Blaine
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the voice was practiced and clipped. It did little to reassure Blaine.
"Yes, hello, I think you need to send the police, I think someone might be about to be beaten up," Blaine etched towards an alley that even in the bright autumn day in bustling New York managed to look suspect. Or maybe that was just because Blaine had just witnessed a well-dressed young man be followed into that alley by two larger males with unfortunate mixtures of scowls and smirks on their round faces.
"Can you state your location for me, sir," the controlled, not unkind voice sounded from the phone. Blaine rattled of the address quietly, straining his ears for any sound coming from the alley. He was stood practically at the entrance to it, back against the wall. "An officer has been dispatched, sir." The voice interrupted Blaine's frantically beating heart. "I must caution you to stay away, sir. The police will be there momentarily to deal with the situation."
"Hey, pretty boy." A gruff voice drifted along the bare brick walls and rounded the corner to where Blaine was standing. Oh goodness, it was about to go down, wasn't it. How long would it be before the police would be here? How bad could it get before they did arrive?
"Please hurry," Blaine whispered into the phone. How could everyone else around be so indifferent? Blaine felt as if his heart was about to explode in his chest. Other sounds were emanating from the alley. They were muffled and indistinguishable, drowning in the sounds of the relatively busy street. All Blaine had wanted was to get a cup of coffee at that special place as a treat to celebrate the arrival of the autumn break. How did he end up nearly having a heart attack while he tried to hear if someone was in serious trouble?
Was that a punch being thrown? He did not want to just stand here, hiding like a coward, if someone was being beaten to death. But he couldn't go in there either, and risk his own well-being. There were people who depended on him too much to risk it. And the person from the emergency-place had explicitly said not to interfere. Where was the police? Blaine looked frantically from side to side, wondering why people were just hurrying past, not paying attention to the horror that was surely unfolding right next to them.
"Get your hands off of me, you scum!" a higher voice shouted from further down the alley.
"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it, fairy boy?" a deeper, gruffer voice chimed in, and that was definitely not a good sound, the one that followed. The pained whimper was what made Blaine snap.
"I've called the police!" he called, loudly, swinging around to stand at the mouth of the alley. "They're on their way."
About halfway down the victim was standing next to an overflowing container. He was immaculately dressed in a tightfitting white pea coat over even tighter fitting grey jeans tucked into heavy black boots. His chestnut hair was swept back over his forehead, as he stood tall and firm opposite his attackers. Who had frozen in place at the sound of Blaine's voice. In that moment, a loud crash sounded from the alley, and Blaine just caught sight of the glass bottles exploding over the hard ground. The box they had been kept in must have toppled of the fire escape running up one side of the alley walls.
The two thugs, showered by glass fragments, swore, turned on their heels and took off at a run. Regal Victim did a sort of shoulder wriggle, stiff nod combo that somehow indicated both his satisfaction and his annoyance with the situation. Then he looked up and straight at Blaine. For a second he did an incredibly accurate deer caught in headlights imitation. Then he strode determinately towards where Blaine was still standing, cup of expensive coffee still clutched in his hands.
As he came closer it became evident that Mr. Regal victim wasn't as put together anymore as Blaine had first thought. His clothes was ruffled. Red dust on his right arm bore witness to its meeting with the brick wall, and a red mark under his left eye was slowly taking shape. His lip was slightly swollen, too, and a small trail of blood was running from where it had split.
"I've called the police, they're on their way," Blaine restated to Regal Victim when he came closer. He sort of flailed his hand towards RV, wanting to show support without knowing how to.
"Right," Regal Victim said. His voice was clipped and annoyed.
"Do you have any idea how that happened?" Blaine nodded towards where the cardboard box was slumped on one side.
"I think I saw a cat up there." Mr. Regal victim said slowly. "Right, well, I'll be off then." Mr. Regal victim stepped around a gawking Blaine and out of the alley.
"Hey, wait up," Blaine shook himself out of the shocked starring at empty space the sudden departure had left him in. "We have to wait for the police." He hurried after Mr. Regal Victim who was walking with long, determined steps towards the nearest subway station.
"Listen," Regal Victim suddenly twirled around to face Blaine dead on, "Thank you for your good Samaritan act. You can go back to your sad, ordinary life now. No harm done, see," he waved towards himself. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go home and pretend this never happened." He raised his eyebrow at Blaine and it was clear that he did not care what Blaine thought on the matter. In a flurry of white coat he turned on his heels and marched off.
(*)
Blaine was still reeling when he made it back to his flat. The entire event kept playing itself over and over in his mind, as he tried to somehow, magically, make sense of it all. – From the emergency-call to the mysterious falling box to the flippant reaction of Mr. Regal victim.
"Daddy," an exited squeal pulled him back to the real world as the door clicked closed behind him. A smile automatically slid onto his face as a little figure came hurdling through the door leading away from the hallway, and bowled straight into his legs, hugging them fiercely.
"Hey sweetheart," he breathed, stroking the soft dark hair of his eldest daughter, "How've you been?" she looked up at him with round glistening eyes.
"We made cookies Daddy!" she announced with a broad grin. A green streak of icing was smeared on her round cheek. Blaine reached down to wipe it off.
"Is that so?" he asked, sucking the sugar of his thump. "Well, I can't wait to taste. – After dinner!" her face fell, but only for a second. Then it lit up into a brilliant smile.
"Can we eat now Daddy?" she asked in her most innocent voice. Blaine couldn't help but laugh at that, as he grabbed the little hand clamped around his knee.
"I'll have to cook first, darling," he said as the two of them made their way into the living room/kitchen area. Another squeal interrupted whatever she was about to say to that. His youngest was sitting on her play blanket, an array of toys spread around her. She was holding up a colourful ball for him to inspect as she bounced in her seat and babbled at him.
Blaine was quick to make his way over, pick the baby up and toss her into the air for all of half a second before he caught her and cuddled her close. She squealed and buried her face in his shoulder. Blaine breathed deeply, inhaling her baby sent.
"Come on, Daddy, we gotta make dinner. It's Friday. We get to eat cookies and stay up super late!" the demand was accompanied with a little, impatient tuck on the coat he was still wearing.
"Already on it, Ree Ree," Blaine twirled around to find Tina standing by the kitchen island dividing up the otherwise open floorplan.
"Hey, Tina," Blaine made his way over to his friend, "Thanks for taking them today," he popped a piece of tomato into his own mouth before passing one to the baby on his hip.
"No problem," Tina said, sending him a teasing glare in return for the tomato theft. He shrugged as he slid his baby into her high chair.
"You staying for dinner?" he asked, unbuttoning his coat.
"Sure, why not," Tina shrugged, dropping the tomatoes into the already warm pan on the stove next to her. "I'm already cooking it, aren't I?"
(*)
"Open your mouth wide, sweetheart," Maria reluctantly did as he asked, letting Blaine brush her little pearly white teeth. "Good job, honey. Now crawl into bed."
"But it's not super late, yet," she protested around a yawn.
"Yes it is sweetheart, it's super-duper late, and time for bed. And you know what?" she shook her head as he helped her under her covers and tucked her in, "It's vacation time. That means you and Daddy and Emily are going to be staying home for the entire week and play and go to the park and have lots of fun!" she blinked tiredly at him, and cuddled the plush tiger he handed her. "Now would you like me to read you one story before you go to sleep?" he asked, pulling a book from the little stand next to her little bed. She was asleep before he finished the third page.
Blaine smiled to himself, leaning over to press a kiss against her forehead. On the way to the living room he poked his head into his own room where Emily was spread out in the baby bed, chest raising and falling steadily.
"And the monsters are asleep," Blaine announced as he dropped onto the couch next to Tina. She laughed and high-fived him. "Something strange happened on the way home today," he remembered as he straightened up and poured himself a glass of wine Tina had located while he got his kids to sleep.
"Oh?" she raised her eyebrow and got settled more comfortably on the couch, "Do tell."
"Right so, I was stopping by Simone's for a treat, you know, for surviving the first quarter. And these thugs follow someone into this alley, and you just know they have something horrible in mind. I mean he was pretty much screaming gay and wealthy, so, obviously I call 9-1-1 and get them to send help."
"Oh, my God, that's awful. You didn't do anything stupid, did you?" Tina asked, leaning closer as if inspecting him for damages.
"No. No, but I was like having an aneurism or something from worry. And I may have told the idiots that I had called the police. But then this really weird thing happened. There was this box of empty bottles standing on a fire escape, and suddenly it just falls, showering the scumbags in glass shards." Tina raised an eyebrow at him, shaking her head. The two of them had been friends since they met at college. Tina's open nature and slightly wonky personality matched well with Blaine's lust for adventure and happy-go-lucky nature.
"The guy said he thought he saw a cat. And then he was just really rude and abrasive, just taking off without waiting for the police or anything." Blaine frowned, remembering the look on Regal Victim's face as he stalked of.
"Well, if someone just tried to beat him up, can you really blame him for wanting to get out of the way?" Tina send him one of her small 'you know I'm right' smiles. Blaine mock scowled at her, and she tried to scowl right back, though she had one of those faces that were just too open and kind to really pull it off. – It was one of the things that made her such a great teacher. That and the fact that she was amazing with kids.
"Just put on a movie, Captain Always knows best," Blaine smirked, taking a drink of his wine. "And don't blame me if I fall asleep in the middle of it. My work-kids were little nightmares today."
"Daddy look!" Maria pulled on Blaine's hand, hard, dragging him away from the window with the nice coat far out of Blaine's price range.
"What is it sweetheart?" he asked even as they came to a halt outside the store next to the clean fashion boutique with the expensive coat.
"Look Daddy, a treasure shop!" Maria pointed through the window set in the green wooden door. Behind it could be seen a cluttered interior. "Can we go in, please, Daddy?" Maria send him a pleading look, one eye squinted shut and her nose scrunched up.
"Sure, baby-girl," Blaine smiled. He had taken his girls out for a shopping trip, after all. Emily gurgled happily at the warm air that greeted them as they entered the shop. Her little fist closed tightly in his hair, and Blaine could feel her twisting around in the forest green Baby Wrap he had tied around his midsection. Carefully, he parked Emily's pushchair just inside the entrance where it would be the least in the way, and followed Maria's insistent tuck on his coat into the cave they had entered. The shop was narrow and long, the walls lined with tall shelving units filled with pottery, baskets and books. Between the entrance to the shop and the counter at the other end of the shop a small labyrinth of display tables and display stands were set up. Maria, who had developed a fondness for treasures to rival that of Ariel's had found herself a heaven.
"Look, Daddy, neck'ces!" she exclaimed, standing on tip-toes to peer through the glass surface of a table. Rather than answering, since he knew an answer wasn't expected, Blaine ruffled Maria's hair, and looked up to scan the shop. Two people were at the counter at the other end. One, a black lady dressed in the colours of a rainbow, was smiling widely, wriggling her fingers, Blaine assumed, at Emily. The other, a tall lean man, was shaking his head at his companion, eyes wide. Blaine recognised him instantly. It had been a week since the weird incident, and the autumn break had been filled to the brim with entertaining his girls. The memory of that particular event was, however, still vividly clear in Blaine's mind, and so was the image of Mr. Regal Victim. – Who was, incidentally, the same man now turning towards a magazine with an air of indifference hanging about him. Rattled, Blaine returned his attention to Maria, who had made her way further into the maze of the shop. She was now admiring a pair of high heels displayed on a gathering of boxes on the floor, gently shaping her hands around their form and cooing over them.
"Mind the till, will you?" a voice sounded, and Blaine looked up to see the woman move from behind the counter. He smiled politely at her as she made her way passed him. A little chime of a bell signaled her departure. Which meant that Blaine and his children were left alone in the shop with the strange.
"Aw, beads!" Maria exclaimed as if she had discovered the Holy Grail hidden among the other goblets on the shelves. "Daddy please can I have some for my treasure chest, please?" she turned to him with her eyes as wide as they would go. Shaking his head, Blaine smiled indulgently at her.
"Why not, baby-girl, pick out five, okay?" her face lit up in excitement only to morph into concentration as she turned to the task of picking out the very best five of the colourful glass beads gathered in three little basket on a low shelf. Once again Blaine found himself shaking his head. Looking up, he found the stranger's eyes resting on him. The wide eyes told him that he, too, had been recognised.
"I'll be just over here, okay, sweetheart?" he ruffled Maria's hair to get her attention long enough to know that she had heard, and then made his way towards the counter. "Fancy seeing you here," he said in lieu of a proper greeting.
"Fancy that," the stranger replied. Neither man quite managed to look directly at the other.
"So," Blaine started, reaching over his shoulder to pull a curl from Emily's mouth. Then he trailed of. "You're doing okay then?" he ended up blurting out. The stranger raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, I am." He said.
"And this is where you work? It's very, um, well, it's not exactly…" Blaine gestured to the shop behind him rather than finish the sentence. The stranger still looked entirely unimpressed in his perfectly fitted outfit with his hair swept back just so.
"Not exactly..?" he prompted.
"It's just not exactly what I would have imagined, but I guess it does sort of fit the whole mystic stranger thing?"
"This isn't my place." The stranger reached out to straighten a stack of brochures on the counter. "I own the place next door." He inclined his head towards the sleek fashion shop Blaine had been admiring.
"Oh," Blaine fiddled with the fabric of the baby wrap criss-crossing his chest. "Well that fits. Too…" the stranger raised an eyebrow at Blaine's hand wave.
"Too? You really think I fit in here?" he asked.
"Well yeah, with the whole…"
"Mysticism?" the stranger's eyebrow raised another notch. Blaine, helplessly trapped, nodded.
"Yeah, you could almost fool people into thinking you were a Wizard or something," he tried to joke.
"Aw, you're a wizard?" Blaine could have face-planted onto the counter. Why did children always have impeccable timing? The stranger once again did his imitation of deer-in-headlight as he starred down at Maria, who, without a care in the world, placed her final selection of five beads on the counter.
"Ehm," the stranger stuttered at the same time as Blaine placed a hand on her head.
"Can you do magic?" she looked at the stranger with the widest, most exited eyes.
"Rie Rie, Daddy was joking, sweetheart." Blaine said as the stranger continued not reacting. Maria ignored him.
"Right," the stranger seemed to unfreeze, scanning the shop to make sure no-one was hiding behind the shelves. "Yeah, I can do magic do you want to see?" Maria nodded, beyond eager, even as her dad's hand rested firmly on her little head. "Okay, but you have to help me, okay? Magic only work if we sing a song together." The stranger was moving from behind the counter, one hand already wrapped into a fist and kneeling in front of an enraptured little girl. "Do you know Tangled?" Maria, obviously, nodded. "Okay, do you know the song with the lights? Can you help me sing that?" the stranger gently folded Maria's hand in to a fist, and then wrapped his own larger hand around it.
The two of them began to sing, and Blaine starred at them, not at all sure what to expect. They only sang the chorus, and as they finished, Maria gasped loudly, turning to look up at her dad. Slowly opening her fist a tiny little blue and green bead was revealed. The colours matched those of Maria's eyes perfectly.
"Look Daddy!" Maria looked up at Blaine with wonder all over her face.
"I saw, baby-girl. You did magic!" he looked towards the stranger who was still kneeling on the shop floor, biting his lip. "Now say thank you,"
"It was my pleasure," The stranger said, getting back to his feet, and looking sort of dazed. "Do you want a little bag for those? We have some with little fairies on them." The stranger spun around himself before locating the little paper bags under the counter. He carefully transferred the five beads on the counter to the bag, but the magic one stayed firmly clasped in Maria's little hand. The awkward and stifled air was not lost on Blaine, but he had a hard time finding a way around it with Maria still staring at the stranger as if he hung the moon next to him.
She was still talking about the amazing Mr. Wizard and his magic bead when they made it onto the subway, Emily asleep in her stroller. Blaine just smiled indulgently at her, loving the way she could still dream.
On most days Blaine loved his job. There was little in the world more rewarding, he thought, than teaching pre-schoolers. When he did dislike it, nine point nine times out of ten, it was because of the parents. – Like when they send their fever-sick little brats to school just because it was field-trip day and little Eric had been looking forward to it for weeks. Because that inconsideration for others would lead to situations like the one Blaine now found himself in.
Emily's fever warm head radiated heat all the way through Blaine's shirt, making him sweat more than he already was. His youngest whimpered in discomfort, her little head resting heavy against his collar bone. Blaine sniffed, trying to focus on both the can of soup in one hand and Tina's voice drifting from the phone held in the other. "Daddy, my head is hurty!" a thin little voice cut over whatever apology Tina was making at the moment. Maria twisted in the almost too small pushchair into which she had been stuffed along with an array of pillows and blankets to protect her against the autumn chill of the New York evening.
"I know baby," Blaine hissed, deciding that the soup was probably perfectly fine and dumping it into the net attached to the back of the push chair. "I'll get you some medicine as soon as we get back, okay. Tina, its fine, we'll manage. Talk to you later."
"I'm not comfy Daddy, I want to go home now!" his eldest wailed as loud as her hoarse voice would allow.
"Baby-girl," Blaine sighed, kneeling next to the pushchair "I know everything is really achy right now, okay? I promise, we are going to go home as fast as we can, but we have to get yours and Emily's meds first or I can't make it better for either of you okay?" Maria looked at him through hazy eyes, her bottom lip wobbling.
"I wanna go home Daddy!" she wailed, thick tears spilling out of her green eyes. Emily, on hearing her sister's voice, whimpered more insistently, soon switching over to heart wrenching baby sobs.
"Shh, babies," Blaine bit back tears of frustration and helplessness as he kissed first one then another too warm forehead. "Daddy's doing everything he can, okay?" with one hand he rubbed Emily's little back through his coat and baby wrap. With the other he brushed the thick curls out of Maria's face, then letting it rest against her little check.
Having one sick child sucked. Having two sick children was almost impossible. Having two sick children while you yourself was also sick, now that was just about more than Blaine was able to handle. Blinking tears from his eyes, Blaine started humming with his sore voice until both children finally started to calm down.
"Get your brats under control!" a harsh voice called from further down the aisle. Blaine didn't even find the energy to look up, getting to his feet awkwardly and pushing the pushchair towards the counter of the pharmacy.
"Why don't you just shut your big mouth, idiot," another voice said, and suddenly a foreign hand landed on Blaine's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Mr. Wizard!" Maria exclaimed, the first smile of the day making its way onto her face. Somewhat zombie-like, Blaine turned his entire body towards the man suddenly standing next to him. Mr. Wizard also known as Regal Victim, was dressed just as impeccably as always in a light blue coat over a marine turtle neck and tight black jeans. His warm blue-green eyes were fixed on Maria, as he reached out to brush his fingers through her sweaty hair.
"Hey there, beautiful girl." He said in a voice that sounded like honey to Blaine's over-tired ears. "You're not feeling too great huh?" Maria shook her head. "By the looks of it, none of you are," Regal Victim turned his soothing gaze to Blaine, who once again felt tears spring to his eyes. "Let's get you guys your medicine and take it from there, okay?"
"Daddy, where is Mr. Wizard?" Maria asked the second they stepped into the shop. It had been a week since the embarrassing incident in the pharmacy, and they were all finally more or less symptom free. Maria had, however, insisted since the morning after that they had to give Mr. Wizard a Thank-you card, because you always had to give people who did something nice for you thank-you cards. Which was why they were here, in this more than sleek shop. The walls were as white as the glistening floor. Four white-lacquered, long tables were arranged in two rows running the length of the shop. Atop them accessories and stacks of jeans and t-shirts were arranged precisely as if done with the aid of a ruler. Cubicles in two layers lined the walls. Most of them were filled with racks of clothes, though some of the upper ones contained mannequins displaying the gorgeous designer clothes. Towards the other end of the shop a long sleek counter was manned by a young girl, who was sending Blaine a raised eyebrow. This place didn't exactly emanate child friendly. There was only one other person visible in the shop – a costumer browsing the racks to one side, though the curtains to the fitting rooms next to the counter were drawn.
"Let's see if we can find him, sweetheart," feeling self-conscious, Blaine parked his push chair to one side and passed the homemade card to a twitchy Maria. With Emily balanced on one hip, Blaine took Maria's little hand in his and walked down towards the counter.
The young woman standing behind it looked exactly the part with her manicured nails, high ponytail and tight fitted black dress. She did not look impressed with the little girl wandering down the shop with a large card covered in multi-coloured glitter held proudly and gingerly in front of her.
"Where's Mr. Wizard please?" Maria asked in her politest voice. The woman behind the counter just looked at her, one eyebrow raised and lips pursed.
"She's asking for Kurt," Blaine stepped in, and yeah, maybe he had had to surf the internet to find the actual name of Mr. Wizard, but that had to be better than either of the names Blaine had been using in his mind since meeting him.
"Oh," the woman said, turning her gaze to Blaine instead, "one moment." She looked for a second as if she wasn't sure she should leave them unattended before she turned at walked over to a door leading further into the building. "Mr. Hummel, you have a visitor," she said, and a moment later Kurt stepped into the shop.
"Oh, hello there," Kurt smiled on seeing them, moving around the counter to greet them. Suddenly shy, Maria moved to hide behind Blaine's leg. Undeterred, Kurt send her a finger-wave before shaking Blaine's free hand. "What can I do for you?" Seeing Kurt in this environment was a strange thing. It wasn't that he had changed, as such, it was more that out in the ordinary world he was extraordinary, something special and beautiful. In here he fit in with the sleek, clear, and orderly lines, sharp colours, and understated elegance.
"We're here to give you something, right Maria," Blaine prompted, looking down at the child who was busy peaking at Kurt from behind Blaine. "Do you want me to give it to Mr. Wizard honey?" Maria shook her head and catapulted the card towards Kurt.
"Wow, what's this. It looks very pretty and colourful," Kurt accepted the card, kneeling down to eyelevel with Maria. "'Thank you very much for caring for us Mr. Wizard.' Well you are all very welcome," Kurt send a smile up Blaine's way, closing the card again and admiring its avant-garde glittery front.
"Daddy thinks I used too much glitter," Maria confided, edging towards Kurt.
"Is that so?" Kurt send a teasing look up at Blaine, "Well I don't agree. I think it has just the right amount of glitter. It's a very beautiful card. Thank you." Maria beamed proudly.
"Daddy thinks we should do something nice for you," Maria had suddenly rediscovered her more chatty side, "Oh, you should come for dinner at my house! Daddy says the nicests thing you can do for someone is to give them food!" Dang, children were always such sponges. Blaine should just stop talking around her all together. Kurt looked up at Blaine, clearly startled by Maria's sincere question.
"Well, Sweetie, I would…" he said slowly, sending Blaine a look that clearly asked Blaine to send the correct answer through telepathy. Blaine could only smile and shrug, hoping that said 'your choice. We'd be happy to have you'. "… Love to come for dinner at your house," Kurt finished, hardly missing a beat.
"Yay," Maria cheered, turning to beam up at Blaine. "Mr. Wizard is coming for dinner tonight!"
(*)
"Someone's really fallen for you," Blaine commented from where he was stirring the Bolognaise. Ever since he had stepped over the threshold, Maria had been attached firmly to Kurt's hand, chatting away non-stop. The only reason Blaine had gotten a word in was because he had send Maria to wash her hands before dinner.
"Yeah," Kurt agreed, getting up from the floor and dusting of his pants. "I love what you have done with her room," He picked up the glass of wine Blaine had placed on the kitchen table for him. The Tangle-inspired room had been the first thing Kurt had been dragged off to see.
"Thanks," Blaine said as Maria announced her return.
"Will you sit next to me, Mr. Wizard?" she asked, her eyes wide and pleading.
"Sure," Kurt replied with a smile.
"Good, 'cause Emily is really messy, and I don't want to sit next to her,"
Dinner was a pleasantly joyful affair. Maria's chatty mood carried on through dinner as they talked about what they had done that day and played 20 questions to get to know each other better. Kurt didn't bat an eye when Blaine placed a lump of sauce covered pasta in front of Emily. He didn't comment when the toddler started sorting through her food with both hands, stuffing her mouth messily. He did laugh, though, when she clumsily picked up her doll-sized cup and drank three drops before intentionally dumping the remains over the rest of her food.
"I told you she was messy," Maria said in her old-woman voice, looking at her sister with distain and mistrust. Blaine found himself smiling somewhat proudly at both his girls feeling relaxed and at ease for the first time since the cold-epidemic had struck.
(*)
"Oh you really didn't have to do that," Blaine exclaimed, re-entering the living room after having tucked Maria in.
"Oh, it was no problem," Kurt turned from where he was putting away the last of the dishes after having cleaned them while Blaine did his bed-time routine with his girls.
"Well, thank you all the same," Blaine sent the neatly packed baskets next to the bookshelves an appreciative glance as he made his way to the kitchen. "So tell me, Mr. Wizard," he pulled a packet of biscuits from an overhead cupboard. "Do you happen to play Settlers?" he pointed the roll at Kurt as if it was a sword.
"Oh, I am the master of settlers," Kurt replied drying his hands in a hand towel with one eyebrow raised, "Get ready to get your backside handed to you."
"She's asleep," The pride in Kurt's voice was easy to detect as he stepped into the living room. Baine looked up from the drawings he was leafing through.
"Really?" he asked surprised. Only few could get Maria to sleep. "Well done. There's coffee in the pot." It had been four weeks since the first time Kurt had come to their flat, and since then he had had dinner with them at least once a week. In no time at all he had been inserted into Blaine and the girls' lived, and he seemed to just, well, fit. Maria was absolutely in love with him, pulling him into all sorts of games and telling him everything she had been up to since the last time she saw him. Emily, too, seemed to be quite charmed. When she saw him she would squeal in happiness and reach for him. As for Blaine, well, he seemed to have found himself a friend who just got him.
Kurt smiled and moved to pour himself a mug of black coffee. "Can I ask you something," he asked biting his lip as if he wasn't sure if he really should. "It's just that she said something and I didn't know how to respond." Frowning Blaine placed the drawings on the table in front of the couch.
"What did she say?" he asked. Kurt moved to sit gingerly on the couch as well.
"Well we were reading that book where the child and the bear play hide and seek and the mother says she will always find him no matter how hard he hides. And Maria said that her mother has gone away." Kurt was frowning down at his hands as he spoke, "And I wasn't sure if. Well, what to say to that."
"Right," Blaine said rubbing his forehead, "Well, she's right. About a year ago their mom decided she didn't want to be a mother after all, and now I have full custody." Kurt's eyes were round as they rested on Blaine's face. He looked horrified. "Maria doesn't really ask about her much anymore, so. What did you say, then?" Blaine turned to face Kurt fully.
"I told her that my mother went away as well, and that she has a father who loves her very much." Kurt said simply. There was a sad drag at the corner of his mouth, though.
"Your mother didn't leave of her own free will, did she?" Blaine guessed. Kurt just shook his head. "I'm sorry," Blaine reached over to place his hand gently on Kurt's knee. The look in Kurt's eyes changed and before Blaine really realised it, soft and warm lips were pressed against his own. Instinctively, Blaine kissed back, leaning into Kurt. Before the kiss could get any more heated, though, Blaine pulled back. Kurt followed him a part of the way, his eyes blinking open.
"Oh, Kurt, I'm flattered," Blaine sighed, readjusting himself to bring more space between them.
"But?" Kurt's back straightened and his eyes grew hard.
"But I'm not…"
"Not?" the rigidity in Kurt's body didn't suit him at all.
"Into guys," Blaine finished tamely. The absolutely broken look that slid onto Kurt's face for a millisecond made Blaine's heart clench.
"Right. Of course." He said, looking away from Blaine, "I actually have a lot of work to do, so. I'll just." He got up from the couch and smoothened out his shirt. Blaine watched, hollowheartedly, as he left the room, but he made no move to follow.
"Did I lead him on, Tay?" Blaine absentmindedly stabbed at the tomatoes in his salad.
"By the sounds of it, yeah, you kind of did Blaine," Tina said, leaning back in her seat. The two of them had found an empty classroom to commandeer during the too short lunch break.
It had only been a few days since the surprise kiss, but Blaine felt like he was about to explode from all the emotions he was feeling. It didn't help that Maria would ask to see Mr. Wizard every morning, and then repeat the request when he came to pick her up after classes. He groaned at Tina's answer, letting his fork drop into the plastic box that contained his healthy-option lunch.
"I did. I just. I assumed he knew that I didn't…"
"Swing that way?" Tina helpfully supplied when Blaine couldn't.
"Yeah," he sighed moodily, sinking back in his slightly too small kids chair, and drawing his shoulders up to his ears.
"Okay, Blainy-days, I'm going to ask you a question and you have to answer the first thing that comes into your head, okay?" Tina lent in over the table, resting her elbows on the shiny blue surface. He nodded sullenly. "When Kurt kissed you, what was the first thing you felt?" Blaine opened his mouth to answer, then let it snap shut when he realized what he had been about to say. Tina raised an eyebrow at him.
"It felt nice," Blaine shrugged. "Kissing normally does."
"Okay, and after he left, what did you feel?"
"Like crap. I mean, I hate hurting people and I really didn't notice I had been doing that to him." Blaine folded his arms over his chest.
"Okay, so here is what I just heard you say: 'I like him, but I'm scarred to admit it because I've never liked another man before and I don't think I'm supposed to just start now.'" Tina imitated in a mock deep voice. Blaine pouted and scowled at her. "Listen, I know how your friendship sometimes comes across as flirting, so it is possible that you never meant anything else. But you said it yourself. He fit into yours and the girls' lives. People don't tend to do that randomly, Blaine, they do it because we allow them to. So just do me a favour and think about this? Rationally and without regard to what society has to say about it." She stood up as the bell sounded throughout the school. "And then go make out with the bloke, he sounds like he could be worth it. – Heck I'll even take the girls for the night if they'll let me," she smirked, ruffling his hair as she passed him on the way out.
"They won't, and it won't be necessary," he called after her, turning in his seat to stick out his tongue at her back.
"See ya tonight, loverboy," she called without turning around, waving, instead, over her shoulder. He shook his head and started gathering his things together before heading for another activity hour with his work-kids. Thinking would have to wait.
"I have never ever felt so humiliated," Kurt dumbed his spoon into the tub of ice cream. He had just come back from his definitely not a date and his roommate had taken one look at him before taking out their emergency comfort food. "And he was so perfect, too," he let his head fall back against the headrest of their couch.
"Aw Kurt," Rachel reached over to rub his arm, "But maybe it's for the best, I mean, were you really ready to become substitute dad for those kids?" Kurt let his head roll over to send his roommate a look.
"Those Girls are amazing," he said. Truth was, Kurt had taken one look at Maria, and fallen a little bit in love. It was the eyes, he thought, so full of life and generosity. Or maybe it was the curls, or the smile. Then there was Emily with her gurgling giggle and her grabby hands. She just pulled you right in. That their dad was Kurt's perfect man completed the most perfect picture. Before that day in Mercedes's shop Kurt had never given much thought to fatherhood. – He didn't dislike kids, but he had never really known if they were for him. Then Blaine, Mr. Good Samaritan who actually bothered to try and help when someone were being bigots, had stepped in with one gorgeous kid by the hand and a second one strapped to his back like something out of a romanticist painting. The thing about Blaine was, he was the full packet with his black well-fitted pea coat and his matching oversized forest green scarf crisscrossing over his chest to secure the child to his back. - With his deep, sparkly eyes that squinted when he smiled. With his smooth voice and his squeaky laugh. Kurt had been sold so embarrassingly quickly, and of cause it was all for nothing. Because flirty hot-dad Blaine was not into guys.
Kurt groaned throwing his head back again to stare up at the ceiling. Why did he always end up doing this? Why could he never just fall for an available, sweet, and gay guy?
"But still, Kurt. They're kids. I mean they like you right now because you're new and shiny, but what would have happened in a few months or whatever, when all they are, are Daddy-hogging little monsters who scream and get sick all over the place?" Rachel helpfully broke through his thoughts.
"Then Blaine and I would have been in it together, and it wouldn't always be funny, but it would still have been perfect, because we would have each other." Kurt replied, tears creeping into his voice. He really had allowed himself to dream this up way too much.
"You're really beaten up over this, aren't you," Rachel leant her elbow on the headrest, turning sideways on the couch to look at him. He just nodded helplessly, because what else could he do. She was right.
"Aw, sweet pea." she reached over to brush the hair from his forehead. He pouted at her, nodding his head. "Okay, come here." She pulled and pushed at him to get him settled on his back with his head on her lap, and then started humming softly, combing her fingers through his hair. He sighed deeply, letting the calmness of her voice wash over him.
(*)
It had been a full week since the ill-advised kiss, and there had been absolute radio silence from Blaine. Kurt fund himself hovering somewhere between hoping that he just needed the time – seven days wasn't that long after all - before resuming their friendship, and resigning himself with the fact that he would never see Blaine or the girls again. So when his phone rang on a rainy, slow Thursday, and Blaine's name flashed across the screen, he really wasn't surprised by the mix of emotions that swept through him.
"Hello?" he answered, trying to keep his voice as devoid of emotions as possible until he knew where Blaine stood.
"Kurt, hey, you picked up, great, listen I have a huge favour to ask," okay, so ignoring the issue entirely. Kurt could live with that, "The babysitter cancelled on me last minute, and I really have to be at this teacher-parent thing tonight. And I know you probably have plans already, but I just wanted to check if there's any chance you can take them? I mean I know it's a lot to ask, I'm just running low on options and the girls already know you and feel safe with you, so."
"Yeah I can take them," Kurt found himself cutting over whatever else Blaine had to say.
"Yeah? Kurt you're a lifesaver!" if there had been any doubt, the relief in Blaine's voice washed it way.
"It's no problem. When do you need me?"
"I have to be out of here by five," Blaine already sounded distracted again, and Emily's chatter could be heard in the background.
"Okay, well, see you then," Kurt hung up, shook himself and wondered what he had just gotten himself into.
(*)
"Hey Kurt, come on in," Blaine pulled the door open, turned on the spot and disappeared back into his apartment. Kurt dutifully followed Blaine into the little home. From the first time he had come to dinner here, Kurt had admired this place for it simple functionality and homeliness. The kitchen in one end of a long room was separated from the living area by a counter with a couple of barstools and a highchair. At the other end, couches were framed by bookshelves and a couple of tall windows facing the city. Little baskets were placed by the shelves, containing Emily's toys and the lover shelves were re-arranged to fit Maria's books and some of her toys. "Dinner's on the stow, so you can just eat whenever. The kids'll probably be hungry soon, though. And then just let them play themselves tired. Maria, the babysitter's here," Blaine called in the middle of his list of instructions, and Kurt heard her door slam against the wall at the far end of the hallway leading away from the room they were in. "It's possible they don't want to sleep before I get back, so don't even sweat it,"
"Mr. Wizard!" Maria came at Kurt at a run, bowling into his legs. Emily had pulled herself up to stand by the living room table, and was babbling happily at Kurt sort of doing squats in her excitement over seeing him.
"Just try to keep them entertained. – A movie should do the trick, and feel free to bribe them with snacks at any time." Blaine continued, completely ignoring the chaos around him. He looked different with his hair gelled more firmly against his head and his clothes lacking that cheerful colour it usually had. "I should be back at around nine, but I'll have my phone on me in case it just all goes haywire." Kurt nodded at him as he bend down to hug Maria.
"Right. Anything else? If they want a bath give them one. Otherwise we'll just do it tomorrow. Important numbers on the fridge."
"I missed you Mr. Wizard. Why'd you stop visiting me?" Maria asked over her father's harried voice. Emily, detecting that something was going down, had dumbed to the floor and speed-crawled over to Blaine with a screech.
"I was just busy," Kurt replied looking up at Blaine who had pulled on a coat and swung a satchel over his shoulder. "But I've missed you, too,"
"Right, Maria, Daddy's going to go now, okay, so be nice to Mr. Wizard and do as he says, okay?" Maria nodded accepting her father's hug and the kiss he pressed into her hair.
"Oh, and this one will cry when I leave, it's just her programming, so don't panic, just try to distract her with some toys or worst case scenario one of those fruit bars in the snack cupboard." Blaine had picked up Emily and gotten to his feet. Kurt followed him as he started walking to the door.
"Thank you so much for doing this, Kurt! And call me if it gets too much, okay? I should be back at around nine." He handed over a squirming Emily. "Daddy's going to be back later okay, baby-girl 2," he said pressing a kiss against her little forehead as she started screeching. "Bye," with one last wave, the door closed behind him, and Emily, as promised, started wailing loudly straight into Kurt's ear as an eager Maria pulled on his hand to get him to come play with her. This was going to be one interesting evening.
(*)
How he survived the four hours that followed, Kurt had no idea, but as nine o'clock rolled around he found himself walking back and forth in front of the couch, singing softly into the ear of a very still, though wide awake Emily. Maria was half asleep on the couch, a DVD playing on the screen. The place was a mess. Toys were spread all over the room, and the remains of the dinner they had laughed their way through was still standing on the counter – and on the floor from where Emily had dropped it. The bathroom was flooded from trying to bath two eager children at the same time without either of them falling and cracking their heads open. Maria's room was in much the same state as the living room and even Blaine's room had not been missed since Emily had crawled in there only to return with one of those long scarves Blaine used to carry her in. – she had given it to Kurt proudly, and, unable to deny her, he now had her close against his chest with the scarf wrapped around the both of them several times.
So, yeah, he was not proud of the state of the apartment, but all three of them were alive and no-one were crying so he sort of considered the evening a success. The soft sound of the door drifted and shortly after Blaine stepped through the door, leaving the satchel against the wall. Emily whimpered as she saw him, but settled down as soon as she was in his arms.
"Hey," Blaine whispered softly, pressing a kiss against her head, "Were you cuddling with Mr. Wizard huh baby-girl 2. That looked nice," he looked about as tired as Kurt felt, though the smile he sent him was soft and warm. "Looks like you had fun," he said, rocking his child in his arms.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that," Kurt started apologising, but Blaine waved him of, making his way over to Maria, who was looking at them with tired eyes.
"Hey darling. Did you have fun with Mr. Wizard?" he asked, stroking her hair away from her face and leaning down to kiss her forehead, too. Maria nodded. "Good. I'm just going to put Emily to bed, and then I'll be back okay," he got to his feet, sent Kurt a smile and made his way to his own room. Not knowing what else to do with himself, Kurt started finally clearing away the food.
"Hey, no, you don't have to do that, just leave it," Blaine said when he came back five minutes later. "Thank you so much for tonight. It really did save my job if not my life."
"It was my pleasure," Kurt ducked his head embarrassedly. Truth was, he had enjoyed himself so much, getting to spend so much time with the two girls who had stolen his heart.
"I'm glad. I'm just going to put Maria to bed as well, I'll be right back." Maria clung to him like a koala as Blaine gently lifted her from the couch. Kurt smiled to himself, as the two of them maneuvered around furniture and playthings. "Say night-night to Mr. Wizard."
"Night-night," Maria waved tiredly at him over her father's shoulder as she was carried down the hallway. With a wistful sigh Kurt returned to cleaning the kitchen despite what Blaine had said. – It was his fault the place was such a mess, after all, and Blaine would be the one who had to deal with too-tired kids the next day.
"What did I tell you," Blaine admonished stepping back into the room a few minutes later. Kurt turned to face Blaine and without the children he suddenly felt the tension rise.
"I'm really sorry for last week, I shouldn't have done that," Kurt said, melting against the counter as he tried forcing himself to not look at Blaine.
"It's okay, really," Blaine lent against the fridge opposite to where Kurt was standing, hands folded behind himself. "Actually I have had sort of a realisation, since then."
"Yeah?" Kurt picked at some fluff on his jeans.
"Yeah, and I was thinking, maybe, as a thank-you for tonight, I could take you out for dinner. Just the two of us, no kids, and we could talk about it."
"I…" Kurt wasn't sure what to say to that, when he didn't know what sort of realisation Blaine had arrived at. He really didn't want his heart even more broken than it was already. Blaine was walking the short distance across the kitchen and stopped right in front of Kurt.
"Please?" he said trying to catch Kurt's eye. He was standing really close, and his smell was swirling enticingly around Kurt.
"I really do want to be your friend, Blaine," Kurt said, briefly meeting his eyes. "You and the girls."
"Good. Cause we want that, too." He was just so close, it was making it hard for Kurt to think. "Actually, I was sort of hoping that after that dinner, you could be something… more," Kurt's eyes snapped up to Blaine's face, his heart suddenly in his throat.
"But you're not…" he stuttered out, uncertainly.
"Into boys? I didn't think I was, but I'm into you, so. Maybe I was wrong, or maybe it's just you, I don't know." Blaine's eyes were warm and his face sincere. He was standing so close, Kurt was certain he must be able to hear the way his heart was beating. "So please let me take you out so we can figure all of this out," Kurt was nodding before Blaine was finished speaking, biting his lip to stop himself from smiling to widely. "Oh, thank god," Blaine sighed, and suddenly they were kissing, softly, experimentally. Wonderfully. The flat was quiet around them, and still an utter mess, but Kurt couldn't care less as he wound his arms around Blaine, sighing into the kiss. Just for one night, he decided, just this one night, he was going to allow himself to dream.
AN: Hi guys. Thanks for reading. The second part of this two-shot will be up within the week, so feel free to keep an eye out for that if you feel like it. You are also, as always, free to leave comments if that takes your fancy. See you soon :) - Oh and title from Wet Wet Wet's 'Love is all Around'. And nothing is mine and all that.