Happy New Year, people!

Wooaaaahhhh, so how long has it been? Erm, over three months? Last update was the 11th of September (LAST YEAR - feels so weird saying that!) and I'm pretty sure I promised this chapter at the end of a week in November... Hmm. So, I kinda broke that promise :( Forgive me? I hope that this suffices for the long break between chapters!

Anyhoo, here's chapter 10! I hope you all enjoy it, and I'll finish this A/N at the bottom so you can read the chapter...

Enjoy! Xx

"Louise, honey, no jumping on Uncle Blaine's sofas!" Mia chastised from the doorway, her daughter having immediately taken off in the direction of the plush white sofas as soon as her young eyes had spotted them.

"No, no, it's fine," Blaine grunted from behind her, lugging two of the suitcases that had arrived with the children earlier that morning. Thad had done a good deal of fulfilling Blaine's wishes, his niece and nephews flying out from Washington to LA just two days after Mia's confession. Blaine and Mia's mother hadn't joined them, though; with her and their father both in their sixties, neither much entertained the idea of flying out to LA in such short notice. They promised that they would try to come and visit their son soon, but someone had to keep an eye on 'the stinking, slimy weasel' that was Richard Conway, as their mother said.

The whole ride back to Blaine's house had been filled with incessant questioning over the things that could only trouble minds as young as Louise's and Jonah's: "Uncle Blaine? Do you have a big TV? Can we watch it?"

"Uncle Blaine? How big is your house?"

"What do you think of my shoes, Uncle Blaine? Aren't they pretty?"

"Mine are cooler, aren't they, Uncle Blaine?"

"Uncle Blaine? Do you think dragons are real?"

All of which were accompanied by the happy gurgling and the occasional random word from Harvey, such as 'car', 'dog' and 'Mommy', Mia earning a tug on her hair every time Harvey said the latter.

Finally, when arriving back at Blaine's house and with little help from Thad, who strolled inside, phone in one hand and the smallest of the bags in the other, all of the suitcases had been brought inside and the children had been shown the rooms in which they would be staying for their visit.

"Dinner?" Blaine asked at five o'clock that evening after the kids had unpacked... And found the 72" TV.

"Please," Mia smiled at him gratefully over her mug of coffee, her fourth one in the six hours since the children had arrived. "Take out?" She asked, already glancing towards the phone mounted on the kitchen wall and trying to remember where her purse was. Blaine span to stare at her, mildly affronted.

"I was going to cook, actually," He stated proudly, folding his arms over his chest as he stood just that little bit taller.

"Really? I mean, that sounds wonderful." Mia rectified herself when she could see her brother's upset at her surprise. "What are you going to make?" Blaine glared at her for a few more seconds before replying that he'd been trying out new recipes from their Italian great-grandmother's recipe book and had enjoyed numerous successes with her lasagne, and so he would make that. Mia agreed that it was a good idea and that she would help later on if her brother so required, but for now she would finish her coffee and wait until she was needed. They conversed across the room; Mia still sat at the breakfast bar as Blaine moved around the kitchen, joking and reminiscing about past memories, including several jibes from Mia aimed at Blaine's previous cooking attempts.

While Blaine was still cooking, Mia left the room to retrieve Harvey from his crib, where he had been put down for a nap three hours earlier, and to make sure that Louise and Jonah hadn't driven Thad to the brink of insanity just yet. Thad had offered to keep a watch on the two youngsters thinking that all they would be doing was watching TV, but he could not have been more wrong. Mia walked into the room to find several of the sofa cushions out of place that had obviously been used as trampolines, with Louise and Jonah on either side of Thad asking him four hundred questions a minute about his phone and what did it do and why does he need it and does it have any games on it they can play? When he saw Mia, his eyes alone begged her to rescue him.

"You offered to look after them." She reminded him.

"I thought they were just going to sit and watch TV!" He exclaimed in return, gesturing to the large screen that was now going unnoticed by both children.

"Oh, Thad," Mia chuckled good-naturedly as she turned to re-enter the kitchen. "Do you know nothing about children?" Harvey gurgled over her shoulder as she walked away.

"How's he doing?" Blaine asked when she sat back at the breakfast bar with Harvey sat on her lap.

"He's learning," Was Mia's response. Blaine chuckled, remembering how that phrase was used about him the first few times he took care of Louise when she was old enough to visit. "How's dinner coming along?"

"Nearly done, I reckon," He checked the dinner one last time, confirming that it was ready to serve. "Do you want to call the kids in and I'll serve up?"

Five minutes later, after Louise and Jonah had finally been pulled off of Thad's legs where they were clinging on to stop him from walking, the family were sat around the table together. Thad found himself caught between Louise and Jonah once more, a 'coincidence' according to Blaine and Mia. They discussed what they could do now that the kids were with them, with Thad warning Blaine that he had to keep Saturday night free.

"Why?"

"Puckerman is holding another party," Thad explained, pulling the invitational email up on his phone and passing it over, lifting it above the reaching hands of Louise and Jonah, who still found great fascination in the device.

"Another one?" Mia asked, leaning over to read the invite with her brother. "Didn't you go to one just last week?"

"Yes," Thad answered. "But Puckerman loves a party. You should go, Mia; it's been a few years since you went to any Hollywood parties."

"I have kids, Thad," Mia shot back, glaring at him across the table. "I can't go out like I used to." Thad shrugged and continued to eat, flashing a smile to Jonah who had been watching the exchange. "Besides," Mia resumed. "No-one knows who I am anymore; I was barely in the show business before I left it."

"Go for some fun then," Thad reasoned.

"Thad's got a point," Blaine piped up, handing the phone back and looking to his sister. "God knows you need some fun right now." He offered a soft smile and Mia allowed herself to consider the idea.

"What about the kids? I can't just leave them here."

"Don't worry, I know a great babysitter who doesn't live too far from here." Thad interjected. Mia and Blaine both stared at him. "I dated her last summer," Thad elaborated with a soft shrug. "We kept in touch."

Mia was about to question it, but decided not to; what Thad got up to in his private life was none of her business, and she wanted to actually finish her dinner, which was actually surprisingly good considering the last time Blaine claimed to have cooked for her she had found the packaging in the garbage the next day. She was still reluctant, however, and brother was quick to try and extinguish it.

"I won't let you get drunk, or hit on, I promise." Mia raised a questioning eyebrow as a grin began to tug on one corner of her mouth. Blaine raised his right hand, little finger extended, and Mia laughed; when they were younger, Mia and Blaine had made many a pinky-swear, and it was nice to see that these little parts of their relationship hadn't gotten lost amongst their busy, grown-up lives.

"Fine," Mia linked her own little finger with her brother's, Blaine's eyes lighting up as she did so. "I'll go, but I leave before midnight, with or without you."

"You've got yourself a deal, Cinderella." The siblings grinned at each other before dropping their hands and turning back to their respective plates, Mia alternating between feeding herself and her youngest child.

"So," Rachel started as she inspected a slim, red cocktail dress. "This guy…Who is he?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she admired a nearby purple dress, a glint of curiosity in her eyes as she turned to look at Kurt as well. The chestnut-haired author huffed and folded his arms across his chest, leaning his shoulder against the wall as he eyed his two new friends with annoyance and suspicion.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her, but a small, amused smirk was starting to tug at the corners of his mouth. "I didn't tell you the first fifty times you asked, I'm not going to tell you now." Since their meeting at the party a few nights ago, Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes had kept in contact and a strong, three-way friendship was forming. They had decided to go on a shopping trip together in order to get to know one another better, the girls soon learning that Kurt's keen eye for fashion was a very good allegiance to make.

"We just want to know!" Rachel whined, abandoning the red dress on the rack and coming over to him.

"Well I'm not going to tell you, so you may as well stop asking." Kurt replied softly, a gentle smile finally breaking through, his voice without a hint of malice or threat. Rachel had been constantly asking and hinting at Kurt to let them in on his secret crush over the past few days, and Kurt had lost count somewhere around twenty seven. He guessed the numbers must now be approaching fifty.

"Come on, Kurt," Mercedes tried a gentler approach. "Why won't you tell us?"

Kurt floundered for a second, trying to remind himself of the exact reasons that had led to him choosing secrecy over gushing like a schoolgirl. His first thought was that he didn't want the girls to know it was Blaine, because Blaine was famous – he didn't want the press to be all over them. He then had to quickly remind himself that he and Blaine weren't actually dating; he didn't even know if the guy was gay or not, and so he couldn't get defensive over their 'relationship'. His next thought was that Blaine was rather well-known in showbiz and magazines for dating several different women over a short stretch of time: even if he was gay, Kurt didn't really want to be dating a man like that, but he had no doubt that the girls would persuade him to try.

He soon realised that Rachel and Mercedes were watching him with small – but still noticeable – smirks. He'd obviously been daydreaming for longer than he had anticipated, and blushed a ferocious red that made his pale skin appear burnt when he realised that for himself.

"Because- Because nothing will ever happen between him and me, that's why." Kurt had been telling himself this for nearly a week, ever since the dark, curly-haired singer had approached him at Santana Lopez's party. It was a fact that repeated over and over in his head like a record constantly on loop, classic from the 'Forget About Him And Move On' album that was the soundtrack to his love life. But hearing the words out loud, allowing his tongue to form the words in his mouth only for his voice to spit them out made it all suddenly a lot more real – and a lot more painful. All the clichés of coming to such a realisation bombarded him at once; a slap to the face, a dagger to the heart, a heavy weight crushing his chest. Blinking through the tears that had miraculously formed in his pale-blue eyes, Kurt came to realise that he was more upset by this statement than he had allowed himself to express, and while it may have been a good idea to let him cry a little over this in selfish self-pity, a clothes store was not the place to do it.

Wiping roughly at his eyes he looked back up to the girls in front of him; their amused smiles now replaced by concerned frowns. He cursed himself for getting so upset and internally scolded himself for being so stupidly emotional over a crush. Because a crush was all this was, right?

"Kurt, honey," Mercedes cooed, gently taking one of his hands in hers to pull him in for a hug. "You don't know that," Her voice was loud in his ear, but at the same time it was immensely comforting. "Don't put yourself down so much; you're amazing, you're kind, you're funny, sweet, everything a guy could want." Kurt sank into the hug – for Mercedes was slightly shorter than he was – and allowed her loving warmth to wash over him and momentarily cocoon him in a world where nothing could go wrong, and where the guy you wanted, wanted you back. "And if all that fails," Mercedes added, still hugging Kurt in a way that he found almost motherly. "Your ass ain't too bad, either." Kurt laughed into her shoulder, holding her tighter and feeling her do the same in return.

Just as he was about to pull away, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his torso and a pressure on his back. A glimpse over his shoulder confirmed that Rachel was joining in on their embrace, the two girls effectively sandwiching him between their caring, loving, amazing, accepting selves. Kurt chuckled, evoking giggles from the two girls, and soon all three of them were laughing into each other's shoulders. They may not have known each other that long – in fact, it was only just a week since they had met each other – but in those few moments, when Kurt had one arm hugging Mercedes and the other holding Rachel's hands against his chest, all three of them knew that their blossoming friendship would last them a lifetime.

"Right," Rachel cleared her throat as they stood apart again. "Dresses?" She looked from Kurt to Mercedes and back again, motioning to the vast selection of attire around them. Kurt chanced a glance at Mercedes, who raised an eyebrow at him as if to say 'Are you up for it?', before turning back to Rachel.

"Dresses." He agreed.

"Jonah, please stop trying to undress the mannequins," Blaine sighed as he pulled his nephew away and smartened up the mannequin in question. Jonah only giggled and skipped off, most likely to find another model he could attempt to unclothe. Blaine hurried after him, stopping him short of trying to hide amongst a display of skirts and taking his hand in his. After a few minutes of wandering round the store whilst Jonah tried to free his hand Blaine finally found his sister browsing through dresses as she gently rocked Harvey's stroller back and forth.

"Mia, tell me why the kids had to come shopping with us?" Blaine whined as his sister inspected another cocktail dress. Mia stared at him like he'd just asked her if the sky was purple.

"You really think I'm going to leave them alone with Thad?" she asked incredulously, still holding the dress even though she was no longer examining it. Blaine thought about it for a second, but at risk of saying the wrong thing he merely shrugged. "It's okay when we're in the same house, but leaving them with him while I go out? I don't think so. They'd eat him alive!" Blaine laughed because he knew his sister was probably right. Jonah, who had been listening to the exchange because his uncle's grip on his hand gave him no other choice, laughed because his mother had no idea. "What do you think of this one?" Mia returned her gaze to the dress in her right hand, her left holding onto the handle of Harvey's stroller.

"It's… nice- Mimi, you know I hate dress shopping! Why are you asking me? I know nothing about fashion."

"You dress well." Mia countered without looking up as she moved onto a different dress.

"Fine, I know nothing about women's fashion." Mia smirked and nodded in agreement.

"You're right; you don't. Where's Lou? She'll tell me if her mummy will look good in this," Mia scanned the surrounding areas of the store for a few seconds before a frown started to form on her features. Blaine looked about him as well, a matching expression soon contorting his features. "Blaine?" The singer looked over to his sister to see a look of pure terror etched on her face. "Where's my daughter?"

A quick two hours passed, during which Kurt had Rachel and Mercedes trying on every dress the store had to offer that he felt would suit the two girls, inspecting and analysing all the different styles, colours and lengths. Rachel had walked away with the red cocktail dress she had spotted at the start of their shopping excursion, whilst Mercedes had instantly fallen in love with a black strapless floor-length gown adorned with diamonds as soon as she'd seen it, and Kurt had a very hard time denying that it was perfect for her. They had then descended upon the men's department in search of a perfect suit for Kurt. With all three of them being invited to more and more parties as their successes grew, the three of them had agreed that bonding whilst shopping was the best way to spend time together.

The three of them were just about to head out to find a restaurant for lunch when Mercedes spied a baby department and rushed over. "It's my nephew's birthday on Sunday," She explained once Kurt and Rachel had caught up with her. "I need to get him a present and I completely forgot!" She hurried off in the direction of toys on the other side of the section, so Kurt and Rachel decided upon a game of 'find the cutest baby outfit you can', cooing at nearly every piece of tiny clothing they came across.

Kurt was just about to gush to Rachel over 'the cutest little pink dress you ever laid eyes upon' when something knocked into his hip and nearly knocked him off balance. He turned, expecting to see an apologetic mother who had accidentally bumped him with her stroller, but saw nothing. A small sniffle from his left alerted him, and looking down he was met by a pair of large, hazel-brown eyes whose golden flecks threatened familiarity. Discarding the little pink dress almost instantly, Kurt knelt down beside her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, noting how scared and confused she looked.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine- oh!" Rachel, who had been facing the other way, turned to see Kurt talking to a little girl who looked no older than five years old. Her nod was very weak, but it was noticed and acknowledged all the same by the two adults. Rachel began scanning the store for any parents or other guardians as Kurt continued to assure her everything was okay.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Kurt asked gently. The girl opened her mouth to respond, but a voice that was firmly imprinted in Kurt's memory – and was definitely not one of a five year old girl – was heard.

"Louise!" Kurt and Rachel both turned their heads to see the person approaching. The girl span around and ran from them, straight into the arms of the man who had called her name. Kurt swallowed hard; as the man got nearer, it was clear to see that the man was the one and only Blaine Anderson.

Due to the utter relief that coursed through his body at the sight of his niece alive and well – despite the red rimmed eyes from where she'd been trying not to cry – Blaine didn't take immediate notice of the people who appeared to have found her. Instead his instant reaction was to scoop Louise up in his arms and hold her as close as he possibly could, the scent of her mother's raspberry shampoo filling his nostrils and calming his heartbeat. The young girl's arms tightened around his neck and Blaine felt the sting of tears developing in his eyes: he didn't want to imagine what could have happened if he and Mia hadn't noticed her absence until later, or, even worse, at all.

The sound of a throat clearing in front of him caused Blaine to open his eyes, reminding him that he had someone to thank. What he wasn't expecting to meet his gaze was a pair of ocean-blue eyes; the same ones that had been surprising him by appearing throughout his dreams since the day they'd met.

"Kurt?" The other man nodded, a dusty pink blush settling on his cheeks.

"Hi, Blaine," He replied, a small smile on his lips that Blaine wasn't sure about the meaning of. A small brunette woman was stood next to him, her eyes darting between the two men as they gazed at each other. Kurt seemed to remember her presence after a few seconds as he turned to her and introduced them to each other. "Blaine, this is my friend, Rachel Berry. Rachel, this is Blaine Ander-"

"I know who he is, Kurt!" Rachel cut him off with a sickly sweet smile in the singer's direction. Blaine felt his face heat up slightly as he shook her hand. "Is this your daughter?" she asked him, a sudden wave of confusion hitting her as her attention landed upon the girl in his arms again. Kurt felt his heart plummet; maybe this guy did have kids. He could be a Jude Law or someone, getting girls pregnant as he went through seemingly every girl in L.A and a ten mile radius. Blaine chuckled as Louise started to laugh in his arms, Rachel and Kurt sharing a confused look before turning back to the Anderson pair.

"No, he's my Uncle Blaine, silly!" Louise exclaimed, still laughing. Rachel and Kurt couldn't keep back their smiles as they watched the two interact, Blaine gently placing a kiss to Louise's cheek and Louise returning it with a smile. Kurt noticed how relaxed Blaine looked as he held her, and Rachel didn't miss the longing look on her new friend's face as he watched.

"Well, we'd better get back," Blaine finally said with a sincere smile as he looked back to Kurt and Rachel. "Thank you, for finding her." He extended his hand to Rachel, who took it with a smile, before turning to Kurt. Kurt took his hand gently but nearly stole it back when their skin touched: it felt familiar, like this shouldn't be the first time he held it and it shouldn't be the last, either. It was something he'd never felt before, and it confused him but thrilled him at the same time. He kept his composure, however, and offered a little wave to Louise as Blaine walked her away. Rachel waited until Blaine had disappeared around the corner before she turned back to Kurt.

"He seems nice," She grinned, gaining a satisfying feeling of victory when Kurt blushed fully to a deep shade of red.

"Yes, very nice." Kurt replied shortly as gave her a sidelong glance. Rachel was about to press further when Mercedes re-joined them grasping a few items for her nephew.

"What did I miss?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Kurt's flushed face and Rachel's wide grin.

"I know who Kurt's guy is!" Rachel squealed excitedly, clapping her hands as she jumped up and down. Mercedes' jaw dropped as Kurt fired his best bitch-glare at Rachel, the shade of red his face was turning making him look like he could explode any second.

"Who?" Mercedes urged to Rachel, ignoring the exasperated sigh that came from Kurt as he threw his hands up. Rachel glanced at him for a second, seemingly debating whether she should say or not.

She decided she should.

"Blaine Anderson!" She cried, giggling uncontrollably when Kurt mumbled something about 'making it look like an accident'.

"NO!" Mercedes beamed, turning to gape at Kurt.

"I never said that!" Kurt exclaimed, eyes wide and silently begging them to just shut up already.

Rachel smirked at him. "You didn't have to."

So, was that okay for over three months of no story? I hope it was! I'm going to try and get started on chapter 11 ASAP, but I have some homework I need to get done for next Wednesday when we get back to school and I have to start getting some injections for when I go to Tanzania this summer (Yay, needles -.-). But hopefully it won't be another three months until I update this story again!

So... reviews are free? :) Let me know what you think, and if you have anything you'd like to see happen between these lovely boys. If I can't add it into this story, I can try and write a oneshot/drabble dedicated to you :)

If you've read this far, tell me your favourite superhero in your review (I watched The Avengers film the other day, and I'm pretty sure I'm in love with all of them - but Dr Banner, not the Hulk!)