"Dad? Dad. Dad! DAD! DAAAAAAD!"
Kurt glared up overtop his reading glasses, staring at a certain eight-year-old boy with brilliant blue eyes and an Iron Man t-shirt (the one with permanent ketchup stains he refused to throw out).
"Yes, Sammy?" Kurt asked, closing his laptop screen, figuring whatever his son had to say would be a mouthful.
Sammy pointed towards the front door. "Ellie and Freddie are here!"
"Oh!" Kurt bolted up from the living room sofa, straightening his sweater and passing a scene happening in the hallway involving his screaming teenage daughter and cackling ten-year-old.
"Kids, quiet down!" Kurt told them, shooting a stern look in their direction as he placed a hand on the front door's handle.
"Finn changed my phone's password!" protested the girl, Tracy. She had her hands on her hips, her short dark hair a frizzy mess after all the fighting. "Again!"
Finn, the boy grinning like an imp and folding his hands neatly behind his back, looked back at his father with a face of pride. His hazel eyes were full of mischief and his hair a dark fray of curls, much similar to his sister's.
Kurt pointed a finger at him and had a face that said "Fix-it-or-you'll-be-in-big-trouble-mister," before opening the door, happily greeting his two college kids.
Ellie, the eldest, stepped forward and wrapped her dad up in a hug. Unlike her bickering siblings, her hair was a light, chestnut brown, which fell in wavy locks down in back. "Oh, I missed you so much!" she said. "Rhode Island isn't the same without you guys!" Kurt chuckled, then broke apart only to hug the other, Freddie.
Freddie had somehow shot up like a skyscraper in the last two years, becoming taller than his father. He had the same hair color as his older sister, but towered over her by at least half a foot. "Where's the cake?" Freddie immediately asked, grinning excitedly like a toddler instead of the nineteen-year-old he was.
Kurt gave him a look, ruffling his hair once. "Patience is a virtue, Freddo."
"Yeah, Freddo," Ellie teased. Before Freddie could shove her, another figure came bouncing down the steps and through their arms around Ellie's middle.
"Ellie! You're back!" cried Hepburn-Tracy's twin sister with less frizzy hair.
Ellie giggled and patted the fifteen-year-old's dark ponytail. "I missed you too."
"To the dining room, before we all become claustrophobic at this doorway!" Kurt declared, pushing his children in that direction. Their chatter still filled the air-Hepburn going on and on about her band recital and Sammy joining Freddie's side, showing off his new Captain America action figure.
Kurt had barely taken a breath when a "Papa's coming!" shouted at the top of the stairs. He looked up, and standing behind the railings was his petite nine-year-old Allie, her brown hair falling out of her braid, smudges of dirt covering her freckles, and her bright-pink fingernail hands clutching the railings. "I saw Papa!"
"What, from the rooftop?" asked the oldest teen boy-Blaze-as he walked past Kurt to the dining room, not even looking up as he kept typing away on his phone.
Allie did a dramatic gasp, something Rachel would be rather proud of, and started sprinting down the staircase to chase after her brother.
Kurt only sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his tired eyes. Then again, he would be more worried if this house wasn't loud and chaotic.
The doorbell rang, snapping Kurt to slip back on his glasses and open the front door yet again, only this time to reveal a rather amusing sight.
His husband, Blaine, smiled cheerily at him while holding a large box with clear, plastic top revealing a decorated cake with swirling hearts and frosted dinosaurs. He seemed to have trouble breathing, considering a tiny but mighty four-year-old was clutching on to the back of his neck, squealing, "Carry me to da kitchen, Papa!" And an even littler girl was hanging on to one of Blaine's arms, kicking her feet off the ground and shrieking in delight.
"Timothy, don't strangle your father," Kurt said, lifting the boy off Blaine's back and setting him on the floor, smoothing down his wild, dark curls.
He only pouted back in response. Next Kurt detached Timothy's twin sister from Blaine's arm, saying gently, "Pippa, honey, if you don't let go you can't have any cake."
"It's my birfday!" She giggled, scrunching her nose as a toothy smile stretched across her round face. Thankfully, Pippa's dark curls were restrained back into pigtails, so Kurt had little to fix before sending her on her way to the kitchen along with the rest of her siblings, Timothy screaming he would beat her to the table.
"I got their cake," Blaine finally said, setting the box on the little ceramic table to the right of the doorway before shrugging off their jacket. "And I'm actually surprised it arrived in one piece."
"My hero," Kurt teased, draping his arms around his husband's shoulders and pulling him into a deep, lingering kiss.
Blaine made a noise of pleasant surprise against his mouth, and asked when Kurt pulled away, "Twelve kids later and we've still got it?"
"Oh, you know it, baby." Kurt winked with a click of his tongue, ready to have another sweet kiss when a unison shout echoed from the dining room,
"STOP MAKING OUT AND GET IN HERE WITH THE CAKE!"
Kurt and Blaine burst out in laughter. Blaine grabbed the box and linked his free hand in Kurt's, knowing they would only keep getting interrupted if they did not follow their children's orders.
It had been no secret that Blaine loved kids. He adored them, in fact, and couldn't wait to become a father one day. Kurt knew this, and he loved that about Blaine. But while Blaine seemed to naturally click with children, he wasn't so sure of himself.
When they married at twenty-one and lived together for a couple years in a New York apartment, Blaine brought up the topic of children and having their own. Kurt was hesitant at first, but he knew how much this meant to his husband, so he agreed, knowing being good with kids would only take practice.
Quinn-their friend from high school-made a promise long ago to be their surrogate. So with her and Kurt's combined DNA, she have birth to a gorgeous baby girl with Kurt's rich brown hair and Quinn's stunning blue eyes and high cheekbones. It was love at first sight for the Hummel-Anderson's, and Kurt requested to have her be named after his mother, Blaine more than happy to agree.
Ellie was two when they decided they wanted another, again having Quinn as the mother and Kurt the biological father. This time, Kurt told Blaine he could name the squirming, light-brown haired boy. Blaine named him after one of his all-time favorite artist: Freddie Mercury. It made Kurt roll his eyes, but it seemed to fit their son.
Blaze was next two years later, and the last one to be Kurt and Quinn's. It was scary; he was born a premature baby. The doctors even told Kurt and Blaine they were unsure if he could survive, with his tiny lungs and undeveloped brain. It was a lot of long nights in the hospital, clutching each other's hands in the waiting room and holding a sobbing Quinn. Miraculously, Blaze lived and his fathers loved and looked after him with their entire hearts.
Kurt was surprised himself when he admitted to Blaine another two years later he wanted another baby. This time, Blaine was the one hesitant, not wanting to go through the nightmare they had with Blaze again. But Kurt also told him he wanted Blaine to be the biological father this time. So in time they found another surrogate and were given not only one bawling, dark-haired daughter, but two.
Their first set of twins: Tracy and Hepburn. Five kids.
Years later, after they moved into an actual house, Blaine had volunteered at an orphanage in his free time, playing music with the unadopted children. Kurt had visited one day delivering a tray of cookies and fell in love with a strawberry blonde girl named Rosie, who was only a year younger than their twins. With one look, Blaine knew Kurt wanted to adopt her. But they weren't aware Rosie had a shy, younger brother named Alexander, who she refused to leave behind.
Not long, Kurt and Blaine had seven children.
Again, it wasn't long until Blaine told Kurt he missed having babies around, and soon it turned to be one of those spurs of the moment when they both thought: Yes. I want another baby now! Rosie was four and Alexander two when Finn Hummel-Anderson arrived in the world, bearing a tuft of dark hair just like the uncle he was named after.
One of their closest friends, Rachel, arrived to their residence a year later, her Broadway career rollercoaster on the declining side. She had told them she needed money, and since Kurt and Blaine were at good points in their own careers and in excellent financial state, they asked her to be a surrogate for another baby.
Rachel and Kurt's genes made a skinny little girl they named Allie (after The Notebook, of course). Rachel was almost reluctant to go back to the high life of New York City, for she too had little Allie wrapped around her finger.
Nine kids. At this point one would think Kurt and Blaine would have stopped.
But Blaine met a sandy-haired boy named Sammy at the orphanage, and Kurt knew he reminded Blaine too much of his best friend, Sam Evans, so they couldn't just not adopt him. Sammy was a year younger than Allie, and became friends with his new siblings instantly.
Ten children. Kurt thankfully had been promoted at to co-assistant to the editor, so they could afford a large home on the outskirts of the city, plenty of room for their large family.
But not large enough.
There was a moment after they had tucked all ten kids in when Kurt and Blaine stood at their own bedroom doorway, exhausted from their jobs and household pandemonium when they both said at the same time:
"I want one more."
One more baby. They were both coming to an end at their thirties. One more baby would be enough.
Except, when their surrogate went into labor and Kurt and Blaine paced back and forth across the waiting room, they finally saw the doctor come out and give the shocking news.
Blaine's DNA had yet again provided another set of twins. A boy and a girl. Timothy and little Pippa.
Twelve children.
Kurt and Blaine absolutely loved them all.
"Kurt? Don't. Move."
Grinning into his pillow, Kurt obeyed his husband's hushed demands and only peeked an eye open. He could see Blaine lying across from him on their king-sized bed, all bedhead ruffled and blue, flannel pajamas. But instead of having his usual sleepy-morning smile like how Kurt always woke up to, he had a look of terror as he stared down at the snoring lump pinning his arm.
Timothy had wedged himself between his fathers, drooling out of the side of his mouth. His curls were a wild mess as always and somehow his T-Rex pajama shirt had twisted around so he was wearing it backwards. Still, it wasn't as bad as where snoozing Allie was at Blaine's feet, all curled up like a cat and using her papa's knees as pillows while she clutched tightly to her pink teddy bear.
Someone elbowed Kurt's spine, and since Kurt obviously wasn't allowed to move, he made wide-eyes up at Blaine, who explained by mouthing, "Pippa" and everything made sense. Kurt could practically picture their youngest snuggled up against him, probably drooling like her twin on his nice pajama shirt. Oh, well.
As if this party couldn't get any bigger, Kurt also saw out of the corner of his eye a head of blonde locks at the foot of their bed. Sammy, he figured. Their eight-year-old was spread out like a starfish on his stomach, his head by Kurt's feet and his legs hanging over the edge.
The husbands smirked at each other. Typical morning.
"Sorry," Blaine whispered, his breath fluttering Timothy's curls. "Timmy had a bad dream, so I said he could sleep here. I wasn't expecting any more guests to join."
Kurt was about to say it was fine, when their bedroom door burst open with a bang, making the two jump and surprisingly none of the kids to flinch.
"DADS," bellowed Blaze, his brown hair sticking up in every direction and his eyes flaming with rage. It would've been amusing at any other time, except all over Blaze's face were the same marker-drawings of a certain part of the male anatomy over and over…
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THESE ARE?" he demanded.
Kurt and Blaine glanced at each other. "Uh, yeah-"
"Oh!" came the voice of Pippa, lifting her head up behind Kurt and blinking open her eyes. "Hi, Bwazey!"
Blaze scowled at her. "She did this."
"Now, Blaze-" Blaine started.
"Ask her!"
Pippa nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Fweddie said to dwah pee-pees on him!"
"PIPPA!" Kurt widened his eyes in horror at her, mostly because she knew what they were called.
"Wha?"
Timothy squirmed between his dads, opening his own hazel eyes and making focus of his furious older brother. "Hey! Pee-pees!"
"Timmy, not you too…"
"Fweddie said it would be funny!" Pippa protested, crawling up with her bony elbows to get on Kurt's chest, making big, innocent eyes.
Kurt groaned. "Well, Freddie isn't always right, you know."
"But...but…"
"Tell me you're going to punish them," Blaze said to his dads. "This is worse than the time he convinced them to finger-paint '420' all over my bedroom door!"
Blaine held back a snort. "They were learning numbers, can you blame them?"
"What's going on?" said the faint voice of their twelve-year-old. Alexander padded into the crowded bedroom, scratching at his frazzled, strawberry blonde hair. He stopped by Blaze, who whipped around at him. Squinting, Alexander tilted his head and asked, "Um, why are there penises all over your face?"
Blaze groaned and spun on his feet, stomping out the door with purposely loud footsteps. Pippa and Timothy were giggling, Alexander looking more confused, and Allie finally yawning awake, annoyed by all the ruckus. Sammy was still dead asleep, unwavered by the noise.
"Daddy, wha's a pee-nee?" Pippa asked through giggles, and Kurt only put hands over her ears and shook his head. Of course, Blaine couldn't hold back his laughter anymore and joined Timothy, also giving Alexander an apologetic look.
"This family is so weird," Alexander sighed, turning back towards the door and trudging out.
Kurt and Blaine's eyes met, and they both shared a smile. Typical morning.
Breakfast was chaos, considering fourteen people were crowded in the kitchen and dining room. Well, thirteen. Rosie was no where to be found.
"She went to the bathroom," Tracy told Blaine, her cereal ignored as she tapped away on her phone.
"Yeah, but she's been in there forever," added Ellie as she took a seat next to Hepburn, who sat up perkily at the sight of her older sister.
Kurt looked at Blaine after he gave Finn his poptart, asking over the chatter of their children. "Should we go check on her?"
Finishing pouring Allie's orange juice, Blaine gave him a shrug and a nod. He announced, "Ellie's in charge!" and set down the jug of juice on the table before he and Kurt walked out to the hallway together, hearing behind many groans of protest while Finn shouted, "Why am I never in charge?"
The bathroom door was locked shut, so Kurt knocked once and asked gently, "Rosie? Honey, are you in there?"
Surprisingly, there was a sniff in reply. The two panicked, both knocking on the door. "Rosie? Is everything okay?"
"D-don't come in, dads!" she said from the other side, her voice indicating she was close to tears. "I'm…"
"Are you hurt?" Blaine asked, pressing his ear to the door, looking just as worried as Kurt.
"No...but…" Her voice trailed to a mumble, and she sniffed again. "I think I just got my first period."
Kurt and Blaine clamped their mouths shut, staring at one another with wide-eyes and stiff jaws. They've gone through this twice, not counting Ellie since Rachel had been around with her pregnancy with Allie, thankfully stepping in once Ellie cried out one evening "My butt's bleeding!" from the bathroom. Tracy and Hepburn were a different story. The husbands had agreed they would each explain to one twin when the time had come-Kurt with Hepburn and Blaine with Tracy. Hepburn was first, and Kurt tried to assure everything through red-faces and mumbles. Blaine lucked out because when Tracy was next, Hepburn simply explained everything to her.
"H-honey?" Kurt piped up, realizing he and Blaine had been silent for too long. "Um, okay, just unlock the door and-"
"No! Are you kidding me?" Rosie squeaked.
Blaine buried his flushing face in his hand. "Look, we can't help you if you-"
"I am not opening this door!" the fourteen-year-old said firmly. "Just…where are the pads?"
Pads? Kurt and Blaine both had mirrored looks of bewilderment. Their other daughters only ever requested tampons. Were they suppose to have pads? Why didn't Mother Nature give them a heads up before this happened?
"Um…" Kurt started.
"I can run to the store!" Blaine offered Rosie through the door. "It'll be like, ten minutes!"
Rosie sniffled. "Okay."
Blaine turned to Kurt with a look of determination. "Okay. What kind do I get?"
"How would I know, Blaine?" Kurt whispered, backing both of them away from the bathroom door. "Just...get the ones...that look the best?"
"How do I know that?!"
"I don't know!"
"Dads….?" came Rosie's voice, probably overhearing them.
Blaine sighed. "Alright. I'll just get the first ones I see." He called over his shoulder at the door, "Stay put, Rosie! I'm gonna be back as soon as possible!" Then he was off, rushing down the hallway to grab his keys and shoes.
Letting out a deep breath, Kurt told Rosie he'll be right back for her after he checked on everyone in the kitchen. Thankfully, Ellie had kept everyone in order and no one had spilled orange juice all across the table.
"Where's Papa going?" Sammy asked to his father.
Kurt gathered up dirty dishes and answered, "He just needs to run some errands."
"What, did Rosie get her period?" Tracy asked, still on her phone and with uneaten cereal.
Sammy scrunched his nose. "What's that?"
"Nothing! No more discussion of puberty this morning!" Kurt declared, making every kid above ten snicker and the ones younger with faces of confusion.
"Blaine? Where are my glasses?"
Blaine glanced up from where he was folding the laundry on their bed. His husband had just entered the room, not looking at Blaine but at the dresser and closet and even garbage can. It was later that evening, the time when their children's energy had decreased enough for them to entertain themselves with video games and cartoons. It was probably the first time that entire day the two were completely alone.
"Um, I think I saw Allie have them last?" Blaine replied, folding up an Iron Man t-shirt with ketchup stains. Why did they still have this? He held it up for Kurt. "Hey, is this Finn's?"
Kurt looked up, squinting, and walking forward to get a clearer look at the shirt. "No, that's Sammy's."
Blaine nodded, dropping the folded shirt in Sammy's pile. Their rule was: if you were in high school, you could do your own laundry. This worked for a while, until more kids were still in elementary and only a few could actually follow this rule.
"Why would Allie have my glasses?" Kurt asked, mostly to himself.
Blaine answered anyway, uncrossing his legs so his foot wouldn't fall asleep. "I think she was playing dress-up with the little twins?"
Kurt snapped his head up. "What? With my glasses?"
"Hey, I don't know for sure!" Blaine protested, hopefully putting the purple polka-dotted skirt in the correct pile.
"That's Allie's, not Rosie's," said Kurt, carrying the skirt to a different pile, still looking concerned over his missing glasses.
"See, this is why I don't do laundry." Blaine quirked a smile, already grabbing another shirt from the overflowing basket.
"No, this is why you do do laundry," Kurt countered, crossing a leg under himself as he took a seat at the edge of the bed, taking a green polo from the basket and joining Blaine. "It's to practice."
"Too many clothes," Blaine sighed, double-checking with Kurt before placing the striped shirt in Alexander's pile.
"We could just have our children run around naked?" Kurt suggested, grinning up at his husband.
"Nah, someone would catch a cold," Blaine pointed out. They both laughed.
Kurt caught his breath, still smiling at the socks he was folding together and began, "Actually, I need to tell you some news I got from the office-"
Until their door creaked open, and their eyes turned to that. A curly-haired head peeked through, hesitating to look up at her fathers with big, watery eyes.
"Pippa?" the two asked together, watching their youngest step in the room wearing a dress-up tutu and red cowboy boots, sniffling and rubbing her eyes with chubby wrists. One hand hid behind her back.
"D-Daddy?" she began, shuffling on her feet before walking up to the bed, her eyes on her boots. "I-I-I'm sowwy-y…"
"Sweetie, what happened?" Kurt asked gently, extending his arms to lift her up. She only sniffled harder and remained where she was.
Shakily, Pippa revealed the hand behind her back, lifting it up. "I-I didn't m-m-mean too…"
Blaine parted his mouth at the cracked, bent, and completely severed down the middle reading glasses. He glanced over at Kurt, who he knew was holding back with all his might screaming at their toddler. His jaw was fixed, his eyes were wide, and his hands were clutching the socks so hard they twisted under his fingers.
Eventually, Kurt let out breath and said carefully, "Pippa...how did this happen?"
"T-Timmy was gonna chase me," she answered, her chin trembling, threatening full-blown waterworks. "And I f-f-f-fell…"
"Here, give me them." Reaching out, Blaine let his daughter place the broken glasses in his palm, allowing Kurt to take her in his arms and set on his lap. That's when Pippa started sobbing in her father's shirt, between gasps saying, "sowwy, sowwy" over and over.
Kurt stroked her hair, most of his anger boiled down and his expression softer. "Shhh...Pippa, it's alright. Daddy can get new ones." He glanced at Blaine and sighed. "Just, never play with Daddy's glasses ever again."
"I w-won't!" she promised through bawls.
The four-year-old took her time to calm down, and Kurt rocked her until she was finished, shushing her and rubbing her back. Blaine continued to complete the task that was laundry folding, still making sure Kurt nodded at the correct pile before he set the clothing there.
"So what happened at work?" Blaine asked once Pippa was quiet and simply snuggled against her father.
Kurt blinked. "Oh, oh yeah! So Isabelle talked to me," he adjusted Pippa and got a better view at his husband, "about a fashion event in London. And how she wants to soon promote me to editor." He smiled proudly, knowing Blaine knew how important that position was to him. "So she thought this would be a great opportunity for me!"
"Oh!" Blaine returned the thrilled grin.
Kurt nodded excitedly. "Yeah, I'll only be gone for two weeks."
"Two weeks?" Blaine's smile dropped a notch. Since their family had hit fourteen members, they hadn't ever been gone from them that long.
"Yeah, but...I figured…" Kurt shifted Pippa once again, since her eyes were starting to droop shut. The exhaustion of playing dress-up and crying hysterically getting to her. "With Ellie and Freddie home for spring break...they could help you keep things in order!"
"I suppose…" Blaine said, looking down at folding a pair of Hello Kitty socks. He took this in consideration, aware that this meant so much to Kurt and would give him his dream job, but to take care of their twelve children by himself…
He straightened his back, meeting Kurt's eyes with a smile. "You know what? That would work! Go to London, Kurt. You deserve it."
Kurt's eyebrows shot right up to his hairline. "Really? You're serious? Because I was half-considering calling your brother Cooper to come and help-"
"NO." The thought of Cooper letting their kids go on a sugar-craze like last Christmas was a nightmare by itself. "Trust me, it'll be fine." He gave Kurt a wink. "Besides, I'll have plenty of teenagers to help with the little ones, too."
Snorting, Kurt shook his head and began rubbing Pippa's back. "Oh, yes. Plenty of moody teenagers at your service." His expression grew serious. "You are sure?"
"Yes, Kurt!" Blaine scooted forward, setting an assuring hand on his husband's knee. "I want you to go, you want to go. You should go."
Kurt stared at him for a long time, trying to come up with a counter-argument, but the twitching of his lips betrayed him. He burst into delighted giggles, the dimples visible on the sides of his cheeks. "Oh, my god. You're the greatest ever." His almost-leaning-in-for-a-kiss failed when he noticed a snoozing Pippa was sound asleep against his chest. Sighing, he pouted up at Blaine and asked, "Let me put her in bed and then I'll come back to plant one on ya?" He winked cheekily.
Blaine chuckled. "How about you put her in bed, I'll deliver the folded clothes to their proper destinations, we tuck the kiddos in bed, and then you plant one on me?"
"Darn responsibilities," Kurt muttered, smoothing Pippa's curls out of his face before standing, shooting his husband a sultry look. "I expect you to plant many on me as well." And then he walked out the door, purposely popping his hips back and forth.
Awestruck for a moment, Blaine snapped back and rolled his eyes, calling after him, "Nice word choice, honey!"
"Got to keep it somewhat G-Rated!" Kurt shouted from down the hall.
Mostly, the children acted like Kurt was leaving them for a year, not two weeks.
"But Daddy, who will read me Charlotte's Web before bed?" Allie asked, watching with the rest of her siblings as their fathers loaded Kurt's luggage into the trunk of a cab.
"Papa will, don't worry," Kurt assured her, leaning to kiss her forehead then smooth down her brown hair. "Or Ellie, if you ask nicely." He eyed up at his eldest, who simply crossed her arms and smirked back at him.
"But Ellie won't do the voices like you do," Allie whispered to him behind her hand.
Blaine checked his watch and nodded, shoving the last suitcase in and slamming the trunk shut. "Alright, Daddy's got to go to the airport. Say your final goodbyes!"
"Don't go!" cried Timothy, clutching on to Kurt's leg with the biggest frown he could muster. His twin noticed what he was doing, and ran to hang on to Kurt's other leg. "Yeah, Daddy, don't go!" Pippa agreed, just as dramatic.
With the help of Blaine, Kurt managed to pry them both off, giving them kisses on the nose and telling them to take care of their Papa, and that he'll bring them each back something from London.
"Wait, you're going to bring me something too, right?" Tracy asked, now standing perfectly alert. "Because, remember, I got all of my chores done. And I've been dying to go to London, Dad-"
"I will, don't worry." Kurt wrapped her in a quick hug and then moved on to Hepburn. "British scarves for the both of you."
He detached himself to hug Rosie goodbye just at the teenage twins squealed in delight.
When he was finished saying farewell to all twelve of his kids (including another hug for Timothy and Pippa) he let out a breath and turned to where Blaine was waiting by the cab door, holding it open like the gentleman he was.
Kurt's shoulders relaxed as he stepped forward, pressing his lips to Blaine one last time-savoring it for a bit longer when he heard some of their children groan in embarrassment.
"See you," Blaine said breathlessly once they parted, quirking up a small smile at his husband.
"You'll call me if you have trouble?" Kurt asked, his eyebrows drawn together in concern.
"Yes, yes, yes." Blaine nodded firmly with each word, ushering Kurt into the cab. "Worry about the high-life of London, dear."
"And remember, my dad is just a phone call away, too," Kurt added, not paying attention to Blaine's words as he entered the car, rolling down the window when the door shut and saying to his husband through it, "And that you'll need to buy milk soon."
"Kurt," Blaine leaned down so he was eye level to him, smirking slightly. "We'll be fine." He gave him a final peck on the lips and stepped back, waving goodbye with all their kids.
"Bye-bye, Daddy!" Sammy shouted, waving the hardest.
Finn seemed to be in competition, because he began waving both of his hands even faster than his brother. "BYE!" he yelled louder.
"Have fun!" Ellie called, nudging Freddie to give more enthusiasm in his waving.
"I'll miss you!" Allie said next, still distressed about her bedtime reading.
The youngest twins were starting to sniffle, having to be picked up by Blaze and Blaine to be comforted. Blaine gave an amused chuckle at Timothy in his arms, and made a little goodbye wave to Kurt, smiling over his youngest son's hair.
Kurt sighed, his waving slowing down as he watched them all get smaller and smaller as the cab drove further away.
"Got the whole neighborhood to say goodbye?" the driver remarked, grinning at Kurt through the rear view mirror.
Kurt huffed out a small laugh, rolling up the window and slumping back into his seat. He allowed himself to take a breath, and told himself he shouldn't worry. That Blaine would take care of everything, like he promised.
"How many eggs?"
"Papa, I've said this like a hundred times. Three eggs."
Blaine looked over at Rosie, trying to remember if it was fourteen that their kids turn into sarcastic commenters. He suppose it also helped that they've grown up around Kurt.
Their plan to make cupcakes for Rosie's Girl Scout meeting was going swell so far, the kitchen didn't even look that messy with all the ingredients and mixing bowls spread across the countertops. Blaine and Rosie even had matching striped aprons.
He opened the refrigerator, bending to scour for those three eggs she was so worked up about. Running footsteps could be heard approaching them from the stairs, and he grabbed the carton just in time to see his seventeen-year-old tap something on his cell phone before walking up to the coat rack.
"I'm going out!" Blaze announced, tucking his phone back in his pocket, filtering through the many jackets to find his blue one.
"Where to?" Blaine asked, opening the carton and discovering something awful. "Oh, no. Rosie, we are short by one egg."
"What?!" Rosie cried out.
"Hey, Blaze? Could you go and grab us some more eggs while you're out?"
"Sorry...I probably won't get home until supper," Blaze answered, distracted by smoothing down his coat and-weirdly-checking his hair in the circular mirror right beside the front door.
Blaine gave him an odd look. "Okay then. But where are you-"
"I gotta go, my ride's here!" Blaze waved goodbye quickly and hurried out the door, slamming it shut in his wake.
"Blaze has friends?" Rosie asked jokingly, coming up beside Blaine and seeing the mostly-empty carton, remembering the state they were in. "Wait, who's going to get the eggs?!"
"I will-" Blaine began to reassure, until more footsteps came thudding down the steps, snapping both of their attention to that.
"Hey, who was that with Blazey?" Freddie asked, catching sight of the bag of sugar on the counter and immediately being drawn to it like a moth to light.
As Blaine swatted his hand away, a blonde-haired boy came bounding up beside his oldest brother. "Papa?" Sammy asked to Blaine, his Incredible Hulk shirt splattered with colorful finger paint. "Can I play Freddie's video games with him?"
"Yeah, sure, why not-"
"No," Blaine cut off Freddie sternly, pointing a finger at him. "Sammy is eight, he is not playing Grand Theft Auto."
"But it looks so cool!" Sammy argued.
"Anyway, since when did Blaze have friends?" Freddie asked, trying to sneakily grab some sugar from the bag again.
"That's what I said!" Rosie told him excitedly, but dragged away the bag from her brother's reach when she saw his motives.
"PAPA!" screamed the voice of Tracy from the living room, making Blaine wince. "Tell Alexander to stop looking over at my shoulder while I'm texting!"
"I wasn't looking over your shoulder!" also came the voice of the twelve-year-old, farther away than Tracy's.
"We still need those eggs…" Rosie pointed out.
Groaning, Blaine turned over at Freddie and asked, "Could you please go to the store and pick us up a new carton?"
The nineteen-year-old rolled his shoulders, stuffing his hands into his sweatpant pockets. "Sure, I wasn't doing anything anyway. Oh, but can I take your car?" He made his blue-green eyes go puppy-dog big. "Pretty please?"
Blaine sighed but gave him permission, watching Freddie do a fist pump of success and rushing to get the keys. Sammy placed his hands on the edge of the counter, attempting to make those same puppy-dog eyes. "Can I go with him, pretty please?"
"If you promise to wear shoes, you can."
"YAY!" and Sammy was sprinting off after his brother.
"ALEX, GO AWAY!" Tracy's shrieks echoed back to the kitchen. Blaine handed Rosie the useless carton of eggs and hastily took off his apron, setting it on one of the dining room chairs as he walked past.
"Papa?" said the voice of Finn at the top of the staircase, causing Blaine to stop in his tracks and turn to him. "I cut my finger."
"Oh, sweetie…" Blaine was about to go rush off to help him, but Tracy and Alex's bickering became louder and, possible more violent. "Um. Okay, go to Rosie and tell her I told her to go get you a Band-Aid!" He gave Finn a thumbs up and hurried off to the living room.
Tracy was in one of the armchairs, glaring at Alex across the room with her purple cell phone pressed protectively against her chest. Alex was standing near the TV, his glasses needing to be pushed up his nose and with the same dirty look his sister was shooting him.
"Now," Blaine started, stepping in the war zone cautiously, sounding less exhausted than he felt, "what's the problem here, huh?"
"He was purposely looking at my messages!" Tracy said, scowling at Alexander.
"Was not!"
The home phone could be heard ringing. Blaine groaned, closing his eyes briefly before calling over his shoulder, "Could someone get that please?"
"Then why else would you 'casually' walk over here five freakin' times?!" demanded Tracy.
"God, you're paranoid," Alex said. "What, were you talking to a boy?"
Blaine finally stepped in between them, holding his palms out as in indication for them to shut up. The phone was still ringing. "Listen, both of you. We can fix this easily if you would both just go to your separate rooms-"
"I was here first!" Tracy interrupted.
"I want to play my video game!" Alex gestured wildly at the TV.
Thankfully, someone seemed to have grabbed the phone, since it had stopped ringing. Not so luckily, Rosie poked her strawberry-blonde head in the living room and asked, "Where are the Band-Aids?"
Blaine honestly felt like pulling out his hair at this point, especially since Tracy and Alex had started on the back-and-forth arguing again. Through all the noise and chatter, he could make out a voice saying, "And I watched Fwozen last night, Daddy!"
A small flicker of peace settled in Blaine's chest. He caught Ellie making her way down the staircase, confused by the ruckus, and he declared, "Ellie's in charge!" before rushing out of the living room to the sound of Pippa babbling with his husband.
It was quick to spot the four-year-old in the laundry room, decked out in a sparkly princess dress overtop her regular clothes and a cheetah print scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, the home phone pressed crookedly to her ear. She was focused in concentration at whatever words Kurt was saying, until she saw Blaine and she gasped loudly. "Papa's here!"
Blaine nodded and thanked her for answering the phone before asking to talk to her father. Pippa handed it over, motioning to whisper in Blaine's ear before he started to talk in the phone, "I awready towd Daddy about movie night."
"Good work, Pippa." Blaine nodded proudly at her, letting her skip off and out of the small room with the cheetah scarf trailing behind her.
He closed the door quietly after her departure, leaning against it and exhaling a long breath, finally bringing the phone to his ear. "Hey there, sweetheart."
"Wow, you sound dead." Kurt laughed from the other side, making Blaine's heart swell at the sound. After years of marriage and Kurt's voice still felt like coming home. "Are the kids becoming too much for you?" His question ended with his voice brought down in worry.
"No, no. Everything's fine," Blaine reassured, sliding down against the door and sitting for the first time in hours. He stretched a leg out, bumping it against a basket of overflowing and needing-to-be-folded laundry. He made a mental note to have one of the older kids do it later while he finished Rosie's cupcakes. "How's London?"
"Oh, amazing, Blaine," Kurt answered in awe. "I'm in my hotel room right now and the view is incredible. Our next anniversary needs to be here, trust me."
Blaine chuckled. "Let's wait until after Timothy and Pippa graduate college."
"Speaking of which, it's only been three days and I'd almost forgotten how much of a chatterbox little Pippa can be," Kurt said, another breathy laugh escaping his mouth. "She said Timmy spilled his milk all over his spaghetti at supper the other night."
Blaine groaned loudly, thudding his head against the door. "Oh god, don't remind me of that nightmare."
"Aw honey, I'm sorry." But he could still hear his husband chuckle in amusement. "But, honestly, is it becoming too much? I'm worried they're going to drive you up the wall and everything's going to become pure chaos-"
"Don't worry, Kurt!" Blaine shifted the phone closer, as if that would bring comfort to Kurt. "I can handle this. Besides, Ellie's looking after them now while I talk to you. I've got a system, no worries."
Kurt huffed out an amused sigh, but at least sounded assured by his response. "So...what else is new?" he asked, lightly starting a new conversation.
"Oh, you know. The usual. Cupcake-making, video game-tournaments. Blaze went to hang out with a friend this afternoon."
"Really? Who was it?"
"I honestly have no idea...but maybe it was a girl? I dunno, he was double-checking his hair before he left-"
"Don't tell me what to do, Ellie!" shouted the muffled voice of Tracy from the other side of the door.
"Was someone yelling?" Kurt asked.
"Uh...maybe?" Blaine scooted away from the door, sitting against one of the washing machines now. "It's getting under control, hopefully. Anyway, how's the fashion event?"
"Blaine…"
"Kurt, it'll be alright. Besides, they can handle a few more minutes on their own while I finally talk to my husband." He smiled half-heartedly, not allowing himself to mention how much he already missed Kurt.
Somehow, Kurt could cast the aura of the look he was probably casting Blaine through the phone. He knew his husband was giving him a face that including a raised eyebrow and pursed lips. "Fine," he eventually said. "The fashion event has been spectacular. I've met so many designers, Blaine. It's unbelievable. Most of them were surprised when I said it was my first time there." He paused only to snort. "They were even more surprised when I said I had twelve children back at home."
Blaine laughed, leaning against the phone as he listened to Kurt chat away, grateful in so many ways of this moment of rare calmness.
One night, four days before Kurt was suppose to be home, Blaine was woken up by someone poking his cheek.
He jumped, stirring awake as a pair of wide, blue eyes stared directly at him.
"Papa?" said the small voice of Sammy. "I puked."
Blaine groaned, burying his face in his pillow for a moment before fully allowing himself to wake up, checking that his alarm clock actual read 2:45 a.m. before shuffling out of bed.
"Did you feel sick?" he asked, arching his back and stretching as Sammy lead the way out of the otherwise empty master bedroom.
Sammy nodded, tugging at his Batman pajamas. "But I didn't want to tell you…" he said sheepishly.
Blaine yawned, rubbing his eyes as they passed countless doors down the hallway. "Why didn't you tell me, bud?"
"Because you looked sleepy," the eight-year-old mumbled, arriving up to his and Finn's room.
The reeking aroma of whatever mess Sammy managed to leave all over his sheets could already be smelled from outside the closed door, that once Blaine opened he gagged, covering his nose with his hand. "Oh...god, wow. Okay. Where's Finn?"
"He went to sleep in Alex's room," Sammy replied, glancing up at the vacant top bunk bed.
Sighing, Blaine closed the door so he wouldn't have to smell Sammy's vomit quite so strong and knelt down to be eye-level with his son. "Do you feel sick anymore?"
Sammy shook his head, his eyes watering. "I'm sorry, Papa."
"No, hey…no crying, alright?" Blaine whispered gently. "How about you go…" he racked his still-tired mind on available bedroom space. Tracy and Hepburn shared a room, like they did since birth. As did Timothy and Pippa. Ellie was in her single bedroom in the basement, right next to Freddie's. If Finn was rooming with Alex across the hallway, and Allie and Rosie were also sharing a room, the closest one Sammy could stay in until Blaine cleaned up was, "in Blaze's room, huh?" He nodded at the shut door two down from where they were. "If he wakes up, tell him I told you to sleep there, okay?"
Wiping his nose with the back of his wrist, Sammy complied and padded on over to his older brother's room. Blaine stood up straight, feeling a weight of dread of what waited for him on the other side of Sammy's door.
Fueled by the thought of the sooner he got this over with, the more sleep he'll get, Blaine grabbed the doorknob just as Sammy's voice whisper-shouted, "Blaze isn't here, Papa!"
He had to double check just to make sure Sammy wasn't jumping to conclusions, but he was right: Blaze's bed was empty. Everything else in the small room looked crisp, since Blaze was such a clean-freak like Kurt. His desk chair was pushed in, the bedsheets were all made, his closet all organized. Except there was no sight of the teenager.
It completely stumped Blaine. He turned to look at Sammy, who was just as confused as he was. "Go check the bathrooms, bud," Blaine told him, since that was the only logical explanation.
He himself went back to his own bedroom, grabbing his phone before making his way downstairs to the kitchen, seeing if the seventeen-year-old decided on a late night snack. When there wasn't a soul to be found, Blaine hurried to the living room just as Sammy not-so-quietly charged up to him, declaring, "The bathrooms are empty!"
Which woke up Finn and Alexander, who trudged downstairs with extreme bedheads and puzzled expressions. "Wha's goin' on?" Finn asked, threatening a yawn.
Not exactly pleased with now waking three of his children, Blaine was about to tell them to go back to bed when Sammy told them, "Blaze is missing!"
It certainly snapped the two fully awake. Blaine decided to use to to his advantage. "Not missing, but could you two help search the house for him?" They nodded eagerly, scurrying off in different directions, Sammy momentarily becoming indecisive on who to follow.
Blaine went to check in the garage (all the cars present) and then in the backyard (only to be greeted by crickets) before going back inside, shivering from nighttime chill when frog-patterned pajama Allie popped up in front of him, a look of distraught on her face. "Is what Finn said true? Is Blaze gone forever?!"
"Shh, no, of course not," he reassured, smoothing her disheveled hair and wishing she wouldn't talk so loud as to wake the entire household. "We just need to-"
"PAPA!" shouted a familiar, fifteen-year-old voice, footsteps marching down the stairs. Blaine winced, and watched as the oldest twins joined the party. Both looking more identical than ever with their dark, disheveled hair a frizzy mess.
"Is Blaze seriously missing?" asked Hepburn.
"What the hell, did he sneak out?" said Tracy.
Blaine fumbled for his cell phone, considering Tracy's idea but saying, "Look, we don't know. Could you please keep your voices down-"
"He's not on the roof!" yelled Alex from the other side of the house.
Soft grumbling could be heard at the top of the staircase, making Blaine look up and see in between the railings was his youngest children, Timothy rubbing his eyes with both of his tiny fists and Pippa trying to keep awake by blinking her eyes rapidly. "Papa? Why's everybody up?" asked Timothy.
"Are we having a swumber party?" Pippa said before a gigantic yawn.
After an exhale of frustration, Blaine turned to Tracy and Hepburn. "You two, put the younglings back to bed." He spun at Allie. "You, see if Blaze's coat and shoes are still here." He held up his cell phone. "I'm going to call him. If his phone is still in the house, then we go to Plan B."
"What's Plan B?" Allie questioned.
Blaine shrugged. "Call the cops?"
"Should we call Daddy?" Hepburn offered.
"No, no!" Blaine shook his head quickly. "He doesn't need to worry. Since he's halfway across the world and all." While he scrolled to Blaze's number, the girls departed to their destinations. The twins shushing Timothy and Pippa's questions after questions before picking them up and carrying them back to their bedroom.
Blaine went to a quieter corner of the house, hearing the dial ring from his phone. He prayed to every deity out there that his son would pick up, and just as he was getting desperate enough to ask for Zeus' help he caught sight of Ellie storming towards him, looking exactly like her surrogate mother Quinn when she was angry. Freddie was right at her heels, his pajamas including nothing but his striped boxers.
"What is happening-?" demanded Ellie, but Blaine cut her off with a raise of his finger, still waiting for Blaze to pick up.
Just as the voicemail started, the faint voice of Allie shouted, "I found Blaze's phone!"
Ellie snapped at her father, her eyes wide with fury. "Blaze is no where to be found and he doesn't have his phone?!"
"We're working on it," Blaine replied, his thumbs hovering to dial 9-1-1.
"I also couldn't find his coat," Allie continued, hurrying up to the group with Blaze's cell in her hand. "And I don't remember which shoes are his."
Freddie scratched his head, making his unkempt light-brown hair even worse. "Well that means he's snuck out, right?" He held out a hand to Allie. "Here, lemme see his phone."
"Freddie, we shouldn't invade his privacy-"
"Don't worry, Pops. I'm just doing some investigating." For some reason, Freddie knew Blaze's lock screen password and started his snooping with ease, probably had done it a thousand times before.
The eldest still wasn't satisfied, crossing her arms and cocking a hip. "Papa, Blaze could be hurt. Or kidnapped. How did no one know he was out?!"
"I don't know!" Blaine protested, his sleep-deprived brain beginning to throb. It was too late for this many frantic voices.
"We should call Dad," Ellie decided.
"Elizabeth, no." Blaine said sternly. "I have it under control-"
"Under control?! One of my brothers is missing-!"
"Chill out, guys," Freddie cut in, chuckling down at the phone screen. "Oh my god, I think I've found the answer to all our problems."
"What is it?" Blaine and his daughter asked together, both reaching for Blaze's phone but Freddie stepped back, grinning mischieviously at whatever the phone said.
"Oh my jesus, I can't breathe...okay, remember Blaze's friend from a couple of days ago?" The nineteen-year-old snickered, ducking his head and shaking from so much laughter. "Well...let's just say they weren't just 'friends' if you catch my drift."
Absolutely befuddled, Blaine grabbed the cell phone, scrolling through the text messages Freddie had pulled up. His eyes widened, his mouth clamped shut.
"Alright. I'm going to go get him."
It was almost 3:30 a.m. when Blaine arrived at the correct household, waiting patiently at the curve of the street. He tapped his fingers at the steering wheel, still in his pajamas along with a coat over top. The radio hummed at a low volume, the yellow streetlights illuminating the otherwise dark street.
He almost honked the horn again, but didn't when he saw the house's front door finally open, casting more light out in the night. Two silhouetted figures occupied the doorway, both about the same height and body type. One was shrugging on his coat, constantly glancing over at Blaine while the other shifted awkwardly on his feet, patting the other's shoulder as a way of saying goodbye.
Blaine kept his eyes on the figure walking towards the car, his head ducked at the ground until he opened the passenger door. He quickly sat down and clicked the seatbelt on, his face red as a cherry and his eyes fixed on his knees.
Waiting a beat, Blaine heard that front door shut and finally shifted gears, driving out on to the road. "So," he said, turning off the radio while breaking the silence. "Was that Eric saying goodbye to you?"
Blaze groaned, burying his burning face in his hands. "Oh my god," he mumbled.
"Blaze, it's a long drive back home so you might as well talk."
His seventeen-year-old sighed, uncovering his face but refusing to look over at Blaine. "How did you find out?"
"Well, when we discovered your bedroom was empty…" Blaine said, keeping his voice calm and refusing to shout like his entire body was aching to do. "Desperate times called for desperate measures." He smiled half-heartedly over at him, braking gently at a red light.
Blaze had his shoulders hunched, his blush reaching all the way down to his neck and up to his ears. "I'm sorry, okay? Can we just not talk about it right now?"
"Why didn't you ever tell us about him?" Blaine said, referring to the boy standing at the doorway with Blaze.
"You looked at my phone, didn't you?" Blaze ignored his question with a new one, not sounding angry but just exhausted.
"Well, yeah." Blaine figured he shouldn't sugar coat it at this point, since Blaze would be in serious trouble in the morning. "But blame Freddie for knowing your passcode."
Blaze just groaned again, closing his eyes and thudding his head back on the car seat.
They slipped into a state of silence once more, Blaze keeping his eyes out the window and Blaine focused on the road, occasionally glancing over at him. He did, however, tried to squeeze more answers out by casually asking, "So...is this Eric guy...you know-"
Blaze's face flushed an even darker red than before, if such a thing was possible. "Papa, I swear to god-"
"Because, you know, you were practically raised knowing it doesn't matter if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend."
"He's just…" Blaze trailed off, crossing his arms protectively over his chest. "H-he's just…a really good friend."
Blaine snorted. "Oh I'm sure, considering that obvious hickey he must've given you."
He felt bad for chuckling some more, especially when Blaze covered his neck with both of his hands and he went bug-eyed. However, he stopped when he felt a vibrating in his pocket, indicating someone was calling him.
Fishing out his phone, Blaine glanced for a split second to see the name calling, sighed over at his son and mouthed, "It's your other father" before pressing the green answer key and bringing it to his ear.
Before he could even say hello, Kurt was demanding, "Is Blaze okay? Where are you? What's going on, Blaine Hummel-Anderson?!"
"Honey," Blaine said gently, using his free hand to turn the corner. "Everything's fine. Blaze is literally a foot away from me and I'm driving us home as we speak."
"Where was he?" Kurt asked, and Blaine could practically see him pacing back and forth with worry.
Glancing over at Blaze, seeing how he was practically begging for Blaine not to spill anything, Blaine responded to Kurt, "He snuck out of the house."
Blaze made the classic teenage sound of "Ugh" and slumped back down in his seat.
"Why?! Why wouldn't he tell anyone? Who would he see?!"
"Kurt, darling, Blaze has been humiliated enough. Can we discuss the details later?"
And then Kurt made a very similar "Ugh" to Blaze's. "Fine, fine. It's just…" he huffed out a sigh. "I'm halfway across the globe and I'm just worried sick about you guys and now I wake up and get this frantic call from Rosie asking if I would have any idea where Blaze would've ran off to and, a-and…" Kurt paused, taking in deep breaths. "I don't know, maybe I should just come home."
"No! No, Kurt. No…it's just four more days. London's your dream…"
"But our family, Blaine-"
"Here, Papa?" Blaze piped up, reaching and gesturing at his father's cell phone. Blaine handed it over and listened as Blaze started talking.
"Hi Dad…yes, I'm alright. Please don't leave your big fashion thing because of my stupid mistake. Yes...yeah, everything's fine! Papa's been taking really good care of us. Well, it was just a friend's house. Um...because I really wanted to see him? Oh, uh...his name? Eric...mhmm. Yeah, he's really nice. Now will you promise to stay in London? Promise! Okay, awesome...OH MY GOD DAD, geesh, here's Papa." He gave it back over to Blaine, his cheeks flaming up once again.
"What did he say?" Blaine asked.
Blaze looked back out the window, mumbling, "He asked if I used protection."
Stifling a chuckle, Blaine started talking to Kurt again, noticing how they were getting close to their house. "So you'll stay in London?"
"So our son is gay?" Kurt asked, sounding cheerier than before.
"Or he could be bi, like our Hepburn." Now Blaine did laugh when he heard Blaze groan louder than ever next to him.
"I suppose that's always possible. And sure, I'll stay until the end of the week, as planned."
"Perfect." Blaine grinned. "And I would like to inform you that I can see our street from here, so can I call you when my alarm goes off?"
"Very well. And Blaine?"
"Yes, darling?"
Kurt let out a breathy laugh. "I just...thank you for doing this. It must be a nightmare at times but...thank you. I'm so happy I married you."
Blaine smiled, even though Kurt couldn't see. "Right back at ya."
"Love you"
"Love you, too" And right as he pulled into the driveway, Blaine ended the call.
He parked the car, ready to unbuckle his seat belt as he asked. "So this Eric is really nice, huh?"
Blaze turned away bashfully, fiddling with his own seat buckle. "Yeah...he's also the first guy to not make fun of my name."
"Why would anyone do that?"
Blaze snapped at him, giving him a pointed look. "Papa. Did you expect people to not think about marijuana when they hear my name?"
"We got the name after 'blazer!'" Blaine protested, watching him open the passenger door. "Like, the Dalton blazers. Which is where your father and I met, remember?"
"Then why didn't you just name me 'Dalton?'"
"Because 'Blaze' sounds way cooler, alright?"
Blaze rolled his eyes in a very 'Kurt' way. "It's sounds like I got raised by drug dealers."
Blaine mentally told himself not to laugh at that, exiting the car as his son did. From the still-lit house he heard the unmistakable Sammy scream, "Blaze is back!"
Catching Blaze's surprised face, Blaine grinned and said to him, walking side-by-side back to the door. "Watch out, your search team has been waiting for you."
"Does this mean I'm not grounded?" Blaze asked hopefully.
"Oh, no. You're definitely grounded."
Kurt's plane landed in New York right on schedule, thank god. He hurried out of the plane as fast as he could, feeling only a smidge of guilt for nudging past fellow passengers. Once entering the crowded airport, he knew it would take forever trying to find Blaine, who had taken the day off work to come pick him up.
However, the moment the other passengers dispersed in front of him, he stopped in his tracks.
Standing on the rows of those uncomfortable, plastic waiting chairs was a group of twelve children, ranging from the ages twenty-one to four. Some with dark hair, some with brown, a blonde and a few strawberry-blondes scattered here and there. Each with a huge grin, directed right at him. And in every one of these childrens' hands was a square sign with a letter, spelling out together, 'WE MISSED YOU!'
Overcome with emotion, Kurt almost forgot he was blocking the doorway to let the rest of the passengers in. He stepped forward, shaking his head in disbelief at all his kids.
Then he saw Blaine, retiring himself from helping Pippa balance the exclamation point and walking towards him, arms out with the gorgeous smile Kurt always fell in love with. He ran into those arms, forgetting that they were in one of the largest public places in the entire state and that most likely everyone was staring, and wrapped his husband in a long-awaited kiss (only hearing minimum groans from their children).
"We missed you," Blaine said once they pulled apart.
"I can see that!" Kurt laughed, looking back at the signs and the giggling kids. "How...when…?"
"We've literally been waiting here for hours," Freddie told him, spinning his 'E' idly. He received a nudge in the ribs by Ellie.
"It was Papa's idea!" added Finn, hopping up and down in the seat he was standing in, probably about to fall over soon with his untied shoelaces.
"We each colored in our assigned letter," Hepburn explained, her 'S' all flourished and fancy. It explained why the younger kids' letters were a bit sloppier and colored outside the lines, while the older ones were more legible. Kurt couldn't help but snort when he realized why Freddie's 'E' was made with a simple black marker.
He turned back to Blaine, unable to stop the smile stretching his face. "You're incredible, you know that? God, I've missed you guys, too."
Holding out his arms now to all of them, he waited as Blaine laughed in delight. The children abandoned their signs, rushing forward all at once to give their dad a gigantic bear hug. Kurt and Blaine were surrounded by pairs of arms wrapping around their chests and legs and shoulders, squeezing and pushing to get more room.
Kurt did catch Blaine's gaze through all the moving heads and bodies, and he held it, mirrored in their happy smiles. They both knew together that, yes, through all the bad times and troubles and chaotic messes, that it was moments like these that made them remember it was always worth it.
The End! Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed!
Shout out to my good friend for coming up with the characters Ellie, Freddie, and Blaze and letting me use them here
And yes, I did loosely base this off of Cheaper by the Dozen, if it wasn't obvious :P