Chapter Three

"Daddy! Papa!" Joey hurtled through the doorway of his parents bedroom and stopped at the foot of their bed. He wore his Superman pyjamas and matching slippers that were getting just a little bit too small for him now. The cuffs of the pyjama top were showing a little more wrist than they were supposed and his ankles were visible where his trouser had become too short. Joey insisted that they still fit saying that his Papas ankles were always showing when he went outside and nobody said anything to him and really who could argue with that.

Kurt was sat up against the headboard of the bed, his daily planner in his hands, while Blaine still slept next to him. He knew hed have to get him up soon, it was his first day of his senior year at college. Just one more year to go and he would be done with college and hed have his degree in music composition. Today also marked the first day of Joeys first year in pre-kindergarten which was why he was stood fidgeting in front of the bed.

"Hey baby boy. Are you going to wake your papa up?" Kurt asked, giving his little boy a smile.

Joey grinned back at him, his whole face lighting up. Melissa had said that Joey was exactly the same as Blaine had been at that age. Full of mischief but an absolute charmer.

Joey clambered onto the end of the bed and crawled up towards Blaine until he was sat right on top of him not caring if he was heavy or not.

"Papa! We gots to get up. We gots to go to school!"

"We have to, Joey. Not we gots to." Kurt reminded.

Joey rolled his eyes, very Kurt-esqe.

"Papa!" He shouted when Blaine still hadnt moved.

"Huh…" Blaine raised his head and peered at Joey, who looked proud that hed managed to get his father to wake up. "What time is it?"

"Time to wake up! We gotta have breakfast and go to school, papa!"

"And on that note, Im going to get breakfast ready. Make sure your papa gets up Joey."

Kurt ruffled Joeys curly dark hair, so much like Blaines, before getting up from the bed, sliding into his slippers and heading out of the room.

Blaine look to his grinning son and sighed. He certainly wouldnt be able to get five more minutes sleep now. Joey was a very persistent alarm clock. It made Blaine miss the days where he had been able to coax Joey to snuggle with him and theyd both get some more sleep, giving Kurt a chance to get some of his studying done.

Joey was sat on top of Blaines chest, making it impossible to move. His hair hadnt been brushed yet and he hadnt yet tried to get himself dressed as he usually did though there was no way that Kurt would let him leave the house like that but Blaine knew that he would be proud of the attempt that had been made, just as Blaine himself was.

"You excited for today, buddy?"

Joeys grin got even wider, if possible. Blaine couldnt help thinking how the hell could he be so active in the morning. "Yeah, its going to be fun!"

"Is it really? More fun than hanging out with me?"

Blaines hands darted to Joeys side and he started tickling him, making him laugh and squeal. He managed to get away, running away from the bed and from Blaine.

"Boys, pancakes are ready." Kurt called from the kitchen area.

Blaine got up and picked up Joey, chucking him over his shoulder and made his way across their loft to the table where their breakfast was waiting for them. He and Joey shovelled down their pancakes while Kurt picked about at a fruit salad.

"Papa and I will be taking you to school this morning and I will be picking you up at lunchtime, sweetie."

"Okay, daddy." Joey said around a mouthful of food.

"Joey you know its rude to talk with your mouth full." Blaine reminded him.

"Can we have lunch out today? And go for ice cream?"

Kurt grinned. "Im sure that can be arranged. Its not every day you start at school for the first time."

Joey grinned back.

Blaine and Kurt discussed the logistics of the day while they all ate. Neither of them knew exactly how anything was going to go because Kurt had always stayed home with Joey up until that point. For them it was exciting, of course, Kurt couldnt wait to start his job and he was amazed that he had even been given the opportunity. At the same time it was daunting. Everything was changing at once and senior year was the most important for Blaine so they couldnt afford for things not to work out.

Kurt finished breakfast before Joey and Blaine and went and grabbed a shower and got changed.

"Im finished papa." Joey said, showing Blaine his plate.

"Do you wanna go and put the plate in the sink? Ill just finish this up and then well get your hair brushed."

It was quite clear that Joey didnt much like the idea of having his hair brushed and Blaine could sympathise with him completely. It really was a curly mess and spent most of its time tangled. Kurt thought it made Joey look adorable and had refused to let Blaine gel it down, saying that his son was too young for that much product. Blaine was still trying to convince him though and hopefully one day it would work.

As Blaine predicted it was a chore getting Joeys hair brushed. Joey constantly said "ouch" as Blaine tried to battle with the tangled hair and Blaine hated to hurt him but there was no other way to get the knots out. It was always a relief when it was finally brushed into an at the least neat looking hair-do.

Kurt finished getting changed and Blaine went off to shower while Kurt dressed Joey properly. Todays outfit was his Buckeyes t-shirt, a pair of cargo shorts and his brown loafers.

Kurt had to chase Blaine to get ready quicker as they were running low on time and Kurt didnt want anyone being late on their first day.

XXXX

Kurt and Blaine watched on as Joey ran into the school playground and immediately struck up a conversation with a boy that was playing on the slide. Neither of them could hide the upset that they were feeling but neither of them acknowledged it. It was definitely true that this experience was harder on the parents than it was the child.

"He looks like hes going to be just fine." Blaine observed.

"I wouldnt expect any less." Kurt chuckled, lightly. "Im just glad that hes already making friends. I was worried about it."

"Hes got that Anderson charm." Blaine grinned.

They watched as Joey played with his new friend. They were joined by a few other children and they all took turns going down the slide. It really warmed Kurts heart to see Joey being so accepted by the other children. Even though he knew that children were less prejudice when they were young he couldnt help but worry that having gay parents would be an issue for Joey. It would probably happen more when Joey got older but they didnt have to worry about that just now.

A bell rang and a teacher came outside and started guiding the children into the building. Joey left his friends and ran towards his parents.

"Family hug?" He suggested, a smile on his little face.

Blaine gathered Kurt and Joey close to him and they all wrapped their arms around each other. The hug was a short one but it made all the difference to the three of them.

"Have a good day. Youll have to tell me all about it when I get home tonight."

"And I will be here to pick you up at one oclock and we can go grab lunch." Kurt said, still having a hand on him, not quite wanting to let him go.

"Bye daddy and bye papa. Ill see you later!"

Then Joey ran off to catch up with his friend who had finished saying goodbye to his mother and they walked in to the school together, talking animatedly.

Kurt sighed and Blaine took his hand and squeezed it. Kurt smiled at him gratefully and they both turned and left the playground hand in hand. Blaine walked Kurt to the nearest subway station so that he could get it to work.

"Go be amazing." Blaine said as the stood to the side of the entrance of the subway.

"Can I have a good luck kiss?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Blaine said and before Kurt could even reply Blaine had moved forward so that their lips could meet.

"I love you." Kurt whispered.

"I love you too. Now go." Blaine pushed Kurt away playfully.

"Have a good day honey."

"You too."

They parted as Kurt walked down the stairs to get to the subway and Blaine started his walk to college.

XXXX

Joey grabbed a seat on the carpet next to his new friend. He was called Tommy and he loved playing on the slide just like Joey did. Joey really wanted to be Tommys best friend and he decided that he would ask him just before they went home. For now they would just be friends but he was determined that they would become best friends by the end of the day.

The day was kind of weird. It wasnt like being at home. For one, neither his daddy nor papa were there. There was other stuff too, like he had to ask the teacher before he could go to the toilet and they did different things at different times.

Joey spent most of his day with Tommy making a puzzle. Joey really loved puzzles but at home he was always losing the pieces by accident. Joey took extra care to keep an eye on all of the pieces to this puzzle because he didnt want to get the teacher lady upset about losing any pieces. Tommy was just as good as Joey was at puzzles and they worked really hard together to make sure that it was all done correctly. It took most of the day but they did get it finished together and the teacher gave them both a sticker for keeping with it.

At eleven oclock they were all sat back on the carpet with everything cleared away so that they could have a glass of milk and a piece of fruit for their snack. Joey knew what all the different fruits were because his daddy liked fruit and always made sure that Joey ate some during the day. Joey told Tommy all about the different types of fruit that Kurt had given to him to try.

Towards the end of the day the teacher asked them all to draw and colour in a picture of their families. Joey glanced around at the other kids drawings while he was doing his own. Most kids had a mummy and a daddy on their pictures. A lot of others had just a mummy and Tommy was one of those people. From what Joey could see he was the only one that was drawing two daddies. He found it very strange that no one else had a papa and a daddy like him.

"What have you drawn here, Joey?" The teacher, Ms Moore, asked Joey, bending down to get a better look at his drawing.

"This is my daddy and this is my papa." Joey said, pointing out each of them on the drawing.

"Thats very well drawn." Ms Moore complimented.

"Wheres your mummy?" A little girl with blonde hair that was sat near them asked.

"I dont got one." Joey said, as if it was obvious.

"Everybody has a mummy and a daddy."

Joey frowned because he certainly didnt have a mummy. For as long as he could remember he had only had his daddy and his papa. No one had ever mentioned a mummy so surely he didnt have one.

"Okay kids, lets settle down." Ms Moore said, not knowing quite how to handle the situation. Joey didnt look upset, rather more confused. She wondered if his parents had yet to explain where he came from like how someone had donated their egg to make him. She guessed the parents were just waiting for the right time.

XXXX

Kurt was very nervous when he first stepped into the building. Hed been there before, obviously, when he was going through the interview process but now he was officially a member of staff at Vogue. Isabelle Wright, his boss, had been sympathetic to his situation and was willing to work around his home life and fatherhood. She had been so impressed by his work ethic and his knowledge about fashion that she wasted no time in hiring him.

Kurt was going to be writing articles on Vogues online blog and his angle was going to be affordable fashion and making your own amendments to clothing to keep changing the style of something, which Kurt had been doing since high school. The best thing was that he was able to work from home so that he could factor Joey into everything because he was Kurts main priority. Things would be different next year when Blaine had graduated and they could really get more settled. Plus Joey would be going into kindergarten full time next year which would make things a whole lot easier.

Approaching the bored looking secretary was probably the scariest bit of the day. She didnt look like she would be very helpful and she was by no means welcoming. He walked up to her desk and explained that he was a new hire and she peered at him before pressing a button on a microphone and spoke into it, telling whoever was on the other line that the new guy was here. Kurt smiled at her gratefully and waited by the desk unsure of what to do next.

After a minute Isabelle walked out of the large double doors just to the side of the reception desk and greeted him with a warm hug, making Kurt feel a lot more at ease. She felt like Kurts fairy godmother in all honestly. He had no idea why she liked him so much, no idea what drew her to him but he was completely grateful for whatever it was.

The first hour of his day was spent going over the ins and outs of the company and what exactly he would be doing in his job role. He met different members of the team as Isabelle gave him a brief tour of the building. He wouldnt really need to be there much apart from if there was a meeting about the online articles which was what he was involved in. Everyone seemed very welcoming towards him, making the settling in process even easier for Kurt.

When they finished the tour Isabelle took Kurt back to her office and they looked over Kurts contract and salary information. The money wasnt really that good but if his blog gained popularity then he would been given pay rises depending on the readership of his work. Kurt was just glad that he was going to be given a chance to do what he loved and it was something that he could move through the ranks of the company for, which was really what he wanted to do. Everyone had to start somewhere.

"So just sign on the dotted line and I can give you your first assignment." Isabelle said, smiling happily.

Kurt breathed in deeply as he picked up a pen and scribbled his signature on the piece of paper.

"Yay!" Isabelle clapped her hands together before adding the contract to her pile of outgoing documents. Then she reached into her drawer and plucked out Kurts I.D card which he needed to use to get in and out of the building and a Apple Mac which he was being given to do his work on, as well as a Ipad. "Now look after all of these things. Youll need them to do your job. If you get any technical difficulties then you can ring our IT guy and then bring them in for him to fix. Hes a real lovely guy."

"Okay, sure."

Isabella shuffled some papers about on her desk and handed and plastic wallet full of papers to Kurt. "This is your first assignment. Im giving you a two week deadline for this one, normally it will only be a weak but the IT department are still working on the design of your blog. If you need any help with it please dont hesitate to contact me or someone else. I try to keep us as a family here."

Kurt nodded, glancing over his assignment. It was all a bit overwhelming and Kurt wanted nothing more than to go and start working on it. He didnt want to let Isabelle down.

Isabelle smiled at Kurt. She was sure she had made the right choice in hiring him and while his family situation was difficult to work around she was glad that she had managed to wrangle;e a way to get him on her workforce. She was sure that he would be amazing.

"You better get out of here if you want to be on time to pick up your son. You should bring him in at some point, Id love to meet him." Isabelle said, kindly.

Kurt glanced over at the clock, not believing how much time had gone by. "Oh thank you. I promise to bring him by soon. Im sure hed really like it. And thank you again for the opportunity. You have no idea what it means to me."

"I have faith that I made the right choice when I hired you Kurt Hummel. Just dont let me down, okay?"

XXXX

Blaine jogged into his first class, just making it in on time. Blaines friend Martin had saved him a space next to him which Blaine slid into and quickly got his notepad out.

"Good summer?" Martin asked.

Blaine smiled at his memories of it. "Yeah, it was great. Yours?"

"Spent most of it in Australia mate. Drinking and having sex with some surfing mixed in." Martin winked at Blaine.

"Those poor girls." Blaine joked.

He and Martin were like two completely different people but they got along like a house on fire. Martin was very much womanizer and wanted to get with anything in a skirt and Blaine was a family man. It had been a little hard to make a ton of friends in Freshman year of college when he had a child to go home to. It wasnt like he could do the usual college things. Martin had gotten Blaine a group of friends that didnt care if more often than not Blaine couldnt party with them. They respected that Blaine had his family. They had all met Kurt and Joey and they had loved them. Blaine was incredibly lucky to have met Martin and his other friends.

Five minutes into the lecturers welcome back speech a girl wander in, shooting an apologetic look at the lecturer. She looked like a rocker chick with heavy make-up and ripped jeans with a band t-shirt on.

She sat down in the spare seat that was beside Blaine and gave him a good look over, making Blaine feel a little bit uncomfortable. As soon as he was given the opportunity she turned to Blaine.

"Hey, My name is Whitney. I just transferred this year. Whats your name, cutie?" She asked, sending him a cheeky wink.

"Im Blaine, this is my friend Martin." Blaine replied, oblivious to her flirting.

"Hey." she said to Martin, not really paying him much attention. "So it really blows that our first day back is such a full day. What are you guys doing on your lunch break?"

"Were meeting our friends and catching up. Your welcome to join us." Blaine said, not noticing Martin aggravated look.

"Aww thanks sweetie. Ill definitely be taking you up on that offer. Im sure that we are going to be great friends. Prepare for a wild year boys, Whitneys taking over NYU." She smirked at Blaines polite expression. He was her new target and she always got what she wanted.