Glee | Me & My Shadow & Our Do-Overs | Ken & Kurt (3 of 7)
Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th cycle. Now cycle 12!
Yes, another hiatus is upon us! I'm working to plan out those summer cycles, so if you have things you would like to see get written, pleeease drop by the suggestion box. The link is further down!
This is another 7-chapter story! :D Chapter 3 of 7
"ME & MY SHADOW & OUR DO-OVERS"
Ken & Kurt
This was by no means the first time this had come to happen at McKinley, but in his years coaching there Ken had learned to just run with it. Some years had been a complete disaster, others were just… not a disaster, but not anything to sing about.
The fact was, at this point, he felt he wasn’t sure what he had to offer whoever would end up paired with him for this week. He could barely look at himself in the mirror anymore… He’d let himself go, since his break up with Emma, he knew this. He could well assume it for a while. But the worse things got, the more he couldn’t help but question himself… Maybe his shadow would think the same of him.
He was in the gym, figuring it would be easy for him to be found that way. So he worked at checking the equipment, waiting for… whoever it was to show up. Then… “Coach?” Ken looked up expectantly, then relaxed when he saw it was his former kicker.
“What do you want, Hummel?” Ken asked, getting back to his equipment until… He stopped and looked back to Kurt who gave a ‘yep’ smile and head bow.
“And so our paths cross again,” he tried to make light of things. Ken approached him.
“Right, okay, well…” he started. “I’m just organizing things right now,” he nodded. “You want to help?” Kurt considered this. After a moment, he took off his jacket and laid it over a nearby chair before looking to the coach. “Right, come on.”
The two of them worked at it for about an hour, through which Ken informed his former player on many of the ins and outs of being a high school coach. Kurt listened diligently, though in his mind there were questions he was debating whether to ask or not. As they were finishing up though, he looked to the man. He was tired, and the sweat accentuated all the things that had gone wrong with him since his break up.
“Coach, if I may?” he finally went for it. “Are you alright? I know things haven’t been…” he stopped when the coach looked back to him.
“No, things haven’t been…” he repeated, and Kurt wasn’t sure if he’d yell at him for bringing it up, or talk to him about it, or worse… cry about it… “You don’t want to hear about all this,” he shook his head in small defeat.
“I asked, didn’t I?” Kurt pointed out after a brief silence. Ken looked back up, nodded in appreciation.
So once again Ken talked, and Kurt listened, this time in a field much closer to his comfort zone. What he heard was the tale of a man who had fallen not only in most people’s respect, but in his own as well. And the further he went, the more Kurt became positive that his time would be put to much better use helping the coach get back on his feet than learning about what he did.
“You don’t have to stay like this,” Kurt spoke up. His face lit up and he smirked. “I can help you. A good makeover can change everything,” he nodded. Ken frowned, uncertain. He considered the boy standing in front of him, so very impeccable… a little too much…
“You’re not going to…” he gestured awkwardly. Kurt’s eyebrow raised.
“No, that’s not how it works,” he promised. “I’m just going to get rid of the less… desirable…” he pointed with hesitating fingers. “First, there’s the shorts,” he made a face and Ken looked down to said shorts.
Kurt had managed to talk the coach into a lunch time field trip to the mall. He made quick work of locating some choice pieces and argued for each of them, getting Ken to agree on at least some of them. They returned to McKinley, at which time Ken had agreed he would come to school the next morning clean, changed, and sweatless.
When he arrived, his clothes and general appearance managed to turn a few heads, which already gave him something to smile about. Once he met up to his shadow however, he discovered he had yet more things to be taught by this student.
“It’s not just the outfit that makes the man, it’s how he carries it. And right now you’re carrying it like it belongs to someone else and you’re just looking out for it, the way you look out for a purse…” Ken nodded slowly, trying to understand what this would entail… and imagine how many references would be made to ‘My Fair Lady.’
The day went on with equal parts Ken doing his job, and Kurt shadowing him and getting him to ‘carry’ the outfit. The process as a whole was frustrating for both parties, where one was very demanding and the other was slow to learn and assimilate. He would promise to pick it up eventually. The next morning would prove whether this was true or not.
Kurt would have to attend Cheerios practice, which Coach Sylvester had insisted on, shadow or not, but he would at least still be in the same room. He was just in the middle of warm ups when something brought him to a stop. “Oh… how on…” he mumbled.
Ken came in with a shaky kind of a stride. The way he tried to hold himself, he could have been a puppet on strings… and his puppeteer was drunk.
When the Cheerios went mad and Coach Sylvester was too busy trying to restrain them to notice whether he was there or not, he jogged across the gym. He vaguely noticed the woman with the clipboard but paid no attention to her.
“Coach,” he stopped next to Ken. He wasn’t even looking back.
“It’s not working, is it?” he looked and Kurt shook his head. “I know you tried, it’s just… not me.” He paused. “I guess I need to find that for myself.” Kurt smiled. “Better get back there before…”
“Hummel!” the bullhorner called.
“Later, Coach,” Kurt briefly waved before dashing off. Ken watched him go, thinking this may be one year he liked the shadow assignment.
THE END
* IN CONSTRUCTION! *
PREVIOUS DAYS
[Cycle 1] [Cycle 2] [Cycle 3] [Cycle 4]
[Cycle 5] [Cycle 6] [Cycle 7] [Cycle 8]
[Cycle 9] [Cycle 10] [Cycle 11]
[Cycle 12]
[232] [233] [234] [235] [236]
[237] [238] [239] [240] [241]
[242] [243] [244] [245]
[ [246] [247]]
Suggestion Drop Off
Title: "Me & My Shadow & Our Do-Overs"
Pairing: None; Ken & Kurt
Rating: G
Summary: It's chaos at McKinley, for one day with the faculty and an assignment...
Spoilers: 117 Bad Reputation-ish
Yes, another hiatus is upon us! I'm working to plan out those summer cycles, so if you have things you would like to see get written, pleeease drop by the suggestion box. The link is further down!
This is another 7-chapter story! :D Chapter 3 of 7
"ME & MY SHADOW & OUR DO-OVERS"
Ken & Kurt
This was by no means the first time this had come to happen at McKinley, but in his years coaching there Ken had learned to just run with it. Some years had been a complete disaster, others were just… not a disaster, but not anything to sing about.
The fact was, at this point, he felt he wasn’t sure what he had to offer whoever would end up paired with him for this week. He could barely look at himself in the mirror anymore… He’d let himself go, since his break up with Emma, he knew this. He could well assume it for a while. But the worse things got, the more he couldn’t help but question himself… Maybe his shadow would think the same of him.
He was in the gym, figuring it would be easy for him to be found that way. So he worked at checking the equipment, waiting for… whoever it was to show up. Then… “Coach?” Ken looked up expectantly, then relaxed when he saw it was his former kicker.
“What do you want, Hummel?” Ken asked, getting back to his equipment until… He stopped and looked back to Kurt who gave a ‘yep’ smile and head bow.
“And so our paths cross again,” he tried to make light of things. Ken approached him.
“Right, okay, well…” he started. “I’m just organizing things right now,” he nodded. “You want to help?” Kurt considered this. After a moment, he took off his jacket and laid it over a nearby chair before looking to the coach. “Right, come on.”
The two of them worked at it for about an hour, through which Ken informed his former player on many of the ins and outs of being a high school coach. Kurt listened diligently, though in his mind there were questions he was debating whether to ask or not. As they were finishing up though, he looked to the man. He was tired, and the sweat accentuated all the things that had gone wrong with him since his break up.
“Coach, if I may?” he finally went for it. “Are you alright? I know things haven’t been…” he stopped when the coach looked back to him.
“No, things haven’t been…” he repeated, and Kurt wasn’t sure if he’d yell at him for bringing it up, or talk to him about it, or worse… cry about it… “You don’t want to hear about all this,” he shook his head in small defeat.
“I asked, didn’t I?” Kurt pointed out after a brief silence. Ken looked back up, nodded in appreciation.
So once again Ken talked, and Kurt listened, this time in a field much closer to his comfort zone. What he heard was the tale of a man who had fallen not only in most people’s respect, but in his own as well. And the further he went, the more Kurt became positive that his time would be put to much better use helping the coach get back on his feet than learning about what he did.
“You don’t have to stay like this,” Kurt spoke up. His face lit up and he smirked. “I can help you. A good makeover can change everything,” he nodded. Ken frowned, uncertain. He considered the boy standing in front of him, so very impeccable… a little too much…
“You’re not going to…” he gestured awkwardly. Kurt’s eyebrow raised.
“No, that’s not how it works,” he promised. “I’m just going to get rid of the less… desirable…” he pointed with hesitating fingers. “First, there’s the shorts,” he made a face and Ken looked down to said shorts.
Kurt had managed to talk the coach into a lunch time field trip to the mall. He made quick work of locating some choice pieces and argued for each of them, getting Ken to agree on at least some of them. They returned to McKinley, at which time Ken had agreed he would come to school the next morning clean, changed, and sweatless.
When he arrived, his clothes and general appearance managed to turn a few heads, which already gave him something to smile about. Once he met up to his shadow however, he discovered he had yet more things to be taught by this student.
“It’s not just the outfit that makes the man, it’s how he carries it. And right now you’re carrying it like it belongs to someone else and you’re just looking out for it, the way you look out for a purse…” Ken nodded slowly, trying to understand what this would entail… and imagine how many references would be made to ‘My Fair Lady.’
The day went on with equal parts Ken doing his job, and Kurt shadowing him and getting him to ‘carry’ the outfit. The process as a whole was frustrating for both parties, where one was very demanding and the other was slow to learn and assimilate. He would promise to pick it up eventually. The next morning would prove whether this was true or not.
Kurt would have to attend Cheerios practice, which Coach Sylvester had insisted on, shadow or not, but he would at least still be in the same room. He was just in the middle of warm ups when something brought him to a stop. “Oh… how on…” he mumbled.
Ken came in with a shaky kind of a stride. The way he tried to hold himself, he could have been a puppet on strings… and his puppeteer was drunk.
When the Cheerios went mad and Coach Sylvester was too busy trying to restrain them to notice whether he was there or not, he jogged across the gym. He vaguely noticed the woman with the clipboard but paid no attention to her.
“Coach,” he stopped next to Ken. He wasn’t even looking back.
“It’s not working, is it?” he looked and Kurt shook his head. “I know you tried, it’s just… not me.” He paused. “I guess I need to find that for myself.” Kurt smiled. “Better get back there before…”
“Hummel!” the bullhorner called.
“Later, Coach,” Kurt briefly waved before dashing off. Ken watched him go, thinking this may be one year he liked the shadow assignment.
THE END
* IN CONSTRUCTION! *
PREVIOUS DAYS
[Cycle 1] [Cycle 2] [Cycle 3] [Cycle 4]
[Cycle 5] [Cycle 6] [Cycle 7] [Cycle 8]
[Cycle 9] [Cycle 10] [Cycle 11]
[Cycle 12]
[232] [233] [234] [235] [236]
[237] [238] [239] [240] [241]
[242] [243] [244] [245]
[ [246] [247]]
Suggestion Drop Off
Title: "Me & My Shadow & Our Do-Overs"
Pairing: None; Ken & Kurt
Rating: G
Summary: It's chaos at McKinley, for one day with the faculty and an assignment...
Spoilers: 117 Bad Reputation-ish