Blaine couldn't remember a time when his mother and father loved each other.

To be fair, Mother had been in the middle of filing for divorce when she'd discovered that she was pregnant. And Mother was never really a 'stay together for the children' kind of woman. She had simply thrown the pregnancy test into the garbage bin and penciled in 'work out a custody agreement' on her to do list.

"Your mother and father did not speak to each other the whole time you were being born," Blaine's Lola told him when he was young. She had leaned forward, hands on the gray tweed that stretched over her stomach, and added in her thick accent, "It's a very good thing there were two babies; your father held you while your mother held Leo, and when they wanted to switch, they handed you to me. Eventually, you got tired of this; when I tried to take you from your father the third time, you wrapped your little fist around his finger and would not let go."

Blaine loved that story, and every time Lola came over he would demand to hear it; how Leo would cry and cry when he was taken from a parent, but Blaine was smart, and he learned to grab hold of his parent so no one could take him away. Lola passed away when Blaine was eight, and he tried to get his mother to tell him the story, but she always left out the part when he grabbed Daddy's finger.

"Oh, did you?" She would say serenely when he reminded her, "Well, that sounds like you, my clever boy." And then she would kiss his forehead and tell him to go outside and play.

Being the child of divorced parents, Blaine sometimes longed for the days when he could cling to his mother's shirt or his father's hand and no one could move him.

He had never felt that way more than he did today. For the first time in his life, his parents had agreed on a full time custody arrangement. Blaine knew it was necessary, knew that his mother would have enough on her plate making the twenty minute drive to Dalton every morning without worrying about the two hour drive to Daddy's house in Lima twice a week. But Blaine still had to fight not to grab hold of his father's jacket and not let go when he hugged him goodbye on the lawn of his mother's house.

"We're so happy to have you here," Mother said brightly as she helped Blaine unpack his suitcase. "We'll have to get you some new clothes when we go to the pharmacy tomorrow. Remind me, okay?"

Blaine nodded, trying to keep his hands from shaking. Mulan was playing on the tv in the corner, and Mother hummed along as she tossed one of his old jackets aside.

'This is what you give me to work with? Well, honey, I've seen worse…"

Mother trailed off, and Blaine watched as her eyes locked on the thick band of purple bruising around his wrist. "Are you sure that you're alright, Bumblebee?"

"I'm fine, Mother."

Blaine always called her 'Mother'. Never mom, or mommy, or mama. Mother sighed and leaned over the suitcase, letting her lips brush his forehead and burying her nose in his dark curls. She took a deep breath and leaned back. Mother's hair was curly, too, and dark; it hung in spirals around her warm, round face. She stared at him through dark, almond-shaped eyes and pressed her lips together. "I don't know why those boys felt the need to do this to you."

Blaine swallowed and looked away, pulling his wrist back and cradling it against his chest. Mother didn't say anything else, but Blaine could feel his heart pounding in his throat, filling his body with uncomfortable warmth. It couldn't be so bad to just tell her, could it?

Mother stood up, placing the last of Blaine's things neatly in his dresser and setting the suitcase in his closet. "I'm going to go help Leo, now. Knowing your brother, he's probably just thrown his clothes all over the floor and called it unpacking." Mother wrinkled her nose; she hated messes. She turned to leave, and the tight feeling in Blaine's chest increased.

"Mother?"

"Yes, Bumblebee?"

"I'm gay."

The words twisted through the night air, thick and powerful, leaving a cold silence in their wake. Blaine stared at the bruise around his wrist, fighting the tears that were rising up inside him.

"… Blaine?"

"That's why they beat me up. Because I went to Sadie's with another boy," Blaine's eyes darted up to his mothers, "D-do you… do you hate me?"

"I could never hate you," Mother said. She stayed by the door. "I love you. I will always love you. Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Is Leo…"

"No, Leo likes girls."

"Oh. Well, that puts a dent in their whole genetics theory, doesn't it?" Mother said lightly, "…I love you, Bumblebee."

"I love you, too, Mother."

"You should go to sleep," Mother said, "You've had a long day." She flicked off the light and Blaine, still feeling a little sick and not sure what else to do, went to sleep.

The next day, they went to the pharmacy and picked some ointment for Blaine's bruises, then to the store to shop for new clothes. Everything seemed normal until Blaine found a pair of pink sunglasses.

"Put those away," Mother said sharply. Her eyes swept around the room.

"Okay," Blaine placed the sunglasses back on the shelf, more confused than hurt. But then it happened again, when he picked up a set of neon colored bowties, and again when he wanted to try on a pair of bright purple pants.

"Goodness, Blaine!" Mother cried when Blaine held up a bright pink polo shirt, "Can't you just dress like a normal boy?"

And then it made sense. Blaine flushed pink and dropped the shirt back onto the pile. Mother stepped away for a moment, and came back with a thick plaid shirt. It was plain, masculine… butch. "How about this one?"

"I don't like it." Blaine said. His face was getting uncomfortably hot, and he was staring at his shoelaces, sure that if he looked at his mother right now he would burst into tears and how gay would that look?

"Well," Mother said, looking slightly uncomfortable as she smoothed her hands over the shirt front, "Obviously you can't wear anything appropriate, so we'll just have to stick with the Dalton uniform for now. It's fine, Blaine, lots of boys your age don't know how to dress themselves."

She didn't take him shopping again. The months went by, and Blaine grew out of most of the clothes he kept in his closet. He mostly wore his uniform or borrowed clothes from Leo; Mother never seemed to have a problem taking Leo shopping. Mother never said a word about it, but he saw the way her eyes swept the room if he got too excited about something or if he got too friendly with another boy.

Mother never said she was embarrassed by him. But he knew.

And it hurt.

A/N: Because I can't resist casting Blaine's family members:

Blaine's Biological Father – David Boreanaz

Blaine's Mother – Lea Salonga

Blaine's Step-Father– Julian McMahon

Blaine's Step-Sister – Emilia Clarke

Blaine's Step-Brother – Jonathan Groff

Blaine – Darren Criss

Leo – Darren Criss