They all gathered around the rather small dining room table, Elizabeth and Andrew quickly claiming their seats, which were right next to each other. Kurt and Blaine hesitated, passing each other annoyed glances, having no choice but to sit shoulder to shoulder, literally. The whole family was noticeably uncomfortable, but they all turned in their attention to the food. Blaine took his first bite of the chicken, startling everybody when he let out a pleasurable moan.

"My God, Kurt, if there was anything I missed about you, it was your mother's recipes," he said casually, going for another bite.

"Flattered, really, "he said sarcastically, "It's great to know that the only thing you missed about your ex-husband was his dead mother whom you've never met."

"Don't get used to the flattery. I'm already out of nice things to say," he smiled.

"And people think you're charming," Kurt bit back, "Oh, how little they know."

"I'm only nice to people who deserve it."

"Then you must be really hard on yourself."

"That's enough," Elizabeth raised her voice, "You two children need to behave. So either you stop bickering like old times and at least try to get along, or you can leave and I'll see you in three months. What is it going to be? Tell me now so I don't waste my time." Andrew took her hand to relax her, but she pulled back, "Well?"

"You're right, Liz, I'm sorry," Kurt said with complete sincerity, "I'm trying, I really am. This will just get some getting used to."

Elizabeth nodded to him, accepting his apology, and was now looking pointedly at her dad.

"Um, yeah, what he said, "Blaine said quietly, "I'll work on it."

"Good," Elizabeth exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "Now let's talk wedding!"

"Now you're speaking my language," Kurt replied, "Have you chosen a venue?"

"We did," she said, barely above a whisper. Suddenly, her food became very interesting. It was quiet for a few moments, the men expecting her to continue. When she did not, Andrew spoke up.

"We were thinking about The Holiday Inn of East Windsor?"

"What?!" Kurt and Blaine exclaimed simultaneously.

"That's perfect," Kurt clapped his hands in excitement. Everyone was happy with the location, talking endlessly and enthusiastically about some of their individual ideas for the wedding, but Blaine was looking at them in confusion, clearly not as convinced.

"What's wrong, Dad?" The table was suddenly quiet.

"The Windsor Hotel?" Blaine asked for confirmation. They all nodded.

"In Jersey?" He still couldn't believe it. They nodded again.

"Where Kurt and I got married." This time, it was a statement. An angry one. Elizabeth looked at Andrew with confusion. He just shrugged his shoulders, mouthing 'I don't know'.

"What's wrong with that?" Kurt sounded annoyed at the sudden mood changed from his ex.

"They can't," he said, feeling both confused and frustrated.

"And why not, pray tell, can they not get married at the destination of their choice?" Kurt countered.

"They just," Blaine dropped his utensils on the plate loudly, "they just can't, okay?"

"My God, you're the most selfish man I've ever met," Kurt raised his voice, "What gives you the right to take this away from them?"

"Please, Kurt, you barely know your own daughter so don't act so superior," Blaine stood up quickly, the chair of making a loud screech. Elizabeth and Andrew sat in their spots, completely stunned by what was happening.

Kurt laughed bitterly, "And that's my fault? You're the one who took her away from me!"

"I didn't have a choice," Blaine yelled, turning this into a shouting match.

"No one held a gun to your head and told you to move to Pennsylvania!" Kurt replied angrily.

"Are you serious? I was practically kicked out of the state because you just had get the media involved!"

"I had no choice!" Kurt cried. At that, Blaine started laughing. His laughs soon turned to hysteria with absolutely no humor behind it.

"So," Blaine tried getting his giggling under control while Kurt stood there, seething in anger, "so did someone hold a gun to your head?" Kurt's mouth dropped so quickly, it caused him to laugh more.

"Are you done, Mr. Anderson?" He quickly looked up to see Andrew angrier than he's ever seen. He immediately stopped laughing and stood taller. "This isn't about our wedding location at all, is it?"

Blaine opened his mouth, ready to reply, but nothing came out.

"That's what I thought," he paused and continued, "This is about you and Mr. Hummel, and all your unfinished business. Well, guess what? I'm not going to deal with that and I certainly don't want my wife-to-be see her parents argue over things that she certainly doesn't want to hear."

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other with shame on their faces.

"Now, if I remember correctly, both of you promised your daughter, not five minutes ago, that you would try to get along, but with all due respect, you're off to a pretty shitty start. Now if you don't mind, I think you both should leave our home, and come back when you're absolutely sure you can keep your promise," he said with finality.

"I don't have anywhere to stay," Kurt said pathetically, feeling like a child who was just put on time out.

"You can stay with Dad for a few nights, until you find a hotel," Elizabeth finally spoke up. They were both about to protest when she rose her hand to quiet them, "No questions. That's what's going to happen, so there's no point in arguing."

The two men groaned in frustration, but after the little show they put on, they were in no position to change her mind.

"Alright," Elizabeth continued, "Andrew, can you help them with Papa's luggage? I need some wine, and I'm not in the mood to deal with them," she said tiredly. He agreed, giving her a comforting kiss, as she made her way to the kitchen without a word to her fathers.

All three men grabbed a few suitcases each, making their way to the car in uncomfortable silence. Andrew shook both of their hands, promising to meet up with them tomorrow. They both nodded and got in the car. When the car started driving off, Andrew smiled to himself, whispering into the air, "My fianc� is a genius."

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

Ten minutes after they left their daughter's house, Blaine finally parked the car in his driveway. He knew Kurt was sitting next to him, more than likely staring at his house, judging it like he does with everything. He was probably seeking out every crack that shouldn't be there, every jagged corner, every small detail that he would change if it were his own house. Honestly, he didn't care. Blaine was aware that his house wasn't anything special. He didn't like the shade of blue it was, or the fact that the oak door didn't match any part of the house at all. It was one story, slightly smaller than average, one that a teacher can afford. Despite its imperfections, it was still home.

This house held memories of him and Elizabeth that were priceless. There was still a stain on the carpet, now covered by the sofa, from his daughter's first cup of coffee that she spilled because it was too hot. He still had their tea party set in his attic, along with her many sports trophies, ranging from soccer to fencing. She was always quite the athlete, her favorite sport being football. When her high school football team didn't allow her to be kicker, she went straight to the principal's office without his knowledge, threatening to sue the school. When he got that phone call, he knew she was going to be a lawyer. He had his suspicions before, but that sealed it.

"So, are you planning for us to sleep in the car, or...?" At Kurt's voice, he jumped in his seat.

"Yeah, okay, let's just," he didn't know exactly what he was saying, so he gave up and unbuckled his seatbelt. He closed his door, Kurt doing the same, and headed for the house.

"Wait, what about my luggage?" Blaine turned around, noticing his ex-husband still standing by the car.

"The door is still unlocked. What's the issue?"

"Are you going to help me?" Kurt asked, or more like, he ordered in the form of a question.

"Nope," Blaine replied , turning on his heel towards the house, ignoring the angry growl behind him. Well, he wasn't completely ignoring it. He was laughing under his breath at Kurt's choice of words as he struggled with the lighter suitcases.

"So glad I divorced him when I did. What was I thinking? Selfish bastard. I can't believe I agreed to this. This is a nightmare. Such a jerk. Son of a bitch. Ow, that was my finger!"

When Blaine opened the door, he was greeted enthusiastically by his dog, jumping and whining, obviously happy to see her owner. He giggled and kneeled down to her level, patting her back and scratching her ears, just the way she liked it.

"Hello beautiful! Did you miss me? Awww, I missed you more. Yes I did! Yes I did!"

He heard the door open suddenly, "Do you have a roommate you forgot to tell -- HOLY SHIT!"

Blaine turned towards Kurt, who jumped several feet in the air, dropping his bags loudly on the hardwood floor.

"What is that thing?!" He looked absolutely terrified, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Annie?" He followed his gaze, which was clearly on his pet. "Kurt, this is a dog, I'm sure you've seen one before."

"Of course it's a dog, smart ass," he said, trying to calm himself down, "but it's a pit bull." Blaine wasn't quite following what he was saying.

"Pit bulls kill people," Kurt said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Blaine didn't know whether to be offended or laugh.

"It's okay, Annie," he turned to his dog, petting her comfortably, "prejudice is just ignorance."

Kurt just stood there, flabbergasted, "Is this some type of a cruel joke? Or a trap to get me killed so that you don't take the blame?"

"For someone who advocates against stereotyping, you're surely being a hypocrite," Blaine said, only slightly annoyed.

"What are you talking about?"

"She's just as likely to kill you as a gay person is to rape the next guy he sees."

"That's different. People and pit bulls are different," Kurt replied, keeping as much distance away from that thing as possible.

"Not really, but if she bothers you so much, I'll just let you sleep outside," Blaine said casually.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Kurt asked, clearly angry.

"This is her house, not yours. She sleeps inside. She's afraid of the dark, so I never make her sleep outside. Ever. She is also petrified of thunder, and by the looks of it, a storm is on the way. You won't have to worry about her at night because she has her own space in my room with a nightlight. I'll make sure to lock the door so that she doesn't kill you and you don't rape me," he said, making a point, "You can sleep wherever you want. Here's the couch, there's a blowup bed in my office, or you can sleep in Satan's lair. Whatever."

"Thanks for the hospitality," Kurt quipped, becoming increasingly regretful of agreeing to stay here.

"Don't expect hospitality for me, Kurt. I did not invite you here, so don't act like I owe you anything. So make yourself comfortable, or not. I don't care. If there is an emergency, Annie and I will be in our room." Kurt gave him a nod, and Blaine turned down the hallway with his dog and into his room.

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

Kurt cradled his Ben & Jerry's ice cream in one arm while blindly flipping through channels with the other. He was snuggled tightly in a quilt that's smelled alarmingly like Blaine. He forgot how good and comfortable in his ex-husband smelled. It always seemed to calm him down, and this felt no different. He had to admit, he missed it. Certainly not because he missed him. Not at all. Blaine was selfish, rude, and very deceiving. Everyone else thought he was so perfect, but he knew him more than anyone. Blaine Anderson was so far from perfect. Because of Kurt's harsh personality, he always was made to look like the bad guy, and Blaine was the poor, innocent victim. All he had to do was bat his sad puppy dog eyes, and people would give him sympathy. When Kurt found out the media was actually on his side during their custody battle, he couldn't help but use it to his advantage.

They were at each other's throats all day today. The moment their eyes met after all these years, Blaine had to say something smart, and it set the tone for the rest of the day. Honestly, he really didn't want to argue with him. He was tired of that. He thought he was done with that. He didn't necessarily expect Blaine to like him again, but at least not hate him. Every time they spoke, it turned into an argument, which was why he was so adamant about being quiet. He thought that if they spoke less, the more likely it was for them to eventually like each other. He knew that there was a risk of Blaine thinking that Kurt didn't speak to him because he hated him, which seemed to be exactly what happened. How he was going to survive the next few months with Blaine back in his life , Kurt didn't know. If they kept heading down this road, things would only get worse.

Kurt sighed, taking another bite of rocky road, relaxing in the scent that surrounded him. He took another look at the clock, reading 4:13am. He already gave up on the idea of sleep, so he settled the channel on I Love Lucy reruns. He started zoning out when he heard feet padding down the hallway. Kurt's jaw went slack when he saw Blaine turning the corner in his pajama bottoms. Just his pajama bottoms.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Kurt asked, trying to hide a quiver in his voice, causing Blaine to shriek like a little girl. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he said, erupting in laughter.

"Not funny," Blaine said, smiling sheepishly, "Can't sleep." He yawned, stretching his arms out. It took all that Kurt had not to check out his ex-husband.

"I know you're tired when you can't say a full sentence, Mr. Anderson," he teased, before he could stop himself. Was he flirting with him? No, of course not. He was clearly sleep deprived.

"Indubitably," Blaine replied, seemingly unfazed by what he said, "May I sit?"

"I don't know, ask Annie. It's her house," he said sarcastically, still smiling.

"It took her forever to go to sleep. Thunder. She thought she was being sneaky when she came to bed with me, but I couldn't say no. She finally got to sleep just now." Of course, right after he finished saying that, a loud clap of thunder shook the house, followed by whining from what could only be his dog.

"You jinxed it," Kurt said matter-of-factly. Annie came running down the hall with her tail between her legs, frantically looking for her owner.

Blaine sat next to Kurt, cooing at his dog. She didn't hesitate to jump in his lap, crying like a newborn infant. Kurt tensed up immediately when she got too close, but tried not to say anything. What he was witnessing was too adorable to stop because of his irrational fear of pit bulls.

"Annie the orphan?" Kurt asked. Blaine seemed too caught up in relaxing his dog to hear the question, but eventually he answered.

"A few months after Oliver died," he began, "He was my beagle. Died of cancer," he explained and continued, "I went to the shelter. Annie was a few months old. She was on death row with a bunch of other pit bulls who were taken from a fighting ring. They just assumed that because the other dogs were fighters, who are usually put down immediately, that she was too. Obviously, I disagreed. Long story short, it took me three months and a court order to finally call her my own," he smiled at her fondly.

"That's really amazing," Kurt whispered, reaching out a hand to pet the dog. In return, Blaine's smile grew wider, pride seeping through his eyes. "Do you think it's possible for us to get along?" It was a genuine question, and he really wanted Blaine to say yes. After a few moments of deep thought, he replied.

"I don't know," Blaine said quietly. Kurt hoped he didn't see the disappointment on his face, but Blaine continued, "I really hope so." Kurt exhaled, confused at what he was feeling. Definitely happiness and hopefulness. There was something else there that he couldn't quite pinpoint, but maybe that was for the best. Baby steps, he thought.

For the remainder of the night, Kurt, Blaine, and Annie huddled together, watching reruns of I Love Lucy, until finally they were able to fall asleep.