This was my entry for the Glee Besties Mini Bang over on livejournal.

Blaine Anderson always knew he wanted a family. He wanted a wife and kids, just like his father and mother. That vision changed, of course, when he realized he was gay. The dream was still there, only instead of a wife, he'd have a loving husband and they would adopt children who were in need of a loving home. It was the perfect dream. Except now, at twenty-six, he wasn't so sure his dream was going to come true.

The sidewalk was crowded, as usual, as Blaine made his way from the boring office building he worked in to his apartment. When he reached the familiar building, he climbed the stairs to the front door and hurried inside to climb flight after flight of stairs to his apartment. He unlocked his front door and stepped into the brightly lit room. After dropping his satchel on the ground, Blaine shrugged off his coat and hung it on the hook behind the door. A quick sweep of the place told him his roommates, Mike and Tina, weren't in.

He had met Mike his first day at college. They were roommates all four years, and then moved in together after graduation. Mike met his girlfriend, Tina, in high school. Together, they made the trek from Ohio to New York. When Blaine found out that they were from Ohio, he had been ecstatic. It was nice to know someone from home in a big, new, scary city. The three of them were inseparable throughout college, and Blaine had them to thank for a lot of great things that had happened in his life - like finding their current apartment, reconnecting with his brother, Cooper, and even meeting Puck.

Noah Puckerman was the kind of man Blaine would normally try to avoid. Cocky, sometimes arrogant, and a total ladies man - things that Blaine wasn't. He had met Puck when he, Mike and Tina had gone down to the bar next to their building for a drink after a long day of work. Puck was there, trying to hit on every lady in the place, and had decided that Blaine was his new best friend and wingman. "It's perfect," he said. "You can talk me up to the ladies, and I don't have to worry about you going home with 'em!" Now, two years later, Blaine considered Puck to be one of his best friends - along with Mike and Tina, of course.

"I'm done," Blaine said, exasperated, as he plopped himself down in their usual booth.

"Done with what?" Tine asked from across the table.

They were in their usual hangout, Flanagan's - the bar next to Mike, Tina and Blaine's apartment. "Dating." Blaine unwound the scarf around his neck. "Men these days, I swear."

"Here ya go, Blaine." Rory, the bar's owner, set a beer down in front of him. "You looked like you could use it."

"Thanks, Rory." Blaine flashed him a grateful smile.

"So, back to your date," Tina said. "How bad was it?"

"So, do you like musicals?" Blaine asked before taking a sip of his wine.

"Not really," Tom said. "Too much singing." He cut into his steak and shoved a large piece of it into his mouth. "I do like horror movies though, all that blood. Totally awesome!"

Blaine grimaced at the partially chewed food he could see in his date's mouth. This was absolutely horrible, and unfortunately not the worst date he'd ever been on, he realized. With a sigh, Blaine downed the rest of his wine and flagged the waiter down for another.

"So, that's it?" Puck looked confused. "He didn't like musicals and he talked with his mouth full, so what?"

Blaine glared. "It wasn't just that. He called children 'little terrors', he farted at the table and didn't even feel the need to apologize to the other patrons of the restaurant, and he asked for money for his cab ride back home."

Tina looked sympathetic. "Well, don't give up, honey. Your perfect man is out there somewhere."

"Yeah." Blaine slumped back into the booth back rest. "I just wish I knew where."

The door to the apartment flew open and an excited-looking Mike came rushing in. Blaine set aside his lesson plans for his first graders so they wouldn't get ruined.

"Dude, found out the best news today!" Mike flung his satchel and jacket to the side, making Blaine cringe. Why couldn't anyone ever hang up their stuff? "So, you remember that guy I introduced you to at that Christmas party?"

"Which one? There were several guys you introduced me to."

"The hot one, who also teaches dance."

Mike was a dance instructor at a private dance academy and was constantly trying to to hook Blaine up with the other instructors or single gay dads. He appreciated the gesture, but it was becoming a tad bit annoying. "Mike, I appreciate it, but no thanks."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" Mike pouted.

"I do, too! You'd tell me he was single and try and hook me up." Blaine got up from the couch and walked to the small kitchen. "You do it all the time!" He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Okay, okay," Mike sighed. "But I promise this time he's for real. He just got out of a really bad relationship and could use your sweet, charming, dapper personality to help mend the wounds."

Blaine walked past Mike, picked up his lesson plans, and headed for his room. "I think about it." He could see Mike do a small victory dance as he shut his bedroom door.

"I hate you" was the first thing Blaine said as he came storming into the apartment. There was no real venom behind it, but he was still feeling it. "No more setting me up on dates, Michael Chang!" He growled and stormed off to his room. Blaine threw his coat and scarf down on his bed, paced for a few minutes, and then stormed back out into the living room. "It was terrible!"

"What happened?" Mike asked. "He seemed like a really nice guy."

"Oh, no, he is really nice. One of the nicest guys I've met in a long time!" Blaine was so frustrated with this whole dating thing. He just wanted to curl up in a ball under the covers and never leave.

"Then what's the problem?" Tina asked, confused.

Sighing, Blaine sat down in the chair next to the couch and prepared himself to retell his night. "It started out great - we met up at this Italian place he liked and we talked about our likes and dislikes - I thought it was going great."

"But..." Tina prompted.

"About halfway through dinner, his ex walked in with a date. It sent him into hysterics. He cried and cried and cried. So I offered to leave and he said yes. We left the restaurant and I did my best to comfort him, but he was crying too hard for me to even understand what he was saying."

He could see Tina and Mike wince out of the corner of his eye. "That's rough, man." Mike said.

"That's not even the worst part. After that, he started talking about all the things he missed about his ex and how he missed him so much..." Blaine sighed. "I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life."

"You are not," Tina said softly. "You're twenty-six, you're young. You'll find someone when the time is right, and then you'll live happily ever after."

Blaine offered up a small smile. "Thanks, Tina."

"You're welcome, hon."

"I'm gonna go to bed. G'night, guys." He heads to his room and shuts the door quietly behind himself before collapsing face first on his bed. There had only been one thing he absolutely wanted out of life, and that was someone to love. Sure, he loves his family and his friends, but it's not the same kind of love he wants to give, or receive. Blaine could feel the tears stinging behind his eyes. What was wrong with him? Why was he crying over this? Pull yourself together! he yelled at himself.

After another round of pep talks, Blaine finally passed out, exhausted from his crazy night and the crying, still fully clothed and on top of the covers.

A week after his disaster date with the nicest guy ever, Puck decided that Blaine needed his spirits lifted. Blaine wasn't sure why; he was mostly over his self pity party he had been throwing himself all week, but then again, he would never understand half of what Puck did.

They were sitting in their usual booth at Flanagan's when Puck came rushing in. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Mike asked.

"How I'm going to cheer up Anderson!"

Blaine sighed. "I don't need cheering up. I'm fine!" he insisted for the hundredth time. All of this was just starting to become annoying.

"No, you're not." Puck slid into the seat beside him. "So, ready to hear my idea?"

Puck knew he was a genius. It was just too bad that no one else could see it. His ideas were the best, especially this one. After dressing himself in some of his nicer duds, he headed for Blaine's apartment. His friend was going to love this idea!

He knocked on the door, yelling out a "Blaine! Let's go!"

The door swung open to reveal a hesitant looking Blaine. "Are you sure I'm going to have fun?" he asked. "Because you know I don't like a lot of the things you like."

"Oh, I totally know," Puck said, confidently. "But you will love this, I'm sure!" And he was sure, so sure! Because he had never met a guy who didn't like strip clubs.

Blaine stared at the front of the building in slight horror. How did he get himself into this situation again? Oh, yeah, Puck. He sighed and looked over at the man in question, who had his signature smirk in place.

"This is awesome, yeah?"

"No."

"Oh, c'mon, man!" Puck whined. "This is totally awesome!"

"Puck, there are neon signs of women with large breasts." Blaine stared at Puck like he had grown a second head. "On what level do you think I would think this is awesome?"

"It's a strip club, everyone loves strip clubs!"

"I'm gay!" Blaine yelled.

"Okay, so maybe I didn't think this through," Puck admitted, looking dejected as he stared at his shoes.

"Clearly." Blaine adjusted his scarf as the wind picked up. "C'mon, let's get another cab and head home. Mike and Tina should be at the apartment; we can hang out there."

Together, they walked back toward the main road to flag down a cab. After a few failed attempts, one finally pulled over. They climbed into the warm car and gave the driver Blaine's address. The first few minutes of the ride were quiet, except for the radio playing softly in the front seat. Blaine thought it was a nice gesture, Puck wanting to include him and cheer him up, but of all the ways to do that he chose a strip club. Why? Blaine asked himself.

"It was a nice thought," Blaine finally said. "Wanting to cheer me up."

"Yeah, you looked like you needed it."

"Don't tell Mike and Tina, but I kind of did," Blaine admitted.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. When they pulled up to Blaine's building, he paid the driver and slid out of the cab after Puck. They climbed the stairs in silence; nothing really needed to be said, and for that Blaine was grateful. He's glad that his friendship with Puck is so simple, easy.

The door to the apartment swung open as Blaine turned the handle, Mike and Tina were cuddled up on the couch watching a movie. Blaine instantly felt bad for interrupting their date night. "Oh, sorry, guys," he apologized. "We can go down to the bar."

"Nonsense! I want to hear about your night!" Tina perked up. "Come tell me all about it!"

Blaine sighed, but hung up his coat and made his way to the couch. "It wasn't that great." Blaine plopped down on the couch next to Tina. "He took me to a strip club. Full of women. I'm gay."

Mike snorted, which set Tina off into a fit of giggles. Soon they were both laughing so hard they were crying. Blaine scowled, which then made Puck laugh.

"I have the worst friends," Blaine groaned. "Why do I put up with you three?"

"Because you love us!" Tina said through her giggles.

Smiling to himself, Blaine silently agreed. He loved these three dorks, and they were the best friends any guy could ask for. He didn't need to go out to clubs and parties to cheer up, he was happy right here, with his best friends.

By spring, Blaine had completely given up hope of ever finding a man to settle down with. Every date he had been on had ended in disaster, and after each one, Puck had tried to cheer him up. Each time had ended in disaster, of course - none had been as bad as the strip club fiasco, but they still weren't the best ideas. That's how Blaine found himself in Bushwick at a house party. It was someone Puck knew, but so far Blaine hadn't seen him talk to one person who he seemed to have known beforehand.

Deciding that it was better to just stay out of the way, Blaine found himself a corner to stand in. He sipped his lukewarm beer and watched as Puck danced with the scantily clad ladies. Blaine had no idea how Puck had managed to rope him into coming to this damn thing, but he had. And, not for the first time, Blaine was wondering why he let himself be roped into these things.

By the time Blaine finished his beer, Puck had made his way over. "Having fun?" he shouted over the loud music.

"Not really," Blaine told him. "I think I'm gonna head home."

Before Puck could react, Blaine slid past him and made his way through the maze of bodies to the door. The crisp night air felt good against his heated skin, and Blaine was glad he hadn't worn a heavier coat - it would have been unbearably hot. He walked towards one of the busier streets to flag down a cab. As he walked, Blaine let his mind wander to some of the things he only let himself think about in the dead of night, like what he'd be doing in five years, or ten. If he'd have a husband, or kids.

Blaine liked to think that they'd move to the outskirts of the city, buy a cute little house, and get a dog. They'd adopt an adorable little girl, and then when they were ready for another one, a boy. They'd sleep in on the weekends and then get up and make waffles as a family. That was all Blaine had ever wanted, but with the way things were going, the chances of that seemed dim. With a sigh, he let those thoughts drift away as he turned the corner and stuck out his arm to flag down the nearest cab.

Tina sat on the closed toilet, her knee bouncing nervously. Next to her, on the edge of the tub, sat Mike, not looking much better.

"How much longer?" he asked.

She glanced up at the clock on the wall. "About a minute."

Mike groaned. "This is the longest wait on my life!"

Reaching out, Tina took his hand in hers. "I know," she said softly. "But we'll know soon, and then we can figure things out."

"I know, I'm not worried about figuring things out. We're smart, we can do it." Mike looked up at his girlfriend. "I'm mostly worried about it not being positive."

Tina grinned. "I'm almost sure it will be." She glanced up at the clock again. "It's time."

Together they stood up and moved to stand in front of the sink. She picked up the small plastic stick and smiled.

A few days after the party, Blaine woke up to Mike dancing around the kitchen as he made breakfast, while Tina sang. He groggily made his way to the kitchen to glare at them for waking him up so early on his day off. They ignored him, of course, in favor of continuing their little show. When they were finally done, Mike spun around and grinned at Blaine.

"Blaine!"

"Mike."

"Guess what?"

Blaine blinked. "What?"

They were both quiet for a few seconds; they glanced at each other and grinned before Tina burst out with "I'm pregnant!"

Blaine was stunned. He had no idea they were even trying to get pregnant. He finally pulled himself together long enough to smile and hug each of them. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Thank you!" Tina beamed.

"I didn't know you guys were trying for a baby." Blaine walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"We weren't," Tina admitted. "It just sorta happened."

"Oh." Taking a sip of his coffee, Blaine gave himself a minute to absorb that bit of information. "Are you guys ready for a baby? I mean, I know you're ready, and you'll have a while to get the nursery ready and stuff, but, you know the other parts..." He trailed off, not really sure where he was going with that thought in the first place.

Mike chuckled. "Yeah, we're gonna start looking for our own place, so that junior can have their own room."

"Yeah, that would make sense." Blaine nodded, ignoring the feeling of abandonment that was filling up the pit of his stomach. "Let me know if you need help with anything. In the meantime, I'm going back to bed."

Laughing, Tina and Mike bid him a good night. Blaine scowled as he shuffled back to his room.

The rest of the week, Blaine helped Mike and Tina shuffle through apartment listings. They each had their computers open, as well as the new apartment ads they picked up at the newsstand. So far, they hadn't been having much luck. Every apartment seemed to be missing something that they wanted, and it was starting to stress Mike and Tina out. Blaine knew that stress wouldn't be good for Tina or the baby, so he tried all he could to help relieve some of that stress.

"Why don't you guys go out to lunch or something? I can keep looking through all of these."

"Are you sure?" Tina asked.

"Positive. You guys need a break." Blaine smiled at his friends.

After finally relenting, Mike and Tina went out to lunch. Blaine got up and made himself a sandwich before getting back to his searching.

Mike took Tina's hand in his as they walked down the sidewalk. It was a lovely day; the sun was shining, warming them up just enough for it to be comfortable. "Where do you want to go for lunch?" he asked.

Tina hummed in thought. "How about Applebee's? I've been craving their chick strips for weeks!"

Laughing, Mike agreed and steered them in the right direction. After they got there, they were seated fairly quickly and ordered their food. Eating lunch together was something they didn't get to do too often, at least not without other people joining them, and it was nice to spend time together, just the two of them.

"Have you thought about what we're having?"

Tina laughed. "It's not like I know!"

"I know that!" Mike laughed, too. "But I've read that sometimes a mother can just tell."

"Nope, can't tell," Tina said fondly.

Mike pouted. "Fine."

"We'll know in a few months!" She laughed.

Mike couldn't help but laugh, too. "I know, I know."

Puck didn't bother knocking on Anderson's front door. He knew the dude was home, he just hoped he was dressed, or better yet - not bangin' some other dude. Puck didn't care that his best friend was gay, he just really didn't want to walk in on him getting his freak on just as much as he didn't want to walk in on Mike and Tina. There was just some things you should never see your friends doing.

He walked into Blaine's apartment, calling out, "Hey, dude!"

Blaine walked out of the kitchen with a sandwich on a plate, accompanied by some chips. "Puck? What are you doing here?"

"Came to hang out."

"Don't you have work today?" Blaine set down his plate on the small dining table.

Puck shrugged. "I'm pretty much in charge there, so I can do whatever I want."

Raising an eyebrow, Blaine asked, "And what is it you do, exactly? We've been friends for over two years, and I still don't know what it is you do for a living."

"Don't worry about it," Puck said. "The less you know, the better." He had to keep himself from laughing at the comical way Blaine's eyes widened.

"Right," Blaine mumbled as he focused on his sandwich. Puck watched him eat while he talked about the hottie he banged the night before.

"She was perfect, man." He sighed. "Perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfect body. She was the perfect woman."

"Are you going to see her again?" Blaine asked, popping a chip into his mouth.

Puck snapped his gaze to Blaine. "Dude, that requires commitment. The Puckasaurus don't do commitment." He wanted to yell at Anderson for not getting that, but then he remembered the kind of dude Anderson was. He was all into that romantic commitment crap, which made Puck want to gag most the time, and he probably didn't even know what a one night stand was!

"I'm gonna help you."

"With what?"

"Getting laid."

Blaine started to choke on the food in his mouth. "E-excuse me?" He coughed.

"Dude, you go on dates all the time, but do you ever just hit and quit it?"

Puck watched in amusement as Blaine blushed clear to his hairline. "That is really none of your business!" He pushed his chair back and stomped into the kitchen to put his empty plate in the sink.

"That means no." Puck got up and followed him. "Come on, man. You need to loosen up! Let go, let yourself enjoy something."

"I do enjoy things! I enjoy my job, I enjoy hanging out with you, Mike and Tina."

"Doesn't count, dude." Puck shook his head. "You need to go out with the sole purpose of looking for a hook up. Go back to his place, get your freak on, and then leave in the morning. Or better yet, before morning."

Blaine stared at Puck like he had grown a five extra heads. Puck mentally sighed; he knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

"You are insane," Blaine said, still staring at him as if he were trying to figure out where things went wrong with Puck.

With another sigh, Puck tried a different angle. "What if you end up finding your one true love, or whatever?" He waited while Blaine continued to stare at him.

"Fine," Blaine finally said, and Puck did a small victory dance. "But if there are more creepy men then good ones, I'm done."

"Fair enough," Puck agreed, smirking. This was gonna be great!

After convincing Blaine to go out looking for a one night stand, Puck had left to head back to work, leaving Blaine alone with his thoughts. Again, he was wondering how he managed to get himself into these situations. Blaine really had no desire to go out and have a one night stand; it just wasn't something he was comfortable with. He wanted a connection, and not just a lust filled one. With a sigh, Blaine put away all the apartment listings, he wasn't going to get much more done now anyway.

Half an hour later, Mike and Tina came home, all big smiles and happy energy. Blaine smiled at them from his position on the couch. "What's got you two in a good mood?"

"We found an apartment!" Tina gushed.

"Really?" Blaine set aside the book he had been reading.

"Yeah, we found it on our way home from lunch. It's a great building, and the owner was super nice." Mike said as he pulled off his sweater.

"We're moving in in two weeks!" Tina told him. "We'll have to start packing this weekend." She wandered off, probably to make a list of things to do, Blaine guessed.

"Wow, um, congratulations." Blaine grinned.

"You're okay with this right?" Mike moved to sit down next to Blaine. "We don't want to leave you here by yourself."

"No, it's totally cool. I can always come visit, and we'll still see each other all the time."

Mike smiled. "Yeah, we will."

Two weeks later, Blaine and Puck helped the happy couple move into their new apartment. It was spacious, with two rooms, perfect for their growing family. The neighborhood was great, and there was a small playground around the corner that their son or daughter could play at when they were older. Blaine had to stomp down the feelings of jealousy. He was going out with Puck that night, and maybe he was right, maybe he would find the one in a random hook up.

All the boxes were brought up, and Blaine offered to stay and help unpack them. Mike waved him off though, thanking him for all his help. Before Blaine could try and protest, Puck grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him off, talking a mile a minute about picking out an outfit that didn't include a bowtie.

Blaine was only slightly offended. He loved his bowties, but knew that they were not for everyone. With a sigh, he lead Puck back to his apartment so that he could shower and get ready for their awesome night, as Puck put it.

Once he was showered and dressed in a Puck-approved outfit, he let his best friend drag him to some club in Manhattan. He could hear the bass bumping from down the block and immediately knew this was a bad idea. He wasn't club material; he didn't like the crowded feeling. Why, oh why did he let Puck talk him into this?

"C'mon, dude!" Puck drew him out of his thoughts. "This is gonna be awesome!"

Blaine wasn't so sure, but he followed along behind Puck, showed the bouncer his ID and got his hand stamped before entering the club. The music was overly loud, the strobe lights flashed in his eyes and Blaine could smell the sweat dripping off of the bodies on the dance floor. He wrinkled his nose as he followed Puck to the bar.

"Two beers!" Puck shouted over the music to the bar tender. He handed one to Blaine, who immediately took a swig. "I'm gonna go find me some ladies, you should try and find some gay dudes."

"It's not like we have a neon sign above our head, Puck!" Blaine said, getting a bit angry. "It's not like I can just tell."

"Don't you gays have some sort of pocket hanky signal or something?"

Blaine sent Puck the most judgemental look he could muster. "I'll just sit here," he said as he slid onto a recently vacated bar stool.

Puck shrugged before wandering off. Blaine breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he could leave in a bit and then just tell Puck that he hooked up with someone. Yeah, that could work, he thought. There was a new book waiting for him at home that he was dying to start reading. Tonight would be a good night for that. He glanced down at his watch, trying to decide how long was long enough to sit here and make it seem like he met someone.

After half an hour and many girls coming to talk to him later, Blaine decided he had waited long enough. He finished the rest of his beer and slid off the stool, making his way over to the exit. By the time he made it to the subway entrance, he figured he'd made it without Puck realizing. When he got home, he stripped out of his clothes, slipped on his pajamas and crawled into bed to start his book.

The next night, Blaine headed down to the bar after work. Mike and Tina were already there, along with Puck. Blaine bit his lip and walked over to the bar before heading to the table. He needed a drink. "Hey, Rory."

"Hello, Blaine," Rory greeted from behind the bar. "You havin' your usual?"

"Yes, please." Rory uncapped a beer, and slid the bottle across the bar top to him. "Thanks." He made his way over to the table, hoping that Puck wouldn't mention the previous night.

"Hey, there you are!" Puck called. "Get lucky last night?"

Blaine sighed, he should have known. "Um, yes, yeah," he stuttered.

"Alright!" Puck held his fist out for a fist bump. Blaine obliged, hitting his knuckles against Puck's. "So, was he hot?"

"Yep." Blaine took a sip of his beer.

"Did you guys get nasty?"

"Yep." Another sip.

He looked across the table at Mike and Tina who were watching the exchange with rapt amusement. "Really?"

"M'hmm." Blaine took a longer swig and averted his gaze.

Puck and Mike exchanged glances before Mike burst out, "You didn't hook up with anyone!"

"Of course not!" Blaine fired back. "I can't do that! I need something more in common with them then a lust-filled boner!"

Tina snorted. "Sorry," she said after Blaine shot her a look.

"Look, I appreciate it, I really do. But I can't go around having one night stands. I need something more than that, and I know I'll find it eventually. So, until then, can we all just drop it?"

His three best friends nodded before moving on to a new topic, Tina's pregnancy by the sounds of things. It was then that it hit him, he already had a family. All these years, Blaine had been waiting for that moment when he found the one - the one who he'd share his life and have kids with. But that could wait, especially when he had friends like these, ones who would always be there for him, no matter what.

Blaine Anderson always knew he wanted a family. What he didn't know was that he had had one all along.