Third Strike
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee.
The first time he saw the human called Kurt he was a mere child, and so was the human. Adam had approached the veil separating his world from the human world to observe the human people. He was curious about them, he always had been. And this particular human child piqued his interest. He really couldn't put his finger on what it was about the boy, but whatever it was, it was special.
The child was curled up in his bed and he was crying. Tears rolled off his cheeks and got soaked up by the pillow. He was silently shaking, as if he was holding back his sobs. Sometimes, the boy would quietly whisper:
"Mommy... mommy..."
A noise outside the room made the boy freeze. He quickly wiped his face with his sleeve, turned on his side and pretended to be asleep. A man opened the door to the boy's room. A large man, with sad eyes. The boy's father, Adam assumed. He looked at the child for a moment, then closed the door again and left. Adam looked at the boy. He was still awake, still silently crying. Adam understood. He cried so silently because he didn't want his father to hear. Perhaps he didn't want to his father to worry about him.
This was the first time Adam broke the law.
No one was allowed to pass the veil into the human world. Observing them through it was allowed, but most of his kind didn't even care to do that. They didn't see a reason to. Adam was considered strange for spending so much time there, watching them. He had never broken the law, though. Until now.
He reached his hand through the veil, and let some of his power pass from his fingertips into the boy.
The boy stopped crying. His tense little body relaxed, and after a while the boy fell asleep. He slept peacefully with a smile on his face, dreaming good dreams.
Adam pulled his hand back to the inside of the veil, staring guiltily around, wondering if he had been seen. No one there. Good. Had anyone seen what he had done he would be punished.
Second time Adam broke the law for the boy was many years later.
He had been checking in on the boy from time to time, having a need to know if he was all right. He hadn't intervened again, though. The boy's life was hard, but he seemed more than capable of taking care of himself. When people were cruel – and they often were – the boy raised his chin and looked at them as if they didn't matter. The boy was strong.
But then Adam saw another boy had started tormenting him at school – and this one was different from the others. He was relentless. And then that same boy forced a kiss on him and threatened to kill him.
Adam tried to stay out of it. He shouldn't break the law again. But one day, upon checking in on the boy, he found him huddled under the bleachers of his school, resting his head against his knees and sobbing so heartbreakingly that this time Adam didn't think, he just reached through the veil and released some of his power, letting it stream inside the boy.
The boy's shoulders had stopped shaking. He raised his head and sighed. Then a faint smile appeared on his lips. He felt better now.
Unfortunately, this time Adam had been seen. And he was punished. He was kept in the core of their world, forbidden to even approach the veil. And he was stripped of most of his power. He spent most of his time thinking of Kurt, the human boy. It felt so frustrating not being able to check in on him every day like he always did. Adam began to understand that he had slowly, gradually, ever since that first time he saw him when they were both children, fallen in love with Kurt. And after realizing this, Adam made a decision. He knew what he wanted to do.
After some time, the others let their guard down around Adam. He managed to sneak away from the core, and hid in a secluded place close to the veil. He spent some time there before putting his plan into action, observing Kurt, finding out what his life was like now.
The boy was no longer in the same place he had lived. He was in New York now. Adam knew of it, apparently it was one of the biggest cities in the human world. And in fact, Kurt could not really be called a boy any longer. He was more mature, shouldering a man's life, a man's responsibilities. He worked, and he was just about to start a new school. A school for singing and performing. Adam smiled. That was always Kurt's dream. Adam had seen Kurt singing the song that allowed him to be admitted to the school. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard.
But Kurt had sadness in him still. A new kind of sadness now. A broken heart. Adam couldn't fathom who would have it in him to break such a heart as Kurt's.
Adam decided it was time. He would break the law for the third time. He would pass through the veil into the human world, this time fully. And he wasn't coming back.
He stood by the veil, gathering courage. A voice called out to him. It was Kari, a childhood friend.
"Everyone's looking for you."
"I know," he said.
She was silent. She understood what he meant to do.
"You can't," she said. "It's against the law."
"I don't care," Adam said. "I want to be close by, just in case he needs me."
"And what if this human doesn't even want you in his life, as a friend, or anything? You can never come back! You'd be stuck there, among the humans! They are so cruel. Do you really want that? To live there?"
"Yes. I don't care if he doesn't want me around. I don't expect anything from him, and I'll respect his wishes. I just want to be out there. Just in case."
"Why? Why take such risks, why go this far?"
"Because I love him."
Kari sighed. She knew there was no chance of convincing Adam not to go through with it.
"Do you even have enough power to create a human identity?"
Adam shook his head.
"Take some of mine."
She took his hand, and let her power pass into him. She smiled sadly.
"Good luck. I hope you'll be happy over there."
She embraced him.
"Thank you, Kari," Adam said, a tear rolling down his cheek. "You're a good friend."
"Hurry up, now, before they find out and stop you."
Adam nodded and turned his back on his own world. With a deep breath, he passed through the curtain, and entered the human world.
This was the third time he broke the law. And this time was final. By passing fully into the human world, he was forever banished from his own. But he didn't care.
He used the last of his power and the power Kari had given him to create a human identity. He created a past life for himself, in England. He found an aging couple there whose biggest grief was their childlessness. He made himself their son.
He created a place for himself at Kurt's school, and memories in people around him to make it seem as though he had been among them for years. He found some people around NYADA – outcasts – that he could relate to. He used the last of his powers to create a place for them and himself, where they could relax and be themselves among others like them, who wouldn't judge them. The Apples. Adam's Apples.
His power was all gone now. He had become human.
And then, finally, it was time.
Kurt was there. Looking at the sign up-sheet for the Apples.
Adam approached.
"You're thinking about signing up, aren't you?"