A/N: This chapter made me grin and tear up a little as i was writing it. It's dedicated to my amazing beta Shelly for always being there for me, and because she's a sucker for a good Burt/Kurt moment :)

Chapter 28

Kurt walked home slowly, he had taken the long way home needing the extra couple of minutes to clear his head. His heart felt empty knowing he would be spending an evening without Blaine, he knew it was stupid, he was just a stupid little boy who was upset because his friend didn't want to play with him any more, but it was so much more than that. Blaine was going to have a date tonight, he was spending time with someone else, someone else who was going to make it so easy for Blaine to forget about Kurt. Kurt didn't want to be forgotten about, his dad had forgotten about him growing up, and even though everything with his dad was pretty much perfect now, the idea of Blaine forgetting him made his world fall down.

"Kurt, where have you been I've been worried sick!" Burt's voice made Kurt jump as he walked through the door. He looked up at the clock and frowned when he saw it was almost five. Helping Blaine get ready and taking the long way home had taken longer than he thought.

"Sorry, i was at Blaine's." Kurt shrugged.

"No, you left his house almost an hour ago." Burt frowned, his anger at Kurt being late had died down now that he saw that his son was safe. "He phoned, to say you might be a little upset."

"I'm fine, Dad." Kurt sighed, he didn't know whether to be angry or relieved that Blaine had called his dad to give him a heads up on his mood. "I just took the long way home, wanted to clear my head. I'm sorry."

"Okay." Burt nodded watching him closely. "Go and put your things away, and get ready for dinner."

"I'm not really hungry," Kurt sighed.

"Too bad, I am. Go on, I ordered your favourite." Burt said and watched as his son sighed and walked down to his bedroom. A few minutes later Kurt was back wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms and his new jumper Burt had gotten him. He looked so young and vulnerable and Burt wanted to wrap his son in his arms and never let anything hurt him again.

"You didn't have to order take out Dad." Kurt said as he stared at the Thai food his dad had laid out on the table.

"It was your first day back, I wanted to do something special." Burt smiled.

"Dad, you don't have to keep making up for the past. I forgive you. I love you. You can stop this now." Kurt said, pouring himself some orange juice and then topping up his dad's glass, missing the sad expression that swept over his father's face.

"I know." Burt shrugged and looked down at his plate. Kurt shrugged and sat down opposite him, he wasn't in the mood for small talk so started to eat. "Let me tell you a story about your mom."

"What?" Kurt frowned looking up at his dad with wide eyes. it was rare for his dad to talk about her, it made them both so sad when he did, but Kurt loved hearing about his mom, even if it made his heart ache with loss.

"I want you to know how me and your mom met." Burt said, taking a long sip of his orange juice.

"You met at school, you were college sweethearts." Kurt frowned. "mom told me when I was little."

"I bet she didn't tell you the whole story," Burt smiled.

"What is the whole story?" Kurt whispered, looking up intrigued.

"I chased your mom through high school, she was smart and pretty and all the boys wanted her. But, she didn't care about them. She had a nice group of friends, she was smart and focused and she knew what she wanted out of life." Burt sighed softly, he took a bite of his food letting the memories of his wife wash over him.

"I wasted no oppurtunity in telling her how I felt, I brought her flowers, chocolates..."

"You wooed her?" Kurt giggled, he couldn't imagine his father falling at the feet of any woman.

"I tried my hardest." Burt laughed. "She was never horrible when she turned me down, she said for now we were friends and when I matured, when I realised what I wanted in life and then maybe we could go for dinner."

"What did you want in life?" Kurt frowned. "Before she agreed."

"I was a football player, I wanted to play football for the rest of my life, i loved the game, but your mom...she showed me there was more to life."

"When did you realise?"

"When I went to college, I didn't get a scholarship, so I guessed I wasn't meant to be a football star, it was hard as hell but I was good with cars, I liked cars, so i went to train as a mechanic, I took business and got a job at the local garage."

"There's always only been one garage in Lima."

"And look whose it is now." Burt winked. Kurt chuckled rolling his eyes. "I met your mother again in college, we had no idea we both applied to the same one, she had been dating other guys and i just waited."

"You waited?" Kurt frowned.

"Don't get me wrong kid, it was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. But I waited. Your mom saw me, we went for coffee, we studied together, we were friends, until one night she gave me the chance to take her on a date. I jumped at the chance and it was the best night of my life."

Kurt smiled, he looked at his food and rolled his eyes at the message his dad was trying to tell him. "You think I should wait for Blaine to notice me."

"I know you should." Burt said softly. "I'm not too impressed that the man you want to spend your life with is already a man, and you're still just a boy, but he's a good man, and you're an amazing boy."

"He'd never hurt me." Kurt breathed.

"No, he wouldn't." Burt smiled. "Don't change anything you do with him, Kurt. Don't pull yourself away just be there, and sooner than later he will see you. He'll realise just what the hell he's been missing, and then you can have your happy ever afters."

"Thanks Dad." Kurt smiled, he got up from his chair and rushed over to his side and wrapped his arms around him.

"You're welcome, kid." Burt smiled rubbing his back softly.

Kurt laid back on his bed looking at a picture of his mom and dad, it was his favourite picture of them; they both looked so happy and in love and Kurt used to fall asleep wishing that he would have that in his life. "I'm going to wait Mom," Kurt whispered stroking the picture. "I'm going to wait and then me and Blaine will be just as happy as you and Dad." Kurt whispered. "I wish you were here, I think you'd like him, he's perfect."

The buzzing of his phone made Kurt jump, he set the photo down carefully and and grabbed his cell, sighing when he saw Blaine's name flashing on his screen.

"Hey," Kurt said lightly as he answered it.

"Did i wake you?" Blaine's voice was soft on the other end.

"No, I was just about to go to bed though."

"Oh, sorry. I won't keep you."

"Its okay." Kurt smiled, "How...How was your evening?"

"It was alright, honestly...It was boring." Blaine laughed.

"Boring?" Kurt frowned.

"Dinner...the conversation was awkward, and there were so many silent moments."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Truly, I am." Kurt whispered.

"It's okay, what's meant to be is what's meant to be." Blaine said, and Kurt felt as though Blaine was trying to tell him something else. Something deeper. "Goodnight Kurt."

"Goodnight Blaine." Kurt smiled and ended the call.

Kurt curled up on his bed smiling, he had a feeling that his heart wouldn't have to wait for much longer.