Fic: Friends and Family
Title: Friends and Family
Author: lookninjas
Fandoms: Glee
Pairing/Character(s): Mr. Anderson, Kurt/Blaine, Burt/Carole, Finn/Rollercoasters
Rating: PG
Warnings: Absolutely none.
Word Count: About 9000
Spoilers: Very small and vague ones for episode 2.22 (mostly just Blaine and Kurt's plans for summer vacation).
Standard-Issue Short-Form Disclaimer: I do not hold copyright to Glee, make no claims to such, and am not profiting from this. I realize that King's Island does not have a Friends and Family Day, but then again, it doesn't have a Christmas Spectacular either, so. Welcome to Glee!Ohio; it's nothing like the real thing.
Summary: Blaine and his father invite the Hudmels to join them for the annual Friends and Family Day at King's Island, and Burt tries to figure out whether or not he should be worried about Blaine's home life. (Or: Two overprotective fathers, three teenage boys, and one sane woman. And rollercoasters.)
Author's Notes: Part of the ben!verse, although this fic can also be read as a stand-alone. Please note that, much like the actual showrunners for Glee, I've never actually been to King's Island, so I'm sure I got most of it wrong. But I did try. I really did.
"I have an announcement," Kurt says, setting down the salad bowl and clasping his hands in front of his plate. His eyes are big and bright, and he's smiling wide, but there's something sort of determined behind his expression. He's been making that face a lot lately, that intense, we will get through this face, and Burt's not really sure why. As far as he knows, the summer's been pretty okay to them so far. "Or, rather, a request to make. On Blaine's behalf."
Burt raises his eyebrows a little bit and glances over to Carole; she looks at Kurt with worried eyes. "Blaine's behalf?" she repeats, slowly. "He's not... Kurt, he's not in any trouble, is he?"
"Oh, no." Kurt laughs a little, too quickly, too lightly, and Burt can feel his eyebrows drawing together. The thing about Kurt is, he spends too much time trying to stand out to actually know how to hide anything. Especially not from his old man. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just that the Friends and Family Day is coming up at King's Island, and Blaine's got some extra passes, and he wanted to know if we'd... If we'd be his guests for the day. Since he spends so much time over here and everything, he thought it might be -- Not, of course, that he thinks we're expecting anything or... you know, but otherwise he'd be trying to pick which Warblers to give tickets to, and it'd just be awkward and feelings would be hurt and --"
"We'll go!" Finn volunteers, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. When no one else chimes in right away, he settles a little and looks around the table at everyone else. "I mean... we can go, right? So it wouldn't be awkward. For Blaine. With the Warblers."
Burt just clears his throat, carefully watching Kurt's expression. The thing is, it'd be nice to have some kind of family day out this year, since they can't really afford a vacation or anything. The shop's doing okay and all, and the Dalton bills are mostly cleared up by now, but there's something to be said for frugality, getting a little bit socked away for the future. Especially since Burt's still not totally sure that his son won't be returning to Dalton at some point, when Karofsky forgets that he's sorry or some other asshole kid decides to fill his spot. So a free trip to an amusement park, for all of them, seems like a damn good thing.
On the other hand, he's pretty sure that it's called Family Day for a reason, and when all's said and done, he's not Blaine's family. And he doesn't want any hurt feelings coming out of this just because Kurt and Blaine are so wrapped up in each other, so eager to spend time together, that they've forgotten that there are other people in the world. "You said they were extra passes," he points out. "So Blaine's family... I'm gonna assume that they're all taken care of, right?"
"Of course," Kurt says, but there's a little more strain behind his words. "I mean, not that there's a lot of family to take care of, since it's mostly just him and his parents. And his mom doesn't really like King's Island, so he's saving her a ticket but she's probably not going to be there. But his dad's coming. We're pretty sure."
Pretty sure, Burt thinks, and glances back over to Carole. She's smiling at Kurt, but there's something kind of worried in her eyes. "We'd love to, honey," she says, reaching out to pat Kurt's hand.
Kurt smiles back, then turns to his father. "Dad?" he asks.
"All right, all right," he says, and Finn hisses out a "Yes!" and pumps his fist under the table, almost knocking his milk into his lap. "Long as Blaine's family's all right with us coming, I'm all right too. Just make sure he's checked with his parents, okay? And then let us know when it is, so we can take the time off work. Deal?"
"Deal," Kurt says, his smile widening a little bit. "Thanks, Dad."
"Yeah," Finn says, still bouncing a little bit in his chair. "Thanks, Burt. And Kurt. And Mom. And Blaine, although he's not here right now. But if he was, I'd totally --"
"You can thank him later, Finn," Burt says with a sigh. "And you can thank us by not knocking the table over. Please."
"Yeah," Finn says, and finally manages to sit still. For a second. Then he bounces one last time, sending silverware tumbling to the floor, and cracks a big grin. "Dude," he says, turning to Kurt. "This is gonna be so awesome."
Kurt's smile turns strained, but he keeps it up as best he can. "Yeah," he says. "It'll be great." Then he bends down to pick up his fork, and whatever else he might have wanted to say is lost underneath the table.
Burt sighs and helps himself to more salad.
*
The thing is, Burt doesn't really know anything about Blaine Anderson's father. They've only spoken a few times, on the phone late at night when Blaine falls asleep on the Hummels' couch, or Kurt winds up conking out at Blaine's house while the two of them are watching a movie. And, yeah, the guy's been okay about it, pretty much. A little stiff, maybe, a little formal, but not angry or upset, like he doesn't really care that his son is going to be sharing a bed with another boy, like he's all right with it. Which is good to know. But it's still just... not enough. Not really.
After all, Kurt's been spending a lot of time over at the Andersons' lately. And Blaine... well, he lives there. And Blaine might not be Burt's kid, but he's still a kid, and a good kid at that. So Burt figures it's natural for him to worry a little bit. Hell, he's seen what life is like for kids like Kurt and Blaine. He knows how hard it is for them out there in the world. It makes sense that he'd want to make sure that it's not hard for him at home, too.
And lately, he's kind of been getting the impression that maybe it is hard for Blaine. It's nothing big -- it's not like Blaine's coming over with bruises or anything, and Kurt hasn't been hinting around that there's trouble, not like he did when he found out that Sam kid was homeless and he was trying to figure out what to do about it. It's just... small stuff. Like the way Kurt gets that intense, we will get through this face when he's gearing up to spend the day at Blaine's house, and the way he's quiet after, kind of thoughtful and worried and moody. And maybe it's stupid, and Burt's reading too much into it -- in fact, he's pretty much positive that he's reading too much into it -- but Kurt's been breaking out the World's Greatest Dad mug a lot these days, and Burt can't help but wonder if maybe that's more to do with Blaine than it is with him. Like Kurt's seeing something at Blaine's house that makes Burt look good in comparison. And he doesn't know what it is, and he doesn't know if it's got anything to do with Blaine's dad or not, but then he doesn't know that it doesn't, either, and that's what keeps tripping him up.
Because he doesn't know anything about Blaine's father. Or he doesn't know enough, anyway. And now that he's about to meet the guy... Well. He's starting to wonder, is all.
Fortunately, Kurt has been spending all that time at Blaine's house lately, so he's got to have an opinion. And yeah, Kurt's not always much of a talker when it comes to these things, but it never hurt anyone to ask, right?
"So," he says, as he and Kurt stand on either side of a first-generation Neon, staring down at the engine. For all Kurt's early enthusiasm about his Pippi Hooray! musical, or whatever it was going to be called, he's been spending a lot of time at the shop lately, helping out. Burt's not complaining about the extra set of hands and eyes, but he's also not blind to the fact that it isn't like Kurt to be this clingy. "Blaine's dad. He's a teacher, right?"
Kurt shrugs, and leans in to examine a belt. "He's a professor. At OSU, in the math department. He's got a doctorate and everything." Then he frowns. "Which I guess means I should be calling him Dr. Anderson, not Mr. Anderson, although he's never said anything about it, so maybe he doesn't care. " He cocks his head, still looking at the same belt. "They said it was making a whining noise?"
"Yeah. Like a puppy waiting to be fed." Burt pushes his hat back, scratches his head. "'Spose I should've asked them if they actually had a puppy in the car when they heard it."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Kurt sighs, straightening up. "Want to take her around the block, see if we can actually get her to start whining?"
"Guess it can't hurt." Burt drops the hood down as Kurt wipes his hands off on an old rag. "So, Dr. Anderson, though. Or Mr. Anderson. Whatever. He seem like an all right guy to you? What's he like?"
Kurt hesitates a little, still fiddling with the rag. "He's... quiet," he says, slowly. "Mrs. Anderson does most of the talking, usually. He's mostly just... there. But he's..." Kurt gives up and stuffs the rag back in his pocket. "I don't know. What's the saying? Still waters run deep?"
"Good deep?" Burt opens the driver's side door and crouches down to start fiddling with the seat adjustment levers. He's not even gonna try sitting in this one without pushing the seat back first -- he's seen the driver and he's pretty sure she's not even five feet tall. "Or, like, serial killer deep?"
"Dad," Kurt sighs, exasperated. He slides in on the passenger side, buckling his seatbelt without needing to be told, and waits patiently for Burt to climb in after him. "He's just... I mean, no, he's not like you. He doesn't say things as easily as you do. He's quiet, and I think he's... scared, a lot of the time. To show what he's feeling. He doesn't do that easily. But it doesn't mean he doesn't still feel. So... Go easy on him. Okay?"
"Huh." Burt reaches up to adjust the rearview, taking the opportunity to watch Kurt without actually getting caught at it. It's not exactly a ringing endorsement, that's for sure. But then, that's not exactly Kurt's style; he doesn't gush. Which is kind of why Burt likes hearing his take on people so much, because at the end of the day, he's always got some kind of good insight.
And, hell, it's not like Burt doesn't know what it's like to be so scared that it's hard to talk, scared of saying the wrong thing, something that Kurt'll take badly, that'll make him think he's not good enough, important enough. That he doesn't mean enough. He pushes past it, because that's the way he handles things, the way Kurt handles things. But that's because they're Hummels; that's what they do. Maybe the Andersons just do things a little differently.
He starts the car (no whining yet), and backs it carefully out of the driveway and into the street. "Gotta ask you, though," he says, glancing over at Kurt. "What makes you think I was gonna be hard on the guy in the first place?"
Kurt just gives him a look and shakes his head. "Dad, please," he sighs. Then he smooths out the front of his coveralls and reaches for the center console. "All right," he says, firmly. "Did they say whether or not the A/C was on when it started whining?"
And Burt realizes that that's all the information he's going to get out of his son.
*
He's still not totally sure what he's expecting Ben Anderson to be like. If he's even expecting to meet him at all. Kurt said he was pretty sure the guy was coming, but pretty sure isn't the same thing as positive, and it's possible that he won't even be there. But then the lot of them are trooping up to the gates of King's Island, Finn's shoulders hunched against the mid-morning drizzle and Kurt and Carole tucked together under a monstrous umbrella, giggling about something, and Burt spots Blaine sheltered underneath a monstrous umbrella of his own, and there's a guy standing next to him, and Burt figures... Well. He figures that the guy pretty much has to be Blaine's dad. Because who else would he be?
The thing is, the guy doesn't look a lot like Blaine, not that Burt's great at seeing these things anyway. But he does look exactly like Burt would expect otherwise, just from what he's heard. He's got these little round glasses that make him look kind of like an owl, and he's wearing this button-down shirt and khaki pants like that's the only kind of clothing he ever wears or maybe even owns, and he just looks like... He looks like a PhD, like a math teacher, like the sort of person who calls you up to say your son's conked out on his couch and he hates to wake him up so could he just maybe sleep over just this once, but does it in this weird, formal way with a lot of ten-dollar words sprinkled in because that's how he talks. He looks like... well. Like still water, running deep.
Burt's still not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, but at least it's something.
Then Blaine and Kurt spot each other, and Blaine passes his umbrella to his dad and Kurt passes his to Carole, and they both do this funny little hurried walk, almost-but-not-quite running to meet up in the middle. They stand there for a few seconds, just looking at each other as the rain sprinkles down on them, and Blaine's hair is starting to frizz out of control even as Kurt's gets flattened down, and what's funny is that neither of them seems to care. At least, not if the big, goofy grin on Blaine's face is any indication.
"Hi," he says, breathless and beaming, and Burt's honestly surprised that the sun doesn't come out just at the sheer force of Blaine's happiness.
"Hi," Kurt says back, just as breathless.
Burt has to wonder if they'll ever get past this point, where they're so thrilled just to see each other that they can hardly speak. Honestly, he kind of hopes they don't.
He glances over at Blaine's dad just to check his response, but the man's sort of hidden by his umbrella and his rain-spattered glasses; it's pretty much impossible for Burt to read his face, to figure out if he's happy or worried or just bored or what. He's not so sure he likes that, that he can't read the guy straight off. He's not used to that.
Finn is the first one to catch up to Kurt, mostly because his legs are longest but also because he still hasn't figured out how to let his stepbrother have moments. "Hey, Blaine," he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and trying not to act like he's nervous. "So... It's supposed to clear up, right? They're not gonna shut down the rides or anything. Are they? Because that would totally suck. I mean, for everyone, not just for us, 'cause it's, like, Family Day or whatever, and..."
Blaine laughs, reaching up to pat Finn on the shoulder, and Burt can't help but notice that he hasn't touched Kurt yet. And it's nothing he hasn't seen before, but it hits him hard every time -- that his boy still can't just rush up and kiss his boyfriend when they see each other, that they can't put their arms around each other or lean in close the way Finn does with Rachel or Burt does with Carole. "It's fine," Blaine says, reassuringly. "I mean, if it gets really bad, they'll start shutting things down, but I'm pretty sure this isn't going to last that long. And if it does... I mean, the coasters might run a little faster, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you..." He glances over his shoulder at his father, still quiet and unreadable and shaded underneath his umbrella, and falls silent. "Anyway," he adds, with a little, nervous laugh. "Introductions." He takes his dad's arm and pulls him the rest of the way forward, the umbrella bobbling awkwardly above them. "Dad, this is Burt, and Carole, and Finn. And... Everyone, this is my dad, Ben. Ben Anderson. Dr. Ben Anderson."
"Just Ben, actually," the man says, reaching out to shake hands with everyone. He's got a good grip, firm and steady, although Burt knows that's not really anything to rely on. Anyone can shake hands. "My father is Dr. Anderson; I still look over my shoulder whenever I hear the name."
"Your father," Carole says, giving Ben's hand a little, friendly squeeze. "Was he a mathematician too?"
Ben blinks at them behind his glasses. "Oh. No. No, he's a real doctor. M.D., not PhD. Which perhaps isn't an important distinction to everyone, but he's always been somewhat... particular about it." He gives a little nervous chuckle as he shakes hands with Finn, like he's just realized that he's said something awkward. It sounds a lot like Blaine's laugh, actually. "Anyway," Ben says, drawing back underneath the protective shade of his umbrella. "It's good to finally meet you. All of you. Should we get in line, or..." He glances over at Blaine.
"Oh, right!" Blaine starts herding everyone towards the crowds clustered around the gates -- there aren't quite as many people hanging around as Burt would've expected, but there's still a hell of a lot, and he's pretty sure they can't all be employees and their families. "They don't -- I know some other parks will have everything shut down so it's just us, but they don't do that here. But at least it's a Tuesday, so it's not as busy. And, you know, no shows on Tuesday." He grins at Kurt. "So I don't have to run off in the middle of the day; I can just... be here."
Kurt smiles back at him. Their hands reach out, fingers tangling together.
Standing next to Burt, Ben Anderson takes a deep breath and sets his jaw. He looks away from his son, staring at the crowds around them, but says nothing, and try as he might, Burt just can't read the man's face.
He doesn't think he likes that very much.
*
Once they're through the lines, Blaine drags them off to look at the theater where he performs four days a week, at 3:30, 4:30, 6:00, and 7:00. It's not really Burt's thing, but Kurt and Finn seem eager enough to go, and really, today's kind of about them anyway. So he trails after them, Ben and Carole on either side of him, and watches the boys hurrying ahead into the rain. Kurt and Blaine keep reaching out, their hands grazing, then pulling away again when they remember that they're in public. It's about the most frustrating thing Burt's ever seen; he hates this, that his kid can't just relax and be himself when there're other people around. Hell, it's just holding hands. It's not a big deal.
He looks to Ben again, hoping to see a little commisseration or something, but he can't tell if it's actually there or not. The guy's jaw is still firmly set, but that could mean nothing, or everything, or anything at all. Maybe he's every bit as angry as Burt; maybe he's uncomfortable; maybe he's just nervous around strangers. And it's not like Burt considers himself an expert when it comes to reading people -- he's not some FBI profiler or anything -- but he's never had this much trouble getting a feel for someone before. It bugs him, makes him want to get under the guy's skin a little bit.
"So," he says, as casually as he can, and goes back to watching the boys up ahead of them. "You ever do anything like this before? I mean, just..." He waves his hand at the boys up ahead of them.
"Not recently," Ben says, adjusting his umbrella when it bumps into Carole's. "Not since Blaine started working here, anyway. But we used to come here together all the time. Blaine loves this place. I think he'd move in, if he could."
Burt's not sure if the guy's misunderstanding him on purpose or if he's just clueless. "Huh," he says. "Actually, I kind of meant... You know. The boyfriend thing. Has Blaine had a lot of them, or -- "
"Oh." Ben blinks up at him, all startled surprise (definitely clueless, Burt thinks, and it's nice to finally get some kind of a reaction from the guy). "Oh. No. No, this is our first time with the... with the boyfriend thing." He stares at his shoes for a second, then looks up at his son, and finally turns back to Burt and Carole. "And the two of you? Have you ever... done this before?"
"Finn's had a few girlfriends," Carole says, smiling. "Well, two, but he goes back and forth so much that it feels like... But Burt's a first-timer, like you." She laughs and reaches up to pat Burt on the shoulder. "I do have to say, though, that he's doing a lot better than I thought he would. I was really expecting the shotgun to come out at some point."
Ben gives her a glance that might be a little bit alarmed, and Burt shakes his head. "Don't listen to her," he says, glowering at Carole. She just smiles at him. "I don't even have a shotgun. Honestly. Carole and Kurt just like to make out like I'm this big, overprotective... bear, or something. I'm not that bad."
"You're not bad, Burt," Carole says, slipping her arm into his and squeezing fondly. "But you are very protective of Kurt. You can't argue with that."
"And why would I?" Burt's stern look starts to falter a little bit; he can't help it, when she smiles at him like that. It makes him want to smile back. It's kind of a thing. "So I'm protective. So what? Kurt's my kid. Kids need protection. Ben, you're a dad. You get it. Back me up here."
"Oh, now don't --" Carole leans forward to give Ben a sympathetic smile. "Ben, you don't have to answer that. Just ignore him; it's what the rest of us do."
Ben waves off Carole's objections, calm behind his little round glasses. "No, no, it's fine," he says, easily enough. "And I agree, actually. Maybe they're older now, and there's not as much to worry about as there used to be, but..." He trails off momentarily, like he's trying to gather his thoughts. "But then again, it's not a very kind world," he finishes, his jaw setting firmly again. "And it's our job to spare them from the worst of it, if we can."
His eyes settle on the boys once more -- when Burt looks forward, he sees that Blaine has caught Kurt's hand, and this time, he doesn't let go. Kurt's not pulling away, of course, but he keeps giving Blaine these little, nervous looks, and then staring out at the crowds around them, like he's just waiting for something to happen. His spine's gone all straight, and his chin's up like he's daring someone to do something.
Because sooner or later, someone will do something. Because it's not a very kind world. Burt gets that. He thinks, maybe, Ben does too.
Or maybe he doesn't. It's too soon to tell; he still doesn't know enough about the guy. Not yet.
"I'm just saying," Carole says, her voice very mild. "You can't protect them from everything. And sometimes, you realize that you don't even need to. That some things are safer than you thought."
"Of course," Ben replies, but his eyes are distant. "Some things. But not everything."
Burt just hmmphs, and keeps watching.
*
Burt's never totally understood what's so exciting about an empty stage. Yeah, when there's a show on, and the kids are singing and dancing and there's lights and costumes and people in the crowd and everything -- that he understands. But when the lights are off and the audience is gone, then he doesn't really see the point. The magic's gone. It's just a stage again.
But Finn's immediately rushing off with his mom in tow, going to look at some set piece that's caught his eye, and Blaine and Kurt are staring raptly up at the lights, and Ben's wandered off down to the orchestra pit, so clearly Burt's the only one who isn't really interested in this. Which is fine, really. He's used to being outnumbered.
"I know it's not the Gershwin," Blaine says, stepping backwards onto the stage, his eyes fixed on Kurt the entire time. "And it's not -- I mean, it's just the Motown revue at King's Island, but --"
"I love it," Kurt says, looking up at the lights, and then back down at Blaine. "This is great, Blaine. Really."
Blaine glances up at Kurt in this sort of awkward, shy way that Burt's not expecting, and it kind of tugs at him a little bit. Kind of makes him nervous, too, if he's honest with himself, but still. He likes that Blaine looks at Kurt like he's the most amazing person ever. "Yeah?" Blaine asks, and Kurt steps in a little bit closer to him, and Burt's sort of wondering if he needs to clear his throat and remind the boys that they're not really alone right now.
And Ben must be having the same thought, because there's a few soft chords coming from the piano in the orchestra pit, followed by a laugh and an apologetic, "Sorry. Guess I couldn't resist."
Kurt creeps over to the edge of the stage, peering down into the shadows. "I didn't know you played," he says, sounding maybe a little impressed. Less pissed-off than Burt expected, anyway.
"I'm a little rusty," Ben says, as Kurt sits down on the stage, carefully smoothing out his ridiculously tight pants, and Blaine sprawls next to him on his belly, totally at ease. "It's... it's been a while."
"So play something now," Blaine suggests, resting his head on his arms. "Come on, Dad, there's no one here but us. You won't get in trouble or anything."
"Blaine, I'm really not sure --"
"Dude!" Finn emerges from the shadows at the back of the stage, decked out in some shiny gold jacket with a black feather boa on top. The jacket's too small for him; the sleeves barely come down past his elbows, and Burt can't figure out if he wants to laugh or if he wants to hustle all of them out of there before they ruin Blaine's amusement park career for good. "These costumes are awesome. Seriously, we should totally wear these for Sectionals. We'd be, like... dazzling." He does Kurt's little jazz hands gesture, and Burt can't help it; he starts cracking up.
Kurt doesn't seem to find it at all funny; he lets out a shocked "Oh my God, Finn," before jumping to his feet and starting to herd Finn off the stage. "Okay, first off? No. Just... no. Second, you don't just start trying on people's costumes! What if you ripped it? Or... or spilled something on it?"
"But I don't even have anything to spill," Finn protests, even as Kurt chases him into the wings.
"Oh, I'm sure you'd find a way," Kurt says, darkly, and Burt's laughing so hard his eyes are starting to water from it. "Okay, third. Seriously. I can pull this look off. You cannot. Sam cannot. Puck absolutely cannot. So we are not wearing these for Sectionals. FOURTH."
Kurt's voice fades out as he chases Finn further and further off stage, and when Burt finally manages to wipe his eyes, take a deep breath, and look back out towards Blaine, he realizes the kid is gone. But someone's talking from the orchestra pit, too quietly for Burt to make out the words, and he's pretty sure he knows who it is.
That doesn't stop him from creeping close enough to hear, though. Hell, he's gotta make sure, right?
"-- don't want to go after him?" Ben asks. "I mean, someone should stop him from hurting his brother, don't you think?"
"It's okay," Blaine replies. "He's not actually going to kill Finn, just threaten him a little. Or a lot. Maybe a lot."
"The fact that you can say this so calmly worries me, Blaine," Ben says, so perfectly deadpan that Burt can't figure out whether it's a joke or not. "It really, really does."
Blaine sighs. "Dad, it's fine," he huffs. "Just... you should play something. Right now. Please?"
"Well, I don't see why I should," Ben argues, still totally deadpan. "I mean, isn't this why I taught you how to play in the first place? It's your job to entertain people. You should be playing, not me."
There's another heavy sigh, and what might be a laugh (not nervous or awkward this time, but actually kind of affectionate and warm), and then a few seconds later, someone starts playing the piano. It's classical, something kind of heavy and slow, and it seems more like Ben's kind of music than Blaine's, but there's no way to know for certain. Burt figures he'd pretty much have to climb into the pit with them to find out who's playing, and really, he feels creepy enough as it is, just spying like this. No point making it worse.
Anyway, Kurt and Finn are still running around wrecking things, probably, and he really should track down his wife. So he turns his back on the music and wanders off into the wings to find his family and bring them back again.
*
Burt's not totally sure how it happens, but they wind up wasting a good hour just wandering around the empty theater, looking at costumes and set pieces and cast photos from previous years, with the occasional break to grab Finn and keep him from accidentally setting the theater on fire. Ben and Blaine catch up with them about halfway through, and Blaine goes on and on about the show he's doing, and the costumes he has to wear, and the songs they're singing, and Kurt keeps interrupting him because he's seen the show four times already and therefore thinks he knows more about it than Blaine does, and it should be boring but somehow it actually isn't. Maybe it's just because the kids are so excited about the whole thing, and their enthusiasm is contagious. Burt's not really sure. But he's actually kind of sorry to leave the theater at the end.
They step out into bright sunshine, and immediately hear the swoosh and scream of a group of kids flying past on some big coaster, and that's all it takes for Finn -- he's on his way over to the line before anyone else can even open their mouths. "Come on," he says, when he realizes no one's following him. "It's not raining anymore. It's totally safe now. Blaine said it was."
"It is," Blaine says, glancing at his dad, then at Kurt. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure everything's dry, so... But I mean, the Diamondback's one of the biggest coasters in the park, Finn. Maybe we should start a little smaller. Work up to it."
"I think that sounds like a good idea," Kurt says, staring up at the coaster like he's a little freaked out by it. Burt can't really blame him; it is pretty damn big. "Starting small. I'm in favor of that."
"There was one I saw on our way over," Carole suggests, hesitantly. "One of the hanging ones? I thought it looked like it might be fun."
"Oh, the Flight Deck?" Burt can't help but be a little amused by how quick Blaine is to play expert. "Yeah, that's a great one. We could start there, if you wanted. And then work our way up, like I said. I mean, the weather's supposed to be great for the rest of the day, so we don't have to worry about the coasters getting wet again, or anything." He looks over at his dad again; Ben almost seems to smile, even as he shakes his head a little bit. "Anyway," Blaine says. "Shall we?"
He takes Carole's arm and starts leading her off, and everyone else trails after him.
Burt finds himself walking next to Ben again, the two of them hanging back behind everyone else. Blaine's chattering away into Carole's ear, and Burt can't help but grin, shaking his head. "You weren't kidding," he says, and Ben frowns at him, looking a little confused. "That kid sure knows his coasters."
"Oh," Ben says, and turns to watch his son again. "Yes. Yes, he really does love them."
There's something funny about the way he says it, something Burt can't entirely place. "I used to," he says, trying to draw the conversation out a little bit. "When Kurt was younger, we'd head out here, or to Cedar Point for the day, and I'd go on every ride with him so he wouldn't have to be alone, you know. So he wouldn't get scared or anything." He shrugs. "But. Can't do that anymore." He pats at his chest, and Ben nods.
"Blaine told me," he says, quietly. "That you'd had a heart attack. So I suppose it's not safe for you, rides like this." He gestures over at the rollercoaster ahead of them, but doesn't actually seem to look at it.
"Eh." Burt shrugs. "It's probably safe enough, really. For me. Kurt's the one I'm worried about now. It's hard enough for him just letting me have salt; I think watching me climb on a roller coaster would probably kill him."
Ben smiles a little bit. "Of course," he says. "Well, then. I'll stay behind and keep you company."
"You don't have to --" Burt starts, but Blaine interrupts him, pushing his way back between Kurt and Finn to come talk to his dad.
"So I was going to ride with Carole," he says, wide dark eyes fixed on his father, and he looks surprisingly young. "If that's all right? I mean, I don't have to. I don't have to ride at all, if you... I could wait until everything's dry, or --"
"Blaine," Ben says, reaching out to touch his son's arm, just barely resting his fingers against Blaine's sleeve. "Everything is dry now. Anyway, it's fine. Mr. Hummel and I are going to wait together. You go ahead and have fun."
"Wait, you're not coming?" Finn asks, looking at Burt.
Kurt sighs heavily. "Of course he's not, Finn," he snaps. "He's got a heart condition. It's way too dangerous. But I could... if you wanted to go, Mr. Anderson, I could stay with my dad. I don't mind."
"It's fine," Ben says again, and gives his son a little push to propel him forward, smiling gently the whole time. "Go on. We'll be right here when you get back." He's still smiling when Carole takes Blaine's arm and leads him away, Kurt and Finn tagging along behind, and he keeps smiling until Blaine finally stops looking over his shoulder, until he's blended into the rest of the line and disappeared from view.
"You could still go with him, if you wanted," Burt says, but it comes out sounding like a question. Because the thing is, he's actually not all that sure about it. He kind of gets the sense that this weird semi-argument is one that Ben and Blaine have had before, one with some history behind it. "I mean, I wouldn't care."
"Mmm." Ben stuffs his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. "I'm sure you wouldn't. But everyone else in line with me probably would." He shakes his head, wandering over to a nearby bench and sinking down onto it. "I don't do rollercoasters well," he explains, glancing up. "Or heights in general, really, but rollercoasters are particularly difficult. I think it's the speed, maybe. Or the screaming. I don't know; it's hard to say."
Burt sits down next to him. It's funny -- Blaine and his dad are pretty much exactly the same height, but something about Ben makes him seem just a little bit smaller. It's the way his shoulders hunch in, maybe; Blaine stands a lot straighter, puffs his chest out, tries to make himself bigger than he is. Ben doesn't bother with that; if anything, it's like he's trying to shrink himself down. "That's gotta be hard," Burt says. "Since Blaine likes amusement parks so much, and everything. I mean, what do you do? Just hang around with a book and wait for him to get done, or what?"
Ben just shrugs. "Well. Nowadays, he mostly just hangs out with his friends after the shows let out, you know, goes on a few rides before everything shuts down for the evening. So I'm not even there. And if we do come here together, or go to a different park, or something..." He shrugs again. "I mean, we've been doing this for years. He saves the bigger coasters for the times when I'm not there, and I close my eyes and try not to look down, and we get through it together."
"So, wait." Burt looks at him; Ben gazes back, mild blue eyes behind his glasses. "You hate roller coasters. You're terrified of them. So why would --" He breaks off, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "I mean, he's what, sixteen years old now? Almost seventeen? Technically, he's old enough to go it alone, isn't he?"
"Oh, I know it's ridiculous," Ben says, still calm. "Believe me. My wife tells me so all the time. But I guess I can't..." He shakes his head. "We can't protect them from everything," he says, finally. "So I guess I'm just trying to protect him from everything that I can. Maybe I don't need to, but... But I'm still going to. For as long as he'll let me." He smiles a little bit. "Lucky for me, Blaine is very patient."
"He's a good kid," Burt says, and keeps watching Ben out of the corner of his eye. The guy's got his jaw set again, and it's kind of starting to make sense now, why he looks like that.
"Yes," Ben says. "Yes, he is."
Burt nods, and sinks back against the bench. "For the record," he says, adjusting his baseball cap. "I don't actually think you're ridiculous."
"Mmm." Ben relaxes too, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "You know, I didn't really think you would."
And that, really, is all Burt needs to hear.
*
They don't talk a whole lot after that, and weirdly enough, Burt's okay with it. He doesn't feel like there's a lot left to figure out about Ben, nothing important, anyway, and it's obvious the guy's not really a talker when he's left to his own devices. And since Burt's not exactly chatty himself, he's all right with just sitting in silence as the two of them wait for Carole and the boys to get done with whichever ride they've run off to.
It's kind of nice, actually, and a lot less boring than he thought it was going to be. Kind of... comfortable, even.
That being said, he's sort of pleasantly surprised when Ben turns to him late in the day, and says "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Burt says, pulling his attention away from the giant hill of the rollercoaster looming above them. They've finally circled back around to the Diamondback, and while Finn pretty much rushed the coaster, Kurt hung back, still a little skittish. And he'd be even more upset if Burt tried to ride with him, worrying about Burt's heart and his safety and everything else, but that doesn't mean Burt still doesn't wish he could go. It's not that he doesn't trust Blaine to keep Kurt calm. It's just... well. He's pretty sure that's still his job.
But he pushes that aside for the moment. "What's on your mind?"
Ben leans forward, his elbows on his knees, and stares intently at the ground. "How did you do it?" he asks, finally. "Sending Kurt back to that school, after... after everything. How on earth did you manage it without falling apart? Because I don't think I could."
It's not totally what Burt was expecting, but it's not totally surprising, either. He's heard from Kurt that Blaine went to a public school for a little while, and there's been some hints dropped, that something bad happened while Blaine was there. And it kind of makes sense, what with Ben being so protective.
Of course, that doesn't actually help Burt answer the question.
He leans back on the bench, folding his arms, then unfolding them. He takes off his baseball cap, rubs at his sweaty scalp and looks up at the sky, and he thinks about it for a few seconds. "Does Blaine want to go back to his old school?" he asks, returning the question. Because honestly? He doesn't have an answer to give. "I mean, does he ever talk about it, or..."
"He's never mentioned it," Ben says. "At least not to me. But it was... The situation had to escalate quite a bit before he even thought about leaving, and I wonder, sometimes, if he doesn't regret it even now, at least a little."
"Well." Burt shrugs, puts his hat back on, and folds his arms again. "I mean, Kurt wanted to go back. And I mean he wanted to go back, and everyone around him knew all about it. I had kids' parents walking up to me in the supermarket, asking me why I didn't just send him back to McKinley. If Blaine wants it badly enough, he'll let you and everyone else around you know about it. And, believe me, you will find it much easier to make your mind up when that time comes. If it comes. Which it might not."
Ben rests his chin on his hands, still staring down at the cement. He doesn't look reassured, not that Burt really expected him to. "It's not that I want Blaine to change," he says, quietly. "Blaine is... He's exceptional. His intelligence, his talent, his... compassion for other people. He amazes me. But other people look at him, and they don't see that. They just see this one thing about him, this one aspect of his life that he can't change, shouldn't change... And it makes them hate him. It makes them want to hurt him. And I don't know what to do with that. I honestly don't. It... terrifies me."
"Yeah," Burt says. There's nothing else he can really say. "Yeah, me too."
"I just... I wish I could protect him," Ben says. "And I can't."
"Yeah," Burt says again. Then he goes back to looking up at the sky, and Ben stays looking at the ground, and neither of them says anything more because there just isn't anything left to say.
*
"Woodstock Express?" Finn asks, watching the coaster's little pink cars slowly coast to a stop. "Isn't this for, like, kids?"
"It's a family ride, Finn," Kurt huffs. "For families. Like ours."
Finn just blinks at him. "Kurt, it's got Snoopy on it."
"I love Snoopy," Carole points out, blandly, and slips her hand into Burt's. "Don't you just love Snoopy, Burt?"
"One of my favorites," Burt replies, and gives her hand a squeeze.
"But --"
Kurt sighs heavily. "Look, Finn, if you don't want to come, then don't come. I mean, granted, the idea was to find something that we could all ride together, as a family, but if you're not interested, then I'll just --"
"I never said that," Finn protests. "I just... Kurt, how'm I even gonna fit on this thing? It's, like, tiny."
Burt turns back to give him a look. "Finn, if I can fit on this thing -- and I can, I've done it -- then you can fit on this thing. Now switch me spots. I'm gonna ride with Kurt. You can ride with your mom."
It's Finn's turn to sigh. "Fine," he mutters, and obediently slips into position next to Carole as Burt drops back to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his son.
"You sure you're all right with me going on this one, kiddo?" he asks, taking a long look at Kurt. His smile's a little bit strained, although some of that is probably from arguing with his brother, and there's something kind of nervous in the way he's got his hands laced together in front of him, but overall, he seems steady. Still, though. "Don't want you worrying or anything."
Kurt takes a deep breath and turns to look at his father, still smiling. "It's fine, Dad," he says, like he isn't totally freaking out somewhere behind his eyes. "I think... I think we'll be all right."
Burt takes just a second to glance back over his shoulder, to where Ben and Blaine are standing together. Blaine's eyes are on his dad, one hand resting on Ben's shoulder like he's worried that Ben will cut and run at the nearest opportunity. But if Burt's figured out how to read the guy by now (and it's entirely possible that he hasn't), he thinks Blaine's got nothing to worry about. Judging by the small, quiet smile on Ben's face, there's nowhere else he'd rather be.
"Yeah," Burt says, and looks back down at Kurt. "Yeah, I think we'll be just fine."
*
They hang back a little bit once they hit the parking lot, Carole arm-in-arm with Finn and doing her best to keep him distracted, Burt and Ben with their backs pointedly turned on Blaine and Kurt, giving them a little privacy so they can say goodbye to each other. "We should do this again sometime," Burt says, and doesn't look over his shoulder, not even once. If his son's ready to start kissing boys, then his son's gonna kiss boys, and there's nothing he can do to stop it. "I mean, maybe not this, but... you know. Boyfriend stuff. Family stuff."
"We should," Ben agrees, and stares straight ahead at the park, at all those rollercoasters. It's the first time he's ever actually managed to look at them, at least that Burt's noticed.
"You could come out for dinner some night," Burt offers. "Kurt'd be thrilled. He loves getting to play host. And, you know, we'd like it too. Carole and me. And Finn. All of us."
Ben hums under his breath, still smiling just the smallest amount. "I'll talk to Miranda about it," he says. "I think... I think she might enjoy that. Certainly, it's more her style than... than something like this."
It's the first time anyone's really mentioned Blaine's mother all day, even though her absence has been kinda... well, glaringly obvious. Burt can't help but wonder about the way Ben waited until the very last second to do it, like he's been trying not to talk about it at all. But he's getting to where he likes the guy, likes him enough that he doesn't want to make him too uncomfortable, so he just shrugs and says, "Yeah, well. Maybe next time."
"Next time," Ben repeats, his smile widening. "Yes. Absolutely. Next time."
"We'll look forward to it," Burt says, and he's smiling too.
There's a heavy sigh from behind them, and Burt grins even wider. "You know," Kurt says, sounding just a little bit huffy, "you can turn around now. We're not... indecent or anything."
"No one said you were," Burt points out, and doesn't so much as twitch. "Just... you know. Looking at the lights." And, granted, it's just barely dusk and there's not really any lights to see yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. There's got to be some lights, somewhere. Burt's sure of it.
Kurt sighs again. "Dad."
Ben is the first one to turn around, reaching out to set a hand on his son's shoulder. Burt watches him move, watches him with his son. And maybe it's just that it's a little bit dimmer now than it was when they started, or maybe it's that Ben doesn't seem as nervy as he did then, or that Blaine's shoulders are more relaxed, but Burt can kind of see it now, how Blaine looks more like his dad than Burt thought he did at first.
It's the nose, maybe. They've got the same nose.
"Ready to go?" Ben asks, quietly.
Blaine nods at his father, smiling just a little bit. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I --" He looks up at Burt. "Thank you. For coming out today. It was really fun."
"Thank you. You know, for inviting us and... and everything." And before he can think too much about it, he reaches out and pulls Blaine in for a quick, one-armed hug, then claps Ben on the shoulder, making him rock forward on his toes a little bit. Blaine has to reach out and steady his dad, catching him by the elbow. "You guys have a safe drive back, all right? Be careful."
"We will," Ben says, pushing his glasses up his nose. "And... um. And you as well. And let me know about... dinner, and everything. We'd love to come."
Kurt raises his eyebrows at his father, but says nothing.
"I'll give you a call," Burt says, and raises his hand in a wave as Ben and Blaine head off to find their car, Blaine still hanging on to Ben's elbow as they walk away. And he's still kind of worried about Blaine, the way he kind of worries about all these kids, but at least he knows that someone else is worrying too. And that helps. It helps a lot, actually.
"Come on," he says, and drapes an arm around Kurt's shoulders, tugging him off to rejoin Carole and Finn at the car.
For the curious (and for the LOST aficionados): Ben plays Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# Minor when they're in the theater. Only the circumstances are decidedly less creepy, and he doesn't wake up in the Saharan Desert when he's done
Author: lookninjas
Fandoms: Glee
Pairing/Character(s): Mr. Anderson, Kurt/Blaine, Burt/Carole, Finn/Rollercoasters
Rating: PG
Warnings: Absolutely none.
Word Count: About 9000
Spoilers: Very small and vague ones for episode 2.22 (mostly just Blaine and Kurt's plans for summer vacation).
Standard-Issue Short-Form Disclaimer: I do not hold copyright to Glee, make no claims to such, and am not profiting from this. I realize that King's Island does not have a Friends and Family Day, but then again, it doesn't have a Christmas Spectacular either, so. Welcome to Glee!Ohio; it's nothing like the real thing.
Summary: Blaine and his father invite the Hudmels to join them for the annual Friends and Family Day at King's Island, and Burt tries to figure out whether or not he should be worried about Blaine's home life. (Or: Two overprotective fathers, three teenage boys, and one sane woman. And rollercoasters.)
Author's Notes: Part of the ben!verse, although this fic can also be read as a stand-alone. Please note that, much like the actual showrunners for Glee, I've never actually been to King's Island, so I'm sure I got most of it wrong. But I did try. I really did.
"I have an announcement," Kurt says, setting down the salad bowl and clasping his hands in front of his plate. His eyes are big and bright, and he's smiling wide, but there's something sort of determined behind his expression. He's been making that face a lot lately, that intense, we will get through this face, and Burt's not really sure why. As far as he knows, the summer's been pretty okay to them so far. "Or, rather, a request to make. On Blaine's behalf."
Burt raises his eyebrows a little bit and glances over to Carole; she looks at Kurt with worried eyes. "Blaine's behalf?" she repeats, slowly. "He's not... Kurt, he's not in any trouble, is he?"
"Oh, no." Kurt laughs a little, too quickly, too lightly, and Burt can feel his eyebrows drawing together. The thing about Kurt is, he spends too much time trying to stand out to actually know how to hide anything. Especially not from his old man. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just that the Friends and Family Day is coming up at King's Island, and Blaine's got some extra passes, and he wanted to know if we'd... If we'd be his guests for the day. Since he spends so much time over here and everything, he thought it might be -- Not, of course, that he thinks we're expecting anything or... you know, but otherwise he'd be trying to pick which Warblers to give tickets to, and it'd just be awkward and feelings would be hurt and --"
"We'll go!" Finn volunteers, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. When no one else chimes in right away, he settles a little and looks around the table at everyone else. "I mean... we can go, right? So it wouldn't be awkward. For Blaine. With the Warblers."
Burt just clears his throat, carefully watching Kurt's expression. The thing is, it'd be nice to have some kind of family day out this year, since they can't really afford a vacation or anything. The shop's doing okay and all, and the Dalton bills are mostly cleared up by now, but there's something to be said for frugality, getting a little bit socked away for the future. Especially since Burt's still not totally sure that his son won't be returning to Dalton at some point, when Karofsky forgets that he's sorry or some other asshole kid decides to fill his spot. So a free trip to an amusement park, for all of them, seems like a damn good thing.
On the other hand, he's pretty sure that it's called Family Day for a reason, and when all's said and done, he's not Blaine's family. And he doesn't want any hurt feelings coming out of this just because Kurt and Blaine are so wrapped up in each other, so eager to spend time together, that they've forgotten that there are other people in the world. "You said they were extra passes," he points out. "So Blaine's family... I'm gonna assume that they're all taken care of, right?"
"Of course," Kurt says, but there's a little more strain behind his words. "I mean, not that there's a lot of family to take care of, since it's mostly just him and his parents. And his mom doesn't really like King's Island, so he's saving her a ticket but she's probably not going to be there. But his dad's coming. We're pretty sure."
Pretty sure, Burt thinks, and glances back over to Carole. She's smiling at Kurt, but there's something kind of worried in her eyes. "We'd love to, honey," she says, reaching out to pat Kurt's hand.
Kurt smiles back, then turns to his father. "Dad?" he asks.
"All right, all right," he says, and Finn hisses out a "Yes!" and pumps his fist under the table, almost knocking his milk into his lap. "Long as Blaine's family's all right with us coming, I'm all right too. Just make sure he's checked with his parents, okay? And then let us know when it is, so we can take the time off work. Deal?"
"Deal," Kurt says, his smile widening a little bit. "Thanks, Dad."
"Yeah," Finn says, still bouncing a little bit in his chair. "Thanks, Burt. And Kurt. And Mom. And Blaine, although he's not here right now. But if he was, I'd totally --"
"You can thank him later, Finn," Burt says with a sigh. "And you can thank us by not knocking the table over. Please."
"Yeah," Finn says, and finally manages to sit still. For a second. Then he bounces one last time, sending silverware tumbling to the floor, and cracks a big grin. "Dude," he says, turning to Kurt. "This is gonna be so awesome."
Kurt's smile turns strained, but he keeps it up as best he can. "Yeah," he says. "It'll be great." Then he bends down to pick up his fork, and whatever else he might have wanted to say is lost underneath the table.
Burt sighs and helps himself to more salad.
*
The thing is, Burt doesn't really know anything about Blaine Anderson's father. They've only spoken a few times, on the phone late at night when Blaine falls asleep on the Hummels' couch, or Kurt winds up conking out at Blaine's house while the two of them are watching a movie. And, yeah, the guy's been okay about it, pretty much. A little stiff, maybe, a little formal, but not angry or upset, like he doesn't really care that his son is going to be sharing a bed with another boy, like he's all right with it. Which is good to know. But it's still just... not enough. Not really.
After all, Kurt's been spending a lot of time over at the Andersons' lately. And Blaine... well, he lives there. And Blaine might not be Burt's kid, but he's still a kid, and a good kid at that. So Burt figures it's natural for him to worry a little bit. Hell, he's seen what life is like for kids like Kurt and Blaine. He knows how hard it is for them out there in the world. It makes sense that he'd want to make sure that it's not hard for him at home, too.
And lately, he's kind of been getting the impression that maybe it is hard for Blaine. It's nothing big -- it's not like Blaine's coming over with bruises or anything, and Kurt hasn't been hinting around that there's trouble, not like he did when he found out that Sam kid was homeless and he was trying to figure out what to do about it. It's just... small stuff. Like the way Kurt gets that intense, we will get through this face when he's gearing up to spend the day at Blaine's house, and the way he's quiet after, kind of thoughtful and worried and moody. And maybe it's stupid, and Burt's reading too much into it -- in fact, he's pretty much positive that he's reading too much into it -- but Kurt's been breaking out the World's Greatest Dad mug a lot these days, and Burt can't help but wonder if maybe that's more to do with Blaine than it is with him. Like Kurt's seeing something at Blaine's house that makes Burt look good in comparison. And he doesn't know what it is, and he doesn't know if it's got anything to do with Blaine's dad or not, but then he doesn't know that it doesn't, either, and that's what keeps tripping him up.
Because he doesn't know anything about Blaine's father. Or he doesn't know enough, anyway. And now that he's about to meet the guy... Well. He's starting to wonder, is all.
Fortunately, Kurt has been spending all that time at Blaine's house lately, so he's got to have an opinion. And yeah, Kurt's not always much of a talker when it comes to these things, but it never hurt anyone to ask, right?
"So," he says, as he and Kurt stand on either side of a first-generation Neon, staring down at the engine. For all Kurt's early enthusiasm about his Pippi Hooray! musical, or whatever it was going to be called, he's been spending a lot of time at the shop lately, helping out. Burt's not complaining about the extra set of hands and eyes, but he's also not blind to the fact that it isn't like Kurt to be this clingy. "Blaine's dad. He's a teacher, right?"
Kurt shrugs, and leans in to examine a belt. "He's a professor. At OSU, in the math department. He's got a doctorate and everything." Then he frowns. "Which I guess means I should be calling him Dr. Anderson, not Mr. Anderson, although he's never said anything about it, so maybe he doesn't care. " He cocks his head, still looking at the same belt. "They said it was making a whining noise?"
"Yeah. Like a puppy waiting to be fed." Burt pushes his hat back, scratches his head. "'Spose I should've asked them if they actually had a puppy in the car when they heard it."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Kurt sighs, straightening up. "Want to take her around the block, see if we can actually get her to start whining?"
"Guess it can't hurt." Burt drops the hood down as Kurt wipes his hands off on an old rag. "So, Dr. Anderson, though. Or Mr. Anderson. Whatever. He seem like an all right guy to you? What's he like?"
Kurt hesitates a little, still fiddling with the rag. "He's... quiet," he says, slowly. "Mrs. Anderson does most of the talking, usually. He's mostly just... there. But he's..." Kurt gives up and stuffs the rag back in his pocket. "I don't know. What's the saying? Still waters run deep?"
"Good deep?" Burt opens the driver's side door and crouches down to start fiddling with the seat adjustment levers. He's not even gonna try sitting in this one without pushing the seat back first -- he's seen the driver and he's pretty sure she's not even five feet tall. "Or, like, serial killer deep?"
"Dad," Kurt sighs, exasperated. He slides in on the passenger side, buckling his seatbelt without needing to be told, and waits patiently for Burt to climb in after him. "He's just... I mean, no, he's not like you. He doesn't say things as easily as you do. He's quiet, and I think he's... scared, a lot of the time. To show what he's feeling. He doesn't do that easily. But it doesn't mean he doesn't still feel. So... Go easy on him. Okay?"
"Huh." Burt reaches up to adjust the rearview, taking the opportunity to watch Kurt without actually getting caught at it. It's not exactly a ringing endorsement, that's for sure. But then, that's not exactly Kurt's style; he doesn't gush. Which is kind of why Burt likes hearing his take on people so much, because at the end of the day, he's always got some kind of good insight.
And, hell, it's not like Burt doesn't know what it's like to be so scared that it's hard to talk, scared of saying the wrong thing, something that Kurt'll take badly, that'll make him think he's not good enough, important enough. That he doesn't mean enough. He pushes past it, because that's the way he handles things, the way Kurt handles things. But that's because they're Hummels; that's what they do. Maybe the Andersons just do things a little differently.
He starts the car (no whining yet), and backs it carefully out of the driveway and into the street. "Gotta ask you, though," he says, glancing over at Kurt. "What makes you think I was gonna be hard on the guy in the first place?"
Kurt just gives him a look and shakes his head. "Dad, please," he sighs. Then he smooths out the front of his coveralls and reaches for the center console. "All right," he says, firmly. "Did they say whether or not the A/C was on when it started whining?"
And Burt realizes that that's all the information he's going to get out of his son.
*
He's still not totally sure what he's expecting Ben Anderson to be like. If he's even expecting to meet him at all. Kurt said he was pretty sure the guy was coming, but pretty sure isn't the same thing as positive, and it's possible that he won't even be there. But then the lot of them are trooping up to the gates of King's Island, Finn's shoulders hunched against the mid-morning drizzle and Kurt and Carole tucked together under a monstrous umbrella, giggling about something, and Burt spots Blaine sheltered underneath a monstrous umbrella of his own, and there's a guy standing next to him, and Burt figures... Well. He figures that the guy pretty much has to be Blaine's dad. Because who else would he be?
The thing is, the guy doesn't look a lot like Blaine, not that Burt's great at seeing these things anyway. But he does look exactly like Burt would expect otherwise, just from what he's heard. He's got these little round glasses that make him look kind of like an owl, and he's wearing this button-down shirt and khaki pants like that's the only kind of clothing he ever wears or maybe even owns, and he just looks like... He looks like a PhD, like a math teacher, like the sort of person who calls you up to say your son's conked out on his couch and he hates to wake him up so could he just maybe sleep over just this once, but does it in this weird, formal way with a lot of ten-dollar words sprinkled in because that's how he talks. He looks like... well. Like still water, running deep.
Burt's still not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, but at least it's something.
Then Blaine and Kurt spot each other, and Blaine passes his umbrella to his dad and Kurt passes his to Carole, and they both do this funny little hurried walk, almost-but-not-quite running to meet up in the middle. They stand there for a few seconds, just looking at each other as the rain sprinkles down on them, and Blaine's hair is starting to frizz out of control even as Kurt's gets flattened down, and what's funny is that neither of them seems to care. At least, not if the big, goofy grin on Blaine's face is any indication.
"Hi," he says, breathless and beaming, and Burt's honestly surprised that the sun doesn't come out just at the sheer force of Blaine's happiness.
"Hi," Kurt says back, just as breathless.
Burt has to wonder if they'll ever get past this point, where they're so thrilled just to see each other that they can hardly speak. Honestly, he kind of hopes they don't.
He glances over at Blaine's dad just to check his response, but the man's sort of hidden by his umbrella and his rain-spattered glasses; it's pretty much impossible for Burt to read his face, to figure out if he's happy or worried or just bored or what. He's not so sure he likes that, that he can't read the guy straight off. He's not used to that.
Finn is the first one to catch up to Kurt, mostly because his legs are longest but also because he still hasn't figured out how to let his stepbrother have moments. "Hey, Blaine," he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and trying not to act like he's nervous. "So... It's supposed to clear up, right? They're not gonna shut down the rides or anything. Are they? Because that would totally suck. I mean, for everyone, not just for us, 'cause it's, like, Family Day or whatever, and..."
Blaine laughs, reaching up to pat Finn on the shoulder, and Burt can't help but notice that he hasn't touched Kurt yet. And it's nothing he hasn't seen before, but it hits him hard every time -- that his boy still can't just rush up and kiss his boyfriend when they see each other, that they can't put their arms around each other or lean in close the way Finn does with Rachel or Burt does with Carole. "It's fine," Blaine says, reassuringly. "I mean, if it gets really bad, they'll start shutting things down, but I'm pretty sure this isn't going to last that long. And if it does... I mean, the coasters might run a little faster, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you..." He glances over his shoulder at his father, still quiet and unreadable and shaded underneath his umbrella, and falls silent. "Anyway," he adds, with a little, nervous laugh. "Introductions." He takes his dad's arm and pulls him the rest of the way forward, the umbrella bobbling awkwardly above them. "Dad, this is Burt, and Carole, and Finn. And... Everyone, this is my dad, Ben. Ben Anderson. Dr. Ben Anderson."
"Just Ben, actually," the man says, reaching out to shake hands with everyone. He's got a good grip, firm and steady, although Burt knows that's not really anything to rely on. Anyone can shake hands. "My father is Dr. Anderson; I still look over my shoulder whenever I hear the name."
"Your father," Carole says, giving Ben's hand a little, friendly squeeze. "Was he a mathematician too?"
Ben blinks at them behind his glasses. "Oh. No. No, he's a real doctor. M.D., not PhD. Which perhaps isn't an important distinction to everyone, but he's always been somewhat... particular about it." He gives a little nervous chuckle as he shakes hands with Finn, like he's just realized that he's said something awkward. It sounds a lot like Blaine's laugh, actually. "Anyway," Ben says, drawing back underneath the protective shade of his umbrella. "It's good to finally meet you. All of you. Should we get in line, or..." He glances over at Blaine.
"Oh, right!" Blaine starts herding everyone towards the crowds clustered around the gates -- there aren't quite as many people hanging around as Burt would've expected, but there's still a hell of a lot, and he's pretty sure they can't all be employees and their families. "They don't -- I know some other parks will have everything shut down so it's just us, but they don't do that here. But at least it's a Tuesday, so it's not as busy. And, you know, no shows on Tuesday." He grins at Kurt. "So I don't have to run off in the middle of the day; I can just... be here."
Kurt smiles back at him. Their hands reach out, fingers tangling together.
Standing next to Burt, Ben Anderson takes a deep breath and sets his jaw. He looks away from his son, staring at the crowds around them, but says nothing, and try as he might, Burt just can't read the man's face.
He doesn't think he likes that very much.
*
Once they're through the lines, Blaine drags them off to look at the theater where he performs four days a week, at 3:30, 4:30, 6:00, and 7:00. It's not really Burt's thing, but Kurt and Finn seem eager enough to go, and really, today's kind of about them anyway. So he trails after them, Ben and Carole on either side of him, and watches the boys hurrying ahead into the rain. Kurt and Blaine keep reaching out, their hands grazing, then pulling away again when they remember that they're in public. It's about the most frustrating thing Burt's ever seen; he hates this, that his kid can't just relax and be himself when there're other people around. Hell, it's just holding hands. It's not a big deal.
He looks to Ben again, hoping to see a little commisseration or something, but he can't tell if it's actually there or not. The guy's jaw is still firmly set, but that could mean nothing, or everything, or anything at all. Maybe he's every bit as angry as Burt; maybe he's uncomfortable; maybe he's just nervous around strangers. And it's not like Burt considers himself an expert when it comes to reading people -- he's not some FBI profiler or anything -- but he's never had this much trouble getting a feel for someone before. It bugs him, makes him want to get under the guy's skin a little bit.
"So," he says, as casually as he can, and goes back to watching the boys up ahead of them. "You ever do anything like this before? I mean, just..." He waves his hand at the boys up ahead of them.
"Not recently," Ben says, adjusting his umbrella when it bumps into Carole's. "Not since Blaine started working here, anyway. But we used to come here together all the time. Blaine loves this place. I think he'd move in, if he could."
Burt's not sure if the guy's misunderstanding him on purpose or if he's just clueless. "Huh," he says. "Actually, I kind of meant... You know. The boyfriend thing. Has Blaine had a lot of them, or -- "
"Oh." Ben blinks up at him, all startled surprise (definitely clueless, Burt thinks, and it's nice to finally get some kind of a reaction from the guy). "Oh. No. No, this is our first time with the... with the boyfriend thing." He stares at his shoes for a second, then looks up at his son, and finally turns back to Burt and Carole. "And the two of you? Have you ever... done this before?"
"Finn's had a few girlfriends," Carole says, smiling. "Well, two, but he goes back and forth so much that it feels like... But Burt's a first-timer, like you." She laughs and reaches up to pat Burt on the shoulder. "I do have to say, though, that he's doing a lot better than I thought he would. I was really expecting the shotgun to come out at some point."
Ben gives her a glance that might be a little bit alarmed, and Burt shakes his head. "Don't listen to her," he says, glowering at Carole. She just smiles at him. "I don't even have a shotgun. Honestly. Carole and Kurt just like to make out like I'm this big, overprotective... bear, or something. I'm not that bad."
"You're not bad, Burt," Carole says, slipping her arm into his and squeezing fondly. "But you are very protective of Kurt. You can't argue with that."
"And why would I?" Burt's stern look starts to falter a little bit; he can't help it, when she smiles at him like that. It makes him want to smile back. It's kind of a thing. "So I'm protective. So what? Kurt's my kid. Kids need protection. Ben, you're a dad. You get it. Back me up here."
"Oh, now don't --" Carole leans forward to give Ben a sympathetic smile. "Ben, you don't have to answer that. Just ignore him; it's what the rest of us do."
Ben waves off Carole's objections, calm behind his little round glasses. "No, no, it's fine," he says, easily enough. "And I agree, actually. Maybe they're older now, and there's not as much to worry about as there used to be, but..." He trails off momentarily, like he's trying to gather his thoughts. "But then again, it's not a very kind world," he finishes, his jaw setting firmly again. "And it's our job to spare them from the worst of it, if we can."
His eyes settle on the boys once more -- when Burt looks forward, he sees that Blaine has caught Kurt's hand, and this time, he doesn't let go. Kurt's not pulling away, of course, but he keeps giving Blaine these little, nervous looks, and then staring out at the crowds around them, like he's just waiting for something to happen. His spine's gone all straight, and his chin's up like he's daring someone to do something.
Because sooner or later, someone will do something. Because it's not a very kind world. Burt gets that. He thinks, maybe, Ben does too.
Or maybe he doesn't. It's too soon to tell; he still doesn't know enough about the guy. Not yet.
"I'm just saying," Carole says, her voice very mild. "You can't protect them from everything. And sometimes, you realize that you don't even need to. That some things are safer than you thought."
"Of course," Ben replies, but his eyes are distant. "Some things. But not everything."
Burt just hmmphs, and keeps watching.
*
Burt's never totally understood what's so exciting about an empty stage. Yeah, when there's a show on, and the kids are singing and dancing and there's lights and costumes and people in the crowd and everything -- that he understands. But when the lights are off and the audience is gone, then he doesn't really see the point. The magic's gone. It's just a stage again.
But Finn's immediately rushing off with his mom in tow, going to look at some set piece that's caught his eye, and Blaine and Kurt are staring raptly up at the lights, and Ben's wandered off down to the orchestra pit, so clearly Burt's the only one who isn't really interested in this. Which is fine, really. He's used to being outnumbered.
"I know it's not the Gershwin," Blaine says, stepping backwards onto the stage, his eyes fixed on Kurt the entire time. "And it's not -- I mean, it's just the Motown revue at King's Island, but --"
"I love it," Kurt says, looking up at the lights, and then back down at Blaine. "This is great, Blaine. Really."
Blaine glances up at Kurt in this sort of awkward, shy way that Burt's not expecting, and it kind of tugs at him a little bit. Kind of makes him nervous, too, if he's honest with himself, but still. He likes that Blaine looks at Kurt like he's the most amazing person ever. "Yeah?" Blaine asks, and Kurt steps in a little bit closer to him, and Burt's sort of wondering if he needs to clear his throat and remind the boys that they're not really alone right now.
And Ben must be having the same thought, because there's a few soft chords coming from the piano in the orchestra pit, followed by a laugh and an apologetic, "Sorry. Guess I couldn't resist."
Kurt creeps over to the edge of the stage, peering down into the shadows. "I didn't know you played," he says, sounding maybe a little impressed. Less pissed-off than Burt expected, anyway.
"I'm a little rusty," Ben says, as Kurt sits down on the stage, carefully smoothing out his ridiculously tight pants, and Blaine sprawls next to him on his belly, totally at ease. "It's... it's been a while."
"So play something now," Blaine suggests, resting his head on his arms. "Come on, Dad, there's no one here but us. You won't get in trouble or anything."
"Blaine, I'm really not sure --"
"Dude!" Finn emerges from the shadows at the back of the stage, decked out in some shiny gold jacket with a black feather boa on top. The jacket's too small for him; the sleeves barely come down past his elbows, and Burt can't figure out if he wants to laugh or if he wants to hustle all of them out of there before they ruin Blaine's amusement park career for good. "These costumes are awesome. Seriously, we should totally wear these for Sectionals. We'd be, like... dazzling." He does Kurt's little jazz hands gesture, and Burt can't help it; he starts cracking up.
Kurt doesn't seem to find it at all funny; he lets out a shocked "Oh my God, Finn," before jumping to his feet and starting to herd Finn off the stage. "Okay, first off? No. Just... no. Second, you don't just start trying on people's costumes! What if you ripped it? Or... or spilled something on it?"
"But I don't even have anything to spill," Finn protests, even as Kurt chases him into the wings.
"Oh, I'm sure you'd find a way," Kurt says, darkly, and Burt's laughing so hard his eyes are starting to water from it. "Okay, third. Seriously. I can pull this look off. You cannot. Sam cannot. Puck absolutely cannot. So we are not wearing these for Sectionals. FOURTH."
Kurt's voice fades out as he chases Finn further and further off stage, and when Burt finally manages to wipe his eyes, take a deep breath, and look back out towards Blaine, he realizes the kid is gone. But someone's talking from the orchestra pit, too quietly for Burt to make out the words, and he's pretty sure he knows who it is.
That doesn't stop him from creeping close enough to hear, though. Hell, he's gotta make sure, right?
"-- don't want to go after him?" Ben asks. "I mean, someone should stop him from hurting his brother, don't you think?"
"It's okay," Blaine replies. "He's not actually going to kill Finn, just threaten him a little. Or a lot. Maybe a lot."
"The fact that you can say this so calmly worries me, Blaine," Ben says, so perfectly deadpan that Burt can't figure out whether it's a joke or not. "It really, really does."
Blaine sighs. "Dad, it's fine," he huffs. "Just... you should play something. Right now. Please?"
"Well, I don't see why I should," Ben argues, still totally deadpan. "I mean, isn't this why I taught you how to play in the first place? It's your job to entertain people. You should be playing, not me."
There's another heavy sigh, and what might be a laugh (not nervous or awkward this time, but actually kind of affectionate and warm), and then a few seconds later, someone starts playing the piano. It's classical, something kind of heavy and slow, and it seems more like Ben's kind of music than Blaine's, but there's no way to know for certain. Burt figures he'd pretty much have to climb into the pit with them to find out who's playing, and really, he feels creepy enough as it is, just spying like this. No point making it worse.
Anyway, Kurt and Finn are still running around wrecking things, probably, and he really should track down his wife. So he turns his back on the music and wanders off into the wings to find his family and bring them back again.
*
Burt's not totally sure how it happens, but they wind up wasting a good hour just wandering around the empty theater, looking at costumes and set pieces and cast photos from previous years, with the occasional break to grab Finn and keep him from accidentally setting the theater on fire. Ben and Blaine catch up with them about halfway through, and Blaine goes on and on about the show he's doing, and the costumes he has to wear, and the songs they're singing, and Kurt keeps interrupting him because he's seen the show four times already and therefore thinks he knows more about it than Blaine does, and it should be boring but somehow it actually isn't. Maybe it's just because the kids are so excited about the whole thing, and their enthusiasm is contagious. Burt's not really sure. But he's actually kind of sorry to leave the theater at the end.
They step out into bright sunshine, and immediately hear the swoosh and scream of a group of kids flying past on some big coaster, and that's all it takes for Finn -- he's on his way over to the line before anyone else can even open their mouths. "Come on," he says, when he realizes no one's following him. "It's not raining anymore. It's totally safe now. Blaine said it was."
"It is," Blaine says, glancing at his dad, then at Kurt. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure everything's dry, so... But I mean, the Diamondback's one of the biggest coasters in the park, Finn. Maybe we should start a little smaller. Work up to it."
"I think that sounds like a good idea," Kurt says, staring up at the coaster like he's a little freaked out by it. Burt can't really blame him; it is pretty damn big. "Starting small. I'm in favor of that."
"There was one I saw on our way over," Carole suggests, hesitantly. "One of the hanging ones? I thought it looked like it might be fun."
"Oh, the Flight Deck?" Burt can't help but be a little amused by how quick Blaine is to play expert. "Yeah, that's a great one. We could start there, if you wanted. And then work our way up, like I said. I mean, the weather's supposed to be great for the rest of the day, so we don't have to worry about the coasters getting wet again, or anything." He looks over at his dad again; Ben almost seems to smile, even as he shakes his head a little bit. "Anyway," Blaine says. "Shall we?"
He takes Carole's arm and starts leading her off, and everyone else trails after him.
Burt finds himself walking next to Ben again, the two of them hanging back behind everyone else. Blaine's chattering away into Carole's ear, and Burt can't help but grin, shaking his head. "You weren't kidding," he says, and Ben frowns at him, looking a little confused. "That kid sure knows his coasters."
"Oh," Ben says, and turns to watch his son again. "Yes. Yes, he really does love them."
There's something funny about the way he says it, something Burt can't entirely place. "I used to," he says, trying to draw the conversation out a little bit. "When Kurt was younger, we'd head out here, or to Cedar Point for the day, and I'd go on every ride with him so he wouldn't have to be alone, you know. So he wouldn't get scared or anything." He shrugs. "But. Can't do that anymore." He pats at his chest, and Ben nods.
"Blaine told me," he says, quietly. "That you'd had a heart attack. So I suppose it's not safe for you, rides like this." He gestures over at the rollercoaster ahead of them, but doesn't actually seem to look at it.
"Eh." Burt shrugs. "It's probably safe enough, really. For me. Kurt's the one I'm worried about now. It's hard enough for him just letting me have salt; I think watching me climb on a roller coaster would probably kill him."
Ben smiles a little bit. "Of course," he says. "Well, then. I'll stay behind and keep you company."
"You don't have to --" Burt starts, but Blaine interrupts him, pushing his way back between Kurt and Finn to come talk to his dad.
"So I was going to ride with Carole," he says, wide dark eyes fixed on his father, and he looks surprisingly young. "If that's all right? I mean, I don't have to. I don't have to ride at all, if you... I could wait until everything's dry, or --"
"Blaine," Ben says, reaching out to touch his son's arm, just barely resting his fingers against Blaine's sleeve. "Everything is dry now. Anyway, it's fine. Mr. Hummel and I are going to wait together. You go ahead and have fun."
"Wait, you're not coming?" Finn asks, looking at Burt.
Kurt sighs heavily. "Of course he's not, Finn," he snaps. "He's got a heart condition. It's way too dangerous. But I could... if you wanted to go, Mr. Anderson, I could stay with my dad. I don't mind."
"It's fine," Ben says again, and gives his son a little push to propel him forward, smiling gently the whole time. "Go on. We'll be right here when you get back." He's still smiling when Carole takes Blaine's arm and leads him away, Kurt and Finn tagging along behind, and he keeps smiling until Blaine finally stops looking over his shoulder, until he's blended into the rest of the line and disappeared from view.
"You could still go with him, if you wanted," Burt says, but it comes out sounding like a question. Because the thing is, he's actually not all that sure about it. He kind of gets the sense that this weird semi-argument is one that Ben and Blaine have had before, one with some history behind it. "I mean, I wouldn't care."
"Mmm." Ben stuffs his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. "I'm sure you wouldn't. But everyone else in line with me probably would." He shakes his head, wandering over to a nearby bench and sinking down onto it. "I don't do rollercoasters well," he explains, glancing up. "Or heights in general, really, but rollercoasters are particularly difficult. I think it's the speed, maybe. Or the screaming. I don't know; it's hard to say."
Burt sits down next to him. It's funny -- Blaine and his dad are pretty much exactly the same height, but something about Ben makes him seem just a little bit smaller. It's the way his shoulders hunch in, maybe; Blaine stands a lot straighter, puffs his chest out, tries to make himself bigger than he is. Ben doesn't bother with that; if anything, it's like he's trying to shrink himself down. "That's gotta be hard," Burt says. "Since Blaine likes amusement parks so much, and everything. I mean, what do you do? Just hang around with a book and wait for him to get done, or what?"
Ben just shrugs. "Well. Nowadays, he mostly just hangs out with his friends after the shows let out, you know, goes on a few rides before everything shuts down for the evening. So I'm not even there. And if we do come here together, or go to a different park, or something..." He shrugs again. "I mean, we've been doing this for years. He saves the bigger coasters for the times when I'm not there, and I close my eyes and try not to look down, and we get through it together."
"So, wait." Burt looks at him; Ben gazes back, mild blue eyes behind his glasses. "You hate roller coasters. You're terrified of them. So why would --" He breaks off, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "I mean, he's what, sixteen years old now? Almost seventeen? Technically, he's old enough to go it alone, isn't he?"
"Oh, I know it's ridiculous," Ben says, still calm. "Believe me. My wife tells me so all the time. But I guess I can't..." He shakes his head. "We can't protect them from everything," he says, finally. "So I guess I'm just trying to protect him from everything that I can. Maybe I don't need to, but... But I'm still going to. For as long as he'll let me." He smiles a little bit. "Lucky for me, Blaine is very patient."
"He's a good kid," Burt says, and keeps watching Ben out of the corner of his eye. The guy's got his jaw set again, and it's kind of starting to make sense now, why he looks like that.
"Yes," Ben says. "Yes, he is."
Burt nods, and sinks back against the bench. "For the record," he says, adjusting his baseball cap. "I don't actually think you're ridiculous."
"Mmm." Ben relaxes too, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "You know, I didn't really think you would."
And that, really, is all Burt needs to hear.
*
They don't talk a whole lot after that, and weirdly enough, Burt's okay with it. He doesn't feel like there's a lot left to figure out about Ben, nothing important, anyway, and it's obvious the guy's not really a talker when he's left to his own devices. And since Burt's not exactly chatty himself, he's all right with just sitting in silence as the two of them wait for Carole and the boys to get done with whichever ride they've run off to.
It's kind of nice, actually, and a lot less boring than he thought it was going to be. Kind of... comfortable, even.
That being said, he's sort of pleasantly surprised when Ben turns to him late in the day, and says "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Burt says, pulling his attention away from the giant hill of the rollercoaster looming above them. They've finally circled back around to the Diamondback, and while Finn pretty much rushed the coaster, Kurt hung back, still a little skittish. And he'd be even more upset if Burt tried to ride with him, worrying about Burt's heart and his safety and everything else, but that doesn't mean Burt still doesn't wish he could go. It's not that he doesn't trust Blaine to keep Kurt calm. It's just... well. He's pretty sure that's still his job.
But he pushes that aside for the moment. "What's on your mind?"
Ben leans forward, his elbows on his knees, and stares intently at the ground. "How did you do it?" he asks, finally. "Sending Kurt back to that school, after... after everything. How on earth did you manage it without falling apart? Because I don't think I could."
It's not totally what Burt was expecting, but it's not totally surprising, either. He's heard from Kurt that Blaine went to a public school for a little while, and there's been some hints dropped, that something bad happened while Blaine was there. And it kind of makes sense, what with Ben being so protective.
Of course, that doesn't actually help Burt answer the question.
He leans back on the bench, folding his arms, then unfolding them. He takes off his baseball cap, rubs at his sweaty scalp and looks up at the sky, and he thinks about it for a few seconds. "Does Blaine want to go back to his old school?" he asks, returning the question. Because honestly? He doesn't have an answer to give. "I mean, does he ever talk about it, or..."
"He's never mentioned it," Ben says. "At least not to me. But it was... The situation had to escalate quite a bit before he even thought about leaving, and I wonder, sometimes, if he doesn't regret it even now, at least a little."
"Well." Burt shrugs, puts his hat back on, and folds his arms again. "I mean, Kurt wanted to go back. And I mean he wanted to go back, and everyone around him knew all about it. I had kids' parents walking up to me in the supermarket, asking me why I didn't just send him back to McKinley. If Blaine wants it badly enough, he'll let you and everyone else around you know about it. And, believe me, you will find it much easier to make your mind up when that time comes. If it comes. Which it might not."
Ben rests his chin on his hands, still staring down at the cement. He doesn't look reassured, not that Burt really expected him to. "It's not that I want Blaine to change," he says, quietly. "Blaine is... He's exceptional. His intelligence, his talent, his... compassion for other people. He amazes me. But other people look at him, and they don't see that. They just see this one thing about him, this one aspect of his life that he can't change, shouldn't change... And it makes them hate him. It makes them want to hurt him. And I don't know what to do with that. I honestly don't. It... terrifies me."
"Yeah," Burt says. There's nothing else he can really say. "Yeah, me too."
"I just... I wish I could protect him," Ben says. "And I can't."
"Yeah," Burt says again. Then he goes back to looking up at the sky, and Ben stays looking at the ground, and neither of them says anything more because there just isn't anything left to say.
*
"Woodstock Express?" Finn asks, watching the coaster's little pink cars slowly coast to a stop. "Isn't this for, like, kids?"
"It's a family ride, Finn," Kurt huffs. "For families. Like ours."
Finn just blinks at him. "Kurt, it's got Snoopy on it."
"I love Snoopy," Carole points out, blandly, and slips her hand into Burt's. "Don't you just love Snoopy, Burt?"
"One of my favorites," Burt replies, and gives her hand a squeeze.
"But --"
Kurt sighs heavily. "Look, Finn, if you don't want to come, then don't come. I mean, granted, the idea was to find something that we could all ride together, as a family, but if you're not interested, then I'll just --"
"I never said that," Finn protests. "I just... Kurt, how'm I even gonna fit on this thing? It's, like, tiny."
Burt turns back to give him a look. "Finn, if I can fit on this thing -- and I can, I've done it -- then you can fit on this thing. Now switch me spots. I'm gonna ride with Kurt. You can ride with your mom."
It's Finn's turn to sigh. "Fine," he mutters, and obediently slips into position next to Carole as Burt drops back to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his son.
"You sure you're all right with me going on this one, kiddo?" he asks, taking a long look at Kurt. His smile's a little bit strained, although some of that is probably from arguing with his brother, and there's something kind of nervous in the way he's got his hands laced together in front of him, but overall, he seems steady. Still, though. "Don't want you worrying or anything."
Kurt takes a deep breath and turns to look at his father, still smiling. "It's fine, Dad," he says, like he isn't totally freaking out somewhere behind his eyes. "I think... I think we'll be all right."
Burt takes just a second to glance back over his shoulder, to where Ben and Blaine are standing together. Blaine's eyes are on his dad, one hand resting on Ben's shoulder like he's worried that Ben will cut and run at the nearest opportunity. But if Burt's figured out how to read the guy by now (and it's entirely possible that he hasn't), he thinks Blaine's got nothing to worry about. Judging by the small, quiet smile on Ben's face, there's nowhere else he'd rather be.
"Yeah," Burt says, and looks back down at Kurt. "Yeah, I think we'll be just fine."
*
They hang back a little bit once they hit the parking lot, Carole arm-in-arm with Finn and doing her best to keep him distracted, Burt and Ben with their backs pointedly turned on Blaine and Kurt, giving them a little privacy so they can say goodbye to each other. "We should do this again sometime," Burt says, and doesn't look over his shoulder, not even once. If his son's ready to start kissing boys, then his son's gonna kiss boys, and there's nothing he can do to stop it. "I mean, maybe not this, but... you know. Boyfriend stuff. Family stuff."
"We should," Ben agrees, and stares straight ahead at the park, at all those rollercoasters. It's the first time he's ever actually managed to look at them, at least that Burt's noticed.
"You could come out for dinner some night," Burt offers. "Kurt'd be thrilled. He loves getting to play host. And, you know, we'd like it too. Carole and me. And Finn. All of us."
Ben hums under his breath, still smiling just the smallest amount. "I'll talk to Miranda about it," he says. "I think... I think she might enjoy that. Certainly, it's more her style than... than something like this."
It's the first time anyone's really mentioned Blaine's mother all day, even though her absence has been kinda... well, glaringly obvious. Burt can't help but wonder about the way Ben waited until the very last second to do it, like he's been trying not to talk about it at all. But he's getting to where he likes the guy, likes him enough that he doesn't want to make him too uncomfortable, so he just shrugs and says, "Yeah, well. Maybe next time."
"Next time," Ben repeats, his smile widening. "Yes. Absolutely. Next time."
"We'll look forward to it," Burt says, and he's smiling too.
There's a heavy sigh from behind them, and Burt grins even wider. "You know," Kurt says, sounding just a little bit huffy, "you can turn around now. We're not... indecent or anything."
"No one said you were," Burt points out, and doesn't so much as twitch. "Just... you know. Looking at the lights." And, granted, it's just barely dusk and there's not really any lights to see yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. There's got to be some lights, somewhere. Burt's sure of it.
Kurt sighs again. "Dad."
Ben is the first one to turn around, reaching out to set a hand on his son's shoulder. Burt watches him move, watches him with his son. And maybe it's just that it's a little bit dimmer now than it was when they started, or maybe it's that Ben doesn't seem as nervy as he did then, or that Blaine's shoulders are more relaxed, but Burt can kind of see it now, how Blaine looks more like his dad than Burt thought he did at first.
It's the nose, maybe. They've got the same nose.
"Ready to go?" Ben asks, quietly.
Blaine nods at his father, smiling just a little bit. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I --" He looks up at Burt. "Thank you. For coming out today. It was really fun."
"Thank you. You know, for inviting us and... and everything." And before he can think too much about it, he reaches out and pulls Blaine in for a quick, one-armed hug, then claps Ben on the shoulder, making him rock forward on his toes a little bit. Blaine has to reach out and steady his dad, catching him by the elbow. "You guys have a safe drive back, all right? Be careful."
"We will," Ben says, pushing his glasses up his nose. "And... um. And you as well. And let me know about... dinner, and everything. We'd love to come."
Kurt raises his eyebrows at his father, but says nothing.
"I'll give you a call," Burt says, and raises his hand in a wave as Ben and Blaine head off to find their car, Blaine still hanging on to Ben's elbow as they walk away. And he's still kind of worried about Blaine, the way he kind of worries about all these kids, but at least he knows that someone else is worrying too. And that helps. It helps a lot, actually.
"Come on," he says, and drapes an arm around Kurt's shoulders, tugging him off to rejoin Carole and Finn at the car.
For the curious (and for the LOST aficionados): Ben plays Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# Minor when they're in the theater. Only the circumstances are decidedly less creepy, and he doesn't wake up in the Saharan Desert when he's done