Kurt clenched his stomach, trying to make the butterflies keep still for a second as he answered the door. He made sure he had the baby with him when the bell rang, to provide a distraction and prevent any awkwardness. He’d been re-reading Blaine’s reference from his brother all morning to reassure himself that he’d made the right decision. He tried to shut up the voice in his head saying ‘you just met this guy yesterday, and now he’s coming to live here and look after your baby’ and drown it out by mumbling to himself ‘reliable, loving but firm, the kids’ favourite uncle…’ along with other quotes from Cooper. The more he read, the more certain he was that Blaine was too good to be true. Apparently he’d taught both kids to swim, planned their birthday parties, and made sure they crossed the street safely, but one part stuck out for Kurt. One paragraph let him know Blaine was the person he wanted.

‘Blaine has a kind of intuition when it comes to children. He was the only one who realised Henry was struggling at school and thought he could be dyslexic. He spoke to his teachers and if it hadn’t been for his help then I can’t imagine how miserable my son could have been.

‘No matter what my wife and I said, Henry was convinced he was stupid, but Blaine sat with him every night to help with his reading and encouraged him to do more practical activities, and now he’s doing a lot better. He loves reading and is happy to ask for help when he needs it instead of keeping quiet, and he plays soccer with his friends after school, but if Blaine hadn’t been there he could still be suffering in silence.

‘Blaine may not have a certificate to prove that he’s qualified to look after a child, but I have two happy, well-adjusted kids who adore him and they’re all the proof you could need that he is more than capable. He knew something was wrong when nobody else had a clue, including myself, and thanks to him Henry knows that there’s nothing wrong with him. We basically owe him our son’s happiness, and he’d go the extra mile for any child in his care. He doesn’t need to do any kind of training to know how to raise a kid; he’s already raised two.’

Kurt tried to tell himself that anyone could write that, just make it all up to get their brother a job, that he needed to be cautious for Eliza’s sake, but he couldn’t bring himself to be too suspicious of Blaine. He couldn’t fake how good he was with the baby or how his face lit up when he held her or how awkward, almost upset he’d looked when he had to give her back. And Dad liked him. Dad’s good at this. I’m right. It’s okay. He’s okay.

He pulled the door open to reveal Blaine, one bag over his shoulder and another in his hand, smiling as earnestly and nervously as Kurt. He caught Kurt’s eye for a second and they held each other’s gaze in silence before he flicked straight over to Eliza. Apparently talking was a lot easier when they weren’t making eye contact.

That’s fine. She’s the one he’s looking after, not me.

Kurt wasn’t even convincing himself.

It didn’t take them long to get back to where they left off yesterday. Kurt asked after Stacey, Blaine said she was feeling better when he left last night, Kurt said he’d been reading Cooper’s letter, Blaine blushed, and they sat down for a quick cup of coffee before Kurt had to leave. Blaine fed Eliza while Kurt organized the sketches scattered on the table.

“So everything’s pretty easy to find; formula’s in there, bottles and everything in that cabinet, obviously you can help yourself to any food you want, and there are phone numbers on the fridge… Anything I’m forgetting?”

Blaine looked around the kitchen as if he was looking for prompts on the walls.

“I can’t think of anything… oh, I guess I should probably have a key…”

“Right, of course,” he jumped up to get the spare set from the bowl by the door, “this one’s for the front door, and this is the back. Oh, and there’s money in that jar if you need it for anything, food or whatever.”
Blaine was distracted by the baby, rocking her slightly as she clung to the bottle he was holding to her mouth. He took a deep breath as she relaxed in his arms and Kurt almost melted looking at them both – the way Blaine was gazing down at her, a tiny creature nestled in the crook of his elbow. As if leaving wasn’t already hard enough. Blaine looked over to Kurt and snapped back into concentration.

“Right, great, thanks. I won’t, though. I mean, I have money; I don’t want to take anything from you on my first day except the baby. You know, to look after her… I’m not gonna eat her or anything.”

Kurt snorted. Was he always this awkward when he spoke to adults?

“Good. Well, I guess I should get going,” he wasn’t used to leaving on time, pausing with his satchel over his shoulder and his keys in his hand, sure that he’d forgotten something. “Umm… anything else you want to know?”

Blaine finally felt settled enough, now that he was holding Eliza, to look him calmly in the eyes. He felt much more at home dealing with a parent who didn’t want to leave their baby.

“Just one thing. When do you get back?”

*

Kurt bounded up the steps at six on the dot. The whole day had been strange. Of course he’d still checked the clock every other minute to see if it was any closer to home time, but he wasn’t anxious or dreading what he might find when he got home. He always suspected Maria would ignore Eliza in favour of the other kids she took care of during the day - always the concern with child minders. With Hiram and Leroy he’d be afraid they would have whisked her away without telling him. Even when Burt and Carole looked after her, he’d been worried about them inviting everyone they knew over to prod at their perfect granddaughter. None of it ever happened, but he was still a relatively new parent and he couldn’t help getting nervous.

Today was different. There was someone in the house whose priority was Eliza, someone who wasn’t supposed to be anywhere else, somebody who seemed to want nothing more than to hold her all day. He was still apprehensive about later on – Blaine sleeping in Rachel’s room – but he managed not to dwell on it. He hadn’t made a single mistake at work. He called back at lunchtime to make sure everything was alright, but he hadn’t been itching to check up on them all morning like he usually was.

The key slid into the lock a little more easily than usual. A huge grin was plastered over his face as he remembered that no matter how weird tonight could be, he wasn’t going to be alone in the house.

He heard voices as soon as he got inside. He frowned for a second, then remembered how much Blaine seemed to like talking to the baby and relaxed until he could have sworn he heard her talking back.

“But why isn’t he at school?”

Wow. He knew Blaine was good, but apparently he was some kind of wizard. He took another step inside and noticed that everything was spotless. He’d managed to make it look vaguely presentable before he left, but the floor was practically glistening. He kept trying to figure out what was going on, when he heard the voices coming from upstairs.

“Right, like how you’ve been at school all day?”

“That’s different; I’m sick.”

“Not too sick for a story.”

“No, that’s just because the story makes me feel better. I go to school the rest of the time; why doesn’t Artemis have to go?”

“Because he’s an evil genius. He doesn’t think he needs anyone to teach him anything, and he’s too busy trying to save his dad. He’d rather steal gold and be in charge of everybody else.”

“But nobody can do that all the time. He’s only twelve. Who looks after him?”

“Maybe he thinks he doesn’t need anyone.”

“But everybody needs someone.”

Okay. Either I’ve been at work for a few years or there’s another kid here, but the house is clean. I can’t hear Eliza, but she’s probably asleep. Or Blaine’s eaten her. Either way, at least she’s not crying.
Kurt almost hit himself. That was not an appropriate joke to make about his daughter. He crept slowly upstairs as the voices continued.

“Sometimes people need help and they don’t even know it. I guess somebody should just jump in there and take care of him without him asking.”

“How come he knows about the elves in the first place? How come he can speak Russian? Oh, and why hasn’t Mulch been in it yet? He’s my favourite.”

“Well, how come you’re asking all these questions instead of listening to the story?”

Kurt finally reached the door to Eliza’s room where the sound was coming from, but he was reluctant to open the door. He was enjoying story time, even though he had no idea who Blaine was reading to and he hadn’t heard any of the actual book. That didn’t matter; he knew a Colfer reference when he heard it. He pushed the door open to see Blaine on one chair, Eliza cradled in the crook of his elbow and Artemis Fowl spread on his lap. A girl was sitting in the other chair, knees pulled up to her chin and her blonde hair bursting out of two plaits. Her head was flopped against the back of the seat and she was grinning at Blaine mischievously, chewing on her lip. Blaine caught sight of him in the doorway mouthing ‘hi!’, hating to interrupt. He put the book on the floor.

“No, why are you stopping? We haven’t even finished the chapter!”

“Stacey, look behind you.”

The little girl turned around and blushed furiously when she saw Kurt. She gripped tighter onto her shins. Kurt smiled at her.

“Hi.”

“Stace, this is my…”

“Kurt. I’m Eliza’s dad. Nice to meet you.”

He held a hand out to her and she took it, narrowing her eyes slightly. He was talking to her like an intelligent human being. Usually it was only her uncle who did that.

“I’m Stacey. Blaine’s my uncle.”

“So I hear. He’s told me all about you and your brother. Guess what?”

She still looked suspicious.

“What?”

“Mulch is my favourite too.”

Her face lit up; obviously this man was trustworthy.

“Have you read this one? Does he come back?”

“I’m not telling you that; it’s cheating! I bet Blaine could read us some more if we asked him really nicely.”

Kurt squatted in front of Blaine, taking Eliza’s hand between his thumb and forefinger. He smiled down at her, eyes and mouth wide open, and leaned in to kiss her head. She smiled back at him dozily.

“I kept her awake so you could put her to bed; I wasn’t really sure about her routine, but I figured you’d want some time when you got home.”

Kurt just about managed to hold in the enormous grin he could feel bubbling up from his stomach. He coughed slightly before allowing himself a subtle, nonchalant smile.

Why are you trying to play it cool? Nothing’s. Going. To happen.

“Perfect,” he said to Blaine as he dropped his bag on the floor and scooped Eliza out of his arms, whispering “hey, baby girl, have you had a good day? Has Blaine been taking care of you? I missed you so much…” and kissing her head between sentences. “Was she OK? Were there any problems?” He ignored the goosebumps spreading along his arm where it had brushed against Blaine’s.

“No, no, she was great. It was this one I had trouble with,” he nodded at Stacey. She looked down at her knees ashamedly. “Sorry for bringing her here, but she still wasn’t feeling too great so I had to pick her up from school. Nobody else was free.”

Kurt bobbed down to catch Stacey’s eye, smiling warmly.

“Hey, I don’t mind. It’d probably be weird if I asked him to read it to me.”

“Stace, why don’t come sit with me so Kurt and Eliza can have that chair?”

She scrambled up in a flash and climbed onto Blaine’s lap. Kurt took her place, sitting cross-legged in the enormous squashy chair with Eliza curled up in his arms while Blaine kept reading to them. Stacey poked him whenever he did one of the voices wrong, and kept asking questions despite his refusal to answer them.

Kurt stroked the baby’s cheek with the back of his forefinger as she drifted off to sleep, comforted by his familiar scent and the feel of her father’s arms around her. He smiled at her, then at Blaine and Stacey. He knew now that he deserved that reference. She clearly adored her uncle, and she eventually fell asleep too, her head resting on his collar bone. He folded the corner of the page down, closed the book carefully and looked up at Kurt.

“Are we good?”

Kurt nodded.

“She’s out.”

Blaine carefully dropped the book on the carpet so it wouldn’t make any noise and somehow got to his feet, balancing Stacey on his hip. She automatically cuddled into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and making sleepy snuffling noises.

“Do you mind if I put her in my- Rach- in… bed? Just until Cooper comes to get her?”

Kurt paused. He knew someone would have to sleep in that room some time. It wasn’t as if Blaine was going to sleep on the floor. He wasn’t about to turn Rachel’s room into a shrine to her memory, but that didn’t stop it feeling weird. He must have tensed up, because Eliza started squirming in his arms and Blaine managed to free an arm to touch his shoulder gently. They both glanced at the baby, still bundled up in his arms, and Kurt took a deep breath and smiled.

“Hey, if you’re not comfortable-”

“No, Blaine, I’m being ridiculous, it’s fine. It’s your bed now.” He held Eliza closer for a second and kissed her forehead before putting her down in the crib. “Why don’t I get us something to eat while you put her down?”

Blaine didn’t know what to do. He knew if she didn’t sleep on a bed Stacey would be in a foul mood when Cooper came to pick her up, but he didn’t want to force Kurt to do anything he wasn’t ready for.

“No, I wanted to cook, to celebrate my first day and everything, and you’ve been at work-”

Kurt didn’t look up from the crib. He knew one sympathetic look from Blaine would reduce him to tears.

“So have you. It’s okay.” He turned and walked toward the stairs without a glance back at Blaine. He kept rambling about how fine it was as he ran to the kitchen. “I like cooking; it helps me relax at the end of the day, call it a housewarming…”

Blaine let him babble away as he heard pans clattering from downstairs. He instinctively put a hand over Stacey’s ear so she wouldn’t get woken up, even though he knew she wouldn’t stir if a stampede of dinosaurs ran through the house.

“Okay,” he muttered to himself, “let’s get you to bed.”
He lay her down without pulling the covers back and picked up the blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed, draping it over her.

“Night, sweetheart. Try not to puke in here.”

He was about to leave her and follow Kurt downstairs, but he stopped when he got to the door. He turned back to Stacey, who’d started snoring. Somehow with her mouth wide open and her hair in a giant tangle around her head, she still looked adorable. He sat next to her on the bed, ignoring her knees digging into his hip, and ran his fingers through his hair as he talked to her.

“What should I do, Stacey? He… he seems fine one second and then it’s like he’s trying not to cry.” He took her hand absent-mindedly. “I don’t know; I- I just wish I could help.” He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a light kiss to her knuckles. He took a deep breath and stood up. “Maybe I should go and talk to him, instead of the girl drooling on the pillow I have to sleep on.” He leaned over to kiss her on the temple and stroke her hair, making her nuzzle against the pillow and pull the blanket around herself. He couldn’t help grinning at her.

*

“Oh my God; I’m glad you didn’t let me cook. This is… how does a single working parent cook like this? It’s just, oh my God…”

Kurt laughed. It was light and delicate and soft, and it was the first time Blaine had looked up from his plate for a long time. He stopped chewing for a second and looked up at him. Kurt had finished ten minutes ago, and was leaning back in his chair and sipping his coffee and watching Blaine eat. Blaine had finished fifteen minutes ago, but he’d sheepishly asked for seconds.

“I think you already said that. Never become a food critic.”

Blaine was captivated by his smile for a minute. There wasn’t much that would have distracted him from his food, but there was something about Kurt right now… Blaine had only really seen him smile, properly and without reserve, when he was looking at Eliza. It was that warm, fatherly smile. A smile that said he was head over heels in love with this tiny creature, that he’d do anything to keep her safe, but this smile was different.

He wasn’t a father, a busy costume designer, or a man mourning the loss of his best friend. He was just a man. There was a sparkle in his eye that hadn’t been there before. He was more relaxed, more grown up, not thinking about what he’d lost or the responsibilities he had, but just enjoying himself. He noticed Blaine staring at him.

“What? Is there something on my face?”

Blaine flinched, blushed and pushed the food around his plate with his fork.

“No, no, I just, I, uh, I haven’t heard you laugh like that before.”

Now it was Kurt’s turn to blush.

“Well, to be fair, you’ve only known me a day.” They smiled at each other, both thinking it felt like longer but both too nervous to say it. “I promise I’m actually pretty fun.”

“I believe you.”

They both fell silent.

Their eyes locked for just a second before the doorbell rang. They both jumped up to answer it and paused facing each other from opposite sides of the table.

“Oh, right, that must be-”

“Coop, yeah, I’ll-”

“Sure, I’ll just clear-”

“No, let me-”

“Blaine, really, I don’t mind. Just let him in.”

“Okay, sure, I’ll just-”

Blaine didn’t know how that sentence was supposed to end, so he just stopped talking and ran to the door.

“Hey, Blaine; I’m so sorry you had to get her, is she alright?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s fine; she’s asleep upstairs.”

“Are you alright? You look a little flushed.”

“What? No, I mean, yeah, I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

Cooper raised an eyebrow at him for a second before shrugging and wandering through to the living room. He spotted Kurt clearing the table and walked over, sticking a hand out.

“You must be Kurt. Cooper Anderson, I’m Blaine’s brother.”

Kurt spun around to face him. Cooper couldn’t help noticing he seemed distracted, but again he shrugged it off.

“Of course, great to meet you. Your letter was lovely.”

Blaine grinned at Cooper as if to say ‘Ha, you love me, you’re so busted!’ Cooper cleared his throat and smoothed his coat down, embarrassed.

“Oh, that, yeah… well, I had to trick somebody into hiring him.”

For a second Kurt’s eyes widened, but then he recognised the reluctant display of affection between them and knew he was kidding. It was like being back in Lima with Finn, except now he was in his father’s place, laughing at them. He gave a long, exaggerated sigh.

“I should have known it was too nice to be legit. Never mind, you’re here now. I’m not doing the whole interview thing again.”

He caught Blaine’s eye again for a second. They both laughed nervously. Cooper looked at them both and smirked.

“Hey, Blaine, could you go and get Stacey for me? I just want to tell Kurt what he’s let himself in for and talk him out of letting you stay. He seems like a good guy; he doesn’t deserve this.”

“Very funny. Just a second.”

Blaine disappeared upstairs, leaving Kurt and Cooper in the kitchen.

“So, how’s he doing? Are you two getting on okay?”

Kurt narrowed his eyes slightly. He was confused by the way Cooper was looking at him. He was being almost too polite.

“Well, nothing’s gone wrong yet, I guess. Stacey’s adorable, by the way.”

Cooper grinned.

“I know. It’s all her mother. Sometimes I wish she liked me as much as she does her Uncle Blaine, but he has a way of charming everyone, doesn’t he?”

Kurt tried to figure out if that was a smirk or just a smile flickering over Cooper’s lips. He was about to ask if something was wrong, but Blaine came back in with a sleepy girl’s legs wrapped around his waist and her head resting against his shoulder. She was blinking, awake but not entirely conscious.

“Hey, Coop, I think this belongs to you.”

Cooper flicked his head around and smiled when he saw his daughter. Kurt ignored the weirdness as soon as he saw his face light up at the sight of her. Blaine passed her over, careful not to wake her, and Cooper closed his eyes to kiss her hair as she draped herself over him. She whispered a sleepy ‘hi, daddy’ and he whispered back, ‘what do you say to Blaine and Kurt?’

“Thank you for having me, Blaine and Kurt. I’m going to bed now.”

Cooper nodded.

“Looks like I’m leaving. It was great to meet you, Kurt.”

“You too. Bye, Stacey.”

She didn’t reply; she just nuzzled into Cooper’s neck as he carried her to the door. Blaine walked with him, while Kurt got back to the dishes.

“Thanks again for getting her, B.”

“Hey, no problem. Kurt didn’t seem to mind, and she loved him.”

“What’s not to love, right? He’s great.”

Blaine glanced back to the kitchen to make sure Kurt couldn’t hear him; he wasn’t entirely sure why. He turned back to Cooper and sighed before he could stop himself.

“Yeah,” he breathed lightly, “he’s awesome. And Eliza’s gorgeous; I’m sure you’ll meet her at some point, but yeah, Kurt’s really cool. He’s just funny, and smart, and you should have tasted dinner – and I saw a couple of his drawings, he-”

“Mmm.”

Blaine frowned. He’d heard that ‘mmm’ before.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Coop, what are you-”

“Nothing, look I better get this one home-”

“Cooper-”

“I’m glad you like the new job, B, I’ll call you, okay, bye!”

Blaine wasn’t sure how Cooper managed to get away so fast with a floppy five-year-old clinging to him, but he was in the car in seconds. The frown stuck on his face as he watched him drive away, but as soon as he was back in the kitchen it was replaced by the same curious smile as before. He heard Kurt humming to himself as he washed up, and slipped in next to him to start drying. Kurt argued but Blaine insisted on helping. They thought about watching a film, but they spent so long discussing their favourites and their least favourites and then their favourite books, bands, songs and even colours that by the time they remembered to put a DVD in it was almost midnight.

Blaine tried to insist that he didn’t mind sleeping on the sofa, but Kurt wouldn’t hear of it. Whether they liked it or not, Blaine lived there now.

Fortunately, they both liked it very much.