Happy Holidays Brididgid!
Title: Sleep is for the Weak and Childless
Recipient: androidsfighting/brididgid
Author/Artist: to be revealed January 3rd, 2012
Rating: G (the inverse of what I intended when I started the challenge)
Warnings: None, unless you count fluff
Word Count: 1198
Summary: New parents learn that kids don't have what one calls a "sleep schedule."
Notes: Thank you to my RL friend "R" for putting her irrational dislike of klaine long enough to beta my fic.
The rhythmic thumping pulled Kurt from sleep way too early for his own comfort. Blaine snuffled against his neck and tightened his arm around Kurt’s waist, aborting Kurt’s attempt to slide out of bed to investigate.
Kurt settled in next to Blaine and tried to pinpoint what was causing the thumping. There weren’t any storms blowing through Cincinnati, so the screen door wouldn’t be rattling on the hinges. Each thump was followed by a squeak, so it wasn’t someone knocking on their door. The foster homes and the group homes had drilled into Stephanie’s head that she could never ever jump on the bed, so it couldn’t be their eight year old. That left Stephanie’s younger brother, Marcus.
Kurt sighed as the thumping continued. Marcus was just old enough to be out of infancy and just young enough for Kurt and Blaine to have trouble considering him a toddler. Being too young for a “big boy bed” meant that he was relegated to a crib until a better option could be found or until Marcus got just a little bit bigger.
The thumping continued and Kurt tried to drift off to sleep again. Marcus had slept through the first few nights without an issue, but after the third night had started waking up during the night. The other times that Kurt investigated the thumping, he only found Marcus happily jumping up and down, tiny fingers wrapped around the top rail of the crib. Taking Marcus out of the crib never worked, because it only prompted more tantrums when he had to be put back down. According to Burt, Kurt had done the same thing when he was Marcus’ age and the best option was to just wait and let Marcus tire himself out. Burt neglected to tell Kurt that the process of Marcus tiring himself out could take hours and that he would fight sleep every step of the way. Even Blaine singing lullabies wouldn't calm the little boy down.
The thumping stopped and Kurt’s eyes drifted close as he nestled back into Blaine’s embrace. With any luck, Kurt would manage to catch a couple hours of sleep before the actual start of their day.
”BA!”
Kurt opened his eyes and was greeted with Marcus trying to scramble up onto the bed. Kurt wriggled out of Blaine’s grasp and sat up. Blaine’s sleep rumpled form attempted to follow Kurt.
”Wha?”
"There was a jail break. Go back to sleep, Blaine." Kurt reached down and scooped Marcus up into his arms. Marcus giggled at the movement and wrapped his arms around Kurt’s neck. Kurt smiled at the little boy and bounced him in his arms.
”I’m going to read him a story or two and see if I can get him to go back to bed. You have work tomorrow. It doesn’t make sense for both of us to miss out on sleep.”
”Nope. I’m up. It’s not fair for one of us to get more rest than the other. Besides, I think I hear Stephanie in her room, so I might as well make us pancakes,” said Blaine.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine. “Really, Blaine? Breakfast at four in the morning?”
Blaine shook his head and pulled on a t-shirt. “Come on, Kurt. It will be fun. You go get Stephanie. I’ll get breakfast started.”
Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek as he maneuvered past Kurt and a wiggling Marcus. He tickled the bottom of Marcus’ nearest foot on his way out and laughed when the little boy squealed.
”Come on, Houdini. Let’s go get your sister.”
Kurt found Stephanie sitting on the floor of her bedroom. She had pulled the dolls out of her toy chest and was changing the outfits on her Barbie dolls.
”Hey, Kurt. Was Marcus the one making all that noise?”
”Yes, he was. Apparently, he finally fine-tuned his plan to escape from his crib. Since everyone is up, Blaine decided to have an early breakfast. You want to give him a hand with the pancakes?”
”Only if I get to flip them.” Stephanie was up and out of the room before Kurt could reply. He could hear Blaine’s enthusiastic greeting over the rattle of pans in the kitchen.
Stephanie and Blaine worked well together in the kitchen. Stephanie was perched on the same stool that Kurt had used when he was her age and wanted to help in the kitchen. Blaine stood behind her and helped guide her movements when she ran into difficulty. Marcus and Kurt watched from the breakfast nook while Kurt worked on fixing Marcus' cornrows. The braids weren't the height of fashion, but they were easier to maintain than Marcus' small afro,
especially since Marcus seemed to hate having to sit while his hair
was brushed.
Breakfast didn't turn out to be the healthiest of meals. Kurt considered chocolate chip pancakes to be more a desert but decided to let it slide when he saw how excited they made Stephanie. Marcus kept trying to sneak pieces of bacon without anyone else noticing and yelling, "Stenny" when he wanted his sister's attention; he just hadn't learned that yelling "Stenny" while he had a handful of bacon would get him noticed.
After breakfast, Blaine settled on the couch with Marcus and Stephanie for a Disney movie marathon, snuggled under the handmade afghan that Carole had given them as a housewarming gift. Kurt checked on Marcus' crib, frowning when he couldn't see any outward sign of how Marcus was able to escape. There wasn't any damage to the side of the crib. All of the slats were in place. The latches on the crib were securely closed and nothing rattled when Kurt shook it.
It was about six in the morning when Kurt finally just decided to call Burt and almost a quarter after six when Burt finally stopped laughing long enough to tell Kurt that his son had probably just vaulted over the side of the crib. It was apparently something that Kurt used to do when he was too big for his crib and didn't want to sleep. According to Carole, Finn did the same thing. Kurt made a mental note to call Blaine's parents and see if Blaine had the same habit when he was Marcus' age.
The conversation with Burt ended with a promise that a visit would be arranged so that Burt and Carole could meet the kids. Burt was adamant that the kids should be used to Blaine and Kurt before grandparents were introduced.
By the time Kurt made it back to the living room, Blaine had fallen asleep; his head tilted back and to the side. Stephanie was curled into Blaine's side, snoring softly into his chest and Marcus was slumped against the arm of the couch, sucking on a corner of the blanket in his sleep.
Kurt snapped a couple of quick pictures and then lowered the volume on the television. He set the alarm on Blaine's phone and made sure it was in reach on the coffee table. Kurt settled into the recliner, torn between wanting to enjoy a bed all to himself and wanting to be close to his family.
---
Please consider spreading holiday cheer by commenting on and/or reblogging this fanfic! If you rec this fic, please be sure to attribute it to anonymous until the author/artist is revealed on January 3rd, 2011. Don’t forget to check out all of the other amazing works that will be posted throughout December!
Recipient: androidsfighting/brididgid
Author/Artist: to be revealed January 3rd, 2012
Rating: G (the inverse of what I intended when I started the challenge)
Warnings: None, unless you count fluff
Word Count: 1198
Summary: New parents learn that kids don't have what one calls a "sleep schedule."
Notes: Thank you to my RL friend "R" for putting her irrational dislike of klaine long enough to beta my fic.
The rhythmic thumping pulled Kurt from sleep way too early for his own comfort. Blaine snuffled against his neck and tightened his arm around Kurt’s waist, aborting Kurt’s attempt to slide out of bed to investigate.
Kurt settled in next to Blaine and tried to pinpoint what was causing the thumping. There weren’t any storms blowing through Cincinnati, so the screen door wouldn’t be rattling on the hinges. Each thump was followed by a squeak, so it wasn’t someone knocking on their door. The foster homes and the group homes had drilled into Stephanie’s head that she could never ever jump on the bed, so it couldn’t be their eight year old. That left Stephanie’s younger brother, Marcus.
Kurt sighed as the thumping continued. Marcus was just old enough to be out of infancy and just young enough for Kurt and Blaine to have trouble considering him a toddler. Being too young for a “big boy bed” meant that he was relegated to a crib until a better option could be found or until Marcus got just a little bit bigger.
The thumping continued and Kurt tried to drift off to sleep again. Marcus had slept through the first few nights without an issue, but after the third night had started waking up during the night. The other times that Kurt investigated the thumping, he only found Marcus happily jumping up and down, tiny fingers wrapped around the top rail of the crib. Taking Marcus out of the crib never worked, because it only prompted more tantrums when he had to be put back down. According to Burt, Kurt had done the same thing when he was Marcus’ age and the best option was to just wait and let Marcus tire himself out. Burt neglected to tell Kurt that the process of Marcus tiring himself out could take hours and that he would fight sleep every step of the way. Even Blaine singing lullabies wouldn't calm the little boy down.
The thumping stopped and Kurt’s eyes drifted close as he nestled back into Blaine’s embrace. With any luck, Kurt would manage to catch a couple hours of sleep before the actual start of their day.
”BA!”
Kurt opened his eyes and was greeted with Marcus trying to scramble up onto the bed. Kurt wriggled out of Blaine’s grasp and sat up. Blaine’s sleep rumpled form attempted to follow Kurt.
”Wha?”
"There was a jail break. Go back to sleep, Blaine." Kurt reached down and scooped Marcus up into his arms. Marcus giggled at the movement and wrapped his arms around Kurt’s neck. Kurt smiled at the little boy and bounced him in his arms.
”I’m going to read him a story or two and see if I can get him to go back to bed. You have work tomorrow. It doesn’t make sense for both of us to miss out on sleep.”
”Nope. I’m up. It’s not fair for one of us to get more rest than the other. Besides, I think I hear Stephanie in her room, so I might as well make us pancakes,” said Blaine.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine. “Really, Blaine? Breakfast at four in the morning?”
Blaine shook his head and pulled on a t-shirt. “Come on, Kurt. It will be fun. You go get Stephanie. I’ll get breakfast started.”
Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek as he maneuvered past Kurt and a wiggling Marcus. He tickled the bottom of Marcus’ nearest foot on his way out and laughed when the little boy squealed.
”Come on, Houdini. Let’s go get your sister.”
Kurt found Stephanie sitting on the floor of her bedroom. She had pulled the dolls out of her toy chest and was changing the outfits on her Barbie dolls.
”Hey, Kurt. Was Marcus the one making all that noise?”
”Yes, he was. Apparently, he finally fine-tuned his plan to escape from his crib. Since everyone is up, Blaine decided to have an early breakfast. You want to give him a hand with the pancakes?”
”Only if I get to flip them.” Stephanie was up and out of the room before Kurt could reply. He could hear Blaine’s enthusiastic greeting over the rattle of pans in the kitchen.
Stephanie and Blaine worked well together in the kitchen. Stephanie was perched on the same stool that Kurt had used when he was her age and wanted to help in the kitchen. Blaine stood behind her and helped guide her movements when she ran into difficulty. Marcus and Kurt watched from the breakfast nook while Kurt worked on fixing Marcus' cornrows. The braids weren't the height of fashion, but they were easier to maintain than Marcus' small afro,
especially since Marcus seemed to hate having to sit while his hair
was brushed.
Breakfast didn't turn out to be the healthiest of meals. Kurt considered chocolate chip pancakes to be more a desert but decided to let it slide when he saw how excited they made Stephanie. Marcus kept trying to sneak pieces of bacon without anyone else noticing and yelling, "Stenny" when he wanted his sister's attention; he just hadn't learned that yelling "Stenny" while he had a handful of bacon would get him noticed.
After breakfast, Blaine settled on the couch with Marcus and Stephanie for a Disney movie marathon, snuggled under the handmade afghan that Carole had given them as a housewarming gift. Kurt checked on Marcus' crib, frowning when he couldn't see any outward sign of how Marcus was able to escape. There wasn't any damage to the side of the crib. All of the slats were in place. The latches on the crib were securely closed and nothing rattled when Kurt shook it.
It was about six in the morning when Kurt finally just decided to call Burt and almost a quarter after six when Burt finally stopped laughing long enough to tell Kurt that his son had probably just vaulted over the side of the crib. It was apparently something that Kurt used to do when he was too big for his crib and didn't want to sleep. According to Carole, Finn did the same thing. Kurt made a mental note to call Blaine's parents and see if Blaine had the same habit when he was Marcus' age.
The conversation with Burt ended with a promise that a visit would be arranged so that Burt and Carole could meet the kids. Burt was adamant that the kids should be used to Blaine and Kurt before grandparents were introduced.
By the time Kurt made it back to the living room, Blaine had fallen asleep; his head tilted back and to the side. Stephanie was curled into Blaine's side, snoring softly into his chest and Marcus was slumped against the arm of the couch, sucking on a corner of the blanket in his sleep.
Kurt snapped a couple of quick pictures and then lowered the volume on the television. He set the alarm on Blaine's phone and made sure it was in reach on the coffee table. Kurt settled into the recliner, torn between wanting to enjoy a bed all to himself and wanting to be close to his family.
---
Please consider spreading holiday cheer by commenting on and/or reblogging this fanfic! If you rec this fic, please be sure to attribute it to anonymous until the author/artist is revealed on January 3rd, 2011. Don’t forget to check out all of the other amazing works that will be posted throughout December!