A/N: We're ending this story short and sweet. Thanks for reading!
Kurt is going through his closet, slowly and carefully dividing his clothes into piles for taking to New York or leaving in Lima. He and Rachel have a decent apartment lined up, but there won't be nearly enough room for all of his clothes and accessories, so he needs to prioritize. He'll take all of his staples, things he can mix and match with other pieces in his wardrobe so he can change up his outfits. He'll take some of his nicer designer pieces as well; he's going to fashion school, after all, so he needs to look the part. He's adding a pair of red leather pants to the New York pile when his father knocks on the open door.
"Hey dad," he says, taking a glance at his father before going back to his closet.
"Hey buddy," Burt says, entering the room and coming to stand behind Kurt, "how're you getting along?"
"Alright. Do you think I could convince Rachel to let me use her closet too? Most of her clothes are awful anyway, she doesn't need to bring them all."
His dad chuckles, then takes a seat at the edge of the bed. "I'm not sure she would go for that."
"Well, it's worth a shot, right?" Kurt asks, finally stepping away from the closet and turning to look at his dad with a rueful smile.
"Never hurts to try," Burt agrees with a gentle smile. "So, you're really going to New York, huh?"
"Yeah, I really am," Kurt replies, and he can't help the small smile that spreads across his face. For all the shit he's been through in the past several months, he has to admit that is still looking forward to getting out of this place. A fresh start.
"Have you talked to Chandler about it?"
"Oh, we um... that's not really a thing anymore," Kurt admits awkwardly. His dad knew there was something going on between the two boys, but Kurt had been pretty stingy with the details, especially given he himself wasn't quite sure what was going on.
"Oh."
"It's fine though, I think. It was for the best."
"Okay. Well, that's good, then."
Kurt nods, then goes back to his closet, this time crouching down to start sorting through his shoes. He hears his father stand behind him, then start walking around the room.
"It's gonna be weird, not havin' you here," Burt muses as he paces around the perimeter of the room.
"It will be weird not being here."
They're silent for a while, Burt wandering around the room as Kurt finishes sorting through his shoes. When he's done he stands, walks over to stand next to his father.
"I always loved this one," Burt says, picking up a framed photo of Burt, Kurt, Carole, and Finn from the wedding.
"Me, too," Kurt agrees, "I'm taking that one with me."
"Come here," Burt says, but he doesn't wait, just pulls Kurt into a bear hug, giving him a tight squeeze. Kurt wraps his arms around his father and squeezes back; his dad really does give the best hugs.
"I'm gonna miss you, Kurt."
"I'll miss you too, dad."
"You know, it was always just the two of us against the world. Sometimes I forget that you have to grow up and go out on your own, too." Burt's voice is thick with emotion.
"I'll be back to visit, dad," he says, trying to sound reassuring, but he can hear the emotion in his own voice, too.
"I know, buddy. I know."
"I love you, dad."
"I love you, too, buddy."
"Kurt!" Rachel squeals, running over and tackling him with a hug.
"Hey, Rach," he says, hugging her back warmly.
She pulls away and smoothes out her skirt. "Did you already check in?"
"Yeah," he says with a nod, "I have my tickets here, and I just dropped off my luggage."
"We're going to New York!" she squeals again, and Kurt just hopes she's not going to be this loud for the whole plane ride. "I can't believe we're going to be roommates in New York."
"Me neither," Kurt admits with a laugh.
"Well kids, you should probably get through security," Hiram Berry says as Rachel's dads approach them.
"You never know what kind of hold ups you can run into at the airport, better safe than sorry," LeRoy chimes in.
"They're right," Burt adds, clapping a hand down on Kurt's shoulder.
"You kids grow up so fast," LeRoy says, pulling Rachel into a big hug as she wraps her arms around him. Hiram joins in the Berry group hug, and Kurt turns to his father.
"I'm gonna miss you, buddy," Burt says, pulling Kurt into a tight hug, and Kurt squeezes back just a little harder than he usually would.
"I'll miss you too, dad."
"You be careful up there in New York, y'hear?"
"I will, dad. You don't have to worry about me," Kurt reassures.
"I know," Burt says simply, giving Kurt another tight squeeze before releasing him. "You're gonna love it up there."
"I hope so," Kurt says with a sad smile.
"Hey, none of that," his father scolds gently. "This will be good for you."
"I love you, dad."
"I love you too, Kurt. So much," Burt says, pulling his son into another bone crushing hug, and Kurt doesn't even care.
They stand there for a moment, and Kurt doesn't really want to leave, just wants to stay here in his father's arms, comforting and safe and home, but he knows he can't do that. Finally, they pull away, and he looks over to see Rachel giving each of her fathers a kiss on the cheek.
"Are you ready?" she asks, looking at him expectantly.
"Yeah," he says with a nod.
Rachel links her arm through Kurt's, and together they make their way toward the security gate. Kurt looks back over his shoulder to see his dad watching them walk away; he gives a small wave, and Burt waves back. They continue on, through security, to their gate, and finally onto the plane, Rachel babbling about all of the things they need to do in New York City.
Rachel is right. His dad is right. New York will be good for him. He can do this.
A/N: Well this is it, the end! I AM planning a sequel to this fic (overall this will be a 4-part series!) and I have already planned it and started writing it, but it's not yet complete. I still have a lot of work to do on it, and I'm on a bit of a hiatus for the month as I attempt to write 50k words of a different fic for NaNoWriMo. If Kurtbastian is up your alley, you can check out It Was Only A Kiss, which is the fic I'm working on this month. When I've finished writing that, I'll be coming back to finish The Hazards of Love 3, and I'll start posting when I've finished writing it.