Hello friends, welcome back! This might be a fairly long A/N to start, so bear with me. Firstly, I hope you're all well and surviving without Klaine. I miss them a lot. I am never going to say never but this might well be the last fanfiction I write, so I wanted to be indulgent and write something I really love. It's AU, and no other Glee characters are present except Burt (it's the law) and Cooper.
This is a gentle, unassuming story with very minimal angst. There's nothing horribly shocking or hard to deal with, it's just a sweet little tale about two people falling in love. I hope you all enjoy it.
Updates as always will be Sunday, Wednesday and Friday according to my UK times.
Find me on Twitter and Tumblr, mrscriss2012.
Becky
Kurt Hummel sighs, and marches to the bottom of the stairs. "Danny, bud! Come on, we're going to be late!"
Pulling on some boots, he takes a quick glance in the mirror to fix his hair, and then turns to the sound of feet clattering down the stairs. "Hey." He smiles, holding out a small pirate themed backpack. "You ready?"
The small boy looks back, his fair hair flopping down over his wide blue eyes, which seem filled with fear. "Can't I just stay here with you?"
"I have work, baby," Kurt says affectionately. He ruffles his hair, and then pulls sneakers onto the reluctant boys feet.
"Grandpa, then?" he asks hopefully. "I could go to the garage. I'll be a good boy and won't touch anything."
"Sweetie, it's your first day of Kindergarten," Kurt says gently, kneeling in front of him. "You got this. Come on."
"Who's got kisses?" Burt Hummel, Kurt's dad, booms, as he comes down the hall. "Where's my gorgeous grandson?"
He scoops Danny into his arms, showering his tiny face with kisses and making him giggle. "Now you be good, huh? Don't you go hiding tacks on the teachers chair, or cutting the girls hair when their backs are turned, you hear?"
"I would never!" Danny protests, his eyes wide. His little hands take Burt's cap from his head, and places it firmly on his own. "Daddy says I have to go, is that right?"
"It is, buddy, I'm afraid. You're five now, a big boy. But you know what? You're gonna love it, isn't he Kurt?"
Kurt wants to argue back, to grumble about how this will most likely be the start of thirteen years of misery, where his son is bullied endlessly for having a dad who is gay. He also wants to add that he won't enjoy it either, that he's still not sure he's doing the right thing, and that when he dreamed of sending his son to school for the first time, it was to some classy private establishment in New York, and not the same public elementary school he himself had attended in Lima, Ohio, but he doesn't.
He doesn't need to add any of that, because his dad knows exactly how he feels. His son does not; a forced air of brightness has surrounded him in the three weeks since they moved here, and in with Burt, which Danny thought was amazing, and Kurt intends to keep it that way.
"Okay Danny, give grandpa one more kiss and then we have to go." He gathers his own lunch and bag, scoops Danny's backpack off the floor where it's been dropped in favor of Grandpa's arms, and kisses his dad's cheek. "We'll see you later," he says over the tears lodged in his throat.
"Who is my teacher?" Danny asks, as Kurt backs out of the driveway.
They both wave at Burt, who is pretending not to cry, and then Kurt drives off down the street. "Mrs Fisher. I told you that."
"Is she nice?"
"Yes. We spoke on the phone."
"And it's the school I sawed?"
"Saw," Kurt corrects. "Yes. The one with the rainbow room, remember? You liked it."
"Is the rainbow room for you? Because you're gay?"
Kurt laughs, shaking his head. "No, sweetie. It's a room for playing in. Mrs Fisher will explain it all to you and show you around. I'm sorry we only got a quick visit, but our arrival was unexpected so..."
"If I don't like it, will you come get me?"
"Grandpa will pick you up at three," Kurt says, as brightly as he can. "Then you can go to the garage with him if you're a good boy, until I finish work."
They ride the rest of the way in silence, with Danny staring contemplatively out of the passenger window. He's always liked coming to visit grandpa in Ohio, and it's incredibly exciting to be living with him, but he misses the hustle and bustle of New York. He misses his friends and their apartment, especially his bedroom, which daddy had decorated bright blue and orange for him, with a big disney mural on the wall. He doesn't miss Marcus though, and he's not about to mention his name in front of either daddy or grandpa, because they make their lips go all small and thin and look angry, before saying tightly that he shouldn't worry about New York, and should focus on being here instead.
Kurt pulls into the parking lot of Parkside Elementary School and cuts the engine, turning to look at his son.
"Listen," he says, taking his little hand and holding it tight. "Um...while you're here, it might be better if you just don't mention anything about me being gay."
Danny frowns. This is confusing for a child who has been hearing that he should be proud of his daddy ever since he can remember. "Why?"
"Well, it's um...it's complicated, but just don't say anything about it, okay?"
"But you always say no lies."
"It's not lying, it's just not telling people," Kurt says gently. It hurts his heart to do this, to confuse his son in this way, but he also knows that he's not prepared to take any chances when it comes to his happiness. Not anymore. "Things are different here, than in New York. Not everyone really understands what it means to be gay, and I wouldn't want to upset anyone or make them angry at you."
"Why would they be angry at me? Did I do wrong?"
"No, no. It's just they might be angry because I'm gay, and they might accidentally take that out on you, that's all."
"I don't understand, daddy."
"No," Kurt says with a sigh. "I don't either."
They head into the main school building together, with Danny holding tight to Kurt's hand. He wants to scoop his son up into his arms, but he also knows that he doesn't want anyone to laugh at him and think he's a baby, because Kurt can still vividly recall his own first day here, when he had run down the halls after his dad, screaming and crying and begging for him to take him home.
The receptionist looks up with a kind smile, which warms Kurt somewhat. Maybe things have changed in the last twenty five years.
"Hi," he says brightly. "Danny Hummel. It's his first day of Kindergarten."
"Daniel Hummel," the receptionist says, looking through a stack of papers.
"No, no, Danny," Kurt corrects.
"Daniel," the receptionist says again, looking at him over the top of her glasses. "We use the student's full Christian names here."
"Which is Danny," Kurt says firmly. "He's not and never will be a Daniel."
Maybe things haven't changed that much after all.
"Well, hello, Danny," she says, looking over the counter at the little boy. "Are you looking forward to your first day?"
Danny stares back, fixing her with a glare. "Nope."
"Danny!" Kurt reprimands, but the receptionist gives a laugh.
"Well don't worry," she says sweetly. "A few nerves are to be expected. Now, I just need your daddy to fill out this form," she says, pushing a piece of paper over to Kurt. "And then I'll take you down to your classroom to meet Mr Anderson."
"Oh, no, no," Kurt says quickly, but she holds her hand up.
"Standard practice, Mr Hummel. I'll take him down and settle him in. You're welcome to come with us, of course."
"No, it's not that, he's in Mrs Fisher's class. Not Mr whatever."
"Oh, of course, you haven't heard. Mrs Fisher left very suddenly. Her husband got relocated and she decided to quit right away rather than start the new school year. Principal Barnes wasn't very happy," she confides in a whisper.
"So you hired a man?"
"Well I didn't," she laughs. "Principal Barnes did. She's ever so progressive."
"Great," Kurt mutters in annoyance. He knows it is entirely unreasonable and dumb to be annoyed at the thought of a male teacher for his son, but he's really not in the mood to have any men in his son's life in any capacity, other than him and his dad.
They are led down the corridor as the receptionist prattles on. "He's ever so young, the teacher," she says, with something akin to a giggle. "Very good looking." She giggles again, and it sounds so wrong coming from a woman who must be in her mid fifties at least. "You'll have to keep an eye on Mrs Hummel when she meets him."
"There isn't a Mrs Hummel," Kurt snaps. "I'm not married."
"Daddy's..." Danny starts, but he looks up, remembering what Kurt had told him. "Me and Daddy live with grandpa."
"Oh." She is surprised, but recovers quickly. "Well, that's nice."
She pushes open the door to a large, bright, and airy classroom. It's the same one Danny and Kurt had viewed two weeks ago, but it had been empty and quiet then. Now it's full of wild children wearing Indian headdresses, and tearing around shouting.
"Where the hell is the teacher?" Kurt snaps angrily. "All I see is utter chaos."
"Mr Anderson!" She shouts loudly, and the children all draw up short. All at once, a young man pokes his head out from behind a large stack of cardboard boxes. He has a massive feathered headdress, with red and white face paint smeared in lines across his cheeks.
"Yep?"
"If I may," she says stiffly. "You have a new student."
"I do? Oh."
He climbs out from behind the boxes, stopping to swing a young girl high in the air. "Okay, Lily, you're in charge of the fort. Kids, play quietly now while I meet our newest recruit."
He bounds over, not dissimilar to a kid himself, Kurt thinks, but the receptionist is right. He is young and incredibly good looking. When he takes the headdress off, Kurt sees he has very dark hair, which he has obviously attempted to gel down that morning, but it's now starting to break free and curl over his ears and across his forehead. He is dressed in nice pants and a yellow and blue plaid shirt, with a bow tie at his neck. Not that the clothes really matter, when Kurt notices his eyes. They're incredible. The colour is not entirely discernible. Amber, Kurt guesses, would be the closest description, but they're actually so much more than that.
He smiles, flashing a row of perfectly even white teeth, and when he does so, those remarkable eyes crinkle, and Kurt has to look away.
"Hey there," he says, crouching down in front of Danny. "My name's Mr Anderson. Pleased to meet you."
"I'm Danny," he replies, and he politely shakes the hand offered to him.
"Wonderful. And Danny, is this your friend?"
"That's my daddy," Danny laughs, looking up at Kurt, who tries to smile.
"Well nice to meet you too, daddy," Mr Anderson says, and he stands and offers his hand to Kurt. "Blaine Anderson."
"Hi."
"You should have all the paperwork you need," the receptionist says loudly, because Blaine is still smiling at Kurt as if unsure how to proceed. "I sent it over to you yesterday."
"Oh! Right. I did print some stuff out..." Blaine trails off and goes over to a desk, which is cluttered with various stacks of papers, three coffee mugs, an open glue stick, and a large stuffed monkey. "Um... ahaha! Danny Hummel, that right?"
"That's me," the little boy says happily, and satisfied, the receptionist takes her leave, telling Danny she hopes he has a good day.
"Well, Danny, let's settle you in. Um... Kyle? Could you be Danny's buddy today? Now, you all remember what it's like to be new here, because you've only just started yourselves, so I want you all to be extra kind to Danny, because he's starting all on his own. Kyle will be his buddy, but you all need to help him out and be a good friend, okay?"
"Yes Mr Anderson," they all chorus back, and Kurt has to smile at how cute it sounds.
"You uh... you can um...stay, if you want to," he offers to Kurt. "You know, just to make sure he settles? Not stay, stay. I might get in trouble. Or I might not, I don't know."
Kurt is surprised that a man clearly fairly close in age to himself can appear so confident and calm in front of a class of five year olds, yet is nearly incapable of stringing a sentence together for an adult to understand.
"Thanks, but I have to get to work."
"Oh right."
"My daddy works at Target," Danny informs him, and Kurt blushes and zips his Marc Jacobs jacket a little higher so he won't see the red polo underneath, even though his secret is now out.
"Oh well. Yes. He should get to work then," Blaine says to Danny, a twinkle playing in his eye. "Target might crumble and cease to function without him there to keep it going."
Kurt draws up short, giving Blaine an absolute death glare. "Well it might not be as noble as your profession, but I have a son to support, in case you hadn't noticed, and he has to take priority. A job is a job. I have a duty to earn money and provide for my child."
"Oh gosh!" Utterly horrified, Blaine tentatively reaches out to lay a hand on Kurt's arm, but sensing the rage he has induced, he pulls back without touching him. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean it that way at all. I was just...oh goodness. No, please, don't think I was being rude about your job. I really didn't intend it to be taken that way. I was trying to make Danny feel better about you leaving, and I... I'm really sorry."
"Daddy has to go to his crappy job," Kurt says to Danny, ignoring Blaine completely. He gets down on his knees and hugs him close. "I love you so much my darling boy. I'll see you later, and you can tell me all about your first day over dinner, okay? I'll even make you fish sticks as a special treat."
"I want you to stay with me," Danny whispers, and then his tears start. They are silent, which Kurt finds so much harder than if he were wailing hysterically. "Please, daddy."
"I can't, baby. I'm so sorry." He kisses Danny's cheek and straightens up, still refusing to look Blaine in the eye. "Take care of him."
"Of course."
Blaine scoops Danny up onto his hip, reassuring him over and over that he'll be okay, while Kurt turns and walks quickly away, leaving his son in the arms of a man, who, in Kurt's opinion, is the most stunning man he's ever seen, and also a total, bumbling idiot.
