"Daddy, wake up!"

I woke up to a curly-haired bundle of joy jumping on the bed. Ava Rae was almost six, but she just couldn't shake the habit of jumping on my bed.

"What time is it?" I grumbled, hoping I wouldn't have to get up right this second. I needed sleep.

"The little hand is on six and the big hand is on seven," Ava said matter-of-factly. I smiled, despite my grogginess, remembering when I taught her how to tell time. She stopped jumping and got off the bed to stand right in my face. She poked me on my forehead with her tiny hands. "Wake up, Daddy!"

Sighing, I picked her up and carried her like a football to the kitchen, like I used to do when she was a baby. I never dropped her, thank God. Her giggles fill the whole house.

I sit her down at the kitchen counter and lean over on the other side, staring into her hazel eyes, and damn if she didn't look exactly like me. She has my eyes, my hair, and my smile. What could I say? We're adorable.

"Not adorable enough for him to stay," something says in the back of my mind.

I pushed that thought away so I could make my daughter some pancakes.

After Ava finished her pancakes, I packed her lunch and sat her in the car, ready for first grade. She buckled her seatbelt all by herself, and folded her hands in her lap.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, princess?" I said, pulling out of the driveway.

"When is Papa coming back?"

Her question caught me off guard. It was almost five months since James left, and I missed him like hell. I can't do this anymore, Blaine, he says to me in my head. I have to leave. Don't look for me. Lima is too small for my dreams. The whole fight came flooding back to me, a memory I had been trying to suppress, at least around Ava. Whether she knew it or not, we only had each other. She could not see me cry. Ever.

I thought we were your dream! This isn't about me, James. What about our daughter? Ava needs you.

You and I both know Ava Rae is not my daughter. She's yours, and she'll be fine without me.

Is that what this is about? She is just as much yours as she is mine, James!

It's not about Ava Rae. It's about me. I'm going. You can't stop me.

Don't go. Please.

I couldn't break her fragile heart. I couldn't. But it would only come back to bite me in the rear if I lied to her now.

"Daddy?" Ava's small voice interrupted my thoughts. "Is Papa coming back?"

"I don't know, baby. But I do know this: I will always be here for you, and I'm not going anywhere. You will always have me, okay?"

I looked into the rear view mirror into her angelic face. Her face was not sad, more like understanding. God, she was the strongest first grader you'd ever meet. I'd like to think she got it from me.

"Okay, Daddy." But it wasn't enough for me. I wanted to make sure she was alright.

"Repeat after me," I said. "I, Ava Rae Anderson..."

"I, Ava Rae Anderson," she repeated, raising her right hand and smiling that dazzling smile.

"Will always have my Daddy."

"Will always have my Daddy," she giggled.

"Good," I said as we pull into a parking spot in the parking lot of Ava's school, where I just so happened to work as the music teacher.

I unbuckled her seat belt and helped her out of the car seat.

"But, Daddy?" Ava asked curiously. I tucked a strand of curls behind her hair and re-buttoned her blue cardigan.

"Yes, princess?"

"Papa didn't leave because of me, right?" That question sure did break my heart into even more little pieces. I wouldn't be surprised if it was already crushed into powder. Damn that James.

"Of course not, Ava. Papa did not leave because of you. It is not your fault. Papa had some things that he needed to figure out, and he realized he had to leave. But none of it is your fault, and I don't want you to think that, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled again. I held her tight, more for my comfort than for her reassurance.

"Do you want me to walk in with you again?"

"Yes, please!" Ava slid her tiny hand into mine, and I hold on to it for dear life. "Guess what, Daddy?" Before I can ask, Ava answers her own question. "I made a new friend. Her name is Bella, and she lives with her Daddy, just like me."

"Oh yeah? What is she like?"

"She has brown hair, and it is long and straight, and she has pretty eyes," Ava mused. "Look! There she is! See, she's walking with her Daddy. Hey, Bella!"

"Hi, Ava!"

A little girl ran to hug Ava Rae, and honestly, it was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. There's just something about kids hugging that warms a father's heart.

"That truly is the cutest thing I have ever seen," a voice said from behind me.

"I was just thinking the same thing," I said, turning around to match the voice with a face.

Damn, if he wasn't gorgeous. He had the same shade of hair as his daughter, and the same eyes. Glasz. Probably the most attractive eye color I had ever seen. They were blue, but not exactly, and then a gray, but still bluish somehow. And he had the most amazing jaw line, lightly dusted with stubble that I bet he thought no one saw.

"Hello, there, I'm Kurt Hummel. Nice to meet you," he said, extending a perfect pale hand. I took his hand and shook it.

"Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson, nice to meet you too," I said. "You have pretty eyes," I blurt out, like the idiot I am. I mentally kicked myself.

Kurt didn't even blink, he just nodded. "Thank you, I get that a lot. Actually, your eyes are pretty, too. They're... hazel?"

"Yes, yes they are." I'm smiling in my mind. Only a gay man knows the difference between hazel and green.

"I've gotta get to work," he said glancing at his watch, "but if you could give me your number that would be great. You know, since Ava and Bella are friends now. I'm pretty sure we'll see each other very soon." Did I detect a flirt?

As if on cue, Bella walked over to Kurt and said, "Daddy? Can I go to Ava's house after school?"

"If it's alright with Mr. Anderson," Kurt said, looking at me. I nodded.

"Sure, it would be great actually. We would love to have you around, anytime."

"Great," Kurt said. "Here, put your number in my phone. I will call you after school." Kurt hands me his phone to put my number in.

"Okay, cool," I said, typing my number into his contacts. "Wait, how did you know I worked at the school?"

"No one wears novelty ties unless they teach. Judging by the treble clefs on yours, you are a..."

"Music teacher. That's cool, you have an eye for that," I said.

"I have an eye for a lot of things," Kurt says with a wink.

Damn.