(no subject)
Author: xxxraquelita
Title: One Love to Another (1/2)
Rating: R
Total word count: 11,575
Warnings (if any): none that I can think of
Summary: From the prompt: Blaine and Kurt and Brittany and Santana want to have kids. They decide to do it together - after all, each couple has half of what the other needs. [written for the Klaine Endgame prompt #26]
Author's note: I’m no expert on pregnancy or giving birth, but I researched and tried to portray things as well as I could. I apologize for any inaccuracies. Thank you to the wonderful pureklaination for being my cheerleader and beta throughout.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t had the conversation before. It had happened multiple times -- words said in passing, sometimes with a more serious air, but never with such deliberation as was happening then. Sitting there at the table in their kitchen nook, it was the first time Kurt and Blaine had ever seriously, honestly, put the topic out there for consideration. For actual discussion, for actual implications, but it was easily time for it to happen.
“I want to have a baby,” Blaine said casually over their morning coffee, but Kurt knew it hadn’t been brought up randomly. That was what happened when Mike and Tina asked them to babysit for them, like they had the night before.
“So do I,” he replied, reaching over and taking his hand. That was how the conversation always started, and also was usually close to where it was ended every time before.
“I’m serious.” Kurt glanced over at him, taking in the sincere look in his eyes. “Kurt, I want to have a child with you, for us to have a family. Marrying you, that perfect day, you made all my dreams come true. The new dream I came up with after that, it was to make a family with you. I know it’s a more complicated wish than it would be for most, but I know that we can find a way, make it work. I think... I think we’re ready to try.”
“I think we are, too,” he agreed quietly, nodding once and squeezing his hand. And that was that.
Looking for a surrogate was a process. It wasn’t that there weren’t perfectly nice people available, but no one seemed to fit. Weeks, months, were spent with each night finding Kurt and Blaine sitting at the table in the kitchen and pouring over profiles of women who could potentially carry their baby. It felt so strange, to be reading and judging and considering if each one was someone they would want to have an influence on the genetics of their child. Nevermind the fact that they didn’t know anything about them except what was printed there on the papers. They had almost reached a breaking point of frustration when the answer seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Having lunch with Brittany wasn’t exactly that strange of an occurrence in Kurt’s life. It wasn’t like he and Blaine lived in the same neighborhood as her and Santana, but they weren’t so far off that it was an inconvenience. Besides, there was no way lunch with someone like Brittany could ever be considered an inconvenience. They tended to get together at least once every week or two.
“Kurt, will you have sex with me?” Brittany asked, and Kurt barely managed to keep from choking on his water as she brought her drink up and took a long sip through the straw, watching him through her eyelashes.
“I... no?” he answered, not meaning for it to come out like a question but he was still a little too startled to keep his inflection from going up. “No, Brittany, for so many reasons. Why...?”
“I want to have a baby,” she said with a sigh, setting her glass down and pouting. “Well not just me. I mean, Santana and I want to have a baby. I thought we could do it, but she says we need a boy, and I thought... well, you’re a boy and I like you and we used to go out so maybe you would have sex with me so we could have a baby. We would make really pretty babies.”
“We would,” Kurt said carefully, watching her as he reached across the tabletop and took her hand. “Blaine and I have been talking about having a baby, too.”
“You have?” Brittany asked, the dejected look on her face quickly disappearing and getting replaced by a wide eyed smile. “Kurt that’s great!” Her smile faded and she leaned in, squeezing his hand. “You guys can’t have one on your own, right? Just like me and Santana? We could have sex twice and then we’d both get babies...”
“That’s not quite how it works, Brit, but thanks for the offer.” The idea was planted and the wheels were spinning, though. He took a deep breath and offered her a smile. “Hey, you and Santana should come over for dinner sometime this week. Let me know when your schedule is free and Blaine and I will cook for you guys.”
“Awesome! I’ll talk to San, but I think we’ve got a night or two with no plans,” Brittany said cheerfully. “I’ll send you a text once I check.”
“Great, that’s settled,” Kurt said with a nod. “Now, tell me all about everything that’s happened since I saw you last.”
They didn’t talk about babies anymore during their lunch. He did call Blaine as soon as they were done and he was on his way back to his studio.
“How was your lunch with Brittany?”
“She asked me to have sex with her.”
“She what?” Kurt knew it wasn’t because Blaine found it upsetting, because obviously that wasn’t something that was ever going to happen. Never, never ever. It was the shock of the question, and he understood that well. “I... what?”
“Apparently she and Santana want to have a baby, but Santana clued her into the fact that they were missing an important something between them to make one on their own.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, almost too long of a pause, and then a quiet, full of understanding, “Kurt...”
“I invited them over for dinner sometime this week, whenever they’re available, but I think... I think we should talk about it.” He rushed the words out and chewed on his lip a little. “Obviously we need to talk about it once we’re both home, this isn’t exactly a conversation for the phone, but I wanted to say something -- had to say something -- before I got back to work.”
“Kurt, it’s fine, we’ll just... we’ll talk tonight, okay?”
“Okay.”
***
It felt strange, preparing dinner for when Brittany and Santana came over. It was almost like Kurt and Blaine were trying to make it perfect with more intention than normal, like they were cooking their hope and wishes into the food itself. The atmosphere in the kitchen felt tense, but that all went away as soon as the knock came on their apartment door and the Lopez-Pierces arrived.
Kurt couldn’t help but smile as he watched his husband sweep them both up in his arms, Santana batting at him a little but not really resisting, and Brittany giggling as she flung her arms around him and planted a loud, smacking kiss against his cheek. It really was an adorable sight, especially considering that Blaine still had his apron on. It was one of the ones that Kurt had made from fabric left over at his studio -- not any of the good fabric, of course, because that would be ridiculous to use for something that was destined to get food spilled all over it.
“Hi!” Brittany said to Kurt, her arms wrapping tight around him and her face nuzzling into his neck. Greetings with Brittany were always full body experiences, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to that with Blaine. Santana was far less enthusiastic, giving him a short hug once her wife let him go.
“Whatever you’re making, it smells delicious,” she commented, glancing over at Blaine as he made his way back to the kitchen, and she called after him, “and you look ridiculous in that apron!”
“Ridiculously adorable, maybe,” Kurt replied, a smirk tugging up at the corners of his mouth. “Ridiculously handsome. Ridiculously perfect, but definitely not just plain ridiculous.”
“I’m going to need to go throw up from how ridiculously sweet that was,” Santana said, rolling her eyes.
“Santana doesn’t like too much sugar,” Brittany offered sagely, her arms slipping around Santana’s waist from behind and her chin hooking over her shoulder. “That’s why I always have to eat the cupcakes with the most icing on top.”
“That’s very good of you,” Kurt said with a nod, knowing damn well that wasn’t true at all. The soft spots of Santana were still only really visible when it came to Brittany, but it was always a reminder of who she was underneath. Because there was no way she and Brittany would have been together for nearly that long, or that Blaine would like her nearly as much, if she really was the bitch she fronted as.
“Kurt, can you get the wine?” Blaine asked, popping his head out from the kitchen and glancing over at them.
“Mhmm.” He wandered into the room and grabbed out a corkscrew and foil cutter, starting in on the first bottle of wine for the evening. The table had been set already, and Brittany and Santana wandered around the apartment as if they weren’t there every so often, taking in the pictures on the walls and the decorations scattered around.
“Are you nervous?” Blaine asked as he pulled the pork chops out of the oven. “I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be nervous,” Kurt said, waiting for him to put down anything that was hot and could burn before resting his arms around his shoulders and kissing him lightly. “Remember, we’re not the only ones who want this, they do too. Neither of us can do this alone.”
“What if Brittany was being Brittany?” Blaine whispered, biting his lip. “What if she didn’t mean it?”
That was a concern that Kurt had come up with as well, after his immediate reaction of oh-god-this-could-happen. Brittany did have that tendency to say things and for those things to be bizarre and off the wall and out of nowhere. The thing was, there was almost always an undercurrent of truth. Her mind worked slightly different and the words were sometimes confusing, but there was almost always truth beneath it all. One just had to know how to interpret her language.
“It won’t hurt to ask,” Kurt said carefully, his fingers twining into the hair at the nape of Blaine’s neck. “The worst that could happen is that they say no, and then Santana has a few months’ worth of fodder against us. If you really don’t want to ask, this can just be dinner.”
“No I want to,” Blaine amended quickly, his hands slipping away from Kurt’s waist to reach back and undo the knot in the apron strings. Kurt waited for him to get it undone before slipping the loop from around his neck and tossing the apron over onto the counter. “I want this.”
“Well then let’s wow them with your culinary skills and get down to business.” Kurt gave him another quick kiss before helping plate the food and carry it into the dining room.
Wine was poured and food was devoured, laughter ringing around the table as stories were passed back and forth and old friends caught up. Kurt may have seen Brittany on a fairly regular basis, but not so much with Santana. Blaine usually saw the girls ever so often, but his schedule with his show had been crazy and unrelenting and had severely cut into his social time - the majority of which he gratefully opted to spend with Kurt. It wasn’t until the dishes were cleared and dessert was being discussed, which they all agreed should wait for at least a few minutes if not longer, that Blaine nudged Kurt’s foot under the table and raised an eyebrow.
“So,” Kurt began smoothly, reaching over to grab Blaine’s hand. “Santana, Brittany tells me that you two have been talking about kids.”
“Mhm, she told me that you shot her down,” Santana replied with a smirk. “Bad call, Kurt. My wife’s aces in bed.”
“Do you realize what disturbing things come out of your mouth or is that just like breathing to you?” Kurt asked, tilting his head as he looked at her.
“Anyway…” Blaine interrupted, giving him a meaningful look. “We’ve been talking about that recently, as well. Not necessarily recently, I guess. It’s come up many times in the past but we’ve been talking about it more seriously recently.”
“The whole gay thing really puts a damper on the baby making, doesn’t it?” Santana sighed, taking a sip of what was left of her wine. Kurt had refused to open another bottle until they all talked because he didn’t want alcohol being involved with any decision making.
“We’ve been looking into surrogates,” Kurt started, squeezing Blaine’s hand under the table. “We’ve been looking for months. It’s crazy to try and look at pieces of paper and try and figure out if the person on there is someone you want to carry your child.”
“Santana said we could go to a sperm bank or something. I just thought banks were places you kept your money but apparently they keep babies in them too,” Brittany said, pulling her legs up to fold under her and sit up higher in her chair. “Have you tried looking there for a baby? I think someone should save them - a bank can’t be that comfy of a place to live.”
Other people may have laughed, but everyone at the table knew better. Santana had a look of adoration on her face as she looked over at her wife, and the corners of Blaine’s mouth were twitching, but no one laughed.
“No we haven’t looked there,” Blaine replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. “They keep the opposite of what we need there.”
“We didn’t go there because I don’t want some random guys business all up in me,” Santana said, shuddering. “It just kind of creeps me out to think about. I know that’s weird because if I want a kid, then it’s got to happen, but I can’t help it.”
“It doesn’t have to be some random guy,” Kurt offered, and really, she couldn’t have given him a better opening. “I was thinking, well, Brittany kind of got me thinking - we all want kids, but on our own we can’t, so why not… help each other out?”
Brittany blinked, looking back and forth between Blaine and Kurt. “You said you wouldn’t have sex with me,” she said slowly, her brow furrowing for a moment before her eyes went wide. “Blaine!”
“No no,” Blaine interjected quickly, shaking his head. “I’m not, I mean I’d be flattered or whatever, but no, I’m not going to have sex with you.”
“Let me field this one,” Santana said, resting her hand on Brittany’s arm as she leaned forward to look across the table at them. “You want a baby, we want a baby, and together we have all the parts necessary. That’s the concept you’re working with, right?” Kurt nodded, honestly not sure how she was going to take it since essentially they were propositioning them for use of their uteruses. Her lips pushed out in a thoughtful pout before she shrugged and tilted her head toward her wife. “What do you think, Brit?”
“They’d be really pretty babies,” Brittany replied, her gaze unwavering from Kurt and Blaine. “But I don’t get it, cause… how?”
“There are ways other than sex. Like… a turkey baster or something.”
“Oh God.” Blaine buried his face in his hands.
“Not actually a turkey baster,” Santana corrected, because Brittany’s eyes were wide and she looked slightly horrified by the prospect. “It’s a super fancy doctor thing. The point is, there are ways.”
“Obviously we didn’t expect some sort of decision made tonight,” Kurt said, wanting to move on from the topic of logistics because those were visuals he really didn’t need. “We just kind of wanted to put the idea out there in case you were interested because honestly, I know I’d be much more comfortable with someone I actually know rather than a stranger.”
“Both of us would be,” Blaine added, his hands dropping from his face so he could look over at them.
“We’ll talk about it once we get home,” Santana agreed with a nod.
“But why? I thought we wanted a baby,” Brittany pouted. “I say yes!”
“Brit, this isn’t a snap decision type of thing,” Santana said patiently, reaching over to tuck a loose strand of her wife’s hair behind her ear. “I want a baby too but we need to talk about it for serious, okay? Just you and me.”
“Okay,” Brittany agreed, a soft smile gracing her features as she turned back to Kurt. “Didn’t you say you had ice cream?”
Easy as that, the topic was dropped for the rest of the night. Ice cream was dished out, more wine poured, and by the time Brittany and Santana went out to find their way to the nearest subway stop, all of them were feeling warm and tingly and optimistic about what the future might possibly bring. Kurt barely got all the dishes rinsed and into the dishwasher before Blaine’s arms were wrapped around him from behind and he could feel the warm press of his body against him.
“This could happen, Kurt,” he murmured, pushing up onto his toes to nuzzle against his neck, pressing light kisses up to his ear before sighing and pulling back. Kurt turned and slipped his arms around his neck, cradling his head as he slanted their mouths together and kissed him long and slow.
They’d spent so many years taking life at the speed of light, working themselves to the bone and every touch and kiss had been desperate and needing more than necessary due to lack of time to spend together. Success had its perks and despite the fact that they both still spent a lot of time with their work, they had much more of it to devote to each other. Kisses were less frantic, much more leisurely, and the rest of their lives followed in suit. It felt wonderful to be able to take their time in everything regarding each other, and they both agreed that it was well worth the effort of the years prior.
That was why they spent that night taking as much time as they wanted covering one another with kisses, all hopes and dreams about the future poured into gestures of love and adoration. Kurt fell asleep with Blaine curled around him, limbs tangled and clinging, imagining what a year from then might be like.
***
As much as Kurt had anticipated an agreement from the Lopez-Pierces, it still felt like a relief and a huge weight lifted off his shoulders when the phone call actually came. True, it might have been more emotional if it hadn’t been Santana telling him that they should “get ready to go wherever and start jacking off into cups” followed by “wanky - literally” but all the same, it meant that they were going to actually have a shot at having a baby.
There was a night of serious discussion, of all of them sitting down and working out the logistics. The idea of it was easy, the execution wasn’t necessarily so. It was important to figure out every little aspect before starting in on the process, just to make sure there were no unanswered questions. And there were so, so many questions to take into consideration.
They wanted the kids to grow up together, as they would essentially be siblings, which meant them both being born around the same time if they could swing it. There was always the possibility of there being a complication, or the insemination not working, but they were going to try their hardest for the timing to line up. Brittany and Santana were going to start on fertility drugs and they would go from there.
Kurt couldn’t help but find it weird, sitting at a table with his husband and two of his oldest friends, calmly discussing who was going to have a baby with who. It was such an odd conversation. He could have guessed at how it would end up, because really it wasn’t like their preferences weren’t obvious. They were all friends, he would venture to say best friends - which seemed silly because they were adults, not in high school, and what did that distinction mean? - but the relationship between each pair was very different.
Still, it was no surprise that Santana gravitated toward Blaine for her sperm donor and Brittany was with him.
Brittany wanted to keep her baby, and that was definitely one of the biggest questions they wanted cleared up before anything began. Who knew what it was going to be like once the girls were actually pregnant, but Kurt wanted everything clear cut before that happened - they all did.
Honestly, Kurt wasn’t sure if there had ever been a point where he could have pictured Santana being pregnant, having a baby, simply because she didn’t seem like the maternal type. He knew better than to dismiss her as an offensive hard ass like so many would, because she really wasn’t. Maybe she used to be, maybe she still was sometimes, but she was mostly just a kitten in stilettos - especially when it came to her family and her friends, which Kurt knew he and Blaine were lucky enough to be counted as both.
Finding a time in their schedule when they could all go, that was the trickiest part. They all had to be available at the same time because there was a time frame. Thankfully they had enough time to plan, and Kurt learned way more about the female reproductive system than he’d ever considered he would. He’d never expected to know anything about it, but he knew he was in it for the long haul so he might as well learn as much as he could. He didn’t want to go into any of it blind, and he fully intended to be present for everything. Blaine, too.
So much research went into doctors, clinics, to the point where they weren’t even sure if they would ever reach the end of the preemptive work and get to the actual attempts. It took months, but they finally reached that point and had an awkward afternoon at the clinic together.
Afterward, they had dinner before splitting ways and heading to their respective homes. Strange how it was such a monumental event didn’t seem quite like it, but then again they had to wait to see what happened. There was always the possibility of it not taking, of some sort of complication arising, but they were trying not to think about that unless it actually happened.
“Nine months, Kurt,” Blaine murmured as they lay in bed that night, his head pillowed against Kurt’s chest.
“Nine months,” Kurt repeated, his fingers moving up through his husband’s hair methodically. Nine months, assuming nothing went wrong. He tried his hardest not to go to a pessimistic headspace. “We’ll have to get to work turning my office into a nursery.”
“Mhm. I was thinking yellow, something bright but tasteful,” Blaine continued, his head tilting back so he could look up at him. “I saw this cute design with animals, I’ll have to show you the website tomorrow, but I think it would be cute.”
“Figuring out what we want to do should take just long enough for me to finish designing this line and not need that space as much,” Kurt said, pressing a kiss against Blaine’s forehead. The timing of everything hadn’t worked out completely perfect, but he knew that by the time they got into the gauntlet of doctor’s appointments and Lamaze classes, any of that, his schedule would be freed up. “I’ll just have to expand my office at the studio somehow.”
“You’ll find a way, I’m sure,” Blaine replied, scooting up a little and hovering over him, dropping light kisses against his cheeks and lips and letting his breath tickle against his skin.
“Mmm.”
“You know, that whole abstaining from sex for a few days thing was really inconvenient,” Blaine murmured, mouthing his way along Kurt’s jaw, back to his ear.
“Also being shut in a little room in a clinic where everyone knows you’re masturbating,” Kurt added, his hands stroking up Blaine’s back and then down to rest on his ass. “That was also inconvenient.”
“True, but for a very good cause.” He dipped his head down and sucked a kiss against Kurt’s neck.
“The best cause,” Kurt agreed, his voice going breathy at the way Blaine’s teeth grazed against him, and he tilted his head to give him more skin to work with. “One of the few causes that could actually make me resist you.”
“Thank God there aren’t many of those.” Blaine slung his leg over Kurt’s hips, sitting up on his lap and running his hands down his chest.
“I love you,” Kurt said, his hands sliding around and moving up to cup Blaine’s jaw. He could feel the light stubble that was always there by that time of night, rough against his palms but in that perfect way that he didn’t mind in the least. Beards had never exactly been his thing, though Blaine could probably grow a full one in two days if he neglected his razor, but that hint of stubble never failed to make his heart race a bit, though he could never explain why. It was just one of those things about his husband - one of the many.
“I love you too,” Blaine replied, tilting his head back and forth into Kurt’s hands.
“Kiss me?”
“Whenever,” Blaine murmured, turning his head to press a kiss to Kurt’s palm, “and wherever you want.”
***
There was a slight feeling of dread settled in Kurt’s stomach until the phone call came from Santana, and Blaine’s phone was on speaker so he could hear as well when she announced that she and Brittany had done a home pregnancy test, then gone to the doctor to confirm, and they were both completely knocked up. It felt like a wave of relief had crashed into him, but also shock, and he hadn’t been able to move until Blaine jumped on him with a loud whoop and he clutched him close in response.
It hadn’t felt real until that moment. They were actually doing it.
Schedule coordinating and planning was a trip, but well worth it to make sure that all appointments and classes could be attended by them all. It felt strange and a little ostentatious to walk into the doctor’s office as a huge collective group and set up shop in an exam room, but they figured it was something they might as well get used to because they were in it for the long haul. The first time of trying to explain the situation to a nurse - “wait, so who is the father and who are the rest of you?” - had been a slightly awkward, but they were all grateful for how time had changed over the years and the fact that they weren’t getting side-eyed for their gayness.
Within the first month, Kurt had managed to get his hands on as much reading material as he could for what to expect during pregnancies and how they should prepare for everything. He’d only offered to share a few of them with the girls, and the look he’d gotten from Santana had made him not try any other time after that.
Slowly but sure, he transferred what was in his home office to the office at his studio. Blaine was quiet support, not rushing him to get it moved so they could paint and decorate, letting him go at his own pace because he knew that Kurt would do what was necessary in time. As soon as everything was gone, they spent their weekend mornings priming and painting and decorating the room, a subtle yellow like Blaine had suggested. Kurt ended up with paint on his face and in his hair, which was entirely Blaine’s fault. He was just thankful that it wasn’t oil based.
His line launched just before everything got slightly more hectic. Lamaze classes weren’t something he’d thought about, but they didn’t seem that bad. At least, not until they watched a birth video. He’d managed to feign being sick in high school on the day that his health class had watched the Miracle of Life video, so he’d never quite had a visual. After that day at the class, he definitely did. He’d watched in slack-jawed horror before covering his eyes, knowing full well that his face was flushed beyond any hope of hiding it.
Blaine had stared at the screen, his face a mixture of wonderment and confusion. Occasionally he would glance over at Kurt, who refused to look at the screen except for small glimpses from between his fingers, but mostly he couldn’t look away. Kurt was glad one of them was able to do it, because as much as he wanted to make himself watch, he couldn’t. He was sure it would be different when it was actually happening there in front of him for real, though he thought it might he slightly stranger when it was his friend going through it instead of some stranger on a video, but he couldn’t be sure.
Other than the birth video situation, the classes weren’t actually that bad. Their little group tended to get more than their fair share of glances from the instructor, but that was partially due to Brittany’s quiet commentary. If nothing else, the classes were a guaranteed time to spend together, breaking through all their lives and schedules to put them in the same place at the same time on a weekly basis.
A question they hadn’t considered when they’d all sat down together and laid out their plans was whether or not they wanted to know the gender of the baby before it was born. It wasn’t until they were sitting in an exam room, Brittany’s belly covered in some gross looking gel for an ultrasound, that it got brought up - and that was because the technician asked if they wanted to know.
“Absolutely,” Santana said, at the same moment that Brittany said, “No.”
They launched into a full-fledged argument, though mostly it was Santana wheedling and Brittany going on about how she didn’t need anyone to tell her because she already knew. Kurt reached over for Blaine’s hand, tugging on it to draw his attention and raising an eyebrow. It was a silent conversation between them, but it only took a few seconds to realize they were on the same page. If Santana wanted to know the gender of the baby she was carrying, they weren’t about to stop her, but they didn’t want to know themselves.
The first time Kurt felt the baby kick, he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to stop touching Santana’s stomach. He and Blaine had stood there for what felt like hours, hands resting on the bump in her belly and feeling the movement inside. It had taken her threatening to slap them if they didn’t stop touching her for five seconds for him to pull his hand away. Two days passed before Brittany felt kicks, and the whole ordeal happened over again - except she didn’t seem to care who touched her or for how long because she just laid there on the couch humming happily as everyone’s hands pressed lightly against her stomach on and off for hours.
As the weeks went by, Kurt realized just how bizarre their whole situation was. He knew that he and Blaine were doing as much as they could, but they were slightly on the outside of it all. They weren’t the ones whose day to day lives were completely changed. Brittany had taken backseat at the dance studio that she co-owned with Mike, still instructing some of the younger classes but passing the reins over for others that she couldn’t do as she went on through her pregnancy. Santana took a leave of absence from her show, once she reached a certain point, and she got progressively crankier about it.
They were all in it for the same reasons and had all contributed as much as they could, but it couldn’t be denied that the girls had gotten the short end of the stick. There was no changing that, though. Blaine suggested that they try to do as much as they could to make up for the unbalance of it all, and that was why they started having Brittany and Santana over for dinner at least once a week. It wasn’t like they weren’t going to be cooking anyway, and it wasn’t that much effort to make enough for four.
Efforts were made to help the girls get their own apartment ready for the arrival of their baby. Blaine was remarkably good at following directions to put furniture together, and Kurt was more than handy with a paintbrush, and they spent a few nights one week dedicated to making the Lopez-Pierce nursery every bit as set up as their own nursery was. The whole ordeal even inspired Kurt to start working on designs for a maternity line, after seeing some of the horrible clothes that were out there for women who were expecting. He figured he might as well make good use of having willing models and inspiration.
Blaine had been good enough to stop him from rushing forward into doing clothes for babies as well, telling him to focus on one thing at a time and also to be aware that his entire business wasn’t going to go on hold just because he was experiencing baby fever. It was a good reminder that the rest of the world was still moving at a normal pace and had the same expectations, despite what they were doing in their personal lives. Maternity clothes he could do, and everything else would either have to wait or just be a side project for their own uses.
“Think about the little clothes, Blaine,” Kurt said, pouting a little over dinner after his idea had been gently shot down. “The tiny clothes. They would be so adorable. Think of all the little baby bowties I could make…”
“There’s a big market out there for baby bowties?” Blaine asked innocently, and it was another one of his ways of saying ‘no’ without actually saying the word. He was always more than happy to support Kurt in his endeavors, but did his best to steer him in the right direction when Kurt was having one of his moments.
“There could be,” Kurt replied airily, sighing. “I just want all the children to be well-dressed.”
“They’re just going to get their clothes dirty…”
“Excuse me, but I believe you were a well-dressed child, Blaine Anderson-Hummel. I’ve seen the pictures.”
“Yes, yes,” Blaine conceded, reaching across the table to cup Kurt’s face in his hands and leaning in to placate him with a kiss. “So were you. I’m simply pointing out that not all children are as delightful as we were, in terms of clothes. I have no doubt that our child will be voted best dressed in any and all age group…”
“…but I shouldn’t be trying to give them competition by making clothes for all the babies?” Kurt finished, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Design away for ours, and by all means the Lopez-Pierce child, though I feel like Brittany’s design style might clash with yours.”
“No, that child will need as much help from Uncle Kurt as I can possibly give,” Kurt deadpanned, shaking his head. “Brittany may have been voted trendiest teen or whatever in high school, but I think everyone was grateful for the fact that she was regulated to the Cheerios uniform the majority of the time. She wore legwarmers on her arms, Blaine. On her arms.”
“Arm warmers,” Blaine said sagely, but the corners of his mouth were twitching like he was fighting back a grin.
“I’m sorry, but my genes are involved and that is just not going to work.”
“I’m sure if you make lovely clothes for her and Santana, they won’t be averse at all to you playing dress up with their baby.”
“Exactly my thought.”
[Part Two]
Title: One Love to Another (1/2)
Rating: R
Total word count: 11,575
Warnings (if any): none that I can think of
Summary: From the prompt: Blaine and Kurt and Brittany and Santana want to have kids. They decide to do it together - after all, each couple has half of what the other needs. [written for the Klaine Endgame prompt #26]
Author's note: I’m no expert on pregnancy or giving birth, but I researched and tried to portray things as well as I could. I apologize for any inaccuracies. Thank you to the wonderful pureklaination for being my cheerleader and beta throughout.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t had the conversation before. It had happened multiple times -- words said in passing, sometimes with a more serious air, but never with such deliberation as was happening then. Sitting there at the table in their kitchen nook, it was the first time Kurt and Blaine had ever seriously, honestly, put the topic out there for consideration. For actual discussion, for actual implications, but it was easily time for it to happen.
“I want to have a baby,” Blaine said casually over their morning coffee, but Kurt knew it hadn’t been brought up randomly. That was what happened when Mike and Tina asked them to babysit for them, like they had the night before.
“So do I,” he replied, reaching over and taking his hand. That was how the conversation always started, and also was usually close to where it was ended every time before.
“I’m serious.” Kurt glanced over at him, taking in the sincere look in his eyes. “Kurt, I want to have a child with you, for us to have a family. Marrying you, that perfect day, you made all my dreams come true. The new dream I came up with after that, it was to make a family with you. I know it’s a more complicated wish than it would be for most, but I know that we can find a way, make it work. I think... I think we’re ready to try.”
“I think we are, too,” he agreed quietly, nodding once and squeezing his hand. And that was that.
Looking for a surrogate was a process. It wasn’t that there weren’t perfectly nice people available, but no one seemed to fit. Weeks, months, were spent with each night finding Kurt and Blaine sitting at the table in the kitchen and pouring over profiles of women who could potentially carry their baby. It felt so strange, to be reading and judging and considering if each one was someone they would want to have an influence on the genetics of their child. Nevermind the fact that they didn’t know anything about them except what was printed there on the papers. They had almost reached a breaking point of frustration when the answer seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Having lunch with Brittany wasn’t exactly that strange of an occurrence in Kurt’s life. It wasn’t like he and Blaine lived in the same neighborhood as her and Santana, but they weren’t so far off that it was an inconvenience. Besides, there was no way lunch with someone like Brittany could ever be considered an inconvenience. They tended to get together at least once every week or two.
“Kurt, will you have sex with me?” Brittany asked, and Kurt barely managed to keep from choking on his water as she brought her drink up and took a long sip through the straw, watching him through her eyelashes.
“I... no?” he answered, not meaning for it to come out like a question but he was still a little too startled to keep his inflection from going up. “No, Brittany, for so many reasons. Why...?”
“I want to have a baby,” she said with a sigh, setting her glass down and pouting. “Well not just me. I mean, Santana and I want to have a baby. I thought we could do it, but she says we need a boy, and I thought... well, you’re a boy and I like you and we used to go out so maybe you would have sex with me so we could have a baby. We would make really pretty babies.”
“We would,” Kurt said carefully, watching her as he reached across the tabletop and took her hand. “Blaine and I have been talking about having a baby, too.”
“You have?” Brittany asked, the dejected look on her face quickly disappearing and getting replaced by a wide eyed smile. “Kurt that’s great!” Her smile faded and she leaned in, squeezing his hand. “You guys can’t have one on your own, right? Just like me and Santana? We could have sex twice and then we’d both get babies...”
“That’s not quite how it works, Brit, but thanks for the offer.” The idea was planted and the wheels were spinning, though. He took a deep breath and offered her a smile. “Hey, you and Santana should come over for dinner sometime this week. Let me know when your schedule is free and Blaine and I will cook for you guys.”
“Awesome! I’ll talk to San, but I think we’ve got a night or two with no plans,” Brittany said cheerfully. “I’ll send you a text once I check.”
“Great, that’s settled,” Kurt said with a nod. “Now, tell me all about everything that’s happened since I saw you last.”
They didn’t talk about babies anymore during their lunch. He did call Blaine as soon as they were done and he was on his way back to his studio.
“How was your lunch with Brittany?”
“She asked me to have sex with her.”
“She what?” Kurt knew it wasn’t because Blaine found it upsetting, because obviously that wasn’t something that was ever going to happen. Never, never ever. It was the shock of the question, and he understood that well. “I... what?”
“Apparently she and Santana want to have a baby, but Santana clued her into the fact that they were missing an important something between them to make one on their own.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, almost too long of a pause, and then a quiet, full of understanding, “Kurt...”
“I invited them over for dinner sometime this week, whenever they’re available, but I think... I think we should talk about it.” He rushed the words out and chewed on his lip a little. “Obviously we need to talk about it once we’re both home, this isn’t exactly a conversation for the phone, but I wanted to say something -- had to say something -- before I got back to work.”
“Kurt, it’s fine, we’ll just... we’ll talk tonight, okay?”
“Okay.”
***
It felt strange, preparing dinner for when Brittany and Santana came over. It was almost like Kurt and Blaine were trying to make it perfect with more intention than normal, like they were cooking their hope and wishes into the food itself. The atmosphere in the kitchen felt tense, but that all went away as soon as the knock came on their apartment door and the Lopez-Pierces arrived.
Kurt couldn’t help but smile as he watched his husband sweep them both up in his arms, Santana batting at him a little but not really resisting, and Brittany giggling as she flung her arms around him and planted a loud, smacking kiss against his cheek. It really was an adorable sight, especially considering that Blaine still had his apron on. It was one of the ones that Kurt had made from fabric left over at his studio -- not any of the good fabric, of course, because that would be ridiculous to use for something that was destined to get food spilled all over it.
“Hi!” Brittany said to Kurt, her arms wrapping tight around him and her face nuzzling into his neck. Greetings with Brittany were always full body experiences, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to that with Blaine. Santana was far less enthusiastic, giving him a short hug once her wife let him go.
“Whatever you’re making, it smells delicious,” she commented, glancing over at Blaine as he made his way back to the kitchen, and she called after him, “and you look ridiculous in that apron!”
“Ridiculously adorable, maybe,” Kurt replied, a smirk tugging up at the corners of his mouth. “Ridiculously handsome. Ridiculously perfect, but definitely not just plain ridiculous.”
“I’m going to need to go throw up from how ridiculously sweet that was,” Santana said, rolling her eyes.
“Santana doesn’t like too much sugar,” Brittany offered sagely, her arms slipping around Santana’s waist from behind and her chin hooking over her shoulder. “That’s why I always have to eat the cupcakes with the most icing on top.”
“That’s very good of you,” Kurt said with a nod, knowing damn well that wasn’t true at all. The soft spots of Santana were still only really visible when it came to Brittany, but it was always a reminder of who she was underneath. Because there was no way she and Brittany would have been together for nearly that long, or that Blaine would like her nearly as much, if she really was the bitch she fronted as.
“Kurt, can you get the wine?” Blaine asked, popping his head out from the kitchen and glancing over at them.
“Mhmm.” He wandered into the room and grabbed out a corkscrew and foil cutter, starting in on the first bottle of wine for the evening. The table had been set already, and Brittany and Santana wandered around the apartment as if they weren’t there every so often, taking in the pictures on the walls and the decorations scattered around.
“Are you nervous?” Blaine asked as he pulled the pork chops out of the oven. “I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be nervous,” Kurt said, waiting for him to put down anything that was hot and could burn before resting his arms around his shoulders and kissing him lightly. “Remember, we’re not the only ones who want this, they do too. Neither of us can do this alone.”
“What if Brittany was being Brittany?” Blaine whispered, biting his lip. “What if she didn’t mean it?”
That was a concern that Kurt had come up with as well, after his immediate reaction of oh-god-this-could-happen. Brittany did have that tendency to say things and for those things to be bizarre and off the wall and out of nowhere. The thing was, there was almost always an undercurrent of truth. Her mind worked slightly different and the words were sometimes confusing, but there was almost always truth beneath it all. One just had to know how to interpret her language.
“It won’t hurt to ask,” Kurt said carefully, his fingers twining into the hair at the nape of Blaine’s neck. “The worst that could happen is that they say no, and then Santana has a few months’ worth of fodder against us. If you really don’t want to ask, this can just be dinner.”
“No I want to,” Blaine amended quickly, his hands slipping away from Kurt’s waist to reach back and undo the knot in the apron strings. Kurt waited for him to get it undone before slipping the loop from around his neck and tossing the apron over onto the counter. “I want this.”
“Well then let’s wow them with your culinary skills and get down to business.” Kurt gave him another quick kiss before helping plate the food and carry it into the dining room.
Wine was poured and food was devoured, laughter ringing around the table as stories were passed back and forth and old friends caught up. Kurt may have seen Brittany on a fairly regular basis, but not so much with Santana. Blaine usually saw the girls ever so often, but his schedule with his show had been crazy and unrelenting and had severely cut into his social time - the majority of which he gratefully opted to spend with Kurt. It wasn’t until the dishes were cleared and dessert was being discussed, which they all agreed should wait for at least a few minutes if not longer, that Blaine nudged Kurt’s foot under the table and raised an eyebrow.
“So,” Kurt began smoothly, reaching over to grab Blaine’s hand. “Santana, Brittany tells me that you two have been talking about kids.”
“Mhm, she told me that you shot her down,” Santana replied with a smirk. “Bad call, Kurt. My wife’s aces in bed.”
“Do you realize what disturbing things come out of your mouth or is that just like breathing to you?” Kurt asked, tilting his head as he looked at her.
“Anyway…” Blaine interrupted, giving him a meaningful look. “We’ve been talking about that recently, as well. Not necessarily recently, I guess. It’s come up many times in the past but we’ve been talking about it more seriously recently.”
“The whole gay thing really puts a damper on the baby making, doesn’t it?” Santana sighed, taking a sip of what was left of her wine. Kurt had refused to open another bottle until they all talked because he didn’t want alcohol being involved with any decision making.
“We’ve been looking into surrogates,” Kurt started, squeezing Blaine’s hand under the table. “We’ve been looking for months. It’s crazy to try and look at pieces of paper and try and figure out if the person on there is someone you want to carry your child.”
“Santana said we could go to a sperm bank or something. I just thought banks were places you kept your money but apparently they keep babies in them too,” Brittany said, pulling her legs up to fold under her and sit up higher in her chair. “Have you tried looking there for a baby? I think someone should save them - a bank can’t be that comfy of a place to live.”
Other people may have laughed, but everyone at the table knew better. Santana had a look of adoration on her face as she looked over at her wife, and the corners of Blaine’s mouth were twitching, but no one laughed.
“No we haven’t looked there,” Blaine replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. “They keep the opposite of what we need there.”
“We didn’t go there because I don’t want some random guys business all up in me,” Santana said, shuddering. “It just kind of creeps me out to think about. I know that’s weird because if I want a kid, then it’s got to happen, but I can’t help it.”
“It doesn’t have to be some random guy,” Kurt offered, and really, she couldn’t have given him a better opening. “I was thinking, well, Brittany kind of got me thinking - we all want kids, but on our own we can’t, so why not… help each other out?”
Brittany blinked, looking back and forth between Blaine and Kurt. “You said you wouldn’t have sex with me,” she said slowly, her brow furrowing for a moment before her eyes went wide. “Blaine!”
“No no,” Blaine interjected quickly, shaking his head. “I’m not, I mean I’d be flattered or whatever, but no, I’m not going to have sex with you.”
“Let me field this one,” Santana said, resting her hand on Brittany’s arm as she leaned forward to look across the table at them. “You want a baby, we want a baby, and together we have all the parts necessary. That’s the concept you’re working with, right?” Kurt nodded, honestly not sure how she was going to take it since essentially they were propositioning them for use of their uteruses. Her lips pushed out in a thoughtful pout before she shrugged and tilted her head toward her wife. “What do you think, Brit?”
“They’d be really pretty babies,” Brittany replied, her gaze unwavering from Kurt and Blaine. “But I don’t get it, cause… how?”
“There are ways other than sex. Like… a turkey baster or something.”
“Oh God.” Blaine buried his face in his hands.
“Not actually a turkey baster,” Santana corrected, because Brittany’s eyes were wide and she looked slightly horrified by the prospect. “It’s a super fancy doctor thing. The point is, there are ways.”
“Obviously we didn’t expect some sort of decision made tonight,” Kurt said, wanting to move on from the topic of logistics because those were visuals he really didn’t need. “We just kind of wanted to put the idea out there in case you were interested because honestly, I know I’d be much more comfortable with someone I actually know rather than a stranger.”
“Both of us would be,” Blaine added, his hands dropping from his face so he could look over at them.
“We’ll talk about it once we get home,” Santana agreed with a nod.
“But why? I thought we wanted a baby,” Brittany pouted. “I say yes!”
“Brit, this isn’t a snap decision type of thing,” Santana said patiently, reaching over to tuck a loose strand of her wife’s hair behind her ear. “I want a baby too but we need to talk about it for serious, okay? Just you and me.”
“Okay,” Brittany agreed, a soft smile gracing her features as she turned back to Kurt. “Didn’t you say you had ice cream?”
Easy as that, the topic was dropped for the rest of the night. Ice cream was dished out, more wine poured, and by the time Brittany and Santana went out to find their way to the nearest subway stop, all of them were feeling warm and tingly and optimistic about what the future might possibly bring. Kurt barely got all the dishes rinsed and into the dishwasher before Blaine’s arms were wrapped around him from behind and he could feel the warm press of his body against him.
“This could happen, Kurt,” he murmured, pushing up onto his toes to nuzzle against his neck, pressing light kisses up to his ear before sighing and pulling back. Kurt turned and slipped his arms around his neck, cradling his head as he slanted their mouths together and kissed him long and slow.
They’d spent so many years taking life at the speed of light, working themselves to the bone and every touch and kiss had been desperate and needing more than necessary due to lack of time to spend together. Success had its perks and despite the fact that they both still spent a lot of time with their work, they had much more of it to devote to each other. Kisses were less frantic, much more leisurely, and the rest of their lives followed in suit. It felt wonderful to be able to take their time in everything regarding each other, and they both agreed that it was well worth the effort of the years prior.
That was why they spent that night taking as much time as they wanted covering one another with kisses, all hopes and dreams about the future poured into gestures of love and adoration. Kurt fell asleep with Blaine curled around him, limbs tangled and clinging, imagining what a year from then might be like.
***
As much as Kurt had anticipated an agreement from the Lopez-Pierces, it still felt like a relief and a huge weight lifted off his shoulders when the phone call actually came. True, it might have been more emotional if it hadn’t been Santana telling him that they should “get ready to go wherever and start jacking off into cups” followed by “wanky - literally” but all the same, it meant that they were going to actually have a shot at having a baby.
There was a night of serious discussion, of all of them sitting down and working out the logistics. The idea of it was easy, the execution wasn’t necessarily so. It was important to figure out every little aspect before starting in on the process, just to make sure there were no unanswered questions. And there were so, so many questions to take into consideration.
They wanted the kids to grow up together, as they would essentially be siblings, which meant them both being born around the same time if they could swing it. There was always the possibility of there being a complication, or the insemination not working, but they were going to try their hardest for the timing to line up. Brittany and Santana were going to start on fertility drugs and they would go from there.
Kurt couldn’t help but find it weird, sitting at a table with his husband and two of his oldest friends, calmly discussing who was going to have a baby with who. It was such an odd conversation. He could have guessed at how it would end up, because really it wasn’t like their preferences weren’t obvious. They were all friends, he would venture to say best friends - which seemed silly because they were adults, not in high school, and what did that distinction mean? - but the relationship between each pair was very different.
Still, it was no surprise that Santana gravitated toward Blaine for her sperm donor and Brittany was with him.
Brittany wanted to keep her baby, and that was definitely one of the biggest questions they wanted cleared up before anything began. Who knew what it was going to be like once the girls were actually pregnant, but Kurt wanted everything clear cut before that happened - they all did.
Honestly, Kurt wasn’t sure if there had ever been a point where he could have pictured Santana being pregnant, having a baby, simply because she didn’t seem like the maternal type. He knew better than to dismiss her as an offensive hard ass like so many would, because she really wasn’t. Maybe she used to be, maybe she still was sometimes, but she was mostly just a kitten in stilettos - especially when it came to her family and her friends, which Kurt knew he and Blaine were lucky enough to be counted as both.
Finding a time in their schedule when they could all go, that was the trickiest part. They all had to be available at the same time because there was a time frame. Thankfully they had enough time to plan, and Kurt learned way more about the female reproductive system than he’d ever considered he would. He’d never expected to know anything about it, but he knew he was in it for the long haul so he might as well learn as much as he could. He didn’t want to go into any of it blind, and he fully intended to be present for everything. Blaine, too.
So much research went into doctors, clinics, to the point where they weren’t even sure if they would ever reach the end of the preemptive work and get to the actual attempts. It took months, but they finally reached that point and had an awkward afternoon at the clinic together.
Afterward, they had dinner before splitting ways and heading to their respective homes. Strange how it was such a monumental event didn’t seem quite like it, but then again they had to wait to see what happened. There was always the possibility of it not taking, of some sort of complication arising, but they were trying not to think about that unless it actually happened.
“Nine months, Kurt,” Blaine murmured as they lay in bed that night, his head pillowed against Kurt’s chest.
“Nine months,” Kurt repeated, his fingers moving up through his husband’s hair methodically. Nine months, assuming nothing went wrong. He tried his hardest not to go to a pessimistic headspace. “We’ll have to get to work turning my office into a nursery.”
“Mhm. I was thinking yellow, something bright but tasteful,” Blaine continued, his head tilting back so he could look up at him. “I saw this cute design with animals, I’ll have to show you the website tomorrow, but I think it would be cute.”
“Figuring out what we want to do should take just long enough for me to finish designing this line and not need that space as much,” Kurt said, pressing a kiss against Blaine’s forehead. The timing of everything hadn’t worked out completely perfect, but he knew that by the time they got into the gauntlet of doctor’s appointments and Lamaze classes, any of that, his schedule would be freed up. “I’ll just have to expand my office at the studio somehow.”
“You’ll find a way, I’m sure,” Blaine replied, scooting up a little and hovering over him, dropping light kisses against his cheeks and lips and letting his breath tickle against his skin.
“Mmm.”
“You know, that whole abstaining from sex for a few days thing was really inconvenient,” Blaine murmured, mouthing his way along Kurt’s jaw, back to his ear.
“Also being shut in a little room in a clinic where everyone knows you’re masturbating,” Kurt added, his hands stroking up Blaine’s back and then down to rest on his ass. “That was also inconvenient.”
“True, but for a very good cause.” He dipped his head down and sucked a kiss against Kurt’s neck.
“The best cause,” Kurt agreed, his voice going breathy at the way Blaine’s teeth grazed against him, and he tilted his head to give him more skin to work with. “One of the few causes that could actually make me resist you.”
“Thank God there aren’t many of those.” Blaine slung his leg over Kurt’s hips, sitting up on his lap and running his hands down his chest.
“I love you,” Kurt said, his hands sliding around and moving up to cup Blaine’s jaw. He could feel the light stubble that was always there by that time of night, rough against his palms but in that perfect way that he didn’t mind in the least. Beards had never exactly been his thing, though Blaine could probably grow a full one in two days if he neglected his razor, but that hint of stubble never failed to make his heart race a bit, though he could never explain why. It was just one of those things about his husband - one of the many.
“I love you too,” Blaine replied, tilting his head back and forth into Kurt’s hands.
“Kiss me?”
“Whenever,” Blaine murmured, turning his head to press a kiss to Kurt’s palm, “and wherever you want.”
***
There was a slight feeling of dread settled in Kurt’s stomach until the phone call came from Santana, and Blaine’s phone was on speaker so he could hear as well when she announced that she and Brittany had done a home pregnancy test, then gone to the doctor to confirm, and they were both completely knocked up. It felt like a wave of relief had crashed into him, but also shock, and he hadn’t been able to move until Blaine jumped on him with a loud whoop and he clutched him close in response.
It hadn’t felt real until that moment. They were actually doing it.
Schedule coordinating and planning was a trip, but well worth it to make sure that all appointments and classes could be attended by them all. It felt strange and a little ostentatious to walk into the doctor’s office as a huge collective group and set up shop in an exam room, but they figured it was something they might as well get used to because they were in it for the long haul. The first time of trying to explain the situation to a nurse - “wait, so who is the father and who are the rest of you?” - had been a slightly awkward, but they were all grateful for how time had changed over the years and the fact that they weren’t getting side-eyed for their gayness.
Within the first month, Kurt had managed to get his hands on as much reading material as he could for what to expect during pregnancies and how they should prepare for everything. He’d only offered to share a few of them with the girls, and the look he’d gotten from Santana had made him not try any other time after that.
Slowly but sure, he transferred what was in his home office to the office at his studio. Blaine was quiet support, not rushing him to get it moved so they could paint and decorate, letting him go at his own pace because he knew that Kurt would do what was necessary in time. As soon as everything was gone, they spent their weekend mornings priming and painting and decorating the room, a subtle yellow like Blaine had suggested. Kurt ended up with paint on his face and in his hair, which was entirely Blaine’s fault. He was just thankful that it wasn’t oil based.
His line launched just before everything got slightly more hectic. Lamaze classes weren’t something he’d thought about, but they didn’t seem that bad. At least, not until they watched a birth video. He’d managed to feign being sick in high school on the day that his health class had watched the Miracle of Life video, so he’d never quite had a visual. After that day at the class, he definitely did. He’d watched in slack-jawed horror before covering his eyes, knowing full well that his face was flushed beyond any hope of hiding it.
Blaine had stared at the screen, his face a mixture of wonderment and confusion. Occasionally he would glance over at Kurt, who refused to look at the screen except for small glimpses from between his fingers, but mostly he couldn’t look away. Kurt was glad one of them was able to do it, because as much as he wanted to make himself watch, he couldn’t. He was sure it would be different when it was actually happening there in front of him for real, though he thought it might he slightly stranger when it was his friend going through it instead of some stranger on a video, but he couldn’t be sure.
Other than the birth video situation, the classes weren’t actually that bad. Their little group tended to get more than their fair share of glances from the instructor, but that was partially due to Brittany’s quiet commentary. If nothing else, the classes were a guaranteed time to spend together, breaking through all their lives and schedules to put them in the same place at the same time on a weekly basis.
A question they hadn’t considered when they’d all sat down together and laid out their plans was whether or not they wanted to know the gender of the baby before it was born. It wasn’t until they were sitting in an exam room, Brittany’s belly covered in some gross looking gel for an ultrasound, that it got brought up - and that was because the technician asked if they wanted to know.
“Absolutely,” Santana said, at the same moment that Brittany said, “No.”
They launched into a full-fledged argument, though mostly it was Santana wheedling and Brittany going on about how she didn’t need anyone to tell her because she already knew. Kurt reached over for Blaine’s hand, tugging on it to draw his attention and raising an eyebrow. It was a silent conversation between them, but it only took a few seconds to realize they were on the same page. If Santana wanted to know the gender of the baby she was carrying, they weren’t about to stop her, but they didn’t want to know themselves.
The first time Kurt felt the baby kick, he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to stop touching Santana’s stomach. He and Blaine had stood there for what felt like hours, hands resting on the bump in her belly and feeling the movement inside. It had taken her threatening to slap them if they didn’t stop touching her for five seconds for him to pull his hand away. Two days passed before Brittany felt kicks, and the whole ordeal happened over again - except she didn’t seem to care who touched her or for how long because she just laid there on the couch humming happily as everyone’s hands pressed lightly against her stomach on and off for hours.
As the weeks went by, Kurt realized just how bizarre their whole situation was. He knew that he and Blaine were doing as much as they could, but they were slightly on the outside of it all. They weren’t the ones whose day to day lives were completely changed. Brittany had taken backseat at the dance studio that she co-owned with Mike, still instructing some of the younger classes but passing the reins over for others that she couldn’t do as she went on through her pregnancy. Santana took a leave of absence from her show, once she reached a certain point, and she got progressively crankier about it.
They were all in it for the same reasons and had all contributed as much as they could, but it couldn’t be denied that the girls had gotten the short end of the stick. There was no changing that, though. Blaine suggested that they try to do as much as they could to make up for the unbalance of it all, and that was why they started having Brittany and Santana over for dinner at least once a week. It wasn’t like they weren’t going to be cooking anyway, and it wasn’t that much effort to make enough for four.
Efforts were made to help the girls get their own apartment ready for the arrival of their baby. Blaine was remarkably good at following directions to put furniture together, and Kurt was more than handy with a paintbrush, and they spent a few nights one week dedicated to making the Lopez-Pierce nursery every bit as set up as their own nursery was. The whole ordeal even inspired Kurt to start working on designs for a maternity line, after seeing some of the horrible clothes that were out there for women who were expecting. He figured he might as well make good use of having willing models and inspiration.
Blaine had been good enough to stop him from rushing forward into doing clothes for babies as well, telling him to focus on one thing at a time and also to be aware that his entire business wasn’t going to go on hold just because he was experiencing baby fever. It was a good reminder that the rest of the world was still moving at a normal pace and had the same expectations, despite what they were doing in their personal lives. Maternity clothes he could do, and everything else would either have to wait or just be a side project for their own uses.
“Think about the little clothes, Blaine,” Kurt said, pouting a little over dinner after his idea had been gently shot down. “The tiny clothes. They would be so adorable. Think of all the little baby bowties I could make…”
“There’s a big market out there for baby bowties?” Blaine asked innocently, and it was another one of his ways of saying ‘no’ without actually saying the word. He was always more than happy to support Kurt in his endeavors, but did his best to steer him in the right direction when Kurt was having one of his moments.
“There could be,” Kurt replied airily, sighing. “I just want all the children to be well-dressed.”
“They’re just going to get their clothes dirty…”
“Excuse me, but I believe you were a well-dressed child, Blaine Anderson-Hummel. I’ve seen the pictures.”
“Yes, yes,” Blaine conceded, reaching across the table to cup Kurt’s face in his hands and leaning in to placate him with a kiss. “So were you. I’m simply pointing out that not all children are as delightful as we were, in terms of clothes. I have no doubt that our child will be voted best dressed in any and all age group…”
“…but I shouldn’t be trying to give them competition by making clothes for all the babies?” Kurt finished, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Design away for ours, and by all means the Lopez-Pierce child, though I feel like Brittany’s design style might clash with yours.”
“No, that child will need as much help from Uncle Kurt as I can possibly give,” Kurt deadpanned, shaking his head. “Brittany may have been voted trendiest teen or whatever in high school, but I think everyone was grateful for the fact that she was regulated to the Cheerios uniform the majority of the time. She wore legwarmers on her arms, Blaine. On her arms.”
“Arm warmers,” Blaine said sagely, but the corners of his mouth were twitching like he was fighting back a grin.
“I’m sorry, but my genes are involved and that is just not going to work.”
“I’m sure if you make lovely clothes for her and Santana, they won’t be averse at all to you playing dress up with their baby.”
“Exactly my thought.”
[Part Two]