Chapter Thirty-Six

"Aiden?" Blaine knocked lightly on the door, pressing it open slightly. "Are you about ready for dinner?"

The small boy looked up at Blaine and nodded quickly. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, his toy cars and trucks spread across the sheets next to him. Blaine smiled softly at this. It was a quiet night for the two, with Ella off for a weekend scouts' camping expedition, and Kurt making an over-night trip to D.C. for a convention he was covering for his work.

"I've got a lot of new ones," Aiden told him, and Blaine turned his attention back to him. "Since the last time I showed you, I mean."

"That was a long time ago," Blaine said, entering the room. He took a seat at the foot of the bed, and Aiden nodded, then bit his lip, his brow furrowed slightly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," Aiden said suddenly, and Blaine tilted his head in slight confusion.

"What for?" he asked.

Aiden sighed heavily, frowning when he looked back up at Blaine. "I didn't like you very much," he admitted. "When I first met you. No, well, not when I first first met you. But..." He sighed a little frustratedly, looking at his trucks with his eyebrows knit together. "I didn't want you to take my daddy away from me."

"A..."

"No," he said quickly. He sighed again. "I thought about it a lot lately because when they were gonna take Ella away. And I know that we'res a family now, and we didn't always be a family." He looked back up at Blaine. "I just... I'm glad Daddy found you again. Even though I wasn't first. And I'm sorry I wasn't at first."

"It's all right," Blaine assured him. He took a deep breath, looking at Aiden gently. "I know that it's really hard when a parent dies. I may not have lost my dad until I was much older, and we didn't exactly have... we weren't that close. Still, nobody deserves to lose a parent like that, A. I wish I could go back and fix it for you so that you never had to."

Aiden frowned a little. "But... that would mean you wouldn't be with my daddy."

Blaine nodded. "If that would save the two of you from all the pain and hurt you both suffered over the last three years, I would give that up."

Aiden looked at him thoughtfully for a few long minutes. "If it had to be this way," he said slowly, "I'm just really happy that you were around to help my daddy." He smiled. "You made him smile again after Dada died. You make him real happy now. I like that. So... t'ank you for being here for my daddy."

Blaine smiled back at the boy who was quickly approaching the age of seven. He reached out, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm here for you, too," he reminded him. "I care for you a lot, Aiden. And I would never even think of trying to replace your dad. But just know that... I'm here for you. Anything you ever need, I want to give it to you if you can."

Aiden grinned broadly at him. He quickly and carefully pushed his trucks aside and shuffled over to Blaine on his knees. A little hesitantly he wrapped his arms around the man. Blaine quickly hugged him back. "T'anks," he said quietly.

"Of course," Blaine responded softly. He released the young boy at last. "Now, let's get these back up onto the shelf, and then have some dinner, all right?"

At half past two in the morning, the creaking of the bedroom door startled Blaine out of his sleep. He and Aiden had tucked in early, Blaine feeling completely exhausted. He quickly pushed himself up onto his elbow, sliding his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. Slowly, a tiny figure came into focus against the faint moonlight from the hallway windows.

"Aiden?" he said uncertainly. "What's wrong?"

The boy frowned slightly. "I... I had a bad dream and..." He turned his attention to his bare feet. "It's jus' that you said if I ever needed anything, that... that..."

Blaine didn't hesitate, pulling down the sheets on the side of the bed that Kurt usually occupied. "Come here," he told the boy. Aiden quickly crawled into the bed, clutching onto Blaine's arm as though it was a lifeline. Blaine brushed the boy's hair out of his face. "What was your nightmare about?" he asked quietly. "You wanna talk about it?"

Aiden sucked in a breath. "I dreamed about Dada," he said quietly. "And Daddy and you and Ella." He sniffled slightly. "Jus'... jus' don't leave me, okay?"

Blaine wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's son. "I wouldn't dream of it, A."

Aiden nodded against his chest. "I know that it was j-just a dream, but..."

"Dreams can be real scary sometimes," Blaine told him. "And sometimes they seem real." He pressed a kiss to the boy's hair. "But what I can promise you, and I guarantee that your daddy and Ella feel the same way, is that I will never leave you out of choice."

"Dada didn't either," Aiden pointed out in a snuffly voice, and Blaine sighed, giving him a slight squeeze.

"I know, and I'm sorry," he replied.

"It doesn't always hurt this bad."

"When you lose someone, there are always going to be those days where it hurts for no real reason," Blaine told him. "It happens to everyone. But you have to keep pushing through. Just keep going and keep fighting."

Aiden nodded and scooted a little closer to Blaine, reveling in the comfort. "Can I tell you somethin'?" he asked sheepishly.

"Anything," Blaine said.

"But I don't want Daddy to get mad if I tell you."

Blaine furrowed his brow slightly. "I'm sure he won't," he assured him. "Your daddy loves you very much."

Aiden nodded a little vaguely. "I love you." Blaine's eyes widened a little at the words. "I know you're not my dad and I know that you're not trying to be my dad, but you're a lot like a dad and I love you." He paused uncertainly. "Is that bad?"

Blaine shook his head. "No, that's not bad at all," he assured him, feeling his heart swell slightly. He smiled down at Aiden. "I love you, too, A."

"Good," Aiden said, but his smiled immediately faltered. "Is daddy going to be upset?"

"Of course he won't," Blaine assured him. "Why would he be?"

"Because I don't want him to think I forgot about Dada or stopped loving him."

Blaine sighed. "Do you think that your daddy forgot about your dada?"

Aiden shook his head quickly. "No, I don't."

"And you know that he will always love him?"

Aiden nodded. "Yes."

"Then I'm sure he can understand the same thing for you," he said. Aiden smiled at this.

"Good," he said. He giggled softly. "I was thinking, and I think that I'm really lucky."

"And why's that?"

"Most people only get one dad," he explained quickly. "And some get two. I used to have two." He paused, looking up at Blaine with a smile that showed his missing baby teeth. "I get three, and they all love me a lot. I think that makes me pretty lucky."

Blaine grinned at the boy, hugging his shoulders and feeling the overwhelming affection towards the boy swelling in his chest. "I suppose it does," he allowed.

Kurt was quiet when he returned in the morning, immediately sensing the stillness in the house and hoping not to wake anyone. He soundlessly dropped his bag in the living room before climbing the stairs. He silently pressed against the door to his son's room, to catch a glimpse of him, but frowned slightly when he realized the bed was empty. Curiosity building, he instead went to the bedroom he shared with Blaine.

Kurt couldn't suppress a smile as he saw Blaine, his hair a mess of curls, glasses still on his face but knocked askew, with Aiden curled up against his chest, the small boy's mouth hanging open and snoring softly. He silently toed off his shoes and climbed onto the edge of the bed. He laid on his side, watching his two men sleeping peacefully.

It only took a few minutes before Blaine shifted slightly, blearily opening his eyes. Kurt could practically see his mind working, registering the weight on his arm, then using his other arm to adjust his glasses. He turned his head slightly, first focusing on Aiden for a moment, then realizing the other man's presence, turned his head completely to the side so that he was facing him.

"Hey," he said groggily, smiling a little goofily at Kurt, who chuckled softly.

"Good morning, sleepy head," he responded. "Rough night?"

"Mm, whenever you aren't here."

"And this little one?" he asked, nodding slightly toward Aiden.

"Nightmare," Blaine said, and Kurt nodded.

"I figured as much." Kurt watched as Blaine scrunched his eyes closed and pressed his thumb and forefinger to his temples. "Are you all right?"

Blaine nodded. "Headache," he said. "Guess I didn't sleep too well, either. But I'll live."

Hearing the soft voices, Aiden stirred, rubbing his fists into his eyes, then blinking in the soft sunlight that was forcing its way through the cracks in the blinds, creating lines against the ceiling. He turned slightly and broke into a grin upon seeing his father.

"Daddy!" he exclaimed cheerfully, throwing himself into his dad's arms. Kurt laughed, squeezing his little boy tight. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too," Kurt told him in turn. "I missed you so much, I got you a present because I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Aiden gasped excitedly, pulling back so that he was sitting on his feet. "Really?" he asked. "Can I see it? Where is it?"

"I left it downstairs," Kurt said. "Shall we go find it?"

Aiden nodded quickly, scrambling to pull himself out of bed and pattering down the hall.

Kurt sighed. "I suppose I should go get it for him, then."

"Probably for the best," Blaine responded, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to the other man's lips. "Did you get me a present, too?" he asked teasingly.

"Is gracing you with my presence not enough of a gift for you, then?" Kurt inquired in the same playful tone. "I am deeply offended!"

"You are a completely wonderful gift," Blaine assured him. "But, well, a postcard or a keychain from the nation's capitol? Now how many of those do you think are out there? That's a one-of-a-kind present, there."

Kurt rolled his eyes and smacked him on his arm. Aiden appeared at the doorway again, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Come on, Daddy!"

Kurt hoisted himself out of bed. "Coming," he said. Then he turned back to Blaine. "At least I know he'll appreciate what I've brought him. You, on the other hand, are completely impossible."

Blaine grinned at him. "Don't you know it?"

After dinner, Kurt finally convinced Aiden to put his present, a beautiful snow globe with the White House perched on a hill inside, on the shelf in his room. At first, Kurt had been delighted to see his son's face light up as he played with it, but as the day wore on and he refused to let the fragile creation out of his grasp wherever he went, he started to worry.

Finally, Kurt had had to make him a deal by giving him a floaty pen to play with instead, watching the boy twirl the pen in his fingers, making the image of the President's helicopter drift from one end to the other, and Kurt was free to take the globe into his son's room and safely display it.

A few hours later, Aiden was fast asleep in his bed, the blue pen on his bedside table between his clock and his lamp shaped like a rocket ship.

After closing his son's bedroom door shut, Kurt ventured off downstairs, finding Blaine sitting on the back porch in one of the chairs. Kurt smiled at him, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

"So you had a good trip?" Blaine asked him, and he nodded.

"It was great," he said. "I'm so glad to be home, though."

"A's happy to have you. As am I, of course."

"Of course," Kurt said with a grin. "What was his nightmare about?"

Blaine let out a slow breath. "About you, me, Alex, and Ella," he said. "He didn't go into details, but... I can assume."

Kurt nodded. "Thank you for taking care of him."

"Of course," Blaine said. "I wouldn't think twice about it. I..." He trailed off, then smiled despite himself. "He told me he loves me."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "He told me he felt lucky because between you, Alex, and me, he feels like he's got three dads."

Kurt smiled at this. "That... that makes me really happy to hear," he said. "I always wondered how he would cope with things going the way they are. I like that he can think about it that way."

"Me too," Blaine admitted. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "I want to marry you."

There was only a brief second of quiet, in which Kurt stared at Blaine, his eyes wide and a little shocked. He swallowed tightly. "What?"

The word was hardly out of Kurt's mouth when Blaine squeezed his eyes shut. "Shit." He took a deep breath. "Shit, Kurt. Shit, I didn't—"

"Blaine..."

"This really wasn't I had planned," Blaine breathed out. "I... I had these ideas, like taking you to New York and seeing Wicked, and we would have a romantic dinner and all that before I'd get down on one knee and ask you. I thought I could be romantic and all that. Perfect. It was supposed to be perfect." He sighed, wringing his hands slightly. "But... there it is. I love you, Kurt. You mean so much to me and you're so wonderful. You're perfect. And I know you think you aren't, and I know that you do have your flaws, but even with them, you're so completely perfect. I am so completely, madly in love with you and I want to spend every minute of the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you, Kurt." He took a deep breath and sunk to the ground in front of the other man, resting his weight on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

Kurt stared at him for a moment before kneeling in front of Blaine, resting back against his feet. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed the other man on the lips.

Blaine looked at him with uncertainty when Kurt pulled away. "Does that mean..."

"I'm sorry, Blaine," he said, hardly audibly.

Blaine blinked several times. "Oh." He hastily folded his other leg beneath him, mirroring Kurt's position. "I'm sorry, I..."

"It's not that I don't want—" Kurt broke off and sighed frustratedly. "Blaine, I love you so much. You mean the world to me." He took Blaine's hands in his, smiling slightly. "The way you think I'm perfect is the same way that I think of you, and I am just as eager to spend the rest of our lives together."

"But?"

"But I... I don't think I'm ready for... marriage," Kurt said slowly. "And it isn't that I don't want to take that step with you. I do, I just... it terrifies me. After Alex. I can't bare the thought of losing you in any way, but especially as a husband."

Blaine smiled gently at him, cupping the side of his face in his hand, allowing his thumb to trace over the line of the brunette's cheekbone. "You're not losing me, Kurt," he said. "I promise that."

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut. "I know for a fact you can't keep that promise," he told him quietly in response.

Blaine leaned in to press a gentle kiss to Kurt's forehead, and the latter let out a tiny, choked-back sob. "Hey, hey, hey," Blaine cooed, pulling him close to him. "I'm here." Kurt clutched onto Blaine tightly, grasping fistfuls of the back of his shirt. He took several deep, shaky breaths before he was able to calm himself again. Blaine rested his cheek against his soft hair, still rubbing soothing circles along his back. "What do you say," he said slowly, his words quiet yet deliberate, "to us just forgetting about all of this."

"Blaine..." Kurt argued weakly. "I didn't want—"

"I don't mean like..." Blaine trailed off and sighed. "Just for now. This obviously isn't the time."

"I didn't want to upset you," Kurt said.

"Neither did I," Blaine responded. "And beside that, how could I possibly be upset? I have the man that I love, and he loves me back. And we don't need a wedding or some silly titles to know that we're in love and we want to spend the rest of our lives together."

Kurt smiled wanly. "We really don't," he agreed. He chuckled softly. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"I feel the same way," Blaine replied with a grin. "Now come on, let's get back inside and head to bed."