"Alright, munchkins. What's it gonna be. Pancakes shaped like hearts or like Mickey Mouse?" Kurt was whisking some ingredients together. He looked over at the three-year-olds who were sharing the benched window seat on one side of the kitchen table with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Mickey! Mickey!" Addy yelped in excitement while Elliott watched her with some amusement and nodded agreeably.

"Mickey it is," Kurt responded while carefully pouring the batter onto the sizzling griddle.

Blaine walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes sleepily. He had fallen back asleep, feeling incredibly content with Kurt in his arms, and waking up alone had left him feeling more lonely than he thought was probably reasonable. He padded up behind Kurt and propped his chin on the taller man's shoulder, watching him pour the shapes and start to check the edges. He felt Kurt tense momentarily at the contact and saw him glance over at the table, as if to see how the physical contact was affecting their kids. The children were, however, completely absorbed in a version of eye-spy where Addy was doing the spying and Elliott would try and guess by pointing, and not paying attention to their fathers in the slightest. Blaine moved away sensing the other man's unease. Kurt glanced over after flipping two Mickey heads and gave a resigned yet happy sounding sigh as he tugged at the hem of Blaine's, well his really, t-shirt so that they were again touching. Blaine sighed too with great contentment and rested his chin once more on Kurt's shoulder.

"Why are Mickey or hearts the only options for pancakes?"

"Because circles are way too adult and boring and those are the only two shapes I know how to make." Kurt set the finished product down in front of the kids and served them up their own individual Disney breakfast. Elliott smiled his thanks and his father reached over to tousle his hair as a 'you're welcome.'

"Thanks, Mr. Kurt! Daddy's pancakes are always just blobby." Addy dug in with gusto.

"Well, thank you very much, Princess." Blaine responded indignantly. Addy just smiled at her dad with a full mouth, completely missing his sarcasm.

"Can I request hearts?" Blaine moved up behind the man once more as Kurt moved back to the griddle, this time loosely wrapping his arms around the other man's waist.

Kurt smiled and poured the batter. "Done and done."

They decided shortly after breakfast to continue their plan for a 'friend date' tonight. Neither felt it prudent to point out that friends didn't generally spend the night with arms and legs intertwined. Both men had every intention of letting that happen again. They did, however, agree to the fact that whatever this relationship was needed to be discussed in more detail. They would do so tonight. They both felt a combination of anxiety and anticipation.

Blaine had intended for Jeff and Nick to watch Addy that evening. Kurt pointed out, however, that it would be much easier for Addy stay at his house with Elliott, as Rachel and Finn were coming over with Hailey to babysit. Blaine had agreed knowing it made much more sense. This way Addy could be put straight to bed, seeing as they were spending another night at Kurt's house anyway. They had discussed it at length while the kids watched some Saturday morning cartoons and decided that, until Blaine was a little more certain about where things stood with Alex, it would be safer to stay where they were. Good thing too...

After deciding this plan of action Blaine went back to his place alone to pack a small bag for both him and Addy so they would at least have their own clothes the wear. What he found there made him more grateful than ever that he had not gone home last night. His door was scuffed and banged as though someone had been kicking at it, trying to get it to open. He stood there staring at it at first, feeling like he just might throw up. Shaking his head to clear it, he slipped his key in the lock and stepped inside. Thankfully everything inside appeared to be untouched. He quickly threw some clothes and toiletries for both him and his daughter into a bag and was preparing to leave again when he heard something. Creeping slowly up from the back bedrooms, heart racing, he heard someone just outside, messing with his front door. Grabbing the first blunt object he could find, a flashlight from a kitchen drawer, he tore open the door, flashlight raised slightly, ready to bash a head in if necessary.

"Oh my lord, boy! You nearly scared the piss outta me!" The super of Blaine's building fell back from his crouching position in the doorway.

Blaine visibly sagged against the door frame in relief and held out his hand to help the older man back to his feet. "I'm so sorry. I'm a little on edge right now."

"It's all good, son. I don't break too easy." The super stood to his feet with Blaine's help. "Sorry I startled you. I was just taking a closer look at this door to see if I could fix it up for you before you came home with your little girl. Didn't want her to be scared when she saw it all banged up."

"Thank you so much, sir. I really appreciate that." Blaine stepped out in the hall to examine the damage once again with the other man.

"Not to worry, it's my job. I'm glad you're here now, though. I was just getting ready to look up your number so I could fill you in on what happened last night."

Blaine looked up in surprise at this. "You saw what happened?"

"Yeah, well, I heard the commotion all the way from downstairs. I think everyone in the building did." Blaine felt that sick feeling in his stomach again and steeled himself for what was coming. "About 10 p.m. last night I heard some loud thumps, like someone banging up against a door or wall, and lots of yelling. I got some calls right away from your neighbors, complaining about some crazy man in the hall trying to knock your door in and cursing up a storm." Blaine's head started spinning. "I called the police just to be safe and then came up here to check things out. Man was completely outta his head and drunk off his ass. He was pretty incoherent by then, I didn't understand much of what he was saying. I told him the police were on their way and he left before they could get here." The man looked at Blaine with concern then. "I did catch one thing that he was mumbling as he ran out though. He said, 'They belong to me. They belong with me. He's not going to get away with this.'"

Next thing Blaine knew he was throwing up in the bathroom and the kind super was awkwardly patting him on the back, trying not to look nauseous himself.

"Would I be too forward asking who the hell that man was?"

Blaine paused for a moment, mouth full of water to wash away the taste of vomit. Spitting out into the sink he sighed and sank down to sit on the toilet. "My husband. Trying my best to make him an ex though." He looked up at the other man, waiting for the inevitable look of discomfort or even disgust. It didn't come though. Just a nod of understanding.

"I'm truly sorry for you, son. That's a bad situation. I'll tell you what, if I were you I would find somewhere else to stay for a while. You need to keep yourself and that little girl safe." The super leaned back to sit on the edge of the sink and crossed his arms with a pointed look at the younger man.

"Thank you sir. I think I will. We stayed with a friend last night and I know we can stay there longer if we need to. I'm so sorry for the trouble this has caused you... and for the disruption to the neighbors." Blaine was trying his best to remain composed (Fat chance of that seeing as I just puked in front of the man). He hung his head slightly at his next statement, "I totally understand if you want me to move out because of this."

The older man looked at Blaine appraisingly for a moment before speaking. "Look, I know how these things work. Just cuz your husband's an ass doesn't mean you are, and it doesn't make it your fault. I felt good about you right from the start. You and your sweet little girl. Gotta be honest though, I knew something was up when you came here suddenly, asking for my first available apartment and then moving in with no furniture except for a little beanbag chair." The super finished with a smirk and Blaine found it within him to smile just a bit.

"Here's what I think, son. I'm sure not kicking you out because of your circumstances, but I don't think it's safe for you here either. I've kinda got a soft place in my heart for you... you remind me of my own son who's passed on." Blaine looked up in surprise at this and the other man cleared his throat lightly. "I know you signed a lease but it looks like you could use a break in life. How 'bout we go on a month-to-month basis for right now. You've already paid for August. That gives us two weeks before the end of the month. You take that time and see if you can't figure things out. If you want to go ahead and pay for September when it comes, whether you plan to actually stay here or not, that's up to you."

Blaine just stared for a moment. "I... I don't know what to say, sir. That is so generous of you! You really don't need to do this, the last thing I want is to be an inconvenience..."

"Oh, hush now. No use arguing, I'm a stubborn old man. Just ask my wife," he winked at Blaine. "Besides, what good is life if you can't be someone's guardian angle every once in a while." He gruffly clapped the younger man's shoulder then stood, preparing to leave. Blaine followed quickly.

"Really, I can't thank you enough. This means more to me and Addy than you'll know." Blaine seriously thought about hugging the man and took a slight step forward, but his super only smiled and nodded quickly, looking uncomfortable at the idea of things getting touchy-feely. Blaine backed up quickly, remembering that not everybody was a regular hug machine like he was.

"I don't want to pry, sir, and please just tell me to mind my own business if you want, but can I ask about your son?" Blaine regretted it almost immediately, seeing the pain in the other man's eyes. He was just about to apologize profusely and beg that his question be forgotten when the other man began speaking in a low quiet voice.

"I haven't talked about him in years, you know. It's like, if I don't talk about it then it didn't really happen."

Silence. Blaine said nothing, sensing that the man was merely gathering his thoughts.

"He came out to me when he was 17. It was a rough road for him. He struggled with accepting who he was for a long time. When he finally did come out I was surprised, but I sure as hell was gonna love him anyway. His mother though... she didn't see things that way. Made his life miserable until he graduated from high school and by then we had lost him. He up and moved to New York. He did his best to stay in contact with me, knowing I didn't feel the same way as his mom. I'm grateful for that."

Blaine was completely entranced. This was certainly the last thing he had expected to come from the older man's mouth.

"He was really happy, you know? He found a great guy, name of Jon, got married a year later and they even adopted a little boy. Marcus." At this the man's voice cracked slightly and his lip quivered for a moment before regaining control. "Things were looking so up... then it happened. Hate crime. He was walking down the street one night, minding his own business and got jumped. I never learned the details, just that when they found him he wasn't breathing anymore."

There were no tears in the super's eyes and his voice was an even monotone again, but his face looked significantly older than it had just minutes before. The same could not be said for Blaine though. Tears were streaming down the younger man's face as he listened to the story told with so little emotion but so much obvious pain.

"How long ago?"

"Ah, well, it's been eight years now this November."

"I am so very sorry. I know those words are inadequate and don't really help anything..." Blaine trailed off, desperately wanting to hug the other man but not knowing how well it would be received. He went for it anyway.

The older man hesitated for a moment in surprise before patting Blaine on the back a little awkwardly and stepping away.

"I'm sorry about that, sir. I tend to be a little physical. I forget that not everybody is the same." Blaine let out a small and apologetic laugh that was decidedly mirthless, as he wiped away his tears.

"It's o.k., kid. I appreciate it."

"You know, I feel so terrible. I know you probably told me your name when we first moved in but I'm completely blanking right now..." Blaine reached out for a handshake.

The other man grasped Blaine's hand firmly. "No worries. It's Paul. Paul Karofsky."