I'm really terribly sorry for the delay, guys…there was some family shit- scratch that, a lot of family shit- and I had to do some stuff with my computer and it's really complicated. The bottom line is that I'm back and writing as quickly as possible.
Enjoy!
Burt Hummel honestly doesn't give two shits that his son is home late. There is no pressing emergency, no event that is supposed to happen, not even a promised curfew, just a grunted "Don't be home too late" before he left the previous day. Besides, Burt trusts Blaine beyond a shadow of a doubt. No untrustworthy boy would be as honest as Blaine is with his boyfriend's father.
The boys walk in the door and say hello to Burt, Carole and Finn, all sitting around the kitchen table with bowls of ice cream. Kurt prances- for lack of a better word- to the freezer and Blaine strides over to the cabinets and they quickly settle in with the family. "So honey," Carole says, her voice soft and sweet as ever, "how did you enjoy your little daycation?" She looks at Kurt, waiting for an answer.
"It was wonderful, Carole. We had a lot of fun at the beach and then we went out for an extremely expensive lunch, and then Blaine surprised me by taking me to a carnival and it was just great. I had cotton candy! I hadn't had cotton candy in so long, it was really nice. And then we shared a funnel cake, and Carole have you ever had funnel cake? I just had funnel cake for the first time, and let me just say: I love funnel cake. I think I could live off funnel cake." Kurt pauses for a moment and turns to Blaine. "When we get married, can we live at a fair and just eat nothing but funnel cake?"
There's a split second where the whole room is quiet, Burt glares at Blaine, Carole and Finn exchange a mildly amused look, and Kurt and Blaine both realize what just came out of Kurt's mouth. Blaine has to make a split-second decision and chooses to take the nonchalant route. "Sure we can, Kurt," he says calmly, as if to a child, and Kurt nods enthusiastically before glancing around nervously, mostly at his father.
Unfortunately for Kurt and Blaine, and despite all their quick silent prayers, Burt did catch the offensive word and is not about to forget it. "Kurt, did you just say when we get married?"
Kurt turns slowly toward Burt, grabbing onto Blaine's hand and looking very sure of himself. "Yes. Yes, that's exactly what I said," he proclaims, firmly but not overly dramatically, and then turns back to his ice cream without another word.
"Have you been, uh, discussing the matter? Where did that come from?"
Kurt sighs exasperatedly. "This isn't really a family conversation." He glances at Finn and Carole briefly before looking his father in the eyes. "I'd be happy to discuss it in great detail with you and Blaine, but not in front of everybody." Burt and Blaine are both surprised by the diplomacy in Kurt's voice, and Finn and Carole are already trying to discreetly leave the room. Unfortunately, the chairs are old and scrape against the floor, and the three men at the table whip their heads up.
"I'm really tired," Carole lies, mock-yawning and nodding her head. "I'm just gonna head off to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow!"
"I've, uh, got football tomorrow," Finn says awkwardly before almost running out of the room.
"It's August," Burt mutters under his breath before turning his attention to Kurt and Blaine. "Boys, I'm not going to make a big deal out of this. I just don't want you rushing into anything. I'm not really as uptight and protective as I seem sometimes." Kurt rolls his eyes and snorts softly, while Blaine wrings his hands and looks mildly guilty as well as incredibly scared.
"I'm not going to bite your heads off, no matter what your answer is," Burt continues. "I just want to know if you guys have been talking about things like this. Like…your future and…stuff."
Blaine opens his mouth, fully prepared to turn on his dapper, parent-charming face, but Kurt stops him. "Dad, I'm…not going to lie to you. Not just now, but ever. We've definitely broached the subject. More than once. I've thought about it a lot, and we've talked about it a lot as well. I…" Kurt pauses and takes a deep breath, grabbing onto Blaine's hand for support. "I know exactly how I want my life to pan out. I'm going to go to college in New York, major in fashion design, and then I'm going to use the fashion to keep me afloat while I search for a job on Broadway. I'm going to be big, but I'm not going to let it go to my head. I'm going to live in a humble New York apartment with my adopted daughter, and I'm going to spoil her rotten. And I want- my whole life, every last bit of it, I want Blaine to be right there by my side. We've talked about doing it all together, and we aren't just infatuated teenagers making plans we won't go through with. Dad, we're going to get married one day. That's the fact of the matter, and I can assure you we're not rushing into a single thing. I know exactly what I'm doing."
Kurt stops talking and looks at his father, not wavering in his confidence even once. Burt and Blaine are both utterly taken aback by Kurt's speech, by how much thought he's put into it and how sure of it he is. Kurt can't see because he's staring down Burt, but Blaine is gazing lovingly at him, putting as much affection as humanly possible into a simple look.
"I- that's great, Kurt. I didn't realize you'd put that much thought into your future. I want you to know that I trust you and I support you every step of the way. I promise. And if that's what you want with your future, then…then I'll be glad to walk you down the aisle one day." Burt's eyes are misted over with tears he refuses to let fall, and he keeps them trained on Kurt.
Blaine, sensing a serious father-son moment going on, sits back and keeps his mouth shut, but doesn't let go of Kurt's hand. Kurt nods at his father tearfully and pulls him into a hug. "Thank you, Dad."
"Anytime, kid," Burt responds gruffly, still trying his hardest not to cry. He pulls back and recomposes himself. "Now you two- just, uh…go upstairs or something. Door open."
Kurt and Blaine stand without a word, hands still intertwined, and go to Kurt's room.
"Kurt…can I-I mean, will you…um, shit." Blaine's at a loss for words, which is not something that happens often, or ever, really. They've been sitting in Kurt's room for upwards of an hour (after a hurried explanation of "my parents don't really care whether or not I'm home" and a death glare from Kurt telling Burt to drop the subject, Blaine has been allowed to stay as late as he wants at the Hummel-Hudson household) and they've been conversing quite easily, but now it seems Blaine has something important to ask.
"Spit it out. You don't have to be embarrassed around me, you know that." Kurt looks understandingly at Blaine, holding Blaine's right hand in both of his and keeping eye contact while Blaine looks utterly ashamed of whatever he's trying to say.
"Can I talk to you? I mean, I've done enough talking tonight. And I've certainly talked too much about the bad stuff. But I just- it feels right. To talk about it now. The…the saving my life thing."
"Blaine. Look at me." Kurt doesn't continue talking until he has Blaine's full attention. "I don't know how many times I have to say this before you'll get it, but I'm here for you. Whether you just want to talk or cuddle or hold hands or just sit here and be together, I will always be here to do it with you. And if you need to talk about something serious while I sit here and listen, go ahead."
"I will never get over how positively amazing you are, Kurt." Blaine's face doesn't lighten up, but it's because of the subject he's about to discuss, and not because he's insecure.
"Start from the beginning." Kurt keeps eye contact with Blaine, ready to listen for as long as it takes.
"Well, I mean…I suppose it really started in middle school. When I was bullied there. I got…really down. But I didn't know. I mean, I didn't know it was real depression. I thought I was just kind of…angry and sad all the time. I certainly had reason to be. Nobody else cared enough to notice.
"Then, when I transferred to Dalton, I…it didn't stop. The cause was gone, but I was still depressed. I had some friends, sure, I mean Wes and David, Nick and Jeff, they were all nice to me. But they still…they didn't notice. They didn't see the signs, and the fact that they didn't care enough just made it worse.
"Remember how I told you I was a good pretender? I…that day that you came to Dalton, that was pretty much the pique. That performance…that wasn't me. That was dapper private-school, always-happy Blaine. That's not who I am- was- on the inside. I was in a really, really bad place.
"I…was almost going to give up. I was this close. I would have. And then you showed up, and I don't know what it was, but there was something about you that made me just want to tell you everything. And I didn't, not right then, because I would have scared you away, but…I told you more than I had ever told anyone. I let you in, and you surprised me. You surprised me because you didn't run away, you didn't tell me to suck it up.
"You surprised me because you cared. Even when you had your own problems, even when you were being harassed and bullied every day exactly the way I wasn't, you cared about me and you cared about my problems. And you were the first person to ever do that.
"When I say you saved my life, Kurt, I mean it quite literally. I had conscious plans to…do it. You know. My life was meaningless before you. Really. And now…now everything has light and it's like a whole new viewpoint because I have you and your friends from Glee club and your family and I know that they all care about me.
"Thank you. I can never thank you enough for being a part of my life and for noticing and caring when I'm sad and for knowing just how to make me feel better. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Blaine stops talking and just stares into Kurt's eyes, which are filled with tears for the thousandth time today. "Oh, honey," Kurt says, looking and sounding heartbroken. He quickly pulls Blaine into his lap and they just hold each other for an undeterminable length of time. After a while, Kurt grabs Blaine's chin and forces Blaine to look him in the eye.
"If you ever feel like that again- depressed, or sad, or…or suicidal…you need to talk to me. I won't let you slip away. I don't know what I'd do without you." Blaine cringes at the word suicidal, but nods at Kurt.
"I promise. I love you. You know that, right?" Blaine gives Kurt his puppy eyes and sniffles, looking more vulnerable than ever.
"Yes, I know that. Always. I love you too." They fall into a comfortable silence until Burt calls upstairs that it's almost midnight.
When Blaine goes home that night, he's happier than he's been in a long time, and he knows that it's thank solely to Kurt.
Bad ending. Short chapter. Also, I think the writing in this one is a little mediocre. Please review, because frankly, I need a self esteem boost.
But if you think it's bad, still review, because constructive criticism is great.
Just ignore my stupidity. I'm really weird. The bottom line is that I really like reviews, and I apologize for sucking at everything.