Burt, Blaine and the Bean

The call was certainly unexpected. It came just as he was leaving the somewhat pointless Glee practice after school, the last one of the semester. When he saw the name flash up on his screen, he was surprised, and quickly scrambled to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey kid."

"How can I help you Mr. Hummel?" Since the break-up, Blaine and his ex-boyfriend's father had met on several occasions. Their conversations usually consisted of Blaine apologizing profusely, followed by Burt telling him that everything would be alright, followed by Blaine begging for any scrap of news about his soulmate in New York. Sometimes, though, they'd sit quietly and watch football together, not acknowledging the giant hole in the room that should have been surreptitiously reading Vogue off to the side.

"I need to talk to you about something. Can you meet me at that coffee shop you and Kurt used to spend so much time at?"

"Yeah, sure." Blaine finally reached his car and climbed inside. "Is everything okay, Mr. Hummel?"

"Kid—"

"Burt, sorry. But seriously, is everything alright? Is it Kurt?"

"God, the two of you panic so much. Yeah, everything's fine. Just be at the café in half an hour okay?"

"I'll be there."

The two hung up, and Blaine veritably sped to The Lima Bean. He knew there was no reason to rush; the Bean was only ten minutes or so from Lima, with traffic, but that didn't matter. A terrible feeling spread through the pit of his stomach as he approached the counter to order his medium drip. Was something wrong with Kurt? Was he hurt? Did his NYADA admission get revoked? Had he finally realized that he just wouldn't ever be able to forgive Blaine for being the biggest idiot asshole on the planet?

Before long, a large man in flannel plopped in the chair opposite his at his and Kurt's old table. "Hey kid."

"Hello, Burt. Did you want some coffee?"

"Nah. Kurt 'n' Carole won't let me drink it. Bad for the heart, they say."

"Of course. So, um...why did you want to meet me, Mr. Hummel? Is Kurt okay?"

"Kurt's fine." It was then that Blaine noticed how tired Burt looked. Dark circles framed his dulled eyes, and his skin was pallid. He looked as though he was about to keel over.

"Mist-Burt, are you okay?"

Burt sighed heavily. "Kid, I'm about to tell you something that only Carole knows. Not even Kurt yet. Okay?" Blaine took a long swig of his drip and nodded. "Two days ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer."

Blaine was glad he swallowed his coffee before hearing the news, because as it was he choked when it hit him. "What?!"

"Last week I went in for a prostate exam, and—well, I doubt you want to know those details, but the results came back two days ago, and I have cancer."

They both sat silently for an endless moment, Blaine staring wide-eyed at the man he once believed to be his future father-in-law, Burt smiling kindly at the man he absolutely knew would be his future son-in-law. Finally, unexpectedly, Blaine dropped his head into his hands and began to sob.

Burt certainly did not expect that reaction. He quickly stood and took the seat next to Blaine's. He wrapped an arm around the small kid's shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. Blaine continued to weep into Burt's flannel shirt, arms secure around the older man's neck. After several minutes, Blaine pulled back and wiped at his eyes embarrassingly with a napkin. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I shouldn't've gotten all emotional like that, I just—"

"It's okay kid. I know it's scary. But you should know that we caught this very early, and that many men live with it, and are even cured. I'm not altogether worried myself."

"Right, it's just...you know my dad and I aren't...close, and the thought of losing the only man who ever gave a—it's hard. And then there's Kurt, and he's already lost a parent, and—"

"Well, that's why you're here." Blaine looked confused. "I was supposed to spend Christmas with Carole and Finn at Carole's parents', but I need to tell Kurt the news. I know he was sad he wasn't able to see either of us for Christmas, because he's saving the plane money for NYADA, so I thought the two of us'd go up and spend the holiday with them."

Blaine was taken aback. He had planned on spending the winter break working on his NYADA and Tisch applications (and determinedly not thinking about the fact that he might once again be classmates with his ex-boyfriend) and getting himself Chinese for Christmas dinner while his parents went on a cruise. Getting to see Kurt, though...that was definitely unexpected and completely welcome. "Are you sure...are you sure he'd want to see me?"

"Blaine." Burt stared straight into his eyes. "I'm absolutely positive he wants to see you."

"Okay."

"Besides, I need someone who's gonna be able to help him through all the emotional stuff. I'm not so good with all that. I'll break the news, but he's probably gonna need a good shoulder to cry on."

"Yeah, of course." Elbows on the table, Blaine dug the heels of his palms into his eyes again. "I can't believe this is happening. I'm so sorry, Burt."

A thick hand rubbed soothingly up and down his back. "It ain't your fault, kid. Just...just be there for my boy, okay? You two are the real deal. Kurt'll come around. Just give him time."

"Yeah," Blaine agreed softly. Then he smiled. "Besides, we have a Christmas tradition to uphold."

Didn't get enough angst in my last one-shot? HERE'S MOAR.

I just really love Blurt, okay? I loved the two of them on the couch in Kurt's apartment in the Christmas episode. Fuck they were cute.

That's all for now, folks! Don't be strangers! (Even though I haven't talked to you in months...)

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