Kurt poured a bowl of Rooster O’s for himself, and a smaller amount in one of Colin’s plastic bowls. He started to peel a banana.

“Bana!” Colin said, pointing.

“Yes, it’s a banana,” Kurt said. “Do you want some?” He cut off a few slices and put them in Colin’s bowl with the cereal.

Blaine walked out of the bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, green with white stripes. “You’re feeding Colin the gayest cereal ever?”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Fruit loops are the gayest cereal ever. These are just off-brand cheerios.”

“I still don’t understand why you don’t buy regular cheerios.”

“Nostalgia. Poverty is much more romantic in retrospect.”

Blaine walked over to the table and grabbed a Rooster O out of Colin’s bowl, popping it in his mouth.

“And how many times do I have to tell you not to walk around mostly-naked when Taylor is home,” Kurt said.

Taylor chose that moment to walk out of her bedroom and join them in the kitchen. She gave Blaine a long look up and down, smiling salaciously. “Oh trust me, I do not mind in the least.”

“See? There’s no problem,” Blaine said.

Kurt sighed dramatically, then went back to slicing up the banana for his cereal.

“Oh!” Blaine said. “I forgot to tell you, it’s banana week.”

Taylor cracked up, nearly spilling her coffee. Kurt frowned at his now-unappetizing bowl of Rooster O’s and banana.

“Last week was a mango,” Kurt said. “Did the baby totally change shape from round to long and skinny?”

“I think it’s just supposed to be the length and weight, not the shape,” Blaine said. “But we can check for traces of banana on the ultrasound this afternoon.”

This time, Taylor actually did spill her coffee.

------------------------------------------------

“It’s a boy,” the ultrasound technician told them.

Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel sat there in stunned silence. They’d all been completely convinced it would be a girl.

Rachel put on her sparkliest of fake smiles. “I’m sure you must be mistaken. I’m having a girl. Could you check again?”

The technician rolled her eyes. “It’s right up on the screen here, clear as day. See here’s one leg, and here’s the other leg, and straight in between them, that’s the penis.”

“I don’t understand how this could happen!” Rachel said, throwing her head back on the examination table.

“Fifty percent chance,” the technician quipped.

“You don’t understand,” she said dramatically. “This baby was supposed to be the next Rachel Barbra Berry. A miniature little me, unbelievably talented, destined to be a star. She was going to take ballet lessons from age two, and vocal training, and she would win toddler talent competitions with her heartfelt renditions of my favorite showtunes. And now it’s just some … boy. I don’t even know who this baby is any more.”

Blaine reached out and held her shoulder comfortingly. “Rachel, it’s going to be fine. There’s no guarantee the baby would have been anything like you even if she were a girl.” He decided not to mention that there was no way he and Kurt would ever have entered her on the toddler pageant circuit. “And I have heard that it’s possible for guys to be very talented singers and dancers and actors too. Not that I’ve ever met anyone like that or anything. Just saying.”

“I’m sorry, Blaine, this is just a very difficult personal moment for me,” Rachel said. “I think I might cry.”

Blaine was really quite glad that Rachel had decided not to raise this child herself, if this was her reaction to finding out that it wasn’t a girl. But truth be told, he was unreasonably sad himself. He’d spent the last several months picturing himself as a father of a sweet little girl. They’d have a special connection, he’d imagined, a daddy-daughter bond. Of course Kurt would also be her father, but not that kind of father. Blaine would be the father who was the prince to his daughter’s princess, who protected her and became the unconscious blueprint in her mind for what a man should be. They would dance together at parties, Blaine spinning his little girl around and around in her fancy dress.

What had happened to that little girl, Blaine asked himself. She had been so real in his fantasies, almost tangible. And now she was just … gone, as if the wind had come out and blown away the colorful dust she was made of. He felt terribly sad, even as he tried to focus on the joy of having another son. How wonderful Colin was, really, and how great it would be to have another one just like him. How nice it would be for them to grow up as brothers, so much closer in age than he and Cooper had been, able to be real friends and play together throughout their childhoods. How Blaine could teach them to play softball and take them to the museum to see the dinosaur exhibits and … he suddenly realized just exactly how gendered his expectations were, and he scolded himself. A boy would be wonderful, he told himself. Wonderful. So why did he feel so sad?

Kurt was still staring at the screen, but he wasn’t really seeing anything, and he definitely wasn’t listening to the technician’s chatter about the measurements she was taking of the femur, the head circumference, the spine. No, he hadn’t been able to listen to anything beyond his own thoughts after finding out that they were having another boy.

He’d told himself not to get too invested in the idea of a girl. He’d told himself over and over, but he couldn’t resist the seduction of the idea. He’d spent the last few months looking at girls’ clothing lines on his laptop whenever Blaine wasn’t paying attention, nearly squealing in delight over all the adorable dresses. There were so many more and better things available for girls than boys, it was no comparison at all. He’d held off from making actual purchases … except for one, just the absolute cutest little white dress with a spray of brightly colored flowers that was on sale and almost sold out. He’d hidden it in the back of the closet, knowing Blaine would make fun of him if he found out. Kurt had no idea what he’d do with that dress now. It seemed almost like a shroud in his mind, the one and only item of clothing purchased for their daughter who would never exist, never be alive to wear it.

Would it be too awful to hope for a boy who likes to wear dresses, he wondered.

--------------------------------------

Taylor squealed with delight over the news of a second boy, and teased them again about “banana week.” Kurt and Blaine put on smiles and talked about how wonderful it would be to have two boys, but neither of them were really excited in their hearts.

Blaine wasn’t going to say anything, he felt so guilty about his feelings. But complete honesty was important, and he knew Kurt would always be compassionate and understanding. So, under the covers that night, his face hidden by darkness, he told his husband. “I was really hoping for a girl.”

“Me too,” Kurt said, and Blaine breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t just him.

“I’m sure that when our son is here, he will be perfect and amazing and I won’t even be able to remember why I wanted a girl,” Blaine said. “It’s just … right now … I feel kind of sad.”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah.”

They lay there in silence for a little while.

“Maybe we might try again someday? For a girl?” Blaine ventured.

“Maybe. I don’t know. Three is a lot. Especially in Manhattan.”

“Yeah.”

“Anyway, cross that bridge when we come to it,” Kurt said.

“Okay. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”