Kurt put the glass down forcefully, shocked by Blaine's words. It broke and glass and water got all over Kurt's lap, some shards cutting into his hands. His eyes widened in panic and he didn't even notice the pain or the danger of having broken glass all over his legs. Peter rushed to Kurt's side.
"Kurt?"
He shook his head and looked up at Peter, who seemed worried.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Kurt tried to hide his face in his hands but Peter grabbed his hands by the wrists.
"Don't touch it, you'll hurt yourself."
The judge called the break and a few seconds later there was a cleaning person in thick rubber gloves by Kurt's side while Peter talked him out of the shock he was in.
"Just wait a few seconds more and we can talk, Kurt."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break the glass, I made such a mess." Kurt whispered, not fighting Peter's hold on his wrists.
"I know, it's no big deal, the glass is replaceable." Peter said surely and then the man scooping the glass looked up.
"I think some glasses cut your legs, too." he said quietly. "You could use some medical help but I scooped all the free pieces out you can stand up now."
Kurt nodded and tried to stand and winced in pain in his thigh. Peter came close the judge and talked with her for a few seconds before nodding.
"We'll need half an hour break." she said as Peter went back to Kurt's side. "Are you able to walk?"
"I'm not sure." Kurt said quietly and looked at Peter.
"Let's get you to the hallway and we'll ask Adam for help."
The judge frowned and looked at the guard by the door. "Mr Flietze, could you help Mr Hummel and Mr Clemens to get to the medical ward?" she asked before leaving the room.
The guard came up to Kurt and with Peter they helped him out of the room. Adam got up as soon as he saw them and frowned at the sight of Kurt.
"Sweetheart, what's going on? Oh no, Kurt." his eyes widened as he saw blood on Kurt's hands and ripped pants of his suit. He rushed to their side and took the place of a guard. "What happened?"
"They know." Kurt whispered weakly and looked up at him. "Blaine knows."
"Oh, honey." Adam sighed and bent a little, grabbing Kurt's legs under his knees and pulling him up into his arms.
"Come on, I'll carry you wherever you need to go. What happened there?"
Kurt hid his face in Adam's shoulder, his hands away from their bodies so he didn't cause any more injuries. He was shaking and mumbling, not really able to talk. Peter sighed heavily as they followed the guard.
"He dropped the glass of water on himself when he heard what Blaine said." he explained. He didn't know what to think so he decided to wait until Kurt was able to talk.
Adam nodded and kissed Kurt's forehead. "You're going to be okay, sweetheart. You'll get help you need and you'll be fine."
Kurt shook his head and wrapped his arms around Adam's neck. "Nothing is okay, I'm so screwed, Adam." he whispered in a trembling voice.
Adam sighed heavily and held Kurt close. "I know it feels like this but I'm sure it's fixable, sweetheart." he looked at Peter.
"I can't tell you anything, only he can, you know that." Peter said firmly.
Adam nodded and kissed Kurt's temple as they reached the medical room. Adam entered it first and looked at the nurse there.
"Hi, we had a little accident here." he said with a worried smile.
"Come in." the nurse motioned at them. "What happened?"
Peter stepped up and looked at the nurse. "My client smashed his glass and it broke over his hand and thighs. There are some glass shards still in his palm."
The nurse raised her eyebrows and showed Adam the stretcher in the corner where he laid Kurt down while she left to get a doctor. The guard left the room after he wasn't needed anymore.
Kurt looked at Adam and Peter with tears in his eyes. "This is bad." he whispered, not looking at his hands.
"You will probably need stitches, sweetheart but you'll be okay." Adam said in a soothing voice and stroked Kurt's hair gently.
"It's not that. Blaine knows about my job." Kurt said quietly and bit his lip. Adam winced and shook his head.
"Honey…"
"Everyone will know now, Adam. Everyone will know."
Peter raised his eyebrows and frowned.
"Kurt, are you saying that's truth?" he asked. Kurt bit his lip and looked down at his hands.
"I didn't know anyone knew. He had no way of knowing." Kurt whispered, not looking at Peter.
"And that's completely reasonable in this situation but you should have told me during the first meeting." Peter said firmly. Kurt saw he was angry and didn't really know how to deal with that.
"I know but I thought if no one found out it'd be okay."
"There's no such thing as a secret once you're here." Peter said angrily and crossed his hands at his chest.
Kurt sighed and closed his eyes. This was really unexpected and bad, he couldn't blame Peter for being angry at him now. He opened his mouth to say something but Peter shushed him as the nurse came back with a doctor. She asked Kurt for his insurance card and Adam handed it to her while she asked more questions about Kurt's health while the doctor numbed his hands with a spray and started taking out pieces of glass. Kurt winced at the first one, his hands might have been numbed but it still wasn't painless.
"I'll have to stitch your fingers and then I'll take a look at your thighs. I don't see any glass shards there, though so they're probably just shallow scratches not actual cuts."
Kurt hissed as another glass shard was removed and bit his lip.
"You want to stitch me up here?" he asked in a trembling voice. Almost no one knew but he was actually terrified of needles so it made him really uncomfortable.
"Yes, we have all equipment here unless you'd prefer to go to a hospital?"
"No, it's okay here." Kurt sighed heavily and looked at Adam. "Can you stay here?"
"I will, don't worry." Adam smiled and carded his fingers through Kurt's hair.
"I won't, I need to make a few phone calls." Peter said firmly. "This complicates things for you, Kurt. And I need to do some damage control before it gets too late."
Peter left the room quickly. Kurt winced and looked at Adam unsurely.
"This is not good." he whispered.
Adam sighed and nodded. He wasn't going to lie to Kurt - it didn't look great that he'd lied to his lawyer and it meant more unexpected work for Peter so he just kissed Kurt's forehead.
"Kurt, I'm sure it'll all end well. It may be difficult for some time but it doesn't mean it's unfixable." he said softly and sighed when Kurt closed his eyes and shook his head. "Sweetheart…"
"I screwed up." Kurt said quietly.
"I know. How about you now try to calm down and we'll worry about it once you're stitched up." Adam proposed and smiled sadly.
Kurt nodded and sat up when prompted by the doctor.
"It doesn't look very good but I think none of your tendons are damaged. Can you move your fingers?" he asked.
"I think so, it just hurts to do." Kurt bent and straightened his fingers.
"It'll hurt for some time. I'd recommend getting ultrasound for these when you're free afterwards." the doctor advised.
Kurt nodded and bit his lips. "I will do that. Do you think there still may be some damage?" he asked unsurely.
"I doubt it but it's better safe than sorry. I'll numb your fingers with more spray so you don't feel much. I could put some local anaesthesia in your fingers but it involves injections and isn't that much more effective."
"I'm good with spray." Kurt said nervously. Adam sat by his side and took his left, unhurt, hand.
"You're doing great." he whispered into Kurt's ear.
"I'm not." Kurt sighed and leaned against his side, trying to relax. Adam sighed and rubbed his shoulder soothingly while the doctor sprayed Kurt's fingers.
"It'll take a few minutes but hopefully not too long and you'll be good as new." the nurse said with a friendly smile.
Kurt opened his eyes and smiled at her gratefully. Adam kissed Kurt's forehead again and made sure he held him close as the doctor started stitching Kurt's fingers. Kurt whimpered in pain and hid his face in Adam's shoulder. Adam cooed with a sad smile and kissed the top of his head. He held Kurt through the whole process and only once the stitches were done Kurt looked up at the doctor.
"I put six stitches on your fingers and I'd really like to take a look on your thigh, if that's okay?" Kurt bit his lip and nodded slowly.
"Do I have to take off my pants?"
"That would be useful. Do you have anything to change into? They are torn in a few places."
Kurt frowned and looked down at his legs. "Oh no…" he sighed before standing up. Adam helped him take off his slacks and then sit down.
"I texted your dad to bring you some pants on his way from home." Adam smiled at Kurt and got out of the doctor's way.
"Thank you, Adam." Kurt smiled gratefully.
"It's nothing, sweetheart." he smiled back and kissed Kurt's temple.
It took a few more minutes and bandaging his thigh before Kurt was able to get out of the medical ward. He put on his new pants and his fingers were splinted and afterwards Kurt was lead to the private room with Peter.
"How could you not tell me?" Peter looked at Kurt angrily.
"I didn't want this to get out. It's my job and I can't lose it if I'm ever going to get back out of here." Kurt said quietly.
"Well, if this goes the way Blaine and his lawyer probably plan it to, you won't get out of jail until you're not able to do this job anymore."
Kurt flinched and looked down at his hands, his fingers splinted and stitched, a little stiff ever since the doctor cleaned them up.
"Is this possible to still clean it up?" Kurt asked quietly and bit his lip.
"I'm already taking care of that, Kurt but this is so much worse now. You weren't honest with me and they know it. You also weren't honest while giving your statement." Peter explained and sat at the other end of the table. "I wish you would've told me that before, Kurt."
"I know…" Kurt nodded and sighed. "I never thought it was possible he knew. I didn't think anyone would know that."
Peter sighed heavily and took some papers from his bag. "I'm going to try and make them focus on something else but Blaine's lawyer is surely going to ask about it. They'll try to make you seem like a liar here and we have to make sure that's not going to be the rest of the hearing."
Kurt nodded nervously. "Okay, I can show them my phone and prove he called me. Or at least that someone called me that evening."
"That's a good start, then. I'll dig harder into the missing condom problem. He's obviously covering up something there." Peter said and wrote it down. "What about your work, Kurt?"
Kurt swallowed heavily and shook his head. "Do I have to talk about this?"
"Yes." Peter said firmly and looked at Kurt. "I need to know as much as I can."
Kurt looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "I started working there soon after I moved to New York. I'm an escort, I have a contract with an agency but only as an entertainer. Officially, I go to dinners, I pretend to be someone's partner for the night, this kind of stuff. It's not all I do. Blaine had to see a website or something like it, I don't know but there are no traces because officially my job is innocent."
"Can you give me any names?" Peter asked.
"No, I can't do that. I need to protect them or I'll get in a lot of trouble. I can't do that." Kurt whispered and bit his lip. "I'm sorry, I know it'd probably help but it may get bad."
"Are you in danger?"
"No, no, I'm not. And I don't want to be." Kurt replied surely.
"Okay, so you're safe now. How many clients have you had?"
"Oh, that's…"
"Be honest with me." Peter interrupted.
"It's been less than half a year, I'd say forty." Kurt shrugged and bit his lip. "But I'm not counting, Peter."
"So I guessed. About the experience, have you ever…" Peter winced, not knowing how to ask that one.
"I've never topped with my clients, no."
"So it wouldn't help you with what Blaine claims happened that night?"
"No, definitely not." Kurt replied quietly.
"Who knows about your job?" Peter asked and looked at Kurt. "This is really important because I need to know what to expect there."
"I do, obviously. Adam does, has ever since he came here. Brody, my roommate's boyfriend knows. He works for the same agency. My clients do. And well, apparently now Blaine does." Kurt shrugged. "But I don't know how it's possible."
Peter nodded and wrote down everything. "Your dad?"
Kurt straightened his back and looked at Peter with wide eyes. "No. And he can't find out, Peter, he really cannot know about this." he whispered in a panicked voice.
"I won't tell him, then. But he already knows something happened there because we need to work together here so you don't leave the court in handcuffs."
"Please, don't say that." Kurt asked in a shaking voice.
"That's the truth, Kurt. You messed this up, do you not understand that?"
"I do! But you're scaring me, I need to get out of here."
Peter huffed irritably. "I'm literally working miracles here, Kurt."
"I know and I'm grateful for it and I'll probably never manage to pay my dad back for this."
"It's not about money, Kurt. I do care about this case and I want you to be able to prove you're telling the truth but you have to start doing it."
"I told you everything, that's all I know."
"Okay then." Peter sighed heavily and stood up. "You're going to get there and ask to get on the stand before Blaine. You'll answer every question they ask you about your job. If Blaine has anything to say about it you will listen. You'll tell them you were too ashamed to admit what your work really is so you hid it from everyone."
"Okay." Kurt nodded and looked up at Peter. "Can I ask you something?'
"Of course."
"Do you really think I'll get arrested today?"
Peter winced and looked down at his papers, trying to gather his thoughts.
"We have a chance, Kurt. But I'm afraid there is a possibility you will be found guilty."
Kurt bit his lip and nodded, looking down. "I'll go to jail, won't I?"
"I hope not." Peter smiled at Kurt. "I'm sorry, I know being angry at you doesn't help but this surprised me."
"I know, it's okay."
Peter smiled at Kurt and came close to pat his shoulder. "You'll be fine, we'll make sure of it."
Kurt shrugged and went to the door, he went towards the room where the hearing was taking place, followed by Peter. Adam and Burt were waiting there and Kurt smiled at them weakly. Adam came up to him and kissed him gently.
"You can do this." he whispered and let Kurt go to hug Burt.
"Son, what did you get yourself into?" Burt asked quietly and rubbed Kurt's back.
"It's going to be okay, dad." Kurt whispered and held him close. "I just wish we could be finished with this already."
"I did everything Peter told me to do, you'll be free. Kurt."
"Thank you. I wish you didn't have to clean up my mess,"
"But that's what you have me for." Burt boomed and let go of Kurt. "Did you get painkillers?"
"Yeah, the nurse gave me some before I left the room. Dad, I need to get inside now." Kurt bit his lip. Burt nodded and kissed his forehead.
"Do your best, Kurt."
Kurt smiled at Adam and Burt and went into the room where everyone was waiting. He went to the stand while Peter talked to the judge and after a few minutes he was permitted to speak.
Kurt looked at her as he started speaking.
"I never told anyone about my job. I felt like no one could know, even Peter because I was ashamed. Even New York isn't that liberal, it was hard to expect people there to be okay with something like that. I don't think anyone knew and I didn't know it was relevant here." he explained in a quiet voice, not looking at Blaine.
"But you said you didn't have much experience." Blaine's lawyer looked at Kurt and crossed his hands at his chest.
"Most of my clients want a companion and those who I've done more with are always in charge of an intercourse."
"So you think your job is irrelevant to this case?" Peter asked calmly.
"Yes, I never thought anyone would connect it to the accusation." Kurt smiled and fidgeted with his fingers but it made him hiss from pain immediately.
"About the call you said Blaine made." Peter changed the subject, seeing Kurt's nervousness over the topic. "You said it was made from an unfamiliar number, not Blaine's? Do you still have your calls history on your phone?"
"Yes, I do." Kurt tried to reach to his pocket with his right hand and frowned at the sharp pain in his fingers. He stood up and reached for it with his left hand, taking it out awkwardly before unlocking and entering his call records. He scrolled down and found the call from the day Blaine offered him the deal. "Here." he handed it to Peter who then took it to the judge. The judge looked at it then handed the phone over to Blaine and the lawyer.
"I never saw that phone number." Blaine said quickly and handed the phone back to Peter. "I was with my friend, Tina, that day."
Kurt scrunched his nose at that and looked at Blaine. "Tina is Blaine's friend, it's not her phone but if they had a pre-paid number she'd let him call from her place."
"You're just speculating here." Blaine's lawyer said.
Kurt bit his lip. "I'm just saying that wouldn't surprise me."
"Do you have any proof that this conversation happened?" she asked.
Kurt frowned and looked at Peter unsurely before looking at the judge.
"My boyfriend was in the room with me when I picked up the call. He didn't hear Blaine though, only my parts."
Peter looked at the judge. "Could we include Adam Crawford in the hearing then?"
She sighed heavily and looked through the paperwork on her table then at Blaine and his lawyer.
"I really don't see the point in continuing this. We've heard both sides of the story and I know everything I needed to know." the judge said. Kurt held in his breath and looked at her nervously. "There's not enough evidence to process to a trial but there's obviously a lot of tension between sides so I'll issue a restraining order. As of today Kurt Hummel cannot get closer than 100 feet from Blaine Anderson. I hope this will stop conflicts from happening in the future."
Kurt let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in and stood up to go back to Peter's side while the judge left.
"I'm free?" he whispered with relief.
"You are." Peter smiled at him.
"I can't…"
"Come on." Peter lead Kurt out of the room before Blaine even managed to get up from his seat. As soon as he saw him Kurt went to hug Burt immediately. He ignored Blaine's parents sitting nearby and focused on his own family.
"Dad, I'm free." he whispered in a trembling voice. Burt held Kurt close and breathed out with relief. Kurt's body was tense and when Burt let go of him there were tears in Kurt's eyes. He smiled despite it before going to hug Adam. Adam wrapped his arms around Kurt and kissed the top of his head. Burt and Peter went towards the exit to give Kurt and Adam more privacy.
"You're okay, sweetheart. You're free, everything is going to be okay." Adam whispered in a soothing voice. "Don't cry, Kurt."
"I'm not crying, I'm not unhappy." Kurt whispered and leaned on Adam more. He tried not to hurt his splinted fingers. Adam held Kurt until he stopped shaking in his arms and only then let him step back and smiled. Kurt bit his lip and looked up at Adam who reached to Kurt's face and wiped out his tears with his sleeve. "You're so good to me."
Adam shook his head. "You're so worth it."
They both looked behind Kurt when the door opened and Blaine and his lawyer walked out. Blaine's parents immediately jumped up to meet him. Kurt couldn't hear their conversation but the minute he saw Pam coming in their direction he took the step back.
"Oh no." he whispered and reached for Adam's hand. Adam squeezed his uninjured hand and took a step forward, practically shielding Kurt's body with his own.
"How much money did you pay for this?!" Pam asked angrily.
"I didn't do anything." Kurt whispered in a trembling voice.
"You raped him and you're getting away with it!"
"With all due respect, Mrs Anderson I think it'll be better if you stayed away from Kurt" Adam said calmly and reached to Kurt's back to rub it soothingly. "Everyone is quite emotional right now and you screaming isn't helping."
Pam stepped up, getting closer to them but Blaine came over and grabbed her arm.
"Mom, it's not worth it. Stop." he said quietly.
"He hurt you, Blaine."
"I know but he's not worth getting arrested over. Let's go."
Kurt squeezed Adam's hand harder.
Adam looked at Kurt and kissed his forehead before turning around. He wrapped his arm around Kurt's back to shield his body away from Andersons.
"You know, you're dating a rapist, I hope you're prepared to get hurt!" Blaine called after them. Adam stopped and clenched his jaw before letting go of Kurt to turn around to look at Blaine.
"What did you say?" he asked quietly.
"He's dangerous." Blaine answered angrily. "He'll use you, hurt you and then abandon you when he's bored."
Adam shook his head and let go of Kurt's hand to step closer to Blaine.
"Listen, you think you can get away with all your lies and for now it'll work. But life isn't like that. You can't harass people into submission when they have different ideas than you. You cannot accuse someone of rape because they don't want to date you. This may work for you now but one day you'll realise it's not working anymore. Quite frankly I hope this happens soon because what you've done to Kurt is disgusting. So for your own good, leave us alone. Because your loss is my gain and no amount of pretending will change the fact that you're jealous of me." The whole time Adam's voice was calm and quiet, his anger suppressed. Kurt reached to grasp Adam's shoulder with his healthy hand.
"Let's go." he urged.
"Whatever you want, sweetheart." Adam whispered and kissed Kurt's forehead before gently prying away Kurt's fingers from his shoulder and taking his hand. Kurt's hand was shaking and Adam knew it was better to get away from there than continue the fight.
They joined Burt and Peter by the door and left the courthouse quickly.
"I can't believe this, how he can act like this!" Burt said angrily as soon as they were out of the building.
Kurt sighed and looked at him. "Dad, this is not worth getting angry over, I don't want you to get upset over this, you're sick."
"I'm fine, Kurt. I've been fine through this whole thing so you need to stop worrying. I'm the parent here." Burt looked at Kurt seriously. "I had to see you getting arrested, I had to visit you in a hospital and now you're hurt again."
"I'm going to be fine." Kurt said surely and let go of Adam's hand to come closer to Burt. "My fingers will heal and everything will be okay."
"It just makes me really angry that they can do this to you for no reason." Burt boomed.
"I know, dad. And I know it was difficult for all of us and there's still stuff we have to handle but I'm not in jail. And I don't want you to care about a stupid kid and his lies." Kurt smiled at him.
"You're right. As usual." Burt fixed his cap and looked at Peter. "We'll see you at our house, right?"
"Yes. We can discuss what's left to be done." Peter nodded with a smile and went to his car. Kurt followed his dad and boyfriend to Burt's car. He reached to open the door and hissed when his fingers hurt. The painkillers were already wearing off and Kurt still wasn't used to the stitches.
"No, let me." Adam opened the door for Kurt. "Is your hand okay?" he took Kurt's hand and looked at his splinted fingers before kissing every one of them gently.
"I'm okay, I just forgot." Kurt smiled at Adam and sighed softly. "You're just too good."
"You keep saying it and that's not true. Come on, hop in before your dad leaves without us."
Kurt chuckled and got inside carefully. Once the car started he looked at Burt and bit his lip.
"Dad, why is Peter coming over?" he asked unsurely.
"There's still a lot we need to discuss. You don't have to stay with us for it, though, if you want to rest."
"It's about money, isn't it?" Kurt sighed heavily and closed his eyes.
"Kurt, it's not something you should be worried about. I've got it under control." Burt said firmly.
"I'll pay you all of it back, I promise. It may take me some time but I'll do it."
"You will do no such thing. This is something I decided to deal with and I'm doing it. I know you're an adult now but you're my child so if I want to take care of you I will."
Kurt smiled and moved closer to Adam. He was grateful for Burt's help but at the same he really didn't want to cause his dad any trouble.
Adam quickly wrapped his arm around Kurt and held him close. He was there for support and was going to give as much of it as was possible. There was no doubt Kurt was still in fragile state, his hands shaking slightly as they cuddled on the back seat. Burt let them rest in peace and put on some gentle music. They were going to talk but they had time for that later. Kurt was not going to New York yet so it could wait.
Adam jogged downstairs after Kurt drifted off. They got home and as soon as Carole and Finn found out about the news and hugged Kurt he excused himself and went to his room. Adam had cuddled Kurt until he managed to fall asleep and then joined the rest downstairs.
"He's asleep." he announced and immediately went to the counter with a kettle. "I don't want to interrupt you so I'll only make some tea for myself and go upstairs to study."
"You can stay here, Peter will come soon but that doesn't mean you have to stay upstairs." Carole said with a smile.
"Thank you but I really need to study right now. I've been putting it off for some time but I have to take finals in May and I cannot let myself slip right now." Adam answered politely as he poured water into the kettle.
"It may take some time before Kurt will be able to go back to New York, are you sure you can wait that long?" Burt spoke up from his place at the top of the table.
"My return can wait. I've been in touch with my teachers, I'm up to date with work." Adam got busy with preparing tea. He put the tea bags in the cups. Didn't hurt to make some tea for Kurt as well in case he woke up early. "Do you maybe have a travel mug somewhere? I'd make tea for Kurt in it so it'll stay warm."
"There should be one at the top shelf in a cupboard. The black one? With blue stripes." Carole replied with a smile.
"Thank you." Adam took it and put one of the tea bags in it. He poured water into the mugs when it boiled and put some sugar in his and after a second of hesitation in Kurt's too. He didn't want to disrupt Kurt's diet but it sounded like a better choice in the situation. Kurt'd barely eaten in the previous day and he was exhausted, he could use some energy. "I'm going to take this upstairs but you know where to find me if I'm needed."
Adam was finishing his essay for English theatre history when Kurt moved on the bed, closer to Adam but then he jerked against his side. Adam put the laptop on the bedside table and turned to look at Kurt.
"Sweetheart?" he whispered softly.
Kurt whined and moved away from him. "Don't touch me." he begged quietly and hid his face in a pillow. "Blaine, don't touch me, please."
"Oh, angel." Adam sighed and touched Kurt's shoulder. "Wake up, sweetie."
"No, don't touch me." Kurt jerked away from Adam and curled on his side. "I don't want to go to jail." he whimpered.
Adam bit his lip and looked around. He didn't want to distress Kurt more but he was obviously already panicking. Adam reached over and stroked Kurt's hair. "Wake up, right now, angel." he said firmly. Kurt jerked away from him again and Adam shook his shoulder. "Wake up, come on."
Kurt opened his eyes, breathing quickly. "Adam." he whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Hey, there." Adam reached back and stroked Kurt's hair again. He swiped some hair out of Kurt's face. "Nightmare?"
"Yeah, I was in a court." Kurt explained with a sigh and moved closer to Adam to rest his head on his thigh. "He wanted to..." he swallowed heavily.
"Oh no, sweetheart. Come up here." Adam opened his arms for Kurt and curled up and rest against his chest. "It's all over now and you're safe."
Kurt sighed heavily and closed his eyes. Adam stroked his back as Kurt's breathing slowed down and his tense muscles relaxed.
"This is going to haunt me forever, Adam. I want to move on but it feels like I'm stuck in this place and I can't be free."
"Sweetheart." Adam sighed heavily again and kissed the top of Kurt's hair. "As soon as we're in New York you'll be able to do that. I know it'll take time but it's possible and I'll be there every step of the way to help you."
Kurt smiled sadly and nodded. "Can we go to New York today?" he asked weakly. Adam chuckled warmly and shook his head.
"Not yet but soon. We need to talk to your family and then make arrangements for the flight and school."
Kurt groaned suddenly and hid his face in Adam's shoulder. He kept forgetting about one more problem he had to deal with. He didn't answer a few calls from Andrew, not sure what to say and he knew he was going to have to call him back finally. He needed the job and if he was going to get kicked out finding a new one was going to be a struggle.
"I need to call my boss. And Isabelle. And I need to make excuses for school."
"I think with NYADA the best thing is to be honest with them. If Blaine still plans to apply there they will probably find out anyway. I mean they have no legal right to ask but that won't stop Blaine from telling them." Adam said softly as he stroked Kurt's hair. "But that can be taken care of when we're in New York, don't worry about it yet, okay?"
Kurt nodded and bit his lip. He reached for the cup standing on the bedside table.
"The travel mug is yours if you want something warmer but you're welcome to drink my tea as well."
Kurt smiled and kissed Adam's cheek as he took the travel mug carefully with his left hand. "You're a life saver."
"Do you want to go downstairs for dinner later?" Adam asked as he reached back for his laptop to continue the work while Kurt got out of the bed and went to shower. He was already looking for flights back to New York, ready to book the tickets as soon as Kurt said they could go back. He was all for waiting as long as it was needed but he wanted to be ready. As he was finishing bookmarking a few airline websites Kurt came out of the shower. "You didn't answer my question earlier."
"I don't know." Kurt shrugged and went to the mirror in the corner. He only had a towel wrapped around his hips but he wasn't shy about his body around Adam. "I'm not sure I can handle eating with them right now. The disappointment..."
"No one is disappointed in you." Adam said quickly and looked at Kurt over his screen. "No one is angry at you."
Kurt sighed and turned around with a frown. "This is not so easy. I know they're aware I didn't rape Blaine and they're not thinking I did. But it doesn't change the fact this situation is a little more complicated than that. My dad probably had to pay a lot of money for this. I don't know how I'll pay him back if I don't have a job and just... I'm causing more bad than good."
Adam put the laptop to the side and got up from the bed. He went to stand behind Kurt and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist. "You're not a bother to anyone, sweetheart."
"Sometimes it doesn't feel like that." Kurt leaned against Adam's chest. Adam sighed and stroked Kurt's stomach with his thumb.
"But you are not. How's your hand?"
"Hurting and itching both, it's irritating." Kurt frowned and looked at his splinted fingers. They were bothering him ever since the shower even though he didn't use them at all during it, which made cleaning his body actually quite difficult.
"Your fingers are going to heal, sweetheart. In the meantime I'm around to help you with whatever you need." Adam kissed the top of Kurt's head.
"I'm going to put on some clothes for now if you can help me with that and then we can go downstairs to talk to my dad."
"Of course."
"I'm just wondering what happened there. It seemed like everything was going okay and then you came out and said Kurt needs help immediately."
"I know that. But he's my client and if he's not ready to tell you then I can't discuss the matter."
Kurt stopped on the stairs, almost making Adam crash into his back. He knew Peter promised not to tell Burt but he had to be sure. Adam looked at Kurt unsurely.
"Sweetheart?"
"Shhh." No one in the living room could know they were there. Adam frowned but stood behind Kurt, listening.
"I'm the one who's paying you." Burt's voice was firm and the hint of anger made Kurt ache to go to the kitchen and help him calm down.
"Yes, but you're paying me to defend Kurt not you. That makes him my client now and I have to keep his secret. It's just how this works, Burt."
Kurt could hear his dad huff angrily and looked at Adam uncertainly.
"Peter can't tell him." Adam assured softly.
Kurt nodded and Adam took his hand gently to lead him to the kitchen.
"Hello." Kurt smiled and looked at everyone in the kitchen. Carole, Burt and Peter were sitting by the table, drinking coffee.
"Hey, we were just talking about you." Carole smiled warmly. "Do you want some coffee?"
"No, thank you, I had some tea upstairs. I heard you talking. Dad, you can't push Peter like that, it's unfair. I asked him to keep my secrets and that's what he is doing. And I will pay you back for this whole ordeal, I told you already." Kurt said firmly and went to sit by the table, only then letting go of Adam's hand. Adam sat on the chair next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Then talk to me, Kurt!" Carole winced and reached to take Burt's hand. He needed to be calm and everyone in the room was painfully aware of that. Kurt sighed heavily and shook his head. "What did you get into?"
"Nothing, dad!"
Peter looked at Kurt and then at Burt and stood up. "I think I'll get going. I have everything I needed, the case is closed, I don't need to impose myself on you anymore."
"I'll walk you out to the door." Burt stood up and they both left. Kurt slumped against the chair.
"You need to talk to your father, you need to tell him what happened." Carole said firmly. "He worries and it's not healthy."
Kurt groaned and shook his head. "You can't do this, you can't use his health against me. This whole mess, I didn't do this."
"I know that."
"Do you? Because you're acting like I've done something wrong here when this is all Blaine's fault." Kurt said icily.
Adam winced and reached to wrap his arm around Kurt's back. "Sweetheart, you need to calm down, it doesn't help anyone to get angry now."
"I know but everyone's acting like I'm lying about this but I am not. I didn't rape Blaine!"
"I know you didn't." Carole said quietly.
"Then act like you do!" Kurt was aware he was probably lashing out on her unfairly but the suggestion that he was hurting Burt's health was as bad.
Carole sighed and stood up to put her mug in the sink. "I'm not blaming you for this, I don't think you raped Blaine but something happened in that courtroom and it threw everyone over the edge. You have stitches in your fingers, Kurt."
"I know I have stitches. I was stressed, I hurt myself when drinking water and accidentally broke the glass because I was nervous, that's all."
Adam kissed Kurt's shoulder. He knew it was difficult to Kurt to try answering all the questions without telling everyone about his job. He also slowly started realising why telling Kurt's parents about the agency wasn't a viable choice.
"We just want to help you, Kurt." Carole said softly.
"I know. And you're doing plenty, Carole, I'm so grateful, I cannot explain how much. But I just want this part to be over with and everyone keeps bringing it back, it's not helping. I almost went to jail because of Blaine and I just want to forget." Kurt said quietly in a trembling voice.
Carole sighed and rubbed her temples and looked at him. "I'm really sorry it happened to you, Kurt."
"I know you are, I'm sorry. I'll go talk to dad, since Peter will be gone in soon we can have some peace in a living room and then we can start on dinner, okay?" Kurt stood up carefully, kissed Adam's cheek and smiled at Carole before leaving the kitchen.
Adam sighed heavily and looked after him before focusing on Carole.
"He's stressed, this has taken a lot out of him." Adam spoke calmly. "Kurt is scared, it's not my place to tell you this but I think someone has to. He's afraid he's being judged and I know it's not truth but being arrested, being in court, this has been harder on him than you realise. Kurt's self-conscious about himself right now and trying to push him won't help."
Carole rubbed her neck awkwardly. They never really thought about that, how it all could influence Kurt's self esteem. Everyone explained enough times for him to know they didn't believe Blaine but no one considered other effects of this accusation. "Do you think he's going to be okay?"
"I don't know, I can't say he's going to be okay and be sure of that. I can however hope and I can believe in him because he's incredibly strong and brave and he's been handling this extraordinarily well."
"He is and I am proud of him for it. But we worry and it seems like he's keeping some big secret."
"I don't know about any secret Kurt keeps away from you." Adam said firmly. He wasn't fully okay with lying to Kurt's family but he knew that was what Kurt wanted and he was going to help even if made him feel uncomfortable. They could talk about it later but for now he had to protect Kurt from unnecessary questions.
Carole nodded and sat back by the table. "So we should leave him alone?"
"I don't know about leaving him alone but I think you could try not pressuring him anymore. It would certainly help him." Adam answered carefully.
"I wasn't trying to hurt him." Carole said with a sigh. She was hoping to be able to help Kurt get better but instead she made it worse.
"I know that. And I'm sure Kurt does too. He's lashing out because this is a difficult situation and everyone keeps pushing him. I can't imagine how he feels right now."
Carole nodded and looked in the direction of the living room. "I"m glad you're around." she said to Adam quietly.
"I'm lucky he lets me be. Don't get me wrong, I love Kurt and I'm happy to be here. But for him, it's not so easy. He's been hurt by Blaine more than once and trusting for Kurt is really difficult now. I'm doing as much as I can but recovering from this will be more complicated than everyone thinks. I am not going to leave him though, I'm going to stay by his side all the way through it. But only if he wants me and he lets me, I'm not going to force him into anything." Adam smiled at Carole and stood up, feeling a little awkward sitting there doing nothing. He went to the fridge and started preparing a sandwich. Moving helped with awkwardness, sitting by the table made him feel a little like he was being interrogated.
"Are you hungry?" Carole asked with a frown.
"Not really but I expect Kurt to be once he lets himself feel it." Adam smiled sadly. Kurt sometimes forgot to eat or drink enough and he was well aware of that. Kurt once had said he didn't feel hunger when in rush or stressed and Adam suspected it was one of these situation so he planned to help out.
"You seem like such a good boyfriend to him."
"Thank you, I'm trying to be." Adam smiled at her over his shoulder.
When Peter left Kurt went up to Burt.
"Can we talk?" he asked quietly.
"We can." Burt boomed and looked at Kurt. "Are you ready to tell me everything?"
"Yeah, I guess. Come on." Kurt went to the living room and sat on the armchair, curling his legs under himself. He looked around the room. There were pictures of him with his mom on the fireplace mantle that had been there for years. Not much changed since Kurt moved out, some pictures were added but none of pictures were taken down.
"So, talk?" Burt hinted from his place on the couch, which startled Kurt a little.
"Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to tell you I'm not keeping anything important from you, I promise." Kurt said quietly.
"Then what do you want to talk about?"
"I never told you about the trial, really." Kurt explained softly and uncurled his legs from under himself and sat more comfortably. "Things Blaine said in the court, they were painful to me…"
"Hold on, did you get hurt because Blaine talked about your and his history?"
Kurt nodded without a word. He had to say something to make everyone calm down and stop asking with questions and if it was saying Blaine talking about their sexual history was what had thrown Kurt over the edge, he was going to do that.
"I don't want to know details, Kurt." Burt said firmly. "I'm not sure I'm ready to listen about your intimate life with boys."
Kurt winced and drew his knees to his chest. "Is it because it's about the boy?"
"Kurt, you gotta give me a break. I love you but this whole thing is a lot to take." Burt explained and leaned against the armrest of the couch. "I know you're dating and I know you're with guys, it's not that I am against it but intimate details, they're a little bit too much."
Kurt nodded and sighed heavily. "So... Are we going to be okay?"
"We are okay, buddy. I'm just really worried about you but this is my role as a parent, to want to take care of you."
"I've been taking care of myself quite alright lately." Kurt replied dryly.
"Hey, don't give me this attitude now. It's not fair. I offer you all the help, I've been doing everything I could to save you from this mess."
"And I'm grateful for that. But I don't want you to have to pay for it, I want to pay you back because this is all my fault. I got into this mess by dating Blaine and then breaking up with him."
"It's not your fault that kid is insane."
"But it is my fault that I dated someone so stupid. That I let him fool me into thinking he was a good person when it's obviously untrue." Kurt huffed and stood up. "But it's done now. And I'll try my best to give you back all the money you spent on me."
"I told you, I can handle it. You're a student, you need to focus on your life in New York, on your studies. That what matters the most to me right now." Burt replied firmly, got up and stood in front of his son. "You need to learn as much as you can in this fancy school of yours so one day you can afford anything you want to have. I don't want you to pay me back for this."
Kurt could feel tears already pooling in his eyes and bit his lip. "Thank you, dad." he whispered and hugged him tightly.
"I just want you to be happy because I won't be here forever."
"Don't say that." Kurt frowned.
"But it's truth." Burt patted Kurt's shoulder. "I'm here and I am not going anywhere. But one day I won't be here to protect you and I want you to be ready then. So do everything you can now to prepare." he said firmly before leaving the room.
Kurt bit his lip and looked after him sadly but his face brightened up the second Adam entered the room.
"Hey there, how did it go?" Adam asked with a warm smile as he came closer to wrap his arms around Kurt's middle.
"Better than I thought." Kurt murmured and leaned against Adam's chest. "But I hate lying to them. I wish I could just admit to what I'm doing."
"You know what I'm thinking, Kurt."
"Yeah but you saw him. He's already worried and if he found out what I was doing to get all the money he hasn't had to spend on me in the past months… I don't want him to have to know. I don't want him to think any less of me." Kurt sighed sadly and closed his eyes.
"I doubt he would. But it's your choice. I told Carole there's nothing you're hiding from them if that's okay?"
"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry you had to do this."
"It is fine." Adam rubbed the small of Kurt's back and smiled down at him. "As long as you're okay with this decision I'll do as much as I can to help you."
"You're really amazing.' Kurt sighed and stepped back from Adam.
"I'm decent, you're just not used to be treated kindly." Adam kissed Kurt's cheek. "But you deserve to be."