“Good morning,” a high voice said and Blaine just sank back into the arms.

Kurt continued to pepper kisses on Blaine’s shoulder and then when he finally let go, it was to pour another cup of coffee and begin pouring milk and sugar into the two cups.

“Mia’s still asleep,” Kurt said, “I thought I’d let her have another hour.”

“Okay,” Blaine said as Kurt handed him his cup of coffee, just as he liked it. “Thanks.”

Blaine turned off the stove and began dishing out the scrambled eggs onto two plates. He also grabbed the toast and moved to the table.

He sat down next to Kurt, who kissed his cheek not out of habit but as if he couldn’t help himself because Blaine was so near.

“I’m so glad I said yes,” Kurt said suddenly, “I wouldn’t trade this life for the world.”

They ate their breakfast in silence, Kurt brushing his leg against Blaine’s under the table and turning to look at Blaine as if he weren’t real. When they were done, Kurt collected their plates and went to the sink to wash them. Blaine watched him from the kitchen table and eventually wrapped his arms around Kurt like Kurt had done earlier.

“I love you so much, Kurt,” he whispered.

But suddenly Kurt was changing, getting a little more broader and taller. He felt different against Blaine and when he turned to face Blaine he wasn’t Kurt at all but Nick.

Nick!

Blaine looked around the room. Suddenly Mia was there, rubbing at her eyes.

“Daddy?” she asked and instead of going to Blaine went to Nick and Blaine watched them.

“Mia?”

Kurt was there again and he went to stand next to Blaine, taking his hand. It didn’t feel like before anymore.

“Amie told me,” Kurt spoke softly, “but I never wanted her.”

Blaine woke up with a start to something ringing and he pushed his covers off, looking around his room as he tried to remember his dream. He knew Kurt had been in it and he clearly remembered Kurt holding him. He also remembered Nick standing where Kurt had been and Mia. But from the snippets he could remember all he realized was that he hadn’t thought of Nick once since he’d gone to visit his parents.

Instead there had been Mia and Rachel’s mess with the press, and then Kurt with Mia. He dropped back onto his back and rubbed at his forehead. Everything was a mess. Suddenly there was a commotion out in his hall and his door was pushed open. Mia rushed in and got onto the bed.

“Daddy, Daddy! Zoo today!”

Blaine grinned. Mia wasn’t a problem. Mia was the only thing that wasn’t a problem in his life.

“Not for a little bit, Sweets,” he said and pulled her under the covers with him.

Mia laid her head down on his shoulder. “It’s going to be so much fun, Daddy,” she said and kicked her feet in excitement, “and Kurtie will be there. He sings really pretty, daddy.”

“Does he?” Blaine asked even though he’d already heard all about this the night before.

She nodded seriously. “I can’t wait to see him again.”

Blaine didn’t know how to feel about this inexplicable connection that Mia had made with Kurt because she’d never taken to anyone as fast as she had Kurt and Blaine just didn’t understand how Kurt who hadn’t known what to do with a child once, had managed that when Amie who was Mia’s mother and Blaine knew adored children, hadn’t been able to.

He got out of bed and took Mia with him ten minutes later.

“Come on, we have to get dressed. We were invited over to breakfast at the Hummels this morning and we should get there soon.” On their way out the night before, Blaine had run into Carole and she along with Amie had insisted that he bring Mia back for lunch.

Blaine hadn’t been able to get out of it, but he figured that as long as he had Mia with him not even Rachel would ask him to do something for her.

“Who, Daddy?” Mia asked.

“My boss, Sweetheart. Kurt and Amie will be there.”

She broke into a grin. “Kurtie! Hurry, Daddy, we don’t want to be late.”

- - -

Mia ran ahead of them, staying close enough that he and Blaine could see her. She turned every few minutes to call to them to hurry up. She’d been well behaved and patient during breakfast although that probably had more to do with being around a group of strangers, though she’d taken to Carole and Burt almost at once. In the car she’d been distracted by all the buttons she could press and play with.

“She’s never been in an actual car,” Blaine explained, “other than taxis and I guess she behaves in those.”

Kurt had enjoyed watched her get excited over everything she could do in the family car which he’d insisted they use when Blaine started putting a cardigan on Mia and telling her to not take it off while they walked to the subway.

“She really loves the zoo,” Kurt said for lack of anything better to say.

While Mia was with them things had flowed perfectly, but the moment they’d started walking through Central Part towards the area with the zoo, she’d started running ahead and chasing the random pigeon.

“I used to bring her here all the time when she was little. Seeing the animals really calmed her down, I guess, and she was really fussy when she was younger. We haven’t come as often for a while.”

Kurt nodded, “your job.”

“Yeah. That and Nick never liked the zoo.”

Kurt didn’t say anything as the reminder of Nick hit him.

“How…how is Nick?” he managed as they approached the entrance.

Blaine turned his face to look at him, as if to gage his expression before answering.

“He’s alright,” Blaine said, “visiting his parents for their anniversary. I was supposed to go with him, but I really don’t do well with his family and well, there was Rachel. But, he’s doing well.”

“That’s good,” Kurt said and added, “it’s funny the two of you ending up together. I remember when he hated you.”

Blaine gasped. “Nick never hated me.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. They got inside, Mia back and holding Blaine’s hand despite her excitement and Blaine eyed Kurt.

“He never hated me,” he insisted.

Kurt shook his head. “Hate is a strong word. But he was my friend first, you realize, and he really didn’t like you when I introduced you to him. He – I really shouldn’t be talking about this. It’s in the past anyway.”

They walked towards the large round enclosed area that housed a seal, Mia tugging at Blaine’s pants and lifting her arms. He lifted her up easily, and she leaned as close as Blaine would let her towards the enclosure. The seal wasn’t sleeping, but it might as well have been, because it sat as still as possible on one of the rocks.

Around them people took pictures of it and for a moment Kurt entertained the thought that it was posing for those cameras.

“Tell me,” Blaine said suddenly, “I want to know what he thought of me.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Well, he thought you were a bit idealistic. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but he just didn’t understand why you were so happy, so ready for life. When your dad mentioned you and Nick were together I didn’t know what to think. I certainly never expected it.”

Mia spoke, then, “Daddy I want to see the penguins.”

“She loves the penguins,” Blaine said, “they’re her favorite.”

Kurt nodded.

“I ran into him,” Blaine said, “when I got back to New York after…well, he was surprised to see me without you and out of politeness I invited him to coffee. I was afraid of going to get coffee by myself after everything and he came with me and I just broke down. You have to understand, Kurt, I didn’t really have anyone to turn to.”

Kurt didn’t like the way their conversation was going. The outing to the zoo had been something they were doing for Mia, it was going to be simple and fun and not bring up everything they hadn’t talked about. He didn’t understand why it seemed so easy to talk about either. Maybe it was time and their mutual need to understand.

“And there was Nick,” Kurt offered, “he always made for a good listener.”

Blaine nodded.

Mia let go of Blaine’s hand and ran to the window separating them from the multitudes of penguins on display. She cooed and them and pressed her tiny hands to the glass. Kurt wanted to understand how she had come to be. Nick had been like him, wary of children and definitely not ready for a full on family and yet there was Mia.

“We were friends for a long time. Kept running into each other accidentally and then on purpose and you know I never liked him much either until he was suddenly the one person holding me together.”

They had stayed farther from the glass so others could see, but Mia scrambled towards them, then, and she didn’t reach for Blaine but Kurt instead.

“Come see, Kurtie, come see!”

Kurt let himself be pulled forward and he had to admit that the penguins weren’t all that bad.

When Blaine approached them, coming to stand on Mia’s other side, Kurt shot him a smile and Blaine responded with one of his own.

“For what it’s worth I’m glad you had someone.”

- - -

Maria had packed them lunch.

“Just in case,” she insisted when Kurt tried to put the bag she’d given him back and Kurt had taken them with every intent to give them to Clark, but he’d forgotten. And so, their packed lunch was pulled out of his bag as they left the zoo.

Mia was less hyper than before, but still energetic enough to run ahead of them again, chasing at the pigeons.

“Soggy,” Kurt said, peering into the bag. “She made sandwiches.”

Blaine rolled his eyes at the way Kurt held the bag and took it from him. “We can stop somewhere if you want? I’m hungry too and I imagine that little monster needs to eat too.”

“Yeah, alright.”

Blaine gave the bag to the first homeless person he saw and Kurt began to admonish him as soon as they were out of hearing.

“It only encourages them,” he said, “to not get the help they clearly need. I feel bad, I do, but if they don’t work towards getting off the streets and to support themselves then why should we offer them anything.”

Blaine knew just where he was coming from and it came from the charity worker in him. Kurt was in charge of many of the money that the Hummels gave to charities and even the ones that had been funded by his late mother.

“It’s better than it going to the trash,” he muttered.

Kurt sighed. “I know. I just…you know what I mean.”

Mia insisted on going to a McDonalds. If Kurt had been her age, he would have stomped his foot and pouted while shouting a “no way” on the top of his lungs, because he wasn’t he simply settled for: “Not happening” and shaking his head, “I can’t believe you would let your daughter eat that food.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “I don’t,” he insisted, “well, occasionally. She begs to go there all the time anyway and it’s the damn toy, but we can have something else.”

“But, Daddy,” Mia said realizing as they walked past the McDonalds that had caught her eye, “you said it was my day.”

“Sweetheart, you got to pick the zoo to go spend our day in. Now, Kurt is going to choose a nice place to eat.”

Blaine smirked to himself when she turned to Kurt. “Please Kurtie! I’ll even share my toy with you. Please!”

Kurt shook his head and then he bent down to her level, “how about we go somewhere else and then I’ll get you a toy that’s better than anything that place will give you?”

Blaine stood back and watched them, ready to cut in if he had to. He didn’t feel particularly good about Kurt offering to get Mia something so she wouldn’t make a scene about not being taken to the fast food restaurant, but he decided to let it be. Kurt and his family were used to just buying whatever they needed. He had pretended not to see when Kurt handed the person at the gate to the zoo more than enough of a donation.

Mia grabbed Kurt’s hand when they came to some sort of agreement.

“Where to?” Blaine asked.

Kurt sighed. “McDonalds.”

At that, Blaine began to laugh because he really couldn’t begin to figure out how Mia had managed to convince him.

“We don’t have to go there,” Blaine said, “she doesn’t have that kind of hold on you, you can’t let her make the decisions for you.”

Kurt shrugged and gave no further explanation. Blaine didn’t know what to do for a moment, and then he followed them back towards the McDonald’s they’d passed, feeling more confused than ever.

“Get her a happy meal, no fries or soda but those substitutes they should have and just get me a salad with no dressing,” Kurt told him.

Blaine watched, for a moment stunned, as Kurt led Mia away to find a table in the busy restaurant leaving him to go on line. He sighed and headed towards the line wondering if Kurt would let himself get anything other than a salad. He walked to join the line and stood right behind a tired looking woman who smiled at him despite looking as if she could have fallen asleep right then and there.

“You have a nice family,” she said and motioned towards Kurt and Mia, “she looks just like your husband.”

Blaine was too shocked to respond and managed a small grimace. If this random stranger who looked more ready to take a nap than eat anything could see the obvious familiarities between the two of them then he couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else had noticed. He glanced in their direction.

Kurt was playing some sort of hand clapping game and smiling brightly. They did look like father and daughter. The similarities were all there. Amie simply looked too much like Kurt. Blaine had never expected when the idea to have her be the mother that Amie’s genes would actually surpass his own in their baby.

In another life Mia might have been Kurt’s though. Blaine had accepted a long time ago that he couldn’t look back at the past and wonder about the what if’s, but still, every time he saw Mia with him he couldn’t help but let himself think about what could have been. Nick might not have been a part of it at all. Blaine hated how he hadn’t tried to talk to Kurt. He’d been too hurt and too upset to try and make everything better. But Kurt had been at fault too.

By the time he was at the front of the line, Kurt was doing something to Mia’s hair and he was doing a far better job than Blaine ever had been able to.

He bought only the one salad and the happy meal, asking for an extra empty salad container which he was given reluctantly by the unhappy looking teenager behind the counter.

When the food came out, Blaine grabbed the tray and headed in the direction of Kurt and Mia. Mia clapped her hands and sat down properly to get her food which Blaine brought out and put in front of her. The burger probably had too many calories to count and Blaine grimaced. The apple slices kind of worried him even.

Kurt eyed the salad and then reached for Mia’s juice.

“It has more sugar than should be allowed,” Kurt muttered and pulled out his half full water bottle. He poured the juice into the water, shook it and then gave it to Mia. “Better,” he said.

Blaine would never have even thought of doing that. He faintly remembered then that Kurt had always watered down his drinks in the past.

“I figured you wouldn’t really want to eat the entire thing so, want to split it?”

Kurt grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”

He still barely ate any of it and Blaine was more focused on getting Mia to eat at least the apple slices instead of play.

“She’s more interested in the toy,” Kurt said, “which is probably a good thing.”

They threw out the remains of the food and then went back out to the street.

“I could call Clark,” Kurt offered as they began to walk again.

Blaine shook his head. “My apartment is a few blocks away.”

- - -

Kurt sent Clark a text to pick him up at Blaine’s in half an hour, and resolved to wait outside for him if he had to, but when they got there, Mia dragged him towards the stairs and then to the elevator and Blaine had let her.

“You can wait for Clark up here,” Blaine said, “I don’t mind.”

It was still really awkward to go up there with Blaine and Mia, to the place where they lived and where Blaine and Nick had made a life for themselves, their home. Kurt felt like he was really intruding on something.

Blaine’s apartment was nice. It was clean, but lived in. Mia ran off at once in the direction of what Kurt assumed was her room.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Water will be fine,” he answered, still looking around.

This apartment would never have been theirs if they had stayed together though Blaine would have probably wanted it.

Blaine led him to the kitchen and Kurt sat down at the table there. Blaine joined him a moment later.

“It’s been nice seeing you again,” Blaine said when he handed Kurt the water, “outside of family business, I mean, you were always my best friend over anything else.”

Kurt noticed that his cheeks had been tinted a bit pink when he spoke.

“It’s what hurt the most, you know,” Blaine continued, “not having my friend, the person I told everything to.”

Nick had stepped right in, then. A part of Kurt knew their relationship had really been unhealthy, relying on each other for so much and not talking about their bigger issues. That was the real reason that things had ended in addition to a disagreement for what they wanted with their lives. But he wished desperately that things had been even the slightest bit different.

“We can be friends again,” Kurt said, “we’ve done well enough today.”

Blaine frowned a little, but then he smiled. “Yeah, alright, I think I’d like that.” He extended his hand towards Kurt and Kurt took it gingerly.

Kurt tried not to show how his skin tingled as their hands met, but instead he just smiled.