A/N So very sorry that it took so long for me to post this after the prologue but I wanted to make sure I did a decent job on the first chapter and made it actually a significant length. I'm still not totally satisfied with this, but this week has been absolutely all kinds of insane so I'm afraid it's the best I can do for now. Thank you so much to all who already have so much faith in my story before I've hardly started writing it. I love you all and hope I do you justice! I adore your feedback, please don't be hesitant to review, even if it's just a sentence, and tell me what you think. Thank you! xoxox
Blaine looked around the airport warily, a light duffel bag slung over his shoulder, a diaper bag in his right hand, and his left arm curled protectively around the back of the infant who was already strapped to the front of his chest securely by a dark blue wrap carrier. Blaine had done all his research when picking out a carrier for the infant. He had wanted the most comfortable yet secure carrier he could find and had finally settled on this one. Feeling Charlie's heartbeat against his own chest was the most reassuring feeling in the world.
Charlie. That was what Blaine had decided to name Sam and Brittany's baby. He'd been surprised when they told him they wanted him to name the baby, but then again, he was the father, which still, admittedly, felt weird to say. He had picked the name partly because Charles was a distinguished name, and he thought the little guy needed to have something going for him in this tough world. Also, Charles Dickens just happened to be Blaine's favorite author. He had read A Christmas Carol every single December growing up, and Great Expectations had just about changed his life when he picked it up in high school. He had felt like Pip sometimes. So misunderstood and like all of society was out to get him. So Charles had seemed like the perfect name, especially since there was the nickname of Charlie and it just seemed to fit the little guy the moment Blaine said it. He could've sworn Charlie sighed in contentment.
Now, Blaine felt incredibly on edge, as he stood in the middle of JFK with people swarming around him frantically, the tiny infant and him lost in a sea of people, all babbling in different languages, dragging along bulky luggage, and shoving anyone who got in their way. Whoever had told him it would be a good idea to fly with an 8 week old was absolutely out of their mind. Blaine found the whole experience nerve-wracking. Fortunately the flight from Ohio to New York City wasn't incredibly long. Blaine had seen the expressions of wariness and even outright loathing as soon as he had entered the plane with Charlie in tow. Nobody wanted to fly with a baby, and Blaine had always sympathized right along with those people. But now that it was himself with the baby, it was a whole different animal. He prayed to God that Charlie wouldn't start crying during the flight. In fact, it'd be lovely if he just slept the whole way.
But of course, that hadn't been the case. A few minutes after take off, as the plane began to reach new heights and new levels of air pressure, the painful tension in Charlie's little ears woke him up and he decided to announce his discomfort to the rest of the passengers on the plane with an ear-shattering scream. Blaine had been beyond embarrassed but nothing at all that he could do seemed to calm Charlie down. At least the lady seated next to him had been kind. She had been older, close to her sixties maybe, and clucked her tongue softly as Charlie settled into a stream of steady weeping, snot getting all over Blaine's sweater.
"Poor Dear. I can't say I blame him. I don't like flying very much either," she said sympathetically, smiling a little bit at Blaine, whose eyes were wary and tired.
"Does he cry often?"
"All the time," Blaine said with a slight groan. "It's been two months since I've had more than a consecutive hour's worth of sleep."
"Ah, I remember those days all too well. I know it's exhausting but- don't wish it away too fast. Hard as it is to believe, you'll find yourself missing it someday. Sooner than you think. You'll even miss the crying," she said with a slight laugh.
Blaine smiled back. "I guess we'll see about that."
"Where's his mother?" The woman inquired, then added, "If you don't mind my asking. You look awfully young to have a son."
"He's not mine." Blaine shook his head. The woman looked at him in confusion.
"Well, I mean, he is mine. But I adopted him. I guess he hasn't really got a mother."
"You adopted him? Why on earth? How old are you Young Man?"
"Eighteen," Blaine answered, ducking his head in embarrassment as a bright blush spread across his cheeks.
The woman exhaled loudly. "Eighteen. My God. The children these days. Why you really are just a kid yourself. Please tell me this isn't some new trend Oprah's doing an expose on or something. Teenagers adopting babies. After that teen pregnancy pact? It's just all too much."
Blaine chucked tiredly. "No, no, it's not a pact. I did it as sort of a- favor to a friend. He and his girlfriend couldn't keep Charlie, but, well, something told me I was meant to have him, to take care of him. So here we are." Blaine leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the soft skin that covered the top of Charlie's fragile skull. It was covered with almost platinum blonde downy wisps, and Charlie had the biggest baby blues Blaine thought he'd ever seen.
"That is quite an amazing commitment," the woman said, and Blaine couldn't tell if that was disapproval in her voice or shocked admiration, or both. "Now how do you plan to support him?"
"Well, I've got plenty of money in my trust fund to support him once I turn 21, but I'm hoping not to have to dip into most of that. I'd like to put it away for his college fund if he wants. So for now, I have a sizeable chunk of money I made working my tail off a home for the past several months. And when we get to the city, I have some friends to stay with until I can get on my feet. So I'll be fine."
The woman smiled but didn't look so convinced. "I do hope you have some saint of a girlfriend running around somewhere in the city, just waiting to take you and this little sweetheart under her arm. A baby needs a mother's love you know. And a man needs a good woman to take care of him, at that."
Blaine felt himself flushing awkwardly. He'd been out and proud for years now, but it was still always awkward when the subject came up around strangers. He could never know how they would take it when he revealed that he was gay. And if this woman was disgusted by him, it could make for a hell of an awkward remaining plane ride.
"I don't have any girlfriend," he replied, shaking his head. "I'm actually single right now. But an ex of mine lives in the city, so I'm going to see if we might be able to work things out." Blaine was careful to avoid using pronouns. He felt cowardly, and ashamed of himself, because he knew he had gone out of his way to hide it, but now that he had Charlie, he was even more aware of the hate that could be directed at gays. It seemed like there was a special brand of hate reserved for gay dads. And as much as he had always been a passionate believer in proclaiming his sexuality to the world so that they would know he was not ashamed, having a child changed everything. Now, everything that Blaine did was in order to protect Charlie, or revolved around how it might affect Charlie. He knew that his son would have a harder life than other kids, just because his dad was gay, but he wanted to try to shield him from the hate as long as he possibly could. He shook his head and sighed to himself. He was already becoming a protective father.
He had almost forgotten about the woman seated next to him, so lost as Blaine was in his reverie, until she opened her mouth in response to his statement. "Well for you and that baby's sake, I hope things work out with your ex. It's pure hell trying to be a single parent these days. Believe me I know."
"Thanks," Blaine said, biting back a sigh, because her words hadn't really held much of the encouragement that the woman seemed to have thought they would. He snuggled Charlie in closer to his chest and gently stroked the top of the infant's head. Charlie had finally begun to slow his wailing somewhat, he was now only letting out a soft cry. Most of the passengers had their complementary headphones on by now. Blaine was grateful for that.
"Shh Baby Boy," he whispered soothingly, continuing to caress his son's hair. "We'll be there soon. We're going to love it there. I can already tell. There are parks to play in and so many people to see and…well I just know everyone's going to fall in love with you."
By everyone of course, Blaine only meant one person. But he didn't dare say his name out loud. He still wasn't sure if this was the best or most completely idiotic idea he had ever had in his life, but he supposed he would find out soon enough. It was his last chance to fix things, to win back the love of his life. His ex-boyfriend didn't have a particular adoration for babies necessarily, but Blaine wasn't sure how anybody could say no to Charlie when they looked into that sweet little face, or felt his tiny fingers wrap trustingly around theirs. Then again, he was probably biased. But he had to hope. Had to hope that once the older boy saw Blaine, saw him with a baby, being so responsible and needing his help, that his heart would soften and he would let him back in. He could only hope.
Now, looking around crowded JFK, Blaine was feeling overwhelmed not only by all of the people, but by the speedily dwindling hours until he would be standing in front of that door where he had spent so many heartbreaking moments standing this whole past year. What if he was rejected immediately, without even a second glance? Where would he go? It was true he had the trust fund money, but he wouldn't have access to it for another almost three years. And while he had saved up all that money while working at home, he knew that New York City was expensive and it wouldn't be long before the money was gone completely. It would've been much smarter to get an apartment in Lima and simply try to raise Charlie there, where he had a support system he could easily fall back on whenever necessary. But Blaine needed a new start, and Charlie was only part of it. They both deserved to have a bigger life than the one that had been mapped out for them, and New York City seemed like the perfect place to start.
"Now if only your daddy could just man up and go talk to his old friends," Blaine said to Charlie, who was sleeping contentedly now against his chest. Blaine had developed this habit quickly, of constantly talking to Charlie, almost more to comfort himself than really to try and communicate with the baby. Charlie was really all he had anymore. His parents had officially cut ties with him once they discovered his plan's to adopt his best friend's baby and move to New York. They weren't so cruel as to dissemble his trust fund; it remained in tact and waiting for him when the time came, but he could only access it on the condition that he never contacted or came to his parents for anything else ever again. They wanted nothing to do with their gay son who had fully embraced his disgusting lifestyle, despite the fact that the boy he had been "dating" had dumped him months ago. And more than that, they definitely wanted nothing to do with the bastard excuse for a grandchild that wasn't even related to them and wasn't even really Blaine's. That had been the last straw and Blaine had walked out gratefully then, not once looking back. People who didn't accept his son as part of their lives were people he didn't want in his life anyway.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Kurt Hummel was in a hurry that morning. It was the end of August and he was all in a flurry. Term would be starting up at NYADA again soon and right now he was trying to prepare for the fall semester as well as continue to throw himself into his internship at Vogue dot come, which was looking like it might turn into a job offer any day now. Kurt wasn't sure if he would accept, but his time spent at Vogue would certainly look good on his resume, and no one would be able to deny how impressive it was that a 19-year-old had been offered a permanent position at Vogue dot com, regardless of whether or not he took it.
Meanwhile, his roommate Rachel was driving him crazy. Ever since she had broken up with her boyfriend Brody, and their third roommate Santana had moved out, she had really gone off the deep end, consuming herself with her work even more than usual. It was constant singing and dancing and practicing and rehearing and just tense, tense energy in their apartment. Kurt wasn't sure how much more of it he could handle.
While he had initially been reluctant to have Santana move in, he had come to enjoy her presence in their home and now had to admit that he actually missed having her around. She was entertaining and fun; they surprisingly had a lot of the same interests, and since the love of her life was far away back in Ohio too, she and Kurt could really relate to each other. They had actually gotten quite close while she had been living with them, after a few initial setbacks. But then, during a visit to her parents several months ago, Santana had returned to New York with a smile on her face, tears glistening in her usually hardened coffee-colored eyes.
"Brittany and I are back together," was all she would say, giving out no other details to her two overly-curious roommates.
"But how? Why?" Kurt asked. By going and dating Sam, Brittany had betrayed Santana in almost the same way that Blaine had betrayed Kurt. He couldn't help but feel a little bit like Santana was being a traitor, just taking her ex back like that with no questions or qualms. They had bonded over being mutually mistreated and now- she was just running back to Brittany like nothing had ever happened? Kurt knew it was stupid, but he was hurt in spite of himself. And it didn't help that Santana wouldn't reveal any further information.
"Brittany needs me right now. She still loves me. And I still love her. Nothing else matters. I need to be with her. I love you guys, but I have to go. I promise we'll come visit," she had said with a smile as she swept all of her things into suitcases.
"I can't believe you're doing this!" Kurt had yelled at her as she packed, unable to contain his sense of betrayal and fury any longer. "She hurt you Santana!"
"That doesn't mean I stopped loving her," Santana answered with a shrug. "And tell me honestly Kurt, if Blaine needed you right now, would you really deny him? No, I don't believe you'd be able to. No matter what he's done to you, you still love him Kurt. Don't lie to yourself. And don't blame me. You'd do the exact same thing in my situation. I know you would."
"Well I can't really answer that, because you won't actually tell me your situation," Kurt pointed out bitterly. "But I can pretty much guarantee you I wouldn't take Blaine back, no matter what happened to him. He broke me. He lost all of my trust, forever. I can't just forget about that. I can't put myself in that position again. It's weak. I would've expected better from you Santana."
"See, that's where you and I differ, Hummel. I've always believed love was stronger than everything else, strong enough to conquer all things. It took me a while to learn that lesson, but the truth of it is that as long as I love Brittany, I'll always take her back. No matter what. Otherwise, I'd only be hurting myself." She gave Kurt's shoulder a friendly squeeze and headed into the bathroom to gather up her toiletries and cosmetics. Kurt had remained standing there, lost in heavy thought, wondering if what Santana said was really true, and by not forgiving Blaine and letting him back into his life, he was really just hurting himself more than Blaine already had.
Of course, that had been months ago, and now it was nearly autumn again. Kurt didn't know why he still found himself dwelling on that conversation occasionally. He hadn't seen Blaine since February and the lack of contact between the two of them since led Kurt to believe that Blaine had finally and officially moved on. Even if Kurt was only hurting himself by denying forgiveness, he was pretty sure there was no one standing there asking for it anymore.
Which was fine, really, he thought to himself as he shook himself out of his thoughts. He had more important things to worry about anyway. Like managing to stay sane until school started up again and not killing Rachel somewhere along the way. He had no time to worry about boyfriends; that was a luxury he'd save for when he was older and more established. His current flame, Adam, was fun but still not anything very serious. Kurt wasn't really willing to admit it to himself, but ultimately he and Adam weren't moving in a more committed direction because there just wasn't that spark, wasn't that thing that made him weak in the knees, that made him know it would be worth it, even if times got difficult. There wasn't that thing that he had always had with Blaine.
Kurt sighed and pinched himself lightly to force him to stop thinking about these things. He knew going down this path wasn't healthy. It was what had caused him to have an unhealthy several-month-long relationship with a pillow named Bruce that was in the shape of a shoulder and arm and could thus hold him and make him feel comforted in times of loneliness. He had been forced to throw Bruce away after a particularly depressing drunken night which ended with a broken cocktail glass, six stitches in Kurt's left hand, and a blood and rum-stained Bruce that would not clean up no matter how many times Kurt ran him through the wash.
Kurt went to pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot freshly brewing on the counter. He had made enough so that Rachel could have some as well, although he wasn't really sure whether giving the high-strung girl caffeine was really what she needed, but she insisted and was vicious when denied. Kurt had just sat down with his bare feet propped lightly on the coffee table and tugged his MacBook onto his lap when Rachel waltzed into the room in a silk bathrobe with her hair wrapped high on her head in a towel, turban-style. She was singing into a hairbrush absentmindedly the notes of a song from Funny Girl and poured herself the remainder of the coffee which she then proceeded to load with a vegan sugar substitute before swigging some down, not bothering to wait for it to cool. She walked over to the couch and gave Kurt a quick kiss on the cheek as a thank you for the coffee and then in a flash was back in her room, singing loudly and dressing for her day.
Kurt relaxed into the couch and began typing on his laptop, glad that Rachel was almost out of the apartment for the day. As much as he loved his best friend, she could really get to be annoying after a while, especially when he was trying to work from home, which today he was. He tried to concentrate on the screen in front of him over the sound of her singing but it proved impossibly. So instead he just sighed and decided to flip through the new Alexander McQueen catalog until she left and he could get some real work done.
What seemed like an age later, Rachel was swooping out the door, her handbag exploding with its various contents, her light summer jacket flapping behind her, long luxurious dark hair cascading down her back. She really was a presence to behold and Kurt was glad to know her. But he couldn't help but exhale a large sigh of relief as she vacated the apartment.
After he had finally settled in with his computer, Kurt heard a knock on his door. He groaned in frustration. At this rate he was never going to get anything done all day. Rachel must have forgotten something, again. He was going to have to have a strict talk with her about respecting each other's space, especially when he was trying to work from home.
But when Kurt stumbled in a sleepy, frustrated stupor to open the apartment door, it was not Rachel who stood there, but someone entirely different. It was Blaine.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Blaine was nervous as he approached the door behind which he knew would be Kurt, but his nerves before ringing the buzzer were nothing compared to the way his stomach did a series of somersaults when his ex-boyfriend actually appeared in front of him. Kurt stood before him, glasses perched on the edge of his nose, his hair sexily tousled with only a mild amount of product, wearing a loose pair of sweatpants that he all but made up for with his oh-so-tight wife beater. Blaine continued staring, his mouth gone completely dry. Kurt had gotten taller since he'd last seen him, leaner, and more muscular. His cheekbones were more defined and his hair had grown. It was wilder and more ostentatiously styled in a manner that Blaine couldn't help but drool slightly over. It had also grown lighter over the summer months. God, Kurt was even more gorgeous than he remembered him being, if it was possible.
"Blaine," Kurt said, his voice having gone up a few octaves in surprise.
"It's me," Blaine said with a shaky chuckle.
"It is you. Wow. Uhm…" Kurt seemed to be trying to think when he suddenly noticed the bundle strapped to Blaine's chest. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Is that a…"
"Kurt, this is Charlie," Blaine said, indicating toward the baby who was sleeping peacefully against him.
"Blaine." Kurt had visibly blanched. "Please…please tell me that…that baby isn't yours."
"Oh God no!" Blaine said quickly. "I mean, he is mine. But through adoption."
"What?" The confusion on Kurt's face was evident and when Kurt got excessively confused, he also tended to get annoyed.
"Can we come inside?" Blaine asked softly. "I'll explain everything. It's just, he probably needs to eat."
"Oh sure, sure, come on in. Sorry," Kurt said awkwardly, standing aside so that Blaine and the baby could enter.
"You have great timing," he began to ramble as he led the way into the living room. "Rachel just left for the day so you won't have to deal with her. Do you want anything? Coffee? Tea? Does- does the baby need anything?" Kurt didn't know anything about babies, except that they tended to be messy, always excreting some form of bodily fluid from some orifice of their bodies. He usually avoided them because he didn't want to get anything on his expensive clothes. Blaine's baby, at least, seemed to be sleeping quietly, and wasn't wet, at least right now. Blaine's baby. The words rang in Kurt's head again. He still couldn't process it. He was shocked.
Blaine sat down tentatively on the edge of the couch and removed the sling from his body, extracting the baby and moving him into a position where he was cradled against Blaine's chest. Charlie sighed contentedly, slipping his thumb into his mouth. Kurt felt his heart catch in his throat. He couldn't believe that here he was, Blaine, his ex-boyfriend, the one-time love of his life, sitting here with a baby.
"I'm going to make more coffee!" he said jumping up suddenly, unable to take the tension of the situation anymore.
"Oh no, that's fine Kurt," Blaine said, ever the gentleman. "I'm really all set."
"Well I could definitely use some more," Kurt said, making his way to the kitchen where he started clattering around in search of the coffee grounds and a filter, trying to make as much noise and give himself as much time for distraction as possible.
This was just all too much to handle.
Blaine, showing up literally at his doorstep, nearly seven months after they had last spoken, looking more devastatingly handsome than ever, and with a baby in tow? Blaine, Kurt's Blaine, had adopted a baby. A baby! There was no way he would've done something like that by himself. It must mean he was seeing someone else, and it was serious. And this was Blaine's way of breaking the news to Kurt. Which was thoughtful of him but- good God, this was sheer insanity. How could all of this have happened so fast? Blaine had just graduated from high school for Christ's sakes! And not that it mattered to Kurt if Blaine was seeing someone else, because it didn't, but why on earth had he decided to bring a kid into the mix. And then rub it in Kurt's face this way? I'm happy and you're not. I have someone and you're alone.
The coffee finished brewing and Kurt quickly pulled out two mugs, pouring the steaming liquid in each and then fixing Blaine's coffee the way he remembered him always having taken it. Then again, who knew what else might have changed in these seven months?
"Here, this is yours," Kurt set the hot cup down on a coaster on the coffee table because Blaine's arms were rather preoccupied at the moment. He took a sip from his own mug and tried to calm his nerves and brace himself for whatever confession was about to come.
Blaine reached for his coffee and took a small sip. "You made it just the way I like it," he said softly.
"Of course I did," Kurt scoffed, breaking the would-be tenderness of the moment. "Now would you mind, please, explaining…this." He gestured at the child in Blaine's arms.
"Right. Yes," Blaine set his coffee cup down in embarrassment, almost as if he had forgotten. "Charlie is Brittany and Sam's."
Kurt almost choked on his own beverage. "You're kidding me."
"On the contrary," Blaine said with a wry chuckle. "I couldn't make this stuff up."
"So that's why Santana had to leave all mysteriously like that. Brittany was pregnant."
"Right," Blaine said. "And she decided then that she wasn't ready to be a mother. She wanted to give birth to the baby and then leave the decision about what to do with him up to Sam."
Kurt shook his head. "I can't believe she would ditch Sam like this."
"Sometimes, when something really major happens in your life, it makes you realize what's most important to you. And for Britt, that was Santana. She was in love with her, Kurt. In the end, she had to be with her or she would've been lying to herself."
Kurt looked at Blaine, a little shocked at the words of wisdom coming out of his ex-boyfriend's mouth, and then even more shocked as the realization hit him again that Blaine was here, in his living room, with a baby.
But Blaine was here. Looking at him.
"That's a really great piece of wisdom Blaine, but it still doesn't explain why you're sitting in my apartment in New York with their baby."
"Well that's just it. Major things make you realize what's important. And I've been thinking a lot lately about that. And what I realized was most important to me was…being there for people. Being the right guy, the good guy, the best guy I could be. Taking care of someone else. When I realized that Sam was going to sacrifice his future all for the sake of this little baby, I knew I couldn't let it go. I was meant to take Charlie. I was meant to take care of him."
The tenderness that had manifested itself so clearly in Blaine's eyes at the mention of Charlie struck Kurt like an arrow to his heart. He had always known Blaine had a tender side but this- this was something he had never seen before. He couldn't help but think that it was insanely attractive.
"Forgive me Blaine, but I'm still having a little trouble wrapping my head around this. You just adopted a baby. By yourself? What on earth were you thinking? You have a future too you know!"
"My future was never really set in stone," Blaine said shaking his head. "Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do when I graduated…except that I wanted to find you," he murmured at the end shyly, looking now at the floor.
Kurt took a sip of his coffee quickly to hide his blush and give him time to think of something to say.
"Well…I guess you've found something to occupy yourself with now," he nodded at the sleeping infant.
"He's more than an occupation," Blaine answered, staring down at the little boy fondly. "He's my life."
Kurt cleared his throat awkwardly. "That's…nice," he said half-heartedly. In his head he couldn't help but think about the fact that here Blaine was, committing his entire young life to a baby, and he hadn't been able to stay committed to Kurt for much longer than a few months after their relationship turned long-distance. "Blaine I-"
"Kurt-"
They both stopped, blushing, having gone to speak at the same time.
"You go first," Kurt offered, because he really still wasn't sure what to say.
"Alright," Blaine said taking a deep breath and a swallow so that his Adam's apple bobbed visibly in his throat, making Kurt's own breath catch in his. "I know this isn't really fair Kurt; I know it's a hell of a lot to ask of you but I…I need…"
"You need a place to stay," Kurt finished for him.
"Right." Blaine nodded slowly, almost fearfully. "My parents- well, they kicked me out after I took Charlie, but even if they hadn't, I was looking to leave."
"Okay." The words were out of Kurt's mouth before he even had time to think about what he was saying.
"What?"
"Okay, you can stay."
"Kurt, are you sure? I mean you haven't even thought about this, I haven't even explained my plan yet or what's happened or-"
Kurt had to bite his lip a little to keep from smiling at the way his ex-boyfriend was rambling in that typical flustered way he'd always had, because it hurt too much.
"It's okay Blaine. You don't have to explain anything. You can stay."
"But, I mean, this is really a big deal. Charlie- he cries at night, he's going to wake you up, you won't get a good night's sleep for months. You'll be grumpy, and annoyed and start to resent him…"
"Blaine." Kurt leaned forward, pressing a finger against Blaine's lips. He knew this was a dangerous move, for him at least. He was touching Blaine's lips again, feeling their soft plumpness against his fingertip, his warm breath just barely ghosting against his skin. He wanted so badly in that moment to do nothing more than take Blaine into his arms again, kiss those soft, untouched lips absolutely senseless, feel that strong body melt into his arms once more. He physically ached to have him there, close to him again. He had never known how much a body could miss another body until he and Blaine had said goodbye.
Oh God. This was a terrible idea. If he wasn't careful, he would undo the months of hard work he had suffered trying to get beyond Blaine, all in a just a moment of indiscretion. He felt his eyes glazing a bit as he stared heavily into the hazel-amber ones that he had dreamed of on so many sleepless nights, that had always held such trust and comfort and safety in them, such love.
"I want you to stay, ok?" He said, pulling his finger away from Blaine, his hand and body suddenly feeling overwhelmingly cold at the lack of contact.
"Okay." Kurt saw physical relief course through Blaine as his shoulders slumped out of their tense state and he relaxed slightly against the couch. "Thank you Kurt." His voice sounded shaky almost, so full of exhaustion and resignation and something else strange that Kurt couldn't place.
"Of course. Did you really think I would turn you away?" Kurt asked disbelievingly. Blaine just sheepishly shrugged his shoulders.
"Blaine, you have to know, I'll always be here for you, as your friend. No matter what has happened between us, I'm always going to be here."
Blaine smiled a bit timidly. "You don't know how good it is to hear you say that. I felt so confident about this plan right until I found myself standing in front of your door. And all of a sudden, I started to panic a little bit. I didn't think you were capable of turning someone in need away, but then, I wouldn't really have blamed you if you wanted to turn me away." Blaine shrugged his shoulders again. "To be honest, I really wasn't sure what I was going to do if you did turn me away."
Kurt looked at him in slight awe. "You had that much faith in me?"
"I've always had faith in you Kurt. You have to know that by now."
The words were spoken with such honest simplicity, a frankness in Blaine's voice that implied that he had not even thought twice about it, that he had no ulterior motive in saying it or underlying meaning, it was simply fact in his mind. Kurt looked away quickly, unable to control his own reactions to Blaine's words. God, how was it possible that this boy could still do these things to him?
They were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door and then a lock turning in the keyhole.
"Honey, I'm home," a voice called playfully from the small foyer of the apartment. There was a slight thumping sound of a bag falling to the floor and Kurt's face paled, his stomach dropping as he recognized the voice.
He jumped up from the couch.
"Adam!" He said, walking quickly over to the blonde British boy who was standing in the doorframe of the living room holding a brown paper bag and a tray with two coffee cups in it.
"Hello Handsome," Adam said, leaning in for a kiss which Kurt accepted briefly but quickly broke away from.
"I'm sorry," Adam said in that disgustingly charming accent, as soon as he noticed Kurt wasn't alone in the room. "Am I interrupting something?"
The comment coming from anyone else might have sounded snarky but Adam's voice was dripping with politeness. Blaine felt his stomach clench in jealousy that he knew he had no right to feel.
"No not at all," Kurt said a bit breathlessly. "Adam, this is my old friend, Blaine and his son, Charlie. Blaine, this is my uh- Adam."
"Pleasure to meet you," Adam said, leaning forward to give Blaine's free hand a quick, strong pump. Blaine had noticed how Adam's eyes narrowed when he heard Blaine's name. Kurt had only referred to him as an old friend, which he had to admit stung a little bit, but he hadn't referred to Adam as his boyfriend either. And either way, it was clear from Adam's expression that he knew who Blaine was. His face had softened a bit though when Kurt mentioned Charlie. The fact that Blaine had a son seemed to make him automatically no longer a threat. Blaine knew he should be grateful to earn Adam's trust but instead it just pissed him off that he had been dismissed so quickly.
"Likewise," Blaine told him in a clipped tone, holding his gaze in a very purposeful manner.
"Right. Well. I've brought breakfast Sweetheart, since I knew you were working from home today but I'm afraid I've only got enough for two. Have you eaten Blaine?"
"Oh, I'm fine."
"No, no," Kurt insisted. "You must've had a long day, travelling with that little guy. You have to eat something."
"He's right you know," Adam said, wrapping an arm around Kurt's waist and pulling him into his body affectionately. "My baby's a smart one."
"Adam," Kurt chastised, blushing visibly.
"Don't be shy Darling, can you blame me if I want to declare to the world how wonderful my boyfriend is? I'm sure Blaine knows what I'm talking about." Adam winked, giving Blaine a very pointed look. Blaine's neck snapped up, unbelieving at the words that had just left Adam's lips. He hadn't really just said that, had he? God, this was such an awful idea, intruding on Kurt's life like this. He had been hoping, foolishly he knew, that Adam, whom Kurt had been seeing since before Valentine's Day at least, was long gone by now, but clearly that was not the case.
"That's enough Adam," Kurt said in embarrassment, but Blaine could tell he really wasn't all that bothered by Adam's flirting, if the pleasure laced through his chastisement was any indication.
"Look, I really ought to get out of you guys' way," Blaine said, trying to smile politely though he was dying a bit inside. He stood up, Charlie protesting slightly at the movement with a slight mew.
"Nonsense!" Adam declared. "You're visiting with an old friend. I'd never forgive myself for ruining your visit. Here." He walked over to where Blaine was standing tentatively and took hold of his arm, gently pushing him back onto the couch. "You sit down. Kurt's right, you must be exhausted. Have this coffee. It's black; you can add cream or sugar as you like." Blaine took the coffee that was thrust at him, feeling as though he had no other option.
"And Baby, here's yours," Adam said, handing the other cup to Kurt with a kiss on the cheek.
"I've already had two cups this morning!" Kurt protested.
"Well let's call it three," Adam responded simply. "Now, I'm afraid all I've brought for breakfast are these scones from the bakery down the street, and really, compared to the scones in Britain, they're rather rubbish. I'll go into the kitchen and whip up something proper while you two continue talking and then we'll all sit down and have a nice breakfast and that way, I can get to know Blaine. It's about time, don't you think Sweets?" he asked, directing this last comment at Kurt.
Good God, this guy was a piece of work, Blaine thought to himself. Charming, polite, absolutely sickening with his syrupy nicknames and endearments toward Kurt, and his absolute insistence on being a complete gentleman and making breakfast for them all. That clichéd saying about keeping your friends close and enemies closer came unbidden to Blaine's mind. Clever man. He certainly knew how to play his cards to keep Kurt in his arms. If only Blaine had been smart enough to do the same when he had the chance.
"Alright," Kurt acquiesced, clearly realizing, as Blaine also had, that Adam would not take no for an answer.
"Lovely. You like omelets Blaine?" Adam asked as he made his way to the kitchen.
"Sure," Blaine called, not mentioning that he felt too sick to his stomach to eat anything.
Winning Kurt back was not going to be nearly as simple as he had hoped it would be.
Normally I never write at the end but I just want to say: doesn't Adam make you furious? The worst part about him is that he's so hard to hate! Trust me, in no universe do I ship Kadam, but this story is labelled angsty for a reason. Don't fret my precious ones! Also, we will get more logistics about the adoption and Kurt and Blaine's new living arrangement in the next chapter [plus ever-building sexual tension yayyyy], but for now, I just needed an introductory type of chapter. Hope you enjoyed :)