The summer ends up passing too slowly and too quickly all at the same time. Kurt exhales deeply as he carefully toes off his shoes. Having just arrived home from an internship at an up-and-coming fashion magazine, an internship that required them to move back from New York to Columbus, he's justifiably exhausted after being run ragged all day. He hopes that leaving his shoes by the door just this once won't make it into a bad habit.

"Kurt? Is that you?"

Kurt can't stop the small smile from blooming on his face at the sound of Blaine's voice. "Yes, but it's too hot to move. Come carry me." He knows Blaine won't be able to refuse the joking challenge, despite the fact that all his previous attempts to even lift Kurt have been unsuccessful. Kurt suspects it's the height difference that causes the problem, because he is definitely lighter than Blaine.

Sure enough, Blaine practically bounces into the foyer and immediately throws his arms around Kurt's neck, pulling him into a lingering kiss. "Bad day?" he asks softly. "Need more kisses?"

"My feet hurt. Joanne had me running all over the office today, delivering memos and stupid things like that. I think she just hates me," Kurt harrumphs, burying his face in Blaine's shoulder. "Like, hello, has she never heard of email?"

Blaine nods sympathetically. "Another one stuck in the 20th century? That sucks. But you still seem to be in a better mood than you have been." He bites his tongue to stop himself from elaborating on how Kurt had been snappier than usual and hadn't been eating. Blaine doesn't want to get his hopes too high, but he thinks the change in Kurt's demeanor meant that he was thinking through the baby issue and the fact that he's back to normal must be good, right?

"I'm finally on my way to doing what I love," Kurt says with a happy sigh. "It might suck right now, but it's going to be so awesome in a few years when I'm the one yelling at interns to get coffee and pretending I don't understand technology."

"You are too precious." Blaine presses a quick kiss to Kurt's temple before gently pushing him away. "I'm going to start dinner now, if you want to change or take a bath or something."

Kurt pretends to be scandalized, following Blaine into the kitchen when he starts to wander away. "Why, Blaine, if I didn't know better, I might think you were trying to get rid of me!" He clasps a hand to his chest, right over his heart, and puts on his most heartbroken face.

"Excuse me for trying to be nice," Blaine says lightly, pulling a large pan out from a low cupboard. "And I'm immune to that face, so don't even try it. You can help with dinner, if you want. What kind of pasta should I use?"

"Are we out of vermicelli?" Kurt asks, already crouched down and rummaging through the pantry shelves. "I thought we just bought some."

Blaine frowns, reaching over Kurt's ducked head to grab a can of tomato paste. "I think it's behind the cereal, for some reason."

"Would that reason be that you had cereal this morning and just stuck the box at the front of the shelf instead of where is belongs?" Kurt wonders aloud dryly, placing the box of Cheerios behind several other boxes on the second shelf from the bottom. "Oh, there it is. Right where it was supposed to be. In plain sight." He hands the package of uncooked noodles over his shoulder to Blaine without looking.

"Bread?" Blaine suggests, stepping aside to allow Kurt back to his feet. "We could finally try that garlic bread recipe you saw online."

Kurt snorts. "Okay, but you aren't allowed anywhere near the bread. I seem to recall that the last time I made bread, you kept stealing pieces until there were hardly any left for dinner." When Blaine opens his mouth to protest, Kurt holds up a hand. "That story is one hundred percent true; don't even try to deny it. You stick to your sauce, and I will make the bread."

"Fine." Blaine doesn't even try to hide his smile as he pulls a large saucepan from a cupboard next to the stove. "I can do that."

Raising an eyebrow, Kurt looks his boyfriend up and down. "Why are you so happy?"

"We're just so…" Blaine trails off, shaking his head self-deprecatingly. "Never mind. It's stupid."

"No, come on! Tell me!" Kurt smiles at him encouragingly from the cutting board where he's slicing a loaf of French bread. "It can't be that bad."

Blaine gives a half-hearted shrug. "It's just that I like being like this with you. So domestic, like an old married couple. Like how you get mad at me for not putting the Cheerios away but you're obviously not really mad, or how we can just go back and forth with our banter forever." He ducks his head when he feels the blush creeping up his neck and high on his cheeks but doesn't stop talking. "It's so easy, being with you. And you probably think I'm being cheesy and weird again, but sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am because I found you."

"Oh, Blaine."

The tightness in Kurt's voice makes Blaine look up from where he's mixing ground beef with various tomato products for the sauce.

Kurt has put down his knife and is leaning heavily against the kitchen table with one hand. The other is brushing a stray tear from his cheek before dabbing at those gathering in his eyes. The love blooming in his chest is suddenly so intense that it's painful. Kurt realizes that all he needed to decide whether or not to have this man's child was this moment, a completely organic profession of love, and the realization causes a surprised sob to escape Kurt's throat.

Blaine is instantly concerned, rushing to pull Kurt into his arms. "Kurt, I didn't mean to upset you or anything. Sometimes my feelings just throw themselves out of my mouth without asking if they can come out first and-"

"No, no, it's not you. What you said was so beautiful, honey." Kurt never wants to move from where their cheeks are pressed together and his arms are locked around Blaine's neck and Blaine smells so good, but the bread still has to be seasoned and put in the oven and-

Blaine pulls away before Kurt has to make his decision. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Kurt worries at his lip while he decides whether another few minutes would hurt when Blaine's already been waiting to hear his answer to the baby question for six months. He hesitates for only a moment before blurting out, "I want to have a baby," before he can stop himself.

As clichéd as it seems, Blaine can't stop his mouth from dropping open. "Are you serious?" He knows it's bad to get his hopes up so quickly, but he can't stop his heart from beating faster and his hands from shaking with excitement.

"I think so," Kurt says slowly, testing the words on his tongue even as he speaks them.

Blaine's heart plummets into his feet abruptly. He should've seen it coming. "Why don't you think about it some more?" As much as it pains him, Blaine recognizes that it would be worse if they went through with it and regretted it later. "This is really important, and-"

"I was so worried that I wouldn't be a good father," Kurt tries to explain. "I mean, you've met my dad. He's amazing. All I could think when you brought it up was, 'How could I live up to that?' But right now, the way you…" Kurt inhales deeply and stops another tear from trickling down his cheek. "God, Blaine, you were so happy about the littlest thing. Well, not a little thing, but a detail. And I know that as long as you keep paying attention to details like that, you'll be a good enough parent for the both of us."

Blaine shook his head. "No, Kurt, you don't get it. You are going to be the best dad ever. I see how you care about everything. You love so much, honey, whether you realize it or not. Our kid is never going to wonder if you care, like I did with my dad. You're going to be at all the recitals and games if you have to kill someone to do it." Blaine reaches down and grabs Kurt's hand. "I promise, that kid won't know what hit him. He's gonna be so lucky to have you."

"I wish we could get married," Kurt whispers sadly. "I wish it so much."

"I know," Blaine tries to soothe him, as if his own heart isn't shattering into a million pieces at the reminder of the unfairness of the world. "I know, honey, but one day we will. We'll be able to get married right here in Ohio with your family, just like you want. I promise. And our baby will be there. Everyone I love, right there in one room. It'll be perfect."

Kurt smiles weakly, wiping more tears away. "Oh, geez. I'm making a huge mess here."

"The water for the noodles has probably been boiling for the past ten minutes," Blaine grins. "You're definitely not the only one slacking here." He kisses Kurt softly. "Let's finish making our dinner and maybe later we can get started on that baby-making," he suggests, raising his eyebrows exaggeratedly.

"Oh, shut up." Kurt gives him a teasing shove. "Go forth and cook for me." He turns back to the seasoning he's mixing for his bread, but a moment later, he adds, "I love you."

Blaine smiles because he knows they'll be okay.

Sorry for the late update; I don't understand how summer can get so busy. I'll try to have some more up for you as soon as possible.

Thank you to everyone who has added this story to their favorites and alerts! I was definitely not expecting the response I've gotten. Even greater thanks to those of you who have reviewed. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I've written so far and what you think should come next.