"Daddy's awake! Daddy's awake!"

Kurt blinked slowly, sleepily, revealing his daughter only inches away from his face. He started a bit when he saw her which in turn caused him to groan softly as his bones cracked.

"Hi, baby," Kurt rasped out, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes and stretching out. The toddler climbed up on top of him, moving to lay on his chest. "Wait… why are you here? You're supposed to be with papa."

"Papa had to go play Aladdin," Sebastian supplied, walking in from the kitchen. Kurt furrowed his brows, looking from his daughter's face to Sebastian's. "Welcome back. Thought you were… d-e-a-d for a minute there."

Kurt continued to stretch out, arching his back, which was not really an easy feat with a thirty pound weight on his chest. He made a strained sound as he got a really good stretch in then collapsed back to laying on his back, limp.

"How long was I out?" He asked, hand automatically going to tangle in Talulah's curls.

"Like, eighteen hours." Kurt's eyebrows flew up. He had remembered falling asleep during Mary Poppins at around seven or eight, but he just assumed that he was only out for a few hours and it was maybe ten or eleven now. Or maybe even early the next morning. But that wouldn't explain why Talulah would be here, this energetic. She would be out like a light.

"Looks like you needed it," Sebastian continued, moving to sit on the armrest opposite the one Kurt was up against. "I just figured I shouldn't wake you up until it was getting to like, alarming levels of unconsciousness, though. And you got up to take a piss a few times, shifted around, snored. I wasn't that concerned."

"I don't snore." Kurt argued weakly and Sebastian just snorted. Didn't even dignify him with a response.

"Um. Okay. So here's the rundown. I stayed here with you last night since you were still conked out at like, midnight. Checked your pulse and stuff, y'know… just in case. Um, your dad called somewhere in there but I didn't answer," He went on and Kurt shifted so that he was sitting up a bit, keeping Talulah on his chest. "Then this morning your loud ass postman came to the door and knocked for literally like fifteen minutes until I got up and signed for the gayest pair of boots I've ever seen."

"Opening other people's mail is illegal." Kurt deadpanned.

"Anyway," Sebastian moved on, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "Your groceries came too? I put them away as best I could but I wasn't sure where you kept everything so there may or may not be a jar of peanut butter in the dishwasher."

"Good to know."

"Your dad called again and I answered this time to let him know what was up and needless to say he was very surprised. I don't think he remembered who I was though, so, dodged that bullet," He playfully pretended to wipe a bead of sweat off his forehead. "Then Blaine called a few hours ago and said that one of his cast mates let him know that the main Aladdin got sick and that they were letting one of the standbys go on for him? But he insisted that he go instead since he was his main understudy and he couldn't pass up his first opportunity to go on as him, or some shit like that." Kurt instinctively covered Talulah's ears at that and gave him a sleepy dirty look, which made Sebastian blanch a bit.

"So, he brought her back here." Kurt said, a statement rather than a question. Sebastian looked down then, picking at the fabric of the couch.

"Uh, no. I had to go over there and get her," Kurt was starting to see red. "Said he was in too much a hurry to get to the theatre and since I was here…"

"He didn't leave her alone in the apartment at all, did he?"

"Oh god, no," Sebastian's head whipped up then, giving Kurt an assuring look. "No, I made sure he didn't leave before I got there. No. Yeah."

On one hand, Kurt couldn't believe this. Couldn't believe him. But on the other hand… he totally could. This was just like Blaine, to drop everything for an opportunity like this, even when he had prior arrangements to not be at the show at all that weekend. But then again, he didn't think he'd potentially be going on for the lead.

A part of him could understand. The part of him that remembered their days back in NYADA where it was encouraged for them to drop whatever they were doing if something big like this came up. Because, who knows, the casting director that could launch your career could be at that recital or at that off-off-off Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues that maybe you weren't in but went shopping with one of the main girls for the top she wore in that one scene, so maybe you could schmooze a bit. There was always an opportunity for networking.

Break off a date? Fine. Blow off a family dinner? Still not the best, but hey, at least someone's there to watch the kid. But leaving said kid, the one you made sure to commit your entire weekend to and only has you to take care of her, no matter the circumstances? Not fucking okay.

Maybe it'd be fine if Kurt had been awake. He'd be more forgiving. He didn't have anything else to do this weekend, didn't have any plans to break. But having Sebastian, someone who to both Blaine and Talulah was essentially a stranger, come get her was not as easily forgivable.

Luckily Kurt trusted Sebastian enough to know that he wouldn't just run off with Talulah, but Blaine didn't know that. He was willing to take that chance in order to play fucking Aladdin.

"We got pizza!" Talulah exclaimed, pulling Kurt out of his thoughts.

"I hope that was okay. I didn't know what I was supposed to feed her," Kurt waved it off. "There's still some in the fridge if you want some. You must be hungry." Kurt's stomach answered for him and Sebastian chuckled, going to the kitchen to grab it for him. Kurt watched as he grabbed a glass and was about to fill it up with water from the sink when he interjected:

"Wine! Fridge. Bottom shelf, side door." Sebastian flashed him a wink from across the way.

"I like your style."

Sebastian brought it to him and Kurt scarfed down the slices he had been given as Talulah went on about what she and Sebastian had done in their short few hours together since he picked her up. Every once in a while the other man would interject, trying to make the absolutely adorable thing the toddler claimed he did seem a lot more manly and cool and not cute.

When Kurt had sent Sebastian off to put another slice on his plate, he noticed Talulah's eyes drooping, noting the time on the clock behind him.

"Has she been down for a nap today?" Kurt asked when he returned, feeling her going slowly limp in his arms.

"Uh. I don't think so. Was she supposed to? Blaine didn't fill me in on her schedule at all." Kurt sighed.

"Of course he didn't." He muttered under his breath before lifting Talulah's chin to look up at him.

"Did papa put you down for your nap?" Talulah shook her head slowly, bringing a tiny fist up to her mouth as she let out a big yawn. Kurt glanced back at the clock again. If she went down now, he'd let her sleep for an hour before dinner and hopefully she would still be able to go to bed at the right time tonight.

"Looks like we should get a quick one in now, hm?" Kurt asked her and she nodded, closing her eyes. He was moving to adjust her in his arms and stand up when Sebastian put a hand on his leg to stop him.

"Hey, I got it. You stay there and eat, okay?" Kurt raised an eyebrow but didn't question it, shifting to hand the toddler over.

Sebastian struggled for a moment to hold her properly but finally got it and moved to take her back into her bedroom. Kurt's eyes trailed after him as he left the room, staying there for a moment even when he was out of sight. He blinked, realizing he was still too out of it to really take in everything that was happening so he surrendered to the wine and pizza.

The other man came back a few minutes later and immediately moved to sit on the couch, lifting Kurt's ankles then setting them back in his lap. They didn't say anything for several moments. Kurt passed the time by nibbling on his pizza, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. If he should say the things he wanted to say.

He assumed that Sebastian and Blaine were no longer friends, but he still felt bad about saying negative things about his ex behind his back. All he'd tell people, even his closest friends and family was that Blaine cheated and that's why it ended. If they thought this was an inherently bad act, they'd react as such. Kurt wouldn't flavor it with anything. Blaine wasn't regarded as a "cheating asshole" or a "bad husband."

At least out loud.

He never spoke about the constant fighting. About the feelings of inadequacy that had been planted in his mind so many years ago that he wasn't able to shake. About the freakish devotion he was forced to give to Blaine that shut him off from friends and family on several occasions for long periods of time. About the way he would always be the one apologizing, no matter the circumstance.

The people who knew him best probably already knew all of this anyway. He hoped they did.

He really didn't have the heart to say any of it out loud. Even to his therapist.

So, telling Sebastian anything was potentially a big deal. But he felt like he was getting a taste of what Blaine was like in the past few hours, so maybe he could fill in the blanks himself.

Maybe he shouldn't complicate their relationship with his baggage. Sebastian might get scared with having to deal with some of this if it ever came up. He might be freaked out right now, having to spend eighteen hours making sure he was okay and going all the way to where Blaine lived to pick up his child for him.

But then Kurt realized that Sebastian didn't have to do any of that. He could have easily slipped out last night, left Kurt a note or sent him a text telling him where he had went. But he didn't. Sebastian had stayed.

In the span of eighteen hours, Sebastian Smythe had showed more devotion to him than his own husband had since he transferred to McKinley to be with him over ten years ago.

And while that was an incredibly sweet gesture at the time, it was not nearly grand enough to make up for all of the neglect he had experienced since.

"Thank you… for everything." Kurt settled on saying. He hoped Sebastian understood the extent of the thanks. That he didn't just mean for last night and today. But for all of the text conversations that distracted him from his feelings, for the random chuckles throughout the day he wasn't sure he'd get otherwise, for giving his couch a good home.

For the lunch he bought them that started it all.

"No problem." Sebastian said, a genuine smile settling on his face. It made the subtle lines around his eyes deepen a bit behind his glasses, showing his age. He truly was not the person he had known back in high school.

Kurt had kept in touch with a handful of people from high school. It was truly fascinating watching them transform into the people he knew today. For the people like Rachel and Blaine, he got to actively watch them turn into new people. He saw every hair or wardrobe transformation in real time, every big event that shaped them.

He had been so afraid that he would not recognize them, or that they wouldn't recognize him. Would they be able to transform their relationships to fit their new needs, would their new traits that came with age and experience mesh? It was so easy being friends with people during those school years. They had something huge in common, something to bond over.

Most of his friendships withered away once high school was over and he moved to New York, even his relationship with Blaine, the strongest one out of all of them, had almost died with the change. It had hurt at the time but he understood. He thought about the people from his past sometimes. If they met again at this moment in time, would they be able to be friends again? Would they have a better relationship than they did back then?

Kurt had never thought about Sebastian in this way. He had no need to. He felt no positive feelings towards him, had no friendship to think wistfully on. So, he thought about it now as he watched the smile, soft and sweet turn into that signature smirk, surely because he was staring at him and Sebastian felt the need to preen. But he didn't care.

He wondered if they had met earlier what would have happened. Would they have been friends then? When was it that Sebastian became the man sitting in front of him now?

Kurt tried not to think too much about it, feel bad for the years they might have lost out on. Maybe it wouldn't have worked out at all if they had met back in college or even as soon as a year ago. Kurt had Sebastian now, sitting here and starting to kneed his thumb in the ball of his foot, asking permission with his eyes.

He didn't necessarily believe in the idea that fate existed. He didn't believe there was a deity or a universe strong enough to lay out a path for each individual person. But if he did believe that, he would have thought that maybe this was how things were supposed to play out from the beginning. Sebastian was supposed to enter his life when he did. It was destiny for these two people to be there for each other during this time.

It was an extremely comforting thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sebastian asked, masterfully massaging at exactly the right places, making most of the tension he had been gathering back up in his muscles as he awoke melt away.

How many hobbies did this guy have?

"I just… I was just thinking about how I'm glad you were here to help with everything today but I'm also just… really sorry. That you had to… help with everything."

"You don't have to apologize for Blaine anymore, you know that, right?" Sebastian said, flicking his eyes to look up at him from under his eyelashes.

Something caught in Kurt's throat at that.

"I-I know. And I'm not. I'm… apologizing for me not being awake to handle it. It's my responsibility to take care of these things."

"As far as I'm concerned, it was your responsibility to have a nice, relaxing toddler-free weekend. And you could have done that if Blaine took on his responsibility of watching his kid. You can't beat yourself up for not knowing that he was gonna ditch his parental duties for the evening. It was out of your hands." Sebastian assured, setting one foot down and grabbing the other.

Kurt said nothing. There really was nothing to say other than "shit, you're right" and he really didn't want to inflate Sebastian's ego like that. They fell into silence once more, Sebastian massaging Kurt's feet and Kurt hugging a pillow to his chest as he looked straight ahead into the kitchen. If he squinted, he could see the drawing on the wall Lulu had made recently. It was just three different colored blobs but she made sure to point out who each blob was supposed to represent and Kurt had written their names under each respective one.

He wondered briefly what future family portraits of hers would look like. When she went to school and she had to talk about her family, what would she say? Would she draw two different houses? Would there be another man in one or both of the houses? Which house would their new baby be in? What is her family tree going to look like in a few years? How split is she going to feel? What were they going to do to make sure she didn't feel like she was being pulled in two different directions, like she could still be the same Talulah at both homes? Would she resent Blaine for leaving or Kurt for not fighting to keep their marriage alive?

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his knee, brining him crashing back to reality. He looked from the fridge to Sebastian's face, his vision slightly blurred from the tears forming in his eyes and his heart still thrumming from the anxiety-inducing questions swirling in his brain. He quickly swiped at his eyes, intently steadying his breathing as Sebastian kept eye contact.

"Kurt, I… I want you to know that you don't have to do this alone," Sebastian started, biting his lip and pushing his glasses up. "Not that I don't think you could," He added, quickly. "But I want to be there for you. Because… well, we're friends and I, like, care about you and stuff." Sebastian wrinkled his nose in playful distaste at that last sentence, causing Kurt to give him his own smirk.

"You care about me?" Kurt asked, coy, relieving some of the tension in the air. The seriousness. Kurt wasn't quite ready to take in everything about what those words meant.

Sebastian snorted.

"Don't make me say it again."

"We're friends and you care about me," Kurt parroted, his face softening. "Huh. Now how about that?"