It was still early when they decided to leave the bowling place. Tina and Mike had some other plans for the rest of the evening and bid a good evening to Blaine, Charlotte and the children. Blaine’s mother had a plane to catch early the next morning so Blaine drove her home before going back to Kurt’s apartment with Clara, Simon and Sammy. He tried not to linger too much on the proud look his mother had given him as she had released him from a tight hug before climbing off the car. Charlotte had really gotten along with the children and Blaine was certain that she hoped his relationship with Kurt would last. And Blaine was not entirely against that idea but he was not sure if he was ready to admit it just yet.

They arrived in the street where Kurt lived ten minutes later. As they climbed the stairs, Sammy in Clara’s arms and Simon clutching Blaine’s hand in his, the musician was starting to feel a little panicky about the situation he got himself into. What the hell had he been thinking? He did not know the first thing about babysitting. Fortunately, Clara was old enough to help him in case things got out of hand with the two younger boys. Or so Blaine hoped.

Since it was too early for Sammy and Simon to go to bed yet, Clara suggested that they played some board games with Blaine. Simon was really excited by this idea and went to get his favorite: Labirynthe.

Blaine was a little familiar with the game but Simon still insisted on explaining the rules.

“So you have to pick up a card and try to get your piece to the treasure that’s on the card. There are some bits of the game that can’t be moved though and you can also risk trapping yourself if you’re not careful.” Simon seemed very passionate about the game and all three listened to him attentively as he kept going over some details that were not really that important in Blaine’s opinion.

Once everyone had understood how to play, they started the first round. Sammy was still slightly too young to play on his own so Blaine suggested that they team up. The latter agreed a bit reluctantly. The musician let the little boy pick up the card with the treasure to find and then he showed Sammy which piece to move on the board to get to the item. Blaine was pleasantly surprised that they made a great team together. Clara and Simon were really good at the game though and soon, Blaine and Sammy were a lot behind with only three treasures found compared to Simon who had already ten and Clara who had managed to get six. When it was clear that their little brother and Blaine were losing, Clara and Simon silently agreed to fake losing. In the end, Sammy won by one treasure more than Simon. Blaine looked curiously at the two older children. They both smiled at him innocently and he decided not to push. After all, Sammy seemed happy to have won and right now, Blaine felt that as long as the little boy was content, nothing could go wrong. After a second round during which Clara won this time, Simon asked if they could play something else.

“Chatouillis!” Sammy exclaimed looking in Blaine’s direction.

Both Clara and Simon nodded with a devious grin. Blaine had no idea what the word Sammy had said meant but for some reason, he felt like it would be bad news for him.

“Guys?” he asked to none of them in particular. He did not have the chance to say anything more because the next minute he was sprawled on his back with the three children attacking him with tickles all over his body.

He tried to get away from them but man, they were good! They seemed to have found all the right places where he was the most ticklish. He was at their complete mercy, struggling to get away from their attacks.

“Yield! I yield!” he yelped in between laughter and short breaths. He couldn’t even reach one of them to tickle back. Somehow, his hands had gotten trapped by Simon and Sammy was on his feet, preventing Blaine from kicking himself free.

The three children stopped after a few more attacks to allow Blaine to catch his breath. They were all still laughing and even Sammy looked like he was having a lot of fun, not showing any wariness towards Blaine for the moment.

Once they were off of him to give him a break, the musician wasted no time and managed to crawl towards the couch to grab the biggest pillow on it. He threw it right at Clara who was taken by surprise by the sudden assault.

“Oh it’s so on, funny man!” Simon said as he grabbed another pillow and launched it right across Blaine’s face.

“Bring it!” Blaine said with a huge grin. He felt just like a child in that instant.

They had the greatest pillow fight for the next twenty minute. Going from the living room to Kurt’s bedroom where so many more ammunitions were available for their little war. Simon was really good at aiming and poor Blaine received more than one cushion in his face. But that only spurred him on to fight back more.

Blaine was having so much fun playing at being a child with them again that all his doubts about the evening just vanished completely from his mind. He was not so bad at this it seemed after all.

After their big fight, all four of them were sprawled on Kurt’s bed, laughing and breathing heavily. There were feathers flying all around them like snow. Blaine hoped that Kurt wouldn’t be too mad that they had wrecked some of the pillows. He’d buy new ones for him to make amend.

“I haven’t had this much fun in ages.” Blaine admitted to the children who were still lying near him on the bed. “I used to have pillow fights with my big brother all the time but I don’t think it was ever this great.”

Clara sat up and looked down at him. In that moment, she hoped that Blaine would stick around. She truly believed that he could become part of their family.

“I would totally ask for a repeat, but I think Dad would not be so happy if we did more damage than we already have.” Simon said as he gathered some of the surviving cushions and put them all neatly on the bed.

Blaine and Clara helped him and then they cleaned up all the feathers. Once they were done, the room looked just as before their great battle. Blaine winced when he realized they had torn five pillows though.

“Don’t worry too much” Clara said as she took the ‘victims’ away and put them in a basket near Kurt’s big wardrobe. “We have some pillow fights with Kurt from time to time, he won’t be mad.” she said reassuringly.

When Blaine, Clara and Simon returned to the bed, they saw that Sammy was rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“I suppose it’s time for bed” Blaine said almost regretting that his time with the children had to come to an end.

“I’ll give Sammy his bath and you can help Simon with the shower.” Clara said as she picked up the little boy and headed for the bathroom.

As they entered, Blaine saw that Kurt had managed to get someone to fix the sink since last time. Still, the musician avoided getting too near, just in case.

Shower and bath time went without a hitch and soon both boys were ready for bed. Clara helped Blaine tuck them in and then Sammy requested for a story. He pointed a book to Blaine. The bookmark was near the beginning and Blaine picked up the reading from where he supposed Kurt had left off. Sammy was leaning close to Blaine so he could get to see the pictures each time a new chapter began. Simon and Clara were on the foot of Sammy’s bed. All were listening to Blaine telling them the tale of two twins, Connor and Alex trapped in what appeared to be the world of their fairytale book. Sammy laughed out loud when Blaine did a funny voice for the frog man character nicknamed Froggy by one of the twins.

Blaine read until the Bailey twins managed to escape the witch from Hansel and Gretel.

By the time he put the bookmark down and closed the book, Sammy was gently snoring, his head resting on Blaine’s elbow. With Clara’s help, the musician tucked the little boy under his covers. He then told Simon to gain his own bed and then he left the room with the teenage girl. Blaine looked over at the two boys before turning the light off and leaving the door slightly ajar.

When he came in the living room, Clara was watching a TV show. She told him it was called Merlin and then focused back on what was going on in the episode. Blaine paid little attention to the plot and as soon as the commercial break started, he decided to ask Clara about something that had been nagging him since Kurt had told him about Paolo.

“I don’t want to pry or anything, but what exactly happened between your dad and Kurt?” he said after a few seconds thinking of how to phrase his question.

Clara took the remote control and lowered the sound of the TV. She then sat back in the couch, her eyes looking in the distance for a few moments.

“They were in love for a long time. I was really happy that Dad had found someone else after father abandoned us.” She stopped, not wishing to elaborate too much on that. It was still painful to think about it, even if it had been years since her father had left them. “Kurt was so nice and I really love Simon and Sammy, they’ve become true brothers to me.”

Blaine smiled softly at that. He had noticed how much Clara seemed to care for the two younger boys. It reminded him a little of how Cooper used to be with him when he was still a toddler.

“Dad got a really great job opportunity about a year ago.” The girl continued. “He decided to take it and broke up with Kurt. They told me it was a mutual agreement. I was scared that I’d had to leave my brothers and Kurt but Dad agreed that I stayed with them. My school and friends are here and he did not think that moving for a year was the best option for me. Of course, Kurt agreed to let me live with them.”

Blaine had no difficulty believing that. It was clear that the man loved Clara and considered her as his daughter.

“What happened when Paolo got back then?” he asked, knowing that now, the girl’s dad lived next door.

“Once his acting job was over, he came back to Paris and asked me to return live with him. I was hesitant. I had missed him a lot but Kurt, Sammy and Simon were my family now so I told my dad that he should get Mrs. Griffin’s apartment. She was set to live with her son by the end of the month when Dad returned. Just enough time to make sure all paperwork was in order and all that. Fortunately for us, Mrs. Griffins really liked Kurt so she readily agreed to let the apartment to my dad.”

“Did they ever try again?” Blaine asked, curious, “I mean, your dad and Kurt, when Paolo returned, did they try to get back together.” He did not really know why he wanted to know. Kurt had told Blaine that Paolo was just a friend now but still, he was curious to hear what Clara had to say.

“Yes , they did.” Clara answered, “but things were so much different and they sort of realized that there were no more feelings left.”

“You sound so grown up when you talk about this, Clara.” Blaine told her, she seemed much more mature than any other girl her own age.

“Well, Kurt and I grew really close during that year and we talked a lot about my dad and how he felt for him.” She explained with a little smile.

“I’m sure he was glad you were around to talk to when he needed it.” Blaine said to her gently.

She just nodded in response and then returned her attention on the episode that had resumed.

When the end credit rolled, Clara asked Blaine about the show that Mike had talked about earlier in the evening. Blaine told her all that he knew and she seemed really fascinated by it all, especially all the parts about the choreography.

“My aunty Rachel has enrolled me in various dance classes, classic, modern jazz and zumba. Although the last one, she said it’s just to stay fit.” Clara’s eyes had a lit up as she talked about dancing, “I wish to become a professional some day.” She added after a short pause. She had only told Kurt and Rachel about that. But somehow, she felt like she could trust Blaine enough to tell him about her dreams.

“I’m sure you’re really talented, Clara.” Blaine commented, “Maybe, I could ask Mike to allow you to come behind the scenes to see them rehearse all the choreography parts of the show. You could even learn one of the routines and be part of some of it if you want.”

“Really?” she asked excitedly.

“Sure.” Blaine answered with a smile. “I’ll talk to him about it.” He promised her.

“Thank you Blaine. I’m really happy that you accepted to see Kurt again.” And she meant it. She always found it a little difficult to see Kurt date other men than her own dad but with time, she had grown to accept that they wouldn’t get back together. And if Blaine was the one to stick around, then Clara found that she was more than okay with that.

Blaine’s smile grew warmer. “I’m glad too”, he said knowing that it was the truth.

They remained silent for a little while, the low sound of the TV being the only sound filling the room.

“I should go to bed.” Clara said looking at the clock. “It was nice talking with you Blaine.” She leaned close and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Good night”.

“Sleep tight.” Blaine replied as she got up from the couch and left the room.

Blaine realized that he was feeling tired too but he did not want to sleep just yet. He preferred staying awake just in case something happened with one of the children. He zapped a few times until he found some re-runs of “The voice” and settled down in the couch more comfortably.

He drifted off after a couple hours watching the program. At first, he thought he had imagined the tiny noise coming from the corridor. His eyes drifted close for a couple minutes and then he heard it more distinctly. When he opened his eyes, Sammy was standing near the couch with a plushy held tight to his chest. For a moment, Blaine felt confused, but then he remembered that he was at Kurt’s place. Blaine sat up and gestured for Sammy to come closer. The little boy only sniffled and mumbled a few words in French.

“Papa, il est o�? Je veux papa.” He said, starting to weep and clutching the plushy even tighter.

Blaine felt at a loss at what to do. He hesitated calling Kurt to ask what would be the best course of action, but then decided against it. He knew that Kurt would not mind being disturbed if Blaine phoned him to ask for help but a part of him wanted to try doing this alone to prove to himself that he could.

Blaine tried to get Sammy to climb on the couch but then the little boy shuffled towards the piano on the other side of the living room. Blaine followed him, asking Sammy what he needed.

The little boy tried to climb on the stool near the instrument. When he saw that he was struggling to do so, the musician helped him up and then brought a chair so he could sit next to Sammy. The toddler started to lightly touch the ivory keys. He seemed to be trying to produce a known melody but wasn’t really managing it. Blaine showed him a very simple arrangement and then Sammy succeeded in playing it right. Blaine smiled and praised him softly. He made sure that they would only lightly touch the keys so that the music wouldn’t be loud enough to wake Simon and Clara.

They kept playing random tunes for a few minutes. After a while, Sammy had climbed in Blaine’s laps and they both let their hands dance softly together. Sammy made happy sounds, letting Blaine guide his fingers over the right keys. For the first time since the musician had met the little boy, he felt like Sammy had finally accepted him.

“See, it’s not so complicated when you have a little help”, Blaine said softly as he laid a kiss on the top of Sammy’s head.

�

***

It was past midnight when Kurt climbed off the cab that took him home. He felt exhausted after this long evening and also really annoyed at Marc. His ex husband had lied to him. Kurt had not really been needed for the gala. Santana was the one in charge of everything and Kurt had only asked her if Sam, the young artist he had noticed at a previous event, could be part of her gala. In the end, Kurt had stayed because Richard had trailed him all around the party. He had not wanted for his ex’s friend to follow him home and risk to be seen with Blaine. Kurt had no proof but he highly suspected that Richard had been spying on him and previous dates over the past couple of years. So Kurt had resigned himself. He mostly stayed in company of Sam and Santana. He avoided all questions from the Latina about his hot booty call from the other night, as she had referred to Blaine.

But it was late now and Kurt was glad to finally be home. He just hoped that things had gone well for Blaine and the children. He had been nervous and had hesitated to call all evening long to check on them. But, he had been solicited left and right by people that he had not had the time to even check his phone for messages. He wouldn’t want Blaine to have any more reason to leave again. It was still early in their relationship, and Kurt barely knew the other man, but the more he thought about it and the more he realized that he was starting to fall in love with him. It was nothing like he had felt for Marc or even Paolo. No this was new and a little scary.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and opened the door trying to be as quiet as possible not to wake anyone. He then shuffled out of his shoes and walked to the living room. As he entered, he heard adorable snoring sounds. He made sure to light up one of the smaller lamp to avoid startling Blaine who was clearly asleep. He contemplated joining him on the couch for cuddling when he noticed that Blaine was not alone.

Kurt nearly melted at the sight of his younger son snuggled on top of Blaine’s chest. His head was buried in the crook of Blaine’s neck and his arms were both clutching at Booboo, his plushy, and the musician’s chest. They both seemed so peaceful in their slumber.

Something warm built inside Kurt’s chest because this was Blaine, the man who had admitted not liking children to Kurt not so long ago. This was the same man who had told Kurt that he couldn’t see him anymore because of the children. And yet, here Blaine was, deeply asleep with Sammy in his arms. Blaine was even smiling a little in his sleep and as Kurt watched on, he just knew that there would be no turning back from now. He could not ignore his feelings because in that moment, as Blaine’s arms grew a little tighter around Sammy’s waist, Kurt knew that he was in love with Blaine. And for now, he ignored the fear that came with that realization, because right now, he was happy.�