Author's Note:
This is little bit of smut, and a whole lot of schmoop! Complete with tiny puppies :-) Enjoy!
Thank you so much to everyone who sends me feedback - you're wonderful and you spur me on to keep writing :-)
Chapter 20: A Family
When Blaine woke up that Sunday, he spent his first waking moments grinning at the ceiling, reliving the highlights of the day before.
He'd never really gotten the whole 'big deal' about sex. During puberty, he'd of course woken up regularly with jizz in his pyjama pants, but he'd never felt the urge to fantasize, or watch porn. When he jacked off, he did so quickly and efficiently, without thinking of anyone in particular.
And then Kurt had come along, and Blaine had started having those dreams. Waking up hard and rubbing against Kurt. And yes, thinking of Kurt whenever he masturbated, however guilty he felt about that.
Suddenly, he found himself wondering what it would feel like, having sex. When he pictured it, he saw himself with Kurt. It made his dick harden instantly, and provided better and longer orgasms than he'd ever had before.
The fantasies were nothing compared to the real thing, though. Wow. Kurt was as new to this as Blaine was, but you'd never be able to tell. Kurt's every touch set Blaine's body aflame, and the sounds he made turned Blaine on no end – so sexy!
Blaine let out a happy sigh and slipped out of bed without disturbing Kurt. It was half past five in the morning, but Blaine was wide awake already, as usual. He knew Kurt would be getting up soon, too, to walk his doggy clients. He glanced at his love, hidden under the comforter. A tuft of tousled hair was the only thing visible, and all he could hear was a rhythmic snuffling that proved Kurt was still deeply asleep.
I should let him sleep. We stayed up too late yesterday.
So Blaine took Kurt's phone with him to the kitchen, and silenced the alarm as soon as it went off.
Blaine dressed quickly, looked for Kurt's keys and plastic bags for the clean-up, and put leashes on the poodles, who didn't seem to care at all who took them for a walk as long as they got one.
He led the poodles help him remember where to go to pick up Snowball, Summer and Titus, and then headed to the park with the lot of them.
When he came back with the poodles, he gave them food and water, and then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself and Kurt.
There wasn't anything left in the fruit bowl, and there wasn't much in the pantry or in the fridge, either, but he found all the ingredients for a cheesy Sunday loaf, so he made the dough, kneaded it and left it to rise.
He went to check on Kurt, who was still dead to the world, and decided to walk to his own apartment to go fetch some more groceries to tide them over until Monday. Plus his laptop for all the essays he still had to grade. Thanks to Kurt, he hadn't lost another week to being a dog, but that didn't mean he could slack off the whole weekend.
The loaf was nearly done, spreading a delicious smell of melted cheese through the apartment, when Blaine finally heard Kurt stirring.
Blaine filled a mug with coffee and took it to the bedroom.
Kurt was no longer buried under the covers. Now, his entire face was visible, and he was turning this way and then the other.
Not long now until he wakes up…
And yes, a few minutes later, Kurt's eyes blinked open, and Blaine fell a bit deeper in love still as he looked at his adorable sleep-rumpled angel.
Kurt yawned and stretched, looking so much like a kitten waking up from a nap that it made Blaine smile.
Blaine hastened to offer Kurt coffee, knowing that Kurt wouldn't be up for conversation until he'd had his daily dose of caffeine.
And yes, as Kurt drank, his half-mast eyes opened fully, and he started questioning Blaine.
Blaine didn't pay much attention to what Kurt was saying, though, because he found himself distracted. The comforter had slipped off Kurt when he sat up, and now he was sitting there drinking coffee in all his naked glory. No wonder Blaine's throat went dry and he couldn't stop staring. Unf.
All too soon, the mug was empty, and Kurt escaped to the bathroom. Blaine took the mug back to the kitchen and checked on the bread. He decided to switch the oven off but leave the loaf in it, and then headed to the bedroom again to air it while they had breakfast.
Before he could open the window, though, he felt Kurt hugging him from behind, his breath hot in Blaine's ear when he told Blaine off for wearing too many clothes. Well, that was easy to remedy…
Blaine was about to strip when he had an idea. He'd let Kurt take his clothes off. Yes.
Five minutes later, he was so on edge that he rued the thought of giving Kurt the reins. Clearly, his love had a mean streak, to tease him so.
But then Kurt took him in his mouth, and Blaine lost any train of thought and just surrendered to hot wet bliss the likes of which he'd never experienced before. He tipped over the edge embarrassingly fast, but felt so amazing that he didn't even care. All he thought of was of kissing Kurt, and then paying him back in kind.
Kurt made the most amazing sounds while Blaine worked him over with his hand and his mouth. His back bowed off the bed, and he threw his head back, keening. Blaine couldn't keep his eyes of Kurt, and felt himself growing hard again. He hollowed his cheeks and took Kurt's dick a bit deeper, still, and Kurt choked out his name and came all over Blaine's tongue.
They lay on the bed facing each other and grinning, and Kurt noticed Blaine's half-hard dick and took it loosely in his fist, which only made it grow, of course.
"You're insatiable!" Kurt giggled.
Blaine kissed his nose. "Only for you, beautiful."
Kurt's stomach growled, and they both laughed.
"Hold that thought," said Kurt. "I don't know about you, but I've worked up quite an appetite."
Kurt tore into the pull-apart bread with relish, and told Blaine he'd never eaten anything so delicious.
Blaine laughed at that. "That's your hunger speaking. But I'm glad you like it, beautiful."
After their late breakfast, Kurt tugged them to the sofa, and Blaine followed him eagerly, thinking they'd continue where they'd left off, but when he cupped Kurt's face to kiss him, Kurt took his hands and shook his head.
"No, sweetie. As much as I love kissing you, I know where that's going to lead us, and I really think we need to talk."
Blaine's good mood evaporated in a fraction of a second, and only left dread in its wake.
"You're… You're breaking up with me?" he asked, his voice faltering.
Kurt squeezed his hands. "What? No! No, not at all. Why would you think that? No! I just feel like we need to discuss where we stand. As a couple. And what we have in mind. For the future. We need to be on the same page."
Blaine sat up straight and gave Kurt his full attention. "Okay."
"So… What are we?" Kurt wanted to know. "Are we boyfriends?"
Blaine nodded and beamed. "Yes."
Kurt smiled back at him. "I'm just asking because somehow, we're full-on planning a wedding already. So you still mean to propose to me one of these days? We're not going to pretend that it happened already and skip that stage?"
Blaine shook his head. "No! No. I… I have plans."
"Good," said Kurt. "Don't make it a big production, please. Don't break out in song in a restaurant or at school or something. I wouldn't like that at all. And you could lose your job over it if you did it at school. So… keep it a private moment. Just for us. Okay?"
"Okay," Blaine promised. That fit his plans perfectly anyway.
"The next thing is, where are we going to live?"
Blaine frowned. "I thought…"
"You thought I'd move in with you permanently?"
Blaine shrugged. "Well… Yes."
"Hmm."
"What's wrong with my apartment?" Blaine asked, puzzled.
"It's not your apartment that's the problem here," Kurt explained. "It's that I'd feel like a kept man. I don't want you to be my sugar daddy. I want us to be equals in this relationship."
Blaine wanted to protest that they were equals, but stopped to think. Yes, Kurt was right.
"Do you want us to look for another place together?" Blaine offered.
Kurt beamed at him. "Yes, please. Though we can wait until I've found a job, after graduating, and have saved up some money."
"Oh, R/GA will want to keep you," Blaine prophesized. "You'll see."
Kurt grinned. "I hope so. I love working there. Okay, next thing we need to discuss: pets and children. Do you want any? And when?"
Blaine exhaled slowly. Wow. Kurt didn't pull his punches, did he? He brought up the big questions all at once. "Uhm…"
Kurt laughed. "You weren't expecting me to bring that to the table just yet? But I need to know, sweetie! I can't marry you without knowing we think alike on those matters. They're way too important."
"True."
"I'll go first," Kurt offered. "I'd like to have children one day, but not yet. Not for another ten years or so. I would like to have a dog, though. I've spent years walking dogs belonging to other people, and as much as I've enjoyed that, I want one of my own. One that I don't have to bring back after every walk, or say goodbye to when my dog-sitting assignment is over. I want one for keeps."
Blaine beamed at him. "Same."
"Any preference?" Kurt asked.
"Mmm…"
"Okay, that's not so important right now. We can discuss it later. Now… Who do you want to invite to the wedding? I'm graduating in May, so I guess it won't matter much if you invite your colleagues. Or do you think it could still get you into trouble?"
Blaine shrugged. "The only colleague I want to invite is Paula, and she knows about us. Always has."
Kurt nodded. "Right. I'd like to invite Maizie and Neil and Elliott. They're all graduating this year, too, so I don't think me inviting them will cause any problems. And then there's Rachel, who used to be my roommate. And Mercedes, my best friend from high school."
"I'm looking forward to meeting them," Blaine said.
Kurt took a deep breath. "And I want Trent as my best man. Please. I know he's your best friend, but he's been my rock the past year. Seriously. I don't know what I would have done without him and his pep talks."
Blaine opened and closed his mouth a few times without any sound coming out.
"Please," Kurt repeated.
Blaine bit his lip. "Well, I could ask my brother, I guess. Though he's obnoxious. No. No, I'd better go with Ashton. It's bad enough that Cooper will come to the wedding and make it all about him again."
"What?" Kurt laughed. "He wouldn't!"
"Oh, trust me, he would. It's Cooper."
It came out rather bitter, and Blaine looked away, trying to keep his feelings under control.
"Is that why your brother was never there for the holidays?" Kurt asked. "You don't get along?"
Blaine hesitated. "It was mainly the dog curse. But we don't get along very well, no."
When the list of invitees was drawn up, Kurt wanted to know if he could design the invitations.
Blaine smiled. "Sure you can. Knock yourself out!"
That was enough encouragement for Kurt to whip out his sketchbook and start drawing, humming happily.
Blaine took advantage of Kurt's abstraction to make a few phone calls for his afternoon plans, and then marked essays until it was time to walk the dogs again.
"Beautiful?" Blaine asked, when they'd returned all the dogs to their homes. "Can I take you somewhere?"
Kurt, who was crouching between the two drinking poodles and petting them both, looked around with a sweet smile. "Sure, honey. They're all set now."
Once outside, Kurt hooked his arm through Blaine's. "So where are we going?"
Blaine grinned and tapped Kurt's nose. "Not telling just yet. You'll see when we get there."
Kurt pouted for six blocks, but when he saw they were heading to the Manhattan Animal Care Center, his face lit up. "You want to go pick out a dog?"
Blaine smiled at him. "They took in a pregnant dog a while ago, and now there's a nest of puppies. They're not old enough to be adopted yet, but they'll be looking for a forever home around the time your dog-sitting assignment ends. So I thought we might get acquainted with the puppies, and maybe choose one to adopt."
"Oh my God, yes!"
Kurt skipped up the steps so fast Blaine had to run to catch up with him, and a few minutes later, they were cooing at a proud mama and her four adorable tiny fur-balls. Three of them were dark brown, but the fourth was lighter in colour, with patches and spots. And when it blinked its eyes open as Kurt petted it, they were blue.
"That's the only girl," said Eileen, the volunteer who'd accompanied them. "She's just the sweetest thing."
"She is!" Kurt agreed, and then he whispered to the pup, "Yes, you are, aren't you? Such a sweet little darling."
"She has your eyes," Blaine pointed out, and Kurt laughed, startling all the pups, who whimpered and squirmed.
"Oh, shhh, sorry, babies," Kurt comforted them, stroking their backs until they were calm again.
When they left, Kurt told Eileen they'd definitely adopt the girl pup, and maybe one of the boys, too.
She smiled at him. "I'm so glad they'll have a good home. I can tell that you're a natural at handling dogs. You'll have to wait another four weeks, though. We're not putting them up for adoption until they're eight weeks old."
Kurt nodded. "I know. In the meantime, can we come back and visit them?"
"Of course you can!"
On the way back home, Kurt had the hugest smile on his face.
"They're adorable, aren't they?" Blaine asked.
"They are," Kurt agreed. "But it's more, like, we're gonna be a family. It's… yeah. It's a really good feeling."
Blaine pulled Kurt close and kissed his temple. "The best."
K&B
Blaine stayed at the poodles' apartment with Kurt the next weeks, and as often as they could, they went to visit their dog family at the animal shelter.
They went on dates, too, every weekend. Blaine took Kurt to Alice's Tea Cup, to the zoo, to the Met, to the ice-skating rink and to a restaurant with a breath-taking view of the Empire State Building. The one day that it stormed too much to go anywhere, they made cupcakes and decorated them. That ended with complete chaos in the kitchen, more icing on the two of them than on the cupcakes, and Kurt collapsing into a giggle fit when Blaine explored all his ticklish places.
Blaine loved how Kurt soaked up every new experience and turned it into inspiration for his designs, and he loved how Kurt noticed and appreciated all the little delights in life. Most of all, he just loved Kurt. It became even harder for him not to follow Kurt around like a puppy in class, and Paula kept telling him to tone down the heart eyes.
When the 14th of February arrived, Blaine once again silenced Kurt's alarm and walked the dogs in his place. He made Kurt a fruit salad and heart-shaped waffles with whipped cream and hot chocolate with a heart in the foam, and brought it to bed on a tray.
As it was a Friday, they both had class, but they agreed to meet up at the animal shelter in the evening.
Blaine went to the shelter earlier than agreed upon, accompanied by two guys from Stephanotis. Eileen winked at him and whispered, "It's all arranged. You can borrow Room 206 for your plans. Good luck!"
When Kurt arrived an hour later, the room was transformed into a place straight from a fairy tale. There were green boughs and flowers hanging from the ceiling, interspersed with fairy lights. The men had also built a tiny rock formation with a waterfall, and in the middle of the room was a wrought iron table with matching chairs, and on it two of Blaine's finest china plates, crystal goblets and silver cutlery. The food was in a picnic basket next to it.
Kurt's mouth fell open when he saw everything. Then he noticed Blaine, down on one knee and holding two of the puppies on his lap, wearing a pink and a blue bow respectively, and he clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Blaine!"
It came out a little hoarse, and Blaine could see that Kurt was blinking away tears.
"Kurt. My wonderful, beautiful Kurt. I've known you for two years now, and every day I fall more and more in love with you. If you'll let me, I'd like to do so for the rest of my life. I promise to cherish you and believe in you and support you in everything that you do. I promise to listen to you and work with you as team and make you my number one priority. I want us to be a family. With children, one day, yes, but starting with these pups for now. What do you say?"
Kurt, now fully crying, nodded.
Blaine held out the girl pup to him, showing the ring that was tied to her bow. "Will you marry me, please?"
Kurt took the pup in his arms and let out a sound between a laugh and a sob. "Yeah. Yes."
Blaine beamed at him and pecked him on the lips, deftly undoing the bow and slipping the ring onto Kurt's finger.
After another quick kiss, Blaine asked, holding out the other pup, who had a key tied to his bow. "And will you move in with me until we find a place of our own?"
Kurt nodded again. "Yes. Yes, of course. Oh, Blaine! This is…"
Blaine carefully put the pups back into their basket, and then gathered Kurt into his arms to kiss him until he stopped crying.
"I'm… not sad!" Kurt clarified between kisses. "Just… overwhelmed. This is… so much."
"I know, beautiful," Blaine reassured him. "I know. I love you."
"I love you too."