So sorry for the delay. I blame The Hunger Games series and my need to finish reading it. Because I made you wait so long I made this chapter a little longer than normal.
"La Cucaracha, La Cucaracha, na, na, na, na, na, na, na. La Cucaracha, La Cucaracha, na, na, na, na, na, na, na" Paige and Charlie sang as they conga lined their way around the kitchen doing very little to help Kendall and Aunty Anna cook dinner.
"Do you know any other songs?" Anna laughed as she dodged her nieces to grab the tomatoes between their rotations of the kitchen island.
"Come on shake your body baby, do the conga. I know you can't control yourself any longer. Come on shake your body baby, do the conga. I know you can't control yourself any longer" Charlie started to sing as she continued her conga around the kitchen. Every time they had Mexican food in the Anderson house, Gloria Estefan's 'Conga' somehow was sung by one member of the family. It was one of their Mom's favourite songs and sadly they knew all the words.
"No! Anything but Gloria Estefan!" Blaine laughed as he walked through the door with Kurt and heard Charlie's singing. Turning to his boyfriend, Blaine placed a soft kiss on his lips "I'll warn you now, my family tend to sing particularly whilst cooking. This is actually the first time anyone has sung since our parents died"
"Do you want me to go? This is a special moment for you and your sisters" Kurt asked softly. He knew how hard it had been for Blaine since his parents were killed especially experiencing a loss like that with his Mom nearly 10 years ago. Moments like this needed to be treasured because it meant everything was going to be ok.
"No, of course not. I want you to stay"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive" he smiled "My sisters are annoying and can be painful to deal with but when any of them sing, they remind me so much of my Mom. I want you to see that"
Kurt smiled and followed Blaine through to the kitchen where his family were laughing and dancing to Charlie's singing. He was touched that Blaine wanted him to be around for this. They hadn't known each other for long but they already knew so much and shared so much with each other.
"Welcome to the fiesta boys!" Anna laughed as she noticed them at the door. Winking at her favourite nephew, she was excited to see Blaine bring home a boyfriend. It had been too long.
Anna was Grace Anderson's youngest sister and had always been closest to Blaine and the girls. Since her sister's death, she had done her best to look out for her nieces and nephew as best she could. They had been doing well over the last seven or so months but Anna could see how hard they were all working to keep it together.
"We have tacos ready, nachos almost done, fajitas on the stove and tamales in the oven"
"A feast" Isabel giggled and skipped over to her brother. Stopping in front of him, she screwed up her nose "You stink and you're dirty. No dinner til you wash up"
"Oh goodness she sounds so much like her father" Anna chuckled and pulled Isabel away to help finish the nachos "But she's right, you shower while we finish dinner"
"Hate to say it, but I agree with them" Kurt laughed as Blaine turned to him
"Fine" he chuckled and nudged his boyfriend gently "I'm going to clean up. Good luck in the lion's den"
"Hey, we'll be nice to your boyfriend" Paige insisted and pushed her brother toward the stairs. Looking back at Kurt quickly, Blaine mouthed 'sorry' before racing up the stairs. The quicker he showered, the faster he could save Kurt from his family.
"Can I help with anything?" Kurt asked after a few moments of awkward silence passed
"How good are you with guacamole?"
"A pro"
"Good enough for me" Kendall smiled and handed Kurt a couple avocadoes and everything he needed to make the guacamole.
"So Kurt..." Anna began with a smile "Blaine tells us you're applying to NYADA for next year"
"Yeah but I still have to audition before I decide to make the big move to New York. NYADA is the dream though, well Broadway is the dream"
"Sounds like a pretty amazing goal. I used to tell Blaine he could make it on Broadway until he stuck his nose in a science book. He can be the doctor treating all the sore throats and rolled ankles of the Broadway stars" Anna smiled
"A doctor?" Kurt asked softly. Blaine had never mentioned anything about aspirations to become a doctor. In fact, Blaine had never mentioned any aspirations other than getting his sisters through high school. It was like the curly haired teenager had put his life on hold for Kendall, Charlie, Paige and Isabel.
"He got early admission into Columbia and Yale Pre-Med and the NYU Engineering program" Kendall added as she stirred the fajitas "He threw out the letters but I stashed them in Dad's den before they made it out to the trash"
"He'll get there" Anna insisted with a slight smile. Of course she wanted her nephew to chase his dreams and she hated that he ignored them all now. Knowing Blaine of course, he would do it all one day, just a few years later than originally planned. "Charlie could you please start setting the table? And Is, could you get everyone a drink? The water jug is in the fridge"
Charlie and Isabel did as they were asked as Kurt continued to make the guacamole and Anna finished up the fajitas. The kitchen was silent until Blaine descended the stairs clean and smelling fresh.
"What did I miss?" he chuckled as he stole a chip from the bowl of nachos.
"I think we're all ready for our fiesta" Anna smiled as she took the fajitas to the dining table with Kendall, Kurt and Paige bringing the rest.
Dinner conversation flowed a little easier with Blaine included. He had a talent of starting conversations out of nothing and somehow making it last nearly a whole meal. He was a sociable man just like his father used to be.
XXXXX
"I should head home, feed the cat, make sure it hasn't eaten the goldfish" Anna laughed as she picked up her handbag. The cleaning up had been done and Anna was going home with a doggy bag full of leftovers.
"Thank you for babysitting. It might take me a while to trust Kendall to be alone in the house again" Blaine sighed and followed Anna to the door. They had left Kurt, Kendall, Charlie, Paige and Isabel watching and gossiping over the new episode of Grey's Anatomy.
"Call me if you need me to look after them again. I like keeping tabs on you five. Gracie would have wanted me too"
"You're welcome here anytime without the task of babysitting. All four girls love having you around. Girl talk doesn't work with me around"
"You may be gay but you're still a boy" she smiled "I like Kurt by the way. He seems nice"
"Me too" he chuckled "I'm happy"
"You look happy. I miss seeing that charming smile of yours"
"Thanks Anna" Blaine smiled and pulled his Aunt into a tight hug "for everything"
"Always, B. Always"
Blaine made his way back into the living room once he had said goodbye to Anna and watched her drive out of the driveway. His three youngest sisters were already asleep with only Kendall and Kurt watching two doctors make out in an on call room. Blaine woke Charlie, Paige and Isabel gently and ordered them to bed. Kendall stayed til the end of the episode before excusing herself to finish off the Chemistry homework her brother had been badgering her to complete. She was getting back into her school work slowly but she'd get there eventually. Kendall always did.
Waiting til he heard his sister's door shut, Blaine scooted over next to Kurt and settled his hands on his shoulders. Massaging them gently, he placed a soft kiss on Kurt's shoulder.
"That feels good" Kurt smiled and bent into Blaine's hands and he hit a good spot "So, uh, Anna and Kendall were telling me something interesting tonight"
"I'm sorry"
"What are you sorry for?"
"For anything Anna or Kendall said" Blaine chuckled. It didn't matter what they said, he would probably be sorry for it. "What did they say?"
"They were telling me about your early admissions to Columbia and Yale Pre-Med and NYU Engineering. They also told me you're not even gonna consider them"
"I can't just get up and go to college. I have to think about my sisters now; Kendall will be in her Senior year next year, I can't make her change schools. I can't make any of them do it. Their friends are here, their schools are here, and their lives are here. I can't just move them to New York because I had some stupid dream to become a doctor"
"So they were right about you really wanting to be a doctor"
"It was my Dad's dream originally" Blaine sighed and stilled his hands on Kurt's back "He always wanted me to become a Cardiologist or some kind of Specialist. Something that paid well but meant a cushy office job like he used to have"
"But..."
"But I wanted something more. I wanted to be a surgeon so I could really help people"
"You keep saying 'wanted'" Kurt pointed out softly and turned to look at Blaine "You don't want that anymore?"
"Of course I do but it doesn't matter now. My life is here until Isabel graduates from high school. By then I might be so set in my ways that I'll be stuck in Ohio. When my parents died, my future went with them" he sighed with a soft growl and stood up as he started to pace back and forth. When his parents died, Blaine promised to raise his sisters because it was his responsibility and he couldn't uproot them all just to chase some stupid pipedream of his. "I'm sorry Kurt" Blaine huffed "Maybe you should go, it's almost 10"
"Uhm ok but if you want to talk, you know how to reach me" Kurt sighed softly and stood up. Closing the gap between them, he cupped Blaine's face in his hands gently "Your dreams didn't die with your parents, they just had to change a little"
Blaine nodded and pressed a soft kiss to his boyfriend's palm "I'll call you tomorrow"
Kurt reluctantly stepped away from Blaine and made his way to the door. As much as he didn't want to leave Blaine, he didn't want to miss his curfew. He didn't need another awkward conversation with his Dad.
Blaine sat back down on the couch and ran his hands through his hair roughly
"I won't argue if you want to move us to New York next year" Kendall spoke up from the doorway. She'd come back down to get her textbook only to hear Kurt and Blaine's conversation. Hiding behind the door, she heard every word her brother said. "I'd prefer it actually, that's why I kept all your admission letters" she shrugged and stepped further into the room as Blaine looked up "I hate this house because Mom and Dad are everywhere. It's physically impossible to move on and be happy when all you see is them whether it's a photo or a memory associated with a spot in the house"
Blaine leant back on the couch and let out the deep breath he didn't realise he was holding. Making her way over to the couch, Kendall sat down beside he brother.
"I'm sorry about the party. It was wrong and stupid and I was acting out" she sighed softly "If Mom and Dad were here they would have shipped me off to boarding school or something for what I did..."
"If Mom and Dad were here, you wouldn't have done it"
"But they're not and I did it and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Blaine" Kendall wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him tight as she burst into tears "I'm sorry"
Holding her close, he tried to calm her down "I miss them too K"
After a minute or two, Kendall wiped her eyes and sat up looking at Blaine "We should move to New York"
"I can't move you guys to New York" Blaine sighed
"Why not? I can do my Senior year anywhere and I'm not a genius like you, so going to a good school in New York would look better than some stupid little public school in Ohio. Charlie hates school anyway so she won't argue"
"What about Paige's gymnastics? Her coach is considering her for the elite team. She thinks Paige can really make a career out of her gymnastics"
"Paige is amazing; she could trial for any elite club in the country. She's the only one that you have to worry about. Isabel can dance anywhere and Charlie and I can cheer at whatever school we go to. We can find a place big enough for all six of us"
"Six? Are you really failing math that badly?"
"We can always take Kurt with us, isn't he going to NYADA next year?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself" Blaine chuckled. He liked Kurt but it was very early days "Even if Kurt and I are still together, he'll live in the dorms. It'll just be the five of us and there's already a place there big enough for us. Mom and Dad had an investment property on the Upper West Side. I didn't know what to do it when they died"
"Then it's perfect. Blaine, we need this"
"I know" he nodded with a smile "It's exactly what we need"
Should they move to New York? Will Kurt and Blaine still be together in New York? What would you guys like to see happen between the couple?