Kurt came padding into the living room with a scowl on his face, his blankie tucked firmly under one arm and his teddy in the other. He plopped down on the floor in front of Blaine's feet with a grimace, sighing loudly in discontent. He draped his blanket over his shoulders and hugged his teddy bear to his chest.

Blaine glanced down at him for a moment, one eyebrow raised, then went back to his homework.

Kurt shifted a bit on the floor, adjusting his blanket, looking for a new sitting position that didn't make his bottom hurt so much. After a few minutes of wiggling, he finally gave up with another loud sigh.

Blaine cocked his head, a small smile on his lips since Kurt couldn't see, and did his best to fix the back of Kurt's head with a meaningful look. "What's the matter, baby?" he asked.

"Not comfy!" Kurt groused, craning his neck to glare up at Daddy.

"Why not?"

"Don't like the stupid floor."

"Watch your mouth," Daddy warned. "And why are you sitting on the floor?"

"Acuz you is mean an' won't let me sit on the furn'ture."

"And why won't I let you sit on the furniture?"

Kurt glared at a spot on the floor and crossed his arms across his chest. "Acuz I jumpeded on the couch and didn't stop when you said," he growled.

"So what did I tell you?" Blaine couldn't help but grin a bit. Kurt was so cute when he got mad.

"Couldn't be on the furn'ture the rest of the night."

"That's right."

"But the floor isn't comfy!" Kurt wailed. "And my bottom hurts!"

"Why does your bottom hurt?"

"Acuz you spanked me for not list'ning. But I was! I was list'ning. Just wasn't ready to stop jumpin' yet!"

Blaine chuckled at that admission. "You brought all of this on yourself, baby. I'm sorry you don't like it, but it's a punishment. You aren't supposed to like it." He reached down and ruffled Kurt's hair a bit which produced a growl from the sulking little boy. "Besides, it's just for tonight. You can sit on the furniture again tomorrow."

Kurt harrumphed, crossing his arms tighter across his chest and staring at the carpet.

Blaine went back to the book he was reading for his class the next day. A minute or two later, he felt a tug at his pant leg. "Yes, Kurt?" he asked, looking down at the little boy.

Kurt looked up at him, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. "Can we cuddle?" he asked, voice scratchy from emotion and unshed tears.

Blaine closed the book firmly, setting it to the side, and patted his lap. "Oh, baby. Of course we can cuddle. Come here."

Kurt needed no further invitation, scrambling up from his spot on the floor, his teddy and blanket clutched firmly in his hands, almost before Daddy had finished speaking. He buried his face against Daddy's chest and wrapped his hands up in his shirt, holding on tightly.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked gently.

Kurt didn't respond for several minutes, crying into the fabric of Daddy's shirt. When his tears began to subside, however, he poked one eye out to look up at Daddy's face. "'m sorry," he mumbled.

"For what, baby?" Daddy asked, stopping the gentle circles he'd been rubbing against Kurt's back and instead helping him to sit up, wiping the tears away and helping him blow his nose.

"'m sorry I was naughty..."

"You're forgiven, Kurt. I spanked you, and now your punishment is almost over. The reason you can't sit on the furniture now is..." He trailed off, letting Kurt fill in the blank.

Kurt heaved a heavy sigh. "Acuz we've talked 'bout jumpin' lots and 'm still not followin' rules. It's an extra 'minder," Kurt recited, lower lip beginning to tremble again.

Picking Kurt up in his arms, Daddy walked across the room, settling them into the rocking chair. He held Kurt close as he set the chair into motion, brushing a few kisses on top of his head. "I need you to tell me what's wrong," he prodded gently. "I can't help you feel better if I don't know what's bothering you."

Kurt was silent for a long time, petting his stuffie thoughtfully with one hand. His other hand slowly rubbed at a few loose strings on his blankie. Eventually, he mumbled something that Daddy couldn't understand. "What did you say, baby?" he asked gently.

"I misseded you."

"You missed me?"

Kurt nodded. "That's why I was jumpin'. Acuz you wasn't home for a long time and I misseded you. An' then you comed home and gave me a spankin' and makeded me sit on the floor and didn't give me no snuggles. So I misseded you," he finished quietly.

Daddy didn't say anything for a moment. That wasn't what he'd been expecting to come out of Kurt, and the admission caught him off guard a little. However, he recovered quickly, pulling Kurt into a tight squeeze. "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't realize you were feeling that way. But, a better way to let me know what you need is to just tell me. Doing something to get yourself into trouble probably won't get you what you want." Daddy wasn't sure he understood the whole "missing him" part yet, but he hoped that by reassuring Kurt, the truth would come out eventually.

Kurt nodded sadly. "I know that, Daddy. It's just that you is always busy."

"What do you mean?" Daddy asked, pulling Kurt up a little closer to him as he wrapped his arms around his waist. Then, he leaned his cheek against Kurt's warm head as he listened, the rocking chair going soothingly back and forth.

"Is just me here all day long takin' care of my own self, and you is at school and workin'. And when you gets home, you is makin' dinner and doin' chores and I know you is doin' it to take care of me, but it means you is always busy, and I misseded you." Kurt swiped the edge of his blanket back and forth across his upper lip, nervous about Daddy's reaction to his admission.

Blaine, for his part, was feeling bad. He had been working a lot more lately after school, trying to put in as many extra hours as he could to save for their vacation the next month. Plus, it was a busy time of year at school. They were giving mid-terms, and there was a lot of studying to be done. Maybe, he realized, he had been putting in a bit too much time at work and not enough where it really counted. He placed a gentle kiss on Kurt's forehead. "I'm sorry, baby," he said at last. "I'll take a sick day tomorrow, and I don't have any mid-terms. How does that sound? We can spend the whole day, just Daddy and Kurt?"

His baby nodded, perking up a little bit. "No work?"

"No work," Daddy agreed.

"Can watch movies?"

"Maybe a movie, if you're good, yeah."

"Can has...pancakes?" Kurt tapped his finger against his chin as he thought of all the things he wanted to ask Daddy for for their day together.

Blaine smiled at the excitement seeping into Kurt's voice. "For breakfast?"

"Uh huh!"

"I think so. With chocolate chips?"

"Yeah! Choc'ate chip pancakes!"

"Okay, baby," Blaine chuckled. "Do you feel better now?"

Kurt nodded, growing serious again. "Yeah. Fank you, Daddy, for stayin' home tomorrow." He squeezed him tightly around the neck. "Are mad 'bout what I said? 'bout you bein' busy?"

"No, baby," Daddy replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm not mad. It just made me a little sad."

Kurt shook his head wildly. "Noooo. No sad, Daddy! Don' like it!" He looked like he might cry again.

"Shhh, baby, shhh. It's okay. That's why I'm staying home tomorrow. To make us both feel better."

"But...are sad now..." Kurt whined.

"But I'll be okay. I'm glad you told me, Kurt. I need to know that stuff. I just wish you'd told me sooner. And before you did something naughty to get yourself into trouble. I will always listen to you, baby. You just have to talk to me."

"Was 'fraid you'd be mad..."

"Why would I be mad?"

"Acuz you does lots of stuff to take care of me. And sayin' you is too busy is not 'spectful. Or 'prec'tive."

Daddy could see that Kurt was shrinking back into his shell, becoming less and less animated the more that they talked. This was part of the reason that Kurt had started being little in the first place. He was too in his head, and getting to be little, even if he had to do something naughty first, was definitely helping him to talk to Daddy a bit more, to tell him what was wrong instead of bottling it up until everything exploded in a big fight.

Daddy didn't like it when Kurt went into his shell, talking quieter and quieter, not meeting his gaze. He decided he wasn't going to give Kurt the freedom to do that this time. This was an important conversation, and he wanted him to look at him. So, hooking two fingers under his baby's chin, he tilted his head so he was looking into Daddy's eyes. "Telling me how you feel is never going to make me mad. It's not disrespectful or unappreciative. You're allowed to have upset feelings, Kurt, and I always want to know when you feel that way. I want to be the best husband and Daddy that I can be for you, always. When you talk to me about how you're feeling, you're helping me do that." Blaine brushed his thumb along Kurt's jawbone a few times, letting his gaze drift to the soft skin of Kurt's cheeks before swallowing and continuing. "It makes me sad that I upset you and that I couldn't see those things before they got to this point, but I'm not mad at you. I'm never mad at you." Daddy paused for a moment, letting the weight of what he'd just said sink in. "Do you understand that, baby?"

Kurt nodded.

"What did I say?"

"You is not mad at me. You is happy I teld you acuz you need to know, but you is sad you didn't know before," he recited.

"That's right. You're so smart," Daddy praised as he rubbed Kurt's back. "My good, good baby."

Kurt preened under the praise.

"Now," Daddy said, standing up and spilling Kurt off his lap, which earned him a giggle, "I think it's bath time for little boys."

Kurt smiled as he got up off the floor. "A bubble bath, Daddy?"

"That depends," Blaine replied, hands on his hips. "Can I have a kiss?" he asked, tapping his lips with a finger.

Kurt complied, giving Daddy a sweet kiss before taking his hand and dragging him toward the bathroom, talking excitedly. "Want the pink sparkly bubbles, Daddy, so I can build a castle for mermaid Barbie!"

Daddy smiled, glad that Kurt was happy again, but he couldn't shake the terrible feeling that he'd let Kurt down. If he'd just paid more attention to him, just taken a moment to think about what he needed instead of what would be the best for them financially, maybe he could have avoided this situation. He was glad that it hadn't escalated. It had taken him a long time to break down Kurt's walls and teach him that he would take care of his needs, that Kurt just needed to worry about being happy and following the rules, though. And now, he felt like they'd taken a step backward, even if it did seem as though Kurt had taken it well, bouncing back quickly from the ordeal. Blaine tried his best to shrug it off and act normal for Kurt, but Kurt wasn't fooled.

So, as they pulled the plug on the drain a half an hour later, the baby patted at Daddy's face. "What's the matter, Daddy?" he asked sweetly.

"Oh, I'm just thinking, baby."

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout, Daddy?"

Blaine sighed. He didn't want to tell Kurt, but he knew that his baby wasn't likely to let it go. He paused for a moment, trying to think of a good way to begin. When nothing else came to him, he asked, "Kurt, am I a good daddy?"

Kurt looked confused. "Yes! You're the best! Why?"

"I just can't help but feel like I've let you down."

"How?" Kurt asked, cocking his head.

"By not knowing you were having problems handling how much I was working."

Much like Blaine had done to him earlier that evening, Kurt turned Blaine's face up until their eyes met. "You are a good daddy. You always have been. And believe me when I say this: if you weren't doing a good job, you'd know. I'd let you know, somehow. You know I'm not afraid to tell you when you're wrong. So stop feeling bad about this. You can't catch everything. You aren't magic. You're human." Kurt paused, hands on his hips.

If Blaine didn't know better, he'd have thought that Kurt was completely out of little space. But, when Kurt called him "Daddy" in his next sentence, he smiled fondly.

"I love you, Daddy," Kurt continued, "and I'm so fankful for all you've done to make this possible for me. I know you've given up a lot, but I fink it's been good for me." His cheeks colored a little as he said this, a bit embarrassed to admit it. But, he plunged forward, moving his face closer to Daddy's until their noses touched. "You're a great daddy," he emphasized. "Maybe even the best daddy." Then, he kissed his nose. "No, I know you're the best daddy. Because you're my daddy."

Blaine chuckled, feeling much better now. "And you're cheesy. But thank you, baby. I needed to hear that."

"Now, stop bein' silly, Daddy, and get me some jammies! I is gettin' cold! An' then is time for bedtime stories!" Kurt was back to his normal, little self again.

"Okay. Okay," Daddy said, scooping Kurt up and toting him to the bed, dropping him down with a plop.

Kurt bounced a bit, giggling. Once he was all dressed and had brushed his teeth, he snuggled up to Daddy, sighing contentedly.

"All ready, baby?" Daddy asked, opening the book Kurt had chosen for his bedtime story.

"Uh huh!"

"Close your eyes, then, and I'll read."

"Kay, Daddy. Night night." Kurt gave Daddy a kiss before snuggling down and closing his eyes.

Blaine smiled, then turned to the first page and began to read. "Once upon a time..."