Thank you so much for all your reviews. I've been walking a fine line between serious drama and cartoon superpowers, and I'm glad to see that I'm not screwing it up. Bebe is supposed to be a flawed but in the end good person, and hopefully that's coming across. It doesn't help that I don't really like her myself.
No cliffhanger this time, it's all fallout.
The Star Prince - part 3
The day she called, Burt Hummel had been at home, working on his own truck for a change.
Kasha had been gone for a couple of weeks, back home for the annual dueling tournament. She went home fairly frequently considering how far away it was, though Burt didn't know how much distance mattered when you had a gizmo that could instantly take you there. But for once she was alone. Burt wasn't going, and after a brief argument he'd convinced her that Kurt didn't need to go, either. Burt getting his way had been another 'for once'. Usually, if he wasn't caving in to his wife, he was caving in to his too-adorable son.
Burt wasn't happy about this, though. Granted, he told Kasha when they got married that they were going to make sure their child or children knew about, and were proud of their heritage. But the fighting had made him uncomfortable, and he didn't think that Kurt yet understood what this military culture all meant. Burt had asked Kasha to just not go, but her appearance was just about mandatory. Apparently the president of Sateen had personally asked Kasha to participate, in honor of some Water anniversary or other.
The phone was ringing. He started wiping the oil off of his hands, though he knew that most everyone would hang up long before he got there. But the phone kept ringing, which presumably meant Kasha. She'd somehow managed to get their phone hooked up to the general communications net on Sateen, and her people were the only ones Burt knew of that were willing to let the phone ring thirty times to make sure they got through.
Of course gizmo notwithstanding, it was still a long way to come if no one picked up, so this was probably their best option. "That you, Kasha?"
"Burt-Hummel. Speak to you I need."
Burt sighed. Hearing Kasha's proud, sophisticated mother struggling to form her words in English always made him want to switch to Sateen standard. The only reason he didn't was because he liked that she at least tried. "Bebe. I wasn't expecting to hear from you. Is everything okay?" Not that he even considered that it might not be. Kasha was only in a mock combat situation, and she was anything but rusty. No, Bebe was likely calling to make another attempt at convincing him to bring Kurt to Sateen.
Except Bebe didn't sound like her usual self. She sounded… rattled. "Need you and Kurtling here now," she insisted gravely.
"Bebe, I've been over this already with Kasha," Burt told her. "I don't think Kurt needs to see his mom beating on someone, not to mention having someone hitting her, too."
"No longer an issue. There…. Accident there has been, on the field."
Burt's blood chilled so fast that under normal circumstances he'd have wondered if Bebe had done it over the phone. "Oh my god. How serious is it? Kurt's at school but I can get him in about-"
"You have one Earth hour till my people get there. Be ready."
"Wait!" Burt exclaimed. "You didn't even tell me how Kasha is." Damned impatient-
"She is in death," Bebe told him, stunningly matter of fact. "One of the new ones under her shield got. His shield in the back of her head. Combat called off on-"
"Hold on!" This couldn't be happening. He was dreaming. He hit his head on the bumper and- There was no way Bebe was just standing there calmly going over the- Over the-
Play by play. Burt threw up on the floor.
Bebe sighed. "Waiting, as asked. Time I do not have. Much to do have I."
Burt threw his focus back onto the phone in his hand, suddenly furious. "That's all you have to say?"
"Time-"
"I don't give a damn about your fucking 'time'! You phone me, after I BEGGED Kasha not to fight for you, and you act like it's some kind of inconvenience."
"Things to be done," Bebe pointed out. She then sighed again. "Forget. Not expecting you to understand our ways."
"I don't give a damn about your ways, either. And you can add your being a fucking ICE BITCH, to the things that I don't understand."
She hung up. She'd practically killed his wife and she just hung up on him.
Burt had had to clean up his mess and then he'd had to pick up Kurt. That alone took several hours to deal with, so it wasn't a surprise that no one was at the house when he got back. He didn't care. Bebe would call back. It's not like she'd let him miss the funeral, after all.
Kurt had been standing up, arguing with his grandmother, but the revelation that his mother was still alive had cut the power to his legs and he collapsed back onto the chair. He laughed, darkly. "I can't believe this. I've been mourning my mother for ten years… Because of a mistranslation?" He laughed again. It made everyone in the room wince.
"Oh my god, Kurt." Burt finally seemed to be capable of speech again. He hurried over to the chair, collapsing on his knees in horror and guilt. "God, Kurt I'm so sorry. I should have called her back. I would've-" Burt was crying, and Kurt couldn't handle that.
"I told you not to call her," Kurt reminded. Kurt's eyes were dead, and he was seriously tempted to slip into some sort of fugue state. "I told you not to call her."
"I'm your father," Burt insisted. "It's my job to take care of you. Having a tantrum over your grandmother was not doing that. I should have tried harder-" Burt choked on a sob, hanging his head and repeating "I'm sorry" over and over.
Bebe on the other hand, was too shamed to even look at Kurt. It was a long moment of near silence before Jute knelt in front of Bebe. "[Lifeblood, it's a new day on Sateen. Perhaps Kurt and his father could see her now, and we can deal with the ramifications later.]"
Bebe wiped her eyes with a grateful look to Jute. "[Thank you, you're right.] Grand- Kurt, come now. Too long since you've seen your mother. All else can wait." She knelt next to Burt, looking surprisingly humble. "Please?"
Kurt looked at her for a long moment. He wanted to tell her to go to hell, though clearly she'd probably mistake the damn word for couch or something. He shook off that unkind thought, though. This wasn't about her. This was about his….
His mom. Kurt's nod was eager, even if the look on his face was still painful to see.
Finn let out a relieved breath, not having realized that this was far from over. "Kurt. Dude, this is great. I can't believe you're going to actually see your mom. Mom? Can I go with-"
One look at Carole though, and Finn understood. Everyone was looking at her now, and Kurt was sure he'd just breathed in the tension Finn had just exhaled. The look on Carole's face was probably just as bad as the one that was on his own. "Carole," Kurt gasped.
"I- I should probably get going," Carole babbled. "Finn, come on."
"Where are we going?" Finn asked confused. "We live here."
"I don't know. My- I'm sure one of my friends will put us up for the night."
Bebe pulled herself to her feet. "Late it is. Stay."
The guy that Kurt fought, who Bebe had introduced as Quipus, had apparently been following the conversation a little, as he intruded with: "[That may not be suitable, ma'am.]"
Bebe turned to him, distressed but with firm displeasure. "[Sacred waters, Quipus! What does it matter now?]"
"[It doesn't,]" Jute agreed. "Let's get Kurt to the Capital Medical Facility to see his mother. What happens next can wait until after everyone has had a chance for this to sink in."
"No, no I can't," Carole insisted. Or tried to, it was hard to be firm when your hands and voice were shaking. "It was one thing before…. But this is still her house, and I can't-"
Finn was shocked. "Mom. We can't go now."
"Carole, please." Burt almost sounded normal, but he was still on the floor. Looking like a kicked puppy, it seemed almost cruel to him to do this now.
Of course, Carole didn't have the luxury to not deal with this now. "No, Burt. If you don't mind having Finn here, I'm sure he'd appreciate it. But I have to go." And go she did, not even grabbing a coat on the way out.
"Ka- Carole, wait." Burt was galvanized as he watched Carole walk out. Up in a flash, he was right out the door after her.
Carole turned back to him just as she reached her car. "Burt, can we not do this right now? I really- I really can't take it right now."
"I know," Burt assured her. "Just come back inside. We can-"
"We can what?" Carole interrupted. "Go back in her house? Sleep it off in- Oh my god," she whimpered. "That was the bed she slept in. I slept in her bed. I had sex with her husband in her bed."
"No! Carole, I got rid of our bed. I couldn't stand to look at it. I swear this is a different bed!"
"How does that make this any better?" Carole sobbed.
"I don't know! But I love you."
"You loved her first. You had a child with her. You can't tell me that you don't still love her."
"I- Damnit, Carole. This has been a really rough day, and I'm not really up to dealing with it. Please don't do this. Don't hit the self destruct button until I can wrap my head around all of this."
Carole gently brushed her hand against Burt's face. Wiping his tears even as her own flowed freely. "I love you, Burt Hummel. You've been through so much, and there's almost nothing I wouldn't do to spare you more pain."
Burt looked so hopeful just then. But Carole had to crush it. "I can't go back inside. As much as I want to, I just can't do it. I'm sorry."
"Carole…."
She got in her car and left.
Burt sat down in the front step. His head bowed. Tears splashing down on the sidewalk.
Kurt came outside and sat next to him. Didn't say a word, just put an arm around Burt's shoulders.
Finn came out onto the step. Utterly lost, the way he'd been the night of the home invasion. "Where's my mom?"
Burt didn't know what to say.
The premier hospital in Sateen's premier city looked like every other hospital Kurt had ever seen. He was beginning to wonder if architects willing to produce these sterile monstrosities was just one of those things a culture had to have in order to be space-faring.
Of course, this hospital did have one unusual feature: a former Chief of Staff who was now the President of Sateen's ruling council. President Aramid was suitably pleased that Kurt had come home, suitably shocked at the mix-up, and currently suitably sympathetic about not letting Kurt in. "[Bebe, I'm so sorry. If I'd known what the situation was, I'd have recommended they cancel Kasha's appointment for today.]"
Burt, who had come with his son (a shaken Finn had elected to stay home), was confused. "[I don't understand. How long is this appointment supposed to take?]"
"[Several hours, I'm afraid,]" Aramid told him. "[Plus the rest of the day in hyperbaric suspension.]"
Bebe nodded. "[The repairs to her brain stem are very intricate. Greater than normal stasis will allow. Ari, are you certain they can't look in on the procedure? I can guarantee they will stay out of the way and not transmit infection.]"
"[I know you can, and perhaps that will do for the husband,]" the President allowed. "[But Kurt-Hummel? Bebe, in this stage of her recovery, she wakes from time to time whenever we remove her from stasis.]"
"[She's awake?]" Both Burt and Kurt exclaimed. Bebe had told them that she had been in a medically induced coma since the accident. She hadn't mentioned this.
"[For very short periods,]" Bebe told them.
"[These sessions are very delicate already,]" Aramid reminded her. "[If confronted with her nearly adult son….]"
"[Surely a couple of minutes before they start won't hurt,]" Burt pleaded. "[It's been so long.]"
"[They've already started. I'm sorry Burt-Hummel, it is just too late.]"
"[Is there anything that can be done to hurry the suspension afterwards?]" Bebe asked.
Aramid considered this. "[I think that the doctors were planning on doing eight relays today. I'm sure if they only did four it would-]"
"[No!]" Kurt yelped, startling the others a little. He exhaled, trying to be a grown up about this. "[That won't be necessary. I don't want to do anything to slow her recovery. She's been gone too long already.]"
Bebe didn't seem assured by this, but the President smiled. "[A very mature attitude. Burt-Hummel, if you and Bebe would like to follow me?]"
Burt looked at his son anxious, but Kurt nodded insistent. "[Tell me what she looks like, okay?]" It was so plaintive, Kurt thought he saw tears as his father and grandmother walked off. Or maybe they were just his own.
Kurt slid down the non-descript wall, discouraged and completely exhausted. He ignored the sound of footsteps until they stopped right in front of him. It was Prince Jute looking down at him, looking like a worried angel. Kurt started to stand up.
Jute chuckled softly. "Please don't." He slid down the wall to join Kurt. "I'm just the grandson of a politician. By the time the trials are over this year, you'll outrank me."
Kurt wasn't sure if he'd frowned bemused or smiled sadly. "That's a couple of very big assumptions you're making. That I'll first enter, and then perform well at trials."
"You'll do fine," Jute assured him. "I saw you today. You're rusty, but that style of yours is unique. It'll make up for a lot of missed lessons."
That time Kurt was sure he'd smiled. "My mom taught me that before they knew if I was going to be able to keep up with the traditional form. So it's not exactly unique."
Jute nodded. "But that's not what keeping you from competing, is it. Does it have something to do with what happened to you a while back?"
Kurt looked up in shock. "What do you know about that?"
"Not much," Jute admitted. "Your grandmother wasn't sure if you still lived where you do. So she asked my grandfather to send some people to look in on you."
Kurt sighed, too tired to be angry. "Your grandfather is a real busybody."
Jute laughed. "He really is." But then Jute stopped laughing, looking to Kurt with that worry again. "I didn't hear what happened, but I was here when your grandmother came for the report. She left crying."
Which made Kurt feel really bad, because he'd debated the idea that she'd orchestrated the home invasion to drive him back into her grasp. "Some guys broke into our house. I was home alone." Kurt didn't know why he was telling a complete stranger this.
Actually he did, he wanted some advice from someone not involved in this whole mess. "I killed them, and now I'm starting to wonder if I'd been better trained- If I hadn't given up on my grandmother, if they'd still be dead."
Jute considered this. "There's no way to be sure, of course. Stuff happens. I know how easily things can get out of control."
Kurt was about to snap that Jute had no idea, but Jute pulled out his dueling weapon. And started fiddling with a small strip of cloth tied to one of the hand grips.
A strip of cloth that seemed to be covered in dried blood. Kurt held his tongue as Jute turned back to him. "I get that you don't like your grandmother. I understand why. But if you don't want that to happen again, you'll need as many options as you can get. The training will give you that. And no one is better qualified to teach you than the Water Standard Bearer."
"My grandmother," Kurt sighed. He knew what he had to do now, he supposed. And he found himself wanting to change the subject. "So how is it that you know English so well?"
Jute blushed at that. "I'll tell you on the condition that you don't read too much into it. You know our people have to earn what they get."
"Oh I'm already loving the sound of this," Kurt quipped. Though at least it wasn't talking about his grandmother or the blood on his hands.
"I don't know if you know this, but you and I are the only two princes in our generation who are attracted to men," Jute stated.
"I didn't know that." And Kurt didn't really care. His mother had frequently told him as a child that he would someday marry someone who earned his place in Kurt's life. Not necessarily a prince.
But Jute seemed to agree. "Not that it really matters. We're both free to love whomever deserves us." He fingered the cloth on his dueling weapon a moment longer before putting it away. "My grandfather only asked that I accompany your grandmother and see what I thought of you. It wasn't difficult, I have a knack for languages."
So this was a scouting mission for Jute as well. Kurt wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was intrusive, but it wasn't like this was a prearranged marriage. And Jute was nice, polite, and very handsome.
Stop it, Kurt. You don't even know what he's decided. He may think you're too high maintenance after the show you gave him last night. "So what do you think of me?" he asked shyly.
Jute smiled again. "You're very proud, though I'd say you have every reason to be. You're clearly well grounded and educated. You think fast on your feet, and you're very flexible. Both mentally and physically," he added with a wink.
"Thank you," Kurt replied, relieved.
"You're also very cute," Jute told him. "And if you weren't quite so… Earthen, and I wasn't sure you'd find it forward I'd be offering the use of my bed for a few hours. As a friend and prospect," he clarified. "One doesn't treat an heir to the Water Standard like a piece of meat."
Kurt was surely blushing now. He knew that Sateen was more open about sex than they were in the States. But he was a child the last time he was here, and it was much different hearing something than just overhearing something.
Jute pulled himself to his feet. "But since I don't wish to offend, I should get going." He offered Kurt another one of those dazzling smiles. "My grandfather's business often brings me to the Thunder Palace. I hope to see you there."
Kurt nodded. "Thanks Jute." He agreed that it would be really presumptuous of Jute to think Kurt would just jump into bed with him. But as Jute walked away, Kurt couldn't help but feel lonely and disappointed.
(to be continued)
What does everyone think of a Kurt/Jute pairing? I had originally hoped for him to be a sympathetic obstacle for Kurt and his show boyfriend, but I have no idea at this point who that's supposed to even be. So I thought maybe I should throw all in on them being together, given that they're so very Kute together.