with Daniel across his hip.
"Hey, Mr. Schue!" they both exclaimed.
Daniel looked to Blaine instantly and put out his hands, clenching them and opening them repeatedly.
"Can I hold him, Mr. Schue?" Blaine asked.
Mr. Schue took his son from his hip and handed him gratefully to Blaine. "Go ahead. He's getting so big, soon I won't be able to hold him any longer."
Blaine placed Daniel Finn on his own hip. At first Daniel acted shy and fussed a little, but after a minute or so he was trying to reach up and yank on Blaine's curls. "Ahh!... Hair?" Daniel asked in a singsong voice.
"Yes, hair." Blaine told him. "But be gentle with the hair, buddy." he cautioned.
After a while Daniel forgot Blaine's comment on "being gentle with the hair" and he yanked, hard. Blaine winced and then carefully pulled Daniel's little hands from his forehead and placed them at his chest. "No, no." he told the toddler. "Maybe not the hair." Daniel pouted with his lower lip at Blaine and looked longingly at his dark curls.
Kurt, Mr. Schue and Artie were in a conversation about the honeymoon plans and so Blaine walked to his bag and pulled out his house key. It was attached to a little bell and was big enough that it wouldn't be a danger to his former teacher's son. He gave it to Daniel and soon the child was jingling the keys and bell in his hands and singing nonsense syllables.
"You like that don't you?" Blaine asked the little boy. "Maybe this will be your first instrument, a bell. Soon you'll be a successful musician like your father." he momentarily brought Daniel's soft head towards him and kissed his red hair. Looking up, he caught Kurt staring at him with a look of adoration and curiosity. It was then that Blaine suddenly felt this desire to be a father. He hadn't realized until the arrival of Daniel how much he loved children. He wouldn't mind looking into adoption, or even trying to have biological children when the two of them were ready to take that step in their relationship.
Sam came to Blaine and after making a face at Daniel (who cracked up hysterically) whispered, "I'm ready."
Blaine nodded and went to find Mercedes. He found her talking with Carol and his mom by a window. They each hugged him and said how excited they were for his and Kurt's trip. Carol insisted on holding Daniel and Deb Anderson called dibs as the next holder. Before handing him off, Blaine made sure to take his keys back and slide them into his jeans pocket, despite Daniel's protests.
Mercedes looked almost sad when she looked at Blaine.
"Is something wrong, Mercedes?" Blaine asked.
She smiled and shook her head then said, "No, no Blaine. Nothing's wrong. I just can't believe how far we've all made it. Our friendship and time in glee club paid off so much. Now look at you. Look at Kurt," she motioned to where Kurt was laughing with Rachel and hugging her. "you're married now and are about to set out on a week of love and then a lifetime of devotion to each other. Kurt made the new Wicked cast and you are so popular at the diner. Life has been good to you." She pulled him into another hug. "Im just so, so happy!"
Blaine grinned slightly. He was glad she was glad, especially right before her life would change forever, hopefully. "Now it's your turn, Mercedes." he stepped away and she was still smiling, but looked oddly at him.
Blaine turned to Kurt and then he stepped forward with Rachel and Artie. They hugged Mercedes and mentioned how happy they were about her success in the music industry and how grateful they were to have a friend like her.
She was flattered, but was still confused. "Are you bribing me?" she asked curiously. "I thought this was for Kurt and Blaine, not me..."
"Well, I didn't know when else to do this, and I can't wait any longer." Sam said as he stepped towards her. He knelt on one knee in front of her and gazed intently into her brown eyes which grew wider by the second.
"Wait, are you about to do what I think you're about to do, Sam Evans?"
He continued without answering her, "And I love you with all my heart, Mercedes Jones. I want to dedicate my life to you in every way that I can. I want to love you, I want to raise a family with you, and hopefully get another dog, I want to support you on your career path and attend every concert of yours that I can. Now I may not be as creative as Blaine and set up a large musical number before I say this, but Mercedes, what I want is to ask you for your hand in marriage." His eyes never left hers though his hands trembled uncontrollably as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a white box. He opened it and watched as she gasped and put her hands to her mouth.
"Oh. My. God, Sam! Are you proposing to me?!" He just nodded and tears came down her face as her smile just grew wider. "Oh yes, Sam! Yes!"
Everyone clapped, Burt whistled, and Artie whooped. Strangers' heads turned towards them, some clapped too, others just rolled their eyes and kept heading in their own directions.
"Can I put it on you?" Sam asked, chokingly.
Mercedes just nodded and held out her left hand.
Sam pulled out the ring and slid it onto her finger, kissing her hand in the process. He looked like a noble Prince Charming who was randomly dropped in the 21st century before his one and only true love.
They hugged and laughed and cried and kissed a little.
Everyone took their turns congratulating them before Kurt glanced at his phone and mentioned to Blaine, "We should get going. We have an hour and thirty-five minutes before take off."
They then said their good-byes before starting across the floor to an escalator.
•••
On the plane to Chicago Kurt put down his Wicked script and nudged Blaine in the arm. Blaine looked up from the book he was reading for one of his classes.
"Blaine," Kurt started. "I noticed how well you work with Daniel."
Blaine nodded. "Yeah, I love the kid. How can you not?"
Kurt agreed and then added, "I know it might be a bit early to discuss this, but do you want to... adopt?"
Blaine looked at the page he was reading. Did he really want to be a father? The idea came across his mind at the airport, but he didn't know what Kurt would think. He shrugged, "I'd consider it."
Kurt nodded, "Okay, then we'll both consider it."
He said it so matter-of-factly almost like he was thinking about it too. Blaine let a smile tug at his lips. "Awesome." was all he said in reply. Inside though he was screaming with glee. He knew the adoption process was long and difficult and often didn't go through, but it would be so worth the try.
As they made the airborne trip across the country he sang an Imagine Dragons song that explained how he felt.
***
Also, back on the East Coast, Sam, a now happily engaged man, sang that same song with all his heart.
They sang:
Blaine:
"If you love somebody
Better tell them while they're here 'cause
They just may run away from you"
Sam:
"You'll never know quite when, well
Then again it just depends on
How long of time is left for you"
Blaine:
"I've had the highest mountains
I've had the deepest rivers
You can have it all but life keeps moving"
Sam:
"I take it in but don't look down"
Both:
"'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay
I'm on top of the world, 'ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ay
Been holding it in for a while, 'ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world."
Sam:
"I've tried to cut these corners
Try to take the easy way out
I kept on falling short of something"
Blaine:
"I coulda gave up then but
Then again I couldn't have 'cause
I've traveled all this way for something"
Sam:
"I take it in but don't look down"
Both:
"'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay
I'm on top of the world, 'ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ay
Been holding it in for a while, 'ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world.
Oooooooo... OoooAhhhhhOoooAhhhhh[2x]
'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay
I'm on top of the world, 'ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ay
Been holding it in for a while, 'ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child"
Blaine:
"And I know it's hard when you're falling down
And it's a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now."
Sam:
"And I know it's hard when you're falling down
And it's a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now."
Both:
"'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay
I'm on top of the world, 'ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ay
Been holding it in for a while, 'ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world."
***•***
I do not own any rights to the song On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons.