LISTENING (LISTEN): Gives one's attention to a sound ( gleefulpoppet)
REBEL: Resist authority, control, or convention ( teddyshoney)
A/N: I am so sorry this has taken me so long to write. When I thought I'd have time, life got crazy. And then I got sick (which ended up not being the flu or Covid, thank goodness… They're saying it is viral, whatever it is). I'm feeling better thanks to a slew of meds my doctor gave me, though still not 100%, and I'm determined to finish this story.
Click HERE to listen to what I was using to write the first part of this chapter. You're going to have to type in which one to listen to…I'm so sorry. I couldn't link you directly to it. In the search bar, type in "Down By the Sea" and then click on that. I *LOVE* to listen to tabletop audio while I'm writing, and this one was just PERFECT.
That night, when they went to bed, Kurt and Blaine continued to learn each other's bodies. They were enjoying taking it slow and knew when they were ready to move further, they would. The other factor was that Cooper was staying with them and not in the guest house, and they both knew they'd never hear the end of it if he heard them doing anything.
The morning came, and when Blaine woke, Kurt wasn't there. He found him down by the beach, drinking a cup of coffee. Since the sun rose on the other side of the island, there wasn't much to see. Though Kurt had come to find he loved listening to the water, whether it was the gentle lapping of the sea on the shore or the more boisterous crashing of the larger waves. It was peaceful there, and it was something he knew he could never get enough of.
"Good morning, love," Blaine said as he leaned down and kissed Kurt's lips gently. "Mmmm, you went with the cinnamon creamer today."
Kurt giggled. "I did. I wasn't sure if I'd like this Cinnamon Toast Crunch one, and I actually do. I'm going to try them all before I find what I love, though I must say the Café Mocha one I had yesterday is going to be hard to beat."
The two sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Kurt broke it. "Blaine?"
"Yes?"
"Can we talk more about the plans for the island now?"
"I'd love to. I guess this is the first real opportunity we've had when we haven't been ravishing each other."
They both giggled at that and tried not to get hard and run back inside to do more of just that. Or worse, they could do their ravishing right here on the open beach where mischievous and un-housetrained brothers could happen upon them at any time.
"The more I think about it, the more I really think I'd like to turn the guest house into an Airbnb," Blaine explained. "We could rent it out and hire some staff to come and stay in the pool house when there are tenants here."
"I love that idea, and it's the one I've been thinking about a lot, too," Kurt replied. "I actually kind of hate the idea of that house sitting empty until someone we know comes to visit. And like you said, we can keep it open for when we know family wants to come visit us or we have gatherings here or whatever."
"Exactly," Blaine agreed.
"I want to be here often, though, if we can," Kurt said as he looked back out to the ocean. "I love it here. It's so peaceful and quiet. I think I'll need respite every once in a while if your friends can get that paperwork done and everything. Even just the few interactions I had with the 'outside world' in my last lifetime were overwhelming. I had to learn everything about your technology, and it was…"
"A lot?" Blaine added.
"Yes!"
"I love this place. I honestly haven't spent much time here since it was gifted to me," Blaine continued. "I was always looking for you in the midst of any responsibilities I had to accomplish. And, how would I ever find you on an island I owned? The chances of that were miniscule. So, I stayed away."
"We met when it was time for us to meet, love," Kurt said. "I'm beginning to see that now. For me, I met the woman when it was time for me to meet her. Not before. I think with things this big, it's not necessarily in our control at all. Something bigger is at play. We have many gods and goddesses where I come from, and when I was here before, I know that most Americans at least believe in one god. There are others around the world and in America who believe in other gods or no god at all. Then, there's Fate and the universe and all of these things that could all be true."
"And which one feels best to you?"
"I believe in them all a little, I suppose. Even in O'a Nalore, not one single god or goddess had everything perfect. They all had their flaws. And when I learned about the religions of this world, they seemed even more flawed. Well, maybe that's not quite accurate. I think they all, the deities in my world and this one, have good and moral things about them. It's their followers who muck it all up. Not all, and maybe not even the majority. They misinterpret or take this and leave that. They use books and manuscripts that have been translated so many times, it is hard to tell what is accurate and what is not, and then they use that to hurt other people. Which, to me, doesn't seem like what any true deity would want at all. So, all of that makes me not believe in any of them completely. I guess the thing I most believe in is the universe and Fate. Something out there gave me this gift to come and find you in two lifetimes so far. And I can only hope that whatever is in charge of this journey I'm on keeps letting me find you."
"Wow," Blaine said in awe. "Those are my thoughts, too. On all of it. I can see the appeal of religion and what all it can bring to people, the sense of community and being with like-minded people. I also see it's detriment to others, and… I don't know. I guess for me, it was a way to rebel against the people who wanted to use it to say I was wrong."
"For being gay," Kurt added.
"Exactly," Blaine continued. "If what and who I am is really wrong, that's not my fault. I was born this way."
It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
'Cause you were born this way, baby
Kurt started singing. Blaine tried—and failed—not to get hard when he heard Kurt start to sing. He knew now it wouldn't matter what he sang. It would more than likely end up turning him on. Cooper's voice came from behind him, though, as he continued the lyrics to the song Kurt had began. At the addition of his brother's voice, his hard on went away, and they all continued.
My mama told me when I was young, "We are all born superstars"
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on in the glass of her boudoir
"There's nothing wrong with loving who you are", she said, "'Cause He made you perfect, babe
So hold your head up, girl, and you'll go far"
Listen to me when I say
I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret, just love yourself, and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way (born this way)
The three of them sang and danced through the rest of the song before ending up in a pile of laughs on the sand.
"Good morning, Cooper," Kurt said.
"Good morning, new little brother," he answered.
This made Kurt blush all the way up to his pointed ears. He loved the idea of having a brother.
The three of them laid there in that pile on the beach for a little while longer, listening to the waves and simply enjoying each other's company. Then, in true Cooper fashion, the quiet was disturbed.
"What did the ocean say to the beach?"
Neither Kurt nor Blaine wanted to think too hard for the answer, and before they could respond with an, "I don't know," Cooper answered.
"Nothing. It just waved."
Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and started busting up laughing.
"I love you, Cooper," Blaine said, and Kurt hummed his agreement.
"Love you both, too," Coop said. "Now, let's go inside and get showered and changed. ONLY showered, you two. No hanky panky. Noah and Sugar will be here around lunchtime, and I'm going to need some help with lunch."
The boys blushed and agreed. They all went inside and got cleaned up before helping Cooper with lunch. Since there would be more of them, it was going to take him a bit longer to get it prepared. After looking through the fridge, he saw Blaine had everything in stock to make grilled shrimp and chicken kabobs, grilled veggie kabobs, and a fruit salad.
"I'm going to make up a little lunch for you guys to take to Lewis when you pick Noah and Sugar up," Cooper said. "I'd invite him back here to eat with us usually. Today, though, with what we need to discuss, I think this might be easier. Plus, I know he was wanting to spend as much time with his son as he can, and this wasn't exactly planned."
The guys thought that was the best idea and helped him put it together before they went about their tasks for lunch. Cooper started the marinade for the meat. Blaine started preparing and chopping up the veggies. And Kurt took care of the fruit salad. They listened—inspired by their song on the beach—to a playlist Blaine had of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry songs. The three of them loved their combined voices, and Cooper mentioned that Quinn sang, too, and that maybe sometime they could all four go out to a karaoke bar.
Just as the meat was getting ready to go onto the grill, Cooper got a message from Noah, saying they would land in about 10 minutes.
"That was Noah. They're going to land in about 10 minutes, so you guys should head over there, and I'll finish this. I told him I had a lunch for Lewis, so he's going to tell him to not shut the helicopter down."
Blaine could tell Kurt was looking a little overwhelmed. "Would you like to stay and help Coop?"
Never being more thankful for this man in his life—well, maybe that was not entirely accurate—he sighed out a breath of relief and said, "I'd love to."
Cooper could have jumped in and said he didn't need the help, though he could also feel the tension and then release of it when Kurt was asked if he wanted to stay.
Blaine kissed Kurt and then went out to the golf cart. The two left continued to prepare for the new guests, and for the first few minutes, it was silent save for the music in the background.
"I'm really glad you are here," Cooper said. "Blaine was so lonely for so long. It's nice to see him happy and full of life now."
"I'm only sorry it took me so long to get here," Kurt replied. He didn't like the idea of a sad Blaine at all.
"You got here precisely when you were meant to," Cooper answered. "And you both were right about your talk on the beach. I'm sorry. I was eavesdropping, and I heard your discussion of religion and all of that. That was wrong of me. It just seemed like something you both were wanting to talk about, and I didn't want to interrupt that. Quinn is a non-denominational Christian, and we discussed when we got together about how we would raise our children should we have any. In the end, we decided we'd let them decide what to believe, both of us giving our perspectives on the things we believed. Her family wasn't on board—still aren't, I don't think—and she is strong enough to stand up to them. They mostly keep quiet about it now, knowing that neither one of us are going to budge."
"I'm glad you were able to do that for your kids," Kurt said. "And that the two of you can make things work with differences in opinions. If Blaine and I ever have kids, I'd like to think that's how we'd raise them."
Cooper didn't press this issue. It wasn't his place, and he knew that if the two of them ever did decide to have kids, in this life or any other one, they'd be the most amazing fathers.
"Hey, Kurt?" Cooper asked as they were working in tandem at the grill, flipping the skewers.
"Yeah?"
"Where do you learn to make a banana split?"
"Oh, goodness… I have no idea."
"Sundae school!"
Kurt laughed and almost dropped the kabob he was turning.
Meanwhile, at the helipad, Blaine was giddy. He was so excited to see his friends again and was ready to have them work their magic so, whenever they were ready, he and Kurt could travel and do all of the things they wanted.
Moments after he parked, the helicopter landed. He got off of the cart and carefully took Lewis his lunch. After handing it off, he helped Noah and Sugar with the things they'd brought with them and then waved to Lewis in thanks. Once he'd taken back off, Blaine hugged both of his friends, and they got onto the cart.
"So, you going to tell us why you've brought us here?" Noah asked.
"I met someone," Blaine said. "And, he's a someone with which I'm going to need both of your help if we ever want to leave this island."
"That's not cryptic at all," Sugar said.
"I want him to tell you his story," Blaine said. "Cooper's already met him, as you know, and he doesn't get anything negative from him. He's… Guys, he's amazing, and I love him."
"I'm happy for you, B," Noah said. "We both are, and we can't wait to meet him and help in any way we can."
The three made idle chit chat on the way back to the house, and as they got closer, they could smell the aroma of the grill. They parked, and Blaine led them to the patio, where they were going to eat. The food was laid out on the table, and quick introductions were made.
"Noah and Sugar, this is Kurt Hummel," Blaine said. "Kurt, this is Noah and Sugar Puckerman. I want to eat this amazing food first, and then we can all talk."
They all agreed and sat down to dig in.
After they'd eaten their fill, the five of them went inside and sat around the table. Noah and Sugar both had notebooks out, knowing that they'd been asked there for a reason. Kurt told his story. They listened, on the edge of their seats, to the whole thing, and then when he was finished, they both started jotting down some notes about what documents would need to be created, ideas for his backstory, and anything else they could think of.
Sugar talked about her ideas for Kurt's backstory, and they all agreed that, not only did it sound plausible, it was easy enough for them all to remember if anyone were to ask them. Noah said it would take him a few days to get the documents done once he was back home. Kurt and Blaine said that worked okay for them, since they weren't quite ready to leave the island yet.
"Will we come and get them, or how will that work?" Kurt asked.
"I would rather bring them back to you if that's okay," Noah said. "It's not that I don't trust you to come get them or anything like that. More that if you travel to come and get them and something happens, there wouldn't be any identification for you."
"That makes sense," Kurt said. "Thank you, both of you, for your help with all of this."
"We protect our own, Hummel," Noah said. "And you're now one of our own."
A/N: The song used is "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. I freaking LOVED this in the show, and when my muse started going…I just let her do her thing. Also, as far as what Sugar came up with… I could either WAIT until I came up with something that would work, or do what I did. I chose to leave it up to the reader to figure out what works for you. This is a fantasy story about fictional characters… GO CRAZY with what you want this story she came up with to be.
As far as the religion stuff goes, I know and respect everyone's right to believe what they want. For this story's purposes, this is what felt right for them.