A/N: Oof here it is, my labor of love. I hope it's not too sucky, it's awfully late at night. Thanks so much for your kind feedback, I am going to try to respond to people personally I swear and please please more reviews I am begging you. I LOVE hearing what you think. As always, you are all darlings. Also, I actually plotted out the majority of the actual storyline of this during work today and it's amazing how much easier it is to write when you know where the story is going. And I can promise you, this one gets juicy. Sorry for all the fluff and sap in this chapter. I tried not to make it too sickening but, well, hopefully you enjoy. Thank you for reading :] xoxox
Kurt woke up early the next day, his head buzzing with an excitement that he normally never felt at hours of the morning this ungodly. It wasn't long before he realized why: Blaine. Blaine was here, in his apartment, in his spare bedroom, living with him. He stretched languorously in his bed, not able to help the huge smile that crept onto his face.
"Kurt Hummel you get out of bed this instant!"
Oh God. Rachel. It was much too early for to deal with her, but he knew putting her off would be useless. It had been so late when she had come home last night that he had promised to explain the situation to her in the morning if she would just let him sleep now, in exchange for him doing the dishes for the next month straight. But now, it was morning and Rachel was looking for her explanation. She could be relentless when she wanted to be, and Kurt definitely wasn't getting away without explaining this one.
"Rachel, please, lower your voice, there's a baby in the house," Kurt groaned, rolling out of bed, because he figured that if he had to have this conversation with Rachel, he could at least get some coffee in his system to make it a little less excruciating.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Rachel practically scream-hissed. "There is a baby, not to mention one Blaine Anderson, sleeping in our very own apartment!"
"Do you think I'm unaware of that fact Rachel?" Kurt said rather snarkily. He padded to the kitchen in merely his dark blue boxer briefs, not bothering to add any more clothes to his ensemble. He certainly was no exhibitionist but it was too early for him really to care. Besides, Blaine was still sound asleep, and he didn't really care what Rachel saw him in.
"No I know you are aware of that fact Kurt, but the question is why! Why on earth! And how did he get a baby? And how long are they going to be staying here? And when do you think you're actually going to start consulting me on major household decisions, like getting a new roommate?" She unleashed all of this on him in one exhausting breath and Kurt's head ached just from the sound of her voice.
He began spooning coffee grounds into the coffee filter, trying to block out his roommate's tirade. Finally she slowed down long enough for him to speak.
"Rachel, you know you're my best friend and I love you, but you really need to chill out. There is no reason to be making a big deal out of this. Blaine is here because he needed somewhere to stay and it only makes sense that we would offer him one. Now, if I tell you something, you have to promise to keep your mouth shut about it."
Rachel nodded quickly, but Kurt knew her better than that.
"I'm serious Rachel. This is a big secret. No calling up our old friends from home and gushing on and on to them about it. No telling even Brody."
"Fine," Rachel huffed impatiently, pushing her shower-dampened bangs out of her eyes. The coffee had started brewing and Kurt fixated his glance on the calming drip of the black liquid into the pot.
"Sam got Brittany pregnant, which is why Santana left. And Blaine adopted the baby."
"What!" Rachel yelled before Kurt could shoot her a death glare.
"I'm sorry," she said in an only slightly-lowered tone of voice. "But what you're saying is preposterous."
"Nevertheless," Kurt said with a sigh, pouring them each a cup of coffee, "It's the one hundred percent truth."
"Why would Blaine do that?"
Kurt gave Rachel a look.
"You're right. He's Blaine. I guess I didn't really need to ask. But now comes the question- what is he doing here?"
"I told you: his parents kicked him out and he needed somewhere to stay."
"Don't get me wrong Kurt, you know I adore Blaine, but don't tell me there weren't plenty of other people he could've found to stay with, had he really wanted to. And yet, he chose to come here, to New York City, to live with you? Doesn't that seem a tad suspicious?"
Kurt sighed, tired already from her questioning. "Not really."
She shook her head. "Well it seems suspicious to me. I am going to have a serious talk with him when he wakes up, figure out his motives."
"I honestly don't think he has any motives, other than taking care of his son," Kurt said almost regretfully.
"And how does Adam feel about all this?"
Kurt turned a bit red. "He's fine with it. Why shouldn't he be?"
"Your ex-boyfriend is staying in your apartment with a baby! It's like you don't realize that or something!"
"Trust me, Rachel, I realize it."
"Realize what?" The voice came from the doorway and both turned quickly to be greeted by none other than the sight of Blaine, looking fresh and handsome as ever, sleep-rumpled though he was. Blaine's eyes widened at the sight of Kurt and it took Kurt a moment to remember that he was standing there in nothing but his briefs. Of course, it was nothing Blaine hadn't seen before but…their relationship wasn't like that anymore.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry Blaine," Kurt said, trying to move behind the counter to gain some privacy. "I hope we didn't wake you?"
"Nah, I wasn't really sleeping anyway. I don't, actually, sleep much anymore," he said with a light chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just came out here to start some coffee but I see someone beat me to it."
Kurt's heart went out to his ex. The boy clearly had all he could do to take care of Charlie and still be a functioning human being. He must be exhausted.
"Well here, I've got a cup for you right here," he said with a gentle smile, pouring Blaine the rest of what was in the cup and handing him the steaming mug.
"Thanks," Blaine said gratefully, taking it in both hands and holding it up to his nose, letting the sweet aroma drown his senses before taking his first sip. Kurt always made the best coffee.
He still couldn't help but be a little bit distracted by the sight of Kurt's smooth, muscled, statuesque body, clad in nothing other than a pair of briefs that looked painted on, right down to the prominent bulge where his package rested. God he was so stunning. Blaine had been so, so foolish to ever put all of this at risk. Ugh, he just wanted to reach out right now and touch that body, see if it was truly really in front of him, or if he was just having some very long, vivid dream. More than anything, he wished he was allowed to kiss and touch Kurt again, but he knew that wasn't happening, not even a casual repeat of February, seeing as how that Adam douchebag was now in the picture.
"I should go change," Kurt said after a little while, once he noticed Blaine staring.
"Yes, you should," Rachel said pointedly, clearing her throat to try to diffuse the awkwardness of the situation. Blaine blushed bright red which made Kurt want to throw him down on the ground right then and there and have his way with him, but he refrained. He was not allowed to think that way anymore. He knew this.
"So Blaine," Rachel said, a smile akin to that of the Cheshire Cat spreading across her face the moment Kurt had vacated the room. "What brings you to New York City?"
"Oh Rachel. You haven't changed a bit I see," Blaine said affectionately.
"What?" Rachel asked pouting. "I'm just trying to find out about what's going on in my friend's life."
"No, you're snooping," Blaine pointed out gently as he reached to a bowl of fruit to grab a banana. The peaceful calm in the room was suddenly torn apart by the sound of wailing coming from Blaine's room. He sighed and ran a hand through his rumpled curls.
"That'll be Charlie. He hates being put down. He wants to be held every minute of every day and the only times I can get him down are when he's already fallen asleep in my arms."
Rachel's face softened as she heard the way Blaine spoke about his little boy. "You really love him, don't you?"
"More than anything in this entire world," Blaine said with a very serious look on his face.
Rachel moved to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She knew she could be abrasive at times, and it was true she didn't trust Blaine completely, not after what he had done to hurt Kurt. But in the end, she liked the boy far more than she liked Adam, and wanted them to work it out- that was, if Blaine could prove he really was worthy of being forgiven. She could recall some times when she had made mistakes in her own past relationships- namely in that of her and her fiancé Finn. She of all people understood that sometimes people did awful things, not because they were bad people or didn't love their partner, but because they were human and made mistakes. Her loyalty and empathy were raging war within her, but overall, her empathy was starting to win out. And seeing this side of Blaine- so responsible, so tender, certainly helped swing things in his favor.
"Can I help you with him?" She inquired uncertainty and Blaine chuckled aloud at the diva sounding so hesitant about anything, as opposed to her usual constant tone of "demanding".
"Sure, you can hold him for a bit. Give my arms a little rest." He winked. "But I'll warn you now, he gets heavy pretty fast. I'm pretty sure my biceps have expanded inches since taking him in."
Rachel laughed and swatted him playfully as he boasted. It was almost as if they were kids back in Glee Club at McKinley high again. Almost.
They entered the room which Santana had vacated and now had become Blaine's in her stead. So far, it was very starkly decorated, holding only a few suitcases full of Blaine's things, his toothbrush, glasses and hair gel lined up on the dresser and, of course, Charlie's crib.
"So this is the little angel," Rachel said, moving over to the crib where Charlie lay squirming and red-faced, acting very much the opposite of an angel as he screamed bloody murder. She immediately reached in and lifted the infant, resting him against her chest, one hand holding his hand and the other over his bottom, bouncing him lightly in her arms. It wasn't long before Charlie stopped crying and began cooing softly in contentment.
"Wow. You really know your way around babies," Blaine said, impressed.
"Yeah," Rachel shrugged. "My dads made me babysit a lot when I was younger, for the experience and all. I got pretty good at dealing with kids."
"So I know who to call when I need a babysitter then," Blaine said with an impish smirk.
"Oh no Blaine Anderson. This is your mess you got yourself into. Of course, I'm happy to help, occasionally, when I've got the time, but what with my classes, auditions, rehearsals and Brody, I don't have a lot of down time."
"Relax Rachel, I was just kidding."
Rachel looked surprised. "Oh. Well anyway, I'm sure Kurt will be more than happy to help. He seems enamored of this little guy already." She held Charlie up to meet his blue eyes and spoke in the patented voice adults use when speaking to babies. "And I can see why, you little cutie patootie."
Blaine smiled. He had never really minded Rachel all that much. He felt bad for her, because although he knew she was trying very hard to leave her life in Lima behind, she would always be stuck on Finn, no matter how hard she tried to focus her attentions on this Brody guy. He and Finn were in very similar situations, he realized. Maybe he should give the guy a call up, see how he was doing. He turned to Rachel.
"Mind if I ask you a question?"
"Depends on what the question is," she replied, still bouncing Charlie lightly in her arms.
"What's the deal with this Adam guy?"
Rachel sighed, having just known it was going to be a question of that sort of nature. "I don't know Blaine. What do you mean by, 'what's the deal'?"
"I mean, how serious are he and Kurt?"
"I honestly don't know for sure. They kept things really casual for a while and then in February I had thought they had split up, they stopped seeing each other for a couple weeks and Kurt was miserable, crying all the time, barely able to function, almost as bad as when…" she trailed off awkwardly, looking at the floor.
"Almost as bad as when he and I broke up," Blaine supplied for her.
"Yes," she admitted uncomfortably. "But then, around the beginning of March, they got back together, and suddenly things were much more serious and they were exclusive. And they've been that way ever since. Although I have to admit, I think Adam's a little more invested in it than Kurt is."
Blaine felt a small sigh of relief escape his lips and the coiling of his stomach settle slightly at those words. So there still might be some chance. Wow, it hadn't taken him very long to fall completely head over in heels with some other guy though had it? That stung a bit, though Blaine supposed he deserved it.
He wasn't done with his questioning though. "Rachel- isn't Adam a senior?"
Rachel laughed at that. "Super senior actually."
Blaine frowned, not understanding.
"He's going for his senior year his second time around. He didn't graduate the first time."
"Are you kidding me? So this guy's almost…twenty-three…and he's preying on some nineteen-year-old?" Blaine was disgusted.
"'Fraid so. He's a little questionable. Also, his singing group sucks and you can tell him that from me. I mean, Kurt's all starstruck about the whole thing of course. I think he just wants to relive his Glee club experience from high school. He felt so left out at NYADA at first, he was clinging to anything to make him feel like he fit in. But the Adam's Apples are every bit as bad as their name makes them sound like they'd be."
Blaine felt horrible when he realized that Kurt had started at NYADA with virtually no friends, and not even Blaine back home to rely on. He should've been there for him through all that, should've been supporting him, rooting him on. But he had already fucked it all up by then and they weren't talking. And Kurt had had to suffer alone. No wonder he ran straight into that British douchebag's arms.
"Blaine," Rachel reached out a free hand and placed in on Blaine's shoulder, which sadly, wasn't all that much of a stretch for her. "Adam is in Kurt's life for now, but he's not permanent. I mean, Kurt cares about him because he makes him feel safe and cared for. But…well, what I mean to say is, you were Kurt's first love and that doesn't just go away, no matter what happens. So if you want him back, you have to fight for him, show him that you're with it. I know you can. If you really want him." Rachel handed him Charlie then and walked toward the doorway.
"But if you're only interested in half-assing this or breaking his heart again, then you might as well just leave now. It's all or nothing Anderson. Now I've got to go blow dry my hair or it'll be as limp as spaghetti all day," she said and was, very suddenly, gone from the room.
Blaine watched her go with a little grin creeping onto his face. From the way she was talking it just seemed like she might be on his side, willing to help her get Kurt back, if he could just prove that he was worthy.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Blaine was standing in the kitchen, pacing back and forth with Charlie in his arms, singing softly under his breath to the little boy when Kurt returned. He was now freshly showered, his hair elegantly styled atop his head, his blue-green eyes as heady as ever, cheekbones still sharp enough to cut glass, and smartly dressed in stylistically ripped faded jeans, a loose white button-up, and a grey vest, complete with a red tie that was knotted slack beneath the open v of his shirt, exposing all the creamy skin to be explored there. Blaine visibly swallowed.
"You need someone to look after Charlie?" Kurt offered. "You look like you could use a shower."
It was true; Blaine wanted nothing more than to put down the heavy baby right now and let the burning hot water erase his worries and stresses, his inappropriate thoughts of Kurt and his violent ones about Adam. But Charlie was his responsibility, one he couldn't pawn off on Kurt.
"No- trust me, you don't want to look after him."
"Why not?" Kurt would not be deterred so easily.
"He's in this really annoying stage right now where he refuses to be put down. He wants to be held constantly, and not just held, but moved too." Blaine sounded more than a little frazzled and it tugged at Kurt's heartstrings. God he was so selfless. It shouldn't have really been a surprise to Kurt when someone as amazing as Blaine had ended up finding or wanting someone else last year, but it still had. As he continued to rediscover just how incredible and sexy Blaine was, Kurt remembered why he had been lucky to get the boy in the first place. When they were together, it had always been just a matter of time before Blaine found someone better. Kurt had always known that; he shouldn't have let it catch him so off guard when Blaine actually did.
"So basically," Blaine was saying, "You have to just hold him and rock him, or bounce him, for hours, until he finally falls asleep and you can try putting him down, but even then, as soon as he's lying immobile, he usually wakes up and starts screaming again. It's exhausting."
"Try me," Kurt said with one eyebrow raised. "Do you really have that little faith in my upper body strength? I've been working out since we…since we last saw each other you know. I'm actually pretty buff now." He held one arm to flex and Blaine couldn't help but laugh.
"You're adorable," he said before he thought to stop himself. It was just so easy to fall into this old routine with Kurt.
"Oh God- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cross any lines," Blaine stammered quickly upon realizing his mistake.
"Don't worry about it, Blaine," Kurt said with a reassuring smile, as he crossed the kitchen to reassuringly pat Blaine's shoulder, sending pathetic tingles all up and down the boy's body. "Now hand him over. I'm pretty sure I can manage holding him for at least the time it takes you to shower. Although if I do recall, you used to take those awfully long, forty-five minute showers back in high school. I always wondered what you were doing in there," Kurt added with a smirk.
"Shut up." Blaine smacked the boy's arm playfully, a grin teasing at the corners of his lips. "I just really like getting clean."
"I think what you really like is giving into the fantasy that you're a famous performer and the shower head is your microphone, the bathtub your stage. Now, now, don't be embarrassed. We all need our creative outlets. But don't be too long in there. We do have a water bill to pay!" Kurt said, still snickering as he bounced Baby Charlie on his hip, giving his ex a mischievous smack on the ass as he scooted toward the bathroom. Kurt acted like it was the most natural thing in the world but Blaine was incredibly grateful that Kurt couldn't see his face as it once again turned bright red. What was Kurt's game? Was that really how the dynamic of their relationship was going to be? While Kurt had a boyfriend who wasn't him? It was all just too confusing.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Kurt watched his ex head to the bathroom, shamelessly enjoying the view, before telling himself to snap out of it because he had a boyfriend for Christ's sakes. Keep it in your pants Hummel. It was just…so natural to be playful and flirty with Blaine like this, sometimes he forgot himself. And he couldn't deny entirely that part of him wanted that playful, flirty relationship back. Badly.
"Ugh, life is hard Charlie," Kurt said, looking into the infant's wide blue eyes. "Don't ever get a boyfriend. I know men who swear women are a different species, but I promise you, men are just as complicated, and even better at breaking hearts." He sighed, looking at the infant, who could only coo and gurgle in response, but whom Kurt still liked to believe understood to some extent what he was saying.
"You're a lucky boy though. You should know that. You've got a very special daddy. I'm probably going to tell you that a lot, but it's something ought to know. But shh, don't tell him that, or his ego will get even bigger than it already is," Kurt added with a chuckle.
He looked contemplatively into Charlie's eyes for a few moments longer. Of course they were blue; both Sam and Brittany had possessed a set of stunning baby blues. Charlie's eyes were beautiful but Kurt couldn't help thinking that it was a pity he hadn't gotten Blaine's gorgeous hazel ones that were never really one color, but a million all at once.
In his distraction, he had stopped bouncing Charlie, who now screwed up his face slightly and Kurt could anticipate the tear flow about to begin.
"Hey, hey now," he whispered soothingly. "Don't cry Buddy." He adjusted Charlie in his arms so that he was holding him, cradling his head, and began rocking him back and forth soothingly. Charlie seemed to calm slightly, but there was still a distressed expression on his face.
"Come on," Kurt said, pacing the rooms of the apartment looking for something to distract the infant with. "Well, both of your parents are musical, and I bet Blaine sings to you too, huh? So maybe a song will help." Kurt racked his brain, trying to remember the old lullaby his mother had used to sing to him as a kid. As he got closer to the bathroom, he heard the strains of a song coming from the steaming room. Of course. As he predicted, Blaine was singing in the shower. Kurt couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto his face.
"Look's like your daddy's already got it covered," he whispered to Charlie, and moved closer to the door, rocking the baby the whole time, so they could both listen in on what Blaine was singing. In high school, it had been rare that Blaine didn't do some cover of a Top 40 song and today was no real exception. Except this song wasn't a happy, upbeat one, like so many of the ones Blaine normally chose to sing. Kurt strained and leaned a little closer to try and catch the words.
Blaine was well into the song, currently belting out the bridge of the song before the climax.
Although it hurts
I'll be the first to say I was wrong
Oh, I know I'm probably much too late
To try and apologize for my mistakes
But I just want you to know
Kurt gasped as he realized Blaine was singing the new Bruno Mars single, a heart-wrenching song about lost love. His smooth, achingly perfect tenor didn't waver once as he broke into the final chorus.
I hope he buys you flowers
I hope he holds your hand
Give you all his hours
When he has the chance
Take you to every party
Cause I remember how much you love to dance
Do all the things I should've done
When I was your man
Do all the things I should've done
When I was your man
Blaine's voice didn't waver at all until he reached the last line of the chorus, when Blaine heard it break slightly, in that same broken way he had sung Teenage Dream at Karaoke Night at that Bar with Rachel and Brody last year, right before he had admitted to Kurt about cheating on him.
God. The song was so beautiful, so perfect when sung by Blaine, so full of the boy's emotions. Kurt felt tears springing to his own eyes. He wondered, foolishly, if the song could ever be meant for him. Probably not. But it still didn't mean it wasn't beautiful. He was so lost in the moment that he didn't hear Blaine turn the shower off, didn't hear him step out and towel off, didn't notice him opening the door until he was standing there before him, dripping wet, a white towel around his waist the only thing separating Kurt from Blaine's naked body.
It was his turn to stare.
He felt his mouth go dry and his cock twitch impatiently in his jeans as he took in the sight of Blaine. How was it possible for him to look even better than he remembered? Those curls, dripping wet, water running in little rivulets across his broad, muscled chest, that patch of dark hair that trailed down the center of his stomach to snake tantalizingly under the towel, the V of his hips that Kurt could just see the beginnings of, the rough stubble on his chin that he had left unshaven, his smoldering eyes: all of him. Kurt was drinking Blaine in, his own personal Adonis standing right in front of him, and he could not get enough.
It didn't take long though for Blaine to get very self-conscious.
"Oh geez…in there…did you hear…?"
"Yeah," Kurt said, nodding, shy all of a sudden. "It was beautiful. I mean everything you sing is beautiful but that- you really poured yourself into that."
Blaine just shrugged a little bit. "The song means a lot to me." He met Kurt's gaze then, giving him a pointed look and Kurt knew that the song had been meant for him, that Blaine had been singing every word from the depths of his soul, and Kurt felt his heart breaking a little bit.
"It was beautiful," he repeated so softly he wasn't sure if Blaine would hear, but he did.
They stood there a moment, even Charlie completely silent before Blaine cleared his throat. "Well I had better get dressed huh? I'm sure you're already wishing you had never offered to hold the baby in a million years."
"No I- I like holding him. We've been bonding," Kurt said with a smile.
"You don't have to lie." Blaine smiled too, walking into his bedroom to get dressed, keeping the door open a crack so that he could continue talking with Kurt.
"I'm really not," Kurt said honestly. "I think I could really get attached to this little guy. It's not hard. Just one look from those beautiful blue eyes and I'm completely smitten."
"Oh I know all about that," Blaine called and Kurt felt his stomach jump slightly. No, no, Blaine wasn't talking about his eyes. He was talking about Charlie's. But still.
"Just wait until he makes you get up five times in one night and tell me how smitten you are then," Blaine said, but Kurt heard the smile in his voice and he knew Blaine adored his son, no matter what he might say in complaint.
Blaine appeared then, dressed in a thin mint V-neck that hugged his torso perfectly and tan chinos that were rolled up at the ankle. He looked like the picture of summer, like he had just stepped out of some J. Crew ad, and Kurt could hardly take it anymore.
"Here, let me take him." Blaine reached for Charlie.
"Wow," Kurt said, rubbing his biceps. "I have to admit, your arms do get a little sore after a while."
Blaine laughed. "Yeah he's not exactly small. The pediatrician says he's in the 90th percentile for his age group. I mean Sam's six feet tall and pure muscle, so my guess is Charlie's taking after his daddy already. Gonna be a big strong football player aren't ya, Munchkin?" He cooed, making a face at Charlie, who giggled.
"Hey now," Kurt said with arms folded. "What if he doesn't want to be a football player? What if he wants ballet lessons?"
"Then ballet lessons," Blaine said hoisting Charlie up in the air and spinning him around, "he shall have."
Kurt giggled. "Or more likely, he's going to want singing lessons so he can turn into as amazing performer as his dad."
"Sam is pretty amazing," Blaine said with a grin. "And when you throw Brittany's dancer genes into the mix…"
"I was talking about you Blaine."
"What?"
"Don't give me that 'what'. The moment this little guy sees his dad up on stage, singing his heart out and entertaining the hell out of some wildly cheering crowd, he's going to without a doubt know exactly what he wants to do when he grows up."
Blaine looked at Kurt in amazement.
"Wow. I guess I never thought of that. I mean, I know I'm Charlie's dad and everything, but sometimes, I forget that I'm going to raise him, you know, he's going to look up to me, the way I used to look up to my dad. God, I used to want to be my dad. I can't imagine anyone feeling that way about me."
"Charlie will. He already does, though you don't realize it. He already mimics the things you do, watches your every move. You're his everything."
Blaine's eyes were glistening a little bit as he looked adoringly at his son. "I know I'm going to sound like such a cornball, but it's moments like this when I know it's all worth it."
Kurt smiled softly. "If I recall, the fact that you're always such a cornball was always one of my favorite things about you."
"It was," Blaine agreed quietly. He wouldn't look into Kurt's eyes. "I don't know when Charlie's going to have a chance to see me perform though," he said, changing the subject. "Probably in five years from never."
"Oh I don't think so," Kurt said. "You're in New York City now, concrete jungle where dreams are made of!"
Blaine rolled his eyes slightly but he couldn't help the smile that was tugging at his cheek muscles at Kurt spread his arms wide and began to belt out the chorus to Empire State of Mind.
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York
Kurt drew out the last "New York a little bit" throwing his hands wide in the air for dramatic effect. He had jumped on the arm of the couch for his mini-performance and had Blaine laughing and clapping his hands, Charlie shrieking too at Kurt's antics.
Kurt gave a sweeping bow on the couch theatrically, murmuring "Thank you, thank you very much," in his best impression of Elvis until he lost his footing and toppled sideways, landing ass on the floor, just missing grazing his head on the coffee table. His yelp of pain and muffled swear caused Charlie to scream more with laughter and for Blaine to fully double over.
Once he caught his breath, he walked over to help Kurt up, who was rubbing his sore ass and had a less than amused expression on his face.
"Well I'm glad at least he enjoyed it," he said, indicating his head toward Charlie who was still giggling. "I feel like Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc."
"Does that make me Sully?" asked Blaine.
"'Fraid so," Kurt said with a smirk. "And Charlie's your Boo. Now that's what you get for laughing on someone else's pain. You are now officially a huge hairy cartoon monster."
"I'm sorry Babe. That was just, too much," Blaine said through his laughter, hardly noticing the accidental slip of the pet name.
Kurt didn't notice at first either but at the same time, it occurred to them both and they froze. Kurt chose to leave it unaddressed and quickly changed the subject, something he felt he had been doing a lot of that morning.
"Either way, before I humiliated myself, the point of that song was to let you know that seriously, the possibilities here for what you could do are endless. If you want to perform, you can. Sure it might take some hard work and perseverance, but if I know Blaine Anderson, and I do- those are both things you have in abundance."
"Yeah," Blaine shook his head. "But it's a lot different when you've got a baby to look after too. I can't just selfishly pursue my dreams. Charlie comes first."
"Well of course," Kurt allowed. "But putting Charlie first doesn't meaning ignoring all your dreams. You want to perform, you still can. You've got to support your kid somehow, might as well be doing something you love."
"I don't have time for all that. I need to find a job now, so I can pay the rent…"
"Ridiculous," Kurt said, waving a hand in Blaine's face. "Don't worry about rent right now okay? We've got it covered. I just want you to find something out here that makes you happy. You deserve it."
Blaine smiled, not willing to get into an argument with Kurt right now, but not really feeling comfortable with all the generosity.
Kurt grinned back. "Well why don't you keep on bouncing the little kiddo there, while I run some errands? It shouldn't take me long and when I get back, we can take shifts with him, give you a little break."
"Oh Kurt, you really don't have to worry about it. I don't want this to be any sort of burden on you at all. Plus, don't you have to work today?"
Kurt shook his head. "Got the day off," he explained, not bothering to mention that he called in to take a personal day on account of Blaine and helping him and Charlie get settled in.
"Okay," Blaine replied somewhat warily. "Well run your errands then. But you really don't need to help out with Charlie-"
Kurt stopped him with a firm hand against his chest. "Try and stop me," he said, and Blaine's heart was suddenly beating very fast, mostly from the close contact and he couldn't formulate the words to protest.
"Now I'll be back in a bit. You guys just hang tight."
"Kay," Blaine murmured because his brain wasn't really functioning properly right now, but also because, what else could they really do?
x-x-x-x-x-x
Kurt returned to the apartment about an hour later, very pleased with himself. He was humming lightly as he unlocked the door and set his purchases on the floor by the counter. His cheerful reverie, however, was quickly shattered by the sound of ear piercing screams. At first, Kurt thought briefly to panic, but then he remembered there was a baby in the house, and babies often screamed, for no very important reason at all. Still, he was a little bit worried, about Blaine especially, so he hurried to follow the sound of the screaming into Blaine's room.
The first thing he noted was what a mess it was; Blaine still not having had a chance to unpack and his sundry items tossed everywhere in a frantic manner, as though he had been searching for something. Blaine was standing, near to Charlie's crib, holding the infant in his arms while he wailed, bouncing him up and down in a gently rhythmic manner, though it didn't seem to be doing much to calm Charlie. The baby's face was tomato red and his screaming didn't slow. Kurt rushed over.
"What happened?"
"Oh- geez- sorry, I didn't even realize you were back. I just finally got him to sleep in my arms, and stupid me, tried putting him down for a bit so I could maybe unpack a little or nap- but of course he woke up screaming a few minutes later and now he's punishing me for trying to trick him." Blaine tried a chuckle but it was obvious he was frazzled.
"Does he have any particular toys he finds comforting?" Kurt asked in desperation. "Or maybe he's hungry?"
Blaine shook his head. "I fed and burped him right after you left, he has a blanket he loves but he keeps getting uncomfortable in it because it's too hot right now, and I couldn't find his binky, which is my room is such a mess, but after I did find it, he proceeded to spit it out every time I put it in his mouth."
Kurt felt awful. Poor Blaine. He was struck again by how selfless and wonderful his ex-boyfriend was, and how much he just wanted to hug him in that moment, but the baby's crying made it harder to escape reality.
"Hold on. I might have something," Kurt instructed, running back into the kitchen and hoping desperately that his purchase this morning might be of some use to Blaine. He grabbed a particularly large box and carried it into Blaine's room.
"Behold," he said and removed the item from its cardboard cage with a flourish.
Blaine's eyes widened when he saw what Kurt had bought.
"Kurt. Oh my God."
The device that stood before them was a high-tech looking beige and white object. It had legs that supported a snuggly, plush baby seat and also several fancy looking buttons at the top. Resting above the seat was a mobile with several fuzzy birds attached.
"It's a Cradle 'n Swing," Kurt said a bit nervously. "Have you ever heard of them?"
"Yes, enough to know that they're fucking expensive!"
"Don't swear around the baby!" Kurt chastised.
"He can't hear us…Kurt…oh my God…this is…amazing but, wow, I can't accept this, we can't accept this, it's way too much."
"Think of it as a housewarming gift. Your official welcome to becoming roomies with Rach and me. Also, I think it may benefit us all in the end. You see," he said moving toward the object and playing with some of the buttons. "It mechanically rocks your baby. There are six speed settings, two different directions he can be rocked in and a bunch of different patterns. Plus, the mobile spins and plays different melodies. And it comes with a stuffed bunny." Kurt picked up the plush bunny and squeezed it for emphasis. Then he turned a bit shy. "I don't know, maybe it's some stupid gimmick the sales people got a sucker like me to fall for, but my aunt used to have one for my cousin and I just figured maybe this way, you could put Charlie down for a little and he would still feel like he was being held and rocked, so he wouldn't cry, and then you could get some rest, or something." He bit his lip and kicked at the floor a little bit. "If it's stupid, I can take it back. Although they're gonna be pissed at me, I made them assemble it in the store because I have no idea how to put things together and I figured the sooner we were able to use it, the better."
"Kurt," Blaine said, his voice nearly breaking.
Kurt looked at him, his heart having leapt entirely into his throat at the sight of Blaine's tear-filled eyes.
"This is honestly the most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me in…well as long as I can remember. Thank you, thank you so much," he said, and it was real, he was actually crying, and embracing Kurt as he did. Kurt could feel the wetness of his tears on his back but he couldn't care less because Blaine's arms were encircling him, Charlie, startled into silence by Blaine's crying, crushed gently between them. Kurt breathed deep the scent of baby and of Blaine, just like he remembered it, only better, and he wondered just how he was supposed to give this up, when the three of them like this just felt so impossibly right.