I am sincerely very super duper incredibly sorry for the delay. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm giving you guys two chapters this weekend because of how long I made you wait.
I don't own Glee, or Kurt or Blaine or pancakes.
As Burt, Blaine and Kurt walk into the restaurant, Carole and Finn come out to meet them and take them to the table. Burt and Finn walk ahead as Carole subtly grabs Kurt and Blaine's arms and slows them down a bit. "How bad was it?" She asks, her voice laced with concern, but more dominantly, amusement.
"It wasn't too terrifying," says Kurt. "Blaine held up amazingly well, although he looked like he was going to throw up." He lets out a little giggle as Blaine elbows him lightly in the ribs. "I wasn't that scared; I just didn't want to have an awkward conversation with your father," Blaine says defensively. Carole laughs lightly as they come up to the table just a few feet behind Burt and Finn. They sit down- Kurt, then Blaine, then Carole, then Burt, then Finn- around the circular table and the silence is awkward for about five seconds before Carole turns to Burt and starts a conversation about how he shouldn't eat bacon.
Kurt takes the opportunity when Burt is distracted to reach over and grab Blaine's hand under the table. He gives it a little squeeze until Blaine looks at him. I love you, Kurt mouths. Blaine squeezes back and smiles sweetly. "Blaine, honey," says Carole, turning away from Burt, "What do you think you want to eat?" Blaine, who is perfectly comfortable around Carole, smiles politely. "I think I'm going to go with the blueberry pancakes. They have a great selection," he adds, looking impressed. Carole laughs. "Burt loves this place. All the waitresses know him by name."
Burt makes a gruff noise that sounds like disagreement, but it's offset by the mildly amused look on his face and the waitress who walks up and says, "Good morning Burt, brought the family with you this time?" which just causes all five of the people seated around the table- as well as the waitress- to crack up. The table orders their breakfast and the waitress leaves again, still looking amused. Burt and Carole get caught up in a conversation about something nobody could care less about, and Finn is just sort of twiddling his thumbs on the table, waiting for his food and looking spaced out. Kurt and Blaine are staring down at the table, trying to do anything but look at each other, because looking leads to talking, and talking leads to touching, and touching leads to things that Kurt's father would not approve of. Kurt grabs Blaine's hand- safe touch, he tells himself- under the table and just holds it there reassuringly. Even if Blaine's Mr. Calm-and-collected on the outside, Kurt knows how terrified he must be. Burt isn't too engaged in his conversation that he wouldn't notice if Kurt and Blaine started talking about him, and leaving to go to the bathroom would be highly suspicious, so Kurt takes out his iPhone.
How are you holding up?
He hits send instead of turning the screen towards Blaine, because God knows that would be obvious, and Blaine's phone buzzes a minute later. Kurt just stares at his beautiful face as Blaine smiles and replies.
I'm great. A little nervous, but nothing too deadly.
Kurt squeezes Blaine's hand reassuringly again while he types with his other hand, You're not in any real danger. I love you too much for Dad to hurt you.
Blaine lets out a breathy laugh when he receives the text and a minute later Kurt's phone goes off again. Gee, that's reassuring. I love you too.
The waitress comes up behind them, reaching right between Kurt and Blaine to set down all of the plates, so the boys kind of have to lean in opposite directions. Although Kurt knows it's irrational, he can't help but think, Cockblocker. When she leaves, Carole starts talking with Burt more animatedly, and Finn- feeling awkward, Kurt guesses- tries to engage Blaine in a conversation about football. Kurt lets it happen and they talk while he eats his breakfast. The meal goes by relatively smoothly- nobody mentions Kurt's sex life, and Burt doesn't talk to Blaine at all, for which Kurt and Blaine are both very thankful. When everybody's done eating, they head out to the parking lot, where Burt insists once again on driving with Kurt and Blaine.
"So boys," Burt says when they're on the road, "did you enjoy breakfast?" Kurt smiles and nods, and Blaine says, clearly more comfortable, "Yes sir, thank you." Kurt reaches forward and squeezes Blaine's shoulder, a gesture just affectionate enough for Blaine to be reassured, and just prudish enough for Burt to be okay with it. "Next time, you should try the french toast," Burt says, turning to Blaine. "It's my favorite."
"Yes sir, I'll make sure I try it," Blaine says, sounding eager at the prospect of "next time." Kurt smiles big. Burt looks approvingly at Blaine and says, "Good. Kurt here won't try anything I tell him; he says he only eats organic food." He leans in closer and mock-whispers, "He's a little crazy; you'll have to get used to it." Kurt smacks his father lightly on the shoulder and blushes furiously as Blaine and Burt laugh. "Watch the road, Dad," Kurt says, trying to get his face to return to its normal color. He sits back in his seat, focusing on the change from the ride to the restaurant and how easily Blaine and Burt get along now that the "protective father to boyfriend" conversation is taken care of.
Kurt has no doubt in his mind that once his dad realizes just how serious he and Blaine are, there will be another, even more protective talk, but he's willing to put that one off for a long, long time. Even if Kurt can manage to lie to his father about his sex life with a straight face, or worse, tell him the truth and make him understand that he isn't a little boy, he doesn't want to do it for a very long time. He could handle not doing it ever, but he knows that's highly improbable. Kurt lets out a breathy sigh without realizing it and only pulls out of his reverie when Blaine turns around in his seat.
"Kurt? Are you okay?" Blaine asks in a soft voice, apparently not caring that Burt is sitting right next to him. Kurt shrugs and says, "Yeah, I'm fine…I just…I was just thinking." Kurt's tone makes it quite clear to both Blaine and Burt that he isn't partial to saying what he was thinking about, and Blaine turns back forwards, still holding a concerned frown on his face, while Burt raises one eyebrow at Kurt in the rearview mirror. Kurt shakes his head infinitesimally and smiles.
By the time they get back to the Hummel-Hudson household, Burt is about ready to explode from not knowing what either boy is thinking, because the protective father in him is telling him that they are telepathically sending each other inappropriate messages, but his logical side is telling him that obviously, that's stupid. Kurt and Blaine aren't even looking at each other, but Kurt has this coy smile on his face and Blaine is just sort of content-looking. When they get out of the car, they immediately grab each other's hands and walk into the house together, heading up to Kurt's room silently. "Keep the door open," Burt calls halfheartedly. Kurt giggles, which Burt takes as a confirmation. The boys, very obviously overacting, sit down on Kurt's bed, their knees about six inches apart.
"Gee, Blaine, I sure am glad we left the door open," Kurt says loudly. Blaine lets out a short laugh and says, maybe a little bit quieter, "Why's that, Kurt?" Burt is standing in the living room, wondering where this whole thing is going. "Because," Kurt responds, "Heaven only knows what we could get up to if the door were closed! What if there were…monsters in here?" Burt makes a gruff noise of disapproval that the boys hear and immediately burst into laughter. Burt shuffles to his room to change, muttering under his breath "Freakin' boys…just looking out for him…know he's not five…"
Kurt and Blaine are sitting cross-legged on Kurt's bed, not touching in the slightest. They catch their breath from laughing so hard, and Blaine lowers his voice. "You really shouldn't push your dad like that, Kurt…" Kurt smiles. "Why not?" Blaine's expression turns grave and he looks down at his lap. "God knows he's been ready to kill me since we left this morning."
Kurt laughs again. "Blaine. You do know he wouldn't actually hurt you, right?" He reassuringly pats Blaine's knee. "He may not like how close we are, or that I'm not a little boy anymore, but he knows how happy you make me, and he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."
Blaine smiles. "I know. I just don't think it's a good idea to piss him off. Or to make fun of his protectiveness. That'll only make him more protective." Blaine sighs. "Boy, does he have good reasons to be protective." Not that he knows he does. Kurt leans in closer to Blaine. "Yeah…he doesn't need to know exactly how founded his worries are, okay?" With that, he presses his lips to Blaine's, hands on Blaine's thighs, leaning into him more and more with every second.
"Kurt-we-we shouldn't. Not-not right now." Blaine stutters out halfhearted protests until Kurt backs up, sighing sadly and looking utterly lustful. "I know. The door's still open, my family is in the house, my father could walk in at any moment, but all I can think about is last night. And this morning. And…tonight?" Kurt looks up at Blaine through his eyelashes, looking hopeful. "Sure, honey. We can…yeah. Do you…do you want to go to my house? Or I can take us to a hotel? I don't mind." Blaine looks nervous and questioning and utterly hot as he meets Kurt's gaze. "Any place," says Kurt, his voice low and rough in Blaine's ear, "where I can ravage you without any interruptions." Blaine's breath hitches and he catches Kurt's lips in a quick, heated kiss. "The Hyatt it is then. Go clear it with your dad before he leaves for the garage."
Always the gentleman, Kurt thinks as he reluctantly slides off of the bed to go talk to his dad. At the door, he turns back and whines to Blaine, "What am I supposed to say?" Blaine chuckles and stands up to join him. "Tell him..." Blaine's eyes light up like he's just gotten an idea, and he says quickly, "Actually, let me talk to him. Alone." Kurt looks confused, but nods and takes Blaine down to the kitchen where Burt is preparing his lunch. Kurt steps out of the room respectfully and walks into the living room until he is sufficiently out of earshot.
"…Mr. Hummel, sir?" Blaine asks tentatively, coming up behind Burt cautiously. The man turns around to face him, and Blaine suddenly finds himself nervous. What if Burt thinks he's taking advantage of Kurt? What if, now that Kurt's not there, he won't be quite as accommodating? What if- No, Blaine thinks, you have to do this. "I wanted to ask you something. I was hoping that I could take Kurt somewhere…sort of special tomorrow. I know he doesn't get out of Lima very often, and he's told me how much he loves the ocean. I'm not quite wealthy enough to fly him to Florida," Blaine laughs nervously, "But I can take him to a lake if he'd let me." Burt looks confused.
"The only problem," Blaine continues, "Is that it's quite a drive, and I really do want him to be able to spend all day there. I wanted your…your permission to stay in a hotel with Kurt. In a room with two beds, obviously. We could drive out there tonight, and sleep there, so that I don't have to come get Kurt early in the morning, and…I think he'd have a lot of fun at the beach," Blaine finishes lamely and looks at Burt with his puppy dog eyes. Burt simply stands there, seeming to enjoy putting Blaine in suspense.
"Listen, kid," Burt begins, reminding Blaine oddly of the Godfather. "If I'm going to let Kurt spend the night with you anywhere, I need to know straight up what your intentions are."
Blaine is pleasantly surprised. He had expected a shotgun; this is something he can handle. Smooth-talking is Blaine's specialty. "Sir, I'll be frank with you. I love Kurt. I'd thought I was in love, many times, before Kurt came into my life, but it has never felt like this. I think this is the real deal. Obviously there are…those feelings there, but I can honestly say that despite his best intentions, everything in this relationship comes down to what Kurt wants. I only want him to be happy." Blaine huffs out the rest of his breath, feeling like a weight has been lifted off his chest.
"…Okay." Burt turns back to his sandwich before Blaine can fully process what he's said. "Wait…okay? Just…okay?" Burt looks at Blaine again. "Yeah, okay, take the kid out for a day. Lord knows he deserves it; I think you deserve it too. You're a nice kid, Blaine. I hope you stick around." Burt smiles at Blaine before jerking his head toward the door between the kitchen and living room. Blaine walks out of the room and wraps his arms around Kurt's waist, sighing happily. Kurt turns around, startled.
"Hi. How'd it go?" Kurt looks nervous. "You and I are free to do whatever we want, starting at seven P.M., until tomorrow night." Blaine says extremely professionally. "We'll go to a hotel and stay there for the night, and then tomorrow…I have a surprise for you."
Kurt groans. "Not another blindfold…" He leans into Blaine's shoulder and tries to hide his gigantic smile. "No, this one can go without a blindfold. Trust me, you'll love it." Kurt tilts his face up to kiss Blaine happily and says, "I believe you. So what are we to do until seven o'clock?" Blaine smiles mischievously. "The question is, what are you to do until seven o'clock, while I go home and get my things together?" Kurt whines. "You need to tell me what to pack," he says, "so I can call Mercedes and we can go shopping." He seems to lighten up at the idea, and Blaine says, "I'll email you a list. It won't be long." Blaine extracts himself from Kurt's limbs and kisses him once more. "I love you; I'll see you tonight."
The moment Blaine is in his car and speeding down the street, Kurt picks up his phone and dials Mercedes' number.
"Hello?"
"Mercedes, we have a shopping emergency. I've got a big twenty-four hours ahead of me."
Trololol, ending a chapter with crappy crap.
I really am sorry for the wait. The next chapter will have Protective!New Directions, and maybe smut, although depending on how much I like writing Protective!ND, the smut might have to wait another chapter.
Reviews make me cry glitter.