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 76th cycle. Now cycle 77!

"Step Seventy-Nine, Fear Not"
Kurt/Jude (OC), Brittany/Santana, Harry (OC), Burt
Paper Heart series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

It felt almost too clichéd to say so, but they were living the perfect sort of romance. As if it wasn't enough that they had gone and met by chance, which was almost the best thing anyone could ask for, but they had grown quickly as friends before they started up together as a couple, and since then they had been side by side, hand in hand, with hardly a falter. But now here they were, and graduation was upon him, and Kurt, for the first time, was honestly worried.

This had been on his mind even as he came down the stairs to see what the others were all talking about that he could hear their voices upstairs. But then they had all shown him the small graduation cap which was to be a present for Harry, and then it had all slipped away, into the back of his mind for a while.

It all came back when Jude arrived. He'd sent him a message so he would be here when Harry received his gift, a gesture which came naturally, so he didn't even think about how it would mean reasserting the still unspoken subject, not until they were all there, standing together.

Jude had been in Harry's life for most of it, and as much as his presence might have been subdued, maybe caring greatly for Kurt and what they were building together but not necessarily prepared for the implications of getting anywhere near the little boy, Jude had not gone that route. From day one, he had been someone good and constant in Harry's life. He never sought to work around having him there. If at any time spending time with Kurt, going out on a date, had to be rearranged because there was no one else to watch Harry that night, then he'd be the first to offer alternatives.

As the months passed, and Harry grew, just as Kurt and Jude's relationship strengthened, it became clear that the boy was not indifferent to his father's boyfriend, and just as he had taken to Santana, he had also adopted Jude as being part of the family. When he'd spoken his first words, he had started calling him Dada, just as he did with Kurt, and only them. Kurt had not forgotten the look in his eyes that day either.

This now brought them to this situation, and why he was so worried. He was graduating. He was going to New York, he'd made up his mind. But he hadn't spoken with Jude about this, not the New York part at least, and now he wondered what his boyfriend would say when he did bring it up. What if he didn't want to go? He had his mother to think about, his family… What if Kurt and the girls and Harry all went and Jude stayed? They'd say they'd keep going long distance, but he wasn't fooled so easily, he knew how those things generally ended up. They would try it for a while and then they'd stray apart… If he went and Jude stayed, then they were as good as signing the death certificate on their relationship as it now was. And Harry… Harry would be heartbroken.

Sometimes he wondered if he could change his mind, if he could find a way to stay here in Lima, with Jude. He'd get to stay near his father, which was a good thing, and they wouldn't be uprooting Harry's entire life. He might have been two years old, but that didn't mean he wouldn't figure out things were not there that used to be there. But he couldn't do that, he knew. It wasn't even just about staying true to his dream and all of that. There was Brittany, there was Santana… He couldn't force them to stay here either, and if they went, then Harry would be going with them, at least part of the time. They hadn't worked out this arrangement and held to it all this time, living part time at his house and part time at Brittany's just to suddenly keep him from one parent… Two parents, with Jude… for half the time. No, he was going to New York, too.

So that just left Jude… and they were back to the start again.

When he got upstairs to Harry's room, he found the boy sat up on his bed, his hair barely tussled by his nap, which he would joke proved him for being his son.

"Hey, bud, did you sleep alright?" he crouched down and Harry sleepily nodded, scooting up so he could put his arms around his father's neck. Kurt closed his own arms around him, too, hoisting him up as he stood. "You know, everyone's downstairs, Mommy, and Mama, and Dad, and Poppa Burt… They have something for you." This woke him up a twinge more, which made Kurt smirk. "Ah, got your attention, didn't I? Come on, let's go."

They headed out of the room, and Kurt carried him down the stairs and into the kitchen, where the others were waiting. There was a chorus of greetings, while Kurt put Harry down and the boy teetered up to receive a mountain of hugs from parents and grandparent alike. The way Harry looked around, they could tell he knew one of them had something for him. And when Burt held up the small graduation cap, his grandson's face lit up, grabby fingers reaching out. When it was put on his head, you might have thought he'd just been crowned. Santana caught him up, and she and Brittany both took him to the bathroom so he could see himself in the mirror. Burt smiled to himself before returning to dinner preparations.

"I have to take a picture to show my mom," Jude shook his head to himself, chuckling, as he took out his phone. Kurt took a breath; he had to say something.

"Jude?" The blond boy looked up. "There's something I need to ask you."

"Should I be worried?" he asked, standing taller for a moment.

"No, no, it's not…" Well it is a little bit… "Come here a second," he gestured so they would pass into the living room. "The thing is, I know we haven't talked about this much, or… at all… But graduation is coming, and Brittany is going to New York, and so is Santana, and I…"

"Do you not want me to come, or…" Jude asked, and Kurt felt his breath leave him sharply.

"No, of course not, of course I want you to come, that's what I'm worried about, that you might not…"

"Alright, then it's settled," he nodded, and it took a moment for Kurt's brain to realign itself.

"Wait, so… you are coming?" he had to hear it properly.

"You said it yourself, you're all going… where else would I want to be? Plus, New York…"

"But… your mother, your family…" Kurt asked, blinking.

"It might surprise you to know I've already discussed it with her," he admitted, smiling, and Kurt felt his legs go weak. "She said I already put my life on hold once because of her, and she wasn't going to have it happen again. We'll figure something out, don't worry." There was a moment of silence again, and now Kurt finally allowed himself to smile.

"So you're coming to New York…"

"Yes, sir, I am," Jude nodded. Kurt threw his arms around him, no longer able to contain himself. Now finally he knew, maybe there was such a thing as life working itself out.

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!