Title: Second Time Around (Chapter 1: New Beginnings)
Rated: T
Writing Time: 05/10-06/17/2013
Pairing(s): past Blaine/Kurt, Kurt/Sam
Warnings: Moderate swearing, anti-Blaine/Klaine, adult themes (not those kind, perverts! At least, not yet ;), implied MPreg, protective Papa!Burt/Grandpa!Hummel, daddy!Kurt and slight depressive/pessimistic thoughts. You don't like, don't read. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did, Chris Colfer/Kurt would get much more screen time, the show would be better written (or I'd at least try), Quam, Samtana, Klaine, Samcedes, Blam and Bram would've NEVER happened and Chord Overstreet/Sam would've never left the show after the end of season two! That and Chord would never leave my bedroom but that's another story for another time (and one I'd be too selfish to share ;) So without further ado, on with the smoochies ^^
Summary: Kurt, a former shell of his old self, is reminded of the way he used to be by someone he never expected he could have, no matter how many years passed, and slowly finds to will to carry on with his new life.
Author's Note: Goin' for It and Between Him and Him have NOT been abandoned; inspiration has hit me square in the personals for this new fic while my inspirational feels for those stories haven't been kicking me like they used to. So while I wait for my muse to return for Goin' and Between, I hope you all enjoy this in the meantime! Betaed by me; if you happen to spot some (if any) mistakes, please don't hesitate to let me know via review or PM. Thank You!
Dedication: To SummyGleek1209, clovrboy, TeegyBee and SingerRenn for not being blackballing creeps like everyone else has been for no reason and seriously cheering me up (Summy) when I was feeling really down ^^ Thank you for that! SingerRenn, j'taime beaucoup, mon bel canadien chocolat blanc ami ^^ KrazyLikeKum: Eu te amo com todo meu coração. Você é meu amor, minha alma, meu rey, meu homem bonito, meu todo. ¡Yo te amo, Papí!
"I'm sorry things came to this but they have and it's time you go. I'm really sorry..."
Kurt Anderson (née Hummel) shook his head with as much not-attention-grabbing ferocity he could manage on a crowded plane and sat back fully in his seat when he was done. Those words have been echoing around in his head for the last two weeks and he wished to the God he didn't believe in that they would stop. He still couldn't believe he was on a plane in the sky flying from his home in New York to the Podunk cesspool called Lima he came from. His husband, his true love, his once upon a time everything promised him he'd never have to return to Ohio. He promised that New York would remain their home until their lives ended because he would always take care of him and their family.
What a crock of shit, Kurt thought blackly, looking ahead at nothing in particular. How could I've been such an idiot?!
Casting that disparaging thought aside, Kurt turned his attention to the two little boys sitting beside him, one coloring like he was conducting open-heart surgery and the other quietly reading one of Kurt's old Harry Potter books to himself. Kurt reached a hand over to run his fingers through the older boy's styled hair paternally, making the boy lower his book in the process and turn to look up at him.
"Daddy, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Blake. Go back to reading," Kurt smiled down at his son.
Blake Anderson smiled up at his maternal father and turned his attention back to the book as Kurt said, still feeling Kurt's fingers weaving through his hair every now and then.
Kurt watched over his children with avid fascination, privately envious of their youthful ignorance. To them, they were simply taking a plane ride to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hummel in Ohio, a first since the older pair were always coming up to New York to see them. Kurt felt like he was going to ruin their whole lives when he let on that they wouldn't be returning to the only home both his sons had ever known or to their other father.
Fingers stopped weaving through Blake's hair and glasz eyes closed, Kurt remembering the huge fight he had with Blaine while their sons were thankfully sleeping over with their friends. He remembered how wonderful it was when Blaine came home from work that night, how incredible it felt having Blaine on top of him, loving him like he was the only thing that mattered in the world. He remembered how when Blaine was done, he didn't pull Kurt in his arms like normal so they could cuddle or kiss him; instead, Blaine grabbed his shorts from where he'd flung them on the floor and with his back turned, flat-out announced his and Kurt's marriage was over.
"What?" Kurt asked shocked, shooting up in their bed. "What do you mean 'over?'"
Back still turned, Blaine told the wall, "Look, everything's just run its course. There's no spark between us anymore."
"Then why did you climb into bed with me?!" Kurt spit, shocked and angry and confused about everything his husband of nine years was suddenly saying.
"One last hoorah?" Blaine said, finally having the balls to turn and face Kurt, the latter looking ready to cry or hit him. "I'm sorry things came to this but they have and it's time you go. I'm really sorry..."
"Attention ladies and gentlemen, we've begun our descent into Port Columbus International Airport. Please fasten your seat belts and remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop. Thank you."
Kurt's eyes snapped open at the words from the flight attendant over the intercom, the other passengers coming to life after the announcement. He watched as Blake marked his place and closed his book, putting it in his lap and fastening his belt, turning to his left and helping his little brother fasten his.
As the plane descended, Kurt found himself lost in his thoughts again; this time, his thoughts focused on how incredible his kids have been through the whole ordeal. Neither he nor Blaine had said anything to their sons when they returned home the morning after the fight; Blake and Gabriel Anderson hadn't said a thing when they came home in the afternoon to see just Kurt waiting for them. Gabe (and especially Blake) were accustomed to Blaine working on the weekends, sometimes skipping family dinners and not being seen again until Monday morning or even Tuesday. Kurt never used to resent Blaine for that; he used to believe he understood that Blaine worked hard for the three of them to provide the kind of upper middle class lifestyle their kids and Kurt were accustomed to. He used to feel it was all worth it when Blaine would come home and out of the blue, be accompanied by expensive toys and treats for their sons and some rather wild unmentionables for them when Blaine whisked him off to their bedroom. Now the mere thought of Blaine touching him, of buying him and their sons, made his stomach churn.
How could I have been so blind? Kurt thought disparagingly as the wheels of the plane touched the tarmac.
Kurt ignored whatever it was the flight attendant was saying as he and countless others began unbuckling their belts and started standing up, stretching and coming back to life. Kurt observed his boys following in his example and felt a rush of pride for how well they'd handled their first-ever plane ride, never once fussing or complaining about the altitude and the problems that can come with it.
"Are we here now, Daddy?" Gabriel's little voice piped up, looking up at Kurt with big green eyes.
Kurt smiled at the dark-haired boy. "Yeah, we're here, little guy. Hold your brother's hand until we get off the plane, okay?"
"Okay, Daddy," Gabriel said, reaching up to accept Blake's proffered hand.
With Blake keeping an eye on his little brother, Kurt felt like it was one less of a million things he had to worry about now that the three of them were officially in Ohio. Opening the overhead compartment and pulling out his carry-on, he stuffed Blake's Harry Potter book alongside Gabriel's coloring book; closing the compartment and his bag to join the slow-moving line of people waiting to walk onto the airport runway and into the airport itself.
He smiled at the adorable sight of his sons waving up to the flight attendant who welcomed them to Ohio as they walked off the plane, knowing full well that once those two hit their teen years, they'd both be breaking hearts left and right. Cordially nodding at the same attendant, Kurt stepped into the cool runway and kept his eyes on his sons as they walked a few paces ahead of him, chattering amongst themselves.
Now that he was back in Ohio, the actuality of what happened between him and Blaine was settling in around him. His marriage to the once-greatest man he thought he'd ever known was over; said man essentially kicked him and their sons out of their Staten Island home, giving Kurt little choice but to borrow some money from a friend (after Kurt found out his bank account wasn't frozen but completely emptied out and closed by the so-called man who filled it with money) so he could buy three economy-class plane tickets to Columbus.
I'm really beginning to hate that son of a bitch! Kurt scowled mentally, doing his best to school his features so no one around him (especially not his sons) could see how much he was seething on the inside.
Blake and Gabriel were waiting for Kurt at the end of the runway, Gabriel's hand still clutched in Blake's. Kurt offered his boys a smile as he shepherded the pair in front of him through the terminal so they could retrieve their suitcases and then make their way over to the rent-a-car center in the airport.
I can't believe I have to do this, Kurt thought bitterly as Blake and Gabriel sat down quietly while he filled out papers to get them a car. Thirty years old with two kids and I have to start my life all over again thanks to him!
He did his best to pretend he was listening to the clerk as she explained whatever it was she was rattling on about but mentally, he couldn't bring himself to care. All he was focused on was acting like it was some grand surprise that he was showing up on his dad's doorstep unannounced with Burt Hummel's grandsons in tow and how he was going to prepare for the Chernobyl-like fallout that was bound to happen once he explained how coldly Blaine ended their marriage and left Kurt little choice but to go back home to his daddy. Even more importantly, the dread that was icing over in his veins was the thought of having to make Lima a home for himself again and his sons, something he swore to the God he still didn't believe in he'd never do to them. His boys were innocents in all this; Kurt couldn't believe Blaine would be so cruel like this to the kids he helped create.
Kurt barely snapped to attention long enough for the woman in the gray suit behind the counter to hand him a set of keys and usher him out of the office to the rent-a-car parking lot. Kurt motioned to his sons to grab their stuff and follow him; Blake and Gabriel obediently understanding and obeying their father's silent command.
Out in the lot, the Ohio sun beat down on their heads as Kurt and the saleswoman shook hands before she escaped back to the comfort of her air-conditioned office. Kurt quickly unlocked the doors for his sons so they could get out of the sun. He took their suitcases from them and opened the trunk, laying all their luggage inside. Kurt allowed himself a moment to observe just how little their now-old lives were reduced to.
Sighing, Kurt closed the trunk and got into the driver's seat, turning the ignition and setting the air conditioning controls on high. Letting the car warm up, Kurt observed how quiet his boys are in the backseat. It was breaking his heart to witness how unmoved they are by what happened, even though neither or them know the extent of things between Kurt and their other father. He hurts when he thinks of how unfazed they could possibly be to know that there's no plan to go back to their old home in New York and see Blaine; instead, they'll have to contend with their grandparents until Kurt can get a job and move them into an apartment of their own.
With one more sigh (this one silent), Kurt tells his boys to buckle their seat belts so they can leave. Grinning goofily at him in the rear view mirror, Kurt turns his focus to the task at hand and slowly backs out of the spot the car's parked in. Car in drive, Kurt applies pressure to the petal and away from the airport they drive.
Out on the highway, Kurt listens to his sons singing along with whatever song's on the radio and it makes him smile. It felt like only yesterday he was doing the same with his dad in their old pick-up, windows rolled down and the wind whistling through Kurt's hair as they sang. The memory of it brought a smile to his lips and he only wished he knew the song so he could sing along with his boys.
"We're here," Kurt called softly, causing Blake and Gabriel to stir in their sleep as he pulled the car against the curb.
Gabriel's eyes blinked open first, taking in the sight of the unfamiliar street bathed in the light of the dying sun. "Where are we?" his little voice piped up.
Kurt smiled. "We're at Grandma and Grandpa Hummel's house," he answered. "Wake your brother up for me?"
"Wake up, Blakey!" Gabriel sang at the top of his lungs, startling a laugh out of Kurt as his older son jolted awake, his little brother shaking his shoulder to wake him.
"Where's here?" Blake blinked, eyes taking in the dying sunlight and the fact they were no longer on the highway. "Dude, stop shaking me!" he commanded, shrugging Gabriel's hand off his shoulder.
"At Grandma and Grandpa's!" the youngest Anderson chirped, eliciting another laugh from Kurt.
Blake rubbed his tired eyes and ran his hands up and down his face a few times, making Kurt's heart stop momentarily because the eight-year-old's action where identical to Blaine's first thing in the morning.
"You two sang yourselves asleep on the highway," Kurt said, Blake's disorientation still etched onto his face. "It's been quiet for more than an hour," he teased. "But now we're here so come on, Grandma and Grandpa are going to be so surprised to see us!"
That seemed to be all Blake needed to get over his temporary confusion because in an instant, his and his brother's seat belts were off and they were scrambling to get out of the car. Kurt laughed again, taking off his own belt and realizing it was the first time since this ordeal began that he found something funny to laugh about.
Burt and Carole Hummel stepped out of their air-conditioned home to see their youngest son and their grandsons collecting a few suitcases from the trunk of a silver car.
"Kurt?" Burt asked, loud enough for the three Andersons on the sidewalk to hear.
The man in question looked up from hearing his name and his eyes watered at the sight of his father, not knowing until that moment just how much he missed him.
"Daddy," Kurt whimpered, dropping his suitcase to rush up to his father, meeting the man as he descended the porch steps and throwing his arms around him, sobbing into his plaid-clad shoulder. "I've missed you so much, Daddy!"
Burt wrapped his arms around his shaking son and held him close, pressing consoling kisses into his travel-worn hair. Carole stepped down from the porch and gathered her step-grandsons up, bending down some to kiss their cheeks and usher them into the cool house. Burt watched as she walked down the lawn to get Kurt's suitcase where he dropped it, concern marring her face and lighting her eyes. The older Hummel did his best to silently communicate he had no idea what was wrong but to just let Kurt get it out of his system. She nodded, hoping she understood the looks her husband was giving her and quietly walked back up the front yard and up the porch steps into the house.
Kurt sniveled slightly and finally calmed down after fifteen solid minutes of crying in front of his almost post-pubescent home in his father's arms, the older man rubbing his back with one hand while his arms were wrapped firmly around him.
"Kurtie?" Burt started, using that quiet, gentle voice Kurt hadn't heard since his sons were newborns (and he himself when he was a little boy) and his parents had come up to New York to see them. "What happened?"
The younger man sighed a little , moving his arms up to gently push away at Burt who released him. He walked quietly to the porch steps and sat down, Burt copying his son's actions and sat beside him. Taking a deep breath, Kurt turned to face his father and say the words he was planning on saying at a different time.
"Blaine left me."
Whatever Kurt thought his father was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. Kurt could tell Burt wanted nothing more than to shout because his face was threatening to turn purple but the older man held onto his cool. "What do you mean, he left you? Left you how?"
Kurt sighed. "Honestly?" Burt nodded. "He came home from work a week ago, proceeded to screw me into our mattress and then told me our marriage has run its course and it was time for me and the boys to go. So I borrowed some money from a friend so I could buy us plane tickets and here we are."
The younger man turned to face the quiet neighborhood and counted down in his head the time it would take for his words to register in his dad.
"I'M GONNA KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Burt shouted, alarming an elderly couple who chose that moment to start walking in front of the Hummel house.
Hmm, five seconds. Usually it's a lot longer than that for something to get through, Kurt thought.
"No, Daddy, calm down," Kurt said, reaching out to grab hold of his dad's wrist, the older man walking in front of them wrapping an arm around his wife.
"Calm down?!" Burt echoed. "Kurt—"
"Daddy, no. I'm okay. Honestly," he said, recognizing the glint in his dad's eyes that suggested he was anything but okay. "I thought about this on the plane and if I have anyone to blame, it's me."
Burt sputtered but nonetheless calmed down a little, wriggling his wrist so he could grab Kurt's hand in his. "How is this your fault?" he asked after a moment of quiet and a deep inhale of breath.
"I realized I basically let him run my entire life for me to the point I ceased to exist. I was no longer Kurtis William Hummel but Blaine Anderson's husband— life partner," he corrected, knowing full well the way his and Blaine's marriage was was not the loving relationship that moved past boyfriends to husbands but one of partners, business associates at best. "I was little more than his property, father to his children, housekeeper, chef, butler; I was there for his convenience and nothing else, an overpaid prostitute.
"I have no one blame but myself. I'm the dupe who took him back after he cheated—"
"Wait, he cheated?" Burt interrupted. "When did he cheat?"
"A few weeks after I left for New York, after he said I needed to be there because it was hurting him having me around. I should've cut my losses then, gone to New York for a fresh start and a chance to begin my own life."
I can't believe I didn't know, Burt thought, appalled at himself for not knowing what was going on in his son's life at that time. He could make all the excuses he wanted about being busy as a congressman and then his short prostate cancer battle but all of that was nothing to the shame he was feeling, especially when he remembered Blaine talking him into taking him to see Kurt for Christmas. New York's a tiny little island; I'm gonna find that little bastard and shove his balls up his nose!
Burt grinned poisonously to himself and tossed an arm around Kurt's shoulder, holding his baby boy against his side. "You know you and the boys can stay here as long as you need, right?"
Kurt nodded against Burt's shoulder, smiling. "I know. Thanks, Daddy."
"Now why don't we go in and see what Carole has for dinner?"
The smaller man chuckled a little, feeling infinitely better than he had in weeks. "Sounds like a plan."
Together, the pair stood up and walked for the front door.
"I'm still gonna kill that little prick..." Burt muttered darkly.
"Daddy..." Kurt sighed exasperatedly.
"Are you all right, sweetheart?" Carole asked in a concerned tone from her spot on the couch.
Blake and Gabriel rushed to their father, wrapping themselves around his legs and holding on tight. Never before had they seen their father cry and it frightened both of them; they'd wanted to comfort him like Grandpa was but Grandma ushered them in the house, assuring them both as best she could that once he and Grandpa Burt were back, Kurt would be in much better spirits.
Kurt nodded and bent down to collect his boys in his arms, kissing their cheeks and listening to their rapid-fire questions, telling them he was okay while Burt walked up to Carole and gave her a quiet, footnotes version of what Kurt told him. Carole nodded at all the right spots and made sure her stepson's sons couldn't see the rage broiling in the stomach and threatening to come out after hearing what Blaine had done to her stepson and grandchildren.
"I'm going to check on dinner. Kurt, do you want to help?"
The younger Hummel nodded, untangling himself from his boys' arms and ruffling their hair a little, picking himself up a little to follow his stepmother in the kitchen.
Carole gathered Kurt up in her arms the second his feet crossed the threshold of the kitchen, holding him close and practically refusing to let him go. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."
Kurt nodded as best he could and moved his arms up to hug the woman he'd known as 'Mom' longer than his own. "It's okay, Carole, thank you."
"Can I ask a question?"
He nodded, trying not to let his displeasure at her grammar show.
"How fine are you with everything? I know it's one thing to say you're perfectly okay with Burt's temper but..."
Kurt chuckled a little at that because yeah, Burt Hummel's temper was the stuff of legend. Unlike his; he was too much of a pacifist for his own good. "I'm really okay, Carole. I promise. I had a lot of time to think about this and I've realized Blaine's doing me a favor. Maybe now I can start actually living my life instead of letting someone else live it for me."
"You and the boys can stay here as long as you need to," Carole delcared, echoing Burt's earlier sentiments.
"Dad said the same thing," Kurt laughed, hugging his stepmother tighter.
"We better get dinner started," Carole announced after a comfortable minute of silence passed between them.
He nodded, letting the older woman in his go so they could get started on making the household something to eat. Kurt really did feel alright; despite everything, despite being back in a place he swore he'd never return to, he felt like everything was going to be okay. Maybe this was the new beginning he needed to start taking care of himself and his sons.
Author's Note: Okay, I know it's a little slow-going and you're probably all scratching your heads like "What...?" but I promise things will pick up in the next chapter. Let me know what you all thought?
Chris Colfer's a love; Chord Overstreet is sex on legs. I'll stick with the love… for now! Please review and show me some ^^
