Lima Meets Liberty 5/?
Glee/Queer as Folk US crossover - Kurt and Blaine visit Kurt's cousin Emmett in Pittsburgh over Spring break. How do the guys react when the finally realize what "Out and Proud Queer" means on Liberty Avenue?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
AN: Chill pill guys … seriously. I love all your reviews and try and respond when I can but no panic attacks please. Since I know it is my Klainers out there who are freaking on me … REMEMBER this is a QAF crossover and go back and read the first authors note please, cause I am not going to rewrite it all here. Rest assured I remain an endgame Klainer at heart and ANGST is NOT one of the tags here.
Thanks to NeverTooOldToBeNerdy for his assistance in getting this out to you today. My internet is kinda up in the air for now but I will do everything I can to keep the updates coming as close to on time as I can. And the formatting is STILL acting screwey !
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Tuesday Morning
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It was between 7:30 and 8:00 when Emmett and the boys walked into the diner.
Brian, Justin, Ted and Michael were enjoying the remains of their breakfast when the bell over the door sounded. Looking up, Brian's eyes latched onto Kurt. He couldn't remember a time that someone with that type of confident, individual style had walked through those doors. It was obvious from the looks around the diner that he wasn't the only one who noticed.
When the three latecomers had settled into the booth behind them and given Debbie their breakfast orders Brian turned in his seat and said "OK Kurt, as one obvious label queen to another I need to get a closer look at that outfit. Slide out and let me see."
Ted flicked a quick look at Brian when he heard the sincerity in the request unsure whether to expect a typical "Brian Fucking Kinney" criticism or not.
Kurt stood and with a grin said "Finally, someone who appreciates the effort I take." cutting his eyes to Blaine.
As Kurt stood Brian took the ensemble in with a critical eye. Distressed finished slim fit black jeans that left nothing to the imagination, a crisp white dress shirt with Black trim on the plackets and tab collar, Black sleeveless knee length blazer style waistcoat, finished off with Black leather ankle boots. Individually the pieces were basics, but combined the effect was stunning. Kurt might not quite have his height, but Brian could see the thought given to ensuring that every piece perfectly suited his lean body. The effect was very similar in feel to the way Brian liked to project himself.
Debbie looked over as she turned from putting an order in wat the kitchen and stopped for a moment at the rare smile showing on Brian's face before he spoke.
"OK, let's see if I can get this right. The shirt is Moschino, and perfectly fitted by the way." Brian said allowing his fingers to trail, just barely touching, along the black trim of the button placket.
"The Jeans look like Diesel, but I don't remember them offering them in black. The waistcoat is Alexander Wang without a doubt and the boots look to be Thomas Engel Hart and, oh, where did you find a vintage McQueen logo belt buckle?"
Kurt burst into open and easy laughter, turning to look at Blaine with a smirk "Blaine, I love you dear, but I think I just found my soul mate. So you like?" he asked Brian spinning on his heels. "I actually found the Belt Buckle online and got it for a song."
Sliding back into the booth next to Blaine, Kurt found himself turned in his seat talking to Brian over the seat back.
" I have to get to work soon" Brian said "But you and I really need to get together and compare closets sometime. I would never have thought to pair that waistcoat up with distressed denim, but it works. I never thought I would meet an 18 year old who came even close to me in terms of fashion." he finished with an eye roll aimed in Justin's direction.
"Watch it old man" Justin said with a smile before leaning in to run his tongue up the side of Brian's neck "you wouldn't want me to borrow one of your Armani shirts and accidentally get paint on it would you?"
Brian turned and grabbed Justin by the back of the neck "You wouldn't dare" he growled.
"You're right, I wouldn't" Justin replied with a laugh as he leaned over and drew Brian into a deep kiss. "Now you need to get your ass to work and be brilliant as always."
"I do. So what mischief have the rest of you got planned for the day?" Brian asked as he stood to leave.
"Well Emmett invited Blaine and I to go shopping but Blaine really doesn't want to tag along so I'm not sure at this point. Unfortunatly his idea of shopping is pulling up the Brooks Brothers unline catelogue" Kurt replied with a laugh.
"I'm out of classes for the week as well" Justin said with a lingering glance at Blaine. "Blaine is more than welcome to hang out with me for the morning and then we can meet up later."
Brian met Justin's eye, an unspoken question passing between them. The only response from Justin was a slight raise of the eyebrow and a subtle head tilt in Kurt's direction that caused Brian to suck his lips in, trying not to smirk.
Blaine responded with his usual enthusiasm. "Can I Kurt? That way you get to go shopping and I won't be dragging you guys down all morning? Please" he begged, giving Kurt the puppy dog eyes.
"Sounds good to me sweetie, I really wanted to go with Em but I didn't want you to feel like you were getting dragged along."
Justin and Blaine both smiled and Brian noticed how Blaine's enthusiasm lit the room almost as much as Justin's did.
"I gotta roll." Brian said pulling Justin out of the booth and leaning in tight against his neck. "No starting without me." he whispered into his blond lover's ear.
"I wouldn't dream of it." Justin replied with a smile.
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Shortly After
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"Why does the thought of Kurt and Emmett shopping scare the hell out of me?" Blaine laughed as he looked across the booth at Justin.
"Maybe because the two of them are too much alike in a lot of ways? Emmett's trademark phrase is that his 'flame burns bright', Kurt has a lot of that too, but in a more refined way. Plus, he reminds me a lot of Brian too."
Blaine's smile reached his eyes as he easily replied "Yeah, I can see that. Brian has that confidence that I love so much in Kurt."
Looking around the diner Blaine was surprised at just how easy it had been to fall in with the "gang" Just yesterday, walking into this place seemed intimidating. Now it was beginning to feel like home. As Deb walked over to the table with their drink refills he turned to Justin.
"So, what's it been like growing up in a place that is this accepting?" he asked.
Before Justin could answer Deb set his coffee in front of him and said "Hot Stuff, Liberty Ave isn't someplace you grow up, it's someplace you find when where you grew up kicks your fucking ass to the curb. Most of these guys have had shitty lives with fucking shitty families. That's why they are here, and why we are a family. I think you probably have more in common with Sunshine here than you think."
Resting her hand briefly on his shoulder before turning to leave, she said "Now the two of you need to finish that breakfast, cause those cute little bubble butts of yours need some food to keep them going. You all are hitting Woody's tonight after all."
Justin and Blaine both laughed and replied "Yes Deb" before turning back to their conversation.
"What did she mean by that?" Blaine asked with a pensive look on his face. "And what's with the 'Hot Stuff? That's like the second or third time she has called me that."
"Well then it's official. Deb is the one who gave me the name 'Sunshine'. She tends to do that, name you, especially if she likes you and when she does there's no getting out of it." Justin looked Blaine over with a practiced eye "It suits you you know?"
Blaine blushed and took a drink of his coffee to hide his embarrassment. "So I take it Liberty Ave isn't home then?"
"It is now" Justin replied with a smile that quickly faded " I don't know how long ago you came out or how it was for you but most of us that make our way here haven't had the easiest time of it. I know Kurt explained Emmett's situation to you - getting kicked out and ending up here? That is more or less what a lot of us had to deal with. For some of us it was even less pretty than that."
Not wanting to pry into something that Justin may have been hesitant to talk about Blaine decided to answer his first questions.
"I came out at 15, when I was a freshman in High School. I had known for awhile and while I can't say that I ran up the rainbow flag, I just stopped hiding it. I had joined the chorus at school, I went to a public school then, and after getting too many 'chorus is for fags' jokes I just turned one day and said 'I guess I'll fit right in then'. It got around pretty quick and the jocks in particular weren't exactly easy on me."
"I can understand you on that one" Justin said "I remember the time they set my locker on fire. I lost all my damn sketches along with my school stuff. Then again I got outted in a quite dramatic manner" He looked up at Blaine and laughed, a deep laugh of pure contentment.
"Now that just begs for me to ask." Blaine said
"Did anyone ever tell you how I ended up with these guys?" Justin replied "I mean I'm not exactly the type to be hanging around 30 year old accountants normally"
"Not really"
"I was 17, beginning of my Sr year at St James. I had known for awhile that I was gay, just never had an opportunity to really explore the fact. So I decided to have Daph bring me down to Liberty Ave one night. Big Bad high School Senior off to face the world.
"I was standing on the street outside Babylon, about ready to run back home to mommy when this absolute god walked over and asked me how my night had been. I ended up going home with him that night, not knowing that he was 'Brian Fucking Kinney', the stud of Liberty Avenue. The original Mr Fuck-em and leave-em. Needless to say all my questions got answered that night, and quite thoroughly. The next morning when Michael came to the loft to drive Brian to work, Brian's jeep had been vandalized overnight and I got driven to school in a car that had FAGGOT spray painted on it in pink paint."
Justin laughed at the memory of his schoolmate's reactions and his own thoughts at the time.
"You are fucking kidding me." Blaine said through his laughter "You really did have the rainbow flag run up didn't you?"
"Yeah. The fact that Brian laid into one of the guys when he got smart made it a bit easier to stand up instead of be embarrassed. I had already decided I was in love with him and I kinda didn't take no for an answer when he turned me down the next time we met. And then I ended up hanging with the guys and here I am. Brian used to call me his stalker."
"Wow. I can say that my life was tame compared to that. School was hard that first year and my parent's didn't really understand. There was lots of talk, some locker slams, basic lets fuck with the fag kinda stuff. Then that spring there was a dance at school that I really wanted to go to. One of my friends and I, the only other gay guy at school, decided to go together. It was really just as friends, both of us were out and taking girls to hide just didn't feel right."
Blaine paused for a minute, looking down at his hands clasped on the tabletop.
"Anyways, after the dance we were waiting for James' dad to pick us up and three of the varsity jocks decided to teach the fags a lesson. James managed to get away from them but I got the shit kicked out of me. I ended up with three broken ribs, a concussion, a broken leg and a perforated lung. I missed three months of school and ended up having to redo my freshman year when my parent's transferred me to an all boys private school for the next year."
Justin looked up at Blaine with a knowing look.
"You really don't know anything about my history do you?"
"The one thing that I have heard since we got here is that everyone's story is theirs to tell, so I never asked. Deb knows what happened to me though."
Justin smiled "Deb has a way of getting things out of you doesn't she. Now I know why she said we have more in common than you think. When prom came up at the end of Sr year, I asked Brian to go with me. He turned me down flat, something about not being caught dead in a room with a bunch of 18 year old, so Daph and I went together. Midway through the dance he showed up tho and we had this amazing waltz to the Drifters 'Save the Last Dance for Me'. He even kissed me on the dance floor in front of everyone.
"The guy who had given me the most grief, a closet case named Chris Hobbs, took offense. When I walked out to Brian's jeep with him, and Brian was getting ready to drive off, Hobbs took a baseball bat to my skull. I almost died. I ended up in a coma for 2 weeks and in rehab for 3 months. I have brain damage that causes control problems with my right hand even now. The guy got off with community service because apparently Brian and I 'antagonized him' by being too provocative at Prom."
Blaine reached his hand across the table and took Justin's in his "Shit Justin, I don't know what the hell to say. What did your parent's do?"
"Well Dad had long before thrown me out over the whole thing with Brian. He thought that it was all a phase and that Brian had taken advantage of me. When I told the therapist that Mom insisted on taking me to that I "liked dick" in the most graphic terms possible and refused to stop seeing Brian he couldn't or wouldn't deal with it. I was told that I could stay at home provided I never talked about my disgusting lifestyle, went out to gay bars, or saw Brian again. He rammed Brian's jeep at one point and then tried to beat the shit out of him outside Babylon one night. I haven't been back since.
"Mom is trying. She has actually joined PFLAG with Deb, gotten to know Brian and accepts me for who I am at this point but it hasn't been easy. I am glad that she is trying though."
Blaine stood up and walked to the other side of the booth. Sliding in next to Justin he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged the blond to him, tears welling in his eyes.
"Fuck ..." he said breathlessly before realizing what he was doing and quickly scooting away from the blond. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that. I tend to be a very tactile person and … shit, I thought my parent's quiet indifference was bad."
Justin turned in the seat and pulled Blaine into a tight hug.
"It happened a long time ago Blaine, but I appreciate the concern. As to the 'tactile' thing, if you haven't noticed, we tend to be a bit touchy feely around here. Don't ever be afraid to touch someone. Kisses and hugs and embraces are how we show we care and I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to do that. We are family and that includes you and Kurt now."
Pulling back and placing his hands on Blaine's cheeks he leaned in and pressed their foreheads together for a moment before placing a light kiss on the corner of his lips.
"You are beautiful Blaine and your history is no less valid then mine. None of our stories are the same, but we respect each other for how we have dealt with them and for being the men we are now. You are family and we love you for who you are, remember that."