Guess who's back, back again. Guess who's back, tell all friends!
(I might be a little exited because I get too see Eminem this summer, sue me.)

Seriously now, again, I'm sorry it took me forever to update. I hope to go back to regular Sunday updates starting today (okay, it's almost 1am here on a Monday, but I bet for most of you it's still Sunday!). Life's been hard, my grandpa was in the hospital for almost 6 weeks, and then he passed away, so I think you can understand why I didn't spent much time on my laptop. I hope to get back into the flow of writing soon, but even if I don't, I still have everything til chapter 11 written, it only needs to be beta'd, so I'm gonna do my very best to get that done!

Enjoy the chapter.

CH 5

Kurt smiled gently to himself as he saw Blaine make silly faces to make Emma laugh. It was working, since the girl was laughing so hard she had to grip her stomach and couldn't even wheel forward properly. Blaine swiftly grabbed the handles of her wheelchair and started pushing her rapidly, maneuvering between the unevenness on the path with quick turns, which made her laugh even harder. He stopped abruptly in front of the ice cream stand and ordered three cones before Kurt could even protest.

"Thanks." Kurt shook his head as Blaine handed him a raspberry ice cream cone. "Figures."

"Raspberry is the best of the best!" Emma proclaimed loudly, with Blaine nodding fervently beside her.

"Nope." Kurt shook his head. "Lemon."

"Yuck." Emma stuck out her tongue and made a face, making Blaine laugh loudly this time.

"Okay, what's next?" Blaine asked eagerly. Kurt was touched to see how interested Blaine was in every facet of Emma's life. He had been full of questions when the three of them had gone to Emma's physiotherapy that morning. He watched as Anne took her through numerous exercises designed to maintain flexibility in her legs.

"Can we go to the playground, Papa? Can we?"

"Of course, it's only a five minute walk," Kurt agreed as Emma wheeled away, the two adults following closely behind.

"How does that work?" Blaine asked curiously as he and Kurt sped up their pace to keep up with her. "With the seesaw and swing, and all?"

"Don't underestimate her," Kurt chuckled. "The swing and seesaw are off limits, but they have a bunch of panels she loves to play with. She also loves the sandbox, like really loves it! And there's always some of her friends here, especially on a Saturday afternoon. They play hide and seek, and tag."

Blaine nodded. "I can't wait to see."

"My dad has a special swing for her in their backyard," Kurt mentioned. "She loves it."

"He does? That's so cool."

Kurt hummed. "Last year, for her birthday, we went to this 'boundless playground' close to Westerville. It's a playground especially adapted for kids with special needs, and she absolutely adored the swing." He smiled fondly at the memory. "It's a two-hour drive, so it's not something we could do every weekend. My dad bought her one after that, as a late birthday present. I told him not to, said it was way too expensive, but he didn't agree and said he had only one grandchild to spoil anyway."

"I'd love to see it, if you don't mind," Blaine said. "You don't have any brothers or sisters?"

"Of course, maybe somewhere next week," Kurt replied. "And I do, I have a step-brother, but he doesn't have any children… yet." Kurt paused. "I don't know if it would be safe for him to have any at all. His eye-hand coordination isn't exactly flawless."

Blaine laughed loudly as they reached the playground. Emma was already talking excitedly to a few girls as Blaine and Kurt got settled on a nearby bench. Kurt closed his eyes and leaned back so his face was fully exposed to the sun. He hummed contentedly and smiled. "This is why I moisturize like an idiot, you know. So I can have afternoons like this, where I can just sit in the sun and enjoy it."

"Your skin is perfect," Blaine blurted out, and Kurt opened his eyes to smile at him broadly.

"Thank you."

Blaine ducked his head and blushed. Kurt wanted to say something more, but he was interrupted by Emma and Lizzie, who wanted to arrange a play date for the next weekend, and Blaine's compliment got pushed to the back of his mind.

The next hour went by quietly. Eventually Emma got Blaine to join her and her friends in a game of hide and seek, and Kurt watched them intently. He could already see that Emma was growing closer to Blaine, she was getting attached to him, and he had to admit he was as well. Blaine was an amazing person: genuinely nice, a gentleman, playful, but serious when he needed to be. To summarize it, he was just easy to love. He knew he would have to tell Emma who Blaine was eventually, and he could only hope she took it well. He desperately wanted Blaine to stay in their lives. He would be an amazing role model for Emma, and Kurt could see himself and Blaine become best friends as well. Around five he gathered them both and said they'd need to get home for dinner. He wasn't sure who was more disappointed, but the idea of pizza for take-out seemed to appeal to both of them, so they started walking home without too much protesting.

After the pizza, Kurt had turned on one of Emma's favorite princess movies, Tangled. She had settled on the floor in front of the TV, her Barbies gathered around her as she acted out the scenes with her dolls, singing along to every song.

Blaine went to take a shower as Kurt gathered the dishes and put them in the sink. He could hear Emma's singing voice grow softer, and as he glanced at the clock he could see it was nearing her bed time.

"Emma, you have to see this!" Blaine almost slipped in his hurry to get back to the living room. "I didn't remember packing this, but I assure you, you will love it."

Kurt was greeted with a howl of laughter from Emma when he went to see what was going on. Blaine was sitting across from her on the floor in his sweats and a tank top, (not a bad sight, Kurt had to admit, even if it was a bit dressed down for his taste) and around his neck a bowtie. A beige bowtie adorned with bright pink raspberries, as Kurt noticed on closer inspection.

"That's ridiculous," Emma said between hiccups.

"What?" Blaine's eyes widened and a pout appeared on his lips. "Take that back."

"Never!" Emma challenged him, and she squealed Blaine's name loudly as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder while he ran through the living room with her. He gently threw her on the couch and started tickling her mercilessly. "Blai—Blaine!" she squealed between bursts of laughter, smiling from ear to ear.

"That's what you get for insulting my bowtie," he exclaimed. "I thought you'd like it."

Emma giggled. "It's a bowtie with raspberries! Papa, tell him it's ridiculous."

"Pssht," Blaine sat down on the couch next to her and helped her sit straight. "You're ridiculous."

"You're both ridiculous," Kurt said as he pressed a kiss against the top of Emma's head before settling on the other side of her. "But I have to admit, when you said you had the coolest thing to show, I hadn't expected this."

"But, it's… raspberries!" Blaine protested. He looked at Emma. "You love raspberries."

"Not on clothes!" she exclaimed, as she started giggling again. "Except maybe on my pajamas."

"I taught her some fashion sense, you know," Kurt said, shaking his head fondly as he saw Emma lean into Blaine, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "I'll have you know that I used to work for Vogue."

"You did?" Blaine looked impressed as he pulled Emma in his lap and cuddled her close.

Kurt nodded. "When we used to live in New York." He smiled as he saw Emma's eyelids droop closed and she laid her head on Blaine's chest, her breathing evening out. "I still write for them every now and then, some freelance work."

"Why did you move?" Blaine asked curiously. "I love the city."

"Me too," Kurt swallowed and diverted his gaze. The way Emma and Blaine were cuddled on the couch they looked… like father and daughter. They were comfortable together. Emma felt safe with Blaine. "I… I gave up my job to stay home and take care of Emma, but when Chandler filed for divorce, I needed to get an income. Emma… she needs special care; I couldn't just get any sitter. It's… I didn't trust a stranger with her, you know."

Blaine nodded, gently twirling Emma's black curls between his fingers.

"My parents… well actually Carole is my step-mom but that's beside the point… they're both amazing. They're… family. I knew they would take care of her when I had to work."

Blaine hummed. He looked at Kurt and swallowed when he saw the man's heavy gaze on him and Emma. "Do you ever think of moving back? When she's older, maybe?"

"I… I'd love to, but Emma… it's her home here. She has friends. I don't know if I could do that to her." Kurt sighed softly, and shook his head. "I don't think so."

Blaine looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, I get that… she's an amazing girl, you know. It's so easy to love her. You did a great job with raising her."

"Thanks," Kurt swallowed and looked away again. The sight in front of him was pulling at his heart strings. Actually the whole day had done that. The way Blaine played and interacted with Emma was like a breath of fresh air for him. He never had this, another person to share Emma with that wasn't his dad or Carole. Another- he was almost afraid to think it– another father figure. Chandler had never really enjoyed Emma. In the three years he had been her father, he had never played with her like Blaine had today. Chandler had always focused on her shortcomings, her special needs. Blaine, on the other hand, was fascinated by how he needed to take care of her, but he didn't see it as a burden. "I'm gonna take her to bed. She's exhausted."

"She is," Blaine agreed. "What are the plans for tomorrow?"

"Homework," Kurt said as he stroke Emma's cheek to wake her a little. "Hey little girl, we're gonna do the cathing and get you into bed, okay?"

Emma nodded and wrapped her arms around Kurt's neck, as he picked her up.

"Maybe a movie in the afternoon. I don't want to tire her out too much. She has dialyses on Monday."

"Right," Blaine replied, his eyes following Kurt closely as he moved to the bathroom with Emma.

He exited it not even a minute later and shrugged. "She wants to do it herself. She doesn't like it much if I help her anymore."

Blaine hummed absentmindedly, as he was typing on his phone and rolled his eyes as he put it beside him. "Kurt… I…." Blaine swallowed. "She's amazing, and I just want you to know, if I can't be a donor, I'll do anything in my power to get Rachel on board. She's not… she doesn't feel the same as me about the adoption, but I think I can convince her to help out."

Kurt nodded. "I… thanks, Blaine. You… you did amazing today. I can see she already loves you."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Kurt replied, softly, as Blaine's phone started to ring. He saw Blaine frown at the caller ID and decided to give the man some privacy; after all, they'd only met two days ago. "I'll just… go help Emma into bed, okay?"

Kurt took his time, reading Emma two bedtime stories instead of one and even singing a few songs with her, but he couldn't keep on stalling, and Emma had fallen asleep five minutes ago, so he walked back toward the living room. He hoped he had given Blaine enough privacy. The man had seemed upset earlier at some texts, and when his phone had started to ring, the same frown had appeared on his face. Kurt sincerely hoped it wasn't Blaine's mother who was troubling him. He decided that if Blaine was still on the phone, he could take a prolonged shower.

"I don't really care about what you think. I need to be here, why can't you see that?"

Kurt bit his lip as he walked in the living room. Blaine was sitting on the couch, his head thrown back and his free hand covering half of his face. He saw Blaine taking a deep breath before he replied.

)

"It was… I mean, I liked going out with you. But… It's not as important as my daughter," Blaine said. He shook his head in desperation.

Kurt frowned. So he did have a girlfriend in New York. Not that it should be a surprise, after all Blaine was handsome, kind. Why shouldn't he be attached? Not that it should matter to Kurt.

"You can't blame me for not telling you; it's not something I go bragging about. It's just… a big part of my past I don't always feel comfortable sharing with just anyone."

Clearly said girlfriend didn't know about Emma or the reason that Blaine had come to Lima, so either they hadn't been together very long, or it wasn't serious.

"I can't do this right now, okay? I think it's better if we stop this before it escalates any further. I don't know when I'll be back, and I don't want you to sit around waiting, thinking I will."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. Apparently Blaine was breaking up with the girlfriend. He didn't sound too serious about her. He made it clear he wasn't going to do the long-distance thing. Kurt knew he should feel bad, for both of them, but he honestly didn't.

"I'm sorry, Andreas."

Kurt's eyes widened. Andreas. That was a man's name… Not a woman's... Not a girlfriend's name. Yet it had clearly been a phone call between two people in some sort of relationship… breaking up. He shook his head and followed Blaine's movements as he ended the call and threw his phone on the coffee table carelessly.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Blaine apologized.

"I didn't really hear a lot, just the ending," Kurt assured him. "Do you need some privacy?"

Blaine shrugged. "That's okay. It's just… break-ups, you know?"

Kurt's eyes widened. Blaine had been talking to a man, a man named Andreas, and now he was talking about a break-up? "So that was… uhm…"

"My ex-boyfriend, yes." He let out a humorless chuckle. "I should have broken up with him before I came here. Now I just felt guilty so I told him everything, and I didn't really want him to know. I just hope he doesn't go blabbing around."

Kurt blinked as he processed what Blaine had just told him. He held up his hands. "Okay, back up there. Boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend," Blaine corrected him. "Why… oh!" His eyes widened. "You thought, I mean… because of Rachel, probably… I never told you, did I?"

Kurt shook his head, his eyes like saucers.

"Right," Blaine chuckled as he scratched his hair. "Let's just say, Rachel was- me pretending to be straight to fit in, to please my parents."

"Oh," Kurt didn't know what to say. What do you say, when the biological father of your daughter (who is mighty good looking) tells you he's gay? So he just swallowed and nodded. "That's cool."

"Yeah?" Blaine smiled and raised an eyebrow at Kurt. "Cool."

"Hmm," Kurt hummed. Now he was curious, more curious than he should be. "So this Andreas…"

"Nothing serious," Blaine shrugged. "We went on a few dates, but we never really hit it off, except in the bedroom. He's good, if you know what I mean," Blaine said, a little embarrassed. "But we didn't click on anything other than a physical level. I mean, I've known you for two days, and I feel emotionally more attached to you than I do to him after three months."

"Oh", Kurt was still speechless. His emotions were all over the place. He had spent a whole day with Blaine, seeing him bond with his daughter, getting him take-out, laughing over something stupid. It had all felt too domestic, but Kurt had been able to rationalize it because he assumed Blaine was straight, but he couldn't anymore. Blaine was right, they had barely met two days before, but emotionally, it felt more like two months.

"So…" Blaine teased. "Since I just told you about my new relationship status…. Is there anyone I should be worried about?"

"Worried?" Kurt looked at Blaine bewildered.

"Just, you know, in case some unknown boyfriend walks in and sees me lounging on your couch."

"Oh, like that." Kurt swallowed. For a moment there, it had sounded like Blaine was asking something else. "No, no nothing to worry about. My last boyfriend broke up with me a year ago, and it wasn't that serious either, so." Blaine hummed, and Kurt couldn't help the next question that slipped from his lips. "You do that often? Relationships just for sex?" He wasn't… it wasn't like he was jealous. He just needed to know, before his imagination got away with him.

Blaine shrugged. "Sometimes. I don't… I want a real relationship, but I just haven't found the right guy yet… I think," he added as an afterthought. "I'd love to… have it all, you know? Love, sexual attraction, an emotional bond, a best friend."

He tried to stay calm, but his mind was reeling. Blaine was gay. Blaine was gay! For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt like doing a small victory dance, but since he didn't want to look like a lunatic, he tried to calm himself down, nodded, and smiled. "Yeah, me too."