Hey, guys! precious-passenger got a promt on her WNM one-shot so we decided to write it together (best decision ever, we had lots of fun!) and this happened. This is part 1 of a two part story. It shows what happened during the sleepover the boys were invited to in chapter 43. It would make more sense if you read precious-passenger's one-shot Trees, Flowers and Sunlight.

I hope you enjoy revisiting this little universe, I absolutely did :)

"Blisters, the pain, the horror!"

"Kill me now..."

"Quit being babies, only a couple more stores left..."

"Urgh, I'm so tired…"

"No shit, dude. We've been walking around for hours…"

"One more store and we are done…"

"Don't you think we have enough already?.."

"I can't believe I agreed to this…"

"I think there was a 'Toys R Us' somewhere here…"

"I don't think I can carry any more bags…"

"Remember when you lived on the streets and life was much easier?.."

"Aww, this is the prettiest tea party set I've ever seen! I must get it for him…"

Kurt was having a blast. This couldn't have been said about Blaine and Puck who were tagging along in the shopping centre looking around for presents for Blaine's nephew, Cooper. It was Friday already and they didn't have much time before the promised sleepover with the kid, so Kurt insisted on visiting countless shops that sold all kinds of stuff for children in one go.

Blaine had been ecstatic about the trip at first, since it was the first time he got to walk around the town freely but soon he experienced what he had only heard of before – Kurt was horrible to shop with. He had no idea why Puck agreed to go with them since he had known firsthand how crazy Kurt became with a wallet full of money and less than willing baggage carriers.

Puck didn't even know what half those things were but soon he and Blaine began having the time of their lives, playing with as many toys as they could, pushing the buttons and laughing as the shrill music filled the store, much to Kurt and other shoppers' annoyance.

And if Puck bought a new model train out of this trip, Kurt didn't have to know. Not to mention it would ruin his reputation as the resident badass. Puck had bribed Blaine with cookies and a promise of building the train together to keep him quiet.

Once they got home, Blaine and Puck took a full hour to regain the feeling in their feet, while Kurt fussed over the presents, even rewrapping some of them. Blaine smiled at the sight of the boy concentrating heavily on the bow on the wrapping so it would be placed right in the middle. He was also happy that Kurt let him pick some toys for his nephew and pay for them. He had forgotten the feeling; what it was like to own something, to buy something from a nice store for someone dear. He hoped that Cooper would appreciate the plush snake that had bells on its tail that rang whenever the toy was moved. Puck might have annoyed Kurt by shaking it tirelessly in front of the boy so Blaine simply had to get it in order to have a teeny tiny revenge for torturing him and Puck. He had to admit he wasn't being the best boyfriend in that moment but it was satisfactory seeing Kurt's little frown when he saw him buying the toy.

Kurt was making a pink bow tie for the snake when Blaine couldn't take it anymore.

"Kurt, don't you think it's a little bit too much?" he asked carefully.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked cutting the thread that was driving him crazy.

"I'm sure Cooper will love the gifts no matter the wrapping."

"You don't know it," Kurt retorted. "If he doesn't like the presents then he's going to hate me. And I don't want your nephew to hate me so I'll wrap the gifts however I want, okay? I'm not asking you to help me."

"Chill, princess," Puck stared at him with wide eyes.

"You are not meeting your boyfriend's family tomorrow so shut up," Kurt said finally revealing what was really bothering him. "I don't think I should come. I'll probably break Cassandra's favourite vase or sit on Cooper's pet hamster or something," he said, wiping away some angry tears.

"Come on, Kurt. I'm sure they're going to love you so much. You stayed with me and took care of me in less than ideal circumstances," Blaine tried to comfort him, but couldn't help the dark look that crossed his face, "so they're not going to judge you by a piece of wrapped paper. I'd love to introduce you as my boyfriend, so please...will you give me the honor?"

A heavy silence fell over the room as Kurt considered the words Blaine said. He finally smiled, offering a tiny nod.

"Do you want me to break Cassandra's favourite vase? That way she'll hate me instead," Puck asked, causing the boys to snort and the mood to lighten.

Puck ended up staying for dinner, claiming he was too sore to drive to his house, but Kurt knew better. It was because of the lasagna he'd made earlier.

When they got ready for bed, Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand, effectively calming down his nerves and blocking the need to go on an emergency trip to a toy store or recheck the present wrappings.

"Stop worrying and get some sleep, alright?" Blaine said softly and kissed Kurt's forehead as soon as the other boy was settled in bed. "Everything will be fine tomorrow. More than fine."

Blaine had to admit, he was pretty nervous himself. He hadn't seen Cassandra for a long time and it was nerve wrecking to be around her again after believing she wanted him dead. Not to mention spending time with his nephew he had only met once. He was afraid to mess up so badly that Cassie would change her mind and wouldn't allow him to see her son anymore. But despite his worries, he had to be strong for Kurt.

"I know, I know. I'm just being irrational about this but I want everything to be perfect. And it's," Kurt hesitated for a second, "it's distracting me from thoughts about... Karofsky."

"Oh, Kurt..." Blaine sighed sympathetically. "He can't hurt you anymore. You are safe," he said, lacing their fingers together.

"I know," Kurt said and ran his thumb over Blaine's hand. "You know... there are other ways to distract me."

"Oh yeah?" Blaine grinned at his the change of his tone.

"Yeah," Kurt said and licked his lips. "Much better ways," he said and pulled Blaine on top of himself.

"Ouch," Blaine hissed, "I'm still all sore after the day at the Zizes'..."

Kurt blushed at his own enthusiasm. "I'm sorry, I just really couldn't wait to kiss you now that I'm allowed to," he said and pecked his boyfriend's lips.

Blaine smiled at him and slowly positioned himself more comfortably. "Much better. Now, where were we?" he asked smiling mischievously.

"I think you were about to kiss me."

"I think I was," Blaine laughed and finally their lips met for a soft sweet kiss.

It made Blaine feel as if he was in heaven. He closed his eyes and forgot all the worries in the world. Nothing else existed except for him, Kurt, and their beautiful newly-formed relationship. Nothing could ruin the moment. Nothing, except for a hard bite on his bottom lip.

"Ouch!" he yelled.

"I didn't get anything for Cassandra!" Kurt said in horror, his eyes turning round. "Oh shit, shit, shit... I bought so many things for Cooper but I totally forgot his mother, your sister-in-law!"

Blaine brought his fingers to his mouth to check for blood but found none. "I'm sure she doesn't expect anything anyway. She will be happy with what you got for her son."

Kurt shook his head violently. "No, I have to get her something. What does she like?"

Blaine thought for a moment. "Well, she likes boys who save her brother-in-law's life from time to time. And also, boys who don't try to draw blood from my lips."

"I-" Kurt looked at him confused before he caught up. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?"

"You could kiss it better," Blaine puckered his lips.

"But I-"

"We will go to a store first thing in the morning and get her something, alright? There is nothing you can do at this hour anyway. Now, let's spend the evening kissing and enjoying each other's company."

So that's what they did. They kissed until they were both too sleepy to move their lips. They stopped only when Burt "accidentally" entered the bedroom, twice.

They both slept peacefully, together at Kurt's request, the nightmares of unwanted kisses and homeless wanderings no longer haunting them.

The next morning, Kurt woke the entire Hummel and Puckerman household bright and early. He took his time to choose both his and Blaine's outfits, also planning over the phone what Puck should wear, "nothing with spikes," he ordered. He also ran to a store frantically looking for a present for Cassie.

When they got out of the city, Blaine switched places with Kurt so he was the one behind the wheel this time. He tried driving extra carefully so he wouldn't get pulled over. He appreciated Kurt letting him drive his Navigator and enjoyed feeling the breeze of the cool wind blowing in his hair.

They spent the entire drive singing along to every song they heard on the radio, so they were surprised how quickly the time passed when they reached the house. Kurt and Blaine rang the bell together, their hands clasped to give each other comfort. They heard someone running to the door and were bombarded by a mop of curly hair and sticky fingers pulling them down for a bone crushing hug.

"Unc'e B'aine!" Cooper yelled excitedly in his ear. "You came!"

Cooper threw himself at Blaine, locking his legs behind his and hugging him tightly, so that he clung to Blaine's legs like a koala. The action caused the teen to stumble under the weight.

When Blaine finally made Cooper let go of him and hugged him instead, Cooper didn't stay still. He leaned forward and grabbed Kurt's hand tightly, even though they weren't properly introduced.

Cassandra soon appeared, talking breathlessly.

"Cooper, what did I tell you about opening the front door without your mommy? "

"That I shouldn't?" Cooper replied. "But this is Unc'e B'aine, mommy. He's not going to steal me away or eat me. Like that scary mister," he pointed at Puck.

Kurt and Blaine suppressed a giggle. Cassandra shot them apologetic looks and then noticed Blaine struggling to keep her son upright.

"Did you wash your hands after eating your peanut butter?" Cassandra scolded, taking Cooper out of Blaine's hands and scrubbing Cooper's hands clean.

"Hello, Cassandra," Kurt said formally, presenting a wrapped gift to her. "I'm Kurt. Blaine's..." he hesitated, but Blaine grabbed his hand and so he added, "Blaine's boyfriend."

Blaine smiled at him proudly.

"Hey, Cooper, do you want to come to the car and bring in your presents?" Puck asked, after nodding once at Cassie. "Not going to steal or eat him," he mouthed.

"P'esents!" Cooper yelled and wiggled out of Cassandra's grip, his reluctance to Puck soon forgotten as he followed him outside.

"Oh, you guys. You didn't have to get us anything," Cassie blushed, playing with the little card on the corner of her present. She opened the wrapping carefully and gasped, "a lamp. Just what I needed," she smiled gratefully and Kurt laughed giddily in relief.

"Mommy, mommy. Look!" came Cooper's shrill voice, followed by the boy covered in torn up papers.

Blaine heard Kurt's loud gasp and snickered, thinking that Cooper probably didn't care about the wrapping as much as Kurt did, not appreciating all the time he'd spent arranging the patterns of the paper with the toy inside.

Cooper shook the rattle snake madly and ran around the living room. Within ten minutes, everyone was going nearly deaf...or mental.

"Let's go to the kitchen, guys. Cooper hasn't finished his breakfast yet," Cassandra yelled over the noise.

"I was making peanut butter and cheese rolls," Cooper explained proudly. "You take a piece of cheese and then take some peanut butter, and then you roll them in your hands. I'll teach you."

The boys looked at Cassie questioningly but she just shook her head tiredly. "Let's go, I'll make something edible."

"We aren't hungry, we had breakfast before leaving," Blaine hurried to tell her.

"Speak for yourself, curly, I'm always hungry," Puck followed the woman happily.

"He just tore it apart," Kurt whispered dramatically when they were left alone in the living room. "I can't believe it... I spent the whole evening wrapping the gifts and it was all gone in seconds! That adorable tiny copy of yours is just...urgh..."

Blaine laughed whole-heartedly. From the first moments it was obvious that Kurt was enjoying Cooper's shenanigans. He might have complained when the boy tugged his hair too hard and when he wiped his dirty hands on his scarf and also when he immediately broke one of the cups from the tea party set but the smile he secretly wore whenever he glanced at the kid gave him away. Cooper's instant liking in Kurt also contributed heavily to Blaine's happiness. His two families were merging into one.

They entered the kitchen and saw Cooper teaching Puck how to prepare his invention.

"Then you pour honey on bread and put the rolls inside," he explained and clapped his hands when Puck took an experimental bite of it.

"That's surprisingly good," he exclaimed with mouth still full, making the others gag in disgust.

When Kurt noticed Cassandra yawning for the third time in a row, he put a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you get out of the house? Cooper knows us now. We got this. You could go have a "me" day."

"Well... I've been wanting to visit the spa for a while now," she hesitated.

"Then do that," Blaine heard the conversation and interjected.

"I feel bad about this. You're my guests. I should stay..."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Blaine assured her. "Right, guys?"

"Of course. You go and have fun. I know that being a single parent isn't exactly the most relaxing job," Kurt added.

Cassie looked at her son and faltered. "Maybe I should stay. What if Cooper gets hungry? Or the house catches fire? Oh my goodness, what if his grandparents, your parents, decide to visit?" she asked, looking at Blaine, panic colouring her voice.

"We'll feed him," Puck reassured.

"We'll extinguish the fire," Blaine provided but then his voice broke and he looked down.

"And I'll hide these two," Kurt said pointing at Blaine and Puck, "and tell the Andersons I'm your new babysitter."

They continued persuading Cassandra for some time until she agreed to go.

When they heard the door close, Cooper jumped up on the table and yelled, "it's bi'thday time."

"What? Why?" Puck looked at the boy surprised. "I didn't know it was your birthday..."

"It's not but you b'ought p'esents and you didn't come to my birthday pa'ty so we will have a pa'ty now," Cooper explained rolling his eyes as if it was clear as day. "We need many balloons. I think mommy has them somewhere. Let's look," he said extending his arms towards Puck, making grabby hands. "Carry me," he ordered.

Puck took Cooper in his arms hesitantly and the boy told him to go upstairs.

"We'll join you in a minute," Kurt said, glancing at Blaine.

"Don't make out for too long. Apparently we have a party to arrange," Puck warned them as they left the kitchen.

The last thing the boys heard was Cooper asking Puck what make out meant.

"Are you okay?" Kurt broke the silence looking at the other boy who was looking through the window but his gaze was frozen so Kurt guessed that he didn't really see anything.

"What?" Blaine asked finally looking up at him.

"I asked if you were okay. You didn't look like yourself from the moment Cassie mentioned your parents..."

"Why couldn't have we been a normal family?" Blaine asked angrily in a raised voice, turning around and looking at the painting that was on the refrigerator, held by magnets. Kurt could see a simple drawing of a child and a mom in a house and a male figure, probably portraying a dad, was drawn up in the sky. His eyes filled with tears as he remembered drawing something like this himself every time his teachers wanted the class to draw their families.

He moved closer to Blaine, putting his arms around his waist and leaning his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"Talk to me, please."

"What's the use? It's not going to fix anything," Blaine replied, his breath hitching in his throat, and he pulled away from Kurt's embrace.

"You know, with you and your dad I finally felt like I had a family, which I couldn't say about my life with my own parents. I distinctively remember countless ignored Christmases, or that one time I had to take care of myself when I got sick because no one was around. No one cared," Blaine said, helplessness in his voice.

"But they're still your parents. Surely they did care, at least a little bit..." Kurt mused, feeling lost. It did hurt when Blaine pulled away but he couldn't blame him. He knew his boyfriend needed space for a while.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," Blaine laughed humorlessly, "but does this," he held his arm up, showing the slave tattoo, "look like something caring parents would do? They made me feel worthless. And only because I was wired to love a boy. You know, I used to believe that there was something wrong with me and they were right about me. Well, until I met you.

I'm so angry at them. They abandoned me because they were too stubborn to see over their prejudice. I had to learn how to survive on my own.

But you know what keeps me going? That finally I have a family, a real family. And to get there I only had to live on the streets for over a year and almost die," Blaine laughed again. "And now I have you so it's been worth suffering."

"Where are you going with this?" Kurt asked with worry, Blaine's scattered talk making him confused.

"I don't know," Blaine sighed. "I have so many thoughts and emotions that I can't even put them in order. Everything is trying to get out and I speak before I can even process it. I need a moment to breathe..."

He seemed so lost, so vulnerable that Kurt just had to try again. "Come here," he wrapped his arms around Blaine's shoulders, pulling him into a comforting hug.

This time Blaine gladly melted into his embrace and inhaled Kurt's scent deeply. "I'm so happy you found me."

"I think we were destined to meet no matter what," Kurt said running his hand through the other boy's curls. "Luckily we didn't take long."

"Yeah," Blaine breathed taking a step back. He leaned closer and kissed Kurt with all the passion and desperation he had.

They were soon interrupted by Puck entering the kitchen. "I told you to not make out while I occupy your little monster," he said grabbing an apple from the counter and taking a bite of it. "We need to run to a store to get some birthday decorations."

"Sure, I think there's a supermarket right around the corner of the street," Blaine said, giving the approximate address.

"Wait a minute. Puck? Did you leave Cooper alone in there?" Kurt asked alarmed.

"Oops. Now that I think about it, I kinda left him with balloons and threads and a pair of scissors," Puck muttered guiltily.

As if on cue, they heard a pop.

"You run to the store and pray that nothing has happened to him or I'll strangle you," Kurt threatened and saw Puck nod before Blaine dragged him into the living room where a very distressed Cooper was sitting surrounded by balloons.

"My balloon boomed," Cooper pointed wistfully at the remaining pieces of what once was a balloon. "And I got an owie," he cried, holding out his finger. There was a small cut on his thumb. It was barely a paper-cut but they could see a drop of blood shining on his finger.

"Hey, little fella," Blaine said soothingly, sitting down, "don't cry. Uncle Blaine will make it better. Now tell us, where does your mommy keep the band-aids?"

Kurt moved swiftly to the direction Cooper told them and grabbed the first-aid kit. When he came back he saw Cooper flinch when Blaine tried to inspect his finger.

"Hey, no. It's okay. Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you," Blaine spoke to him and Cooper warily let him touch his finger.

He would be a good kindergarten teacher, Kurt thought to himself. If only law allowed it.

However, there was something else. There was something familiar in that voice, the way Blaine said that sentence. It got Kurt confused for a second but there were more important things to care about so soon he forgot all about it.

As if approaching a frightened animal, Blaine took the disinfectant and applied some on Cooper's finger before putting a small band-aid on the cut. Finally he dropped a soft kiss on the finger, making both Cooper and Kurt smile.

At that moment Puck entered the room, smiling victoriously.

"I brought party hats and some paper plates. I didn't know how old little monster was so I got candles from one to eight. And some other stuff for princess to decorate the cake that Cooper insisted on baking," he announced, showing off each item. "Now, let's get this party started."

AN: Let us know what you think :)