Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 66th cycle. Now cycle 67!

"Step Sixty-Seven, Discover New Sides"
(Brittany &) Kurt, Harry (OC), Jude (OC)
Paper Heart series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

They'd all been looking forward to Sectionals, preparing their set list, and that was all fine, until Kurt realized that, between practice, and class, and looking after Harry, he had completely overlooked one thing… His costume had been made by Tina, while hers, which was supposed to be taken care of by him, was not made. He wasn't going to put that on to anyone else. It had been his responsibility, and he would take care of it. With Harry on his back, leaving his hands free to scour through the fabrics, he had made his way to the store.

He had all the information, and he would find just what was needed, but he couldn't help but going about, looking around, in case inspiration struck for other projects. Maybe it was having Harry, but if he wasn't careful he would end up pulling down the curtains to make play clothes like the Sound of Music, so having other 'material options' couldn't hurt.

He was inspecting a blue sample, already deciding this would be perfect for some kind of pyjama, when he caught on to his son's high-pitched squeals and laughs. Knowing how people reacted, some little old lady had probably waved at him; it happened all the time. Except he would keep starting again, ever more excitedly, and finally Kurt had to wonder whether this grandma was missing her grandkids, so he turned. It was not a grandmother.

"Oh… Sorry, I…" the boy startled, standing up straight. He was across the way from them, looking at another sample.

"I thought you were a woman," Kurt sputtered. He was definitely not a woman. He was tall and blond, with blue eyes, and either he worked out or he was an athlete, maybe a dancer…

"Yeah, that's a new one," the boy blinked.

"I didn't mean… It's just, that's who he tends to pull in," he pointed to Harry on his back. "You're definitely all guy," he tried not to look him up and down too hard.

"Right back at you," the boy bowed his head, amused by his apologetic look. He reached in between rolls of fabric, offering his hand. "I'm Jude."

"As in… Hey?"

"Yeah, that," he chuckled. "If you can keep a secret? I tell people I was named after the song, but really I was named after my grandfather."

"It'll be between the three of us," he agreed. "I'm Kurt, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. What's your son's name?" Kurt was surprised.

"Harry… How'd you know he was my son?"

"I don't know; it's all in the carriage. As in how you carry yourself, not a stroller," he clarified.

"Don't usually meet a lot of guys who use carriage that way," Kurt tried not to sound too impressed.

"May I?" Jude indicated he wanted to come into Kurt's aisle and he nodded. When he did, he took a moment to greet Harry, shaking his hand and getting his finger gripped in return. "Strong little guy," he gave a face that had the baby laughing again. "I like that blue," he noticed the sample still in Kurt's hand.

"Yeah, I was thinking of making him something, maybe some pyjamas."

"You should," Jude concurred. "So you're making all his clothes?"

"Oh no, no, I was just looking at the same time. I need to get some things to make a dress," he revealed, and Jude turned back to him, curious.

"Well…" he gave a sort of impressed nod.

"It's not for me," Kurt corrected. "Although, full disclosure, it wouldn't be a first if it was," he confided. "I was supposed to make it for one of the girls, I'm in Glee Club."

"Oh, you are?" Jude looked interested all over again. "They had one at my school, but they were just not good at all," he admitted. "Besides, I was more of a dancer than a singer. Sad part is, this year they're getting good, but I've already graduated, so…"

"You're… How old are you?"

"I'll be eighteen in a few months. I skipped a year," he explained. "You're, what, a junior?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded. "So are you in college now?"

"I had to defer for a year, family situation," he explained vaguely enough that Kurt didn't push. "Hoping to get started next fall. So, Harry's mom, are you and her…"

"Gay," Kurt held up his hand, indicating himself, sensing this was what Jude was fishing at, and by the flash of relief on his face, he knew he was right, and he also realized how long they'd just been talking. "You know, we have our competition soon, the Glee Club, that's why I have to make the dress in a hurry. If you want, you could come and check it out, see what it looks like when it doesn't suck," he offered, and Jude chuckled.

"That sounds good," he agreed. Ripping a blank piece from the list Tina had given him, he found a pencil and wrote down the date, time, and location of the competition and, for good measure, added his name and number. When he handed it over, Jude looked at it, nodded and slipped it in his pocket.

"I should hurry up and get done here, he's starting to get cranky when he's hungry these days," Kurt explained, indicating Harry.

"Wait," Jude took the rest of the list and the pencil and put down his own name and number. "Just in case," he gave it back. "Bye, Harry," he gave the baby a final greeting before looking back to Kurt. "See you around," he nodded before carrying on his way.

Kurt let out a breath, blinking. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he had to say it didn't suck. It took him a solid five minutes to remember what he was supposed to do, even though he had the list right in his hands. It took Harry letting out an ear-splitter of a cry before he came back to his senses. He got all he needed for Tina's dress, and the blue fabric for Harry's pyjamas, and he got out of the store. He almost hoped no one would be home when he got there, especially Brittany, and Santana. They had this way of looking at his face and reading him like a book, and he wasn't even sure what his face looked like now, but under the girls' scrutiny, he'd be stuck having to figure something out he didn't even know how to explain himself.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!