Kurt had insisted on making Blaine an apple pie that afternoon and had popped to the shops to buy the necessary ingredients. The weather had taken a turn that morning and Blaine had found himself putting the heating on and pulling on his slippers. Kurt had deemed it ‘pie weather’ and busily searched through his recipe box until he found a recipe for apple pie, Blaine’s favourite.

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While Kurt was out, Blaine decided to read the newspaper in his favourite chair, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders for extra warmth. He had only gotten to page four when he heard a bustle coming from one of the rooms upstairs.

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Putting down the paper slowly, Blaine’s eyes rose to the ceiling, as though looking at it would give him x-ray vision. When another noise broke the silence, he stood up and made his way quickly upstairs.

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He opened the door to the room beside his and Kurt’s, a look of concern spreading across his face as he watched a small boy of six pulling toys out of a large wooden truck at the foot of his bed. The boy was looking between a brown teddy bear wearing a blue jacket and an army man action figure. He screwed his face up as the internal struggle between the two toys was decided and he put the action figure back in the truck.

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When he turned around to put the bear in his school bag, he froze, spotting Blaine watching.

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“What are you doing, Toronto?” Blaine asked softly. He noticed that Toronto’s nose was red and that his eyes were pink and damp, as though he had been crying. Blaine’s heart broke a little as the small boy burst into tears. “Hey, hey, hey,” Blaine ushered, dropping to his knees at once and pulling his son into a tight hug. “What’s wrong, please tell me.”

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Blaine let go but kept a hold of one of his hands. Toronto wiped his eyes on his sleeve and forced back a sob as he said, “I’m running away from home.”

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Blinking, Blaine’s mouth opened. He gaped wordlessly for a moment before closing his mouth, unable to speak.

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“That’s right,” Toronto said, his voice a little higher. He let go of Blaine’s hand, earning a small moan from his father at the loss of touch. “I’m going and there’s nothing you can do about it!” He took hold of his teddy bear, clutching him to his chest as he hastily filled his bag with the scattered items around him on the floor.

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“Can I ask… why?” Blaine asked, his stomach twisting into uncomfortable knots as he watched his son finish packing. He swallowed hard, the lump in his throat easing slightly. He knew he shouldn’t take children running away from home seriously, because really, Toronto was six, where was he actually going to go? The nearest place he could go was Rachel and Finn’s but that was still five miles away. Toronto got tired walking around the supermarket most weeks.

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What was really getting to Blaine was the fact that his son wanted to run away. What could he or Kurt possibly have done to warrant this? He racked his brains. The only disagreement they had had recently was when Toronto refused to eat his carrots last night with dinner. He hadn’t gone to bed mad, at least, he didn’t show it.

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“Why do you care?” Toronto replied, his voice breaking as he started to cry again. “You and daddy want me gone anyway!” At this he let out a whimper, wiping his wet nose on his sleeve.

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Blaine’s partially broken heart shattered. He let out a strangled cry, his own eyes filling with tears. “What? No, no. Why would you ever think that?” He reached out protectively to pull his son into another hug, but Toronto pulled away quickly.

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“I heard you,” he said quietly. “You and daddy were talking about having another baby.” He was talking to the floor, avoiding Blaine’s gaze as though scared his fears would be confirmed in his father’s eyes.

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Blaine sighed deeply, allowing himself to sit on the floor properly, his arms holding his knees to his chest. He buried his head in his knees and wished that Kurt would hurry home. “Oh god,” he whispered. Looking up, he saw Toronto was staring at him, his expression hard, his eyebrows knitted together. He was waiting for an explanation.

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“Do you remember where you got that teddy bear?” Blaine asked gently, nodding his head in the direction of the bear still held in the little boy’s hands. When Toronto nodded in affirmation Blaine continued, “Me and your daddy gave you Dalton the day we brought you home three years ago. You probably don’t remember, but we told you on that day that we were your parents and that we would love you forever and unconditionally.”

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“I ‘member,” Toronto whispered, stepping closer to Blaine. His eyes were wide, making the blue shimmer brighter than normal.

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Blaine smiled sincerely. “There’s a little girl called Anna who doesn’t have any parents. She’s all alone and needs a family.” Toronto put his hand on Blaine’s knee, listening intently to the story.

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“She’s only six months old and she’s had a hard life in the short time she’s been here.” Blaine paused, his eyes boring into Toronto’s. He blinked, not realising that he had started crying until he felt the tears slide down his cheeks.

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“Dad,” Toronto said seriously, moving as close as he could to Blaine without actually climbing on him. “Dad, we can be her family. The three of us.”

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Blaine smiled, his eyes falling to his knees for a second before looking back up. “That’s the plan. Toronto, when me and daddy adopted you it was the happiest day of our life. We honestly couldn’t believe that we were being given this chance to be parents and we’re thankful every single day that you are our son.”

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Toronto’s hand moved from Blaine’s knee up to his arm. He gripped tightly as they sat in silence, just looking at each other. The silence broke when a voice spoke from the door.

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“Just because we want another child doesn’t mean we love you any less.”

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Kurt was leaning against the doorframe, his arms wrapped around himself protectively. He was blinking back his own tears as he watched the exchange between his husband and son. Kurt smiled down at Blaine, who returned the smile warmly, mentally thanking him for being there.

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“In fact, we love you so much that we wanted another child to love in the same way,” Blaine said, placing his larger hand over Toronto’s.

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“I think I would like a sister,” Toronto said thoughtfully. He climbed onto Blaine’s lap and wrapped his arms around his neck, holding himself firmly against Blaine’s chest. “I’m sorry I tried to run away.”

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Blaine closed his eyes, wrapping his own arms around the small boy, breathing him in. Startled, Blaine’s eyes flew open as he felt a pair of hands on his back as Kurt sat down behind him, his hands moving down Blaine’s shoulders towards his waist, where he reached round to hug both Blaine and Toronto.

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When they finally broke apart, Toronto looked up at his parents and then down at his teddy bear. He licked his lips and said very earnestly, “I think Anna should have Dalton ‘cause he made me happy when I came here and made me feel loved. I don’t need him anymore ‘cause I know you love me.”

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“More than anything,” Kurt whispered, resting his chin on Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine leant over and kissed Kurt’s cheek, his lips lingering there for a moment.

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“You are our world, never forget that,” Blaine added.

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Toronto handed Blaine the teddy bear and nodded several times. “I won’t,” he whispered back.