Please note that English is not my first language!
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee and I hate myself for it every moment of my life.
no place like home
The room is filled with nervous and excited chattering, whilst Mister Schue is going through some last-minute line checks with the soloists for the rap part: Santana and Blaine. The rest of the New Directions are scattered in little groups all over the room. However the pleasant anticipation is suddenly broken by a man bursting through the door of the check room, the Glee Clubbers are currently getting ready in for their performance.
"Ahmm… can I help you?"
Mr. Schue asks polite as ever, not noticing how the male soloist standing next to him suddenly turns pale. The man ignores Mr. Schue´s question and fixes his eyes on Blaine instead.
"You´re comin´ with me!"
he says in a more than serious tone.
"No, I won´t, dad. They need me… I´m having a solo and..."
His son responds with an unexpected determination in his voice only to be interrupted by his father.
"I don´t f***ing care! All I care about is, that my son is not wasting his time in an environment like this."
"I´m sorry, but I don´t get what you mean by an environment like this. Glee Club is an arts programme and the arts support children like your son to express their feelings, it´s a great oppurt…"
Mr. Schue says, but the man now identified by each and every person in the room (even Finn) as Blaine´s father cuts him off.
"Well, if your son would choose to be a fag. I think you´d also rather not have him express his opinion."
Mr. Anderson is in a rage now.
"Come on Blaine, we´re going."
"No. I can´t… I don´t need you to understand me, Dad and I don´t need you to except that I am gay, but I don´t get what brought this on. You never had a problem with me being in Glee Club. I can´t quit, Dad. Music is my life…" Blaine says.
"You wanna know what brought this on? I´ll tell you. I thought this was a phase. I thought you´d be getting over it eventually. I thought that a son of mine could not be gay. My dreams of you becoming normal have been dashed today when I found out, that you have had a boyfriend for over a year now. By the way hello Hummel!"
Mr. Anderson says looking at Kurt with a fake smile. Kurt turns bright red and Blaine´s eyes widen in shock making it very clear that he wants this conversation to end as soon as possible. But his father isn´t done yet.
"So, Yes I want you to drop out of every lesson you´re having with him, which includes this club."
Mr. Anderson says. The shock is gone from Blaine´s face and all that´s left is anger.
"You probably also want me to stop seeing him?"
"That would be ideal."
"Well I won´t. Because you know what? I love him. You don´t have to understand that…"
"I don´t Blaine! I don´t understand it. Look at him. Why can´t you be attracted to girls? You´re boyfriend looks like a girl."
Blaine´s fist hits his father´s face faster than anyone can react, if someone would want to, but as a matter of fact no one wants to stop the Ex-Warbler. Mr. Anderson holds his hurting nose, mumbling curses in the direction of his son, but Blaine doesn´t care. All he cares about in this moment is Kurt and how he won´t give up on their relationship without a fight, because if there is anything he learned in this one year with his boyfriend it is that Kurt makes him stronger. Blaine turns around to his boyfriend tears streaming down his face. Kurt walks over to him and holds him. No one says a word all that can be heard is the sound of Blaine Anderson´s silent weeping.
"What is going on here?"
Burt Hummel asks. Kurt had texted him immediately, knowing that Blaine´s father meant trouble. And Burt came as fast as he could, because he knew how much his son had worried over his boyfriend in the past months and the mechanic came to the conclusion that Blaine didn´t exactly have it easy at home.
"Who are you?" Mister Anderson asks.
"Name´s Burt. Burt Hummel. I´m Kurt´s father. I take it you are Mister Anderson nice to finally meet you."
Burt says putting forth his hand. Mister Anderson shakes it awkwardly staring at him surprised.
"What is it?"
Burt asks clearly not amused by the intimidating look.
"It´s just…you look…very unlike your son…" Blaine´s father replies.
"I may not look like my son, but there are some very fine qualities my son has inherited from me. Firstly we both can be very stubborn. Secondly we both have a diva attitude and thirdly and most importantly we´d do anything to protect the people we love and that´s why I´m here, because Kurt wants me to talk to you and convince you that he is worth being with your son." Burt says determined.
"I don´t know how you can except that your son is…"
Mr. Anderson struggles to say the word out loud. Burt helps him out.
"Gay?"
"Yes, gay! I also don´t know how you can allow your son to walk around dressing like a girl, but I won´t encourage my son to become like that!"
Blaine´s father finishes angrily. Everyone in the room is silently waiting for Kurt to react to the insult on his style, but he is too busy holding back Blaine from reacting to the totally inappropriate comment. So the first person to speak up is in fact Burt Hummel, breathing heavily:
"Okay, that´s enough, having one´s own opinion is one thing but insulting kids is another, which by the way I don´t tolerate. Especially not if the kid is my son! And by the way my son´s clothes are unique and he has an impeccable sense of fashion."
"How lovely… But I´m not interested in your little everything-is-great universe. My son won´t be spending any more time with yours and that´s my last word on this." Mr. Anderson says.
"I don´t get how you can have brought up a son like Blaine, because he is the exact opposite of you. He is kind and gentle. He has good manners. I actually thought that he was kidding me when I first met him, ´cause he is freaking dapper and charming. Especially for a kid. But then I realized that that´s how he is and I won´t lie that can be annoying at times for example when he forgets to call me Burt instead of Mr. Hummel. But he is a good kid, he is caring and considerate and you shouldn´t give a damn about him being gay, because you can be so proud of the man he´s become."
Burt says turning around to face Kurt and Blaine. He can see the tears forming in Kurt´s eyes and is surprised when he looks to Blaine and sees the same. They´re both smiling at him and he smiles back.
"As touching as this is. I´m not a fairy godmother. You know who I am, who I was at high school. I was one of the guys who tortured gay kids like your son…"
Burt interrupts him.
"And yours!"
"I was one of those who were throwing slushies into their faces or pushing them against lockers."
"Me too. "
Burt Hummel says, silencing the whole room with his commitment. Kurt´s father takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to talk:
"I was one of those kids too, you know. One of those kids calling them fags and feeling like a man by doing so. I needed years to realize, that I was so far from being a man… that I was nothing back then in high school. You know what changed me? My wife. She was the kindest person I´ve ever known and I loved her with every inch of my body. I knew in the moment that I first laid my eyes on her, that I´d do anything to make her happy. I remember on Kurt´s fifth birthday he was wishing for a pair of heels. We got him one. You know what she said to me, that evening after I´d kissed him goodnight. She said: "I´m already excited how the young man he is going to marry is going to be like…". She knew. She knew it all along and it didn´t matter to her, but to me it did. I couldn´t understand how I could on one side love my son so much, but on the other side be appalled by a part of him. The death of my wife made me realize something. If somebody loves someone, he should damn well be allowed to show it in every way possible, because there´s only so much time we get with the people we love and we should cherish that with everything we have. Because someday they´ll be gone and we´ll think about how we haven´t told them often enough how much we love them."
Burt is having trouble talking now. Holding back the tears forming in his eyes, but he takes another deep breath, knowing that he has to finish his speech to make his point. So he continues:
"The last thing my wife said to me…before she…passed…it was: "Do you remember how you said to me when we started dating, that you´d do anything to make me happy? I want you to do the same for Kurt now. He needs you. Promise me you´ll do everything to make our son happy!" and then she was gone and I tried everything since then to keep my promise. Kurt and I were never very much alike, but we managed well…together. Still after his mother died I never saw him completely happy again. Until one day, he walked into my tire store after school, smiling not only with his mouth but with his eyes too. His entire face was lit up and I couldn´t help but smile too. I learned later that that was the day he met your son."
Burt pauses a lonely tear is escaping from his eyes and streaming down his cheek. He steps back and lays his arms around Kurt and Blaine. Nobody dares to say a word.
"I´m planning on keeping my promise, if you´ve got a problem with that I invite you to leave, but your son isn´t going anywhere. There are a lot of people out there and I´m sure they don´t want to miss out on your son´s talent."
Burt says to Mr. Anderson, who turns his attention to Blaine.
"It´s your choice, but if you don´t come with me now, you don´t have to bother about coming home tonight, because me and your mother won´t want you there."
The father says to his son. Blaine looks at him, but there is no emotion in the teens eyes.
"I take it by home you mean the place we live in, well they say home is where your heart is and mine is most definitely not there." Blaine says.
"If that´s your final word on it… Your mother will be very disappointed."
Mr. Anderson says clearly surprised, about his son´s resistance.
"Mom will understand."
Blaine says determined. Mr. Anderson stares at him and then at the other persons in the room.
"You´re not my son anymore!"
He says turning on his heels and leaving the room. It would take eight years till Blaine Anderson would see his father again, but he didn´t know that yet.
"You can stay with us as long as you want, kid. You´ll be sleeping on the couch in the living room though."
Burt says to Blaine.
"Thank you …, I mean Burt. Really, Kurt can be so glad to have you and your wife would be so proud of you."
Blaine says smiling at him.
"Oh come here, kiddo. She would approve of you too."
Burt says hugging the teenager. Then he looks at Kurt, who sat down on a chair next to him. He is crying. Burt lets go of Blaine and turns to his son instead.
"Kurt, are you okay?"
His father asks. Kurt looks up to him.
"Is that really…. Did she really say that? I mean mum. Were those really her last words?"
Kurt asks his father.
"Yes… I mean not entirely. There was one more sentence she said after that. She said, that there´s no place like home."
