It was a rare opportunity for Blaine, just to be able to lie back in the grass and watch the clouds overhead, twisting and morphing into new shapes that his mind translated into pictures.  The fresh, spring grass pricking into his back through his shirt making him just the slightest bit itchy - but not so much that he felt the need to move his hands to scratch himself from where they rested on his stomach, lifting up and down in time with his breathing.  

“Unca' Blaaaiiinnne!”

He knew the calm couldn't last.  

Sitting up on the small hill by their house, he looked over at the small figure racing towards him on unsteady, chubby legs that were still learning how to keep balanced while running.  The shock of blonde hair curled out to the sides on the little boy, and no matter how much Trent insisted that he go for a haircut, Kitty always seemed to find a way around going, admitting to Blaine that she loved the little “surfer dude” look on her son.

“Hey Isaac!” Blaine said with a grin, opening his arms out in time to catch the small human who raced into them.  “How was playtime?”

“I gotted' cookies!” Isaac exclaimed happily, pulling his head away after hugging Blaine to reveal the sugary moustache and beard that complimented his statement.  

Blaine laughed and nodded, waving over to Kitty who had been walking up behind Isaac with baby Gwen in her arms, as he listened to Isaac babble on about the other kids that he had been playing with at the communal child play park - a structure consisting of some small forts, tire swings, and a makeshift slide.

“What're you doing out here all by your lonesome?” Kitty queried as she came close, “Boytoy get you in trouble for something?”

Blaine smiled and shook his head, watching as Isaac's attention was drawn away by some budding wildflowers which he ran over to inspect.  “He's got the twins down for a nap and told me to get out and stop making the floor creak.”

Kitty snorted as she laughed at that, knowing all too well how important getting two babies to sleep at the same time was, much less ensure they stay asleep.  “Don't blame him.  How long are you watching them for?”

“Just until tomorrow.  Sam and Mercedes will be back from the scavenging by then along with that cistern everyone is gushing over.”

“Well… not gushing… but it IS important.” Kitty stated, sitting herself down on the ground beside Blaine and letting the one year old girl in her arms crawl into his arms.

“I get it.  I'm just glad I didn't have to go along.  Been on too many trips lately and I hate leaving Kurt behind.” Blaine admitted, brushing a hand over the silky tuft of hair on top of the little girl's head.  Gwen was such a little cuddler, nesting herself into Blaine's lap and melting against him so easily.

“He's got the rest of us….”  

“I just don't like being away from him.”

Kurt didn't go on scavenging trips anymore, not since the attack led by Sebastian years ago.  Blaine knew Kurt was being purposely vague in his reasoning, saying that he didn't want to leave the town without his protection, but also knew that if Kurt insisted on staying near the town, there must be a good reason for it.  

Blaine rarely questioned Kurt on things like that, not when it was something that made him get that faraway look in his eyes.  Things like leaving, how his scars had gone away, or about his mother.

Especially not his mother.

There were rumours and assumptions, most of which still lingered after all this time.  People didn't say much around Blaine, but he saw the way they looked at Kurt, saw the way they avoided dealing with him or talking with him, saw the suspicion in their eyes.  On one occasion Blaine had overheard one of the women explaining to someone new to the community that Kurt was their “Good Luck Demon”.

“It's why we're safe here - him.  That doesn't mean you should trust him though.  He's one of them.  If you ask me, they should just keep him in a cell.  Keep him around, but don't give him too much freedom.”

They should have been thanking him.  Regardless of what he might be, he had saved them all.  Sebastian would have killed them or enslaved them.  He had gone absolutely mad and it was a good thing Kurt had been the one to bring him down because if Blaine had had the chance he would have killed him.  

He did, after all, think that Sebastian had killed Kurt.

It was still quite fresh in his mind, even though most of the last couple years had blurred together in his memory.  His ex-boyfriend, if Sebastian could even be called that since he and Blaine had never titled their short lived relationship back when they were on the road, shooting his lover and then kicking his blood soaked body into the ditch.  Blaine had to be held back as he himself had gone mad in that moment and tried to rush to Kurt, tried to attack Sebastian with his bare hands, tried to cover up the agony inside him with rage.  

They should have killed or cut off Sebastian a long time ago.  They all knew what he was capable of, they just hadn't been brave enough to speak about it.

“You know, Trent was talking about going to see if those quads you two left behind at the first meeting place were still there this summer.  I think he misses having so much power between his legs.”

Kitty and Blaine laughed at that, and Blaine understood.  He missed being on an ATV, feeling the air rushing through your air in a way that being on a horse could never really replicate.  There was a freedom to it, a sense of wild abandon.  Blaine remembered feeling absolutely untouchable on his quad.

Then of course, Trent had had his accident and he and Blaine had given up their machinery in favour of staying in the community.  Now half of the original Warblers were settled here as well, and half had long been driven away and dumped off in a remote area further west - left to their own devices without quads or their maps.  They only were given a warning - come back and you'll be killed on sight.

So far, so good.

The community had continued to grow since Blaine had come here as well, aside from the Warblers, there had been small groups that had come past and been invited to join and settle here, almost doubling the population within the past couple years.  Something about this place was safe.  The Others didn't seem to be able to reach this place - or they didn't want to reach it.  Whatever the case was, it was a safe haven in an unsafe world and Blaine was content.

He had Kurt to keep him warm at night and share those soft, sweet smiles with.  He had his friends - Trent, Kitty, Sam, Mercedes, and all of the Warblers that had refused to take part in Sebastian's uprising.  He had a job - part time veterinarian for the animals and livestock the community kept, and part time general worker.  He had a decent home he had mostly built and that he and Kurt had gone to great lengths to make livable and comfortable.

“Maybe Kitty…. they probably wouldn't start though and you know I wouldn't be able to convince Kurt to go out there and take a look at them anyhow… it'd only be for nostalgia.”

“Nothing wrong with a little nostalgia.  Now come on.  Let's go wake up those twins and completely irritate your man.” She said with a wry grin, standing up and making Blaine have to fumble with baby Gwen in his arms to try and keep up with her, Isaac weaving his way around and between them both to the house.

It was just a single level, three real rooms in all - bedroom, living, and dining, though Blaine had added a basement dugout last summer for storage and as a safe place to keep things in case of a fire.  They had furnished it well though, Blaine bringing back a real mattress and furniture on a run with a wagon into a nearby abandoned town.  Isaac and some of the other kids in town had drawn and painted pictures for them that hung proudly on their walls.  Blaine had even figured out how to make a stand and holder for Kurt's bows and arrows so instead of them just sitting by the door, waiting to fall over as they used to, they now had a place that made them function both as decoration and weaponry.

When Blaine had come out here, Kurt had been living in a hut by himself out in this area, ten minutes from town.  Now they had their own home and neighbours.  To their east was Trent and Kitty, to their west was Sam and Mercedes, and just past them a few Warblers had built their own little bachelor pad. It was a community within the community - those that accepted Kurt and didn't care what he was.  Their real home.

“Shhh!'  Kurt hissed at them as they walked through the door, though it was for nothing because Isaac bellowed out, “BABIES!  I'M HERE!”

That made Kurt wince and Blaine offered him an apologetic smile as one of the girls started crying from inside their bedroom where the crib was set up.  When it became clear that Blaine and Kurt would be consistent babysitters for Trent and Kitty, Blaine had built the crib in their room.  It took up a lot of space, but it had come in handy for Isaac, Gwen, and now Whitney and Aretha who were making sure that everyone knew their lungs were working.

Kitty and Kurt went to collect the little girls, only a month away from being a year old now, while Blaine was left with Gwen, a month over a year, and Issac, two and half.   While Blaine didn't mind this age of babies, he secretly looked forward to the day when he could do more than just hold the kids and change their cloth diapers.  He liked the age where he could play and talk with kids, like he did whenever he went to Rachel and Finn's school house in town to talk to the kids about Others, or animals, or things he'd seen in his travels.  They always got a kick out of him, and Finn always assured him that they loved his stories, even though the kids would always ask the same question at the end.

“Is Kurt really an Other?”

Blaine would solemnly shake his head, “No.  He's human.”

Then one kid or another would pipe up, saying that their parent told them otherwise, that Kurt had died and come back with superpowers and that only Others could do that.

“Have you ever seen an Other?”

No, they would say.

“I have.  Kurt is definitely not one of them.”

That seemed to appease them, at least until the next time he would visit and the cycle would start anew.  People seemed happy to gossip about Kurt and no matter how much Blaine tried to assure the world that his boyfriend was nothing to be afraid of, his words never seemed to hold.

He had seen Others.  They were long, lanky creatures, with pointed ears and, depending on what specific subtype they were, special features.  Those that could shift into animals took on traits of their animal - feathered hair if they changed into birds, huge and hairy for bears, muscular and soft for wolves.  The ones who had elemental powers were always taller than any of the rest with skin that was hued to their power - red for fire, green for earth, and so on.  There were the pale, albino like ones that didn't grow hair.  He had seen them in the background of groups and while he didn't know what exactly those ones could do, they looked like pure evil.  There were more sub-groups, more magic that seemed specialized, and Blaine had wondered on more than one occasion if the Others hadn't fought between their groups like humans had always done in the past.  Maybe the fact that the Others seemed to overcome their differences made them that much more evolved than humans were.

Blaine helped with the kids and Kitty hung around until supper at which point she took them back to her home to await Trent who was tasked with bringing home dinner from the cafeteria after he closed the library, leaving Blaine alone with Kurt and two babies.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't sometimes pretended that the kids they watched weren't their own.  That he and Kurt had somehow been able to have a family all their own.  

Kurt was gorgeous all the time, but he was especially gorgeous with a baby in his arms and his walls down, singing soft lullabies and locking eyes with whatever infant he held.  Whatever magic the Others had, it was nothing compared to the magic in those cerulean eyes.  

“We're not having sex.” Kurt murmured to Blaine once both girls were back to sleep and laid in their cribs.

Blaine blinked a few times, looking at Kurt from where he sat on the bed.  “What?”

“I can tell… you're thinking about me and what you can do with me.  There are babies over tonight.  In our room.  Sex isn't happening.”

Blaine gave his head a shake, as if to dismiss the silliness of Kurt's statement, but then he noticed that his pants were tenting.  When did that happen?

“Whenever you watch me with kids you get that far-away look in your eyes and then you're groping me and snuggling up with your cock at full attention poking me in the back.” Kurt grunted, peeling his sweater off and folding it to set aside the bed for the morning.  

“But….”  Blaine looked at Kurt, exposing his perfect chest and abs to Blaine and then over at the crib where the girls were softly snoring in their sleep, and back to Kurt again, “.... we always have kids over lately.”

“So go out into the woods and jerk off.  I'm not having sex with kids in the room.”

“I can't believe you just told me to go masterbate….”  Blaine balked, watching Kurt step out of his pants next, leaving him only in a pair of black briefs as he crawled into the bed.

“I'm not having sex.” Kurt reasserted.  “Babies in the room.”

Again Blaine looked over at the crib, and then back to Kurt, letting his eyes travel over the slopes of his body - muscular, toned, flawless, and pale from the winter wearing off his summer tan.  Gorgeous.

“Baby….”

“I hate when you call me baby.”  Kurt grumbled, pulling the blanket up over his body to his nipples, which peaked out and teased Blaine with their mere presence.  “Trent calls Kitty baby and it just makes me think of the pair of them.”

“Angel….”

“And you know I don't like being compared to otherworldly things….” Kurt huffed as he turned on his side to look towards Blaine.

“Snickerdoodle…”

That got Blaine a chuckle out of Kurt.  “Now you're just being a dork.”

“You love that about me.”

“I do.”

Kurt's hand moved to cover up one of Blaine's which was rested palm down on the bed and Blaine automatically turned his own hand over so he could squeeze Kurt's in his own.  “Living room?”

“Yeah.”

They scooted out of the bed, Blaine grabbing their “night box” from his side of the bed and rushed after Kurt who was already resting back on one of the futon couches they had in the living room.  He was clearly positioned for seduction, propped back on his elbows, one leg hanging off the edge of the couch with the other one's knee pointed to the ceiling, blue eyes calling to him.

“We have to be quiet.”

Blaine just nodded, stripping himself of his undershirt and boxers before crawling up on the couch and over Kurt, his hands grasping the sides of Kurt's chest as he moved his lips up from Kurt's stomach in a trail up to his jaw and lips.  Legs were spread apart below Blaine's torso so Blaine could feel the swell of Kurt's arousal against his stomach through the thin layer of fabric holding it back.

It had been too long.  Fingers were shuffled around erratically, hair tugged and then nipples teased with thumbs flicked against them. Their kisses were sloppy and unsynchronized - Kurt happy to just go slowly and lick along the seam of Blaine's lips while Blaine tried to burrow his tongue into the depths of Kurt's mouth in urgency.   There were hot little gasps of air Blaine felt against his temple when he moved his lips to suck a small purple spot into Kurt's neck, followed by Kurt grabbing at his hips and grinding his crotch up against Blaine's with a growl.  There was need.

“What do you want…?”  Blaine whispered up at Kurt while he peppered kisses down Kurt's ribs, stopping to draw his tongue around one pert nipple and grinning inwardly as he heard the way Kurt's breath hitched and saw his body wriggle below him.

“Just you…. Please.”

Blaine's fingers curled around the elastic of Kurt's underwear, pulling them off slowly as he enjoyed the slow exposure of Kurt's perfectly erect cock which bounced against the bottom of his stomach and then held itself aloft once it was freed.  Lubricant was spread over Blaine's middle and index fingers and he let it sit there for a moment, soaking up his own body heat, before rubbing the tips of his fingers against the light brown perennium hidden between Kurt's pale white globes of flesh, spread further apart as Blaine's fingers made their way in.

There used to be a scar on the inside of Kurt's hip, just a faint bit of translucent white contrasted to the pink of his normal flesh.  Blaine remembered it from when he mentally mapped out Kurt's body when they were first together.  He would kiss it, along with other small and big scars that littered Kurt's otherwise flawless form.  Now Blaine could only see that scar in his memory as he looked as Kurt's legs while he pushed his fingers up inside Kurt and heard his breath stop as his body clenched around those fingers all too tightly before he remembered to relax and the push became easier.

He knew exactly where to press his fingers, exactly where to rub within Kurt to make him mewl and unravel and writhe, gripping whatever he could find be it a blanket, pillow, or, right now, the curls atop of Blaine's head as he breathlessly urged Blaine to give him more.  

They had never used a condom.  If either one of them had ever had anything then they both had it at this point.  Condoms just weren't around anymore.  But Kurt had said he'd only ever been with Blaine, and Blaine had only ever been with with a couple guys before Kurt.  If there had been any problem, he figured it would have made itself known by now.

Not that that was on his mind as he pulled his fingers out and replaced them with his own eager, dribbling cock, sliding into the perfect tight and now wet warmth that was Kurt until he bottomed out and held himself in place, the two of them kissing one another gently before he began to slowly thrust in and out, mind becoming hazy as his lust for Kurt pushed him to move harder, deeper, faster until he was dripping sweat onto Kurt who was muffling his cries with his hands fastened over his lips.  

Blaine loved this.  Not just the sex, though that was great too, but that Kurt gave himself to Blaine.  Kurt wasn't sappy, certainly didn't come across to anyone as a romantic, and probably did more harm than good to his public image by being a bit of a grump, but when it came to sex, all his self imposed barriers came down and his absolute vulnerability was beautifully bestowed to Blaine and it meant everything to him.  This was how he knew Kurt loved him back even though Kurt had never said the words.

A few more thrusts and Blaine's hips stilled as he spilled inside of Kurt, hand fumbling to reach around Kurt's still erect cock and tug it gently a few times so he could come as well.  Then they just panted for breath and let their eyes glaze over as the fog of their orgasms passed.

“Mmmm…”  Blaine murmured as he pulled out and laid himself half over Kurt, breathing in his smell of grass and leather and sweat.  “It's been too long… I missed you.”

Hands were wrapped around him and a kiss placed to his cheek before Kurt responded in a mumur, “Our friends have needed our help…”

Spring was always the peak time for scavenging runs that were delayed because of the cold winter temperatures in this area.  Sam and Mercedes were gone now but before that Kitty and Trent had both been gone as well, and then Blaine was usually involved in runs as well so their intimate time had taken a hit.

“Yeah… well… thanks for helping me out too snickerdoodle.”

Kurt laughed at that and rolled on his side, effectively ending their snuggle as he stood up and reached for a small cloth to wipe what trickled out of him before tossing it into the firepit in the center of the room.  “You ever call me that in public, you're not getting sex for a year.”

Blaine held his hands up, “I'd never risk that.”  

They walked, hand in hand, back to the bedroom and snuggled in for the night.  Most nights it was Blaine cuddled against Kurt, so needy, even in his sleep, for reassurance that Kurt was at his side.  

Kurt, meanwhile, was more of a sprawler, taking up more than his share of the bed as he stretched his lithe body out.  He seemed to tolerate Blaine's need for contact all night, but never initiated it.

The girls woke them in the morning, babbling nonsense from the crib.  They weren't identical, which was a blessing because Blaine already had trouble remembering which kid he was talking to at any given time, let alone try to distinguish between identical twins.  Whitney had lighter skin, and smooth, silky, hair, while Aretha was as dark as her mother with a little afro all her own.  Both were well tempered though and always good for Blaine and Kurt when they stayed over.

Not like Isaac had been when he was a baby.  It was amazing that Kitty and Trent had decided to have another after the total chaos that kid was - colicy and sick all the time with only Kurt able to soothe him.

“I'm betting Brittany has a boy.” Blaine noted over to Kurt as they changed diapers at the same time.

“Nope.  Definitely a girl.”

Blaine snorted derisively, “Why definitely?”

“I'm hoping for a girl anyhow.” Kurt responded, hoisting Whitney up into his arms once he was done and waiting for Blaine to finish.

“Aren't there enough little girls around for you?” Blaine asked, trying to pin the diaper on while Whitney wriggled and tried to roll over.

“After Isaac, and compared to Gwen, Whitney, and Aretha, I think girls are just better socialized when they're little.”

Blaine laughed at that, finally getting Whitney into her diaper and walking out with Kurt to their living room.  “Wasn't Beth colicy though?”

Kurt went stone silent and Blaine clamped his lips together.  Little Beth, who was now rapidly becoming a young woman and less a girl.  After Kurt had come back from the dead, Beth was disallowed from seeing him.  Quinn and Noah kept closer tabs on her and made sure there were consequences for breaking their new rule.  They were right at the top of the list of people that avoided Kurt now, even though they had so easily trusted the care of their daughter to him before.  Blaine knew it hurt him, even now.  It must have been like losing a child of his own.

“She was.”  Kurt finally said and then passed Whitney over to Blaine as he went to grab a jar of the mush that had been left behind for them to feed to the girls.  

Blaine took in a breath and changed the subject, hoping to dissuade Kurt's thoughts from going dark, “Are you sure you don't know who the daddy is for Santana and Brittany's kid?”

Kurt shook his head, coming over with the jaw and two spoons, “Nope.  Why?  You have theories?”

“Well…”  Blaine began, scooping out some mush which Aretha eagerly ate up, “... I was thinking it would have to be someone who didn't care about spreading their seed because I can't imagine Santana would be okay with some guy telling everyone that he knocked up Brittany or expected to be involved in the parenting.  Santana is way too territorial for that.”

“Maybe it's someone she has dirt on?”

“You think she'd let someone near Brit if she had something to hold against them?  Wouldn't she want some fine, upstanding citizen?”

Kurt chuckled and shrugged, feeding Whitney small bites.  “Well… it'd be nice if the baby came out with black or yellow skin - that would definitely narrow down the daddy pool.”

Again Blaine laughed, “Well I think David is too scared of her, Wes too for that matter, and I spend too much time with Mike… and either he likes someone else or is just not interested in sex period.”

“How much longer until it's born?”

Blaine counted in his head, “Another month.  I'm doing the birth.”

“So you need me to hold back Santana?”

“That would be nice, yeah.”  Blaine chuckled, just imagining how emotional that woman would get when Brittany was in labour.

Blaine did most of his work on animals, but because he worked closely with the medics he sometimes helped out with some of the more routine things like births and basic surgeries.  Brittany had actually requested he be in charge of her delivery because, as she told him, he had “calming hands” that the “baby would love.”  He just went along with it and thanked her for what he presumed was a compliment.  With Brittany you never really knew.

Brittany and Santana were also building a house out in their area, as seemed to be the trend with people who got along with himself and Kurt when they were about to have kids.  Despite the fact that Kurt didn't patrol anymore, as a result of people complaining that they couldn't trust him, Santana still spoke to them and often asked Kurt for his opinion on matters.   She was a member of the council that had formed to oversee the governing of the community once it became clear that it was growing too large for people to just oversee themselves.  Mercedes was on it too, as was Mike and Carole.  When there were issues, they decided what to do, and despite Kurt sometimes being raised as an issue, the council had enough people on it friendly towards him that they shut down any dissidence.  Kurt would not be kept in a cell.  If that ever changed, Blaine didn't care what Kurt said, he would take him away somewhere they could be together and no one could touch them or what they had together.  

He knew Kurt would never let that happen though.  Despite what intolerance the community had shown towards him, he was loyal to them, and while they might not be alright with letting him patrol, it would never stop him from protecting this place.  He still hunted for them in the mornings, despite the fact that a good half of the population refused to eat anything he killed, and he still served the mechanics in the area, even though they were trying to get one of the new guys to do that.  Kurt would never let them know how much their alienation of him hurt, though Blaine knew.  He knew and it made him angry to his core, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Except hope.

He would keep hoping that things would get better.