One of the things that have characterized Hummel's work over the decades is the unmistakable humor. His scripts will tackle the most varied array of subjects, each more dramatic than the previous, and yet, at the end of the day, people are left laughing more often than not.

It was exactly this ability to bring independent "dramedy" back to the map that earned him the sort of recognition very few screenwriters enjoy – name five screenwriters that aren't also directors, I dare you. Many feared that, like most similar cases, Antonio had a limited amount of stories in him, and would easily peter out into one-hit wonder territory. But joke after joke, and heartfelt moment after heartfelt moment, Antonio Hummel was here to not only stay, but to further venture into TV and Theatre.

All the while, his specific and unmistakable tone has never faltered.

"Where do you feel like the humor comes from?"

He gives me a playful deadpan look. "When you have a family like I did, dull moments don't come by often. That's not always a good thing, sure, but more often than not it just taught us to loosen up and take things in stride."

Blaine is just about ready to throw a napkin over his head and pretend like he doesn't exist anymore. Or that they don't exist anymore. Why do they make the same mistake every year? Getting literally everyone together for Maria's birthday party is murder on his patience and overall well being. It's laboring under the blistering sun of an Ohio summer, while every part of their family offers their own two cents. Sure, they're all well-intentioned, and sometimes they're even right, but there are so many opinions that Blaine just wants to lock himself up in a dark room with a wet towel over his forehead and pretend he's a fragile lady from the nineteenth century with consumption. Kurt is getting his own psychopathic gleam in his eye.

Every year, by the end of it they decided that next year they'll hire and party planner and sit back, every year they go back on that because it doesn't feel special and organic. So many regrets.

And it's not even like Maria appreciates it that much, because she always ends up throwing another party in New York where all her friends are.

He spots Carole heading towards him with intent in her step, and skillfully disappears into the house. Why did they buy their holiday home in Ohio? Why did they think it was a good idea to be close to everyone?

He finds Kurt looking at an open closet, eyes squinted. "What are you doing?"

"Oh. Nothing. I'm pretending to do something so your mother won't interrupt me." He glances over his shoulder for signs of the nightmare. "You?"

"Same." Blaine leans against the wall.

"Party planner next year?"

"For sure." Blaine laughs.

Maria laughs too, turning the corner. "Yeah, right."

"Or you could do it." Kurt quirks an eyebrow. "Instead of pretending like this is a big favor you're doing us… Letting us throw you this party."

She smiles sweetly, the sarcasm of a fourteen-year-old well settled into her posture. "Daddy, thank you! For throwing a party for all of your friends."

Blaine bites his lip to keep from laughing. "And your family, you mean?"

She deflates somewhat, "I just think that every year you stress yourselves out for a party I'd be just as happy keeping small and simple. The real fun is back home, anyway." She kisses Kurt on the cheek before he can say anything back and hurries away from them.

Kurt turns to Blaine with a crazed glint in his eye.

"She has a point, you know?" Blaine shrugs. "She's growing up… family isn't everything anymore. Friends are the priority right now and that's… normal…? I don't remember wishing for a family birthday party when I was her age."

"Yeah, but your extended family was the worst."

"Because hers – which by the way is not even actual family - is much better? Rachel making her sing scales every time she sees her and evaluating her on it?"

"Rachel promised me she'd stop it."

"Ha!" Blaine rolls his eyes. "Besides, she hates being the center of attention, so what are we doing here?"

"Okay, fine… next year we keep it small. Just grandparents. And we do the big thing for the 4th of July."

Blaine kisses him soundly. "Okay, I'll go deal with my mother, and you go deal with Carole."

Kurt draws a big breath, sighs loudly and makes a face. Blaine puts his hands firmly on his shoulders and directs him towards the back garden. And that's when they hear it. The high pitched feedback from an electric guitar being plugged in.

"Did you hire a band?" Blaine frowns.

"I'm not that insane. That's more of your mom's league, okay?"

"Okay, can you stop hating on my mom for five seconds?"

Kurt opens his mouth to reply but he's interrupted when a familiar instrumental track starts playing – very, very loudly – and then the guitar too – very, very badly – and a voice starts singing – very, very off key. It's one of Blaine's first big hits, one of the first love songs he wrote for Kurt, and it's being very poorly covered by, from the sound of it, some teenage boy on their front lawn.

He hesitantly starts walking down the hallway to the front door, hand already reaching for the phone to call the police. This is not the first or the last time some crazy fan has tried to demonstrate their devotion to Blaine, but it is the first time it's happened here. And Blaine can't believe that now he'll have to keep security around even in his super secret, middle of nowhere family vacation home in insignificant Ohio.

He peeks over the curtain. Definitely a teenage boy, with a bad case of punk wannabe – which makes no sense, because that is definitely not Blaine's demographic. Everyone in the house has moved towards the windows to see what's happening, and he shrugs to every single one when they all inevitably asked them what's going on. He's about to call the police, when Maria zooms right past him, yanks the front door open and just sprints through the front lawn until she's reached the boy and his gear. She yanks at all the cables until the sound is gone.

The boy looks at her and Blaine cannot believe this.

His four-friggin-teen year old daughter was just serenaded by some punk-rocker wanna be with his own fucking song.

"Is what I think is happening actually happening?" Kurt gasps, as they look at Maria frantically gesturing between the boy and the house with a face so red that even from inside the house they can see it.

"Yeah." Blaine's not quite sure what the protocol in this situation is but he can't just stand there, can he?

Exchanging one last weirded out look with Kurt, he opens the front door and steps outside. He moves slowly, trying not to frighten the kids.

"Maria, honey…." He calls, "What's going on? Do you know this boy?"

Maria is frozen like a statue. Clearly mortified beyond words, and Blaine could melt with how adorable she looks, but he does have parenting to do. He hears Kurt stepping out behind him, as well.

Blaine walks over, still trying his best to look calm and cool. He reaches the boy and smiles as collectedly as he can without showing how ready he is to burst out laughing. "Hi. Can I ask you what this is about?"

The boy looks at him as if he's seeing a ghost. He can't be more than 15 – which is somewhat of a relief. His face is covered in spots and there's eyeliner and a fringe, and it's all so funny Blaine has no idea how much longer he can last. Probably longer than Kurt, though, who's already trying to mask his chuckles with a cough.

"You're… You're… Blaine Anderson."

"I am." Blaine nods, hands in his pockets and a small shrug for punctuation.

"What-? Why? Why are you here?"

"Well. We come here every June, kind of a family holiday retreat."

"What?"

"This is my house." Blaine clarifies, and barely manages not to laugh. "What are you doing here?"

"But this is her house. Maria's house."

"Um, it will be when I die."

"Brian, he's my dad." Maria whispers, her face beyond pink and into bright red.

Blaine didn't know it was possible for a kid to look more mortified, but Brian sure proves him wrong.

"Maria, honey, can you help us get up to speed on this?" Kurt interrupts. He seems to have gotten himself mostly under control.

She mumbles something inaudible, eyes fixed completely on her feet.

"What was that?"

"He's my boyfriend." Maria rolls her eyes and makes an almost good job of staring them down and waiting for them to start yelling at her for dating or whatever it is she's expecting of them.

"Oh…! Hi, Brian, is it?" the kid perks up and bravely attempts to look Blaine in the eye. He nods. Blaine holds out a hand, "It's nice to meet you, Brian. Come on inside. Your audience is probably eager to congratulate you on a great performance of a true classic, if I do say so myself."

"It's her favorite song."

"Brian, shut up!"

"Maria, don't be mean." Kurt teases. "It's cute that it's your favorite song. I like it too."

"I'm sorry." Brian says. "I just wanted to surprise her on her birthday… I didn't mean- I didn't know she…"

"Kid, it's all good. We've all been there." Blaine pats him on the back, and presses him gently to start walking. "But we have a party to prepare, so it's not like we can stand here all day, come on. You chose to do this, so now you gotta face the music, kiddo."

Maria looks at her dads like she wants to murder them both, but Kurt gives her a shrug and mouths "What? We're being nice!"

The moment they pass through the door, Antonio's riotous laughter is the first thing to hit. Blaine tries to shoot him a warning glare, but he's pretty sure he just ended up looking like he wanted to join in.

Later that night – when Brian had been sent on his way back home (with a phone call to his parents and all things checked out) - Maria is slightly less tongue-tied.

"I'm so breaking up with him!" She groans over dinner (which is mostly just detox soup from all the cakes and sweets). Everyone laughs; she shoots them a murderous glare. "I'm mortified. Why would he do something like this? Boys are so dumb."

"He's young and in love, sweetie!" Carole coos. "It's very sweet."

Antonio snorts and curls his lip in distaste. "It's creepy. And it's presumptuous. And entitled."

"Hey there, Mr. Thesaurus." John laughs, and turns to Blaine with a wink. "Just make sure to give her the talk."

"Ugh, Grandpa!" both Antonio and Maria are in synchrony over that one.

"You didn't give me the talk." Blaine shrugs. "I turned out fine."

"They didn't give you the talk?" Cooper balks. "They gave me the talk! Very thorough talk! It was traumatizing! This is so unfair."

"Your brother was very self-informed and responsible, Cooper." Claire shrugs, with a self-satisfied smile. "And he had a therapist who gave him the talk for us. It was bad enough giving you yours. We took the easy way out and there's no regrets."

Blaine nods. "That is true."

"I gave Kurt pamphlets." Burt smiles proudly.

"Don't remind me."

"Can we please stop this conversation?" Maria groans. "Like I said, I'm breaking up with him anyway. No need for any talk."

"Yeah, right." Antonio snickers. "I got one, you'll get one."

"We'll be the judges of that, sweetheart." Kurt winks, and she throws her spoon back in the bowl and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry, it won't be as bad as people make it out to be." Blaine smiles.

"Oh, yes it will."

"Antonio, shut up."

"You know your dad once broke up with a boyfriend by throwing sneakers at his head? And ripped his sutures right open in the process." Claire seems 100% proud of herself for turning every head towards her.

Blaine Anderson might be the most famous of Hummel's relatives, but he is certainly not the least. Hummel's family was not only numerous, when family friends are included, but also peppered with colorful characters like Broadway Diva Rachel Berry, or outspoken Women Right's lobbyist Tina Cohen-Chang. It's not hard to imagine how family gatherings may have looked more like his classes climatic scenes that any of them would care to admit.

"So, you have taken inspiration from your family, then?"

"Well, not necessarily in writing their stories, but definitely in mirroring the feeling of being them and with them." He gives me a pointed look as if to say "Don't go back to watch my films and start extrapolating." So, I push a little further for clarification. "They just had this great positive attitude to life and they were there for each other."

"Every family has their dysfunctions, but if you genuinely care about one another and take things as they come without always assuming the worst, then you can make it through all sorts of situations life puts you in. Some are easier than others, some are funny, and some not at all. But at the end of the day, my family made all of those worthwhile."

Blaine knocks softly on Antonio's door. He inches it open, and finds Antonio putting on a pair of socks, already half-dressed for the day.

"Hey, bud."

"Hey, dad." Antonio looks at him half-confused. "Am I late or something?"

"No, I just need to have a chat with you."

"Okay…" he says slowly, and Blaine makes sure to smile as reassuringly as possible. He sits on the bed, close to his son. "What's up?"

Blaine bites his lip and tries to choose the right words to start with. He takes at least two deep breaths before he manages to start. "So, this is a little… hum, last night your dad got some bad news."

Antonio's back goes ramrod straight and he turns fully to Blaine, eyes intent on his.

"You know he had a doctor's appointment. He's had a couple now, because of his stomach pains."

Antonio lets his breath out slowly. It isn't hard to see where this is going. "Oh…"

"Yesterday, he was told that there is definitely something there. We're waiting on the biopsy, but it looks like cancer."

"Shit."

"I know…" Blaine smiles sadly and squeezes his shoulder. "But listen, even if it is cancer, it's a very early stage, it's only in the stomach and the doctors seem extremely optimistic about it being operable and treatable. If it's as early on as it seems right now, he might not even have to do chemo. Right now, they're advising to just remove the stomach and leave it at that."

Now it's Antonio's turn to take a few deep breaths before he turns back to Blaine and attempts his own smile. "Okay, okay. That's good."

"It is." Blaine pulls him in for a second. "But your dad is scared. Understandably… His mother died of cancer. Not the same place, but still cancer, and she wasn't much older than he is now. So, if he seems a little down, just, you know…"

Antonio nods. "I know." He hugs Blaine again. "Thanks for telling me, dad."

"Just hug him extra tight."

"I will. Have you told Maria?"

Blaine nods. She took it better than expected, but still significantly worse than Antonio. "She cried. She's scared. But I think she just needs a little time to get her head around it. Don't worry."

"Okay. I won't."

"Do you think you could come down for breakfast?" Blaine stands up. "I will be making pancakes and I was hoping we could all eat together. It's been a while."

Antonio grabs a shirt from his chair and gestures for Blaine to go first. They walk silently downstairs to the kitchen, only to find Kurt already there, clinging tightly to Maria. As they approach, Kurt looks up, his face streaked with tears. He reaches for Antonio who joins their hug without hesitation.

"I'm so sorry." Kurt murmurs into his shoulder. "So sorry."

"What are you sorry for, dad?"

"You were finally having a good life, I just- I don't want it to-"

"Hey, hey, we'll keep having a great life, cuz this is gonna be alright, okay?"

"I…"

"Dad, it's early, and it's treatable. You'll be alright, okay?" Antonio stares Kurt down into a smile and Blaine can't help but feel so much warmer at that. He turns to his sister next, "Dad will be fine. Why are we all collapsing into tears here? It's going to fine, no need fore the melodrama."

Blaine catches his eyes and gives him a wink and a mouthed 'Thank you', before clapping his hands. "Alright, some awesome pancakes coming right up." He announces grabbing his apron. "Chocolate? Blueberries? Plain? Hit me with your orders!"

"Chocolate." Antonio and Maria say at the same time. "The answer is always chocolate, dad." Maria giggles as she wipes her tears.

Blaine rolls his eyes, "Silly me." He only stops on his way to the stove to land a deep, thorough kiss on Kurt. The kids complain, but he flips them off and makes a point of dipping Kurt, who completely ruins the effect by laughing and breaking the kiss.

We're going for the third round of coffee, so we switch to decaf and get some food. Hummel is sitting with legs crossed like a pretzel. He looks much younger than his 69 years. Just the fact that he can bend his legs that way at that age is unfair. I realize he is accidentally mimicking a classic Anderson picture from his own Vanity Fair profile piece in 2017.

"I'm surprised how much you remind me of your father, physically." I tell him, and I know this makes him happy.

"That's been a bit of theme in my life. Coming to terms with the fact that my biology wasn't theirs. Understanding that there's still other ways to have them in me. When I was a teenager it was just something that pained me. It hadn't sunk in what I had connecting me to them. I mean, we were a family, and there was so much love and unyielding support, for sure, but as a teenager you have all these existential problems going on and I had that extra anguish, that I just wanted to be completely theirs."

This is a theme that has indeed been integral to at least two of the feature films Hummel has penned, the second of which catapulted his career into the writing juggernaut that it is now, shining bright at all the right film festivals like Sundance, Toronto, and Berlin. The story of a young girl pushing herself to be as great a cook as her mother – but most importantly the story of someone pushing themselves towards a connection that at the end of the day was already there.

"You know, in my home if there was one thing that was expected of people, it was a good set of pipes. Both my dads had tremendous talent, of course, everyone knows that, but so did all of their friends and closest relations, which they'd kept from high school days in glee clubs. So, you know, when the singing started, I would just sit next to my grandpa and that was pretty much the only person I felt understood me on those days." He says this with more fondness than anything else. If it was ever a source of bitterness, it's not anymore. "Sometimes that was all it took to make me feel like an imposter in my own home. It was crazy, but there's not much control we had over those emotions – they're just inevitable."

Kurt thinks ever since he became a parent he's discovered a whole new level of being nervous – the level of being nervous for one's kid. Like the time he literally took a day off work because he couldn't cope with the stress of knowing Maria was stressed about taking her driver's exam for the fourth time.

He taps his fingers on his leg as he barely watches whatever kid is up on that stage. Next to him, somehow, Blaine is being a functioning adult, and actually paying attention and appreciating every piece performed.

"How can you be so calm? This could be huge for him. He could get so many scholarships, so many offers…"

Blaine chuckles "I know what's at stake. But I'm not nervous because he's been practicing night and day, and I know he's going to kill it. He always does."

"Ugh." Kurt sticks his tongue out and cranes his neck to check on Antonio, sitting in the front row, waiting his turn. Only, Antonio isn't there. "Where did he go? He's up next!"

This does make Blaine falter. They discreetly look around the entire theatre, but Antonio is nowhere to be seen.

"Maria, where's your brother?"

She looks at the two of them and then checks to see what they're talking about. When she notices, she frowns and then shrugs. "No idea… He was there like two minutes ago."

The boy on stage is hitting the last few keys on the piano. Kurt turns to Tina and Alice and keeps his voice at the polite whisper, "Guys, did you see where Nio disappeared off to?"

Tina frowns and double-checks his empty seat. "I didn't see him leave. He probably went to the bathroom…?"

Alice quirks her eyebrow, but she doesn't say anything. Instead, she fishes out her phone and starts typing away just as the applause for the current performer breaks out.

"Shit." Kurt gasps.

He looks to see Blaine standing up and gently, but quickly heading towards the exit. He follows.

They get some disapproving glares, but they eventually make it to the door when Antonio's name is called. They pause for a second to check if he's going to appear last second, but when he doesn't they push the door open and step out into the theatre hallway. It's empty safe for a staff member rushing past.

Kurt grabs his own phone, but then Alice steps out right behind them.

"He freaked out." She tells him, as if she's commenting on the weather. She squeezes past the two of them. "He's having a panic attack, or whatever, I got this."

She doesn't even wait for a response before she takes off clearly knowing where she's going.

"He's what?!" Kurt gasps, following her at once, Blaine on his heels.

"I got it, Kurt." She reiterates, and as they turn a corner, they can see him at the end of the hallway, sitting on the floor, back to the wall and head between his knees.

"Nio!"

Kurt and Blaine start toward him at once, but Alice puts one hand on each of their chests. "No offence, but I doubt what he needs is a pep talk from the source of the problem, so. I got this."

Kurt can't even think for a second. "Excuse me?!"

But she's already halfway there and Blaine holds him back.

"What did she just say?"

"Kurt, take it easy." Blaine's tone is slightly urgent, as Antonio is looking up and he does seem to get more stressed when he spots them. Blaine takes Kurt's hand and pulls him back until they've disappeared out of sight.

"Did she just call us the source of the problem? What the hell?!"

"Kurt – calm down."

"What's even happening? This morning everything was fine! There wasn't even any problem, let alone a source for it!"

"Well, given that our kid has his head between his legs and is currently skipping the most important recital he's had so far…" Blaine gives him a tight smile. "We have to accept the chance that there might be a problem. One that we're not aware of… and if he hasn't talked to us about it…"

"And he's talked to her about it?! He hates her."

Blaine rolls his eyes. "He does not. He hates her like Santana hates Rachel. Which is not at all. Don't be silly."

Kurt opens his mouth but when he tries to think of things to shoot back he can't. He deflates for a moment. "I know. But still… what the hell is happening?"

Blaine sighs and shrugs. "I don't know, but I do suspect she's right. I doubt we're the right people to talk to him right now. So…"

"So, now what?"

"We wait." Blaine scrunches up his nose and then crouches down and sits on the floor. Kurt considers it for two minutes before he groans and does the same.

They look like an absolute pair of losers.

After five minutes, Alice pokes her head round the corner and gives them a slightly apologetic smile.

"So, the big baby can't really talk to you guys right now. I'm just gonna take him for ice-cream. Okay?"

"What? No, not okay." Kurt glares.

She sighs and her smile is fully strained. "Uncle Kurt, this isn't a request. Take my mom home, and we'll take our car. He'll talk to you later, but right now he's just being a sissy and he needs to get it together."

Blaine puts his hand on Kurt's shoulder before he can argue back. "Okay, Allie." He stands up with a grunt. "Try not to stay out too late." He takes out his wallet and grabs a couple bills. "Dinner's on us."

She grins and takes the money. "Score."

Blaine gives her a fond, but exasperated smile before he turns back to Kurt.

"Cmon, love. Let's get back home."

"But what about his performance?"

Blaine might as well be Alice right now with the look he gives him.

"Ha!" Alice laughs. "That ship has sailed."

Blaine chuckles, takes Kurt hands and starts pulling him back to the door. He addresses Alice over his shoulder. "Just get him back home some time, and tell him we're just confused, not at all angry."

Alice gives him a mock salute and disappears back towards Antonio.

"Speak for yourself," Kurt mutters. "I'm a little angry. He just threw away his best shot at the best programs in the country, and now he's refusing to talk to us and tell us why."

He knows he sounds like a petulant child and not the 40 year old man he is, and Blaine is clearly not letting that slide. He gives him a deadpan look and continues on his way back to their row. Kurt just shoves his hands in his pockets and waits for Blaine to signal Maria and Tina to join them.

Once they're home, Maria is freaking out about as much as Kurt – which makes him feel slightly better until he realizes that he's having the same reactions as a sixteen year old girl. He finds it in himself to calm down and tell her to stop being dramatic. He avoids Blaine's eyes because he's pretty sure Blaine is laughing at him on the inside.

Eventually, after they have dinner (take-out since they'd been planning on going out for dinner to celebrate), Maria goes off to her bedroom and Blaine simply gives Kurt a meaningful look and walks slowly to the couch. He pats the seat next to him and Kurt sighs loudly and makes a show of his sacrifice when he sits.

"It's a sad day when our daughter and I behave the same way." Kurt chuckles.

Blaine drops his head to Kurt's shoulder and snuggles close. "Admitting is the first step."

"Shut up."

"It was an intense day." Blaine shrugs and winds his arm with Kurt's, squeezing his hand. "Everyone was nervous from the start. High stakes…"

Kurt nods and kisses the top of Blaine's head. They sit in silence for a while. Kurt would've thought Blaine had fallen asleep, but every time he glances down to check he finds him chewing his lip, his eyes wide open.

Finally, Kurt can't help himself. "He had a panic attack…?" he gasps, his heart breaking at the thought of his son going through those kinds of feelings.

Blaine breathes in deeply and cuddles in. "It'll be okay."

"We're the source of the problem?"

"Love…" Blaine pulls back and takes Kurt's face between his head. "We're good parents. Whatever it is, it will be okay."

Kurt nods, but his chest is still hurting. "I still… can't stand waiting like this. He's gonna give me a panic attack."

Blaine smirks. "One might even say, you don't have the stomach for this."

"Oh my god, Blaine!" Kurt practically yells – but he can feel the laughter coming. Blaine is looking triumphant already, hand sneakily going under Kurt's shirt to tickle him over the scar. Kurt makes a theatrical, but useless attempt to stop it. "It's been like two years – that joke has got to go."

"That joke is golden." Blaine continues his tickling, even though it's more of a heavy groping by now.

"It's not fair because there are no jokes for missing kidneys." Kurt pouts and Blaine kisses it off.

At least he's definitely taken Kurt's mind off his own anxiety, and Kurt is more than happy to give into it. He sneaks his hand across the couch, curls it around a pillow and swiftly smacks Blaine over the head with it. Blaine pulls back with a dramatic gasp and tries to pry the pillow away from Kurt's hands. They're locked in a struggle for it when the sound of a key sliding into the lock stops them in their tracks.

They jump apart, just as it opens, and Kurt just barely manages to pull his shirt back down before Antonio appears.

"Hey…"

"Hey, buddy." Blaine smiles his 'I'm trying not to pressure you into anything but I want us to talk' smile.

Kurt is less careful. "Nio, can we have a sit down and talk about today?"

"If that's okay." Blaine adds, and Kurt shoots him a half-glare.

Antonio takes a deep breath and holds it in for a while. Finally, he nods, exhales and crosses the living room to where they are. He sits on the coffee table in front of them, wringing his hands together and staring at his feet.

"I don't want to do this anymore." He finally says. Kurt stays silent, knowing better than to start pressing now. Blaine seems to share his opinion, because he just leans down to try and catch Antonio's eye and smile. "The piano, I mean. And the music… just in general. I don't… I can't do it anymore."

"Oh." It's a reflex and Kurt kind of regrets it, but Antonio is now looking at him kind of waiting for a reaction. He flounders. "I- we thought that's what… you loved. You've been playing since you were nine."

Antonio bites his lip and shakes his head minutely. "It's what you guys love."

"What?"

"I wanted to have something with you two, and… when dad asked me if he wanted him to teach me I said yes, because I thought it'd make him happy."

Kurt glances at Blaine to realize he's suddenly looking very pale, and this whole thing is about to invert. He slips his hand into Blaine's.

"And then it made me happy!" Antonio hastens to add when he too must notice the way Blaine's eyes have gone wide with panic. He goes back to looking at the floor, but the words are flowing out of him a mile a minute. "I really liked it! But I liked it because I was doing it with you, and we were connecting. I just wanted you guys to be proud of me, and every time I nailed a new piece, you were, and I just… I kept going because I started feeling like I needed that. But then all of those fancy teachers, and the summer camps, and… I don't… I can't do it for the rest of my life. It's just not what I love, and I know that's disappointing to you, but I… I was looking up at that stage and at all those scouts in the front row and I freaked. I couldn't. I can't. I just can't pretend anymore."

Antonio makes a visible effort to look at them and he gasps when he looks at Blaine. Kurt does too and, shit. He's crying. Antonio's eyes go bright at once, and this is turning into a disaster fast.

"I'm sorry, dad, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to disappoint you, I didn't, I'm sorry. I-"

"No!" Blaine mumbles and makes a valiant effort at composing himself, quickly wipes his tears away. "Of course you didn't. I'm not disappointed in you, Nio. Not one bit. I'm disappointed in myself."

"What? No-, this is stupid. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I did if you thought you needed to keep doing something you didn't love for me. To connect with me."

"With us." Kurt corrects him, his own throat a little tight.

"No, you guys aren't… No. That's not it – or at least not anymore. I just… things with Maria for you were always so easy, and I just wanted it to be like that. And… it was. The first time we sat down at a piano, and the first time I played an entire song for you both, and… I felt like I was your son."

Blaine buries his face in his hands, and even though Kurt knows it's all he can do, it doesn't help with Antonio who's looking guiltier by the second. He takes Antonio's hands in his. "You were always our son. We loved you, and you loved us and that was all it took. It still is."

"Did we not give you that feeling?" Blaine whispers, sounding scared of the answer.

"Of course you did! But that's exactly why I wanted it! To be part of you! To be yours, like… 100% yours. I was so happy here and I was proud to be your son, but I had no idea what I did to deserve it, and I was just…"

He doesn't find the rest of the sentence because Blaine just grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him into a crushing hug. Antonio gives in at once, and before Kurt knows what happened Antonio is sobbing, and even though there's no way of knowing Kurt has a feeling it's relief pouring out of him. Kurt smiles and cards his fingers through Antonio's hair. The boy turns his head to look at Kurt, letting his cheek rest against Blaine's shoulder.

"Whatever you want to do, we're right behind you. It's not your job to be who we want you to be. It's our job to be there for who you want to be. Okay?"

Antonio nods and swallows thickly. "Thank you. I was… I just… I didn't know how to… Thank you."

"You can choose anything. As long as it's what you want."

Antonio screws his eyes closed, and clings harder.

"You know what I just realized?" Kurt whispers, and both Antonio and Blaine pull back enough to look at him properly. Kurt reaches out to wipe his son's tears away. "We never sang you a lullaby."

Antonio sputters a laugh.

"No, I'm serious. We used to sing them for your sister every night, but you were skittish at first and then too old for it to be cool, so we never sang you a lullaby." He smiles and pats his lap. Antonio rolls his eyes and starts coming up with a refusal, but Kurt will have none of it. "Come on." He pulls a pillow onto his lap and stares Antonio down until the boy is maneuvering his body, his head on Kurt's lap and his feet on Blaine's.

Kurt buries his fingers in his hair before he draws breath.

"There was a boy," he starts and Blaine reaches over to take his hand and join him, "a very strange enchanted boy," their sing it in a soft whisper. "They say he wandered very far, very far, over land and sea." He brushes Antonio's hair off his forehead, and smiles as he sings, "A little shy, and a sad of eye, but very wise was he."

"And then one day, one magic day he passed my way," if their voices break on the word magic, it's only understandable, "and while we spoke of many things, fools and kings, this he said to me," Blaine slides from under Antonio's legs, until he's kneeling right in front of him, hand over Kurt's on his cheek, "the greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved, in return."

They finish slowly, and as softly as they started, Antonio smiles and nods his understanding.

"Music doesn't have to be your thing." Blaine tells him. "It's ours, sure, but it's not the only thing we love, and if it's not yours there's plenty of other ways for us to connect. Most of all because we love each other. And we like each other."

"Okay." Antonio breathes. "Thank you. Thank you for getting it. I'm also just… scared, because I have no idea what I do want. Like, seriously, guys. No idea. I'm sorry I wasted so much time…"

"No time wasted." Kurt tells him, bringing a lighthearted tone back to his voice. "You're young. So young! You have your whole life ahead of you, and you're going to figure it out."

"And have fun doing it."

"Okay…." Antonio lets out a long breath and pushes himself back to sitting. "God. I feel like I could sleep for a week now. Like… So much better, but still for like a week at least."

They all chuckle and Blaine stands up, offering him a hand up as well. "Go to bed and get some rest. Don't worry about anything tonight."

With a nod and half a smile Antonio starts towards the bedrooms. Kurt and Blaine watch him leave. He can sense that Blaine is still not 100% recovered himself and he knows they'll stay up all night talking. He gets up and heads to the alcohol cabinet, just as Antonio pauses halfway up the stairs.

"I'm really glad I'm your son."

I mention how he still managed to find his own way to make art. Not necessarily follow in his father's footsteps but keep connected to creation. This makes him laugh and sigh wistfully. Is there every any other option, when you're surrounded with talent everywhere?

"In a way, I've always admired my sister and her ability to not let our sort of weird, larger than life family mess with her head."

Maria Hummel has always been the most elusive member of the family – more elusive even than her grandparents or her borrowed cousin, Alice, who have never truly shied away from social media or any sort of spotlight when it comes.

"I don't know if I acted as a buffer for her, or if she's just that much more sure of herself – probably the second option, if I'm being honest – but she found her place in our home with just so much ease and almost no personality crisis." He laughs self-deprecatingly, making it clear that was not his case at all.

"She was younger, which makes things easier, sure. But she was also never interested in being anyone other than herself, which made my parents' life easier as well. They just had to support her choices, because they didn't need to worry if it was for anyone other than herself."

His admiration for Maria is very clear. He stresses how it's remarkable when kids in families like theirs – where everyone is a creative force with ambition larger than life – manage to not let that set their future. He has a point. When was the last time a celebrity's kid didn't try their hand at acting or a hit single?

Kurt raises his glass of champagne as he stands. "Maria, here's to years of hard work and brilliance! We're so proud of how well you've done! I'm sure wherever you go next we'll be just as good, if not a better adventure!"

"Hear, hear!" John beams.

Everyone around the table gives their own little word of agreement, and lean over to clink glasses together. Maria's cheeks are nice and pink, so Kurt pushes it no further. His work as an embarrassing dad is done. He's just lucky his daughter is this averse to any and all sorts of attention.

"Thanks, dad."

"But, if you want to pretend you're an ordinary kid out of college with no clear future plan and come back home for a bit, that's alright, too." Blaine winks, and Kurt nods vehemently.

Everyone laughs some more.

"Okay, don't start acting like we're neglecting you guys." Antonio gives them an exasperated smile.

"Yeah, dad. We're all practically neighbors."

"You made sure of that." Antonio downs his last sip of champagne, and then smiles wider, mirthful. "And don't forget I overheard you tell Aunt Tina that it was nice to get the whole house back to yourselves and your nasty sex addicted ways."

"Ew! Nio! We were supposed to forget about that."

Blaine has the decency to blush, but Kurt is past that point. He smiles to himself and mentally high fives in congratulatory fashion.

"I remember those times, too." Claire pretends to sigh and swoon. "When Blaine left for college! It was like a whole new world. Or at least one we'd forgot about."

"Grandma." Antonio gives her a harsh look, and John facepalms.

"You opened the pits of hell." Blaine shoots back at him.

"I am a sad, dumb person." Antonio nods, and tops up his glass with the rest of the champagne.

"Rude." Kurt mutters, receiving a teasing wink from his son in reply, as he raises the glass to his lips.

The waiter approaches, noticing the empty bottle. "Shall I get you another bottle?"

As much as Kurt would love some more delicious fizzy alcohol, he sighs, looking around the table and noticing every plate is mostly empty. "No, thank you. Just the check, please."

They talk for a little bit more before eventually leaving the restaurant, and going for a walk around Central Park. Carole calls so she and Burt can talk for a little bit with Maria and apologize for not feeling well enough to come and make her promise to visit soon, and right after they bid goodbye, she gets another phone call and disappears for a little while. The only reason no one teases her about her boyfriend Jace is because she's suffered enough – a whole day dedicated to celebrating her achievements is like a special brand of torture designed specifically for her. Instead, Claire and John bid them goodbye and go to their own small New York apartment, while Kurt and Antonio start deciding on the movie they're going to watch back home.

"Why are you debating this?" Blaine is lying on his back in the grass and taking in the sun. "It's her day, her choice."

"She has terrible taste."

"She's always had terrible taste." Kurt agrees. "I don't know what we did. It must be genetic."

"Excuse you." Antonio shoves at him playfully. "I have excellent taste."

"She does it on purpose." Blaine shrugs.

Kurt laughs. "I wish she did. I wouldn't feel so guilty about raising someone like that."

"No," Blaine opens one eye so he can give Kurt a look. "She really does it on purpose. She told me."

"What? No, she doesn't. Why would she do that? If she hates those as much as we do, she's torturing herself for what?"

"The knowledge that you two intellectual snobs are suffering." Blaine closes his eyes back up, a hint of a smug smile playing on his lips.

"You're full of shit."

The smile blooms fully. "She told me that that time I picked her up when she was super drunk at that frat party. She was scared we were going to be disappointed in her and I was trying to do the whole 'we're not mad, we're just glad you're safe and to prove it we can just watch a movie and bond' thing, and she said she didn't want to watch another shitty movie just to mess with you guys that night."

Kurt and Antonio both gasp in outrage, Blaine only smiles wider.

"What's up, guys?" Maria's voice cuts in, as she approaches them again.

"Traitor!"

"You have tarnished the sanctity of movie bonding with your petty mind games of pseudo karma!" Kurt accuses, standing up so it can carry a little more weight.

Her shoulders drop and she turns to Blaine.

"You told them?!"

He finally moves, grunting a little as he sits all the way up. "They were insulting you," he offers. "You should have heard the kind of low blows. Sometimes they really have to know what you're punishing them for, hon. Otherwise it doesn't work – it just reflects badly on you."

She doesn't look entirely assuaged, but she rolls her eyes and shrugs. "Whatever, it's still my choice and we're totally watching a Razzie winner."

Blaine laughs as he starts standing up but Kurt pushes him back down. Antonio laughs, and Kurt feels significantly better.

"Rude." Blaine mutters, making a show of getting back up. Kurt gives him his own smug smirk, and Blaine reaches out to grab his wrist and pull him close enough to lick his cheek.

"Gross!" Kurt wipes it with his sleeve and before he knows it Blaine is yanking him close again, but this time he kisses his cheek.

Antonio comes and stands firmly between them, and everyone laughs. The conversation turns back to berating Maria all the way back home. However, she has not budged in her resolution by the time they get there and Blaine is still firmly in support of her trickery as he refuses to change the film while she excuses herself to use the bathroom.

Kurt decides that if he's going to suffer through it he might as well change into his comfiest pajamas, and goes upstairs for it. Blaine asks him to bring his own but Kurt tells him he doesn't help traitors, and Blaine must not want his pajamas that bad.

Blaine is calling for them to just hurry up, when Kurt is coming back to the living room, bare feet padding against the hardwood floor, when he's passing Maria's room and hears an alarm go off and then a very distinctive, "Shit." It doesn't sound silly or simple.

He hesitates, but in the end he can't help it. He knocks softly and opens the door. He does so in time to see Maria scrambling in a panic, looking for something. She freezes as she notices him. And then he freezes as he notices what she's holding. A thin, white stick. A very unmistakable type of white stick.

"Maria?!" He gasps. "Is that-"

She comes back to life and hurriedly dumps it in the trash.

"Are you pregnant?"

She looks back at him with wide, panicked eyes.

"Honey… are you pregnant?"

"What?!" Blaine's voice makes both of them jump. He's standing right at the landing, looking at Kurt in pretty much the same way he'd just been looking at Maria.

"Fuck." Maria breaks the silence. "I'm just gonna go."

"What? Honey, no!" Kurt manages to grab her elbow as she pushes past him. "What's going on? Why were you taking a pregnancy test?"

"I knew I should've waited till the morning for it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it." Maria mutters as she gently shakes her arm of his grip and walks around Blaine, towards the stairs. "Sorry, guys. I'm just…"

"No, Maria, you're not." Blaine hurries to follow her. "You're not going home, because we need to talk about this."

She stops and looks back at them. "There's nothing for us to talk about, dad. I'm pregnant!"

Kurt can't even filter his words. "But how is that even possible? Jace is trans!"

"We were on a break!" She practically yells – which is a clear sign of her distress. She never yells. "We were on a break and I'm an idiot and I made a mistake."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"You broke up with Jace?" Blaine frowns. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Is that really the pressing issue right now?" She deadpans. "We didn't break up, we took some time apart, and I didn't tell you because you like worship the ground he walks on, and I know you'd be disappointed, and now he's definitely going to dump me forever, and you're definitely disappointed."

"What?" Kurt inches closer, afraid to scare her into flight again. "Honey, we don't worship- okay, that's silly, we wouldn't be disappointed in you for breaking up with Jace. We like him, but if it's not working out, then that's what it is."

"And we're not disappointed now." Blaine adds. "We just want to talk. So… can we?"

She looks at them like she's considering just bolting, but instead she sags and nods, turning to go downstairs like a defeated soul. Kurt and Blaine exchange a glance, and Kurt's relieved to find Blaine just as clueless as he is.

They reach the living room to find Antonio has absolutely overheard everything and is about as awkward as anyone would be in that situation, but they persevere. Everyone takes a seat, and Kurt turns off the TV.

The conversation starts slow and stilted. It's hard to know what to think, let alone say. But eventually Kurt can feel himself and Blaine finding their footing.

"This isn't exactly our first surprise pregnancy." Kurt tells her. "And when Aunt Tina got knocked up we were kids, scared and kinda broke."

"I know…" Maria mutters.

"And we still made it work, so…" Blaine gives her one of those smiles that makes anyone feel so much better, "We're here for everything you need."

"I know…" she says again. And then she slowly lifts her eyes to look at them. Kurt can see her gathering courage. "But what if I don't want it?"

"Our help?" Blaine frowns before Kurt can stop him.

"No. The…" Maria swallows, and Kurt schools his features to remain neutral. "The baby. What if I don't want to keep it?"

"Oh." Blaine's eyebrows rise and for a moment Kurt holds his breath, and then thankfully there's no deep frown, instead he nods. "Okay. I'm sorry, of course. That's an option, too."

"If you feel like that's the right thing to do, Maria…" Kurt reaches over for her hand, "We're going to support you in whatever you choose to do now."

Some of the tension in her bones dissipates. "Do you think… do you think it's selfish of me to have an…? I mean, I-"

"No." Antonio interrupts. "It's not. You and I both know, it's not."

She looks at him and nods, yet more relief sipping in. "I don't know… but… I think… I just. I need to think about it, alone."

"Okay." Kurt smiles.

"But when I saw… that it was positive… all I could think about was where… where the nearest clinic was." She looks up at them with wet eyes.

Kurt slides over to her and gathers her up in his arms.

Antonio reaches over and takes her hand. "There's no wrong or right answer, here. The only mistake would be not doing what you feel like you need to."

"It's your life." Blaine offers softly.

She nods and buries herself further into Kurt.

They end up watching the film, in the end. And then a few others, two weeks later, while Maria holds a bottle of hot water to her stomach and falls in and out of sleep curled up in the couch. Kurt and Antonio never again criticize her choices, but she still enjoys forcing everyone through a little torture – especially because she knows that more often than not they actually enjoy them, just not enough to relinquish the dignity of being snobs.