They were back at the coffee shop, Amie wearing a ridiculous hat that Blaine knew meant Kurt must not have seen her before she left that morning and that made him wonder just how Kurt was doing. He shook the thought.

“We’re talking about Kurt, here?” Amie asked and Blaine could see her surprise.

“Of course we’re talking about Kurt,” Blaine said, “who else would I be in love with and distraught over?”

“Woah, cowboy, calm it down a bit…what the hell happened at that party? I know something did and Kurt refuses to say anything about it. You know he’s been practically living with Steve for the past week and when he’s not there he’s in his work room.”

Blaine groaned and looked down at his probably cold coffee. Since the party he’d seen Kurt once and it had been an accidental run in at the park of all places and Blaine should not have been surprised at seeing Steve on his arm.

“And what is going on with you and Nick for that matter?” Amie pressed on. “Blaine, I need answers, I really don’t appreciate being left in the dark over this.”

Tapping his fingers on the table, Blaine sighed, “it’s been a really long week.”

“Blaine Anderson, you will tell me everything, right now!”

The old couple from the booth behind Amie both turned to look at them. She mouthed a sorry and they turned away again.

“Well,” she said, “go on.”

He nodded and picked up the cup of coffee for lack of anything better to do, but set it down again a moment later.

“Cold,” he said.

“Forget about the coffee, all I know is that something big happened and the two of you have been weird since. Mia has been with Shelby and Mike more than when Nick went to visit his parents, and Kurt has been throwing himself into a relationship he doesn’t care about and Burt knows everything and nothing.”

Blaine almost laughed. He really hadn’t realized how it was all coming across. He wondered if anyone else had caught on. Burt probably did know everything, on that point Amie was right.

“We kissed,” he said, trying to make it come out as more than a whisper but failing.

Amie seemed to have heard it anyway. “You and Kurt?” she asked, as if to make sure. “Oh my god. Oh my god. At the party? That’s what happened at the party?”

Blaine nodded. He pressed his hands together and put his elbows on the table, keeping them in front of his lips as he watched her. Amie’s reaction was just what he’d expected. First came the excitement and surprise and then the worry.

“Wha – how? – no, no, I want to know everything. From the beginning.”

This was the real reason why they were there. Blaine hadn’t known who to call at first when it all became too much, and then Mia herself offered up the idea. Amie. He had just been biding his time.

“We kissed after arguing about Steve,” Blaine offered, “I don’t even know who started it. We were just there and he was standing so close and so adamant that he could protect himself and it just – it happened.”

When he closed his eyes he could still sort of remember it. He could remember the soft familiar lips and the hard muscle pressed up against him and the hands that had held his hips.

“Okay, so, you kissed and you realized you’re still in love with him?”

Blaine nodded. “I sort of…I’ve been realizing for a while, I think.” After a moment he added, “I told him.”

One of the waitresses was walking by and Blaine flagged her down. “Another coffee, please.”

“Sure thing, Sweetheart,” she said and winked at him.

“Anyway,” Amie pressed on, “what happened?”

“Nick walked in on us. We must have been in there for a while and I guess he was worried. He didn’t say why he went looking for me, but, Amie, I was so stupid. I don’t know why I did it.”

Blaine picked up a packet of sugar and just held it for a moment.

“Kissing Kurt?”

“Yes,” Blaine said and shook his head, “no. I wasn’t talking about that, but yeah that was stupid too, I guess.”

That was probably the worst part. He didn’t regret it. Not really.

“I apologized to Kurt when Nick ran off, but even he knew I had to go after Nick.”

The waitress was back and she set down his coffee.

“Because of Mia,” Amie said, disregarding the waitress who after a quick thank you from Blaine walked off to another table.

“Yeah.”

He added a few cups of the cream that had been set in front of him earlier to the coffee and then added sugar.

Blaine still stood by his decision that night. Mia had to come first; Over Kurt, over Nick, and even over Blaine himself. It was funny how that was the one thing they all seemed to agree on.

“Nick is her father,” he said, “and nothing will ever change that and I would be lying if I said I didn’t love Nick too. It’s not the same. No one could ever compare to Kurt for me, but I do love Nick and I can be happy with him, I was happy with him before all of this.” He took a deep breath before letting out the rest, “I won’t ever stop loving Kurt, I’m realizing this now, but he’s still my past and Nick is my future.”

Amie was frowning at him and Blaine thought that she had expected him to say something else. But that was what it was. Nick was his daughter’s father, Nick was the man that had put him back together. Before everything with his father and the Hummels, Blaine would never have even considered that he and Nick weren’t supposed to be together and when he took all of that into consideration Blaine knew that despite everything Nick was the one he had to choose.

“Alright, so, you went after Nick,” Amie prompted.

She was ripping up a napkin into the saucer of her empty tea cup, but watching him intently.

“Not immediately,” Blaine said, “and that was my mistake. I just, I know Nick. I didn’t think he’d go home, but I didn’t go looking for him either. I knew that if I got back to the apartment and he wasn’t there that it’d hurt more than fighting him to stay with me.”

So, he’d wandered around the city instead, sobering up and thinking. Half the time all he could think about was Kurt and the kiss and the other half crazy ideas about how to make everything work. With he and Kurt back together and Mia splitting her time between him and Nick and everything just falling into place. He knew it wasn’t possible.

“But he went home,” Amie said and paused ripping the napkin, just holding it in both hands, “where was Mia?”

“She was at home with the babysitter and I should have been thinking about her. Hell, the whole reason I wasn’t still with Kurt was Mia, but I was distraught and I didn’t know how Nick would take an explanation and I knew things had changed already. So don’t know, but she was home and that’s where Nick went. I didn’t get there until well after two, and he was waiting for me.”

- - -

A Week Earlier

Blaine knew the moment he entered the apartment that he’d messed up. Nick was still in his clothes from earlier, though now they looked a bit rumpled. He stood up the moment he heard Blaine come in.

“Figured everything out, then?” Nick asked, “with Kurt I mean, what’s the plan? You dump me and take Mia and go? I see her every other weekend, maybe? What have you decided?”

He looked defeated, it was as if he’d already come to the conclusion that he’d lost.

“Do I get to see her?” He asked, “she is my daughter too, isn’t she? Just promise me that.”

His voice was filled with emotion and as Blaine approached him, he realized that there were dried tear tracks on his face and that his hands were shaking.

“What’s it going to be Blaine?”

Blaine rushed towards him and before Nick could stop him, wrapped his arms around him.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”

Nick tried to pull out of his grasp and after a while Blaine let him go, his arms dropping slowly.

“I love you,” Blaine said, then, “and you’re right, you are Mia’s father. I’m not getting back together with Kurt.”

Nick shook his head, laughing humorlessly. “But you love him too,” he said, “don’t even try denying it, Blaine, I know you do and I also know that if tonight repeats itself and I know it will that it will kill me. I love you, Blaine, but maybe you belong with him.”

“No! He’s my past, Nick. And I know it’s been rocky for a while, but we can work on it. We can make this work. For Mia. Please.”

Blaine tried to take hold of him again, but Nick shook him off and it was only then that Blaine realized that Nick had always been working towards this end, no matter what Blaine chose, because the bags he’d unpacked just a week and a half ago were leaning against the wall.

“You love him,” Nick said gently as if he were talking to Mia and not Blaine, “and I know you love me. And that’s one thing, but you cheated on me with him and right now what I need is time and so do you because I don’t think you’re sure what you want right now.”

Blaine didn’t even get to respond before Nick was walking out of the apartment with his bags, not even caring about the time or his rumpled appearance. Blaine fell back onto the couch. Everything was a mess.

- - -

Present

“He left,” Amie said.

Blaine nodded and closed his eyes. “he came back on Wednesday, but only to pick up a few things. I don’t even know where he went. He just left and he told me to leave him alone for a little while. Mia misses him. He asked if he could take her for the weekend.”

Never had he thought that it would come to this. Even than night he had been sure that he and Nick could just talk it out, but he should have known it was too much to hope for.

“I’m just waiting for him to, I don’t know, believe me when I tell him that I don’t want to get back with Kurt.”

Amie reached across the table and took hold of his hand. “That’s a lie though,” she said, “isn’t it? Take Mia out of the equation, it’s what Nick wants you to do…wouldn’t you choose Kurt, then?”

The real answer was that he didn’t know. Because despite everything, Kurt was still the one person that understood him best in the entire world, but he was also the one person that could destroy him. He’d done it before. And then there was Nick. And he loved Nick, and he could be happy with Nick. He was the safer choice and the best choice when it came to Mia. Nick wasn’t just a boyfriend, he was the man that put him back together and stayed with him every step of the way.

“Think about what would be different without Mia. Wouldn’t you go back to Kurt?”

It was possible. He knew it was. But Mia did have to be considered and Mia was more important that anything. He and Kurt had had their chance and maybe they would again when Mia was older and could understand everything better, but for the moment it was too hard to make such a drastic change to her life. It wasn’t as if he’d be miserable pining for Kurt.

“I would choose Nick,” he said softly.

- - -

Kurt lifted his head long enough to lean over to look at Steve who was splayed out on his back with satisfied smile on his face. He smirked a little and propped his head up on his elbow.

“What are your plans for today?”

“I have a family dinner to attend,” Kurt said, “and I was thinking about starting on one of my designs.”

Steve quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Will I get to see it?”

Kurt shrugged. “I don’t know.” He sat up slowly, “I’m very private about my work, you know, like someone else I know.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Confidential stuff, darling,” Steve said and reached to wrap an arm around Kurt’s waist to bring him back down onto the bed.

Kurt let himself be pulled into a loose embrace, resting half his weight on Steve. They stayed like that for a little while, Steve admiring Kurt’s face and making sure his hair wasn’t on his face.

“Shower?” Kurt asked and began to get up again. This time Steve followed, keeping himself close to Kurt as they stumbled together towards his bathroom.

Kurt got out of the shower first, wrapping a fluffy blue towel around his waist while Steve continued to rinse out his hair.

“I’m dressing you today,” Kurt informed Steve, “am I allowed in your closet?”

A laugh came from Steve. “Go ahead and do whatever you like. Surprise me.”

Kurt dressed himself first in the extra clothes he’d brought just for that, and then he headed into Steve’s closet. He cringed upon realizing how small it was, but he managed to put together an outfit that he deemed perfect for Steve and set it out on a chair.

Then, Kurt began his skin regime and blow dried his hair and styled it. He checked his phone for the time and almost dropped it when he realized it was a little bit past noon. He never stayed in bed past ten, not even when he was sick.

“Want to get a bite to eat?” Kurt asked while Steve was getting dressed, “it’s after noon. I’ll probably have to go home afterwards, but I don’t want to leave just yet.”

Whenever he was with Steve, it was easier to forget that Blaine had kissed him and that then he’d proceeded to go after Nick. He’d been ignoring Blaine since, trying to stay in his room or out of the house as much as he could. He even had Maria telling him if Blaine was in the house which he had been a few times for meetings with his dad.

“Alright,” Steve said, “just give me fifteen minutes.”

Kurt nodded and after gathering his things headed out to the living room. He sat down and picked up a book that had been left open on the coffee table next to a few letters. The dust jacket had no title but Kurt recognized it as a book he’d read in high school once he flipped to the first page. He set it back down and then picked up the letters.

Only one was addressed to Steve. There were two for a Sebastian, and one for a woman named Helen. Kurt had never heard Steve mention either a Helen or a Sebastian.

It was funny, Kurt thought, that Blaine had tried to warn him about Steve as he had. Of course Kurt knew who Steve was. He’d probably known longer than Blaine once he’d figured it out.

“Ready,” Steve said.

He looked good in the clothes Kurt had picked out and for a moment he wondered if Steve realized what Kurt had done, but the other man didn’t seem to give him any sign towards that.

“I was surprised,” Kurt said as he got up, “I didn’t expect that you’d own anything so pricey.”

Steve flushed a bit. “You’re not the only one that can appreciate fashion, Kurt.”

They walked out of the apartment and down the hall towards the stairs. Kurt was still just getting used to the building. It needed a lot of work and not even the elevator worked. He couldn’t imagine that rent was that costly.

“Most people I meet who claim to work as accountants don’t generally have the money to buy Alexander McQueen,” he said.

Kurt paused because Steve had stopped right before the stairs.

“It was a gift,” Steve said, “from a good friend.”

Kurt smiled to himself. “Right,” he said and walked past Steve, down the stairs. “Must have been a good friend.”

- - -

Every morning a delivery boy arrived with flowers for him courtesy of Blaine. Six flower vases later, Nick was starting to believe that maybe Blaine was actually serious about the whole thing being a mistake. Nick still couldn’t see how Blaine could have felt nothing while kissing Kurt.

Back in college Nick remembered well how the two of them were. He’d been envious of the way they just clicked. Never once would have thought that they were going to break up, and even then when he ran into Blaine and began a tentative friendship with him Nick had been convinced that it wouldn’t be more than two months before Blaine was back in Kurt’s arms.

But then months had passed and Blaine stopped talking about Kurt altogether. Then, Blaine was cutting out his father and in what had felt like over a day, Blaine was talking about having a baby.

Nick hadn’t encouraged him, but he hadn’t told him not to go ahead and do it, instead he’d been the support that Blaine needed. The idea of a child was bringing Blaine right back out of the depression that Kurt had left him in and Nick encouraged that at least. He also knew that getting a surrogate would be expensive and adoption could be a lengthy process. So, he watched as Blaine filled out form after form and had his apartment inspected and went to agency after agency. He didn’t think that Blaine’s dream of a family would happen fast. He was wrong.

And then came the day that Nick had dreaded and at the same time had been waiting for.

“I’ve decided on a surrogate,” Blaine said, “I actually found the perfect person. She already agreed and we went to the doctor this morning and everything, so I guess I’m going to be a dad.”

It hadn’t even been a year since he decided to have a baby.

Everything happened really fast after that and Nick only got to hear about the process as it went, but Blaine was happy and that was enough and then almost a year later there was a baby and everything was real.

Nick hadn’t initially planned to be her other father. He was going to be the fun uncle. Throughout the process he’d been the one person Blaine could share all his news and excitement with but once the baby came it was apparent that Blaine wasn’t going to be able to do it alone and it was only a few weeks before Nick was practically living with them and taking care of Mia as if she were his own, and falling in love with her just the same.

He and Blaine came next. It was a slow process that Nick was sure would not have happened if Mia wasn’t in the picture. But then they were together and Mia was theirs and Blaine surprised him six months into their relationship with adoption papers for him to sign to really make Mia his.

It was supposed to be happily ever after, after that and for the next few years it had been and then Blaine got that call.

“More flowers?”

Nick almost jumped.

Lisa wrapped an arm around his waist. “I think that man of yours wants you out of my apartment and back at his.”

“I don’t know, Lisa, I just don’t know if it’ll last, you know?”

“There’s no guarantee in love,” Lisa said and dropped her head on his shoulder, “there never is but if you just give up now then what is the point? You have to fight for him.”

“I love him,” Nick said, “but a part of me has always wondered if I was just the consolation prize. I remember how they were together and Blaine had never been that way with me. And if he’s choosing me because of Mia, then, I don’t think this is going to work.”

Lisa shook her head and pulled away. She was a few inches shorter than him even with heels and she reached up to cup his face, “look at those flowers, Nick, they’re for you not Kurt Hummel. You’ve been out of his life for six days and he’s still sending you flowers.”

“I know he loves me,” Nick said after staring at the flowers for a long moment, “I’m not questioning that really, I just don’t think we can work if he’s also still in love with Kurt.”

There was also the betrayal. After all the reassurance and all the times Blaine had told him there was nothing going on with him and Kurt, to find them kissing like that, bodies flush against each other, their lips connected, it made him wonder for a moment if that was even the first time. But of course it had to be. But there was one other thing that was stopping Nick from going back, the question of what if he hadn’t gone looking for Blaine. Would Blaine have told him afterwards?