A/N: And. Yeah. Hello again! Nothing much to say really, aside from the fact that please do not expect me to update so quickly after I upload the next / latest chapter tomorrow. I do love writing this story though, so you'll probably see weekly updates! Anyways. ONWARD WITH THE FIC (Ignore me I've gotten like no sleep this week at all).
Blaine could see the glowing numbers from his alarm clock tell him it was way past any time he had ever stood up with Kurt, and couldn't help but find pleasure in that. A new record, he thought proudly to himself before averting his eyes to look at the boy next to him.
"Hi," he whispered quietly, staring into Kurt's very familiar blue eyes. They blinked several times, out of focus, before coming back to Earth and closing.
"Blaine, have you ever... Thought about kissing someone?" Kurt whispered, and Blaine wrinkled his nose. He was nine, but he had never had any thoughts of kissing a girl. Sure, once upon a time, he thought he wanted to kiss Tina, but that was back in the third grade last year when everyone didn't know if girls and boys had cooties or not and decided to find out. He watched Kurt's tongue come out and lick his lips, and his first thought was 'you'.
His eyes widened at the thought, and he shook his head. Kurt must have taken it as a no for his question, and he sighed. "Blaine, you've never thought about kissing someone? Really?" He asked impatiently, and Blaine chuckled softly, forgetting about what he had thought just seconds ago.
"You sound upset," he joked quietly, and Kurt glared at him.
"I'm being serious right now," Kurt whined, and Blaine rolled his eyes.
"I mean, you know I thought about kissing Tina, but we agreed that didn't count really, so..." Blaine said, trailing off at the end. Kurt nodded, before wrinkling his nose. He looked to be thinking hard about something, and Blaine could only imagine what it was. Just when he was going to ask Kurt who he was thinking about kissing, Kurt said something he hadn't exactly expected.
"H-have you ever... Thought about kissing a... Boy?" Kurt asked quietly, his eyes looking down at bed sheet's checkered pattern, chewing on his thumb nail nervously. Blaine didn't know how to answer, seeing how he had just gotten out of the stage where seeing his dads kiss was gross and embarrassing because... Well, they're his dads. Most kids his age totally do not want to see their parents kissing at the breakfast table. He shrugged.
"I don't know. I've never really like, sat myself down and think if I'm like daddy or like Aunt Sadie," Blaine admitted, thinking of his Aunt Sadie and his Uncle Harry who had gotten married five years ago. Scrunching his face up, he thought of himself kissing a guy. He realized that he could see it pretty clearly, even more than a girl. "But I mean, now that I think about it, yeah, sure," Blaine mumbled, before looking at Kurt, "Do you?"
Kurt bit his lip, and nodded slowly. "At lot more than I do with a girl," Kurt told him, his voice quiet and soft. He looked over at Blaine, and he could feel the tears well up in his eyes. "Does this mean that those mean names everyone calls me really are true?"
Blaine's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "Kurt, you know what my dads told you, and what your dad told you. There are mean people in the world. But you aren't useless, or worthless. You're Kurt. Maybe you are gay, maybe you're not. But you're not that... That... That other word," Blaine whispered under his breath, and took Kurt's hand in his own, before repeating, "You're just Kurt."
Kurt sniffed, and his lips turned up at the corners slowly. He squeezed Blaine's hand, and snuggled himself more comfortably into the blankets. "You're the bestest friend I've ever had Blaine," Kurt whispers, and Blaine squeezes back.
"You're the bestest friend I've ever had Kurt," Blaine says with a lopsided smile, which Kurt returns quickly. They lay there in a comfortable silence, listening to each other breathe and sometimes clear their throat when the need came. After a while, Blaine heard Kurt begin to fall asleep, his breathing becoming more and more steady, before, finally, Blaine was sure he was asleep. Moving himself back onto his side, he watched his best friend peacefully sleep, and suddenly felt a sharp pang in his chest.
Kurt had, basically, just come out to Blaine. And even though he was only nine, he knew what that would mean in a few years. Heck, he even knew what it would start to mean even sooner than just a few years. Blaine remembers how when he was a little kid, he was bullied and had no friends because his two dads love each other. And that was just being the son of two dads. Imagining how much worse the bullying would get for Kurt scared him, and he could only let the feeling of wanting to protect Kurt (even though he was a year younger) start to conjure up in him.
He's so fragile, was all Blaine could think to justify his feelings as turned back onto his stomach, finally letting sleep claim his suddenly tired out mind.
"Blaine!"
Turning around, Blaine could see Kurt walking quickly towards him, waving his hand to get Blaine's attention. But, even without waving his hand, Blaine would probably have zoomed right into him. Kurt had always dressed differently from most boys, but lately he had begun experimenting with different things, like animal print and tassels, so he always stuck out like a sore thumb. A very fashionable sore thumb, Blaine would add with a hint of a smile if asked. He could see Burt walking after Kurt, shopping cart filled with school supplies and different beauty products and household items.
"Kurt," he said with a smile before meeting up with him halfway in the semi crowded Target, forgetting all about his papa who was currently flipping through the catalog he had picked up at the entrance. He pulled the taller boy into a hug, and couldn't help but appreciate the fact that Kurt made sure he didn't smell like locker rooms and dirt like most other boys his age.
"Back to school shopping?" Blaine asked, and Kurt nodded as he smoothed down his shirt.
"Yep," he breathed out, just as his dad was finally wheeling the cart next to him. "We're doing school supplies here, and then going clothes shopping at Macy's," Kurt said happily, before lowering his voice into a mock whisper, and adding, "And then back home where he'll let me borrow his credit card after I find only two things at Macy's, and I'll wreak havoc on eBay."
Burt only grunted at his son's comment, but didn't deny it, seeing how it would probably come true, knowing his son. He said hello to Blaine (which the always dapper Blaine returned), before turning to Leroy and talking to him about the different prices around Lima for school supplies, and then about last weeks freshman parent orientation meeting they had gone to.
"You're so sneaky," Blaine teased, before grinning at Kurt. "How does it feel to know you'll be a freshman at McKinley in just two weeks?"
"Better than Rachel, she's been word vomiting in all of the text's shes been sending me, and leaving me these weird voice messages where she sings a scale and then sings out her feelings," Kurt shakes his head, and Blaine snorts.
"Imagine her at the breakfast table. She literally sang a whole ballad about how nervous she was, and how she shouldn't be since McKinley will likely welcome her and her amazing voice with a warm hug and kiss," Blaine points out, and Kurt sighs.
"She's being too optimistic. And a bit ridiculous," Kurt huffs, and Blaine rolls his eyes.
"You're being too pessimistic," Blaine comments, and Kurt can only look at him.
"You don't get let down as badly in the end," He says quietly, before picking up a shirt with the words 'T00 C00L 4 H0M3W0RK!', and a game console tilted, with a huge game controller and slice of pizza stuck on the shirt in a fashion the person who designed it must have thought as 'abstract'.
"Mother of-," Kurt whimpers, changing the subject. "This is the most horrendous thing I've seen in a while, and I've seen your sister's whole closet."
"Hey! I help her go shopping sometimes," Blaine says, and Kurt looks over his attire twice, before sighing.
"Precisely. Stay there, I'm going to convince Leroy to let me take you shopping one day," Kurt says, spinning on his heel to go interrupt the now heated discussion his father and Leroy were having on the best fishing sites in Ohio.
Blaine knew it was ridiculous to be nervous. Damn ridiculous, he thought to himself as he cut his vegetarian chicken into smaller pieces (Rachel had been on the war path lately to switch everyone to becoming vegan after she accidentally drank actual milk instead of her normal almond milk, and apparently that meant giving Blaine huge portions of fake meat and hope that he'll find it so delicious he'd join her in her crusade against everything delicious). Rachel was currently talking to their parents about the importance of not eating red meats and animals overall, and talking about how she would settle for everyone becoming vegetarians. Blaine couldn't even muster up the nerve to snort at Rachel's attempt to clear the house of meat, not with how nervous he was.
Obviously, he wasn't hiding his feelings too well, seeing how his dad looked at him with worried eyes.
"Blaine, you okay?" Leroy asked as he politely ate some of the fake chicken his daughter had cooked him. Blaine swallowed, and nodded.
"Yeah dad, I'm gay," Blaine said in a rush, and realized his mistake too late to correct or catch himself. The whole table became silent, with Rachel's mouth still open from her explaining how the food industry tortures animals with cramped living quarters and inhumane conditions. All of a sudden she dropped her fork, and the loud clang made Blaine cringe.
"Well, I'm guessing this is where you guys talk to Blaine or whatever. I have some algebra homework to take care of," Rachel announces, and gets up out of her seat, kissing Blaine on the cheek on her way upstairs. "Love you," she whispers into his ear before heading upstairs, humming some song that Blaine knew she had been singing all week for some musical that McKinley was doing that year. He grinned weakly, and looked at his two dads.
"Ta-da?" He exclaims weakly, his voice rising in pitch, making it sound more like a question than anything. Leroy look amused, while Hiram was pale.
"So, you're gay," Leroy stated, and Blaine nodded. He looked over at his papa, and couldn't help but think that shade of white couldn't have meant anything good (nor could it be particularly healthy). He waited for him to say something (or at least point at his throat and claim he was choking), and as soon as he heard the frantic tone in his father's voice, Blaine realized he could have gone a little longer with the silence.
"Well, how do you know, I mean, Blaine, you're only twelve, and, well, you haven't kissed anyone have you, and oh my God-" Hiram said, his voice getting higher and higher as he obviously thought of all the things Blaine could have done. Just when Blaine was sure he was about to be mortified by wherever his father was going with this, Leroy put his hand on his husband's shoulder.
"Hiram," he said softly, squeezing Hiram's shoulder, and Hiram stopped talking. The two of them shared a look, and Hiram sighed. Blaine couldn't help but look down at his plate, which was pretty empty except for the pieces of chicken he had been putting off eating. Leroy looked down at his own plate, and then at his husband's. Shaking his head, he got up and went over to the phone.
"I'm going to order pizza, I refuse going to bed another night hungry," Leroy whispers as quietly as he could, and cringed when he heard the 'I heard that!' come upstairs.
"Sorry honey!" Leroy called back, but he mouthed the word 'God help us' at Blaine, making him crack a smile. Hiram let out a meek laugh, and all three males could hear the distinct 'hmph' come from upstairs.
"Pepperoni, or should we go all out with a Meat Lovers Stuffed Crust pizza tonight boys?" Leroy asked as he started to punch in the number for the local pizza place, while Hiram got up, situating himself behind Blaine, his hands on his shoulders.
"Blaine, why don't you pick?" He says, and while Blaine doesn't miss the tired tone in his voice, he does let out the breath he had been holding in.
"Going all out sounds great, I haven't had a decent dinner all week," Blaine mock whispers out, and he heard Rachel stomp down the steps before he saw her.
"You all suck," Rachel announced, sitting down at the table again, crossing her arms. Leroy finished ordering the pizza, and rubs his daughter's shoulders when he made his way over to her.
"Sweetie, we're men who appreciate animal products," Leroy tells his daughter, who immediately grimaced in response.
"At least stop buying milk cartons that look like my milk carton?" Rachel asks with a dejected sigh, and Leroy nods seriously.
"We'll start to buy our milk in plastic gallon containers," Hiram adds in, and Rachel's lips tug up slightly.
"Finally, the reign of horrific pictures of sad animals asking us for help and gross ingredient lists of fast food meat choices is over," Blaine mumbles, leaning back in his chair. Rachel looks at him innocently, before asking, "Blaine, how did you figure out you're gay again?"
Leroy sighs as Hiram starts to shoot question after question at Blaine, ranging from if he has a boyfriend to if he has kissed a guy, going so far as to asking if Kurt was Blaine's boyfriend, which caused his son to instantly blush and stammer out that Kurt wasn't gay, and glare at Rachel when she let out a small giggle.
"Hiram, he's twelve," Leroy warned his husband, and Hiram looked over to Leroy with a glare.
"Do you remember how you were when you were twelve? I haven't forgotten the stories Sadie told me that time she was drunk at our wedding," Hiram reminded Leroy, and Blaine perked up.
"What stories?" He asked eagerly, hoping to get the attention of him. Hiram shook his head.
"You'll hear them when your aunt gets drunk at Rachel's Bat Mitzvah this year," Hiram tells him, while Leroy glared at him.
"We agreed Sadie isn't allowed near the bar this year. Not after the catastrophe at my cousin Eliezer's sons Bar Mitzvah last year," Leroy reminded Hiram, and Rachel interrupted the developing argument between her two fathers.
"This isn't about Sadie and her love for spirits, this is about Blaine," She pointed out, but before Hiram could say anything else, the front doorbell rings.
Saved by the bell, Blaine thought as the waft of meats and cheese started to make its way through the house. Rachel's face instantly showed her displeasure, and she immediately excused herself upstairs to read about about 'more dramatic coming out stories'. Leroy rolled his eyes at his daughter's dramatic nature, and looked over at Blaine with a grin.
"Well, congrats son," He says, before his grin softened into a smile.
"Thanks for telling us Blaine. Your father's just not adjusting well to you kids growing up so quickly," Leroy said quietly, just as Hiram came in with a large pizza box. He looked conflicted for a moment, before sighing.
"Your father makes me out to seem so dramatic," He mumbled under his breath as he sets the pizza on the counter. As soon as he was out of ear shot in the kitchen, Leroy leaned toward his son, and whispered, "Like father, like daughter."
"We heard that!"
"Yes, Kurt, they just ordered pizza while pops asked if you were my boyfriend and if I had ever kissed a guy," Blaine told Kurt for the tenth time as he rolled onto his back, staring up at the night sky painted ceiling that him and Kurt had painted together when the Anderson-Berry's renovated their home a year ago. It wasn't perfect, but in Blaine's eyes, it was the closest it could get to being so.
"Wait, what? You left out the part where they thought I was your-" Kurt shrieked, before adding in a whisper, "-boyfriend!". Blaine laughed, and was sure that Kurt was glaring at his own ceiling at that moment. "Blaine Everett Anderson, I am not amused," Kurt mumbled, and the static-y sound of him letting out a deep breath sounded over the phone connection.
"Well, look on the bright side," Blaine said.
"What bright side?" Kurt almost snorted out, and Blaine shrugged, before realizing Kurt couldn't see him.
"Um, the bright side of my ceiling that I accidentally painted white?" Blaine asked, and Kurt snorted.
"Blaine, don't even mention that, it took me more than an hour to try and fix that corner, but I could only get it a few shades lighter than the rest before your dad told us we needed to let it dry," Kurt said dryly, before letting out a small laugh.
"Blaine, you suck," Kurt told him, and Blaine frowned.
"You know, Rachel told me that earlier. I don't like this trend," Blaine groans out, and he could practically hear the smile in Kurt's voice.
"Stop giving us reason to say it then."
"You both suck. A lot."
"Goodnight Blaine."
"G'night Kurt, love ya."
"Love you too. Now go to sleep, remember I'm taking you out shopping tomorrow for the Sadie Hawkins dance and to make sure your whole wardrobe doesn't consist of you looking like a cross between Pee-Wee Herman and a five year old. You'll need the energy."
"Evil takes a human form in Kurt Hummel."
"Oh shut up, I'm hanging up now so you can get your much needed beauty sleep."
"I'm beyond offended Hummel."
"I say the same each time you wear a sweater vest, a bow tie, and khaki's more than two days in a row."
"I'm hanging up now."
"Blaine you still haven't hung up yet."
"Don't make me."
"Such empty threats."
"Kurt you're mean… Wait, did you really just hang up on me? Oh, I've so got you tomorrow morning," Blaine mumbles as he sets the phone down onto his bed side table, already planning on eating at the worst place he could think of for breakfast tomorrow : Peggy's Diner. Kurt would kill him, but that'll show him that the Anderson-Berry's didn't play around.