A/N: This was written for the glee angst meme.
It was a small conference room booked at the local library. They didn't put a sign outside the door because some of the members were still awkward about their sons' and daughters' and friends' sexualities and were worried about reprisals in a small town. Burt had gotten the time and place from a kind lady on the phone support line he'd called yesterday while Kurt was at school.
Kurt hadn't told him anything, not yet, anyway, but Burt knew. Two days ago, he'd caught Kurt dressed in a leotard dancing to Single Ladies with a couple of female friends, which really hit things home. The worst thing wasn't the song or the clothing, though – it was the look of terror on Kurt's face when Burt had walked in. Burt needed to make sure that Kurt never looked at him that way again.
So, PFLAG meeting. Burt pushed open the door and nodded awkwardly at those already gathered in the room, before sliding himself into a seat in the back corner.
There were questions that Burt wanted to ask: why Kurt was the way he was; could he change things; could he make things easier for Kurt; could he protect Kurt from the world? He was awkward, though, so he sat there listening while other people told their stories.
There was one woman who had a son the same age as Kurt, a boy called Blaine. She was scared for him, she said. He always came home with bruises that he could never explain away. At night, he cried himself to sleep. He had nightmares, she thought – he wasn't sleeping, anyway, because the bags under his eyes were growing darker with each passing day – but he wouldn't tell her anything.
"I think it's my fault," she said. "When he first told me...when he first came out, he made me promise not to tell his father. I wanted to make things easier for him, though – I wanted to clear the way, so I whispered it to my husband late one night. He didn't react well. He's been getting better, but I don't think my son trusts me anymore."
Later that week, after his first football game, Kurt finally told Burt that he was gay. Burt's first reaction was to ask those questions he'd never plucked up his courage to ask at the PFLAG meeting and beg Kurt to change, but he remembered what that woman had said about her husband. He wanted Kurt to be able to trust him. So he swallowed, took a deep breath and made sure that Kurt knew that he loved him, no matter what.
It took two weeks before Burt worked up the courage to go back, partly because he'd gotten a call from the hospital that Kurt had been admitted with alcohol poisoning. He skipped the meeting that week, convincing himself that he was better off searching Kurt's room for any bottles he might have missed. Instead he found the collection of tiaras that he was sure that he'd hidden away in the attic.
He realised that despite what he'd said to Kurt, he was still trying to change his son and th if his son was hiding tiaras, he might try to hide more important things. Burt still had a lot of work to do and he couldn't put that on Kurt. He was a single parent and didn't have anyone to talk to. He needed to go back.
"We've been getting phone calls," the lady said at the next meeting. "They don't say who they are but they make clear that they consider my son a fag and want him to rot in hell. I went to the police, but they won't do anything. I'm scared."
Burt was scared. Kurt wasn't saying anything about school, but Burt noticed how he always packed a spare outfit and he suspected that was due to something more than Kurt's impeccable fashion sense. He was terrified that the long sleeves that Kurt always wore were to hide bruises rather than to avoid skin cancer. He couldn't ask Kurt, though, because they didn't have that type of relationship.
That night when Burt got home from work, he walked to the door of Kurt's basement and knocked. Kurt looked nervous when he let Burt in.
"I was thinking," Burt said, "it's been ages since you've come to the garage with me. I know it doesn't go with your nice clothing but I was hoping, maybe, that you'd be interested in coming by one afternoon this week?"
Burt wasn't expecting Kurt's face to light up with that brilliant smile he got when Burt bought him a new outfit or went with him to see The Sound of Music or Wicked. "I'd love to, Dad," said Kurt, eyes shining, and Burt was surprised to realise that Kurt meant it. "I've missed working with engines."
"Why didn't you say?" Burt asked.
Kurt looked at the ground. "I, uh, I wasn't sure if you wanted me."
Burt hugged his son. "I always want you, Kurt."
At the next meeting, he finally got the courage to stand up and tell the room about him and his relationship with Kurt. He was startled to receive smiles and praise for his parenting. He didn't think he was any good – he was just doing what any parent who gave a damn would do.
The woman wasn't there that week and Burt was strangely disappointed. Most of the other parents in the room had daughters, or sons that were much older or younger or physically stronger but emotionally weaker than Kurt was. This Blaine boy reminded Burt of Kurt in a lot of ways and he was hoping that his mother would have some good advice.
Burt liked working in the garage with Kurt. His son was quick and really understood the engines. He was also smart and funny, even though Burt didn't always understand his references. Burt hated that they had so little in common, but working together to fix a car felt like something, at least.
It was while at the garage that Kurt confided in Burt about the solo that he wanted in glee club and about how his teacher wasn't willing to let him try. Burt remembered how the other parents had smiled at him when he'd told them about Kurt and about how they'd said that he was a good father. He couldn't go back on that now. He arrived at the next meeting slightly late from his confrontation with Principal Figgins, but proud of himself for standing up for Kurt.
The woman wasn't there yet. Burt fidgeted slightly as he waited. He wanted to hear what she said about Blaine. She arrived halfway through the meeting with red rimmed eyes. She sat down quickly in her usual chair and stared blankly into space until it was her turn to speak.
Blaine had tried to kill himself, she told the group. He'd stolen a bottle of sleeping pills from somewhere. It was stupid, but on that night she hadn't heard him crying and that worried her, so she'd opened the door of his room and found him lying there, empty bottle beside him on the coverlet. She'd shaken him and tried to wake him while screaming for her husband to call 911.
Burt was stunned. When she'd talked about Blaine she'd mentioned the bullying, sure, but she'd also told them about how he'd tried to put posters up in the halls about a marriage equality rally and about how he was trying to convince the teachers to let him establish a gay-straight alliance. He'd sounded like a brave boy.
He'd sounded like another Kurt.
After the meeting, Burt rushed back to the garage to be there when Kurt arrived. When Kurt walked in, Burt couldn't help but hug him. Kurt bristled like a cat and glared at Burt.
"Don't you know how hard it is to get oil out of these?" he asked, waving an arm to indicate his outfit.
"Sorry," said Burt, although he wasn't.
Kurt glared at him for another moment, then quickly hugged Burt back and ran inside with his bag to the piano. Burt smiled to see his son so excited about auditioning for the solo. He'd been worried after hearing about the bad things that could happen to kids like Kurt but his son was fine. Burt had nothing to worry about.
Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang. When the line went dead, Burt couldn't stop an image floating across his mind: Kurt lying on back, arms neatly crossed as though he was in a coffin. His eyes were closed. The room was dark and shadowy. Lying on the floor beside Kurt was the empty bottle of pills.
He needed to wake himself up out of that nightmare. Coffee should do the trick. He hurried over to the machine and switched it on with shaking hands and waited for the coffee so that it could wipe that picture out of his head.
"Hey, Dad," said a voice from beside him.
Burt could hardly look at Kurt. He needed his coffee so that he wouldn't think—wouldn't imagine— "What the hell is wrong with this machine?" he said.
Kurt said something about a high 'F' and how it meant that Kurt was going to win. Burt was terrified.
He needed that coffee.
"What's going on?" Kurt was looking at Burt with that face that reminded Burt of his mother. Burt could hardly handle it. He never could lie to her and Kurt was so much like her.
"I got a phone call this morning," Burt said. "The anonymous kind. It was some dude telling me my son was a fag."
"Oh," said Kurt. "Well, that's not a big deal. I get that all the time."
Kurt hadn't told him. He'd never told him about the phone calls and the bullying and whatever else. Blaine had never told his mother about the abuse he'd suffered. Burt couldn't just sit back any more – he had to do something, he had to hit something.
Kurt was still looking at Burt, so Burt tried to explain. "Yeah, but I don't. Now, look, Kurt. I do right by you." Except for when I tried to turn you straight by taking your tiaras away. "You know, open some doors. What father wouldn't do that for his kid?" Blaine's father, for one. "And I know it's good for you to be out there with—with all this Glee Club stuff. I just—I don't want you to get hurt." I can't just sit back and wait until you get hurt.
"So you don't want me to audition for the solo?" Kurt asked and Burt realised that he'd been going about this all wrong.
"No, no," said Burt. "Let me be clear, all right? No one pushes the Hummels around, especially cowards on the phone. Sometimes, I just—I wish your mom was still around, you know? She was better at, you know, handling this kind of thing. You know, handling me. Look, congrats on, uh, you know, the cool 'A' or the high 'C' or, you know, whatever it was." Maybe if he showed Kurt that he would support him, no matter what, Kurt would feel able to confide in him and Burt would be able to stop anyone from hurting him.
"High 'F'," said Kurt.
"Yeah," Burt hastily agreed and hurried away so that Kurt couldn't see that he was about to cry. By the time the tears started to fall he'd locked himself in his office.
When Kurt threw the solo, Burt realised that Kurt was stronger than he was and maybe he didn't need to worry so much.
Burt was still going to the PFLAG meetings. He listened closely. He was relieved to hear about how Blaine was getting better – he'd been enrolled at a new school with a strong no tolerance policy to bullying and was quickly finding his feet. His mother said that he was happier than she'd ever seen him and that they were finally starting to talk. Burt carefully filed the name of the school in the back of his mind, making the decision that if things ever got too bad for Kurt he was going to enrol Kurt at this school whether he liked it or not.
He was learning things from the meetings but he was learning even more things from Kurt, his brilliant, amazing son. Their relationship was never easy, but Burt made sure that he was always trying – doubly so after another member of the group came to a meeting in tears talking about her daughter's attempted suicide.
When Finn called Kurt a fag, Burt knew that he had to throw him out. Even though Kurt hadn't told him anything about school, Burt knew – because of the stories he'd heard, from Blaine's mom in particular, he knew that Kurt wouldn't feel safe there. They were both trying, but Kurt was still nervous around him. Kurt's room was the one place he felt safe to be himself and Burt wasn't going to let anyone ruin that.
Later, when he heard Kurt crying himself to sleep, Burt tip-toed down the stairs and sat beside him on the bed.
"Look," he said. "I know what we have here isn't easy, but you need to know... You're more important than anything. You don't tell me what happens at school and that's your business but I know that it's not easy and that you're hiding things. That's not going to happen in this house. You know, I'd be up at the school in a minute if I thought it'd help. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here. Always. Don't ever feel afraid to tell me anything."
"Thanks, Dad," Kurt said.
The next day, while Kurt was at school, Burt snuck down to his basement. The layout of the room was still unfamiliar – Kurt hadn't had a chance to redecorate yet, not after everything that had happened yesterday – but eventually, Burt found what he was looking for. He stared at Kurt's DVD collection for a long moment before choosing a box set at random. Hopefully, when he was done, he and Kurt would have something to talk about.
Things with Kurt were slowly but surely getting better and easier. As Kurt's sophomore year ran down, he seemed to be smiling more and talking to Burt more openly. Burt tried to make more of an effort to learn about what Kurt was interested in so that he could respond. It was his job to try, not Kurt's.
He was happier to hear from his PFLAG meetings that Blaine was getting better, too. He was starting to make friends for the first time in years. He'd joined his school's glee club. He'd whispered to his mom about a boy he found hot, though he was still too shy to make a move.
Having heard about the furore with Finn after the fact from Carole, Burt braced himself for when Kurt came home with news about a hot guy. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that right now, but he would be. He'd make sure of it.
Blaine's mom was still worried – she knew that her son had a habit of pretending he was more together and more confident than he really was. She hoped that everything was as it seemed, but was scared that his happiness was just a facade to disguise the fact that he was thinking of trying to do that again.
She hoped not.
The summer was good for Kurt. Burt knew him well enough to be able to tell between the real smile that made his face light up like a sunrise and the prim proper fake smile he put on when he wanted to be left alone. Spending the break with friends for the first time, Kurt's smile was real and that meant more to Burt than anything else in the world.
When school started, Kurt became more subdued, but Burt wasn't worried yet. That fire that was uniquely Kurt's was still strong in him. Burt saw it when Kurt ranted about his teacher's failure to consider the artistic merits of Britney Spears and again when he ranted about his teacher finally agreeing to do a Britney number and then taking the solo for himself.
"Well, what did you expect?" Burt asked with one eyebrow raised. He'd been called to the school earlier in the week after Kurt's outburst in the choir room.
Kurt sighed. "That, but I still think that that solo was rightfully mine."
Burt smiled. "How about you go and get into costume and give me a private performance of a Britney number?"
Kurt's whole face lit up and in but moments Kurt was back in an elaborate outfit that he'd managed to pull out from somewhere (Burt had stopped trying to keep track of Kurt's clothing collection) and an iPod with speakers.
Again, Burt was confronted with just how talented his son was – the performance was on the fly, but it was note-perfect. This time, though, he was confronted by another aspect of his son's performance style. The songs he'd seen Kurt sing before had generally been slow ballads or angry, powerful musical theatre numbers. Seeing Kurt dance to Britney Spears, Burt realised with dawning horror that other boys might just find Kurt sexy.
Burt wasn't ready to talk to Kurt yet about safe sex and about how it was okay to wait until he met someone who was worth it rather than be pressured into it by someone who just wanted to use his body. He was going to have to become ready pretty damn soon, though, because he had the feeling that someone was going to pull the moves on Kurt soon, only out boy at his school or not.
He tried to hold onto old traditions and keep communication lines open with Kurt so that if anything happened, Kurt could tell him. When Kurt said he was going to miss their weekly dinner, Burt tried to tell himself there was nothing to worry about and that Kurt would still talk to him if he needed to. A week later, Burt woke up in hospital to the sound of his son's voice saying that he was more important to Kurt than anything in the world.
It was a while before Burt could go to another PFLAG meeting. After his heart attack, he was still too week and he wasn't going to do anything stupid, not when Kurt needed him. He grumbled, but he let Kurt cajole him into eating healthily because living to be there for Kurt was more important than a hamburger.
When Kurt told him about Sam, part of Burt inwardly sighed again. He knew that he couldn't let this develop into another full-blown crush that would break Kurt's heart again, but he felt a whole lot like he was breaking it himself when he said that Finn might just have a point.
Burt forced himself to go on into that discussion he'd been dreading, even at a theoretical level – the one about boys. He told Kurt that he wanted the same things that Kurt did. He wanted Kurt to have someone to slow dance with at prom and to hold hands with as he walked down the hall. He was surprised to realise that he really meant it.
Kurt seemed quieter after that and Burt hoped to God that it wasn't his fault. He was coming home from school wearing a frown rather than a smile. He turned down an offer of the lead role in the Rocky Horror Show, when he would usually kill for a solo. It was like the fight had gone out of him and that terrified Burt to no end, enough so that he forced himself out of the house to go to his first PFLAG meeting since his accident.
It was funny how everything was almost the same as before when so much was different at home. A couple of people had stopped coming and a couple of new people had joined up. Burt made a mental note to strike up a conversation with the new faces once the formal part of the meeting was over – he remembered how shy he'd been at the beginning.
It seemed like everyone was going well at the moment. Burt was glad to hear that Blaine was flourishing at his new school. His mother was starting to relax slightly – she was still worried, of course, but was beginning to accept that Blaine might just be okay.
It had been just under a year. Burt knew that if Kurt tried something like that, he'd be worried about it for the rest of his life. Hell, after the stories in the newspapers and everything else, he was still worried, especially given how Kurt was acting now.
Burt arrived home determined to sit Kurt down and give him a long talk about how he mustn't even think of doing something like that. He was startled to walk in to the smell of cooking food.
"Please tell me you didn't get a hamburger while you were out," Kurt said as Burt walked into the kitchen.
"No," said Burt, frowning slightly. Something in Kurt's tone sounded different to how he'd been the past weeks.
"Good," said Kurt.
Kurt turned around and smiled at Burt and Burt realised what was strange. Kurt was smiling – not that thin, fake smile but the real one that made him look like a different boy to the beaten soul he'd been that morning. He was happy. If Burt had any sort of voice he would have sung with relief. As it was, he hugged his son, enjoying the bewildered expression he caught on Kurt's face as he relaxed into Burt's arms.
Eventually, Burt let go and sat on one of the stools at the bench while Kurt went back to cooking dinner. Burt had to admit that it smelled delicious, even if it was the healthy muck that Kurt liked. Kurt had been making an effort to compromise and find food that fitted both their requirements.
"So, how was your day?" Burt asked, trying to gain a hint of the reason behind that smile so that he could bottle it up and release it the next time that Kurt seemed sad.
"Uh," Kurt said, sounding slightly awkward. His back was to Burt as he faced the stove, so Burt couldn't glean anything from his expression. "I need you to promise not to be mad at me."
Burt thought about it. "So long as you didn't do something stupid."
Kurt nodded and turned to face Burt. "Okay, so, I may have skipped a couple of periods of school to sneak across and check out our competition for Sectionals."
"Okay..." said Burt. He knew that he should be angry, even confined by his promise, but he was too happy to see the smile on Kurt's face to be annoyed at anything.
"It's a school called Dalton Academy," Kurt said breathlessly. "Their glee club are like rock stars in the school – they don't have to put up with any of the things that we do. And their lead singer is awesome."
Burt had to think to remember where he'd heard the name Dalton Academy and because of that he almost missed the importance of Kurt's last sentence. "Awesome?" he asked slowly.
Kurt smiled at him, eyes wide, full of frantic energy. "His name's Blaine," Kurt said in a rush, "and he's gay too, except that he's so strong and confident... he's like my idol."
Burt had to fight not to let his emotions show on his face. He'd never told Kurt about the PFLAG meetings and it felt like a betrayal to do so now. He knew how much Blaine's mother worried about him and knew that he wasn't as strong as Kurt thought – he wasn't as strong as Kurt, period. He wasn't sure if he wanted Kurt looking up to someone who'd tried to kill himself.
But Kurt was smiling.
"Do you like him?" Burt asked slowly.
Kurt hesitated. "I don't really know him yet. We swapped phone numbers, though, and he gave me some advice to help get through school."
"You know I'd help too, if you let me," Burt said.
Kurt nodded. "I know. It's just good to talk to someone who's been through what I'm going through. He just really gets it."
Burt smiled at Kurt. He wasn't sure what to think of Blaine, but he made Kurt smile, and Kurt obviously needed somebody to talk to and didn't feel able to make Burt that person. If Blaine could help Kurt, Burt couldn't disapprove.
"Okay," said Burt and let Kurt change the subject to the latest TV show he was trying to introduce Burt to.
When Kurt came home the next day, his eyes were red but his shoulders had that strength they'd been missing ever since Burt's accident.
"You okay?" Burt asked.
Kurt nodded. "Hard day at school, but I called Blaine. He helped."
And that was enough for Burt.
After the next PFLAG meeting, Burt sidled up to Blaine's mother. "I was wondering if you might be interested in getting a coffee."
She looked down at her wedding ring and Burt blushed.
"God, no, not like that," he said. "I just wanted to chat about our sons, you know?"
She nodded. "Sure."
They chatted about random things until they'd reached the local Starbucks and made their orders. When they were seated, Burt decided to cut to the chase.
"My Kurt came home the other day talking about a boy called Blaine," Burt said dryly.
Blaine's mother nodded thoughtfully. "Blaine mentioned a boy called Kurt. I wondered if he might be yours, especially when Blaine mentioned that he goes to McKinley."
Burt shrugged helplessly. "I'm just not sure how to deal with me knowing more about Blaine than Kurt does, while Blaine probably knows more about what's happening in Kurt's life right now than me."
Blaine's mother visibly hesitated.
"What did Blaine tell you?" he asked.
"Not much," she said. "He said that he missed half a day of school last week because he drove down to Lima to help Kurt – something about a bully taking it to new levels. He didn't give me any detail and I was afraid to ask."
"I wish Kurt felt like he could tell me," Burt murmured. "Though, I guess, at least he has someone he can talk to. If you hear anything, though, could you try to keep me in the loop?"
She hesitated – probably remembered how confiding in her husband about Blaine's sexuality had broken the trust between them – but eventually nodded. They swapped phone numbers so that if either of them heard anything, they could pass it on.
"You know," she said later, "if they get married, at least we know that family gatherings won't be too awkward. We already get along."
Burt chuckled at that and started laughing harder at the thought of the face Kurt would make if he knew that people were already plotting his marriage with his new friend. "That's true," he said.
On his way back to his car, Burt ran into Carole. He smiled at her and she smiled back at him.
"It's been too long since we've seen each other," said Burt. They hadn't gone on a date – not a proper one – since he'd been in hospital. They'd spoken over the phone and emailed each other, but it wasn't the same.
"I know," said Carole.
"Maybe... Would you like to get lunch?" Burt asked.
Carole smiled at him. Burt smiled back.
That afternoon, Kurt arrived home happy and bubbly again and Burt thought that maybe he'd been worried about nothing. As the days past, Burt relaxed more and more. Then Kurt came home with that tight masklike face he wore when he didn't want to talk about what was bothering him and went straight downstairs to his basement.
Burt texted Blaine's mother. Did something happen that I don't know about?
It was a couple of hours before she texted back. Blaine doesn't know anything new, but says that there's one bully who's been getting Kurt down.
Burt wanted to go down and confront Kurt, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to explain how he was getting the information without saying everything that he knew about Blaine and he knew that Kurt having anyone to talk to, even if it wasn't him, was more important than Burt's sanity.
He knew that there was something more than just bullying going on, so when the boy whispered fag at Kurt while they were practicing wedding dances in the choir room Burt knew to press. It took everything he had not to kill the boy when Kurt told him. He took Kurt straight to the principal and was relieved when Karofsky was expelled on the spot.
When the expulsion was reversed, it took Burt moments to have his phone out and start texting Blaine's mother again. What are the fees like at Dalton? he asked. He swallowed at her reply but still texted back, Who do I need to talk to if I want to enrol Kurt?
It was while they were down at Dalton filling out forms that Burt first met Blaine. He caught sight of a slim boy with dark hair who was even shorter than Kurt through the glass in the office door as the boy walked past. He seemed to catch a glance of them out of the corner of his eye and did a double take before turning to push the door open and walk over to them.
"Hey, Kurt," he said. "What are you doing here?"
Kurt looked down at the forms. "I'm transferring."
The boy smiled sadly. "Well, it'll be good to see you more."
"Yeah," said Kurt. Burt cleared his throat and Kurt jumped slightly as though only just remembering that his father was in the room. "Dad, this is Blaine. Blaine, this is my father."
Burt had grown up with three sisters and he'd picked up enough from the posters that they'd chosen to tack to their walls to know that Blaine was what one would consider dapper, if one swung that way. He frowned slightly at Blaine to warn him not to try anything funny with Burt's son.
Blaine offered his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, sir," he said.
Burt took it. "Likewise." Blaine shook it firmly and Burt couldn't help but warm to his cultured manners. "Kurt's told me a lot about you."
Blaine smiled at him. "Kurt talks about you all the time, too. I'm not sure if he tells you, but he's definitely told me that he thinks you're the best father anyone could hope for."
Kurt was blushing slightly. Burt smiled at him.
"Is that right?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Blaine said. He and Kurt shuffled over to the far side of the room so that they could talk privately. It took all Burt's self control not to eavesdrop.
Blaine wasn't what Burt had expected. He'd expected the boy to be as flamboyant as Kurt, but he was slightly more toned down. He radiated confidence and though he could see his mother's worries that it was just a facade, Burt wasn't sure if he would have picked up on that if she hadn't talked about it at the meetings.
He hoped that Kurt wasn't going to get hurt if Blaine turned out to have more problems than he let on.
Over the next few weeks, Burt only caught glimpses of Blaine as he picked Kurt up for various outings. He also heard a great deal about Blaine second-hand and had to search his conscience to decide which bits to pass on to Blaine's mother. He knew that she asking herself the same questions before passing on some of what Blaine had confided about Kurt.
It was from her, not Kurt, that he heard that Kurt was having trouble fitting in at Dalton. Kurt never told him about the awkward first Warblers meeting or the missed chance at a solo. Burt did ask about the latter after Sectionals, although he carefully framed his question to imply that he hadn't heard the whole story.
"They gave me a shot at auditioning," Kurt said, "which is more than I ever got at McKinley, at least without you threatening to sue the school for me. I chose the wrong song for the group. I've learned from that and next time I'll try to choose something that fits better."
Burt thought about it and realised that this was a good segue to the other concerns he had. "Are you having trouble, you know, fitting in?" he asked.
Kurt thought about that. "They've got a different energy at Dalton. I feel less comfortable standing out, but I think that's because for the first time I can actually fit in if I want to. At McKinley I didn't even have that choice. I think I like having the opportunity to choose the moments where I'm different as opposed to just having different as the default. It's like, I'm only making a statement when I actually have something to say, which means that people actually pay attention to it. It's nice."
Burt clapped Kurt on the back. "Good for you."
Christmas came and went. The next time Burt met Blaine was at Finn's football final. They didn't talk much, but Blaine seemed conversant in the game. When he laughed and cheered at the team's zombie antics he seemed younger and more relaxed than Burt had ever seen him. His happiness wasn't a mask, Burt realised suddenly. Blaine was genuinely happy and okay. He'd come a long way from that desperate place he'd been more than a year ago.
It was the next night that Burt got the call from Blaine's mother.
"There's something I need to tell you," she said.
Burt took a moment to whisper to Carole about who was calling and to look around to make sure that neither Kurt nor Finn was within hearing. "What is it?" he asked.
"Blaine just told me about the guy that he has a crush on," she said.
Burt knew from the tone of her voice, but still had to ask. "It's not Kurt?"
"No," she said. She sounded slightly upset. "Has Blaine been leading your son on?" she asked him.
Burt thought about it – thought about the outings and Kurt's happy smiles and the run on sentences of flurried detail about the boy who'd come into his life when he needed him the most. "I think it's always been a bit easy for a nice boy to accidently lead Kurt on," he said finally. "He responds to kindness more than anything, you know, but I don't think Blaine's done anything wrong."
"Is Kurt going to be okay?" she asked, still sounding worried.
"I think so, yeah," he said. "I mean, he'll be sad, but he values their friendship more than anything. That's the gist of what he's said the times that I've asked him if there might be anything more and I think that I believe him."
After the conversation was over, Burt wanted to sneak downstairs and confide in Kurt but he couldn't. He couldn't explain how he knew this and he knew that it would hurt Kurt even more to hear this from him rather than from Blaine. He had to wait and let this boy break Kurt's heart and there was nothing he could do about it.
Sure enough, a couple of days later Kurt came home in tears. When he asked if he could have a sleepover with Mercedes and Rachel, Burt agreed. He pretended to be oblivious but when they were all downstairs, Burt snuck to the door and listened to enough to confirm that Kurt was really going to be okay. When he was sure he texted Blaine's mother so that she could stop worrying, too.
It was a couple of days later that Kurt came to talk to Burt. They went out for a coffee and while Kurt was waiting for his to cool, he said, "I really thought he liked me."
"I know," Burt said.
"I just—I thought that he was this really confident, knowing person and it turns out that he's just as dumb about these things as I am. I guess I'm worried that, what if there are other things that I don't know?" Kurt took a sip of his coffee then blew into it again before resting it on the table.
Burt could have told Kurt everything at that point. He could have told Kurt about Blaine's suicide attempt the year before last and about how broken Blaine had been when he'd first started at Dalton. He could have told Kurt about Blaine's continued pretence of confidence at his old school, with the posters and everything else, until the moment when he'd finally broke. He could have told Kurt about how Blaine's mom had said that Blaine finally seemed happy again and that she thought Kurt was a big part of that.
He was about to. Instead, he said, "You know, we never know everything about a person. I'm sure there are things you don't tell me, but we still love each other more than anything, right? The same's true with you and Blaine. When he's ready, he'll tell you everything."
Kurt smiled at Burt. Burt smiled back.
"Give it time," Burt added. "He's an idiot if he doesn't see the fantastic boy who's standing right in front of him."
"Thanks, Dad," said Kurt, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.
Burt never did tell Kurt the little secrets he knew about Blaine. Instead, he waited and let Kurt find them out for himself, which he did, over time.
Years later, after both Kurt and Blaine had finished college, Burt and Blaine's mom jabbered excitedly to each other about Kurt and Blaine's decision to get married. After the wedding, Burt and Blaine's mom finally made the choice to take the happy couple aside and tell them the truth about their meeting all those years ago. Kurt and Blaine threw fruit at them for keeping it a secret for all these years.
Kurt was smiling and laughing and, to Burt, that meant more than anything.