Chapter 23: The Play's the Thing
Nigel cursed quietly to himself, the words whispered past clenched teeth. He scanned the cars around him, looking for a parking space. He glanced at his watch and groaned. He couldn't be late, not for this. Kurt would probably forgive him, but he would never forgive himself. He passed his sister's car. Good, she and the kids were here. He recognized Burt's truck. God, he just needed one space, just one!
Just as Nigel was thinking that he would have to look for street parking, there they were; three perfect empty parking spaces. Thank you, God! He parked, and sprinted for the school. He pulled the door to the auditorium open, and breathed a sigh of relief. The house lights were still up, the play hadn't started yet. He scanned the crowd near the front, knowing that Claire would have saved a seat for him.
"Uncle Nigel!" Tommy's voice cut through the audience chatter.
Nigel turned towards the voice. Three rows from the front, center aisle, Tommy stood waving his program. Nigel whispered, "Excuse me" and tried not to step on anyone's toes as he squeezed himself through the rows of seats.
"Thanks, Tommy. Hey, Angie." Nigel slid into the empty seat beside Claire.
"Cutting it close, Nigel." Claire handed Nigel a program.
"I know. I couldn't…" The house lights went down and everyone went silent, as the curtain rose.
He knew Kurt was going to be good, but this, this was incredible. His boyfriend had morphed into Tony. The New York accent, the 50's clothes, hell, even the way he moved, was Tony. Everything that he knew as Kurt was gone; the graceful glide, the humour, and sarcastic wit. The man on stage was determined, and passionate; torn between hope and despair.
Kurt's talent had created this whole other person. Nigel was impressed, and appreciative of the mirage that Kurt wove so apparently effortlessly. He was so fucking proud of him! It was disquieting though, watching Tony behind Kurt's face. Nigel felt as if some spirit/alien had stolen his boyfriend, and he wanted him back. Get a grip, Dennison, you're losing it! Nigel forced himself to relax and enjoy the play.
Claire leaned over and whispered, "He's really good, isn't he?"
Nigel turned to his sister, all the love and pride he felt compressed into one word. "YES!"
The curtain fell, and the audience became a chattering mass once more. People smiled and laughed and called out to friends as they trickled out of the auditorium.
"They killed him. Why did they kill him?" Tommy demanded.
"Mommy, Kurt's not dead, is he?" Angie held Claire's hand, worry in her voice.
"No, honey, Kurt's fine. You saw him bowing on stage, remember?"
Claire grinned at Nigel. "Tell Kurt he's a genius." She turned to son. "Come on, Tommy, we'll figure it out on the drive home."
They followed the ebb and flow of people filing out of the auditorium.
"Nigel!" Finn stood with Burt and Carole, in front of the stage, waiting for the crowd to thin out. Nigel waved goodbye to Claire and the kids, and walked over to Kurt's family.
"Wasn't he fantastic?" Carole just beamed. It was hard to say who looked prouder, she or Burt.
"He took my breath away!" Nigel grinned at Carole.
Finn smirked. "Dude, he always takes your breath away."
Burt frowned at Finn, but Nigel just laughed. "True, but usually, not in front of an audience."
"Really? Cause I remember…"
Burt coughed, cutting Finn off. "You going backstage?"
"No, Kurt said he'd meet me here."
The curtain went down, and Tony melted away. Rachel hugged Kurt. "We did it!" She stepped back. "It was good, right?"
Puck smirked. "Yes, it was good! I was fucktastic, and you guys weren't bad either."
Laughing, they made their way backstage, and started to remove make-up, and costumes.
Kurt noticed Mike standing silent, looking shell shocked. "Mike, you were great!"
Mike looked at Kurt. The adrenaline rush of performing had receded, leaving a very nervous son. "My father was in the audience."
Tina leaned into her boyfriend. "He will be very proud of you." Her tone said, and if he's not, he's a dead man.
Santana helped Brittany with the zipper on the back of her dress. "We just gave the best performance this pathetic school has ever seen."
"Santana, your America was inspirational." Blaine's hair gel had been defeated by the heat of the stage lights, but he was too excited to care. Kurt clapped. "Agreed! Way to go, Santana!" Puck, Mike, Tina, and even Rachel joined in the applause.
Santana hid her pleasure at their praise behind an elaborate bow. "For an uptown prep kid, you didn't do a bad job as Bernardo."
Blaine grinned and did his version of a gangsta pose. "I've got my moves."
Kurt wiped off the stage make-up, and climbed back into his skinnys. "Gotta go. Nigel's waiting for me."
Puck shouldered into his McKinley jacket, and smirked. "So whipped."
Kurt grinned and patted Puck lightly on the cheek. "Jealous?"
Puck laughed and swatted Kurt's hand away. "Fuck off, Princess."
"See you tomorrow, guys." And Kurt was gone.
Kurt crossed the stage quietly, suddenly nervous about what his family, and Nigel had thought of the performance. They were all waiting for him, as he came down the stairs, stage left. The three men stood back and let Carole get to Kurt first.
"Honey, you were amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Her arms were tight around Kurt's neck. When she finally released him, she had tears in her eyes.
"Don't drip all over the boy." Burt laughed at his wife, but his own eyes were moist, as he dragged Kurt into a bear hug. "You did great, kid!"
Finn grinned at Kurt. "Finished macking on my girl, now?"
Kurt laughed, as he stepped away from Burt. "Yes, you can have her back." He moved to stand in front of Nigel, who said nothing. He couldn't say anything, too many feelings threatening to burst out of him. Tony was gone, and his Kurt was back. Nigel blinked tears away, and threw his arms around his boyfriend. "I missed you."
Kurt held Nigel away from him. "What?" He touched Nigel's face. "You okay?"
Nigel shook his head. "No. You were … God, you were amazing, Kurt!"
"You know I'm never going to get that image out of my head. You and Rachel." Finn shuddered.
"Really?" Kurt turned from Nigel, and glared at his step-brother. "One of the most loved musicals of all time, and that's what you came away with? Me kissing Rachel?"
Finn shrugged. "Ummm, it was sad?"
Burt laughed, as Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes, Finn, it was sad."
"Let's celebrate." Burt smiled at Kurt. "It's your choice, Laurence Olivier, where do you want to go?"
It was late, the house was quiet. Burt and Carole had gone to bed. Finn hadn't come back from Rachel's yet. Nigel and Kurt were curled up together on the couch in Kurt's room, talking.
Nigel laced his fingers with Kurt's. "What was it like? You must have been nervous."
Kurt tilted his head, as he thought about it. "When I was on stage, once it started, it was like an out of body experience. The words were just there." Kurt laughed. "But before the performance, backstage, I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up. Rachel had to hold my hands to get me to focus. She taught me this deep breathing exercise." Kurt gestured with his hands. "Then we were on stage; and the next thing I knew it was over, and Rachel was screaming, 'We did it!' I still can't believe it."
"You looked very comfortable on stage, very natural, as if you had been doing it for years."
"Thanks." Kurt shifted until he was lying down, his head in Nigel's lap. "Nigel, what did you mean? After the play, when you hugged me, you said, 'I missed you.' What did you mean?"
Nigel stroked his fingers through Kurt's hair, as he searched for the right words, trying to explain how he had felt watching Kurt on stage. "I always knew you could do it, Kurt. I just wasn't prepared for how it would make me feel, watching you become someone else. It was so strange, looking at you and seeing Tony. The Kurt I knew was gone, and I wanted you back. You were right there, larger than life, lit up on stage, right there in front of me but, it wasn't you."
Nigel leaned down, and Kurt lifted his head to meet him. Kurt's hand rose to trace Nigel's jaw, their mouths warm and sure against each other. Nigel broke the kiss, and smiled down at Kurt. "You are so talented, and I'm so proud of you. But I wanted my Kurt back."
Kurt smiled up at this man who had encouraged him to find himself. "I'll always come back to you, Nigel. On stage, or off stage, in Lima, or in New York, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing, I'll always come back to you."