“Number two pencils. Not mechanical.”

“Got ‘em.”

“Crayons. Eight pack.”

“Got ‘em.”

“No, not those. Get the Crayola. They’re better.”

“Really, Kurt? They’re crayons.”

“Yes, and Crayola crayons are the best.”

“Whatever you say, babe,” Blaine chuckled. He threw the yellow box in the cart, then grabbed another and threw it in too.

“What are you doing? He only needs one,” I asked him. He just grinned at me and tossed in a pack of construction paper.

“These are for me.”

I rolled my eyes at him. He was like a child sometimes.

We moved on to the next item on the school supply list; I would place items in like a normal person and Blaine would pretend to be making free throws and slam dunks. After each successful ‘shot’ he would hold up a hand for Jude to give him a high-five, both of them giggling like mad. I did my best to not let them see me smile, but I’m pretty sure I failed.

“Okay, that’s done. Now it’s time to get you some school clothes,” I proclaimed, earning a groan from Blaine and a facepalm from my son. I didn’t know how any child of mine could possibly hate clothes shopping, but Jude certainly did.

Being the awesome dad that I was, I had written down his sizes so we could just grab a few things in each size and one or two in the next size up and go.

We were just finishing up, Jude having found a backpack with—you guessed it—Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that he just had to have, his obsession with the old cartoon series still alive and well, when a voice sounded behind us.

“I know you’re short, Blaine, but shopping in the kids section?”

I whirled around, ready to chew somebody a new one, when I noticed Blaine was laughing. I watched as he moved towards the stranger—at least, he was a stranger to me—and engulfed him in a hug.

Had I been the jealous type, I might have been a little miffed to see my boyfriend hugging another man. A fairly attractive man, at that. And was it really necessary to hug for so long? But I totally wasn’t jealous.

Nope.

Not me.

I felt a tug on my shirt and turned back to the cart where Jude was waiting to catch my eye before signing to me.

‘Who’s that?’

“I don’t know sweetie. But Blaine must know him pretty well.”

Our exchange finally broke Blaine from his little reunion and he disentangled himself from the other man only to grab his arm and pull him along to us.

“Wes, I would like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Kurt Hummel. Kurt this is Wes Montgomery, my friend from Dalton I told you about.” Any lingering ill feelings toward the man were gone after the introduction. Blaine had indeed told me all about his friends at Dalton, mostly about Wes and to an only slightly lesser extent, David.

“Lovely to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand. His eyes widened for just a moment as I spoke, but I didn’t take offense. He didn’t curl his lip in disgust or anything and I knew that my voice was unusually high for a man. I was used to it.

“You, too. Do you sing?” There was an almost manic gleam in his eye when he said it.

“Excuse me?”

Blaine laughed and pulled Wes back. “Easy, Wesley, we’re not done with introductions yet.” Wes visibly deflated at that and I couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped my lips. Blaine pulled Jude from the basket, the boys legs wrapping vice-like around Blaine’s middle. “And this little monkey is Jude, Kurt’s son. Jude this is one of my very good friends, Wesley.” Wes for his part didn’t seem fazed by the fact that Blaine was acting paternal to another man’s child. It moved him up another notch in my book.

Jude looked at the new arrival for a moment before signing rapidly.

‘Can I call him Uncle like I do Uncle Puck and Uncle Finn?’

Blaine just laughed. I watched Wesley’s puzzled expression for a moment before turning back to my son.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, but you know it’s polite to ask first.”

Jude signed his question to Wesley, who had no idea what was going on, and Blaine translated quietly. Wes held his fist out for Jude to knuckle bump with a solemn face.

“I would love for you to call me Uncle Wes.” He grinned at Jude then. “Y’know, Blaine here is like a brother to me. He was my best friend in school. Do you have a best friend?”

Blaine translated Jude’s rapid hand movements for Wes and the three of them became engrossed in one another, leaving me to finish up the shopping, which really saved time. We all migrated towards the check-out line, Wes peppering me with questions now and again which were for the most part easy to answer.

“So how long have you and Blainers here been together?” Easy answer.

“What are your intentions with Blainey-boy?” Another easy answer, accompanied by a fit of laughter at Blaine’s indignant exclamation.

“How old is the short one? I mean Jude, not Blaine.” More outraged Blaine. I liked this guy.

“What are you majoring in?”

“Do you sing?”

“So are you two planning on more kids?”

I froze in the act of counting out my cash and Blaine began to choke—on what I don’t know—and handed Jude off to Wes until he got himself under control. “What?!”

Wes looked at the two of us in surprise, as if his question shouldn’t have caused a minor breakdown.

“Blainers here always talked about wanting a big family. I just assumed, with you guys engaged and all…”

“We’re not engaged,” I said slowly. “Why would think we’re engaged?”

Wes shrugged and gestured to my hand where the promise ring Blaine had given me eight months ago shone like a beacon.

“Oh, no, it’s not an engagement ring,” I explained hurriedly. Wes just quirked an eyebrow at me, shifting slightly as Jude scrambled around to hang off him piggy-back style.

“It’s a promise ring,” Blaine said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking pointedly at the floor.

Wes just smiled and shook his head indulgently.

I wheeled our half-full cart through the automatic doors and the heat from the asphalt parking lot hit me full force.

“Ugh. Why does it have to be so hot?” I griped. Blaine walked next to me, his hands resting next to mine on the cart. It was one of those little moments of domesticity that warmed my heart.

“Well, it is July,” he smirked at me. I swatted him on the shoulder playfully.  Wes was running down the aisle with Jude on his back making airplane noises and occasionally spinning. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“Are all your friends as adorable as you?” I teased.

“Surely I’m more adorable. I mean come on,” he joked, “have you seen these eyes?” He sideways to face me, face in full-on puppy mode. He was still managing to keep up the pace I had set, walking sideways in a modified grapevine.

“You are awful cute,” I conceded, giving him a light peck on the lips. It was as far as I was willing to go in the way of PDA seeing as we were in the middle of a Wal-Mart parking lot in Ohio. Oh, to be somewhere more accepting…

“Dive bomb Blaine!” Wes shrieked. I looked up to see the other man holding my son Superman-style and charging at Blaine. My eyes widened and my heart stopped. When Blaine caught him expertly, I started to breathe again, but my panic-stricken expression had not escaped Wes’s notice.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, Kurt. Sorry,” he said, not looking that sorry at all. “Blaine and I used to do that all the time with my little sis. Old habits, y’know?”

I breathed slowly to regain my calm. I had to stop going into overprotective mode all the time. I knew it in my mind, but it was still something else entirely to actually do.

Jude was giggling breathily, completely wound up. His blue eyes were darting around in a way that told me naptime was going to be forgone in exchange for a flurry of afternoon activities. I could try to fight him on it, but really, I knew my son. He was just as stubborn as me and I knew when to pick my battles. Skipping his nap meant that he would crash about an hour earlier than usual and sleep heavily through the night, but it also meant that the last hour he was awake would not be pleasant.

“It’s fine. I’m just a worry-wart sometimes,” I assured him. “Besides, he’ll be starting school soon so I’d better get used to him getting bumps and bruises.”

Blaine laughed loudly and Wes just looked at me confused.

“Jude’s kind of a klutz,” I said in explanation.

“He’s been climbing on me like a spider monkey for the last hour,” Wes replied. As if to prove the point, Jude flung himself over Blaine’s shoulder, linking their elbows and landing behind him in a perfect dismount.

“Yeah, he can be exceptionally graceful when he puts his mind to it,” I said watching my son in awe. And there it was. His attention had strayed to watch a butterfly in the distance and he promptly walked into a parked car. The boy stumbled back, shaking himself out and continuing on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Truly, nothing had. My kid was ordinarily very clumsy, he just had rare moments of beautiful grace.

“That’s hilarious,” Wes guffawed. “So when will you be proposing, Blainey?”

“WES!” Blaine shouted turning beet red.

I just chuckled and began loading my bags into the back of my Navigator. Jude smiled at me when he climbed into his seat, turning on his DVD player and zoning into his movie. I could hear the two friends bantering behind me, exchanging contact information and promising to get together again before Wes returned to California for his last year of UCLA.

The drive home was quiet, the only sounds in the car coming from the movie playing in the back. Blaine had gotten that look on his face that meant he was deep in thought, so I left him to it, tapping my fingers the beat of a song in my head.

The rest of the evening passed quickly, Jude stomping around the house stormily before falling asleep at the table before his dinner was even finished. Blaine smiled softly at the sight and carried him to his bed and I moved to start cleaning the kitchen.

“Let me help?” Blaine’s soft-spoken request startled me and I dropped the plate I was washing back into the soapy water. I nodded at him and resumed washing, handing him clean dishes to rinse and dry.

“Wes certainly lived up to expectations,” I commented. Blaine laughed quietly.

“Yeah, he’s a character.”

“You should invite him over before he leaves town. What in the world was he doing in Lima? You said his parents live in Westerville.”

“They do,” Blaine replied. “He was visiting an old flame. Probably hoping for a hook-up, but she’s happily married and pregnant.”

“Ouch. Burn,” I grinned.

“I guess,” he said distractedly. He didn’t go on and I didn’t push. I knew well enough by now that silent, contemplative Blaine usually led to rambling Blaine, which I found completely adorable.

We finished the dishes and moved onto the living room, picking up the scattered toys that Jude had left out. He was pretty good about picking up before bedtime but the day had worn him out and I didn’t mind the little bit of extra cleaning.

“If you like I could always get you some Hotwheels of your own, though I don’t think Jude would mind sharing,” I joked. Blaine looked up from where he was sitting on the floor, the little red truck that he’d been staring at for the past five minutes still in his hand.

He shook his head and grinned sheepishly. He tossed the car into the bin in the corner and strode across the room purposefully. He grabbed me around the waist and was suddenly kissing me hard.

I let myself get caught up for a moment before pushing him back, my hands framing his face. He stared at me, a huge smile on his face.

“What was that about?” I asked a little breathlessly. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“I’m just so happy that I met you. I love you so much,” he said in an awe-struck voice. He leaned in and captured my mouth in another passionate kiss.

“I love you, too,” I mumbled against his lips. His response was to hold me tighter and I didn’t mind in the least.

“Y’know,” he said as we broke apart, his hands lingering on my back, “I was supposed to move to New York when I graduated high school. Wes was already in California and we were gonna finish college and start partner recording studios on opposite coasts that way we could take the music scene from both sides and rule the world.”

I laughed at the over exuberant tone he spoke with and he grinned along with me.

“I know, it sounds crazy but if you’re gonna dream, dream big, y’know? Anyways, when all the crap went down with my family I was so mad. Mad at my dad for not just loving me for who I was, for ruining my chance at getting out of Ohio.”

I frowned at his words. I knew what it was like to want to get out of this awful place, to go somewhere where he wouldn’t be judged for holding another man’s hand.

“You know you could still get there, Blaine,” I said quietly. “I’m sure you could make it. I mean, it might be tough for a while, but you’ve got your savings and I’m sure with your talent you’d have no problem finding a job. And there are student loans for college. And—“

“Kurt,” Blaine interrupted. I looked at him then, confusion filling his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“New York,” I stated simply. “I know what it’s like to want to go there. I used to want that, too. But when I had Jude, that changed. I realized that I couldn’t very well live in a city like that with a kid when I was still a kid myself. I needed to stay here, as much as I hated to admit it, because I needed my family. For him. But you could still make your dream happen, Blaine.”

“Kurt,” he said, a small smile forming. “You didn’t let me finish my rant. You know it takes me a bit to get to the point.”

I huffed out a laugh then, because, yeah, it was true. There was no making a long story short with him.

“As I was saying, he took away my chance at leaving Ohio. I was so mad for so long, but now,” he grinned at me then, “I want to thank him.”

“What?” I snapped.

He looked at me with those hazel eyes glassy, so much emotion in the pools of color. “If I’d left after high school, I would have never met you. So as much as I dislike the man,” he said delicately, because Blaine could never hate anyone, it just wasn’t in his nature, “in a roundabout way he led me to you.”

I laughed then, full out, because here I was, a realist—and some would say, a pessimist—in love with the world’s biggest advocator of the phrase ‘glass half full’.

“You are insanely optimistic, Blaine,” I said my laughter tapered off. “But that’s just one of the many reasons I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said before kissing me again.

The state of Ohio had just moved up a notch on my list.