The Beach House – Chapter Nine – Breakfast With Our Angel
The sun was peeking between the curtains of the small bedroom in the front of the house. Danny blinked awake, his arms tight around his teddy bear. He was confused for a moment, this was not his bedroom. His bedroom was blue and this room was painted a pale green. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and sliding down the side of the bed to go into the bathroom.
He was quick, even climbing up on the footstool to brush his teeth. Daddy always left his toothbrush beside the sink with the toothpaste already on it. He rinsed his mouth and stepped down, picking up his bear and running across the hall to Daddy's room.
He knocked, but there was no answer. Daniel shifted his weight from foot to foot, impatient to get his morning hugs. As he was waiting for his father to answer, the little boy planned his day in his head. He wanted to go see the ocean as the water splashed up on shore. He loved to look for treasures on the beach when the tide was out. Last summer he found special shells, crab claws, and pieces of sea glass. He had his collections set on the window sills of the rooms downstairs. He knocked again, wondering why his dad didn't call to him to come in.
Danny turned the knob and went inside, his patience gone. It was hard to have patience when you are three.
Walking over to the bed, Danny stood on his tippy-toes to see his dad. He pulled back the blanket and it wasn't his dad.
"Hi, Mr. Kurt. Where's my daddy?" Daniel whispered. He was a little afraid at not finding his father, but he trusted Kurt with all of his little heart.
"Mr. Kurt-Angel? Wake up," Danny tried again, patting the man's cheek, and smiled when he saw those ocean blue eyes blink open.
"Oh, Daniel! Good morning, pal. How are you?" Kurt asked. He was never one to wake up groggy and in need of coffee to become fully awake. On the contrary, he was wide awake as soon as he opened his eyes. He sat up, holding out his hands to ask Danny to join him on the bed. Danny put his arms up and the man pulled him up on the bed.
"I'm fine, but where is my daddy?" he asked, then his eyes lit up as he saw his father, eyes closed and curly head resting on the pillow beside Kurt.
"Daddy!" he crowed, jumping over to snuggle under the covers with his dad.
"Danny Boy!" Blaine tried to shout back, waiting for his sleepy head to catch up to his body. He had problems with waking up, even with an alarm. If Danny whimpered in his sleep, Blaine could be there in record time. He had that parental alarm in his head when his boy needed him. Otherwise it was a long morning, waiting for the coffee to be ready and then it was well into the second cup before he felt really awake.
"I want to go to the beach for treasure!" Daniel said, expecting his parent to be just as enthusiastic as he was. They usually had contests to see who could find the shiniest rock, the prettiest shell, the best piece of sea glass, things like that.
"How about we fix your daddy some breakfast so when he comes down we can go out to the beach quicker?" Kurt suggested.
"Yes! I can help. Daddy has showed me how to make toast. I'm a good helper in the kitchen," Danny told his new friend.
"How lucky could I get?" Kurt grinned.
"Why don't you go down to the kitchen and get your apron from the hook in back of the pantry door, Danny? Mr. Kurt needs to get dressed and he'll be downstairs in a few minutes," Blaine suggested, sitting up.
"Okay, Daddy. You get dressed, too. We can eat breakfast together," Danny said, practically jumping up and down on the bed in his excitement. He slid off the bed and they could hear him bumping down the stairs.
"C'mere, my angel," Blaine said, reaching out his arms to hold Kurt close.
"Oh...that's where he got it," Kurt said, smiling to himself.
"Who? Got what?" Blaine asked.
"Danny. He called me 'Mr. Kurt-Angel' this morning. He heard you call me 'angel'."
Blaine laughed. "Well, you have always been my angel, Kurt. You don't mind, do you?"
"No, Blaine. I think it's sweet and so very special that your son accepts me," Kurt said with warmth in his voice. A tear appeared and ran down his cheek, but Blaine wiped it away with a fingertip. He couldn't stop the warm feeling floating around in his belly when he thought of Danny having another father some day and he wanted that man to be Kurt. He hoped with all of his might that it would come to pass.
The two got up and took turns in the bathroom, cleaning up and getting ready. Touches were exchanged as they passed each other, then a kiss or two and hugs.
"Thank you, baby, for last night," Kurt whispered in Blaine's ear as they turned to go downstairs.
"What are you thanking me for?" he asked, confused.
"I was so impatient – I know I was too eager and you slowed things down, and gave us the best first night ever."
"But it wasn't our first time..." Blaine started to say and Kurt touched his lips with a fingertip to stop him.
"I know. It was our first time in a very long time and it could have ended with me ...um...with...well, let's just say that maybe it would have been painful if we had kept up my pace. You made it special, Blaine. It will be a night I'll remember for years to come I think," Kurt said, kissing Blaine's neck.
Blaine's arms made their way around Kurt's shoulders and he held the man for a moment before giving him a kiss and turning to go down to the kitchen. Kurt smiled and went after him.
"I got Daddy's apron for you to wear. Is that okay, Daddy?" Danny asked, his big eyes bright.
"Sure it is," Blaine agreed, taking the apron from Danny and placing it on Kurt, tying it behind him.
"Mr. Kurt! Can we make bacon? Daddy loves bacon and coffee. We make coffee first," he directed, pointing at the appliance on the far counter top.
"I'll make the coffee, buddy, so you can help Kurt," Blaine volunteered, his heart warm to see how much Danny wanted to be with Kurt.
"Mr. Kurt? Daddy and I like bacon and French toast with strawberries," the little boy grinned, going to the refrigerator to take out the carton of eggs. He turned and accidentally dropped the carton. At his yelp of surprise, the two men turned to see a mass of sticky broken eggs on the floor and Daniel in tears.
"Daddy!" the boy cried, trying to wipe up the mess with a dish towel he pulled off the rack by the sink.
"It's okay, honey. We can take care of this, don't cry," Blaine comforted his son. Together they mopped up the wet mess and Kurt opened the refrigerator to see what else there was to eat.
"Hey, buddy, there is another carton of eggs in here. It has six eggs left in it, that's enough to make French toast, right?" Kurt asked the small boy.
Danny smiled through his tears.
"Yes, we can do that," he said. His father gave him a small nudge and he turned his little face up to Kurt again. "Thank you, Mr. Kurt-Angel."
"You are very welcome, Daniel. Thank you for offering to help with cooking," he told the boy.
"We need to pick strawberries," Daniel crowed, his excitement bubbling over. He ran to a closet and opened the door to reveal pantry shelves. He reached in and took out three berry baskets. "Can we go now? I want to be the one to show Mr. Kurt the berry patches!"
"Sure we can" Blaine agreed, "but you need to get dressed before we go outside, partner."
"Okay, Daddy. I'll go get dressed."
Daniel ran up the stairs, throwing his pajamas off and getting the clothes he wore the day before. He got them mostly on, then folded his pajamas and shoved them under his pillow before grabbing his shoes and socks and making his way back to the kitchen.
He walked in to find his father in Kurt's arms, kissing.
Danny's huge intake of breath alerted the men of his presence and they moved back, both blushing a little.
"Daddy?" the small boy asked, looking curiously at them. "Why are you kissing Mr. Kurt-Angel?"
"Because I love him," Blaine said, not wanting to tell his son a lie or to cover up his relationship to the man he hoped would be with them for a long time. He picked Danny up and gave him a hug.
"Oh, okay. I love him, too, Daddy. He came and saved me out of the storm when I got losted," Danny explained, looking seriously into his father's eyes. He touched Blaine's cheek with his tiny hand to be sure his dad was understanding him.
"He did, son. Kurt is our friend and we love him, don't we?" Blaine said.
"If I love him, can I kiss him, too?" Danny asked, looking very shyly over at the man in question.
"I was kissing Kurt because I love him in a special way. Like Ginny's parents. You've seen Uncle Cooper kiss Auntie Quinn, haven't you? I kissed Kurt because we love each other and we used to live with each other. We might do that again. Would that be okay?" Blaine asked. Kurt felt his breath catch. He didn't know until that moment just how much he wanted Daniel to approve of him.
"Are you going to share your bedroom with him, Daddy? I don't think he'll fit in mine," Danny whispered in his dad's ear, trying to figure out the logistics in his head. The whisper was so loud that Kurt had no trouble hearing it.
Kurt laughed and Blaine tried to keep his features calm.
"Yes, son, he can share my bedroom. You can keep yours for just you for now," Blaine said, smiling at his son.
Blaine helped get Daniel's shoes on and they each picked up a berry basket, going out the back door. Daniel ran down the path toward the beach, turning at a branch in the path. He waited for his dad and Kurt to catch up before opening a gate in the white picket fence. He reached up a hand to his dad, pulling him along until they reached the enclosure of the berry patch.
Kurt's eyes opened wide as he looked around himself. There were raspberry, marionberry, and blackberry bushes in rows, strawberries planted in small gardens of concentric circles, a few gooseberry plants at the back of the garden. Through an arch he could see a lot of blueberries growing along the fence and one kind he didn't recognize.
"What are those berries that are the color of blueberries, but they're long and oval?" he asked.
Blaine nodded at Danny and the small boy walked over to one of the bushes.
"These?" he asked. Kurt nodded. "These are honeyberries. Haven't you ever had honeyberries?" he asked, incredulous.
"Nope. I've never even heard of them," Kurt admitted.
"Daddy, can we pick some for breakfast?" Daniel asked.
"Sure, son. Let's get a few of all the kinds and have them mixed together," Blaine suggested.
"Not the gooseberries – they aren't ripe, right, Daddy?" Danny asked.
"Right," Blaine smiled back.
They all picked different berries, filling the berry baskets about half full.
"That's enough I think," Blaine announced and they walked back towards the house. Kurt noticed the rose bushed lining the path to the beach.
"Can I pick some rosehips for tea?" he asked, grinning at the prospect of the delicious brew.
"Sure. I forget they're here sometimes. I haven't had a cup of rosehip tea since that summer we spent here with my grandparents," Blaine said with nostalgia.
"The roses were here then, but the berries? I don't remember those. Just the mulberry trees in front, and...weren't there grapes?" Kurt's forehead was wrinkled as he tried to recall that summer.
"The grapes are still here – they're over on the east side of the house in the arbor. I planted the berries about seven or eight years ago. Daniel and I made the strawberry tiered gardens last summer," Blaine explained.
"They're great. I'm so happy you got this house, baby. It brings out the best in you. I wonder why you stay in New York with all this at your disposal," Kurt said, then regretted his words.
"Sorry, that isn't my business," he said with a blush.
"No, baby, no apology needed. I do love it here, but I had to be in New York for the start of the play. I'm sort of tied to the city when a play starts," Blaine explained. "But we spend more time here than we do in New York."
"Oh, I should have thought of that," Kurt returned Blaine's smile.
"Daddy?" Daniel asked, trying not to interrupt the adult's conversation – but he had a question. He tugged at Blaine's shirt and Kurt gave him a smile and pointed to the front yard to indicate he was going that way. Blaine gave him a nod.
"Yes?" Blaine asked, looking at his son's face. Daniel appeared to be upset and a little angry.
"Why did you call Mr. Kurt-Angel 'baby"? He's not a baby. That was mean," the small boy admonished his dad, thinking of the mean kid in his preschool that called him a baby when he'd had a potty accident on his first day.
"Oh, no, Danny. I wasn't being mean. Sometimes grown-ups call each other things like that when they love that person," Blaine explained, stooping to open his arms to his son. Danny set down his berry basket and ran into his father's embrace.
"Aww, sweetie, you were so kind to try and defend Kurt, but really – we sometimes call each other pet names. Like I call you honey or pal," Blaine went on to try to get Daniel to understand.
"Like we call Mr. Kurt 'angel', right?" Danny asked in a whisper. He didn't want his daddy to get upset if he was wrong.
"Yes, just like that," the father told his son.
"But...but Mr. Kurt is an angel, Daddy. He's my grading angel. Auntie Quinn said so," the boy told his father, eyes wide and worried that his father didn't understand.
Blaine looked at him with confusion, then remembered his conversation with Quinn when he told her about Kurt finding Danny in the storm.
"Guardian Angel, Danny. Yes, I suppose he is..." Blaine said, wistfully. He smiled at his son, giving him a hug as he set the boy back down to retrieve his basket.
Kurt came back around the corner of the house, a bright smile on his face as he showed Danny the mulberries he'd collected from the trees in the front yard.
Back in the house, Blaine got out a sieve and placed all the berries inside, running a gentle stream of water over them. He glanced over to see the coffee was ready.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" he asked Kurt.
"No, thank you. I'm going to make some rosehip tea if that's okay?" he asked.
"Of course. I'd like some with breakfast if possible?" he asked, moving over to put his arms around Kurt from behind. He hugged him close for a moment before kissing his neck and going back to get the teakettle to put on the stove.
"I can mix the eggs, Mr. Kurt-Angel," Danny said, moving his step-stool over to where Kurt was working on the counter.
"Okay, where would I find a whisk?" he asked and Danny pointed to a drawer.
They worked together, Danny being a good helper in spite of his young age. They got the perfect golden brown on the French toast and served it with the crispy bacon and a bowl of mixed berries. Blaine made the rosehip tea, adding a bit of honey to sweeten it.
"We are good cookers, aren't we, Daddy?" Danny asked, his smile of pride covering his face.
"You certainly are, son. You two can cook for me anytime," Blaine agreed.
"I think Danny's idea of adding the berries was the perfect addition to breakfast. Thank you, pal," Kurt said, patting Danny on his back.
"Thank you," the polite youngster said. "Now we get to clean up!"
"Well, I've never heard a kid so eager to do dishes," Kurt laughed.
"You were just like that, Kurt. I remember back in high school – you always volunteered us to do the wash-up at my parent's house," Blaine recalled.
"I was trying to impress your mother," Kurt admitted. Blaine laughed.
"It must have worked, she loved you," he chuckled.
They gathered the dishes and washed them, Danny and Blaine drying. Kurt wiped down the table and counters while Blaine and Danny swept the floor.
Danny went to change his shoes for sandals and find his trowel for digging up things on the beach.
Kurt came up in back of Blaine, his arms sliding around the man's hips, his chin resting on Blaine's shoulder. He kissed his neck, holding him tight.
"This is perfect, Blaine. So perfect. I love being here with you – and Daniel. He is the cutest kid..." Kurt whispered, then continued to nuzzle his lover's neck some more.
"I have always felt such peace here. I come when the frenzy of the city gets under my skin. I came here a lot when I got back to New York. I enjoyed the process of supervising the scripts for my plays, it's exhilarating, but then to be able to come here to unwind...well, there was nothing like it," Blaine told Kurt, pulling away to turn and hug Kurt once again.
Kurt hugged back, daring to kiss Blaine again, biting softly on his bottom lip and tasting the berries and rosehips as he ran his tongue softly against Blaine's. He took Blaine's hand and led him to the screened-in back porch, sitting on the low-slung daybed to wait for Danny to return.
"Come here..." Kurt encouraged, tugging Blaine closer to lean against him. "Why did you get the beach house? I would have thought you and Coop would share it?"
"My grandfather knew me pretty well. Cooper was always in the middle of a bunch of people – still is. He isn't one to be comfortable alone with just his thoughts. After Grandfather died, Grandmother asked us what we might want when he passed. I hated to think of that day and never said anything. Cooper is the one that suggested that I might like this house. When we were old enough to say what we wanted in terms of summer vacation, he wanted to go to tourist attractions or to see shows in New York.
"Don't get me wrong, I loved Broadway as much as he did – and we went often – but he knew how much the beach house meant to me. I think because he'd brought me here when..." Blaine stopped, afraid to bring up the break-up again.
"It's okay, babe, I know what you're talking about," Kurt interjected.
"Okay. After our break-up, he brought me here because he knew I would get better. He was right. I don't think he knew about us spending that summer here with Grandma and Grandpa, but that made me heal. Remembering the good times we had here, having all those memories made me feel like my life hadn't been wasted."
Kurt put a hand to Blaine's cheek, leaning in to place their lips softly together.
"I'm glad you had this place to go to," he murmured.
"Cooper got the New York apartment. It is worth more in money, but I would take this peace above that any day. I was spending the summer here when I made the decision to have Danny. I always knew I wanted to be a father, and it seemed as if my life was going too fast – I wanted to do it before I was too old. I had enough regrets in my life, I didn't need any more," Blaine admitted, looking up into Kurt's ocean-blue eyes.
"You did the right thing, baby. I'm so happy for you," he said with absolute certainty.
"Finding you again, Kurt, was the next thing I did right. I would have spent the rest of my life...regretting that day. Now I have the chance to try and make amends to you."
"Hey, I thought we weren't going to let that time ruin our future together, were we?" Kurt said in a scolding tone. He kissed Blaine again, this time with more passion. "I want us to be together, Blaine. I know we can make it if we give ourselves a chance."
"Yeah, we can do that..." Blaine admitted.
"Mr. Kurt-Angel? Daddy?" they heard from the kitchen.
Danny came barreling into the room, jumping into his father's lap with a grin on his face.
"Hey, buddy, you look eager to go somewhere," his dad kidded him.
"Treasure Hunting!" Daniel crowed, leaning over to take Kurt's hand and include him, too. "Did you ever go for a treasure hunt?"
"Yes, I did. With your daddy, as a matter of fact. We went beach combing on this very beach when we were kids," Kurt assured the small boy. Danny's eyes got big.
"You did?" he asked.
"Yes, we did, son. Here, let me find..." Blaine started to say, getting up from the daybed and opening cupboards under the window.
"Ah, here...Kurt and I found these the summer we spent here with my grandparents," Blaine said, his eyes full of nostalgia. He sat down between the two and opened the wooden box, its lock catching a bit with the rust.
"Oh!" Daniel gasped, looking at all the beautiful shades of sea glass in small jars. He looked at his father for permission before lifting a jar from the box and studying the contents.
"Purple. I only ever found one purple one. It's over here..." Danny said, getting down to go over to the window sill to get his piece of pale violet sea glass. He showed it to Kurt.
"Wow, kid, that's better than any we found. Beautiful," he said, holding it up to the light to see the true color of the glass.
"I have a piece of a bean pot, too!" Daniel bragged, getting that off of the sill, too.
"Oh, cool. I never saw one of those before," Kurt told the boy, handing his two treasures back.
"We can look at these later, let's get ready to go while the tide is out," Blaine suggested, setting the jar back in the box.
"Blaine – I had no idea you still had all of those. I remember the hours we spent finding them and picking out our favorites," Kurt said with wonder. He looked away for a moment before confessing to Blaine. "I still have five bowls of them in my studio. I keep them in there and look through them when I'm feeling kind of...depressed. It makes me think of all the wonderful times we shared together."
Blaine came over to hug his friend. "That was a magical summer, wasn't it?" he whispered, kissing Kurt's neck quickly before turning to see where Danny was.
"Let's go!" shouted Daniel, taking his dad's hand and going out the back door.