"'M sleepy. Don't make me g-get up."

"It's three, Kurt."

"I worked 35 hours this week. My feet hurt. And my back. And my everything. I'm j-just sleepy." The taller of the two boys yawned as he curled into a ball, pulling the covers up over his body.

"We haven't had more than three hours alone together since you started working at that godforsaken Express. Don't sleep it all away." Blaine leaned over his boyfriend, kissing down his jaw slowly in an attempt to wake him. He felt bad waking Kurt up, he really did, but they rarely spent time together anymore and it was becoming harder with each day. He had tried waiting for the boy to wake up, but it just wasn't happening and he couldn't stand being alone in a house with Kurt without interaction any longer. "Wake upppp."

"Blaine," Kurt whined, arching towards him. "I'm tired."

Blaine sat up straight and watched the younger boy carefully. Kurt rolled onto his side, tugging his shirt that had ridden up during his fifteen hour sleep down past his stomach, and very slowly opened his blue eyes.

"Good afternoon, my love." Blaine said, running his fingers through his messy bed hair and smiling warmly at his boyfriend. He couldn't help but think about how adorable Kurt looked when he had just woken up, eyes sleepy and hair going in several different directions. Then again, Kurt Hummel was just adorable.

"Afternoon?" Kurt yawned again, stretching out his arms and legs.

"It's three." Blaine repeated.

"No!" Kurt gasped, eyes widening in shock. "We were going to go out to breakfast! Shiiit! I am so sorry, Blaine. Oh my God. Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"

"It's fine, Kurt. Really." Blaine laughed. "You've worked so much these past three weeks since you've started that it's ridiculous. I'm glad you're doing so well there and everything, but I wish they didn't work you so much. It is your summer break after all and you're spending it all at work or at home exhausted."

Kurt fell back against the pillows and rubbed his face, cringing as if the words hurt. "I know, I know. I'm so sorry I slept through breakfast… and lunch."

Blaine leaned forward and kissed the top of his head. "Don't apologize… I just wish you'd listen to Carole and change your availability. With all of the classes you'll be taking at school in the fall…I mean… Kurt, I don't know how you think you can go to school all day Monday through Thursday and then work Friday through Sunday… your school is much more hands on. You can't skim readings and not stay caught up. I just…I think we need to discuss what happens after summer." Sure, the stuff about school was all true. At the present time, though, Blaine really just wanted to spend more time with his boyfriend… but saying that would have made his argument less valid and he wasn't going to just give Kurt something to hold against him in the argument.

"You only have two weeks left of your summer classes, Blaine. We can spend more time together then when I have days off."

"One." Blaine corrected. "See? You're working so much you can't even keep your days and weeks straight. And the baby will be here soon, and then your birthday, and college. Tons of big things are coming up. This isn't about us spending time together, though, Kurt." Okay, maybe he lied a bit there. "It's about your sanity and your health. I don't want you overexert—."

Kurt held up a hand, looking impatient. Any time Blaine brought up overexerting himself, Kurt would get this way. He was fairly independent—okay, very independent in most ways—and didn't like Blaine fussing over him. Especially when it came to his health or anything at all relating back to his attack. "Don't you go all Dad on me, Blaine. I know what I can and can't handle. I'm fine."

"Kurt, if this is about the money… Alex is giving us $150 a week from his checks by direct deposit. I got that quarterly interest thing and it's in my savings. Burt gave us extra money. Burt gave us both credit cards to his account in case we need something. Kurt, we are fine money wise. You don't have to work yourself ragged."

"I have nothing to do when you're at school anyway." Kurt shrugged. "And they let me off on Friday nights to go home. You work two jobs and go to school. It wouldn't be fair for me to not work."

"I think you should work… but I also think we're in a position where neither of us have to kill ourselves over it. Talk to your boss and tell them you want twenty five hours for the rest of the summer… and then maybe we should talk to Burt about what you want to do for school. You'll need time to get your work done…"

Kurt let himself fall over onto Blaine, nuzzling his side. Because his boyfriend definitely brought up a valid point. It was going to be extremely difficult to balance school and work. When he and Carole had gone to the orientation and to schedule his classes shortly after moving into their new apartment, his very friendly advisor had suggested to all of the students that if they had to work, that they needed to keep it under seven hours a week for the first semester or two. This had been something he'd been trying to ignore, but now that Blaine was bringing up how hard it would be to do both… on top of Carole, who had been saying it all along… well, it was hard to ignore that many people.

"This is so stressful. Maybe I wasn't as mentally prepared for moving out as I thought." Kurt sighed.

"Hey, what does that mean?" Blaine asked softly, moving so he was sitting next to Kurt.

"I just… I wish I could go back to November, December, and January… no school, no work, and I got to spend as much time alone with you as I wanted." The younger boy mumbled, looking down.

"Yes, Kurt, because you were seriously injured." Blaine said sharply, scowling at his boyfriend. He almost couldn't even believe what he was hearing. "I don't wish we could go back there at all. Maybe you've tricked yourself into thinking back on things then and thinking they were relaxing or whatever, but personally I would never want to be in that position again. You couldn't sleep because of nightmares. You were an emotional wreck for months. Everyone—."

"No, that's not what I meant." Kurt sighed. "I just… I thought living alone meant we'd spend more time together, not less. You're always in Lexington and I just… miss you a lot, Blaine. Work keeps me preoccupied."

"But my finals are Thursday." Blaine pointed out. "Then I'll be all alone in the apartment when you're working 35 hours a week. I'm not working when school isn't in session. Kennedy's is letting me off… until the three days before fall classes start when it's busiest. So I'm going to be home very soon."

"I don't know if they'll still pay me $10.50 an hour if I step down in hours so soon… And my checks have been $320 a week. It's really nice to have that kind of money in case anything happens."

"You're trying to make the argument go in circles. We've got my money, Alex is giving us money, you've now got about $1,000 from Express saved up between these last three weeks that you've worked your ass off. Step down in hours. You're trying to take on too much, babe, and it's going to come crashing down on you."

"I wasn't aware this was an argument. I thought it was a discussion." Kurt sighed again and got out of bed, going over to his closet. He stretched, turning back to look at the older boy. "I don't know what to do here, Blaine. I'm only eighteen. I know it's going to be hard when it comes to school but isn't this what college students do? Work themselves crazy to get by while in school?"

"Most college kids aren't in programs like yours, Kurt. Most nimrods can get through a University and make a C in the class without even showing up. You can't compare yourself to kids in a completely different environment than yours, honey. And one of my jobs is in a library. They give me like three boxes of books to put away. It takes ten minutes. After that, I sit alone behind a desk for three hours reading Vogue or doing homework. So really they're paying me to do homework."

"But the bookstore—."

"Yeah, I actually work. But not nearly as much as you do. All I'm saying is… you can't try to do too much. Your school costs way too much money to… to let some clothing store in a mall get in the way… and I miss you."

"Fine." Kurt sighed, tugging on a shirt. "I'll go down there right now and ask to step down in hours. Then we can go get dinner somewhere or something."

Blaine looked relieved and nodded. "On Friday we'll head down a little early to Lima and talk to your dad about what we should do once school starts. You can go into Express and change your availability and I'll look in Waldenbooks when you do that. I really want that new book everyone's talking about. Maybe I can read it after my finals."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You spend more money on books than anyone I've ever met, Blaine. Haven't you heard of a library?"

Blaine made a face and shook his head. "I like to own books. I like to be able to re-read them whenever I want."

"Okay, okay, okay. You can spend two hours in the bookstore. But only because I slept in so late. Otherwise, I'd say no."

Blaine made his way over and kissed his cheek. "Hurry and get dressed! It's after three and the mall closes at six."

"Heaven forbid we spend less than three hours in a bookstore." Kurt muttered as he headed to the bathroom, but he turned back and gave Blaine a sweet smile so he would know Kurt was kidding.

The older boy sat at the desk in their bedroom while he waited for his boyfriend, rather impressed with himself. He had thought he was going to have to 'discuss' a whole lot more before he talked Kurt into working less, but he was extremely glad that Kurt had agreed so readily. After all, anyone could tell Kurt was way too overworked. He was sure Express knew nothing about his attack and how he had to take it slow, so he didn't think that the actual job was the problem. The problem was Kurt trying to push himself too hard and too far. There just wasn't any need for it when they already had money coming in.

Kurt came back into the room twenty minutes later, already dressed. Blaine hopped up excitedly and went over to mess up Kurt's hair as he began to style it.

"Stop it, Blaine!"

"Nope!" Blaine sang, continuing his attack. Of course he wasn't going to just stop it. Who did Kurt think he was? Messing up Kurt's hair was one of his favorite things to do. Plus, a small part of him enjoyed getting Kurt all riled up.

"Blaine!"

"Yes, dear?"

"If you want to leave, let me fix my hair! I didn't do this when you were fixing your hair."

"Only because you were asleep." Blaine pointed out, letting his hands drop. "When I fix my hair you sit in the living room and glower."

"No, I don't." Kurt scoffed.

"You totally do, Kurt. It's okay, I know you love the curls."

"I do not."

"It's been over a year, my love. You can admit that you like my curly head of hair."

Kurt very suddenly reached up, messing up Blaine's perfectly gelled hair. This was something Blaine did often, but Kurt had never messed up Blaine's styled hair. Blaine's hazel eyes widened in shock and then he gasped. "Kurt!"

"Ha! It's not so fun now, is it?" Kurt exclaimed, running his soft fingers through Blaine's hair and messing it up even more. "Actually, this is really fun! No wonder you always mess my hair up."

"Stop, Kurt!" Blaine stuck his lower lip out. "My hair is curly. It takes so much longer to fix than yours."

"Aw, okay." His younger boyfriend gave him a sympathetic look and stepped back.

"Thank you, Ku—AH! Kurt!"

Kurt tossed a plastic cup that had been on the nightstand and full of water to the ground and took off running from the room. The cup had been full, but now most of its contents were on Blaine. More specifically, on his head. Blaine ran after him, and almost caught him, but Kurt slammed the closet door shut and locked it at the last possible second.

"Kurt, you suck!" Blaine called, banging on the door. "Open up!"

"You talk with that mouth to my stepmother? You ought to be ashamed!" Blaine could just see the smirk on his boyfriend's face.

"Kurt, come on!" he said impatiently, tapping his foot.

"No. You'll chase me. You'll chase me and then murder me." Kurt called through the door. "Ow, Blaine, you've got sharp soccer shoes."

"They're called cleats." Blaine said impatiently. "Come out of the closet!"

"No! I'm fine just where I'm at. Can you call my dad and tell him you've chased me into a closet and that if I don't show up Friday you've turned homicidal?"

"No, but I'll call your dad and tell him what you did with your tongue last week in that fitting roo—."

"You wouldn't!" Kurt gasped, flinging the door open. Then his eyes widened and he slammed it shut again. Or tried to. Blaine was too fast for him and really both boys were now playing tug of war with it. "Give it, it's my closet!"

"Actually it's my closet and you're messing it up! Lemme in!"

"No! I'll kick you!"

"I'll kick back! The last person I kicked had a bruise for three months. I'm, like, a trained professional!"

"You look like a trained drowned rat right now." Kurt giggled, finally pulling the door shut and promptly locking it.

Blaine paused for several seconds, pushed the number one button seven times on his phone so Kurt could hear the dialing, and then said in a sweet voice, "Hi, Burt. No, no, everything is fine actually. I just wanted to tell you about what happened last week. No, it's a funny story. Oh, a customer just came in? I'll wait!"

The door flung open and Kurt knocked Blaine to the floor, wrestling him for the phone.

"Argh!" Blaine grunted, trying to hold the phone out as far as he could. It was no use, though. That extra inch and a half went a long way still, and Kurt grabbed the phone with his grasp.

"Oh, real mature, Blaine!" Kurt glared, holding up the phone, and sitting on the floor. He pointed at the seven "1"s. "I bet you think you're funny."

"Hey now, I can't help that I can't try on a pair of pants at the Gap without you—."

"Shhh!" Kurt's cheeks turned scarlet as he hid his face.

"I don't even know what came over you. It was very hot though." Blaine just grinned at his boyfriend. "I'm down for a repeat."

"No! No! I'm so embarrassed. Oh my God. I can't believe I did that. Oh my God. I'll never be able to go into a Gap again without thinking about it."

"Is that so bad?" The older boy's grin turned into an outright smirk.

"Yes!" Kurt squealed. "I don't do stuff like that, okay? I know when you were fifteen you basically did it any place you could but my extent of anything sexual has been with you. In a bed, on a couch, and that one time in the shower but that was as unexpected as this."

"Don't forget the back seat of my—."

"Don't. Oh my God, Blaine. What have you done to me?"

"Not to get technical here, honey, but you're the one who did something to me in that fitting room."

"I am so embarrassed." Kurt moaned, covering his face. "I don't even—I didn't—it just—happened!"

"You don't see me complaining, now, do you?"

"Well you're used to stuff like this!"

Blaine just laughed. "I'm not that used to it. I haven't had that many sexual experiences in public places. Maybe four other times. Just because I had a lot of sex doesn't mean I had a lot of… that kind of sex."

"I am so embarrassed." Kurt moaned. "I'll never be able to go into a Gap again."

"You work right down the hall from it." Blaine grinned.

Kurt let out an anguished sort of squeak, covering his face again. "Don't tease me, Blaine. Please."

"Kurt!" Blaine laughed, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. "It's precious how embarrassed you are about sex still after all of this time."

"Why can't romance just be touching hands?" Kurt whined into his shoulder. "It's so simple and romantic. And not embarrassing in the least bit."

"Because that wouldn't be very fun." Blaine pulled away from him and lowered his hands so he could see Kurt's face. "You're adorable."

"I wasn't adorable last week in the gap." Kurt protested.

"You're always adorable." Blaine stood, pulling Kurt gently up with him. "Let's go so you can talk to your boss, alright? And then we'll go to get dinner. It'll be my treat."

"You're only saying that because every time you buy me dinner, I buy you ice cream or a cupcake for dessert on the way home." Kurt muttered.

"This may be true, but it is the actions and not the ulterior motives that count."

"Actually, it is the thought that counts and not the action." His boyfriend corrected.

"Wait here. I've got to go and deal with this." Blaine gestured at his hair, shot Kurt a look, and disappeared into the bathroom. He washed his hair and then dried it as quickly as possible without bothering to style it. I bet this was Kurt's plan all along, he thought to himself as he made his way out into the hall.

By the time he'd made it, though, Kurt was already fast asleep on the couch and Blaine couldn't bring himself to wake the poor thing up. Instead, he settled down on the couch with him and pulled out his textbook, figuring he could at least use the time to study for his finals.

**WBUCT***

"Oh my God, she's so precious!" Kurt gasped as soon as he reached the hospital bed two days later, looking down at the bundle in his stepmother's arms. "She's so tiny. Oh my God."

Carole smiled up at him, moving so that she was sitting up straight instead of resting against her pillows. "Here, sit up here with me."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked hesitantly, letting his bag drop to the ground and setting his car keys on a nearby table. He had come to the hospital the second he'd received his father's text message, but it had taken him nearly two hours to get there. His baby sister was now four hours old. And absolutely beautiful.

"Of course, sweetie." Carole smiled and patted the seat next to her. "Burt just went to call your grandmother. The service isn't very good in here. Finn was here, but he had to leave. He'll be back soon."

"I came as soon as I saw the text when I went on my lunch. I'm sorry we missed it." Kurt apologized as he gently took a seat by her, trying not to move the bed enough to wake the sleeping baby. Most babies were not beautiful when they were first born, but his sister was. She had a full head of light reddish hair, chubby and adorable cheeks, tiny fingers, and tiny toes. Her eyes were closed so he didn't know what color they were yet, but he really hoped they were Carole's eyes because they would have gone beautiful with her hair color. She was really going to be a beautiful little girl. That was the only word that came to mind when Kurt looked down at her. Beautiful, just beautiful.

"She's already got a head full of hair." Carole laughed quietly. "Finn did too when he was born."

"She's so tiny." Kurt whispered, reaching out and hesitantly touching her tiny hand. "And so soft."

"Do you want to hold her?"

Kurt looked at Carole, blue eyes lighting up. Then he looked back down at the baby hesitantly. "Are you sure? She's so little."

"It's the same as holding any baby." Carole assured him with another warm smile, looking up when the door opened.

"Hey, kiddo!" Burt walked into the room, beaming. "Meet your new sister yet?"

"Hey, dad!" Kurt grinned back happily.

"I was just telling Kurt that holding a newborn is no different than holding an older baby." Carole explained. "I think he's a little intimidated."

Burt kneeled down, kissed the top of her head, and then ruffled Kurt's hair. "C'mon, Kurt. You won't drop her."

Carole passed the tiny bundle of blankets to Burt, beaming as well.

"Okay… if you're sure." Kurt said, moving his arms into the proper position as his father placed the baby in them. "Oh, wow… She's so light too."

"She weighs more than twice as much as you did when you were born." Burt said, repositioning the baby slightly against Kurt. She shifted slightly against his chest before going still, making his heart melt on the spot. "See? She likes you."

Kurt smiled adorably, wondering how it was possible to feel so much love for such a tiny little baby after only a few minutes. "You think so? Wow…"

"When's Blaine going to be able to make it, kid?" Burt asked, ruffling his son's hair again and looking at his two children proudly.

"His second class got out an hour ago and he called in at work… probably not too long." Kurt said distractedly, eyes not leaving his baby sister. "She's so perfect."

"We're still trying to decide a name for her." Carole said tiredly, leaning back against the pillows. She looked exhausted and pale, but still had a smile plastered to her face.

"As long as you don't pick Sophie, I'm sure it will be perfect." Kurt still did not look up from the bundle in his arms, quite mesmerized.

"I've already told her about your obsession with the name, Kurt." Burt laughed. "No one is going near Sophie."

"What are you deciding between?"

"Well, I still really like Melody and Alexis." Carole said. "Burt likes Katrina."

"No, dad." Kurt finally looked up from the baby. "No. It is your fault I'm stuck with this name." He turned his attention from his father to Carole before continuing. "And you cannot let him subject another human being to his terrible choice in names."

"I thought it was a cute name." Burt grunted, prompting an eye roll from his son. "You're just too picky."

"Katrina isn't a bad name. I actually really like it." Carole said, laughing. "But I just don't think she looks like a Katrina. And Kurt is a lovely name, hon."

Kurt made a face. "I'm not so much a fan."

The door opened again and a very hesitant Blaine stepped in, biting his lip.

"Hi, hon!" Carole sat up again, smiling happily.

"Hi." Blaine smiled and made his way into the room, closing the door quietly. "I tried to call but it kept going straight to voicemail. I don't think the lady at the desk was very happy to tell me where you all were."

"Oh, that lady was rude when we first got here." Carole frowned, but brightened almost immediately and waved him forward. "Come in all the way, sweetie, don't be shy!"

Blaine moved farther into the room, getting an adorable little smile when he saw Kurt with the baby. He stopped by his boyfriend, looking down. "Aw, how precious!"

"That's almost exactly what Kurt said!" Carole said happily. "You two are so alike!"

"Can I hold her next?" Blaine looked up at his boyfriend's parents.

"No. She's mine." Kurt said in a very stubborn voice, not even looking up.

"First we couldn't get him to hold her and now he won't want to let her go." Burt chuckled. "Kurt, you have to let Blaine hold her."

"But she likes me. And I like her. I'm just going to steal her, okay?" the younger boy protested.

"Not okay." Blaine said. "That is called kidnapping and it is illegal. What do they teach you kids in public school?"

"A whole lot of nothing." Kurt frowned, looking at Blaine with big blue eyes. "Don't steal her away. She's my baby sister."

"Kurt Elijah Hummel." Burt made his way over. "He was like this over his baby dolls too, Blaine."

Blaine laughed.

"No. He'd sob if you took one away. He carried five around at a time there for a few weeks." Burt said very seriously. "C'mon, kid. You can have her back."

"But she's tiny." Kurt whined. "I just want to hold her forever."

"Hon, shouldn't Blaine get to hold the baby?" Carole asked gently from the bed.

"No." Kurt shook his head. "She's very comfortable. We don't want to disturb her."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Only for a few minutes, I promise."

Kurt hesitantly let his father take the baby, debating whether or not it would be considered childish to glare at Blaine. He determined it probably would be and refrained.

"Have you held a newborn before, Blaine?" Burt questioned.

"Yes, sir." Blaine said quietly, expertly taking the baby from Kurt's father and cradling it. "She's absolutely adorable. And she's got your hair, Kurt."

"I have excellent hair." Kurt whispered, leaning over his boyfriend's shoulder. "Isn't she tiny?"

"Babies usually are." Blaine laughed, rocking the baby. "Aw, she's so cute. What color are her eyes?"

"She's got my eyes too." Burt said proudly. "At least this one will look like me. Kurt takes after his mom, apart from his hair color."

"But she's got my nose and mouth." Carole added. "Burt, will your parents and Paige be coming?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. Mom and Dad will later tonight, but I don't know about Paige. She's back in New York and will get down when she can I guess." Burt said, sounding unsure.

"Did you not call her?" Carole asked, looking at him sternly.

"Mom said she would." Burt grunted, shrugging.

"Burt, she's your sister." Carole sighed. "You need to call and tell her yourself."

"The last conversation we had wasn't exactly civil, Carole."

Kurt, who had been paying close attention to his father and stepmother, returned his attention to his boyfriend and his sister. Even though he was very jealous that Blaine was holding the baby instead of him, he had to admit that Blaine looked absolutely amazing with a baby in his arms. It gave him butterflies in his stomach and he began to think about them having kids one day, maybe, and Blaine holding their own children just like that.

"What's that look for?" Blaine's hazel eyes met his and he gave Kurt a lopsided grin.

"Nothing. You. You hold her well." Kurt said, rather embarrassed for being caught staring at his boyfriend.

"I was staying at Wes' when his little sister was born, so I had a lot of practice." Blaine explained. "She's probably about four now. But I have to say, this little one is much more adorable."

Kurt smiled, resting his chin on Blaine's shoulder and looking down at the baby. "She's perfect, isn't she?"

"All babies are." Blaine smiled back at him, making the butterflies in his stomach start up again. His boyfriend turned his attention to Carole and Burt. "Have you all picked a name for her?"

"I think I like Melody Hummel-Hudson." Carole answered. "Finn suggested it a few days ago and I think it's really cute."

"Finn only wants to call her Melon Head." Kurt scoffed. "But it is a pretty name. And it doesn't show up on my list."

"List?" Blaine questioned, looking confused.

"I have a list of names for my future children." Kurt said, waving his hand impatiently. "It's been a work in progress since I was seven."

"Really?" Blaine laughed.

"Can I hold her now, pretty please?" Kurt begged, not able to take watching someone else hold the baby any longer. "Pretty, pretty please?"

Burt rolled his eyes. "She's not going anywhere, kiddo."

"Yes, you can have her." Blaine smiled at the younger boy and held out the baby.

Kurt took his sister excitedly, cradling her to his chest. He beamed when the baby scooted closer again, scrunching her nose up and letting out a tiny yawn. He let out a dreamy sigh, staring down at her. "I'm in love with you, Melody."

"Kurt's not going to let the name go, you realize?" Blaine laughed, going over to hug Carole.

"No, I knew he wouldn't as soon as Finn suggested it." Carole laughed, hugging him back. "How was school, sweetheart?"

"It was alright." Blaine said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Kurt made his way over, sitting on a chair nearby. "Today and tomorrow are the last days before finals."

"Summer school is almost out already?" Burt asked. "I figured you'd go 'til August."

"I wish." Blaine sighed. "I thought so too, but they were only about five weeks long. If I'd known, I never would have taken two."

Kurt looked up from the baby sympathetically. "He had to write a thirteen page paper in the first week and a half."

Burt cringed. "Ouch. Bet you aren't so glad you're an English major now, are you?"

Blaine just kind of laughed. "I still like it. It's been a whole lot of reading and writing, but I like the work."

Carole patted his leg. "He's a smart boy, Burt. Maybe you can talk some sense into Finn."

"Finn's good at football." Burt protested. "He'd be a hell of a pro quarterback. I bet he'll get field time this year too."

"I'd like for him to place an emphasis on education over sports is all." Carole sighed a bit and then sat up straight when the baby began to cry. "Here, hon, she's probably hungry."

"That would be our cue to end the visit." Kurt said quickly, practically hopping up. He carefully handed over his sister with record speed.

"Now we know what to do if we want him out of hair for a couple of months." Burt chuckled, watching his son in amusement.

"Not funny, Dad. Not funny." Kurt said, grabbing Blaine's hand. "Come on, let's go."

"If you boys don't want to drive all the way back down to Cincinnati, you can always stay at home." Carole said, rocking the baby.

"Blaine's got finals to study for." Kurt frowned a bit, grabbing his bag and his car keys off of the small table beside the bed with his free hand. "But we'll come back tomorrow, right, Blaine?"

"Of course." Blaine nodded, squeezing his hand. "If you want to stay here, I can go up alone."

The younger boy looked hesitant, and then shook his head. "I don't want to leave you alone in the apartment all night." He turned to his Carole and his dad. "We'll come up tomorrow as soon as Blaine gets home. Is that okay?"

"That sounds perfect." Carole smiled. "Thank you for coming, boys."

"I'll walk them out. I'll be right back, Carole." Burt stood, exiting the room with Blaine and Kurt as Carole readjusted the baby. He waited until the door completely closed before he began to speak in a hushed voice. "On the phone yesterday you said you all had something to talk to me about? Is everything okay? Do you two need money?"

"No, no, everything is fine. We're fine." Kurt assured him. "It's nothing big, Dad. It can wait."

"You may as well tell me since you're here, Kurt."

"You just had a baby. You should go in there." Kurt pointed at the door.

"They're busy right now." Burt grunted, looking a bit embarrassed.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "She's your wife." Sure, Blaine and Kurt were supposed to scatter from the room. They were gay. But wasn't it supposed to be a loving thing between two parents and their new baby? Apparently not, but then again, when had Kurt ever understood anything to do with straight couples?

His father clearly his throat loudly. "Yes, well… what did you want to talk about?"

Blaine took a seat at a small table in the waiting room, and Burt and Kurt sat down as well. "We were—" Kurt gave him a look. "I was wondering what you thought Kurt should do about work… when he's in school. He's taking eight classes."

"Eight?" Burt stared at his son. "Kiddo, I think you're taking on a little too much at once."

Kurt gave Blaine another look and then rolled his eyes. "The classes are designed at CCAD so you can take more at once, Dad. Blaine's just being Blaine."

"He wants to go to school for four days, and work the other three." Blaine interjected. "He won't possibly have time to do everything he needs to do to get good grades if he works that much. And he absolutely refuses to see reason. I've tried talking sense into him several times."

"And I have told him several times that no store is going to let me only work one day a week. That's just not how things work."

"It works for me." Burt shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing ever. "Work for me on Fridays. You'll be coming up here anyway. That way, you can have the weekends free to work on your clothes making stuff. You can do what you used to do on weekends. Keep up with the office, answer phones, help on the cars some. Plus, Jeff'd love to see you more."

"Oh." Kurt said quietly. Maybe it was the simplest things ever. Why didn't he consider helping out at the garage some?

"See? I told you I know what I'm talking about." Blaine said proudly. "You get one day of work a week so you don't feel bad about me working, and you get the weekends to work on school stuff. And your dad gets help. And I get to see you. Everybody wins."

"I still want to work at Express through the summer though." The younger boy said. "I'm making a lot of money there."

"Just don't work too much, kiddo. You need to take care of yourself, alright? Don't take on too much." Burt said, reaching over and ruffling his hair. "We'll talk about it some more on Friday night."

"Tell Carole to not worry about a thing. I'll come early and cook dinner and I'll make some cake Thursday night! For the baby!"

"She can't eat cake." Blaine pointed out.

"Well, I'll make it for her and we can eat it! We'll have to stop at the store, Blaine. I saw a cake recipe in a magazine that I've been dying to try; I just haven't had an excuse." Kurt prattled on excitedly, standing up. "And maybe I can try to make that new type of lemonade I read about. It looked difficult, but I bet I could get it after a few tries."

Blaine blinked several times before nodding at his boyfriend, smiling. "Sounds like a plan."

"Alright, well, you two should probably head out now so you can beat rush hour on the high way." Burt said, checking his watch. "I bet they're done now. Don't you?"

"I don't know how long it takes to do… that." Kurt said, shuddering a bit. "Maybe? I don't know why you and Finn feel the need to ask me about your straight-guy problems when I'm the gayest thing to hit this town and Blaine's right up there with me."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

"You read Vogue and watch American Idol, Blaine. You're gay." Kurt rolled his own eyes.

"Finn watches American Idol, Kurt." Blaine pointed out.

"You boys be careful on your way back to Cincinnati." Burt said quickly, trying to put an end to the long discussion he knew the boys would be launching into. After all, he'd lived with Kurt for almost nineteen years and with Blaine for nine months. This had played a big part, most likely, in the fact that he wasn't so uncomfortable around the two boys together anymore. At this point, it was hard to even think back on how uncomfortable things had been in the beginning.

"Alright, alright, we will." Kurt said, wrapping his arms around his father's neck and hugging him. "I miss you, dad."

"I miss you too, kiddo." Burt hugged his son back. "You know both you and Blaine are welcome home any time, not just Fridays."

"We know." Kurt smiled and pulled away, stepping closer to his boyfriend. "We'll see you later, Dad." He waved and then started to walk out of the waiting room, muttering about exactly which magazine he had seen that recipe in and how on Earth he was going to find it amongst all of the million magazines on Blaine's bookshelf.

"Good luck studying with him like that." Burt laughed, patting Blaine's shoulder. "See you later, bud."

"Bye, Burt. Congratulations again." Blaine gave the older man a small wave and chased after his boyfriend, who was by now so far down the hallway that Blaine couldn't even see him.

…

"She was precious." Blaine said quietly as the two made their way into their apartment two hours later, setting down the bags of groceries in his hands. As they had been driving separate cars, Kurt had stopped at the grocery store on his own. Blaine had gone out to help him carry in the groceries, though, as soon as he heard Kurt's car pull up outside.

Kurt tossed Blaine's backpack down on the couch, absolutely giddy with excitement. "She was! Did you see her tiny little finger nails? I'm so jealous Finn lives right there and gets to see her all the time! It's not fair!"

"I'm sure Finn's busy with football practice by now. Doesn't OSU start training early?" Blaine pointed out.

"Busy with that or Rachel. She's leaving for New York soon and he's been whining about it for days. I don't know why he's surprised. Everyone knew Rachel was going to leave. And they haven't broken up."

"I'm sure it's tough…" Blaine said thoughtfully. "What if I decided to go off to school? You'd be upset, too."

"But he knew." Kurt protested. "Everyone knew."

"It doesn't make it any easier, does it? When you found out I was going to UK, you almost cried." Blaine eyed his boyfriend carefully. That was something they both remembered all too well. Talking about that was just as hard as it was talking about Kurt returning to McKinley—and that had been torture for Blaine. He knew Kurt needed to transfer back to be happy, and he wanted Kurt happy, but it had been so hard to say goodbye to him. Sure, they still had nights and weekends, but… but it had been awful for Blaine. Which was why he felt just as awful about going off to UK.

"There was a shock factor there, though. I didn't see why you had turned down NYU and all of those other fancy schools for… the University of Kentucky. I thought you were… staying." Kurt admitted, sitting down on their couch and looking up at his boyfriend expectantly.

Blaine took a seat by him, smiling, and scooted close. "I just didn't know how to tell you… I don't know… I didn't want to stay in Ohio, but I wanted to be close to you… and the English program at UK is really very good… and you saw the campus when you went with me to my advising appointment. It's absolutely beautiful."

"It was… Hey, Blaine?"

"Yes, my love?" Blaine asked, pulling Kurt to his side.

Kurt snuggled up, fitting perfectly, and rested his head on Blaine's chest. "I love you."

Blaine's smile grew. "I love you too, Kurt. I'm so glad we live together. I know we don't see each other as much as we'd like but I still really like living alone with you."

"Do you think… one day we'll be there, picking up our baby?" Kurt asked slowly, tilting his head up to look at his boyfriend.

"Yes. Yes, I do think so." Blaine answered instantly and confidently, pulling the younger boy even closer. "I'm absolutely positive."

"I have to say, though, I hope Dad and Carole are done. I don't know how much more kids they can raise."

Blaine laughed loudly. "I'm sure they could raise a few more. They're not that old."

"I kind of worry about Dad." Kurt admitted, looking down. "Babies are stressful and it wasn't that long ago that he had his heart attack… I'm just a little worried he'll have another one, I guess."

"You stay on him enough about his eating." Blaine leaned down and kissed Kurt's forehead. "He seems perfectly healthy and happy. I think he'll be just fine."

"But what if he's not? What if he has a heart attack and…" the younger boy trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He hadn't been worried about his father too much, but being back in the hospital reminded him not only of his stay but his father's as well. In his opinion, his family spent too much time in Lima Memorial Hospital. This needed to change.

"Kurt, he's fine." Blaine whispered reassuringly, stroking the back of his neck. "You don't need to worry about him. Babies are stressful, but so are almost-nineteen year olds who spend money on Daddy's credit card for 'emergency' clothes."

"It was only once." Kurt protested, cheering up a bit. "I had to have new clothes for work, Blaine!"

"Of course you did. Because the closet full of clothes you already had wasn't enough." Blaine laughed, moving his hand down and tickling his boyfriend's side a bit. "Don't worry, Kurt."

"I always have to be worrying about something." Kurt said through a loud giggle. "Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"You're not sorry. You say that every time but you—Blaine!—do it anyway! Stop it, you nuisance!"

The older boy grinned again adorably. "Stop what?"

"Tickling me like that." Kurt moved out of his boyfriend's arms and scooted to the other end of the couch, but he was smiling himself.

"But it's so fun to get you all worked up." Blaine reached over, pulling him closer again.

Kurt rested his hands on Blaine's shoulders and then moved onto his lap. "Melody was so cute."

"You'll be heartbroken if they go with any other name." Blaine rested his hands on Kurt's lower waist.

"I will. I think it's perfect. I can't believe Finn came up with it."

"I think you all don't give Finn enough credit." Blaine sighed a bit. "I used to meet him for lunch every Friday when I was taking the classes at OSU. He's not as dumb as he acts. Did you know he's really good in history?"

"I didn't." Kurt admitted, looking down at his hands on Blaine's chest. "Just like I didn't know you were very good at math until you were helping me with my Calculus in the beginning of my senior year."

"I'm also excellent in science and music theory." Blaine quipped.

"Congratulations, Blaine. You are a male Hermione Granger."

"Who does that make you?" Blaine tilted his head.

"I don't know, but Finn would be Ron Weasley."

"You're saying I will end up marrying Finn?" Blaine grinned.

"Oh God, no. I take that back." Kurt said very quickly. "This discussion is over."

Blaine just laughed, looking back at him with warm eyes.

This was short lived, though. Kreacher came bounding into the room, hopping onto the couch and barking noisily.

"Oh no." Kurt mumbled quietly and instantly.

"You forgot to put him in his cage!" Blaine gasped, a grin spreading across his face. He ducked his head very quickly, hoping Kurt wouldn't notice.

"No, I didn't, I swear! I put him in it!" Kurt stood and glared at Kreacher. "Bad dog, bad dog!"

Kreacher tilted his head and climbed onto Blaine's lap, making himself comfortable.

"If he ate anything, oh my God, if he ate anything— oh my God." Kurt took off towards his room and not a minute later there was a loud moan. "No!"

Blaine covered his mouth. He could not smirk. He could not laugh. No, all he could think of was all the times that his younger boyfriend had chastised him about leaving stuff out and not keeping a better eye on their puppy. This was no laughing matter, but damn, Blaine just couldn't help but smirk. The irony was simply amazing.

"Kreacher, you are in trouble. He ate my shoes! My shoes!" Kurt exclaimed, storming back into the living room.

"Oh no." Blaine said in a surprisingly controlled voice.

"Don't even dare, Blaine."

"Don't even dare what, Kurt? I mean he's just a dog. He doesn't know what he's doing." Blaine couldn't help the grin. It just came, honestly. He tried to make it go away, but without luck.

"I hate you. I hate you both." Kurt said, pointing at both of them.

"This is why we have to put our things away, Blaine. Because Kreacher doesn't know better."

"Consider yourself single." The younger boy said, scowling deeply.

"I don't know why you get so upset, Blaine, honestly. I don't know how many times I've told you to clean up after yourself."

Kurt crossed his hands over his chest, scowl growing deeper. "Disowned. The both of you."

Kreacher stood on his back legs to lick Blaine's face. "Kreacher, it's okay. Ignore the mean curly headed man. He just needs to learn to put his things away!"

"You know what, Blaine? You enjoy every minute of this because you're sleeping on the couch."

"What? Why?" Blaine scoffed.

"For being a curly headed asshole."

Blaine held Kreacher up, their noses touching, and whispered loudly, "Daddy's mad at us."

Kreacher just yipped excitedly, legs moving as if he was running even though he was clearly being held up in the air.

"But I locked it, Blaine! I swear I did!"

Blaine stood up, dog in hand, and went to the kitchen. The lock for the cage was very clearly on the kitchen counter next to the coffee maker. "Or you meant to lock it but got distracted by the coffee machine." He chirped.

"Yeah, well, keep on laughing. Maybe I'll steal your card and go buy myself another pair of $300 shoes to make up for the ones he destroyed." Kurt huffed.

"Daddy's gonna break me!" Blaine cooed, going back into the living room and sitting in his previous seat on the couch. "Daddy's gonna run me into the ground financially and leave me for someone with more monies, Kreacher. You're about to be part of a broken home."

Kurt just maintained his scowl, not looking amused in the least bit.

"Aw, come on, Kurt." Blaine tilted his head. "It's just a pair of shoes."

"It wasn't just a pair of shoes. I loved those shoes." Kurt finally threw himself onto the couch next to his boyfriend, glaring daggers at his dog. "You are a very, very, very bad dog, Kreacher. Did you hear that? Do you understand? You are in a lot of trouble."

Kreacher hopped onto Kurt's lap, stood on his hind legs, and began licking all over his face repeatedly.

"No. You are bad. You are in trouble. Sit still."

Kreacher just leapt off the couch and began running in circles around the living room.

"Why isn't he listening to me?" Kurt whined.

Blaine shrugged, leaned over, and licked his cheek, earning himself a slap to the back of the head.