I don't own glee. Slightly Les Mis theme.
Kurt held his sister's hand gently in his own, guiding her through the cold streets. To any other, they seemed like a normal pair of siblings, desperately trying to keep warm in the weather, but Kurt and Sophia knows that they have a story to tell. A story of their life and journey to meeting different people and rediscovering the world.
It started on a day just like this, or perhaps way back-but Kurt liked to think it started on this day. Sophia and him were orphans, a homeless pair of orphans. Kurt kept Sophia near him at all times, trying to keep the little girl warm and protect her from the people that were walking through the streets.
He didn't speak because he had no breath to waste. He had to find somewhere that they could stay with more warmth, especially as the weather was getting colder. They had no money to buy clothes, and such luxuries were unknown to them. At least since mother died, then sometime later, his father as well.
Kurt remembered the moment Death claimed Elizabeth Hummel as clear as day. It was cancer- brutal, murderous cancer, that took her life. She had no hair, and her beauty was shaded with new wrinkles and dried lips. Kurt was only seven, but Sophia was barely three.
So it made sense for Sophia not to remember much about their mother, but Kurt often retell stories of her, when it was not too painful. He reassured her that she had been very upset, crying, and that she loved their mother very much.
The death of Burt Hummel was no stranger to Sophia though. The fresh fear from Burt's Heart Attack replayed in their heads, the pain so recent. It was only a month ago, and Kurt was only sixteen. But Sophia just turned 11 that day.
Here in the streets of old France, the bank people hurriedly rushed to their house upon the news. They were in debt, so when they caught whiff of Burt's death, they promptly took as much as they can in the house, including the house itself, and left the two homeless.
Sophia asked why they were so cruel, whether she wasn't important, being so innocent and young. Sometimes Kurt wished he could be like her, free from the knowledge of the brutality in the world. He would shake his head, and tell her that she's precious, and continue on their search for shelter.
"I'm cold." murmured Sophia quietly, eyes downcast.
"I know. We'll find somewhere to stay." said Kurt, smiling as he stayed strong. It was essential for them to keep hope if they were to survive.
"Okay." said Sophia, smiling lightly at Kurt. Kurt's heart ached at the sad looking the girl's beautiful eyes.
"Are you Hungry?" asked Kurt, grinning as Sophia's eyes lit up.
Kurt reached into his pocket and pulled out a half piece of bread. It was supposed to be his lunch, but it wasn't going to be from the looks of Sophia's expression. Kurt lightly kissed her head, giving her the bread while ignoring his own hunger. She suddenly looked at him seriously, regarding Kurt's pale features before handing the bread back.
"You have it." said Sophia, smiling again. "You haven't eaten anything."
Kurt's eyes softened as he heard his little sister say that. If people in the world were more like her.
"We'll share." said Kurt lightly before splitting the bread, making sure she had the bigger piece. "Cheers, Sophia."
"Cheers." replied Sophia before munching on her bread.
The bread was finished much too quickly for the two's liking, and they presumed their walk with a purpose.
"I'll help you look." said Sophia. "What do we have to look for?"
"A place with a roof and no one in it." said Kurt, not quite concentrating. The hand in his pocket felt empty, and he knew he had no money left.
This was the worse part of the day, because Kurt realized pride couldn't be afforded. He dodged some people, backing to the side of the wall as he pulled out a hat he brought with him, and started to ask around for money, his hand grasping his sister's tightly. A light pink tinted his pale cheeks in embarrassment, and a couple strangers sent pitying looks at him. Some threw in a couple of dollars.
It was humiliating, but it kept them alive, so Kurt dealt with it. When he decided they collected enough money, he quickly escaped the crowd, pushing down the tears that was threatening to build up in his eyes. It was the fresh realization that they were utterly alone in the world that Kurt wasn't sure would ever disappear. By his side, he felt Sophia grow sleepy and lean on him, and when he looked up, the misconceiving stars looked down at them with sparkling ambition and hope.
He lifted Sophia up and carried her, letting her sleep on his shoulder. He could feel himself grow tired, but he couldn't sleep here. He turned a couple of corners, and noticed an old stone house looking place, except it was a little broken down, and there was an old hay stack in it. No one has been here in a while.
As gently as he could, Kurt placed Sophia down on the hay stack, putting her jacket over her as he found some sticks outside. He attempted to make a fire with them, but without success, he drift off asleep, taking off his coat and putting it over him, hugging his sister.
He remembered feeling the cold seep through his skin, then blackness.
The next morning, when Kurt woke up, he blinked a couple of times to let his eyes adjust. He quickly felt his little sister shift in his arms and moved away to let her get up. She rubbed her hands together, but smiled at her failed attempts.
"At least it's not as cold as yesterday." Sophia said before shuffling over and hugging Kurt for the warmth that wasn't there.
Kurt smiled, and ruffled her hair in an endearing gesture.
"You're a little colder." said Sophia observantly after awhile.
Kurt smiled at her in reassurance, but it was weak.
"We're all a little colder in the winter." he joked, but the light that was usually present in his eyes were dimmed.
Sophia dismissed this. Their family just died, so it would only make sense.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Sophia, plopping down by the wood. She tried to be as happy as she could.
It hit Kurt that he doesn't quite remember what their goal was, he thought hard, and an idea came to him.
"I need to find a job." said Kurt smiling again, "So we can get someplace of our own."
"Yay!" said Sophia, pulling Kurt up. "Let's go."
Maybe the faster Kurt gets a job the happier he'll be.
***
Blaine stared at the documents before him, his brows furrowed in concentration. After a while, he sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"I give up." said Blaine solemnly. "I don't understand this, Wesley. Arithmetics. Pah. "
Wesley rolled his eyes before patiently pointing to the equation on Blaine's papers.
"Use the equation, Blaine! T sub one add D times N minus 1 is T sub N." said Wes.
Blaine pondered this before scribbling something down.
"I get it!" said Blaine, brightening. "Merci Beaucoup!"
"Your welcome." said Wes, smiling.
"And I see that my son is getting better at this arithmetic subject!" said a familiar voice.
Both boys turned around and saw the man whom the voice belonged to.
"Father." said Blaine first.
" ." nodded Wes.
"Ah Wesley. I never liked this arithmetic stuff." laughed the man before smiling warmly at Blaine. "But you would need it later in life."
"Arithmetics is the basis of everything." muttered Wes under his breath, slightly annoyed.
"Oh Wesley! " said the man, grinning. "Don't get mad! I remember being in class with your mother. She was heavily induced in her equations and whatnots!"
Wesley smiled in spite of himself.
"Oh, By the way. Blaine, I wanted to bring you with me to visit a fellow business owner I know. Perhaps you could learn a few things." said .
"You know alot of people." said Blaine. "You are only the king's second highest advisor in France."
"Do you have any work?" asked Kurt. The counterman raised his eyebrows but didn't reject him immediately.
"Depends. How old are you?" asked the man. Kurt contemplated lying, but decided that they would be able to tell.
"Sixteen."
"Where is your mother and father?" asked the man, irritated.
"Dead." said Kurt coldly. The man's expression softened, but it changed back to it's irritated look.
"We have a job." said the man, sighing. "But, you'll be lifting wood and all. They're constructing a house."
"I'll take it." said Kurt, determined.
The man looked at him sympathetically.
"J'ampelle Noah. Tu es..." began Puck.
"Kurt." said the boy, pursing his lips.
"Come with me." said Puck, then he shot a look at Sophia." But leave the girl."
"No." said Kurt staring at Puck straight in the eyes.
Puck considered him before rolling his eyes. "We've got a stubborn one."
Kurt followed Puck, his hand holding Sophia's as Puck left the shop. Couple of blocks down, a construction site was taking place, and Puck eyed his clothes.
"You won't care if your clothes get dirty, right?" asked Puck.
"No." replied Kurt, uneasy. He watched the tough man lift bricks and placed them on the walls through the cold wind. He could see the sweat glistening on them, but none of them were as skinny as Kurt. Suddenly, Kurt felt self conscious.
Stop it. thought Kurt. You can't afford to be self conscious right now!
"Do I just go in?" asked Kurt.
Puck pointed at a bunch of men that were handling the wood, passing them to the others.
"You can start there. I take care of the girl. I promise on my life." he said before walking to the crew. "Guys! He's a new comer!"
Kurt was a little startled, but the workers only grumbled and one of them threw a piece of wood at him. He nearly collapsed under the weight and the worker scoffed.
"He's not a strong one." he remarked.
Kurt, determined to prove him wrong, summoned all his strength and passed the wood on. He worked for hours as such, but could feel the energy drain out of him. The motivation of food and shelter for him and his sister kept him working.
"This." said . "Is the new company building."
"Woah." said Blaine, his eyes growing wide. The building was huge, but the amount of men working were also huge. , noticing Blaine's gaze, nodded.
"They want to building done as quick as possible. " he said. "Now if you want, you can explore. I have to go have a quick word with the owner.
"But aren't these people col-" Blaine stopped when he noticed his father was gone and sighed.
He decided to further investigate for himself. As he pulled his cloak closer, he made his way to the construction. He expected to see huge men, but they looked like bones and skin. Some worse than others. But they were hard workers.
He walked a little further and noticed a little girl eating a small peice of bread beside a meaty looking man. The man was clearly not helping the build directly, but the girl smiled and grinned before her smiled saddened, and she turned her gaze.
Blaine looked where she looked as saw a boy around his age with soft brown hair and beautiful skin. He didn't seem to fit in. He was even skinnier and worn out, and his skin was paler than normal. Nevertheless, the boy turned and smiled at the girl before returning to his task. Blaine felt his heart swell at the kind gesture the boy had done.
He walked over to Puck.
" !" said Puck, smiling.
"It's Blaine, Puck." said Blaine, smiling. "Who's that?" He looked at the little girl hiding behind Puck's leg.
"Little Rascal." said Puck jokingly. "This is Sophia. He's one of the siblings of the workers. "
"The brown haired one?" asked Blaine, frowning. Sophia's looked downcast at the mention.
"Yeah. He's new." said Puck.
"He's new?" asked Blaine in surprise." He doesn't look..."
"Healthy as the other workers." said Puck, smiling sadly. Blaine sighed.
"He's healthy!" contradicted Sophia, not wanting to believe this.
"Of course he is." said Puck, smiling again as he hugged Sophia.
"Sophia?" someone asked in a sweet voice behind Blaine. It sounded so reassuring. Blaine stepped back, startled.
"Kurt!" cried Sophia, launching herself at the boy. She hugged Kurt's leg.
"Eager to leave me now?" asked Puck in a joking voice again. Kurt smiled and Blaine felt his heart skip a beat. It was so beautiful, but painful to watch.
"Thank you for watching her." said Kurt, nodding.
"Aww it's no problem." said Puck, smiling good naturally. "And this is ."
Kurt thought for a moment, his hand holding Sophia's before his expression turned to one of recognizance.
"King Hugh's advisor-"
"No, no." said Blaine, smiling. "I'm Blaine Anderson, his son."
"Oh, forgive me." said Kurt, bowing slightly. His manners were impeccable. Puck watched with amusement.
"You don't need to bow. " said Blaine, holding out a hand.
Kurt flushed in embarrassment and shook Blaine's hand as quick as possible.
Blaine missed the second long contact. Kurt's hands were strangely soft.
"I should go." said Kurt, picking Sophia up. Sophia quickly dozed off in his arms. Blaine met Kurt's glaze eyes and choked a little. This was getting a little dramatic.
"Um." said Blaine.
"He means yes. Here is your pay." said Puck, handing him ten pence.
"Thank you." said Kurt, smiling and as made his way to find the next place to stay.
"That's it?" whispered Blaine incredulously. He felt strangely defensive of this boy. "He worked his butt off!"
"Regulations. He's new." said Puck, a little apathetic.
"Where does he live?" asked Blaine, nearly exclaiming.
"From what Sophia tells me. I think that they aren't really living anywhere." said puck anxiously.
"You're not serious." said Blaine, angered. "Is that how we treat the workers?"
"That's how the buyers treat the workers." pointed out Puck, raising an eyebrow.
Blaine ran after Kurt and Sophia.
"Wait!"