"I'm sorry, bug," Kurt hears his husband say as he walks in the door. "I don't know where it could have gone."
"But it was right here! Right where you and Papa put it!" Tracy gestures with both hands to the top of the refrigerator - a place Tracy can't easily reach, but she can see from ground level. A perfect place to keep her pumpkin bucket full of Halloween candy safely out of her tiny hands. But as Kurt walks in on his husband and daughter searching the kitchen high and low, he can see that the bucket is no longer there.
And Tracy looks devastated.
"And I swear I didn't touch it! You don't think Uncle Sam could have taken it, do you?" Tracy asks, lower lip wobbling over the prospect of a beloved family friend absconding with her pail of treats.
"No," Blaine replies, patting her head reassuringly. "I've known your Uncle Sam for a very long time, and I can safely say that he would never do something like that. Now, your Uncle Cooper, on the other hand …"
"Hello, my loves!" Kurt intervenes before Blaine can toss his brother too far under the bus. Normally, Kurt would just let him. But considering what he suspects is going on, he feels karma would best be served by rescuing his husband before he can tarnish his too badly.
"Papa!" Tracy cries, leaping into Kurt's arms. "Something terrible has happened!"
"I heard," Kurt says, kissing his daughter on the forehead. "And I know you've probably done this already, but why don't you run upstairs and check your bedroom. I'll come help in a minute."
"All right, Papa!" Tracy races up the stairs to her room in a much happier mood. Nothing has changed. The bucket is still gone. But her Papa always seems to find a way to make things better.
Kurt looks at his husband, watching their little girl hurry up the steps, and sighs.
"Long day?" he asks.
"Yup," Blaine answers with a nod, eyes still glued to the upstairs landing. "Long day."
"Nervous about the election?"
"A-a little bit. Yeah."
Kurt leans into his husband's ear, ensuring his voice doesn't carry. "Did you stress-eat her Halloween candy?"
Blaine's lips tighten into a thin line. He's not a perfect father. He'd be the first to admit he's made a few questionable decisions. But this one probably takes the cake. "Yes. Yes, I did."
Kurt pulls a reusable canvas bag, filled with clearance Halloween candy he bought from Duane Reede, out from under the coat folded over his arm, and hands it to Blaine. "I've got you covered."
Blaine's sigh of relief is so extensive, it shortens him by half a foot. "You are a God."
"Yes, I am. But I get it." Kurt puts an arm around his husband and squeezes tight. "Plus, you didn't see the stale pizza crust I swiped out of the box I took to the trash before work."
Blaine tilts his head in his husband's direction and arcs an eyebrow. "Really, Kurt?"
"What? Are you actually judging me?"
"Yes." Blaine rests his head against his husband's shoulder. "But only because I'd been eyeing that for breakfast."