Dave immediately knew something was wrong when he walked down the stairs at three in the morning to find Kurt sitting in the dark with a cup of tea in front of him. Now the tea was something Dave had gotten used to. Whenever the small boy was nervous he would have a cup of chamomile. But to sit in the dark until Dave turned on the light was different. He had learned long ago that the boy was claustrophobic, as well as nyctophobic and tried to avoid anything that would set him off.
So he tentatively took a step into the kitchen as Kurt rubbed his blurry eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden light. He looked up and Dave noticed that his eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying his eyes out. The tip of his nose was the same shade of red and his hands were tremulous as he held onto small cup.
Dave sat down next to him and turned his body to face the boy. He wasn't really sure what was going on with him. He couldn't have done something because they had made it through the entire month of July without fighting once. Not only that, but they really got each other. They hadn't confessed their love yet, but things were going good.
Kurt looked so broken in front of him and he wanted to say something to make him look better. It had to be something that could brighten the small boy up and make the paleness in his tone go away. He wanted to remove that sadness from his eyes. After a few minutes of silence he finally came up with a lame 'Hey'.
"Hey yourself." Kurt spoke, he sounded as though he'd just chewed on gravel from the hoarseness of his tone. He reached a shaky hand up to push his bangs back in place before returning his gaze to the coffee cup.
"How long have you been down here?" Dave asked. Kurt turned to stare at him, as if trying to fathom what was going on around him. "Uhm…..what time is it?"
Dave glanced at the clock behind Kurt's head. "3:24am." He answered, looking back at Kurt for a reaction.
"I came down around midnight…" he responded quietly.
Dave looked at him, wondering how the boy had managed to make a cup of tea and sit down at the table for almost three and a half hours in complete darkness. He glanced at the cup in Kurt's hands, which was yet to be sipped from. He reached a hand out for the cup and Kurt stared at it.
"Want a new cup?" Dave asked quietly.
Kurt looked up at him, nodding his head slowly, as if questioning Dave's motives as he took the cup from the soprano's hands. The cup was cold to the touch and when he turned and dipped a finger into the liquid he found it was the same cold temperature. He dumped the liquid into the sink before turning on the water and filling it once more, putting it in the microwave and listening to the tray rotate around before turning back to Kurt.
He was still in the same position as before, staring at his hands and into the empty spot where the cup once sat. Dave was really starting to worry about what was getting to his boyfriend as he turned to grab a new teabag. He glanced at the calendar to see what today's date was as he waited. August 16th. He shrugged his shoulders before turning back to the microwave to grab the cup.
Realization dawned on him and the cup of water fell from his hands, shattering on the ground and flooding on the floor. That seemed to break Kurt out of his trance as he looked over in shock. "Oh, Dave." He exclaimed, pulling the jock away from the water and sitting him down. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, glancing down to see the reddened skin on David's feet where the water had scalded him.
Dave could only stare as Kurt picked up the broken pieces of glassware from the floor and drying the water with various paper towels. Dave glanced back at the calendar, recounting the days as if they would magically change to a different date. But it was still August 16th no matter how long he stared at it.
It was still Elizabeth Hummel's day of death.
Dave stood, grabbing Kurt's arm and pulling him from the floor and into his arms. Kurt took a shuddering breath, his hands still fluttering around for a moment before wrapping around Dave's waist as his body shook. He buried his face in David's chest and he pretended not to feel the patch of wetness that was forming on the thing material.
"Nine years." Kurt finally whispered. Dave just held him closer in his arms, stroking a hand through Kurt's soft hair, pressing a small kiss on his hairline every now and then. He wasn't going to tell Kurt that it was okay. He wasn't going to tell him that everything would be better. He wouldn't say that he understood. Because he didn't.
His mom still came home from her job every few months. He would still greet her at the door every time she got back from her flight with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He would sit at the table with her and a stupid grin as she complained about how much she hated being gone for so long. But he knew she loved her job. He knew that she would be coming home.
But Kurt didn't. He knew that he'd never hear his mom's voice over the phone. She would never walk through the front door and embrace him. They would never talk about school or boys or any of that stupid stuff that Dave once took for granted.
"Dave?" the small, hoarse voice took him out of his thoughts as he looked down at the short male.
"Yeah, Kurt?"
"Will you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Can you drive me to the cemetery in the morning?"
Dave nodded, croaking out a response before taking the smaller boy up the stairs and to bed, flicking on the nightlight above Kurt's bed before pulling up the blankets and getting under there with him; something they hadn't done in quite some time. He lay awake for a long time, rubbing Kurt's back until the smaller male finally fell asleep as the sun began to rise.
All Dave could think as he stared at the boy in the passenger seat next to him was that this entire thing was so wrong. Kurt shouldn't be wearing all black and holding a bouquet of violets in his small hands. He shouldn't be silent and staring ahead but seeing nothing at the same time. The glazed look in Kurt's eyes was enough to want to rip out his own heart and give it to the boy if it would stop the pain.
When they pulled up to the cemetery he could see the sadness and fear in Kurt's eyes get even stronger. And he came to a small realization. This was probably the first time Kurt ever visited his mother's grave on her death date without his father. He got out of the truck and followed without a second thought.
He silently followed Kurt down the grass trail to a large weeping willow tree, next to which nestled a medium size grave stone that was shining in the gleam of sunlight from the sky. It seemed so wrong that the sun was shining so bright when Kurt, the only light in his dull life, was losing his shine throughout the day. He watched the boy kneel down on the grass and laying the flowers in front of the grave stone.
The words were simple. "Elizabeth Marie Hummel. Beloved mother, daughter, and wife. Forever in our hearts."
There was no date of birth or death, and Dave thought that was a good choice. Because when the date of death was carved into a stone, it all seemed over. But without that date, it seemed as though she could live on much stronger in the lives of those she left behind.
Dave had a feeling that Kurt would wind up being one of those people to talk, so he just remained silent, letting Kurt do exactly what he needed to do, but his heart broke at the words.
"Hey, mom. It's me." Kurt whispered, his hand grazing the words on the stone. "I know that dad's not here right now. And I'm sure that he doesn't mean to forget. But he's just so happy with Carole right now. You understand, right? He loves you a lot, mom. And I won't let him forget you, okay? I'll never forget you either." He spoke sadly, wiping away a tear.
Suddenly Dave was angry. Angry at Burt for going out and having a great time with his new wife, while Kurt sat in front of his mother's grave stone. Apologizing for something that he had no control over. It made him so angry. But he couldn't be mad. He had to be there for Kurt. The pale boy looked like he was being washed away in the black fabric he wore.
"This is Dave Karofsky, mom. I know I've talked about him before. But he's really sweet and nice to me. He's a really great boyfriend. I love him mom, I hope you'll love him too." He spoke. Dave's heart sore and broke at the same time at Kurt's words. He smiled softly, kneeling down next to Kurt and doing what he thought was right.
"Hey, Mrs. Hummel. Don't worry about Kurt here, okay? I love your son a lot, and I'm taking care of him for you."
A small breeze picked up and Dave could smell the swirl of violets from below them, and he felt calm. He could tell Kurt felt the same way as he glanced at the small boy. Although his eyes were closed and tears were slowly streaming down his face, he knew that the boy understood exactly what Dave was.
The rest of the day passed by in content silence. Dave would comfort Kurt with hugs and kisses whenever he started crying. His dad understood completely and let Kurt grieve in his own way. He let Kurt cry when he got home. And when he never received a call from Burt. He let Kurt cry when Mercedes called with her brief condolences. He let Kurt cry not matter how many times he ruined his shirt.
When the horrible had finally came to an end and they watched the clock turn from midnight to one, Dave could see that Kurt was a little better. He knew that the date was something hard to get through. Because it was proof of another year passed. It was proof that life was moving on for others while for some it was not.
Dave held the small boy in his arms as they watched some cheesy lifetime movie that he hated but Kurt seemed completely engrossed in. When Kurt turned in his arms so they were chest to chest, he felt soft lips on his chin.
"You know I meant it, David." Kurt whispered softly.
"Meant what?"
"I love you, Dave." He responded softly, their fingers lacing together.
Dave smiled happily, giving Kurt a small kiss on his forehead before connecting their lips together.
"I love you too, Kurt."
When Kurt finally smiled for what felt like years, Dave knew that they were going to be okay. Because no matter how horrible things got, at the end of the day Dave knew one thing. They had found each other, and they loved each other. No matter how many differences they had. They loved each other.
And those three words meant everything.