A/N: This chapter contains some elements of "Bash" mixed with some elements of "Opening Night". Trigger warning for a fight scene involving homophobic language and some minor injuries. Also, Finn's death is mentioned briefly.
Monday morning, Kurt left for NYADA a little earlier than usual since he had a garment bag of pieces he had made with him to show to the professor. She would be deciding who worked on which pieces based on their previous work. He made it to class 15 minutes early as she had requested. She came in right as he finished hanging his pieces on the rack that was on the far side of the room. She took each piece down and laid it on a table and examined it thoroughly. Kurt re-hung each piece as she finished.
After the last piece, she finally spoke. "You are quite talented and skilled, Kurt. I thank you for bringing these in. As you know, this course is divided based on skill level. You will receive credit for Advanced Costume Design and a pass for Intermediate Costume Design with the credits if you finish with a B or higher.
Kurt smiled and thanked her. He got all of his pieces repacked neatly into the garment bag, left it handing on the rack, and took a seat in a nearby chair to wait class to start.
As soon as class ended, the room was nearly buzzing. He looked curiously at the only other person in the room that didn't seem to know what was going on.
One of the girls sitting near him showed him her phone with one of the NYADA chat rooms open on the screen.
Rachel Berry quits NYADA – the thread title read. He continued to read. "A source overheard Miss Berry tell Madame Tibideaux that now that she has gotten the role of Fanny Brice, she doesn't need NYADA. She left the Dean's office, clearly agitated. A second source confirmed her withdrawal."
Well, that adds another thing on the list to talk to Rachel about this evening. Kurt grabbed his garment bag and headed home to drop his stuff off and change for work. He didn't have time to sit around and participate in the gossip.
That evening, Kurt knocked on Rachel's door and waited for her to answer. When she opened the door, he stepped inside without waiting to be invited in.
She shut the door and turned to face him. "Did you just come from an audition for Grease or something? What's with the butch look?"
He looked down stained jeans, a solid black t-shirt, and steel-toed black work boots. "I just came from work like I told you I was going to. I work in a shop as a mechanic now. But never mind how I'm dressed. I know what you did."
"Oh, my God. Are you serious? You really already heard about that?"
"Seriously? The gossip chain at NYADA is the most efficient part of the school."
"Okay, look. Don't judge me. It was the right thing to do."
"How can you say that? Two years ago, you would have done anything humanly possible to force your way into that school. And now you're just going to quit?"
"Oh, my God, that was before Fanny, okay? Everything changed from that moment on."
"I'll say. You went full-on crazy-level diva. That's what happened. An education from NYADA will give you options in the future. Broadway is a fickle business."
"Really? Wow. Is that what's inspiring you to sleep your way to the top at Vogue?"
Kurt didn't take her bait. "I'm just saying that you need to be smart about this."
"Okay, look, Kurt, I'm just not interested in spending huge sums of money on a school whose classes I can barely even attend and a dean who doesn't like or support me."
"Really? Doesn't support you? Who chose you when you choked your audition? Who chose you to perform in the Winter Showcase?"
"Whatever, Kurt. I have the opportunity of a lifetime right now and I can't let anything get in the way of that whether it's school or Carmen or anyone from stopping me from accomplishing my dreams."
"For the last time, Rachel, I'm begging your. Please don't do this."
"I can't believe you are on Carmen's side."
"I'm on your side."
"No, you're afraid, okay. You're afraid to venture out. You need a place like NYADA, where it's one big, safe group and no one takes any risks. That way you all can avoid the fact of actually having to grow up and be an adult."
"Screw you, Rachel."
"Wow."
There was a knock at the door. Rachel looked confused.
"That will be our other dinner guests and our dinner."
Rachel rolled her eyes and went to open the door to find Santana and Sebastian standing there holding bags of take-out.
"Are you going to invite us in or not?" Santana snarked.
"Fine. Whatever."
"Well, I can see that this is going swimmingly."
"Why is Sebastian with you, Santana?" Rachel asked, clearly confused.
Kurt responded. "Rachel, I told you earlier when I texted you that I was bringing my boyfriend. I guess he somehow picked up an added guest on the way over."
"She was at our place, babe. She invited herself."
"I'm sure she did. Good evening, Santana."
She rolled her eyes and followed Sebastian into Rachel's kitchen and starting pulling the food out of the bags.
Rachel turned, but still hadn't said anything else.
"Close your mouth or you catch flies," Santana said.
Rachel reengaged. "You're dating Sebastian Smythe?"
"I am."
"Santana and Sebastian are friends?"
"Yeah," Sebastian said.
"How is that possible?" she asked.
Santana snarked back. "We bonded over being jackasses in high school who've turned from our villainous, vile ways and grown up."
"But he nearly blinded Blaine–"
Kurt interrupted her. "He threw a slushie at me that had been tainted with rock salt to permanently damage my outfit. The trajectory of the liquid would have hit my midsection, ruining my entire outfit, whereas hitting me in the face would have likely resulted in me jumping back and just barely getting my shirt. Sebastian was the lacrosse captain at Dalton. He's aim is pretty spot-on. If he had wanted to hit me in the face, he would have."
"Thanks, babe." He smiled and winked at Kurt.
Kurt laughed. "You're welcome." He turned back to Rachel. "Blaine dove into the slushie. Rookie move."
"It was gallant," Rachel insisted.
Santana said, "It was attention-seeking. He gave the Warblers our set list. We were pissed. Puck called him a traitor. He set the Jackson-off up. For all we know, the whole thing was a set up. How did Sebastian even know to throw slushies as a form of humiliation? You know that prep schools don't allow that kind of crap. And do they even have slushie machines in France where he went to school before Dalton?"
Sebastian chuckled. "The answer to that is no – no slushie machine in my school in Paris."
Kurt chimed in. "He knew because Blaine had bragged to him about having been at McKinley for six months without getting slushied."
Sebastian continued, "I asked him to explain himself. And in my childishness I procured one on the way to the Jackson-off and added some rock salt I had swiped out of the bag sitting by the stairs outside Dalton using a paper coffee cup and lid I had grabbed at dinner."
"Are you really Isabelle's nephew?"
"Yes, and no. I looked this up recently to get the exact right relationship name. Isabelle is my first cousin once removed. She is my dad's first cousin. She has a brother, Benjamin, who is also my first cousin once removed, but I call him Uncle Benjamin. My dad, his sister Victoria, Benjamin, and Isabelle are close in age. And other than my mom, they and their spouses all went to school together growing up. My family is very close. I call Uncle Benjamin's sons and Aunt Victoria's daughters my cousins."
"He has always called her 'Aunt Izzie', his whole life," Kurt added. "So, functionally, yes, she is his aunt. I do remember telling you that Isabelle is from Columbus."
"I remember. You said she got food poisoning at Breadstix." She sat down in front of the Szechuan seitan Kurt had requested for her. She took a bite. "This is good."
The others began to eat as well.
"I still can't believe you're dating him." Rachel glared at Sebastian. "He tried to blackmail Finn."
"You snuck into the Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal to spy on them," Kurt said. "Which turned out to be a lot of fun because we did 'Bad Romance' because of it."
Santana raised an eyebrow at him. "You in those 10-inch heels was hot. I'll give you that."
Sebastian looked at him inquisitively, but let it drop to keep the conversation on point.
"I spied on the Warblers."
"Surprisingly, I'm the only one sitting here that didn't break any show choir rules," Santana pursed her lips and waggled her eyebrows and went back to eating.
Kurt said, "I'm pretty sure that if we're ranking our high school show choir transgressions, yours is at the top, Rachel. You sent Sunshine to an old crack house."
Sebastian's eyes grew big, but he kept quiet and continued to eat.
"That was forever ago. I apologized."
"You were 17, Rachel. So was Sebastian when he did those things. And Sebastian apologized to all of us, and not eight or nine months later. It was just a few weeks afterwards." Kurt pointed out. "He apologized and offered no excuses for his bad behavior" He turned to Sebastian. "Where did you get a picture of a mostly naked Finn anyway?"
"Online. He was in white boxers."
Kurt just shook his head. "He had to have taken a photo of himself before he went walking through the hallways in his Rocky Horror costume."
Santana burst out laughing. "Oh, my God. That's hysterical."
Sebastian refrained from saying anything, but couldn't keep the confused smile off of his face. "I didn't actually have any other photos of him. I would have had to Photoshop pictures of his face onto other guys' bodies to get other poses. It was stupid. That was the worst part of the most frustrating year of my life, but that doesn't excuse my behavior."
Santana spoke next. "Look, Rachel. I get that you're having the time of your life lording how you're the lead and I'm the understudy. Tell it to whoever you want that will actually listen to you, but I'm telling you one last time with two witnesses here to hear it. If you keep your uppity attitude going during this production and don't get your inner diva under control, this will be your debut and swan song. I'm not out to do anything to make you lose your lead. It's actually a hell of a lot easier on me if you get out on stage every night and do the performing. I'm still working a day job. I'm saving up. I need money in my bank account for when I'm not your understudy anymore. For when all I have is my day job because I'm not performing anywhere and I still have to pay a ridiculous amount of rent in this city. I'm taking dance lessons and voice lessons to improve myself. I'm here to make it big. And being an understudy on Broadway is making it big. Maybe not as big as you made it, but it's pretty damn high up there. So, you can take this for what it is. This is my last olive branch. You can take it and we can try to be cordial. Or you can keep up your end a feud that I refuse to participate in. I'm building bridges for my future, not burning them as I walk across."
They finished eating in silence. Kurt walked Santana and Sebastian to the door. He stepped out and hugged them both. He took a deep breath and stepped back inside.
Rachel was rinsing the containers and stacking them to put in the recycling. "Do you want to sit in the living room? It's more comfortable."
"This isn't a comfortable conversation, Rachel." He sat back down at the table. "You are a meddling harpy, who, despite nearly yelling at me about how I'm being safe and not venturing out to be an adult by staying in college, hasn't matured at all. Sure, you're living here in Soho, in your own place that I assume you're paying for on your own now, but you are still acting like a high school student."
"I am paying for this place."
He nodded. "But you had the Glee Club, old and new, here and found it appropriate to discuss my relationship around people who don't even know me when you didn't know anything about it to start with. You invited me to a party. I turned you invitation down. I had my reasons, which I was not required to share. The people here all knew Blaine. Other than Marley, Kitty, and I guess Unique – they all took Blaine's side. I'm not surprised. Blaine comes across as a good guy. They know him and they don't know me. But that was no reason for you to act like I was breaking Blaine's heart by not showing up to sing songs you had assigned us to sing together at a party I had told you weeks ago that I wouldn't be at."
"You and Blaine are soulmates."
"Rachel, stop. What is going on? Back eight months ago, when I first met Adam, you were very supportive. You were all, 'We're young and in New York. We should spread our wings and fly. Find new love, and so on.' I know those weren't your exact words. But then you did a 180 on me. I understand Mercedes and Santana being supportive of the engagement extravaganza. They didn't know that Blaine had slept with someone else, but you did. And you've been giving me the cold shoulder ever since I turned him down."
"Back at the wedding, it seemed like everything had righted itself. I spent time with Finn and you hooked up with Blaine. I just felt this pull. Finn and I would be together eventually. He said so at the reception. He told me 'You and I are endgame, Rachel.' And then… And then only you could have the 'happily ever after'."
"Blaine is not the right person for me. I need someone who can be faithful."
She snorted. "So you chose a manwhore to shack up with?"
"That was uncalled for. He is not a manwhore. I love him. Stop harassing me about Blaine. He and are not getting back together. When you can start behaving like an adult, let me know. Until then, we are obviously at an impasse." He got up and let himself out.
Kurt walked out Rachel's building toward the subway. About a block and half into his walk, he heard muffled screams and people yelling. The words "useless fag" stuck out. He hurried towards the alley between the building he was in front of and the next building. He saw two men beating the daylights out of a guy.
Kurt ran towards them and used a jump front kick, landing the kick to the shoulder of the assailant who had been punching the victim, knocking him to the ground. He moved around the side quickly and did a spinning hook kick, colliding with the other assailant's shoulder causing him to lose his grip on the victim and knock him off balance. The victim collapsed.
Once the victim wasn't standing directly in front of the man who had been holding him, the assailant grabbed for Kurt, who quickly used a sun mok sool move and quickly leaned into him pushing him back. Kurt used his leverage and flipped him over, causing the assailant to land on his back, which knocked the wind out of him.
Kurt quickly followed by pressing his heaving work boot into the man's chest. "Try me again and I won't spare you from the beating that I can deal out wearing steel toed boots."
"You're one of them fags too," the main spit back. And tried to push Kurt's boot off his chest.
The first assailant managed to regain his footing and punched Kurt in the middle of the back and grabbed his arm and tried to twist it up behind his back. Kurt quickly got free, and regained his balance and kicked the man in the groin, causing him to fall to his knees next to the assailant on the ground. Kurt aimed a low shoving kick to his chest, knocking him onto his side on top of the other assailant.
Kurt hurried to the victim. He had a bloody nose and two shiners already. He was holding his left arm.
"Can you get up?" Kurt helped him to standing.
The man had a serious limp that he probably shouldn't have been walking on, but Kurt did his best to help him to the edge of the alley and across sidewalk. He hailed a cab and they got in. He asked the driver to take them to the closest hospital.
"I'm Mitchell. Thanks for what you did back there."
"You're welcome. Do you have a phone?"
"Yeah."
"Use it to call 911. Get the police and an ambulance there."
"Okay." He tipped his head up. He held his phone up so he could dial.
"Don't do that. Pinch the bridge of your nose and keep your head level."
He did as he was told.
Once Kurt sat down and calmed down some, he realized that his hand and head were hurting a lot. He thought back through what happened and realized that at some point he had been punched in the side of the face. He reached up and wiped some blood off with his hand.
The cab driver handed some napkins over his shoulder, holding them by the corner, avoiding being touched.
Kurt grabbed the, corner and folded one up and pressed it to his temple and handed the rest to Mitchell to hold against his nose. "Thanks."
The cabbie just nodded and kept driving.
As soon as they stopped, Kurt got out, paid the driver, and helped Mitchell into the ER. He signed himself in and found the bathroom and cleaned himself up a bit before he sat down in the waiting room. He called Sebastian while he was in the bathroom.
"Hey, babe. Where are you? We've been waiting for you to get here to start the movie."
Kurt took a deep breath. "I'm at Mount Sinai West."
"Why are you at the hospital? Are you okay?"
"If I had to place bets, I'd bet on a broken finger, a slight concussion, and I might need a stitch or two on my left temple."
Sebastian jumped up and headed for the door. "I'll be there as soon as I can. I love you."
"I love you too. I'll probably be taken back by the time you get here. I'll tell them you're coming."
Santana followed him out the door and down the stairs. "Do you want me to come?"
"I don't think they'll keep him. He's a little banged up, but I think they'll release him from his description."
"I'll stay here at home. If he's a mess and just good at hiding it on the phone, call me."
"I will," he said as he jumped into the cab that he had waived down. He fretted as he rode the 15 minutes to the hospital. How did he get hurt? He put his head down on his hands, propping them on his knees. As soon as the taxi pulled up to the ER entrance, Sebastian hopped out, handed the driver some cash, and ran into the building. He stopped at the desk. "I'm here to see Kurt Hummel."
She looked through her list. "And you are?"
"Sebastian Smythe."
"Right this way. Your brother's back in x-ray. You can wait for him in the triage cubicle."
My brother? Was Kurt having memory issues? What is going on? He followed her, saying nothing. He took a seat in the only chair in the tiny area and waited for what close to an hour. He looked up the instant someone moved the curtain.
"Bas!"
Sebastian wanted to get up and hug him, but he was concerned he'd hurt him. Once the orderly left, Sebastian got up and stood at Kurt's side. He spoke very quietly. "Are you okay? You told them I was your brother."
Kurt pulled him closer. "I was afraid they wouldn't let you back if I told them you were my boyfriend."
"Oh. I hadn't considered that." He smiled. "So, how long until we find out whether anything is broken?"
"I'm not sure."
"I see they bandaged your temple up. No stitches, just those butterfly bandages."
Just then a doctor came in. "I'm Dr. Moros." He gave Kurt a full examination, which included Kurt answering quite a few questions and a thorough physical examination. "Well, Mr. Hummel, you have a minor concussion and the obvious bruising that's already starting to form on your back and your left temple, as well as your hand. I'm going to send the nurse in with some ice for your hand while we wait for the radiologist to read your x-ray. If x-ray shows any concerns, we'll either splint your fingers or cast or splint your hand. If nothing's broken, the nurse will be back with your release papers and a stack of instructions."
"Thank you," Kurt said.
"I have to ask once more before I leave. Are you sure you don't want us to contact the police about your injuries?"
"I'm sure. It was just a scuffle. I don't want to press charges."
He nodded. "Your life, your call. You'll have the paperwork should you change your mind later." He left.
Kurt didn't say anything.
"A scuffle? That's a euphemism if I ever heard one."
"I'll be fine. The only reason I came is because of how much my hand hurts. I need full use of my fingers and I didn't want to leave it and regret it later."
"I know you're fine. You're tough as nails. And I'm sure the other guy–"
"Guys." Kurt held up two fingers.
Sebastian raised his eyebrow, impressed. He lowered his voice to near silent. "I'm sure the other guys deserved whatever you did to them."
Kurt chuckled. "They did. I'll tell you later. I'm glad you came."
"Me too. I worried all the way here."
"I'm sorry I worried you." He reached for Sebastian's hand.
A nurse came in not too much later and said, "Well, Mr. Hummel, you have a fracture in your proximal phalange," she teased. "Otherwise known as here," she pointed to the area on the outer edge of the back of his hand, below his pinky knuckle. I'll get someone in here to cast your hand. I'll leave you with this stack of papers to read on how to care for your injuries."
Kurt lay down in the bed with Sebastian and turned the lamp off. "At least the cast is waterproof," Kurt said. "That made showering so much easier."
"I'm sure."
"I'll tell you everything now. I just needed time to feel a bit more normal. Showered, moisturized, and in my pajamas while snuggled up with you is perfect."
Sebastian listened carefully as Kurt recounted what had happened.
"That's amazing you know. You kicked their asses, babe. You saved that guy's life, no doubt."
"Possibly. They were working him over pretty heavily, with insults and blows."
"You were super brave, babe. Very hot. You can definitely kick anyone's ass who tries to kick mine."
"Oh, now that's a deal for sure. I'm rather fond of your ass."
"Promises, promises," he teased. "I love you. I'm glad your okay."
"Me too. I love you too."
The next morning someone practically pounded on their door before Kurt had even finished making their coffee. Sebastian was in the bathroom shaving. Kurt went to the door, looked through the peephole to see his dad standing on the other side of the door. He opened it quickly and stepped back, closing it just as quickly.
"Dad? What are you doing here? I told you I was fine."
"I've heard that before. I needed to see for myself. What were you thinking? I mean I know what you were thinking. Who do you think you are? Die Hard or Charles Bronson or something? Those guys could have had a gun."
"What would you have done? I've turned the other cheek my whole life."
Sebastian heard the commotion and came out, shaving cream on a little less than half his face. He didn't go past the end of the kitchen wall.
"I played football, Kurt."
"So, did I."
"As a kicker," he practically yelled.
"That's the same attitude that makes these guys think that they can do whatever they want."
"Oh, come on. You could have called the cops. You could have gotten help. Look, I'm proud of what you did, but come on, man. Use your head. You realize how lucky you are?"
Sebastian couldn't take anymore. He stepped out. "I know how lucky I am. My boyfriend stood up to two people who were probably going to kill a guy just because he was gay. He's not the kid he was in high school anymore, Mr. Hummel. He's strong. He's a brave man, who saved a guy's life last night."
"So, are you saying that this other guy wasn't brave?" Burt practically collapsed onto the sofa.
Kurt answered back. "I don't know his story. I only know mine and I've been dealing with these kinds of guys for a really long time."
"I've been fighting too, okay?" He looked at Kurt. "Look at your beautiful face."
"I'm not worried about it." Kurt sat down on the other section.
Sebastian sat next to him.
"I hurt, yes. But not on the inside. You know what? Now I know who I am, without a doubt. You know who that is?"
"Braveheart?" Burt teased.
Kurt answered seriously. "Your son. The man you raised."
Burt scooted down and sat closer. "I'm glad you're okay. Just don't do it again, unless I'm right next to you. We'll take them together?"
Kurt smiled. "No promises. I'm not going to just let someone get killed. And the authorities were called, as well as an ambulance. I just didn't stay around to see it. I figured that 'Congressman Hummel's Son Arrested for Assault in New York City Alley' wouldn't be the headline you'd like to read this morning."
Burt laughed. "Definitely not."
"How'd you get here so quickly anyway?"
"I saw your text when I woke up during the night and couldn't sleep. I rented a car from a place that's open 24/7 and drove here. I think it's faster than flying anyway. Plus, I can leave the car here and fly back if I want."
"I need to eat and get out of here. I have class this morning. You can either come with me or stay here and sleep until I come back. I left Isabelle a text right after I texted you. She told me not to come in, which will not help me pay the ER bill from last night." He huffed. "You can decide while we eat. There's leftover lasagna you can warm up for lunch if you get hungry before I get back."
Sebastian scurried back to the bathroom to finish shaving. "I have class too, so I won't be here to disturb your sleep if that's what you want to do."
"That sounds like a good idea."
