Elizabeth
-xOx-
Warnings: Mild course language, homophobia and ignorance, as well as an average authors attempt at a more dramatic story. It probably won't venture into Angst territory though. Reader discretion is advised.
Spoilers: To stay on the safe side, everything from the pilot onward.
Disclaimer: I am Ryan Murphy, and I do enjoy toying with the viewers of Glee by promising shit I don't deliver on, annoucing major cast changes to the show, and hiring a delicious actor by the name of Chord Overstreet, underutilizing him during the season, then firing his ass at the end only to rehire him! Pah-leaze!
-xOx-
After loading the last of the dirty plates into the dish-washer, Burt Hummel closed the door to the appliance and started the machine up. He wiped his hands on the dish towel and picked his mug of black coffee up and took a sip from it and sighed contently.
A loud German voice boomed from the television speakers in the lounge and the burly older man chuckled to himself as the title sequence of that fashion show started up. Burt had never seen the show so he didn't know what it was about, but Carole seemed to love it. Burt would always sit in the kitchen reading the paper or going over the books from the auto-shop while he heard exclamations of disgust or approval at whatever Carole was disgusted of or approving over. Sure enough, when the 52 year old man sat down on the small chair, he paused with his mug raised mid-way to his lips as Carole yelled at the television about some chick named Heidi, and some dude named Tim. He laughed and brought his mug all the way to his lips and took a sip of the strong coffee.
Carole had always asked Burt to sit with her and watch the show. He knew enough about it to know that it was about fashion and it was one of those competitive reality shows in the hopes in spawning the next big thing in fashion. Burt just wasn't interested in shows like that, so he always sat it out. Plus, the show held onto memories that Burt would rather not recall. But of course he never expressed that bit of information to his wife.
Burt picked up the newspaper and started flipping through the pages until he came to the sports section. After reading about the happenings and scoreboards of his favorite teams, Burt got up and went to make himself another coffee. He yelled out into the living room to ask his wife if she'd like one, to which she answered in the affirmative. He got to work making the two drinks, and decided that he would sit out the remainder of the show with Carole, wanting to spend some time snuggled on the couch with his wife of 7 years whom he still loved very much all these years later.
The telephone rang and Carole shouted that she had it. Burt finished the drinks and placed them on a small tray with some of the M&M cookies that his and Carole's granddaughter, Melody, had made for them. He beamed at the mention of his angelic 5-year-old granddaughter. He was very much a proud pop. Burt picked the tray up and walked out of the kitchen and through the hallway to get to the living room.
Seeing his wife standing in the hallway as he passed, still talking on the phone. "Yes sweetie, just get her some flowers and apologize for what happened. She'll understand" the beautiful older woman cooed into the receiver.
Burt mouthed "Finn?" in question, to which his wife rolled her eyes and nodded.
He loved his step-son deeply, but Burt couldn't help but snort at the notion that the 23-year-old married man still called his mom when he had a fight with his wife. But, he supposed, that's what parents were for, to be there for their children no matter how old they get...
The pang of guilt, shame and self-hate that had been a common occurrence to him for 9 years washed over Burt. His hold on the tray tightened as he walked into the living room, the tray shaking slightly. He breathed in evenly and exhaled deeply as he set the tray onto the coffee table in front of the large sofa. He plonked his butt on the couch and clenched his fists in his lap, trying to shake the feelings away, all the while inhaling and exhaling deep breaths.
His eyes settled onto the large television mounted on the wall above the fireplace. It showed a slender red head woman talking to an older man with grey hair and glasses as they perused through a rack of colorful clothing. Burt's breathing began to even out, and slowly the guilt and self-hate receded from the forefront of his mind for the time being. The shame, though, Burt knew would always stay with him, burning a hole in his heart because of the ignorant actions of a scared man all those years ago.
He heard the click of the phone and a second later, Carole Hummel walked into the room, graceful and womanly, instantly making Burt smile genuinely. He truly loved this woman, and he thanked God every morning for that fateful day in which her car had broken down and she needed a repair, leading her to a very willing Burt at Hummel's Tires and Lube.
Carole smiled back at her husband, wise wrinkles appearing around her eyes as she did so. "Finn and Quinn had a fight. Again. Something about him not paying attention during Melody's school play" she informed her husband.
Burt handed his wife the green mug of tea while shaking his head with a laugh. "Sounds about right."
Carole settled down next to her husband and Burt instinctively threw an arm over her shoulders, pulling her in close. The woman snuggled in and the two sipped lazily at their hot drinks watching the show playing on TV. Burt learnt that it was actually called Project Runway, and retired Victoria's Secret model Heidi Klum was the host/judge/loud German voice he always heard from the kitchen. He also learnt that it was the semi-final round, and there were only 4 contestants left. The red head chick named Jubilissa, who had been on the screen when Burt had entered the living room. A tall black man named Deon, who was currently talking to the older grey haired man who Burt learnt was named Tim Gunn. The others were Cecily, someone who Carole thought didn't deserve to be in the finals. And a dude named Elizabeth. Burt actually laughed at that, earning an elbow in the gut by his wife. Regardless of his name, this Elizabeth dude was apparently Carole's, the judges, and the fans favorite designer of the whole series.
Burt paid as much attention as he could, but he wasn't exactly sure what was happening. The old guy with glasses talked weird and always looked at the clothing the contestants showed him with a look of contemplation and condemnation most of the time. He was also confused as to why it felt more like an interview and documentary than it did a competition show.
"Because" Carole answered when Burt asked the question, "When it's the final 4, the contestants leave and go back to their own homes to complete their collection for Fashion Week. Tim visits them half way through to check on their progress, and the contestants talk more in depth about themselves and their inspirations and things like that."
"Alright, I got it" Burt replied with a firm nod, now understanding the game plays.
They sat through Cecily's segment, Carole making snarky comments about her. Burt yawned 6 times and was about to announce that he was going to go take out the garbage. Just before the commercial break, though, something on the screen caught his attention. It showed a clip of what was coming up next, and it was the Elizabeth guy. As soon as Burt saw him, he froze and stared intently, dashing forward quickly to snatch the remote control up and hit pause. Carole jerked in surprise at the motion and blinked at her husband. Burt had gone pale, his hand clammy as they gripped the remote tightly.
He had paused the screen at a perfect shot, the man in the screen smiling widely at the camera with a white background and a mannequin thing behind him. Burt swallowed at the piercing blue/grey eyes staring at him in 3DHD. The skin of the man, of this Elizabeth, was creamy white, like marble or alabaster. His shoulders were broader, his arms toned in the sleeveless black shirt he was wearing, an over sized silk scarf hanging loosely around his neck.
His face, Elizabeth's face, was defined with sharp angular cheekbones, and a subtly set jaw. His nose, Elizabeth's nose, retained an upturned tip, slender and elfin like, almost feminine against the other masculine features. His caramel brown hair, Elizabeth's caramel brown hair, was styled immaculately. Parted off-centre to the left, leaving a section in the middle, then parted again on the right side. The two outside sections were slicked down, while the middle section was coiffed up slightly, almost Tin-Tin-esque, but more stylish. The smile on the man, on Elizabeth, was wide, his pink-stained glossy lips parted to show his sparkling white teeth, a little small, but perfectly aligned and gapless. This man, this Elizabeth, was beautiful. A stunningly handsome man, an aura of wisdom and beauty mixed with youth and talent, mixed with hurt and overcoming.
This Elizabeth was a splitting image of the Elizabeth.
Burt closed his eyes, fighting the tears he knew were about to fall. He hadn't cried since his wedding day with Carole, and even then it was more about the man on the television screen than anything else. And before that, the last time the man had cried was that day, the day he made the biggest mistake of his life.
Carole looked on in confusion and curiosity at her husband, laying a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "Burt?" she prompted.
His breath hitched, sounding painful to both adults. Burt opened his eyes and looked back at Kurt, at Elizabeth, on the screen, his eyes still boring into Burt's heart. "I...He is...That's..." the flabbergasted and shameful older man stuttered out.
Carole frowned and looked at the screen where Burt was staring at. She furrowed her brow at Elizabeth Evans, her favorite contestant on the show. After looking back and forth from the television to Burt, Carole was no closer to figuring out what was wrong. "What's wrong, dear?" she asked concerned. "Do you know him? Elizabeth?"
Burt flinched but nodded. "I...I do. I did" he corrected weakly.
Carole gaped at her husband. "You do?" she asked curiously, placing a hand over her chest, "How?"
Burt swallowed dryly as he pulled his eyes away from the screen. Looking at Carole, her blue eyes shining with concern and love. "He, uh..." Burt coughed, clearing his throat, "He's my son."
-xOx-
A/N: This is a prologue, obviously. Basically I got the idea after talking with a few of my friends, and one of them told me about how she's only just started a build a relationship with her mother after not seeing each other since my friend was kicked out for being gay when she was 14. I kind of thought about how tht would work out for our favourite father/son duo, and this here fic was born.
It's mad AU, and the timeline is a bit blurry. It's a semi-futurefic with flashbacks of various scenes. The timeline in which Kurt was kicked out will be explained in further chapters, but i've tweaked a few things. Such as the fact that Quinn was never pregnant to Puck, Also, as you might have guessed, Finn and Quinn are married, as are Kurt and Sam. Hevans is my OTP, and I needed a husband for Kurt, so it just fit for me.
Also, if you, by any chance, read my other fics, don't worry about those. They'll all be updated soon. I work on them simultaneously, and tell myself that i'll wait to post them all together, but then I get antsy and go ahead and update them one at a time! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story, and please let me know what you think with alerts, favourites and all that jazz!
Coming Up: Semi-flash back scenes. Burt and Carole watch Elizabeth's segment of the show, which recalls the long buried memories of a time Burt would rather forget. Homophobia and ignorance leads to the deterioration of an already strained relationship.