"Happy birthday, sweetie!" Kurt tells Lizzie for the dozenth time today as he serves her cake with pink bubblegum frosting.
She giggles as her father ruffles her hair and plants a kiss on her forehead. "Make a wish!"
She scrunches her face up really hard and blows out her eight candles as Kurt claps. "What did you wish for?"
"Daaad, I can't tell you or it won't come true!"
"You can't even tell your own father?"
"Nuh uh, daddy. It's a secret." She mimes zipping her lips and throwing the key over her shoulder before diving into her cake, Kurt second guessing her white skirt she was wearing. It was a birthday outfit from grandma Carole. While utterly adorable, it wasn't exactly great when eating a hot pink birthday cake.
Kurt takes out his phone to snap a picture of the birthday girl and texts it to his parents. Burt replies with about five heart eyes emojis and Carole with four exclamation points about how adorable she is.
Burt and Carole would be visiting this weekend to celebrate Lizzie's birthday and would no doubt spoil her to no end. "She's my favorite granddaughter, Kurt!" Burt would say. "Dad, she's your only granddaughter." "Doesn't mean I'm not allowed to love her, eh kid?"
"Yummy," Lizzie says, licking her lips and taking her plate to the sink.
"Was it good?" Kurt asks, noting how she polished off the plate.
"The best."
"So you're eight years old now. What have you learned in your eight years on this earth?" Kurt asks, tickling her sides.
"Lots of stuff," she says between giggles. "Hey dad?"
"Yes, sweet pea?"
"May I take piano lessons?"
"Finally decided what you want for your birthday? Talk about last minute," Kurt smiles.
He had started asking her for birthday ideas last month to which she had no answer. Lizzie kept saying she wanted to think about it and not to get her anything until she decided.
"Can I? Please?"
Kurt ponders this for a moment. They do have a piano upstairs in the office that might need a tune up but other than that, it is probably fully functional. If she wasn't totally dedicated it wouldn't be a huge deal. Weekly lessons wouldn't be too demanding either. Kurt could find time after work to drive her somewhere. Usually teachers taught out of their own home, so maybe he could look online for someone close to them.
"I don't see why not."
"YAAAAY!" She shouts, running to give him another hug. "Thank you daddy!"
Kurt schedules her first piano lesson right away with a teacher about a fifteen minute drive away. He read great reviews about him online and many people said he was great with kids and very affordable. Lizzie was all set to go.
When the day rolls around, Lizzie has her backpack stuffed with introductory music theory and piano books - books her teacher asked her to bring to the first lesson. She is definitely excited as she skips up the driveway of this teacher's house and practically rings the doorbell before Kurt can get out of the car.
"Hello! You must be Elizabeth Hummel," says the man who answers the door. And he's - breathtaking. He looked to be about Kurt's age but a few inches shorter. His dark hair was smoothed pristinely over his head, giving him an odd vintage-y look that somehow worked for him. He has a kind smile as he extends his hand to Kurt's. "I'm Blaine Anderson."
"K-Kurt. Kurt Hummel," he manages to get out as Lizzie rushes inside.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Hummel." They release their handshake after quite a long "three Mississippi."
"Kurt is fine," he says, wiping his feet on the doormat before stepping inside.
Blaine takes them down his hallway to a large room on the right - his piano studio.
"Wow," Kurt breathes as he admires Blaine's record collection on the far wall.
"They're not worth very much," Blaine says, interrupting Kurt's thoughts. "But I like to keep them for decoration."
"They're beautiful," Kurt says, spotting a Phantom of the Opera record in a pile in the corner.
Then a golden retriever barks from a bed in the corner.
"That's Scout. He's very friendly," Blaine says, "as I can see you've already noticed." Lizzie was already scratching his ears. "Well, Kurt, you're invited to stay if you'd like. Some parents like to drop their children and come back, but since it is your first time it is totally alright if you want to stay or if you want to go too that's fine uh -"
Kurt smiles. Maybe Blaine isn't as smooth as he first looks. "I'll stay if that's alright with Lizzie?"
"Sure dad, whatever you want," she says, leaving Scout to his chew toy and seating herself at the piano bench.
"Alright, I'll take that as my cue to be quiet," Kurt laughs, settling himself on the love seat by the window and tucking a decorative pillow under his arm.
Blaine smiles as Lizzie looks up at him, ever the eager student. Her eyes were the same bright blue shade as Kurt's, he notices.
"Okay, Lizzie, these first couple weeks will be teaching you posture as well as starting to read music. At the end of each lesson I will write down what I would like you to have prepared for next week, alright?"
Lizzie nods.
"And Kurt? Does Lizzie have a way to practice at home?"
"Yes, I am getting our upstairs piano tuned tomorrow."
"Excellent."
The lesson begins with Blaine showing her how to hold her hands over the keys, making sure her feet were flat on the floor and sitting up nice and tall.
"We want to be confident when we play," he says. "Even if we don't feel confident, we want to look it. We can trick our brain or even the audience," he winks at Lizzie and then smiles at Kurt.
Kurt nods in approval as Lizzie looks back at him on the couch. He was taught that trick in high school when he was singing. Sing with confidence all the time every time. It really does help your sound.
The lesson moves on by teaching Lizzie some notes and showing her what they look like on a musical staff. Blaine takes out one of her workbooks and shows her the first couple exercises on the treble clef she will have for homework next week.
"Pretty soon you won't need to count ledger lines. You'll just know what the note is and where your fingers go by looking at it!"
The lesson was over and Blaine came over and sat next to Kurt on the couch as Lizzie went to play with Scout. "She was excellent today," Blaine said. "If she's willing to put in the work, she can become quite the pianist."
"You can tell just from one lesson?"
"I usually can. I've been teaching ever since I was fourteen. Twenty years in this teaching piano business and you've got to be pretty good, huh?" Blaine elbows Kurt playfully as Lizzie packs her bag. "What about you, Kurt? Any hobbies?"
"I like fashion design, and baking occasionally. Oh and I like to sing," Kurt says, "Ever since I was little. So about thirty years?"
"Wow, I'm sure you're a professional huh?"
"I'm not sure about that."
"Well, I'll have to hear you sometime," Blaine says matter-of-factly. "And besides, if her dad is that talented I'm sure the daughter will be, too."
Kurt manages to nod as Lizzie rushes to him, ready to leave.
"Did you have fun, Lizzie?" Kurt asks.
"Yes, thank you Mr. Anderson."
"Yes, thank you Mr. Anderson," Kurt says as he follows Blaine to the door.
"Oh please, call me Blaine, Kurt."
Kurt nods again, lost in the moment when Lizzie tugs on his arm.
"So same time next week?" Blaine asks, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat awkwardly.
"Oh, er, you know what," Kurt says, looking through his calendar on his cell phone. "Darn. I can't drive her then at that time. There's this thing at work that jut got scheduled that I can't miss. Maybe Auntie Rachel could drive you after school, Lizzie?"
"She has rehearsal again with Uncle Jesse."
"Oh that's right. I'm so sorry Blaine but we might have to cancel next week."
"I could pick her up from school," Blaine blurts out, "I mean - if that's okay with you Kurt. It's really no trouble."
"Are you sure?" Kurt asks, not wanting to overstay his welcome.
"Absolutely. I'll give you my number just in case."
Kurt couldn't stop staring at the sticky note with Blaine's number the entire evening.
Blaine picks Lizzie up for school next week for her lesson and Kurt comes at the end to take her home.
"Thanks again so much for doing this Blaine."
"It really is no trouble. We had fun, right Lizzie?"
"Mhm!" Lizzie was busy giving Scout a belly rub.
Kurts phone buzzes once more and he sighs. "Well, what was supposed to be a one week thing has just been extended for who knows how long. Times like this I wish I wasn't a single parent…"
Blaine acts as if he is going to say something, but unsure how to phrase it. "If you don't mind me asking, is her mother still in the picture? I'm just wondering if the Mrs. could help you out?"
Kurt laughs. "Well, she's in the picture, but also not. Her Auntie Rachel is her biological mother, but she's legally all mine. Rachel is my best friend and knew how much I wanted a child that she donated her uterus for me. It would have been hard otherwise, even if I did have a husband."
"Wow, what a friend."
"She is a handful at times, but she's my best friend. What about you Blaine? No children of your own even though you teach twenty of them each week?"
Blaine chuckles. "Don't get me wrong, I do love kids, but I suppose I've never found anyone who shares that love with me."
"I see. Well, when you find him or her…"
"For sure," Blaine says. "well listen, Kurt, if you need someone to take Lizzie to her lessons, it's really not a problem for me to pick her up again like I did today."
"Really? I feel like I should be paying you extra for that."
"It's really no trouble. I enjoyed it a lot today."
There was a silence in the air before Lizzie poked her dad. When did she even walk over there?
"Why are you staring at Mr. Anderson like that, dad?"
Kurt cleared his throat loudly. "Well, we'd better be - "
"Uh, yeah, don't want to be late for dinner or anything, uh," Blaine replied, equally unsure what to make of what was just said. "Unless, do you guys want to have dinner here? Traffic is a little crazy right now, after all. I mean, no pressure or anything."
"Blaine, you've already done so much for us."
"It's alright, I was just going to heat up a frozen pizza, if you want, I mean."
"I love pizza!" Lizzie shouts running to the kitchen as if she lived there with her newest friend Scout following in her wake.
"You don't have any other plans?" Kurt asks.
"Nope, she is my last student for today. It's no trouble at all."
And so Kurt, Blaine, and Lizzie sat down for some oven warmed pizza. Kurt expects it to be somewhat awkward, eating with his daughter's piano teacher but for some reason it wasn't. He feels so natural with Blaine, and allows himself to laugh freely and is only slightly embarrassed when Blaine points out a stray piece of mozzarella cheese clinging to his chin.
"Thanks again for dinner, Blaine," Kurt says, helping him wash the dishes while Lizzie finds herself playing with Scout once again.
"It's no trouble. Saves me from more leftovers," Blaine says with a smile. "And Lizzie playing with Scout really will tire him out. Maybe he'll sleep longer without waking me up to go out."
Kurt laughs as Scout starts licking Lizzie's face to get her to give him the tennis ball.
As they leave, Blaine asks, "Same time next week?"
"Yes, that should work. And I probably can take her next time."
"Okay," Blaine smiles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "See you next week, Lizzie. Try to have those exercises done for next time."
"Mr. Anderson," Lizzie says, crossing her arms in a very Kurt-like manner. "Do you not believe me? I told you I do my piano homework first."
Kurt chuckles. "It's true. I have to fight her to do her math homework sometimes but piano is all done. Which is interesting since a lot of her piano homework is counting."
"She's definitely music motivated," Blaine says.
A month later Lizzie has perfected a few song selections including Hot Crossed Buns, Chopsticks, and Happy Birthday.
"She's doing great," Blaine says as he lets Kurt inside at the end of Lizzie's lesson.
"Daddy listen!" Lizzie shouts from the bench playing a chord that Blaine had recently taught her.
"It sounds lovely, dear," Kurt says kissing her on the top of her head.
"Mr. Anderson played for me too," Lizzie says. "He's amazing."
"He is?" Kurt says, eyeing Blaine who was ducking his head bashfully.
"Can you play for my dad, Blaine? Pleeeease? The Disney song?"
"I don't see why not," Blaine says, shooing Lizzie playfully from the piano and settling down to play.
Blaine starts the opening of a song from Lizzie's favorite Disney movie and starts to sing softly with the piano.
All those days watching from the windows
All those years outside looking in
All that time never even knowing
Just how blind I've been
Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here suddenly I see
Standing here it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be
Lizzie is absolutely beaming at Blaine but takes breaks every now and then to look at Kurt, who is currently mesmerized as Blaine plays. His linger fingers dance over the keys effortlessly, eyes closed with passion.
And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything looks different
Now that I see you
Blaine was going to end the song there, but suddenly to both his and Lizzie's surprise, Kurt jumps in on the next verse.
All those days chasing down a daydream
All those years living in a blur
All that time never truly seeing
Things, the way they were
Now she's here shining in the starlight
Now she's here suddenly I know
If she's here it's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go
Blaine almost fumbles, not expecting the song to continue, but picks it back up flawlessly. He is is awe of how beautiful Kurt sounds when singing, and can't hear anything but Kurt. The piano is just background noise - his brain is only concentrated on Kurt. They both join in the next part.
And at last I see the light
And then Kurt takes over. And it's like the fog has lifted
Kurt finds himself sitting on the bench next to Blaine, both of them looking directly at each other. And at last I see the light
Blaine improvises with his next line on the piano harmonies, but it's perfect nonetheless. And it's like the sky is new
They join one last time for the final verse.
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything is different
Now that I see you
Now that I see you
Blaine lets the last chord linger, not taking his eyes off of Kurt and Lizzie feeling like she's interrupting a very intimate moment.
"Kurt I-"
"Blaine, er -"
"I like you," they say at the same time before giggling, embarrassed.
"Would you like to go out with me?" Blaine asks.
"Seeing as I was going to ask you the same thing, yes," Kurt says with a tearful laugh.
"Dad, are you going to marry Blaine?" Lizzie asks, unsure what "going out" means.
Kurt and Blaine just laugh, and laugh even harder when they do just that five years later. Lizzie plays piano at their wedding, quite the accomplished musician, as her dad and her new dad sing yet another sappy duet. The life that Kurt thought was only possible in fairytales was reality, and he couldn't be happier.