Blaine sighed, rolling over once again. Nothing was comfortable, and he could not get his brain to shut off no matter what he did. He'd been lying there for nearly three hours, rolling back and forth, trying to fall asleep. He'd tried listening to music, watching YouTube videos, reading his favorite Star Wars fanfic, even counting sheep. Nothing was working. Sighing again, he rolled onto his side to face his husband. Should I wake him up? Blaine thought. Kurt was sleeping so soundly that he hated to wake him, but he didn't know what else to do. Besides, Kurt had often told him he should have awakened him when he had trouble sleeping. This time, he was just taking him up on his advice. "Kurt?" Blaine whispered, tapping gently at his husband's shoulder. "Kurt?"
"Huh?" Kurt asked groggily, rolling onto his back and rubbing at his eyes. "Mmm, Blaine?"
"I'm sorry," Blaine whispered, running a finger gently over Kurt's cheek. "I didn't want to wake you up, but I can't sleep."
"Mmm, 's okay," Kurt replied, reaching over to pat clumsily at Blaine's hip. "How c'n I help?"
"Tell me a story?" Blaine asked hopefully. He just needed Kurt's voice to lull him to sleep, he was sure.
"A story?"
"Mhm. Anything is good, as long as you talk," Blaine replied. "And...can I sleep on you? I wanna listen to your heartbeat…"
"Of course," Kurt answered, opening his arms for his husband to cuddle in. He often described Blaine as a little monkey or koala bear. When he latched on to Kurt, he hung on tightly, all arms and legs and wild, curly hair. It was comfortable for him, and Kurt didn't really mind.
"Thanks," Blaine whispered, leaning up to peck Kurt's cheek before making himself comfortable, most of his body on top of Kurt's, his ear pressed against Kurt's chest, right over his heart.
While he waited for Blaine to get comfortable, Kurt thought about what story he could tell Blaine. He wasn't really awake enough to make one up, but his brain was trying valiantly until something else popped into his mind, a story he hadn't thought of in years but would definitely suit the situation perfectly. "Ready?" he asked when Blaine had stopped moving and was beginning to try to slow his breathing.
Blaine nodded. "'M comfy now," he mumbled.
"Good." Reaching down, Kurt began to run a hand comfortingly up and down Blaine's back, much like he sometimes did for their son. "Once upon a time," he murmured, "there were two little boys in a daycare…"
Blaine squirmed a bit. "I like this story," he mumbled, already aware of what story his husband was going to tell him.
With a grin, Kurt said, "I know. That's why I'm telling it." He waited a moment to be sure that Blaine wasn't going to say anything else. Then, he started again. "Once upon a time, there were two little boys in a daycare…"
Blaine lay on his back on his little cot, staring up at the ceiling. Their teacher had said it was nap time, and they were all supposed to be asleep. Blaine, however, was having a lot of problems falling asleep. It seemed like every time he shut his eyes, there was a noise that would make him open them again. He knew that if he didn't fall asleep soon, his teacher would come and get him from his cot, and he'd have to spend time doing something boring. His teacher called it learning, but Blaine thought that singing The Alphabet Song five times in a row was actually just called boring.
Flopping over onto his side, Blaine looked at the back of his very bestest friend in the whole wide world. His very bestest friend was named Kurt, and Kurt was very pretty. He had pretty blue eyes that sometimes looked like the blue sky when there were no clouds, and he wore the most perfect clothes that made him look very handsome and grown-up. Kurt was the most fun to play with because he always liked to play whatever Blaine was playing, and he never, ever made fun of him. If Blaine wanted to play with dolls, Kurt would play, too. He'd insist that they could both be daddies, though, which was weird because Blaine didn't know anybody with two daddies. Still, Kurt was fun, and they got along well. Blaine hoped that Kurt would never stop being his bestest friend, because already, at age four, he had no idea what he'd do without him.
Sighing, Blaine decided to do something very risky. He was going to whisper his friend's name, just to see if he was still awake. He knew that if the teacher heard him, he might get into trouble, but it was a risk he was willing to take. A quick glance around proved that the teacher wasn't even in the room, so he figured it was safe. "Kurt…" he whispered. "Kurt, you 'wake?"
The other little boy rolled over onto his side, facing him. He looked wide awake, like he hadn't been asleep at all. "Yeah," he said. "I was tryin'a s'eep, bu' I coul'n't."
"Me eivver," Blaine replied. "I was tryin' an' tryin', but snot workin'."
Kurt nodded knowingly. "Maybe we c'n he'p each ovver fall 's'eep?" he suggested, looking at Blaine to gauge his reaction.
"How?"
With a shrug, Kurt replied, "I dunno. My mommy an' daddy read to me at night, an' den I go to s'eep."
Blaine nodded. That made sense. His mommy read to him sometimes when she was home. The babysitter usually didn't read, but sometimes, if he was real quiet, he could hear her singing after she'd put him to bed. That always made him feel sleepy. Kurt didn't know how to read, but maybe he could sing. "Well," Blaine said, "I can't s'eep, so can you sing to me?"
Kurt's brow furrowed at the question. "Sing? 'M no' very good at singin'."
"Kurt, you's a very good singer," Blaine told him. "I hearded you when we clean up, an' Ms. Fairy makes us sing da c'ean up song." Their teacher's name was really Ms. Fabray, but most of the kids stumbled over her name so much that she now just introduced herself as Ms. Fairy.
"Bu' I don' yike it," Kurt replied. "I sound silly if'n I sing."
"No, you don't!" Blaine didn't like this side of Kurt. He knew his bestest friend was a good singer. He knew it, and he didn't want him to think he sounded silly. He didn't. He sounded awesome!
Kurt was quiet for several long moments, just watching Blaine's face. He was thinking about his best friend's request. On one hand, he really didn't like how he sounded when he sang, but on the other hand, he didn't want to make his friend sad or upset. That had happened before with other friends, and Kurt didn't want to risk that happening with his bestest friend Blainers. They had fun together, and if Blaine got mad, he might not want to play fun games anymore. Finally, Kurt said, "You sure you wan' me sing to you, Blainers?" he asked carefully.
Blaine nodded. "I do."
"Okay," Kurt agreed. "What you wan' me sing for you?"
"Um… Beauty an'a Beast?" Blaine asked. "I yike dat one."
Nodding, Kurt said, "Okay. I c'n sing dat one." He held out a hand toward Blaine, waiting until the other little boy had taken it. "You hafta close your eyes, my Blainers," Kurt instructed. "Dat way you c'n fall 's'eep."
"'Kay," Blaine answered, snuggling down under the little red blanket he'd been given to sleep with. He closed his eyes, squeezing Kurt's hand just a little to let him know he was ready.
Taking a deep breath, Kurt glanced around to make sure Ms. Fabray wasn't in the room. Then, he began to softly sing:
"Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the beast"
Blaine smiled as he listened to his friend sing. He maybe wasn't focusing so much on going to sleep, but really wanted to listen to the whole thing so he could tell Kurt how good his singing was.
When Kurt got to the chorus, his voice changed a little. This part was high, and even though he could reach those notes, he didn't want to be too loud and wake anyone up. So, he made his voice as soft and airy as he could. He didn't really know how he could do that, but he'd done it before; it seemed easy.
"Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast"
The longer Blaine listened to his bestest friend's voice, the sleepier he got. Somehow, Kurt changed his voice, making it soft and breathy. Blaine didn't know how he could do that, but he liked it even more. It was certainly doing its job, though, of making him tired, and he snuggled further under the blankets, gripping Kurt's hand a little bit tighter. He didn't want to let go of him even as he started to drift off.
Kurt watched his friend intently as he came to the end of the song. Blaine's eyelids were doing something fluttery, and he thought that must mean that Blaine was falling asleep. Then, he felt Blaine squeeze tighter onto his hand, and he smiled. They'd never tried holding hands before, but he liked it. It made him feel all fuzzy inside his heart.
"Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast
Beauty and the beast"
When the song was over, Kurt stayed very still, watching to see if Blaine would open his eyes or talk to him. After a few minutes, though, he decided that Blaine must have fallen asleep. His eyes were still shut, and his tummy was going up and down while he breathed. A small, wayward thought crossed his mind. Blaine's pretty, he thought. I hope he's always, always my bestest friend. Getting comfy, Kurt snuggled down under his little blue blanket, making sure not to let go of Blaine's hand. He let his eyes drift shut, all the while thinking about Blaine and how much fun it was to play together. He'd never had a friend like Blaine before, but Kurt knew he wanted to keep him forever and ever, maybe even longer. Eventually, he managed to fall asleep, too, Blaine's hand still tucked firmly in his.
"...and those two little boys grew up to fall in love, get married, and have a very cute son together. And, they lived happily ever after," Kurt whispered. "The end." He stayed very still and quiet for a while, waiting to see if Blaine would say anything else. When he didn't, Kurt smiled happily to himself. He'd lulled Blaine to sleep with one of his favorite stories from their childhood.
As stealthily as he could, Kurt adjusted himself just a bit, sighing when he felt the perfect wave of contentment wash over him. He closed his eyes, snuggling back into his pillow. The hand that had been trailing up and down Blaine's back slowly stilled, and he felt himself begin to fall into that drifty space between sleep and wakefulness.
Then, suddenly, Blaine whined a little, wiggling just a bit. "I love that story," he murmured, not really saying the words fully. "An' I was right."
"About what?"
"Your beau'ful voice."
Kurt couldn't help but chuckle at that, resuming his petting up and down Blaine's back. "You were," he whispered. "Now, go to sleep. I love you." He expected to hear an, "I love you, too," from his husband, but instead, all he heard were gentle snores. Kurt smiled, pleased with himself. He lifted his head to give the top of Blaine's head a gentle kiss. "Good night," he whispered again. "I love you."
Even though Blaine was already asleep and could not possibly have said anything else, in Kurt's sleepy brain, he was sure he heard his husband whisper back, "I love you, too."