Blaine waited by the door for his brother, who was stuffing a few more things into his sleeping bag, and he looked up when he stomped into the hallway. His brother had always been big for his age, while Blaine was small, so he had a long way to lift his head before he found his face. Reaching for his bag, he frowned when Cooper pulled it away and grabbed an extra coat and a hat from the coat rack. "Its getting kind of chilly out, little buddy. Ive got to dress you in layers so your fingers dont fall off."

Glancing at his hands and wondering if his brother was joking around with him, Blaine let his brother wrap him in piles of fluff and stuffing. He could barely walk, but he didnt want his fingers to fall off. Cooper took his hand and led him out the door, keeping him close because it was so late and he couldnt see every car driving by. They could have left earlier, but his mom had come home to do work on her laptop.

As they got closer to Kurts little house, Coop squeezed Blaines hand and bent to give him his bag. "I can only stay for a few minutes, bud, just to ask Kurts mom or dad about tomorrow night." He knocked on Kurts door a few times, then rocked back on his heels and winked at Blaine. Blaine didnt know why, but he didnt know why Coop did a lot of things.

From inside the house, Blaine heard a squeal of delight, and then little feet thumping against the floor. A second later, the doorknob twisted, and a pair of crinkled, blue eyes peeked out at Blaine. "Blaine!" Kurt hopped up and down, jumping into Blaines arms. "Daddy, its Blaine!"

"I got that from your first scream, honey." Burt called from another room. He lumbered into the room and raised his brows at Coop, then shrugged the new guest off and sat down in his recliner.

Cooper chuckled at Kurts excitement, reaching down to scrub his soft hair that smelled like a bath and shampoo. "Hey, sweetie. Youre so bouncy, arent you? Is there any way I could talk to your dad over there?"

"Sure!" Kurt popped on his toes again, scurrying deeper into the living room with Blaines hand in his. He plopped down on the rug in the middle of the room, his wide eyes moving from Cooper to his dad.

"Whats going on?" Burt said lowly, keeping his eyes on his son as he started going through Blaines bag. "Youre Blaines...?"

"Older brother." Cooper bent down to smooth Blaines wild curls, much to his annoyance as he pushed his hands away. "Im Cooper. I was wondering if I could take these two out for Halloween tomorrow."

While Burt scratched his head and thought that over, Kurt asked Blaine, "Whats a Holloween?" Blaine shrugged because he didnt know, either, and he returned his attention to his brother.

"You know, youll have to take it easy on him." Burt warned him, his lips pressing together. "Kurt gets upset real easy. I have no problem with it, as long as you keep him nearby and bring him back early. We would have to throw something together, too. Hes never been out for Halloween before so he doesnt have any old costumes he can reuse." Rubbing the nape of his neck, he muttered, "Are you sure you want to take a five year old out? Dont you have things you want to do with your friends?"

Cooper shook his head, rubbing Blaines back, "Id rather be with my little brother. Im rarely ever home because I work for my dads commercial company, so I try to enjoy all the time I can with Blaine. And, you know, if he made a little friend, Im happy to bring him along, too. What do you think, Kurt? You want to dress up and get some candy?"

Kurts little mouth fell open, "I love dressing up! Its my favorite thing to do!" Patting his fingertips together, he chirped, "Can I be a princess with a tiara and sparkles? My maman gave me glass slippers just like Cinderella wears for my third birthday!"

Holding out his hand, Cooper tried to get a high five from Kurt, but Kurt was confused by what he wanted and draped his hand over his. "That sounds good, cutie. Im sure well have time before we go to the houses to buy you a dress. Blaine needs to get an outfit, too. What do you think for him, an ogre mask?"

Kurt pushed his bottom lip out and covered his eyes with his hands, "No, hell scare me!" Boosting himself to his feet, Kurt whirled around in a circle, happily dancing and spinning. "I like Holloween!"

Scrubbing Kurts hair again, Coop knelt down in front of his brother and gave him a hug, "Okay, Ill be back in the morning and the two of us will go out to breakfast... unless Kurt wants to come with us. Kurt, do you want to come with me and Blaine to get pancakes and waffles?"

Kurt clapped again, so Coop took that as a yes. He kissed his brothers forehead, "Be good for Kurt. Im right across the street if you need me. Ill see you in the morning, little guy." Flicking Blaines nose, he gave him another kiss, then he got to his feet.

After Coop walked away and the door clicked shut behind him, Burt got to his feet and reached for a lamp to flip it off, "Alright, boys, I want you to get a good rest tonight. It sounds like youve got a busy day tomorrow. Kurt, how about you read your story tomorrow... maybe after you get home? If youre not stuffing your cheeks with lollipops."

"Yes, Daddy." Kurt said, even though he looked disappointed that he couldnt hear if Romeo and Juliet actually got together tonight. "Thank you for letting me spend time with Blaine and his brother, Daddy."

"Have fun tomorrow, honey." Burt left them in the living room as he walked back to his bedroom.

Lifting his fingers to his lips as he quietly yawned, Kurt scooted closer to Blaine and laid his cheek on his chest, "Its getting late, anyway, and I want to be wide awake so I can treasure every moment in our story."

Blaine helped Kurt over to the staircase, bringing him down to his bedroom. Holding him in his arms, he got over to the edge of the bed and laid Kurt on the blankets. He tucked him under and stared at him for a moment, his suddenly sleepy expression. "Im too happy for tomorrow to sleep." Kurt said through another yawn, and Blaine counted the seconds before he was snoozing.

Smiling at him, Blaine climbed onto the bed next to him. Like Kurt, he was looking forward to tomorrow and having the whole day with him and his brother, but he quickly fell asleep beside of Kurts warm body, their arms wrapped around each other, Kurts shoulder a soft pillow under his cheek.

Blaine picked up another jersey that smelled of dirt and sweat, the front of it covered in beer stains, dark brown splotches dried into the ruined material. He coughed at the stench and stuffed it into the garbage bag, then reached for an old football that was coming apart at the seams. After hed picked up the mess on the floor, he went over to his walls and started peeling posters of football players down. There were only a few so it didnt take long for him to strip the walls, some of the paint chipping off as he tore the tape away.

He figured he could paint the walls later, and turned his focus to moving furniture out of the room. Lifting the mattress off the bed, he dragged it out into the hallway and set it down. He went back in for the bed frame, but he noticed a small book between the bars. He bent down to grab it, figuring it was just a sports magazine, but a picture fell out of it.

Sitting down by the bed, he picked up the picture and took a deep breath at the sight of himself from about four years ago, when he was only sixteen. He was with Karofsky in the picture, and Karofsky had an arm slung around his shoulders. His hair was dangling in his face, a piece of it sticking to his bottom lip, which was busted and bloody. He reached up to his mouth and touched the spot that was broken in the picture, feeling a slight indent there. A loose jersey hung around his shoulders, smeared with dirt and blood.

Even though he knew hed regret it, he flipped open the book and found pictures of himself pasted onto the pages. He had the longest, messiest hair in all of them, always hanging around two hollow cheeks. In most of them, he was doing the most disgusting things, like dropping his pants and sticking his ass out in front of the cheerleaders, or licking some girls cheek, or sticking his tongue into someones mouth. Karofsky was always nearby in the pictures, watching him from a few feet away, a smirk on his face. In one of them, he was grabbing Blaines crotch as if he was going to squeeze hard enough to hurt him, and in another he was swigging out of a beer bottle next to Blaine. Blaine was passed out on a couch in one of the pictures, completely drunk, and Karofsky was stretched out beside him, his hand on his chest.

For a second, Blaine thought he was looking at someone else, someone he didnt know and didnt want to know. Rubbing his face with his hand, he put the book aside when he heard Kurts singing from outside of the door. The tune was pretty and soothing to Blaines throbbing headache, so high pitched and cheerful.

The door opened and he looked up, staring at his husband as he padded through the room. He smiled at Blaine and knelt down beside of him, handing him a bowl of soup. "I heated up dinner for you in case your belly was rumbling." Pressing a kiss to Blaines cheek, Kurt started to move away, but stopped when he noticed the book beside of Blaine, seeing pictures of Blaine kissing one of the cheerleaders, and one of him falling into Karofsky because he was drunk, and another of him getting into a pool and grabbing for an almost naked girl.

Frowning at the pictures, Kurt pressed his fingertips to his lips. Blaine didnt want him to see the book anymore so he yanked it closer to himself and closed it, "It smells good, baby. Thank you."

Kurt blinked at the book, but he didnt bring it up, much to Blaines relief. He was very good at telling when Blaine just wanted to leave something alone. "Keegan took the babies outside to play by the beach. Why dont you come out with me and have fun? We can worry about unpacking later."

"Ill be down in a few minutes, honey." Blaine told him, taking a bite of the soup because his stomach was growling. It was delicious and warm on his tongue, just as he expected it would be. "I want to get this room cleaned out. What do you think about changing my parents old bedroom into something for the babies or you... a play room or an extra closet... whatever you want it to be... and the babies can sleep in here."

"I think thats a wonderful idea." Kurt said softly, glancing around the room, "Yes, this is a perfect room for them. We could put the bed over there and their toys in that corner. But we would need to paint, wouldnt we? A very comforting but happy color... maybe yellow or light blue."

"Mm hm." Blaine gave his husband another kiss before he left, noticing him look at the book one more time before he boosted himself to his feet.

Reaching down for Blaine, Kurt brushed his fingers through his curls and murmured, "Youve changed. But even if you hadnt, I would still love you with all my heart." He bent to kiss the top of Blaines head, then he whirled around and swished out of the room.

Blaine stared after him, then he looked back down at that damned book. He wondered if Kurt really would love him if he was the same as he used to be. Shoving the book into the bag, he tied the top of it and carried it into the hallway, where he put it down next to the other things he was throwing out. It was like he was getting rid of himself, but it didnt bother him as much as he thought it would, not when the life he was living now was so perfect.

He returned to his bedroom and pushed out the rest of the furniture, leaving the room completely bare. It still smelled like a sweaty teenager and the carpets were stained, but he decided he would fix that tomorrow. Turning away, he started toward the stairs, taking the two flights down to the living room. He heard squealing from outside, and some huffing and grunting.

Glancing through the window, he saw his family running along the edge of the water. Kurt held onto his blowing skirt and skipped away from Archer, who was toddling on his heels and reaching for the hem of his dress. Blaine caught Hunter ramming into Keegans legs from the corner of his eye, and Keegan fell backwards, splashing into the rising water. Hunter went down with him, then Archer skittered over to them and pounced on Keegans chest.

Smirking at them, Blaine walked over to the door and opened it, feeling a gentle breeze run through his curls. He took a step out and sank into the cool sand that squished between his toes. Hearing Kurt giggle again, he watched his husband bend down to scoop Hunter into his arms, pressing kisses to his dark cheeks. "Daddy!" He screeched, waving his little hands and batting at Blaine.

Blaine raised his brows when all of the attention was on him, and he met Kurts shimmering, blue gaze. Kurt pranced over to him and handed Hunter to him, then wrapped his small hands around his arms. "Come, Blaine!" He chirped, pulling Blaine to the shore with him.

Quietly chuckling when Archer stumbled over to him and knocked his head on his leg, he sat down by his son and pulled him close, kissing his forehead. He let Hunter go when he crawled out of his lap, and Archer didnt stay still for long, either, scurrying back to Keegan and picking up piles of wet sand. He scraped it into a small mound and clapped his hands as if he was proud of himself, "Thats where Père lives because hes the princess who lives in the castle, just like Cinderella! And Daddys supposed to rescue him!"

Keegan grinned at him and helped him build a tower on top of the little mound, and Archer bounced up and down, "Now Père is Rapunzel! Père, let down your hair so Daddy can climb it and give you a kiss!"

Kurt giggled at the excited baby, leaning down to give him a sweet kiss. Hunter, who had been sitting in Keegans lap, reached over and knocked the tower down, grinning as the sand tumbled to the ground. Sticking his bottom lip out, Archer crossed his arms over his chest, "Stop it, Hunner! Now Daddy cant rescue Père!" He ran over to Hunter, but Hunter was too fast to get to his feet and dart away from him.

Archer chased him into the water and fell against Hunters chest, taking both of them down. Smiling at his children as they played and wrestled, Kurt plopped beside of Blaine and curled up against his chest. As he felt Kurt hum against his neck, he realized that only a few years ago hed been next to one of those cheerleaders that didnt even care about him instead. He didnt know what he would be like now had Kurt not found him again, if he would be the way he was back in high school, but he knew that no matter who he was, he would never be this happy.

"Ive never told you thank you." He muttered lowly, his eyes following his dripping children as they tottered over to Keegan and hugged his legs, making him wobble and almost teeter over.

He could feel Kurts gentle gaze on his hard jaw, and he looked down at him. Those blue eyes softened and a pair of pink lips parted, "What for?" He asked so quietly that Blaine almost didnt catch it.

"For saving my life." Blaine bent his neck to kiss Kurt, and Kurt smiled on his dry mouth. His thin arms looped around his neck and he cuddled closer to Blaine, his fingers threading through his hair. Blaine held his husband close, hearing him purr with happiness. Even though he had seen how awful Blaine could be, he still loved him so much, and Blaine felt more grateful for it with every day that he got to hold Kurt in his arms.