Almost a month had gone by since Blaine's life had done a 180° and Emily had entered their life. When Blaine thought about the state he had been in when he had learned about his niece's existence, he couldn't quite believe how far along all of them had come. All in all, Blaine had to admit to himself that things were going pretty good considering the circumstances, and even if everything wasn't perfect, they were still a lot better that Blaine could have ever imagined when he first got thrown into this situation. Emily was making a lot of progress, which Blaine, Kurt and Isaac were all thrilled about. Although the little girl still didn't talk at all, which, Blaine admitted to himself, worried him a little, she now babbled incessantly while she was playing, and even if she never used actual words, she had now taken to communicating with them by trying to talk, even if what she was saying was incomprehensible. It was still huge progress in Blaine's eyes, and he always made a point on answering when she communicated with him this way, even if he had no idea of what she was actually trying to say. The little girl had also started to try and get up, and stand on her own feet more and more often, and Blaine thought it would only be weeks until she took her first steps, which Blaine was infinitely happy about. He loved seeing the little girl evolving and to see her progress. The first time she had tried to get up, Blaine had been with Kurt, and both men had watched in awe as Emily had scooted towards their living room table to grab its edge and try to lift herself up. After about 5 frustrating minutes for Emily, she had finally managed to do so and had instantly turned towards Blaine and Kurt who were sitting on the couch with a huge proud smile on her face. Both men had instantly smiled back, and Blaine had to admit he also had had tears in his eyes. Seeing Emily smile so carelessly and progress would always get to him, and he couldn't believe how far along the little girl had come. Emily seemed to be adapting pretty well. The little girl now smiled a lot more, and she had even laughed one day while she was playing with Blaine and Kurt, which Blaine thought was just about the cutest thing he had ever heard, right next to Kurt's laugh of course. Kurt's whole face changed when he laughed, his eyes would light up and his nose would scrunch in such a cute way. Blaine had to cut this train of thought very quickly, before Kurt could actually learn what he was thinking by reading his face. Kurt seemed to be very perceptive when he wanted too, and Blaine didn't want to ruin the friendship both of them had formed now.

While Blaine was putting Emily to bed that night, he couldn't help but think about Kurt once again. Blaine had finally faced the truth, and accepted that he was indeed sporting a huge crush on his roommate. He really couldn't help it. Kurt had always been very attractive, but now that Blaine had gotten to know the other man, he could also see how Kurt had a dry and sarcastic sense of humor, and how good he was with Emily, and how protective he was of Isaac… Needless to say, Blaine's crush hadn't disappeared and was actually getting worse. The two of them now spent a lot of time together, and Blaine now considered Kurt as one of his close friends. They spent a lot of time watching Emily together, and playing with her, and more often than not after the little girl went to bed, they would stay up for hours and just talk about everything.

“Let's change your diaper okay baby girl?” cooed Blaine while he was preparing Emily for her to go to bed.

“You are doing so well. I want you to know that I am so proud of you, and Uncle Blaine loves you so much.”

Blaine was aware that Emily most likely couldn't understand a word of what he was saying, but he still thought it was important to talk to Emily, and he wanted her to grow up knowing that she was loved and how important she was to Blaine. When Blaine finished preparing Emily for bed, and went out of the room after putting the sleeping girl into her crib, Kurt was already waiting for him on the couch, with two mugs of hot tea waiting for them on their table. Blaine smiled softly at the man, as he approached the couch and sat heavily next to Kurt.

“Did you manage to put her to bed without too much difficulty?” asked Kurt curiously. Blaine couldn't help but shiver at the thought of how domestic they sounded. Blaine having just put Emily to bed and Kurt wondering about the well-being of his niece. The domesticity certainly didn't help with Blaine's growing feelings, but he was determined to push them to the back of his mind and enjoy the friendship him and Kurt now shared.

“Yeah, she went out like a light. I think her trying to get up and walk all day is tiring her, and after her going out with Isaac earlier today, she was exhausted.” Blaine finally answered.

“God, she'll be walking soon Blaine, we'll actually have a walking toddler running around in the apartment. Can you imagine? Soon enough she won't be the only one exhausted, the three of us will be so tired or running after her, that I think I'll start going to bed at 8 o'clock like she does soon enough.”

We'll have a walking toddler, thought Blaine. He knew Kurt didn't mean the sentence that way. That he didn't mean that Emily belonged to them, and that “we” wasn't Kurt and Blaine but rather Kurt, Blaine and Isaac, but Blaine still couldn't help the warm feeling growing in his stomach when he heard Kurt utter these words.

“Yeah I know, tell me about it. She's only been with us for a month and I feel like she is growing up so fast. I sound really nostalgic and old when I talk like that don't I?” asked Blaine with a soft laugh.

“You really do” answered Kurt with a teasing smirk on his face. “Imagine when she'll be 5 and starting school or 16 and learning to drive, going to prom, starting to date…”

“Oh god, don't even joke about that Kurt. She's not allowed to date until she's at least 30. Don't put these ideas into my head, I would like to enjoy her youth before starting to freak out about her teenage years” said Blaine while punching Kurt gently on the arm. The other man laughed softly and apologized “Sorry, sorry, stop hitting me”. Both men fell into a comfortable silence after that. Kurt got his book out and started learning about The History of Fashion in the United States, while Blaine just fell back into his thoughts. As much as the two of them had gotten closer, there was still a lot Blaine didn't know about Kurt, and he couldn't help but being curious. He still didn't know what had happened to Kurt's parents, and how life was for Kurt with Social Services for him to be so adamant about Emily being better off with Blaine than with them. Blaine couldn't bring himself to ask though. He knew from his own history how touchy these subjects could be, and he refused to put Kurt in an uncomfortable position. He just hoped that the man would one day feel comfortable enough around him to come forward with this information. And the day he did, Blaine would be there to listen and be there for Kurt however he could be. Still, there was one question that Blaine had asked himself a lot, especially now that him and Kurt got along better, and he didn't think asking it would be too harmful.

“Kurt” said Blaine softly once he found the courage to ask the man what had been going through his head. “Why didn't you like me when I first moved in? It doesn't change anything now and I know we're over it, I'm just curious I guess…”

Kurt didn't say anything for a while and while he closed his book, he kept looking towards the book as if he was still reading, and Blaine started to worry that he had made a mistake. Not wanting to bring back up bad memories or anger Kurt, Blaine immediately started to back track.

“You know what? Forget it. I was just curious, but it doesn't matter anymore. We are so past that, and I don't need to know the reason, we don't need to talk about….”

Kurt cut him off by saying “It's okay Blaine. Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't ask before and you have a right to know. I was a huge jerk to you when you first moved in, and you have a right to know why.”

Blaine couldn't help but agree with Kurt's statement. The man had been pretty cold and mean when Blaine had first arrived in the apartment. Still he decided to say: “Not really a jerk, I mean, I said some stuff too and…”

“You don't have to lie Blaine” Kurt cut him off again, his eyes lightened with laughter. “I know I acted like a gigantic jerk, Isaac even took to calling me “Grumpy Bitch” when you first moved in because of the way I was acting”.

Hearing that, Blaine couldn't help but laugh at his friend's nickname. Only Isaac would come up with something as ridiculous as Grumpy Bitch, and when Blaine thought about it, it did suit the way Kurt acted at the time quite well. Kurt joined in on the laughter, which surprised Blaine. But again, the two of them had come very far from how they first were and were actually friends now, so Blaine could understand why Kurt would laugh about the way he had acted when they first met.

“Okay, maybe you were a little bit of a jerk then. Or should I say, Grumpy Bitch.” Blaine admitted, with a soft laugh when Kurt growled at the nickname Isaac had invented. They both laughed for a little while more, and when they settled back properly onto the couch, Kurt started explaining.

“The first thing you need to know is that I have a lot of problems trusting people I don't know. And I'm very protective of Isaac. The man is like a little brother to me, you know some of the stories, because I know Isaac told you where we met, and what happened to him, but it's impossible to understand the state Isaac was in unless you had seen him. Isaac was broken when he first arrived in the orphanage. His father had mistreated and beaten him so much, that Isaac was only a shell of what he is today. The occasional panic attacks he occasionally has now are nothing compared to how he was before.” Kurt said gravely.

“God, I hope that he had to go through all of this.” said Blaine sadly. He still couldn't believe everything his friend had been through, and he could understand why Kurt would be protective of the man if Isaac had been this lost and in pain when Kurt had first met him. However, he still didn't understand why Kurt's protective feelings had come into play with Kurt's dislike of him.

“I know you do. At least, I know this now. At the time, I wasn't really sure about you. You had only met Isaac a few months ago, and he seemed to idealize you so much, and I didn't want you to break his heart and for him to get hurt again.”

Oh… Oh! Thought Blaine. This was why Kurt had been so cold towards Blaine. He thought there was something going on between him and Isaac, and he was just acting like any overprotective older brother.

“You know there's nothing going on between me and Isaac right? And there never was. He is amazing and one of my best friends, but nothing of the sort is going on between us.”

“I know, well, I know that now at least. Shortly after you moved in, Isaac met this girl in class, and I'm pretty sure he thought the sunshine came out of her ass” said Kurt with a sarcastic smirk, and Blaine couldn't help but laugh at his words. “I figured when he wouldnt shut up about that girl, that there probably wasnt anything going on between the two of you. Isaac has always been pretty open about his sexuality, gender was never all that important to him and you were totally his style so... I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to risk him getting hurt. So I'm sorry for how unfairly I treated you”

Blaine thought about what Kurt was saying for a while. It made sense, he understood why Kurt would act this way with Blaine if he really believed they were involved, even if Blaine thought Kurt's attitude was a little too much and would become a problem the day Isaac did actually meet a girl he liked and brought her home. However, this didn't explain why Kurt had kept acting like an asshole after he figured out there was nothing going on between Isaac and Blaine. Blaine told Kurt that much, and the man sighed.

“I was hoping you wouldn't pick up on that and I wouldn't have to explain, but I guess you're too smart for you not to notice what I was omitting” Blaine was too perplexed about what Kurt was saying too even notice that Kurt thought he was smart, otherwise, he would have surely blushed hearing the words.

“The truth is that I was jealous.” Kurt explained. Seeing Blaine's eyebrows furrow in confusion, Kurt continued to explain. “It seemed like you had it all to me. Like you had so much money, and you never had to worry about a thing. It seemed to me like you never had to work for anything in your life, whereas I had had to work for everything. Everything I have now, I've worked hard to obtain. And it was petty, and I'm sorry that I was so immature, but I couldn't help but resent you for it. It was really annoying that you seemed to have it all: the money, the brains, the looks, the charming personality, the good humor. It all seemed so easy for you, and I resented you for it. I'm sorry about that too.”

Blaine couldn't help but feel flustered at the words. Kurt thought he was attractive? Kurt thought he was charming? Blaine was really happy at hearing this and a blush crept up his cheeks, however the rest of what Kurt had assumed about him really bothered him. Blaine's life had been far from easy, and it bothered him that Kurt thought it was.

“Do you have any idea of how I got all of this money?” Blaine asked quietly. When Kurt simply nodded his head in a negative manner, Blaine opened his mouth to start to explain. However, before he had even uttered a syllable, Kurt cut him off again.

“It's okay Blaine, you really don't have to explain anything, and you don't owe me anything. First, I was stupid to assume this, with Emily now in your life, it's evident that your life was never as easy as I assumed. But even if it had been, I had no right to be jealous. I was just being immature, and an asshole and I had no right to be a jerk to you because of any of this. I'm so sorry for my behavior; I realize that you must think I'm such a brat sometimes. I don't even know how you can be friends with me sometimes.” Kurt said earnestly and with a self-deprecating look on his face.

However, Blaine found that he wanted to explain everything that had happened to him. He hadn't talked about all of this in a long time and it would bring up unpleasant memories, but he found that he wanted Kurt to know who he really was as much as he wanted to know who Kurt was.

“It's okay; I would like you to know. I think it will help you to understand who I am and we're friends now, I want you to understand who I am, and my childhood is a big part of that.”

“I don't think…. I don't think I can do the same yet. It's not that I don't want you to know me, or that I don't trust you, I just never talk about these things. And it's kind of messed up, so…. I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me these things about yourself when I'm not ready to do the same.”

“It's okay Kurt” answered Blaine. “I don't expect you to tell me anything. And if one day you do want to talk about whatever happened to you, then I'll be there okay?”

Hearing that Kurt relaxed instantly, and smiled softly at Blaine who simply smiled back before starting to explain his story.

“You were right about me having it all at some point. Growing up, I had it all, and I didn't realize how lucky I was. I grew up in a big house, with a lot of money. I went to a private school where I was always shielded about all the bad stuff that could happen to a gay kid in Ohio. I lived a very sheltered and easy life with two loving parents and an older sister that I adored. All of this changed when I was 17 however. I was away at boarding school in the middle of Warblers practice when I got called into the Principal's office. I had no idea what could be happening, since I've always been a rather well-behaved student. However when I arrived, my older sister Laura who was 21 at the time was waiting in the office, her eyes red-rimmed and I instantly knew what happened, and that this day was going to be the worst day of my life. Laura couldn't talk and couldn't look me in the eyes, so my principal started to explain what happened. My parents had been on their way back from a charity concert the night before, when my father had lost control of the vehicle and they had gotten into a car accident. Both of my parents died on the spot. It was just a stupid car accident because of the rain. No drink driving, not a murder or anything of the sort, just a stupid accident because of bad luck which cost me both of my parents and changed my life forever. Laura was 21 and officially old enough to take care of me, but I don't think she could in her state, and having no other close family, we all came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to petition to get emancipated, and to wait in Dalton until I turned 18 and could be independent for good, and go to college. It was my senior year, and it would only be a few more months until I turned 18, so I spent all of my vacations in Dalton until I graduated. Laura lost it after my parent's death. She dropped out of college, and seeing as she was old enough to have access to her part of my parent's money, she used it all to move to New York and she started partying a lot more, and getting into drugs. When I finished High School, I tried to reach out to her again. I decided to come to college in New York because I knew this was where she was living, and I tried to help her and to get her some external help, I tried everything I could but nothing seemed to work. After a while, I got tired of seeing her wasting her life away, she was my sister and I loved her, but I had my own grieving to do so I just gave up. I hadn't heard anything from Laura for two years, when the police officer came to tell me about her death and about Emily. I do have money, I inherited half of my parent's money and although I used part of it to pay for college, there is still enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life if I want to. But I would give anything to be dirt poor, and get to see my parents again. Or have a family again. Because now Laura died, and I am alone in this world. I would give anything to change that Kurt.”

When Blaine finished his tale, he was embarrassed to see that he had tears in his eyes, but he felt a little better when he saw that Kurt too seemed to have misty eyes.

“I am so sorry for what you went through Blaine” Kurt said with a soft cracked voice. Blaine usually hated when people apologized to him, but Kurt said he was sorry in a way that seemed to sincere, not in a patronizing and pitying way. He said sorry and it was almost as if he understood what Blaine was going through. Blaine actually wondered if Kurt did understand what Blaine had lived through, if maybe their stories weren't more similar than both of them had originally thought.

“I never should have judged you” Kurt said, interrupting Blaine's thoughts. “Not just because of what happened to your parents, it was just the wrong thing for me to do, and I am so sorry that you've lived through all of this. It's probably a good thing that you have so much money even, since you're going to need it to take care of Emily now. God knows children can be demanding and high maintenance.” Kurt said, in an effort to lift up the mood in the room and to make Blaine feel better.

Blaine turned towards Kurt and smiled softly at the man, appreciating what he was trying to do. He then got up from the couch to walk towards his room, suddenly exhausted. Talking about this was so emotionally taxing, that Blaine always felt the need to be alone and sleep after he did. Before he could retreat to his room however, he felt a hand grip his arm, and it sent chills to his entire body, while stopping his progression. When he turned to look at Kurt, the man had an earnest and honest look on his face, and seemed determined for Blaine to understand what he was going to say.

“You're not alone in this world anymore Blaine. I know how it feels, and I know you feel like you're alone sometimes, but you aren't, not anymore. You now have Emily, and you have Isaac, and… and you have me. I know we could never replace your family, and that the loss will forever be with you, but maybe the four of us can actually create our own little family. We could be friends that are each other's family, a Framily. I know we're all pretty lacking in this department, and we can all be there for each other. So whenever you feel like you're alone, think about Emily's perfect little smile, think about Isaac laughing with you while watching cartoons, think about me, and remember that you are no longer alone here.”

Hearing these words, Blaine smiled gratefully at Kurt and he made his way to bed with his heart feeling lighter than it had in a while. Even if talking about his family usually always depressed Blaine and kept him from sleeping, he managed to fall asleep rather quickly that night with his arm tickling with the ghost sensation of Kurt's hand on it, and with a soft smile on his face, thinking about his friend's words.