The streets are busy in the afternoon, and Blaine keeps a steady hand wrapped around his daughters as they walk quickly towards home. Sophia skips on every third step and her curly pigtails bounce; the pink ribbons holding them in place have slipped from the bows long ago. The little girls backpack is slung over Blaine's shoulder, and he smiles as she continues to chatter about the art class she had before school finished.
"We painted our favourite place in the whole world, so I painted you and me and Daddy at the park on Sunday mornings because that's my most favourite place ever."
"Yeah?" Blaine smiles, turning the corner to their street. He loves picking Sophia up from school in the afternoons and listening to her run through her day. They're a few paces from the steps to the apartment when Sophia's tiny hand slips from his grasp. Blaine turns quickly, reaching out to grab at her, and stops as Sophia stands firmly in place, lip quivering.
"Papa," she murmurs, before launching towards his back. Blaine stumbles forward and drops to his knees on the sidewalk, Sophia's tiny hands scrambling into her backpack.
"She's gone!"
Blaine's heart catches in his throat. "Who, Soph?"
His little girl's eyes water. "Aggie."
Aggie has been Sophia's faithful companion since birth, the small stuffed animal placed delicately in her arms when she was only a few hours old, and has barely left her sight since. There was a brief moment of horror when Sophia had started school earlier in the year about whether Aggie would accompany her, only to have the problem solved by Kurt who had insisted Aggie could live quite comfortably in the front pocket of Sophia's backpack.
The front pocket that is now empty.
Sophia's tearful gaze blinks up at her fathers and her bottom lip trembles. "Aggie's gone."
ooo
Kurt finds his husband and daughter hours later, spread over the dinning room table, coloured markers and bright paper scattered everywhere.
"What happened?" he asks in concern. Sophia pushes back from her chair and gives a small smile, holding her arms out to Kurt who immediately pulls her up into his own.
"Aggie's lost," she murmurs from where she's nestled against his shoulder. Kurt's gaze locks with his husbands before he presses a kiss to Sophia's curls.
"I'm sorry sweetheart," he murmurs, and to Blaine, mouths, "Where?"
Blaine shrugs, and offers a small smile that Kurt returns before leaning down to brush his lips against Blaine's own.
"Papa said we could put posters up, and then everyone would know Aggie is missing," Sophia utters, still nestled on Kurt's hip. He bounces her up to get her attention and smiles what he hopes is a positive grin.
"That's a very good idea."
"I drawed –"
"Drew"
"Drew a picture of Aggie, see," Sophia points, and Kurt peers over her tiny head to the crudely sketched outline of a stuffed animal in brown. Blaine smiles softly at his daughter and Kurt can't help but pepper kisses across her brow.
"Perfect," he murmurs, and runs a finger over what he guesses is Aggie's head.
"How about you go wash your hands and get changed for dinner and Papa and I will finish the posters?" he asks, and swings Sophia down from his hip. The little girl nods, curls bouncing, and scampers off towards her room as Kurt settles against the side of Blaine's chair.
"What do you think the chances are that someone will find the thing?" he mutters, carding his fingers through Blaine's unruly locks. His husband leans back and groans softly, shaking his head like a dog, and Kurt can't help but press a kiss to his temple.
"You know New York," Blaine mumbles. Kurt sighs, nodding.
"That's what I was afraid of."
ooo
Aggie goes missing on a Friday, so on the Saturday morning Kurt, Blaine and Sophia set out early in the morning with fresh prints of Sophia's poster, tacking them to walls and lampposts and any available surface that Sophia can reach. By midday they've covered the entire walk between home and Sophia's school, plus the streets surrounding, and Sophia has ended up on Blaine's shoulders, slumping against his head in exhaustion.
"Lunch?" Kurt asks, leaning against his husband.
Blaine nods eagerly. "Lunch."
They go to Sophia's favourite cafe and order Panini's and fresh Apple cider, sitting at the stools by the window to watch the people pass by; Sophia nestled between Kurt and Blaine.
"She has pretty shoes," points out Sophia, licking crumbs from her fingers. Kurt picks up a napkin and brushes her hands from her mouth, scowling, but nods in agreement as he wipes her fingers clean.
"Her skirt clashes," he mutters, and Blaine grins around the rim of his glass as his husband and daughter critique New York's sidewalk.
"Do you think any of these people have found Aggie?" Sophia asks, peering up between her fathers.
Kurt lays a hand gently on her shoulder and Blaine brushes back her curls.
Neither of them says anything.
ooo
Later that night Kurt curls against Blaine's back in bed, running his hand gently up his husbands back under his t-shirt to rub against his shoulder blade.
"You okay?" he asks gently, pressing a kiss through the fabric where his hand lies.
"Of course," murmurs Blaine. He rolls over suddenly, trapping Kurt's hand beneath him, and uses the leverage to tug Kurt over his stomach to rest on his chest. Kurt settles his arms beneath his head and peers up at Blaine gently. Twelve years, and he's perfected the art of waiting out Blaine's silence.
"I'm just worried what will happen if we don't find Aggie," he finally mutters.
Kurt's head dips to press a kiss to Blaine's clothed chest, just under his heart, and his fingers skate down to run softly up and down Blaine's sides. Blaine sighs, letting Kurt's weight cover him and seep through his skin; his touch and his smell and his wandering lips helping the tension drain from Blaine's body.
"We'll figure it out," Kurt murmurs, before dipping lower to tug at Blaine's shirt. He huffs gently, and squirms under Kurt's featherlight touch, slipping his eyes closed and lets his husband lull him to sleep.
ooo
"Daddy. Papa. It's Sunday."
Blaine grunts, stuffing his pillow over his head. Kurt blinks awake softly, and lifts his head to peer over Blaine's shoulder.
"Yeah Soph?" he questions. He leans heavily against Blaine as Sophia regards them from the bedside, her hands levelled on her hips and eyebrow arched dramatically. Kurt responds with an eyebrow arch of his own.
"Sunday means sleep," groans Blaine, burrowing further into the blankets.
"We need to go searching for Aggie. It's been two days now," the little girl demands. She curls her fists into balls and slams them against Blaine's exposed back, startling the sleepy man.
"Soph!"
"Sophia, don't hit your papa."
"But I want to find Aggie," she whines, and presses herself against the mattress. With quick fingers and legs she scrambles up onto the bed, seating herself on Blaine's back so she can peer down at Kurt.
"Please daddy. Can we go out and find Aggie?"
Kurt sighs, drops down onto his pillow, and peers at Blaine.
"We could divert our usual Sunday walk from the park," he mumbles, running a finger down the bridge of Blaine's nose to scratch at the scruff on his chin.
"Hmm..."
Sophia leans down close to Blaine's ear and breathes softly, "Please Papa."
"Fine."
ooo
An hour later, Blaine breaths in the heady aroma of coffee and lets Kurt wind a scarf around his neck. "At least she'll know she tried everything," his husband murmurs, and Blaine feels his stomach swoop at the thought of explaining Aggie's lose to Sophia.
"Yeah," he grumbles, and sets his coffee down.
The doorbell rings, startling the pair, and Sophia races to answer it, clearly knowing who's on the other side.
"I'm here to help!"
Blaine can't help his brow crinkling in confusion.
"Rachel?" Kurt questions, peering around the kitchen entrance.
"Sophia phoned me earlier and said Aggie was missing. I promised I'd help."
"Of course Sophia called..." Kurt mutters. Rachel claps loudly, stepping back towards the front door, and Sophia reaches up to grip Blaine's hand, dragging him out of the apartment.
"Come on, come on!" she whines, pushing and pulling until Blaine finally picks up his feet.
"Okay, I'm moving. I'm awake!"
Kurt snorts; wrapping a hand around his own gloved one. "Barely," he smiles, and presses their shoulders together as they descend the stairs.
ooo
The search for Aggie stretches long into the day. Blaine is quite impressed at both Sophia and Rachel's dedication, and whilst he eagerly keeps and eye out for the stiffed animal, he does spend most of the walk ambling some way behind and tucked up against his husband.
"We could always get another one..."
"She'd know the difference. Plus, where would we get another one?"
Kurt sighs, nodding as Sophia pokes and prods around the play equipment at the park. They're seated on a park bench a few metres away and sipping at hot coffee, breathing in the chilled afternoon air.
"Well boys, I wish I could stay to help but I promised John I'd be at the theatre this afternoon," announces Rachel, standing in front of them. She smiles softly, and Kurt stands to press a kiss to her cheek. 'Thank you for everything today. It meant a lot to her."
"Anything for my goddaughter, you know that," she smiles genuinely, and Blaine can't help but think of the teenager he once knew, in comparison to the bright, if still slightly insane, woman before him.
"Thanks Rach," he smiles, and presses his own kiss to her other cheek.
Sophia wraps her arms around Rachel's waist when she says goodbye, and Blaine feels his heart clench as Rachel wipes a tear from Sophia's cheeks.
"I hate this," he murmurs, to Kurt, and feels his husband squeeze his hand tightly.
"I know."
ooo
On Monday, Sophia is grumpy in the morning, refusing to get out of bed on time and then ambling around the apartment in her pyjamas until Blaine forces her into her bedroom to get dressed. She emerges minutes later with her hair still in disarray and her socks on inside out and Blaine, thoroughly annoyed by her antics, feels the fight drain from him immediately when he notices her sniffles.
"Soph?"
"I don't want to go to school," she announces, and promptly bursts into tears.
Blaine can only bundle her close and rock her gently.
In the end her calls in sick to work, wraps Sophia up in Kurt's favourite quilt and settles her on the lounge for a Disney marathon. They're part way through Tangled when Sophia peers up at him and sniffles.
"I've never been to school without Aggie, Papa," she murmurs, and burrows in close to his chest.
ooo
When Kurt arrives home to find his husband and daughter asleep in their pyjamas, he settles a blanket over them and lets them sleep.
"Sophia, sweetheart, Papa and I need to talk to you," Kurt starts. Blaine had unanimously voted Kurt in to start the conversation. Kurt hadn't even tried arguing. He's long suspected Blaine is just as crushed by Aggie's loss as Sophia is.
They've settled their on the lounge, wrapped tight in her favourite blanket, whilst they both rest against the coffee table before her, Blaine leaning slightly into Kurt's shoulder.
"Sweetheart, I think we have to accept that Aggie might not come home. Do you understand?"
The little girl blinks slowly, and Blaine feels his stomach roll. How on earth do parents explain this about pets, he wonders, actual living, breathing individuals? God, how on earth do parents explain this about people!
"Why not?" Sophia blinks, glancing between her fathers, and lifts the corner of her blanket to her mouth.
Kurt gently lowers it and Blaine can't help but think of the tiny toddler who'd chewed on the corners of her dresses and blankets.
"Well, sometimes, even if we love our toys very, very much, they get lost. And don't come home."
"Where do they go?"
"Well, we don't know sweetheart."
"But that means Aggie's all alone!"
"No, no darling..." Blaine hastens to assure. He and Kurt have never discussed this. He has his beliefs and Kurt has his own...but they've never discussed what to tell Sophia. God, what happens if something happens to the other and they've never even talked about what to tell their daughter!
Beside him, Kurt feels Blaine tense, and hastens to rest a hand on both Sophia's brow and Blaine's knee.
"Aggie has just moved on to somewhere else, sweetheart...sometimes toys, and pets and even people...just have to move on to somewhere else. Somewhere we can't see them, but where they're very happy."
Blaine breathes out slowly, and presses his shoulder heavily against Kurt's own, reaching out to laces their fingers across his knee. He squeezes tightly.
"But I want Aggie with me," Sophia murmurs, and Blaine pulls her into his arms as she begins to cry. He holds her close and strokes her hair, and then settles her against he and Kurt on the lounge so the three of them are curled up tight together.
He falls asleep to Sophia's gentle breathing and the press of Kurt's heart against his ear, thumping loudly.
ooo
In the morning, Sophia is quiet, but she gets ready for school on time and is at the door waiting for Blaine before he has his shoes on.
They walk to school hand in hand and Sophia holds extra tight when Blaine hugs her goodbye.
"Is Aggie somewhere like where Nana Hummel is?" she asks quietly, and Blaine presses his fingers into her forehead to smooth back her fringe.
"Yeah, sweetheart," he murmurs, "Like where Nana Hummel is."
"But you and Daddy and Grandpa Hummel and Grandma Hummel...you won't go there for a long time, will you?"
"No sweetheart," he promises, kissing her forehead. "Not for a long time."
A week passes and Kurt promises to take Sophia to visit Nana Hummel next time they're in Ohio. Blaine clings a little tighter in bed each night and Sophia demands extra hugs and kisses from her fathers before bedtime. Each day when Kurt leaves early for work she tells him she loves him, and when she and Blaine walk to school she makes him promise the same promise, that they won't leave for the special place any time soon.
Blaine bundles her closer each time and presses kisses to her forehead, willing her to believe him.
ooo
Late on the Friday afternoon a week following Aggie's disappearance, Kurt is folding laundry in the lounge room and almost knocks his cup of tea off the coffee table as Sophia screams.
He launches into her bedroom, a white faced Blaine stumbling after him, only to collapse against the door frame as Sophia's beaming face turns to them. She's hidden halfway under her bed, toys scattered around her, and clasped in her hands in none other than Aggie.
"Look Daddy, Papa, its Aggie! She's back! Look!" She presses the stuffed animal into Kurt's stomach and launches her arms around Blaine, hugging him close. Kurt can hear Blaine splutter behind him, drawing in a shallow breath, and turns to press his husband up against him, kissing his cheek.
"She's okay," he murmurs, holding them both tight, as Sophia continues to chatter in Blaine's arms.
"I must have knocked her off my bed during the night and then I was so busy on Friday morning getting ready for school that I forgotted to take her –"
"Forgot to take her."
"Forgot to take her with me and then I just thought I did, because I always do, but I really didn't! Oh daddy! All this time she was under my bed!"
Kurt shakes his head, unable to stop the silly grin on his face, and presses Aggie back into Sophia's arms. The little girl presses a kiss to her best friends soft head and promises to never ever forget her, squirming in Blaine's arms till he lets her go so she can reintroduce all her other toys to Aggie again.
Blaine sags against the doorframe and tugs Kurt into his arms, sighing loudly.
"Daddy, Papa...even though Aggie came back...that was just because she wasn't really lost, wasn't it."
"Yeah sweetheart, why?" Kurt asks as the tuck her in later that night.
"That means there's still that place... where other people and pets and toys go when they're really lost, isn't there? Like where Nana Hummel is?"
Blaine sucks in a deep breath. "Yeah baby."
"Promise you won't go there until I'm very, very old?"
Blaine knows he shouldn't promise. Know's he can't promise. Know's Elizabeth Hummel most likely promised her own little boy the same thing long ago.
He can feel Kurt's heavy gaze on him as he tucks Sophia safe and warm into bed and presses a kiss to her forehead.
"I promise," he whispers.
ooo
"Kurt –"
"I know."
"Yeah?"
"What else are we supposed to tell her," his husband sighs softly.
"The truth?"
"No...not when I want you to promise me the same thing..." Kurt whispers.
Blaine smiles softly, and tugs Kurt closer against his chest.
"I promise," he whispers, "And I can't believe Aggie was under her bed all along," he breathes.
Kurt shudders as he laughs. "Lucky dog."
"I thought it was cats who had nine lives..."
"Obviously Aggie is a special dog."
"Obviously. And admit it. You were just as shaken by the thought of losing her."
"What! No," splutters Blaine, running a hand up his husbands back. "No."
"You totally were..."
"No."
"You love that dog just as much, if not more than Sophia does. You gave it to her."
"Well, you gave her to me."
Kurt grins, rolling over and arching an eyebrow.
"Hello, I'm Margaret Thatcher Dog and I have Blaine and Sophia wrapped around my Royal – ah! No, Blaine!" Kurt squeals, losing the accent.
Blaine grins, rubbing his hands up Kurt's sides and tucking a leg between his husbands to burrow closer.
"Technically the dog was Rachel's first," he murmurs gently. "Think we can blame her?"
Kurt grins, "Yeah."