Thad wasn't too sure about this plan. He had jokingly suggested it over breakfast one morning, and the sparkle in Wes's eye didn't alarm him until after his husband decided that it was a very excellent plan. This however, is a middle of a long story, and where would any story be, if it was missing Act I?

Thad had felt strongly about Wes since they met accidently on the way to the auditions for Warblers their Freshman year. Wes had nearly run Thad over in his excitement to finally become one of the members of such a prestigious group. The fourteen year old told Thad about how one day, he wanted to be one of the Council men, the ones who got to decide everything about the group. His eyes sparkled that day too, and that was what made Thad's stomach clench, and confused him for several months. He wasn't sure why he always wanted to sit next to the other boy during practice. Or why the brief touches tingled and felt so nice. Until M. Butterfly that is.

It started out simply enough. Wes begging Thad to come to auditions for the drama production. Freshman never seemed to get the leads, but Wes was different. Thad tried to reassure him that he would definitely get that role, but Wes refused to go unless he joined, and auditioned as well. Reluctantly, Thad auditioned, and shockingly, they both were cast as the leads. The two spent a lot more time together with the practices, and they enjoyed each other's company quite well. It went well, until the first day of dress rehearsals. After being fitted for his costume, Thad waited on stage, for Wes to come out in his costume. The director waited on the apron for the transformation to be complete. A nervous beauty walked onto the stage, and Thad quietly wondered why she was here, before he realized who it truly was. A sudden feeling in his groin made Thad quite uncomfortable, and when he connected that fact, to the Wes's attire, he felt more than uncomfortable. He excused himself, claiming that his pants needed to be refitted, and left before Wes could see his new problem.

After that, Thad knew exactly what those feelings meant around Wes, but he also knew that Wes was having those feelings himself. Unfortunately, they were for a girl at the girl's school, who made Wes happy, and Thad couldn't get in her way, even if he did lo- like Wes. He promised himself, that on graduation day, he'd tell him how he felt, no matter if he was still taken, because at that moment, it wouldn't matter if he was rejected, because he might never see him again.

Senior year was beautiful. Wes made the council, like he had been determined to since the meeting in the hallway, and Thad had too. Every meeting, the would sit side by side, and he could hardly stop smiling when Wes spoke to the junior members. He thought that he'd been caught, during their performance of Animal. Wes had caught his eye during Thad's pelvic thrust, and he couldn't look away, until Blaine breezed by, and reminded him of what was going on. After that performance, Wes didn't mention it, so Thad felt a bit more relaxed.

The year went by faster than Thad realized. It seemed like the day before he'd taken his place on the council, and now he stood inside the stadium, wearing his graduation robes. He smoothed his hair one last time, before putting his mortarboard on. The line was starting to form, and he found his place after one of the athletes, and in front of a boy he didn't recognize. Strange, how after four years in a small school like Dalton, you could still not meet all of the students. There's just not enough time. The ceremony progresses as well as any other graduation, but Thad's hands are sweating. Wes's valedictorian speech didn't make the resolution to tell him any easier, but Thad's heart leapt at the brief mention he received in the speech, as one of Wes's dearest friends. Friends. Wes meant well, but the word cut Thad, because he knew that it wouldn't be the same in after this. He hoped it would be better, but he didn't know if that would be possible.

Standing on shaking legs, he walked towards Wes, ignoring the hat he had just tossed into the air. He wouldn't need it after this anyway. He found Wes surrounded by his joyous family, one hand clutching his mortarboard, the other a small album, holding the boy's diploma. Thad approached from behind, and Wes turned to him before he was there. "Thad, we did it! We survived." Wes told him animatedly. "Just think, we're going to college an hour apart, we can hang out for all the long weekends." This fact had slipped Thad's mind, and his heart pounded in his chest, his words forgotten. His speech he had worked on, with moving poetry, up in smoke, and now he stood stoney faced in front of the most beautiful man, and his family.

"Can I borrow Wes for a minute?" he finally chokes out, his mouth dry. The parents nod, and Thad gently takes one of Wes's elbows. He leads him into the locker room, where they had gotten into their robes, it was empty now, just like his brain. Still lacking any real words to convey his feelings, he did the next best thing. Cupping Wes's cheek with his hand, he kisses him softly, and then flees, hoping that what he cannot say is evident enough in his actions. That night he gets two texts.

'Oh'

'That was unexpected, but I wouldn't mind exploring that.'

They spend their summer stealing kisses, and exploring each other. They know it will be tougher, in college, since they will be doing so much schoolwork, but they promise to visit on weekends, and they know that for now, they have each other. One night, they sleep beneath the stars, naming their own constellations, since neither of them can really remember them anyway. Daltonia, a grouping that looked oddly like a tie. Edmund Sr. and Edmund Jr. two shapes that looked somewhat like gavels, or at least Wes decided they looked like gavels. Klaine, two lines that crossed and intertwined. The brightest star, they renamed Evangeline, after the disney movie they both fell in love with. Under the stars, they became one, and the stars approved.

College was hard. They were closer than some of their other friends were, but they still felt so far apart. Thad considered transferring to Amherst, but he couldn't. During finals week, sophomore year, Wes sprang a surprise onto Thad. Massachusetts had legalized gay marriage after all, and Wes decided that they should take that opportunity while they were at college, in fact, he had decided that week would work particularly well. Thad agreed, but wasn't entirely sure why they had to be wed that week, when he had several tests to study for. At the courthouse on Saturday, he figured out why it had to be that weekend, because two men in suits waited to be best men. Wes had managed to get Blaine and David to fly out to be the required witnesses, to make the wedding a bit more personal. Thad smiled, and felt his eyes start to water. He and Wes had rented matching suits, and they both had simple golden bands to exchange. The woman signing the paper work smiled sweetly at the two young men, embarking into such a grand endeavor together, and wished them luck.

Their families were nothing but supportive, but their friends were a bit harder to convince. Not that they needed convincing that gay marriage was acceptable, none of the warblers had been homophobic, no convincing that they had actually gotten married. They had their relationship status on Facebook as married since high school. Wes had sent the request as a joke, and Thad had accepted it trying not to cry from happiness. They even went on a 'husband' date, but Thad knew it wasn't a real date, and it tore him up. The warblers were convinced after several pictures of the two men making out were posted on Facebook by Blaine, who knows not the meaning of inappropriate. Granted, it was the kiss they exchanged at the courthouse, but still he didn't have to upload it.

After they graduated with their Bachelor's degrees, they agreed that they needed to go to the same college for their next degree. No more shuffling back and forth between apartments, and losing track of who's actually on holiday. They slaved away, and sent in their grades with fingers crossed, and between the two of them, a few schools accepted both men. One stood above the rest, and with insistent pressure from Wes, and his want of an excellent law degree, they selected Harvard. Thad was pleased with their Education department, but was a little concerned about the price tag, but he went with Wes's wishes. The two of them packed up their apartments, and headed off home, for one more summer with family.

It was here, that Thad felt the yearning for family. His older sister had just had her first child, and was showing off Miguel to all of the cousins in the town. She had foisted the baby into Thad's arms, and he had frozen in shock, until he looked down into the tiny eyes. A strange feeling arose in his stomach, and he knew at that moment, he wanted a child. They hadn't really talked about children, because, what could they do? As broke college students, it was highly unlikely they would be permitted to adopt. Artificial insemination was highly expensive, and neither of them were female anyway. So Thad kept his mouth shut until breakfast one morning, halfway through fall's finals week.

It must have been the lack of sleep that prompted him to suggest it, why would he have said anything so silly in the first place? He would decide later, that the only explanation for those words leaving his mouth would be scholastic related sleep deprivation. "Why don't we ask your cousin if I can knock her up?" The cousin in question, recently got into Harvard as well, but was having difficulty with her dorm-mates. She had pleaded with the married couple to let her stay in their spare room, the one Thad had called a nursery, even though he knew there wouldn't be a child in there for a long time. Wes's eyes lit up, and the cogs turned in his head.

"If you did it soon, she would have the baby before the next school year." At the very calculated tone of Wes's voice, Thad paled. He hadn't had his coffee yet, and he knew that after his husband had a hold on any idea, it would take a while to shake it loose again. Then again, he did want the feeling of holding a small child again...