Chapter 38 – Thanksgiving – Part IV
(Yes, apparently this night never ends. I enjoy the trio of Burt, Kurt and Genius too much.)
Thank you for all of your lovely reviews. :)
"Where are we going?" Kurt asked, not trusting his father's skills to find his way around the streets of New York.
"It's not far," Burt said eagerly. "I did my homework and checked the route online."
Kurt grinned. "Must I remind you of that time we went on a road trip to the fun fair in Newark and ended up in Norwalk instead?"
"That was over ten years ago!" Burt shouted with a laugh. "You're still holding that against me?"
"Well, they didn't have a fun fair in Norwalk, so yes, I'd been disappointed," Kurt said playfully, only acting as if he was holding a grudge.
"I remember buying you an incredibly expensive hippo head brooch to make it up to you," Burt reminded his son.
"Yes, you did," Kurt laughed. "I still wear it sometimes. Isabelle even called it a vintage hippo the other day."
"See, the adventures that don't go the way you planned them can turn out to be way better in the end," Burt smiled and blew into his cold hands.
"That doesn't make me feel better about our current destination," Kurt smiled wryly. "Can't you just tell us where you're taking us?"
"Patience has never been your strong suit," Burt replied teasingly.
"Well, I can't wait to see what kind of torture the straight man has in store for us," Genius said with a shrug. "If it involves free jewelry I'm all in."
Burt just laughed and draped his arms around each of the boys shoulders and pulled them near. It was a friendly gesture, one that Kurt was used to. He immediately leaned into his father. Genius went a little stiff at first before relaxing into the unfamiliar touch. They enjoyed Burt's public show of camaraderie, until the older man stuck his cold hands down their necks and they both squeaked.
"Dad!" Kurt called out, jumping away.
"Holy freak show!" Genius shook himself. "I told you he's out to torture us!"
"Watch out, Dad, you don't want us to seek revenge," Kurt warned his father and readjusted his scarf. "We're two against one."
Burt just grinned mischiveously and they all laughed.
"Oh, I think I know where you're leading us," Kurt said excitedly as they entered Bryant Park. "To the ice rink!"
"Yep," Burt confirmed. "This old straight guy is treating you to a hot chocolate and a round on the rink."
"Aww, you know how much I love ice skating," Kurt said happily.
"I can't skate," Genius said. "You guys go ahead. I'll just wait for you."
"No way, you're coming with me," Kurt said, grabbing Genius' arm. "I'll teach you."
"Come on, you can do this," Burt said, ruffling up Genius hair.
Genius gasped and jumped away from Burt who dared to mess with his hair, but when he saw Kurt laughing and Burt grinning from ear to ear, Genius couldn't be angry. He ran a hand over his hair which was done up with enough hairspray to withstand the ruffle and grinned back.
"Don't you dare touch my hair, straight man," he said half-jokingly to Burt.
They went to get ice skates and put them on, giddy with excitement. Genius was wary, but open for the new experience. Kurt offered his hand to him and Genius grasped it, afraid to fall on his back. He went onto the ice with Kurt and tried to keep his balance. Kurt gave him some instructions and pointers and he found he wasn't too bad on the ice. Holding hands, however, was the most amazing thing. He hadn't held someone's hand for years, and it reminded him of holding Chandler's hand at the premiere party. While on the ice, Genius thought about how funny it was that the simpliest of touches could be so amazing. He wanted to take off Kurt's gloves and his own just to be able to feel the other's hand, but was too embarrassed to suggest such a thing.
"You're doing great, kid!" Burt said who followed them, ready to catch Genius in case he should falter.
"I can't believe you never went ice skating," Kurt said with a wide grin. "It's so much fun!"
"Surprisingly it is," Genius agreed.
They took a break and drank hot chocolate at the side of the rink. Burt was telling funny stories about his work at the shop and casually draped an arm around Genius' shoulders. Genius was amazed by the way Burt Hummel included him and made him feel welcome by the simpliest of gestures and words. He wasn't used to be treated like a normal person. Most people kept their distance to him and looked at him like he was a circus freak.
"Another round?" Kurt asked, and Genius agreed.
"I'll sit this one out," Burt said, staying on the bench. "But you kids go ahead."
Taking another sip of his hot chocolate, Burt felt proud watching his boy so happy and relaxed on the ice. He was relieved to find that despite all the dark clouds hanging over Kurt's head his boy still could laugh and enjoy himself.
That's why Burt was constantly on the watch out, keeping an eye on the other people around. It took him a while to realize that he was preparing himself to protect Kurt in case anyone was throwing insults at him or even turning violent against his son. This feeling of protectiveness would probably never cease. He just didn't want anybody to ruin his son's moment of peace and comfort.
As he watched, Genius lost his balance and grabbed Kurt's arm for support which caused them both to fall on their backsides. Burt instantly stood to see if they were hurt, but both of them were laughing loudly as they tried to get back on their feet, clutching each other as they kept losing their footing.
Burt let out a breath of relief and smiled to himself. He was glad to see how the young man slowly but surely relaxed in his company. Emmett's show of confidence and independence was impressive and Burt was sure that being around a fighter like Emmett would be good for Kurt. On the other hand, Burt believed that spending more time with Kurt could also have a soothing and healing effect on Emmett. Kurt was a compassionate and caring person, sometimes too caring. It wouldn't hurt if some of his kindness, morale and sympathy rubbed off on Emmett.
Granted, Burt was still getting used to Kurt's latest look, wearing eyeliner and eyeshadow, imitating Emmett's look a bit. But those were just appearances and didn't matter to Burt. Yet he felt exactly the way he had felt when Kurt had been six years old and proudly wore a bright pink jacket to the playground. His initial reaction had been to forbid Kurt to wear the jacket, but how do you explain to a child that he wasn't supposed to wear certain colors or act certain ways? So Burt had decided to let Kurt wear the girly jacket and act as if it wasn't weird at all that his son liked pink. Kurt had been so happy, whooping on the swings and didn't notice the way his father tensed up whenever other parents gave them a curious look. Burt had found out that the trick was just to act as if it was a normal thing to do and other people would follow suit. Burt felt the same way today. People were giving funny looks to the two young men wearing black eyeliner, knee-high boots and silver hair respectively chestnut hair with blond high-lighted bangs. But no one said anything to offend them.
However, Burt spotted a few teenagers pointing at Kurt and Genius and starting to take pictures with their phones. Imagining the worst of reasons, Burt went over to them. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
"Taking pictures of them," a girl said proudly and pointed at Kurt and Genius as if it was totally normal to take pictures of strangers.
"I can see that," Burt grumbled. He didn't understand why these kids were taking pictures of his son, but he wouldn't allow it. "I must ask you to stop."
The girls and boys exchanged disappointed yet excited glances. "Are you their bodyguard?" They asked. "Can we meet them? We'd love to get autographs, please!"
Burt squinted his eyes in bafflement. "What're you kids talking about?"
"They're from that new show, Fashion Hero!" one of the girls said excitedly. "That's Kurt Hummel and Genius! I love them! I didn't know they're friends, though. They look like they hate each other on TV."
"Oh," Burt finally understood. He hadn't expected to be meeting fans of the show. "Well, the show is pre-recorded," Burt explained. "They became friends eventually."
"Can you tell us what'll happen next, please?" the little group gathered around Burt excitedly. "Who's going to win?"
Burt laughed nervously. "Sorry, I can't tell you anything."
"So you're their bodyguard? It must be amazing to be close to them and be around them all day. But you probably don't care, it's just your job."
"No, no, I'm not their bodyguard," Burt clarified, although in a way he definitely was Kurt's greatest protector. But having the kids ask made him think about if the Fashion Hero contestants should start getting bodyguards. "I'm just Kurt's dad," Burt explained, unprepared for the reaction he received.
The girls squealed in delight and the few boys looked excited, too. "Oh, my God, how cool is it that you're his dad? Can we take pictures with you? My sister'll be so jealous when I tell her I met you!"
Before he knew what was happening, Burt was posing with all those kids for pictures. It was fun, but also very surreal.
"Dad? What's going on?" Kurt came to the side of the rink, holding on to the railing. He looked at the little group gathering around his father curiously.
"I'm just meeting your fans," Burt called over, grinning broadly.
The look of utter confusion on Kurt's face was frame-worthy and made Burt chuckle with delight.
Instantly the kids ran over to Kurt, asking him for pictures and autographs and telling him how much they loved the show. Genius joined Kurt's side and was equally celebrated. The boys were glad the railing separated them from the kids or else they would probably be squashed.
They posed for what seemed a hundred pictures and in the end both Kurt and Genius gave Burt their phones so he could make pictures of them with their fans, too. "Or else no one will believe us," Kurt said, already thinking about sending the pictures to Chandler.
The group of girls and boys found it hilarious that their stars wanted pictures with them as well. Also the little gathering attracted the curious looks by other passersby and more people came to see what the fuss was all about. In the end the three of them had to get away quickly before more and more photo hunters approached them.
"Oh God, that was fun," Genius said, panting as they quick-walked down the streets. "And scary."
"Totally," Kurt agreed, laughing.
"And this is only the beginning," Genius warned. "The show only runs for a week. I didn't think we'd get recognized on the street so quickly."
"Well, you're quite recognizable," Burt said with a grin, but also a hint of concern in his voice.
"I hope we can go sales shopping tomorrow without being stopped by fans at every corner," Kurt worried. "We might have to tone it down a bit."
Genius pulled a face, not liking to tone down his makeup.
"On the other hand that's what we wanted, fame and fortune," Genius replied with a shrug. "We can't complain now."
"So, where are we heading now?" Burt asked, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
"Can we find a place to sit and warm up maybe?" Kurt said. "Also, if you guys don't mind, I'd like to call Blaine and wish him a happy thanksgiving."
"Of course we don't mind," Burt said, looking very pleased. "That's a very good idea."
"And we shouldn't stay out for too long," Kurt said. "We can't leave Oreo home alone all night."
Burt gave an appreciative nod. "I'm glad you're thinking of the cat."
"Actually, I'm just worried the cat might wreck the place," Kurt said.
"Which he totally might," Genius put in. "He's a cat after all. He's probably eating your shoes as we speak."
Kurt gave him a horrified glance. "I thought only dogs did that."
"You're right," Genius tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Cats don't eat shoes, they just pee into them."
"Oh, gosh," Kurt looked like he was going to be sick. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"Stop panicking," Burt said, shaking Kurt's shoulder a bit. "Mister Oreo is probably fast asleep on the couch."
"Great," Kurt replied deadpanned. "Cat hair on the cushions."
They went into the nearest coffee shop and got three window seats on high chairs.
While waiting for their coffees, Genius and Kurt took a minute to text their friends and Burt called Carole. Genius half listened to the sweet talk Burt exchanged with his wife, his own parents had never talked that affectionately with one another.
Kurt wrote a text to Chandler: Thanks for sending Genius my way. We're having a fab time. Plus, he and my dad get along surprisingly well. Guess what else happened today.
He attached the picture of Genius and him surrounded by their fans and imagined how Chandler would freak out over it.
"Dad. G. I think we should make a selfie," Kurt suggested, holding up his phone and adjusting the camera.
"Great idea," Burt leaned into Kurt's left side and took off his cap, since it always cast a shadow on his face.
"Wait," Genius got out a little hand mirror and checked his face before leaning into Kurt's right side. They made several pictures and laughed about them before finally agreeing on the best. Kurt sent copies to both Burt and Genius and also to Chandler, Rachel and Blaine.
Burt loved the picture and put it up as a screen saver on his phone.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to give Blaine a call," Kurt said, standing and pointing outside. He wasn't going to make the call with them around. He needed a little bit of privacy when he talked to Blaine. So he quickly put on his coat again and went outside, pacing up and down in front of the coffee shop.
While Kurt was on the phone with Blaine, Genius sat with Burt. Burt was watching the way Kurt was smiling down to his feet while talking to Blaine and a happy sigh escaped his lips.
"You look very pleased at the prospect of Kurt getting back together with that little chimp," Genius observed. "Do you know him well?"
"Yes, Kurt and Blaine got together back in high school and had been together for two years. During that time it was the happiest I'd ever seen Kurt."
"Until Blainey-boy cheated on him."
"Yeah, well," Burt shrugged. "I get that long distance relationships are hard. But it was painful to see how devastated Kurt was about it, and I'm not going to lie, I was utterly disappointed in Blaine, too."
"And yet you approve of giving him a second chance?"
"The thing with love is it's always complicated," Burt said, looking Genius straight in the eye. "And like you said before, Blaine has proved that he regrets his mistake and I still believe his feelings about Kurt are true."
"You think very highly of him," Genius seemed surprised.
"It's funny because when I met him he didn't leave a very favorable impression on me," Burt chuckled. "The first time I saw him was in Kurt's bed."
"No way!" Genius raised his brows in interest.
"Kurt claimed nothing had happened between them that night because - take this - Blaine was too wasted," Burt smiled broadly upon the memory.
"Shut up!" Genius leaned closer for the gossip. "You're kidding. I've seen him at Babylon, he doesn't like alcohol one bit."
"No, it's true and I wasn't very fond of him at first because of it. Then there was the issue of him experimenting," Burt put a lot of emphasis on the word, "with none other than Rachel Berry. Kurt was furious." Burt chuckled again. "And I'll never forget how he approached me in my shop and told me to give Kurt the talk," Burt quoted with his fingers. "You know, the one with the birds and the bees."
"Sounds like he was a lot of trouble," Genius remarked, fascinated by the story. "When did you change your mind about him?"
"You know, at first I was blown away by his audaciousness to tell me that I needed to talk to my son about sex, but then I realized it takes guts to walk up to a friend's parent and voice your concerns and in hindsight I admired him for that. He really cared about Kurt from day one. He made me realize that I had to step out of my comfort zone and educate myself to be a better father which was something Kurt had even asked me to do, but I hadn't been ready to think about the idea of my little boy having sex and I didn't know a thing about all this gay stuff. But I figured that as long as I remained ignorant about it, Kurt would never have the courage to talk to me about his problems. Whatever would bother him in his life, I didn't want to find out about it when it was too late. I needed him to trust me. So I went to the free clinic, talked to a counselor and collected a few pamphlets and prepared myself the best I could to make Kurt see that I was totally on board with him being gay and yeah, even having sex someday."
"Wow," Genius said, drawing his brows together and looking at Burt, utterly impressed. "You really went out of your way for Kurt. It must have been totally awkward for you to flick through those pamphlets." He wanted to laugh about it, but he was too fascinated by the fact that a father would actually educate himself about gay sex. "And all just because that cheeky little chimp wanted to get into Kurt's pants. Really clever."
Burt hung his head and ran a hand down the back of his neck, chuckling.
"As you probably can imagine, when Kurt first told me that he and Blaine were together I had my doubts," Burt admitted. "But I kept them to myself and decided to sit back and observe, before cementing my opinion on the boy, and it turned out that Blaine treated Kurt extraordinary gentlemanly. I daresay he worshipped the ground Kurt walked on. They both were very adult and serious about building up a solid foundation of mutual respect and adoration for each other, absolutely unlike any teenager I knew. It was probably because Kurt was afraid of ending up like all his high school friends who changed their partners like underwear. No matter my initial concerns about Blaine, all I could see was how extremely happy and very much in love Kurt was with him. Plus, Blaine liked sports, so I always had something to talk about with him."
"He looks really happy," Genius suddenly said, gazing out of the window.
Burt looked up to see Kurt standing outside with the phone clutched to his ear and smiling that unmistakeable smile of a fool in love. "I hope so," Burt said. "He's been miserable long enough."
It was freezing outside and Kurt's face was numb from the cold, but he didn't notice, because his heart was thumping nervously and his hands were sweaty underneath the gloves. He was incredibly nervous to be calling Blaine, more nervous than he should be. He just wanted to wish him a happy thanksgiving, he wasn't going to beg Blaine to give him another chance. And still, Kurt felt as if this call could somehow predict their destiny together.
"Kurt!" Blaine called out happily when he answered the call. "I was just thinking about you!"
"What? Really? Why?" Kurt stammered and laughed nervously, confused by this joyful greeting.
"Well, when we said our thanks before dinner, I included you."
"You didn't," Kurt smiled.
"I did," Blaine said. "You can ask Cooper. He's counting how often I say your name while I'm home."
"And what did you say about me?" Kurt's smile grew wider. Blaine's beloved voice always had a soothing effect on him.
"I said that I'm thankful that we reconnected this year and that we're friends again."
Kurt couldn't say anything for a moment, he choked on his emotions. He hated that they had ever become estranged in the first place. He wished the last year hadn't happened and they wouldn't have had to reconnect.
"Kurt? Are you still there?"
"Yes," Kurt said softly. "I'm glad we're friends again, too."
"I'm sorry for getting all sentimental on you," Blaine laughed, it was a warm and relaxed sound. "Did you call for something in particular?"
"No," Kurt paced up and down the pavement, looking down at his shoes. "I just called to say happy thanksgiving."
"Happy Thanksgiving to you, too," Blaine replied and a chuckle escaped his throat.
"What's so funny?" Kurt asked, a smile playing along his mouth just at the sound of it.
"It's just the way you said it reminds me of that Stevie Wonder song?" Blaine began to sing softly, "I just called to say I love you."
Kurt's smile expanded and he joined in, "I just called to say how much I care."
Blaine began singing the sweet and happy tune of the song:
"No New Year's Day to celebrate
No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away
In fact here's just another ordinary day"
Blaine stopped to chuckle again. "Coop's giving me funny looks."
Then Kurt heard Cooper's voice shouting in the background. "I didn't expect anything less than a song with Kurt on the phone!"
Kurt laughed and when Blaine resumed his singing, Kurt joined him, not caring that passersby gave him curious looks.
"But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you
I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart"
They sang a few more lines of the song together and Kurt grinned happily. He bit his bottom lip, barely restraining his pounding heart and the sudden longing to have Blaine by his side. With no one else could he sing old cheesy love songs off the bat. In this moment he loved Blaine so much that he thought he could burst.
"I really love it when you sing," Blaine said, sounding dreamy as ever. "You should do it more often."
"I love singing with you," Kurt replied in a warm voice. "Blaine, you're so..." he was searching for the right word.
"Cheesy?" Blaine offered. "I know I'm cheesy and I'm not sorry."
"No, wonderful," Kurt said, his voice filled with love. "I was going to say you're wonderful. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For reconnecting," Kurt said in all earnesty. "I know I've been awful to you in the past few weeks, but I'm really, really glad you're back in my life."
"You haven't been awful to me," Blaine denied.
Kurt didn't know how to respond to that, so he just said, "Anyway, please say hi to your family."
"Yeah, say hi to yours, too. How's everyone?"
"I don't know actually. I'm just with my dad. He came to New York."
"I thought you wanted to fly home?" A worried tone snuck into Blaine's voice.
"Yeah, but now Dad's here and Genius joined us and we're having an amazing time. We just went ice skating and this bunch of kids came asking for our autographs. Can you believe it? We did a picture with them, I sent it to you a few minutes ago."
"I haven't checked my messages yet," Blaine said. "But that sounds exciting."
"Tomorrow we want to go shopping. Genius is all excited about it and I'm thinking about getting new clothes for my dad," Kurt said, but stopped when he noticed that he was rambling. "Anyway, when will you be back in New York?" All of a sudden Kurt couldn't wait to see him again.
"I'll be back on Sunday," Blaine said. "Just in time for our date."
"Our date?" Kurt was confused, but his heart beat began speeding up again. Was this Blaine's way of asking him out?
"Yes, Sunday at six," Blaine replied. "Chandler told me about that double date thing? He said you'd come with Adam. So I guess I'll see you then."
"Oh," Kurt replied, not so thrilled all of a sudden. "Right. I kind of forgot about that. We don't have to do that if you don't want to. It was just an idea."
"No, really, it's cool," Blaine said. "It'll be fun. And I'm happy for you. Adam's a really nice guy."
"Adam and I- We're not-," Kurt stammered. "It's just a date."
"You should totally go on dates, Kurt," Blaine encouraged him. "You deserve to be happy. And who knows, Adam might just be the right guy for you."
Kurt frowned and looked down to the tips of his boots. "Yeah, who knows," he murmured. "Listen, I have to go. My dad and Genius are waiting, so-"
"Okay," Blaine replied. "Have a great time. I'll see you on Sunday."
"Yeah, see you, bye," Kurt said and hung up, staring at his phone and wishing he could turn back time to when Blaine had asked him to be boyfriends again. He had been an utter fool for not saying yes.
Burt instantly noticed that something was wrong when Kurt came back. "What's with the long face? Just a minute ago you were all smiles and sunshine out there."
Kurt let out a long sigh and wrapped his hands around his coffee before saying, "Blaine thinks I'm dating Adam."
"What makes him think that?" Genius asked, pulling a face.
"Maybe the fact that I'll be going on a date with Adam on Sunday, actually, a double date with Blaine and Chandler," Kurt replied, not sounding too excited about it.
"Holy freak show, are you kidding?" Genius' eyes widened in bafflement.
"Hold on. Adam?" Burt interjected. "From the show? Tall, blond, wearing stupid hats most of the time?"
"You for one shouldn't critizise stupid hats," Genius retorted.
"Baseball caps aren't stupid," Burt replied.
"Yes, they are," Genius gave a snort.
"I don't know why I agreed to that double date," Kurt let out a sigh. "I'll probably tell them I'm sick and won't go."
"Oh, no, you're going," Genius insisted. "You'll have to make sure that Blaine and Chandler's date is a disaster."
"You know I won't do that."
"Okay, then you'll have to flirt with Adam the whole time to get Blaine jealous."
"Blaine just said he's happy for me to be dating other people," Kurt pointed out.
"He's lying," Genius said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not sure," Kurt replied with a sad little shrug. "Besides, I don't want to lead Adam on. God, why do things have to be so complicated all of the time?"
"Because life would be boring otherwise," Burt answered and gave his son a little nudge. "Besides, why shouldn't you go out and have fun with someone who likes you? You don't have to marry that guy."
"But you should totally have sex with him," Genius advised. "And tell me his dick size afterwards."
Mortified, Kurt looked at his friend open-mouthed. Burt just laughed out loud and gave Genius a slap on the shoulder.
Song in this chapter:
Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You
Thank you all for reading! The next chapter will turn a bit angsty, so be prepared.