Cold Coffee

co-written by xxDodo and Mrs. GaleHawthorne

It was 6am, but Kurt still figured that it was longest night's sleep he'd had in a month. He hadn't any nightmares either, or woken up half-panicked because the space on the bed next to him was cold. He considered it progress.

It was almost automatic how he forced himself out of bed, dragging his feet into the kitchen and bumping into the counter before remembering to turn on the light. The sun was just beginning to rise, but the house was still cold to Kurt. Cold and empty.

Every morning, without fail, Kurt needed coffee. He even thought that in the past few weeks, the only thing that helped him function was the debatably unhealthy amount of caffeine he'd been consuming. It was drank when it was scalding hot to have the most effect, and Kurt relished the bitter taste.

Before the coffee, however, he might as well have been a stumbling zombie, which explained why it always took so long for his muddled brain to catch up on what needed to be done rather than dwelling on thoughts that were really best left alone.

Kurt stared into the fridge, blinking into the light that illuminated the inside. His eyes landed on a take-out container from his favorite Chinese place, one that he'd been to countless times, even though Blaine had used to complain about his addiction. As, he turned to pull out mugs for the coffee, he was hit with a memory, one from before everything happened and his life was turned upside-down.

"We could go to Breadstix?"

"For the love of god, Blaine, no. Not again."

"But you love Breadstix!"

"I loved it before we'd been there a million times."

"Yeah, and like we haven't been to that Chinese place for the last three weeks!"

"Their food is actually sanitary."

"You're a diva, I hope you're aware of that."

"I am very aware of that."

Blaine smiled at Kurt. There was something very amusing about having senseless fights with Kurt.

Kurt, on the other hand, gave his husband a pouting look. He liked his Chinese...it was good.

Blaine laughed at Kurt's adorable puppy face and ruffled his hair.

Kurt's puppy dog face turned into a death stare.

"Bite me, hobbit, you messed up my hair!" Kurt practically shrieked.

"Do not make this about my height, Kurt Hummel-Anderson."

Kurt continued to glare, but soon replaced the look with a more serious one. "Seriously, Blaine, I'm starving. Chinese."

"Breadstix," Blaine argued.

"Chinese."

"Breadstix."

"CHINESE."

"Kiss me?"

Kurt couldn't help but smile. No. He would not give in to Blaine's cuteness.

"Only if we can get Chinese," Kurt sang. Blaine sighed.

"How about we go home instead?" he said slowly, then edged a little closer to Kurt in the front seat of the car. "And after dinner, we can..."

Kurt pressed a finger to Blaine's lips, narrowing his eyes. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"...maybe."

Kurt stared at Blaine for a moment, before smiling. "It's working."

"I have that effect on people," Blaine replied. Kurt laughed knowing it was very, very true.

Presently, Kurt turned to the coffee pot that was his savior and the two mugs that were already laid out on the counter. One of the mugs had a 'K' on it and the other one had a 'B'. They'd been wedding presents from Finn. Kurt was obviously supposed to drink from the one with a 'K' but he and Blaine had a tendency to drink from each other's mugs instead.

At the moment, Kurt didn't have the heart to put one of the mugs back, so when he went to pour the coffee it was on pure instinct that he filled both of the mugs. Just as he'd been doing for the past month. It was as if his brain couldn't connect to the fact that Blaine was gone, that they couldn't even get back together because the man was de-

Just as the thought entered Kurt's mind, Elizabeth walked into the kitchen. Elizabeth Cooper Hummel-Anderson. Kurt and Blaine's perfect little angel. Only now she belonged to just Kurt.

"Daddy, why are you up so early?" Lizzie asked with a yawn. Kurt smiled at her. She looked so cute in the morning. She had both Kurt and Blaine's features, which included Blaine's ungodly hair. She looked so much like him sometimes it hurt to look at her.

"It's your first day of school, baby. We have to get up early," he said with a ghost of a smile on his face.

Lizzie frowned. "I don't wanna get up early. I wanna stay home and watch tv with you and Papa." Kurt's smile disappeared. He knelt down to her height.

"Lizzie, darling, we've talked about this. Papa's... well he's up in the sky now because he had a very important job to do." Kurt tried to keep his voice calm. He had to be strong for her.

"What was his job?" Lizzie asked quietly.

"He has to watch over us," Kurt replied trying to smile. Lizzie nodded.

Kurt picked up Lizzie and took her to her room to get ready for school. Though he had tried many, many times, she refused to let him pick her clothes. Like father like daughter. When she finally decided she looked presentable, they went out the car. Kurt had put his coffee in a thermos and had left the other one on the table.

When he got home the coffee would still be there. Cold and untouched just like the other side of his bed.

"You're going to have fun, I promise."

"But daddy, you always hated school."

Until I met Blaine.

"Not always. Just promise me you'll make friends?" Kurt asked and fixed Elizabeth's bow. Just like he used to fix Blaine's bowties.

"Ok. I promise." Kurt smiled as he watched Lizzie leave and walk into her new classroom.

It was moments like this that he missed Blaine more than ever, knowing that the other man would never get to experience the rest of Lizzie's life, or stand by him and watch proudly at all of her accomplishments. Kurt would have to do that by himself, live through the rest of his days by himself. And something that was just too much to handle.

He walked back to his car dragging his feet, not wanting to leave. As he turned the car on he was taken aback by how quiet it was. Someone had always been in the car with him. Whether it be Blaine or Elizabeth. As he pulled out of the driveway he turned the radio on. Kurt's heart almost stopped.

"Teenage Dream" started playing, and despite the myriad of memories that it brought Kurt didn't change the station, trying to imagine that it was Blaine's voice singing to him instead.

A/N: We both apologize for any feels that this may have caused. Mrs. GaleHawthorne and I were having extreme Klaine feels tonight, and well, this happened. I, Dodo, am new to the Glee fanfiction fandom though so *waves* hi. I won rights to post this on my account, even though I'm worried...well, we appreciate you all! Klaine hugs all around.

~Dodo + MGZ