Blaine glanced down at the metal around his wrist before sprinting up the steps to the main campus. He narrowly avoided crashing into a group of students as he raced across the open area toward his class’s building. Work had scheduled him late again, no matter how many times he had reiterated his class schedule, and he barely had enough time to make it to the campus, much less his class. He had managed to escape any disastrous run-ins so far and as he threw open the door to the building he prayed that the teacher was late again.
He swiftly navigated the hallway that was crawling with students and dodged in and out of the crowds as he found the door to his room and sighed in relief. The door was still open which meant the teacher hadn't arrived yet. He slowed his pace as he walked through the door and trekked down the steps into the lecture hall and found his friends halfway down the left side of the room. He waved as he walked over and threw his bag down on the floor before collapsing in the chair and attempting to catch his breath. 

"Well well well, look who decided to show up for class today. I do believe you are late Mr. Anderson."

Blaine rolled his eyes at David as he slumped in his seat and let his head fall back. "I'm not late yet if the teacher isn't here."

"Details, my dear Blaine."

"Leave him alone," the blonde next to him piped up. "Blaine is only ever late when that stupid job of his over schedules him."

He smiled gratefully at her before he reached for his bag and began pulling his notebook and a pen out. "Thanks Cari. At least someone here knows what it's like to be a responsible adult."

" Hey college is the time in life to live and experience and I damn well intend on doing just that."

"Well some of us don't have that luxury David." He glanced around the room taking stock of the other students.

"He's toward the top on the other side Blaine, in the middle."

His head whipped around at the comment and saw the smirk on Cari's face. "What?"

"Oh don't pretend Blaine. Just own up to it; you aren't fooling anyone."

He narrowed his eyes as he huffed and crossed his arms while he turned away from them. He peeked out of the side of his eye and sure enough, there he was. He didn't know his name, the man had always signed his name on the attendance sheet after Blaine already had, but that didn't stop him from lusting after him from afar. He was gorgeous, with his pale, luminescent skin, his relaxing blue eyes, or were they green, he didn't know, and his perfectly coiffed hair. His clothes always fitted him impeccably, nipping in at the waist just so and showing off his narrow but strong shoulders. He never failed to look like something off of a runway and it was all Blaine could do to not embarrass himself by drooling or continuously staring.

He felt a nudge in his side and snapped his head to David, who raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. He rolled his eyes again ignoring his friend and faced the front of the room where he had missed the teacher walking in. He jumped right into the lecture and Blaine's hand moved in a flurry for the next hour to trying to get down every detail of the renaissance art period. 

As the professor rambled on about some homework assignment Blaine stole a glance at Kurt, who was furiously scribbling in his notebook. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and his foot was tapping the floor in an invisible rhythm. They had shared the same class for a month and a half and he still had yet to talk to the man. He was too afraid that he would walk up and blurt out something incredibly stupid or embarrassing and have to hide out for the rest of the semester. No, he didn't want to risk it, so instead he admired from afar, enjoying the fashion statements he would make and the adorable faces that appeared when he was frustrated, amused, or downright bored.

"Blaine!"

"Jesus what David?" Blaine winced at the ringing from the voice that had practically screamed in his ear. 

"God you are so going to fail this class and then I'll have to hear about it all semester."

"Instead of pining away longingly at him why don't you go introduce yourself? Ooh that's a good one, pining away longingly..."

Blaine and David laughed at the blonde scribbling away in her notebook. " God she is such a writer. Although she does have a point. Even better you could ask him to be your partner for the final project."

Blaine whipped his head around toward him. "Project? What project?"

"The project the teacher just-didn't you pay attention-failing. You are just failing."

Blaine groaned and packed his books away in his bag before closing the flap. "Why can't I be your partner?"

"Because we are already roommates and if I have to do a project with you as well as live with you I will throw you off the balcony into Manhattan traffic."

He chuckled and stood up with the other three as they slowly made their way down the row toward the stairs. "I'll steal your notes later."

"Not if you can't find them."

"Cari?"

"I'll type them up and email them," she called out from behind.

"Thank you. At least I have one true friend here." 

"Hey now I resent that. Besides what I'm about to do is for your own good."

"What are you talking ab- shit!"

Blaine felt himself fall and knock into something hard before hitting his knee on the edge of the step. A heavy bag fell on his left foot and someone fell into the chair next to him on the aisle. "Ouch. Shit I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, your clumsy friend did it. I'm fine are you okay?"

A melodic voice pierced the air and Blaine's eyes widened as he came face to face with the gorgeous man. He felt his face flush as he tried not to stammer and fumbled around in his brain for a cohesive set of words. “Oh yes, I’m okay. I’ll probably just have a bruise on my knee later.” 

The man nodded and extended a hand down to Blaine to help him up. "I'd say you'll definitely have a bruise later. Try and put some ice on it." 

Blaine took his hand and stood up and winced as he tested out his leg. "Ouch. Yeah I'll probably do that." He wiped the dirt off his pants before holding his hand out. "I'm Blaine."

"Kurt. Nice to meet you. Although it would have been better if there hadn't been pain involved."

"Yes but the best friendships start from the most painful of places."

Kurt threw his head back and laughed at the comment and Blaine felt a slow blush creeping up his neck and prayed for it to stop. He had been staring at the man for a month now and there was no reason that he needed to find out. "So Kurt, what is your major?"

Kurt hitched his bag up higher on his shoulder and walked in front of Blaine after he gestured him to. "Drama, although I'm still not one hundred percent sold on it."

"Me too actually. Although I do love it. There's still time to transfer though."

Kurt scoffed and held the classroom door open for both of them. "I'm a junior so I'm afraid I've missed the boat on that. I mean, I could, but I'd practically have to start all over again and I can't do that right now. So what kind of actor do you want to be?"

They walked down the hall together toward the front of the building and exited into the warm sunny day. "Musical theater, definitely. I sang in my high school glee club and fell in love with it."

“Me too. I love Broadway shows and have a ridiculous amount of soundtracks on my iPod. I sang in my Glee club back in Ohio and had so much fun with it.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Blaine stopped suddenly and faced Kurt, who had slowed to a stop with his head tilted to the side. “You’re from Ohio?”

Kurt nodded and fingered a button on the front of his jacket. “Yes, a place called Lima. Why?”

“I’m from Westerville.”

Kurt’s mouth dropped open slightly before smiling back. “Well isn’t this an interesting turn of events. I wonder if we ever sang against you in competition.”

“What school did you go to?”

“McKinley High.”

Blaine scrunched his eyes and thought for a second. “I think we did. I think it was my sophomore year at Regionals. So it would have been your junior year, since you’re a year ahead of me.”

“Ah, that explains it. I wasn’t in school for that competition. That’s too bad; maybe we would have met back then. What school were you at?”

“Dalton Academy. I was the lead singer for the Warblers.”

Kurt chuckled and grinned at Blaine. “Oh yes, the Warblers. I heard all about you boys. You terrified my friends in glee up until that competition.”

“Well, we did like to intimidate. Why weren’t you at the competition?”

Kurt’s mood turned somber and Blaine watched as he bit the corner of his lip. “There was a jock at my school who made my life a living hell that year because I’m gay. There was an incident in the boy’s locker room and he threatened to kill me. They wouldn’t suspend him so my dad had me homeschooled for five months. It ended up he was gay and didn’t want to admit it.”

Blaine didn’t know what to say to him. “I’m sorry. I had the same problem my freshman year. I went to public school that year and was taunted and bullied. Then after 5 months there was a, thing, that happened, and I ended up having to repeat my freshman year. That’s when I transferred to Dalton.”

Kurt had stopped walking and had been staring at Blaine with his full attention. He saw the man’s eyes full of questions and concern, but most of all, they seemed to be filled with understanding. He couldn’t help but think how similar they were.

“I think you and I are a lot alike in some ways.”

Blaine chuckled and squinted up at the man. “We both made it out though, didn’t we?”

Kurt exhaled and rolled his eyes. “Yes, we did, thank God for that, and I have no intention of ever going back, except for holidays.”

Blaine nodded in agreement. “Same, although I don’t even go back for holidays.”

He knew Kurt could tell that there was more to that story and was grateful that he skipped over that remark. “So this project that we have to do in class. I don’t suppose you’re partnerless, are you?”

Blaine exhaled in relief and nodded. “I actually am. I guess I was too slow to think about it.”

Kurt started walking toward the large steps that lead out to the street and motioned for Blaine to follow. “Yeah, me too. I don’t know many people in class and they all had partners. If you don’t have one…”

“Sure, if you want to do the project together, that sounds good.” Blaine tried to contain his excitement as he realized he now had an excuse to talk to him. “When’s the best time to get together for you?”

Kurt stilled but quickly covered it, though not fast enough for Blaine to notice. “It tends to change every day. Why don’t we exchange numbers and I’ll let you know tonight or tomorrow?”

“That sounds good.” They quickly exchanged phones and typed in their numbers before handing them back to each other. 

Kurt pocketed his phone and hitched his bag up onto his shoulder as Blaine slipped his own phone into his jacket pocket. “Okay, I’ll let you know tonight or tomorrow when we can get together okay? I’m glad your friend tripped you.” Kurt winked and began to walk backwards.

Blaine spluttered as he grasped for words and tried not to be embarrassed. “Yeah, um, me too. I’ll talk to you later.” He watched as Kurt threw a wave over his shoulder and walked away before taking a deep breath and letting his head fall back. He supposed he would have to thank David for his extreme measures. After he whacked him over the head for meddling.

*~*~*

Blaine shut the buildings’ front door behind him and padded up the stairs to the third floor of the brick structure. He was lucky that one of his best friends from high school got a full-scholarship at Columbia and had wanted to share an apartment. After his freshman year dorm experience, he never wanted to room with strangers again. As he stepped onto his floor, he made his way down the hallway with the worn, threadbare carpet and reached for his keys resting in the pocket of his bag. As he reached the door, he heard voices filtering out and saw the front door cracked open. He cautiously pushed it open and walked in and immediately saw his roommate standing in the living room with who appeared to be a man from the cable company. Blaine slowly dropped his keys on the counter and set his bag on the bar chair before staring curiously at his roommate. He didn't seem to notice him as he stood waiting and loudly cleared his throat.

"Blaine! Sorry I didn't see you come in. The cable went out a few hours ago, my man Javier here is fixing it."

Blaine groaned but waved at the man before shooting Sam a glare and heading to his room. He heard the blond swimmer follow him and collapsed on his bed before he looked up to see Sam leaning against his doorframe.

"What's going on?"

"How much is this cable thing going to cost?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders as a piece of floppy hair fell into his eye. "I don't know. The cable went out, I called, they came. Something about an old system or something."

Blaine ran his hands over his face before he closed his eyes. "Yes, because we can't afford anything newer. We also can't afford to pay to have maintenance done. Well, at least I can't, I have yet to figure out where you get so much cash from."

Sam straightened at the comment and tugged nervously at his shirt hem. "Let's wait until the bill comes and then go from there okay? Don't worry, Blaine."

He bit his lip and nodded at Sam before smirking. "So, you know that guy who I've been staring at in class that I told you about?"

"Mr. Gorgeous-in-knee-high-boots?"

Blaine nodded and sat up with a leg tucked under him. "I met him today."

"'Met him' met him or 'he waved at me' met him?"

"David tripped me so I'd fall into him."

"Oh Jesus." Sam rolled his eyes and Blaine chuckled knowing exactly what comment was coming next. "Did anybody break anything?"

"No, but I got his phone number," Blaine replied as he stood up and shrugged his jacket off and tossed it on the bed.

"Yes! My man! About damn time. Come tell me about. I don't want to leave that guy alone out there."

Blaine rolled his eyes and followed him out, regaling him with his meeting Kurt as they went.

*~*~*

Blaine snapped alert and shook his head, trying to clear the fog. He stared down at the thick textbook that was open in front of him. They had been at the coffee shop working on assignments for over an hour, and he had been slowly losing his concentration and nodding off sleepily for at least half of that time. He glanced across the small table at Kurt, who was busy scribbling away in his notebook, and Blaine scowled at his own inability to be productive. He yawned and sat back straight in his chair before he threw his pen down to mark his spot and closed the book. 

“Hey, I need to get some coffee. Do you want anything?”

Kurt glanced up over the rim of his glasses and nodded. “Oh, yes, please. Grande nonfat mocha.”

Blaine nodded and scooted his chair back to stand up and he quickly moved through the tables to stand in line. He couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything today, no matter how hard he tried.

Ever since Kurt had called and asked to meet at the coffee shop by Times Square to work on homework together, he had been nothing but a bumbling mess. He had gotten used to hiding his rapidly growing feelings for Kurt while they were on campus, when he knew Kurt would be there and Blaine had time to calm himself down. This day, however, his attraction had come out of the blue and left Blaine scrambling to try to compose himself. 

Blaine had raced down to Java Coffee and ended up thirty minutes early, eagerly anticipating Kurt’s arrival while he tried to talk himself down from his growing panic at the same time. He hoped he had looked okay; he had thrown on his grey flood pants and a white polo shirt, a lightweight burgundy cardigan tossed over it, and his favorite reversible bowtie. 
He had chosen a table in the front corner by the window to let the rays of sun shine warm the side of his body. He had been fiddling with his fingers and nervously glancing around at the other patrons before he saw Kurt whisk through the door and send a gentle smile his way as he had walked over. 

Blaine had immediately stood up to greet the man and returned Kurt's quick hug before he found himself restraining himself from pulling out his chair. He wasn't sure if Kurt would have approved or not. Not that it was a date, no matter how much Blaine wished it was.

Kurt had dressed more casual than his usual high fashion wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a three-quarter sleeve black Henley. 

"It's just easier on the weekends," Kurt had said as he looked over his outfit, and Blaine nodded at him and silently thanked his own panic for not being overdressed.

The problem with Kurt's wardrobe that day was that it enabled Blaine’s complete distraction. Kurt’s shirt open wide at the collar, the top few buttons undone, and it gave Blaine a perfect view of Kurt’s long neck. As hard as Blaine had tried to concentrate on his psychology work, his eyes kept wandering up to the exposed bit of pale flesh and admiring the way the shirt nipped in at his slim waist.

Blaine was in so much trouble. 

He and Kurt had become quite the friends over the past four weeks after their last class project and his message inbox on his phone had quickly filled up with texts. The more he got to know Kurt, the more Blaine wanted to ask him on a proper date. He had tried to slyly bring the subject of dating up with Kurt a few times, but every time he had, Kurt's posture became stiff and he quickly changed the subject. He wasn't sure why, or what the problem was, but Blaine needed to come up with a new game plan. 

The barista called out his name and he quickly grabbed the drinks from the bar before he made his way through the seating and back to their table. "One grande nonfat mocha for you."

Kurt snapped his head up and quickly inhaled the scent of coffee and a smile quickly spread on his face. "Thank you. I didn't realize just how much I needed this."

"I'm afraid I was getting to that point where if I didn’t have something with caffeine in it I would end up drooling over my book."

Kurt laughed and took a sip of the drink. "That was me last night. I finally gave up on it altogether.”

"The homework load is insane in this class. I don't understand how anyone is supposed to enjoy it and finish all the work."

"Who do you have?" Kurt pulled the syllabus out of Blaine's hand and glanced at the name. "Oh, you have Fuller. She's hard. I took her last semester. I can help you if you want. You just have to know what she's looking for. I promise you once you figure that part out everything will be easier in that class.”

“Will you go on a date with me?” The words left Blaine’s mouth before he knew what he was saying and his own eyes widened. He saw Kurt’s entire body tense and he sat straight up, the smile wiped away from his face now, and his hands gently folded on the table. “Not just a study session or coffee but a real date. Out to dinner maybe, or anything. Your choice.” He bit his lip as Kurt’s posture stayed the same and watched the other man stare at his hands.

“Blaine I-,” Kurt sighed and glanced up at the ceiling slumping over a little before looking Blaine in the eyes. “I like you Blaine I do. Maybe in another world, one where I didn’t have, well, my life is very complicated. I can’t date anyone right now. I love being friends with you, and I really do like you, but I just can’t date anyone right now. I’m sorry.”

Blaine pursed his lips together and nodded looking down at the book in front of him. “No it’s fine, I get it. It’s okay. Just thought I’d ask.” He saw Kurt open his mouth to say something but quickly shut it and Blaine could feel the tension. “I think I’m going to go.”

“No Blaine wait, come on, I really wish-“

“It’s fine Kurt. I get it. We all have things that prevent us from doing what we want. Really, it’s okay.” Blaine packed up his last book and stood up from the table, his chair making a loud scraping noise against the tile floor and he winced at the sound. “I’ll see you at class on Monday okay?”

“Blaine wait!”

Blaine walked quickly toward the exit and onto the busy Manhattan sidewalk hoping the water pooling at the corners of his eyes wouldn’t fall. He felt stupid for thinking someone like Kurt would date him. 

“Blaine just wait a second!”

Blaine spun around to face Kurt who had ran to catch up with him and hiked his bag up higher on his shoulder. “It’s okay Kurt. We’re fine.”

“I just want to try to explain. It’s not something that’s easy-” Kurt was cut off by the shrill tone of his phone ringing through the air. “I’m sorry Blaine I have to take this. Madison might need me.”

Oh. Blaine nodded and waved. “Yeah, sure, of course, I’ll see you at school Monday.” Blaine spun on his heel and walked toward the subway lines finally allowing the small amount of tears to fall as he left Kurt standing outside the coffee shop.

*~*~*

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? It’ll be fun…”

Blaine’s mouth twitched upward a little as he shook his head. “No thanks, I won’t be any fun today. It’s okay - go have a good time with the guys. I’ll catch the next game at the park okay?”

Sam narrowed his eyes at him but he rolled his own and pointed in the direction of the door. “Go. Seriously. Have fun.”

“Alright, but if you need me-”

“Jesus Sam, I didn’t break up with the guy.”

“No, you just got rejected in public.”

“Wow, thanks for that lovely reminder. I couldn’t have gone all day without that popping up.”

“You love me and you know it. I’ll see you later.”

Blaine waved at Sam as he shut the door behind him and turned his attention back to his book. He figured he might as well get a head start on the next week’s homework, especially as he considered his busy work schedule. Just as he turned to the chapter page the doorbell rang and he groaned at his roommate.

“Really Sam? Did you forget your keys again?” Blaine got up from the couch and padded his way to the front. “What are you going to do if I’m not here one day…”

He trailed off as he opened the door and saw Kurt, dressed in skinny jeans and a white v-neck tee with a black vest thrown over it, standing in front of him. “Kurt,” he said, a little awkwardly. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Kurt bit his lip and looked down at the ground before glancing back up at him and Blaine immediately felt bad for leaving things the way he did yesterday. “So, I was hoping to talk to you about what happened yesterday, because-”

“Don’t worry about it Kurt, forget it happened.”

“Can I try to explain? It really caught me off guard and-”

Blaine scratched the back of his neck nervously and looked past Kurt at the wall opposite their apartment. “Can we just forget about it?” He saw Kurt tense up and suddenly felt like sinking into the wall next to him.

“Just listen to me for a second, Blaine. This isn't easy for me. I'm very guarded about my life. I don't let people in because as soon as they find out about me and what I’ve got going on in my life they bolt, and I got sick of it happening. But, for some reason, my heart is telling me you're different, even though my mind is telling me to run. So would you please, just this once, come with me today? I won't ask again."

Blaine bit his lip before he let his shoulders relax and nodded. "Okay. Just, you know, give me a second to put something decent on."

Kurt smiled in relief. "Okay, but don't put anything too expensive on.”

*~*~*

Blaine raised an eyebrow as they walked down a row of brownstones toward what looked like a park at the end of the street. He smiled and waved as a few kids, who seemed to be from the neighborhood, rode by on their bikes, calling out various hellos to Kurt. He watched as Kurt waved back and turned toward him and shrugged. 

"They live around the neighborhood,” Kurt said.

“Ah. I love this area. It’s so warm and friendly and welcoming.”

Kurt nodded at his comment as they neared the park ahead of them. “Yes, that’s what drew me to live here. Everyone is so nice and it’s a small little area; it reminds me of back home. Plus, it's affordable for Manhattan."

Blaine scoffed and rolled his eyes as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, but what's affordable in this city?" Kurt smiled and Blaine fixed his attention on the park across the street. "Wow, lots of kids out playing today."

"Mmhmm it's usually like this on a Saturday when the weather is nice. It rained last weekend and left everything soggy for days." Kurt opened the gate to the park and they stepped in as Kurt guided Blaine over to a wooden bench that was empty along the outside perimeter. "It's always fun to watch the kids play. There are a lot of different age groups here and it always surprises me how well everyone gets along."

Blaine nodded and watched as a group of eight or nine year olds crowded the tire swing and chuckled as they all climbed in. "I remember playing on the playground. It was usually a lot of fun, especially with my brother. He used to play just as much as I did." Blaine stared out at the children for a few more minutes, sitting in a comfortable silence with Kurt, until he turned toward him and asked his question. "Is there a reason we're here?"

Kurt pursed his lips and nodded, a gentle sigh leaving him as he pointed toward a blonde in the sandbox. "See that girl? The one with the Cinderella shirt?" Blaine nodded and waited patiently as Kurt gathered his words. "That's Madison. She's, um, she's my daughter."

Blaine watched as a young woman, most likely a nanny, called for Madison and she bounded up to the woman, took a few small sips of something to drink, and hugged her quickly before running back out to play with some friends. Blaine stared between Kurt and Madison for a minute before he settled his eyes on Kurt. He hadn’t thought Kurt was straight; he had never gotten that feeling, though maybe he was different when he was younger. “Your daughter?”

“Yes. I know. It’s a long story for another day.”

“Wow.” Blaine watched the little blond girl bounce around over by the swings. “She’s adorable, Kurt.”

Kurt stared back at his hands that were resting in his lap and blushed slightly. “Thanks. She’s a firecracker. That’s why I can’t go out on a date with you though.”

Blaine turned towards Kurt on the bench. “Wait, why? You can’t get someone to watch her?”

“Because no one wants to date a single dad, Blaine! No one wants a ready-made family and especially not at twenty-one! Everyone in college wants to party and have fun and make mistakes not come home to a four-year-old and her adventures in kindergarten.” Kurt took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I know you’re different, but I’ve been told that before and the ending never changes.”

Blaine leaned back as Kurt calmed down and rested his arm along the back of the bench. Blaine could tell Kurt was upset and nervous and he wanted to help him relax as much as could. “Kurt, I don’t care. It doesn’t change anything. I mean, she’s not a holy terror right?”

Kurt chuckled and closed his eyes before glancing over at his daughter. “No. I mean unless you give her a ton of sugar. Then you’re in for it.”

“DADDY!”

Kurt’s head shot up toward the playground where Madison was waving her arms wildly at him. “Uh oh. It would seem that we’ve been spotted.” They both watched as she clambered down the play structure and began running in their direction. Kurt turned to Blaine and sighed. “I’m sorry about this. I didn’t know if you’d want to meet her so I was hoping she wouldn’t spot us. You can leave if you’d like.”

“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!”

Both men snapped their heads up at the blonde speeding full force at them across the playground. Kurt uncrossed his legs just in time to catch her as she leapt into his lap and threw her arms around him. “I thought you couldn’t play with me today?”

Kurt smiled and hugged her close to him. “I had to talk to one of Daddy’s friends, remember?”

“Oh yeah!” Madison turned to Blaine and smiled as she waved. “Hi, Daddy’s friend!”

Blaine chuckled at her innate cuteness and waved back, stealing a quick glance at Kurt, just in time to catch him roll his eyes at his daughter. “Hi there! I’m Blaine.” Blaine had always loved kids and he could tell this one was going to wrap him around her finger

“Hi Mr. Blaine! I’m Madison, but you can call me Maddie.”

Blaine glanced over at Kurt. “She isn’t shy, is she?”

Kurt laughed and shook his head. “Not in the least.”

“You should come play with me, Mr. Blaine!”

“No sweetheart, Blaine doesn’t want to play today.” Kurt grabbed her around her waist to prevent her from dragging him off, but Blaine just shrugged.

“It’s okay, Kurt.” Blaine smiled reassuringly at Kurt before turning his attention to the little girl. “What are we going to play, Miss Maddie?”

“Swings! Will you push me?”

“Of course! Swings are my favorite! My brother and I used to play on them all the time when we were kids.” Blaine held onto Maddie’s hand as she dragged him toward the row of swings, leaving Kurt to stare after them, his mouth agape and eyes soft and contemplative.

*~*~*

“We get to jump on the bouncy thing and hang upside down and roll and do, gy-, gy-, Daddy what’s that funny word?” Maddie looked up and him with her forehead scrunched in concentration.

Kurt chuckled and swung the hand that he was holding on to. “Gymnastics, sweetheart.”

“Yeah! We get to do that! I get to jump and twirl and walk on a beam thing, I love it!”

Blaine chuckled at Maddie’s nonstop chatter about kindergarten and her never-ending adventures. “I always liked doing that too. Is that what you want to be when you grow up? A gymnast?”

Maddie gasped and looked at her dad. “I can DO that? Can I do that Daddy? Can I?”

“You can do whatever you want sweetie. It’s your choice.” Kurt looked up at Blaine and rolled his eyes teasingly. “Thanks for that. I don’t already have enough to worry about at night.”

“Welcome to parenting, Kurt,” Blaine grinned and nudged his shoulder with his own.

“Yeah thanks, my Dad didn’t tell me about that.” They both chuckled and walked up to the door of Kurt’s building and dragged Maddie behind them as they made their way inside. He chuckled at Maddie’s ability to go from sixty to zero in no time and bent down toward her. “I think someone’s tired,” Kurt spoke in a singsong voice as they stepped through the entrance and he picked her up.

“No, ‘m fine Daddy.”

Blaine chuckled and rubbed her back as Kurt unlocked their front door. “Nope, I think someone’s ready to go to sleep and dream.”

Maddie nuzzled further into Kurt’s shoulder and he chuckled. “Can you say goodbye to Blaine, sweetheart?”

She picked her head up and gave him a sleepy smile before waving at him. “Night, Mr. Blaine! Sweet dreams!”

“Sweet dreams, sweetheart.”

Kurt smiled and motioned toward the couch. “I’m going to go put her to bed, I’ll be back in about ten minutes. If you can stay, we’ll talk then, okay?”

Blaine nodded and watched the father and daughter disappear down the hall before he walked over toward the large oversized couch in the living room and let a deep sigh escape his lungs.

He meandered over to the wall of photos next to the sofa and smiled at the one of Kurt holding a very tiny Madison. The one next to it was a photo of Madison and an older man, taken recently; Blaine assumed the old man was Kurt’s father. There were a few more photos on the wall: Rachel and Kurt at their high school graduation; Kurt and a large group which he assumed was the glee club he had talked about; and another one of Madison grinning up at the camera with her eyes squeezed shut. Blaine laughed softly at that last one and turned around to walk back to the couch and wait for Kurt.

He heard a door close and footsteps make their way down the hall before he saw Kurt enter the living room. “She crashed the second I got her into bed. I think she got worn out today.”

“That’s a good thing though, right?”

Kurt nodded and sat down next to Blaine on the couch. “It’s a very good thing. I’m sorry about today. I didn’t want to throw her at you, much less have you endure an entire day with her.”

“Hey, stop it.” Blaine turned toward him on the couch and reached for Kurt’s left hand. “She’s great, Kurt. Honestly. I had an amazing time with both of you. You were right though, she is a firecracker.”

Kurt nodded and took a deep breath. “So where does that leave us? I know dating someone with a kid is not what a twenty-something year old wants to do, and while I would love to try whatever it is that’s between us, I can’t ask you to do that, but can we still be friends?”

Blaine bit his lip and shook his head as he squeezed Kurt’s hand. “No.”

Kurt’s face fell and he stared across the room. “No?”

“No Kurt, because I don’t want to be just friends. I told you earlier - Madison doesn’t change anything and I meant it.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to regret it later and run away screaming-”

Blaine surged forward, cutting Kurt off, and pressed his lips against Kurt’s. He felt Kurt still and then felt his body relax. Kurt sighed softly against his lips as his hand came up to rest on Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine cupped Kurt’s cheek and inhaled sharply, pressing forward for a second before slowly pulling away. He kept his eyes closed for just a minute, taking in the moment, before opening them and finding Kurt’s face.

Kurt bit his lip and smiled as he opened his eyes, and a light blush slowly crept up his cheeks. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, would you go on a date with me, Blaine Anderson?”

“Didn’t we already go on one?”

Kurt rolled his eyes and tipped his head onto Blaine’s shoulder. “One without Chatty Maddie and her never-ending adventures.”

Blaine huffed a laugh, wrapped his arms around Kurt, and rested his cheek on top of Kurt’s head. “I would love to. Maddie can come though, Kurt, you can always bring her.”

Kurt glanced up at Blaine and softly kissed him. “Thank you. No one has said that before.”

“Well, get used to it. Although, every once and awhile, it might not be bad to have some time to ourselves.”

Kurt laughed and snuggled deeper into Blaine’s arms. Blaine sighed quietly and relaxed back against the couch, pulling the other man with him, as he remembered every moment that he had spent with the two of them today. He was positive that they would be creating many more for a long time to come.