“I love you right up to the moon – and back.”

~Sam McBrantley, Guess How Much I Love You.

“Thanks for watching Katie, Dad. We'll be back in about an hour I think,” Kurt said, giving his father an awkward hug as he passed his daughter over. Burt grinned and patted Kurt's back but his focus was on his little granddaughter.

“No problem. You're calling her Katie, huh? I like that,” Burt said, wrapping the little blanket a bit closer around the tiny infant. Kurt gave his dad a smile and turned to leave. He had an appointment with his boss, Mr. Church, in 45 minutes. Corvallis, where the headquarters were, was just a few minutes away but Kurt didn't want to be late.

He went over to pick up his messenger bag and put his arm back so Blaine could help him on with his jacket as they left the house.

“You sure it's okay if I come with you?” Blaine asked, straightening his husband's jacket and brushing a bit of lint from his shoulder.

“Of course! Mr. Church likes you and this is an informal meeting. He has a new project and he was thinking I might like to have a piece of it. He knows I'm on leave until Katie is 9 months old, so there won't be any pressure,” Kurt told his husband. Blaine gave him an indulgent smile, hoping Kurt was right.

Blaine held the door for his husband as they entered the old fashioned building. There was a wooden sign on a swinging post above the arch of the symmetrical doors proclaiming “Mr. Winston Church and Mr. Blake George, Architects”. Blaine had always thought it was incongruous that the modern architecture firm would have its offices in this Art Deco building from the 1920s.

“Kurt, good to see you. How is that little dumpling?” Grace Church greeted Kurt as he walked into the reception area. She was wearing a smart business suit and high heels that clicked on the parquet floor.

“She is fine now, off of the oxygen as of yesterday!” Kurt said to the daughter of his boss, Mr. Church. “You know my husband, Blaine,” he added.

“Of course, good to see you again, Blaine,” the slim woman said. She had her father's big green eyes and blonde hair along with his easy-going manner. Kurt had thought the man rather grumpy and set in his ways the first time they met, but had changed his opinion as he worked with him.

“Good to see you, too, Grace,” Blaine smiled, shaking her hand.

“Father and Mr. George are in the conference room. Would either of you like some coffee?” Grace asked.

“No, we just need to have this meeting and we'll be off for home with Katie,” Blaine said. Grace smiled and led them down the hall to the meeting room.

Entering the large room, Kurt smiled. He loved the Frank Lloyd Wright chairs around the oval conference table. A few over-sized prints of buildings by Mr. Church and Mr. George graced the walls and some large pots with green, leafy plants were placed in the corners.

Kurt walked up to Mr. Church, exchanging pleasantries before turning to Mr. George and doing the same. Both men knew Blaine and extended an invitation to him to sit in on the meeting.

Kurt led his husband to their places, pulling out Blaine's chair and then taking the one next to him. He couldn't help but slide his hand over the highly polished mahogany of the vintage chair before sitting down. Once seated, Grace came back with a few other men and one woman. Kurt smiled at the other architects that worked with the firm. Blaine was introduced around and they chatted until Mr. Church brought the meeting to order.

“I'd like to thank Mr. Hummel-Anderson for taking time to join us this morning. You all know he has a new baby daughter and she has been ill. I was happy to learn she is on the mend and will be returning home later today,” Mr. Church said and a murmur of voices was heard, everyone congratulating Kurt on his new baby and extending best wishes for her recovery. Kurt was obliged to take out his cell phone and show them the latest pictures of Katie.

“Now, I have called you all in to see the new project that is going to be a major undertaking for this firm over the next year. The State of Oregon has acquired a large plot of land to be used as an outdoor museum and our firm has won the bid for designing everything from the park to the parking lots. It will entail several buildings and a large visitor center. I know most of you have projects right now, but I wanted to offer the opportunity to each of you to be in on this project,” Mr. Church told them. A buzz of conversation started and the president of the firm let them chat for a few minutes before calling the meeting back to order. He turned the meeting over to his partner and Mr. George came up to the podium.

“We have done a lot of civic buildings in the past, but none were as big as this. We have several million dollars to use and the governor and other politicians have weighed in on what they expect to see, but the person we have to please is the donor of the land and funds. I am not at liberty to reveal this charitable man's name, but we have prepared a short video to show you what he has in mind. Grace, if you would...”

Grace turned off the lights and they all sat back to watch. Kurt and Blaine were at the far end of the table, behind everyone as they turned their chairs to pay attention to the movie. Grace slipped out the back door to attend to other tasks.

While the video introduced the project and a narrator explained the love the benefactor had for the wilderness of Oregon, Kurt scooted his chair closer to his husband and laid his hand on Blaine's thigh under the table. Blaine grinned and winked at Kurt.

The video had beautiful photographs of trees and mountains, the audio track was musical with voice-overs introducing the land involved and what he expected of the new outdoor museum.

Kurt's hand went up Blaine's leg, his fingers tickling gently as he reached his husband's crotch and began outlining Blaine's growing erection. His trousers were made of a light-weight linen and Blaine could feel Kurt's fingers as he began to stroke the hardness he found there. Blaine's facial expression did not change, he was immobile as he tried to remove Kurt's hand from his balls. Kurt smirked.

Blaine mouthed the words: 'Just wait until I get you alone, Kurt Elizabeth, you'll pay for this'. Kurt suppressed a giggle at the red creeping up Blaine's face. He pressed a bit harder, finding the sensitive spot under Blaine's cockhead. He rubbed harder and Blaine tried to cross his legs to force Kurt to quit, but Kurt was a determined man and he was enjoying the teasing.

Blaine was not.

Kurt heard a throat clearing and turned to see Grace Church was now sitting behind them against the back wall. She had a knowing look on her face and Kurt was startled. He hadn't heard her reenter the room.

Pulling his hand back to lie in his own lap, Kurt blushed and tried to pay attention to the video. Blaine gave him a murderous stare and rubbed his crotch to try and dissipate the pooled blood in his cock. He knew that if he stood up it would be very noticeable.

Mr. Church stood up at the end of the video and smiled at his collegues.

“I'd like to invite anyone who is interested in doing some preliminary sketches to do so and have them in my in-basket by the end of the week. I'm excited to have won the bid on this project, I think it will give Church and George Architecture an even better name and a lot of renewed respect among our competitors. You may all go back to work now. Mr. Hummel-Anderson, if you would like to join me in my office? Blaine, you are welcome to come, too,” Mr. Church concluded.

Grace stood up and walked over to Kurt and Blaine.

“If you would prefer to stay here, Blaine, I'd be happy to keep you company while your husband goes in to talk with Father,” she offered. Blaine readily accepted, knowing if he stood up there would be a lot of embarrassment. Grace winked at him and he rolled his eyes.

Kurt got up, feeling a bit unhappy he'd embarrassed his husband, but Blaine smiled at him and took his hand as he was about to leave. He pulled Kurt down close.

“Good luck, sweetheart. I'll be here when you're done,” he whispered. “I love you.”

“Love you, too. I'll make this up to you...” Kurt whispered before he stood up to leave. Grace came over to sit beside Blaine at the table.

“I bet you have dozens of pictures of baby Katura on your phone, right?” she asked Blaine and he grinned, taking his phone from his breast pocket.

~~

An hour later, Blaine and Kurt were in the car on their way back to Philomath and their daughter.

“Really, Kurt?” Blaine said, a mock frown on his face.

“Really what?” Kurt asked, a look of perfect innocence on his own countenance as he glanced over at Blaine when they stopped at a red light. He was driving and for once he wasn't holding Blaine's hand on the console.

“How could you do that? Grope me in front of your bosses? I thought you'd grown up since high school! Remember the time you did that to me during American History?” Blaine raised his voice.

Kurt tried not to giggle, but stifling the urge made him burst forth with a loud laugh. He turned to see Blaine's mock frown turn into a seriously hurtful look. He wasn't playing now.

“Oh, honey, I'm sorry,” Kurt said, quite sincere as he reached over to Blaine's lap to stroke at the front of his trousers again. Blaine slapped his hand away, a bit harder than he meant to.

“Hey! I said I was sorry. I was just teasing you, Blaine. Can't you take a joke?” Kurt asked, snapping because he felt bad at embarrassing his husband in public.

Blaine didn't say a word, he just turned to look out the window. He hadn't been too upset to begin with, but now it was escalating into a fight and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Don't pout. That is even more childish than me teasing you,” Kurt grumbled. He thought Blaine should have apologized for slapping him too hard. Maybe Blaine was more angry than Kurt realized?

“I am not pouting. I just have nothing to say to you right now, Kurt. What you did was unkind and I thought you would understand how I'm feeling. That was your place of employment! What kind of impression do you think your shenanigans left on the founders of the company?” Blaine said with an edge to his voice.

“The same as the day we were sitting in Mr. Warner's office and you stuck your wet finger into my ear?” Kurt asked, his brows going down into a frown.

Blaine blushed. He did remember that day. He still thought Kurt's high-pitched screech was funny – almost as funny as Mr. Warner's face when he heard it. Blaine had slapped a pretend bee on the arm of the sofa to cover up what had really happened and he'd apologized to Kurt afterwards.

“That was different. I have known Braydon Warner all my life. He would have laughed if he had known. I made up the bee story to save you embarrassment. Who knew you would go off like a steam whistle over a little wet finger?” Blaine reasoned. Kurt huffed but didn't say anything.

What he'd actually said on that day, once they were alone, 'If you're going to stick something hard and wet inside me, Mr. Anderson, I'd rather it wasn't your finger.' That had shut Blaine up for quite a while. Kurt silently laughed to himself at the memory.

At the next turnoff from the highway, Kurt turned the car and put his foot on the accelerator pedal. Blaine crossed his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes. He was the picture of misery. Neither one said a word for the rest of the drive.

~

“Where are we?” Blaine asked, looking around. They had been driving for the better part of an hour.

“The beach,” Kurt said and got out of the car. He began walking quickly towards the ocean, finally breaking into a run as he approached the water.

“Kurt! Kurt! What the hell?” Blaine shouted after him. “Stop!”

Kurt didn't even slow down. He got over a sand dune and disappeared from Blaine's sight. Blaine took off running to catch up. By the time he located Kurt, there was a pile of clothes on the sand and Kurt was in the water. Blaine stripped to his briefs and plunged into the cold water after his husband, swimming as fast as he could to get to him.

“Kurt! What the hell?” he shouted as he got close enough to speak to him.

“I just....I needed to do something and we haven't been to the beach since before we got Katie. I just needed....I don't know,” Kurt sighed, treading water as Blaine swam close enough to take Kurt's hand.

“You weren't trying to harm yourself, were you?” Blaine asked, his face showing his distress. He pulled Kurt up next to his body and put his arms gently around Kurt's shoulders. “Didn't you see the sign warning about the riptides?” He knew Kurt was not a strong swimmer.

“You mean drown myself? Blaine – I wouldn't have stopped to take off my clothes if I was committing suicide,” he deadpanned.

Blaine closed his eyes and hugged Kurt closer than ever. He kissed the soft skin of his neck and then they both fell into the water as a wave hit them. Letting go, the two men swam towards shore, keeping an eye on one another as they went. There was a shallow place behind some boulders and they sat on the big rocks, partially submerged in the sheltered pool.

“Come here and hold me again?” Kurt asked, his arms out to Blaine. Blaine obliged and came closer, gathering Kurt into a hug and pulling him up on his lap. Kurt's arms went around Blaine and they sat for a few moments just holding each other.

“I'm sorry, Babe,” Blaine started.

At the same time, Kurt said, “Forgive me?”

They giggled a bit, but were back to being serious a moment later.

“What brought all that on?” Blaine asked, searching Kurt's face. It wasn't like Kurt to pick a fight and it was even more unusual for Blaine to do so.

“I don't know,” Kurt said. “I don't know what got into me. I was sitting there in the meeting and looked over – and the day in American History came back to me. Before I knew it, I had my hand on you and was quite amused at the blush creeping up your face. I knew it was inappropriate, but I couldn't stop myself. You did look like you were enjoying it...” Kurt said in a quiet voice, ducking his head down to rest on Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine kissed Kurt's cheek and sighed.

“I was...until I thought your bosses might see. I got worried about what they might think and...then Grace came back and really did see what was going on. I guess I was just embarrassed and got angry. I'm sorry. I knew you didn't have any thoughts of upsetting me. Let's kiss and make up?” Blaine said, pushing Kurt up so he could look into his beautiful ocean blue eyes. Kurt gave him a soft smile before kissing him.

“So...why the beach?” Blaine asked, a brow arched in question.

“Yeah. It was just on a whim. Is this okay?” Kurt asked.

“Of course. Actually...this was a really good idea, babe. I love being in the water with you,” Blaine slid his hand down Kurt's back and cupped it around one well-shaped cheek. He squeezed playfully before leaning forward to take Kurt's bottom lip between his teeth for a moment. He let go and sighed.

“Yeah, me, too. Water is sort of our thing, don't you think?” Kurt said.

Blaine chuckled. “I'm thinking of all the times we've played in the ocean or in lakes together. Remember the time you took me to stay in Mercedes' cabin when we lived in Ohio? Or the lake on the mountain near my dad's grave? I love camping there,” Blaine reminisced. Kurt laid his head back on Blaine's chest and listened to his heart beat.

“I saw the cutoff to the beach when we passed it on the highway and the next thing I knew, I was driving here. It was so close and we haven't been here in forever and ...the water was just calling me.” Kurt admitted. Instead of replying, Blaine cuddled him closer and a smile decorated his face.

“I love you, Kurt. Thank you for bringing us here. I hate arguing with you in anger. I never want to be angry with you, you know? I was just upset and I took it in the wrong direction. Will you accept my sincere apology, baby?” Blaine asked, kissing Kurt's neck a few more times.

“If you'll accept mine?” Kurt countered. They smiled at each other.

“How about we decide they cancel themselves out, right?”

“Done.”

“I love you, I'm sorry we fought,” Kurt whispered into Blaine's skin as he found the soft skin of his neck to nibble on. Blaine giggled because he was very ticklish and pulled Kurt close once again. He pushed them off the boulder and slid down into the water. They were sitting on the sand at the bottom of the shallow pool, their heads above the water line, and let his fingers find their way into Kurt's briefs, cupping his hardening cock in his hand.

“Is this all right?” Blaine whispered and Kurt kissed him.

“Yeah, it's fine...” Kurt whispered back. “But...we have an audience.”

Blaine jumped a bit and looked up from kissing Kurt to see a line of very curious harbor seals, all sitting on the rocky shore behind them. Unlike their noisy cousins, the sealions, harbor seals were quiet in comparison.

“Aw, let them watch,” Blaine scoffed, a grin on his face as he helped Kurt to remove his briefs and soon they were both naked, their underwear perched on a rock beside them. The pool deepened as it went out to sea and Blaine led Kurt to a place a bit deeper. He floated his way to the center of the pool, rolling in the water as he held Kurt tightly. Their fingers exploring all the wet places they fit into, both men were sighing and groaning as each got bolder in their explorations.

“Blaine...I want you. Please?” Kurt begged, overcome with feelings. They usually only stripped down to skinny dip in the high mountain lake on their yearly camp-out.

Blaine smiled and complied – bringing them back to the shallow part so they could lie in the sand while still in the water.

Kurt nibbled on Blaine's neck while Blaine's fingers entered him, stretching gently to prepare his husband. Kurt shivered and arched his back, getting accustomed to the new feeling of doing this in the water. The ocean was cool, but quite a bit warmer than the mountain lake.

“Is that good for you, baby?” Blaine asked, pulling back to look into Kurt's eyes. They told him everything – the sparkle in the blue and gold irises, the darkening as his pupils dilated in arousal.

“Yes, I'm ready. Please, Blaine. I want you – I need you so much right now,” Kurt said, his voice an octave deeper.

Blaine sat in the sand in the pool and pulled Kurt onto his lap, facing him, and held on - easing himself inside his husband and closing his eyes in bliss as he filled Kurt slowly. Kurt whined, causing Blaine to stop until Kurt pushed back when he was ready. The absence of real lubrication made them very careful.

“Blaine....” he murmured, eyes closed as the heat grew and he lost his sense of time and space, allowing Blaine to be in complete control. It had been a work of years for Kurt to be able to completely let go and trust Blaine, but it was well worth every stressful moment. This is what made their love life so good, so perfect. Giving the other the reins and letting them take control. Love was one thing, but trust was what deepened love into something that made their marriage the best either had ever dreamed up.

Once upon a time, Kurt was very loud when he was sexually excited. He could groan, moan and practically howl when he was making love with Blaine. Now he didn't feel the need to do that. Blaine had asked, worried that it meant he wasn't getting the same amount of excitement, that the orgasms weren't as good as they once had been. Kurt told him that was not the case at all. He found that holding the pressure of his building orgasm inside, not letting out steam by yelling, made it even more intense. Blaine was hard pressed not to think that was just a made-up excuse until he tried it himself and now he was much quieter in the bedroom than he had once been.

That is not to say either of them were silent. Not at all. Today Blaine was listening to Kurt as he gave way to quieter sighs and moans held inside, the soft sounds that indicated Kurt was nearing his climax and it did something to Blaine, knowing he was the one that could give this gift to Kurt.

“Are you getting there, baby? Do you need something?” Blaine whispered, holding Kurt around his ribs, his hand going in gentle circles on Kurt's stomach – caressing him as the pressure built. Kurt was holding his breath, trembling as he tried to hold off on the final minutes, never wanting it to end.

Blaine took Kurt in hand, letting his palm cup around Kurt's hard cock. He was built strong and his cock was larger than most Blaine had seen. He loved to just hold it in his hand, feeling the unsprung power just before Kurt's orgasm. The very thought of it moved him as he caressed it, now pumping a little harder as Kurt's heartbeat grew faster and harder. Kurt's hand came to rest on Blaine's, guiding him as to rhythm and pressure. His face was red, the work exerting so much energy that Kurt had a rosy blush all over.

“Blaine!” Kurt blurted out as the orgasm took hold of him and sent his brain into heaven. He felt as if he was gushing forth more semen than ever, the warmth and the ecstasy spilling into his blood and racing all around his insides. He grabbed Blaine's hand with his left, his right hand still holding Blaine's as he kept up a steady, slow pumping until Kurt was done.

Kurt struggled briefly in his husband's arms, then slipped his own arms back around him. He pulled Blaine so close they were touching from foreheads to stomachs. Kurt hugged him closer still, his eyes tearing in a cathartic release as the tightness in his muscles relaxed and he was hanging on to Blaine with all his remaining strength.

“Hey, are you all right?” Blaine asked with concern. Kurt didn't usually respond like this.

“Yes, I am. That was so good, Blaine. So, so good. I love you so much,” he said before pressing once more close to Blaine and then letting go to sit in the shallow water.

After a few moments, Kurt shook his head and came to himself. He looked up at Blaine, his eyes still full of want and desire.

“Come here, babe, and I'll take care of you,” he enticed, crooking his finger in a beckoning motion.

“I want to hold you, Kurt, but I don't need anything else right now.”

“No?” Kurt said, his eyes searching Blaine's anatomy and settling on his cock. It was hard and standing, but not near as hard as it had been a few moments ago. Apparently Blaine had enjoyed helping Kurt through his orgasm more than usual.

Blaine pulled Kurt gently into his lap, his arms surrounding his husband. They sat this way often, always enjoying each other's company.

“I think we needed that,” Blaine said quietly.

Kurt hummed his agreement and cuddled closer to Blaine.

“Blaine?”

“Yes?”

“Are we....are we okay? I just get the feeling that something is wrong. Well, not exactly wrong, but not as okay as we have been.”

“Oh, Kurt, have I done something to make you think I don't love or care about you as much as I always have?” Blaine asked, his eyes wide in wonder.

“Not exactly. I was just worried. It seems different now that we have Katie. I didn't want to say anything, I didn't want you to think I don't want her or that I love her less. It is just . . . different?”

“I think it would be, you know? Think of this: we were both brought up with a single parent. It wasn't divorce in either case – both of our mothers died, which left our fathers grieving and in charge of little boys. How could we have learned how married people live a balanced marriage if we had no models to understand the process?” Blaine asked. He looked a bit stunned that this had fallen from his mouth, but he swallowed and continued, holding Kurt's hand now.

“I was so young when my mom died – just a few days old – that I don't remember her at all. My first memories are of Cooper and my dad, maybe a few of the Warners because Mrs. Warner took care of me after Mom died, and again after Dad died. You lost your mom at...what, 8 years old? You grew up with just your dad, too, and you didn't even have a big brother to be there for you. We are not typical parents, and I worry about how that might affect Katie,” Blaine confessed. His eyes were red and beginning to swell, but he hadn't let a tear fall. This was not about his life, it was about Katie.

“I know what you're saying, Blaine, but I think we are …..I don't know, more suited to the job? Katie came from a bad situation, but she was lucky that her mother loved her enough to know she needed more. I cannot imagine the feeling that a person has when they are forced by circumstance to give away a child. Maybe some higher power stepped in and gave her to us so she wouldn't have to struggle.” Kurt looked into Blaine's eyes and smiled. Apparently he said the right thing because it looked as if the sun came up in those beautiful hazel eyes.

“Yes. I think you're right.” Blaine smiled at Kurt. “As for us being different than we were? Well, I think that is to be expected. We have a lot to learn in a short amount of time. We expected it would take a few years to get a child, and her appearance was a bit of a rushed surprise. We need time to come to terms with the lack of privacy, the lack of time we can spend alone together. Babe, don't worry. We can take a bit of time to get it right – we've only begun and we will struggle from time to time, that's the way parenting is. Lucky for us we have so many willing babysitters!”

“Yeah, you're right. I just needed a break today. Let's get dressed and back home to our daughter, okay?” Kurt asked. He smiled at Blaine and they went to get their underwear off the rock and walk back to the car, their wet skin drying in the warm sun.

~~

“So, what did you and Mr. Church talk about?” Blaine asked.

“I'll tell you if you tell me what you and Grace talked about?” Kurt countered.

“I told her all about our love life – every sexual position we've done and all the kinky things we are planning to do in the future,” Blaine said, his face a mask of seriousness.

Kurt gasped and stared at Blaine, who was now driving.

“What?” he said weakly, his face red with embarrassment. Blaine couldn't hold his laughter any longer and burst out with gales of laughter. Kurt frowned for a moment, then his mouth quirked up at the corners and he was soon laughing.

“Teaser,” Kurt murmured.

“Okay, I showed her pictures of Katie from my cell phone,” Blaine admitted. Kurt rolled his eyes but laughed just the same.

“Oh, I know. Mr. Church and Mr. George wanted to see them, too. When we were done gushing over Katie, we talked about the new project. Both of them thought about making me the prime architect. Everyone else is busy on their own projects and although they will be willing to help design the small outbuildings, nobody wants to take on something this big right now. So he offered it to me. He and Mr. George will be working closely with me, but I will be the driving force – depending on how much the mystery benefactor likes my designs,” Kurt said with pride. Blaine grinned.

“I am so happy for you, my sweet, loving, talented, amazing husband!”

“Thank you, Blaine. I told him I would have an answer for him tomorrow morning. We do need to look into how this will play out. You'll have more time with Katie since I will be working in the office for at least the first week. Then when I get back to work at home I will have to take time to drive down here to Corvallis to take meetings from time to time. You'll be all alone with a new baby. Are you ready for that?” Kurt asked. “We might need to find a part-time caregiver for her if my schedule gets too crazy while you are off in a forest somewhere in Outer Mongolia,” Kurt rattled off quickly. It was obvious that he had been thinking about this for a while. Blaine could see how much Kurt wanted this project to be his own.

“I think it will work just great!” he said to encourage Kurt to take the project. He wanted to help in every way possible for Kurt to take this and run with it.

“You think so?” he asked and Blaine gave him a huge smile.

“Yes, baby, I know it will work.”

The grin on Kurt's face could be seen from space.