Fic: When Fears Are Realized (6/?)
Title: When Fears Are Realized (6/?)
Characters / Pairings: Vague Kurt/Blaine. Burt, Carole, Finn.
Rating: R (to be safe)
Spoilers: Vague spoilers for 2.15
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Summary: Burt's worried and Kurt doesn't understand why. Then Blaine shows up on their doorstep.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five
Blaine always associated the smell of pomegranates with warmth and safety. It was the scent that would wash over him whenever he stepped into his sister’s room or when he’d curl into her embrace on long and lonely nights as a pre-teen.
So when he wakes up in the Hummel’s guest bedroom to the smell of pomegranates he does nothing but smile and bury his head back into his pillow, hoping for a few more hours of sleep. It’s only when his nose is buried in the soft cotton of the pillow case that he realizes the smell is coming from his pillow. Blinking awake, he sits up and takes stock of the rumpled sheets next to him.
“Carson?” he asks softly, almost to himself, as he rises from the bed and heads for the door. Once in the hallway he can hear soft voices coming from downstairs. It’s mostly Burt and Carole talking but there’s another, softer, voice floating up as well. Using the wall for support, he carefully makes his way down the stairs until he’s standing in the living room. From his vantage point he can see about half of small dining room table. He looks past Burt’s head, straight into the eyes of his sister.
She stares back at him, eyes soft and he wonders if she really is here or if his dreams have run away with him. Then she stands and suddenly she’s in front of him, tugging him into an embrace and he knows dreams don’t feel this good.
“Car,” he whispers into her hair, arms clasped tightly around her shoulders. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Blaine. You honestly thought I wouldn’t come?” She pulls back, reaching up and hand to tuck a wayward curl behind his ear. Her eyes flick across his face, taking in the bruise along he check and the fingerprints encircling his neck. He sees her lips tighten in anger and has to stop himself from flinching back from the heat in her eyes.
“I didn’t even know you knew. Who called you?”
“Cora,” she answers, softly. Hesitantly she adds, “and Dad.”x He nods, eyes downcast.
“What am I gonna do, Carson? I don’t... “ his breath hitches as his words break off and Carson wraps him in another embrace. She glances over her shoulder in time to see Burt and Carole look down into their coffee. She knows they’ve been listening, but still appreciates the semblance of privacy they’ve given her and her brother.
“Come with me,” she whispers into Blaine’s ear as she loosens her hold and wraps a hand around his wrist. She turns, tugging him along behind her as she makes her way back to the table. Pushing him down into her vacated chair she heads to the kitchen for another cup of coffee, knowing that Blaine will just drink hers.
She came back to find him staring forlornly into the mug, head tucked into his chest and avoiding the Hummel’s attempts at eye contact. She sits in the spare seat across from the table from her brother, nudging him under the table to get his attention. He doesn’t lift his head, just bites his lip and closes his eyes. She knows he’s close to losing it and turns to Burt in an attempt to take the attention off of him.
“So, about my proposal. I know it they aren’t the easiest of options, but those are the only ones I can think of,” she takes a sip of her coffee, breathing in the steam to help clear her head.
Burt shares a contemplative look with Carole before nodding and Carson breathes a sigh of relief.
“I agree with you that neither of these will be the easiest of solutions, but it is the only option we have,” Burt tells her. She chances a glance at Blaine and sees that he’s lifted his head a little and has his brows drawn in confusion. Burt looks between them, a smile gracing his face.
“Ultimately, however, it is up to Blaine,” he says.
Blaine jerks his head up completely at those words, looking between the three of them before settling on Burt.
“What’s up to me?”
Carson looks straight at him now, eyes serious as they catch his.
“Well, there are a couple of ways this can go,” she says. “You already know that Dad signed over his rights, and Mom will sign anything as long as it means she gets more money.” Blaine nods, shifting uncomfortable in his seat.
“Now, since I’m 21 I can legally become your guardian. The only catch with that is that I currently live in the dorms and there’s no way ResLife will let you live with me. So, if I sign the papers, the Hummel’s have graciously offered you a place here for the remainder of the school year and until I can find an apartment. Dad already paid the full year’s tuition at Dalton, so you’ll stay there through this year. After that well, we’ll figure something out.” Carson pauses here, studying her brother. His eyes are distant, thoughtful, and while he has a small smile playing on his lips, he looks resigned as if he has to take this because it’s the only way.
“Or,” she says, breaking the silence. “Burt and Carole have also offered to take over your custody.”
Blaine feels the air rush from his lungs and feels the need to physically brace himself against the table as dizziness overtakes him. Carson didn’t just say that. There’s no way.
“What?” he whispers, voice thick.
“They want to take over parental rights,” Carson answers. She reaches a hand across the expanse of table between them, resting it lightly on top of his and squeezing, grounding him. “You’d live here, with Kurt and Finn and their parents as their adopted son.”
Blaine flounders, eyes wide and shocked as he searches for words his brain can’t find. It’s too busy going over the words Carson has just spoken. The Hummel’s want to adopt him? He’ll admit that the past week had been nice, except for the being sick part, but was he really ready to just... have a new family? Or should he cling to scraps of the crumbling family he already had?
“I... I don’t,” he manages to stutter. “I don’t understand. W-Why?”
Burt leans forward at the question, and Carole reaches over to place a comforting hand on Blaine’s shoulder.
“I think the better question is why we wouldn’t,” Burt says. “I meant what I said the other day, Blaine. You are an amazing young man and I would be honored to be able to call you my son, adopted or not. Why anyone wouldn’t want you as their son is completely beyond me.”
“He’s right, Blaine,” says Carole “You’re bright and talented and just a genuinely good kid. Anyone who can’t see that has no business calling themselves a parent.” She leans toward him, making sure to catch his now wet eyes before continuing. “I also want you to know that we will in no way force you to choose us. If you want Carson to be your legal guardian that is just fine. You’ll still stay with us throughout the school year. Just know, Blaine, that I am so proud of you, and I too would be honored to have you as my son.”
Blaine almost hyperventilates as he tries to draw in enough air to ease the soft sobs coming from him. He wipes at his eyes ineffectively and sinks into the embrace when Carson rounds the table to wrap her arms around him. He turns in her hold, burying his head into her stomach and letting the tears overtake him. Carson cards her fingers through his curls, fingers lingering at the nape of his neck as she soothes him.
“Take a day or two,” she says softly. “Think about it. We’re not asking you to decide right now. Blaine, no one here will be mad at you. It is your decision and we will all respect that.” She feels Blaine nod against her stomach and notices that the shaking of his body has mostly stopped. Pushing him back slightly, she runs her thumbs across his cheeks, wiping away the traces of his sadness.
“This will work out for you. I promise.”
Blaine nods again before turning around and grasping the coffee in front of him. He takes a few sips, mostly to stall, but also to clear his head before attempting to speak. Once he sets the mug down he stares into it and opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He looks to Carole, face flushed and eyes bright and she stands, saving him from his embarrassment.
“Who wants breakfast?”
Carson and Burt laugh and Blaine shoots Carole a thankful look before settling down in his seat, thoughts still heavy on his mind.
***
Kurt Hummel was not having a good day. He’d slept through his alarm and had to rush through his morning moisturizing routine and then been rushed out the door with barely a goodbye to his parents, let alone Blaine. It was only when he’d gotten outside and seen the unfamiliar car in his driveway that he knew there was a guest over and as much as he wanted to go back inside and investigate the clock on his phone reminded him that he was still behind schedule.
Once he got to school, barely managing to make it in time for the tardy bell, he was met with stares and whispers, everyone still wanting to know what was going on with Blaine and not accepting his customary answer that it wasn’t his story to tell. The only people he was keeping in the loop were Wes and David and that was only because they were both Blaine’s friends and council members.
He was growing increasingly tired of the looks, the furtive glances the other students thought he didn’t notice. It set him on edge, made him paranoid and he would have liked to yell at them, but that would only serve to get him detention.
At long last the day’s classes had drawn to a close and Kurt was able to make his way to the Senior Commons for rehearsal. Settling himself on a couch facing the door, he avoided everyone’s eyes as they entered and only looked up with Wes stopped in front of him, eyebrow raised. He quickly stood, ushering Wes into the far corner and turning so that Wes faced the wall. This way he could see if someone was inching closer to the pair in order to hear and could stop his explanation.
They stayed there until rehearsal began and Kurt walked with Wes and David out to the parking lot, filling them in on the last details from the past couple or days.
“Then I wake up and there’s a strange car in my driveway and someone in my house. I don’t know who, didn’t see, but why else would some random person just show up?”
David looks deep in thought, as though he’s mentally calculating something.
“It’s probably Carson,” says Wes and David nods, eyes clearing as Wes states what was clearly running through his head.
“Carson?” Kurt asks.
“Yeah. Blaine’s sister. She goes to Yale,” David informs him.
“Huh, that’s possible.” They stop beside Kurt’s car and he bids them farewell, promising to let them know should anything else come up. Both boys had asked their parents about Blaine’s situation, and while they wanted to, neither family had the means or the room to take Blaine in.
He thinks about it the entire drive back to Lima. What’s going to happen, where Blaine will live. How Blaine will live. Pulling into his driveway, he notices that the car is still there and quickly makes his way inside. He drops his bag on the couch, planning to give Blaine his homework later before walking into the kitchen. He finds a note from his dad, telling him that both he and Carole are at work and that Carson is with Blaine in the guest room. Discarding the piece of paper on the fridge, Kurt heads for the stairs and ascends them quickly, coming to a stop before the guest room.
There’s soft sounds coming from within, muted conversation interspersed with the occasional giggle. Kurt raises a hand, knocking softly and enters at the shouted invitation.
“Hey,” he says, opening the door. Blaine sits on the bed, Carson next to him with her laptop open between them. There’s a movie paused on the screen but Kurt can’t see what it is.
“Kurt!” Blaine exclaims, jumping from the bed and rushing to embrace him. Kurt blinks at the transformation in his friend. At the bubbly laughter erupting from his throat and the bright twinkle that has returned to his eye. Carson watches from the bed, catching Kurt’s eye and giving him a soft smile.
“Guess what?” Blaine asks, bouncing as he let’s Kurt go.
“You’re feeling better?”
“Well, yes, but that’s not it.” Blaine waves it off, excitement rolling off him in waves. “I’m living here, with you!”
Kurt stops breathing, staring at the boy in front of him. The beautiful boy who entranced him with Teenage Dream and has been in the forefront of Kurt’s mind ever since. The boy who is radiating happiness at the moment, making him look younger and even more perfect than usual. Kurt beams at him, utterly delighted that his best friend, the boy he’s fallen hopelessly in love with, is going to be living with him.
He rushes to embrace Blaine, wrapping the shorter boy in his arms and squeezing so tightly that he’s sure he’s hurting Blaine. He doesn’t seem to care though as he just squeezes back and Kurt still can’t catch his breath. The lightheaded feeling completely taking over and before he can tell his brain not to he’s pulled away enough to attach his lips to Blaine’s. At the feeling of Blaine’s lips on his, however, he crashes back down and pulls back to see the shock in Blaine’s eyes and the redness seeping into his lips. Carson is still staring at them, her mouth having fallen open in surprise.
Kurt steps away from Blaine, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth.
“Well, that was unexpected,” mutters Carson from the bed and it jerks Kurt out of his stunned stupor.
“I... I’m so sorry. I don’t. I’m sorry.” He turns and runs from the room, tearing down the hall and into his own room, slamming the door before flopping face first onto his bed, letting his tears soak into his pillow.
‘Stupid,’ he thinks to himself. ‘So, so stupid.’
Characters / Pairings: Vague Kurt/Blaine. Burt, Carole, Finn.
Rating: R (to be safe)
Spoilers: Vague spoilers for 2.15
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Summary: Burt's worried and Kurt doesn't understand why. Then Blaine shows up on their doorstep.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five
Blaine always associated the smell of pomegranates with warmth and safety. It was the scent that would wash over him whenever he stepped into his sister’s room or when he’d curl into her embrace on long and lonely nights as a pre-teen.
So when he wakes up in the Hummel’s guest bedroom to the smell of pomegranates he does nothing but smile and bury his head back into his pillow, hoping for a few more hours of sleep. It’s only when his nose is buried in the soft cotton of the pillow case that he realizes the smell is coming from his pillow. Blinking awake, he sits up and takes stock of the rumpled sheets next to him.
“Carson?” he asks softly, almost to himself, as he rises from the bed and heads for the door. Once in the hallway he can hear soft voices coming from downstairs. It’s mostly Burt and Carole talking but there’s another, softer, voice floating up as well. Using the wall for support, he carefully makes his way down the stairs until he’s standing in the living room. From his vantage point he can see about half of small dining room table. He looks past Burt’s head, straight into the eyes of his sister.
She stares back at him, eyes soft and he wonders if she really is here or if his dreams have run away with him. Then she stands and suddenly she’s in front of him, tugging him into an embrace and he knows dreams don’t feel this good.
“Car,” he whispers into her hair, arms clasped tightly around her shoulders. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Blaine. You honestly thought I wouldn’t come?” She pulls back, reaching up and hand to tuck a wayward curl behind his ear. Her eyes flick across his face, taking in the bruise along he check and the fingerprints encircling his neck. He sees her lips tighten in anger and has to stop himself from flinching back from the heat in her eyes.
“I didn’t even know you knew. Who called you?”
“Cora,” she answers, softly. Hesitantly she adds, “and Dad.”x He nods, eyes downcast.
“What am I gonna do, Carson? I don’t... “ his breath hitches as his words break off and Carson wraps him in another embrace. She glances over her shoulder in time to see Burt and Carole look down into their coffee. She knows they’ve been listening, but still appreciates the semblance of privacy they’ve given her and her brother.
“Come with me,” she whispers into Blaine’s ear as she loosens her hold and wraps a hand around his wrist. She turns, tugging him along behind her as she makes her way back to the table. Pushing him down into her vacated chair she heads to the kitchen for another cup of coffee, knowing that Blaine will just drink hers.
She came back to find him staring forlornly into the mug, head tucked into his chest and avoiding the Hummel’s attempts at eye contact. She sits in the spare seat across from the table from her brother, nudging him under the table to get his attention. He doesn’t lift his head, just bites his lip and closes his eyes. She knows he’s close to losing it and turns to Burt in an attempt to take the attention off of him.
“So, about my proposal. I know it they aren’t the easiest of options, but those are the only ones I can think of,” she takes a sip of her coffee, breathing in the steam to help clear her head.
Burt shares a contemplative look with Carole before nodding and Carson breathes a sigh of relief.
“I agree with you that neither of these will be the easiest of solutions, but it is the only option we have,” Burt tells her. She chances a glance at Blaine and sees that he’s lifted his head a little and has his brows drawn in confusion. Burt looks between them, a smile gracing his face.
“Ultimately, however, it is up to Blaine,” he says.
Blaine jerks his head up completely at those words, looking between the three of them before settling on Burt.
“What’s up to me?”
Carson looks straight at him now, eyes serious as they catch his.
“Well, there are a couple of ways this can go,” she says. “You already know that Dad signed over his rights, and Mom will sign anything as long as it means she gets more money.” Blaine nods, shifting uncomfortable in his seat.
“Now, since I’m 21 I can legally become your guardian. The only catch with that is that I currently live in the dorms and there’s no way ResLife will let you live with me. So, if I sign the papers, the Hummel’s have graciously offered you a place here for the remainder of the school year and until I can find an apartment. Dad already paid the full year’s tuition at Dalton, so you’ll stay there through this year. After that well, we’ll figure something out.” Carson pauses here, studying her brother. His eyes are distant, thoughtful, and while he has a small smile playing on his lips, he looks resigned as if he has to take this because it’s the only way.
“Or,” she says, breaking the silence. “Burt and Carole have also offered to take over your custody.”
Blaine feels the air rush from his lungs and feels the need to physically brace himself against the table as dizziness overtakes him. Carson didn’t just say that. There’s no way.
“What?” he whispers, voice thick.
“They want to take over parental rights,” Carson answers. She reaches a hand across the expanse of table between them, resting it lightly on top of his and squeezing, grounding him. “You’d live here, with Kurt and Finn and their parents as their adopted son.”
Blaine flounders, eyes wide and shocked as he searches for words his brain can’t find. It’s too busy going over the words Carson has just spoken. The Hummel’s want to adopt him? He’ll admit that the past week had been nice, except for the being sick part, but was he really ready to just... have a new family? Or should he cling to scraps of the crumbling family he already had?
“I... I don’t,” he manages to stutter. “I don’t understand. W-Why?”
Burt leans forward at the question, and Carole reaches over to place a comforting hand on Blaine’s shoulder.
“I think the better question is why we wouldn’t,” Burt says. “I meant what I said the other day, Blaine. You are an amazing young man and I would be honored to be able to call you my son, adopted or not. Why anyone wouldn’t want you as their son is completely beyond me.”
“He’s right, Blaine,” says Carole “You’re bright and talented and just a genuinely good kid. Anyone who can’t see that has no business calling themselves a parent.” She leans toward him, making sure to catch his now wet eyes before continuing. “I also want you to know that we will in no way force you to choose us. If you want Carson to be your legal guardian that is just fine. You’ll still stay with us throughout the school year. Just know, Blaine, that I am so proud of you, and I too would be honored to have you as my son.”
Blaine almost hyperventilates as he tries to draw in enough air to ease the soft sobs coming from him. He wipes at his eyes ineffectively and sinks into the embrace when Carson rounds the table to wrap her arms around him. He turns in her hold, burying his head into her stomach and letting the tears overtake him. Carson cards her fingers through his curls, fingers lingering at the nape of his neck as she soothes him.
“Take a day or two,” she says softly. “Think about it. We’re not asking you to decide right now. Blaine, no one here will be mad at you. It is your decision and we will all respect that.” She feels Blaine nod against her stomach and notices that the shaking of his body has mostly stopped. Pushing him back slightly, she runs her thumbs across his cheeks, wiping away the traces of his sadness.
“This will work out for you. I promise.”
Blaine nods again before turning around and grasping the coffee in front of him. He takes a few sips, mostly to stall, but also to clear his head before attempting to speak. Once he sets the mug down he stares into it and opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He looks to Carole, face flushed and eyes bright and she stands, saving him from his embarrassment.
“Who wants breakfast?”
Carson and Burt laugh and Blaine shoots Carole a thankful look before settling down in his seat, thoughts still heavy on his mind.
***
Kurt Hummel was not having a good day. He’d slept through his alarm and had to rush through his morning moisturizing routine and then been rushed out the door with barely a goodbye to his parents, let alone Blaine. It was only when he’d gotten outside and seen the unfamiliar car in his driveway that he knew there was a guest over and as much as he wanted to go back inside and investigate the clock on his phone reminded him that he was still behind schedule.
Once he got to school, barely managing to make it in time for the tardy bell, he was met with stares and whispers, everyone still wanting to know what was going on with Blaine and not accepting his customary answer that it wasn’t his story to tell. The only people he was keeping in the loop were Wes and David and that was only because they were both Blaine’s friends and council members.
He was growing increasingly tired of the looks, the furtive glances the other students thought he didn’t notice. It set him on edge, made him paranoid and he would have liked to yell at them, but that would only serve to get him detention.
At long last the day’s classes had drawn to a close and Kurt was able to make his way to the Senior Commons for rehearsal. Settling himself on a couch facing the door, he avoided everyone’s eyes as they entered and only looked up with Wes stopped in front of him, eyebrow raised. He quickly stood, ushering Wes into the far corner and turning so that Wes faced the wall. This way he could see if someone was inching closer to the pair in order to hear and could stop his explanation.
They stayed there until rehearsal began and Kurt walked with Wes and David out to the parking lot, filling them in on the last details from the past couple or days.
“Then I wake up and there’s a strange car in my driveway and someone in my house. I don’t know who, didn’t see, but why else would some random person just show up?”
David looks deep in thought, as though he’s mentally calculating something.
“It’s probably Carson,” says Wes and David nods, eyes clearing as Wes states what was clearly running through his head.
“Carson?” Kurt asks.
“Yeah. Blaine’s sister. She goes to Yale,” David informs him.
“Huh, that’s possible.” They stop beside Kurt’s car and he bids them farewell, promising to let them know should anything else come up. Both boys had asked their parents about Blaine’s situation, and while they wanted to, neither family had the means or the room to take Blaine in.
He thinks about it the entire drive back to Lima. What’s going to happen, where Blaine will live. How Blaine will live. Pulling into his driveway, he notices that the car is still there and quickly makes his way inside. He drops his bag on the couch, planning to give Blaine his homework later before walking into the kitchen. He finds a note from his dad, telling him that both he and Carole are at work and that Carson is with Blaine in the guest room. Discarding the piece of paper on the fridge, Kurt heads for the stairs and ascends them quickly, coming to a stop before the guest room.
There’s soft sounds coming from within, muted conversation interspersed with the occasional giggle. Kurt raises a hand, knocking softly and enters at the shouted invitation.
“Hey,” he says, opening the door. Blaine sits on the bed, Carson next to him with her laptop open between them. There’s a movie paused on the screen but Kurt can’t see what it is.
“Kurt!” Blaine exclaims, jumping from the bed and rushing to embrace him. Kurt blinks at the transformation in his friend. At the bubbly laughter erupting from his throat and the bright twinkle that has returned to his eye. Carson watches from the bed, catching Kurt’s eye and giving him a soft smile.
“Guess what?” Blaine asks, bouncing as he let’s Kurt go.
“You’re feeling better?”
“Well, yes, but that’s not it.” Blaine waves it off, excitement rolling off him in waves. “I’m living here, with you!”
Kurt stops breathing, staring at the boy in front of him. The beautiful boy who entranced him with Teenage Dream and has been in the forefront of Kurt’s mind ever since. The boy who is radiating happiness at the moment, making him look younger and even more perfect than usual. Kurt beams at him, utterly delighted that his best friend, the boy he’s fallen hopelessly in love with, is going to be living with him.
He rushes to embrace Blaine, wrapping the shorter boy in his arms and squeezing so tightly that he’s sure he’s hurting Blaine. He doesn’t seem to care though as he just squeezes back and Kurt still can’t catch his breath. The lightheaded feeling completely taking over and before he can tell his brain not to he’s pulled away enough to attach his lips to Blaine’s. At the feeling of Blaine’s lips on his, however, he crashes back down and pulls back to see the shock in Blaine’s eyes and the redness seeping into his lips. Carson is still staring at them, her mouth having fallen open in surprise.
Kurt steps away from Blaine, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth.
“Well, that was unexpected,” mutters Carson from the bed and it jerks Kurt out of his stunned stupor.
“I... I’m so sorry. I don’t. I’m sorry.” He turns and runs from the room, tearing down the hall and into his own room, slamming the door before flopping face first onto his bed, letting his tears soak into his pillow.
‘Stupid,’ he thinks to himself. ‘So, so stupid.’