The door opened.
Burt didn't look up from the paperwork he was filling out, assuming it was one of his boys, or the new employee, hardly anyone else ever showed up in his office. A nervous cough sounded and finally Burt's head shot up. The man was smartly dressed in what looked to be an Armani suit. Kurt was always raving about them and how everyone should have one. The man had jet black close cut hair, he was carrying a briefcase and had a phone attached to his hip. It looked like some form of smart phone, something Burt would never understand, he preferred a phone that did nothing but take or make calls, and had no more than fifteen or so buttons on it.
"Can I help you?" Burt asked, setting down his pen. The man tugged at his cuff links and shifted. "My son is Blaine Anderson." Burt's eyebrows rose. "Oh, Mr. Anderson. My name is Burt, and my son Kurt is dating your son. Pleased to meet you." Burt offered his hand. Mr. Anderson slowly shook his hand; Burt could almost feel the tension. "That's, um. That's what I wanted to speak with you about." Mr. Anderson looked around the room, his vision resting on anything but Burt which happened to be the framed photo of Kurt at sectionals.
Kurt and Blaine. Hugging.
Mr. Anderson cleared his throat and his gaze quickly flickered up to Burt's. Burt sat back in his chair, bringing his hands up behind his head. "Mr. Anderson, take a seat, would you like a beer?" he asked. Looking visibly relieved the man sat down in the empty chair that Kurt had insisted be placed at a 40 degree angle from the door. Burt reached over into the small refrigerator next to him and pulled out two beers. "What is it exactly you would like to talk about Mr. Anderson?" Burt asked handing him the cold drink. "My son- Blaine and I, well- we don't see eye to eye in this matter." Here Mr. Anderson paused. Burt broke in quickly, "Do you mean because your son is gay, or because your son is dating my son?" he asked curious. Mr. Anderson blanched. "That my son is- gay." Here he nearly whispered the word as if that would lessen the blow. Burt shook his head. "My son told me that if I didn't get myself educated, and forget my so called 'Neanderthal' thinking, that I would lose him forever. He threatened to leave and never speak to me again. I- I can't lose him Mr. Hummel." Burt contemplated the man in front of him. "First of all if you can't even say the word Gay, you really have no chance. Second, the Neanderthal issue is probably my sons fault. Kurt is always saying things like that. But third, the fact that you are sitting here with me means you are willing to try. So, I give you props for that. Now what is it exactly you would like to know about? You said you needed education, what about?" he asked.
Mr. Anderson sighed. "Honestly? I have no idea, I- I mean, my son is different, and he is something that I've always been taught to hate, but I can't do that, he's my son. But how does this work, he's always saying that gay isn't a choice, but what does that mean? And besides that, how do you get along with something so unnatural under your roof?" The words came out in a rush and Burt had to remember to breathe and not get angry. "Mr. Anderson. Your son is gay, he doesn't have a disease, he isn't any different from the little child you raised. And he sure as hell isn't 'unnatural'. Jesus. No wonder Blaine gave you an ultimatum. You will need to work on your reasoning skills against hate yourself, but you need to know I will not permit any harm to come to either of our boys. I can tell you love your son, but that's not always enough, and if anything happens, of any sort I will take Blaine with me quicker than you could slam your door in my face. Gay is not a choice, who would choose to be something that a large part of society hates? Gay is the way you are born, your feelings and thoughts are no different from any other straight boy. They love the same, cry the same, feel pain the same and live the same lives. They are human, your child and my boy have something special and I will not let you ruin that. Here's what you need to do. Your boy already came out to you, that's a good step. You need to stop taking poor Blaine on those trips you are so fond of, in an attempt to man him up, to turn him straight, all you are doing is alienating him. Yes, Blaine knows the reasons for that. Did you know your kid loves baseball? Take him to a game and let him talk about whatever he wants to. Take interest in what the Warblers are doing, ask him about Kurt, hell even ask Kurt to dinner. Take them out to a restaurant and let them be themselves. Show Blaine that you aren't ashamed of him. He thinks you are, you know? Blaine's talked to me and Kurt about how he wishes his father would care about what he's doing, even if it's gay. Did you even know your boy had a crush on another boy before my son? Or how about the fact that Blaine wants to be a writer, or that Blaine and Kurt help out at the local GSA, the gay straight alliance offices? You've got an extraordinary kid. He puts up with my Kurt, and he even took my son to prom. But the point is that your son thinks you hate him because you never ask him about his life, in fear of running into something gay, your child thinks you resent him for being gay, Blaine thinks that he isn't manly enough in your eyes and that you're ashamed of him. That is incredibly difficult for him to deal with. All he wants is acceptance and your pride. Did you know that?" Burt finished his speak staring at Mr. Anderson hard.
Mr. Anderson took in a shaky breathe. "Did- Blaine told you that?" he asked in a small voice. Burt nodded, "But he didn't need to. It's written all over his face whenever he talks about you." Mr. Anderson nodded and looked down. "I had no idea, he just seems so strong, like he doesn't need me or my approval, you know?" Burt grimaced and nodded. "That's because he's trying to keep it from hurting him." His words were met with silence. "Mr. Hummel. Burt, do you think I could call you, or drop by sometime if I need some help?" Burt smiled. "Of course." The door again opened. Kurt filed in, his newest outfit wonderfully put together, white pants with a gray wash shirt and a fabulous bright green scarf mixed with traditional Docker shoes.
"Hey dad, here's your lunch, it's a non-fat turkey sandwich on rye, I included an apple juice and a small bag of chips, you can have dessert after dinner, I'm making grilled chicken in pinot sauce with curry green beans, wheat rolls and I have a soufflé in the oven now. Oh, and since you love me and my food, Blaine is coming over for dinner, and on Friday after Glee and Cheerios Blaine and I were going to go out for the couples night at Breadstix, and you're going to let me go because it's not a school night and Blaine and I haven't been out forever since his dad got on his case, and Finn says that he's going to be home late tonight, and Carol is going to miss dinner in order to go for drinks with her friend from work, but she will be home in time for the famous Kurt soufflé, so not to wait on dinner, which can be finished whenever you pile your old bones into the couch for Deadliest Catch or some other disaster show. And, tomorrow I will be here early to help with that old model T because Cheerios was canceled. I think that's about it. Okay?"
Burt paused for a second while his brain caught up with Kurt. "Thanks for lunch, dinner sounds great, that soufflé had better have ice cream on the side, Blaine is always welcome in our home, yes you can go out with Blaine if you get your homework done, Finns always home late, and if you talk to Carol tell her to have fun, I will see you around three tomorrow to help out, and I will be in for dinner in about a half hour or as soon as I am finished with Mr. Anderson here."
Kurt turned around quickly and was met face to face with Mr. Anderson. "Oh. Um… Hello Mr. Anderson. I'm Kurt." Kurt placed his manicured hand out. Mr. Anderson took his hand gently, Kurt scowled and gripped his hand harshly, "I won't break if you shake my hand like a man, Mr. Anderson. But as my boyfriend's Father, it was very nice to meet you, you should come for dinner sometime." Kurt smiled and nodded at him. Mr. Anderson looked overwhelmed. The door swung open again. "Hey Kurt, where did you want me to put your bag?" Blaine didn't see his father for a few seconds before he froze. "Blaine, your father came by to talk to me today. We'd love to have you for dinner, have a good time with Kurt."
Burt quickly intervened. "Yeah, Blaine, I'll get my bag and we can head in for the couch downstairs and reruns of Sex in the City." Kurt took his hand and tried to lead Blaine out of the room. Blaine looked daze and confused, as did his father. Just as they were reaching the door Mr. Anderson called out. "Blaine, wait!" they both paused. "Blaine, would you like to hit a baseball game next Tuesday? We can talk about your next performance, so I can make sure to make it." Mr. Anderson glanced at Burt who nodded and smiled. Blaine's jaw dropped. "Uh- Sure Dad, that'd be great. Can we talk about it more later when I get home?" he asked. Mr. Anderson smiled and nodded. And then they were gone. Mr. Anderson turned to Burt, "Was that good?" he asked nervous. Burt nodded. "Perfect. Mr. Anderson, I will see you next week, whenever is good for me. You did well today, and you will get Blaine's trust back." Mr. Anderson nodded and left with a smile.
Burt collapsed in his chair and thought. Well, some things would soon be changing in the Anderson household. That was good. Blaine needed it, and Kurt needed a boyfriend who had others he could depend on. Sighing Burt thought of how his relationship with Kurt could've been disaster if not for his late wife's insistence that Kurt was their little boy first, and gay second, she'd always know since Kurt was three. It had taken Burt a while longer to accept that fact, but he had educated himself on what having a gay son meant and had quickly found most of the things he'd worried about weren't even an issue. Burt stood up and left the office, heading into the house.
His son was in the kitchen talking with Blaine. As he locked the door he thought about how many parents didn't have the relationship he had with his son, or the one that Mr. Anderson was building with Blaine. Sadly, there were far too many, and most ended in violence and hate. He frowned. Then Kurt burst into laughter and suddenly the world was sunny again. Burt was not like other fathers, and Kurt was not like other sons, but together they would help the world see that different wasn't bad, it was just different, even if they had to do it one man at a time.