glee; brighter by starlight section ii
Title: Brighter by Starlight [section ii]
Fandom: Glee
Rating: for this section, G
Length: 516 words
Warnings: None for this section
Characters/Pairings: Blaine, his father
Summary: A character study of Blaine. His father picks him up from school.
ii. shy
n. wary and distrustful; lacking self-confidence
Blaine is five, and he is a shrinking violet.
It's frustrating; James can't deny that. Little boys - his little boy, especially - should be out playing rough-and-tumble games with the rest of them, or scaring the girls with worms and spiders or whatever it was that children did these days. Blaine seemed happy enough on his own, cross-legged and tracing patterns of words he can't quite read yet with a little crease in his forehead, and the staff had no complaints, but... It just seems odd. James certainly couldn't remember being more interested in reading than tag and four-square at that age.
At least Blaine's intelligent, he reassures himself. He'll get good grades and go to college (and certainly not a liberal arts one) and make something of himself, and that's really what matters.
James kneels down and Blaine starts at his sudden appearance. “Hi, dad,” he says, a broad smile curling his lips. Blaine's hair is getting too long again, James notices; strands are beginning to curl into his eyes and he looks a mess. He'll need to get something done about that.
“Hey, little man,” he says, happy enough to smile back as he watches his son snap his book shut and stand up. “How was your day?”
The smile fades into a tiny frown as Blaine seems to ponder this question across the expanse of the classroom and out into the corridor. “I'm not little,” he insists, “but today was good. I got put in the red group for reading.”
“Oh? Is that good?”
Blaine nods, his smile suddenly returning. “Yeah! It's the best one, so miss must think I'm smart.”
Like he would be anything else, James hears himself think. “Of course you are. Just like your dad, hmm? Are you going to tell mom about it?”
“Uh-huh.” There is silence as they head towards the car, and Blaine fidgets in his seat as James starts the engine. The little crease in his forehead has returned. “Is mom okay today?”
James closes his eyes for a moment and breathes out, slowly, wondering how do you explain to a five-year-old that you don't know? “She's just tired because of the baby,” he says carefully, the words feeling heavy in his mouth. “You know that she loves you, right?”
“I want her to be normal again.”
Oh, Christ. Blaine's eyes are watery and his lip is quivering as James looks at him through the rear-view mirror and has no idea what the hell he's supposed to say to that. Fuck, being reassuring is hard and - he's five, what the hell can he possibly say that would shut him up because he really just doesn't want to deal with this right now? “Hey, Blaine, come on, there's no need for that. Man up, mom's going to be just fine.”
He picks the easy option.
Blaine sniffs one last time, but apparently relents. He stares out of the window, his eyes dry for the rest of the drive. Man up.
i. elation || iii. exclusion
Fandom: Glee
Rating: for this section, G
Length: 516 words
Warnings: None for this section
Characters/Pairings: Blaine, his father
Summary: A character study of Blaine. His father picks him up from school.
ii. shy
n. wary and distrustful; lacking self-confidence
Blaine is five, and he is a shrinking violet.
It's frustrating; James can't deny that. Little boys - his little boy, especially - should be out playing rough-and-tumble games with the rest of them, or scaring the girls with worms and spiders or whatever it was that children did these days. Blaine seemed happy enough on his own, cross-legged and tracing patterns of words he can't quite read yet with a little crease in his forehead, and the staff had no complaints, but... It just seems odd. James certainly couldn't remember being more interested in reading than tag and four-square at that age.
At least Blaine's intelligent, he reassures himself. He'll get good grades and go to college (and certainly not a liberal arts one) and make something of himself, and that's really what matters.
James kneels down and Blaine starts at his sudden appearance. “Hi, dad,” he says, a broad smile curling his lips. Blaine's hair is getting too long again, James notices; strands are beginning to curl into his eyes and he looks a mess. He'll need to get something done about that.
“Hey, little man,” he says, happy enough to smile back as he watches his son snap his book shut and stand up. “How was your day?”
The smile fades into a tiny frown as Blaine seems to ponder this question across the expanse of the classroom and out into the corridor. “I'm not little,” he insists, “but today was good. I got put in the red group for reading.”
“Oh? Is that good?”
Blaine nods, his smile suddenly returning. “Yeah! It's the best one, so miss must think I'm smart.”
Like he would be anything else, James hears himself think. “Of course you are. Just like your dad, hmm? Are you going to tell mom about it?”
“Uh-huh.” There is silence as they head towards the car, and Blaine fidgets in his seat as James starts the engine. The little crease in his forehead has returned. “Is mom okay today?”
James closes his eyes for a moment and breathes out, slowly, wondering how do you explain to a five-year-old that you don't know? “She's just tired because of the baby,” he says carefully, the words feeling heavy in his mouth. “You know that she loves you, right?”
“I want her to be normal again.”
Oh, Christ. Blaine's eyes are watery and his lip is quivering as James looks at him through the rear-view mirror and has no idea what the hell he's supposed to say to that. Fuck, being reassuring is hard and - he's five, what the hell can he possibly say that would shut him up because he really just doesn't want to deal with this right now? “Hey, Blaine, come on, there's no need for that. Man up, mom's going to be just fine.”
He picks the easy option.
Blaine sniffs one last time, but apparently relents. He stares out of the window, his eyes dry for the rest of the drive. Man up.
i. elation || iii. exclusion