AN: Sorry for the delay, the universe did not want me to get this one out on time. On a more positive note, I did have a good time in London, especially because I finally got to see 'The Book of Mormon" (had a nice surprise as well when I opened my program and saw a Starkid in one of the lead roles) and "Wicked" for the second time. (It took me a while to get used to the British accent but I very much preferred the London Fiyero to the one I saw in the Chicago production a few years back)

To make up for the late update, you'll get the next one tomorrow. After this, there should be 4 more chapters, two of which are complete and the final two about halfway finished. So even if I don't post the rest of it this week, the goal is to finish it within the next two weeks.

I hope you all had a good New Year's Eve and managed to start the year hangover-less ;)

PART 3

Chapter 11

May 2022

Turning twenty-nine as it turns out is a big deal after all as his friends keep reminding him it's the last time there's a two in front. The only one not participating is Jesse who recently turned thirty, all though if you ask him he'll tell you that he just turned twenty-nine - for the second time of many.

They start the party early so Lexy can celebrate with her daddy as well, Blaine bringing over a huge birthday cake with twenty-nine candles. Kurt lets his daughter help him blow them out when she keeps running toward the cake, not satisfied when Kurt tells her she'll have her own cake in two weeks. They have plans to head out later though, after James picks up Lexy around eight so Kurt can have a grown up party with his friends.

"You're crazy," he tells Blaine once everyone has a piece of cake. "I didn't need a cake this big."

Blaine just smiles and shrugs. "It's your birthday."

"Just wait for your own," Kurt mock threatens but Blaine just smirks.

"I'll only need twenty-four candles. You can fit those on a normal cake."

The cake is delicious though. Topped with dark chocolate and with cheese cake filling in the middle, as Kurt's addiction to cheese cake is an open secret.

"I'd prefer a regular chocolate one though. I think I will never understand your obsession with cheese cake."

Kurt gasps. "That's it, friendship over."

It's nice to be able to joke like that again, without having to worry about his every move. Kurt spent most off his time off with Lexy or doing things for himself, but he, Blaine and Lexy had still hung out at least twice a week. They'd gone to the Central Park Zoo, visited the Children's museum and had taken the ferry to Staten Island because Lexy had enjoyed the ride to IKEA so much. Other times, they had met at Kurt's apartment and had watched Disney movies together, often acting out the scenes for Lexy who would always beg Blay to sing with Daddy.

"Nooooo," Blaine wails dramatically. "I'll take it back, cheese cake is delicious."

"Blay gaga," Lexy observes causing everyone to laugh and Blaine to retaliate by stealing her nose.

By the time James comes by to pick up Lexy, Kurt has to bribe her with a new dress for her doll to get her to leave with her other daddy, because she refuses to let got of Blaine's leg.

"Linda got me tickets for the previews," James tells him as Kurt helps Lexy into her shoes and a light summer jacket. "I really wanted to be there for your premiere, but Mr. Horn needs me in Beijing for a meeting with this new client."

It takes Kurt a moment to understand what James isn't saying. Because their Broadway premiere is only days after their daughter's 2nd birthday.

"Well, you never said you would make it and Lexy probably won't care with her grandparents flying to New York to celebrate with her."

He doesn't care in that moment if he hurts James' feelings. Their divorce papers are signed, they have a date to meet with the judge assigned their case and Kurt's gotten used to being disappointed by James in the years they were together.

"I hope you enjoy the show and thanks for letting me know. I had a seat saved for you."

He'll ask James' secretary Linda if she wants to go instead because she deserves it after all the stuff she has to do for James. Kurt's pretty certain half the gifts he'd received in the past two years have been picked and purchased by Linda because James had been a horrible gift giver before he started his job.

James just nods before he shakes Blaine's hand.

"Nice seeing you again, man. Looking forward to seeing your play."

"Hope you'll like it," Blaine replies and for once they sound like they mean it.

With Lexy gone, Santana and Brittany change into tight and revealing dresses and after much badgering from them, Kurt goes and changes into tight jeans and a formfitting shirt as well. He can feel Blaine's eyes on him when he bends over to tie his shoes, but Blaine's attraction to Kurt had never been the issue, so Kurt lets Blaine stare but turns away when Blaine bends over to tie his own shoes.

At the club he makes sure to have a glass of water after every drink so he won't get shitfaced again and while he dances with all his friends, Blaine included, he makes sure to only do so when there's a fast, upbeat song playing. From time to time, guys come up to him, trying to buy him drinks or get him to dance with them, but Kurt tells each one upfront.

"I have a kid. Still interested?"

He isn't surprised when every single guy shakes his head and scampers off quickly. Two even accuse him of inventing a kid just because he doesn't want to dance with them. Kurt doesn't tell them how ridiculous that is and how much easier his life would be without a child in his life.

To his surprise, Blaine keeps turning down guys as well. Kurt never hears what he tells the hopefuls, but after every guy he just drags Brittany or Santana onto the dance floor or tries his luck with Kurt. Kurt doesn't exactly turn him down, but he always makes sure there's enough space between them on the dance floor to make it clear they're just friends. More than once he wants to ask why Blaine keeps sending ridiculously hot guys away, but since revealing his feelings it's not really his place anymore to ask Blaine stuff like that, right? He doesn't ask Santana either, who'd probably say that Blaine's turning down other guys because he hopes to end the night in Kurt's bed and that's so not going to happen no matter how horny he is. Thankfully, Blaine doesn't ask him about his own rejects either, because Kurt's not ready to admit that on the one hand he isn't ready to meet someone new because he's still in love with Blaine and on the other hand doesn't want to tell Blaine that the men rejected him when he told them about Lexy.

They all stay till closing, Santana and Brittany easily out dancing the much younger crowd while Rachel and Jesse pretty much reenact one of the key scenes of Spring Awakening in a dark corner of the club. Kurt knows that he only has to say the word if he wants to end up in his own dark corner with Blaine and once they end up pressed against one another on the dance floor, he decides that he's done with drinking and dancing for the night. Blaine hides his disappointment well when Kurt leaves him on the dance floor and flees to the restroom to splash cold water on his face.

All in all, the evening is a success though. Sure he'd prefer it if he were younger because he isn't ready to turn thirty in a year, but his life could be worse right now. After all, he's employed, has a wonderful daughter and a group of amazing friends … what more could he ask for? Blaine is the obvious answer but Kurt refuses to go there. He'll never get over him other wise.

Kurt nervously paces his dressing room after rearranging the armchair he'd brought to the theater for the umpteenth time and decorating half of the mirror with pictures of friends and family. They are starting their Broadway previews in three hours, meaning that Kurt is at the theater way too early, but he couldn't stay at home and watch the clock any longer. Thankfully, Katie didn't have a problem with coming by earlier, so now Kurt's in a basically empty theater and trying not to freak out. Sure he'd performed the show in front of an audience before, but that had been small theaters on the New England coast and not the Gershwin Theater, famous for being the home of Wicked for nearly eighteen years. And tonight, Kurt Hummel will perform on its stage for the very first time, in his very first Broadway lead. Tonight, fans of a show won't be disappointment when they find out u/s Kurt Hummel is performing, because this time people will have purchased tickets in spite of him, a relatively unknown newcomer, being in the lead. Tonight, fans of Butterfly Factory may come to the show to see him because casting newcomers had worked so well for Blaine's first show and just knowing that people may come to the show to see if he was the right choice makes him want to throw up. Kurt has experienced stage fright before, which actor hasn't, but he's never felt like this. Sweaty, nauseous and unable to stop his hands from shaking.

"Are you all right?" Blaine pokes his head through Kurt's open door. "Susie at stage door told me one of my stars is here three hours early."

Kurt falls into his armchair and wraps his arms around his knees.

"I don't think I can do this. What if people are going to laugh because of my voice or I forget all my lines."

Blaine kneels down in front of him and covers Kurt's hands with his own.

"You can do this because you are the best choice for this role. And if you think I'm biased, well, we wouldn't have the financial backing if our co-producers didn't agree. Not once did one of them tell me to recast your role if I wanted it to be on Broadway because they all saw what I saw, that you're perfect for this part. And if you really forget the lines or lyrics just remember that no one knows the show yet. We'll be in previews for the next three weeks so if you screw up we can always say it was part of an old draft. I believe in you and I know you're going to be amazing out there tonight."

Kurt barely refrains from kissing Blaine and settles on a bone-crushing hug to show his gratitude.

"Thanks," he whispers. "I'm feeling so much better already. And I'll try not to throw up on stage or do something equally embarrassing. I'm so proud to be able to be part of your show and I never want to anything to embarrass you."

"The show wouldn't be the same without you, so I think we're even," Blaine winks before he pulls Kurt out of his chair and tugs him through the door.

"Where are we going?" Kurt asks as he follows Blaine through the labyrinth behind the stage.

"We're going for a walk because you don't have to be in make up for another hour and a half and I think fresh air will do you some good."

Kurt doesn't disagree and they walk around till Kurt has to return to the theater to warm up and get ready for his first show. It's only after he takes his final bow, his arms linked with Jesse's that he remembers that Blaine didn't let go of his hand once the whole time they were walking through the theater district.

June 2022

Lexy's 2nd birthday is on a Monday, meaning Kurt has the whole day to celebrate with his daughter instead of having to rush to the theater for their previews. The official Broadway premiere is only four days away but after eighteen performances, it seems less important than it did before they started their Broadway previews. What he's looking forward to though is having his parents in the audience.

Burt and Carole have flown out the previous day, both taking the week off to spend it in New York with Kurt and their granddaughter and Kurt's grateful for it because he has an interview scheduled with Broadway dot com and a cast performance on 'Good morning America' on the day of the premiere which coincides with Katie's father's birthday which means his babysitter is out of town.

The day of Lexy's birthday, they spend the morning opening presents before Carole, Brittany, Santana and Rachel take her to Alice's Tea Cup for early afternoon tea, while he and Burt set up for her birthday party. Not even his dad looks surprised when Blaine shows up two hours early to help them ("I thought you could need some help what with James being in Asia") and promptly uses Blaine's appearance as an excuse to go and take a nap because the mattress in their hotel room is apparently horrible.

"I told you you can stay with me," Kurt reminds his dad when he keeps grumbling about his poor back on the way to Kurt's bedroom, but his dad waves him off, mumbling something about privacy. Kurt doesn't want to know if he's talking about Kurt's or his and Carole's so he doesn't ask and instead hands the other end of the banner they were about to hang up to Blaine.

Blaine secures the dozen Disney themed balloons he's brought along to a chair before he helps Kurt put up a banner spelling 'Happy 2nd Birthday Alexandra' in bright colors. Even though his daughter can't read yet and is still a bit confused about the concept of birthdays and Christmas, Kurt decided to go all out, because they would take a ton of pictures for her to look at when she's older. And probably videos thanks to the smart phones they all possess.

When the girls return from their afternoon tea, Kurt brings the cake out of the kitchen. It's a simple chocolate cake decorated with sugary snowflakes because of Lexy's current obsession with 'Frozen'. On top of it are three candles, two for her birthday and one to grow on, which Lexy blows out the moment Kurt lights them without waiting for her birthday song. Once she is secured in her grandpa's lap, Kurt relights the candles and everyone launches into a slightly off-key version of 'Happy Birthday' before Lexy is allowed to blow her candles out again.

Kurt's 'single parents' group had shown up shortly before the girls returned from the city and with six kids, aged 2 to 5 in the apartment, he suddenly feels quite bad for his neighbors because those kids are loud even when all they're doing is eat cake. Once all the cake is eaten, Kurt has to take Lexy to the bathroom because her face is covered in cake before changing her into purple pants and a light blue t-shirt because her dress ended up full of cake as well.

The pants are a good choice once the kids start playing with Lexy's new toys on the floor, but Kurt removes the watercolors Brittany bought for her before his daughter can get her hands on them. When all presents are finally open, Kurt gapes at the amount of them because he is certain he never got that many presents when he was Lexy's age, which his dad confirms.

"To be fair, when you were two years old you didn't have friends whose parents could have gotten you gifts, because your mom stayed home with you and the only other mothers she knew had kids that were a lot older and had no interest in playing with you."

"I don't think she really sees those kids as her friends yet because she never cares who's sitting with her as long as playing is involved," Kurt replies.

Point in case, Blaine's on his hands and knees on the floor, being used by the younger kids as their personal jungle gym.

"Do you ever think about having more kids?" Carole asks him when she catches him watch Lexy with his friends' kids.

"I don't know," he replies honestly. "Definitely not any time soon, but if I find the right man then maybe. But I also don't want there to be like a ten year age difference because I know Blaine only managed to have some kind of a relationship with his brother when he was already in college and if I give Lexy a brother or a sister then I want her to have a connection to her sibling."

"Who knows, maybe you'll meet a man one day who already has a kid Lexy's age." The like me and your dad remains unsaid, but Kurt knows how happy his parents were when he and Finn finally started to see one another as brothers.

Then he looks at Blaine though and no matter how unlikely it is that he'll have a big family with Blaine one day, he isn't ready to let go of the fantasy. But maybe, he should open himself up to the possibility that he'll find his happiness elsewhere, because he doesn't want to become that sad single guy who never dates anyone because the one he wanted didn't like him back.

A week after 'Ace of Spades' officially opens on Broadway to mostly positive reviews, Kurt's divorce is finally finalized and the first thing he does after leaving the courtroom is head home and log into his facebook account.

His relationship status had remained 'married' all throughout his separation because 'it's complicated' didn't really fit and 'happily separated' hadn't been an option. It's with a smile on his face that he changes his status to 'single' before he gets a small bottle of sparkling wine from the fridge. Fortunately, he has another six hours before he has to be at the theater and Lexy is with Brittany and Santana so a glass to celebrate his freedom won't hurt.

When he gets back to his laptop after changing out of his suit and into comfortable yoga pants and a simple t-shirt, he already has 153 likes, nearly twice as many as he had gotten for his wedding announcement. There's even a comment or two from guys he went to college with asking if it's too soon to ask him out and another guy saying he'd be interested to do him as long as the kid stayed with Kurt's ex. Because he can't even remember where he knows the guy from, Kurt promptly unfriends him before reading through the rest of the comments. Most are from friends, congratulating him on his freedom, and in that moment he's glad that James doesn't have a facebook account, ("I'm a businessman, Kurt. I have better things to do than post pictures of my lunch no one truly cares about.") because most comments aren't exactly James friendly.

Too lazy to cook – it isn't often that he's childfree on a Tuesday – he orders Japanese while he sips his sparkling wine and watches fan made videos taken at the first stop of Mercedes' first national tour. He'd gotten tickets for her New York show the moment they went on sale, because it's been way too long since he'd seen her perform live.

Before he knows it, it's time to head to the theater, where he's greeted with hugs and more congratulations on his divorce and has to promise to join the rest of the cast for drinks after the show to properly celebrate his freedom.

Blaine pulls him aside before Kurt has to go warm up, a rare visitor now that the show is being performed in it's final form and no more last minute rewrites are necessary.

"Are you happy?"

Kurt nods because he's getting there. One way or the other. With or without Blaine.

AN: If you haven't seen it yet, look up Jonathan Groff recounting how he forgot the words to a Spring Awakening song during a Broadway performance on YouTube. It's pretty hilarious.