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Blaine had been pacing for a while this morning. Kurt had tried everything to try and get his husband to calm down, but his words were falling on deaf ears as his husband held his phone in his hand tightly and mumbling to himself.
Kurt was worried if this went on for too long, he would run a groove into the floor.
"Why isn't she texting back? I don't understand."
Blaine turned around and glared at the wall as he walked a few more steps, and Kurt sighed as he stood by the kitchen doorway watching him.
Blaine was a worry wart, he always knew that Chloe leaving for college would be a hard thing for him to deal with.
"I already told you, baby, I'm sure she's just busy. She has exams anytime soon, doesn't she? You know how thorough she is." Kurt tried again.
Their youngest daughter had been off to college only a few months ago, and they were still getting used to the new situation.
With Sarah, their eldest one, everything was easier since she still lived in the same city as them, but Chloe had decided to go to study acting a couple of states away, and that sometimes made Blaine worry too much.
When they first looked into adoption after three blissful years of marriage together, it was hard to find the right child to fit their family.
They had always discussed taking in a child that had nobody else, instead of having a surrogate. And after a year of searching, Sarah came along. She was so lovely when they visited her, she was already 8 years old but she was their dream child.
After telling the adoption officer that they were seriously thinking about taking her, they had been hit with a bombshell. Sarah had a baby sister, one year old little Chloe.
They didn't have much space in their life for two children, and they knew it would be a lot to take in two. But...they couldn't split the sisters up, it wasn't something they were comfortable with.
So they brought both of them home, and went through sleepless nights with a screaming one year old, who had no idea what was going on, and after 3 months, they were a real family.
Sarah was already 25 years old, and she was a designer at a prestigious fashion company down town, lived in a nice neighbourhood and already had the dream fiance.
Chloe had a bit of a rough childhood, when she 10 years old she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and they had struggled for years to get her through it. Even spending time in and out of hospitals with all kinds of medication being pumped into their daughter.
It was hard on them all, but Blaine took it to heart the most, He had always been more in tune with his emotions than Kurt, and when Chloe decided to take her studies out of state, Blaine made a deal with her that she would check in with a text every 2/3 days, to let them know she was okay.
Now, the reason why Blaine was so upset was because Chloe hadn't text either of them for two weeks straight.
"I've text her like a dozen times already this morning. I just can't understand why she hasn't got time to send me something? Even just to tell me to go away." Blaine said as eyed his phone screen for the thousandth time in the last 20 minutes.
"Blaine, give me your phone. You're going to go crazy and drive me crazy at the same time. Why don't we go get something to eat and try calling her again when we get back?" Kurt suggested.
Not that he didn't worry about his daughter. Of course he did, and he would be the first to give her a good scolding when they got to reach out to her, but he had to deal with Blaine first.
He didn't want his husband to keep worrying about this. He had always loved that protective side of Blaine, but he also knew that it could be his own worst enemy.
"No Kurt, do you think i could eat when i don't know how she's doing?" Blaine said as he stopped pacing and then his face took on a more worried look, "what if she's sick?"
Kurt walked over to Blaine and placed his hands gently on his shoulders, studying his face.
Despite some small wrinkles and the fact that his temples had some gray hairs, he was still as handsome as when he fell in love with him in high school.
"No, don't go there. If something bad had happened to her, we would know about it."
"Well we wouldn't," Blaine said as he waved his phone at Kurt, "because she isn't telling us anything."
Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep what little patience he had left.
"Okay, and what do you propose? Do you want us to show up at the door of her dorm and ask her if she's okay?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Blaine's eyes widened and a small determined smile moved across his lips and he said, "that's exactly what we should do. You're a genius."
He moved away from Kurt and headed to get his laptop to check for flights to Michigan that were leaving this morning.
Kurt's eyes widened, not understanding what had just happened.
"Blaine, I was joking. We can't go to Michigan."
"Yes we can and we will." Blaine muttered as he clicked on flights, and scrolled through them until he was about to click on one but Kurt moved the laptop away from him and glared at him.
"Listen to me, and think about what you are about to do. What would you have thought if your parents had shown up at your college unannounced?"
Kurt put the laptop down on the coffee table and sat next to Blaine on the couch.
"We're not those kind of parents. We've always said that trust is the foundation of everything. You don't trust Chloe?"
Before Blaine could reply Kurt continued.
"And we have a new show starting tomorrow, are we really going to abandon what we worked for just to skip across two states to see our daughter?"
They owned their own theatre that had been doing really well for years, but putting on 6 shows a year was a time consuming business. And this next one was a really popular one that started off Broadway and has become a hit.
"This is not about trust. Of course i trust her, but she promised me to text me and it's been a long time since she stopped it. I need to go and see for myself that she is okay." Blaine said as he got up to take the laptop again, but his husband snatched it away, "look...the sooner i see that she is okay, the sooner i can stop worrying. And we're not going to have much time away, we can always come back for the show."
Kurt looked a little sceptical so Blaine continued.
"Plus you get to yell at her in person about worrying me, which is annoying you. It's win win all around?"
Kurt knew Blaine better than anyone, and he knew there was no point in arguing with him when something got into his head. He was annoyingly stubborn.
Besides, Blaine was using his puppy eyes against him.
"Can I yell at you too when we see that she is okay and you realize you wasted our time and our money?"
"Deal." Blaine said with a smile as he held his hand out for Kurt to shake, which he did.
"ok, let me book the flights." Blaine added as he turned his laptop to him.
Kurt sighed before taking his phone out of his pocket. If they were really going to do it, he had to tell Alice, his assistant, the person in charge of managing everything related to their theater when they couldn't.
"Okay, you do that and I'll call Alice." He said, getting up from the couch and taking one last look at Blaine.
At least he hoped this trip would bring some peace to his husband's heart.
xoxoxoxoxox
Kurt was grumbling. It had been a long flight sitting next to his still worried husband. Blaine asked question after question on the flight that Kurt had no clue how to answer.
Blaine was now dragging him through the streets, heading towards the college where their daughter was staying.
"Come on, stop groaning Kurt. We're nearly there."
"I'll stop groaning when you stop being paranoid." Kurt protested, yanking on Blaine's arm to keep him from crossing a red light. "Could you watch your step? I'd like to avoid being run over."
"Sorry. I just really need to see her." Blaine said as he stroked Kurt's hand in his with his thumb.
Kurt turned to him.
"I know. We are 15 minutes away from her residence. We'll see her right away and everything will be fine. I promise." Kurt told him, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek.
Blaine shared a smile with him before the light turned and they walked across the street, heading to the college grounds.
While looking around at the sights, Blaine kept stopping them to ask random students on campus if they have seen their daughter. Most of them didn't know who she was. But one girl they came across said she had seen her about 2 hours ago.
She gave them directions to the dorm she was staying in and with that they were off.
They entered a large, old-looking building, where there was a constant coming and going of students.
Kurt led Blaine down a very long hallway until they reached the door the girl had told them.
"If that girl wasn't wrong, she should be here." Kurt said.
Blaine turned to look at him with a smile before knocking lightly on the door. With no answer he tried the handle and it wasn't locked.
Maybe she had earphones in or something? he thought as he pushed the door open.
But the sight that greeted them both was something Blaine had never wanted to see.
Kurt's jaw dropped at the image before his eyes.
Chloe, his Chloe, his little girl, was in her bed, totally naked and on top of some guy, also naked, and they were obviously... no, he couldn't even think about it.
"Oh my god. I'm... I'm so sorry, we are so s-sorry." He stuttered before grabbing Blaine's arm and forcing him out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"Dad!"
They both heard her shriek as they stood on the other side of the door in shock. Blaine placed his hands over his face and groaned.
"No, no, no...i did not want to see that."
"This is your fault. You forced me to catch a plane to see my baby doing... that." Kurt whined, his face twisted into a grimace.
"No, she wasn't doing anything....she wasn't." Blaine was saying, trying to convince himself that he hadn't seen what he knew he did.
"Our daughters don't do that. Ever." he laughed a little nervously.
"Of course, because we didn't do that all the time when we were their age." Kurt growled, up against the wall. "Ugh, I want to go back in time and force you to see what a lousy idea it was to come here."
Blaine nodded enthusiastically.
"Please take me back in time, away from this right now!" he said pleadingly and then he frowned as his phone buzzed in his pocket, he retrieved it and then turned to Kurt with a raised eyebrow, "really? She chooses now to text me?"
"What does she say?" Kurt moved closer to Blaine so he could see his phone screen.
"Meet me at the cafe that is close to campus, it's to the right when you go to the street. 10 minutes." Blaine read the text out, and then turned to the door, "not that you couldn't have told us in person, we're right here."
"She must be listening to us talking here." Kurt commented, lowering his voice. "Maybe she thinks we're going to say something to that guy if we see him walk out the door."
Blaine sighed.
"Fine let's go." he said and then thumped on the door, "ok, we're going now!"
Kurt hit his arm gently and Blaine moved away from the door and walked quickly back through the dormitory hallway, having a breather at a cafe sounded good right about now.
xoxoxoxoxox
Kurt and Blaine were sitting at a table on the side of the small cafe, waiting for Chloe. They both had a cup of coffee in their hands, and a third one waited steaming on the other side of the table.
Kurt checked the time and shook his head.
"I thought that at least she would have the grace to be punctual."
"Well, i think she would have had to shower first- Nope i'm not even gonna think about that." Blaine said with a frown as he sipped his coffee.
"As much as I'd like to act like we didn't see what we saw, I think we need to have a conversation with her about it." Kurt said in a mortified tone. "We should make sure that, you know... she uses protection."
Blaine nodded but didn't say anything else, because their daughter was walking through the door. As soon as she spotted them, she walked over with a saddened sort of look on her face.
Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and she sat quite calmly opposite them and then waited patiently for them to talk.
Kurt put a hand on Blaine's, silently asking for permission to speak first.
"Hi, Chloe." He said with a small smile.
"Hi, Dad." Chloe fiddled with the coffee cup between her fingers. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to stop your dad from having a heart attack because you haven't answered our texts and calls for two weeks." Kurt simply answered.
"Why haven't you been answering me?" Blaine asked interrupting what she was about to say, "i mean, i know that you have a lot of work to do here in college, but i thought we had a deal?"
She sighed a little.
"Dad, you do realize that most people in college don't even see or message their parents until holidays? I just don't see the point of messaging you every 2 days." She explained.
"But i-"
"Honey, I don't care if you see the point or not." Kurt interrupted his husband's answer. "If you're going to be busy, we just need you to let us know. But ignoring us is not the solution."
"I'm not ignoring you. You're being so dramatic." Chloe complained.
Blaine's shoulders slumped a little and he reached a hand out across the table to take one of hers, and she only raised an eyebrow at him but didn't pull away.
"We just want to know that you're ok. I mean, i know it's not the ideal situation for someone of your age, in college and figuring out your life, having to keep contact with your parents, but we worry about you." He said as he stared into her brown eyes that were sort of like his own.
"i know, but i'm ok dad. Really." She insisted as she stared back at him, turning her gaze to Kurt's eyes too. "But i can't keep worrying about messaging you while i'm trying to live my own life out here. You kind of have to take a step back now."
"Maybe texting every 2 or 3 days is a bit too much." Kurt conceded, and noticed how Blaine quickly turned his head to look at him. "But whether you like it or not, you're our daughter, this is the first time you live away from home and we need to hear from you. How about a Skype call once a week?"
"Are you kidding me?" Chloe exclaimed, and she looked totally shocked. "I spend all morning in class, all afternoon in the library and I barely have any free time, and now you want me to take, what, an hour of my limited free time just to tell you that I'm fine?"
Kurt straightened in his chair, annoyed by his daughter's attitude. He had been a teenager too and was trying to understand her, but he wasn't going to let her get away with it and completely disappear from their lives.
"You don't seem to have a problem finding time for other things." He snapped.
"Oh my god, don't-" She started but Blaine interrupted quickly.
"Now Kurt come on, we know what it was like trying to find time for a significant other in college." Blaine mediated as he placed a soothing hand on his husband's arm as he faced his daughter with a smile. "We didn't know you had a boyfriend?"
Chloe looked at them both for a second and then sighed.
"He's not my boyfriend."
Kurt and Blaine's faces twisted into confused and shocked.
"What?"
"He's just a friend." Chloe shrugged, glancing at the table to avoid her parents' gaze.
"A friend? I don't have sex with my friends!" Kurt raised his voice higher than he intended and saw people from other tables staring at them, so he took a deep breath and when he spoke again, his voice had returned to its normal tone. "Baby, I know this is an awful topic for you and it's not easy for us either. We didn't want to get into your room and see you... like that. But you can't lie to us and say that he's just a friend."
"It's the truth." Chloe insisted seriously, "you don't understand because you and dad have been together most of your lives, but around here people don't have time for relationships, so sleeping with people without any strings attached is the way my generation deals with that."
Blaine tilted his head, and then looked at Kurt.
"I don't understand."
Kurt looked at Blaine in confusion for a moment before turning back to his daughter.
"Are you telling me you don't feel anything for this guy but you still sleep with him just for... fun?" Kurt asked that very slowly to make sure he understood what was going on there.
"Yes, kind of." Chloe took another sip of her coffee nonchalantly.
"Okay, well, that's terribly wrong and you have to stop." Kurt stated.
"Why is it wrong?" Chloe asked completely bewildered, "just because you and dad haven't done that, doesn't mean that i can't. And before you ask, i'm always safe. And it may seem a little crazy to you, but actually it's pretty common around here."
Blaine narrowed his eyebrows.
"Wait...so this is like a friends with benefits deal?" he asked and she nodded, "that's...i don't understand that i know, i always wanted sex to be about love and connection, but me and your father always wanted the same for you and Sarah."
"And there may come a day when I meet someone, like Sarah did, and fall in love and everything is great, but right now the most important thing for me is my career. I don't want a boyfriend, I don't want commitment, I just want to have fun."
"You don't get it." Kurt insisted. "I was terrified and ashamed of everything related to sex, and thanks to your dad I realized that there was nothing to fear because it's part of a relationship, it's another way for two people who feel things for one another to communicate. But sex only for sex is... absurd. You should wait."
Chloe gave Kurt a empathetic look.
"Dad, i know that you two have sex for love, and that's awesome. But i'm pretty confident in myself, i don't think of sex the same way that you do. I'm sorry but i'm not sorry about it." She said sincerely, trying not to offend them.
Blaine gave her a half smile and then took Kurt's hand.
"So, going back to the topic from before. Will you please message us once a week to let us know you're still doing good?" Blaine asked and Chloe's face changed from empathetic to angry.
"Do i really have to? It's not like i message you to ask you how you're doing at home. Because i don't need to know, i know you're ok. And you should trust me to look after myself out here."
Blaine's face drooped slightly.
"Well i-" he stopped himself and then nodded slightly, "fine...i guess i can't make you do it."
"That's it?" Kurt said, looking at Blaine in amazement. "You made me take the first available flight to come here because you were nervous as hell, and now you settle for that?" He pulled away the hand Blaine had taken and rubbed his face with it. "Chloe, I defended you with your dad. I took your side, I told him that he was overreacting and that he had to trust you, but then I come here and you show me quite the opposite. Every time you don't send news, you hurt your dad, and if you hurt him, you hurt me." He sighed. "Honey, we're not asking you to visit us every weekend. Be reasonable."
"You're very unfair." Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. "Why aren't you like that with Sarah? Because she's the responsible daughter and I'm the one who gives you headaches?"
"Of course not." Blaine said sadly, "we always message Sarah too, but she lives in the same city, we know if there was something up with her, we would hear about it. But you're out here on your own, and let's be honest when you were little you were in and out of the hospital with your condition. I can't help but worry. We don't know any of your friends, there is nobody we know here with you."
Chloe put both of her hands on the table top and then leaned forward to speak.
"Dad stop. I can handle my condition thank you very much, you just don't trust me to look after myself. I haven't messaged you for 2 weeks and i'm still alive and well right? You don't have to keep checking up on me, i'm not a child." She hissed.
Blaine had no idea what to say, so in the end he claimed he needed some air and got up from the table to walk outside the door.
Kurt watched him go with a sad expression, knowing his husband was hurting but not following him. He turned back to his daughter with a light glare.
"You know, when you were a kid and you were in the hospital, he was the one who never left your side. I tried to be strong for both of us and convince him that he needed to go home to sleep and eat something, that we could take turns, but he always refused to let go of your hand. I was not only suffering for my sick daughter, but for seeing my other half slowly wasting away."
Kurt gave Chloe a sad smile.
"We're very proud of you, darling, and we know that you're strong, and independent, and know how to take care of yourself. But since we held you for the first time, your well-being became our priority. Ask whatever you want from us, but not that we stop worrying about you."
"I just don't understand what's so important about me checking in every few days or every week." she replied with a small sigh, "none of my friends do it with their parents."
"I can't speak for your friends' parents. I don't know what their relationship is like, but I know what my family is like. Do you remember about 10 years ago when Dad fell off his bike and you didn't even want to touch the plaster cast they put on his leg in case you hurt him?"
"Yeah i remember."
"Well, for us it's like you and Sarah always wear a plaster cast, and not having you around to know if it hurts or not...make us worry. I hide it better, but you know he can't." Kurt reached out his hand and took Chloe's in his own.
"He worries too much. I'm fine." she insisted stubbornly.
"I know you are. But we've been able to check that for the last 18 years just by peeking into your room. Now we can't do that. I just need you have a little patience with us."
"You mean patience with daddy?" She asked with a smirk, and as Kurt smiled back she sighed a little, "i suppose i can drop a text every now and then but i just...i'm trying to build something that's just for me here. You know?"
"I promise you we're not trying to get into your life. We know how important it is that you grow up on your own as a woman and discover life for yourself... but I'm the one who sleeps with him every night." Kurt joked. "Could you just let us know that you're okay when you have some time and save me from suffering?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Is he really that bad?"
"Oh, he is. He's so bad that I think you should go out and check if he's okay now." Kurt said with a knowing grin.
Chloe glanced behind her at Blaine sitting on a chair outside with his back to them.
"Ok." She said as she got up and started walking outside.
When she was almost next to him, she could hear the sniffling. Was he really crying?
"Dad?"
He jumped and spun to look at her, his eyes were a little red but there were no signs on his face that he had been crying.
"Hey baby. Everything okay?" He asked, "you didn't fight with your father did you?"
"No, I didn't. I just... I wanted to check if you were okay." Chloe said in a low voice, approaching him.
"I'm okay. Just needed a minute to breathe," Blaine replied with a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I promise i'm not trying to pry into your life, i know this life here is yours however you want to live it, i just really worry sometimes."
"I know you do. A lot." Chloe gave him a half smile. "And I also know that sometimes it may seem like I don't make things easy for you, but this is all new to me too. It's so important that you trust me, because... I don't want to disappoint you."
Blaine stood up and took his youngest daughter into his arms tightly. She was about an inch shorter than him which he loved. Sarah was taller than him, and he always felt really strange when hugging her.
"You could never disappoint me. I love you." He said as he stroked one hand over her hair.
"And I love you." Chloe pulled away from him a little bit, and she wiped away a couple of tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "But it's so difficult to live up to your standards. You and Dad fell in love in high school, you've been together your whole life, you have your dream job... and I still don't know who I am." She admitted.
"But that's okay, you don't need to know yet. You have all the time in the world to discover that, one step at a time. Get through college first, you might figure it all out along the way." Blaine said as he held her shoulders, "but always remember there is a place for you to go whenever you feel lost. You can always come home, it doesn't make you weak okay?"
She looked in his eyes a little uncomfortably as she said, "About earlier i-"
"I don't even want to go there...sorry." Blaine said with a frown before laughing nervously, "what you do with your life is fine, i don't need to know. But i still think of you as a baby...no matter how old you and your sister get, you'll always be our babies. And i am entitled to worry as a father, ok?"
He spied Kurt coming out of the door with some more coffees in his hands.
"I don't see blood or hear any screams, so I guess things are going well around here." Kurt smiled at them, placing a hand on Blaine's shoulder.
"Yeah." Blaine said cheerily as he took a coffee from Kurt, "just telling her no matter how old they get, they are still our babies."
"Of course they are. I have three babies and they are all equally important to me."
Blaine tried to look at Kurt offended but ended up laughing, and Chloe looked at her parents feeling a warm sensation in her heart.
They might be a bit overprotective, but she wouldn't trade them for anyone else.
xoxoxoxox
Blaine sighed as he put the bag down on the floor as soon as they got into their house. Kurt walking in behind him and dropping his own bag with his own groan.
"I don't know about you," Blaine said as he put a hand on one of his shoulders, "but riding a plane twice in two days is making me feel my age."
"Okay. I'll try not to think that we're not going to unpack right now. See you in a bit."
He stroked Blaine's curls before climbing the stairs on his way to the bathroom.
"Kurt?" Blaine called from the couch.
"What?" Kurt stopped, turning his head from the top of the stairs to look at him.
"I'm sorry for dragging you to Michigan. And thank you for coming with me." Blaine told him with a smile.
Kurt leaned against the railing and smiled back at him.
"I knew what I was getting into when I married you. And keep it to yourself, but I love that you worry. That means you care about us."
Blaine's smile melted into one of complete and utter devotion as he looked up the stairs at his husband. He got off the couch with a little grunt of discomfort as the muscles in his back protested the movement.
He walked over to the bottom of the stairs and the look of love was replaced by something more sultry.
"You know, i'm not feeling that tired anymore. Want some company?"
"Sharing a bath? Maybe we're not that old after all."
Kurt reached out a hand for Blaine to take it, and when he did and came up to his level, he quickly kissed him. It was a soft but intense kiss, and it left them both sighing.
"Before you succumb to my charms under the hot water, promise me something." Kurt asked him.
"Anything." Blaine responded immediately.
"Promise me that you will never change. Promise me that you will keep taking care of all of us, even when we protest and tell you to stop." Kurt nuzzled his cheek gently.
"There's nothing else i would ever do. I will always care for all of you, i promise." Blaine replied and kissed Kurt's cheek, hand holding the back of his neck gently as he moved the kisses to his nose and then his lips.
Kurt laughed at the ministrations until Blaine's lips became more insistent on his, and the laughter turned to desire.
Despite being together for so many years, he and Blaine hadn't lost that.
"Okay. Now I want you naked and in the bathtub."
Blaine pushed Kurt bodily towards their bathroom, his husband laughing at his insistent hands pulling at his shirt and belt. He let him go for a second to take his own clothes off while Kurt did the same.
Once their shirts were gone and their jeans were unzipped their lips came back together. Arms and hands wrapped around each other's bodies, feeling skin and pulling on clothes.
"God, even after 20 years of being married to you, you're still so hot.." Blaine panted against Kurt's mouth.
"I hope you never change your mind." Kurt moved his mouth to Blaine's neck and his hands to his pants. "Maybe I should take off... these jeans... and get on my knees. The bath can... wait... a few minutes." He murmured against Blaine's skin, leaving kisses and licks in between.
"Anything...ngh...anything you want baby." Blaine groaned as his hands wrapped around Kurt's waist, tugging him closer even though they were as close as two people could get.
As Kurt was pulling Blaine's jeans down and sinking down himself, laying kisses in a line down Blaine's stomach as he did, they were interrupted by the text alert going off in Blaine's pocket.
"You have to be kidding me." Kurt threw his head back, disgruntled.
Then he reached into Blaine's pants, which were already on the floor, and pulled the phone out of the back pocket before smashing it against Blaine's chest without bothering to look at the screen.
"Turn it off right now." He demanded, pressing his mouth back to Blaine's lower abdomen.
Blaine opened the text as Kurt continued to pepper kisses lower and lower, growling in frustration when Blaine pulled away, grinning down at him.
"You will never guess who it is." he said with a mischievous look in his eyes, "i think she's getting revenge for the other day."
"Chloe?" Kurt grunted. "How did she know? Is this some kind of divine punishment?"
"I don't know." Blaine chuckled a little, before typing out a text and sending it back before turning his phone on silent and placing it on the counter behind him, "i just sent her a reply thanking her for the text but also letting her know she's interrupting something very important."
As Kurt laughed lightly at Blaine's evilly grinning face, Blaine swooped down and thread his fingers into Kurt's hair and pulling him back into a kiss.
"I don't know how to feel about you just hinting to our daughter that we're going to have sex... but I don't mind. And she texted, we should take this as a victory. A little embarrassing one."
They both laughed before losing themselves in new kisses and caresses, now with the reassurance of knowing that it didn't matter the passing of the years.
The only important thing was to keep the people you love close in any way possible.