TAGS: Soulmate AU, soulmarks, Songfic, Disney songs, Kid!Kurt, Kid!Blaine, Daycare, Children's storybooks, anxiety, implied suicide and suicidal ideation, bullying, violence, non-con, severe bullying, therapy, trauma, football player!Blaine, social worker!Blaine, writer!Kurt, proposal, college!klaine, adult!klaine, married!klaine, daddies!klaine
CHARACTERS: Kurt Hummel, Burt Hummel, Elizabeth Hummel, OFC, Blaine, Rachel, Finn, Quinn, David, Nick, Jeff, Noah, Brittany, Santana, OMC, Blaine's Parents, Karofsky
A/N: This story is for the Glee Potluck Big Bang 2020 challenge lilyvandersteen and snarkyhag who put it together. I can hardly believe that this is part 10 (which is freaking insane to me) of the "In Every Lifetime" series teddyshoney and I am writing. If you haven't read them yet, please check them out. They are all stand-alone stories, though reading at least the first installment, "The Unknown", will be helpful in understanding the very end of this one.
The cover art is by the amazing michaelscribbles. I absolutely love it! Seriously...go check out his stuff on Tumblr. The story was beta'd, as always, by the wonderful teddyshoney. Love you lots!
Every chapter in this story will have a Disney song in it. So, when I was thinking of a title, I looked through the movies I hadn't used and was debating between one from Brave or Moana. I love the lyrics of "How Far I'll Go" and feel it fits this story well overall.
The story fills this prompt from justawriterwithdreams on tumblr: Soulmate has a mark on the place where their soulmate first touches them.
I do not own Glee or Disney.
"Once upon a time," Elizabeth read, "there were two people who liked each other very much, and they held hands. When they let go of each other, they saw a letter on their hand, right where the other touched them. The letter was called a mark, and that mark was the first letter of the other person's name, written in their own, unique handwriting. The two people didn't understand at the time, but later, they would find out that they were part of the chosen ones. When they got older, another letter appeared and that was the first letter of their chosen's last name. The chosen ones were people that found the one special person they were meant to spend the rest of their lives with. They were two parts of the same whole and were called soulmates. After that, people all over the world started having similar marks show up on their bodies from being touched by their soulmates. It was said that those lucky individuals would experience a love so deep and meaningful that others would be jealous of them until they met their soulmates. The marks are sacred and special."
"Wha' if I has one now, Mommy?" Kurt asked in the sweetest way a three-year-old could and started to look over his pale skin.
"You could tell Daddy or me," Elizabeth replied, "and we could help you out from there."
"I wanna mark," Kurt said, looking at the storybook character's markings with longing in his eyes. "I wanna pwince to yove me f'ever." Kurt didn't have many friends, even at the young age of three. Nobody really knew how to talk to him or wanted to play the things he wanted to play. He was scared that when he went to the new daycare tomorrow, someone would like him and want to play with him but the kids that were usually at the park would be there and tell them not to play with him. At that thought, Kurt quietly asked, "Does eve'ybody get a mark?"
Elizabeth ran her fingers through her son's beautiful, chestnut hair. "Of course they do, sweetie. When it's the right time, Fate will put your soulmate in your life, and you will touch, leaving your unique mark on each other. Daddy and I have two letters, our first and last initial. We got them right away since we were older when we met. If we had met when we were little, we only would have gotten one letter, just like in the story."
"So, will my soulmate be like Quiget the Fwubby Pwumber?" Kurt asked with wide eyes.
"Who's that, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked, thoroughly confused about who on earth her son was referring to.
"He's my bestest fwiend," Kurt answered. "You can't sees him dough. Only I can."
"I see," Elizabeth said. Her son's imagination was one of her favorite things about him. "Your soulmate will be someone everyone can see, but they will be just for you and nobody else." A song came to her, and she sang it to her son.
"Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true"
"Can I sees you mark, Mommy?" Kurt asked, loving the thought that there would be someone out there to love him for always.
"Yes, you can see, sweetie," Elizabeth said, showing Kurt her mark on her wrist. "When I first met your Daddy, he caught me when I stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. I can't remember what I was looking at; all I knew was that I was scared I was going to fall on my face and get hurt. He grabbed me around the wrist, and I grabbed his forearm. So, my mark has 'BH' on my wrist where he held me, and there is an 'EA' on his forearm where I grabbed onto him."
Kurt ran his fingers lovingly over his mother's mark, relishing in the proof that his parents were meant for each other. "Wha' if my soulmate doesn't yove me?" Kurt asked, still so scared, even at his young age, that he wouldn't find acceptance.
"Sweetie," Elizabeth said, "look at me, please." When Kurt looked up, he had tears in his eyes, and this broke his mother's heart. "Our soulmates are the one person in our lives that will love us no matter what. They were made to complete us, to compliment us. All of us have things that we need help with, and our soulmate is the person who will help us be the best person we can be. And, when the time is right, that person will be put in your path, and you will touch so you both know that you are each other's soulmate. It's important to not go around touching everyone, though. You can't force Fate; it will happen the way it's meant to when it's meant to happen."
"I unnastan', Mommy," Kurt said. He didn't really like anyone touching him, because it usually hurt when they did. The boys at the park were meanie heads!
"It's going to be hard for you to be around other kids tomorrow, isn't it?" Elizabeth asked her son. She was well aware that it was going to be difficult for him. She and Burt had decided that it would be good for him to interact regularly with other kids before it was time for him to go to Kindergarten in a couple of years. He'd been at home with his mother since the day he was born, and when they went to the park, he didn't interact with any of the other kids. So, Elizabeth had gotten a part-time job at the local florist, right next door to the daycare center. She wanted to be near him in case he needed her but not so close that he didn't branch out and learn how to be a little independent.
"Wha' if the kids dare hurt me like dey do at the park?" Kurt asked, tears welling up in his eyes.
"If they do," Elizabeth began, "you need to go tell Mrs. Jones. Her little girl will be there, too, and you've met her before. Remember Mercedes?" Elizabeth asked.
Kurt nodded his head, "She was supa nice to me and shareded her gol'fishes wif me when we goed to sees the daycare."
"Her mommy is in charge," Elizabeth continued to explain. "And, if anyone is not kind, you can tell her. I don't think it is going to be a problem, though. Daddy and I know all of the kids' parents in there, and they're all really nice kids. You'll learn all of their names tomorrow, but there is Mercedes, Brittany, Rachel, Quinn, Finn, David, Noah, Nick, Jeff, and Blaine. Brittany is moving to your classroom from another one, but we know her mom and dad; she's super sweet. From what Mrs. Jones told us, there's one other girl who will be starting tomorrow as well since they just moved to town. They're all really nice kids, and they will be who you're with most of the time. The only time you will be with other kids is when you're outside, and there might be another class there, too."
"David's gonna be dare?" Kurt said with a terrified look in his eyes. He was one of the biggest meanie heads at the park.
"No, sweetie," Elizabeth said, catching on to what Kurt was thinking. "It's a different David. The David you are thinking of doesn't go to daycare there."
Kurt looked back at the book that his mother was holding, and a thought came to him. "Mommy?" Kurt asked as he yawned. "Wha' 'bout Grammy? After Papa goed to be wif da angels, will she get anudder mark?"
"No, sweetie, she won't," Elizabeth answered, trying to figure out the best way to explain this for her sleepy son. "When someone dies, like Papa did, their soulmate mourns their loss but will never love again on that level; they'll never have another soulmate. They might find companionship with someone else, but they will never get another mark."
"Dat's sad," Kurt said, having woken up just a little at his mom's explanation. "I don' wan' Grammy bein' 'lone."
"She's not," Elizabeth answered. "Uncle Nathaniel lives close to her, and she has lots of friends that she spends time with. She misses Papa, but she's okay." Elizabeth hoped this answer would be enough for her son. She wasn't quite sure he would understand all about how death affected the living soulmate, especially an elderly soulmate. When someone really didn't have anyone to live for anymore, like a child to take care of, they would slowly die; around a year after their soulmate was taken from them, they would follow behind. If a parent died, the other soulmate would live in order to care for their children. Their mark would fade, and they might be able to form a companion bond with another widow/er, but they would only ever have one mark.
"'m g'ad she not 'lone," Kurt responded, yawning once more. "She's way too 'pecial."
"Sleep well, my little love," Elizabeth said and kissed him on the forehead. "Tomorrow is a big day, and you'll want to be well-rested before you meet your new friends."
"I yove you, Mommy," Kurt said and fell right to sleep, clutching his stuffed Tigger.
"I love you, too, Kurt," Elizabeth answered. She made sure the nightlight was on then closed the door until it was open only a crack.
"Burt," Elizabeth said when she got to the living room and sat beside her husband on the sofa, "are you sure we're doing the right thing? He's so scared."
"Lizzy," Burt said, resting his forehead on his wife's. "We both know he needs to interact with more than just us and those little jerks at the park if we ever want him to have faith in the world outside."
"I know," she said. "It's just so hard. He's so scared about people liking him, and he can see that he's not like other kids his age. What if they're mean to him?"
"We know all of those kids, Liz, save the new one coming in," Burt replied. "They're good kids, even if some of their parents are a little old-fashioned. Jackie will keep an eye on him and let us know if anything bad happens. She's one of the most open-minded and compassionate people I know."
"You're right," Elizabeth answered. "Of course you're right. Okay," she said. "Let's get to bed. Tomorrow's going to be a long day for me, too. It's been almost four years since I've worked, and I have a feeling it's going to be a struggle for me."
"I'm sure you'll do just fine," Burt said, standing up and holding out his hand to help his wife off of the couch. "You're a natural at arrangements and love doing that kind of work. Now, you'll get to get paid to do it."
"I love you, goof!" Lizzy said, kissing her husband soundly.
"I love you, too, goob!" Burt said, kissing her back just as fiercely.
A/N: The song used in the title is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella.