In a beautifully perfect world, I would own Glee. And therefore know what comes next and not have to wait for the next episode to come out. *sigh* It isn't and I don't, so this will have to do in the meantime. I also don't own Wicked or Moulin Rouge, in ANY form. Wish I did. Then I could shake Idina Menzel by the hand personally and not have to write her (sort of…) into my fics.
Curious how the realm of inspiration works, isn't it? I had the next chapter all written and ready to go when my muse thwapped me over the head and said, 'You can't go there yet! What about this little scene?' and handed this piece to me. What can I say? I have to keep my muse happy. And y'all are the ones that benefit, so it's good tidings all around. Hope you enjoy!
"Kurt!" Finn grabbed his stepbrother by the elbow and steered him into an empty classroom. "You gotta help me."
Finn's eyes were as round as saucers and halfway to being bugged. Kurt instantly knew that it had to be something serious. "Finn? What is it?" A dagger twisted in his gut. "Is it my- is it Dad?" Another heart attack? Oh, God, no…
Finn nodded. "And Mom, too. They're…" He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment, as if seeking courage. "They've… Mom and I used to have this family tradition, where we went out to the movies on the first Saturday of the month, just us. We haven't been doing it since she and Burt got married, but now…" He swallowed. "Now they want to start it up again. Only, they want all of us to go. Together."
Kurt blew out a breath. Okay. Just Finn being stupid and dramatic. Nothing unusual about that. Dad was okay. "Well, I don't see what's so bad about that," he said. "Movies are fun."
Finn shook his head. "You don't get it. They want to go. Together. With us there to watch. Do you know what people do at the movies? In the dark? And besides, they've already chosen the film – some musical chick-flick."
"So? I like chick-flicks. And we both like musicals. I don't see the problem."
"Burt already said he doesn't intend to pay too much attention to the film," Finn said, bluntly. "And Mom giggled." At Kurt's blank look, Finn rolled his eyes. "They're going to make out, Kurt. And we're going to be there watching."
"Oh."
"'Oh'? Is that all you can say?"
Kurt's brain was hurting. Sure, living with the two newlyweds had been an exercise in gag-reflex control – Kurt had used to think himself quite cosmopolitan, but when your own father was one of the principles, it took some getting used to – but now they wanted to include the boys on their date? "Is there any way we can get out of it?" he asked, somewhat desperately.
Finn shook his head. "Burt already gave me the 'traditions' speech, and Mom was there to back him up all the way. I was thinking if we both got tossed in detention, we'd have to skip. Got any good prank ideas?"
Oh, yeah. The traditions speech. Last heard when Kurt was trying to get out of Friday night dinners. With that horribly terrifying aftermath, when Kurt was afraid he'd never see his father awake again… "Saturday night at the movies?" he said, weakly. "I think we can survive it. What time, again?"
~~~glee~~~
Burt and Carol insisted that they sit together as a family. But as soon as they became enmeshed in… well, not the story… Finn made a break for it and snagged a seat up front. Kurt made an excuse about needing to use the restroom – not that either parent was paying much attention at the moment – and upon return managed to find an empty seat near the back.
As he arranged himself more comfortably, he happened to glance down the row. And who should he see but Dave! The big jock was tapping his foot to the musical number currently playing and nodding along to the music, seeming to enjoy it in spite of himself.
With a glance around the mostly-empty theater, Kurt slid over next to him. "Hey," he whispered, by way of greeting.
Dave looked startled. "Hey." He glanced around. "What are you doing here?"
Kurt nodded down at his parents. "Chaperoning," he quipped. "Not that I'm doing such a great job. You?"
"Same." Dave pointed out a young couple just a few rows ahead of them. "My sister's only thirteen, so my folks said she had to have somebody 'responsible' along. Not that her date's tried anything. So far, they've sputtered out at holding hands."
Kurt chuckled, and the conversation died for a bit while they both sat back and ignored their respective charges, engrossed in the movie.
The next musical number came on and Kurt began humming along under his breath. Gradually, he realized that Dave was humming too. No, actually… he was singing, very silently, more like just mouthing the words along with the actors. "You know this one?" he asked.
Caught, Dave flushed. But he admitted, "Yeah. One of my favorite Broadway musicals. I love YouTube, you know that? If you're lucky – and someone's been larcenous enough – you can watch almost the entire musical."
Kurt grinned. "Yeah. I've got the entire Wicked play bookmarked that way."
"You like Wicked, too? It's ironic, but I swear I keep spotting Glinda and Elphaba popping up around here. That one chick – whatshername, Rachel Berry's mom? Looks exactly like Elphie." Kurt looked at him strangely. "Or not," Dave conceded, hastily. "I mean, I'm just saying… So, what's your favorite musical?"
Kurt allowed the change of subject. "I've got a lot of them," he said, "But Moulin Rouge has got to be at the top."
"Really?" Dave's mouth twisted.
"What's not to like? I admit I've only ever seen it on DVD and not live, but you've got to admit, Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman did an awesome job of it."
A light bulb dawned in Dave's eyes. "O-o-oh. That one. Yeah, they did do a good job."
Kurt grinned. "My favorite part is at the end, when Christian is stalking off in the middle of the play and Satine starts singing their song after him…"
"And he stops and starts singing it with her."
"Totally romantic."
"Indeed."
Kurt sighed and even Dave vented a faint puff of breath. They looked at each other, smiled, and then faced front and the movie.
Down below them, Dave's sister finally got tired of waiting for her date to make the first move and leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek… only, being inexperienced, she missed and caught his ear. He looked at her, smiled, and they tried again, with much more success this time. Carol and Burt took a break, snuggling one another and looking blissful even from behind. And Finn ducked out the exit door, fleeing from a frustrated-looking Rachel.
Kurt tipped his head. You know, her profile did look a bit like Elphaba's, at this angle… Nah, must be a coincidence.
He sat back and proceeded to enjoy the rest of the movie.