What's In A Name?
by: muaaimoi
x
Mercedes doesn't get it.
Kurt has known her long enough to know how she would react if she understood Unique the way Kurt did. So when after the little Diva delivers a mindblowing performance and New Directions still wins. He knows Mercedes won't think to take a moment of her time and assure their former competitor that she's still amazing.
It's not that Mercedes is selfish, or a bad person. Far from it, Mercedes is one of the kindest people Kurt knows. It has more to do with the simple fact that she doesn't realize Unique needs it.
Kurt doesn't even have to hunt Unique down. She hovers just out of the crowd of Mckinley's deliriously happy Glee club. Kurt doesn't even have to let go of the hug he's giving Brittany to meet her eyes and mouth 'Wow' at her.
It's all it takes.
Unique lights up like a christmas tree. Like she'd just single handedly won the competition after all. Kurt wishes he were more familiar with the feeling. Validation doesn't come from external sources often for him. The people in his life who remember to try are total Divas themselves, and therefore not very good at it. More often than not Kurt's simply included in compliments they give themselves. His ego has learned to make due with this over the years.
It's how he'd recognized how desperately Unique needed more.
With her 'Unique this' and 'Unique that'. It's all too familiar. How often had he thought 'Kurt Hummel you are better than this', or ' Chin up Hummel, no one deserves to see you cry'. Too often, probably.
That reinforcement... Kurt had learned to prop up his confidence himself at a very young age. It wasn't like anyone else would bother. He'd spoken in third person all throughout middle school, until he'd turned fourteen and decided it lacked class.
That Unique felt she had to do it spoke for itself.
Kurt doesn't get Unique, not really. His gender, for all his so called femininity, was decidedly male. Kurt had never questioned that he had a dick, or that he liked others with the same equipment. His sexuality and gender identity were pretty diamond hard.
He couldn't even picture looking at his body and thinking it was wrong. Sure he'd wished he could play more with the girls, as a kid, he'd hoped desperately his voice would drop before he'd embraced his ability to hit high notes, and it had taken him a few years to accept his pear hips... But Kurt's never wished he'd been born with girl parts.
He couldn't even picture it, truth be told. No matter how often he's called 'Lady' or mocked for being an honorary girl. Kurt's just gay. Kind of femme, according to a heteronormative society, but screw them. Kurt has never let his sex limit him. So he wears girl sweaters because fashion has no gender, and he sings high notes because he can hit them, and he does it well. Kurt loves what he loves, and if he's living up to a stereotype, them so be it.
He's learned not to care as long as he's doing what makes him happy. He can only hope Unique will be able to do the same.
He's pretty clueless about being transgender, and he knows that. He doesn't know how to help Unique deal with it, he can help her embrace being different, but he doesn't know how to help her deal with what makes her different.
It doesn't keep him from wanting to help. Unique looks up to him, and she's amazing, she's whip smart, and one of the biggest Divas he's ever met. He likes her, she's exactly the kind of person Kurt sees himself as being good friends with. That some one like that thinks he's great is incredibly flattering.
It's validating in it's own way, even if Mercedes is included in the complement. Kurt's learned to make his peace with that. If Glee Club has helped him with anything, it's making the monster that his ego can be stand down.
So he calls his ego to heel and tries to help Unique.
He'll help her in the few ways he can. Calling her by her real name, using the appropriate feminine pronouns, and letting her know she's incredible.
She is, and Unique shouldn't have to be the only one acknowledging it.
X
Seriously, this needed to exist. It didn't, so I wrote it. How are there not a shit ton of mentor!Kurt fics out there I will never know. I did speak in third person in middle school, so it amused me to add that in there. That said, let me know what you think?
Drop me a line, true isn't it?