So I made a big decision about Rory in this chapter. I debated for quite some time but then decided that there's a chapter I really want to write in the future and it kind of only works this way :)
But here you are, hope you enjoy it!
Thank you so much for ALL the feedback, you guys are the BEST!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Time Traveler's Wife
April 15th, 2026
"Yes, Dad, he... No. No, of course not! Dad... Dad, please calm down, alright? I know it is, trust me. But we're freaking out enough as it is. Yeah, sure. Rory? Buddy, it's your grandpa!"
Burt, for a level-headed, DC experienced man had been surprisingly hard to calm down when Kurt and Blaine had told him about Rory's ability to travel back and forth in time. When he had, however, and the rest of the family and close friends had been informed, life turned back to normal. Cooper had immediately found the fun in it and had tried to ask Rory questions about which girl he should go out with and who'd end up being an utter disappointment in...
That had stopped after one stern phonecall from Kurt.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were a completely different story.
Blaine's parents were not bad people. No, not by any means. It had taken them a while to fully understand and accept that Blaine was gay and okay, so they weren't as comfortable with it (nor would they ever be) as Burt but they had attended the wedding and been just as delighted as any other couple about becoming grandparents. It had been a process but it was after Rory's second birthday party that Blaine said he finally believed that they were actually making an effort.
Their initial reaction to the news of Rory's travelling was shocked as well. That particular phone call had ended with well-wishes and 'we'll visit you soons' but then, about a month later, they turned... well, with one word, weird. Their interest in Rory's travelling was not the same curiosity and concern as everyone else's.
"Where did he travel to?"
"How long was he there?"
"Who did he talk to?"
"Who did he meet?"
"Can he bring back anything?"
Those were just examples of everything they asked. It had escalated to a point when Blaine just plain said that he wasn't going to discuss the trips with them anymore. They thought that would end it.
Well, now they were on their way to New York. The now six year old Rory was sucking a Popsicle and seemingly watching Disney channel's Saturday afternoon cartoons but was actually observing his frantic parents, somewhat amused. The boy had no idea why this visit was causing them to scrub the house spotless but as long as he wasn't made to clean his closet, he didn't really care.
"Grandma doesn't like tulips," he pointed out when Blaine placed a bouquet of them on the coffee table.
"I know," his Papa replied simply, ruffled his hair and hurried to the kitchen where his husband had just started to chop vegetables for the salad. "Why don't you invite Rachel and Finn over to dinner, too?" he said quietly.
"Because your parents only pretend to like them?"
"No. We're making a big dinner anyway and they haven't been over in a while. Hey, why not invite Santana and Brittany, too. Kids and all."
"Yeah, as if they weren't all here just a couple of weeks ago."
"Do you not like our friends?"
"Blaine."
Blaine sighed. "What right do they think they have to inform us they are coming over just a few hours before they'll actually be here? It's like they wanted to catch us off guard, I mean, what the hell?"
"Hey, keep you voice down," Kurt warned, glancing to the direction of the living room. "And no, I don't know about their motives but at least they are coming, right? Maybe they feel bad about Christmas?"
"It's been four months since Christmas."
"Better late than never?" Blaine huffed and popped a tomato in his mouth. "You really don't think they are coming with good intentions?"
"No."
"But they have..."
"I know them, Kurt. And yes, over the last few years I have seen that they have changed and it's great but this... surprise visit of theirs? It's just plain weird."
Kurt stopped ripping the lettuce and glared at Blaine. "You're going to be a behave like a gentleman, Blaine. I don't want any fighting to happen at the dinner table, is that understood?"
"If they..."
"If they don't act as politely as they should, then they'll hear about it later. But under no circumstances will anyone start yelling in this house today, okay?"
Kurt's tone of voice left no room for arguing so Blaine just nodded and Kurt went back to making salad.
"Go help Rory get ready," he suggested. "It'll take your mind off things for a little while."
Blaine did as he Kurt instructed and about an hour later Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were met by a perfect little charmer. He was a lot shyer around Blaine's parents than Kurt's and clung onto his Papa's leg as he said a quiet 'hi' to them.
"You, my dear, you've grown to be such a big boy, haven't you?" Mrs. Anderson exclaimed. "Come here, sweetie, let me look at you. Oh wow, don't you look dapper. Just like your Papa when he was your age."
Blaine frowned but didn't say anything as Kurt shook his head ever so slightly. Mr. Anderson had yet to say anything, he was just looking at his grandson with an unreadable look on his face and even Rory seemed to have picked up on the edge of fakeness in his grandma's voice.
"Well, Richard, Margaret... You've arrived just in time for dinner," Kurt said. "I'm sure you're starving after your trip. Must say, this was quite unexpected..."
One would have had to been impressed with Kurt's ability to keep up a conversation in a rather awkward situation. They managed to get through three courses without any silences and even Blaine's dad joined in when Kurt brought up the latest classic Burt was working on back in Ohio. Rory answered the numerous questions about his pre-school and his friends politely if not rather shortly and pushed the broccoli off his plate when he thought no one was looking. By the time Kurt served the dessert, home-made pudding, he was bored out of his mind.
"Can I go play?" he asked when Margaret started yet another rant about how Cooper should finally just settle down.
"An hour, then it's bed time," Blaine answered. "Take your plate to the sink. And no more Nintendo!" he called after the boy who yelled back an 'okay!'
"Alright, what are you really doing here?" Blaine asked as soon as he heard Rory going up the stairs. Kurt kicked him under the table.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh don't act stupid. You've been weird for a while now and then you literally just show up without much of a warning? What's going on?And I swear to God, if it has anything to do with Rory..."
"Of course it has anything to do with Rory!" Richard hissed. "Do you two not see the possibilities of all this?"
"Of all what?" Kurt asked, his eyes narrowed.
"He literally goes back and forth in time! Seriously, are you telling us you've never thought of taking advantage of that?"
Blaine's face turned into an alarming shade of red. "Please, tell me you're kidding."
"Think about it, Blaine," Margaret said and somehow, even under the stare of the two men in front of her, she was still beaming. "Just think! Knowledge is power in this world and oh, the things that he could find out for us! Have you ever considered...?"
"No! Whatever it is that you're suggesting, no, we have not considered. He's six years old, for God's sake, and more importantly, he's our son, not some tool to be used for..."
"He's not really even yours," Richard cut Blaine off. "He's adopted."
And okay, now there was silence.
"You did not just say that," Kurt said, his voice quivering. "Of course he's really ours!"
"Look, all I meant was that there is so much that you can't possibly know about everything that comes with his condition..."
"He's not the only one like him!"
"...and since he is adopted it's only good sense to find out more about his real..."
"Don't finish that sentence. Don't you dare," Blaine warned. His eyes were burning.
Margaret sighed in a way that suggested she was dealing with a misbehaving toddler. "We love Rory dearly, Blaine. But he have done our research and we only think that making him collect some harmless information every now and then is not a bad thing."
"Harmless information like the lottery numbers? The situation on Wall Street? Your date of death?"
"...Blaine..."
"No, Kurt, I won't calm down! They can't just..."
"Go see what Rory's up to, okay? I'll kick them out."
Only Blaine knew what Kurt's tone meant: it was the eye of the storm, the calm place in which Kurt could still think straight but the way he looked at you made you want to crawl into a hole and stay there. Blaine figured his husband could probably handle this situation in a lot classier way than him so with one last glare shot to his parents, he got up with the intention of maybe letting Rory play some Nintendo after all. Making a guy dressed in red jump on some turtles sounded like therapy right now.
Blaine got us far as the bottom of the stairs before he stumbled on something on the ground. He looked down, preparing to see a pile of Rory's toys. His mind went blank when what he saw instead was a pile of clothes.
"Kurt!"
August 7th, 2044
Rory blinked.
Had he traveled? When had he traveled? He hadn't even felt the pull. He had just been so confused. The adults were talking with big words - what did adopted mean anyway? - Daddy had looked really angry and the expression on Papa's face had almost scared the poor boy. But he hadn't thought he would travel, no, he had just wanted to go ask what was going on. And maybe for a cup of coco.
And yet, here he was, in a beautiful room that smelled like roses. Sunshine was pouring in through the huge windows that were framed by white curtains. Rory made his way to the closest one and stood on his tiptoes so he could look outside. Yeah, he was still in New York, that was Central Park. But when?
Rory jumped when he heard a squeal behind him. He remembered with a bang that he was as naked as ever and blushed scarlett when he saw a young, pretty woman standing in the doorway of what was probably the bathroom. She was wearing a pinkish night gown and her hair came down in soft curls. And she was beaming like she had just won the lottery, which was a little weird. She looked absolutely delighted to see Rory.
"Oh, finally! I have been waiting for you all morning. Here, I got this for you."
The woman all but skipped to Rory and handed him a soft, baby blue bathrobe. Rory eyed it warily before reaching out and taking it and wow, it was really soft. He quickly put it on, mumbling a 'thank you'.
"My goodness, you're such a sweetie. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this. Ever since you told me I'd see you to today I have been counting down minutes!"
"You know me?" Rory asked, finally finding courage to look the woman in the eye.
She laughed. "Yes. And you know me, too. It's me, Rory. It's Sugar."
Sugar?
But... "S-Sugar?"
"The one and only," Sugar smiled, revealing a perfect line of white, pearly teeth. Her eyes sparkled and she looked even prettier.
Rory blushed even more. He shouldn't be thinking like that, Sugar was his friend! A really annoying friend, sometimes, she insisted on playing dress up every time she came to visit. But a friend none-the-less.
"You don't have to be shy, honey-bunch, I've known you my whole life." She was kneeling down now so that she was on eye-level with Rory. She still smiled but it was gentler, encouraging.
"Do you live here?" Rory finally asked, to break the silence that dragged on for about 20 seconds.
"Not really, just for a couple of days," Sugar answered, looking around the room. "We're at the Plaza."
"The hotel?"
"Yup. I'm getting married."
Rory's eyes widened. Sugar had begged him to play wedding with her just a little while ago. His Dads had even baked them cupcakes so they could celebrate but Rory had not thought it was fun. Nuh-uh, no way, he had wanted to play hide-and-seek.
"To whom?"
Sugar giggled. "Not telling. You'd only tease him for every day of your life if you knew."
No, he wouldn't. But he had to know so he could approve. Sugar was annoying sometimes but she was special and deserved a good husband. "I won't tell! I promise I'll keep it a secret! Please, Sugar, please! Tell me!"
"Nope," Sugar said, popping the P and poking Rory's nose. "You'll find out when it's time."
Rory crossed his arms across his chest. "I wanna talk to me. He'll tell me."
"You is very busy right now. And I know you won't be here for too long soooooo... We'll make this moment special. How about we order some chocolate ice cream from the room service and sing Disney songs?"
Five minutes later they had bowls of the most delicious ice cream brough to them and the stereos that appeared magically from the wall were blasting 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King'. Rory giggled when Sugar, whose voice was much better than the Sugar's he knew, changed king into queen and tried his best to yell KING as loud as possible, just for the heck of it. The ice cream was falling on his robe, leaving stains but the boy didn't notice.
"Sugar Lopez-Pierce, what in the world do you think you're doing?"
The music stopped immediately and Rory fell on his face on the bed he had been jumping on when he heard the voice of a very stern Santana Lopez-Pierce. She was in a gorgeous, black dress and she was looking at her daughter with her eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips.
"Sorry, Mama. I have a visitor."
"You're getting married in an hour, you're not even dressed, and you have a visitor? Sugar, Kurt is going to let you have it, believe m..."
"No, but Mama, look!" Sugar said, pulling Rory to stand in front of her. "Kurt can't be mad when he sees Rory. I mean... Mama, isn't he just the cutest thing ever?"
Santana's stony face melted at the sight of the shy six year old and that thing tugging her lips might have been a smile. Rory bit the inside of his cheek but managed a quiet 'hi, Auntie' for which he earned a chuckle in reply.
"Alright, so your little visitor is super special but darling, you do have to get ready. Come on, let's get you into your dress, okay?"
The latina gently guided her daughter to the wardrobe of the hotel room that opened to reveal a dress that would have surely been fit to a Disney princess. Even Rory, who was a boy and very proud of this, gasped at the sight of it because wow, Sugar would look like royalty once she was in it.
"Your make-up is all smudged," Santana sighed. "Sit down, I'll do what I can to fix it."
"It's okay, Mama, I don't think he'll really care."
"Maybe not but his father will. Be still."
Rory licked the remaining of his ice cream off his spoon and wondered again who the guy Sugar was marrying was. Probably someone tall and handsome who had the same smile as the Eugene from Tangled. He was Sugar's favorite and she often said that one day she'd find someone just like him.
"Santana? Please, please tell me that I hit my head and I'm having a nightmare because what I see right now is you putting make up on your daughter who should be all but ready by now!"
Kurt, whose suit didn't have one wrinkle on it despite the obvious stress he was in, rushed pass Rory without really noticing him. Rory couldn't help but smirk. It was every once in a while that his Daddy was asked to plan some big event and every time he'd stress and worry and spend days and nights making phone calls but when everything was done and over with, he was always so... happy. And Rory could see that somehow Sugar's wedding was even more special than anything Kurt had put together before.
"Oh, excuse me Hummel, but the reason my daughter is not ready is your son," Santana snapped.
"What the hell are you talking about? Rory is downstairs, drooling over the cake, wha...?"
Kurt turned around when Santana nodded her head towards Rory. Instantly, his expression softened and he smiled, his shoulders sagging.
"Hey, Daddy!" Rory giggled.
"Hey, baby. Gosh, it's so good to see you," Kurt said. He knelt down in front of the six year old and Rory was shocked to see tears in his eyes.
"Daddy, are you crying?"
"No. No, buddy, no, I'm just... I'm really happy that you're here. It's uh... It's a big day," Kurt explained. "I'm sorry I cursed. Don't tell me when you go back, okay?"
"I won't," Rory promised. "Daddy, what does adopted mean?"
Kurt's eyes widened a little. "Why do you ask?"
"I... I heard Grandpa Richard say that I was adopted. I wanted to ask what it meant but then I came here. Is it something bad? Papa didn't look happy..."
"Oh, no, Rory. No, it's not bad, it's... I don't think it's my place to tell. I promise, we'll explain it to you when you go home, okay? Just remember that no matter what, no matter what you hear and no matter what happens, we will always love you, okay? You will always and forever be our little boy. Do you promise to remember that?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"Good," Kurt said and gave Rory a kiss on the forehead. "Now, you wanna help me get the bride ready?"
It was a long while later that Sugar stood in front of the three of them, smiling brightly and ready to go. Santana was holding back the tears with great difficulty and Kurt looked like he was quite overwhelmed as well.
"Kurt, I think there's somewhere you need to be," Sugar said.
"Yeah," Kurt choked out. "There is. Rory, baby... When do you think you're going back?"
Rory blinked and oh!
"...now?"
"Okay. Yeah, that's... that's good, probably."
"Who is she marrying?" Rory asked one more time, resisting the pull just a little bit.
"You'll see in about 18 years."
"But I wanna knooooooooooooooow!"
"Go, baby. We're waiting for you."
And Rory did.
"I'm getting married. Sweet Cheesus, I really am."
"Rory..."
"What if I'm bad at it? Like, what if I'm a really bad husband? I already disappear with a warning so what if I'm just... bad at cooking and cleaning and making money and having sex...?"
"Are you honestly telling me you wouldn't know already if you were bad at having sex?" Blaine asked, making Rory blink and blush.
"It'll be different," he said. "It will be, won't it?"
"A little," Kurt admitted. "Better."
"Argh! I can't do this! What was I thinking, I can't make her happy, not like she deserves! She deserves a Disney prince, tall and handsome and heroic and I'm just..."
"...the one she wants. Rory, baby, you have to calm down," Kurt said gently, using the old nickname but Rory didn't seem to mind.
"She loves you," Blaine continued. "That's all that matters."
"And you love her. You two are going to be fine. You know that, right?"
Rory swallowed, taking a couple of deep breaths. "Yeah... Yeah, I know..." He sighed and put a hand through his hair that had just been perfectly styled. "Can I have a hug?"
The two Dads laughed before enveloping their only child into a warm embrace. "We're so proud of you," Blaine mumbled.
"And we love you," Kurt added.
"I love you guys, too."
Rory smiled widely when he appeared into his own, familiar living room. He smiled even wider when he noticed his daddies were still awake. They had their arms wrapped around each other and they were watching one of those late night shows that they never let Rory to even catch a glimpse of. And yes, even now, as soon as Kurt realized Rory was back, he immediately turned the TV off.
"Hey, buddy," he said softly, untangling himself from Blaine. "Did you have fun?"
"Uh-huh!" Rory replied. "I saw Sugar! She was old!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! And I saw you, too. You were even older."
The small smile on Kurt's face dropped when Blaine chuckled. Rory thought his eyes were a little red but shrugged it off because his Papa was still grinning broadly.
"You tired?" he asked as he wrapped a blanket around Rory's tiny shoulder.
"No."
"Feel like going for a plate of late-night pancakes?"
Rory's eyes lit up at the thought of having dessert three times in one day and he nodded enthusiastically, for the moment forgetting all about the word 'adopted' or that he had ever wanted to ask about it. He quickly got dressed in a comfortable weekend outfit and the little family made their way to the IHOP not too far from their home. Rory opted between running a little ahead of Kurt and Blaine or pushing them forward as they were apparently walking way too slow. When they finally got the little restaurant, the boy announced he wanted chocolate chip pancakes before they were even showed to their seats.
"And what can I get for you two?" the young waitress asked after she had written down Rory's order.
"Just a tea, please," Kurt answered, knowing that he'd be finishing half of Rory's pancakes anyways.
"A coffee. Black," Blaine said.
"Alrighty, I'll be right back."
Rory accepeted the little box of crayons she offered and was quickly occupied by the dinasour on the back of the menu. Quite careful with the lines for someone his age, he was changing the color for fifth time before he remembered that there was a question he wanted answered.
"Why did Grandpa Richard call me adopted?" he asked with the bluntness of a little boy. He saw Kurt take a hold of Blaine's hand.
"Well, uh... That's... that's because..." Kurt said before taking a deep breath. "Alright, Rory... You know how Patrick and Peter have a mom and dad?"
"...yeah?"
"To make a baby, you need both mom and dad. Your Papa and I couldn't have had you without... without your mom."
Rory blinked. "I have a mom?"
"Yes, but..."
"Where is she?"
Kurt and Blaine glanced at each other. "We don't know," Blaine said quietly and if Rory had been older he could have told that he was lying.
"The reason grandpa Richard called you adopted is because... when you were a baby... before we found you... You were someone else's child," Kurt explained.
"S-someone elses?" Rory whispered.
"You're so young, this is really big stuff to understand," Blaine said gently. "But really, Rory, the core of the matter is that you needed a home, someone to look after you, and we were given the chance to be the people who could do that. We were given the chance to be your parents."
Rory was quiet for a long while, long enough for his pancakes to arrive. He took one slow bite, mostly to avoid having to talk but when swallowing was harder than it should be, he kind of figured this should be solved now.
"Did she not want to be my mommy?" he asked, his voice thin.
"No... I mean, yes...! Baby, I can't... I don't know if we'll ever find out what really happened but I am sure, sure, that she would have been the best mommy in the world if she could have. But sometimes life just works in ways that are beyond anyone's control," Kurt said.
"But the one thing you must know is that none of it was nor ever will be your fault. You are our perfect little miracle and we couldn't possibly love you any more than we..."
"Do I have another Daddy, too?"
A tear slipped down Kurt's cheek. "Your mother was married, yes," he said.
"But you are my Daddies."
"Nothing will change that."
"And you love me."
"More than anything."
There was another silence during which a couple of customers left and a gang of teenagers came in, disturbing the late night peacefulness of the place.
Rory thought about what his Daddy Kurt had said, in the future. And he remembered with a bang what he had promised to remember. He looked at the two people he loved most in the whole wide world. He didn't know any other life nor did he want any other parents. He was quite perfectly happy just where he was.
But...
"I still don't really understand," Rory finally said.
"It's okay," Kurt said. "It's a lot to take in. But we'll answer any and all your questions and you can ask them any time, okay?"
"You won't ever leave me, right?"
The two dads made their to the other side of the table in half a heartbeat. They squeezed Rory between them to form a perfect, familiar sandwich.
"Never, ever, ever," Blaine whispered into his son's soft hair. "And you better not forget that."
The three of them finished the pancakes together and by the time Blaine handed the waitress his credit card, Rory's eyes were drooping and he was starting to sway a little on his seat. With a fond smile on his face, Kurt picked the boy up and held him close, silently freaking out a little about how big his baby was getting.
"He's gonna be okay," Blaine said when they started to walk back home. His arms was around Kurt's back and if anyone saw them from afar, they couldn't have thought anything bad right then.
"I know," Kurt replied. He smiled at Blaine. "I love you, by the way."
Blaine returned the smile. "I love you, too."
So I decided Rory is straight.
I LOVE Sugar and Vanessa is the cutest so I wanted her to have a major role in Rory's life, no matter what ends up happening in the show. I think they have the potential to be a great couple :)
Anyways.
Again, if there's anyone you want Rory to meet or anywhere you'd like him to visit, let me know. For those who already have, I'm working on the plots as we speak. And we most likely haven't seen the last of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson either...
Love you all!
Until the next time,
bye!
