August 3rd, 2020

Blaine was worried. Blaine had picked up Sophia from daycare at 5:30 and had gotten home, made it all the way into the house even, and Sophia still hadnt said a word. This was very unlike the bubbly little girl that Blaine knew. Blaine decided that the best thing for him to do was let her come to him when she was ready to discuss what was on her mind. It wasnt until the two had sat down to eat their spaghetti that Sophia finally spoke up.

"There is a new girl at daycare," Sophia said quietly as she turned her fork around the cut noodles. Since they were cut, she was unable to twirl the pasta on the fork but it was still a cute effort. "Oh? Is she nice?" Blaine asked. Sophia shrugged as she stared at her plate. "Shes only two. Shes cute." Blaine nodded as he took a drink of his water.

"What does she look like?" Blaine asked in attempt to keep her talking. "Yellow, curly hair. Sorta like mine. She has blue eyes like me also. She laughs a lot," Sophia mumbled as she watched her hand to fork movements. It only took a second for her to continue. "Miss Paisley told me she doesnt have a mommy." There it was.

"Oh? What else did Miss Paisley say?" Blaine asked trying to find the problem. Sophia knew that some kids only had one mom or one dad. She had learned that when her cousin, Angie, visited with just her mom. Angies father had died in a car accident and Sophia understood that that meant you could only see her mom. Blaine waited a few seconds before Sophia continued.

"She said that her mommy didnt die. She just didnt have one. The little girl said that she had two daddies but now she just has one. How can you have no mommy but two daddies?" Sophia asked, clearly confused. Blaine swallowed soundly before exhaling and smiling calmly at the curious five year old.

"You know how Mommy loves Daddy?" Nod. "Well sometimes a girl loves another girl and sometimes a boy loves another boy. Like Uncle Nick and Jeff," Sophias eyes had widened at that. Apparently she had misunderstood their relationship. "Or, like Mommy and I, a girl loves a boy and a boy loves a girl," Blaine finished. Sophia furrowed her eyebrows together and cocked her head to the side. "When the girls daddy came to pick her up, he said he use to have a huband."

Blaine nodded as Sophia spoke again, "Did he die, too? Like Aunt Bellas huband?" Blaine sighed, ignoring her mispronunciation. "I dont know, little bee." Blaine grabbed his Sophias plate and walked to the kitchen sink. "Thats sad if he did. Charlotte is just a baby," Sophia said sadly. Blaine assumed the girls name was Charlotte and nodded, "Yeah that would be sad."

Blaine could feel himself pulling away from the conversation as it continued. It was all so easy for Sophia to understand and accept. It made him wonder why the rest of the world was so cruel, so... hateful. Blaine watched out the window above the sink remembering the man from earlier with the best jaw line ever. He had had a little girl with him. He was pretty sure that her hair was curly and blonde. He was also certain that he had said a name. What name did he say?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Sophia ran to the front door and the door slammed shut. Blaine hurried out of the kitchen to see an annoyed Natalia and an excited Sophia talking animatedly about Charlotte. "Hey. I thought you were going to be late?" Blaine asked as Natalia sat her purse on the table. Blaine walked back to the sink to rid his hands of the soapy suds.

"I had to lea- yes thats nice, Sophia. Im happy you met Sharon," Natalia said feigning interest. "Charlotte," Sophia said with an eye roll. "Yeah. That. Look, Sophia? Can you go upstairs for a minute? I need to talk to Daddy." Sophia pouted for a moment before huffing and walking up the stairs. Blaine frowned at Natalia once Sophia left.

"She just wants to see you, Nat." "Im not in the mood for idle chit-chat about the new girl, Sherry," Natalia snapped. "Charlotte," Blaine corrected, earning himself a glare. "Not now. Ive had an awful day," Natalia said as she sat at the table and yanked off her red heels.

"Yolanda got the job?" Blaine asked sadly. "No, actually, some nobody got it," Natalia said disgusted. Blaine raised his eyebrows, "For Chief Editor? Well it has to be a "somebody" then." "Hes the fucking Editor of Elle Magazine. I guess Erickson was looking for some new ideas to bring to the table. The man is insufferable, Blaine. I swear Ive never met a bigger perfectionist than Kurt Hummel," Natalia rolled her eyes as she said his name.

"Well thats good then. I mean, if its not perfect then youre all in deep shit, right?" Blaine asked drying his hands. "Yeah, but his idea of perfect is just so different. I mean he decided on some really ridiculous ideas. If this man thinks were just gonna go with whatever he says like some obedient puppy dog well hes going to be sadly mistaken," she snapped back angrily.

Natalia stood up to see the Legos still laying in a pile by the couch. Natalia shook her, "Damnit, Sophia! I thought I told you to pick up your fucking Legos!" Natalia stomped into the kitchen and grabbed a trash bag from under the sink. "Nat? What are you doing?" Blaine asked tiredly as she began to grab handfuls of Legos and stuff them in the trash bag.

"Throwing these stupid Legos away. What the hell does it look like Im doing?" Natalia huffed. Blaine sighed and ran a hand over his face, "Nat, stop. Ill just go tell her to come clean them up." "We already told her! She just doesnt fucking listen because shes a spoiled brat!" Natalia yelled. Blaine felt his blood begin to boil as she insulted his daughter. Their daughter.

"Natalia! Stop. Put the stupid fucking bag down and Ill go get Sophia to pick them up," Blaine said firmly, barely containing his anger at the woman. The woman glared at Blaine and suddenly burst out laughing. "You dont even know how to discipline a five year old. Oh my god. You are so weak, Blaine. So fucking weak!" Natalia yelled as she threw the trash bag on the ground and stepped closer to the angered man. A small voice came from the stairway.

"Daddy? Mommy? Why are you yelling?" Sophia asked sadly. Blaines eyes softened at the girls scared face. He spoke calmly to her, "Sophia? Can you go upstairs please? Ill be up there in a minute." "No!" Natalia screamed as she pointed at Sophia while staring at her husband. "Tell her to pick up her stupid ass toys!"

Blaine clenched his jaw as he shook his head at his wife, "Natalia. Dont. Now is not the time." Natalia scoffed as she walked to Sophia as she grabbed her wrist and yanked her towards the Legos, "Pick ‘em up!" Sophia began crying as she looked to her dad for help. Blaine took one look at Sophias trembling frame before walking towards Sophia and pulling her up into his arms.

Sophia shoved her face into Blaines neck as she sobbed. Blaine had never felt so angry at another human being. His baby was crying and was hurt by the person who was supposed to love her unconditionally. Not treat her with pure anger. Blaine pressed a soft kiss to Sophias hair before looking at Natalia.

"Sophia and I are going to go to Wes and Kellys tonight. Ill talk to you when we have both calmed down and our daughter is not around to watch," Blaine said tightly as he bent down to fit his feet in his tennis shoes. Blaine heard Natalia walk up the stairs behind him and slam a bedroom door shut. Blaine sighed as he sat Sophia down on the couch.

Sophia rubbed at her teary eyes and sniffled. Blaine knelt in front of her as he placed her pink sandals on her feet. She said a broken ‘thank-you as Blaine finished. Blaine walked to the door and grabbed his wallet and cellphone the held his hand out for Sophia to hold. She grabbed his hand and walked out of the building. Blaine placed Sophia securely in her car seat before shutting her door and getting himself in. Blaine pulled onto the street and slowly made his way to his best friends house.

Wesley Montgomery had been one of Blaine Andersons best friends since high school. Wes was a year older, a father of one three year old son, Garret, and a successful lawyer. He had married his high school sweetheart, Kelly, his first year out of high school. Kelly was a student at Parsons University working on getting a Fine Arts degree.

Wes and Kelly both loathed Natalia. They had expressed their opinions of her when Blaine started dating her ten years ago but it was all met with deaf ears. Blaine was adamant about his plan; married at nineteen and a father at twenty one. He was a music producer for his friends music company and was what people would call rich. He had a plan, a good plan, but Wes tried to explain that some plans just werent made for some people, but Blaine swore up and down that he loved Natalia and nothing was going to change that.

Yet, here was Blaine, on the verge of tears, holding his five year old in his arms at 7:00 p.m. asking his best friend if they can crash on his couch. Kelly insisted that Sophia could sleep in Garrets bed tonight and Blaine could take the couch. Sophia had taken her bath and was now tucked safely in bed after her father had kissed her forehead and said there usual ‘I love you. Now Wes, Kelly, and Blaine sat in the living room discussing the issues of that night.

"Wait- she physically grabbed an upset Sophia and yelled at her to clean up her toys causing her to cry? Dont you see some issues there, Blaine?" Kelly asked incredulously. She too was becoming angry, and rightfully so. "B... you gotta do something. Thats not okay," Wes said sadly. Blaine put his face in his hands and sighed loudly before pulling away.

"I-I think I need to talk to her. Shes not violent, shes just a mess," Blaine said tiredly. "Do you know how quickly that could have escalated, Blaine? Having her around Sophia, even you, could be a huge risk," Wes stressed. "She wouldnt- shes not abusive! She just needs to calm down. Natalia is a good person. Shes funny and sweet and smart. She just doesnt really understand the whole parenting thing," Blaine explained.

Wes and Kelly shared a look to see if they were on the same page. Wes nodded slowly and leaned forward and sat a hand over Blaines wrist, making him look up. "You know Kelly and I are not her biggest fans, but I know where she can take parenting classes if shes interested." "Yeah. Yeah, of course. Ill definitely talk to her about them," Blaine said with a nod. He sat back in the armchair and ran his hands through his hair.

"Thank you so much guys. This really means a lot. I didnt to like barge-" "Oh dont you dare say that, Anderson. Our door is always open," Kelly interrupted. She looked at the time and raised her eyebrows, "Geez. Its already past ten and I have class tomorrow. I should probably get to bed." Kelly stood and leaned down to kiss Wess lips softly. "Goodnight, my love," she whispered softly before standing and bending over to hug Blaine. "Goodnight, Blaine. Im sorry about tonight." Blaine smiled in thanks as she left to her room.

Blaine smiled gently at Wes, "Youre really lucky, Wesley." Wes laughed and took a drink of the beer he was holding, "Yeah, no shit. That girl and my son are my entire world." Blaines smile drooped a little and looked down. Wes stared at the top of his head before sighing and shaking his head. "What are you doing, man? Natalia is-" "My wife, Wesley. I married her and then I became a father. Now Im here," Blaine shrugged and laughed pathetically.

Wes bit the inside of his lip and chuckled a little, "Do you remember in high school, when you first met Natalia, and you told me, "She doesnt like music. I could never date her," and that was it. That was the deal breaker. It took about three weeks of her constant nagging for you to go on a date with her. When you came back from that date, you turned to me and said-"

"‘Damn. For a girl who hates singing shes pretty vocal. Ha. Yeah, I remember. That chick can talk a mile a minute. I barely got a word in the whole date," Blaine finished. Wes grinned, "After that date you two were inseparable. Almost insufferable. You two were like best friends. Not in the relationship sickenly sweet way. It was more of a best friends that had each others backs. It was cute. I craved that in a relationship. Friendship, trust, happiness. You had told me you had wanted that in a relationship, too. So now? Do you have what you want?"

Blaine cleared his throat, "Were dealing with things, Wes. Natalias having trouble at work and Sophias starting school soon. Its stressful. Just- we will have those things... we will. Im positive." "Are you?" Wes asked. He wasnt looking for an answer. He knew the answer. He smiled sadly and shrugged as if to say ‘It is what it is. He looked over at the time as he sighed. He patted Blaines knee as he stood up, "Im going to bed, man. Ill see you in the morning." Wes began walking towards his room when Blaine spoke up.

"Hey, Wes. Do you remember what you said to me after your first date with Kelly?" Blaine asked quietly. Wes smiled, "I said, ‘Im going to marry that girl." Blaine nodded as he took a sip from his beer, "Im glad you got everything you wanted, Wes." Wes nodded, "Me too." Wes turned and disappeared into his bedroom. Blaine sighed soundly before throwing himself back onto the couch.

He loved Natalia. He loved Sophia. But he didnt love his life. It didnt matter how successful ‘Sterlings Music Company got, he didnt want his wealth measured in riches. He wanted to be happy. It was too late, though. He had a five year old daughter and had been fully committed to the same girl for ten years. If he uprooted his whole life and changed it then those last ten years and been wasted. At least it felt like that. He couldnt change anything. He had to accept it was too late.

Wasnt it?

August 4th, 2020

"Kurt Hummel? Its for you," his assistant said as she held out the phone. Kurt sighed, frustrated. He had so much work to finish and so little time. It was already 4:00 and he really didnt want to stay any later than five, but it was beginning to look like hed have to. He took the phone. "Hello?" "Hi! Its Sunny Time Daycare. We were just calling to inform you that Charlotte seems to be running a fever. We need her to be picked up so no one else gets sick. We tried to call your cell but there was no answer." And like that all of Kurts work problems were thrown out the window.

"Ill be right there. Is she puking or..." he trailed off waiting for the nice daycare lady to fill him in as he grabbed his things. "Oh! No shes just running a fever. Shes lethargic and her nose is a little runny but no signs of a stomach flu." Kurt blew out a sigh of relief as he stepped out of his office, "Okay. Thank-you. Im on my way. Bye." Kurt gave the phone back to his assistant, "I need to leave early. My daughter is sick."

His assistant, Isa, nodded, "Okay. Do you need me to call Mr. Erikson?" "If its not much trouble thatd be great," Kurt said as he already began rushing down the hall. He paused in front of his coworkers office and knocked softly. The door opened and Natalia Andersons eyebrows rose. "Mr. Hummel?" Kurt smiled, "Okay, I need to ask you to do a favor for me. I have some things that need to be sent out today. I know youre busy but I need to go pick up my daughter. Can I trust you to send out exactly what I have on my computer?"

Natalias eyes widened as she began to nod quickly, "Yes! Yeah Ill send it out. Dont worry." Kurt smiled gratefully as he pulled her into a quick hug, "Thank-you so much, Natalia. I owe you," Kurt called out as he ran to the elevator. The doors shut as he frantically pushed the button to the lobby. He flew from the building, getting to his car at record speed.

Kurt hated not being there when Charlotte was sick. She got real clingy and real fussy and Kurt didnt want to put someone in the position of having to be a sick childs koala bear and always having to hold her. Kurt remembered when she had gotten the flu when she was younger and wouldnt let anyone else hold her but him. For two days Kurt went everywhere with Charlotte always attached to his hip. He just really hoped she wasnt crying for "Daddy" because that was always heartbreaking for people to witness.

Kurt pulled up to the curb and quickly got out of his car. He ran inside expecting to hear children yelling and Charlottes wails. Instead, he was greeted to the sound of a soothing voice and an acoustic guitar. Kurt quickly found the source of the sound and gasped a little in surprise.

The curly-haired man from yesterday was currently sitting on the ground, cross legged on the ground with a guitar in his lap. Around him, twelve children sat in a circle watching him sing. A little girl with brown, curly hair was leaning heavily against his right side while Charlotte was laying against his left thigh, staring up at the man. Kurt couldnt help but grin at the little picture in front of him. He briefly thought of the curly haired man sitting on his living room floor in pajamas with a guitar in his lap and Charlotte and the other girl, who was clearly his, danced around the living room. Kurt quickly willed the thought away.

The mans voice started quietly, slowly growing stronger with each word. Kurt knew the song instantly and smiled a little. He walked closer until the man noticed him and smiled sweetly. He nodded for the man to join and Kurt sang quietly with him, trying not to draw to much attention to himself. The man smiled at all the kids as he continued to sing. Kurt came around the circle to sit next to his daughter who surprisingly, stayed by the man instead of going to her fathers side. It was actually the brown haired girl who crawled to the mans lap and sat down in his crossed legs.

The dark haired man smiled apologetically at Kurt but he just shrugged and kept singing. All around them children began to dose off as they sang. Kurt felt himself grin as the song continued. It had been years since he sang anything other than a childrens song. While he was technically singing this to a bunch of kids it wasnt really a kids song. This one had meaning. Something his life has been lacking besides the little girl plastered to the mans thigh.

As a single, working father, Kurt had only so much time to sit around and practice scales or belt out a new Broadway song. He was surprised he found time to sit down at all with Charlotte in the house. That girl was an attention whore. Kurt had to watch her stack blocks, say meow, push the same button on her toy piano 47,000 times. He knew this was part of being a dad and he loved it. He loved watching this little girl grow up and share these moments with him but he just really wanted to sleep. Or drink. Or maybe go on a date. A loud two year old didnt really give him these luxuries.

Kurt looked up at the man to see him watching the little girl in Kurts lap. He smiled sweetly, tiredly, but sweetly. The man was truly breathtaking. He looked like a prince that jumped right out of a fairytale. Kurt could tell his hair must have been really curly because he had gel in his hair yet there was still a multitude of visible curls. He had an amazing smile and eyes you could just melt in. They were a rich golden brown that sparkled as he sang. Kurt could stare at them forever. But of course he couldnt because then Kurt noticed the silver ring on the mans ring finger.

Of course. This man was married to a beautiful wife. She was probably perfect and rich based off the quality of the mans ring. She was probably the perfect wife to that man. Perfect mom, too. She probably oozed beauty and her laughter sounded like a song. Her and her husband probably sang duets all around the house and danced around with the daughter. They were the family everyone could only dream to be. Kurt could only dream to have.

Kurt saw the man watching Kurt, confused. Kurt internally laughed at the emotions that must have showed on his face. Surprise then disappointed then jealous then longing then some mixture of all four. Kurt just smiled faintly. "Someday," he thought as he swayed a little to the song. Suddenly the little girl in his lap twisted around so she faced Kurt. Kurt continued to sing softly as the girl whispered into his ear.

"My daddy and you sound really pretty when you sing at the same time," the little girl whispered. Kurt smiled as she flipped back around and nestled back into Kurts chest. Kurt grinned down at her as Blaine smiled at the two. Blaine looked down at Charlotte who had now drifted off into dreamland. Blaine looked back up too see Sophia playing with one of the mans hands as they sang.

"Someday," Kurt thought again as a thought crossed through Blaines unsuspecting mind.

Perfect.