Blaine forked the pieces of lettuce around his plate, stabbing through a few of them and bringing them to his lips. He chewed on them for longer than he should have, just trying to keep his mouth full so he could avoid speaking. He didnt mind conversation with the little boy across from him. He thought he said some of the funniest things... it was his own stammering and stuttering that he couldnt bear to hear. Choking down another big bite, he noticed Kurt frown at him, disapproving of his daring to strangle himself on the greens. It wasnt until they both heard footsteps clicking outside that they finally moved, Blaine starting to slide toward the edge of his chair so he could dart in front of Kurt and protect him from the intruder. But, luckily, Burt stepped through the door, kicking mud off his shoes and wiping his black hands on his dirty pants. Kurt obviously didnt recognize his dad underneath his brown mask, but after Burt lifted his head and gave them a weary grin, he squeaked and hopped to his feet.

"Hello, Daddy!" He chirped, clapping his hands a few times as if he was celebrating his dads arrival. "I put your dinner in the fridge! I made macaroni and cheese with salad." Scampering over to his dad and circling around him a few times, Kurt suddenly scrunched his nose at the gasoline fumes and backed a step away.

Burt grinned at his prissy son, teasingly reaching down as if he was going to scrub that perfect hair. Kurt quickly skittered back to Blaines side and tucked himself under his chin. "Sorry to interrupt dinner, guys. Listen, one of my clients called and said his car broke down. Hes keeping it in his garage, so Ive got to head over there for an hour or two. Id rather you two not be alone for that long, so do you want to come with me?"

"Sure!" Kurt waddled away from Blaine again, hopping on light feet over to the door. Burt followed his son and rested his hand on the doorknob, then he counted the number of children by his feet and turned to Blaine, who was still sitting by the table.

He nodded his head and held his hand out, "Come on, bud. I know... its late. But you can sleep in tomorrow." When Blaine pushed himself off his chair and crept over to Burt, he nudged the two of them outside and kept track of them as they walked over to the car. He opened the door for them, and Blaine boosted Kurt into the back and sat down next to him. Shivering from the chill in the air, Kurt huddled into Blaines side, but he didnt stay that way for long because Burt stopped the car a few roads away. He wrapped his arm around Kurt as he stepped out, keeping him close so he could feel his warmth.

A man was standing in his open garage, his hands in his pockets, but then he pulled one out and waved at Burt. He pointed out the car that he was leaning against, and Burt nodded his head, but briefly looked down at Kurt and Blaine. "Ill only be a few minutes, okay? Ive got just to check out the engine and tighten a few bolts." He thudded away from the two of them and started mumbling about things that neither of them could understand.

Padding over to the grassy yard, Kurt spun this way and that before he plopped to the ground. Blaine raised his brows at his best friend, wondering what he was doing as he laid back and spread his arms and legs out. He gazed up at the stars with those big, blue eyes, but then his view of the twinkling lights in the sky was blocked by golden gleams. Giving Blaine a sweet smile, Kurt held his arms up for him, "Lay down beside of me." Blaine did as he was told and dropped to his knees beside of Kurt, lowering his entire body to the cool blades. Curling up in Blaines jacket, Kurt said very softly, "Arent the stars beautiful? My maman says that I have stars in my eyes. Do you think so?"

Kurt batted his blond lashes at Blaine, making a tiny grin pull at the corners of his mouth. He flipped over onto his side and wrapped his body around Kurts. When he heard Kurts soft squeak again, he turned his head and stared at that pale face, highlighted by the sparkles above them. "Do you see a bunny?" Pointing up at the blackness, Kurt traced a few stars that Blaine realized did look just like a bunny. "What do you see?"

Squinting his eyes at the stars, Blaine tried to see flowers and tiaras and dolls, but he found nothing but white spots piercing through an endless nothingness. He turned to Kurt again and frowned, and Kurt sighed as if that made him very sad. Managing a smile when Blaine wrapped him up tighter when the wind blew through his thin dress, he whispered, "I see you. I see your smile. I see your eyes crinkling. I see those little dimples at the corners of your mouth. Do you see?" He cupped Blaines cheek in a soft palm, bringing his face around to where he wanted him to look. Blaine shook his head, unable to see anything, but Kurt stroked his jaw, urging him to look closer. "Do you see me?"

Nuzzling so close to Kurt that their noses bumped, Blaine turned to the stars and felt his lips part without him forcing them to, "I see you." He muttered so quietly that he barely heard himself, and then he touched his throat, wondering how he still knew how to speak after so long of being silent.

Kurts eyes became very glossy at the abrupt words that he hadnt been expecting to come out, even though hed secretly been wishing for them, and he rubbed away a few tears, "One day youll see you." He promised Blaine, and even though he was doubtful, he wanted to trust him.

Hed never come to terms with his aloneness. Hed never been alone before, hidden away from the better world that was out in the open, just a few thick bricks away from him. Just as hed done every day, he scratched his stubby nails over the chipping concrete, feeling the roughness slice the tips of his fingers. It was the thousandth time hed cut his fingers on the wall, and the thousandth time hed turned away from the blank wall that he wanted to break through so he could get back to the life he once had. But this time he wasnt disappointed that thered be another time of doing that. Sliding his legs off his creaky bed that was stained with sweat and come from the long, boring nights when all he had to do was think and masturbate, he stood up and stretched his long, thick legs. His knuckles turned white as he pinched his palms with his fingertips, his grip so tight that the veins in the back of his hands bulged. Hed gone to a thousand stupid anger classes, but he had too much against him to ever get over. He wondered when hed become so hateful, if it was when he saw his idiot, drunkard dad beating his mom, or if it was when he watched his uncle blow some man-whore hed picked up on the street, or if it was when-

No... he couldnt think like that. Hed only ever dared to go back to that when he was masturbating, and every time he tried to imagine the man he used to be addicted to, it left a sour taste in his mouth. For a brief moment, he let himself picture Blaines face in his head. He wasnt anything to admire, Karofsky had always known that, and he was more than plain, but hed been striking to Karofsky. But the image quickly went up in flames when he saw the last expression Blaine had ever given him before hed become completely Kurts, that fag who Karofsky knew could have any man he wanted. Hed been beautiful, even to Karofsky, so he didnt understand why he had to take his Blaine from him. He could have any other man! Just not Karofskys Blaine. Grunting as he remembered holding Blaines body in his arms, but that he couldnt have that warmth anymore, he slammed himself against a wall and clenched his entire body up. He hated to be alone. He took a deep breath as he thought of how hopeless it would be to try to get Blaine back now that he was a dad and had happily married. Happily married. Throwing his fists against the wall again, Karofsky pounded it with all his might, hitting until he was sure his skin broke open and his blood poured down the white canvas. Maybe hed lose so much blood that hed die on the spot. For a long time after he first lost Blaine, he wanted to die. If he didnt have the one thing that kept his heart beating, he didnt know how he even stayed alive.

He missed Blaine so much, missed hearing his low laughter, missed the way he would grin and wave him over, missed hearing that quiet voice because Blaine was too shy to ever raise it. He missed when Blaine would fall asleep beside of him and hed take him into his arms, missed waking up and finding Blaine sitting against a wall, waiting for him. And knowing that someone else had his Blaine, had all of his quirks and habits, his insecurities and his sureness, was pushing him closer and closer to the edge of craziness. Whipping away from that damned wall, the wall that he hated almost more than anything-almost, he pounded his feet over to the cage bars and grabbed them with his thick hands, but instead of cold metal that he wished he had the strength to snap in half, his palms met hands that had obviously been smooth at one point but were now slightly rough. A pair of brown eyes blinked at him through the bars, so calm and collected despite his tantrum. Shaking the bars like the madman she must have thought he was, he pressed his face to them and peeled his lips back. But he wasnt really crazy. He wasnt crazy. She arched a brow at him as if shed expected nothing less than his violent thrashing.

A moment later, one of the guards in the gray suits followed on her heels and pressed a key to the lock that Karofsky had tried to pick a hundred times before. After it clicked, he grabbed one of the bars and yanked the door aside, letting Karofsky out. He stumbled out of that hated cell that had kept him away from what he wanted. As with her other visits, the girl stepped away from him, still holding her silence. He knew she loathed him. She probably fantasized about strangling him. But he had something over her, and they were both more than aware of that. As he thought of the only girl hed ever had sex with-hed been so desperate for release that night, and he would have rather it been Blaine underneath him, but he was already gone, he considered, for one of the very few times he ever had, the mistake that kept them together. He knew that he was going to end up a bum dad just like his old man was, but hed had no choice in not being there for his kid. The days were very rare, maybe as he stood in line to get lunch, or as he laid awake at night and counted the number of specks on the ceiling-those had been his stars for the longest time, that he let his mind wander even farther than Blaine and go to the child he had never met and wasnt really sure even existed. Santana never brought up the babe, and he didnt ask. She could have had it aborted for all he knew.

The guard walked away after handing Santana a pile of paperwork, leaving them completely alone. They hadnt thought this day would ever come that hed be standing beside of her, not sneering at her through the bars as she tried to force answers out of him. Usually, after she demanded of him the answers of why he did what he did and if he regretted anything and got nothing out of him, shed mumble about how his day was, questioning him if he was comfortable at the prison. She didnt actually care, he knew, but wanted to know if he was a little less crazy with every passing day. Shed lose interest when she realized he was absolutely the same, if not angrier, and shed turn her nose away and leave him for a few days. Both of them stood side by side, unsure of where to go or what to do, until she reached up to her hair and flipped it off her face. She whirled away from him and strode down the hallway that never seemed to end, at least when he looked out to the lobby that was so far away. After they were both examined and checked, they were released into the office, where another prisoner was waiting for his leave.

She seemed unaware that Karofsky hadnt been out in the light for a year and a half, and she pushed through the door, glancing back at him once to make sure he was stepping after her. Walking after her, he followed her onto the concrete sidewalk, shocked by how it really felt and how amazing he had it before hed been taken to prison. He remembered when he was at the top of the world in high school, when everyone looked up to him, called him to the greatest parties. Hed been respected and feared, and hed had a gorgeous king at his side. But then Kurt had come around... and hed ruined everything that Karofsky had worked at for years. And itd been so easy. Part of him wondered if all of that had been an illusion, but it couldnt have been. His skin still burned where Blaine had touched him. Blaine hadnt been a mirage that his insane mind had made up at his desperation to keep what little sanity he had left. "Blaine." He didnt realize he said it out loud, but the girl swishing beside of him came to an abrupt halt.

She spun on her heel to face him, her eyes as wide as saucers. "I told you to never mention his name."

Karofsky would have lashed out at her for a snarky comment like that, but he knew she was right. Speeding up his steps, he pulled in front of her, even though he didnt know where he was going. He didnt know what car she drove. When she headed in another direction and yanked his arm, he turned toward her and stomped over to a gray car. He climbed into the passenger side and leaned against the window, pressing his cheek to the cool glass. He was so exhausted. She stepped in on the other side, turning the key and starting a low purr from the engine. Backing out of the parking space, she sped out to the road, wanting to get him out of the car as soon as possible.

He remembered that his house was only a few blocks away from the police station, so neither of them were stuck in the tense silence for long. Even though he was relaxed enough because he knew that she could say and do nothing to make his life any worse than it already was, he could have cut the emotion radiating off of her with a knife. As soon as the tires hit a gravelly road, he realized that he was almost home, and he looked out at the dark, abandoned house in the middle of the street. He frowned at the tipping sign in the dried up yard, one that made it clear that his dad was gone for good. Weeds had climbed up the posts and almost touched the letters that stated that the worn out and dingy house was for rent. Even his dumb dad had to realize that no one, not even a desperate man, would want that house. But it was home to Karofsky, the place where all of the bad and good-mostly bad-goings-on had taken place. He remembered the nights when hed come down those broken stairs and stare at his parents as they fought and slapped and screamed, and he remembered clutching Blaine to his chest, and he remembered sticking Kurt into an empty room and leaving him to bleed to death. It was where he belonged. It was where bad things belonged.

That little house looked very lonely to him, the dusty shutters clamped up and the musty curtains drawn. He already hated it there and he hadnt even stepped inside. He would have wanted Blaine to live there with him, be there to wrap in his arms whenever he needed him, be there to squeeze to his chest at night, be there to sob with that he had almost been stolen from him-but Blaine loved him too much to leave him- "Wheres my son?"

The sudden noise from his mouth startled both of them, and Santana almost jumped from her seat. It took either of them several minutes to move or even breathe as they tried to figure out what he had just done, but after a few seconds of trying to find her tongue, she said very slowly, "I dont... have him." He immediately opened his mouth to figure out what she had done with his son, if he no longer existed because hed been dead from the womb, or if shed stuck him in an orphanage, but she quickly continued, "I gave him to someone who loves him. You dont need him."

"But I want him." He said sharply, realizing that if he had a little babe, he could always have him because he wouldnt know anything else but him. He wouldnt dare to escape him. It was almost like hed handed himself a gift. "Where is he?"

She jerked away from him, her head shaking as if she was in denial of what he was saying, "You dont know what youre talking about. Hes with a family who cares about him-!"

"Im his dad!" Karofsky mindlessly tossed his hand out and slapped her across the cheek, making her gasp and turn her chin down. He wanted her to give in to him, and he loved watching her fall apart in front of him. Knowing her greatest weakness just as he knew his own, he said in such a heartless way, "Ill kill that slut you fuck if you dont get me my son." Snarling one last time, he slammed through the car door and staggered out. He was back to his old ways, and hed never felt happier. Now he wouldnt have to worry about being left behind, abandoned, replaced, because that was all Blaine had really done. There was nothing better than his love. Tripping up to the heavy door that shrilly screamed as he opened it, he stared into the darkness where he realized he would soon keep his forever love hidden away from the cruel world that had betrayed him so many times before.

Whipping back around to that world as he thought one last time of it, he stared at the girl in the car as she collapsed into her hands, burying her drained face into them. He hurried away from everything outside and slammed the door behind himself, imagining all the places his little boy would walk, run, play, all while blindly loving his dad. "He wont leave me." Karofsky said to himself, storming up the stairs and throwing the door to his old bedroom open. He ripped a drawer from his dresser and looked in it at a picture of him and Blaine almost wrapped around each other, and he screamed at it, "He wont leave me! I made the mistake of letting you escape from me, but Ill hide him away! Ill hide him! Ill blind him! I dont care!" He ran over to the window as fast as he could, but he hadnt walked around for so long that those sudden movements strained him and pained him. Almost smashing the glass with the force that he threw open his window with, he stuck his red face out to the bad world and screamed so loudly that he almost deafened himself, "He wont betray me, Blaine!"

Collapsing to the ground and digging his fingers into his palms, he did just as he saw Blaine often do and tore his skin apart. He laughed as he managed to pull the bloody nails back out, unlike Blaine, who never could.

Blaine gazed outside at his silly husband as he tiptoed along the waves that lapped up to his feet, making them shine under the bright sun. He smiled at how beautiful he looked, his blond hair blowing in the breeze and his yellow dress fluttering behind him. Archer toddled along behind him, scurrying away from the water whenever it skirted near his little, freckled feet. Teetering when a big wave rolled up to the sand, Kurt crashed to the wet ground and burst into giggles when Archer pounced on his chest and pecked him with kisses. Through the open window, he could hear Kurt scream with delight as he kicked his feet and struggled to escape from the attack of kisses. Grinning at his funny family, Blaine turned back to the suitcase and zipped it up, then grabbed another empty one, putting a few of Kurts blouses in it.

He was distracted from packing when a pair of brown eyes peered up at him from over the edge of the mattress. "Hello, baby. Come up here with Daddy." Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Blaine patted for his baby and smiled as he wriggled his way onto the mattress. Finally flopping down with a huff, Hunter crawled over to his side and plopped down beside of him. Catching a few specks of sand in Hunters hair, Blaine ran his fingers through the heavy locks, brushing out the messiness. He set the clothes aside for now and wrapped his arms around Hunter, tugging him into his lap. Hunter had another few months until he turned two, and Blaine could tell that he was getting bigger, his legs about a half an inch longer than they were last month. He was just as skinny, but Blaine knew that he would fill out eventually. "What do you think of going to see your grandma and grandpa for Christmas? Theyll give you hundreds of toys."

"Toys?" Hunter mumbled, pointing his nose up at the underneath of Blaines chin. He reached up for him and patted his face, his fingers getting scratched by Blaines stubble.

Tilting his head, Blaine kissed both of Hunters hands, "Of course. This is your spoiling grandma were talking about." When Hunter snickered at that, remembering how his grandma always made over him, Blaine gave him the same smirk. "What are you doing in here, silly boy? Daddys just packing. Its really boring." Closing his eyes and pretending to snore, Blaine tried to hide his helpless smile when Hunter screeched with giddiness again.

"I wanted to see you!" Tucking his head against Blaines chest, Hunter purred when Blaine bundled him up tightly, patting his bottom with a gentle hand. "Youre really nice."

"Thank you, baby." Blaine suddenly got to his hands and knees, peeling Hunter from his chest and putting him underneath him. "But right now Daddys a tickle monster!" Grabbing Hunters stomach, he flipped up his shirt and put his lips against his heaving belly. He blew on it and tried not to laugh when Hunter screamed with happiness, his feet and hands flailing and almost whacking Blaine. Running his fingers up and down Hunters sides, Blaine felt him slowly leaving his grip and squirming away. As soon as he wriggled his way up to the top of the bed, he burrowed underneath the blanket as if he was hiding himself, but the little lump gave him away. "Whered my Hunter go?" Blaine felt around on the mattress, almost poking Hunter, and he heard a muffled giggle from him. "There he is!" Lunging over to the side of the bed that Hunter was on, he yanked the blanket back and revealed a wild eyed baby. Hunter shrieked at him, but he was a helpless victim to Blaines tickling and kisses.

Pulling away from Hunter when he lost his breath, he looked down at his red cheeked baby who laughed until he choked. He obviously thought that the tickle monster had lost all of his energy to tickle because he pushed Blaine back to the bed and climbed onto his chest. From the way he sat down, he knocked what little breath was left out of Blaine, so all Blaine could do as Hunter tried to tickle him was snort and heave. "I give up!" He pleaded, "Youre the tickle monster!"

He clapped his hands as he celebrated his win, but he was suddenly whipped out of his victory dance when Blaine sat up and snatched him into his arms. Tossing him over his shoulder, he rumbled in a low voice, "But the hungry monsters going to eat all of Hunters toes!" He grabbed Hunters tiny foot in his hand and stuck a toe into his mouth, feeling Hunter whack at his back.

"My toes!" He squeaked, kicking his little feet, "My toes!" Growling and hissing as Blaine nibbled his feet, he whined to someone that Blaine couldnt see, "Père, the hungry monsters eating Hunter!"

Twisting around to face his giggling husband, he spat out the little foot so he could grumble, "Hungry monster has an appetite for Hunter."

Kurts cheeks turned pink with his amusement, "Hungry monster must think youre a very tasty baby, Hunter! I heard my baby screaming and just knew that the hungry monster was eating him!" Putting his hands on his hips, he turned his gaze to Archer, whose mouth was hanging open as he tried to figure out if Blaine was really eating Hunter or not.

Patting Kurts leg, Archer peeped very softly so the hungry monster wouldnt notice him, "Did Daddy turn into a monster?"

Tossing Hunter to the bed, Blaine slid to the edge of the mattress and swooped Archer into his arms. He held him above his head and let his hands and feet dangle down, and he took a dimpled knee between his lips. "Hungry monster loves Archer, too!" Archer, who still didnt know whether he should laugh or scream, made a noise that was something like both of them. Kurt giggled at the funny sound, hiding his smile behind his fingertips.

When he put both of the babies down, he held his hands out for Kurt, who smiled at him and shook his head. "You are a crazy man!" He teased, stepping toward Blaine and squealing when Blaine scooped him up, too. "Oh, no! The hungry monster has me!" Holdings his hands out for the babies in his plea for them to rescue him, Kurt giggled when Blaine kissed the tip of his nose. He curled up against Blaines chest, peeking up at him with shimmering eyes. "What a handsome monster you are!"

Both of them rubbed against each other, then they looked down at their children with glowing smiles. "This has been so fun." Kurt said softly, and somehow Blaine knew that Kurt didnt mean just that moment, but every moment theyd been together. Suddenly wrinkling his nose, Kurt picked up a stack of skirts that had tumbled over and wrinkled, and he playfully waved them at Blaines nose, "But you are a messy monster!" Sticking his tongue out, Kurt laughed when Blaine apologetically kissed his cheek. "Oh... but you are very sweet. How could I be mad with such a nice monster?"

The two of them laughed again when the babies started looking over each other to make sure no toes were missing, and Kurt gave both of them kisses, "Lets go see your grandma and grandpa! Itll be a very long car ride... lets hope that hungry monster doesnt get hungry for you two!"

Both of them screamed and poked at the floor before sliding down, then they scampered away to find their uncle, who would protect them. Falling back on the bed, Blaine chuckled at the fun he loved to have with his children, and he heard Kurt giggling. He collapsed on top of Blaines chest and pressed his lips to his, whimpering when Blaine playfully nipped his bottom lip so he could hold onto him. "Are you hungry, hungry monster?"

Neither of them could settle down from the games theyd played, and they both laughed for a few more minutes until Kurt finally boosted himself up and busied himself with putting away a few more clothes. Sighing as Blaines arms wrapped around him from behind, he reached back and stroked Blaines jaw, "I love you, my silly monster. So much. Do you know how wonderful a husband and daddy you are?"

Blaine had once rejected questions like that, but, for once, with his childrens screams and laughter echoing from the other room as they warned their uncle of the hungry monster, and with Kurt resting in his arms and smiling about how close they were, he realized that he did know how wonderful a husband and dad he was. Smiling against Kurts neck, Blaine pressed a kiss to it and whispered, "I love you, my crazy meal." He took Kurts earlobe between his teeth and gnawed on it, making Kurt laugh, a beautiful noise that sounded like music with his babies laughter ringing like a bell from somewhere far away.