Media: Fic
Title: Brighter Than the Sun
Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing.
Rating: PG (The rating will go up in future chapters, though...)
Spoilers: If you don't know who these characters are, you're in big trouble.
Warnings: Sibling AU. Taking liberties with canon.
Word Count: 1386
Summary: Rachel and Blaine are siblings. Beware the magnitude of their combined talent.
For as long as he could remember, Kurt has always known he's not exactly like everyone else.
Some of the other children at school don't like that and are mean to him. But when he comes home, face red and blotchy from crying, Mama holds him until he calms down. She takes a moment to wipe his tears away before looking at him very seriously, promising him that -someday- he's going to find friends who will love him for who he is. No matter what.
Then in third grade, after Josie Fisher pours chocolate milk all over his lunch, Rachel Anderson-Berry becomes his first friend.
Rachel is loud and bossy. She also shrieks when she doesn't get her way, so he tries to avoid her if he can. She's shrieking now, pointing at the soggy mess that used to be Kurt's lunch and screaming at the teacher that Josie did it on purpose. Miss Horn just rolls her eyes and insists it's an accident, while Josie sticks her tongue at them from behind her back.
But even though Josie doesn't get punished like she should have been, Kurt is incredibly happy because he's never had anyone to stand up for him before. Besides, Rachel is really nice when she wants to be. She shares her lunch with him and they play games together. She even offers to walk him home (he's never had a friend to walk home with before), which is how he meets Blaine Anderson-Berry.
"My baby brother," Rachel explains, making a face at a boy who almost looks like her twin. "He's a second grader."
"I'm not a baby," the boy -Blaine- protests with a pout. Unlike his sister, his hair is wild and curly. His clothes are dirty from playing in mud and there's a bandaid covering his stubborn chin. And his front teeth are missing, so the air whistles when he speaks.
Kurt thinks he's absolutely adorable.
But when he says as much, Blaine stares at him for a long moment before hurrying ahead, leaving a great distance between them. Kurt feels a little hurt until Rachel giggles and leans in, whispering quietly, "Blaine gets really shy when people compliment him."
Blinking, he looks over at Blaine, who glances back at them over his shoulder. Kurt smiles and waves at him, amused when he jolts in surprise and turns away quickly, the tips of his ears bright pink. Kurt's smile widens when he thinks he's finally made friends and -impulsively- he grabs Rachel by the hand and runs to catch up with her brother.
"Blaine!"
A few days later, when Kurt goes over to the Anderson-Berry's home for the first time, he is momentarily confused by Rachel and Blaine's parents. For some reason, they have two daddies, but he only has one. As soon as the three of them are sitting in Rachel's bedroom, he asks her about it, who replies that there are girls who marry girls and girls who marry boys and boys who marry boys.
Smiling brightly, Kurt throws his arms around Blaine's neck, who howls like he's being tortured and attempts to squirm away. "I want to marry Blaine!" he announces.
Rachel considers this for a moment, ignoring her brother's desperate pleas for help, and says, "You have to promise that I can be the maid of honor."
"I promise," Kurt tightens his grip when Blaine almost succeeds in slipping out of his hold. "But who will be the flower girl?"
Blaine blushes. "I'm not going to marry you! You're going to make me wear a stuffy suit and tie and I'll hate it."
"Don't be silly," Kurt says, frowning. "You're going to wear a bow tie. They look much better."
A knock at the door drowns out Blaine's unhappy groan as one of their daddies enter the room. "Sorry to interrupt, kids," he says. "Kurt, your father came early to pick you up. He's waiting downstairs."
He immediately lets go of Blaine, looking at Rachel in confusion. They march down the stairs where Papa is talking quietly with Rachel and Blaine's other daddy. "Kurt," Papa says the moment he catches sight of him. He's speaking in that serious way grown ups do when something awful has happened. And, for a moment, Kurt is scared that it's because he wants to marry a boy, until he sees the look on Papa's face.
"What happened?" Kurt asks, his voice very small. He can tell that something is wrong and that scares him. He feels a hand clasp his own and sees Blaine staring back at him as Rachel quickly takes his other hand. He feels a bit better, knowing that they're both there for him.
At least until Papa shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Kurt. I know you have one of those playdate things today, but Mama isn't feeling well. She had to go to the hospital and I need you to stay with Aunt Helena before it gets too late."
Kurt bites his lip, wanting to complain but knowing better than to. Not when Mama isn't feeling well. But Aunt Helena isn't even his real aunt. She's just the mean lady who lives next door with graying hair and a scowl on her face. But the reason he really doesn't like her is because she spends the entire time pointing out things he does and says that other boys apparently don't do or say.
"Kurt can stay here," Blaine speaks up. Everyone turns to look at him, but he just clasps Kurt's hand tighter, the determination clear on his little face.
"Yes!" Rachel pipes up, hugging Kurt's arm to her chest. "We'll have a sleepover. It'll be a lot of fun!"
The adults seem to mull over the idea and converse quietly amongst themselves as Kurt looks down at his socks. He doesn't look up until Papa kneels in front of him, placing one of his big hands on his shoulder. "Would you rather stay here for the night?"
"Yes," he whispers. Even though what he really wants is to see Mama. He wants to make sure she's all right. But he's only allowed to visit Mama at the hospital during the day. Papa is the only one who can stay with her during the night. "Yes, I want to stay here."
Papa nods and stands, turning to the other adults. "Sorry about all this."
"Don't even worry about it," is the patient reply. "Kurt is more than welcome."
"Thank you. I'll come by in the morning to pick him up." Papa reaches out to ruffle his hair, telling him to be good, before he's out the front door and climbing into his car and driving back to the hospital. Kurt doesn't meet anyone's eyes after that. Not Rachel, or Blaine, or either of their daddies. He's quiet during dinner and is distracted during the movie they watch.
It's only when he's curled up between Rachel and Blaine on the living room floor, wrapped in a pile of soft blankets, does Kurt finally let the tears fall. Everyone else is already asleep, so he presses his hands over his face to keep quiet, even as his shoulder shake hard with sobs.
Suddenly, arms wrap around him and he gasps, uncovering his face to find large hazel eyes peering at him quietly in the dark. "Kurt. Kurt, it's okay," Blaine whispers. He rubs his back comfortingly, the way Mama does, which makes Kurt cry harder.
"S-she's sick." Kurt hiccups, trying to keep his voice down so he doesn't wake up Rachel too. "She's been sick for a really long time. Papa says going to the hospital is supposed to make her better, but it's not. She's not getting better."
Blaine gazes at him for a long moment. "Me and Rachel had a mommy once," he admits softly, "We don't really remember her, but she was sick too. She was so sick that she couldn't take care of us anymore."
Kurt pulls away, suddenly scared. "Do you think that'll happen to me too?"
"No," Blaine says quickly. "Our mommy gave us up because she didn't want us. But the way you talk about your mommy, she must love you just as much as you love her. Don't give up on that."
Squeezing his eyes shut, Kurt burrows closer and wishes as hard as he can that Blaine is right.
The title of this story comes from the song, "We Are Young" by Fun featuring Janelle Monae.