"I thought you considered my dream-walking 'invasive'?"
Kurt walked the short distance to David and wrapped his arms around him. He really needed a hug and who better than your own personal teddy bear? He had absolutely no idea where his dream was supposed to be; everything was dark and muddled and hazy…just like his mood. "I told my dad about us. He wants us to break up."
If it were possible, Kurt would say that David's ears had drooped. His eyes were downcast, his lips downturned and his head bent. "I know how much your dad means to you. Maybe we could just pause things for a little bit while I prove myself to him?"
"How do you plan on doing that? Besides, I told him I wasn't going to break up with you. I told him 'no.'"
David put his hands on Kurt's shoulders and held him at arms length. "Are you kidding me? Kurt, you probably gave him a heart attack just telling him about us. Disobeying him will probably kill him."
Kurt pulled David's hand off his shoulder and kissed at the bottom of his palm, where his hand met his wrist. "I'm not worried, your dad's the god of the Underworld, wouldn't he just tell me if my dad was going to die?"
David shook his head, taking his hand out of Kurt's. "It doesn't work like that. My dad usually doesn't even know." Kurt furrowed his brow. "The Fates are the only ones who know when people are going to die. My dad doesn't find out until he gets the paperwork for processing…at max two weeks ahead of time. Thanatos, death itself, doesn't find out until he's supposed to go and collect them."
"So he still could have told me if what I was going to do would send him over the edge."
"Kurt, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone…but you're a mortal. We can't really do you special favors like that. Yes, we can do little things…my dad can help you maximize your talents when it comes to anything jewelry related, my mom and grandma can make you a master of gardening, but anything 'otherworldly'…letting you be privy to what would otherwise be confidential information, my dad could get in a lot of trouble for that. Allowing mortals to know what the future holds is too dangerous. That's why there haven't been oracles in a long time…they caused too much trouble."
Kurt nodded; even if it disappointed him, he could understand what David was telling him. "Ok…so how do you plan on winning my dad over?"
"I figure I could just try and get to know him. Be myself."
Kurt snorted. "…Oh. You're serious?" Kurt snorted again.
xoxoxo
As Kurt had requested, when he woke up he found a list of the conditions of his ground-ation on the kitchen counter:
1 – break up with him
2 – no cell phone
3 – come straight to the garage/home after glee/work
4 – get me Paul Karofsky's contact information
5 – don't expect any trips to the mall for the next few months
6 – hand over your credit cards, debit cards, and check book
7 – no online shopping either
Two, five, six and seven seemed like no-brainers to Kurt. Three just seemed juvenile. Four worried him a bit and one just wasn't happening. Kurt pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, took a picture of the list of demands and texted it to David, then left his phone on top of the list for his father to find.
The list made it obvious to Kurt that his father was trying to limit any time Kurt could spend with David. Luckily for Kurt, they still had school together, glee club, Kurt's dreams and it was obvious his father hadn't figured out Kurt worked with David, yet.
xoxoxo
David had avoided him all day.
Kurt knew David wanted to respect Burt's wishes within reason and everything, at least until he could ingratiate himself with Burt, but as far as Kurt was concerned, David's boyfriend's wishes should trump said boyfriend's father's wishes. How was it that David knew how to rub Kurt just the wrong way? And then of course when he got to work, David was nowhere to be seen. "Your son is a pain in the ass, Paul."
"So I've heard. His heart's in the right place, though."
"Do you even know what's going on?" Kurt unlocked the back room, tossed his jacket over the back of David's chair and returned to the sales floor.
"Of course I do. You think my son doesn't talk to me? But, here's the thing you have to understand, Kurt, David has had front row seats to my on-going battle with Demetria for almost eighteen years. He somehow has it stuck in his head that you and him - as a "you and him" – will last forever. As such, he wants to start your relationship in relatively good terms with your father."
Kurt felt his heart get heavy. "You don't think David and I will last?"
Paul looked up from his work, a look of disbelief on his face. "Kurt, I always thought of you as being so much more sensible and down-to-earth than David. You have to understand that these things never last forever, correct?"
Kurt folded his arms over his chest, hugging himself tight. "Well…I figured since Eros wanted us together it would just…stick. Eros told Adonis we would be together for a long time…I thought he meant god-long…not reality tv-long."
Paul shook his head sadly. "Kurt, you're mortal. What do you think Eros can do about that?" Seeing Kurt's hurt expression, Paul decided to try a more tactful approach. "Kurt, think about what you know about my family. Things never ended well between gods and mortals. Zeus accidentally killed Semele…almost killing Dionysus in the process. Poseidon loved Medusa…so he raped her and in turn Athena turned her into a monster. Hephaestus loved a virgin women and she gave birth to a monster named Kakos that killed her and terrorized an entire town. Aglaulus and Hermes were in love and he accidentally turned her to stone. Ares fell in love with a mortal named Aerope, but rather mundanely, she died during childbirth. There aren't a whole lot of happy endings for mortals and gods, Kurt. Dreaming is dangerous. Enjoy what you and David have now, but don't bank your future on it."
Kurt winced, but nodded. He was eighteen; no matter whom (or what) he was dating, it was foolish of him to fantasize about a forever-future with someone. That didn't make today suck any less, though. "So…how about I go try and clean the back office?"
Realizing that Kurt was sad and wanted some time to himself, Paul nodded. Kurt's presence on the sale floor wasn't all that critical at the moment.
xoxoxo
Meanwhile, back in Lima at Hummel Tire and Lube, Burt watched as a shiny, blue Toyota Tundra pulled in to the parking lot. He could see David Karofsky in the driver's seat, but was pretty certain David hadn't seen him yet. Didn't matter, he was positive that David's being there was no accident; there was a Toyota dealership with attached garage Dave could take his vehicle to, as well as two of those drive-through oil change places and another full-service garage. There was no reason that Karofsky would choose Hummel Tire and Lube unless he were there to see Burt.
David was fidgeting to pull his wallet out of his pocket as he walked up to the front desk. "What do you want, kid?"
"I need an oil change."
"Uh-huh. And give me one good reason why I should be the one to do it?" Burt leaned his hands on the desk and glared down at David. "I have a mind to kick you the hell out of here."
David pulled back in surprise. "Isn't that illegal?"
"Nope. I have a legal right to refuse business to anyone for any reason so long as I'm not discriminating."
"Wow…that's kind of…wow. Anyway, I'm really here to talk to you. Getting my oil changed would be nice seeing as I'm about two thousand miles due, but it can wait."
Burt raised an eyebrow. "You haven't had your oil changed in seven thousand miles?" David shrugged. He had no idea how long it had been since he had his oil changed; he just knew the light had been flashing for about 1,800 miles. Burt shook his head. If Kurt was really dating this dumbass, then it was likely he'd ride in his truck. Burt would do anything he could to keep Kurt from dating this creep, but he wasn't very hopeful about his odds and he was more interested in making sure Kurt was safe. "Pull it into the first bay." David smiled and jogged back out to his Toyota while Burt opened up the first garage door. "How long has it been since you had your tires rotated?"
"Ummm…" David's 'um' drifted off into nothingness, before he shrugged.
"What kind of work have you had done on your vehicle?"
"I had the fan belt replaced last year. Other than that I usually just take it to the shop when the little light comes on."
Burt rolled his eyes. "How's it handling?"
David never really put too much thought into his vehicle. He wasn't that good when it came to anything mechanical. But Kurt had complained several times about different things his car did and he'd never really thought about it before. He decided that since Kurt knew cars pretty well, he should just parrot back what Kurt had said to him. "It's slow to over-turn."
"Do you mean 'turn over'?"
"I don't know. When you put the key in and turn it on. Kurt said it takes too long to…for the engine to…do its thing."
Burt grit his teeth and shut his eyes. He had dealt with some pretty dense customers before, but usually the teenage boys at least had some idea about what was going on with their cars. He pulled out his cell phone and was about to call Kurt and ask for a run-down of all the things he'd noticed about David's vehicle when he remembered Kurt's phone was sitting on the kitchen table back home. "Hand me your keys?" Burt pushed his cell phone back into his shirt pocket while David handed over his keys. "Get in the passenger seat; we're gonna go for a ride so I can figure out what the hell kinds of torture you've inflicted on this poor P.O.S."
"Bubba is not a piece of shit. Bubba is an awesome car."
Hopping in and pulling the seat belt across his chest Burt nodded, adjusting the mirrors and seats to his own height. He and David weren't too far off height-wise, making it easier to adjust everything appropriately. "I agree one hundred percent. Toyota Tundras are a wonderfully reliable vehicle…if you take care of them." Burt turned the key in the ignition and listened to the engine turning over…definitely took too long. Burt threw the vehicle into reverse once David had secured his seat belt. "So, you want to talk, talk."
"Kurt told me about what happened yesterday. I'm really sorry Mr. Hummel. I wanted you to get to know me and all that before Kurt and I told you we were dating-"
"So the two of you were going to go behind my back?"
"No! No sir. Kurt and I have only been dating for about two weeks now. We wanted you to know…we just…knew you wouldn't be happy."
"That's one way of putting it." The steering wheel was shaking and it wasn't just David's fear of Burt transferring to the car. It was probably because the tires needed rotating and balancing…they were probably low on air, too.
"I love Kurt, sir. I know, after everything that happened last year, that might be a bit hard for you to buy, but it's true. I was stupid and confused and scared."
"So Kurt tells me."
"If it weren't for your son, I'd still be cowering in the closet."
"So, by dating my son you get a therapist, a shoulder to cry on, emotional support, you get all of Kurt's built-in friends…what's Kurt getting out of this relationship?"
David was quiet and thoughtful. "I have no idea. He assures me that he loves me, but I have no idea why. He says we go well together and that I make him happy, but I just don't get it. He's perfect…I'm just me."
Burt really wanted to say something about how young and stupid David sounded…until he realized he sounded the exact same as himself when he was courting Elizabeth. Elizabeth was his sun, moon and stars…he was just the poor, balding son of a mechanic. Burt looked at David out of the corner of his eye. He really didn't like that kid. But Kurt saw who he could be, just as Elizabeth had seen who he could be…dammit. "Kurt says your family's kinda religious? Not too happy about the whole 'you coming out' thing?"
David nodded. "My dad's pretty fine with it, but my mom…we haven't spoken much lately." David sighed, leaning his forehead into his fist and resting his elbow on the window. "When I realized I was gay…I figured it was like…wrath of god or something. I was being punished for some shit I didn't even know I did. I took it out on Kurt…like a dumbass."
Burt nodded, trying to focus on what David was saying while making mental notes of things he'd need to check out on the truck when they got back to the shop. "Your pops go to school in Lima?"
"No sir. Both my parents are immigrants."
"Huh." Burt thought about that a minute. "When we were back in the principal's office – second time around – he said something. I thought he was being snide: trying to be cute-"
"My dad doesn't really do 'snide.' Sarcastic? Yes. Goofy, definitely. Snide? Not so much."
"He said something along the lines of 'remember how we treated the gays when we were your age'…I thought he was trying to be funny: that he knew…" Burt's sentence fell off into oblivion, like he hadn't meant to say it to begin with. He was stoic for a few moments while he pieced together what he wanted to say. "When I was in school…it was a different world. A lot of the older kids I hung around with, they could still remember when segregation, separate schools for blacks and whites, was still a reality. The idea of 'gay pride'…or even 'gay rights' wasn't ever even thought of. There were no 'coming out' parties, or whatever the hell you call 'em. If a kid came out…he was lucky he didn't get tossed out. There was this kid at my school…your school actually, McKinley. He was a small little thing: delicate. He had a lisp, didn't play sports, was too smart for his own good. No one looked twice when the kid got the tar beat out of him on a weekly basis. The teachers figured he deserved it; he was bringin' it on himself. I used to be on the football team, you know? All of us, all the jocks, we used to take turns just wailing on this kid. No one thought anything of it. I don't even know if he was gay. He certainly never 'came out.' It didn't matter though, he acted gay and that was enough for us. One day…he didn't come to school anymore."
David thought he heard Burt's voice crack a little, but didn't say anything.
"None of us cared that he didn't come back. No one asked 'why'. It wasn't even until years later that I thought…I wondered…" Again, Burt let his sentence hang unfinished in the air. "I couldn't even find out what happened to him if I tried. I never even knew his name; he was that insignificant to us. We just called him 'Nancy.'
"When Kurt was born, it was the happiest day of my goddamned life. But even when he was little, I knew…I knew. I thought God was getting revenge on me for all that shit I did in high school. It broke my heart to know that someday he could end up like that poor kid I tortured in school. And then I saw you…humiliating my kid, making him afraid to go to school, threatening to kill him. Two thousand and eleven…things like that shouldn't happen anymore…bullies like you…like us…they shouldn't exist anymore. I knew you; I knew your type. I knew it would take a friggin' miracle for you to see how evil you were, same way as me…maybe…waking up one day to realize that your kid, your baby that you love more than anything in the whole damn world, is the same thing as the thing you hated. And you'd start to wonder why? Why did you hate it? What wrong had it… they ever done to you? To anyone? It's the stupidest goddamned shit in the world when you think about it…to hate someone, because they love someone; because they love. To hate because of love."
By now Burt was crying. Pools of tears were welled up in the corners of his eyes and his nostrils flared as he tried to contain his breathing. David wasn't used to this; his dad never cried. Neither did his mom, for that matter. He cried every now and then…but never in front of anyone. No one except Kurt and Homer and his mom, and they always knew exactly what to do, what to say. David didn't. So he stared. Not at Burt, that would have been weird. Instead he stared straight ahead out the windshield, trying to hide his nervousness about the whole situation.
When Burt had composed himself again, he took a deep, steadying breath. "I'm not gonna fight you about my son anymore. It's stupid to hate someone because they love. It's stupid of me to hate you because you love my son."
"You hate me because I hurt Kurt. That's a big difference. I hate me for that, too."
Burt shook his head. "No…I hear Kurt and Finn when they talk to me, believe it or not. I know what's been going on; I know you've changed. I stopped hating you for what you did because you figured your shit out so much quicker than I ever did. I hate you because after everything that's happened, you love my son…and he loves you. I don't get it. But then again, there's a lot about my son and his little personal world I don't get. I'm not gonna stand between the two of you anymore." Burt unbuckled his seat belt and exited the truck. Dave hadn't even noticed they were back in the garage again. He was about to unbuckle his own belt when Burt popped up at his window. "But so help me god…you ever hurt my boy again, I can and will kill you. And I can make it look like an accident." Burt went back around to the driver's side and popped the hood. "Believe me, there's so much crap going on with this shit-mobile, no one would ever question a little 'accident.'"
David was genuinely terrified. Burt Hummel was one scary SOB.
xoxoxo
"I had an interesting visitor at the garage today."
Kurt paused in the process of adding breadcrumbs to the ground beef when he heard his father's voice behind him. He knew exactly who his dad was talking about and wondered for a moment if he'd have to call Paul to tell him where he could recover his son's body. Instead, he simply replied, "Oh?"
"I don't like that kid. I don't think I'll ever like him. He will always be the dumb bully who scared my only kid shitless." Kurt nodded. He could understand his father's reasoning; it was his only real, memorable experience with David. Of course his father felt that way now…but given enough time he could replace those old memories of David with new, better ones...hopefully. "And you are not to ever drive in that kid's truck; I had to replace all four tires, his battery, a tail light, both license plate lamps, his rear brakes, and he's gonna need new struts soon and I'm gonna take a closer look at his transmission when he brings it in again this weekend; I don't like the noises it's making. By rights I shoulda kept it at the shop. I don't know what the hell that kid's been doing, but he is destroying that sad excuse for a vehicle.
Kurt smiled. It almost sounded like his father was trying to crack a joke. That had to be a good sign, right? "David does a little bit of off-roading. His parents basically live on a big farm and he and his mother have to move plants, trees, and vegetables from the farm to the nursery all the time. Plus, he has absolutely no mechanical aptitude."
"Don't think for a second you aren't still grounded. You went behind my back to date this schmuck, knowing full-well how I felt about him, and then you have the nerve to tell me 'no' last night. I feel like I can't trust you anymore."
"I told you 'no' because I want you to trust me dad." Burt was about to ask how the hell that made sense when Kurt cut him off. "I'm not going to break up with someone I really like. I'd rather tell you 'no' then continue to date him behind your back; if I want you to trust my judgment, I need you to trust me. And we weren't dating behind your back to begin with. It's only been two weeks; I'd say we're well within a reasonable period of allowable time to inform people we're dating."
Burt rubbed his hand over his face and head. Understanding Kurt sometimes took more brainpower than he was willing to use outside of working hours. "You're still grounded for the foreseeable future. Did you get Paul Karofsky's number for me?"
Kurt pulled the piece of notepaper out of his breast pocket. "The top number is his cell phone, second one is his home phone and the bottom one is his work number. While we're being honest with one-another, I think it's only fair to tell you that Paul is the one that hired me. Olivine is his store."
"Anything else you feel like telling me?"
Kurt shook his head. "Nothing bad… David and I have been tutoring each other for a while now, I think I told you that last night?…It's what prompted us to start dating. David's mom and grandma own and operate Eternal Spring on the edge of town. David's family all knows we're dating and those that matter, minus David's mom, all approve of us being together…though Paul is somewhat protective of David and only offered me my job so he could make sure I wasn't taking unfair advantage of David-"
"What do you mean 'unfair advantage'?"
Kurt shrugged nonchalantly. "David's family is fairly… well-off. Given my tastes for the finer things in life, Paul just wants to make sure I'm not a gold-digger or using David."
"If you aren't 'using' him, why do you like him?" Kurt looked affronted. "You have almost nothing in common."
Kurt smiled softly to himself. "You're right. We don't really complement each other all that much, but we do supplement each other very well. Opposites attract. But even the things that are complete opposites for us, we can still talk intelligently about, together. And David's extremely bright and interesting to talk to. He's probably the first guy I've ever met that can meet me, toe-to-toe in an intellectual conversation. Blaine and I could talk politics, theatre or music…but David and I can talk politics, music, ethics, philosophy, arts, sciences, literature…just not mechanics, apparently. And not only that, but he's really humble about it…almost obnoxiously so. I'm trying to help him with his self-esteem issues."
"Look Kurt…I get that, as much as I'm against it, you're going to date that gorilla. If he ever hurts you in any way, you need to come straight to me. He's already proven he can get violent. You need to respect yourself enough to remember that violence is never love, is never even a part of love."
Kurt nodded. "I know, Dad. Besides, I think Dave would sooner kill himself then ever hurt me again. You have no idea how often he still apologizes for everything that happened last year. It gets really annoying after a while."
"That's good though, Kurt. It means he isn't just brushing off or ignoring his actions. So long as he means it when he says he's sorry."
"Trust me, Dad, He means it."
xoxoxo
Those we've met so far:
David – son of Hades and Persephone
Paul – Hades (Pluto in Latin), god of the underworld and wealth (the Greeks believed that since precious jewels and metals came from underground that they were part of Hades realm)
Sophie – Persephone/Kore (Proserpina in Latin), goddess of spring and queen of the underworld
Aaron – Eros (Cupid in Latin), god of love
Sarah – Psyche (Psyche in Latin), goddess of the soul
Homer – an old rat David befriended in the Underworld
Di – Aphrodite (Venus in Latin) Goddess of love and beauty
Harry – Hermes (Mercury in Latin) Messenger of the gods and escort of souls to the Underworld
Apollo – (Apollo in Latin) God of the sun, medicine, knowledge, music, and poetry
Demetria – Demeter (Ceres in Latin) Goddess of the harvest and seasons
Zeus – (Jupiter in Latin) King of the gods and god of the sky
Hera – (Juno in Latin) Queen of the gods and goddess of Marriage, women and birth
Morpheus – (Morpheus in Latin) god of dreams
Icelus – (couldn't find an accurate Latin variation) – god of nightmares
Artemis – (Diana in Latin) goddess of the hunt, wilderness, the moon
Priapus – (Mutunus Tutunus in Latin) minor god of fertility, gardens and male genitalia (he's also the reason you should call your doctor if you have an erection lasting longer than 3 hours…lol)
Hedone – (Voluptas in Latin) goddess of sexual pleasure, bliss
Donny – Adonis (Adonis in Latin) male god of male beauty and desire