"Happy. That's all I wanna be. Just, happy."
The rest of the trip was filled with much lighter conversation. Blaine's mom had some cute, or, in Blaine's opinion, embarrassing stories to tell about when he was young… Also some of when he was not so young.
After Blaine had heard more than enough about himself, and Kurt had laughed so hard he came very close to peeing his pants, Blaine forced Kurt to tell a couple of embarrassing stories about himself.
Even Nathan laughed more than a few times. His laugh wasn't as loud as Kurt, Blaine's, or Diane's, but Blaine still couldn't believe he was laughing at all. He wondered if maybe Kurt was right. Maybe his dad wasn't as scary as he always thought. Maybe something else was keeping distance between them.
He didn't think about it too much though, because soon enough they were pulling into the hospital parking lot.
"Can't say I exactly like this place," Diane said, looking up at the building with a small grimace on her face.
"I think we all share that sentiment," Kurt responded, squinting as his eyes scaled the building in total distaste.
"Oh, Kurt, I feel like an idiot," Blaine said, honestly feeling like the biggest jerk. "I didn't even think about this being where your mom-"
"Blaine," Kurt held up his hand, stopping him, "it's fine. I've never been a big fan of hospitals, no matter what. I don't mind being here though. It's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely positive," Kurt assured him.
"Okay guys," Nathan said, sighing a little as he opened his door, "time to go in."
When they got into the building, Diane and Nathan led the way as though they knew the place inside and out… which, Kurt figured, they probably all did. Kurt knew Blaine was a couple of steps behind them only because he was couple of steps behind.
He wasn't lying when he said he never liked hospitals. He never liked any place with doctors. He always felt they were just waiting to poke and prod him, even if they weren't there for him at all. He was pretty sure he had a low case of White Coat Syndrome, but he was able to easily hide his fears, which he was happy about.
They stopped suddenly, at least it was sudden to Kurt, who hadn't really been paying attention, and then Diane turned and opened the door to her right.
"You guys all take a seat," Diane said, "and I'll get the forms."
As they sat down, Kurt looked over at Blaine, who didn't appear to be nervous at all. "You don't mind coming here at all?" Kurt questioned, nudging Blaine's elbow with his own to get his attention.
Blaine shook his head, "Not really. It's annoying and everything, but the tests aren't painful." He smiled, "Plus, eating at my favorite restaurant always comes afterward, so I have something to look forward to."
"And you have more time with me, of course," Kurt added playfully.
"Of course."
"Okay," Diane began as she sat down in the empty seat Nathan had left between him and Blaine. "Let's get this baby filled out."
"Mom, I can do it," Blaine protested.
"No, no, I like doing it. It gives me the chance of asking nosy questions without you biting my head off."
Blaine sighed and rolled his eyes, but the small smile on his face let Kurt know he wasn't truly upset.
"Okay, shoot."
Diane cleared her throat. "Name?"
"Mom."
Diane nodded, mouthing 'Mom' as she began to write a name down.
"You're not seriously writing 'Mom' down, are you?" He asked, trying to look at the paper.
"Oh, you mean you didn't actually get your name legally changed to Mom… or rather, illegally, seeing you're under 18."
Blaine gave Diane a light glare, "Mother."
"Lighten up, hon. Now, let's get to the actual questions. Do you smoke?"
"No."
"Drink?"
"No."
"Ever? Even if you drink a sip, you have to let them know."
"It does not say that on there, Mom."
"Maybe. Maybe not," She replied, moving the paper so it was further out of Blaine's view.
Blaine sighed. "Mom, I know how dangerous drinking is for me. I don't do it. Okay?"
She check-marked a box on the paper. "Next question. Are you sexually active? If so, for how long?"
Kurt bit his lip trying not to laugh at Blaine's face.
"Mother!" He exclaimed.
"What? I swear, that is a question."
He groaned. "No."
"No, what? You're not sexually active, or you don't believe me?"
"I'm not sexually active," He replied through gritted teeth.
Diane let out a relieved breath. "Thank God. So, I guess I don't need to mark you as having any sexually transmitted diseases then?"
"Not unless I got something from birth, no."
"Don't worry, both your father and I are clean."
Blaine put his face in his hands. "Oh, God."
Kurt laughed, placing a hand on Blaine's back and patting it. "It's okay. One time my dad asked if I was sexually active by picking up some condoms in a waiting room and asking if I wanted one. There were other people in the waiting room too… That's an awkward moment."
Blaine let out a deep breath as he glanced at Kurt, then looked over at his mother, "As great as this questionnaire has been, I think you can just fill out the rest yourself."
"Fair enough. I've found out all that I need to for the time being."
"Of course you have."
Diane finished filling out the form while Kurt picked up a magazine that he and Blaine looked over together. Once Diane had handed in the form, it took about ten more minutes for a nurse to come out and call his name.
"This'll be a while," Blaine said, looking over at Kurt. "If you want to go to the cafeteria or whatever then you can. I mean-"
"Blaine," Nathan interrupted, "He'll be fine. Don't keep the doctor waiting."
Blaine nodded and took a deep breath, then stood.
"Have fun?" Kurt asked more than said, not quite sure what to say.
Blaine looked back at him and glared, although the smile playing on his lips gave the glare less of an effect.
Once Blaine and Diane had left the room, Kurt looked back down at his magazine and continued reading. He wasn't really sure exactly what he should do. Nathan just sat there, staring straight ahead, as though he was having a whole conversation in his head.
Kurt glanced at him occasionally, seeing if his expression had changed, but it never did.
They stayed that way for almost an hour before Nathan turned and looked at Kurt, "Would you like to go to the cafeteria? They'll probably be back there until around six and I haven't had any lunch."
Kurt nodded, "Sure," He said, it taking a moment to find his voice. He hadn't expected Nathan to ever speak, and was thinking about how to start up a conversation himself, so it was a bit of a shock when Nathan said something.
The walk to the cafeteria was quiet, but quick, so it wasn't too awkward.
"Get whatever you want," Nathan said as he picked up a tray for himself, "I'm buying."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Sir. I brought money."
"Nathan, Kurt. Just Nathan. And I don't care if you brought money, I'm still buying."
"Th- Thank you, Nathan."
"Mhm."
They each got their food; Nathan getting the meatloaf and mashed potato meal, and Kurt getting a turkey sandwich with fries, then got their drinks.
Kurt got them a seat as Nathan paid, then he came over and joined Kurt at the table.
To say Kurt was extremely nervous would have been the understatement of the year. He didn't know why, but he felt as though he needed to try and impress Nathan now that the two of them were alone. Almost like he was with his boyfriend's father… but he wasn't! He and Blaine were nothing more than friends. Which he often told himself, over and over, that he was fine with. He didn't really ever expect them to be more than friends now, not after everything that had happened, but that didn't mean he couldn't dream… or wish… or hope.
"You'd think that hospitals would have healthier food options," Nathan said, bringing Kurt out of his thoughts. "I'm no health nut, but I can't help but feel they're simply trying to gain more patients."
Kurt laughed, his tension leaving him a little. "I know what you mean. I complained to the staff tons of times when my dad was in Lima Memorial."
Nathan got a slightly confused look on his face and Kurt knew he was curious, but didn't want to ask and seem rude.
"He had a heart attack," Kurt explained.
"Oh," Nathan replied, his face turning from confused to slightly shocked and concerned. "That must have been very hard for you."
"It was," Kurt agreed, "but he's okay now."
They were both silent for a moment, then Nathan spoke. "Are you two close?" He asked, and Kurt couldn't help but feel that he was asking for more than wondering about his relationship with his dad.
"Very," Kurt answered. "We weren't always. There was a middle school, and partial high school, phase where we were distant… but, once I was honest with him about who I was, we got really close again. I don't know what I'd do without him."
"But what if-" He quickly cut himself off, realizing he was about to ask something very inappropriate.
"What if he would have died?" Kurt asked for him. Now there was no doubt in his mind that Nathan was speaking about himself and Blaine.
Nathan sighed. "That was rude of me. I-"
"No, it's fine," Kurt assured him. He took a moment to think before answering. "If my dad would have died, I would have been devastated. I know I can live without him, but I wouldn't want to. But, if that would have happened, at least I would have known, without one single doubt, that he loved me. And he would have known the same about me to him."
"You know," Nathan began, staring at Kurt as though he were in deep thought, "you're a very smart teenage boy."
Kurt smiled lightly. "Can I give you a little advice then?"
Nathan nodded. "Please."
"In my opinion, people need to stop worrying about the time they may not have, and start doing something with the time they do have."
Nathan nodded again, looking away from Kurt. If Kurt didn't know any better, he'd think that Nathan was tearing up.
"Talk to Blaine, Nathan," Kurt added, knowing what he needed to hear. "You two may be more alike than you think."
So sorry it's taken this long. School, while not hard, has taken a lot of time. Lots of essays! I wanted to update some of my other stories before coming back to this, but this just begged to be written :) Thank you for your patience!
As always,
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