While Our Blood's Still Young

by Ezra.A.Bradley

Teenage father Blaine Anderson knew that he would have to put all his big dreams on hold to have his son. Now, with everyone around him telling him he can't achieve them with a toddler in tow, Blaine starts to wonder if they're right. Can a certain optimistic, unfailingly brave blue-eyed boy turn it all around for him? Mpreg, Seblaine, Klaine

10. Chapter 10

10

"Oh my god," Blaine finally said. "You're pregnant."

"Yeah, Squirt. I am," Cooper confirmed again, placing a hand on the side of his swollen stomach.

"But you're straight," Blaine blurted before any other coherent thoughts could process.

"Yes, another true observation," Cooper tried to joke, but his smile faltered. He looked so small and forlorn standing there in his old childhood room, walls plastered with his old comic book-style drawings he used to do so well.

"So then… How?"

Cooper started to pace across the room. "It's a long story, really. But to cut to the chase, I was only supposed to be a surrogate."

Blaine raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. He knew this was going to be an interesting story. "Supposed to be?" he asked.

Cooper nodded. "But there have been… complications."

Blaine took a seat on the edge of his brother's queen-sized bed, settling in. "I think I can keep up." He motioned for Cooper to continue.

He took a deep breath. "I had this coworker at the law firm. Brian. More than a coworker, really. We ended up becoming pretty good friends. Anyway, he and his wife Angela really wanted a baby. It was all he could talk about for a long time. But Angela was trans, and neither of them were carriers, so they couldn't conceive on their own. They were looking into surrogates and egg donors, and it was looking way too expensive for them."

"So you volunteered to father and carry their baby?"

Cooper nodded. "I really didn't have anything going on at the time. I wasn't dating anyone. I had a flexible schedule, and I could just see the desperation on their faces. So I thought, what the hell? I'm healthy. What's the harm in helping out some friends and racking up a little good karma, right?"

"Cooper," Blaine said, "that's really amazing of you."

Cooper waved off the compliment and continued. "I told them I would do it for free if they just covered the medical expenses. They were ecstatic. They wanted to get started on the process right away. Within a week, I was taking fertility shots to the stomach and before I knew it, I was on my back on an exam table, holding onto my own ankles while a doctor… um, inserted Brian's… 'donation.'" Cooper put up air quotes around the word and Blaine held back a laugh despite his shock.

"It was not a comfortable experience."

"I bet not," Blaine said through an amused smile.

"That doctor had a terrible bedside manner. And very cold hands. I ask you, where is the tenderness?"

Blaine chuckled.

"Anyway, I was knocked up on the first try. Even the doctor was surprised. I wasn't kidding when I said we Andersons are apparently super fertile, Blainers."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I'm aware, Coop."

"So, I found out I was pregnant. Brian and Angela were over the moon. They called to check in on me almost every night. Went to every doctor's appointment. Brian was constantly hovering over me. Always making sure I was comfortable, asking me if I needed anything…" Cooper trailed off, looking more pensive than before.

"They sound like they'll be really great parents," Blaine commented, trying to bring his brother back down out of the clouds.

Cooper looked away from the drawing with a sad smile. "They would have been," he said in a low voice.

Blaine's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

Cooper turned back toward his little brother with a somber expression. "There was a car accident," he said plainly. "Two weeks ago."

Blaine drew in a sharp inhale.

"They were T-boned on the way to my ultrasound. Angela was killed immediately. Brian was life-flighted to the same hospital where I had my appointment."

"Oh my god. Cooper…"

"I was waiting for them on the maternity/paternity floor. I was getting annoyed that they weren't there. The doctor told me he couldn't wait anymore and had to take me now or I'd have to reschedule. The whole time I watched the baby move on the ultrasound screen and listened to the heartbeat, I was just thinking how disappointed Brian and Angela would be that they missed it." Cooper paused for a second to collect himself. He lowered down to sit on the bed next to Blaine. "The appointment was over and I was gathering my stuff up to leave when a nurse came in and whispered something to the doctor. They looked at me. I knew something was really wrong right away. They told me Brian was downstairs in the ICU. He was conscious but it didn't look good. They said he asked to talk to me."

Blaine watched in silence as his brother's eyes visibly watered.

"I went to see him. He was connected to so many tubes and he was all bruised…"

Blaine reached out to rub a comforting hand over Cooper's back.

"But he looked at me. And he actually smiled and said my name. His voice was so weak but I could understand every word." He wiped his eyes with the back of hand before continuing. "He told me he hoped I would keep the baby, if I could. He said he thought I'd be a great dad…" Cooper paused. Blaine could not remember seeing his brother this distraught before. "He told me… He told me to tell her about her other dad. And her mom. And how badly they wanted to meet her."

"Oh, Cooper…" Blaine began in a comforting voice. Even though he had no idea what he could possibly say in that moment.

"Brian died an hour later."

Blaine kept rubbing soothing circles into Cooper's shoulder. He couldn't believe such a thing could happen to his own brother. This was the kind of tragedy you read about in People magazine. It wasn't what happened to family members. "I—I'm so sorry," was all he could say.

They sat in silence for a while longer. After a few minutes, Cooper seemed to have calmed down. His breathing had evened out and he was staring straight ahead at the floor. Blaine wracked his brain for something else to say. He went over Cooper's story in his mind and then suddenly, an important detail clicked in his mind.

"Her?" he asked hesitantly. "It's a girl?"

The tiniest, fleeting smile appeared on Cooper's lips. "Yeah," he said, his normal tenor returning to his voice. "It's a girl. At least, its assigned gender is a girl. True gender identity is self-affirmed, so we can't really know until she—they're—a little older."

Blaine let out a short laugh at that. "Since when are you so woke?"

Cooper shrugged, small smile still in place. "I learned a lot from Brian and Angela."

The silence returned for another few moments. And then Blaine asked the question that seemed to be hanging in the air above them. "So, what happens now? Are you going to keep her? I mean, what are your options?"

Cooper let out a long sigh. "Well, biologically, she's mine and Brian's. So, as the biological parent, with both of them gone, I am well within my rights to keep her," he said, pulling in some of his lawyer jargon. "Basically, either I keep her, or I place her for adoption."

"What about Brian or Angela's families?"

Cooper shook his head. "Angela was cut off from her family years ago. Apparently she had a really ugly childhood. She didn't have any contact with them for years, and I'm sure she wouldn't them raising the baby. As for Brian, he was an only child. His only living family is his parents, and his mom has Parkinson's. His dad's life is pretty centered on taking care of her, so they can't take on a newborn."

"Geez, Coop."

"I know."

Another beat of silence ensued. Blaine, feeling spent by this point, couldn't think of anything to do but look around Cooper's room. His eyes wandered over the dozens of trophies, plaques and ribbons that punctuated his shelves and the top of his dresser. Cooper had always been an exceptional athlete. He even still retained several track records from his days at Dalton. Their dad was so proud of that.

From the trophies, Blaine glanced over to the bulletin board above the desk. Oil pastel and colored pencil drawings covered the board's entire surface, as well as a good amount of space on the walls. They depicted scene after scene of super heroes and villains dueling it out in epic battles. Blaine remembered coming into this room while he was growing up and watching his big brother labor over the detailed drawings for hours. They were really good. Professional-grade, as far as Blaine could tell.

He remembered a time when he was in second grade and seventeen-year-old Cooper had picked him up from school, excited and vibrant, telling him how his art teacher wanted him to enter an art contest. His exuberance was contagious, and Blaine found himself bubbling over with excitement for his big brother.

That night, Cooper told their dad he wanted to enter the Dalton Art Show. Cooper Senior said no because the show was on the same day as a track meet. He remembered how Cooper looked like he wanted to say something. To argue or complain or scream like seven-year-old Blaine surely would have done. But instead, Cooper just straightened his back and nodded, looking disappointed, yet still dignified. He had turned and smiled stiffly at Blaine when he saw he'd been watching. Strong, like nothing could get him down. Then he went about setting the table for dinner, still putting on a strong face but looking just a little less vibrant than he had when he picked Blaine up from school. Blaine could never decide if he admired this quiet resignation or hated it.

"I think I want to keep her," Cooper's soft voice said next to him.

Blaine broke out of his reverie and turned back to his brother. He smiled broadly despite himself. "Really?" he asked, realizing the idea excited him a lot more than he'd let himself admit moments before. A new baby niece! A cousin for Ollie! What was not to love about this scenario?

"Yeah. I mean, I want to but—but I'm not sure it's a good idea."

The smile fell from Blaine's face. "Why not?" he asked in a tone that sounded more disappointed than he'd wanted to reveal.

"I'm not really in a good place for a baby."

Blaine scoffed. "What do you mean? Sure you are! I mean, you're waaay better off than I was. You're 28. You have your own house and a job…"

"Blaine," Cooper interrupted. "All due respect, Squirt, but there's a lot about my life you don't know."

"Like what?"

"Well, like that I don't have a job anymore, for starters."

Blaine narrowed his eyes, unbelieving. "What are you talking about? You love the law firm."

Cooper surprised him by laughing out loud at that. "Oh my god. You sound like Dad."

"Hey…"

"Relax, Baby Bro. I'm sorry. I just mean…" Cooper paused and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Everybody assumes I like being a lawyer because I'm good at it. But I don't. I couldn't give a shit about corporate law. Yeah, it pays the bills and then some, but it's soul-killing. I never wanted to be a lawyer. It took me a long time to realize that. I just did it because Dad expected me to do it."

Blaine nodded, completely understanding the puppet-master power their father seemed to have. "So… you quit?"

"Last June."

"June!" Blaine exclaimed. "You've been unemployed since June?"

"Yep," Cooper said with a shrug. "Right after the last time I visited you guys. As soon as I decided to be a surrogate."

"So you've been lying to Mom and Dad all this time?"

"Uh, yeah, Blaine," he replied, gesturing down to his stomach. "Keep up."

For what felt like the millionth time that night, Blaine's head was reeling. Could this really be happening? Could it be that his perfect older brother was actually just as flawed and scared as he was? Such a revelation made it feel like every truth Blaine knew about the world was crashing down around him.

"So," he began, gathering his thoughts. "What have you been doing instead? Besides incubating a human life, that is."

Cooper's lips twitched into another tiny smile. "Drawing," he said with a note of wonderment in his voice. "And writing."

"Yeah?" said Blaine, happy to pick up on his brother's excitement.

"Yeah. A comic book."

Blaine lit up at that. "Seriously? Coop, that's awesome."

Cooper nodded. "I submitted it to some publishers, but no takers."

"Well, what did they say?"

"They liked the artwork, for the most part. But the plot and the characters… not so much. One place invited me to resubmit if I made some serious edits."

"Hey, that's pretty good, right?"

Cooper opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of the garage door opening cut him off.

"That's Mom and Dad," said Blaine.

All the color drained from Cooper's face. He looked terrified. It was weird, Blaine thought, to see his big brother in almost the same situation he'd been in two years before. Pregnant and scared to death of his parents. He knew that the expression on Cooper's face must have been identical to what his looked like when faced with the idea of telling people about his condition.

Cooper swallowed deeply. "I can't let them see me tonight. I'm already so beat… I need a good night's sleep before I can handle the shit show that will be Dad's reaction."

"Well, what did you think was gonna happen when you showed up here tonight?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know. I figured everybody would already be asleep and I could just sneak in…"

"Hello?" they heard their mother's voice chime from the bottom of the stairs. "Blaine? Are you still up? Why are the lights on?"

Cooper's eyes widened and he looked at Blaine desperately. Blaine froze for a moment. He had never been in this position before—having his brother come to him scared and needing his help. It was a complete role reversal from what their dynamic had been when Cooper lived at home and Blaine, being ten years younger, would come to Cooper for comfort after nightmares or help getting his cereal down from a high shelf.

He heard his mom begin ascending the stairway to the second floor and his mind kicked into high-gear problem-solving mode.

"Quick! Lie back on the bed!" he said in a loud whisper. "Act natural!"

Without hesitation, Cooper flung himself backwards and lay back on top of the covers, assuming what looked to Blaine like a Playboy model pose with his head propped up on his hand.

"No! What do you think this is, a photo shoot? Under the covers!" Blaine stood up to help pull the plaid comforter out from underneath his brother.

"Blaine?" his mother's voice called again from the hallway.

Cooper scrambled like a turtle stuck on its back with his huge stomach to get underneath the covers, and if the situation weren't so frantic, Blaine was sure it would have looked hilarious.

"Lie on your side to hide the bump," Blaine instructed, and threw the comforter up over his brother's shoulders. He managed to grab an extra pillow out from under Cooper's head, causing his brother's skull to smack against the oak headboard.

"Ow!" Cooper said too loudly. "You did that on purpose."

"Shh!" Blaine hushed. "Hold this in front of you."

Cooper took the pillow and used it to conceal the last evidence of his baby bump just as they heard their mother approach the door. Blaine flopped down to sit at the edge of the bed and crossed one leg over the other—his best attempt at looking natural—just as Maria Anderson popped her head in the doorway.

"There you are, Baby," she said. "What on Earth are you doing in…" her voice trailed off and her eyes lit up when she noticed Blaine wasn't alone. "Cooper!"

"Hi, Mom," Cooper said with a smile from his place beneath the covers.

Their mother looked positively giddy as she crossed the room toward her eldest son. "What are you doing here, my love? Why didn't you call?"

"Last-minute decision. Wanted to… surprise you," Cooper answered.

She stopped at the side of his bed. "What is this?" she gestured to the bed. "You can't get up to greet your mother properly?"

Cooper and Blaine locked eyes for a millisecond.

"I'm not feeling too great, Ma," Cooper said smoothly. "Long flight. Some motion sickness. I'm just exhausted."

"Oh, I'm sorry, my love." She leaned in and placed a kiss on Cooper's forehead. Her hand lingered on his head. "You do feel a bit warm. Like you've been running around." She turned to Blaine and planted a kiss on his forehead as well. "Hi, Baby."

"Hi, Mom."

"Oh, isn't this wonderful? Both of my boys under one roof again." Maria looked like she was on cloud nine. "I'll call your father up so he can say hello." She turned to shout down the hallway, but Cooper interrupted.

"No!"

Maria turned back, looking slightly shocked.

"I mean, no need to make Dad come all the way up here. It's late. He's probably already getting in bed. I'll see him in the morning."

She looked a bit skeptical at Cooper's insistence. Since when did he care about the hour of night? But luckily, she let it slide. "Okay. I'll let you get some sleep then. But I want a nice long visit in the morning. You need to catch your poor mother up on everything that's been going on with you."

"Sure thing." Cooper gave her a wary smile, and she changed her focus to Blaine.

"Come on, you. If Cooper is sick, you shouldn't be in here. You don't want to spread anything to Ollie."

"Right," Blaine said, and got up from the bed to follow his mom out of the room, even though he wanted to stay behind and interrogate Cooper further.

"Good night, my love," Maria said with a wave of her hand as she left the room.

"Yeah. Good night, Pooper," Blaine quipped from the doorway. He smiled at the old nickname.

Cooper rolled his eyes "Night, Squirt," he replied. Then he shot his little brother a sly wink.

Blaine nodded and turned out the light. Then crossed the hall to his own bedroom, made sure the baby monitor was on, changed into his pajamas and got into bed.

He thought he would need to lie awake for a while longer to process everything that had occurred in the past few hours, but as it turned out, he was so exhausted from the marathon events of the night that he slipped into a deep sleep almost as soon as his curly hair hit the pillow.

Ollie's daily "I'm awake now, please feed me" cry came over the baby monitor like clockwork the next morning. Blaine rolled over and pulled his pillow over his head, wishing that toddlers had snooze buttons.

Ollie just screamed louder, and Blaine resigned to another day in the life. He dragged himself out of bed and crossed through the bathroom to Ollie's room, eyes still half-closed from sleep.

"Okay, Ollie Golly. Calm down," he said approaching the crib. "You got Daddy up. Congratulations."

The little boy stopped yelling as soon he saw Blaine approach. His expression did a full 180 and he smiled widely, and he made his signature grabby hands at his daddy, wanting to be picked up.

Blaine obliged and lifted his son out of the crib. Ollie immediately attached himself to Blaine in tight hug.

"Dada!" he exclaimed happily.

Blaine smiled and returned the embrace. "See? I told you I'd be back in the morning."

He set about changing Ollie and getting him dressed for the day. He picked out a pair of gray pants and a preppy-looking navy sweater with a little elephant on it. He found himself vaguely wondering if Vogue-loving Kurt would approve of the look, then smiled to himself as he remembered the events of the previous night. He felt his ears flush with warmth as he remembered Kurt's Rocky costume, high heels and all, and then the sensation of having that gorgeous boy back him up against the side of his house and kissing him senseless.

As he tied the laces of Ollie's tiny Converse sneakers, he caught himself humming lightly to the tune of "Time Warp."

With Ollie changed and dressed, he gathered the boy back up in his arms and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Not surprisingly, his dad was already up and pouring himself a cup of black coffee. Judging by the fact that his father didn't look like his head was going to explode, Blaine figured he still hadn't seen Cooper yet. A worried weight settled in his stomach at the thought of what his brother would be facing later this morning, and suddenly he lost his appetite for breakfast.

"Morning," he said as he crossed the kitchen to place Ollie in his highchair.

"Morning, Blaine," Cooper Sr. replied in a surprisingly chipper tone. "Coffee?" he offered, holding up the fresh pot.

"Sure," Blaine replied, now setting out a cutting board to cut up a banana for Ollie.

His dad pulled out another mug and poured Blaine a cup. Then he set it down on the counter next to Blaine and went to the table, where he ruffled Ollie's hair. The little boy erupted with delighted laughter.

Blaine couldn't help but smile at the interaction. His dad didn't often show it, but he knew he had a soft spot for Ollie. And Ollie adored his grandpa. Blaine was glad, but it was sort of bittersweet thing. He knew that someday in the future, when Ollie was better able to understand their crazy family dynamics, his tumultuous relationship with his dad might sully the image Ollie had of him. And that was sad to think about.

It was clear that his dad was in a good mood this morning. He tapped his foot under the table, like he was excited for something and he smirked to himself as he opened up the newspaper.

"Your mother tells me Cooper came in last night," he remarked.

And that explained the good mood. He knew his golden child was here. At least, he still saw him as golden for now.

"Mhmm." Blaine bit his lip as he gathered up the chopped banana and some Cheerios and brought them over to Ollie.

He set Ollie's breakfast on his highchair tray and sat down at the table across from his dad. He sipped his coffee slowly and stared straight ahead at the table. In the awkward silence that followed, he found his foot tapping anxiously under the table, too. Almost perfectly in time with his father's.

Blaine's mother emerged from the first-floor master suite and greeted her husband, son, and grandson with kisses on the cheeks. Just as she pulled opened the door to the pantry to grab some bread for toast, a thud sounded from overhead.

"Cooper must be up," Maria commented with an excited smile.

"'Bout time he came for a visit," said Cooper Senior. "Still can't believe he missed Christmas."

Blaine felt his stomach clench in another wave of nervousness. Cooper was only minute away from revealing his secret; his parents had no idea what they were in for.

"Blaine?" his mother asked him, causing him to whip his head in her direction. She put two slices of bread into the toaster and then approached him and sat in the chair next to his. "Are you okay? You look a little pale," she said.

"I'm fine," he replied, trying to smile.

"I hope you haven't come down with whatever Cooper has."

"Nope. Definitely don't have what he has," he said.

Another tense minute later, there was the distinct sound of footsteps on the stairs. Blaine's eyes snapped to the doorway, where Cooper stepped confidently into the room, still dressed in the big hoodie and yoga pants from the night before, and million-watt smile burning full-force.

"Morning, my love!" Maria called from behind the counter where she was now buttering the toast. "Came sit down and have some break—" she stopped dead when she looked up.

Blaine watched his mother's cheerful face fall in shock at the sight of Cooper's pregnant belly. She froze on the spot and the butter knife tumbled out of her hand, lading with a crash on the floor.

Cooper didn't even wince at the sound. Just approached the plate of buttered toast on the counter and picked up a piece. He turned toward Mr. Anderson and made eye contact before taking a bite. "Dad," he said through his chewing. "How's it going?"

Then Blaine turned to see father's reaction. He looked like he was just as stunned and frozen as Maria, lips turned down into a hard line and blue eyes bulging. It was not unlike the look Blaine had gotten two years before when he got home from the doctor and told his dad it wasn't the flu after all.

Silence pressed in for a tense moment before Mr. or Mrs. Anderson seemed to regain the power of speech.

"Cooper," Maria sputtered, gazing at the baby bump. "You're…" she trailed off, leaning back to rest against the counter behind her.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Mr. Anderson said from his position at the table, tone harsh and accusatory.

Cooper seemed to tense up a bit, but didn't back down. "Nope. No joke. Definitely knocked up," he replied evenly, taking another bite of toast.

This was just like Cooper, Blaine thought. Much like their mother, Cooper tended to approach serious situations with humor in an attempt to undercut tension. It wasn't working this time, though.

Mr. Anderson slammed down his newspaper on the table, causing Blaine to jump and spill some of his coffee. Ollie let out a small, distressed whine from his highchair.

"What the hell is this, Cooper?" he bellowed. He rose out of his chair and took a few steps toward his eldest son. "How the hell did this happen?" He was gesticulating wildly and his face was growing red with anger. "How could you have let this happen?"

"What didn't you tell us, Sweetheart?" Maria's calmer voice chimed in, quieter but still hurt-sounding.

"Mom, I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed…"

Mr. Anderson's voice cut him off. "After everything you saw your brother go through? Everything you have at stake? Didn't you learn a goddamn thing?"

Ollie let out a soft cry and Blaine jumped to his feet to grab the toddler out of his highchair. "Guys, please! You're scaring him," Blaine said as he started to bounce his son on his hip. "Shh, it's okay Ollie."

"And who the hell did this to you, hmm?" Mr. Anderson continued as if he hadn't heard Blaine at all. "Who's the guy?"

Cooper's jaw tensed and Blaine could tell he was getting irritated. "There is no guy," he replied.

"Well, that's sure as shit not what it looks like," his father snapped back. "You tell me how you got yourself in this situation right now."

"Blaine," his mother said, tone still sounding somewhere between shocked and betrayed. "Take Ollie upstairs, please. We need to talk to your brother."

Blaine felt conflicted for a moment because he felt like Cooper probably wanted him to stay, but he agreed that Ollie shouldn't see his whole family fight. He looked at his brother. Cooper gave him a nod.

"Go on, Squirt," he assured Blaine. "Ollie doesn't need to see his grandpa pop a blood vessel."

"This is nothing to joke about, Cooper James," his father began again. "I demand to know how you let this happen."

"Oh, calm down, Dad," Cooper said, sounding a bit angrier now. "People get pregnant all the time."

"Yes, and apparently those people are my sons!" Mr. Anderson shouted.

Blaine winced a bit at that comment, and Ollie buried his face into Blaine's shoulder. He knew it was time to get him out of there. He made his way out of the kitchen and toward the stairs.

"I did this on purpose, Dad," he heard Cooper start to say behind him. But by the time he started ascending the staircase, his family's words had blurred into an indecipherable cacophony of yelling. By the time he closed the door to Ollie's room behind them, the noise was a dull, muffled roar.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Buddy," he told the toddler as he set him down on the floor and then sat down on the carpet next to him.

Ollie's green eyes met his at this level, huge and baffled-looking. Blaine felt something like a painful twist in his heart at the look. It was all too familiar to him. Not because he'd ever seen it in Ollie before, but because he recognized it as the same hurt and confusion he'd always felt growing up when his family would fight.

Another loud yell sounded from downstairs, sending the worst kind of goose bumps up Blaine's spine. The painful twist rose and expanded in his chest, and before he had time to fully process what was happening, he felt a fat tear fall down his cheek.

Blaine wiped the tear away and concentrated on stopping any more from coming. The last thing he wanted was for Ollie to see him cry. He was getting old enough to know what it meant.

He was surprised when he felt his son's tiny body cuddle up next to him on the floor. Ollie's arms reached up to wrap around Blaine's neck in another tight hug. His son whined into his shoulder, still obviously confused and stressed by the sounds coming from downstairs.

Blaine wound his arms back around the little boy and pulled him into his lap. "I'm sorry, Ollie," he repeated into his son's dark curls. "You shouldn't have to go through this. This isn't your fault." He continued whispering into Ollie's hair for a few more moments, offering up his apologies like prayers. Ollie latched onto him even tighter, as if sensing, even at his incredibly young age, that his daddy needed him just as much as he needed his daddy.

"I love you," Blaine said, finally pulling back from the tight embrace.

"Luh you," Ollie replied automatically, as was their ritual.

Blaine heard his dad shout something that sounded vaguely like a profanity.

"I'm gonna get you out of here soon, I promise."

Ollie tilted his head as if trying to understand.

"I'll get into college and get a job and we'll go live somewhere else. Just you and me."

Blaine tucked a stray curl away from his son's face.

"Just you and me and no one can yell at us or scare us or tell us what to do anymore. How does that sound?" Blaine put on a smile despite himself. It really was incredible to think about leaving this house and starting his own life with Ollie. He could not wait.

Ollie broke into a smile to mirror Blaine's. "Otay," he said simply, seeming to have grown bored with Blaine's speech. Then he turned around and bee-lined toward his set of padded pillow toddlers' blocks in the corner of the room.

Thank god his attention span is still so short, Blaine thought.

He got up and sat in the rocking chair and watched Ollie stack the blocks, trying to clam down from the morning's events. From what Blaine could tell, the yelling from downstairs seemed to have dissipated into a barely audible stern discussion. He wondered how Cooper was faring.

Not even another minute later, he jumped when he felt his phone vibrate in his front pocket. He pulled it out to see that it was an incoming call from Kurt. It wasn't even 10 am and his date from last night was already calling him. Blaine didn't know a whole lot about dating, but he figured that had to be good.

"Hello," he said, trying to keep the lingering sadness out of his voice.

"Hey, you," Kurt responded in an upbeat tone.

"Hey," Blaine repeated in an almost-sigh, melting into the comforting sound that was Kurt's voice.

"Now, I know it's been less than twelve hours since we saw each other, so maybe calling you this soon makes me really lame, but I just listening to this album and it made me think of you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. It's called 'Raised By Wolves' by Voxtrot. Listen to it A.S.A.P. and report back, please."

Blaine let out a breathy laugh. "Okay. I'll look it up when I put Ollie down for his nap in a couple hours."

"Thank you. That's all I ask," Kurt said with a laugh.

Blaine managed a smile at Kurt's musical laugh, but stayed quiet. A silent moment passed.

"Are you okay?" Kurt said, a hint of concern entering his tone. "You sound a little off today."

"I'm fine," Blaine answered simply, trying to get his head around what he should tell Kurt and what he shouldn't burden him with.

There was another short silence.

Kurt broke it again. "You don't sound fine. You sound like you're thinking so hard you can't talk."

Blaine shifted his position in the rocking chair, bringing his legs up to sit cross-legged. He felt like he shouldn't be surprised that Kurt was being so perceptive again, but it still threw him off. "I'm fine, really. I just had a… a tough morning, I guess."

"Oh," Kurt said, tone wary. "Because of last night? I'm sorry if the kissing was too much. You were just… And I thought… We don't have to do it again if you don't want. I just thought it seemed right, but maybe I read the moment wrong."

"No! No, Kurt," Blaine said. "You didn't read it wrong. You were great. The kissing was..." He felt his cheeks flush. "It was amazing. Seriously. I definitely want to do it again."

Kurt exhaled a long breath and chuckled. "Okay. Good. Me too."

Blaine smiled. "Good."

"So what's wrong then?" Kurt asked.

Blaine sighed. "Ollie and I have been banished upstairs while my parents and Cooper argue."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Blaine. What are they arguing about?"

Blaine let out a short laugh. "You'll never believe it."

"Try me."

"Well, Cooper is pregnant."

"What?!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Yep. Six months. And none of us knew. He just sprang it on me last night after you left and then on my parents this morning. They're freaking out."

"Oh my god. So what does this mean? I thought you said he was straight."

Blaine spent the next half hour or so regaling Kurt with Cooper's unexpected saga of events. Ollie would meander up to him occasionally, pull on his pant leg and direct his attention to whatever haphazard structure he'd made out of the green, yellow, and red blocks, and Blaine would pause the conversation to give his son a high five and watch as the boy then kicked his creations down, laughing with glee.

"I think I've got a budding architect on my hands," Blaine commented after he'd finished filling Kurt in on Cooper, and Ollie had erected and destroyed his fourth block stack.

"That's adorable," Kurt replied, clearly amused by Blaine's intermittent commentary on his son's antics.

Then a familiar thumping sounded from downstairs, and Blaine immediately recognized the pattern of thuds as someone heading upstairs. He knew it was probably Cooper.

"Hey, Kurt? I think I'd better go. Sounds like Cooper and my parents are done talking."

"Okay. But—um, is it too forward if I ask when I can see you again?"

Blaine felt his ears heat up. "No, not at all. When were you thinking?"

"Oh, I don't know. I was hoping maybe some night this week? If you're free? We could see a movie or something."

"Yeah. Sure. I can make that happen."

The sounds of the steps were almost at the top of the stairs, from Blaine's estimation. "I'll text you later?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah," Kurt answered. "I look forward to it."

"Okay, I'll talk to you soon, then."

"Alright. Bye, Blaine."

"Bye."

Blaine hung up right as the door to Ollie's room cracked open, and Cooper slowly poked his head inside.

"Hey Squirt," he said, voice sounding exhausted.

"How'd it go?" Blaine asked, straightening himself up in the rocking chair.

Cooper stepped all the way inside, and when he did, Ollie ran over to Blaine and clung to his leg, looking apprehensive.

Blaine placed a comforting hand on his son's back. "It's okay, Ollie. You remember Uncle Cooper, right?"

Ollie looked up at his uncle skeptically.

"Hey, Nephew," Cooper greeted warmly. He took another few steps forward and started to lower himself down to Ollie's level, which was easier said than done with his belly. When he managed to get into a crouched position, he reached out a hand toward Ollie. "Can I get a high five?" he asked with a smile.

Ollie loosened his grip on Blaine's pant leg, and after a silent moment of contemplation, slowly raised his tiny hand and slapped it across Cooper's.

"Alright!" Cooper exclaimed with a laugh. "Man, you're so big now! You couldn't do high fives last time I saw you. You couldn't walk either."

Ollie just smiled shyly and brought his hand to his mouth to suck a thumb, but his big green eyes stayed trained on Cooper.

"God, he's beautiful, Squirt," Cooper said.

Blaine beamed with pride. "Thanks, Coop."

"Seriously. I hope mine's half that good-looking."

Blaine laughed. "She'll be gorgeous."

Cooper wobbled as he straightened back up to his feet, a grimace of discomfort coming over his face.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Blaine asked, expression sympathetic.

Cooper nodded and let out a slow breath. "I can't believe you did this when you were sixteen," he remarked, rubbing his stomach.

"Here, why don't you sit in the rocking chair?" Blaine offered, and he hopped to his feet.

Feeling more at ease, Ollie sat down on the floor, grabbed his favorite stuffed blue panda and started sucking on its leg. Blaine lowered himself back to the floor next to him.

"Thanks," Cooper acknowledged and sank gratefully into the chair. "Sorry about the screaming match. But I mean, I think we both know it was pretty unavoidable."

Blaine shrugged. "Don't worry about it. What did they say after I left?"

Cooper gave Blaine the rundown of the conversation he'd had with their parents. Essentially, Cooper Sr. was about as furious as expected, and Maria was just shocked and hurt that Cooper hadn't told them sooner.

Cooper Sr. was more upset about Cooper quitting his job than getting pregnant, but both factors played into his disappointment. He felt that Cooper was making a huge mistake by walking away from the law firm to write comic books.

"There's no security in the arts, Cooper. We talked about this a million times when you were in high school and college. It's not sustainable. How are you expecting to support a child with so little financial security?"

Maria's brown eyes had welled up with tears at Cooper's story. At first, she couldn't believe he had gone through so much alone, but then she realized that this was Cooper—her strong, sarcastic, abidingly brave oldest boy.

Maria and Cooper's relationship was never as close as her and Blaine's. When Cooper was growing up, it always felt like he didn't seem to need her very much. He was so independent and motivated that he almost never asked for help or showed her any kind of weakness. It was a trait she recognized very well. He had gotten it from her. Blaine, on the other hand, had always been more open with his emotions, even though she could tell he tried to cover them up. She saw a lot of her husband in Blaine's propensity to overthink and overwhelm himself with feelings, even if this sensitivity manifested differently in the two.

So really, the difference in her two boys' pregnancy announcements made a lot of sense. Cooper had decided to take this route all on his own and didn't think he needed anyone's help, while Blaine had been so scared an overwhelmed that he ran to his mother immediately. She knew both her boys were incredibly strong in their own ways, but Cooper's way the harder to deal with for her. He was just so similar to her, and it's hard to understand yourself objectively.

She told Cooper that she thought he'd make a wonderful dad, but that she'd support any decision he made, much to the chagrin of her husband.

"But Maria, how will he support this baby? He doesn't even have health insurance anymore!"

"I told them I came out here to tell them and then to take time to think over my options," Cooper said, rocking gently back and forth in the chair. "So I'm gonna stick around for a while and just mull things over."

Blaine nodded and a silent moment passed. Cooper sighed. "They were both so disappointed. In different ways. I know they want what's best but I just wish I could make them see that this is my life. I take responsibility for it, and they don't need to worry about me or be upset when things don't go the way they thought they would."

Blaine let out a harsh laugh. "You're preaching to the choir, Bro."

Cooper smirked and then threw his head back with a groan. "Ugh, I hate that I had to drag you all into my drama. Especially you, Little Brother."

"It's okay," said Blaine, looking down at his hands.

"No, I really am sorry. I know you've been through more of your fair share of Dad's temper tantrums. It couldn't have been easy to have to sit through another one. I know you must have been able to hear us up here."

Blaine put on a sad smile and continued looking down at the cream-colored carpet. "It's nothing I'm not used to, Coop. I just don't want Ollie to have to go through it."

Almost unconsciously, Blaine reached out to run his fingers through Ollie's hair, causing the little boy to pause his sucking on the panda leg and beam up at his daddy. Then Ollie climbed into Blaine's lap again, where he plopped down and sat with his back to Blaine's chest. Immediately, Blaine bounced his knees up and down in a familiar horsey-ride fashion and Ollie let out a delighted laugh.

Cooper smiled at the interaction. "You're a good dad, Blaine."

Blaine felt his eyes water up a little at the sentiment. "Thanks," he said quietly, and he planted a kiss into his baby's soft hair. "You will be too."

The two brothers smiled at each other for another silent moment.

Then, Cooper straightened up in the rocking chair and started to get up. "Hey, how about we get of here? The three of us. It's freakishly warm out today. We can take Lil' Squirt to the park."

"Good idea," Blaine replied. He scooped Ollie up in one arm and got to his feet. At that moment, nothing in the world sounded better than getting out of that house.

Cooper and Blaine got dressed in light jackets and took Ollie to the playground at Alum Creek Park. It was the same park Cooper used to take Blaine to when he babysat him.

In classic Ohio weather fashion, the chill from the previous night had all but disappeared, and it was sunny and unseasonably warm for early March. It was the perfect opportunity to escape the house.

Cooper sat in the backseat of Blaine's Outback and chatted with Ollie on the way there. So, by the time they parked in lot, he'd managed to curry so much favor with his little nephew that Ollie basically wanted nothing to do with Blaine anymore.

When Blaine tried to lift Ollie out of his car seat, the toddler squirmed in protest and shouted, "No! Cup!"

Blaine chuckled and backed away from the car. "I think 'Cup' is you, Uncle Cooper."

Cooper swooped in and snatched up his nephew, blowing a raspberry into his neck and making him squeal with happiness.

If it had been anyone else, Blaine probably would have been incredibly jealous that his son had picked someone over him. But, he loved seeing Cooper and Ollie interact so well. It just made him even surer that Cooper would be an amazing dad.

Cooper moved Ollie against his hip and then turned to Blaine, who just finished locking the car up. "Hey, Squirt. I'm gonna take Ollie over to the playground. Why don't you just post up at a picnic table and relax?

"But I don't mind…"

"Blaine, please," Cooper interrupted. "We're bonding here," he said with a smile.

Blaine narrowed his eyes, unsure why his brother was apparently trying to kidnap his son.

"You could read this," said Cooper, reaching into his jacket pocket. He pulled out at folded, worn-looking manuscript and held it out to Blaine.

Blaine took it, skeptical expression firmly in place, unfolded it, and read the cover page.

Nightbird

Written and illustrated by

Cooper J. Anderson

"Oh my God, Coop," Blaine said, smile turning up on his face. "It's your comic book!"

His brother nodded with a proud smirk. "It's just the first draft. Tell me what you think."

Blaine beamed back, feeling honored that Cooper was letting him read the early stages of his book. Cooper had always been so private about his artwork. About everything, really. Getting to read this felt like his brother was letting him in in some way he never had before.

"I'd love to," Blaine replied.

Cooper took Ollie over to the busy playground. It was the first mildly warm Saturday of the year, so there was a good number of kids and families running around at the park. Blaine managed to find an unoccupied picnic table where he could still see his brother and son as they played. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw Cooper contort himself, belly and all, into a shape small enough to fit down a kids' slide with a grinning Ollie on his lap.

Assured that his baby was in good hands, he took out his phone and earbuds and opened up Spotify. He quickly found the album Kurt had recommended earlier that morning, an EP from 2005, and hit "play." A catchy, old-timey sounding rock song started up, immediately causing his foot to tap along to the beat. Then, he opened up Cooper's manuscript and began to read.

The story was pretty short, so it didn't take Blaine long to read. It was a typical teen superhero plot: kid gets superpowers from freak accident, learns to control them, saves the girl he likes from evil, and lives happily ever after. Blaine hated to say it, but he understood where the publishers were coming from when they said the plot and characters needed more development. It was a very conventional story, and nothing had surprised him.

What did strike him, however, were the complexity and dimension in Cooper's illustrations. They were even better than the sketches in his old bedroom that Blaine admired so much. The lines were crisp, the colors were rich, and the characters' bodies and faces were drawn with such detail that they looked spookily real. He'd always known Cooper was talented, but this work was beyond anything Blaine could have expected out of his brother.

He looked back up to see Cooper pushing Ollie in a baby swing. He was pushing lazily with one hand while he talked to—of course—a very attractive-looking brunette woman. Blaine smirked when he saw his brother paste on his super-charming movie star smile and the woman reached up to twirl her long hair on her finger in a classically flirty way. Leave it to charismatic self-assured Cooper with his Disney prince good looks to still get his flirt on even when he's very obviously pregnant, Blaine thought with a roll of his eyes.

He picked up his phone to jot down a few notes for Cooper when the lyrics of the song he was listening to caught his attention. Blaine smiled at the words. It did remind him of himself and Kurt, and the music was upbeat and fun to listen to, not unlike Kurt himself.

He bypassed his notes app and instead opened a new text message to Kurt.

If I die clutching your photograph, don't call me boring. It's just cause I like you – Blaine

He pressed "send" and bit his lip, hoping the quoted line wasn't too much. Then he re-opened his notes app and jotted down his thoughts on Cooper's story before he forgot.

A little while later, Cooper approached the picnic table, carrying a tired-looking Ollie on his hip.

"I think I wore him out," he said.

Blaine laughed and held out his arms to take his son. "Sure you didn't wear yourself out with all that flirting?"

Cooper handed Ollie over and put on a sardonic smile. "I can't help that people are drawn to me, Squirt."

As Blaine arranged Ollie on his lap, he noticed Cooper's admirer watching them from across the playground. Feeling a little feisty, he waved at her with a self-assured smile. The woman blushed wildly and turned to look the other direction.

"I think she thinks I'm your husband, Preggers," Blaine said through a mischievous grin.

Cooper scoffed. "Please. You could never land me in a million years."

"Ha. Ha," Blaine replied, deadpan.

"So," Cooper began in a hopeful tone. "What did you think of the book?" He sat down next to Blaine at the table.

"It was great! The illustrations are amazing, Coop. Really."

"But the story sucks, right?" Cooper asked expectantly.

Blaine shook his head. "No, it doesn't suck."

"Blaine, spare me. I know it needs work."

"It just… I don't see you in it, you know? Like, what makes Nightbird different from any other superhero that came before him? It's that you created him. So I want to see how that makes him special. I want to see what you can give him that no one else but Cooper Anderson could. Like your drawings. The story should be just as distinctive."

Cooper was quiet for a minute, looking thoughtful.

"That's pretty insightful stuff, Squirt."

Blaine shrugged. "I don't know."

"No, it's seriously the best feedback I've gotten so far. You're totally right. Nightbird's so boring."

"He's not boring, he's just…"

Just then, his phone chirped with a new message:

Steady your ears, steady your ears and read my lips. Poetry is not a luxury, it's how I break this home. – Kurt

Blaine stopped in mid-sentence, cracked a smile and felt his cheeks flush at the lyrics in the text.

Cooper waved a hand in front of Blaine's face to get his attention back. "Well, look who's the flirter now! Who's got you blushing with texts?"

"Nobody," Blaine retorted quickly, but he could feel himself blush even more.

"Oh, come on," Cooper urged. "Throw me a bone. Is Smythe still sending you pictures if his –"

"Cooper!" Blaine all but shouted, quickly covering Ollie's ears with his hands.

Cooper covered his mouth dramatically, clearly enjoying the reaction he was getting out of his brother. "Blaine, are you sexting? In a children's park? I think that might be illegal."

"No, I'm not! Please. Chill," Blaine warned though gritted teeth. He could always count on Cooper to embarrass him in public.

"Okay, okay," Cooper put his hands up in mock surrender. "It's that tall drink of water from last night, isn't it? Hmm? The one that was apparently trying to see what the back of your throat tastes like? What was his name? Kirk?"

"Kurt," Blaine corrected. "And yes. It is." His smile immediately came back despite his brother's taunting.

"Atta boy, Blainers. I gotta say, I'm glad to see you moving on from Smell-bastian. That guy is way too full of himself. He always rubbed me the wrong way."

Blaine couldn't help but chuckle at Cooper's dumb nickname for his ex.

"Thanks, Coop. But to be fair, Sebastian actually smells pretty decent."

Cooper rolled his eyes.

"…But Kurt smells better," Blaine added.

"Oow ow!" Cooper called out, pumping his fist triumphantly. "That's what I'm talking about. Never settle."

Blaine laughed. "Okay. What do you say we get out of here? Ollie could use a nap and I'm starving. I skipped breakfast."

"I would never turn down food in my delicate condition," Cooper said, patting his rounded belly.

They rose from the table and headed back to the car, smiling. Ollie was practically asleep when Blaine loaded him back into his car seat. To Blaine's surprise, Cooper leaned in and straightened a couple of his nephew's wayward curls and then planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. Then he straightened up, closed the door and put on his dapper smile.

The gesture melted Blaine's heart, and he took a moment to take in the sight of his big brother—the family's golden child whose legacy he never thought he could live up to—standing in front of him pregnant, jobless and scared, but sure as hell not letting it show.

Blaine couldn't help but think that he'd never felt like he had so much in common with his brother.