Fic: The Last Song, Part 5 COMPLETE
Title: The Last Song
Author: jjjjordo
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,284 for this part, 23,866 overall.
Summary: When Burt left their family, Kurt shut everything out of his life: his family, his friends, and, most importantly, music. However, when he is forced to spend a summer in Florida with Burt and Finn, he meets volleyball player and bird expert Bliane Anderson, whose easygoing smile and carefree attitude breaks down Kurt's walls and shows him that it's okay to forgive and let people back in. Based off of this prompt, a Last Song/Glee fusion where Blaine is Will and Kurt is Ronnie.
Author's Note: Wow, this has been a journey. I have never done a big bang and I've never written a fic this long before. A million thanks go out to the amazing spookykat, who beta'd my fic and contributed some of the most brilliant, in-character lines I think I have ever read at some points. Thanks also go out to kurtage, who made the beautiful mix that goes along with this fic and whose username is not linking correctly. It's been an amazing little journey, and I really can't wait to do it again!
Blaine nearly sped all the way to Kurt’s house.
“How could I have forgotten about that?” he groaned as he drove.
“I don’t know, maybe you were distracted.” Kurt said, smirking as he looked out the window. He thought he saw Blaine grin out of the corner of his eye.
They arrived to Kurt’s soon enough, to see Burt and Finn both crouched over the bush, staring at it intently. When they saw the car pull up, they both backed up a bit to give Kurt and Blaine room to come in and inspect the nest. Sure enough, when they looked, there were two little birds in the nest chirping away. Pavarotti was with them, chirping along happily with them. Kurt and Blaine both grinned and, as they backed away from the bush so that Finn could look again, Blaine threw an arm around Kurt’s waist, pulling him close. Burt smiled as Kurt put his head on Blaine’s shoulder, feeling at peace.
Finn chattered on about how cute the little birds were, and asked questions about Pavarotti and canaries that neither Kurt nor Blaine felt like answering as they cradled each other. Burt remained oddly silent. He looked a bit pale to Kurt, but perhaps that was just a trick of the evening light.
“Now that Pavarotti’s healed, we won’t have to worry about feeding her.” Blaine said. The relief in his voice was evident, and Kurt laughed. They stood there for a second, and then Blaine turned to him, a gentle smile on his face.
“I love you.” He said softly, the look in his eyes proving his sentence beyond a doubt.
Kurt had no idea what to say. The only people who had ever said those three words to him (outside of song, which doesn’t count anyway) were his parents. A guy had never loved him, and he wasn’t sure what to say at first, besides the obvious.
“I love you, too.” He nearly squeaked, trying not to scream or anything.
Blaine grinned and pulled him in for a full kiss. He could care less whether or not Finn and Burt were watching, the former completely grossed out. When they pulled apart, Burt clutched his chest, eyes widening.
“I know, I know…your heart is breaking because your only son it growing up and having a boyfriend,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes but grinning, “You can stop it, Dad. I’ve got it.”
However, Burt didn’t stop. He coughed, breathing heavily and starting to sweat. Kurt pulled away from Blaine and approached his father, putting a hand on his back.
“Dad, what’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes wider than normal. His heart pounded so hard, he felt like his whole body was pulsing.
Burt just shook his head, but he started to fall. Finn, having played football for four years, had great reflexes, and rushed to catch him with Kurt’s help.
“Call 911!” Kurt snapped at Blaine, who immediately whipped out his cell phone.
Kurt and Finn slowly lowered Burt to the ground, and Kurt knelt over him, tears spilling out of his eyes.
“Dad?” he whimpered. He gingery placed a hand on Burt’s chest and felt it rise and fall abnormally fast as Burt struggled to breathe. Kurt watched him like that for a while, just lying there helpless.
“An ambulance will be here in a couple of minutes.” Blaine said softly, kneeling down next to Kurt and throwing an arm around his shoulder. Kurt squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his face into Blaine’s shoulder for comfort. It was all he really needed at that point.
***
“Kurt Hummel?” a woman with a clipboard called.
Kurt looked up from where he was sitting in the lobby of the emergency room with Blaine. They were cuddled together, Blaine pressing light kisses to Kurt’s temple and forehead, telling him it was going to be okay.
“Yes?” Kurt asked shakily, standing. His eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but if the woman noticed, she didn’t say anything.
“Could you and your brother come back here please?” she asked sweetly with a warm smile.
“Come on, Kurt.” Blaine said when Kurt didn’t move. He put a hand on the small of Kurt’s back to guide him along. Finn followed obediently.
The woman led the three of them out of the lobby and down a few hallways. They followed quietly, the only sound being Kurt’s periodic sniffling. However, Blaine held him close as they walked, and he felt a little better. Finally, the woman stopped in front of a room, and gestured for them to enter. Normally, only two visitors at a time were allowed, she reminded Blaine quietly as Kurt went inside first, but she was willing to make an exception this time. She told the three boys not to touch Burt, as they were performing some tests on him at that moment. However, Finn and Kurt heard none of this, as the two of them were looking on with shock. Blaine just nodded and whispered a ‘thank you’ before she walked away.
“Daddy?” Kurt whimpered as his eyes fell on his father.
He was hooked up to multiple machines, a constant whirring and beeping diminishing Blaine’s hope that they could sit in silence. His skin was pale and dead-looking, to Kurt’s horror. He gripped onto the side railings of the bed, his knuckles turning white as he looked at his father.
“Kurt, let’s sit down.” Blaine said soothingly right into Kurt’s ear, prying his fingers off of the railings.
Kurt nodded slowly, his eyes a world away, and sat down in one of the two chairs, Blaine in the other. Finn stood at the side of the room awkwardly, not sure where he should stand where he wouldn’t be in the way. Kurt’s knee bounced up and down rapidly in anticipation as they waited, and Blaine stopped it with his hand, whispering “Kurt, it’s going to be okay.” Kurt just stared at the lifeless form of his father lying there in the hospital bed.
What seemed like hours later, a doctor came in with a clipboard, looking solemn. Kurt stood up the second he did, his breath hitching. Blaine stood as well, holding his hand for support.
“He’s going to be okay.” was the first thing out of the doctor’s mouth. Kurt sighed audibly in relief and Blaine squeezed his hand reassuringly. Finn gave a small smile.
“However,” the doctor said, holding up a finger, “Your father has a type of arrhythmia called tachycardia, which essentially caused his heart to beat irregularly. Irregular heartbeats aren’t uncommon, however, his was pronounced enough to induce a heart attack. We’ve been treating him for a while now. This was just one of the more severe attacks he’s had, and I fear that he’s not getting much better. His heart is stable now, but I’m not sure if or when his heartbeat will spike again. There’s a possibility that it could get worse.”
“What do mean you’ve been treating him for a while? I’ve been here all summer, and I knew nothing about this.” Kurt said, shaking his head, “How long ago did his treatments start?”
“Well,” the doctor said, flipping through pages on his clipboard, “We actually received a call from Carole back in January. Because this condition is so volatile, it was recommended that he live closer to a hospital that could accommodate to it. This hospital is ranked among the best in the country that specialize in treating heart conditions like his, and since your father’s case was so much more unstable than normal, it was recommended that he move down here so that we could treat him to the best of our ability.
The color drained from Kurt’s face. This explained so much: why Burt had left, why Carole had seemed sad about it rather than angry (which she would have been if he really had cheated), why Burt had looked so pained with every accusation Kurt made towards him…
But it still didn’t make sense to Kurt. Someone would’ve needed to be there just in case something happened. Carole wouldn’t have just left Burt alone in Florida to fend for himself, especially not during the summer when he had his two children over.
“You knew, didn’t you?” he asked softly, turning to Finn. Tears were already welling up in his eyes. “You knew all this time, all this stupid summer, and you didn’t even tell me.”
“Kurt, I swear, he was going to tell you…” Finn said, his eyes widening.
“Well, why didn’t he?” Kurt snapped. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because he wanted you to have some you time for once!” Finn cried, throwing his arms up in frustration. “Kurt, you’re always trying to take care of everybody else and be with everybody else, but you never stop and take care of yourself. Burt knew that, and once you and Blaine became friends, he saw how happy you were. Neither of us wanted that to stop.”
Kurt just stared at Finn for a long time as tears slid slowly down his cheeks. Burt had cared that much for him, and he had just pushed him away for a while. The whole time, he was suffering, but he wanted Kurt to be happy, so he didn’t say anything. And that could very well have cost him his life. Kurt’s head spun with the realization.
He barely heard the doctor talking after that, and what he did hear sounded like gibberish in his state of mind. Blaine sat him back down after the doctor left the room and knelt down in front of the chair, looking into Kurt’s eyes.
“Kurt, you need to listen to me.” He said softly, breaking Kurt from his trance. He just nodded.
“The doctor just told us that they contacted Carole the moment Burt got in; she should be here in a couple of hours. Finn just went to the cafeteria because there’s only allowed to be two visitors in here at a time, so we’ll take shifts, okay? Your dad is unconscious right now, but he should be fine soon. Kurt, do you understand?” Blaine said slowly, not breaking eye contact with Kurt.
“I understand.” Kurt whispered, nodding. He and Blaine just looked at each other for a while after that, tears sliding silently down Kurt’s cheeks.
“Come here.” Blaine said, getting up and motioning for Kurt to hug him. He did, and they remained that way for a minute or so.
It was nice, just hugging Blaine. Kurt felt like he never wanted to let go, at least not anytime soon. He felt like he could hold on to Blaine forever, and everything would be just fine.
Blaine pulled away from the hug to cup Kurt’s face, smiling softly at him. He wiped stray tears away with his thumbs, and Kurt gave him a halfhearted smile in return. Then they were kissing, and if Kurt thought he never wanted to stop hugging Blaine, kissing him was even better. It wasn’t needy or lust-filled, and they weren’t rushing to beat time. It was slow, sweet, passionate, and everything Kurt could have hoped a kiss would be.
When they broke away, Kurt’s head was spinning and he wanted so badly to spend hours and days and weeks kissing Blaine, but the door to the hospital room was wide open and a few of the nurses sitting in the center of the circular area that was the emergency room were pretending not to have seen the whole thing, typing faster than usual or hastily scribbling things down.
Blaine grinned at the blush coloring Kurt’s cheeks, the same blush that he always got whenever they kissed for even half a second. They sat down on the floor of the hospital room (because the chairs were far too uncomfortable) and Kurt remembered leaning against Blaine’s chest and Blaine singing to him, rubbing his back slowly to ease him to sleep, and that was about it.
***
“Is this Blaine?”
“It sure is.”
“He’s handsome.”
“Mhmm.”
“Kurt looks so…happy.”
“Yeah, he’s changed a lot this summer…I don’t know what it is about that Blaine kid, but I guess he’s doing something right.”
“Oh…have they, you know…?”
Kurt picked that moment to yawn and stretch, letting Burt and Carole know that he was awake. He didn’t want to hear his father’s theories on whether or not he and Blaine were doing whatever Carole was alluding to. They stopped their conversation, and when Kurt opened his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of his stepmother sitting in one of the chairs and Burt sitting up in the hospital bed with a tray of food in front of him.
“How long was I out?” Kurt asked groggily.
He blinked slowly and sighed as he sat up. The aching in his body suggested quite a while. He looked over at Blaine, who must have been leaning on him as well, because he was now slumped against Kurt, his head in his lap. Kurt smiled and, ignoring the fact that both Carole and Burt were watching, tucked a stray curl behind Blaine’s ear and kissed his forehead.
“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty.” He cooed. He saw Carole smiling out of the corner of his eye.
Blaine took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gradually opening his eyes. He broke into a huge grin upon seeing Kurt’s face hovering above his, and before he sat up, pulled Kurt down for a kiss that lasted more than a few seconds. He must not have known that Burt and Carole were there, because when Burt cleared his throat, he looked genuinely shocked and sat up quickly, blushing madly.
“You guys have been out all night. I got in around eleven or so, and the nurses told me that they didn’t want to wake you two.” Carole said as if nothing had happened, though her smile showed a hint of pride.
“What time is it now?” Kurt asked.
“About nine-thirty or so,” Carole answered, “If you two want, you can go get something to eat in the cafeteria. Finn’s down there right now, and once you three are finished eating breakfast, you should go home and freshen up a bit.”
Kurt nodded gratefully. His hair was probably a mess right now, and he was sure that no matter how sanitized hospitals were, sleeping on the floor of one was no more hygienic than sleeping on the floor anywhere else. He and Blaine got up and said their good mornings to Burt before heading out towards the cafeteria, holding hands and walking close together. Some of the nurses and doctors they passed on their way out gave them funny looks or winked. A couple even catcalled playfully, which freaked Kurt out. Did the entire hospital know?
Their entrance into the cafeteria confirmed Kurt’s fears. Okay, so not everyone was staring, but two or three people did, and that was enough for him. Blaine said, as he shoveled Fruit Loops into his mouth, that he thought it was kind of cool. Kurt proceeded to roll his eyes.
“Why am I in love with you again?” he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
***
That afternoon, Kurt and Blaine sat in the lobby (Carole and Finn were on visitor duty) chatting and holding hands, sometimes sharing a discreet kiss. However, about an hour after Carole and Finn had taken a shift, so to speak, a nurse came into the hospital lobby and called for them. Kurt and Blaine exchanged confused glances, but followed her anyway.
She led them to Burt’s hospital room, where the doctor from the day before was waiting. He, Carole, Finn, Kurt, Blaine, and the nurse all crowded in the room around Burt, and, while it was semi-uncomfortable, it was nice in a way. It may not have been in the most conventional of manners, but Kurt’s family had finally been brought together again.
“Burt is doing a lot better now,” the doctor said, smiling warmly at the family and Blaine, “And, if everything stays normal between now and tomorrow morning, we should be able to discharge him tomorrow afternoon. Now, as for the future, I’m not entirely sure what’s going to happen, if this is going to get better or worse, but I do advise that he remains living down here where we can keep an eye on him. I’m not sure what your plans are about that, but I do recommend that for at least the next six months, somebody stay with him to monitor him…”
He looked around the room, and everyone just kind of nodded.
“Well, I have another patient to attend to. I’ll be back later this evening to run some more tests.” He said, nodding curtly before squeezing his way out of the room, the nurse bounding behind him.
“Kurt,” Carole said as soon as he left, turning to Kurt, “I know you wanted to go back to Lima, but Burt and I have been talking…since Finn is going to live in New York with Puck and take online classes for college, we’re going to sell the house and move down here to Florida.”
“Actually, Carole…and everyone, actually,” Kurt said, biting his lip and looking from Blaine to Finn to Burt to his stepmother, “I…I was thinking, and…I’ve decided that I want to do music again. I called Juilliard a couple of days ago and informed them that I will be attending in the fall.”
“Honey, that’s great!” Carole squealed, running up to Kurt to hug him.
“Awesome!” Finn said, nodding in approval.
Kurt saw pride in Burt’s eyes for just a second before Blaine threw his arms around him, squeezing him in a death grip of a hug. Everyone laughed as Kurt pretended to choke to death, and Finn gagged when Blaine gave Kurt a quick kiss, just because he could.
That was the moment that, for the first time in a long time, Kurt felt truly happy.
***
The rest of August was hard. Kurt left Florida with Finn a couple of days after his dad was discharged from the hospital, and they both packed for college. It was kind of weird, not only going back to Lima with just Finn, but knowing that this was possibly the last time he would ever see the little town. He’d packed up everything he’d need for college, and Finn, who was heading straight to New York so that he and Puck could move into their small apartment together, was going to take his things and store them until Kurt came. Their apartment was only a fifteen-minute subway ride from the dorms where Kurt was staying while at Juilliard, so he’d be able to pick them up when he went.
So as Puck and Finn drove off in Puck’s truck, Finn right behind him with a trailer attached to his, Kurt prepared to leave for Florida. He was milking the second-to-last week of August like there was no tomorrow, because there really wasn’t in this case. He had to leave Florida at the beginning of the last week in August so that he could get to New York and settle in before classes started the week after.
Yes, it was going to be quite a stretch, but Kurt didn’t know if he was ever going to see Blaine again, so he wanted to spend all the time he could with him before they parted, possibly for good. However, upon arriving in Florida, Carole informed him that Blaine had left already for Harvard, and that she was sorry.
Kurt pretended not to mind, and spent the week with his parents, enjoying that little time they had together.
***
“Flight fifty-four,” an announcer droned over the loud speaker, “Now boarding for New York.”
Kurt stood up with a sigh. He hadn’t communicated with Blaine since Burt had been in the hospital, and he was starting to think that it wasn’t just a busy schedule that was keeping Blaine from communicating with him. He hadn’t come off as the guy to have a summer romance and blow it off as soon as school started, but Kurt figured he must have been, because that’s exactly what he was doing. Kurt fought back tears as he thought about it. He was so stupid to think that this was any more than a fling, any more than just a stupid relationship not meant to last more than a couple of months. He’d thought that Blaine had really loved him, and that’s what made everything hurt even more.
“Excuse me, sir. I don’t mean to pry, but I’ve noticed that you have the seat next to mine. I don’t mean to be picky, but I like the window seat, and I was wondering if maybe you would be so kind as to switch with me?”
Kurt whipped around in shock to see that goofball standing behind him and grinning madly as ever. He hadn’t shaved since Kurt last saw him, so the stubble on his chin almost made Kurt not want to grab his face and kiss him. He instead gave Blaine one of his famous bitchfaces and pivoted back around, staring ahead at the line of people waiting to board the plane.
“I’m not forgiving you.” He mumbled.
“I got my roommate assignment.” Blaine blurted.
“Oh yeah? Well, I hope it’s super hot guy. You both can study business together and then you can dump him whenever you get bored with him. Have fun at Harvard.” Kurt snapped coldly. He didn’t even bother to turn around and talk to Blaine.
“Actually, my roommate is a super hot guy. I don’t think I’ll be dumping him anytime soon, because I think he already dumped me. And, for your information, I’m going to study music composition at Juilliard. But it’s not like you would know that or anything, because it was supposed to be a surprise.” He heard Blaine say sheepishly.
Kurt turned around slowly to see Blaine wearing that pitiful puppy dog look on his face, and any resolve he might’ve had to stay mad at him was gone in that moment.
“Oh, come here.” He grumbled before taking Blaine’s face in his hands and kissing him for a few seconds, until the people behind Blaine cleared their throats either in disgust or impatience, though Kurt still had at least five people ahead of him.
“So does this mean I’m forgiven?” Blaine asked hopefully as they waited in line. Kurt rolled his eyes.
“Sure,” Kurt said with a sigh, taking the hand Blaine held out to him, “But I do want to know how you managed to not only get a seat next to me on the plane, but arrange to be my college roommate without me knowing.”
“I work hard for what I love.” Blaine responded with a shrug.
“You’re pitiful.” Kurt said, though he was grinning.
“I love you too.”
Author: jjjjordo
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,284 for this part, 23,866 overall.
Summary: When Burt left their family, Kurt shut everything out of his life: his family, his friends, and, most importantly, music. However, when he is forced to spend a summer in Florida with Burt and Finn, he meets volleyball player and bird expert Bliane Anderson, whose easygoing smile and carefree attitude breaks down Kurt's walls and shows him that it's okay to forgive and let people back in. Based off of this prompt, a Last Song/Glee fusion where Blaine is Will and Kurt is Ronnie.
Author's Note: Wow, this has been a journey. I have never done a big bang and I've never written a fic this long before. A million thanks go out to the amazing spookykat, who beta'd my fic and contributed some of the most brilliant, in-character lines I think I have ever read at some points. Thanks also go out to kurtage, who made the beautiful mix that goes along with this fic and whose username is not linking correctly. It's been an amazing little journey, and I really can't wait to do it again!
Blaine nearly sped all the way to Kurt’s house.
“How could I have forgotten about that?” he groaned as he drove.
“I don’t know, maybe you were distracted.” Kurt said, smirking as he looked out the window. He thought he saw Blaine grin out of the corner of his eye.
They arrived to Kurt’s soon enough, to see Burt and Finn both crouched over the bush, staring at it intently. When they saw the car pull up, they both backed up a bit to give Kurt and Blaine room to come in and inspect the nest. Sure enough, when they looked, there were two little birds in the nest chirping away. Pavarotti was with them, chirping along happily with them. Kurt and Blaine both grinned and, as they backed away from the bush so that Finn could look again, Blaine threw an arm around Kurt’s waist, pulling him close. Burt smiled as Kurt put his head on Blaine’s shoulder, feeling at peace.
Finn chattered on about how cute the little birds were, and asked questions about Pavarotti and canaries that neither Kurt nor Blaine felt like answering as they cradled each other. Burt remained oddly silent. He looked a bit pale to Kurt, but perhaps that was just a trick of the evening light.
“Now that Pavarotti’s healed, we won’t have to worry about feeding her.” Blaine said. The relief in his voice was evident, and Kurt laughed. They stood there for a second, and then Blaine turned to him, a gentle smile on his face.
“I love you.” He said softly, the look in his eyes proving his sentence beyond a doubt.
Kurt had no idea what to say. The only people who had ever said those three words to him (outside of song, which doesn’t count anyway) were his parents. A guy had never loved him, and he wasn’t sure what to say at first, besides the obvious.
“I love you, too.” He nearly squeaked, trying not to scream or anything.
Blaine grinned and pulled him in for a full kiss. He could care less whether or not Finn and Burt were watching, the former completely grossed out. When they pulled apart, Burt clutched his chest, eyes widening.
“I know, I know…your heart is breaking because your only son it growing up and having a boyfriend,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes but grinning, “You can stop it, Dad. I’ve got it.”
However, Burt didn’t stop. He coughed, breathing heavily and starting to sweat. Kurt pulled away from Blaine and approached his father, putting a hand on his back.
“Dad, what’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes wider than normal. His heart pounded so hard, he felt like his whole body was pulsing.
Burt just shook his head, but he started to fall. Finn, having played football for four years, had great reflexes, and rushed to catch him with Kurt’s help.
“Call 911!” Kurt snapped at Blaine, who immediately whipped out his cell phone.
Kurt and Finn slowly lowered Burt to the ground, and Kurt knelt over him, tears spilling out of his eyes.
“Dad?” he whimpered. He gingery placed a hand on Burt’s chest and felt it rise and fall abnormally fast as Burt struggled to breathe. Kurt watched him like that for a while, just lying there helpless.
“An ambulance will be here in a couple of minutes.” Blaine said softly, kneeling down next to Kurt and throwing an arm around his shoulder. Kurt squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his face into Blaine’s shoulder for comfort. It was all he really needed at that point.
***
“Kurt Hummel?” a woman with a clipboard called.
Kurt looked up from where he was sitting in the lobby of the emergency room with Blaine. They were cuddled together, Blaine pressing light kisses to Kurt’s temple and forehead, telling him it was going to be okay.
“Yes?” Kurt asked shakily, standing. His eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but if the woman noticed, she didn’t say anything.
“Could you and your brother come back here please?” she asked sweetly with a warm smile.
“Come on, Kurt.” Blaine said when Kurt didn’t move. He put a hand on the small of Kurt’s back to guide him along. Finn followed obediently.
The woman led the three of them out of the lobby and down a few hallways. They followed quietly, the only sound being Kurt’s periodic sniffling. However, Blaine held him close as they walked, and he felt a little better. Finally, the woman stopped in front of a room, and gestured for them to enter. Normally, only two visitors at a time were allowed, she reminded Blaine quietly as Kurt went inside first, but she was willing to make an exception this time. She told the three boys not to touch Burt, as they were performing some tests on him at that moment. However, Finn and Kurt heard none of this, as the two of them were looking on with shock. Blaine just nodded and whispered a ‘thank you’ before she walked away.
“Daddy?” Kurt whimpered as his eyes fell on his father.
He was hooked up to multiple machines, a constant whirring and beeping diminishing Blaine’s hope that they could sit in silence. His skin was pale and dead-looking, to Kurt’s horror. He gripped onto the side railings of the bed, his knuckles turning white as he looked at his father.
“Kurt, let’s sit down.” Blaine said soothingly right into Kurt’s ear, prying his fingers off of the railings.
Kurt nodded slowly, his eyes a world away, and sat down in one of the two chairs, Blaine in the other. Finn stood at the side of the room awkwardly, not sure where he should stand where he wouldn’t be in the way. Kurt’s knee bounced up and down rapidly in anticipation as they waited, and Blaine stopped it with his hand, whispering “Kurt, it’s going to be okay.” Kurt just stared at the lifeless form of his father lying there in the hospital bed.
What seemed like hours later, a doctor came in with a clipboard, looking solemn. Kurt stood up the second he did, his breath hitching. Blaine stood as well, holding his hand for support.
“He’s going to be okay.” was the first thing out of the doctor’s mouth. Kurt sighed audibly in relief and Blaine squeezed his hand reassuringly. Finn gave a small smile.
“However,” the doctor said, holding up a finger, “Your father has a type of arrhythmia called tachycardia, which essentially caused his heart to beat irregularly. Irregular heartbeats aren’t uncommon, however, his was pronounced enough to induce a heart attack. We’ve been treating him for a while now. This was just one of the more severe attacks he’s had, and I fear that he’s not getting much better. His heart is stable now, but I’m not sure if or when his heartbeat will spike again. There’s a possibility that it could get worse.”
“What do mean you’ve been treating him for a while? I’ve been here all summer, and I knew nothing about this.” Kurt said, shaking his head, “How long ago did his treatments start?”
“Well,” the doctor said, flipping through pages on his clipboard, “We actually received a call from Carole back in January. Because this condition is so volatile, it was recommended that he live closer to a hospital that could accommodate to it. This hospital is ranked among the best in the country that specialize in treating heart conditions like his, and since your father’s case was so much more unstable than normal, it was recommended that he move down here so that we could treat him to the best of our ability.
The color drained from Kurt’s face. This explained so much: why Burt had left, why Carole had seemed sad about it rather than angry (which she would have been if he really had cheated), why Burt had looked so pained with every accusation Kurt made towards him…
But it still didn’t make sense to Kurt. Someone would’ve needed to be there just in case something happened. Carole wouldn’t have just left Burt alone in Florida to fend for himself, especially not during the summer when he had his two children over.
“You knew, didn’t you?” he asked softly, turning to Finn. Tears were already welling up in his eyes. “You knew all this time, all this stupid summer, and you didn’t even tell me.”
“Kurt, I swear, he was going to tell you…” Finn said, his eyes widening.
“Well, why didn’t he?” Kurt snapped. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because he wanted you to have some you time for once!” Finn cried, throwing his arms up in frustration. “Kurt, you’re always trying to take care of everybody else and be with everybody else, but you never stop and take care of yourself. Burt knew that, and once you and Blaine became friends, he saw how happy you were. Neither of us wanted that to stop.”
Kurt just stared at Finn for a long time as tears slid slowly down his cheeks. Burt had cared that much for him, and he had just pushed him away for a while. The whole time, he was suffering, but he wanted Kurt to be happy, so he didn’t say anything. And that could very well have cost him his life. Kurt’s head spun with the realization.
He barely heard the doctor talking after that, and what he did hear sounded like gibberish in his state of mind. Blaine sat him back down after the doctor left the room and knelt down in front of the chair, looking into Kurt’s eyes.
“Kurt, you need to listen to me.” He said softly, breaking Kurt from his trance. He just nodded.
“The doctor just told us that they contacted Carole the moment Burt got in; she should be here in a couple of hours. Finn just went to the cafeteria because there’s only allowed to be two visitors in here at a time, so we’ll take shifts, okay? Your dad is unconscious right now, but he should be fine soon. Kurt, do you understand?” Blaine said slowly, not breaking eye contact with Kurt.
“I understand.” Kurt whispered, nodding. He and Blaine just looked at each other for a while after that, tears sliding silently down Kurt’s cheeks.
“Come here.” Blaine said, getting up and motioning for Kurt to hug him. He did, and they remained that way for a minute or so.
It was nice, just hugging Blaine. Kurt felt like he never wanted to let go, at least not anytime soon. He felt like he could hold on to Blaine forever, and everything would be just fine.
Blaine pulled away from the hug to cup Kurt’s face, smiling softly at him. He wiped stray tears away with his thumbs, and Kurt gave him a halfhearted smile in return. Then they were kissing, and if Kurt thought he never wanted to stop hugging Blaine, kissing him was even better. It wasn’t needy or lust-filled, and they weren’t rushing to beat time. It was slow, sweet, passionate, and everything Kurt could have hoped a kiss would be.
When they broke away, Kurt’s head was spinning and he wanted so badly to spend hours and days and weeks kissing Blaine, but the door to the hospital room was wide open and a few of the nurses sitting in the center of the circular area that was the emergency room were pretending not to have seen the whole thing, typing faster than usual or hastily scribbling things down.
Blaine grinned at the blush coloring Kurt’s cheeks, the same blush that he always got whenever they kissed for even half a second. They sat down on the floor of the hospital room (because the chairs were far too uncomfortable) and Kurt remembered leaning against Blaine’s chest and Blaine singing to him, rubbing his back slowly to ease him to sleep, and that was about it.
***
“Is this Blaine?”
“It sure is.”
“He’s handsome.”
“Mhmm.”
“Kurt looks so…happy.”
“Yeah, he’s changed a lot this summer…I don’t know what it is about that Blaine kid, but I guess he’s doing something right.”
“Oh…have they, you know…?”
Kurt picked that moment to yawn and stretch, letting Burt and Carole know that he was awake. He didn’t want to hear his father’s theories on whether or not he and Blaine were doing whatever Carole was alluding to. They stopped their conversation, and when Kurt opened his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of his stepmother sitting in one of the chairs and Burt sitting up in the hospital bed with a tray of food in front of him.
“How long was I out?” Kurt asked groggily.
He blinked slowly and sighed as he sat up. The aching in his body suggested quite a while. He looked over at Blaine, who must have been leaning on him as well, because he was now slumped against Kurt, his head in his lap. Kurt smiled and, ignoring the fact that both Carole and Burt were watching, tucked a stray curl behind Blaine’s ear and kissed his forehead.
“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty.” He cooed. He saw Carole smiling out of the corner of his eye.
Blaine took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gradually opening his eyes. He broke into a huge grin upon seeing Kurt’s face hovering above his, and before he sat up, pulled Kurt down for a kiss that lasted more than a few seconds. He must not have known that Burt and Carole were there, because when Burt cleared his throat, he looked genuinely shocked and sat up quickly, blushing madly.
“You guys have been out all night. I got in around eleven or so, and the nurses told me that they didn’t want to wake you two.” Carole said as if nothing had happened, though her smile showed a hint of pride.
“What time is it now?” Kurt asked.
“About nine-thirty or so,” Carole answered, “If you two want, you can go get something to eat in the cafeteria. Finn’s down there right now, and once you three are finished eating breakfast, you should go home and freshen up a bit.”
Kurt nodded gratefully. His hair was probably a mess right now, and he was sure that no matter how sanitized hospitals were, sleeping on the floor of one was no more hygienic than sleeping on the floor anywhere else. He and Blaine got up and said their good mornings to Burt before heading out towards the cafeteria, holding hands and walking close together. Some of the nurses and doctors they passed on their way out gave them funny looks or winked. A couple even catcalled playfully, which freaked Kurt out. Did the entire hospital know?
Their entrance into the cafeteria confirmed Kurt’s fears. Okay, so not everyone was staring, but two or three people did, and that was enough for him. Blaine said, as he shoveled Fruit Loops into his mouth, that he thought it was kind of cool. Kurt proceeded to roll his eyes.
“Why am I in love with you again?” he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
***
That afternoon, Kurt and Blaine sat in the lobby (Carole and Finn were on visitor duty) chatting and holding hands, sometimes sharing a discreet kiss. However, about an hour after Carole and Finn had taken a shift, so to speak, a nurse came into the hospital lobby and called for them. Kurt and Blaine exchanged confused glances, but followed her anyway.
She led them to Burt’s hospital room, where the doctor from the day before was waiting. He, Carole, Finn, Kurt, Blaine, and the nurse all crowded in the room around Burt, and, while it was semi-uncomfortable, it was nice in a way. It may not have been in the most conventional of manners, but Kurt’s family had finally been brought together again.
“Burt is doing a lot better now,” the doctor said, smiling warmly at the family and Blaine, “And, if everything stays normal between now and tomorrow morning, we should be able to discharge him tomorrow afternoon. Now, as for the future, I’m not entirely sure what’s going to happen, if this is going to get better or worse, but I do advise that he remains living down here where we can keep an eye on him. I’m not sure what your plans are about that, but I do recommend that for at least the next six months, somebody stay with him to monitor him…”
He looked around the room, and everyone just kind of nodded.
“Well, I have another patient to attend to. I’ll be back later this evening to run some more tests.” He said, nodding curtly before squeezing his way out of the room, the nurse bounding behind him.
“Kurt,” Carole said as soon as he left, turning to Kurt, “I know you wanted to go back to Lima, but Burt and I have been talking…since Finn is going to live in New York with Puck and take online classes for college, we’re going to sell the house and move down here to Florida.”
“Actually, Carole…and everyone, actually,” Kurt said, biting his lip and looking from Blaine to Finn to Burt to his stepmother, “I…I was thinking, and…I’ve decided that I want to do music again. I called Juilliard a couple of days ago and informed them that I will be attending in the fall.”
“Honey, that’s great!” Carole squealed, running up to Kurt to hug him.
“Awesome!” Finn said, nodding in approval.
Kurt saw pride in Burt’s eyes for just a second before Blaine threw his arms around him, squeezing him in a death grip of a hug. Everyone laughed as Kurt pretended to choke to death, and Finn gagged when Blaine gave Kurt a quick kiss, just because he could.
That was the moment that, for the first time in a long time, Kurt felt truly happy.
***
The rest of August was hard. Kurt left Florida with Finn a couple of days after his dad was discharged from the hospital, and they both packed for college. It was kind of weird, not only going back to Lima with just Finn, but knowing that this was possibly the last time he would ever see the little town. He’d packed up everything he’d need for college, and Finn, who was heading straight to New York so that he and Puck could move into their small apartment together, was going to take his things and store them until Kurt came. Their apartment was only a fifteen-minute subway ride from the dorms where Kurt was staying while at Juilliard, so he’d be able to pick them up when he went.
So as Puck and Finn drove off in Puck’s truck, Finn right behind him with a trailer attached to his, Kurt prepared to leave for Florida. He was milking the second-to-last week of August like there was no tomorrow, because there really wasn’t in this case. He had to leave Florida at the beginning of the last week in August so that he could get to New York and settle in before classes started the week after.
Yes, it was going to be quite a stretch, but Kurt didn’t know if he was ever going to see Blaine again, so he wanted to spend all the time he could with him before they parted, possibly for good. However, upon arriving in Florida, Carole informed him that Blaine had left already for Harvard, and that she was sorry.
Kurt pretended not to mind, and spent the week with his parents, enjoying that little time they had together.
***
“Flight fifty-four,” an announcer droned over the loud speaker, “Now boarding for New York.”
Kurt stood up with a sigh. He hadn’t communicated with Blaine since Burt had been in the hospital, and he was starting to think that it wasn’t just a busy schedule that was keeping Blaine from communicating with him. He hadn’t come off as the guy to have a summer romance and blow it off as soon as school started, but Kurt figured he must have been, because that’s exactly what he was doing. Kurt fought back tears as he thought about it. He was so stupid to think that this was any more than a fling, any more than just a stupid relationship not meant to last more than a couple of months. He’d thought that Blaine had really loved him, and that’s what made everything hurt even more.
“Excuse me, sir. I don’t mean to pry, but I’ve noticed that you have the seat next to mine. I don’t mean to be picky, but I like the window seat, and I was wondering if maybe you would be so kind as to switch with me?”
Kurt whipped around in shock to see that goofball standing behind him and grinning madly as ever. He hadn’t shaved since Kurt last saw him, so the stubble on his chin almost made Kurt not want to grab his face and kiss him. He instead gave Blaine one of his famous bitchfaces and pivoted back around, staring ahead at the line of people waiting to board the plane.
“I’m not forgiving you.” He mumbled.
“I got my roommate assignment.” Blaine blurted.
“Oh yeah? Well, I hope it’s super hot guy. You both can study business together and then you can dump him whenever you get bored with him. Have fun at Harvard.” Kurt snapped coldly. He didn’t even bother to turn around and talk to Blaine.
“Actually, my roommate is a super hot guy. I don’t think I’ll be dumping him anytime soon, because I think he already dumped me. And, for your information, I’m going to study music composition at Juilliard. But it’s not like you would know that or anything, because it was supposed to be a surprise.” He heard Blaine say sheepishly.
Kurt turned around slowly to see Blaine wearing that pitiful puppy dog look on his face, and any resolve he might’ve had to stay mad at him was gone in that moment.
“Oh, come here.” He grumbled before taking Blaine’s face in his hands and kissing him for a few seconds, until the people behind Blaine cleared their throats either in disgust or impatience, though Kurt still had at least five people ahead of him.
“So does this mean I’m forgiven?” Blaine asked hopefully as they waited in line. Kurt rolled his eyes.
“Sure,” Kurt said with a sigh, taking the hand Blaine held out to him, “But I do want to know how you managed to not only get a seat next to me on the plane, but arrange to be my college roommate without me knowing.”
“I work hard for what I love.” Blaine responded with a shrug.
“You’re pitiful.” Kurt said, though he was grinning.
“I love you too.”