It was a random, late June evening when Kurt got a text from his dad. There was no text, just a link to an article entitled, "Adults Need Family, Too!" Kurt assumed it was an article about how kids should visit their parents more, a standing joke between himself and his father. However, he was surprised when the first article heading said, "What is adult adoption?"
Kurt read the article with tears streaming down his cheeks, and as soon as he'd closed it, he called his dad.
"Hey, kid," Burt greeted when he answered the phone. "Wha—"
"Why did you send me that?" Kurt asked, not able to suppress the sound of tears in his voice. "Were you serious? Would you and Mom actually…?"
"Yeah. We would. We want to, Kurt. It's something we've been talking about for a long, long time, ever since that day when he came to live with us your senior year. You know, your mom said the other day that we've felt like we've always known him, and… Well, we have a plan."
"A plan? What plan?"
"We know how hard Father's Day always is for him. Mother's Day, too. He tries to come over here and be happy around us. There are cracks in his facade from time to time, though. We can see him get sad over certain things, and we thought—if you agree—give him the paperwork on National Son's Day."
"When's that?"
"September 28. Your mom says it's a Tuesday. Maybe you two could come over for supper or something?"
Kurt was silent for a bit, just breathing, trying to slow the tears rolling down his face.
"You still there, bud? Everything okay?"
Despite him not being able to see, Kurt nodded as he swiped his palms across his cheeks, wiping away the tears. "Yeah. Just… Thank you, Dad. Thank you and mom both. You have no idea how much this is going to mean to him, how much it means to-to me…"
"We love you both so much," Burt answered, getting emotional himself. "And we want you both to know that, no matter what, you both have a family, people who love you more than anything else in the world. You've got us to go back to, and I want him to know that he does, too."
"Thank you." Kurt sniffled a little, hearing his husband turning off the shower. "I-I gotta go. I don't want him to know until it's time. It will be the perfect surprise. Please, just-just don't say anything to him. Keep me posted, though, okay?"
"Sure, kid. We love you both."
"Love you guys, too. So much."
It was hard to keep the secret for 13 weeks. Kurt had moments where he nearly broke, nearly told his husband everything. Somehow, though, he managed to keep the news to himself. It wasn't easy, though, and he found he had to bite his tongue more often than he really wanted to, including on their drive to Burt and Elizabeth's house that night.
"Doesn't it seem kinda weird that your parents want to have us over for supper, especially a semi-formal supper on a Tuesday night?" Blaine was asking, staring out the window as Kurt navigated the traffic on the highway. "Do they want something? Have some bad news to share or something?"
Kurt stayed quiet.
That got Blaine's attention, and he turned to look at his husband. "Kurt?"
"You worry too much," Kurt said, reaching over and grabbing Blaine's hand. He gave it a squeeze, glancing over to smile at him briefly. "I'm sure it's just a nice dinner. You know how Mom gets. She likes to put on airs sometimes. It's fun for her."
"Yeah… Okay," Blaine agreed, keeping a tight grip on Kurt's hand as he turned to look out the window again.
"Ah, ah, ah. I know that look. You're thinking about something. Tell me."
"It's just… Sometimes, going back to Lima is hard for me. I'm reminded of all the crap I went through there right alongside all the good stuff, and sometimes, like tonight, the bad outweighs the good. It's mostly just my family. I think about how crappy my family was to me, how lucky I was that you were there to pick me up and take me in. I don't know what I would have done without you."
"That's all in the past now, sweetheart," Kurt reminded him. "It must be hard, though, to be reminded of things that weren't really happy. I'm sorry. I can talk to Mom and Dad about coming to our house more often. I'm sure they'd be willing to. Dad loves to drive."
"No. No. I don't want them to feel like I don't appreciate their hospitality and all the things they've done for me. Especially since they didn't have to."
Kurt sighed. "Blaine, you're family. They love you, and they're happy to do things for you, just like for me."
"I'm not family, Kurt. You're their son. And I know they love me. They've more than proven that over the years. It's just not the same."
Deciding to say one more thing and then keep quiet on this topic until they got to his parent's house, Kurt said, "Blaine, I want you to look at me." He paused, waiting, watching out of the corner of his eye as Blaine slowly turned toward him, looking at his face. "Who are we to each other?"
Blaine gave a shallow shrug, already knowing the answer. "You tell me."
"Family. We're family. And family doesn't mean blood. Family means love and acceptance. So, just because you aren't their flesh and blood doesn't mean you're not family, honey. Do you understand?"
Blaine nodded, following up with a quiet, "Yes, sir."
Giving his hand three squeezes, their silent "I love you" signal, Kurt said the words aloud, too. "I love you, Blaine. So, so much."
"I love you, too. Thank you for reminding me."
Kurt nodded, and the boys drove the last ten minutes to the Hummel's in contented silence.
When they arrived, Burt and Elizabeth came out the door, pulling them both into tight hugs as soon as they climbed out of the car. "We're so glad to see you!" they said, squeezing the boys tightly.
"We're so glad to be home," Kurt told them, grinning at them, not missing the wink his dad gave him, their signal that everything was going off without a hitch. "And we're also starving. What's for supper?"
"Roast, mashed potatoes, garlic asparagus, and strawberry pie for dessert."
"You're gonna kill me, Mom! That sounds delightful. Tell me it's ready?"
"Of course, it is. I knew when you were coming."
"Oh, my god. Thank goodness. Come on, Blaine. Let's go eat." With that, Kurt grabbed his husband's hand and headed into the house.
Supper was a pleasant affair. The four of them chatted, catching up on what Burt had been doing at the garage, how his mother was enjoying her job at the high school library, and about the bike Blaine was currently working on at the shop.
When the meal was finished and the plates were cleared away, Elizabeth looked at her husband, wiping her hands across her knees before she said, "Well, do we want dessert right now? If not, there's something we'd like to talk to you boys about."
Blaine looked at his husband, trying to read his face to know if he was aware of what Elizabeth could be referring to. Kurt gave him nothing to go on, though, wearing a perfect poker face. "Uh, I could wait on dessert. I-if you wanna talk?"
Elizabeth glanced at her son. "Kurt?"
"I can wait on dessert," he agreed.
"Okay. So… Burt, do you, um, do you want to take the lead on this?"
Burt nodded. "Sure." Then, he leaned over to his wife, whispering, "Will you go get the packet from the bedroom, please?"
With a nod, Elizabeth left, leaving her husband at the table with Kurt and Blaine.
Taking a deep breath, Burt began, making eye contact with Blaine. "A couple of months ago, I was surfing around the web, and I ran across an article. It was talking about adoption in our country and how every kid," he paused, then emphasized, "every kid deserves to be wanted, loved, and accepted by a family that wants them. And at the end of the article, it listed out all the options for adoption, including…" He paused again, glancing at his son before looking back at Blaine. "Including adult adoption."
"I-I don't understand."
"I didn't really either, so I did some more research. Apparently, once someone turns 18, as long as the adoptee, their spouse, and the adults wishing to adopt them consent, an adult can be adopted. Typically, it's for reasons of inheritance, but there are other reasons, too."
Elizabeth came back then, a large manila envelope in her hands. She set it down softly on the table before sliding into her seat beside her husband. Then, with a glance at him, she pushed the envelope gently across the table toward him.
"We want to adopt you, kid, because it's important to us for you to know that you are a loved, wanted, and accepted part of this family. That you are our family. Just because we aren't blood doesn't mean we can't love each other like we are, and we want you to feel included." Burt stopped, looking at his wife for help as his eyes began to mist over.
Blaine's eyes were misty, too, and for a little while, he just stared at Burt and Elizabeth, not saying anything. He felt Kurt move next to him, and a moment later, there were strong, warm arms wrapping around him, pulling him close so Kurt could press his forehead against his shoulder, sniffling lightly in Blaine's ear.
"Blaine, we love you," Elizabeth said quietly, her voice quivering with emotion. "We love you so much, and it would mean so much to us for you to become our son. We know that coming back here is hard, and watching you be rejected by the very people that are supposed to love you has been some of the hardest stuff we've ever had to watch. I can't imagine the pain you must feel having lived through it. We know we can't take away the pain of that. We want you to have a permanent place to belong, a place where you will never, ever…" She stopped, trying to force the words around the tears caught in her throat. "A place where you will never be rejected."
At that, Blaine's misty eyes betrayed him, and tears began to pour out as a sob ripped from his throat. He turned into his husband's embrace, crying against his shoulder as the shock and emotion of the moment swept over him in waves. He hadn't been expecting this, had never seen something like this coming, and he didn't know exactly what to say. The rhythm of his heart, though, began to sound like a "Yes, yes, yes," as it pounded in his ears, and he could feel Kurt's emotions through their soulbond: love, hope, excitement.
It took a few minutes for the tears to stop, and finally, Blaine lifted his head from Kurt's shoulder, looking the other man deep in the eyes. "You knew," he whispered, no anger or accusation in his voice. "You knew this was coming?"
Kurt nodded. "I did. They have my blessing. You have my blessing."
"You-you think I should do it." It was a statement of understanding.
"I do. This is—I want you to feel like a part of this family, and my parents want you. Permanently. What do you think?" The last sentence was a whisper, inviting Blaine to be as honest and open as he wanted.
"I-I want to, Kurt. I'm just… I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"What happens if you and I—If we, for some reason—If we—"
A knowing look flashed through Kurt's eyes, and he said sternly and lovingly, "Whose name is on your chest, Blaine?"
Blaine just looked at him for a moment, blinking in confusion.
"Whose name is on your chest, Blaine?" Kurt asked again.
"Yours…"
"And what does it mean?"
"It means forever."
"Exactly. It means, out of all the people in the world, Fate chose you for me, predestined us to be together before we ever drew breath on this earth. Nothing is happening to us. We're stuck with each other forever. Permanently. You have nothing to be afraid of."
Blaine was silent for a few beats before whispering, "Okay."
"So, is this what you want? Do you want my parents to adopt you?"
He nodded, leaning in to rest his head on Kurt's shoulder a moment before whispering, "I do." Then, he sat up, looking across the table at Burt and Elizabeth who were wrapped in each other's arms, too. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice cracking a bit as he fought to maintain composure. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"Blaine, we love you so much," Elizabeth whispered.
"I love you both, too," he answered. "What do I do?"
Burt pulled the pages out of the manila envelope, showing Blaine where to sign and initial. Then, he stuffed the papers back in the envelope, grabbed Elizabeth's hand, and rounded the table. "Can I hug you both?" he asked. "It's National Son's Day, and I really want to celebrate my two boys?"
Kurt and Blaine were on their feet in an instant, being pulled into Burt and Elizabeth's arms. The four of them hugged for a full minute, no one wanting to let go first. Finally, when they did pull away, they all wiped tears from their eyes, sniffling a bit.
"Who wants dessert now?" Elizabeth asked then, earning chuckles from everyone as she headed into the kitchen for plates and the pie.
A few months later, the Hummel family sat in the Family Court room with bated breath, waiting for the judge to finish reading over everything they'd submitted. It didn't take long but seemed to take an eternity as they kept their fingers and toes crossed, hoping they knew what he'd say. Finally, the old man looked up, a smile on his face. He reached for his gavel, banging it once against his desk. "Blaine Anderson, welcome to the Hummel family," he declared.