Hello everyone :) This was originally posted on AO3, but I decided I will also publish it here since many people don't visit that site. It's 19 chapters total and then there is a sequel and a collection of drabbles that I'll also be posting later (Under the umbrella series title "Searching"). For now, I'll do one chapter a day so as to not overwhelm anyone.

I hope you all enjoy!

Notes: there are other stories that deal with a very similar plot, but this is my idea. Also, some parts of Blaine's history were influenced by one of my favorite tv shows, Life Unexpected.
I feel like I should also add that this is by no means a reflection of the US Foster Care system. Blaine's experiences, although unfortunately not unheard of, are rare and exceptional. I feel like I shouldn't misrepresent the system, especially as I am studying to enter the field of social work, but then there would be no Blangst...

Warnings for language and violence later in the story.


Blaine had never met his parents. He was named by a nurse who had been going through a John Hughes movie phase. He didn't know much about his parents at all, except that his mother was a 16-year-old high school junior who couldn't raise a child. She put him up for adoption so that he could be taken care of by a family who was ready for a child. Blaine liked to make up stories about her and his father too. Fantasies about them coming by Greenway and reclaiming him. But he was five now. He was old enough to know that that would never happen.

If he had been healthy when he was born, right now he'd be living with a perfect family. But he was premature and so small. And he had a heart condition. No one wanted a defective baby. So he was sent to the Greenway Home once he was healthy. He'd been living there ever since.


Kurt Peterson loved his parents. His mother was beautiful and smart and funny. His dad gave the best hugs and smelled like a mixture of sawdust and cookies.

He didn't understand why they weren't here now.

They said they'd always be there for him, but now he was scared and alone.

There was a nice police lady explaining something to him, but he didn't understand it.

He didn't understand it as he stood in the cemetery and watched as two caskets were lowered into the ground.

And he didn't understand it as he was brought to the Greenway Home in Sidney, Ohio.


Blaine's ears perked up when Mrs. Hanson announced that a new boy would be joining them. His name was Kurt and he was six. Maybe he would be Blaine's friend. For some reason, the other boys there never seemed to get along with Blaine. Sure, they were all nice, but Blaine was much smaller than the boys his age – an unfortunate result of being born premature – and it was hard to keep up with them. He didn't want to play "baby games" with the kids his size, so he spent most of his time reading and coloring. As a result, he was reading much beyond a kindergarten level.

Kurt didn't play with the other boys, either. Instead he played dolls and dress up and house with the girls. Blaine sighed, and turned back to his books.


In March, two months after Kurt had moved to Greenway, he decided to approach the small boy who liked to read. His name was Blaine, Kurt vaguely remembered. They had never spoken, and they weren't in the same class at school. But Blaine didn't seem to want to play with the other boys either, so Kurt decided that maybe he would want to play dress up with him and the girls.

"Hi," Kurt said shyly. Blaine was currently sitting on the top porch step with a book in his lap as he longingly watched the boys playing football in the yard. The voice behind him startled him and he turned around.

"Hi," he responded shyly.

"Do you wanna play house with me?" Kurt asked. "I know you like reading but you never play and I think you should."

Blaine's face was a little surprised, but he nodded quickly. "Sure!"

After that, the two boys became inseparable. Blaine helped Kurt become friends with the other boys, and Kurt helped Blaine feel included for the first time in his life. Kurt helped Blaine whenever he had nightmares or got hurt when he tripped over toys in the playroom. Blaine helped Kurt with his homework, proudly showing off his advanced skills.

One night, Blaine and Kurt sat on Kurt's bed just before lights out. Kurt was clutching tightly to a teddy bear that he had brought with him. Blaine starred at it jealously. There was a ribbon around the bear's neck and a card hanging from the ribbon. It said, Kurt, Mr. Bear will help keep the bad dreams away when we can't. Love, Mommy and Daddy.

"Why are you here if your parents loved you?" Blaine asked quietly. It had taken Kurt a few months to understand, and it still hurt him to think about, but he knew the truth. "They died," he said simply.

"Oh. Were they nice?" Blaine asked, fascination in his voice. He had never really gotten to know any parents. None of the adults who came to adopt kids ever wanted to meet with him since he was so small and had a heart condition.

"They were the best. My mommy always made me cookies and my daddy built me a treehouse."

"Wow," Blaine said, awe in his voice.

"What about your parents?"

"I don't know. They didn't want me," Blaine admitted quietly.

"Oh."

"But I bet my mom was the prettiest mom ever. I think she was a dancer and she cooked. And my dad was strong and big so he could play football. He probably would have taught me football if I hadn't been too small."


Kurt was always popular with the parents who came to visit. He was very polite and smart and never shied away from any of them. Blaine always just hid in the corner and read. Kurt was especially popular with one pair of parents. He called them Mr. Burt and Mrs. Elizabeth. One night he confided to Blaine that he wanted them to adopt him. Blaine felt a wrenching pain in his heart at the words, but only smiled encouragingly at Kurt.

Kurt had only been at Greenway for eight months when Burt and Elizabeth Hummel decided to adopt him. They knew that they couldn't replace the boy's parents, who he still remembered, but they wanted the little boy to be their own.

When Kurt heard the news, he went running to Blaine to share. He didn't understand why Blaine was so sad when he heard.

"But who's going to help me when I'm scared?" Blaine asked in a tiny voice.

Kurt stopped. He hadn't totally realized that being adopted meant leaving Blaine. "I'm sure you'll get adopted, too, Blaine," Kurt said.

"No I won't, Kurt. I've been here five years and no one wants me. You haven't even been here long and you're already leaving."

"We can still be friends, Blaine. And you have other friends here, too."

"Yeah, but you're my best friend, Kurt."

"I'll always be your best friend, Blaine."