Rainy Day
The night that Kurt's mom died, it had been raining.
Kurt remembered watching the clouded sky through his bedroom window, wondering why the rain was particularly heavy that night. He had begun to worry that it might flood if the rain did not stop soon. The picnic that his mom planned will have to be postponed if there was a flood.
The house was oddly quiet on that night, too. Kurt padded along the hallway and peeked inside his parents' bedroom. It was an hour past his bedtime and by right he should be far away in dreamland right now. But something told him that he needed to be with his parents.
He pushed the door open gently and looked inside. His dad was sitting beside the bed again as usual, looking at his mom with the saddest expression on his face. He looked as if he was on the verge of tears.
His dad hardly cried so Kurt could not help but to worry a little.
"Dad…?" he called out hesitantly.
Startled, his dad turned to him with wide eyes. "Kurt? Buddy, why are you still up?" he asked, hastily wiping off the tears in his eyes. Kurt pretended not to notice. "It's late. You should be asleep by now," he added.
Kurt shook his head. "I can't. Rain's too loud."
His dad looked out the window and watched as the rain splattered against the glass. He heard him sigh; heavy and weary. "I know," he said.
"Kurt…honey, is that you?" Kurt's mom whispered. Her voice was barely audible; it had gone softer and softer with each day that took her remaining strength. His mom had been sick for a long time. Kurt often wondered why she was not getting better already even after several months.
Kurt walked towards the bed and climbed onto the mattress. He looked at his mom carefully. Her face had gone paler and her bluish-green eyes looked as if they were sinking into her face. Her wavy brown hair looked dull and her fingers looked so frail that Kurt became worried that they could break at any time.
But when she smiled, she instantly looked beautiful again.
"Honey…" she said softly. "My darling boy, how are you?" she asked as she reached out to caress his cheek. Kurt leaned into the cold touch.
"I'm fine. I miss you," Kurt admitted.
His mom smiled ruefully. "I miss you, too. I'm sorry we don't get to see each other so often."
His mom had spent a majority of her days in the hospital and his dad preferred that Kurt did not spent too much of his own time there as well. So he kept him busy with various activities around the house and limited the visits to once every two weeks. Kurt often wondered why but he did not question his dad.
His mom had recently been allowed to stay at home this past week but Kurt had been staying with his grandmother so he had only seen her today.
"What have you been up to?" his mom asked again.
Kurt shrugged. "Helping Grandma at her garden. She planted lots of carrots." His mom smiled as she listened to Kurt talk, occasionally letting out a laugh at the funny parts. Without her knowing, tears had begun to gather in her eyes. She really did miss seeing her son. Her precious, adorable Kurt.
Beside her, Burt stayed quiet.
An hour had passed before Kurt felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his dad looking at him. "Come on, Kurt. It's really late. You better go to sleep."
Kurt pouted. He did not feel like sleeping. Not when the heavy rain still had not stopped. In fact, it seemed to be heavier than before.
"No," his mom said. "It's…fine. Let him stay for the night. I haven't seen him in a while."
Burt looked at her with a conflicted expression before he nodded slowly with a sigh. He ruffled Kurt's hair and made his way to sit on the bed beside his wife. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her close. Kurt watched as his mom let out a content hum at the warm touch and leaned into it.
"Mommy's so tired, now, Kurt," his mom breathed. "Been a long day."
"Then, sleep," urged Kurt. "We can talk again in the morning, right?"
She let out a soft laugh, causing a tear to escape her right eye. Kurt frowned. "Why are you crying, Mommy? Are you sad?"
"A little," his mom said again, gripping the blanket tightly. Her breathing seemed to be a little labored now. Burt looked at her with a troubled expression.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She was silent for a while. Then, she gave a nod. "More than fine," she answered. There was a sudden happiness seeping into her tone. "I'm just so happy that I'm able to see the three of us together again. It's been…such a long time."
Burt let out some sort of a strangled noise at the back of his throat and the tears in his eyes returned. Kurt tilted his head to the side, somewhat confused. There was a sudden change in the atmosphere and it really made Kurt uncomfortable. Oddly sad, too.
"I just…" His mom choked. "I just really love the two of you…I'm so glad I have you two on my life."
"I love you, too," Kurt replied without missing a beat. "Forever and always."
His dad was openly crying now, with tears silently trailing down his cheeks. The arm around his mom tightened. Kurt wondered why his parents were crying. Should he be crying, as well? He only gripped the sleeve of his mom's nightgown tighter as a response.
"I love you." He heard his dad whisper those words into his mom's ear, to which his mom smiled and nodded, squeezing his dad's hand.
Her breathing seemed to be slowing down but Kurt hardly noticed that. He only noticed the sound of the rain that was beginning to grow softer and softer. It must be stopping, Kurt concluded. He felt a surge of happiness flowing through him.
"Mommy's going to sleep, now okay?" his mom whispered.
Kurt nodded. "Alright. Good night, Mommy," he smiled widely. His dad let out that strange strangled noise again. "See you soon."
His mom gave him a frail smile. "That's right, honey. I'm never saying goodbye to you."
Kurt wondered why someone would say goodbye when they were only going to sleep.
His mom closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
Two things happened at the same time.
Her breathing slowed down to a definite stop.
Outside, the rain stopped.
~*.*~
On a rainy Friday night, Kurt learnt that he would never say goodbye to the ones he loves.
~*.*~
"Kurt? Are you out here?"
Kurt turned to Blaine, with a smile on his face. "Yeah, out here."
Blaine climbed onto the fire escape, sitting beside him as they watched the rain. It was nearly midnight and the two of them had been left with the apartment all for themselves. Rachel was on a date with Brody and Kurt had a feeling that she might not return till very late.
"You shouldn't be out in the cold for too long, Kurt," Blaine chided. "You could get sick."
"I was just…looking at the rain," Kurt answered softly. "Rain on a Friday night…"
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"
Kurt shook his head. "It's nothing. It's just me being nostalgic again."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaine asked gently, not missing the change in Kurt's tone.
"I'm fine," Kurt smiled. "Why don't you go back inside and make us both some hot chocolate? I could really use some."
Blaine hesitated.
"I'm fine, really," Kurt insisted with a tiny laugh. "Don't worry about it."
Blaine nodded, squeezing Kurt's shoulder before he left. Kurt stood up and looked at the rain one last time. A sad smile graced his features.
"I'm never saying goodbye to you, either, mom," he whispered before going back inside.
The rain eventually stopped at midnight, just like it did eleven years ago.
A/N: Reviews are lovely and appreciated.