Title: Venus is taught with Dian's wings to fly
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Sidney
Warnings: AU
Pairings: Kurt/Mercedes, Kurt/OMCs
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 445
Point of view: third
Prompt: Glee, Kurt/Mercedes (friendship or relationship), He looks at her sometimes and wonders how things might have been if he was different. He thinks he likes it.
In another world, where Kurt kept parts of himself tucked tightly away, where he wore flannel and his father's trucker hats and rarely spoke, where he never sang, he was befriended by a boisterous girl named for her father's first paycheck in his corner office.
Kurt stayed in the background; Mercedes made sure the world noticed her. She entered the room and people looked up, while Kurt followed in her wake.
They experimented together, went to college in New York together, moved in together, and married a year after Mercedes graduated law school. Kurt had a communication studies degree and a job he hated; Mercedes became a lawyer, focusing on children's rights. They barely saw each other.
Kurt thought he was happy. Mercedes knew he wasn't. So after a long week at the office, when they were both worn down and weary, she swept him into a whirlwind vacation and took him to California, leaving their dreary apartment in the dust.
Pretty boys flirted with Kurt beneath California's sun; Mercedes grinned, sipping her daiquiri by the pool. After a quick glance at Mercedes and seeing her nod, Kurt let himself flirt back.
In their room the next morning, Kurt pulled Mercedes into a passionate kiss and thanked her. "You're the best girl a boy could have," he told her.
"I just want you happy," she replied, staring up at him, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Are you happy, Kurt?"
He thought for a moment, leaning down to kiss her again. "I am, Sadie. I promise."
When they went home, Kurt sang in the shower and the kitchen and the den as he slaved over information for a boss he didn't like. Mercedes got caught up in a nasty case that couldn't end happily no matter what, and Kurt listened to her rant, and finally he sat her down, put a bowl of chocolate mousse in front of her, and said, "Are you happy, Mercedes?"
She thought for a moment, looking at her mousse. "No," she said quietly.
"Neither am I," he admitted, dipping his finger in the mousse and licking it off. "What are we doing here?"
Mercedes shrugged.
Kurt set aside the bowl and grabbed her hands, waiting until she looked him in the eye. "Sadie," he said, "let's go to California."
She nodded, starting to smile.
They left behind their dreary apartment, jobs that would break them before long, and lives they'd never wanted.
Kurt flirted with pretty boys but always went home to Mercedes. He found a new job, a better job; Mercedes decided to teach. And on the weekends, they'd go to karaoke bars and light up the stage.