The Final Time
Author: GleekShip
Spoilers: Future AU
Summary: Burt is hit with his final heart attack and Kurt is there for those final moments.
Pairings: Kurt/Burt!BondForLife, Kurt/Puck
The Final Time
Burt gives both of the boys a week smile as he settles down onto the small bench. The little bench overlooks the original Hummel property that has been in their family for generations, passed down from father to son. Burt had already signed the papers for it to be transferred to Kurt once the paper work was processed. The Hummel land contained a really old three-story house that had been built from scratch and is settled in front of a small man-made pond. Surrounding both were a field of flowers and grass before reaching the wall of trees. The little property was a hidden Easter egg from the world that Burt had treasured since he was a kid. This bench gave him a perfect view of everything that he had enjoyed in his childhood. He could still see himself fixing his first car out here; he had to because his parents wouldn't buy him a new one, it had to be built.
Kurt turns to his concerned son and smiles. "Could you go get my hat from the truck? The suns in my eyes."
Kurt nods and looks between his father and husband before taking off around the pond. Burt chuckles because he knows that his son knows that this is just a distraction. He raised a smart boy. The best son he could ever ask for.
Burt chuckles softly before turning to his son-in-law. "Take a seat, Noah. I need to talk to you."
The boy quickly sits and looks eagerly at his only father figure in his life. It had taken a few years, but Burt had finally stopped calling the boy 'Mohawk'. Even after that strip of hair had been shaved off, he continued to use that name. It wasn't that he didn't like Noah, he just didn't like when he was Puck. It had only taken him a few times of meeting the boy for him to finally see Noah. It had only taken another year before he had told everyone to refer to him as Noah. Within the short span that they had known each other, the boy had grown so much and had quickly become a close sun to Burt.
Carol had died a few years back. Nothing terrible, just old age. They were both in their late 60's so it was bound to happen sooner or later. She had worked and laugh until the very end. Unfortunately, Burt couldn't take care of himself much after with the development of his arthritis and his bad back from years of working on cars. Finn would have taken him in, but the boy had isolated himself from his family once his mom passed and now they only saw him once a year for Thanksgiving and the occasional glimpse of when the boy came in town for the anniversary of his mothers death. So Kurt and Noah had taken him in and treated him like they always have. They let him be independent, which he was thankful for, but helped him enough for him to have a comfortable last few years.
Burt sighs and shuts his eyes. "You know, Noah, I never thought things would end this way for me." He can hear the boy shift on his side to pay more attention. "I thought that Kurt would end up doing something fashion-like and probable married to someone exactly like him." He cracks his eye open and looks at Noah with a smile. "But I'm happy that he married you. He needs someone strong like him, not some pansy look-a-like who will treat him like some fragile girl. He's a man. A Hummel man at that. He's not some little boy that needs to be treated like a girl or some effeminate creature. And you do that for him, kid" Burt moves his hand over so he can pat Noah on the leg. "I'm happy that your my son. Besides Kurt, you're the closest person in my life. You even know a few stories from my teen days that I haven't told Kurt yet."
Noah laughs. "Yes I do, and he won't be hearing about them anytime soon."
Burt snorts and clutches his chest with his free hand. "Go for it. Just wait for me to be six feet under first so I can have some sort of protection when you tell him of my wild side." He turns his head as Noah nods and sighs. "Listen, kid. You need to be there for him. You're going to have to hold him tight for this one. More than when his mom died, or when he got attacked a few years back. You hold onto him and never let go."
He hates when he sees a tear slide down Noah's cheek as he slowly nods. "What about me, Burt? You've been more than kind to me for so long. I-"
"Kid." Burt cuts him off with a chuckle. "I've known you for nearly 25 years now. I've known Kurt even longer. I know that you can hold yourself together long enough to take care of him, but I also know that he'll take care of you. You'll have each other. You-"
Burt breaks off and enters a coughing fit. It feels like his chest is exploding, but he knows that it's dying. He feels Noah's hand on his back as he tries to help the old guy. Yeah, his son chose the right guy for him. Puck may have been a bully, but he's been Noah for almost 25 years and that's the perfect guy.
"Dad." He looks up and shakes his head as his son races back to him.
"Easy, Kurt. Just let me cough it out." Kurt kneels down and places his dads hat on the bench. "It's going to happen anyways."
"Don't talk like that dad." Kurt reprimands his father before sighing. "Do you need anything to drink?"
"No. Just sit with me." Burt pats the other side of the bench for Kurt to sit.
Kurt sighs before looking over to his husband. Burt has to smile. Their non-verbal connection reminds him of how he used to talk to Elizabeth or Carol. It's true love. He was lucky enough to have two in his life.
Noah pats the hand that Burt has on his leg. "I'm gonna go take a look around. You don't need me do you?"
"No." Burt squeezes the boys hand before retracting his fingers. "Kurt and I'll be fine."
Noah smiles before he stands up and leaves the two of them alone. Burt continues to smile as he feels Kurt lean into his side and takes one of his hands within both of the small hand. How much that hand has grown? He may be old, but he can still remember when Kurt was so young that he could hold the boy with no effort. That lifetime is just a memory ago.
"Dad." Burt can feel the tears behind his eyes burning. "I-"
"Shh." Burt says softly. "I know what you're going to say . . . and I love you too." Burt turns to look at his crying son. "Now none of that. I've accepted this. I've had a long and happy life. Trust me, ending like this is a high note. The heart attack just helped me get hear faster."
Kurt nods and goes to speak, but can't. Burt reaches his arm around and grabs onto Kurt. He ends up pulling the boy against his chest and holding him while he cries. It's killing him to hear that sound.
"It's okay, Kurt." His voice seems weak to even him. "It's okay . . . it's okay, Kurt."
So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. One more to go.