Am I Invited?
Disclaimer: I do not own or have any connections to Glee.
Blaine slowly set the table in the Hummel household while Kurt finished preparing the food. They were in town for a couple weeks and decided to uphold the traditional Friday night dinners.
"Does this seem weird to you too?" Blaine asked.
"As in…" Kurt prompted.
"There will just be four of us," Blaine said quietly.
"Oh…Blaine," Kurt set the salad tongs down and hurried to Blaine's side. He hugged him tightly from behind, "Yes, it is weird, but we can get through this together."
Blaine leaned back into Kurt and closed his eyes, "You're right. Sorry, I-"
"No apologies when it comes to grief, remember?" Kurt asked, looking Blaine in the eyes.
Blaine nodded, "Yeah," he whispered.
Kurt kissed Blaine's forehead before walking back to the counter, wiping his unshed tears as he did so.
Burt came into the dining room, helping Blaine finish setting the table. "You ok?" he asked, noticing Blaine's slightly red eyes.
Blaine stiffly nodded. "Yeah," he said under his breath.
Burt slowly nodded, understanding to back off.
"Alright," Carole smiled while walking in, "I am starved."
"Then you came to the right place," Kurt smiled back and set the salad on the table, "We have berry salad and grilled chicken with corn and rolls on the side."
"Sounds delicious," Blaine said before kissing Kurt's cheek and holding a chair out for him.
Kurt sat at the table with Blaine next to him and Burt and Carole across. The end seats remained strangely empty. This time last year, Burt and Carole had sat in them, with Finn and Rachel where the parents were now sitting.
Finn and Rachel weren't going to be coming tonight.
The small family was just about done with their salad when there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," Burt stood and walked to the door. His eyes widened once it was opened. "Rachel."
The small girl smiled slightly, "Hi Burt."
"Hi," he recovered and smiled, "What are you doing here?"
Rachel took a deep breath, "Well, I'm in town and remembered that there were family dinners on Friday night and was wondering…am I still invited?"
Burt chuckled, "Yeah, yes, of course. You will always be invited." He stepped back, "Welcome."
Rachel smiled and walked into the dining room, "Hello everyone. I hope you're ok with me crashing your dinner."
Kurt gasped with a smile and quickly stood, "Rachel!"
Rachel quickly hugged him, "Hi!"
Kurt stepped back, "Sit! Sit! We have chicken, corn, rolls, and there is some salad left."
Rachel smiled and sat down, "Thank you, it all looks delicious."
Kurt hurried to the kitchen to grab her dishes and silverware.
"We really appreciate you coming over," Carole smiled.
"I thought it'd be a good idea," Rachel replied softly while pouring herself a glass of water, "While my life is changed, it shouldn't completely change everything. For example, Kurt's delicious Friday night dinners," she smirked.
Kurt laughed while walking in. He set her place down, "Thank you, I try."
"You succeed," Blaine nudged Kurt's shoulder with his own.
Kurt blushed and looked down at his food, a soft smile spreading across his face.
Rachel smiled at the couple, a hint of sadness across her face. She didn't seem to ignore that Carole and Burt were sitting where she was supposed to be with her own boyfriend.
Blaine noticed Rachel's eyes, "So Rach, how's LA?"
Rachel smiled brightly and threw herself into a full blown conversation focussing on all the highlights of living in LA.
Later that night, Rachel found herself washing dishes with Carole.
"I'm glad you came, you were definitely missed," Carole said softly.
Rachel smiled softly, "I missed not being here. I missed it all. I miss him."
Carole kissed the side of her head, "We all do."
"But that shouldn't hold us back," Rachel said determinedly, "He'd want us to smile and be together."
"And we always will be," Carole smiled, "Whenever you need me or Burt, we're here for you."
"Thank you," Rachel said, "And same goes to you. Finn wasn't my only connection to you guys. Kurt is my best friend."
Carole squeezed Rachel's hand, "I'm so happy for that. You two are the cutest best friends."
Rachel laughed, "Oh gosh, wait till I tell Kurt."
Carole laughed along softly, "He'll agree."
"Oh definitely," Rachel stated.
"I know something else that we will all agree on," Carole said, facing Rachel head on.
"Yeah?" Rachel looked up.
"You are always invited to Friday night dinner."