Epilogue

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE.
Can you believe this is it? After such a long time, and so much effort and sleepless nights, this is the end.
As sad as we are there are things we need to say (they might get mushy so please just…let us have it)

When we started this, we didn't really know each other. We just randomly met online and decided to write this together. It was luck, or faith or whatever that as the story went on, we became friends…the kind of friends that last a lifetime and we're both so grateful for that. This story made that happen.

It also brought us all of you. We want to thank you for being here, for waiting, for being patient, observant, critical, nice, exited, in love, sad, happy, scared, mad and everything in between for and with this story. We can never repay you.
The humble thank you is the best we can do but it's from the bottom of our hearts.

We'd like to say a special thank you to Caroline, for being the amazing tumblr manager and doing the things the two of us are too stupid to do XD Caroline you rule.

A huuuge thank you to Cecile for making the amazing trailer for this story. You can find it on our tumblr and it's a freaking masterpiece.

Thanks to every single person who sent us fan art, reviews, PMs, emails and asks on tumblr. They mean the world.

And finally, thanks to Kurt and Blaine. The amazing boys who just randomly took each other by the hand and stole our hearts. We hope we did their love justice with this story.

.

In so many ways, things are still the same. Expecting utopia overnight is unrealistic and the facts remain that yes, some people are still more privileged, some still have a lot more money and opportunities, some still have better connections and chances at succeeding. But, and that is the key word that has never been there before, in so many other ways they are different as well. Altered beyond the point of return.

Altered for the better.

Bond registry is now free of charge. Gifts of a smaller scale are considered enough to complete the steps of Bonding. The educational system had been reformed and money has been pumped into bringing every school in the Circle up to an acceptable standard for facilities, staffing and resources. Colleges are all inclusive and the tuition fees are based on student's grades.

People have jobs, stability, security. People are happy.

And in so many ways this beautiful place we call home seems brighter. All thanks to one young man who dared to venture into a place he wasn't allowed to be in, and his father, who chose to make a difference.

All thanks to Kurt Hummel Anderson, and Burt Hummel: the faces of change.

Miriam Sanders Montgomery
"Faces of change: A complete biography of Kurt Hummel Anderson and Burt Hummel"
 Epilogue

7 YEARS LATER

Thad and Ryan Harwood Moore

"Ladies and gentleman we are in the closing seconds of this, I dare say it now, battle of the titans! Who would have predicted that these two giants would be tied coming into the final play of this year's Championship Final? The captain of Westerville's Hounds, Ryan Harwood Moore has proven to be the right man for the position by leading his team through this season to the final and tonight we have seen him in his full glory against such amazing opponent…"

The sports announcer continued his excited chatter, igniting the cloud of anxious tension that had grown thick and heavy in the air around the stadium. Diehard fans were on the edge of their seats almost hyperventilating, fingers tight around flags and banners and the newer fans were simply still caught up in the buzz of the whole thing. Because the Westerville Hounds had been terrible ever since their last title victory almost 80 years ago.

But the new generation, this new team, with Ryan as captain breezed through the playoffs and secured their rightful spot in the final this year. And it seemed that everyone wanted to join in and support their team. The tickets had been sold in mere seconds after they were released for sale.

Which meant Thad wasn't able to get the really good seats.

He'd been marking tests the night before and when he finally came out of his algebraic coma it was to find a big Sold Out on the official website. Of course, that sent him into a spiral which had almost made him miss his classes of that day. He was certain the only thing that had saved him from the questions of near genius students was that he'd somehow managed to absorb the exact material he needed to provide the answers on autopilot when he fell asleep on his textbook. Still, he eventually managed to score a ticket last minute off of a miserable guy who couldn't seem to wriggle his way out of his family holiday. Apparently 'the game of the year' wasn't a good enough excuse for the guys sub, go figure. Ryan had offered to put him in the ceremonial lodge with the other player's better halves and save on the stress of course, but Thad wasn't doing that ever again after the last time when a snobby politician's son thought Thad was open to a little out of bond action.

Sadly, in higher circles, stepping out on bonds to get what they desired happened depressingly often since Doms and subs were looking for money or connections instead of love or compatibility matches. This disconnect and almost bred dislike of one another in the bond was the root of many an affair on both parts. And since Ryan had gone pro and started making headlines it thrust them into those circles even more than their family names already had. Thad had found himself on the receiving end of a few propositions here and there over the years, more so the higher Ryan climbed and the more academic acclaim Thad started receiving. It was nothing like that particular Dom however. He came on so strong, wouldn't take no for an answer, laid hands where hands were not welcome and Thad felt scared enough that he mindlessly called out to Ryan during the halftime. The Dom went ballistic, pummeled the little brat to the ground and earned himself a two game suspension.

So. Ceremonial lodge just so he could see better? Nope. He was not risking that again.

He stuck with his last minute ticket and was sat sky high, where he could barely see the players running around, looking like ants. He spotted Ryan easily despite the distance somehow and giggled.

"Who's tiny now you overgrown ass?" he whispered behind his hand as the game started and the madness around him increased tenfold.

People on the field were running like their lives depended on it, throwing the ball and tackling each other. Blood was spilled, some teeth got knocked out and some players were carried out by the medics and declared unable to continue the game. In all the fuss Ryan remained cool and collected and every move he made was calculated and precise and the orders he barked out were intelligent and well thought out.

Thad had never been more proud.

Up on the stands the crowd of fans was roaring with happiness or rage, spitting insults at opposing teams and smacking wildly into each other in triumph whenever something good happened. If Thad was being honest, he saw little of the game. People rarely sat down and from all the way behind, despite the slant of the approximately 45 degree angle of the seats, his only chance was to find a good angle to look at the big screen nearest to him. But even then the flags and foam fingers and ridiculous hats obscured his view and there were points in the game where he literally had no idea what was happening.

Now though, he could see everything. The stadium was quiet as the final whistle blew and the players jump started into their final play, Ryan's team on offense. Everyone was holding their breath but when the beauty of the initial play subdued, little by little the crowd joined in the chaos on the field. Yelling, swearing, cheering and suggesting this and that.

Thad saw none of it.

He just realized that with the way Ryan's player was standing, and the way the wind was blowing, there was no chance of the ball going the way he intended it to. It was simple math to map that kind of trajectory. Before he even realized what he was doing he was on his feet, climbing on his chair and grasping the shoulder of a giant standing next to him.

"THE WIND IS BLOWING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION YOU UNEDUCATED MORON, AND THAT BALL ISN'T COMPLETELY AERODYNAMIC. YOU CAN'T THROW IT AT THAT ANGLE AND EXPECT IT TO GO ANYWHERE. ANGLE YOUR ELBOW DOWN...THAT'S NOT DOWN…WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" he screamed and then felt eyes on him just as a judge whistled for a penalty made on the field before Ryan was able to release the pigskin.

Blowing out a relieved but frustrated breath he turned his head around and caught the guy next to him, openly gawping and confused, his foam finger limp and dangling in the wind.

Thad chuckled and removed his hand from the guy's muscled shoulder sheepishly, running it through his hair. Bad etiquette, Thad. Don't grab strange Doms.

"Sorry… I um… I've got a PhD in math and engineering," he offered awkwardly in explanation but the guy continued staring, bright blue eyes vacant and perplexed like he had just asked him to solve the theory of everything.

"Um… I teach… at MIT? Massachusetts Institute of Technology? You know… the math programs and physical sciences, political science and linguistics place? ... We have robots?" He tried again and this time earned himself a very dog like head tilt from the guy. His caramel blonde hair made Thad think of a Labrador puppy… cute and big boned and dumber than a bag of rocks sometimes.

Huffing out a breath he rolled his eyes and sighed. This must be what Spock felt like for real.

"I'm a very big nerd," he translated in 'standard' and the man startled him by barking out a booming laugh that nearly had him falling from his already precarious perch.

"Oh…hahahahahahaha… oh man your face," the man choked out, slapping his free hand against his jean clad thigh. "That is just- hahahaha- 'we have robots'," he sniggered to himself making Thad blush a little, was he getting mocked here? Bad puppy!

The Dom seemed to be sensing that he was making Thad uneasy and threw him an easy, open smile around the rest of his chuckles. "I know what MIT is."

Thad's blush grew tenfold. "Oh. Sorry."

The Dom shook it off, like he was used to the assumption that he was the exact stereotype he portrayed. A big, dumb, handsome jock. "Don't sweat it. I also know who you are anyway. You're Ryan Moore's sub aren't you?" he asked and his face was still super friendly and open and Thad found himself liking the way he lit up, not finding anything suspicious or untoward about him asking.

"Oh… yeah… yes… that's me. Thad," he confirmed and stuck his hand out. The guy clasped it in his own and shook.

"Drew. Nice to meet you," he returned, then smirked. "Is that really how you explain your job to the averagely intelligent?"

Thad laughed, fidgeting on his feet as much as he could. "Usually when I say MIT either people's eyes glaze over or they immediately think espionage."

One blonde browed cocked upwards. "Bond?"

"Believe it or not. Bane of my life no matter how good those films are," he declared.

"I'll bet. So, not to pry or anything but…isn't MIT like…hours away from here? How do you manage being apart?" Drew asked and Thad smiled.

"Oh…I'm kind of like an outside associate at MIT. I go there every once in a while for a lecture but I do most of my work online and then students come here for a few weeks if they want to participate in some of my projects and such. So it's all good," Thad explained.

Drew nodded along easily and glanced back out on the field where the two teams were huddling with their respective coaches. Thad thought that was the end of the conversation and was going to hop down before the wind blew him there when Drew said out of the blue, "So you really think he wouldn't have made that pass? Mather's was wide open."

"I know so. Even if it wasn't simple physics, I've studied my man through college football, amateur, pro, in training, at home, in all kinds of weather conditions. The pass would have fallen short," Thad told him confidently, finally making the hop to the floor.

Drew hummed in contemplation, then gave him another long, assessing look. "I have this weird feeling that a lot of those plays Ryan came up with this season that me and my buddies have been losing our minds over, were actually a bunch of math equations from a genius professor."

Thad sucked his lips into his mouth to avoid smiling so widely. Ryan had god given talent when it came to football; his brain ran through innovative plays like nobody's business and his body was made for the sport. Thad just… liked to help him out. A lot of sports were based around statistics, and Thad liked statistics. He loved Ryan. It wasn't that much of a leap from there for him to combine the two passions of his life and help with a few viability issues on some of Ryan's more elaborate ideas.

The whistle blew again, signaling the restart of the game and the end of that line of questioning. Rows of bodies began to get up from their seats again and Thad huffed and pouted when his view was once again blocked.

"Guess you can't see too much from way down there?" Drew asked, a hint of amusement curling into his tone and Thad pouted harder.

"I see enough, thank you." He glared but the man just laughed again and placed his hands on his waist, lifting the squeaking sub onto his shoulders just like that.

"Oh my- what are you doing?!" he gasped, arms flailing out for a handhold.

"Relax, I do this for my little brother all the time and you weigh about the same even though he's nine," Drew teased, jostling him playfully. "Now cheer your man loudly, genius. He'll be happy to know you're here and I've got money riding on this game," he said calmly, like he hadn't just manhandled a complete stranger onto his shoulders like a little kid. After another moment of shock where Thad weighed up this whole bizarre encounter with this even more bizarre Dom, he shrugged and started screaming again as the final few seconds ticked off the clock and Ryan's team made a series of amazing choices, winning the game in the last second.

Definitely one for the history books.

The crowd went mad, soaring with delight and Thad bounced on Drew's shoulders so enthusiastic with his happiness and pride that he almost toppled them over. The blonde laughed, he seemed to never stop and it was highly endearing, and set him down to earth again even though it felt like he was still flying above it.

Taking a glance down at the field Drew saw that Moore had broken away from his celebrating teammates; helmet gone, hair matted with sweat and he was now scanning their area of the stands obviously looking for Thad.

"Hop back up on that seat," Drew instructed him, glancing back down again to see that Ryan had hopped the divider and was pushing through the throngs of adoring fans that all wanted a piece of him. Up, up he ran and his eyes never stopped searching for that one face until they finally locked eyes.

Thad felt his stomach bubble up pleasantly at the sight of him and he bit his lip to stop his smile from splitting his face in two. Ryan looked utterly gorgeous. Radiant with the flush of exertion across his cheeks and well won sweat dripping down his nose and Thad was making needy grabby hands for him like a child with their favorite teddy before he knew it.

Ryan was singularly focused on getting to his sub as fast as possible and it was awed respect that had Doms and subs making room for the hulky player as he made his way down the aisle. Thad was tackled into Ryan's arms in the next breath and another cheer went up around them, camera's and phones flashing to capture the moment.

"Well done, man," Drew said to Ryan, clapping him on the back and Ryan smiled at the stranger accepting the fist-bump when it was offered. He loved everyone right now, but no one more so than the gem in his arms who had his arms around his neck and legs twined around his waist. Win or lose, it didn't matter as long as he could have this afterwards.

He buried his face into his subs neck and inhaled that familiar scent, letting his submissive's hormones calm his racing heart. He was shaking all over.

"We did it, tiny. I did it. We're the champions. State champions. Shit, baby, I…" he sobbed and laughed, not even knowing how to end that sentence. This was all just so surreal. Back when he'd first started playing football he never imagined this moment would have been possible.

Thad squeezed him tighter, trying his best to melt into him. "I know, sir. You were absolutely amazing out there. I knew I picked a winner," he teased directly into his ear, fingers stroking through the soaked strands of his hair at his nape.

Ryan pulled back a little, his broad palm rising to cup Thad's delicate chin reverently before he leaned in and kissed him square on the lips.

The whole stadium erupted, even the disappointed fans of the other team joining in and Thad pulled back, surprised at the commotion.

Drew was still next to them, laughing again and Thad glanced over his shoulder to see him pointing at the big screen which had a huge 70 foot tall feed of him and Ryan locking lips on repeat. Thad blushed completely scarlet, ducking his head into the side of Ryan's face to hide and his Dom just chuckled and kissed at his temple which caused a whole round of 'aw's' to sound out.

"I love you so much," Ryan whispered to him and Thad completely forgot about the camera and the fans and anything other than the depth of his feeling for this perfect Dom. They kissed again to another, what seemed to Thad like a blanketed scream now, and he could only laugh into Ryan's mouth when he began moving them back down the aisle to descend back to the field to collect his trophy.

He didn't need it, he had everything he wanted right there in his arms, smiling his joy into his lips. Their life was already perfect, it just seemed to keep on getting better.

Sebastian and Dave Smythe Karofsky

The clock ticked, silent and unrelenting, marking four in the morning with four gentle, barely audible pings. Dawn was just starting to color a stripe of purple on the horizon behind the heavy curtains and the streets were dead silent. Everything was silent for that matter.

Everything and everyone except Elijah Smythe Karofsky.

No. On this particular dawn he had decided that it would be extremely fun to wail at the top of his tiny little lungs. He was very much aware of the fact, even at this tender age, that the longer he cried, the more of a chance he had of one of his daddies coming to carry him around. But the house was still silent and asleep and so he doubled his efforts and let out a piercing scream into the night.

That should teach them.

"'s your turn t' go."

Sebastian kicked Dave in the shin with his toes and turned around, blanket pulled high under his chin and his hair sticking out wild and disheveled all over the place.

Dave grunted and nudged him back with his elbow.

"I went last time," he huffed… okay, he was Dom enough to admit that he whined. He covered his face with his forearm, like that would somehow magic Elijah back to sleep, bone tired and sleep deprived.

"Did not." Sebastian retorted smartly, sleepiness erasing all of his witty comebacks, leaving him with a repertoire of a five year old.

"Did too." And Dave was no better.

"'s your son." Sebastian tried again and got shoved in the ribs for his efforts.

"And when does he become your son?" Dave argued back and actually laughed when his sub just sank deeper into their blanket like he was trying to cocoon himself inside.

"When he goes to college," Sebastian said and promptly fell back to sleep making Dave chuckle, a little hoarse from sleep.

In all honesty he had no problems getting up and tending to their son during the night. He had been working so much during the day that he relished the moments when he got to hold him and not worry about being late to work.

He smoothed his hand down his sub's cheek, loving the wrinkles his pillow left behind. He adored seeing him like this, sleep soft and less than perfect, but still absolutely his Sebastian. He kissed his temple softly and drug himself out of the bed, crossing the hallway and entering the brightly painted nursery where his son was kicking and screaming, red in the face from all the crying.

"Hey there, little man… what's bugging you?" he cooed, lifting him gently from the crib, the baby fragile and tiny in his big arms.

He cradled him to his bare chest with so much care, irrationally scared still of hurting him. He checked his diaper first then offered him his bottle but he seemed to be okay now that he was being rocked. So Dave happily plonked his large frame down in the rocking chair, son resting on his chest and started humming gently as he swayed back and forth.

His son snuffled silently for a few more minutes before settling down in his daddy's arms and falling back to sleep. Dave stared down at him, almost in awe of how magical he was. Tiny and fragile and so breakable but always, always safe in his arms.

Not for the first time he thought, he loved his life right now.

He had taken over for his dad in the family business after finishing college, extending their empire even further and venturing into sports like he had always wanted to. Nowadays he was the proud owner of Westerville Hounds, and their best talent scout.

Sebastian, being who he always was, became the most diva-ish, petulant, snarky, whiny lawyer that ever was. And he murdered at his job. He had won every single case he had been given and there were talks of him being even greater than his father.

Until he took on the case.

A custody case where neither party was capable of taking care of a gorgeous baby boy, and it was a matter of picking a lesser evil. Sebastian had been distraught for days while working the case, trying to figure out a way to save the little boy from a horrible life with his family and Dave could remember it like it was yesterday.

After almost two months of the ongoing back and forth, the paperwork and testimonies from social workers, he snuck into Dave's office one day and cuddled into his lap. He was rarely that pliant and it worried Dave immediately.

"What's wrong, babe?" Dave asked and Sebastian sighed.

"The… the baby… neither of his parents are getting custody. He'll… he'll be put into a foster home," he said sadly and Dave cupped his face bringing their foreheads together.

"You did all you could, darling. It's not your fault," Dave tried to comfort him.

"That's the thing, sir. I don't think I did. Deep down I knew his father wasn't fit to care for him and I'm not sure if I gave it my all because I was afraid of winning," he confessed and Dave brushed a thumb across his cheek.

"I'm sure they will find him a good home… and he'll be…" he started but Sebastian cut him off.

"I want us to give him a home!" he rushed and then covered his mouth with his hand. Dave froze and looked at his sub in surprise. Yes, he was dying to have a child with Sebastian but he was sure his sub wanted to wait and build a career first.

"Seb…" he tried, but he shook his head.

"No... it's stupid… impulsive and beyond stupid to just suddenly… I just got overly attached that's all… I'll be fine," he rushed out, backtracking from his admission and tried to smile but Dave knew what his fake smiles looked.

"I want to have a baby with you," he said, knowing that the best way to shut Sebastian up was to be blunt and direct. He didn't respond to subtlety at all.

"You do…"

He trained huge green eyes at him and Dave nodded.

"Right now?" he asked, a hint of hesitance in his tone.

"I've been ready for quite a while now," Dave assured him softly and his sub sat stock still in shock for what felt like hours before launching his arms around Dave's neck.

"We're having a baby?" he almost screamed and it was so unlike him that Dave had to laugh. "I mean… this is so crazy and just… we're having a baby!"

"Yeah, you lunatic. We're having a baby," Dave laughed.

A month later of social worker visits and mountains of paperwork, Elijah joined their family.

"Room for one more?" a soft voice came from the doorway and Dave looked up to see Sebastian, bleary eyed and pajamas buttoned crookedly, pointing at his lap.

"Always," Dave promised and shifted Elijah into Sebastian's arms as he took the sub onto his own lap cradling the both of them.

"Your singing is terrible," Sebastian decided to point out after a few minutes of peaceful silence as they rocked as a family.

"It's better than the no singing you did because you were too lazy to get up," Dave quipped back and looked up to see his sub smiling at him, fingers toying with the blanket around their baby.

"We're perfect, sir. Aren't we?" he asked softly and Dave nodded.

Because yes.

Their life was perfect.

David and Corrine Madison Thompson

She surprised him.

All the time, since the moment he met her. She was always breaking the stereotypes people put on her while at the same time looking and acting every bit stereotypical for a pretty, blonde cheerleader. She was mesmerizing in her complexity and he loved that he got the chance to spend his life learning her, exploring her.

She never did what he expected her to do. She was never predictable. And he loved it.

The biggest surprise she ever gave him was her Gift request.

She just told him to buy a piece of land, somewhere not deep in the woods, next to a lake and with empty space around it that could be built on. When he asked her what she planned on building she just gave him that look that clearly said, 'none of your damn business just buy the thing'. And he'd learned very early on to heed that look to avoid shopping trip meltdowns.

So he did.

He bought it, showed her the ownership papers and they completed their bonding without her ever asking about the land he bought. And eventually it faded to the back of David's mind. Years went by, they both finished college, he started getting really serious with the studio after realizing his gift was production, and she took on a guest coaching position at Dalton for a period while she worked out her next step.

She was somewhat of a legend among the young cheerleaders so they hung onto her every word as she guided them to victory after victory.

She never once mentioned her Gift, that forgotten, dusty piece of paper sitting at the bottom of a box in their wardrobe. Until two years ago when she unearthed the box and pulled the papers out of their envelope; hired contractors and fished out a scrap book of hastily scrawled floor plans, cut outs of magazines and print outs from the internet of cabins, a large auditorium, a dining hall, a huge complex of gyms and dance studios and a fully equipped outdoor stage.

One by one they were built, springing up on that disused land like tended flowers.

She started meeting up with a whole bunch of people while the construction was under way and every time he asked her what she was doing she just glared at him so he let her be. This was her Gift after all, and she wasn't hurting herself or running special ops out of the woods so it wasn't really his place to pry. Not that she would let him anyway, she was all about the dramatic reveal, and would probably murder anyone who squashed one.

Tiny but frightening, his sub was. He was man enough to admit it.

After almost a year of work and then another or bothering with administration she finally tied a scarf around his eyes, told him to pull his mind out of the gutter when he started getting excited about it and drove him to the place he got her.

He stepped out of the car, pulled the scarf down and stood there gaping, and rightly so, barely able to believe what he was seeing. His tiny little firecracker had done something amazing. Translated her erratic musings into something so fitting for her his heart was ready to burst with pride. Her rejections of offers to coach national cheer teams around the country and Hikaru's offer of a full time post at Dalton suddenly all made sense.

The sign at the start of the short driveway caught his attention and he couldn't help but snort a laugh, grin so wide his cheeks ached.

She'd built a summer dance camp for kids age 3 to 18.

'Rin's Tumbling Bees.

Okay so the name left something to be desired, but the idea, the work, the love that went into creating this gorgeous little safe haven for kids who loved to dance was absolutely perfect. Perfect for his beautiful girl and every other little boy and girl who wanted to be just like her. Or well… as much like her as they could be because his baby was one of a kind and had the most amazing ideas ever.

Well most of her ideas were amazing.

This one… not so much, he thought as he stood in front of a full length mirror in their bathroom, questioning every choice he'd made since he claimed the blonde she-devil.

Why the hell did shit like this keep happening to him? He was a good person! He helped the elderly! He petted puppies, fed the ducks and answered every single plastic phone a toddler had ever given him with seriousness that was expected of him. He even responded to the phone polls whenever they called, so what the hell did he do to deserve this?

"David get out of the bathroom right now I refuse to be late on my first day of camp!"

His blonde torturer banged on the door and he just couldn't understand how such a tiny creature could be so loud and pushy.

"Rin baby… I love you, you know I do. But my love has limits. You've just reached it," he told her matter-of-factly, sadly looking at his reflection and flinching whenever his supposed attire for the day caught the fluorescent lights at the right angle.

It was like Christmas and Valentine's Day had a love child that nobody wanted.

He turned around and the lights fell on his chest just so…

Fuck Christmas, Las Vegas could hide before him.

"I am not coming out!" he shouted through the door and he heard her answering snort mocking him.

"I'm sure Wes will be sad to hear it. He was waiting for you to man up and admit you love him," she teased and he pouted.

Low blow.

What was the world coming to if a bro can't love another bro and not want to bone him? God!

"That's not funny. You can't expect me to go anywhere like this. Especially not to teach a freaking dance class and pretend to be authority to kids while looking like a unicorn threw up on me," he said petulantly and she tried turning the doorknob which gave was easily because, apparently, he forgot to lock the door.

Rookie mistake. But to be fair, he wasn't usually the hide-ee. Usually he was on the other side of the wood groveling... and that was a good point. Corrine was supposed to be groveling right now! Where was his promised pair of shoes or expensive dinner? He didn't see her running out to buy him a bouquet of roses goddammit!

He turned around to demand reparations in the form of his sub in very lacy underwear when he noticed her take one look at him and burst out into a hysterical laughter, clutching the edge of the sink and doubling over.

He scowled even deeper at her reaction. It was her idea. She had no right to laugh.

He told her as much.

"Oh my god…. hahahahahaha…. oh god… you look… ahahahahhaha… I love it!" she giggled, failing around and he crossed his arms over his chest unimpressed.

"I'm not going!" he stated drily and she sobered up immediately.

"Oh come on, sir. You look really good. Honest. Not many men can pull off that color but you totally rock it. I was just teasing you," she said earnestly and he lifted one eyebrow at her, pointing at the mirror in disgust.

"Good? I look good? Have you seen me?" he screeched as he glared at his reflection.

He was dressed in the official uniform of the Tumbling Bee's camp. A bright pink pair of yoga pants that just left nothing to the imagination and a matching top that bore the name of the camp across his chest written in Technicolor glitter. It made him feel like a walking disco ball that just casually rolled out of the eighties through a portal of poor taste.

Corrine loved it.

She was wearing the same thing only with a skirt and it made her look like a cute, albeit demented, Barbie doll. But she somehow managed to pull it off. Him… not so much.

"I'm not going," he reiterated again and as soon as the words left his lips he knew he was in deep shit.

Her bright expression darkened, her eyes narrowed and her chest puffed out as she took her breath to deliver the speech that would make him do her bidding. Geez, he needed an inoculation to it.

"David Thompson, if you don't drag your ass out of this bathroom and into the car in the next three seconds I will personally make sure you never experience another orgasm in your entire life."

"When you say never…"

She narrowed her eyes further. "Never."

He gasped at her in terror, hand cupping over his dick in commiseration as he contemplated her ultimatum. He was losing something today, either the touch of another person on his dick or his balls by having to hand them over for Corrine to put in her purse so he could wear this damn thing and not want to double flip himself into a coma. He knew full well she didn't make empty threats in that tone of voice. That was the, 'I mean it, David', voice.

He hated the, 'I mean it, David', voice.

It was scary.

"I look smoking hot."

He rushed out of the bathroom, the early morning sun catching his glittery top as he went and bathing their home in all the colors of the rainbow.

Sorry, balls.

Miriam and Wesley Sanders Montgomery

"What the hell was I thinking? And also… why did you let me do this? Who gave you the right to allow me to do this? I'm gonna throw up!" Miriam paced the small study room back and forth, wringing her fingers together and trying really hard not to break into a full on panic attack.

"Sweetie, you need to relax. I know you're nervous, and you have every reason and right to be… but I'm quite sure you've got this," Wes told her, reassurance a warm thing in his voice.

She snorted ungracefully from under her palm and he chuckled.

"As for who gave me the right to let you do something… I don't think I'd survive trying to forbid you to do something you set your mind to. And I'm too young and too awesome to die," he continued and she finally smiled that million dollar smile of hers. That smile that had captivated him since science camp.

"I wouldn't kill you, sir. Maim you a bit, maybe." She chuckled and he came behind her, holding her around the waist and kissing over her mark gently.

"Just remember how you got here. And remember why you're doing this," he said and her mind reached back three years, plucking at a memory like a chord.

"Mr. Hummel. You wanted to see me, sir?"

She entered Burt's office and he smiled warmly at her, waving her in properly. He grew to love her like a daughter in the span of four years she spent working for him and his office.

Burt knew he was only there for one run. Just enough to lay grounds for a better world. He was way too old and way too fond of his job repairing things to be a politician for such a long time. Miriam… she was everything he had wanted as his replacement. Strong, fierce, determined and smart. So smart. She was bursting with ideas and he knew now how politics worked. For everything you wanted to do there were a million protocols and channels to go through. A million people that had to agree to something before it even got to the Head to approve.

And he knew it took away a lot of the possibilities for Miriam's changes. Some of them would just get lost in the bureaucracy and he'd never even see them. Some of them would end up so twisted by the time they got to him he had a hard time believing they came from Miriam. And he knew she hated it. Hated how little she could do with so much fire burning inside her.

So when his time in the office came to the end he knew what he had to do.

"Hey, sparky. Come on in. I just ordered lunch in. You hungry?" he asked and as if on cue, his assistant brought in his food, spreading containers of Chinese food on his desk. Kurt would surely kill him for cheating on his diet but this was a special occasion.

"I could eat," she smiled, picking up a carton of her favorite dish of rice and steamed vegetables and dug in as she waited for Burt to talk to her.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Miriam, I'm sure you know my time in the office is almost done?" he started between bites of his vegetable noodles and she frowned in confusion.

"Burt, I don't think you're losing the election. People adore you," she said and he beamed for a moment, genuinely proud of what he had managed to do in his four years.

"Thank you for saying that but… I'm not running again," he revealed softly and she gasped, eyes widening and the container in her hands almost falling to the floor.

"What… you're not… but… how do you… I mean… why?" she stuttered and he actually laughed at her confusion. She was so likable, so down to earth. People would adore her, they would trust her. He knew he made the right choice.

"This was always a temporary thing for me. For everyone as a matter of fact. I was always supposed to just lay the groundwork. To shake things up so to speak. I think I did my job. And now it's time for someone who can make serious changes to take over," he said and she bugged her eyes.

"Burt… we don't have a replacement for you. There is nobody who's good enough to take over. Nobody people will latch onto as they did you," she said, trying her best not to cry. She just couldn't imagine another Head doing the work Burt had done.

"Well… you may not have someone in mind but I sure as hell do," he said and she tilted her head.
Okay… okay that's good. If there is someone Burt thinks is good enough that should be fine.

"Oh… well… who is it?"

"You, Miriam."

A little less than a year later here she was. Shaking and out of her mind as she stepped onto a stage, placed her right hand in the air and took an oath to uphold the rules and responsibilities placed upon her as the new Head and to do everything that was in her power to further improve the lives of the people within the Westerville Circle.

The crowd cheered like crazy when Burt placed the key to his office into her dainty hand, signifying the change in the leadership. The past giving way to future. The hope giving way to real change.

She accepted the key as the protocol required but then she threw formalities to the wind as she jumped into Burt's arms and hugged him with force that had nothing to do being contained in such a tiny body.

"Whoa, sparky!" he huffed out a laugh as he spun her around, the cameras flashing around them, capturing the sweet moment that proved to them just how human their former and future leader really were.

He put her down and flicked the back of her head like he did so many times before when she was being particularly eager and hyper about something as she waved at the crowd and sank back into the arms of the man who was there for her every step of the way.

Wes.

Her strength.

"I'm proud of you. So, so, so proud."

"And I'm proud of you," she said back, turning her head to look earnestly up into his eyes. "I know lately it's kind of been all about me and I'm so grateful for the support you've shown me. I just want to let you know that despite all this I don't lose sight of you and I appreciate everything you've done for me. In fact, I wouldn't be here right now without you and-"

"Shh," Wes hushed her gently, love shining in his eyes. "I know all this, sweetheart. You don't need to say it. I already know."

Brad and Danai Robson Leviev

A soft crash.

A quiet grunt.

Shuffling of socked feet on the wooden floor.

A barely there beam of golden yellow light.

Darkness.

A tinkering, metal sound.

And then silence.

An empty bed beside him.

Still warm sheets.

These were the things Danai Leviev noticed, one by one, filtering into his hazy, still half asleep consciousness. He grunted and squinted around the bedroom blearily, once again woken up in the middle of the night by Brad's mysterious wanderings.

He couldn't help but groan into his pillow, then smile inexplicably no matter how tired he was.

Like clockwork, almost every night, Danai would wake up to the unidentified sounds coming from the general direction of their hallway and an empty bed. It had been this way since Brad had moved in six years ago. Most nights he would subconsciously just ignore it, roll over and go back to sleep, figuring Brad just got up to go to the bathroom since he was always there when he got up for work the next morning. Sleep soft and glued to him.

A clingy sleeper if he ever saw one no matter how ardently Brad denied such a claim.

Tonight though… the soft crash-grunt combination woke him up enough to be fully aware of what was going on. A sudden spike of curiosity opened his eyes a little wider. What was that silly sub doing every damn night?

In fact, it occurred to him that the only times Brad didn't get out of bed at night seemed to be when they had engaged in some, well, pretty serious play before bedtime. Literally exhausted him to the point where he was dead to the world and snoring lightly into his neck, naked, damp skin plastered to his-

He cut off that line of thought before his sleepy body decided to wake up enough to start to respond to it. As much as he would like, no love, to indulge in some midnight tumbling, they both had work early in the morning and unfortunately it was that time of year for both of them where they had to be on point and not exhaustedly sex happy.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, mind made up to finally figure out the nature of Brad's nightly excursions. Throwing the thick blanket away from his body and ignoring the chill in the air he touched his feet to the ground. Stealthy as he could possibly manage being in his large body, he crept through their bedroom, down the hall blinking his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the hallway lamp they always left on just in case. He passed their second bathroom which was empty and only piqued his interest more and following the soft, squishy sound he ended up standing in the alcove that lead to their kitchen, hand clasped over his mouth to cover the, decidedly unmanly, giggle that threatened to burst out at the sight that awaited him.

His sub; his wonderful, prissy, ass of a sub, was standing in the dark, backlit by the open and humming refrigerator, obviously sound asleep from the vacant expression in his eyes on his face, but with his entire fist crammed in a jar of blueberry jam as he scooped up the sweet treat and brought it to his lips. He was obviously a few scoops in, because his face already held traces of the dark purple jam around his lips and a glob was perched on his pointy nose.

He had never, in all their years together, looked quite so cute to Danai.

Brad licked his fingers clean, moaning a bit, revelling in the taste even as he slept, his thin fingers already creeping back into the jar.

Danai watched him for several minutes in half disbelief, half amusement, folding his arms over his bare chest and leaning against the door jamb, unable to go over there and wake him up. Unable to break up his feast and bring him back from being so relaxed and clearly happy.

Danai thought back to that first night he knew he couldn't let this sub go. How Brad had fought tooth and nail to prove he didn't need him, only to finish his night in his arms, crying and vulnerable. The year following was interspersed with fights as they screamed and kicked their way to the peaceful, fulfilling life they now shared.

Brad was skittish in the aftermath of Kevin. He'd spend days just wrapped up in his own head, as if reliving every bit of what he went through, but when questioned he'd deny anything was amiss. His grandparents were beginning to despair, they almost missed the vindictive, mean Brad they had come to know. At least he had some sort of energy about him. Some sort of life.

And though everything in him was screaming at him to claim his sub he held off in those initial months, instead doing everything he could think would work to bring Brad back to some semblance of himself. He touched him gently when he could get away with it, held him close when Brad broke down enough to let him, brought sweets and his favourite foods, new clothes and titbits of new gossip. Anything that could get a sub to respond to his Dom.

Until he finally realized that he was probably going about it all wrong, his sub was anything but just any sub.

He seemed to have lost sight of the fact that before Kevin, Brad had a lot of issues of his own to work out. So petting him and cooing at him would never work. Brad needed to let out the rage left inside of him. He needed to yell, and throw things and punch through a wall with his fist until every last bit of his mom, his unrequited crush, his peers who just didn't bother looking for the reason why he was so nasty and Kevin were out of him for good. Until all that's left was an empty shell Danai was ready to fill with love.

So he did the one thing that made sense to him. The dance they had been dancing from the very beginning.

He provoked him.

He barked orders at him until Brad snapped and started screaming back, punching his chest with his fists and tearing his clothes to shreds. Those days were some of the most intense and exhausting Danai had ever experienced. But, like a storm, it finally began to ease, then abate and Danai held him in the aftermath. Waited him out until he was drained. Until he was clean again.

And he had kept on holding him throughout the years. Through every up and down, the fights, the stolen kisses, the therapy and before his eyes he watched him transform into a wonderful young man he felt proud of. And no. Brad would never be the cuddly, lovely sub other people expected him to be. He would always be a brat; spoiled, rude, defiant, a snob. But he was stable now, his ragged edges softened. He didn't take his anger and hurt out on other people anymore, he channelled what he was feeling into healthier avenues like his work, and let Danai help him vent those frustrations he couldn't get rid of on his own.

And Danai would never want him any other way than exactly the way he was.

So the Dom stared at his exasperating, surprising sub while he ate the blueberry jam out of the jar, smeared up to his silly looking ears and down to his knobby elbows, and he smiled at how utterly childish he was. And he loved him. More than anything.

He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing when Brad straightened up, put the lid back on and popped the, now empty jar, back into the fridge before trudging back into their bedroom, sticky fingers brushing against his hand as he went. But Danai didn't reach out for him, he didn't want to wake him up.

Instead he walked into the kitchen and wrote 'blueberry jam' on their weekend shopping list. He was pretty sure this was the first time they had ever had it in the house, a random purchase that he couldn't even remember if he or Brad had made. But there was no way he was going to let Brad be without his treat if this is how much he enjoyed it… and if this was how much fun he had watching him.

He chuckled on his way back to their room where he slipped into the bed, next to his boy who immediately clung to him like a koala, sticky fingers and all. He'd have to wash the bedding tomorrow he was sure. Not feeling the least bit peeved about that Danai pecked his lips gently, smiling at the taste of blueberry that clung to the soft skin there as he drifted back to sleep.

"Dan… do you need anything else from the store?" Brad yelled early Sunday morning; their usual grocery shopping time.

"I don't think so. Hey, give me five seconds and I think I can go with you after all," he said, as he scrambled to grade the last paper on the pile he had gotten through a lot faster than he initially thought he would.

"Really? What about the papers?" Brad asked coming to sit next to him, a barely there hint of a smile showing how happy he was his Dom could come with him. He hated doing grocery runs alone, not only because he had never had to do them before he had met Danai. But Danai could carry a lot more bags in one go and also… he could cook. So he knew what stuff to get. Brad didn't even know how to microwave a frozen diner. Apparently, leaving it in the microwave for over 40 minutes was not the right way. You live, you learn.

"They wrote them fairly well so I'm done. Let's move," he said circling his last B+ on the paper and hopping up with grace that should be impossible to achieve for someone of his stature.

"I hope that vague, lacklustre approach wasn't how you graded my papers," Brad sniped, the smirk on his lips belying his words.

Danai rolled his eyes as he moved over to grab his shoes. "You really need to stop fishing for compliments from that one paper I graded of yours seven years ago, lisichka. I already told you it was good."

"It was like three papers in one at least and you still won't tell me what grade you gave me," Brad complained, buttoning his jacket.

"Well if you hadn't childishly thrown it away trying to make a point then maybe you would know," Danai pointed out to him, giving him an infuriating grin that he knew drove Brad up the wall as he pulled on his own jacket.

As expected, Brad growled a little in the back of his throat and Danai walked over to kiss it away quickly, snagging his hand and leading them out of the building just like that. He'd learned quite effectively to head these little tantrums off at the pass and Brad simmered down as he knew he would.

Together they exited their building, chatting among themselves as they piled into their car and drove to the store.

Fifteen minutes later found them browsing the isles, with Brad glaring and huffing as he steered the cart around. It was heavy and he had a bulky Dom who could do it easier. But no… Danai had decided he just needed to have everything that was ever mentioned in any cookbook because apparently, Brad was too thin.

So he stuffed their cart with packets of meat, vegetables, fruit, jars of condiments and dips and what seemed to be an entire stock of blueberry jam.

"Wow…" He picked up a jar out of the cart, the same type his grandmother buys. "You sure love your jam, sir," he teased, half joking, half seriously wondering what was up with a life supply of jam.

Danai turned around, looking at him as if he saw him for the first time and then smiled like the sun itself shone from between his lips.

"It's my favourite."

Sam and Mercedes Jones Evans

"Where do you want me to put this?" Sam asked as he lugged a huge box into the bare room where Mercedes was already digging through another one.

She rolled her eyes with a smile and looked up at her Dom. His forehead was glistening with sweat and his biceps were bulging from the weight in his arms. He looked as amazing as he did that first day she saw him. Only now he was no longer a boy with shaggy blonde hair and an easy smile.

He was a man.

More serious, more aware of the crap life dealt them but also… more sure of who he was, more sure of where he was going and she was so proud of him. For all of her success as a singer; (signed with none other than Blaine, Wes' and David's label) all the records she sold and the concerts she held he was the one that had her back, he was the one that showed the world just what kind of Dom he was.

He stood by her when everyone and every rule told him he could get around, he stood by her when she got popular and people turned to telling her she could find someone better. They got through everything together. She sang and he took classes in IT of all things, confusing everyone until one day he announced he had gotten a job test running betas and fixing bugs for a few recognizable companies. Apparently he'd become a bit of an instant hit on YouTube with those funny commentary walkthroughs things she always caught him recording and he'd amassed quite a following which had gotten him noticed.

They registered their bond as soon as it became free.

They saved the money they were earning, from the small fee's they both started out at to the bigger amounts that always had their eyes widening and little by little paid the debts for their families giving back for everything they did for them. Then they saved again and now, finally, they were in their new home.

A small, two story brownstone that was just their own.

"What does it say on it, Sam?" she deadpanned and he glanced at the box in his arms.

"Kitchen," he mumbled.

"Well... where do you think we should put it then, sir?" she teased and he stuck his tongue at her, grumbling all the way to the kitchen under his breath.

"Fine. See if I ever try to make it all perfect for you. I'll just put stuff anywhere. All over the place. You just sass away. We'll see how sassy you'll be when you find your toothbrush in the living room box."

She raised a brow. "What was that, sir?"

"Nothing, nothing. Kitchen box goes to the kitchen. Got it."

She watched his hastily retreating form and smiled to herself. This, everything, was so worth the wait. The uncertainty, tears and hard work. And it was times like these, quiet moments where she could reflect on how lucky she was, that she thanked God for bringing her these friends and family she was surrounded by.

Because it was their love and selflessness that had opened up the door to this and she would never be able to thank or repay them, but she'd damn well try her hardest.

Starting with Sam, she thought, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Anything else?" he asked her, lifting up the edge of his worn gray t-shirt to wipe off the sweat from his forehead, flashing a perfect set of abs and distracting her completely for a brief second.

"Pretty girl?" he teased and she stuck her tongue at him playfully.

"Shut up, sir. You did that on purpose," she accused and he shrugged, his smile deceivingly innocent.

"Maybe. So… anything else?" he asked again and she pointed to the final box marked BATHROOM.

"Just that one."

"Okay then. I'll take this and then go get us dinner. What do you feel like tonight?" he continued talking as he exited the room and his voice got quieter but she could still hear him well enough.

"Um… Thai maybe. Oh, sir… can you just check if my hairdryer is in that box. I can't remember packing it and I wanna take a bath while you're gone," she said nonchalantly and he hummed from the bathroom, his voice followed by the sound of duct tape ripping, and that sound followed by deafening silence.

"Mercedes?" he sounded shaky and out of breath. It made her heart race.

"Sir?"

"Um… there's a thermometer with a baby on it. And the baby is waving at me. Why is the baby waving at me?" he asked and she giggled, getting up and walking towards the room he was in, leaning against the door frame.

"Because it's working. And it's not a thermometer," she explained and he looked up at her.

"What is it?" he asked and she laughed softly.

"A pregnancy test," she answered casually and he gasped, clutching the white stick in a death grip, almost breaking it in half.

"So… the baby waving…" he stuttered and she walked to him, taking his other hand and placing it on her stomach gently.

"Is right in here, sir."

"I… I'm gonna be a dad?" he whispered, and she nodded at him, looking up and feeling her heart swell at the sight of his eyes misting over.

"You're gonna be a daddy, sir," she laughed through her own tears and he finally came to because he threw the test on the floor and scooped her up, laughing and spinning her around, babbling thank you's and I love you's and cooing at the baby in between.

His girl made his life even more amazing than it already was and he honestly thought nothing could get better.

Until a few months later, when he took his baby girl in his arms for the first time.

Blaine and Kurt Hummel Anderson

"Blaine, Blaine can you look this way?"

"Over here Dom Anderson!"

"Just a few questions please!"

"Blaine you look stunning tonight!"

"Is that Kurt's design?"

"Where is Isaac tonight, Blaine?"

And that was the question that ultimately stopped Blaine in his strut down the red carpet while countless reporters screamed at his face. That one, softly spoken question about one of the two of his favorite people in the world.

He turned towards a small looking girl, glasses askew on her button nose, a hand me down recorder in her hand and an equally old camera hanging from her neck. She was clearly new to all the fuss and she was almost eaten alive by the journalist sharks swarming around her, sniffing for blood, but he decided straight away that he liked her. He liked how she asked about something that mattered to him and sounded genuine when doing it, something he cared about, rather than boring mundane crap everyone else wanted to know just to sell rags.

He flashed a smile at her and turned to his bodyguard for the night and pointed to the girl.

"Fetch her. She can live report from the inside with me," Blaine said and the huge guy next to him nodded, curling his finger at the girl in a come here motion and the guy that manned the flashy golden rope let her through after double checking it was okay.

She came towards him skittishly, obviously confused at what the hell was happening against the backdrop of raging photographers and reporters who glared at her with jealousy and hatred.

"Dom Anderson, sir… I… um… hi… I didn't mean to cause trouble…I-" she started and he chuckled at the poor soul.

"It's Blaine. And you didn't cause trouble. I just thought you might get better pictures and information if you were inside the actual show." He quirked an eyebrow at her and she bugged her eyes, hand flying to her neck as if to reassure herself that her camera was still there.

"What? Really? You can do that? But I don't have a pass to get in… I didn't think… I'm only starting out and…" she blushed and he settled her nerves with a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"Okay… breathe. First thing's first. What's your name?"

"Oh… I'm sorry… such a clutz…I'm Taylor, sir." She shook his hand and he smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Taylor. Now. You said you've only just started your… blog? Magazine?" he asked and she nodded.

"Blog, sir. I'm not associated with anyone right now, just an independent thing. I kind of want to make it more than just a gossip site. There's already quite a lot of those," she said shyly.

"I got that when you asked about Isaac instead of the usual twenty questions that are always hurled at me. That's why I called you in. And please drop the "sir". Just call me Blaine," he said as they neared the entrance to the Red Label's fashion show venue.

"Oh, um… okay… but… the pass…" she reminded him again and he laughed.

"Sweetie, we're going into the venue my mother owns to attend a fashion show my sub designed. I think I should be enough of a pass for you." He winked and the smartly dressed security guy at the door just casually waved them in.

They stepped inside a brightly lit room, already filled to the brim with everyone who was someone in the fashion world. The world that Kurt took by storm the moment he decided it was what he wanted to do with his life.

It was a quiet evening that it happened, that Kurt had shown his latest work to Dana and she gave him the choice. She could either help him create his own empire or he could be an autonomous designer under Red.

She had wanted to leave her label to someone after she retired and she would be happiest if she could leave it to him. But she didn't want to put that kind of pressure on him just because they were family. There were no expectation or obligations. If he wanted to fly solo she would accept it and help him as much as she could.

Kurt took a few days to think about it, but the longer he thought, the less he could understand his initial confusion.

He'd admired Dana for ages, long before he had met Blaine, and since then the desire and want to work with her and learn from her and be inspired by her had only grown. So he accepted to be a part of Red and thus, Kurt For Red, sub-company was made. His own designs, free reign, under a label that made him fall in love with the job in the first place.

He started with singular pieces at first; shirts, dresses, jackets, all cutting edge and unique. All so much like Kurt that Blaine had a hard time imagining someone else wearing his male designs. But apparently there were loads of men out there who were dying to look as much like his precious boy as they possibly could, so much so that his clothes flew off the shelves as soon as they hit them. The Dom was quite sure nobody was even close to looking like Kurt but well… he guessed they could at least try and hope. If it made them happy.

Months turned to years, Kurt finished college, singular pieces turned into full on collections and now here they were.

His first fashion show.

Blaine couldn't wait for it to start.

"Anyway. You can roam freely, do your thing. As you can see I have zero knowledge of how your process works," Blaine laughed to Taylor, who turned around on the spot taking everything in with wide eyes, but underneath the obvious awe he could see the gears in her head were turning as she planned everything she wanted to capture.

"I… I'd like to start off with interviewing you, if you don't mind actually," she said, gaining some of her surety back and he looked at her in surprise.

"But tonight is about Kurt, and fashion," he said and she smiled.

"Yes, but you're Kurt's Dom, you're just as successful and a huge part of his life. People want to know about you too so…" She shrugged off her conviction casually, but he could tell it was iron clad. She had a vision she was set on like any true artist and he could respect the hell out of that.

"Well if you say so. Let's do it," he acquiesced and she nodded gratefully, looking around to spy a quieter area.

In the end she led him to a table to the side on the catwalk where they would be able to get some peace and quiet from the madness that was directly backstage. Taylor placed her recorder on the table and took a couple of candid shots of him before she hit record, transforming into a professional right before Blaine's eyes.

He knew he picked her for a reason.

"Hi, Real News Bloggers. Taylor here and you are not going to believe who's sitting next to me. Say hi!" she instructed Blaine and he waved goofily like they could see him.

"Hi everyone! Blaine Anderson here," he said and she nodded happily.

"That's right guys. I am at the Red Venue attending Kurt Anderson Hummel's first solo fashion show and I've been given the amazing opportunity to sit and chat with his Dom. How lucky am I, right? Feel free to swoon," she said giving the recorder a moment of silence before she turned to Blaine.

"Before we start gushing about Kurt I thought we should talk about you, Blaine. We all know your first original album came out just last week. How did that come to be?" she asked and he almost backtracked. He didn't expect for her to shed light onto his own career tonight. Talking about him in relation to Kurt was one thing, but for all she knew, Kurt had nothing to do with his own creative process… which wasn't strictly true since Kurt was kind of his muse, but that was beside the point.

"Yes, how exciting is that, right? As for how it came to be I… well I've dabbled in music since, forever. And I always wanted to record my own stuff but somehow, it never felt like the right time. I was focusing on school, then getting the studio up and running, finding new potential stars and it just never came to it. Now that everything is falling into place, I felt like I could dedicate myself to it completely and that's what happened," he answered honestly, a soft smile coloring his face as he spoke.

"Well I've listened to it and in my humble opinion it's a masterpiece," Taylor complimented him.

Blaine laughed, fiddling with a stray curl that had fallen over his forehead. "A masterpiece? High praise indeed so thank you. I'm glad you like it. As bad as it is to say, the whole album is a little bit… okay, a lot of self-indulgence for me in musical form. I didn't expect people to connect with it as strongly as they did but I'm really touched that they have."

"Which leads me nicely into my next question. I couldn't help but notice the lyrical meaning of some of the songs. Like: The Lullaby? Written for someone special?" she asked teasingly and Blaine's eyes lit up.

"Absolutely. That song was written about a year ago. When we adopted our little boy."

"Tell us about it," she prompted, eyes eager.

"When Isaac came to live with us he was a little under a year old and he was so stressed out with everything that he went through he barely slept. So I sang to him every night. I used him as a test subject. Poor kid. He had to sit through some shitty music let me tell you. But the good part is that he reacts strongly to the ones he hates so those ones didn't make it on the album." he grinned with a roll of his eyes and they both laughed.

She loved how relaxed and casual he was. It would be the best post she had ever had.

"Well if he chose the songs that went on the album he's got amazing taste. Now… an interesting fact about that particular song is the backup singer. Care to explain?"

"My amazing sub is singing back up for that song. We just wanted it to be something from the both of us. And you've heard Kurt sing. He sounds like an angel. And since we both spent nights awake, singing him to sleep it just felt right," Blaine explained and Taylor just had to take a picture of the smile he had on his lips when he talked about his family. The love illustrated there was magnificent.

Getting back on track she cleared her throat. "Okay, how about some quick-fire questions?"

"I'll try my best to keep up if you don't laugh at the random answers that pour out of my mouth," Blaine joked.

She smiled back. "I'm sure we can manage that. So first one; what is your favorite song from the album?"

"We just talked about it," he said cheekily and she laughed.

"Favorite thing about Kurt."

"Oh come on. That's not fair!" he whined and she giggled.

"Times ticking," she prompted and he pouted.

"Everything."

"Mr Anderson," she scolded him, amused.

"It's an answer," he defended, the waved them on. "Next one."

"You're trapped on an island and only allowed three things. What are they?"

"Kurt, Isaac and a guitar," he replied succinctly.

"Meat or veggies?"

"I'm a carnivore at heart," he confessed.

"Favourite football team?"

"Please, eaaasy, shout out for the Westerville Hounds!" he cheered, making a war cry that had Taylor in fits.

"And to finish off, most listened to song right now on your playlist?"

Blaine's cheeks actually flushed at this and he ducked his head. "Well, I may have sneakily recorded Kurt and Issac signing Wheels on the Bus… and hypothetically, listen to it… at least once a day or more… pure conjecture though."

"Oh of course," she played along, secretly touched by this sweet man inside all that powerful Dom.

"Speaking of him, where is Isaac now?" she asked.

"Believe it or not, he's backstage with daddy. Has been all day. He has a crush on one of the models and he refused to stay at home today," Blaine revealed and Taylor almost choked with laughter.

"Oh my god… which one?" she inquired eagerly, forgetting for a second about the fact that she was recording at all.

"Paxton. I think it's the accent," Blaine said, describing the up and coming male model from Scandinavia who Kurt had chosen to be the face of his new line for men.

"Or it's the ginger curls," she giggled.

"Considering the amount of butterfly shaped hair clips Isaac uses on Paxton's hair whenever he can get away with it I'd say that's a fairly good possibility," Blaine grinned back at her, love shining out of his eyes.

"So is it too early to say Isaac might be taking after Kurt with his career choice?" she joked and Blaine laughed.

"Nah, unlike his daddy, he's just in it for the pretty boys."

"Let's talk about this collection of Kurt's for a moment. Have you seen it already?" she changed the subject smoothly.

"I've seen the initial sketches. And I've seen some pieces at the fittings. But I haven't seen the complete work yet. He wouldn't let me." He rolled his eyes with a fond smile.

"So you're just like the rest of us mortals then? Waiting in anticipation?"

"Haha, looks like it. You'd think I'd get privileges," he fake huffed.

"Well then, what did you think of the pieces you've seen?" she asked and he shrugged.

"To be honest I think everything he makes is amazing. He's so insanely talented. I've always thought that clothes were clothes and there was literally nothing new that could be done in that field. But then I saw his work and, how he comes up with the stuff he does, I'll never know. But I'm amazed every time," he said just as the lights dimmed and the soft music started playing indicating the beginning of the show.

People began rushing to take their seats and the flurry backstage only got worse.

"Ladies and gentleman if you'd please take your seats. The show is about to begin," an eerie voice sounded from the speakers and Taylor picked up the recorder.

"Well guys looks like we're out of time. I hope you liked this interview. Thank you Blaine for doing this for us," she signed off, holding the device towards him one last time.

"It was my pleasure," he said, no need to overdo it, and she switched the device off, following Blaine to the front row, right next to the edge of the catwalk. The stage was lit up softly, almost spooky in its silverish whiteness and Blaine knew it was exactly what Kurt had wanted. His new collection was an explosion of colors and patterns and he wanted the background for it to be as simple as it could get, while still being edgy.

He smiled at the genius that was his sub and wondered for the millionth time that day how he was coping.

He was downright frightening the last few days before the show. The only person that was completely unbothered by his snippy attitude was Isaac. The boy was way too much like his daddy it was a wonder he wasn't genetically Kurt's. He already had a patented bitch face at the tender age of two and he kept throwing Kurt these dirty, snarky looks any time he felt his daddy went a bit crazy. It never failed to make Kurt laugh and relax a bit.

Blaine figured that was a good thing since Isaac spent every waking hour with Kurt. His sub was thrilled that Isaac showed interest in what he was doing and Blaine literally had no heart to tell him that Isaac only did it because Paxton was a god of patience among sixteen year old models and he allowed the little Anderson Hummel menace to clip his curls into a mess of ginger and butterfly clips.

He was thoroughly knocked out of his musings completely when the show started properly and his mum stepped out onto the stage, wearing something designed by Kurt of course, to thank everyone for coming and then introducing Kurt as her protégée and the fresh, new face for fashion in completely his own right.

The show started to a thunderous round of applause, and out stepped the models to, what he surprised to find, were remixed, upbeat versions of his songs. He shook his head in wonder, an involuntary smile gliding its way onto his face. Of course they were his songs. Kurt was just that sort of person, always thinking of others even amongst all the crazy and he was filled with that liquid warmth.

The models came out one by one and Blaine was floored at the sight of what they were showcasing.

Everything was a mixture of vibrant color, sleek lines, elegant silhouettes and little flourishes that made every outfit undeniably Kurt's.

Blaine didn't think he'd ever been more proud, or more fucking emotional watching a god damned fashion show in his life.

Shit.

He discreetly wiped his eyes, knowing he was fooling none of the hundreds of camera's that were capturing everything; every second, from every conceivable angle. He was seized with the desire to run backstage right now and sweep Kurt into his arms and kiss the ever loving hell out of him. And the longer he watched, the more that desire built until he was ready to say to hell with it and drag Kurt into the nearest unoccupied space to have his way with him for being so god damned perfect. It was entirely his own fault after all. Blaine couldn't be blamed at all that his reaction to every achievement Kurt made had him rushing through a tangle of; love, proud, want, love, proud, want, want, want. Nope. Not at all.

And as he was about to rush off to do just that, his head a cloud of lust and love, he saw the only thing that could have paused him in his tracks.

The next person on the runway was Paxton in Kurt's centerpiece outfit of his collection, a formal suit few people would be able to pull off. Kurt could. And surprisingly so could Pax. He strutted his way down the runway, completely removed from the quiet, and serious but still a bit goofy sixteen year old boy. Up on stage he was a grown up, making Kurt's work look absolutely flawless.

Which is why the peel of laughter from the audience came as a shock to Blaine. Why were they laughing? Was there something wrong? He just didn't understand and the giggles were getting louder and shameless now. His hackles rose until the beam of light hit the stage just right and he barked out a laugh himself.

Because, strutting right behind Paxton, hand on his hip and his diapered little tuch wiggling left and right, was Isaac.

His big, blue eyes blinked at the flashes of cameras and the crowd lit up at the sight of his son, going crazy for it as Paxton realized what was going on, and walked back to the boy, scooping him up and continuing to walk down the runway with him in hand, lips stretched into an amused grin.

Blaine just about melted into the floor.

Paxton to his credit dealt with the fact that he had to strut down the runway with a two year old in his arms and look fashionable like a pro. He managed to somehow showcase both their outfits, hit all his stops and smolder down the camera lenses all while juggling Isaac's need to glom onto him and his hair, wave at every single person he spotted and blow kisses to swooning socialites.

They left the stage together, then the whole collection returned one last time for a final walk as people cheered and clapped their approval as the lights came up. The last one's out on the stage were Pax and Isaac but this time his little munchkin was toddling along at his own pace, one hand held in Pax's and the other held by none other than a flushed and beaming Kurt who looked ridiculously delectable in one of his own private designs.

His sub waved regally to the crowd as they made their way up to the top of the catwalk, thanking his models who clapped him too. Pax stepped away and left him with Isaac and a microphone and Blaine couldn't have held still for another moment.

"You're probably going to want to get this on camera because I think I'm going to embarrass the whole room," Blaine murmured to Taylor, not even glancing at her before he bolted off and down the catwalk.

Kurt, who was oblivious, held the mic to his mouth and began to than his guests. "…this all couldn't have been possible without the love and support of my family. Isaac, in fact is so supportive he decided to crash the show." The crowd laughed. "They inspire me in so many different ways and every piece of clothing I make has a little bit of them in them-"

"Daddy!" Isaac crowed and Kurt cut off his speech and looked down at his son, who was looking behind them. He glanced over his shoulder and was swept up in familiar arms, his gasp of surprise eaten up by Blaine's mouth and the roar of the crowd.

He should have been angry at Blaine for jumping on the moment, but instead, he could only feel elation and bliss as he slipped his free arm around Blaine's neck, microphone still held loosely in his hand. He could feel the pride and love pouring off his Dom and it made him go weak in the knees and lightheaded, his only stabling factor being the tiny hand still clasped in his.

Kurt could have been happier in that moment, successful clothing line or not. What he was holding onto right now was all he'd ever wanted, dreamed of, what he needed. And he was never letting go now that Blaine had captured him, his heart wholly in his keeping, and he had never felt freer.

Nick and Jeffrey Sterling Duval

"Mr Nick?" a strawberry blonde little terror called Leo, who was no doubt every bit a strong Dominant in the making, spoke out of the excited chatter that had engulfed the room in the wake of Show and Tell day. It was Nick's favorite day of term by far no matter the chaos… actually, it was probably because of the chaos.

He'd only had this new class of bright six year olds for a few weeks now and he already loved all of them, especially all their crazy.

"That's not his name," the brunette who was also a Dom, Brook, sitting next to him on the share-time mat huffed in as close to exasperation as her miniature body would allow.

Leo scowled at her. "It is."

"Uh uh!" she refuted hotly, clutching her book closer to herself. Leo had a habit of stealing her things to tease her.

"Ya huh!" he argued right back and Nick just rolled his eyes at their routine squabbling.

Their arguing with each other was a classic case of Dominant posturing, fighting for a hierarchy within the classroom. They claimed to hate one another; 'She thinks she knows everything just 'cause she reads those dumb books but she doesn't!', 'He's stupid. A stupid, stupid boy', but yet, they invariably gravitated towards one another despite this, even if it was only to argue some more and butt heads.

"His name is Duval. My mummy told me so," Peyton leaned across to tell them, messy pigtails flopping into her face. She was a Dom too, but much mellower than Leo or Brook. In fact she reminded him of himself at that age, just happy to be around everyone and anyone.

Leo was totally a Blaine. Possessive over toys and occasionally the other submissives in the room, a clear, strong leader whose Dominant growing pains were hitting him hard early. Problems arose because Brook was equally as possessive, but Nick had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't because she was naturally inclined to it, rather, she was doing it just to spite Leo.

"My mummy said it was Sterling," a shy, sweet, submissive Jake mumbled from behind his teddy bear across the circle, little fingers playing with the bear's bowtie, his big, blue eyes blinking over the top between its ears. He was one of the subs Brook had adopted and Nick hated to play favorites, he loved all his kids equally, but Jake? He had a special soft spot for that adorable, tiny sub.

"His name is Nick! Why don't you guys never believe me?!" Leo almost shouted at the whole circle, green eyes burning with childish indignation at being told he was wrong by so many people, his cheeks flaring bright red.

The circle quieted after the outburst, most of them a little unsure of how to proceed in the face of fiercely confident Leo who was always the one to decide games or speak out in class. It was just another clear indicator that he was Dominant.

And to Nick and everyone else's utter shock, the person who actually spoke up next was Jake. "'Cause… um… well, 'cause you said grass tasted like lettuce and it didn't, it's yucky. N' the other day you said that you knew Batman but my brother said that he's not real."

Leo blinked at Jake like he'd never seen him before, like this kid was certainly not the kid he had tricked into eating grass surely? The tips of Jake's ears started to turn pink from the intensity of those green eyes and he smooshed his face further into his bear for comfort.

Nick observed the two, an inkling of a feeling creeping up on him like he'd seen that kind of look before. A glance at Brook who was looking between her friend and arch nemesis told him that she had sensed something too. Biting back a smile he chose that moment to interrupt now that they seemed to have run out of steam.

"Leo," he said slowly and the little Dom finally broke eye contact with Jake and looked to the elder sheepishly. He knew that tone. "You tricked Jake into eating grass?"

Leo flushed at being caught out. And he may have been a handful but Leo wasn't a bad kid by any means, he didn't kick up a fuss or shoot evils Jake's way for 'telling tales'. He simply sighed and accepted that a reprimand or punishment was imminent.

"You know what you have to do," Nick continued, raising a brow and crossing his arms over his chest. "We're not having Show and Tell until you do it."

"Sorry, Jake," Leon mumbled, cheeks flushing again and Nick was sure it wasn't because he had been told off.

"S'okay," Jake accepted easily, if still mumbled and shy, because he was just that kind of kid.

"Right. I don't want to hear or catch anymore of this eating plant life okay? Your mums and dads are gonna start thinking I'm stealing all your lunches!" Nick exclaimed dramatically.

The class tittered in giggles, the atmosphere lightening up once more.

Jake raised his hand hesitantly and Nick nodded to him kindly. "Yes, Jake?"

He pointed to the chair next to his desk, still half hidden by his bear. "Who's that?"

Nick felt the ridiculous smile spread across his face but he could help himself. It was a natural response.

"This is my lovely sub, Jeff. He's my Show and Tell for today," he told the class and the blonde next to him blushed to his hairline and waved shyly at the class in the most endearing way that made Nick fall for him all over again and want to tackle him down to the floor to defy the laws of nature and make a baby with him right then and there simultaneously.

Okay, maybe working with kids all the time and seeing Kurt and Blaine with adorable little Isaac and Dave and Seb with baby Elijah had made him a little broody? He was totally managing it like a sane person.

"How can a person be Show and Tell, Mr Duval?" Peyton asked, chewing on the ends of her hair.

"We were supposed to bring in our favorite thing to show the class right?" They all nodded, enraptured by him and it reaffirmed his choice in career every time he saw their earnest little cherubic faces eating up his every word. It was so rewarding. "Well, Jeff is my favorite thing," he smiled at his sub and Jeff bit his lip over his own answering grin.

"Is it 'cause he's pretty?" Brook asked, always trying to analyze everything. She was intelligent beyond her years and he was expecting great things from her in the future.

"Your favorite thing don't got to be pretty," Leo told her with a roll of his eyes and Brook glared at him again. "My racecar aint pretty and it's still my favorite because it's cool."

"It's dumb and ugly," Brook sniped at him and Leo growled in his throat, hurt flashing briefly across his face.

"Brook, don't be mean," Nick told her off immediately. "Apologize."

She blushed beetroot, looking mortified to have been told off and muttered a hasty, "Sorry. I'm sorry, Mr Duval-Sterling."

"I think things would run smoother if you two were split up, hm?" he said to them. "You need to learn to get along though, I don't want to have to keep breaking up fights between you two. It's not fair on your friends is it?" he asked them pointedly and the two baby Doms glanced around the class who were looking at them with wide eyes.

"Leo, why don't you move next to Jake?" Nick said next, expecting the ripple in the water it would cause. It was necessary however, ignoring how his inner matchmaker was clapping its hands in glee, Brook and Leo needed to learn that they couldn't keep going around laying claim to anything they wanted. It was better to start teaching them this now, instead of it causing larger problems later down the line.

Leo practically jumped out of his spot and raced over to Jake, sitting down closer to him than was strictly necessary, another telling sign that Leo had taken a sudden and intense interest in Jake.

"Hey, Jake. I like your bear," Leo told him, straightforward and honest, already putting in the groundwork for making Jake his friend.

Jake's fingers twitched over his toy before he pulled it from his face and offered it out, very hesitantly, to Leo who looked absolutely elated. He took it between careful hands and grinned down at it. "Cool."

Jake beamed at the praise of his favorite thing, lighting up in a way that Nick hadn't seen of him yet.

Leo reached into the pocket of his beige chino shorts and fished out a red, toy Formula 1 car and placed it in Jake's tiny palm. "I'm gonna race one of those one day."

Jake blinked down at it then up, eyes wide. "Really?"

Leo nodded. "Promise. Not lying this time."

Jake smiled, rolling the wheels along his hand a little. "Cool."

And this time Leo was the one that was smiling like the cat that got the cream. He didn't even notice that Brook was death glaring him to hell across from them.

Nick shared a look with Jeff who had been regarding the pair with his head slightly tilted.

"You think?" Jeff mouthed and Nick nodded, hand over his mouth to keep from laughing like a maniac. Seemed like he had his first ever childhood sweethearts on his hands and he was freaking out in the best possible way, already planning out their wedding in his head.

Geez. Act professional, Nick.

"So!" Nick said, gaining the attention of his class again. "Show and Tell. Mine is Jeff like I told you, say hello to the class, angel."

"Hello to the class," Jeff parroted and there was a ripple of laughter amongst the children that made him grin joyfully.

God, it was hard to remember some days that Jeff had ever been so unhappy and broken once upon a time. They had come so far, never forgetting that place they had come from because it built them into them, but it truly felt like a lifetime ago. They were both different people now. They'd grown into themselves and their bond in the past seven years, they'd grown into their life together.

Jeff, confident in his abilities and talent now, if still painfully modest, had his artwork displayed in a few choice galleries, and commissions overflowing what his studio could handle. But Jeff didn't want to move to a bigger space, he was utterly in love with the Gift Nick had gotten him and never wanted to move despite Nick's offers.

And Jeff was not only more confident in his abilities, he was also more confident in himself. In the way he interacted with friends and family, but especially with how he interacted with him. Long gone were the days where he cowered away from a caress, or shock from fear at the thought of anything intimate. Jeff would always need a gentle, soft touch instead of forceful passion, but that suited Nick just perfectly because he only wanted to shower his boy in love anyway. His over-exuberance and indulgence could finally find a place to flow into that was welcoming and warmed by it.

"Mr Nick?" Leo chirped, hand in the air, knocking him from his thoughts.

"Yes, Leo."

"How d'you make someone your sub like you did with Mr Jeff?"

Nick's brows rose a little, but he answered as best he could for six year old minds. "There's a few different ways you can do it. You can ask them, or your parents can arrange it with their parents. Or you can claim them and see how things go. You'll learn about it when you get older, you don't have to worry about that sort of thing for a good long while yet though."

Leo just twisted his mouth up, then turned to Jeff. "Mr Jeff, did you like being claimed by Mr Nick?"

Jeff smiled softly, warm brown eyes resting on his Dom for a moment before he turned back to the inquisitive Leo. "Very much so. I wouldn't have wanted anybody else."

"That's 'cause you love each other," Jake told them, looking for confirmation.

"Yes we do," Nick crowed, all puffed up because he was ridiculous. "And that's the best reason to claim someone. Any other questions?"

"How comes you called him angel that time?" Tina, a cute little blonde asked and Nick smiled at her.

"Well… angels are good and they protect people and take care of people. Right?" he said and all the tiny heads bobbed in agreement.

"Well Jeff does all that for me. So that's why I call him that," he said.

Another hand shot up in the air.

"Yes, Mike." He pointed to a boy sitting close to Brook.

"Did you start loving him a lot of years ago?"

"I don't know. Do you think seven is a lot of years?" Nick asked playfully and Mike's eyes widened.

"I only have five," he said and Nick laughed.

"Well then I guess I did start loving him a lot of years ago. Does anyone want to as Jeff something?"

"Do you love Mr. D too?" Jake asked and Jeff smiled at him, the small boy was so damn cute.

"With all my heart," he answered, leaning into Nick and feeling his strength creep into him like always.

"Yay!" Nick cheered and the class laughed at their teacher's antics.

Jeff rolled his eyes at him playfully. "I've brought in a Show and Tell for everyone to see if that's okay, sir?"

Nick beamed at him, more than a little curious. He hadn't spotted anything on Jeff when he slipped into the class at the start of the class, but then, he only ever had eyes for Jeff so he could have been dragging a body behind him for all he cared.

"Of course, why don't you show everyone and then we can go around the circle starting with Peyton," Nick decided and watched as twenty little butts started squirming around in excitement.

Jeff bent down and reached for something pressed up against the side of Nick's desk, just out of his line of sight. When he straightened up however and saw what Jeff had brought in his laughed out loud.

This was going to be something.

Jeff shared a mischievous smile with him under his fringe and smoothed his hands over the top of large carrier he held before placing it over a few papers on the desk so he could open the front.

"Right, well, I've brought some very special friends with me today," he announced to the class reaching his hands in. "And I need you all to be on your very best behavior to meet them, okay?"

There were a few hasty assents set in wide eyed faces and next thing Nick knew the class had exploded in wondrous gasps as Jeff pulled out first 'Cho, who'd finally grown into his ears but was still a tiny thing despite being seven and then Cupid, who was a mass of pure white fur with shorter ears than 'Cho but a bigger body.

After the boys had bonded Jeff and Kurt hadn't wanted to split them up, rabbits were happier in pairs anyway, so they'd time shared the pair over the years. Passing their cage back and forth between them and generally spoiling them rotten.

Because they were both dwarf bunnies they easily fit together on Jeff's lap and he stroked them a few times to settle them before glancing up at the slowly shuffling forwards children on the mat.

"Class, meet my very good friends, 'Cho and Cupid," he announced and the silence broke in a bunch of crazy questions, most frequently, if they could hold one.

"Guys, settle down," Nick ordered them and the slumped in their spots with pouts which he chuckled at. "If you make too much noise you'll scare them."

Cupid rested his head on top of 'Cho's lazily, his eyes half open in the beginnings of sleep which bellied that statement quite thoroughly. Jeff snorted a delighted laugh at his expense and Nick poked his tongue out at him.

"How about we finish Show and Tell and then we can take turns stroking the rabbits. Deal?" he asked the class and they all nodded eagerly. "Awesome! Peyton, go for it," he encouraged the blonde and she immediately held up her toy.

"This is Freckles. He's a… um… a hip- hip'potamus. He eats carrots 'cause I don't like them," Peyton told them happily, making Freckles do a little air dance that the other children laughed at. As she continued to dance her toy Nick leaned over to Jeff's ear and placed a small kiss behind it.

"You're amazing, angel," he whispered.

Jeff hummed and leaned into it happily. "Good practice for when we have one of our own right?"

Nick drew back a little startled and they locked eyes. "You… you want that?"

He hadn't wanted to pressure Jeff into anything and he'd never brought it up before himself so Nick assumed he wasn't immediately picturing kids in their future.

Jeff gifted him with a beatific smile, stroking his hand idly over furry ears. "You're hardly subtle, sir. I've been waiting for you to say something for a while now."

"You want to have kids with me?" Nick asked breathlessly.

"Of course I do you silly man!" Jeff laughed, eyes shining.

"If we weren't in a classroom I would kiss you so hard right now you have no idea," Nick almost growled and Jeff's smile turned impish.

"Who says that just because we can't have children the old fashioned way that we can't still enjoy the trying part?"

"Oh you are so mean," Nick groaned and Jeff laughed again. It was music to his ears.

Burt and Carole & Dana and Jared

The sun beating down on them felt like it was two feet away, the rays coating the resting bodies on the boat with a lazy film that had them all never wanting to move again. Bright blue water stretched out as far as the eye could see one way and brilliant white sand filled the cove they were moored at in the other.

Burt had to say… for his first time vacationing abroad, this wasn't half shabby.

His time spent as Head was so hectic and satisfying, yet exhaustingly busy, that the idea of doing such a thing never occurred to him. Even after he'd passed over the reins to Miriam, and hell, what great things were going to come out of that firecracker, he still hadn't thought to indulge himself. He guessed he just was never going to be hardwired that way after so long of it not even being a conceivable option. But Jared and Dana had approached him and Carole about the idea of a family trip abroad on the Lady and Burt had jumped at the chance.

So here he was. Sipping ice cold beers with Jared, Carole peacefully snoozing on the lounger next to him, his trucker hat still very much in place to shield his eyes from the sun and Dana across from him laughing and swapping stories about both their experiences with being Head.

"I don't know how you coped with having all of them on your committee for so many years. There was an actual fire incident that I am still sure those Harwood ladies set on purpose," Burt told her honestly.

He had come to think of the Montgomery's, the Thompson's, the Harwood's… just all of them as a weird sort of extended family over their time together. Making changes like the ones they did and the struggle they went through to get there, well, it bonded them in a way. But he was still aware that they were crazy as a bag of cats! Especially if you locked them together in a room for hours on end discussing legislations.

Dana snorted a laugh. "You think fire is bad? Try them livening up a fundraiser with actual tigers on leashes. I'm not joking. I had to do so much groveling my knees are still sore now. And just think, I didn't even have my handsome sub to keep the peace for me."

Burt was sure Jared was rolling his eyes from behind his book.

"Yeah I did wonder 'bout that. I checked, and there aint no law that says you can't have a bonded partner as part of your council," Burt said.

Dana hummed in assent. "Jared told me it was unethical. That he'd be biased to any decision I made good or bad. I told him that that was the whole point," she grinned at the end.

Burt chuckled. "He's not a pushover, he would have told you to shove your proposal if he had to."

"But it would have made life in the bedroom very difficult afterwards," Jared commented casually and Dana choked on her own beer.

"I knew it you naughty thing!" she declared.

"You knew nothing of the sort, my lady," Jared all but simpered at her and Burt was doubled over in laughter at this point.

"I'm starting to think that our boys get this bickering thing from you two," he pointed out and Jared and Dana gave him a blank look.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dana sniffed.

Jared nodded. "We are the picture of perfection."

"That fight like cats in heat," Burt tacked on for them.

They were interrupted by a sudden screech, the sound like an angry cat and turned their collective heads to spot Blaine lifting Kurt out of the water where he had obviously thrown him in. The sub stood there stiffly in the waist deep shallows once he was back on his feet; water running over every inch of him, hair flattened and no doubt murder in his eyes. And Blaine seemed to have sensed his error, his severe lapse in judgment, and was attempting to cajole him, placating hands out and dimpled smile giving its full effect.

"Okay. You may have a slight point," Dana conceded, ever graceful.

"I think we better set up a bed on the sun loungers tonight, my lady," Jared smirked and Dana rolled her eyes behind her Gucci's.

"Kid should know better by now," Burt grunted around the lip of his bottle, completely amused as he watched his son rail at his Dom; flinging his arms around and splashing water over the both of them.

Ever since their Presenting, Burt had never not had a smile on his face when he looked at the pair of them. Even through their worst fights, that one time where Kurt had stormed out of the house and attempted to spend the night at his only to break down crying and call Blaine, who had incidentally been parked outside the whole time, to come get him.

Burt had rolled his eyes that night to hide his secret smile. Kind of exactly what he was doing right now.

"Why are daddy and papa fighting?" a little voice stole their attention, asking around a yawn as he stepped out of the living area onto the deck rubbing at his eyes cutely.

"Daddy thought it was a funny idea to get papa's hair wet," Jared told his grandson, beckoning him over with a hand and Isaac made a little shocked sound like even he knew that was a huge no-no.

"How'd you sleep, kiddo?" Burt asked him, noticing Dana hunting around for the blue life vest they'd taken off the boy when he went down for his nap. Isaac could swim like a fish but all the grandparents and Kurt and Blaine especially wanted to be safer rather than sorry.

Isaac just shrugged, he hated napping and he wasn't above voicing his opinions on the matter so they all knew already. His attention and eyes were fixed out on his parents still instead and he walked towards the railing to get a better look. Grandfather scooped him up as he passed him and settled him on his lap instead and Isaac gave a put upon sigh as the foam vest went around him next.

"Maybe we should top up his sunscreen?" Dana hummed to herself and Isaac made a face.

"But you guys already did it twice today!" he exclaimed.

"It's not that bad, kid," Burt laughed.

"It is. It's slimy and I hate it," Isaac sniffed back, so much like Kurt that they all had to laugh at the adorable little handful.

"You're just like your papa, you know that?"

Isaac grinned, big and bright. "Uh huh. I like papa… and daddy too, I got's curls like him."

"Yes you do," Dana laughed.

"Is it strange that I still double take that our boys have this little one now?" Jared asked them out of the blue.

Both Burt and Dana looked over at him questioningly.

"I mean… wasn't it just yesterday that Blaine was horribly embarrassing both himself and us by claiming Kurt in the middle of the Showing?" Jared asked them seriously.

"If you mean yesterday like, seven years ago, darling, then yes," Dana teased. "Don't lose your mind just yet, hm? I still have loads more I want to do with you."

Jared shook his head in exasperation at his Dom, a small smile ticking up the left side of his mouth.

"No, I get what he's sayin. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Kurt aint my little boy running around in heels three sizes too big for him anymore," Burt admitted, scratching at the back of his neck which was getting a little sore. "They've come a long way… hell, we all have."

"We have," Dana agreed, then in a spur of the moment gesture lifted her beer. "To coming a long way, and actually enjoying the crazy ride," she toasted and Burt lifted his bottle up too. Jared rummaged in the cooler and grabbed one for himself and popped the cap before clinking his to theirs. They all sipped and then settled back into their seats, lost in thoughts of years past; good memories and bad, triumphs and failures.

"They're not doing it right," Isaac said suddenly, breaking the companionable silence and they all looked at him with varying degrees of inquisitiveness and confusion.

"Who's not doing what right, bud?" Burt asked.

"Papa and daddy," Isaac told him in a 'duh' tone, his chubby little finger pointing out at where Blaine was trying to hug Kurt and he was slapping at Blaine's chest to keep him at bay.

"They're just playing, baby," Dana reassured him, leaning forwards and passing her hand over his curls.

"But they're doing it wrong," Isaac insisted, pouting now.

"Doing what wrong?" she frowned, trying to understand.

"Princes are s'posed to kiss each other, not that!" He gestured to them, completely offended and put out by their display in a way only a child could be.

Dana smothered her chuckle in the face of the very serious little boy in front of her as realization dawned.

"Oh are they?"

"Grandma. Ev'yone knows that," Isaac huffed at her. "When you're in love you have to kiss each other, not hit each other! It's the rules."

"Oh yes, how silly of me. Those rules. Quite right. Make sure to tell them off when they get back then," she urged him, desperately trying to keep her cool.

Jared snickered at her from over Isaac's blonde head.

"How about we get your mind off it, kiddo? How about a popsicle?" Burt asked him and Isaac lit up. He and Carole had made Popsicle's out of fruits yesterday and he had loads left to try.

Burt smiled and got up to do just that and Dana seized the opportunity to lather more sunscreen onto her grandson. His fair complexion was not built for sunny climates.

Isaac suffered through it with a few grumbles and squirms until Burt came back with the treat for him, which he accepted with a huge smile that melted all their hearts. He licked at it enthusiastically, not caring about the sunscreen now as he kicked his heels happily against the sun lounger, leaning back against grandfather's chest.

"When me and Pax get bonded, I'm gonna kiss him all the time 'cause we're Princes too," he told them around raspberry red licks.

"Are you now?" Burt asked amusedly, retaking his seat with a sigh of content.

"Uh huh. And we're gonna live with daddy and papa in their house like they did with you, grandfather," he told Jared, arching his neck around and up to make sure he was paying the proper amount of attention to him.

Jared smiled down at him. "That sounds very nice. I'm sure Paxton would love it, you'd be a very good person to be bonded too."

"I'm gonna take care of him like Daddy does for papa and Uncle Nick does for Uncle Jeff and Uncle Ryan does for Uncle Thad and Un-"

"We get it," Dana interrupted him with a laugh.

Isaac nodded in happiness, then declared, "I like our family."

All three adults beamed at him, choked up a little. "Yeah, it's a good one. Guess we got lucky, huh?" Burt asked.

Isaac shook his head. "Daddy says it was fate. He was s'pposed to be with papa, that's why he knew after seeing papa only once," he giggled. "And they were s'pposed to have me," he tacked on, the fact very important.

"Smart little thing aren't you?" Burt grinned down at him.

Isaac nodded once more and continued to lick his popsicle with relish, content in the knowledge that everyone knew his parents were like those people in the fairy tales. Only real. And better.

Even though the story is over there will still be bits and pieces, one shots and our headcanons, polls and games on our tumblr so if you haven't already, go check it out. And you can always talk to us on their. We love to hear from you.

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Love
A&M