Chapter 25:

When Kurt went home that night, his Dad was waiting for him. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and his baseball cap looked like he'd been squeezing it in his hands for the past two hours. He knew he was in trouble.

He'd been sure there was some big lecture coming the moment he stepped through the door. However, it would seem that whatever lecture his father had been planning was temporarily put on hold when he saw Kurt's face.

"Oh my god, Kurt what the hell-" Burt said, staring at his son. Kurt had a long bruise covering one of his cheekbones, and his lip was cut. There was another, smaller bruise underneath his left eye.

"Um, you should see the other guy?" Kurt tried lamely.

Evidently this was not the right answer. "Dining room. Now." He said, his eyes narrowed.

Trying not to hang his head as he walked, Kurt followed his father into the dinner room where they sat across from each other at the table. Burt folded his hands on the table, and tried to get used to looking at his son's bruised face.

"The school called." He said. "They said you'd been fighting. I said 'no, you got that wrong. If Kurt was in a fight, he was getting picked on. They were harassing him. Kurt doesn't fight.' Then that Mr. Schuester came on, and explained to me that that wasn't the case this time. You wanna explain that to me?"

"Would you prefer it if I'd just gotten the crap kicked out of me, as opposed to being in a fair right?" Kurt asked.

"What? No, of course not-"

"Really? Because that's sort of how it sounds."

"Hey, you do not get to be the angry one here." Burt said, jabbing his finger on the table. "I am the angry one and you're the one who's going to explain themselves."

Kurt sighed. "Sam was outed on Monday. A boy from our school followed him around and saw us kissing. He took a picture and put it up all over the school."

Burt blinked. "Oh- jeez. Is Sam alright?"

"Yes and no. He's upset, very upset but we're getting through it together."

Burt nodded. "So...were you fighting the guy who took the pictures?"

Kurt shook his head. "Our glee club took care of him. I was fighting a guy who was looking at one of those pictures and calling Sam a fag. Saying he was the type of person who was ruining america. I confronted him, and he pushed me." Kurt licked his lips. "I could have walked away, ignored him...but I didn't. Not this time. This time I pushed him back- I stood up for myself and for the boy I love, and I'm not sorry about it."

Burt opened his mouth, furrowed his brow, and closed it again. "I- well that's um, great I guess. That's you're in love, I mean." He shook his head, trying to focus. "Look I'm glad you're standing up for yourself, but hitting back isn't the answer. It just brings you down to their level, and you're better then that, Kurt."

"Yeah, that's what Sam said." Kurt mumbled.

"Well good, he's got some sense in him then."

Kurt fiddled with the sleeve of his sweater. "So- so am I grounded or-?"

Burt thought for a minute, and sighed. "No, you're not grounded. But-" He said, when Kurt started to get excited. "If you ever do anything like this ever again, you will be grounded for so long you'll forget what grass smells like, got it?"

Kurt nodded and stood up. He began walking away from the table, when a strange urge struck him. He turned back to his father. "Uh, Dad?" He said.

His Dad hadn't moved from the table, and he looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Um, do you remember when we had that- um, talk?" He said, shifting around awkwardly. This was a bad, bad idea...

Burt nodded. "Right well...um, if I were to- say, um...'do it,'" He said, feeling his face heat up. Bad idea! Such a bad idea! Stop now! Abort mission! May-day! May-day! "...Would you want to know?"

Burt looked surprised. "Oh, um...I don't know. I guess. I mean, I'd want you to be able to talk to me." Kurt nodded, and Burt looked him over. "Did you?"

Kurt bit his lip, fiddling uncontrollably with his sleeve. "Yes." He said quietly.

"With Sam?"

He nodded quickly.

Burt scratched his forehead, and took off his baseball cap. "And...um...how did it- you know, go."

"Perfectly." Kurt said, unable to stop himself from smiling a bit as he answered. "Amazingly. It was so great Dad." He gushed, forgetting himself for a moment. "I love him so much and it was just-" He shook his head, still grinning. "It was perfect."

Burt smiled, and nodded. "That's great, Kurt." He said, standing up. He put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm happy for you." Kurt beamed at his Dad, who patted him on the shoulder once more before turning away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pass out."

The rest of the school week was just as hard as Wednesday. Well, maybe slightly less hard because Kurt didn't get into a fist fight with anyone, but difficult none the less.

First period was the hardest for Sam, because it was the only class he didn't have a friend in. It was a lot harder to ignore the staring and the whispers when he was alone. However, he did begin to suspect he might have a bit of an ally in Alyssa, the girl next to him.

He kept his head down for most of the class, only looking up once when he noted that he was getting hit in the head by a lot less balled up pieces of paper. However, when he looked around he found that around his desk were dozens of these paper-balls. They'd been thrown at him, but only about two had hit him.

Next to him, Alyssa was looking away innocently.

On Friday, they finally decided to face the cafeteria. They took a table near the back, and were quickly joined by most of the glee club.

"How are things going today?" Rachel asked, taking a seat across from Sam.

"Smashingly." Kurt said. "Between the two of us, we've only been called fags what was is, 4 times?"

Sam nodded. "Something like that."

"Hey, fags." Brendan Burke and Peter Karlsson called, sauntering over to their table.

Sam frowned. "Five."

"We just came over to let you know that we've got dumpster dives reserved for the both of you today after school." Karlsson said. "3:15 in the parking lot. Be there or you will regret it."

"Come on guys." Sam said. "Leave him out of this, alright- your problems with me."

"Sam!" Kurt cried.

"It's true Kurt, and I don't want to see you take any more hits for me." He said. He looked at them. "I'll be there, but you're not touching him."

"Aw, that's sweet." Burke sneered. "But unfortunately, your boyfriend owes us a dumpster dive anyhow. So no can do. Both of you show up, or else."

"I don't think so." Finn said, standing up.

"Yeah." Puck added, following Finn's lead. "You mess with them, you mess with all of us. And I don't think you want that."

Lauren nodded, cracking her knuckles. "They most certainly do not."

"Back off. We'll take you down." Brittany said. Santana just growled.

Burke and Karlsson looked at them, gritting their teeth. "You think we're scared of you freaks?"

"I think you should be." Kurt said. "Lauren's a black belt, Puck's done time and Santana's got razor blades in her hair."

"All up in here." Santana added, gesturing to her hair.

"I just have a lot of pent up aggression." Quinn said sweetly. She narrowed her eyes. "Give me a place to direct it. Please."

"Fine." Burke spat. "Forget the dumpster. But you're all gonna pay for this. You freaks think just 'cause there's a whole team of you we're gonna back down? We got a team too, and they'll be with us next time."

"And we'll be waiting." Finn shot back.

"And they won't be alone."

They turned around and saw Dave standing there with James, and several other members of the football team. Quinn smiled and waved at James, who grinned back.

Karlsson and Burke looked at them, disgusted.

Karlsson ground his teeth. "What the fuck happened to you guys? You're all turning into fucking fa-"

Dave's arm shot out, and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "I wonder if you can finish your sentence before I have time to rearrange your face?" He growled. "Wanna find out?" Karlsson shook his head, and Dave shoved him away.

"What's happened to us is we grew up, and stopped being a bunch of dumb jerks who put others down just to feel less insecure. Instead, we became a team." James said, crossing his arms. "And a real team doesn't turn on it's own members. Especially not for something like falling in love."

"Now get the hell out of here." Dave growled.

Their faces bright red with anger, Burke and Karlsson turned on their heals and stormed out of the cafeteria. Around the cafeteria, a few people clapped politely.

"I am so hot for you right now." Quinn said, smiling up at James, whose face turned bright red.

"Me too." Kurt agreed, causing Sam's head to snap up with a disgruntled jerk. He inched his chair closer to Kurt, eyeing James warily.

After school, Sam collapsed on Kurt's couch. While they hadn't had any further run-ins with the football team after lunch, the rest of the day had still been exhausting. Students continued to whisper as he passed, and shoot him looks that ranged from terrified to hateful. When he was in the washroom, anyone entering turned around and left immediately upon spotting him.

Sam let his head hit the arm rest, too tired to bother keeping it up himself. "I can't do this anymore."

"Ah, I know sweetie." Kurt said, taking a seat next to him.

Sam shifted over, resting his head against Kurt's shoulder. He put his arms around Kurt's waist, hugging him tightly.

"We should just leave. Run far far away to some place that isn't here."

Kurt put his arm around Sam's shoulders, and despite the persistent pout on his face, Sam felt himself begin to relax as Kurt began lightly stroking his hair. "Sure. Where did you have in mind?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know- San Francisco or something." Sam mumbled, trying to get comfortable on Kurt's shoulder. "Or wherever those women from 'Sex and the City' lived. They love gay people on that show."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "...You mean New York City?"

Sam glanced up at him. "Oh, is that where they live? Huh."

Kurt laughed a little. "Yes Sam, that would be the City part. They sort of mention it every episode."

Sam shrugged. "I can't say I was paying much attention...oh, I know. San Diego."

"San Diego?" Kurt repeated. Sam nodded. "What's in San Diego."

"Comic-Con." Sam said. "It'll be great, we'll cosplay as Hulkling and Wiccan. It's perfect."

"Cosplay-?"

Sam grinned. "It's like dress-up, but as superheroes and stuff."

Kurt considered. "I do like dressing up...who did you say I should be?"

"Wiccan, a Young Avenger. And it's perfect, 'cause Wiccan and Hulkling are actually dating so-"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Is Wiccan a girl?"

"No! Why would I say you should be a girl?"

He shrugged. "Well Hulkling doesn't sound very feminine so-"

"That's 'cause it's not."

"You mean they're both boys?" Kurt asked, incredulous. Sam nodded. "And they're dating!"

Sam lifted his head up, and took Kurt's hand. He looked him in the eye. "Yeah Kurt. Sometimes boys do that- date each other. I know, I know- it must seem strange to you, but trust me, it is totally normal." Kurt gave him an unamused look, and Sam laughed. "Sorry, but you just look so surprised!"

"Of course I'm surprised- I didn't think superheroes dated other superheroes! I thought they were all with the macho and the fighting and such."

"They are. Wiccan is crazy powerful, and Hulkling is super-strong and can shape-shift into like anything. They're amazing characters and fighters, and kick-ass superheroes." Sam furrowed his brow. "But since when do superheroes have to be macho? I mean, look at the girl superheroes! The leader of the Young Avengers is a girl and she's a bamf. And theres the Scarlet Witch, and Ms. Marvel, and Black Widow and Phoenix- and Spiderman!"

Kurt's eyes went wide. "Spiderman's a girl?"

Sam laughed. "No! But he's one of my favourite superheros, and not what I would call 'macho.' I mean, he's a nerd. He's a great superhero because of his heart, determination and sense of justice- not his levels of testosterone. Being a superhero has nothing to do with machoness- and it has nothing to do with race, religion, sexual orientation or gender." He smiled widely. "Wow, it's like I'm falling in love with comics all over again- they are just so great."

Kurt smiled. "For once, I do have to agree. That is quite lovely."

Sam nodded. "Oh, and remember Nightcrawler from X-men 2?" He asked. Kurt nodded. "Also gay. Oh! And Mystique is bisexual! And Nightcrawler's mom!"

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"But- but they met in X-men 2, and she didn't say anything!"

"I guess she was prioritizing." Sam mused. "And he probably wouldn't have been happy to know that his Mom was a huge super-villian."

Kurt shook his head. "He would have loved to meet his mom, no matter who she was." Kurt furrowed his brow. "...Wasn't Nightcrawler's name Kurt?"

"Oh wow, yeah." Sam said, connecting the names for the first time. "Weird."

"So his name is Kurt, he's gay, and he grew up without a Mom..." Kurt said slowly. "Maybe I should- what was the word, cosplay?" Sam nodded. "Maybe I should be him."

"You'd have to paint yourself blue." Sam pointed out. "And he doesn't have a blond boyfriend."

Kurt smiled. "Ah, right." He said."Well I'd have to check out Wiccan's outfit of course before I agreed, but baring anything garish, sure why not."

Sam's eyes went wide. "You'd really cosplay with me?"

Kurt smiled, and leaned in to kiss him. "Of course, I love you."

Kurt watched in a mix of shock and amusement as Sam's lower lip began to tremble, and his eyes filled with tears. "Oh, sweetie don't cry!" He said, throwing his arms around him.

Sam smiled, wrapping his arms around Kurt as well. "I'm not." He lied, wiping his eyes. "I'm just- I just really love you, you know?" He said.

"I know. I love you too." Kurt whispered. He leaned on him a bit, pushing him back on the couch and settling against his chest. "Sometimes I think there's not enough words in the english language to really tell you how much I love you."

"You know french though." Sam reminded him.

Kurt grinned, and pressed his lips against Sam's chest. "I do. Je t'aime, mon chéri." He looked up at him. "That's 'I love you, my darling.'"

Sam smiled. "Nga yawne lu oer." He whispered back, kissing the top of Kurt's head.

"Was that Na'vi?" Kurt asked.

Sam nodded. "I means 'you are beloved to me.'" He said.

Kurt smiled, feeling a tingle run down his spine. "S'pretty."

"Mmhmm."

Sam squeezed Kurt tightly, almost trying to memorize what Kurt felt like in his arms. He was soft and warm, and he just felt...right. Sam felt right, holding Kurt. He couldn't even remember what it felt like to hold someone else like this, so tightly and firmly, like he never wanted to let go of them. He figured it was because he never had.

Kurt squeezed Sam back, not wanting to let go just as much. He didn't know or care about how long they lay there like that, arms wrapped around each other, exchanging glances every now and then and smiling as they leaned in to brush their lips together.

However long it was, it wasn't long enough.

Even when Burt came home, they couldn't bring themselves to move.

"Hi there Dad." Kurt said, trying to look innocent, lying on Sam's chest.

"Mr. Hummel." Sam said, hoping he wasn't about to be murdered.

Burt nodded at them. "Boys," He greeted wearily.

Kurt grinned, taking that as permission to continue their cuddling.

"Are you staying for dinner, Sam?" Burt asked. "I mean, you can, if want."

"Oh, uh, I don't know..." Sam said slowly, glancing down at Kurt.

Kurt nodded enthusiastically. "Yes yes yes!"

He smiled. "Alright, guess I'm staying." He said. "Thanks, Mr. Hummel."

Burt nodded, and walked out of the room. Once he'd gone, Kurt gave an excited squeal and buried his face into Sam's shirt. "Mm hmm hmmhm mm hmm fmm hmhm!"

Sam laughed. "Uh, what?"

Kurt lifted his head up, and grinned. "My dad invited you to stay for dinner!" He repeated. "He likes you!"

Sam beamed. "Awesome." He said, reaching up and trailing a finger over Kurt's face. "Because as I may have mentioned before, I like you. A lot."

Kurt gave Sam a pleased smile. "Good, because I like you too." He leaned in, and pressed his lips against Sam's, before looking him in the eye. He licked his lips nervously, trying to psyche himself up for what he wanted to say. "Sam, I was thinking-" He began in a small voice. Sam looked at him attentively. "Well, it's about prom. I was just thinking- and you can say no, completely. But, well I mean...since you're out now...I thought, maybe...possibly-"

"We could go together?" Sam finished. Kurt nodded quickly, biting his lip. Sam sighed, and sat up a little on the couch. "I don't know...I mean, what if someone starts something? They haven't exactly taken this well...I don't want to ruin prom..."

"If they start something then it's them who's ruining prom." Kurt said. Sam still looked nervous. "We'll be super subtle, ok? We'll stay out of everyone's way, and I promise that if someone says something I won't make them angrier with my usual sarcastic comebacks. What would Wiccan and Hulkling do?"

Sam laughed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "That's not fair, they have superpowers." He insisted. Kurt bit his lip and looked at him with wide eyes. He sighed. Kurt was right, it was time for him to man up. He wouldn't let others keep deciding his life for him. He took a deep, and nodded slowly. "...Alright. I mean, I guess, since I'm out now...no more hiding, right?"

Kurt beamed. "Exactly!" He said, his eyes glinting. "So...we're going? We're going to prom?" He asked, his voice getting high and squeaky like it did when he was excited.

Sam smiled, and nodded. "Yes, yes we are."

Kurt squealed, and gave Sam a long, hard kiss. "Eeeeek I'm so excited!" He said, still pressing his lips against his boyfriends', over and over again. He pulled away for a moment, breathless. "I promise you won't regret this Sam, it'll be so much fun!"

Sam smiled. "I don't think I could regret something that's making you so happy." He said, inwardly feeling like shit for denying Kurt this in the first place. "You gotta help me with my outfit though, because I have no idea about that stuff."

Kurt squealed again, his head going like a bobble-headed doll. "Yay yay yay!" He cheered.

Sam smiled. "You're adorable, you know that right?"

A/N: I have to be honest with you, Nightcrawler isn't technically gay. Not in canon, anyhow. There's a lot of fan-speculation, and some seem to think he was closeted, but as far as we know he was straight. However, I think Sam is the type of person who would instantly latch onto the idea of him being gay the moment he heard the speculation.

Mystique is bi though. Other queer Marvel characters include Northstar (from Wolverines old Canadian team) and Rictor and Shatterstar from X-Factor which I need to read. There are much more, and you can look em up if ya want. And of course, Hulkling and Wiccan aka Billy and Teddy aka I am obbsessed with them for god sakes go look them up because they LOOK LIKE SUPERHERO!KUM!

Billy is smaller and delicate looking, with dark hair and Teddy is muscular and blond. Also I really think Kurt would like Billy's outfit. The red cape is pretty stylish.

Also, I'll probably try and end this with in the next two chapters or so. I probably should have ended it like 10 chapters ago...lol