GLEE FIC: Identity (7.5/8)
I originally wanted to write something like this part in the original fic but ran out of time, so now I have finished it. I hope you all enjoy it!! If you do, please leave feedback :)
Title: Identity, part 7.5
Fandom: Glee
Summary: In the small sexist village, Kurt Hummel finds life difficult. He’s a man but constantly treated as a woman because of his not-straightforward gender. He wants to leave the village but Blaine Anderson wants him as a wife. Can they compromise their dreams without a lot of heartbreak?
Pairings/Characters: Kurt/Blaine, Burt/Elizabeth, Matthew/Mary Anderson, Puck/Quinn, Finn/Rachel, Brittany, Sam, OCs.
Categories: AU, drama, angst, H/C
Season/Spoilers: None
Rating: PG-15 (this part)
Warnings: Non-con (in first part), mpreg, intersex gender
Word count: approx 4,808 words this part
Prompts: this prompt here, plus 'Early 20th century' on au_bingo card
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurt shifted positions again. Even though he was only nineteen weeks pregnant, he felt like he was getting very fat and sitting for long periods of time was becoming uncomfortable. Once he was settled, he continued with his knitting; he was making clothes for his own baby now as it was the only one due within the next six months. His friends were seated nearby, working on their own projects, at least one of which would be for his baby.
He stopped suddenly when he felt something move inside him.
“What is it?” Brittany asked, pausing in her needlework.
“I think the baby just kicked me,” Kurt replied. He rubbed a hand over where the movement had been.
“Really?” Brittany put her work down and was at Kurt’s side in a flash. “Can I feel?” She eagerly put a hand on his stomach.
Kurt wasn’t entirely surprised by the gesture; Brittany loved trying to feel other people’s babies, perhaps because she hadn’t experienced it herself. Kurt, however, had never seen the attraction. “I don’t know whether it will do it again,” he warned her.
“But she might.” Brittany was adamant that Kurt’s baby was a girl. Rachel was equally as adamant that it was a boy, despite the fact she had been wrong about her own. And Quinn’s, for that matter. Also, since Rachel was also proposing a union between their children if Kurt’s was a girl, that cancelled out her opinion.
“He probably won’t,” Rachel put her two cents worth in. “Babies don’t kick very much at first. Although I felt Billy moving around when he was only three months,” she boasted, always having to be the best.
Quinn chuckled at that and stated, “That’s because he takes after Finn and was big before he was even born.”
Rachel nodded in agreement, not realising that Quinn was teasing her. “And he’s growing so much. My father says that Billy’s the biggest baby he’s ever seen.”
“He obviously didn’t see Finn when he was a baby,” Quinn quipped.
Brittany sighed. “I think she’s gone to sleep,” she said, taking her hand off Kurt’s stomach. “Night-night, Baby.”
Kurt couldn’t help smiling at that, though he tried to hide it. He couldn’t wait to go home; Blaine would be so excited to hear about this.
**********
Blaine trudged tiredly through the door. He and a dozen other men had been quarrying rocks into the village, ready to pave the streets. The new council had decided that the streets needed to be paved before winter to reduce the amount of mud people would be walking through. It was a big task and would take many weeks but it paid well; it would help Blaine and Kurt with the rent during the winter months.
“Bad day?” Kurt asked, briefly turning his attention away from the stove.
“Just tiring,” Blaine replied, going to stand behind Kurt. He wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist just above the baby bump. “How have you been?”
“Good.” Kurt turned his head to give Blaine a kiss. “You’ll never believe what our baby did today.”
Blaine looked at his husband, confused. “Kurt, it can’t do anything in there.”
“Ah, but it can,” Kurt said with a grin. “It kicked me and I felt it.”
Brown eyes widened in wonder. “It kicked you?” Blaine echoed.
“Right… here.” Kurt placed Blaine’s hand over the spot where he had felt the kick.
Blaine waited for a few moments but the baby wasn’t in the mood for kicking again. “I wish I could have felt it.” He rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder.
“You will,” Kurt promised him with another kiss. “You will.”
**********
Three days later, while Kurt was doing some stonework in the back garden, he felt the baby kick again. “Blaine!” he called into the house.
Blaine came rushing outside, having been home due to it being Sunday afternoon. “What is it?”
“The baby!” Kurt gestured him over and when Blaine got close enough, put his husband’s hand over the spot. “Wait and see if it does it again.”
Blaine waited impatiently for a minute and was rewarded with a tiny kick. “Oh wow! I felt it! It’s really in there!”
“If it wasn’t, then I’ve put on weight for nothing,” Kurt teased; he loved seeing Blaine so enthusiastic about their baby. Most of the time Kurt was enthusiastic too but things like having to adjust all his trousers to accommodate his growing waistline, and not being able to wear fitted shirts anymore, occasionally annoyed him.
Chuckling at his husband’s sense of humour, Blaine waited another minute but there wasn’t another kick. Then he kissed Kurt’s cheek and said, “Thank you.”
“What for?” Kurt wanted to know.
“Letting me share this,” Blaine replied, gesturing towards Kurt’s stomach. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, he had thought about what might have happened had Kurt refused to marry him and it scared him. To rid himself of those thoughts, he would usually cuddle up to Kurt and remind himself that everything was turning out the way he wanted.
“You’re very welcome.” Kurt couldn’t deprive his husband of the joy of having a baby together.
**********
It was five days later that they had their first fight. Kurt hadn’t slept well the night before so he was tired and grumpy, and he had a headache that was threatening to get worse. It was raining outside, so he couldn’t go and tend to the garden, and he couldn’t do any sewing because of his headache. Partway through the morning, he took himself off to bed and tried to get some sleep, knowing that was the only way to get rid of his headache.
He was still asleep when Blaine came home for lunch, soaking wet from quarrying stones in the rain. Blaine looked around the kitchen, surprised that Kurt wasn’t there. He saw the sewing abandoned on the table and the pot of cold soup near the oven. The fire in the fireplace was barely burning. “Kurt?”
There was no answer. Starting to worry, Blaine headed up the stairs. “Kurt?” He poked his head into the bedroom and saw his husband sleeping soundly. “Kurt!”
His husband woke with a start. Kurt squinted and then rubbed his eyes before looking around. “Blaine?”
“What are you doing?” Blaine wanted to know. He had expected to come home to a hot lunch, not to find Kurt in bed.
“I was tired,” Kurt stated simply as he slowly sat up. He scrubbed a hand over his face, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Lunchtime,” Blaine replied, relieved that Kurt was alright but he was cold and hungry so he wasn’t as careful with his tone as he normally would be. “How long have you been asleep?”
“Uh… since about mid-morning, I guess.” Kurt stood and stretched, his stomach sticking out even further with the movement. “Ugh, my head.” His headache had eased slightly but it was still annoying.
Blaine was briefly distracted by the stretching. Then he forced his mind back to his pressing need. “So… is there anything to eat?”
“Um…” Kurt tried to clear his mind. “Some bread and cheese, and I can heat up some soup.” He looked at Blaine and noticed that he was wet, so something warm would probably be welcome.
“How long will that take? I’ve only got half an hour for lunch,” Blaine pointed out.
“That will be enough time,” Kurt promised. “You’d better get out of those wet clothes.” He headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs, one hand rubbing his temple.
Blaine came down a few minutes later, dressed in another set of clothes and carrying his heavy coat. He put the coat in front of the fire, which Kurt had stoked up so that it was now a nice, cheery blaze, and then took a seat at the table.
Kurt put the plate of bread and cheese in front of Blaine and then went back to tending the soup.
“Aren’t you going to ask how my day has been so far?” Blaine was used to Kurt asking that question every time he had come home for lunch and he always enjoyed telling his husband about his day.
“Sorry. How was it?” Kurt asked distractedly as he stirred the soup.
“Cold, wet and tiring,” Blaine replied, almost snapping the words out. The least Kurt could do was look at him while they were talking, especially after not having lunch prepared. Because of his mood, he didn’t notice Kurt rubbing his temples.
“They shouldn’t make you work in weather like this,” Kurt stated. He left the soup where it was and sat down at the table with a sigh. “You’ll catch a cold.”
“I’ll be fine.” Blaine took a mouthful of bread and chewed grumpily. “Besides, we can’t afford for me to take a day off.”
Kurt rubbed a hand over his stomach as he replied, “If you catch a bad cold, you’ll have to take a day off.”
“It’s my job to provide for us,” Blaine shot back, irritation making his words harsher than necessary.
Eyes wide, Kurt stared at Blaine; he had never heard Blaine use that tone before. “And you are,” he said, his tone placating. “I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t.”
“No, you implied that I’m so weak that I’ll become sick from a little bit of rain,” Blaine accused.
“Blaine, what has got into you?” Kurt was hurt by the way his husband was speaking to him.
“Nothing. I’m just hungry because you didn’t put the soup on,” Blaine bit out, hearing his words but unable to stop them.
“I had a headache,” Kurt replied, a tinge of annoyance colouring his bewildered tone. “I thought I would lie down for a while and see if it would ease. It didn’t entirely work,” he muttered to himself.
“You should have waited until after lunch,” Blaine stated, partially aware that he was being unreasonable but unable to stop.
“And done what?” Kurt shot back. “It was a bad headache, Blaine. I couldn’t focus enough to knit or sew, and it was getting worse. I’ve had these headaches before and the best thing is to sleep them off before they make me dizzy or sick. I can’t believe you’re saying that I shouldn’t have done anything about it just to heat your lunch!” The throbbing in his temples intensified as he got angry.
“But you’re supposed to take care of me!” Blaine pointed out, also getting angry. Normally, he would be solicitous of Kurt and making sure he was alright, but not having lunch waiting for him had disconcerted him. There had also been the taunts from some of the men he was working with about Kurt; for some reason, rain tended to bring out the insults. “That what wives do!”
“And you’re supposed to take care of me!” Kurt bit out, a little louder than he had expected, hurt by his husband’s words. “I can’t be a perfect wife for you, Blaine, because I’m not a woman!”
Blaine virtually slammed the cheese knife down and stared at Kurt. “I know you’re not a woman but that doesn’t mean you can’t do what they do! After all, it’s not as if you’ve got a lot of other things to occupy your time while I’m at work!”
Kurt’s expression became hurt, matching the pain in his heart, and he lashed out. “Not a lot of things to do? You mean apart from doing the laundry, cooking and cleaning, mending our clothes, making clothes for our baby, and helping Father by doing some stonework? That sort of not much to do?” How dare Blaine suggest that he didn’t do any sort of work!
Blaine didn’t back down, the taunts about Kurt ringing in his ears. “Kurt--”
“No.” Kurt stood and went over to the front door to grab his thick coat and cap from the peg there. “You haven’t once asked how I’m feeling and you’ve implied that I’m not even good enough to be a wife, let alone your husband. Well, you can cook your own lunch and then find yourself a wife who fits your perfect image of one!” He shrugged the coat on, pulled the cap onto his head, and then stormed out into the pouring rain.
“Kurt!” Blaine shouted after him but only received the slamming of the door in response. A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach formed amidst all the anger. Kurt had walked out on him! How dare he do that! How dare he--
Oh.
Blaine slumped in his chair, his anger gone as suddenly as it had come. Kurt had walked out on him. And justifiably so, Blaine realised as his words flooded back to him. He had called Kurt his wife, something he had promised never to do, and accused him of not working very hard. Blaine knew that Kurt worked hard to make the household run smoothly, to take care of him, and still managed to help Burt out. He shouldn’t have lost his temper. He shouldn’t have let what those idiots at work said get to him.
Standing, Blaine was about to head out the door and find Kurt when the soup started to boil over. He took it off the stove and put it to the side, not hungry any more. How was he going to fix this?
Outside, Kurt strode towards his parents’ house, the tears streaming down his cheeks hidden by the rain. How dare Blaine say such things to him! It hadn’t been his fault about the headache and he hadn’t meant to oversleep. If Blaine was going to be like that from now on, well then, Kurt wasn’t going to be with him!
When Kurt reached the house, he gave two knocks and headed straight in without waiting for an answer. His parents were both seated at the table having their lunch, as were Kurt’s youngest siblings.
“Kurt?” Elizabeth was immediately on her feet and gathering Kurt into her arms. “What’s the matter?”
“Blaine… he… he…” Kurt gave up trying to explain and simply started sobbing.
Elizabeth guided her son to sit down, removed Kurt’s cap, then held him as he cried.
Burt quietly took the children upstairs to their room, taking the rest of their lunch with them, and then came back again. He waited silently, his heart aching at the hurt his son was experiencing but he knew that Elizabeth would be able to comfort him.
Slowly, the tears stopped and Kurt pulled away from his mother to blow his nose. “I’m sorry,” he apologised when he felt he had control of his voice.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Elizabeth assured him. “Can you tell us what made you so upset?”
Kurt took a stuttering breath and nodded. Before he started speaking though, he took his coat off and rested it on the back of his chair to give him time to compose himself. “Blaine called me his wife and then accused me of doing nothing while he worked.”
“Oh sweetheart.” Elizabeth knew that although Kurt didn’t want to be considered as a wife, he prided himself on the work he did. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”
“Oh, he meant it,” Kurt said bitterly. “All I did was fall asleep while trying to get rid of my headache and therefore I didn’t have his lunch ready on time. And then he said I wasn’t taking care of him like wives are supposed to.” He wiped the tears that threatened to spill away with a shaking hand. “He promised he would never call me that!”
Burt’s fists clenched; he wanted to go around to Kurt’s house and teach Blaine not to hurt his son again! One look at Elizabeth’s face, though, warned him to stay put and not do anything. Burt decided to obey… for the moment.
“I’m not going back to him,” Kurt continued, one hand absently rubbing his swollen stomach. “Not if he’s going to treat me like this and call me a woman every time we fight.”
“Kurt, you can’t leave your marriage just like that,” Elizabeth pointed out, drawing on the wisdom of her years. “Every couple has their ups and downs, and you have to learn to work through them. You also have to talk through your arguments and apologise to each other.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kurt protested. Why wasn’t his mother taking his side? “Why should I apologise?”
“I’m not saying that you have to in this instance,” Elizabeth told him, “just that sometimes, both of you will be at fault and you will have to swallow your pride and apologise. Now, it seems like that’s what Blaine will have to do this time and he probably doesn’t have much experience in doing that so you’ll have to help him.”
Kurt shook his head. “He has to come to me.” Blaine had hurt him, that meant he would have to make the first move.
Burt personally vowed to drag Blaine to Kurt and make sure that he apologised. A few threats to ensure that Blaine didn’t hurt Kurt again wouldn’t go astray either.
Elizabeth sighed; why were the men in her life so stubborn sometimes? “Kurt, you have to remember how Blaine has been raised. Most men are brought up thinking they can do whatever they like and they don’t have to apologise for it. They think it’s a sign of weakness and even though Blaine is a good man, he will have been taught that way. It’s up to you to teach him that it’s not weak, that it’s a strength to admit when you’re wrong.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Kurt said, his voice wavering. “He broke his promise.”
“Then there was probably a good reason why.” Though Elizabeth didn’t know what it was. “What was his mood like when he came home?”
“Um…” Kurt thought back. “Not as happy as usual.”
“So maybe something happened at work that put him in a bad mood. You need to talk to him and find out why,” Elizabeth stated.
Kurt reluctantly nodded, conceding the point that Blaine may not have been himself. Still, the hurt wasn’t easily dismissed. “Can I rest here first? My head is throbbing.” All the crying had made it worse.
“Of course.” Elizabeth guided him to his old room and then returned to the kitchen where Burt was waiting. “Their first fight.”
“I remember ours,” Burt replied. Normally, remembering it would have raised a chuckle but right now, he was too concerned about Kurt. “It’s never easy.”
“No,” Elizabeth agreed. She sat down next to her husband and leaned against him, smiling when Burt put an arm around her waist. “And it doesn’t help that Kurt’s more emotional at the moment because of the baby. But they’ll learn to resolve their arguments on their own.”
“I hope so because I don’t want to have to hurt Blaine each time Kurt comes here in tears,” Burt stated, his protective side speaking. “I thought he was different to the other boys in how he treated Kurt.”
Elizabeth smiled wearily. “He is. But he’s only eighteen, he’s going to make mistakes. They both are.” That was part of life. “They’ll learn to sort things out for themselves.”
Burt silently agreed but still wanted to have a ‘chat’ with Blaine.
Back in the other house, Blaine had reluctantly eaten some soup though it sat heavily in his stomach. Then he trudged back towards his work, passing the Hummel house on the way. He stood outside it for several minutes, oblivious to the rain, and wondered whether he should go inside. Kurt had to have gone to his parents; there was no place else for him to go. But then Blaine thought about having to face Burt and decided that he wasn’t brave enough to go in there yet. Later, when he was finished work, then he would go in, apologise profusely, and take Kurt home.
He turned and walked away, his heart heavy.
**********
Kurt, despite his discomfort and hurting heart, slept for several hours. When he woke, his head was still heavy but the headache was gone. He stayed in bed for a while though, not quite ready to face anyone. It was a little embarrassing to remember his emotional state upon arrival and he hated that his parents saw him like that. Maybe he could just blame it on the baby - that’s what women did all the time.
Eventually, it was his bladder that forced him to get up. Cursing the fact that he had to go more times than normal because of the baby, Kurt found the bucket (he wasn’t going outside when it was still pouring rain) and relieved himself. Then he covered it, put it to the side, and headed out into the main room.
Elizabeth looked up from her sewing, Lucy playing quietly at her feet. “How do you feel?”
“Better.” Kurt went over to the fire, noticing that there was a pot of soup warming there. “Is that for me?” he asked.
“Help yourself,” Elizabeth replied with a nod.
Kurt did so, scooping a small helping into a bowl, and then settled down at the table to eat. He didn’t really feel like eating but his stomach was protesting that he missed lunch. “Where’s Father?”
“Out in his shed. He said you’re welcome to go out and help him if you want after you finish eating,” Elizabeth stated, going back to her work.
“I don’t know whether I’d be any good today,” Kurt said after forcing a spoonful of soup down. “Father always told me never to work with stone if I can’t focus entirely on it.”
Elizabeth nodded; she had heard that from Burt many times before. “If your headache’s not troubling you anymore, you’d better go home. The rain’s not going to let up anytime soon and you’ll need to be there for Blaine.”
“Why? He’ll only complain that I’m not good enough,” Kurt grouched. He felt his baby kick and rubbed a hand over the spot. “I’m eating, I promise,” he muttered to it as he forced down another spoonful.
“Have some bread too,” Elizabeth instructed without looking up. “You need to keep your strength up.”
Kurt nodded though he didn’t know how he was going to manage to eat it.
“And Blaine won’t complain,” Elizabeth continued. “If I know that boy, he’ll be regretting his words right now.” She had watched Blaine carefully when he was courting Kurt and had seen just how devoted the boy - young man, she corrected herself - was.
“Do you really think so?” Kurt asked, a touch of hopefulness in his voice. He really didn’t like this feeling that came from fighting with Blaine.
“I do.”
Lucy used Kurt’s leg to pull herself upright and reach a hand up to pat his stomach. “Kurt baba,” she announced.
Kurt smiled down at his youngest sister and then lifted her onto his lap. “That’s right, that’s my baby in there,” he told her. They had explained to his other siblings about why he could carry a baby but Lucy was too young. All she had been told was that Kurt had a baby in his stomach.
As Lucy poked at his bump, Kurt thought about how it was going to be to have his own baby sitting on his lap. His own child to hold, and cuddle, and receive kisses from. There would also be tantrums and tears but he wouldn’t have to face them on his own. Blaine would be at his side, and Kurt didn’t want it any other way despite what his husband had said. “I think I’ll go home and make an apple pie,” he announced.
Elizabeth kept her smile to herself. “Finish eating your lunch first,” she instructed.
Kurt did just that, feeling better since deciding to go home. Then he put his coat and cap on before hurrying home in the rain. He would have to be quick about making the pie if he wanted to get it cooked before Blaine arrived.
**********
On his way home from work, Blaine stopped at the Hummel house. He knocked tentatively on the door and hoped it wasn’t Burt who answered.
Unfortunately, it was.
“What do you want?” Burt asked gruffly. He had been informed by his wife that Kurt had gone home willingly but Burt was still annoyed at Blaine over the whole thing.
“I wanted to see Kurt. Is he here?” Blaine replied. He stood tall, not wanting to let Burt see how much he was intimidated by him.
“What makes you think that Kurt would see you after what you said at lunch?” Burt wasn’t going to make this easy for his son-in-law.
“Because I want to apologise for my terrible behaviour and hope that Kurt forgives me,” Blaine admitted. As Elizabeth had guessed earlier, Blaine wasn’t used to apologising but he had had some experience within the past few months.
Burt stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. “Well, that’s a start. But you’ll need more than just words to convince Kurt.”
“I know.” Blaine wasn’t sure what he would do but he knew he had to do something.
There was another long moment of staring and finally Burt relented. “Kurt went home a while ago.”
Blaine felt a measure of relief at the news. That meant that Kurt wasn’t as angry as earlier. “Thank you, sir.” He managed to smile at Burt and then he hurried down the street. The rain had eased but there was still a chill in the air, so Blaine pulled his coat tight around him and hoped that when he got home, Kurt would forgive him.
Kurt was just taking the apple pie out of the oven as Blaine entered their home. He put the dish down nearby and turned nervously towards his husband but remained silent, not wanting to speak first.
“I’m sorry!” Blaine blurted out. He had been rehearsing his apology all day but at the sight of Kurt, everything in his head just disappeared. “I didn’t mean any of it! The men at work, they were saying things about us, about you, and I just got so angry, and when I came home and there was no lunch…” He trailed off and looked down at the ground, uncertain about what Kurt’s reaction might be.
“And…?” Kurt prompted.
Blaine thought about what Kurt might be wanting him to say and then realised what it would be. “And I’m really sorry for calling you my wife. I don’t know what came over me, you know I would never say anything like that normally, and I was cold--”
Kurt took pity on his husband by walking over to him and kissing him. When he felt Blaine relax a little, Kurt drew back. “Apology accepted,” he said with a small smile. “I shouldn’t have stormed off like that but it wasn’t the best day to be picking a fight.”
“Oh, your headache!” Blaine exclaimed, feeling guilty for not asking Kurt about it. “Is it any better?”
“Much. I had another sleep and that got rid of most of it,” Kurt replied. “I should have told you about them before.”
“And I shouldn’t have let the others get to me,” Blaine stated, sliding his arms around Kurt’s waist and holding him close. “Working in the rain doesn’t exactly improve my temper.”
Kurt huffed with wry amusement. “I noticed.” Then his face fell and his voice became softer and tinged with pain. “You hurt me, Blaine.”
“I know.” Blaine’s voice was filled with guilt and regret. “If I could go back and change what I said, I would. But since I can’t, you’ll just have to believe me when I say that I truly regret my words. I don’t want you as anything but my husband, I promise.”
Kurt looked into those beautiful brown eyes and knew that Blaine was telling the truth. He kissed Blaine again, slow and lingering, to let him know that his apology was accepted. “I made an apple pie for dinner. Go get cleaned up and I’ll have it ready for you by the time you get back.”
Blaine grinned; he loved apple pie. “I love you, Kurt.”
“I love you too,” Kurt replied with a smile. “Now go - you’re getting me all wet.”
Blaine bounded off to the laundry to get rid of his wet clothes and Kurt went to get the apple tart. Their first argument was over and done with, and they had survived it. The feelings would linger for a little while but after a day or two, everything would be right again.
And in the meantime, there was apple pie.
Part 8
Title: Identity, part 7.5
Fandom: Glee
Summary: In the small sexist village, Kurt Hummel finds life difficult. He’s a man but constantly treated as a woman because of his not-straightforward gender. He wants to leave the village but Blaine Anderson wants him as a wife. Can they compromise their dreams without a lot of heartbreak?
Pairings/Characters: Kurt/Blaine, Burt/Elizabeth, Matthew/Mary Anderson, Puck/Quinn, Finn/Rachel, Brittany, Sam, OCs.
Categories: AU, drama, angst, H/C
Season/Spoilers: None
Rating: PG-15 (this part)
Warnings: Non-con (in first part), mpreg, intersex gender
Word count: approx 4,808 words this part
Prompts: this prompt here, plus 'Early 20th century' on au_bingo card
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurt shifted positions again. Even though he was only nineteen weeks pregnant, he felt like he was getting very fat and sitting for long periods of time was becoming uncomfortable. Once he was settled, he continued with his knitting; he was making clothes for his own baby now as it was the only one due within the next six months. His friends were seated nearby, working on their own projects, at least one of which would be for his baby.
He stopped suddenly when he felt something move inside him.
“What is it?” Brittany asked, pausing in her needlework.
“I think the baby just kicked me,” Kurt replied. He rubbed a hand over where the movement had been.
“Really?” Brittany put her work down and was at Kurt’s side in a flash. “Can I feel?” She eagerly put a hand on his stomach.
Kurt wasn’t entirely surprised by the gesture; Brittany loved trying to feel other people’s babies, perhaps because she hadn’t experienced it herself. Kurt, however, had never seen the attraction. “I don’t know whether it will do it again,” he warned her.
“But she might.” Brittany was adamant that Kurt’s baby was a girl. Rachel was equally as adamant that it was a boy, despite the fact she had been wrong about her own. And Quinn’s, for that matter. Also, since Rachel was also proposing a union between their children if Kurt’s was a girl, that cancelled out her opinion.
“He probably won’t,” Rachel put her two cents worth in. “Babies don’t kick very much at first. Although I felt Billy moving around when he was only three months,” she boasted, always having to be the best.
Quinn chuckled at that and stated, “That’s because he takes after Finn and was big before he was even born.”
Rachel nodded in agreement, not realising that Quinn was teasing her. “And he’s growing so much. My father says that Billy’s the biggest baby he’s ever seen.”
“He obviously didn’t see Finn when he was a baby,” Quinn quipped.
Brittany sighed. “I think she’s gone to sleep,” she said, taking her hand off Kurt’s stomach. “Night-night, Baby.”
Kurt couldn’t help smiling at that, though he tried to hide it. He couldn’t wait to go home; Blaine would be so excited to hear about this.
**********
Blaine trudged tiredly through the door. He and a dozen other men had been quarrying rocks into the village, ready to pave the streets. The new council had decided that the streets needed to be paved before winter to reduce the amount of mud people would be walking through. It was a big task and would take many weeks but it paid well; it would help Blaine and Kurt with the rent during the winter months.
“Bad day?” Kurt asked, briefly turning his attention away from the stove.
“Just tiring,” Blaine replied, going to stand behind Kurt. He wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist just above the baby bump. “How have you been?”
“Good.” Kurt turned his head to give Blaine a kiss. “You’ll never believe what our baby did today.”
Blaine looked at his husband, confused. “Kurt, it can’t do anything in there.”
“Ah, but it can,” Kurt said with a grin. “It kicked me and I felt it.”
Brown eyes widened in wonder. “It kicked you?” Blaine echoed.
“Right… here.” Kurt placed Blaine’s hand over the spot where he had felt the kick.
Blaine waited for a few moments but the baby wasn’t in the mood for kicking again. “I wish I could have felt it.” He rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder.
“You will,” Kurt promised him with another kiss. “You will.”
**********
Three days later, while Kurt was doing some stonework in the back garden, he felt the baby kick again. “Blaine!” he called into the house.
Blaine came rushing outside, having been home due to it being Sunday afternoon. “What is it?”
“The baby!” Kurt gestured him over and when Blaine got close enough, put his husband’s hand over the spot. “Wait and see if it does it again.”
Blaine waited impatiently for a minute and was rewarded with a tiny kick. “Oh wow! I felt it! It’s really in there!”
“If it wasn’t, then I’ve put on weight for nothing,” Kurt teased; he loved seeing Blaine so enthusiastic about their baby. Most of the time Kurt was enthusiastic too but things like having to adjust all his trousers to accommodate his growing waistline, and not being able to wear fitted shirts anymore, occasionally annoyed him.
Chuckling at his husband’s sense of humour, Blaine waited another minute but there wasn’t another kick. Then he kissed Kurt’s cheek and said, “Thank you.”
“What for?” Kurt wanted to know.
“Letting me share this,” Blaine replied, gesturing towards Kurt’s stomach. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, he had thought about what might have happened had Kurt refused to marry him and it scared him. To rid himself of those thoughts, he would usually cuddle up to Kurt and remind himself that everything was turning out the way he wanted.
“You’re very welcome.” Kurt couldn’t deprive his husband of the joy of having a baby together.
**********
It was five days later that they had their first fight. Kurt hadn’t slept well the night before so he was tired and grumpy, and he had a headache that was threatening to get worse. It was raining outside, so he couldn’t go and tend to the garden, and he couldn’t do any sewing because of his headache. Partway through the morning, he took himself off to bed and tried to get some sleep, knowing that was the only way to get rid of his headache.
He was still asleep when Blaine came home for lunch, soaking wet from quarrying stones in the rain. Blaine looked around the kitchen, surprised that Kurt wasn’t there. He saw the sewing abandoned on the table and the pot of cold soup near the oven. The fire in the fireplace was barely burning. “Kurt?”
There was no answer. Starting to worry, Blaine headed up the stairs. “Kurt?” He poked his head into the bedroom and saw his husband sleeping soundly. “Kurt!”
His husband woke with a start. Kurt squinted and then rubbed his eyes before looking around. “Blaine?”
“What are you doing?” Blaine wanted to know. He had expected to come home to a hot lunch, not to find Kurt in bed.
“I was tired,” Kurt stated simply as he slowly sat up. He scrubbed a hand over his face, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Lunchtime,” Blaine replied, relieved that Kurt was alright but he was cold and hungry so he wasn’t as careful with his tone as he normally would be. “How long have you been asleep?”
“Uh… since about mid-morning, I guess.” Kurt stood and stretched, his stomach sticking out even further with the movement. “Ugh, my head.” His headache had eased slightly but it was still annoying.
Blaine was briefly distracted by the stretching. Then he forced his mind back to his pressing need. “So… is there anything to eat?”
“Um…” Kurt tried to clear his mind. “Some bread and cheese, and I can heat up some soup.” He looked at Blaine and noticed that he was wet, so something warm would probably be welcome.
“How long will that take? I’ve only got half an hour for lunch,” Blaine pointed out.
“That will be enough time,” Kurt promised. “You’d better get out of those wet clothes.” He headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs, one hand rubbing his temple.
Blaine came down a few minutes later, dressed in another set of clothes and carrying his heavy coat. He put the coat in front of the fire, which Kurt had stoked up so that it was now a nice, cheery blaze, and then took a seat at the table.
Kurt put the plate of bread and cheese in front of Blaine and then went back to tending the soup.
“Aren’t you going to ask how my day has been so far?” Blaine was used to Kurt asking that question every time he had come home for lunch and he always enjoyed telling his husband about his day.
“Sorry. How was it?” Kurt asked distractedly as he stirred the soup.
“Cold, wet and tiring,” Blaine replied, almost snapping the words out. The least Kurt could do was look at him while they were talking, especially after not having lunch prepared. Because of his mood, he didn’t notice Kurt rubbing his temples.
“They shouldn’t make you work in weather like this,” Kurt stated. He left the soup where it was and sat down at the table with a sigh. “You’ll catch a cold.”
“I’ll be fine.” Blaine took a mouthful of bread and chewed grumpily. “Besides, we can’t afford for me to take a day off.”
Kurt rubbed a hand over his stomach as he replied, “If you catch a bad cold, you’ll have to take a day off.”
“It’s my job to provide for us,” Blaine shot back, irritation making his words harsher than necessary.
Eyes wide, Kurt stared at Blaine; he had never heard Blaine use that tone before. “And you are,” he said, his tone placating. “I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t.”
“No, you implied that I’m so weak that I’ll become sick from a little bit of rain,” Blaine accused.
“Blaine, what has got into you?” Kurt was hurt by the way his husband was speaking to him.
“Nothing. I’m just hungry because you didn’t put the soup on,” Blaine bit out, hearing his words but unable to stop them.
“I had a headache,” Kurt replied, a tinge of annoyance colouring his bewildered tone. “I thought I would lie down for a while and see if it would ease. It didn’t entirely work,” he muttered to himself.
“You should have waited until after lunch,” Blaine stated, partially aware that he was being unreasonable but unable to stop.
“And done what?” Kurt shot back. “It was a bad headache, Blaine. I couldn’t focus enough to knit or sew, and it was getting worse. I’ve had these headaches before and the best thing is to sleep them off before they make me dizzy or sick. I can’t believe you’re saying that I shouldn’t have done anything about it just to heat your lunch!” The throbbing in his temples intensified as he got angry.
“But you’re supposed to take care of me!” Blaine pointed out, also getting angry. Normally, he would be solicitous of Kurt and making sure he was alright, but not having lunch waiting for him had disconcerted him. There had also been the taunts from some of the men he was working with about Kurt; for some reason, rain tended to bring out the insults. “That what wives do!”
“And you’re supposed to take care of me!” Kurt bit out, a little louder than he had expected, hurt by his husband’s words. “I can’t be a perfect wife for you, Blaine, because I’m not a woman!”
Blaine virtually slammed the cheese knife down and stared at Kurt. “I know you’re not a woman but that doesn’t mean you can’t do what they do! After all, it’s not as if you’ve got a lot of other things to occupy your time while I’m at work!”
Kurt’s expression became hurt, matching the pain in his heart, and he lashed out. “Not a lot of things to do? You mean apart from doing the laundry, cooking and cleaning, mending our clothes, making clothes for our baby, and helping Father by doing some stonework? That sort of not much to do?” How dare Blaine suggest that he didn’t do any sort of work!
Blaine didn’t back down, the taunts about Kurt ringing in his ears. “Kurt--”
“No.” Kurt stood and went over to the front door to grab his thick coat and cap from the peg there. “You haven’t once asked how I’m feeling and you’ve implied that I’m not even good enough to be a wife, let alone your husband. Well, you can cook your own lunch and then find yourself a wife who fits your perfect image of one!” He shrugged the coat on, pulled the cap onto his head, and then stormed out into the pouring rain.
“Kurt!” Blaine shouted after him but only received the slamming of the door in response. A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach formed amidst all the anger. Kurt had walked out on him! How dare he do that! How dare he--
Oh.
Blaine slumped in his chair, his anger gone as suddenly as it had come. Kurt had walked out on him. And justifiably so, Blaine realised as his words flooded back to him. He had called Kurt his wife, something he had promised never to do, and accused him of not working very hard. Blaine knew that Kurt worked hard to make the household run smoothly, to take care of him, and still managed to help Burt out. He shouldn’t have lost his temper. He shouldn’t have let what those idiots at work said get to him.
Standing, Blaine was about to head out the door and find Kurt when the soup started to boil over. He took it off the stove and put it to the side, not hungry any more. How was he going to fix this?
Outside, Kurt strode towards his parents’ house, the tears streaming down his cheeks hidden by the rain. How dare Blaine say such things to him! It hadn’t been his fault about the headache and he hadn’t meant to oversleep. If Blaine was going to be like that from now on, well then, Kurt wasn’t going to be with him!
When Kurt reached the house, he gave two knocks and headed straight in without waiting for an answer. His parents were both seated at the table having their lunch, as were Kurt’s youngest siblings.
“Kurt?” Elizabeth was immediately on her feet and gathering Kurt into her arms. “What’s the matter?”
“Blaine… he… he…” Kurt gave up trying to explain and simply started sobbing.
Elizabeth guided her son to sit down, removed Kurt’s cap, then held him as he cried.
Burt quietly took the children upstairs to their room, taking the rest of their lunch with them, and then came back again. He waited silently, his heart aching at the hurt his son was experiencing but he knew that Elizabeth would be able to comfort him.
Slowly, the tears stopped and Kurt pulled away from his mother to blow his nose. “I’m sorry,” he apologised when he felt he had control of his voice.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Elizabeth assured him. “Can you tell us what made you so upset?”
Kurt took a stuttering breath and nodded. Before he started speaking though, he took his coat off and rested it on the back of his chair to give him time to compose himself. “Blaine called me his wife and then accused me of doing nothing while he worked.”
“Oh sweetheart.” Elizabeth knew that although Kurt didn’t want to be considered as a wife, he prided himself on the work he did. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”
“Oh, he meant it,” Kurt said bitterly. “All I did was fall asleep while trying to get rid of my headache and therefore I didn’t have his lunch ready on time. And then he said I wasn’t taking care of him like wives are supposed to.” He wiped the tears that threatened to spill away with a shaking hand. “He promised he would never call me that!”
Burt’s fists clenched; he wanted to go around to Kurt’s house and teach Blaine not to hurt his son again! One look at Elizabeth’s face, though, warned him to stay put and not do anything. Burt decided to obey… for the moment.
“I’m not going back to him,” Kurt continued, one hand absently rubbing his swollen stomach. “Not if he’s going to treat me like this and call me a woman every time we fight.”
“Kurt, you can’t leave your marriage just like that,” Elizabeth pointed out, drawing on the wisdom of her years. “Every couple has their ups and downs, and you have to learn to work through them. You also have to talk through your arguments and apologise to each other.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kurt protested. Why wasn’t his mother taking his side? “Why should I apologise?”
“I’m not saying that you have to in this instance,” Elizabeth told him, “just that sometimes, both of you will be at fault and you will have to swallow your pride and apologise. Now, it seems like that’s what Blaine will have to do this time and he probably doesn’t have much experience in doing that so you’ll have to help him.”
Kurt shook his head. “He has to come to me.” Blaine had hurt him, that meant he would have to make the first move.
Burt personally vowed to drag Blaine to Kurt and make sure that he apologised. A few threats to ensure that Blaine didn’t hurt Kurt again wouldn’t go astray either.
Elizabeth sighed; why were the men in her life so stubborn sometimes? “Kurt, you have to remember how Blaine has been raised. Most men are brought up thinking they can do whatever they like and they don’t have to apologise for it. They think it’s a sign of weakness and even though Blaine is a good man, he will have been taught that way. It’s up to you to teach him that it’s not weak, that it’s a strength to admit when you’re wrong.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Kurt said, his voice wavering. “He broke his promise.”
“Then there was probably a good reason why.” Though Elizabeth didn’t know what it was. “What was his mood like when he came home?”
“Um…” Kurt thought back. “Not as happy as usual.”
“So maybe something happened at work that put him in a bad mood. You need to talk to him and find out why,” Elizabeth stated.
Kurt reluctantly nodded, conceding the point that Blaine may not have been himself. Still, the hurt wasn’t easily dismissed. “Can I rest here first? My head is throbbing.” All the crying had made it worse.
“Of course.” Elizabeth guided him to his old room and then returned to the kitchen where Burt was waiting. “Their first fight.”
“I remember ours,” Burt replied. Normally, remembering it would have raised a chuckle but right now, he was too concerned about Kurt. “It’s never easy.”
“No,” Elizabeth agreed. She sat down next to her husband and leaned against him, smiling when Burt put an arm around her waist. “And it doesn’t help that Kurt’s more emotional at the moment because of the baby. But they’ll learn to resolve their arguments on their own.”
“I hope so because I don’t want to have to hurt Blaine each time Kurt comes here in tears,” Burt stated, his protective side speaking. “I thought he was different to the other boys in how he treated Kurt.”
Elizabeth smiled wearily. “He is. But he’s only eighteen, he’s going to make mistakes. They both are.” That was part of life. “They’ll learn to sort things out for themselves.”
Burt silently agreed but still wanted to have a ‘chat’ with Blaine.
Back in the other house, Blaine had reluctantly eaten some soup though it sat heavily in his stomach. Then he trudged back towards his work, passing the Hummel house on the way. He stood outside it for several minutes, oblivious to the rain, and wondered whether he should go inside. Kurt had to have gone to his parents; there was no place else for him to go. But then Blaine thought about having to face Burt and decided that he wasn’t brave enough to go in there yet. Later, when he was finished work, then he would go in, apologise profusely, and take Kurt home.
He turned and walked away, his heart heavy.
**********
Kurt, despite his discomfort and hurting heart, slept for several hours. When he woke, his head was still heavy but the headache was gone. He stayed in bed for a while though, not quite ready to face anyone. It was a little embarrassing to remember his emotional state upon arrival and he hated that his parents saw him like that. Maybe he could just blame it on the baby - that’s what women did all the time.
Eventually, it was his bladder that forced him to get up. Cursing the fact that he had to go more times than normal because of the baby, Kurt found the bucket (he wasn’t going outside when it was still pouring rain) and relieved himself. Then he covered it, put it to the side, and headed out into the main room.
Elizabeth looked up from her sewing, Lucy playing quietly at her feet. “How do you feel?”
“Better.” Kurt went over to the fire, noticing that there was a pot of soup warming there. “Is that for me?” he asked.
“Help yourself,” Elizabeth replied with a nod.
Kurt did so, scooping a small helping into a bowl, and then settled down at the table to eat. He didn’t really feel like eating but his stomach was protesting that he missed lunch. “Where’s Father?”
“Out in his shed. He said you’re welcome to go out and help him if you want after you finish eating,” Elizabeth stated, going back to her work.
“I don’t know whether I’d be any good today,” Kurt said after forcing a spoonful of soup down. “Father always told me never to work with stone if I can’t focus entirely on it.”
Elizabeth nodded; she had heard that from Burt many times before. “If your headache’s not troubling you anymore, you’d better go home. The rain’s not going to let up anytime soon and you’ll need to be there for Blaine.”
“Why? He’ll only complain that I’m not good enough,” Kurt grouched. He felt his baby kick and rubbed a hand over the spot. “I’m eating, I promise,” he muttered to it as he forced down another spoonful.
“Have some bread too,” Elizabeth instructed without looking up. “You need to keep your strength up.”
Kurt nodded though he didn’t know how he was going to manage to eat it.
“And Blaine won’t complain,” Elizabeth continued. “If I know that boy, he’ll be regretting his words right now.” She had watched Blaine carefully when he was courting Kurt and had seen just how devoted the boy - young man, she corrected herself - was.
“Do you really think so?” Kurt asked, a touch of hopefulness in his voice. He really didn’t like this feeling that came from fighting with Blaine.
“I do.”
Lucy used Kurt’s leg to pull herself upright and reach a hand up to pat his stomach. “Kurt baba,” she announced.
Kurt smiled down at his youngest sister and then lifted her onto his lap. “That’s right, that’s my baby in there,” he told her. They had explained to his other siblings about why he could carry a baby but Lucy was too young. All she had been told was that Kurt had a baby in his stomach.
As Lucy poked at his bump, Kurt thought about how it was going to be to have his own baby sitting on his lap. His own child to hold, and cuddle, and receive kisses from. There would also be tantrums and tears but he wouldn’t have to face them on his own. Blaine would be at his side, and Kurt didn’t want it any other way despite what his husband had said. “I think I’ll go home and make an apple pie,” he announced.
Elizabeth kept her smile to herself. “Finish eating your lunch first,” she instructed.
Kurt did just that, feeling better since deciding to go home. Then he put his coat and cap on before hurrying home in the rain. He would have to be quick about making the pie if he wanted to get it cooked before Blaine arrived.
**********
On his way home from work, Blaine stopped at the Hummel house. He knocked tentatively on the door and hoped it wasn’t Burt who answered.
Unfortunately, it was.
“What do you want?” Burt asked gruffly. He had been informed by his wife that Kurt had gone home willingly but Burt was still annoyed at Blaine over the whole thing.
“I wanted to see Kurt. Is he here?” Blaine replied. He stood tall, not wanting to let Burt see how much he was intimidated by him.
“What makes you think that Kurt would see you after what you said at lunch?” Burt wasn’t going to make this easy for his son-in-law.
“Because I want to apologise for my terrible behaviour and hope that Kurt forgives me,” Blaine admitted. As Elizabeth had guessed earlier, Blaine wasn’t used to apologising but he had had some experience within the past few months.
Burt stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. “Well, that’s a start. But you’ll need more than just words to convince Kurt.”
“I know.” Blaine wasn’t sure what he would do but he knew he had to do something.
There was another long moment of staring and finally Burt relented. “Kurt went home a while ago.”
Blaine felt a measure of relief at the news. That meant that Kurt wasn’t as angry as earlier. “Thank you, sir.” He managed to smile at Burt and then he hurried down the street. The rain had eased but there was still a chill in the air, so Blaine pulled his coat tight around him and hoped that when he got home, Kurt would forgive him.
Kurt was just taking the apple pie out of the oven as Blaine entered their home. He put the dish down nearby and turned nervously towards his husband but remained silent, not wanting to speak first.
“I’m sorry!” Blaine blurted out. He had been rehearsing his apology all day but at the sight of Kurt, everything in his head just disappeared. “I didn’t mean any of it! The men at work, they were saying things about us, about you, and I just got so angry, and when I came home and there was no lunch…” He trailed off and looked down at the ground, uncertain about what Kurt’s reaction might be.
“And…?” Kurt prompted.
Blaine thought about what Kurt might be wanting him to say and then realised what it would be. “And I’m really sorry for calling you my wife. I don’t know what came over me, you know I would never say anything like that normally, and I was cold--”
Kurt took pity on his husband by walking over to him and kissing him. When he felt Blaine relax a little, Kurt drew back. “Apology accepted,” he said with a small smile. “I shouldn’t have stormed off like that but it wasn’t the best day to be picking a fight.”
“Oh, your headache!” Blaine exclaimed, feeling guilty for not asking Kurt about it. “Is it any better?”
“Much. I had another sleep and that got rid of most of it,” Kurt replied. “I should have told you about them before.”
“And I shouldn’t have let the others get to me,” Blaine stated, sliding his arms around Kurt’s waist and holding him close. “Working in the rain doesn’t exactly improve my temper.”
Kurt huffed with wry amusement. “I noticed.” Then his face fell and his voice became softer and tinged with pain. “You hurt me, Blaine.”
“I know.” Blaine’s voice was filled with guilt and regret. “If I could go back and change what I said, I would. But since I can’t, you’ll just have to believe me when I say that I truly regret my words. I don’t want you as anything but my husband, I promise.”
Kurt looked into those beautiful brown eyes and knew that Blaine was telling the truth. He kissed Blaine again, slow and lingering, to let him know that his apology was accepted. “I made an apple pie for dinner. Go get cleaned up and I’ll have it ready for you by the time you get back.”
Blaine grinned; he loved apple pie. “I love you, Kurt.”
“I love you too,” Kurt replied with a smile. “Now go - you’re getting me all wet.”
Blaine bounded off to the laundry to get rid of his wet clothes and Kurt went to get the apple tart. Their first argument was over and done with, and they had survived it. The feelings would linger for a little while but after a day or two, everything would be right again.
And in the meantime, there was apple pie.
Part 8