"How was your day, kiddo?" Burt asked Kurt when his little boy ran up to him after he was done hugging his friends.
"So awesome!" Kurt crowed as he hugged his dad. "Fank you for wetting me come here."
"I'm glad you had a good day, sweetie!" Elizabeth said, hugging her son after he was done hugging Burt. "Let's go home, and you can tell us all about it."
Burt and Elizabeth listened to their little boy talk all night long about all of the adventures he'd had at daycare that day. They were happy to hear Blaine, Brittany, and Santana's names come up so often. Kurt had made friends, and they couldn't be happier for him.
That night, when Burt was giving Kurt his bath, he noticed something on his son's left collarbone. He didn't want to alarm his son with what he saw and thought that hollering for his wife would do just that. So, Burt continued to wash his son like he hadn't seen what he did and waited until he was out of the bath to call Lizzy up so they could all talk about it.
"Lizzy," Burt called as he was getting Kurt out of the bath and wrapped up in his towel. "We're headed to Kurt's room." Burt was so very thankful that they both usually did this part of Kurt's nightly routine. He needed Lizzy to see what he had seen, hoping she would know how to proceed.
Elizabeth arrived in the room right as Burt had finished putting his son into his undies and lotioning him up with the nighttime stuff that helped him sleep. "There are my two favorite guys in the world!"
"Kurt," Burt said, hoping he was going about this the right way, "who were those kids you were hugging when we picked you up today?"
"Blaine and Santana and Brittany," Kurt said, making sure to pronounce their names correctly, snuggling into his daddy's chest while his mom grabbed a book to read. "Why for?"
"Lizzy," he said and motioned to Kurt's mark before he said anything else.
"Seriously?" Lizzy said, shocked and marveling at the elegant 'B' on her son's collarbone.
"Looks like it," Burt answered.
"Wha' is it, Mommy?" Kurt asked. "Did Daddy miss washin' sumpin'?"
"No, munchkin," Elizabeth said. "Do you remember the story we read last night?"
"Da one wif da marks, like you and Daddy's?" he clarified.
"That's the one," Elizabeth said, smiling.
"Uh-huh," Kurt answered. "Someday, I'm gonna gets a mark, an' dat person will love me no matta' what, an' we'll be togedder an' have lots an' lots of fun!"
"Well," Elizabeth began, "you are a very lucky little boy, because today, you got your mark. And, I'm guessing one of your friends did, too, but we'll have to wait until the morning to see which friend that is. You have a lovely 'B' right here," she said and grabbed Kurt's hand so he could touch where his mark was.
"C'n I sees it?" Kurt asked, curious to see what his mark looked like. He knew from the story they'd read the night before, and from what his parents had told him, that all marks were in their soulmate's handwriting, and he was anxious to see what it looked like.
Burt carried him to the mirror in the bathroom and helped him pull his jammies down to see it. "It's bootiful!" he said, running his fingers over it. "But Daddy, is it Blaine or Brittany? Santana's name don't start wif a 'B' sound."
"I'm not sure, kiddo," Burt answered. "We'll have to wait to see which of your other friends have a mark tomorrow. Now, let's go back and see what Mommy picked out to read tonight."
Burt and Kurt settled in next to Lizzy on the loveseat in Kurt's room and listened to her read Pigs in the House. Kurt listened carefully to the story, loving the vivid pictures and laughing at all of the mischief the pigs got into, all the while keeping one finger on his mark.
After he was in bed, Elizabeth and Burt went downstairs to talk about what had happened to their son today. "He's so young," Burt said.
"I know," Lizzy replied. "But think of it this way: he will get to grow up with his soulmate. And, he is so lucky to have found them this early. They will literally have their whole lives together."
"When you put it that way, it seems pretty awesome," Burt said. "I was so worried about him, Lizzy. Surely it will be that Blaine kid, don't you think?"
"Fate chooses that," Lizzy said. "Not us. Let's wait until tomorrow and not try to question too much tonight. It won't matter one way or another."
"You're right," Burt said. "So…how you doin'?" he asked in a very Joey from Friends tone of voice.
The next morning, Mrs. Jones had seven parents outside her room, all wanting to talk to her together after they had said goodbye to their kids. She wasn't quite sure what they all wanted, but there was at least one who didn't look happy to be there; so, she asked one of the floating teachers to watch her room while she took the parents to a conference room.
"You all wanted to speak to me?" Jackie asked.
"Yes," Carter Anderson said. "My son came home with a mark yesterday."
"So did mine," the other parents said.
"Okay," Jackie said, feeling out of her depth. "Let's do this one kid at a time. Mr. Anderson, what initial does Blaine have on him?"
"A 'K,'" Carter replied. "A very curvy 'K.'"
"Alright," Jackie said, turning to Burt and Elizabeth. "Looks like Kurt is Blaine's soulmate then."
"That might not be accurate," Lucia Lopez interrupted. "Santana's mark is a 'B,' but her first name isn't really Santana. It's Kelsi. I always hated it, but her father insisted since it was a family name. Then, the asshole left us. I always called her Santana, even before he left, so that's what she goes by, even though she knows her real name is Kelsi."
"Brittany has a 'K' also," Charlotte Pierce said.
"Kurt has a 'B' on him," Burt said.
"So," Carter said, sounding very annoyed, "are you telling me that my son's soulmate could be either Santana or Kurt? Is that what you're saying?"
"That's the way it seems," Elizabeth answered. "It seems as though it could be any combination, and we won't know for sure until they turn 16 and get their second initials. Since none of us have the same letter at the beginning of our last names, we will know for sure then. Until then, though, what do we want to do?"
"They were all four pretty much inseparable yesterday," Jackie said.
Knowing her husband's thoughts on his son having a male soulmate, Claire Anderson spoke up for the first time, "Why don't we just let them be kids for now, and see how it all goes? We won't actively push any of them together, nor will we keep any of them apart from each other. We all know that Fate has put them with whomever they are supposed to be with, and nothing we do will change that." She looked straight at her husband when she said that last part.
Benjamin Pierce agreed. "Brittany said she had the best day yesterday with her new friends. I certainly don't want to keep them apart."
The other parents agreed and then left the center, all going their separate ways. "What a way to start the morning," Jackie said aloud after the last parent walked out of the room.
The rest of the day went very smoothly. Knowing that the four newly marked kids would do better with each other, she kept them grouped together and would make sure to switch other kids in and out when the groups were larger. This part of their bonding time was important, though even she was having a difficult time figuring out who was whose soulmate. All four of them interacted so flawlessly together.
That afternoon, when they would typically have center time, Mrs. Jones allowed them to have free time instead. She was exhausted from the emotional morning and wanted some downtime to play with her students. Like the day before, she put in a CD by Bond, knowing that the kids really enjoyed the beat of the songs and the fact that there were no words to distract them from their play.
Kurt, Blaine, Santana, and Brittany were all playing at the dramatic play center along with Nick and Jeff. They were all putting on a very elaborate puppet show, while Mercedes and David were watching and laughing at all of the funny things the puppets were doing. The song in the background switched, and Kurt and Blaine decided that their puppets would 'dance' now. They 'danced' together while the song played and kind of lost track of the others in the room, getting caught up in the music.
Blaine's puppet grabbed Kurt's by the hand, and they danced close, causing the boys to hold hands through their puppets. By the time the song was over, Mrs. Jones was fairly certain who was who's soulmate, though she wouldn't do anything to push either couple either way. She knew that Fate put the right person in everyone's lives, and no meddling by her would deter it.
When the song was over, Mrs. Jones said it was time to clean up and head outside to play until their parents picked them all up. The foursome played in the sandbox with Quinn and Noah. Kurt had made sure to wear clothes that he didn't mind getting dirty so he could play in the sand today if Blaine asked him. He was glad he did, because it seemed that his new friends loved to play in the sand; he would have been sad if he wouldn't have been able to join them.
Elizabeth headed over to the playground when she and Burt arrived at the center to pick Kurt up and was happy to see him playing with so many kids and having a good time. "Kurt," she called, "it's time to go."
"See you tamorrow, guys," Kurt said and hugged each of his friends before running over to his mom.
"How was your day, munchkin?" she asked.
"Good, Mommy," Kurt replied. "We makeded a puppet show and danceded to a supa' cool song. Oh, hold on," Kurt said and ran over to Mrs. Jones. "Mrs. Jones, wha's the name of dat song that playeded right 'fore you turneded off the music 'fore we comed outside?"
"That one was called 'Lullaby,'" she said.
"I likeded it a lot!" Kurt said, thanked her, and then ran back over to Elizabeth.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"I axed her 'bout the song she playeded today," Kurt answered.
"What was the name of it, and maybe, we can get it for you?" Elizabeth asked.
"'Lullaby' by Bond," Kurt explained.
"I'll see if I can download it later," Elizabeth said and made sure Kurt was all buckled in his car seat.
Kurt sang quietly in the back seat as they drove home.
"All those days watching from the windows
All those years outside looking in
All that time never even knowing
Just how blind I've been
Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here suddenly I see
Standing here it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be"
"Do you wanna watch Tangled when we get home, bud?" Burt asked, knowing how much his son loved that movie.
"C'n we for reals, Daddy?" Kurt asked, excited.
"Of course, we can, kiddo," Burt answered, loving his son's enthusiasm. "You know how much I love that silly horse!"
Their night was fairly uneventful aside from getting to watch Tangled. Kurt told them about his day at daycare and what all he had learned. He was most excited to talk about his adventures with Blaine, Brittany, and Santana though, and he would light up whenever he said their names.
That night, for bed, Kurt asked Elizabeth to reread the soulmate fairy tale. He was asleep before she was able to finish the whole story, his right hand covering his soulmark.
A/N: The song used in the text is "I See the Light" from Tangled.