Here's the thing...I have no words for how awesome people here are. I really expected nothing when I started posting stuff on here just over two weeks ago, and I've been totally blown away by people's messages of support and general interest in this story. Alright, that's not exactly no words, but everyone knows what I mean. Thanks xx
Chapter 5 – Burt tackles Blaine.
It was Friday evening in the Hummel-Hudson abode. Family dinner had gone off without a hint of the ugliness that had punctuated the previous week. Finn and Rachel had gone to catch a movie, and Carole, exhausted, had taken herself off to have an early night. Burt and Blaine wanted to catch the Friday night football game, so they had taken up residence in the living room. Kurt looked at the two most important men in his life and inwardly smiled. Every day he pinched himself to make sure he wasn't imagining some fantastical life that he had only dreamed about. Sure, there were still problems to contend with. One of which was what on earth he was going to do if he didn't get into NYADA. There was also going to be the ongoing issues that either his sexuality or fashion sense would bring upon him. But in that particular moment, on that particular Friday night, Kurt felt that his heart was so full of love for these two men that he just might just explode.
Kurt bounced over to the sofa to join his boyfriend. He tucked his legs under himself and half turned to face Blaine, smiling as if seeing him for the first time that day.
"Hey, Blaine!" Kurt said cheerily.
"Hey, Kurt," replied Blaine, his eyes never leaving the television screen.
Kurt crawled a little closer to his man, his knees just making contact with Blaine's leg. There was no reaction from Blaine.
"Whatcha doing?" Kurt asked coquettishly, trying to subtlety get his boyfriends attention away from the screen in the centre of the room.
"Watching football, Kurt," Blaine said stone-faced. He knew that Kurt wasn't interested in the game, and he also knew that his own chances of actually seeing the end of the game were slim once Kurt got started.
"Aha, aha," Kurt said bouncing up and down slightly on the sofa, trying to get his boyfriends attention. Blaine reached out his hand and gently rubbed Kurt's thigh to try to get the fashionista to settle a little. It worked, well, worked was possibly too strong of a word to use. It helped. Burt and Blaine kept their eyes trained on the game in front of them, following the action on the screen. Kurt watched Blaine intently. The boy under observation knew that it was only a matter of time. He wasn't disappointed.
"Who are we playing?" Kurt asked, not taking even a cursory glance at the television. He slid down onto his hip and put his head onto Blaine's shoulder. Blaine moved his arm from Kurt's thigh and put it around his shoulder, pulling Kurt into his side.
"Michigan," Burt and Blaine replied together, Burt chuckled and took a sip from his beer. Burt was pleased to see that the two boys were starting to relax in his company. Blaine was a good kid, Burt reasoned to himself. He could handle his boy growing up. He could deal with someone like Blaine having a little physical contact with his son...no problem. They were all adults now, after all.
"Oh, Okay," Kurt feigned a very small amount of interest. He glanced at the screen once, and then threw his arm over Blaine's stomach. Burt looked at his son attached to the curly haired boy like a limpet to a rock. He wondered to himself how the pair would get through the next school year when Kurt was off at NYADA. IF Kurt got into NYADA that was.
After a minute or two of sitting beside his boyfriend peacefully, Kurt started getting restless again. Blaine and his father had let out a collective roar. "Did we win?" he asked, excited that perhaps the game was finally over.
"No!" both of them shouted in unison.
"Alright, no need to yell at me," Kurt said pouting and moving away from Blaine slightly, "how am I meant to know?"
"Kurt," Blaine said gently, "the score is at the top of the screen." Blaine pulled Kurt close to him once more. Kurt put his head back down onto Blaine's shoulder and tried to follow the game to no avail. He was B O R E D!
"Do these people realise that with all that padding it looks like they don't have necks?" he said watching the players on the screen for a moment.
"It's for protection, Kurt," his father said tersely, "it's compulsory if they want to play."
"Oh right, that's what Blaine says too," Kurt giggled at his own little piece of innuendo, the boy beside him blushed a deep crimson, and Kurt buried his face into Blaine's shoulder a little more. Blaine noticed Burt shift uncomfortably in his seat. This was a side of Kurt that his father had obviously never seen.
"Just watch the game, Kurt," Blaine reprimanded softly.
"If you insist." Kurt sulked.
Less than two minutes later, Kurt was bored again. He started to play with Blaine's shirt, which gradually led to untucking a small section of said shirt from Blaine's pants. This led to a hand inconspicuously finding its way under said shirt. Which, of course, led to long fingers softly tracing the outline of Blaine's abdominal muscles.
Blaine froze as he felt Kurt's hand against the skin of his stomach. Glancing first at Burt who was staring wide eyed at the television and shifting in his seat a little, Blaine grabbed Kurt's wrist and, gently but firmly removed the offending hand from under his shirt. Still hanging onto Kurt's wrist, he moved the hand back to its original position on top of Blaine's clothing.
"Don't!" Blaine whispered sternly, as he looked over and saw Burt picking at the label of his beer bottle.
"But Blaine," Kurt whined dramatically, "I'm SOOO bored."
"So I gather," Blaine said, "but that's not a good enough reason to molest me in your living room."
Blaine saw Burt shift in his chair again, taking a long drink from his beer bottle.
"I wasn't molesting you," Kurt said quietly, "I was just...feeling you, and you feel really good!" Blaine groaned in response, why on earth did Kurt think that was any better!
"Right!" Burt announced, suddenly turning the television off. "That's it. We need to talk."
Both boys let out a whimper and sat up straighter on the sofa, each removing their hands from the other.
Burt looked at the pair seated opposite him. He took off his cap and ran his hand through his long gone hair, while he considered how to handle this. After all, he was the one who had told them to be themselves. He was the one who had told them he didn't have a problem with them expressing their affection within his home. He had actively encouraged this. Did he have any right to say enough was enough? Yes, he quickly decided, he did.
"Listen boys," he began as he rubbed his forehead in contemplation, "I know I told you guys to relax and be yourselves here, but seriously there's got to be some limits."
"We're sorry, Burt," Blaine started to apologise, "we'll behave, we promise." Kurt nodded in agreement as he looked at his father sheepishly, he had honestly just forgotten his father was even in the room. Once he had snuggled up to Blaine, he had automatically gone into 'we're all alone' mode without a thought. He certainly hadn't gone out of his way to make his father feel uncomfortable.
"What do you mean, we're sorry?" replied Burt, "from my position, you were watching a football game. It was Kurt that lost all sense of decorum, not you."
Blaine looked down, embarrassed. It wasn't the first time someone had pointed out how Kurt and he talked as one, but it was just the way they were. "How do we know Sebastian?" "Let's do it" "Isn't that what we decided?". He knew that it was perhaps a little strange to an outsider looking in, but it was simply the way that both of them thought. They were no longer Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, they were KurtnBlaine. No separation, one unit, together. Blaine wasn't sure when the change had happened. It had never been a conscious decision, never discussed between them; it had simply evolved along with their relationship, neither one giving it any thought at all until someone pointed it out.
"I'M sorry," corrected Kurt, as Blaine grabbed his hand tightly, "Dad, I forgot myself for one brief moment in time. There's no need for a lecture." He was genuinely embarrassed, and really didn't need his father to drag it out any longer.
"Kurt, you just need to remember what we agreed on," said Burt, "I'm happy with you two holding hands, getting cosy on the sofa – all of that stuff. But there's still a line, Kurt." Burt took a deep breath, he was walking a tightrope, and he knew it.
"Would you seriously be fine if Carole stuck her hand up my shirt while you were sitting in the room, or made jokes about condoms?" Burt queried.
Kurt hung his head in shame. In all honesty, the thought made him cringe.
"No," Kurt replied meekly, "but can I get a list?"
Burt sighed, sometimes his own child was simply a mystery to him. "A list of what?" he enquired.
"A list of do's and don'ts, so I know what's considered acceptable." Kurt informed his father.
"Stop being ridiculous, Kurt," Burt replied getting frustrated. He had no idea whether Kurt was serious, or simply trying to bait him, and at the moment he didn't have the patience to try to work it out.
"Just filter yourself a little," Burt suggested, hoping that would work in either situation. Kurt nodded and chewed on the inside of his lip a little.
"Alright then," Burt said gently, "now, is it possible for Blaine and me to finish watching the game? Or am I on my own?"
Blaine looked at Kurt and shrugged, "We can go upstairs if you want," Blaine offered graciously.
"No," replied Kurt, "you stay here and watch your neckless heroes pound on each other. I'm going to go and start getting a few things ready for our date night tomorrow." He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Blaine's lips, "See you when the game's over?"
Blaine nodded his agreement, "Thank you," he whispered softly against Kurt's lips. They pulled apart and Kurt headed upstairs. Blaine's eyes followed his boyfriends every move until he was out of sight. He then picked up his soda and took a long swig from the can.
Burt cleared his throat as he turned the television back on. He settled back into his seat as a commercial break started. Something worried Burt though, and it had been playing on his mind for a while now. Even before the elections of the previous week. It re-entered his mind after Blaine's attempt at a joint apology. They didn't spend time together without Kurt very often, so he may as well make the most of the opportunity while he had it. He hit the mute button, and Blaine looked over at him, confused.
"I want to know what you want to do with your life, Blaine." Burt got straight to the point. He wanted to start to break down those reinforced concrete walls that Blaine had built around himself. He knew there was a window there somewhere, at the moment it was a Kurt-shaped window, but Burt wanted to try to eventually make it a Hummel-Hudson shaped one.
Blaine took a gulp of air, and swallowed the saliva that had suddenly pooled in his mouth. He hadn't seen this one coming at all. He'd waited the past eight months for Burt to go all 'protective father' on him. He had expected Burt to ask if he truly loved Kurt, or what his intentions were with his son. Those questions were easy. He'd rehearsed the answers time and again in preparation for that moment. He'd prepared himself for thinly veiled threats of violence if he hurt Kurt. That's what they did in the movies, not this. Blaine looked back at Burt and took a deep breath, honesty he thought, that's all I can give him.
"I want to go into music production," Blaine had thought about this a lot. It wasn't that he didn't like performing, he certainly did, but the behind the scenes stuff somehow interested him more." So, I want to apply to NYU to do Music Technology," Blaine stated to Burt confidently.
"Ok," Burt nodded his head, "sounds interesting. What if Kurt ends up at Kent State, or Ohio State?" Blaine looked at Burt with horror in his eyes.
"Umm, no disrespect intended, but...umm...Kurt and I, we're going to New York." he said, mustering up all the confidence he had. Blaine knew that if he even contemplated anything else as a possibility, Kurt would smell it off him in a heartbeat. "Kurt next year, then I'll join him the following year." Blaine stated emphatically. That was THE plan. It was the only plan worth considering.
"I'm asking you Blaine, if Kurt doesn't get into NYADA, and you and I both know that's a distinct possibility, what will you do then?" Burt pursued his line of questioning; he had to crack this kid's facade, even just a tiny bit.
"We haven't talked about it," Blaine answered deflating slightly, "Kurt has his heart set on New York...that's our future." And Blaine truly believed it, nothing would stop Kurt Hummel once he'd made up his mind. Getting them to New York was no different, what ever happened they would find a way to do it.
"I'm asking you, not Kurt, I'm asking Blaine Anderson what he'll do if Kurt isn't in New York." Burt gave Blaine his harshest 'don't mess with me now' look.
"Ok,...well, if Kurt ends up at Kent or Ohio, then I'll apply there," Blaine hesitated for a brief second. He didn't know if it was the answer Burt was looking for, but he knew it was the truth. If Kurt ended up attending Mars Intergalactic University, then Blaine would be there a year later, hopping on board the next rocket ship to Mars. That was the truth, and it was all he could give Burt.
"Blaine look, I know you're not my kid. But, with the amount of time you spend at my house, you may as well be," Burt really did like Blaine. He still had some growing up to do though. And while Blaine and Kurt were the same age, Burt couldn't help but feel that contrary to what people might think initially, it was Kurt who pulled the strings in this relationship. His son had his boyfriend wrapped around his little finger! And that thought worried Burt, he was all too aware that his son could be just a little on the emotional side from time to time, and not always completely practical.
"And I know you love Kurt, that's not even a question I have to ask." Burt continued, trying to will some sense into the man-boy in front of him. "But you need to go to the school that's right for YOU. Don't throw your dreams away for Kurt's," Burt paused and let Blaine try to absorb what he was saying. "If you do, then sometime in the future - maybe not for 20 or 30 years, but one day - you'll resent him for it."
Blaine dropped his head to look into his lap. He suddenly didn't like where this was going, but Burt continued relentlessly, " and then you will end up hurting him Blaine, and yourself too. More than you can possibly imagine now. And once a heart is shattered, it's bloody hard to put back together again. Even if you manage to do it, it'll never be the same again." Burt hated saying these things to Blaine, but he knew it was the truth. Blaine was the practical one of the pair, and he was going to have to grow up and be the one that looked ahead of them and tried to steer them away from the excruciatingly painful sound that two breaking hearts make.
Blaine didn't know what to say. He searched his brain for the right answer, the honest answer. What did Burt want him to say? Blaine couldn't agree to go to New York without Kurt! He couldn't imagine it. Not for a second. His head was swimming, he felt more than a little dizzy and wasn't sure whether he needed to vomit, cry or punch Kurt's father in the face!
Burt spoke up before Blaine could collect his thoughts, "I just need you to promise to think about it, alright? Don't let Kurt decide your future for you. You deserve one of your own, and if Kurt is meant to be in it, then he will be." Burt knew he'd dumped a lot onto the kid, but he also knew it was necessary. Both for Blaine's sake, and for Kurt's.
"Look, I know you both think that you're going to be together forever," Burt continued as Blaine looked at him in disbelief, "and maybe you will be, who knows," Burt hesitated, "but my point is that you are both young. Really young. Too young to miss out on going to the school of your dreams just so that Kurt gets his. If you are given an opportunity, you need to grab it and hold onto it with all your might" Burt looked at the young man before him, so full of hope and expectation.
"Can I be brutally honest with you, Burt?" Blaine asked softly.
"That's all I can ask for," Burt replied.
"You asked 'who knows' if Kurt and I will be together forever?" Blaine looked at Burt seriously. Burt nodded, "Well, I can answer that for you," Blaine paused as Burt raised his eyebrows questioningly, "I know." he said firmly.
"It's the one thing about the future that isn't in question for me," Blaine stated emphatically, "I get what you're saying about choosing a school, but you need to understand something too...if I went to a school at the opposite end of the country from Kurt, I'd end up as a drop out." He searched Burt for some sign of understanding before continuing, "we don't work well apart. It was one of the reasons that I agreed to transfer to McKinley." Blaine had never even admitted this to Kurt.
"Kurt is a year ahead, Blaine," Burt pointed out gently, "you're going to have to be apart next year anyway."
Blaine shook his head, fighting to keep his composure. "We have it worked out, we'll never be away from each other for longer than a month. He'll come home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, his birthday; and I'll go to New York in between those. Whenever I can, and it's not even a full year really." That's what he and Kurt kept telling each other anyway.
"Listen Blaine," Burt said rubbing his forehead again, "I'm not saying that you and Kurt won't work out. I'm just saying that there are two people in your relationship, and you both deserve everything that this world has to offer you, and whole lot that it doesn't yet." Burt hoped he had gotten through to Blaine. All Burt wanted was for the kid to choose for himself, and not allow Kurt to run everything, at least not all the time.
"Just give it some thought...please?" Burt appealed, knowing that it was almost too much to expect of an eighteen year old who was desperately in love.
"I will," promised Blaine sincerely, "it's just that...Kurt...he's kind of hard to say no to." Blaine swallowed the lump in throat at even the thought of denying Kurt something he wanted.
"You're telling me!" Burt answered, trying to lighten the mood, "I'm the one that has had to pay for his wardrobe! Maybe we both need to learn to say no to him sometimes." They both laughed, not a belly laugh, but a together laugh. Burt hit the mute button to turn the volume back onto the television, chuckling as he noticed there were only seconds left on the game clock and they were about to lose.
"Burt?" asked Blaine after the siren signalled the end of the game. Burt looked at the serious face in front of him, and gestured for Blaine to continue.
"I'm going to marry your son one day."
Burt smiled and winked at Blaine, "Yeah," he nodded, "it wouldn't surprise me if you did."
Blaine stood to go up to Kurt's room as he'd promised. He reached the bottom of the staircase and turned back to Burt.
"And we won't be waiting until we're finished college." Blaine turned on his heels and bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Burt sat alone in the living room, television blaring out the post-game wrap up, his eyes stuck on the spot that Blaine had just vacated. His mind whirred out of control, with one solitary thought:
"What the hell does that mean?"
Phew! Before you ask, this is definitely NOT going to turn into a K & B get married at 18 story. But when you're 18 and truly, madly and deeply in love, it sometimes seems like a great plan. It rarely is!
There's probably only one or two chapters left in this story, I'm thinking. Date night is up next, so I suggest you make your dentist appointment in advance!
For those of you who have sent messages of support and love to me and my family - thank you! We've had a particularly difficult time over the last few days, I won't bore people here - but I've added a rant about it on my profile. But thanks again for all of your support, it really does mean a lot!
xxoo