Summary: Kurt and Finn get into an argument when Finn says that Gabe, Kurt and Blaine's son, is too soft for a boy his age. Cue protective Daddy!Kurt.
Rated: K+? Ugh, that's weird. I'm so used to writing T.
The annual Glee Christmas Party was in full swing and most of the parents were lounging around on the couches, glad for the moments peace as they happily watched their children dance in the middle of the room. The party was held in the Hummel-Anderson home this year since so many people were attending and the boys had a big enough house to fit everyone.
Kurt was sprawled across the couch, his head in his husband's lap and his feet dangling off the end, while Tina was sitting on Blaine's other side, talking to him about his latest album.
Kurt zoned out. He loved hearing how excited his husband got when he talked about his music, and he certainly loved Blaine's music, but the loud music from the party was giving him a headache. The first thing his eyes zeroed in on was his own son across the room.
Six-year-old Gabe was sitting under the tree, peaking out as people walked by. Normally Gabe wasn't very quiet, but with who he was talking to, it was no wonder he had decided to sit back and listen.
Not that Barb gave Gabe much of a chance to talk, anyways. Rachel's daughter had inherited her ability to talk anyone and everyone's face off. If someone tried to get a word in, Barb would barrel on without stopping. And Gabe took after Blaine, in that he would politely sit back and let the diva-in-training finish what she had to say before he stepped in.
"He looks so much like you," Blaine muttered suddenly, kissing Kurt's forehead. The older man rolled his eyes.
"No way, he's clearly your son," he teased.
That was the confusing part. Kurt and Blaine used the same method as Rachel's dads did when they decided to have a baby. Neither wanted to know who was actually biologically related to their son, but they both figured they would be able to figure it out by his physical appearances, especially since Kurt and Blaine looked so different.
But, as it turned out, they got their wish. Neither had any idea who was Gabe's biological father. The young boy had black, curly hair and wide, triangular-shaped eyebrows just like Blaine, but he also had Kurt's ocean eyes and delicate skin. His personality was a perfect blend of both men. In many ways, Kurt was glad for this. It was almost as if they had Gabe alone, with no help from anyone.
Kurt's attention was snapped elsewhere when he felt the couch sink under heavy weight. He looked up and sighed as he saw his step-brother occupy Tina's empty seat. He was slightly heavier than he had been in high school and had taken an unpleasant interest in having facial stubble, but other than that he was still the same big bear they had all come to know and love.
"Hey guys, having fun?" Finn asked. He sounded nervous, and one glance across the room told Kurt why; Rachel had tried once more to get Finn to let Barb put make up on him.
"I'm having a lovely night," Blaine said dreamily. He fingers idly brushed through Kurt's hair, stroking from his forehead back so that he didn't mess it up too much. "Yourself?"
"I'm...okay." Rachel was jumping up and down, waving him to come over. Naturally, he sunk lower in to the couch. "So...What's up with Gabe?"
Kurt's head snapped up. He didn't like the tone Finn was using, especially since it involved his son.
"I don't know, Finn. Why don't you tell me?" He tone was biting and Blaine stroked his forearm soothingly to calm him down. Finn, meanwhile, threw his hands in the air in a surrender motion.
"Dude, chill- I mean, Kurt, chill. I was just curious about how he's coming along." Kurt looked up at Blaine in confusion, wondering if his husband had any idea what Finn meant. Blaine's perfectly arched eyebrow told him that they, at least, were on the same page.
"I'm afraid we don't know what you mean," Blaine said politely.
"Well, look." Finn pointed to the couch on the other side of the room where some of the boys were jumping off onto each other. Kurt frowned with disapproval but Finn was just smiling, watching his seven-year-old Julian tackle Mr. Schue's thirteen-year-old to the ground. Poor little Nick stood up shakily and attempted to shield himself while Julian came at him again.
"Yes, I see a bunch of little boys beating the crap out of each other. What is your point?" Kurt was still confused by all this.
"Well...Look at Gabe."
Gabe was still sitting under the tree, only this time he was under there with Kimmy, Tina and Mike's daughter, and Kinzie. Kinzie was the youngest of all the children at the party. She was almost three years old but was very small for her age. Her light brown skin and big, brown eyes reflected Mercedes, who was watching her daughter like a hawk, but her wide small had "trouty mouth" written all over it. Kinzie was cradled in Gabe's lap as the young boy pushed her hair out of her face and giggled with Kimmy.
"I still don't understand your point," Blaine offered. "Gabe is just sitting there talking with the girls."
"Exactly. Shouldn't he be...I don't know...wrestling with the boys? I mean, he's six. Julian was beating people up by the time he was three."
"Maybe Gabe prefers to steer clear of violence."
"Don't you think he needs to be toughened up a bit, though?" Kurt leaped up from his laying position so he could get a good look at his step-brother. Meanwhile, Blaine was trying to push him back down.
"What if my boy doesn't want to be "toughened up" as you put it? What if he just wants to be a kid?"
"Don't you think it's your responsibility to teach him how to handle himself in the real world? What if he gets hurt because you-"
"Are you suggesting I'm not protecting my son?" It was easy to pick up the venom in Kurt's voice now. Finn's eyes got wide and his face turned red, but Blaine placed his hands on Kurt's chest, pushed him down a little, and turned to Finn.
"Calm down, sweetie. I'm sure Finn didn't mean it the way it came out, right Finn?" His dark eyes narrowed at the other man.
"I just...I just meant that sooner or later he's going to need to toughen up, because you can't protect him forever! Geez, calm your nips!"
Kurt placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose.
"First of all, don't use that word in front of the children. And second, I know I can't protect him forever." Kurt sighed and leaned in against Blaine's side. He looked across the room at his baby boy, who was playing with Kinzie's tight curls.
"Then why don't you encourage him to go wrestle? Or do other masc-um...self-defense activities?"
Kurt was going to ignore the fact that Finn wanted to say masculine. He was sort of expecting this conversation to come up eventually. As he said early, Gabe was a perfect blend of Kurt and Blaine. He got Blaine's politeness and his desire to avoid conflict, and he got Blaine's nerdiness. But he also got Kurt's gentle ways, his more feminine personality traits such as a sense of style, poise, and a liking for things that society deemed "girly". He wasn't surprised Finn was trying to intervene.
"I don't encourage him to do any of that because he's never asked to do that. I mean, Blaine is into sports and he's offered on several occasions, but Gabe just isn't into that kind of stuff. I don't want to force him to be something he's not. We promised we'd never do that to our son."
"But Kurt, he's getting older. He needs to toughen up soon or else-"
"What makes you think that? I have a real problem with this society, you know? I mean, we create these beautiful, innocent, loving creatures, and then one day say "I think it's time to take your childhood away from you and toss you into the big, cruel world!" Who are we to decide when to tear the unconditional love and acceptance from our children?"
"But, Kurt-"
"At what point did you decide that you were going to make Julian aggressive? At what point did you decide that he's seen enough of his childhood, that now he's old enough to become brutal? You know, Barb is two years older than him. I don't see you acquainting her with violence."
"That's different, she's a-"
"A girl? So that means that she's incapable of learning how to look after herself? What, are you going to train Julian up to be a prize fighter and then have him follow his sister around her entire life, because you decided that girls shouldn't learn to protect themselves?"
"Chill out! It was just a question! Blaine, back me up on this one." Blaine shook his head.
"Can't do that, Finn. I'm in agreement with Kurt on this one. If my boy wants to learn to fight and play rough, I can teach him. But if he doesn't, I'm not going to force him to be something he's not. When he's older Kurt and I will take him to the gym so he at least might find a physical activity that interests him, but Kurt was right. I don't want the innocence to be ripped away from our son at such a young age."
Finn just stared at the two men, unsure of what to say. His mouth opened as if to say something but he was interrupted by a tug on his shirt.
"Daddy," Barb whined. "How come Julian gets to fight and I can't?" She reminded Finn so much of her mother right now. After a few seconds of silence Finn smiled slightly.
"Of course you can! Just be careful, and if one of those boys hits you-"
"I'll get up and punch them square in the face!" Barb announced happily, fire in her bright hazel eyes. Finn laughed and pushed her along and she skipped over to the circle of boys. Finn nodded at Kurt, his smile still in tact, and went to hug Rachel.
"Damn," Blaine breathed in Kurt's ear, sending shivers down his spine. "You're so hot when you get like that."
"Shut up," Kurt laughed, flicking his ear playfully.
He looked over at his child, who was swaying Kinzie in his arms and singing her to sleep, and he understood why Finn asked him those questions. Kurt was worried about how the world would treat Gabe as he got older, too. But, staring into his eyes, Kurt's eyes, and seeing how happy he was, Kurt couldn't take that away from him.
Because he'd come to learn that there was nothing more pure than a child's innocence, and he wanted Gabe to remain a child until he was ready to take on the world.
After all, just because Barb was beating the crap out of boys right now didn't mean Gabe had to.
Hmm, do I like this or do I not? I can't decide. OH! AWESOME IDEA! Why don't YOU help me decide? Reviews make me so happy you couldn't even believe it, and right now I REALLY need the happy vibes. So please review.
Thanks for reading!
Alex