1x07 Meet the Family - Pt3
Blaine was also nervous before his first show but not for the reason Kurt thought when his boyfriend came up to him and tried to give him a pep talk as well. Sweet as it was, it wasn't really helping.
See, Blaine had lied to his dad about his performance to get him to New York. He had been sure his father wouldn't come for a musical theater performance, so, and because he really wanted the support of his family, he had invited him to a piano concert.
On top of that, he also wanted to introduce Kurt to his father as his boyfriend and he wasn't sure that would go over well either. His father seemed to have found his peace with the fact that Blaine was gay, but who knew if he'd still be okay with it if Blaine acted on it.
He explained all that to Kurt while he was busy freaking out, and therefore nearly missed his father and Cooper walking up to them. His father's expression was sour, while Cooper was all smiles as always and Blaine heard Kurt gasp next to him as the two men approached.
"You're brother is Cooper Anderson. Oh my god, his soap is my guilty pleasure," his boyfriend gushed and Blaine rolled his eyes. His older brother had finally found a paying acting gig and was now acting as if he was next in line for an Emmy. He didn't need Kurt fawning over him as well.
"Blaine, there seems to have been some mix up as the posters outside seem to suggest you are starring in a musical," were the first words out of his father's mouth and Blaine shifted uneasily.
"I'm sorry for lying to you dad, but I really wanted to show you that I'm good at what I do. I even got the lead role," he pleaded with his father, wanting him to understand how much that meant to him. He felt Kurt give his hand a gentle squeeze and gave him a grateful smile before looking back at his father who still didn't look too happy.
"You know what I think about that Blaine. I really believe you should stick with piano and violin. Both your teachers have told me you are talented enough to make it and I don't want you to throw away your chances to play with the Philharmonics one day."
Blaine sighed. Yes his was good with those instruments but his heart wasn't in it anymore. Nowadays he mostly used the piano when he was working on one of his own songs and a guitar was now substituting his violin for the same purposes.
"Your son is a really talented performer as well, Mr. Anderson," Kurt piped up from next to him and his dad finally seemed to realize that they weren't alone. Cooper had gone back to his phone as soon as he had waved in their direction and had given Kurt his signature smile.
"And who's this?" he asked and his tone of voice suggested that he had already figured out the truth.
"Kurt Hummel, sir." His boyfriend bravely stepped forward and offered his hand to shake, and to Blaine's relief his father took it after a few seconds.
"Is Kurt your boyfriend, Blaine?" he asked after letting go of Kurt's hand and Blaine nodded.
"Now Blaine, it's not that I don't want you to be in a relationship, but do you have to date child? If you have to date boys, couldn't you find someone who was at least legal?"
From the corner of his eye he saw Kurt first blush and then pale. Great, that was exactly what he had been afraid of before he started dating Kurt. That people might not be okay with it because Kurt was younger and still looked quite young.
"With all due respect, sir. I'm fifteen – so not that much younger than Blaine," Kurt defended himself and Blaine finally unfroze to come to Kurt's defense as well.
"Yeah dad, we are really not that far apart and in a few years it won't matter at all. Can't you just be happy for me?" Apparently he wasn't above begging to get his father's approval.
"I think you make a cute couple," Cooper suddenly joined the conversation and Blaine was surprised that for once his brother wasn't criticizing his choices, so he gave him a grateful smile. Cooper just shrugged before he buried his nose in his Blackberry again.
"Fine," his father concedes as well. "Why don't you join us for dinner Kurt the next time we are in the same state if you boys are still going out by then," he suggested and Blaine hated that his father was implying that they wouldn't be together long.
"Can't we all go to dinner after the show tonight?" he asked, ignoring his father's jibe.
His father shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't stay after the show. I have some meetings to attend before I fly back to Ohio. Maybe your brother can stay though. I'm sure he isn't as busy as I am."
Well, at least his father still hadn't figured out how to talk to either of his sons. Cooper looked up briefly and gave him a short nod, which Blaine interpreted as a yes to dinner.
"How long are you in town for Cooper?" Kurt asked, apparently still enamored with his brother, and Blaine tried to suppress his jealousy. His brother was straight after all and definitely too old for Kurt.
"I have to fly back to L.A tomorrow. Important meeting with my agent, you know," Cooper announced but Blaine wasn't surprised that his brother wasn't staying in town either.
"Well it was nice meeting you, Kurt. Cooper lets go and see what Blaine has dragged us to," his father said after a glance at his watch. Blaine watched him walk away, telling himself over and over again that his father loved him, but didn't know how to express it properly.
"You can expect a full performance review at dinner, Squirt. Kurt will you be joining us?" Cooper addressed Kurt, after reminding him that he would never be good enough for the great Cooper Anderson. The only nice thing without expecting anything in return his brother had ever done for him, was convincing his dad to let him come to NYADA and Blaine wasn't sure for how much longer that would be enough to excuse the rest of his horrible behavior.
Kurt shrugged next to him. "I have to talk to my dad first, but if he says yes, I'd love to join you. Maybe you can tell me some more about Hollywood."
Blaine was aware that he was holding Kurt's hand tighter than strictly necessary but he just hated that Kurt was fawning over his brother.
"You okay?" Kurt asked him once Cooper had left to find his seat as well. Blaine shrugged. "It is what it is. My dad loves me but he is not a people person," he explained.
Kurt fully turned to face him and he could see that his boyfriend wasn't buying it. "I'm not talking about your dad. I'm talking about your reaction to your brother. I nearly lost circulation there for a second."
Blaine immediately felt guilty for hurting Kurt because of his own insecurities. "I'm sorry. I just hate that everyone seems to think Cooper is oh so great and I'm just the stupid little brother who can do nothing right."
Great, Kurt must think he was a total freak. To his surprise though, Kurt just leaned in and pressed a small kiss to his lips.
"I'm sorry. I'll try and tone it down. It's just that I have never met anyone before who works in TV and I got a little overexcited," he apologized after they separated and Blaine tried to chase Kurt's lips for a moment.
"It's okay, Kurt. It's my problem not yours. Now, why don't you go find your seat and let me freak out a bit more about my father actually watching me perform in a musical," he told Kurt after taking a look at his own watch.
Kurt surprised him with another small kiss before heading off to find his family and Blaine could keep the smile of his face after the kiss. As long as Kurt kept kissing him to cheer him up, he would gladly deal with his annoying family anytime.
Dinner that night with Blaine's brother had been interesting and after spending a few hours with the older Anderson, Kurt was starting to understand his boyfriend's frustratrations with his brother. He was like Blaine's personal Rachel, only Cooper seemed to think he was doing what was best for his brother and not out of spite.
The next few days before Thanksgiving and before Mercedes had to fly back to Ohio were spent exploring the city. Kurt hadn't been too happy to hear that Rachel would stay the whole week but with Blaine probably joining them for Thanksgiving dinner he had no grounds to argue against her presence.
He had made all those plans for him, Mercedes and Blaine, but unfortunately his dad and Carole had insisted that Rachel and Finn join them for their exploration of the city because Carole was worried Finn might wander off and got lost.
Blaine and the girls were walking a few steps ahead when Finn joined him, probably to give them some privacy in case the brothers wanted to talk.
"So, uh. I wanted to say I think it's really cool what you're doing here," Finn said after they'd been walking in silence for a while. Kurt raised an eyebrow at that but refrained from telling Finn that he knew he was watching a game on his phone during the show.
"You're in Glee Club. It isn't really that different," Kurt shrugged, wondering if Finn really only had come up to him for small talk.
"Yeah dude, but this is New York. Who knows who could be watching you perform. Nobody cares about a small Ohio show choir apart from Rachel and Harmony."
"How is Harmony?" Kurt asked, knowing fully well that this was a sore subject for Finn. Finn had been chasing after Harmony most of his sophomore year and only after he had realized that that was never going to happen, had he given in to Rachel's advances. Another reason for Rachel to hate Harmony, Kurt was sure.
"Good I guess. I saw her with Puck at Breadstix a few times," Finn told him, aiming for nonchalantly but Kurt could tell that it hurt him that she was going for his best friend when she had never given him the time of the day.
They walked in silence after that for another few blocks, while Rachel was chatting Blaine and Mercedes' ears off in front of them.
"Is there a reason why you wanted to talk to me, Finn?" Kurt finally asked, itching to get back to Blaine. Finn looked mildly uncomfortable or confused – it was often hard to tell with Finn – for a moment before he finally spit it out.
"Is it like a New York thing to hold hands with dudes?" Kurt looked at him in alarm. "Why would you think that?" he asked trying not to panic.
"It's just that you and Blaine were holding hands while we were walking and I guess I got curious."
Kurt's head was spinning. He hadn't even realized that he and Blaine were holding hands with Rachel and Finn around. At least Finn didn't look disgusted, just confused.
"Or are the rumors about you true?" Finn soldiered on and Kurt froze next to him. Of course Finn was aware of the rumors. After all he was one of the boys who had made fun of him in junior high and hadn't stopped his friends from calling Kurt names either once their parents started dating.
He wanted to deny the accusation immediately because that's what he was used to do, but then he stopped himself. He was sick of having to hide this part of himself and now that he was with Blaine, he wanted everyone to know how happy the older boy made him. Just not his dad right now.
"Blaine's my boyfriend," he blurted out instead of the perfectly grafted speech he had planed to give Finn if he was ever ready to tell him. "And you can't tell anyone. Especially not Rachel. If you tell her all of McKinley is going to know the next day and I do have to spend the summer in Lima."
Yep, his brain to mouth filter was definitely off today, but blunt often worked better with Finn, so maybe it was for the best.
"Okay, okay. I won't say anything to her. But seriously, you and him, you are, like, dating? How does that even work?" Kurt shot Finn an incredulous look. Was his stepbrother serious?
"It's not different than you and Rachel dating. Only we have to deal with people calling us names and hating that we are a couple. And that's why you can't tell anyone. You know how people were treating me even when there were just rumors about me."
Finn at least had the decency to look guilty after that and he promised again that he wouldn't say anything unless Kurt told him he could.
"And if you really need to talk to someone about this, you can talk to Mercedes or aunt Kate. They both know as well," Kurt conceded because knowing Finn, he knew his brother would want to talk to someone about his weird brother.
Kurt still couldn't tell if Finn was okay with it or not, so he bit the bullet and just came out and asked.
"I don't know dude. I mean now that I know you, you are pretty cool and fun to hang out with and I guess you are still the same person you were before you told me. So I guess it's cool. Just don't make out in front of me or something like that. I really don't want to see that."
Kurt knew he should be offended by that, but Finn's reaction was still a lot better than expected so he let it go. At least he seemed to be accepting, which was more than Kurt could have hoped to get from Finn.
Feeling that the conversation was over they joined the others again and when Blaine brushed the back of his hand as they were walking behind Rachel and Finn, Kurt slipped his hand back into Blaine's and gave him a small smile.
"Everything okay with you and your brother? You were talking for quite a bit?" Blaine asked quietly and Kurt nodded. "I'll tell you late, but I think everything is going to be okay."
They split up after lunch vowing not to tell the parents about it and spent a great afternoon showing Mercedes their favorite spots. So far the family visit had gone great, Kurt thought and he hoped that Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be any different.
As expected Cooper and his dad were gone by the time Thanksgiving came around and so Blaine had to accept Kate's invitation to join Kurt's family for dinner in New Jersey.
He was looking through his closet trying to find the perfect outfit when his door flew open and Wes and David bounded in.
"What's this we hear about you and Kurtie making out in the halls of this great school?" Wes went straight to the point of their visit and Blaine rolled his eyes. News did travel fast at NYADA, though he had no idea who would have told on him and Kurt in the first place.
"We didn't make out Wesley, it was just a simple kiss," Blaine told him without stopping going through his closet.
"Watch out Wes, he called you Wesley. But seriously man. Spill." David of course had to join in on teasing him.
"There's nothing to spill. We kissed, the end," Blaine explained as he finally found a bowtie that worked well with his dark green button up.
"You're smiling like you just won the lottery. There has to be more to it than that," Wes didn't give up and as much as Blaine loved his friends, right now he just wanted to kick them out of his room, to find the perfect outfit to impress Kurt with in peace.
"Honestly guys, that's all there is. Could you leave me alone now? I have to find an outfit for Thanksgiving dinner," he told his two friends who had flopped down on his bed.
"Where are you going that you need a fancy outfit? Sorry by the way that you can't celebrate with us but the parents insist we're coming home this year."
Blaine waved Wes off. He was happy that his friends' parents seemed more interested in spending time with their children than his own father.
"Is your dad still in town? I thought you said he left after the show?" David continued and Blaine shook his head. "No, he and Cooper already left."
From the corner of his eye he saw Wes and David share a look and Blaine knew he was in for another round of teasing.
"Lets see. Keen to get rid of us, nervous about his clothes and weirdly calm about the fact that his dad is acting like a douche again," David started off, counting Blaine's 'offenses', before Wes took over.
"Dr. Thompson, there is only one possible reason. Blaine is spending Thanksgiving with Kurt." Blaine rolled his eyes at their antics again, but nodded because there was no hiding anything from them.
"Not with Kurt, with Kurt and his family. His family who thinks I'm just his best friend who was left behind in the city." Blaine sighed. It would be so much easier if he and Kurt could be open about their relationship. And maybe not, because what if Mr. Hummel shared his own father's opinion?
"Relax, Blaine. Parents love you. Teachers love you. I can't think of a single grown up you can't charm the socks off," David tried to comfort him as Blaine muttered darkly, "my dad." But his friends were right. Kurt's family already liked him and if he didn't do something stupid like hold Kurt's hand on the dinner table or kiss him when his dad was around, everything should be all right.
And so Blaine found himself at lot calmer than the day before in front of the dorms with Kurt where they were waiting for Kurt's aunt to pick them up. The rest of the family was already at Kate's house getting a head start on dinner preparations and Blaine was glad to have a few more minutes alone with Kurt before he had to revert back to the role of best friend.
"I'm so happy you're joining us for dinner," Kurt told him, the hand that wasn't holding his small suitcase entwined with Blaine's. Blaine's own overnight bag was on the floor in front of him, because Kate insisted he'd stay the night as well and return to the city with Kurt bright and early for Black Friday shopping.
"Me too. Beats trying to cook something edible in the dorm kitchen," he answered, shuddering a bit. The students who only left right before Christmas usually cooked a Christmas dinner, and Blaine had spent the whole plane ride to Ohio the previous year trying not to throw up on the plane thanks to the food he had the day before.
The sound of a car horn broke the spell they had both suddenly found themselves in and they hurried over to Kate's car that was parked in the second lane and was already being honked at by angry drivers. Again, Blaine was grateful that he had taken his driving test the previous summer in Ohio instead of New York.
Before he knew it they were at Kate's house and Blaine helped her unload the trunk and carry their luggage into the house.
Finn and Mr. Hummel were both on the couch watching Ohio State play Michigan, so he assumed Rachel was helping Carole in the kitchen. Blaine stared at the game longingly for a moment before offering his help in the kitchen as well but Kurt must have caught his expression and told him to watch the game before he could poison them all with his 'help'.
He knew Kurt would accept a no and so he sat down on the couch next to Finn, trying to ignore the looks both Finn and Mr. Hummel were giving him. He knew Kurt had told Finn about them and so he thought that was because of Kurt's confession. He just hoped that Kurt's dad wasn't looking at him for the reason he feared.
"Nice to see you again, Blaine," he finally said and Blaine smiled at him politely. "Thanks for having me, sir." Luckily Michigan scored a touch down at that moment and all eyes were back on the screen. Blaine gladly joined the cursing of Michigan even though he wasn't the biggest Ohio fan, because it got him off the hook with Mr. Hummel.
Dinner went without any incidents thankfully and even Kurt and Rachel managed to be polite to each other. Blaine was sitting opposite Kurt and at least this way he couldn't be tempted into holding Kurt's hand. It had been a while since he had been at a large family gathering – ever since his parents' divorce it was usually just him, Cooper and his dad – and so Blaine enjoyed listening to the family exchanging stories about their lives or hearing childhood stories about Kurt, much to Kurt's chagrin.
They had dessert in Kate's living room while watching a movie but after the movie was over Mr. Hummel announced that he was going to bed.
"Kurt, you are with Finn and Blaine with Rachel, if that is okay for you Rachel?" Burt announced as he gathered up his things.
"Why can't Kurt stay with Blaine?" Rachel asked innocently, and Blaine guessed that Finn hadn't managed to keep his mouth shut. But at least she hadn't said anything to Kurt's parents. Next to him Burt tensed before he chuckled.
"Sorry Rachel, but that would leave you with Finn and I'm sure your dads wouldn't be too happy if I allowed that." Blaine's eyes widened when he heard that Rachel had two fathers and he hoped that was enough to not get outed by her.
He of course also suspected that Mr. Hummel knew about his son and wanted to keep him out of Blaine's room for that reason, but he had promised not to tell Kurt about his father's suspicions so he kept his mouth shut and just nodded.
He and Kurt waited until everyone else was gone, before Blaine walked his boyfriend up to his and Finn's guest room where he gave him a chaste kiss goodnight, mindful of the other people in the house.
"See that went well, " Kurt whispered and Blaine nodded. He just wished that he could attend the next Hummel family dinner as Kurt's official boyfriend because he wanted Kurt's dad to keep liking him and he wasn't so sure if it would still be the case if he found out they had been lying to him for months.
As it was often the case when he didn't sleep in his own house, Burt couldn't sleep and so when the clock struck two, he carefully got out of bed and went downstairs for a belated midnight snack. Both Carole and Kurt had only allowed him one slice of pie and he was dying for another bit.
He had his head in the fridge, rummaging through the containers, when there was a noise behind him and Burt banged his head against the fridge door. Cursing quietly he turned around and came face to face with his son, who had an unimpressed expression on his face.
"Uhm, I couldn't sleep and was getting a glass of water," he tried but Kurt just glared at him, before heading over to the counter and getting two glasses for them.
"Nice try dad." Burt accepted one of the glasses and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Can't sleep either?" he asked his son, who flopped down rather gracelessly next to him. Kurt shook his head. "Finn snores," he explained.
Both Hummel men drank their water in silence for a bit before Burt cleared his throat.
"So Blaine seems to be a nice guy," he said hoping he could get Kurt to talk to him, but Kurt just nodded and went back to his drink. Burt wasn't willing to give up that easy though.
"I was surprised to hear he doesn't have a boyfriend. Surely there must be other boys like him at your school. It's New York after all. People don't are about that kind of thing here, right?"
Burt saw Kurt's grip on the glass tighten but then his son gave him a fake smile. "I suppose. There's this guy at school who is constantly after Blaine, but he is a jerk."
Burt was met with silence again after that, but Kurt seemed to visibly relax.
"And how about you? Anyone you want me to meet?" Burt broke the silence yet again and Kurt shook his head. "I'm trying to focus on school right now. I still have plenty of time to date when I'm older."
If he could make all the decisions in his son's life his son wouldn't be dating till he was at least thirty but he also wanted his son to be happy. He didn't want his son not to date anyone because he was afraid his dad might disapprove.
"If you say so, but know that as long as you don't date some psychopath I'm happy for you okay?" The longer they talked the more relaxed Kurt seemed to become and Burt counted that as a win. He needed Kurt to know that he could trust him.
"And at school, everything is good, right? I don't have to expect another call from the principle anytime soon, right?"
Burt had been beyond worried when he had gotten a call from Kurt's school about some bullying incident, especially after the school refused to give him all the details. He had hoped Kurt would tell him what had happened, but as always his son wasn't telling him anything.
"Yes dad, everything is okay. No one is letting me get hurt this time around, I promise. I'm just super busy with regular classes and all the performing arts ones and with finals coming up soon, I'm going to be even busier. But I'm really happy to be there."
With that his son got up and left the kitchen to brave Finn's snoring again as he said.
Pie forgotten Burt stared after Kurt a bit longer. Some days he had been asking himself if he had made the right decision sending Kurt to New York, but hearing his son say he was happy – something that had become rarer and rarer over the past couple of years – assured him he had done the right thing.
His son might be hundreds of miles away but at least he was safe and happy.
Kurt's parents were there when he got up ridiculously early to accompany Kurt for Black Friday shopping in Manhattan. He could barely keep his eyes open and gladly accepted the cup of coffee Carole handed him. How Kurt could look so composed this early in the morning was a mystery for Blaine.
While Kurt was saying goodbye to his family, Blaine brought their bags outside to the cab that would take them to the train station – Kate was still asleep and couldn't drive them – and when he turned Mr. Hummel was there, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm.
"Before I forget. You are welcome to come by the house if you are in Ohio for Christmas. Same goes for any other friends of Kurt's who are from the same area."
Blaine gave him a sleepy smile. "That would be nice, sir. I'll let Kurt's other friends know." He thought that was the end of the conversation, but apparently Mr. Hummel wasn't done yet.
"I'm glad Kurt found you. You are a good friend." There was a heavy emphasis on friend that Blaine wanted to ignore so he just nodded. "I'm glad he is my friend too. It's nice to be with someone who likes the same things and doesn't make fun of me for liking things like Vogue."
Mr. Hummel looked puzzled but before they could say anything else, Kurt came out of the house and after another quick goodbye to his dad, they both got into the cab.
Once they were out of sight, Kurt moved closer and Blaine loosely wrapped his arm around him, trying not to fall asleep on top of Kurt. He was too tired to worry about Kurt's dad and maybe by the time Christmas came around things would be different.
Kurt dropped the bags from his shopping exploits on his bed as Blaine dropped down dramatically onto Jeff's. Kurt just rolled his eyes fondly at the older boy. He really had to take Blaine shopping more often to get him used to it.
Blaine had been quiet most of the day, which Kurt had chalked up to little sleep but now that they were relaxing in Kurt's dorm room, with the door open a bit to appease any teachers who might check up on them, Blaine was still quiet.
"Everything okay?" he finally asked. Blaine sat up and before he could open his mouth, Kurt added. "Tell me the truth."
"I just hated lying to your dad about us. I'm sure he suspects something with the way he looked at me and then there was the way he said friend this morning," his boyfriend finally said but what he was saying wasn't making much sense.
"I don't like it either and I think I might be ready to tell him soon, okay? But I need to do it on my own terms. Now I don't just have to tell him that I'm gay but that I have a boyfriend as well. He might be okay with the first one, but I don't know how he'd react to me actually dating a boy."
Blaine had moved over to his bed while he was talking and Kurt leaned against his boyfriend's strong shoulder, enjoying the way his head fit perfectly between his head and shoulder as Blaine was a few inches taller than him.
"And I know you are worried about my dad not liking you anymore once he finds out, but I promise I'll tell him I wouldn't let you tell him, okay? I know you want to do the right thing but I'm not there yet."
He didn't understand what was still holding him back, especially after his dad's easy acceptance of Blaine and the way he talked to him about dating, but something inside of him stopped him every time he wanted to tell his father.
They sat in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other's company when Blaine leaned in and whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry I kept pushing you. I promise from now on I will drop it. Whenever you are ready I'm going to be here for you."
Kurt thought he couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend.
Next up on NYADA Freshman Year. NYADA prepares for its annual Christmas party, the students get tortured with finals and in class performances and three Ohio natives brave the icy streets to get back to Ohio in time for Christmas. All is not well at the Hudmel home though with Kurt and Finn fighting just before Christmas. Plus, New Year's resolutions and New Year's kisses.
I'm not making any promises about the update. Could be next week but unfortunately could also be next month. If you'd prefer it, I could post it in parts again so you don't have to wait too long.