Once the song was over, Kurt muted the TV. "What is going on here?"

"Impromptu dance party," Blaine explained, grinning and panting slightly.

"I saw," Kurt laughed. "I was talking about your hair and your change in wardrobe."

Blaine blushed, running his hair through his curls. "Well, I got the brilliant idea to make cookies after Sophie got up from her nap. I had put Sophie on the counter next to the oven so she could help- don't worry, I was standing right in front of her and she held onto my shirt the whole time- and when it came time to put the first batch in, I leaned down while holding her and she grabbed a handful of dough and rubbed it in my hair."

Kurt let out a snort that he quickly tried to cover up with a cough. He broke when he looked back at Blaine, who was scowling at him. "I'm sorry, I just keep picturing it!" he gasped.

Blaine's lips twitched as he fought to keep from smiling. "Yes, well, next time, we'll rub it in your hair."

"Like hel- heck you will!" Kurt shook his head, unconsciously taking a step away from Blaine and the potential threat to his hair. "And your polo?"

Blaine mumbled something and Kurt grinned wickedly. "Can you repeat that? I couldn't quite hear you."

Blaine glared. "She spilt juice on it, all right? We've had bad luck with clothes today. I'm actually lucky that I had this extra shirt in my bag."

"And the curls?"

"My natural hair," Blaine sighed heavily. "I gel it down because, as you can see, it goes everywhere."

Kurt stared at him for a long moment, a critical eye examining him from his curls to his shirt, until Blaine was squirming under his gaze. "I don't know, I rather like this look on you," he said, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Blaine let out a small laugh. "Well, this is my sloppy look, so I'm not really sure what to say."

"How about, 'Kurt, thank you for the compliment,'" Kurt said, smirking.

"Kurt, thank you for saying I look better as a slob," Blaine retorted, sticking his tongue out at the other man.

"Away with you!" Kurt cried, flapping his hand dramatically in a shooing motion.

"All right, all right." Blaine held up his hands in surrender, laughing as he bent to kiss Sophie's head. "Goodbye, Miss Sophie, I'll see you tomorrow!"

She held up her stuffed warbler. "Kees bye, Bane!" she demanded.

Blaine obeyed with a loud smacking kiss. "Bye, bird!"

He straightened to find Kurt turned to the side, blinking furiously. "What's wrong?" he asked, stepping closer and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Kurt shook his head. He had slowly allowed Blaine to see past his walls the past few months he had been working for him, but there were times when he still hid behind them, still held everything in.

"I'm here if you need to talk," Blaine said, squeezing his shoulder gently and pulling his hand back. Kurt grabbed it before he could.

"The bird, it-it was her mother's," he whispered, still not looking at Blaine. "Sophie's too attached to it, I can't throw it out, but it's..." He trailed off, his eyes flicking briefly to the little girl playing on the floor. "It's painful to look at it sometimes."

It was moments like this, when Kurt was vulnerable and open with him, that made Blaine's heart ache for the younger man. He still didn't know much about the woman other than a few small tidbits that Kurt and Angie had revealed. He opened his mouth, searching for some comforting words, when Kurt continued. "She loved birds. She used to take pictures of the damn things all the time. We would come back from the lake house with more than half of the memory cards full of pictures of birds." He let out a watery chuckle and released Blaine's hand, wiping discreetly under one of his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to break down."

And there was that wall again. Blaine smiled sadly at him, walking to the door to get his shoes. "Oh, by the way, we did actually manage to bake some cookies; they're on the counter if you want one." He threw a wink over his shoulder as Kurt followed him to the entry hall. "Don't spoil your appetite!"

Kurt stuck his tongue out, grabbing one of the cookies and biting into it. He let out a low moan, his eyes closing in bliss as he chewed. Blaine looked up to see Kurt's head thrown back, his throat muscles working as he chewed and swallowed the cookie. He tilted his head forward, catching Blaine's eyes as he slowly licked his lips.

"This is the best cookie I've ever eaten in my life," Kurt told him. Blaine tore his eyes from Kurt's mouth, his Adams apple bobbing as he swallowed reflexively.

"Um, thanks, it's my family's recipe."

Kurt nodded absently as he took another bite. Blaine forced himself to look away, sliding into his shoes. He grabbed his bag and the sack containing his wet polo and was about to open the door when Kurt's voice stopped him.

"Oh, I almost forgot, we go to my aunts' lake house every year for Fourth of July for a week. I wanted to extend an invitation to you, if you wanted to come with us. Not in a nanny fashion, just to get out of the city for awhile, but if you don't want to come, I'll still pay you for the week."

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, I'll think about it, thanks for the invite." He smiled at Kurt once more before calling goodbye and heading to the gym to work out some of his frustrations.

Not that it stopped his dreams from being filled with throaty moans and a hand tugging on his curls as he was taken from behind.

888

After calling his family and learning that no one had made plans for the Fourth, Blaine accepted Kurt's offer to go with them to the lake house. They were leaving the Friday before right after Kurt got off work, since the Fourth was on a Monday that year, and would be returning the following Saturday. Blaine didn't bother asking where it was located, so he was surprised when he realized they were actually heading for the airport.

"Kurt, I suppose I should have asked this before, but where is your aunts' lake house?" Blaine asked, fussing with Sophie as they made their way through the airport, Kurt lugging her heavy car seat behind him. (What? Sophie had wanted to go to Blaine...)

"In North Carolina," he huffed. "No more questions until we get on the plane."

They met up with Finn and Jen at the gate. Blaine managed to hold his tongue until they boarded and Kurt had strapped the car seat in. He bounced Sophie in his lap, unwilling to put her in the seat until necessary so she wouldn't fuss.

"So, North Carolina, huh?"

Kurt nodded, digging around in Sophie's diaper bag to ensure, for the fifth time since Blaine had shown up at the flat that morning and the third time since he had gotten home from work, he had everything she would need for the flight. "Yeah, that's where my aunts' lake house is."

"That would have been nice to know," Blaine joked, only a little put out.

Kurt's head flew up, his eyes wide. "Oh my god, I forgot to tell you! I'm so sorry, Blaine."

"Kurt, it's okay, I promise. I was just..." He paused, searching for the right word. "A little surprised, I guess. I thought you meant one upstate."

The conversation halted as the stewardess came over the intercom, giving out take off instructions. Blaine sat Sophie in her seat, buckling her securely before turning and giving his attention to the woman.

He waited until they were in the air before asking for more information from Kurt. "Well, we're going to land in Raleigh, North Carolina, where we'll meet up with my parents and then my dad likes to drive the rest of the way because he likes the view, so we'll stay in a hotel overnight and in the morning, after breakfast, we'll all pile into the rental and drive to the house, which is located on a small strip of land off the coast. The drive is only about five hours," Kurt told him.

"Wow."

Kurt grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. I really am sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just didn't think about it."

"It's okay, just a little, er, much to take in all at once." He fussed with the book he had brought along. "So who all will be there, besides us?"

Kurt pulled Sophie out of her seat the moment the stewardess gave the all clear, handing her off to Finn when he made grabby hands over the seat in front of them. "Um, the five of us, my aunt, my dad and step mom, and I think my grandma will be there, but I'm not sure." He frowned, fidgeting slightly. "She hasn't the past few years, so I don't really know."

"Oh." Blaine looked out the window, but not before Kurt caught sight of his wide eyes.

"What's up?" He reached across the seat to poke Blaine in the shoulder.

Blaine fluttered his hand at him. "Nothing, just... I always get nervous when I meet people's parents." He smiled slightly at Kurt, his back stiff.

Kurt rubbed his shoulder as soothingly as he could with a car seat between them. "Don't worry, my dad is cool and Carole will love you, so expect a squeezing hug from her. My aunt is awesome; she's really quirky and funny. And my grandma is probably the single greatest person you'll ever meet. I'm actually hoping she'll be there so you can meet her."

"You can reassure me all you want, I'll still be nervous."

"Well, don't be."

Kurt started poking him in random places until Blaine laughed, pushing his hands away. Maybe it won't be so bad with Kurt around, he thought.

888

The flight landed a few hours later, the sky already darkening and the air warm and a little muggy as it cooled with the setting sun.

Jen took Sophie to look at where Burt and Carole's flight was disembarking while the guys grabbed their luggage. She came back just as they were pulling the last bag off the carrousel, frowning as she bounced Sophie lightly on her hip.

"Bad news, guys, their flight got delayed by thirty minutes."

Kurt growled in frustration. "Just freaking great, Dad has our reservations for the hotel." He ran a hand through his hair distractedly as Sophie started fussing. "And I know Sophie has to be hungry, it's past dinnertime." Biting his lip, Kurt tried to figure out what to do. They were supposed to go to a restaurant after meeting up and he didn't want to eat dinner without his parents.

"All right, how about we move to their gate and wait for them," Blaine suggested. Since there were no objections, Kurt and Jen swapped, bags for baby, and walked towards the gate the flight was due to land at. As soon as they got to the seats in the waiting area, Blaine sat his bag on one of them and began rifling through it as Sophie's quiet fussing became loud cries.

"Ah-ha," he yelled triumphantly, holding up a green and blue container. He offered the contents to Sophie, who immediately grabbed a handful. "Ah, no Miss Sophie, you know you only get one at a time," he chided gently. She pouted but opened her hand, allowing them to fall back into the container before selecting one. She laid her head on Kurt's shoulder, chewing on the cookie.

Blaine looked up from putting the cap back on the see everyone staring at him. "What?"

"Do you always carry animal crackers with you?" Jen asked, grinning.

Blaine laughed. "No, not usually. I just thought it would be good to have a backup in case Sophie ate everything Kurt packed, which she did."

Sophie reached for another cookie as Kurt sighed. "It's my own fault for packing dried fruit."

"Well, to be fair, Finn did eat some of it," Jen added. They settled in, Kurt carefully monitoring how many cookies Sophie ate, stopping her ten minutes before the flight was supposed to arrive and letting her run around a bit.

It wasn't until their names were called a few minutes later that they realized that the plane had landed and Burt and Carole were heading their way. Kurt scooped up his daughter and nearly collided with his father, squishing the little girl between them as they hugged fiercely. Carole had her arms wrapped around Finn and Jen, kissing Finn's face while he took it stoically. Blaine stood off to the side, watching as they switched and Carole got to coo over Sophie and Kurt while Burt shook hands with Finn and hugged Jen.

They talked for a couple of minutes before Burt seemed to realize he was standing there. "Who's this?"

Kurt smacked a hand against his forehead. "I'm so rude! I'm sorry, Dad, Carole, this is Sophie's nanny, Blaine Anderson. Blaine, this is my father, Burt and my stepmom, Carole."

Blaine wished he could discreetly wipe his hand on his pants before he shook Burt's hand but the (rather intimidating) man was staring right at him and there was no way he would be able to pull it off. He held out his hand instead, looking Burt in the eye and gathering his courage. "Mr. Hummel, it's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Kurt and Finn."

Burt eyed him critically before slowly reaching out to shake his hand firmly. "So, this is the young man my granddaughter is so in love with."

Blaine swallowed nervously; yeah, definitely wishing he could have wiped off his palm now. "Uh, don't worry sir; her father won't let us date." His eyes widened when he realized the word vomit that had just escaped his mouth. "Oh, god, I'm sorry, I-I-I-"

"Dad, be nice, he's already intimidated," Kurt said, nudging his father's shoulder and laughing.

Burt's face broke out into a smile and he released Blaine's hand. "I'm just joshing you, kid, don't look so worried. Kurt's told me a lot about you and I appreciate everything you've done for him and Sophie."

"Oh, uh, th-thank you, sir. It hasn't been any trouble at all." God, he hated meeting parents. Anyone else, he could charm the pants off of them, but someone's parents? They always turned him into a stuttering, stumbling mess. He was saved from embarrassing himself further when Sophie let out a wail of frustration, no longer distracted by her grandparents' arrival. Burt got them moving, moving to pick up Carole's bag and scowling when Jen scooped it up, giving him a pointed look.

"Let's drop these off at the hotel while Carole and Sophie go get us a table at the restaurant," he said gruffly. They headed to the car kiosk to grab the Honda Pilot Kurt had arranged for them and loaded it up. Once they dropped the women off at the restaurant, they headed for the hotel. The younger men set about pulling the bag out of the car while Burt went inside to get the room keys but when they walked inside, he was arguing with the guy at the front desk.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Kurt asked, stepping up beside him.

Burt took off his hat and ran his hand over his head in frustration. "Apparently someone didn't put the reservation in correctly and instead of giving us two singles and a double, they gave us three singles, even though it says, right here on the friggin' paper, that we're supposed to have two singles and a double. And, since it's the Fourth of July weekend, they don't have any extra rooms available."

"I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Hummel, and we'll be glad to comp the room for you-" the guy behind the desk said calmly.

"Damn right you will," Burt growled. He sighed, looking at his son. "You and Blaine will have to figure out how you want to do this. I don't think we're going to find another hotel around here, not this late."

Kurt tried to keep from blushing as he shrugged. "We'll make something work, Dad, don't worry." They accepted their key cards from the man and went to the other two men loading the bag onto a trolley. Finn started pushing it towards the elevator, Burt beside him, while Kurt held Blaine back a bit.

"Everything all right?" Blaine asked.

Kurt fidgeted. "Well, we were supposed to have a double but someone put it in the computer wrong, so now we have to share a single." He stared straight ahead, not daring to look at Blaine.

"Oh, is that all? It's fine, I can sleep on the floor." Kurt's jaw dropped and he finally looked at him.

"Are you serious? I mean, you don't have to sleep on the floor if you don't want to, but I thought maybe you would rather chance finding another hotel. Sophie isn't exactly an easy sleeper."

Blaine shrugged as they stepped into the elevator. "We'll work something out." He smiled at Kurt. "Don't worry so much."

Both men missed the look on Burt's face.

888

The guys made it back to the restaurant just as Carole and Jen were getting Sophie seated in her high chair. She immediately reached for Kurt, who pulled her out while ignoring the eye rolls from his stepmother and sister-in-law. "Hello, sweetie." He kissed her nose and settled into the booth next to Blaine. Sophie reached for him, stepping over Kurt's legs to get to him.

Dinner passed quickly, since everyone was hungry and what time they didn't spend eating, they were catching up on everything and Burt and Carole learned more about Blaine. Afterwards, they headed back to the hotel to rest up for the drive the next day. Kurt warned Blaine that his father liked to get a super early start.

"Like, if Carole would let him, he would have us all in the car at four a.m.," Kurt joked, ignoring the glare his father sent him as they stepped off the elevator.

"I just want to get ahead of the traffic," he grumbled, allowing Carole to steer him to their room.

"I know, sweetheart," she consoled him, rubbing his back and closing the door behind them after calling out a good night to them.

Finn and Jen did the same outside of their room and then they were by themselves, Sophie yawning in her father's arms as Blaine opened the door to their room. They had looked at it earlier for only a moment before they had to leave; a simple wardrobe by the window, a TV on the wall, a small desk next to the bed with a lamp on top. The king sized bed sat in the middle of the room, large and somewhat ominous to Kurt.

"Why don't you use the bathroom while I get Sophie ready for bed?" Blaine suggested, holding his hands out for the little girl.

"Are you sure? You can go first, I don't mind."

Blaine was already setting Sophie and her bag on the bed and searching for her pyjamas. "It's fine, I promise. Go, get ready."

Kurt grabbed his kit and headed to the bathroom to do an abbreviated version of his nighttime skin care routine and change into his pyjamas. By the time he walked back into the room, Blaine was stretched out on the bed, Sophie sprawled out on his chest, her eyes half closed as she stared at the bathroom door.

Blaine looked up from the TV when he opened the bathroom door. "Hey."

"Hey." Kurt motioned to the bathroom. "Loo's free."

Blaine nodded. "Are her eyes closed?"

"No, not quite. Do you want me to take her?" Kurt settled on the bed next to him, gently rubbing Sophie's back. He yawned widely, his head falling back against the headboard.

"No, she's fine." He looked at Kurt. "You look exhausted. Why don't you just lay back and I'll move Sophie when she's good and asleep."

Kurt tried to stifle his yawn as he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Always."

Kurt's eyes fluttered shut, his hand still slowly rubbing Sophie's back. Blaine focused on the telly and not on the way Kurt smelled or how a few strands of hair fell across his forehead, or the way he slumped when he finally drifted off, his head falling onto Blaine's shoulder as his hand stilled. He had been fighting thinking of Kurt that way, resisting the temptation that sometimes overwhelmed him, seemingly powered by the dreams he couldn't remember, only knowing they left him hard and (sometimes) sticky, made him blush when he saw Kurt the next time.

He waited until he was sure both of them were sound asleep before moving Sophie to Kurt's other side and rearranging Kurt's dead weight so that both of them where under the covers. He grabbed his pyjamas from the top of his bag and made his way to the bathroom, flicking off the telly as he passed it. Once he had changed and brushed his teeth he walked into the dimly lit room, grabbed a pillow and the extra blanket from the foot of the bed and set them on the floor.

He was just thinking about how much he was going to ache the next day when Kurt spoke.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor, you know," he mumbled, his voice barely audible.

"I'll be fine," Blaine whispered. "Go back to sleep."

Kurt let out a huff. "Get your stubborn ass in the bed, Blaine."

"Kurt-"

"I will fire you if you don't get in the bed within the next five seconds," Kurt deadpanned.

Blaine sighed, standing and grabbing the pillow and blanket. He set the pillow back from where he had taken it and spread the blanket over the top of the covers before settling underneath them. "Happy?"

Kurt let out a soft snore.

888

The next morning, Kurt woke to an incessant knocking on the door and his dad calling for them to get up. He huffed, quietly yelling an affirmative to him so he would stop knocking, before laying his head back on the pillow. Blaine was still asleep on his side, Sophie squished between them, since Blaine had apparently moved closer during the night, away from the edge of the bed; he was only inches away. Kurt took a moment to admire the way his thick eyelashes spread across his cheek and the soft glow the early morning light gave his skin and the way it made bits of green stand out in his eyes and oh crap, he was awake and Kurt had just got caught staring at him.

"Morning," Blaine yawned, rolling over carefully as not to disturb Sophie and stretching. "Was that your father I heard?"

Kurt nodded, hoping the flush on his face could be attributed to the sleep. "Yeah, he wants us up and ready to go. Uh, why don't you go take a shower real quick and I'll get one after you're done."

Blaine nodded, rubbing his hand over his face as he tried to wake up. "Sounds all right to me."

He stood slowly, working the kinks out of his neck as he walked over to his bag and pulled out his kit and a change of clothes. Kurt couldn't help but admire the way his pyjama shirt clung to his shoulders and waist and the way the pants hung artfully on his hips. Blaine scratched his stomach absently, bunching the shirt and revealing a strip of tan skin that forced Kurt to bite back a small whimper. Blaine went to the bathroom, closing the door softly and Kurt finally felt like he was able to breathe.

Keep it in your pants, Hummel, he thought angrily, turning on the telly to look for the weather report.

It managed to hold his attention until the water began running and then all he could picture was Blaine, naked and wet and soapy and STOP THINKING THAT RIGHT NOW, KURT HUMMEL. He was furious with himself and carefully moved off of the bed, Sophie still sleeping soundly in the middle. He grabbed the key and headed down to Burt and Carole's room, begging Carole to hang out in his room and watch Sophie because he needed to shower really badly and Blaine was in their bathroom and could she please do that for him?

Carole followed him to the room and sat on the bed as he gathered his own kit and clothes, thanking her once again before going back to their room. Burt let him in and he quickly stripped down in the bathroom and turned on the shower. It took him a minute to get it adjusted to the right temperature and then he was stepping into the blessed warmth. He allowed the water to run over his body, washing away the airplane and hotel smell, his hair plastering itself to his skull.

He went about his showering routine, shampooing and conditioning his hair before using various facial cleansers. Once everything was rinsed off, he poured some of his body wash on his loofah and began scrubbing his skin, the subs clinging to the small hairs on his arms. He trailed it across his chest, hissing when it brushed his sensitive nipples.

Without really thinking about it, he brought the loofah down his body, slowly cleaning the trimmed hair between his legs and then gathering some suds to clean his half hard cock. As he worked his hand over his length, his thoughts went back to Blaine, wet and soapy in the shower, and then he suddenly pictured Blaine in the shower with him, his hand being replaced by Blaine's calloused one. Kurt bit back a moan, working his hand faster.

He imagined Blaine whispering in his ear as he twisted his wrist, the soap making his hand slide easily over his cock. His thoughts ran wild, imagining Blaine sinking to his knees and sucking Kurt's cock into his hot, wet mouth...

"KURT, EVERYONE'S WAITING ON YOU," Burt yelled, pounding on the door.

Kurt's eyes flew open, closing again quickly as water hit them. "Fuck," he swore softly. "All right, Dad, I'm almost done," he yelled back. He looked down at his cock, now soft from fright. "Well, at least that takes care of that," he grumbled. He finished his shower quickly and once again did an abbreviated version of his skin care routine. It sucked, but he knew he would be able to do it properly that night at his aunt's house. He managed to avoid Blaine's eyes by busying himself with Sophie and getting the bags arranged in the Pilot and by the time they were done with breakfast and on the highway, he had mostly forgotten about his soapy escapades.