"Hey! How was work?" Blaine asked as Kurt entered the apartment the next afternoon. He was sitting on the blanket he had stretched across the living room floor, with their daughter nestled between his legs.
"Fine," Kurt answered. "Do you have a gig tonight?"
"Nope, I'm all yours," Blaine said with a seductive look on his face.
Kurt looked away from Blaine to their baby, and Blaine felt like he had been kicked. "Do you mind watching Liv for a few hours while I go get some of the groceries we desperately need?"
"Not at all," Blaine answered cheerfully. "Or I can go to the store if you tell me what we need."
Kurt shook his head as he sat down across from Blaine on the blanket. "It'll take you twice as long. You don't know where anything is in the store because you never go."
"That's not true. I've gone grocery shopping before," Blaine argued teasingly.
Kurt looked up at Blaine and gave him a skeptical look. "Really? When's the last time you went?"
Blaine thought for a few seconds, then grinned. "Okay, so I don't remember, but that doesn't mean I don't go," he said with a laugh.
Blaine's boyish smile, still as adorable as it was in high school, was hard to resist, and Kurt couldn't help but smile back. "That's something I haven't seen in a long time," Blaine said, his grin widening.
Kurt's smile disappeared. "What, my smile? Don't be ridiculous. I smile at Liv all the time."
"Okay, let me rephrase. That's something you haven't directed at me in a long time," Blaine clarified in a more serious tone.
Kurt made a sound of disagreement as he turned his attention back to their daughter. Blaine's frustration rose, but he said in a gentle tone, "Come on, Kurt, I know you're not happy."
Kurt lifted his head and looked at Blaine. "Well, of course I'm not happy. Do you see the life I'm living? This isn't where I wanted to be at 31. I never wanted to be a high school drama teacher. I had big dreams and big goals, and instead I've become Mr. Schue, trying to help other kids live the dreams I never accomplished. I've gotten nowhere I wanted to go in my life, Blaine."
"I know it's been frustrating for both of us—"
"Both of us?" Kurt interrupted. "Blaine, you're still living the dream, to some degree. You get to go out and perform almost every night, to crowds of adoring fans. Even if it's not the big time, at least you're on the path. I'm never going to get anywhere. I'm going to be stuck as a drama teacher the rest of my life."
"Kurt, if you want to do something else, do it. We're still young. You can still go after your dreams."
"No, I can't, Blaine. One of us has to be the responsible adult with the steady job."
Blaine felt stung by Kurt's barb, but he ignored it. "Okay, then we'll trade. I'll get a steady job, and you can go do something that you want to do. Pursue your dreams."
Kurt shook his head. "I'm not letting you sacrifice your dreams for me. You'll just end up resenting me in a few years."
"Like you resent me?" Blaine asked quietly.
Kurt looked down, but didn't respond. Blaine felt like he had been punched. Taking a few seconds to compose himself, Blaine finally said, "Kurt, all I want is for you to be happy. If that means I have to go back to being a singing waiter, or picking up a couple part-time jobs, so that you can follow your dreams, I'll do it. I love performing, but it's not nearly as important to me as you are."
"No," Kurt said emphatically. "I'm not going to step on your dreams in order to get somewhere. I'm not going to let you sacrifice what you love for me. I'll be fine."
Blaine's anger, which he had been keeping under control until now, exploded. "Damn it, Kurt, why are you shutting me out so much lately?"
"I'm not shutting you out, Blaine. Just because I don't share every single thought I have with you—"
"Kurt, you don't share any thoughts you ever have with me anymore. Unless they're about Liv. Is that all we are anymore? Co-parents?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Blaine."
"I'm serious, Kurt. We used to talk all the time. I loved hearing what you were thinking and being let into you and being a part of you and your life. We used to be intimate—"
"Really? You're going to complain about our sex life now? It's not my fault you're never home when I am!"
Blaine's eyes were dark storm clouds of emotion. "I wasn't going to complain about our sex life. I meant intimate in the sense that we shared our lives, our thoughts, our worries, our problems. We were parts of each other's lives. I feel like I'm losing you, Kurt."
"Well, I'm sorry that my independence makes you uncomfortable, but we're not teenagers anymore. This isn't high school. I'm an adult, and I've grown up. I don't come running to you with all my little problems anymore, like I did when I lost the student council elections senior year. I can take care of myself. I don't need you, and I would think you would be glad that I've matured in the past 15 years, instead of wanting me to stay needy, dependent Kurt forever. Do you need the ego boost of me relying on you completely? Is that what this is?"
Blaine looked as if he had been struck. "You're kidding me, right?" He lifted Olivia, who hadn't completely mastered sitting by herself yet, and settled her in front of Kurt. Once he was sure Olivia wasn't about to fall over, he stood. "I'm going out. I'll be back around 7 to watch Liv while you go grocery shopping. Have a good evening." He stormed over to the front door, grabbed his coat, and marched out the door.