Fill from BPOTD 1010: Blaine with Cystic Fibrosis and has an oxygen cannula. Kurt takes him to meet the family awkward and Finn trying to understand that he isn't a male Hazel-Grace and Kurt won't turn into his Augustus.
This is a really hard theme, so I hope I didn't upset anyone. I just studied Cystic Fibrosis for an exam, but I never met anybody who actually lives with it, I did some researches, watched videos on youtube... But in the end I decided not to go too much into details... Hope it's fine!
Sorry for the bad grammar, I'm not native English and this is unbeta-ed.
Enjoy!
NOT ASHAMED
It will be awkward, like very awkward.
Kurt and Blaine have been dating for the past six months and they knew that this moment was going to come, but Kurt was still hoping it would come later, rather than sooner.
Meeting the parents.
That horrible moment he has only seen in movies, when there is always someone who says the wrong thing at the wrong time and nothing goes as planned. That horrible, horrible moment he was trying to procrastinate. He has never met Blaine's parents and that's fine for him, but apparently Blaine wants to meet his dad, he almost feels like he has to, which is probably right, there are a lot of things that Burt needs to know, since the only thing Kurt told him six months ago, was that he was seeing someone. When Blaine brought up the subject for the first time, Kurt said a blunt 'No', but then Blaine insisted and he is always so convincing, with his puppy eyes and that shy smile... And Kurt just couldn't say no.
So he tried to prepare his dad for this moment.
He isn't ashamed of Blaine, not at all; Blaine is one of the best things that ever happened to him and he is so much more than is disease. So he sat in front of Burt and Carole, showing them all the researches he had already done and they gave him a surprised look, they didn't even know what Kurt was talking about. "Blaine, my boyfriend, he has cystic fibrosis," he explained, "But it's not as bad as it sounds, I promise." Again, he isn't ashamed of Blaine and he knows Burt and Carole aren't ignorant or else, but he has to be careful and let them take it in. It's a lot to take in, he knows this.
Well, it went better than he hoped.
Carole even offered to help Burt understand what exactly cystic fibrosis is and how it affects Blaine's life and Burt said it was okay for him that Kurt is dating Blaine, that the only thing that really matters to him is Kurt's happiness and Blaine seems to make him happy, so that's fine. That's not, Kurt knows better, but he is thankful for the fact that Burt his giving his son a chance to prove his point, to prove that as romantic as it sounds, 'amor omnia vincit'.
And so here they are.
Kurt picked Blaine up, he doesn't have his own license, so Kurt offered to drive him and now they are staring at the closed door of the Hummel-Hudson's house.
Everything is perfect, Blaine is perfect in his blue sweater and red shirt, thankfully without too much gel in his hair. Kurt can't help but stare at him. He is quite short for his age and Kurt never dares to ask if it's because of the cystic fibrosis itself, or maybe because of all the medication he has been on for so long time; his hair are curly and soft and fluffy and Kurt could spend days petting him; his lips have a perfect shape, they are always soft and red, like cherries. He loves everything about Blaine, even his triangular brows and his slightly bent point finger on his left hand. Even the nasal cannula he always has to wear. That's fine for him and he really hopes it will be for his dad too.
"Carole texted me, she had to go to the hospital," he mumbles through his teeth. Having Carole there would have been helpful, now it will be even more awkward, just the three of them and Kurt doesn't know if he can make it work. "But we can do this another time, if you don't feel up to it right now," he almost begs for Blaine to turn around and go home.
"Kurt, why are you so nervous?" Blaine asks carefully holding his hand.
"I just- I really want you to like my dad."
Blaine tilts is head back, smiling with his cute, almost shy, amazing smile, "If I were you, I would be more concerned about him liking me," he says, vaguely gesturing to his face, to his nose and Kurt gives him a glare that could kill. So Blaine quickly adds, "Okay, okay, calm down. Everybody is going to like anybody. It will be fine, I promise."
Kurt nods, holding his hand tighter and pushes the door open.
"Dad!" He yells, "Dad, we are here! Oh. Hi, Finn," he adds, recognizing the familiar shape of his half-brother watching TV on the couch. His first instinct is to hide Blaine behind is back, but he knows how much this would disappoint his boyfriend, so he stops. Why is Finn here? And especially, why did Kurt forget to tell him about his something-more-than-a-friend? Again. He isn't ashamed of Blaine, he is more ashamed of Finn, he knows how indelicate he can be and he doesn't want to give Blaine a bad impression, which is kind of ironic, given the situation.
"Burt is late," Finn says through the pop-corn he is chewing on and that Kurt would have preferred not to see, "Said to tell you he loves you, he is sorry and you and your friend can wait here with me. Not your room, open doors and no funny business."
"And that's Finn," Kurt shyly explains, letting Blaine enter the room and sit on the couch next to his step-brother.
"Hi, Finn," Blaine says and there is that awkward moment Kurt knew was coming when Finn turns to him and looks at him, no hint of decency in his gaze.
Finn swallows the last pop corn, cleaning his lips with the sleeve of his shirt – that's just so much Finn - and points his finger on Blaine's face, without any shame, "What's wrong with you, dude?" he genuinely asks and Blaine chokes on a nervous laugh. Kurt knows perfectly well that even if he is trying to act all self-confident and at ease, he is almost as nervous as Kurt is.
"Finn you're unbelievable!" Kurt gasps, his voice way too high, he wants to be sure that Finn understands he is going to be in trouble for his behaviour. "I'm so sorry, Blaine, he is probably the worst Neanderthal I have ever met. Come on, let's go to my room," he says, grabbing Blaine's thin hand and leading him down the stairs.
There is no point in answering to Finn's comment, "Burt's gonna be pissed." If there is someone who is going to be pissed, it is going to be Carole, as soon as Kurt tells her what her dumb son did. Blaine has his own apologetic look on, as if he has something to apologize for and Kurt wish he could shelter him and keep him away from this kind of situations which, Kurt knows that for sure, have the power to hurt him, badly.
Damn Finn.
It's just few minutes later that Burt comes back home and Kurt takes care of his anger for being alone with Blaine downstairs before even letting him meet his boyfriend. While Kurt and Burt talk, all Finn manages to say is a polite "Look, man, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, I was just curious," his head bowed, his look on the ground and Blaine is way too kind with him, as he simply shrugs it off with a faint, "That's fine."
And then they can enjoy their time together.
It's nice though, the way Burt tries to make Blaine feel comfortable, the way Blaine tries to impress Burt. It's pretty cute from Kurt's own point of view and it would have been better if Finn hadn't been so much Finn-ish. They are currently talking about future project and something about going to college when Kurt glances at the clock, "You should eat something," he says, pinching Blaine's bony hip.
"I'm not hungry," he quickly replies, turning to Burt before Kurt can even try to add something like, "You still should."
"Ehy, man! Kurt makes the best French toasts I've have ever eaten," Finn says, rising his eyes from the book he has been pretending to read for the last half an hour. Later he will explain to Kurt that Blaine looks really thin, like if he needs to eat a whole lot more than he does. That's it. No point in telling him he did the right thing. Because for once he's really doing the right thing, as Blaine finally allows Kurt to cook something and soon they are all sitting around the table, eating hot, tasty french toast with lots of cheese on it.
They barely eat two bites of food when Blaine suddenly stands up, rushing through the open door and Kurt is well aware of what is happening. Blaine is really self conscious about his own disease, always worried about disgusting the others, making them uncomfortable or something like that. So when he can, he prefers to go away and wait for the fit to pass.
Coughing is a common issue for people with cystic fibrosis, everyone knows that, that's the first thing you read if you try to search it on Google; it was the first thing Kurt noticed when he spotted Blaine on his first day at Dalton. Days later, when they finally met and Blaine's friends tried to explain why he coughed so much and so badly, Kurt assured him that he was fine with it. Blaine didn't have the nasal cannula back then, he looked just as everyone else; Kurt couldn't suspect this was going to happen and he isn't pleased to see him suffering. But when they first kissed, Blaine had been in the hospital for almost a week, he was so sad and ashamed about how his face looked, with the wires and all and Kurt wanted to make him feel better. There was no problem for him, not about the coughing, not about the wires, it was and still is and always will be okay. Blaine is perfect the way he is and if sometimes Kurt feels the need to cry, it's just because he is so sorry to see Blaine in pain.
"Just give us a moment," Kurt says, standing up and following him. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," he mutters, trying to catch his breath, "Just go back, I'm coming." Of course Kurt waits for him, patiently rubbing his back, even if he knows that it isn't helping at all. It's just comforting, Blaine told him once, to know that he is here, taking care of him.
It doesn't last long and nothing comes up, Kurt has seen worse. It takes barely two minutes for Blaine to straighten up and force a smile, walking back in the kitchen where, of course, Finn and Burt are waiting for them. It would be funny, if the circumstances where different, the way Finn is holding his toast halfway through his mouth, staring at Blaine as if he had green skin and two heads.
"Sorry," Blaine mumbles, his cheeks pinker, both for the effort of coughing so much and the embarrassment and Kurt knows he won't eat anything else. He'll try to feed him something else later, but he doesn't want to add pressure on him, he doesn't want to be overprotective, but he can't help it.
"Look, I'm sorry," Finn suddenly says, placing the half eaten toast in the plate and holding his hands up in surrender, "But I really need to ask something."
"Please, Finn," both Kurt and Burt warn him at the same time and he promises that it is important and nothing stupid and he isn't going to make another mistake with Blaine.
"It's just that- Look, I like you, Blaine, I really do. But you are my younger brother, Kurt" This could lead to the same old fight about who is older than who, but Finn sounds serious and Kurt wants to know where he wants to go with this speech, "I don't want to see you hurt. And Rachel forced me to see that movie-"
"Thanks for your concern, Finn, I appreciate and I'm sure Blaine won't murder me in my sleep," Kurt tries to stop him, while Burt stands up, awkwardly playing with the dishes into the sink, waiting for his step-son to send the bomb.
"It's not that. Rachel cried when she so that movie, you know? And I hate seeing her crying and I don't want you to cry too."
"Which movie are you talking about, Finn?"
"The one with that cute girl with the same thing Blaine has in his nose. And her boyfriend died. I don't want you to die."
"What?" Burt asks, turning back to them again and wondering why in the hell Finn is thinking about Kurt's death.
Kurt stares at Finn with wide eyes, really concerned about his mental health. He is still trying to wrap his head around whatever Finn is trying to say when he sees with the corner of his right eye the guy next to him shaking. He quickly turns in Blaine's direction, expecting him to be on the verge of tears or maybe so angry that he could kill Finn. He isn't expecting him to be holding a hand to his mouth, trying not to laugh, "That's 'The fault is in our stars', what he is talking about," he mutters, his lips trembling with the effort of being serious.
"I don't have cancer, Finn," Blaine tells him, "Neither does Kurt. So, I guess no one is going to die for now. We're safe for now."
"Oh my God," Kurt exhales, ashamed for his brother and Finn looks at him incredulous, "But Hazel-Grace had that same thing."
Blaine runs a finger over the little tube covering his cheek, "Yeah, she had trouble breathing, the same as I do. But that's because she had cancer, which I don't have, I swear. I'm just," there is a second when Kurt can feel how this speech hurts Blaine, how hard he has to work on his mind to choke out his words, "I'm just waiting for new lungs. But otherwise, I'm fine." Which isn't exactly true, if we consider all of the other issues cystic fibrosis takes. But Finn doesn't need to know.
For a brief second Kurt allows his mind to think that this is the end of the conversation, but of course Finn has to embarrass himself even more, "New lungs? As in the lungs of a dead man? Creepy."
Blaine curls his lips, trying to find the right words, his cheeks blushing slightly, "A man or a woman, it doesn't really matter," he says, "And yes. A little creepy, I guess," he shrugs, finally looking at Kurt with that pleading eyes that screams, 'Please, help. I don't know what to say.'
"Okay, I think that's enough," Burt interferes, grabbing Finn's tough arm and leading him to the couch, "Let's see if there is some kind of sport match or something."
"There's," Blaine's tone is softer now, almost a whisper, "Actually there's Titans vs Steelers in ten minutes."
Kurt's smile widens as he see stupor spread on his dad's face and Finn gives Blaine a high five, "You like football? You're amazing, man!"
"I guess this means I'm going to read Vogue for the rest of the evening. Thanks, Titans." He pretends to be upset, but he is truthfully happy. It is going better than what he had imagined and if he has to stand a very long and boring match to see Blaine's happy face, well, it's worth it.