We're smiling, but we're close to tears even after all these years,
we just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time.

Epilogue:

"Hey, short stack," Santana said. She walked closer to him and reached out to straighen his bow tie. "Nervous?"

"No," Blaine said.

"You look nervous as hell."

"I'm not."

"Worried he'll be a no show?" she enquired, standing back to examine her work.

"No," Blaine said again. "I know he'll be here. He wants this as much as I do."

Santana shrugged. "I guess he did put a lot into the planning," she said, looking thoughtful. "It's not like him to let that go to waste. I mean, the napkins folded in the shapes of pansies, or whatever."

"They're in the shape of roses," Blaine corrected. "And that's not the only reason he'll show. He loves me."

Santana smiled, fondly. "I know he does, Anderson," she told him. "I was just pulling your leg. Besides, I just saw him."

"You did?" Blaine asked. "How is he?"

"A nervous wreck. Not unlike yourself," she said. "Will you quit fidgeting with that?" she said, irritably, slapping Blaine's hands away from his bow tie.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I guess I am a little nervous, but not about whether he'll show or not. Just.. I don't know."

Santana smiled. "That's to be expected," she told him, looking down at her phone. She frowned. "I'll be right back. Brittany's calling and I should pick up, in case something's wrong." She looked up at him and smiled. "Look at you, Blainers, all grown up and getting married. Auntie 'Tana's proud of you." She reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "You don't brush up too badly, either. If I—"

"Go answer Brittany, Santana," Blaine said, chuckling.

He turned back to the mirror and smiled at his reflection. He was ready.

"I just saw Blaine!" Rachel said in a sing-song tone. "He looks so handsome!"

"Blaine always looks handsome," Mercedes told Rachel, rolling her eyes.

Kurt threw his checklist down on the table in front of him and sighed. He was too jittery, he didn't have the patience.

"Does he look okay?" he asked, looking at Rachel as she sat down.

"He looks very handsome, Kurt—"

"I meant," Kurt corrected, "does he look okay?"

Rachel twisted her face in confusion. It was Kurt's turn to roll his eyes.

"Is he okay?" he asked her. "Is he nervous?"

Realisation flashed across Rachel's face.

"Ohhh," she said. "He looks fine. He's no more nervous than one would expect him to be on his wedding day."

Kurt nodded. He wasn't worried about Blaine having second thoughts, or anything like that. Blaine had been ecstatic the night before. They wanted this. They had been planning this ever since they had both proposed four months earlier in their field. There was no doubt that they would get married today, on the third anniversary of the day they had first met. They had decided it was a good idea to choose that day because Blaine had been unsure about them celebrating the day he had first slushied Kurt. Kurt thought it was a good idea to celebrate the anniversary of the first day they had met, but Blaine wasn't as enthusiastic, so they decided that marrying on the same day would drown out all uncertainty.

Kurt had put so much into getting this wedding as perfect as it could be. They'd wanted to do it as soon as possible and four months didn't seem like a lot of time to get it to perfection, but they had managed it and so far, things were going smoothly. Kurt had chosen specific colours for the wedding. The colours were the colours in the flowers he and Blaine wore in their lapels, that the flower girls and bridesmaids held and wore in their hair and that sat at the centre of each table and in almost every corner of the room that the reception was to be held.

The flowers he had chosen were special. Kurt had a real one pressed into the back of an old photo album. It was a red-tipped yellow rose, the one Blaine had given him when he had asked him to be his date to prom. Now, they were scattered every where, almost the object around which this wedding was based.

Everything else, including the bridesmaids' (Rachel, Mercedes, Tina, Santana and Brittany) dresses, was a crisp white, so that the flowers stood out. Kurt and Blaine did not, however, wear white, because that would be too much. They wore simple, black tuxes. Blaine wore a bow tie, because that was his thing, and Kurt wore a tie. Kurt was very proud of how everything looked and how it had all come together in such a short space of time.

He turned and looked in the mirror, tweaked his hair a little bit, then sat back and smiled. Today was going to be perfect.

"The first time I saw Kurt Hummel, I remember first being intrigued and then absolutely terrified. I like to tell him nowadays that I think that it was love at first sight. he doesn't believe me, because about ten minutes after I first laid eyes on him, I emptied a slushie over his head, which I regret to this day, not to mention the other hundred awful things I did to him. But I was lucky enough that he was able to see through that and that he was willing to keep trying to get through to me. Most of all, I was lucky enough to have him love me back.

"Kurt helped me see who I really was and he showed me that the people I called my friends, weren't, not really and because of him, I joined a club that was more than a club, it was a family and they accepted me, the real me and that's how I found out who my real friends were.

"Kurt also showed me that it was okay to be the real me, despite what anyone told me. When my parents struggled to understand, Kurt was there for me and so was his dad, Burt. My own parents found it hard to deal and I accept that. Back then, it hurt and I was at war with myself and Kurt and Burt showed me that it didn't have to be like that, that I could be who I was and that helped me deal with everything. I have my mom back now, she's here for me. I'm so thankful for her, for trying and loving me even when she found it hard. As well as Burt being there for me, there's Carole and Finn, who are like family to me, which, I guess they will be now.

"So, yeah, sometimes it was difficult, sometimes it was easy, but throughout all of those things, the good and the bad and the awful and the amazing, throughout all of that, I've been totally sure of one thing: Us. Me and Kurt. And that I want to be with him forever and the moment he dropped down on one knee, I had no doubts about what my answer was going to be.

"I know when you compare us to a lot of other couples, we haven't been together that long, but it feels like I've never been without Kurt. I feel like before him, I was this ghost of a person, never sure of who or where I was supposed to be and then he walked into my life and I came alive for the first time and I think back to life before him and I the person I used to be is a stranger. So, no, we haven't been together that long, but the way I feel about him is enough and I know that we're going to make it.

"We joke sometimes, saying we're already like an old, married couple. He's always telling me to stop leaving towels on the bathroom floor and to quit eating ice cream while he's cooking dinner. I get frustrated when he spends an hour to get ready just to go food shopping, when he already looks completely perfect. Sometimes we drive each other crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing about us. I want to spend the rest of our lives together driving each other up the wall.

"I love you, Kurt. You're amazing and beautiful and kind and loving and talented and brilliant and I ask myself every single day what I did to deserve someone as spectacular as you are.

"We had this thing, Kurt and I, where I'd tell him he knocked me sideways, made me second guess every part of my life. He's been knocking me sideways since the first moment I set eyes on him and I look forward to being knocked sideways for the rest of my life with him. I'm so happy that you're giving me forever, Kurt. I love you so much."

"The funny thing about Blaine is that he likes to tell people he proposed first. This is technically untrue. At some point, this became a competition, which is ridiculous for two people who hadn't really planned on doing this so soon, but the truth is I got there a second before Blaine. Not that he's complaining. But this is the kind of thing he was talking about when he said we already act like we're married. We have these harmless disputes about nothing that can go on for hours and that's what I want forever.

"Blaine can't see himself. And I don't mean he doesn't know how attractive he is, trust me, he compliments himself daily on his appearance, but Blaine can't see how amazing he really is. He's been playing the tough guy for so long and he's still letting his guard down. If you look through all that, you can see him—the real him, the one I've always known was hiding under there. He keeps saying he's thankful that I gave him a chance, but it's not like I had much of a choice. I saw him through the cracks. I saw the amazing, loving, adorable guy he really is and I fell in love and I need him to know that this was not about giving him a chance, it was about loving him, for who he is.

"It hard not to love Blaine. He smiles and you can't help but smile with him. He's so oblivious sometimes that it's endearing and a lot of you may not know this, but he's the most gentle person I know. My dad loves him. I think my whole family does. Although I would appreciate it if Finn refrained from saying he's like a little brother, because I don't need to tell you how awkward that makes this wedding.

"I know this was sudden and it shocked some people. Dad, I know you said this was inevitable, but you didn't expect us to go out and get engaged right away, and I know you've been worried that we're rushing into it, but you've been so supportive. I promise you, we'll make it. You've got nothing to worry about.

"Things aren't always easy. I know it won't always be perfect, but it helps that we love each other and we're willing to fight if we have to to make it work. Blaine, you're everything to me. I can't imagine a life without you and I never want to. I can't wait to be married to you. I need you. You're the one thing I have no doubts about and if I ever develop any, like I did a few months ago before we got engaged, I'm trusting you to pull me out of it and remind me that this is what I'll always want. I love you, Blaine Anderson. I love you, I'll always love you and I love you more every day and I can't wait to keep on loving you more and more as we grow old together."

Kurt sat down next to Blaine at the table and eyed him carefully. Blaine smiled at him and Kurt didn't smile back.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, concerned.

"You're really quiet."

"Just taking it all in," Blaine explained, gesturing around the room at the people dancing and running around and talking and laughing. "We're married."

That made Kurt smile.

"That's all?" Kurt asked. "You're not thinking that this entire thing was a huge mistake and that you weren't actually ready, you just said yes because—"

Blaine silenced him by leaning across and kissing his lips slowly, sweetly. He pulled back and took Kurt's hand.

"I said yes because I love you," Blaine informed him. "I have no regrets, I'm so happy, Kurt. We're married," he said again.

Kurt smiled and became more visibly relaxed. "I'm glad," he said. "You were quiet, so I just worried that maybe.."

"I was busy thinking about how amazing my husband is," Blaine told him. They both grinned. "I mean, you told me so many times how you wanted this to look, but I could never have imagined anything half as amazing as this. You are a genius and I love you and I can hardly believe I get to call you my own."

"I am my own person, Mr Anderson," Kurt teased. "Although my heart is entirely yours."

"That's Hummel-Anderson," Blaine corrected and almost squealed, because, wow, this was real. "And I assure you that my heart, as well as the rest of me, belongs completely and utterly to you."

Kurt smiled and gave Blaine's hand a tight squeeze.

"I love you, Blaine."

"I love you more, pretty boy."

Blaine stood up and offered him his hand.

"May I have this dance?"

Kurt smiled and accepted.

"Yes, you may."

The first bump in the road came when they had been married for three years. They had an apartment to themselves, since Brittany had moved to New York and she and Santana had stayed in Kurt and Blaine's old apartment.

Kurt had been bringing up the subject a lot lately and Blaine was brushing it off, trying to postpone the conversation to a later date. Kurt's mind was overwrought with ideas and worries about why Blaine would keep dancing around the topic and one night, it all became to much, so he sat down next to him and asked him point blank.

"Why don't you want kids with me?"

Blaine's eyebrows rose and he looked surprised.

"What?" was all he managed to utter.

"I've been trying to talk to you about this for months and you keep changing the subject," Kurt informed him. "I thought you wanted us to have a family."

"I do!" Blaine insisted. "God, Kurt, I do."

"Then why do you keep avoiding the topic?" Kurt enquired. "Blaine, if you never want kids, that's okay. You're allowed to change your mind and if that's what you want, I'm totally okay with that, but just tell me. I won't be mad or want to break up, or anything."

"No, Kurt," Blaine said. "No, I do. I want us to have kids, I do."

"Then what is it?" Kurt asked. "All I can think about is you not thinking you can bear the idea of being with me forever and you don't want us to have to worry about..about custody battles or whatever when the time comes."

Blaine's eyes all but popped out of his head. He reached out and took both of Kurt's hands in his own.

"Oh my God," he exhaled. "Kurt, baby, no. God, no. You.. I've never been more sure about anything in my life. You and I are forever and I'm so happy that we are. I promise it's not you. I'm.. I'll tell you. I didn't mean to make you think..that. I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything."

Kurt nodded, relieved, but still unhinged.

"I'm scared," Blaine told him.

"I'm scared, too," Kurt admitted. "But we could work through that."

Blaine shook his head.

"No?" Kurt asked, carefully.

"You'd be an amazing parent," Blaine told him. "You have nothing to be frightened about. Me, on the other hand.. I'm.."

Blaine trailed off and looked down at his and Kurt's joined hands. Kurt eyed him for a long time and then it hit him. He understood completely.

"Blaine," he said, quietly. "Come here."

Kurt pulled him up and walked across the floor, Blaine's hand in his own. He stopped by the wall of their bedroom, next to the full-length mirror and pushed Blaine in front of him. He placed a hand on his shoulder and held his other hand.

"Look in that mirror," Kurt urged.

Blaine stared at his reflection, bewilderment plain on his face. Kurt waited, then spoke.

"You are not your dad," he told Blaine. "Look at yourself. You're not him. You are incapable of hurting anyone, Blaine."

"I hurt you."

"You slushied me a few times," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like you would ever slushie our children."

"I've had temper issues in the past."

"Yes, Blaine, when we were eighteen," Kurt said. "You're perfectly mellow nowadays. You're not violent, or dangerous. Your dad was violent and dangerous. You're not him. You're not."

"I never want to be like him."

"You never could be," Kurt said, twisting Blaine around to face him. "I know you and I love you and I trust you. You'd be a brilliant parent. You can still say no, but I'd really like to start a family with you. What do you say?"

Blaine's frown developed into a small smile and he pulled Kurt closer.

"I guess you'd better start designing a nursery," he said and Kurt made a high pitched sound and flung himself into Blaine's arms.

"I can't look at children and choose which one I want," Blaine told Kurt as they followed the lady up the stairs. "It's not like choosing my favourite ice cream flavour. Besides, when I'm ordering ice cream, I can just ask them to give me a scoop of chocolate on top of the mint."

Kurt smiled. "Now you sound like a child," he teased. "But I know what you mean. We can't say no, though, Blaine."

Blaine nodded and they walked down the hall and into a large room filled with children, running around and playing games and reading books. It was going to be difficult to pick out a child and leave the others rejected, but if it had to be done..

The woman led them through the room and opened a door. They followed her inside a large nursery. Kurt and Blaine had agreed on adopting a younger child, one that wouldn't remember their past. They'd discussed it a lot and agreed that they might find it difficult to accustom an older child to their family. Maybe the second time round they would do things differently, but for now, this was the plan.

"All babies look the same," Blaine said, quietly.

Kurt shushed him as the woman, Mrs Kincaid, starting talking.

"You can have a look around," she told them. "Ask questions if you want."

Kurt gave her a smile and he and Blaine walked towards the cribs holding the babies.

"She says look around like we're borrowing books from a library."

"Blaine, she's going to hear you and she's going to put something in her little file and we'll be rejected," Kurt warned. "You can tell she doesn't like the idea of two men adopting children anyway."

"Right," Blaine muttered.

They stopped at each small crib and asked Mrs Kincaid for the story behind each child. Blaine looked as if he wanted to take all of them home, while Kurt just wasn't sure how they could possibly choose. They kept going and half way down the second row, they stopped at a blue crib with the name "Jayden" taped to the end. They peered inside at the boy. He had small tufts of blonde hair and seemed to be in a rather deep sleep.

"Jayden," Mrs Kincaid said, flicking through her files. "He's four, a little older than some of the others, but still young. He was left orphaned after the death of his mother, shortly after he was born."

Blaine frowned. "He didn't have any other family?"

"Let's see," she said, eyes trained on her papers. "Ah, yes. The mother was a rape victim. Jayden was a result of that. Her family didn't want anything to do with the child."

"He's beautiful," Kurt said, smiling sadly at the little boy.

"You said that about the last thirty," Blaine joked beside him.

Kurt smiled and Blaine slipped his hand in his.

"Can I ask you something?" Blaine asked, looking up at Mrs Kincaid.

She nodded, signalling for him to go ahead.

"You do this all the time? Bring people up here and ask them which kid they would be willing to take home?"

"Yes."

"How do they do it?" he asked. "How do they know? How can they stand here and listen to every story and still be able to choose one from all of these babies?"

Mrs Kincaid considered this for a moment.

"I think with a lot of couples, they feel a pull, to a certain child, or a certain story. It's like they fall instantly in love." She sighed then. "Of course, a lot of people will choose a child with a better background, one that will be easier to explain in years to come."

"How did she die?" Kurt asked.

"Hmm?" Mrs Kincaid asked.

"His mom," Kurt said. "How did his mom die?"

"She, ah, committed suicide," Mrs Kincaid said, frowning into the book. "He's been here for as long as I can remember. He was only a few weeks old when he was brought into the system."

"And nobody's had any interest?" Blaine asked.

"I guess not a lot of people want a child that was the result of a rape."

Kurt looked up at Blaine, hope in his eyes.

"This one?" Blaine asked, knowing that Kurt had made up his mind.

"That pull you just talked about?" Kurt said, glancing at Mrs Kincaid. "I feel it. With him. Jayden. Can't you?" he asked Blaine.

Blaine looked back down at the little boy again and smiled instantly. He pictured raising this child with Kurt, pictured watching him grow and taking him to school and helping him with his homework.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I feel it. This is the one."

Mrs Kincaid looked uncertain, but she nodded and scribbled something down in her file. She looked up at them and smiled.

"Very well," she said. "I'm sure you'll be receiving word regarding acceptance soon."

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a smile. They were almost there. Almost.

They sat on the couch next to each other, eyes on the brown envelope sitting on the coffee table in front of them. They hadn't moved for ten minutes.

"You open it," Kurt exhaled, finally.

Blaine let out a shaky breath. "Okay," he said, reaching out for the envelope.

"If this is a no, we might have to take Rachel up on her offer to play surrogate."

Blaine snorted and began opening the letter, fingers shaking a little. He removed it from the envelope and held the white, folded paper in his hands.

"Ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," Kurt told him nervously.

Blaine opened the letter and read it carefully. When he was done, he folded it back up and looked at Kurt.

"It's a no, isn't it?" Kurt asked. "I knew it. This was all too good to be true and we shouldn't have kept going to see Jayden, because we are far too attached now and —"

"Kurt," Blaine interrupted. "You didn't even let me tell you what it said."

Kurt's eyes went wide when he noticed the small smile dancing on the corners of Blaine's lips.

"It's.."

"It's a yes," he told him. "We're going to be parents."

"We are?" Kurt asked, voice going high. He could hardly believe it was true.

Blaine held the letter out and Kurt took it and read it four times, just to be sure. He flung it over his shoulder and pulled Blaine into a kiss.

"He's almost ours," he whispered against Blaine's lips. "Almost ours."

"I'm quitting piano lessons," Jayden told Blaine when he was eight years old. "I know dad and Rachel keep saying I'm talented and all, but it's boring, dad."

Blaine smiled sat down next to his son. "Okay," he said.

"What, that's it?" Jayden asked, blue eyes going wide. It amazed Blaine that Jayden was not blood-related to Kurt, yet he had almost exactly the same colour eyes.

"What's it?" Blaine asked. "If you don't want to play the piano, you don't have to play the piano."

Jayden looked relieved. He slumped back against the sofa and nodded.

"Do you think dad will be upset?" he asked, sadly.

"Nah," Blaine said. "We don't want you to do anything that makes you unhappy, Jayden."

"Will you tell him for me?"

"If you want," Blaine said, chuckling. "You know he'll understand, though, right?"

Jayden shrugged. "I kept going because I thought he wanted me to. I like watching football and you and me, we watch it together, but I don't like all that fashion stuff, or the musicals that dad likes and I think that piano is the only thing we really have in common."

Blaine eyed his son. "You don't have to spend your entire life trying to please us, Jayden. Trust me, your dad and I both understand. And believe me, you and your dad have a lot more in common than the piano. For example, you both like to give me that death glare when I'm doing something you don't approve of."

Jayden let out a small giggle.

"Seriously, stop freaking out," Blaine said. "You don't have to have stuff in common with us anyway. We're your parents. And you know your dad and grandpa have less in common than you and your dad do and they're like best friends."

"I guess."

"We love you no matter what," Blaine informed him.

Jayden smiled slowly then. "Even if I'm not Mozart?"

"Even if you're not Mozart," Blaine said, grinning.

Kurt tapped on Jayden's bedroom door and then opened it slowly and walked inside. Jayden was propped up against his pillows, reading a book.

"Hey, baby," Kurt said, smiling. "Can I sit down?"

Jayden shrugged and shut his book. Kurt sat down at the end of his bed. His bedsheets were a plain blue. He'd told Kurt and Blaine that the space sheets were for babies a week earlier, so they'd tried to revamp his bedroom to something more age appropriate. Blaine insisted that spaceships were age appropriate and Kurt had told him that he needed to stop complaining and appreciate the fact that their son had an eye for good decor at such a young age.

"Your dad tells me you're done with piano."

Jayden nodded and looked down at his hands.

"You think I'm mad?"

Jayden shrugged.

"Jaydee—"

"Daaaad!" Jayden protested. "I'm not five!"

"Okay, okay," Kurt said, trying to conceal his smile. "Jayden," he corrected. "I don't want you to play piano if you hate it. I'm not mad at you for being honest. I just wish you'd said something sooner and then you wouldn't have had to go to classes you hated."

Jayden sighed. "You and Rachel were always saying how good I was and I didn't want to upset you—"

"I'm not upset," Kurt told him. "Do I look upset?"

Jayden shook his head.

"See?" he said, smiling. "Nothing to worry about. And despite what your dad says, you and I have more in common than the bit—than the death glare."

"We do?"

"Sure," Kurt said. "We love each other, right?"

Jayden's face softened and he smiled at his dad, his blue eyes bright in the small lamp light. He nodded and then yawned.

"Get some sleep, okay?" Kurt said, patting his knee. "School tomorrow."

Jayden groaned and placed his book on the side table. He fixed his pillows and lay down in the bed. Kurt went to the window and closed the curtains, leaving them in almost complete darkness.

"Hey, dad?"

Kurt turned to face his little boy.

"Yeah, baby?"

"You know how a few weeks ago you and dad were talking about me having a brother or sister?"

Kurt looked surprised. He hadn't been aware that Jayden had heard that conversation.

"Yeah," he said, simply.

"I was thinkin'," Jayden said, smiling up at him, "it might be kind of nice."

Kurt smiled. "You think?"

Jayden nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, we'll keep that in mind," Kurt joked. He brushed Jayden't blonde hair from across his forehead and pressed a kiss to it.

"G'night, daddy," Jayden said, sounding tired.

"'Night, Jaydee," Kurt replied. "I love you."

"Love you more."

Kurt smiled and shut the door quietly, then went down the hall to his and Blaine's bedroom. Blaine was in bed already, arms behind his head.

"Hey," Kurt said, closing the door. "Guess what?"

"Jayden wants to change how his room looks again?" Blaine guessed, sitting up.

"It's only been a week, he doesn't get tired of it for at least a month," Kurt reminded him. He slipped out of his jeans and tugged his shirt off, then climbed in next to Blaine. "He said he wouldn't mind having a little brother or sister."

"He did?"

"Mm hmm," Kurt confirmed. "What do you think," Kurt asked, "about us having another kid? And before you say anything, I know we already sort of struggle with always being here for Jayden, what with work and everything, but I think this could be good for us. Maybe it would sort of put the icing on the cake."

Blaine chuckled. "The icing on the cake?"

Kurt elbowed him. "You know what I mean," he said. "It could sort of even out the family. I mean, I'm ecstatically happy with it being the three of us, but we always said we'd like more than one, right? And if Jayden's game, then I am, too. I was worried about how he'd take it, but if he's going to be oka—"

"How about we make some phone calls in the morning after we take Jayden to school?"

Kurt grinned and slipped his arms around Blaine's waist. "Really?" he asked, excitedly.

"Really," Blaine said, kissing his lips once. "Now go to sleep and stop dancing. It's my turn to take him in the morning and you know how bad I am at mornings."

"Okay," Kurt said, settling in Blaine's embrace. "Thank you."

"What for?" Blaine muttered.

"Everything."

A few months later, Blaine took Jayden home to meet his new little sister. Her hair was as dark as Blaine's and her eyes were a blueish-grey. She was three years old and was perched on Kurt's knee, wearing a little, pink dress. Blaine smiled and watched Jayden's blue eyes go wide as he walked cautiously across the floor to his father and little sister.

"Jayden," Kurt said, smiling. "Meet Samantha."

Samantha had come into the world in the same way that Jayden had, which was what had drawn Kurt and Blaine's attention to her. She'd smiled at them from her crib, her little hands reaching out for one of them to pick her up. Kurt had held her, tears in his eyes as her story was told.

Her mother had abandoned her on the steps of the facility when she had been two years old, leaving her with just a note and a small, stuffed, baby chicken. The note had explained that she'd tried to love her, but couldn't and because of that she felt like an awful person and that she deserved to have a family that could love her without the stigma of knowing how and why she had been born. The stuffed chick was in the crib next to her. It was worn and off colour and it broke Kurt's heart to look at.

They signed the papers that day and waited a few weeks for them to go through. When they came back with no problems, they'd taken her home.

Samantha fit right into their little family, making it complete.

Blaine bumped into someone very unexpectedly two years after he and Kurt had brought Samantha home. He was in the city on his way home from work, when he spoted the familiar face. Both men stopped still and stared at each other.

"Blaine Anderson," Noah Puckerman said, taking a step forward.

"Puck," Blaine said, cautiously.

Puck looked pretty much the same as ever, except the Mohawk was gone. Blaine had heard that Puck and Quinn had never actually had a relaionship after high school. The baby had gone up for adoption and Quinn had gone to Yale. The last Blaine had heard was that Puck was cleaning pools in California, but it had been a long time ago when he had heard that.

"What brings you here?" Blaine asked.

"My sister just moved here," he explained. "You?"

"I've been living here since for over ten years," Blaine informed him, coldly. "With Kurt Hummel," he added.

"Dude," Puck said. "You're still doin' Hummel?" Puck's eyes were wide.

"Married him nine years ago," Blaine said, nodding. "We've got two kids."

Puck's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider.

"What about you?" Blaine asked.

"The usual," Puck said, shrugging.

"No more Quinn?"

"Naw, man, that was over before we finished high school," Puck apprised him. "What are you doing these days?"

"Teaching music for now," Blaine told him.

"Cool," Puck said nodding. "Hey, listen, I know we stopped talking for some reason, but we were bros once. We cool?"

Puck held up a hand. Blaine eyed him for a moment, then accepted the little bro-shake. They stood back and shifted their feet uncomfortably.

"Um," Blaine said, clearing his throat. "I've got to get home. See you around maybe."

"Sure thing," Puck said, nodding.

Blaine gave him a half smile and walked on down the street. What were the chances? Blaine walked the rest of the way home and when he went upstairs, he found Santana at the door, waiting to be let inside.

"Hey, you," Blaine said, coming up behind her. "I didn't know you were coming over."

"Yeah, well, I like to be spontaneous every now and then," she told him, smiling. "You got a key or does lady Hummel not let you have one?"

Blaine smiled and opened the door. They went inside and found Jayden and Samantha on the sofa, Jayden with his nose in a book and Samantha holding her stuffed chick, her eyes on the TV screen. They looked up when Blaine and Santana walked in.

"Daddy!" Samantha said happily.

Blaine went around the back of the sofa and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, pretty girl," he said, smiling.

He turned and looked at Jayden. "Hey," he said, tousling his blonde hair. "How was school?"

Jayden shrugged and shoved a bookmark inside his book. He placed it down on his lap.

"Where's your dad?" Blaine asked, standing up straight again.

"Phonecall in the bedroom," Jayden said.

"I'm here," Kurt said, coming into the room. His phone was in his hand. "Just sorting out hours for next week."

Blaine smiled and Santana stepped forward.

"I swear, you two are the most fashionable kids I've ever seen," she told them.

"Daddy says every moment in an o..an opportunity for fashion!" Samantha stuttered, then grinned when she'd finished the entire sentence.

"Oh, he does?" Santana asked.

""Might as well teach 'em early," Kurt said, smiling.

"Okay, kids, get an overnight bag," Santana said. "You're staying with me tonight."

Blaine, Kurt and Jayden looked at her quizzically, while Samantha smiled and ran into her bedroom. Samantha loved Santana and she really loved Brittany.

"Why?" Jayden asked. Jayden loved Santana in his own way, too. He was just a lot more curious and judgmental than Samantha was.

"Why?" Santana repeated. "Because it's been forever since I had you two over and a little birdy told me you walked in on your daddy fellating your other daddy last night."

"Santana!" both Kurt and Blaine shouted in horror.

Blaine wished he hadn't told her about that. Jayden was only ten years old, but he liked books and words and he would undoubtedly find a definition for the word 'fellating'. He hadn't seen much the night before, but there had been a struggle to get everything covered up and they'd had to find out what he needed, both blushing and wanting to hide their faces.

Jayden just sighed. "Whatever," he said and left the room.

Kurt was glaring at Santana. Blaine just shook his head and sat down.

"Jeez, Hummel, if a wind strikes you'll be left like that," she said, sitting down. "Besides, you should be grateful. I'm giving you two a whole night to yourselves—hell, I'll keep 'em for the whole weekend if you want."

"You can't say things like that around them, Santana," Kurt told her. "He's very perceptive to his surroundings."

"Oh, can it, Kurt," she said, flicking through the channels on the TV. "He's gonna be just fine. Now quit complaining and shower me with praise, because you can fellate tonight without being interrupted."

Blaine smiled and sighed. "We appreciate this," he told her. "But please don't say anything..dirty that the kids are likely to pick up."

"Noted," Santana said. "I guess I should probably keep them away from our slutty neighbour Smythe and whoever his flavour of the month is."

"Please," Kurt begged and the kids had returned to the room then.

"Okay," Santana said, standing up. "You guys got everything?"

Samantha nodded enthusiastically, standing there holding her little, pink bag and her coat under her arm. "I brought the blue haired doll for Brittany!"

Santana grinned and looked at Jayden. "Got all your books, nerd?"

Jayden smiled at the nickname and stuck his tongue out at her. Santana helped Samantha into her jacket and Kurt listed off instructions. Blaine waited and then stood up. They walked to the door and Blaine noticed the stuffed chick still on the sofa.

"Samantha, sweetie," he said, picking it up. "You're forgetting Chicky."

Samantha ran back and Blaine bent and gave it to her. He hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"Love you, baby," Blaine said, grinning.

"Love you more, daddy," Samantha replied and hugged him tight.

Blaine hugged her back, then stood up and took her hand. They joined the others by the door. Samantha went to Kurt then and Blaine looked at their son.

"Hey," he said, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. "You okay with staying with Santana and Brittany tonight? You don't have to go, you know."

"Please," Santana said. "Me and Jayden have a blast together. Don't worry about us."

"Yeah, I'll be fine, dad," Jayden assured him. "Quit worrying."

Blaine nodded and bent to press a kiss to the top of Jayden's head. "Watch your sister," he said.

"Come on, you two," Santana said. "If we don't leave now, they'll freaking smother you before I can get you out of here."

Jayden and Samantha followed her out into the hall. Santana took Samantha's hand and they turned to look at Kurt and Blaine, who stood there in the door frame, smiling.

"Say goodbye to your dads," Santana said, smiling, too. "They're going to be so lonely without you guys tonight. What ever will they do?"

Kurt glowered and Santana winked. They said goodbye and shut the door, then sat down on the couch.

"So," Blaine said after a moment.

"It's quiet," Kurt commented.

Blaine nodded, then turned to Kurt and pushed him down into the sofa.

"Too soon?" he asked, when Kurt sighed.

"Please wait until they've at least left the building," Kurt said, smiling. He reached up and played with the hair curling over Blaine's ears. "Besides, you haven't even eaten yet."

Blaine smirked, his hand trailing down Kurt's body. He tugged gently on Kurt's zipper.

"I can think of something I'd like to eat," he whispered, sliding the zipper all the way down and slipping his hand inside to palm at Kurt's cock.

"What if they come back?" Kurt asked, eyes fluttering shut as Blaine's hand pushed past the waistband of his underwear and his fingers wrapped around him.

"Santana is not Rachel," Blaine told Kurt. "She'll keep them busy. Rachel calls every five minutes. Just relax and let me take care of you."

"But dinner—"

"Let me finish what we started last night," Blaine said, sitting back and tugging Kurt's jeans and underwear down in one swift movement.

"Blaine, they sit here," Kurt said. "I'm not going to do this where our children sit."

Blaine rolled his eyes and tried to push him back, but Kurt sat up.

"Blaine," he said, disapproval in his voice.

"Okay," Blaine said, defeated. "Bedroom?"

Kurt frowned, but stood up and shrugged his jeans and briefs all the way off, then walked to the bedroom, swinging his hips. Blaine swallowed hard and rushed after him. He pushed him down on the bed and kissed him hard.

"Guess what?" he whispered against Kurt's lips.

"Hmm?"

"You can be as loud as you want," he told him. "When was the last time we could be as loud as we wanted?"

"About fifty years," Kurt joked. "I love them, though. It's not like I really want to get rid of them."

"Your guilt is killing the mood, baby," Blaine said, licking inside his mouth again. "Relax. We're allowed have a night to ourselves, it doesn't mean we don't love them. Stop talking and let me do this. It's been too long."

Kurt kissed him again, then smiled and Blaine took that as a signal to begin. He slid down his body and took Kurt's now erect cock in his hand. He licked over the slit a couple of times and then sunk his mouth down over it. Kurt started moaning quietly and Blaine wanted to make him scream. He reached up and sucked his first two fingers into his mouth alongside the head of Kurt's cock and then he took them back out and ran them across Kurt's entrance. Kurt whined.

Blaine hummed around him and Kurt got louder, his breath coming faster. Blaine rubbed over his hole as he continued to suck on him hard. Soon he was slipping three fingers in and out with ease, his mouth still working on getting Kurt closer. Kurt was louder now, writhing slightly. Blaine could feel him getting closer and when he knew Kurt was just about there, he pushed his fingers all the way in and hit his prostate and then Kurt came with a loud cry, inside Blaine's mouth. Blaine kept sucking, swallowing his come and trying to draw out the climax for as long as he could.

Finally, Kurt stopped jerking his hips and Blaine didn't have to concentrate on keeping all of his teeth in tact. He sucked slowly on the head of Kurtt's softening cock and then when Kurt began whining, complaining that it was too much, he took his mouth off, pressed a kiss to his stomach and climbed up the bed to kiss his lips.

They spent the rest of the night watching movies and making out and having sex and they were as loud as they wanted to be, until the next day when the kids came home. Kurt and Blaine loved their children more then anything else in the world, but it was nice to have some time to themselves every now and then.

"Dad!" Jayden said, sounding irritated.

Kurt looked up from his sketches and saw Samantha tapping on the table with two pens. Jayden was watching her with accusing eyes. Kurt knew she was imitating Finn on his drums.

"Samantha, honey, your brother is trying to concentrate on his reading," Kurt said, closing his sketch book and stretching his arms in the air.

"You're not s'posed to read during winter break, dad," Samantha told him, rolling her eyes.

"Reading is good for the brain," Burt said, coming into the room. He sat down in the armchair.

"Maybe if you read you'd know what everyone was talking about more often," Jayden told her.

"I'm eight," Samantha retorted, "I'm not supposed to know big words!"

They started arguing amongst themselves and Burt caught Kurt's eye. Kurt rolled his eyes and sat back. Blaine came in then and sat down at the table with the kids.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

They both started talking over each other and Kurt groaned and buried his face in his hands. Blaine was trying to calm them down and then Burt looked over at Kurt.

"Hey," he said. "Why don't you and Blaine take Sammie for a walk? Get some air."

"Yes," Kurt said, giving his dad a grateful smile. "Yes, that's a great idea. Samantha, honey, go get your coat."

Samantha left the room instantly and Blaine chuckled.

"She always so hyper?" Burt enquired.

"You have no idea," Kurt told him.

"Hey, dad," Jayden said and both Kurt and Blaine looked at him expectantly. Jayden smiled and looked back and forth between the two of them. "Do you think I could come with you guys?"

Kurt smiled.

"I thought you wanted to get rid of your sister," Blaine said.

Jayden shrugged.

"Of course you can come," Kurt told him. "Just go wrap up, it's cold."

Jayden rolled his eyes and left the room, taking his book with him. They watched him go and then Burt spoke.

"Jayden give you guys any trouble?" he asked.

Burt saw the kids a couple of times a year, but spoke to them over the phone a lot. He hadn't seen them since the summer however.

"No, he's usually pretty well behaved," Blaine told him.

"He gets moody sometimes, but that's to be expected, I guess," Kurt added.

"Yeah, I mean, I was awful when I was thirteen," Blaine said, with a chuckle. "I think that was the year I learned not to talk back to my dad."

Kurt and Burt both frowned at him, knowing exactly what that meant. Blaine only shrugged and continued smiling.

"Kurt wouldn't let me in the kitchen when he was thirteen," Burt told them.

"Kurt doesn't let me in the kitchen now," Blaine joked.

"The kitchen is a sacred place," Kurt pointed out.

"It can be," Blaine said, winking at him.

Kurt looked away quickly, blushing. Jayden and Samantha came back then, acting like friends again. It was amusing to Kurt that one moment they could be at each other's throats and then like best friends the next.

"Ready to go?" Blaine asked, standing up.

They nodded and Kurt stood up, too. He rebuttoned Samantha's coat, because she'd done it up incorrectly. Her little chick was under her arm.

"Where are we going, daddy?" Samantha asked.

Kurt stood up and took her hand. "I think your dad can lead the way," he told her.

Blaine smiled and led his family out the door.

"So, let me get this straight," Jayden said, carefully. "You used to come here and stay here for hours at a time?"

Blaine nodded. "I didn't really have anywhere else to go."

"But..isn't it dangerous here?" Samantha asked, taking Blaine's hand.

"Trust me, honey, I've been telling him that for years," Kurt said, smiling.

"Oh, hush," Blaine said. "You love it here just as much as I do."

Kurt grinned. They hadn't been here since the day they'd proposed to one another. Kurt could hardly believe apartments hadn't been built there.

"Did you ever sleep here, daddy?" Samantha asked looking up at Blaine with her grey-blue eyes.

Blaine smiled secretively. "We both did a couple of times," he said, winking at Kurt.

"Gross," Jayden muttered.

"Exactly," Kurt agreed. "Don't tell your grandpa, though. It's filthy out here."

"There were times when you definitely didn't care about that," Blaine said, quietly.

Kurt cleared his throat, giving Blaine a disapproving smirk, if that was even possible.

"You know we got engaged out here," Kurt said, trying to change the subject. "Your dad will tell you differently, but I proposed first."

"It was a team effort!" Blaine protested, grinning.

"Sure it was, sweetie," Kurt said, patting him on the back. "Want to see something?" he asked, looking at the kids.

Samantha nodded happily and Jayden gave a half shrug.

"Follow me," Kurt said, walking towards the bushes.

"What if it's gone?" Blaine asked.

"Where could it have gone, Blaine?" Kurt said, chuckling.

They walked through the bushes and Kurt shone the light of his phone on the old tree. The letters were still there and the crooked heart surrounded them. Kurt's heart contracted at the sight. He loved Blaine every bit as much as he'd loved him back then. In fact, he loved him more now. Blaine looked across at him and smiled. Kurt gave him a wink.

"Your dad carved this here when we were eighteen," Kurt told the children. "I warned him it was vandalism, but we all know how good he is at listening to me, don't we?"

Jayden smiled and Samantha reached out and traced the words with her fingers. Kurt felt Blaine's fingers entwining with his own. They still fit so perfectly, even after all this time.

"You love daddy that long?" Samantha asked, looking up at Blaine.

"I've loved him a lot longer, baby," Blaine apprised her. "Don't roll your eyes, Jaydee," Blaine said, chuckling. "Some day you're going to know what it feels like to want to carve your name in a tree with someone else's."

"Sure, dad," Jayden said, rolling his eyes again.

He walked out of the bushes and stood back in the field. The others followed him out and Blaine sat down in the grass. He pulled Kurt down with him and Jayden down the other side of him. Samantha sat down next to Kurt.

"Do you love dad as long as he loves you?" Samantha asked Kurt.

Kurt wavered. They'd told them their story numerous times, but left out a lot of the bad stuff.

"I.." Kurt began, then trailed off. "Things were different for your dad and I. He says it was love at first sight, but the first time I saw your dad my face was covered in flavoured ice. I fell for him a little after that, though. He only has me beaten by a little bit."

"It's the only thing he's got you beaten on," Jayden said, giggling.

"Jayden!" Blaine said, eyes going wide. "I thought you were on my side!"

"We don't have sides in this family!" Jayden reminded him, grinning.

"I know we don't," Blaine said. "But a little moral support couldn't hurt, kiddo."

"How long ago did you write your names on the tree, daddy?" Samantha asked Blaine.

Blaine stopped laughing and smiled across at his daughter. "Uh," he said, "fourteen years ago, give or take."

"Don't you guys ever get tired of each other?" Jayden asked. "I mean, Samantha's only been here for five years and I'm already tired of her," he said, but he was smiling.

Samantha stuck her tongue out at him, playfully.

"What's there to get tired of?" Blaine asked. "You don't think your father is a spectacular man?"

Jayden rolled his blue eyes and Samantha giggled in Kurt's arms.

"Jaydee, when you're in love—when you're really in love—it just keeps getting better as time goes on," Kurt explained.

"Exactly," Blaine agreed. "And we've got you two. Things couldn't be more perfect."

"Uh oh," Kurt said, "we've become one of those cheesy families that people love to hate."

"We've been being cheesy forever, baby," Blaine said. "It was obvious what kind of family we were going to be."

"That's true," Kurt said, smiling brightly.

Blaine slipped his hand higher up Kurt's wrist and stroked his fingers over the links of the bracelet. Kurt smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek and even Jayden was smiling at them now.

"But we're happy, right?" Blaine asked, looking at each member of his family.

"Yes!" Samantha said, holding her chick tight to her chest. "We're the best family! Right, Jayden?"

They all looked at Jayden, smiling.

"We could be worse, I guess," he said, trying to conceal his smile.

Blaine gave his shoulder a squeeze and looked at Kurt.

"What about you, pretty boy?" he asked, in an almost whisper and Kurt's heart beat raced.

Blaine still called him that after all those years and once, Kurt had told him it was stupid, now that they were older, but Blaine had insisted that he allow him to keep on using it, his reason being that Kurt was still as pretty and as beautiful and as perfect as he had been the day he had met him.

"You happy?" Blaine asked, copper-penny eyes wide and shining.

Kurt smiled at him and gave his hand a tight squeeze.

"I've never been happier," he told him truthfully. "I love you," he told Blaine.

And Blaine, Jayden and Samantha all chimed in at the same time, "I love you more!" and they all laughed.

The four of them sat there for a long time, their fingers entwined and Kurt and Blaine exchanged a small, secretive smile. They'd done it. They'd made it. They had everything they had ever wanted. The road hadn't been easy all the time, but they'd fought to make it work and in the end it had all paid off. Sometimes, little things brought it all back, the pain and the fear and the words that made them so unsure, but when they sat back and looked at all they had, all that seemed so petty now.

Kurt looked around the wide stretch of field and remembered the nights he and Blaine had spent there, when everything had felt so hopeless and like it could never be fixed. He remembered the fights they'd had and the tears they'd shed and the love they'd made. His heart ached at the thought of the young boy with the sad, golden eyes and the frown on his lips. He remembered the conflict on his beautiful face and the hesitation in his touch. He remembered the way he'd cried against his body and kissed his lips and held his hand and loved him, even when he wasn't supposed to.

Kurt thought about how far they had come from that. He looked around at his family; at Jayden, with his pretty looks and his wild imagination, at Samantha, who never let go of her little chick, not even knowing the real story behind it, just that her mother had given it to her. She was vibrant and hyper and a girly girl, to say the least. Finally, Kurt looked at Blaine, smiling from ear to ear, his eyes filled with such love for their son and their daughter and for Kurt, himself.

Blaine was looking right at him then, his bright eyes soft and shining. The kids were talking amongst themselves and Blaine was still looking at Kurt. He leaned across and kissed his lips briefly and Kurt sat back and smiled at him. Blaine reached out and pulled him close, so that his breath was on Kurt's ear. He began to sing in a soft whisper, then, so that only Kurt could hear.

"I want to take you far from the cynics in this town, and kiss you on the mouth. We'll cut our bodies free from the tethers of this scene, start a brand new colony, where everything will change. We'll give ourselves new names, identities erased. The sun will heat the grounds under our bare feet in this brand new colony. Everything will change."

Kurt was surprised he had remembered the words, but he smiled and looked up into his eyes, silently telling him that he loved him. Blaine said it back with only his eyes and he leaned in once more and whispered three, little words.

"Everything has changed."

And it had, for the better. Kurt smiled and sat back and watched the stars with his family, happier than he could ever have hoped to be.

The End.