Originally posted on Archive of Our Own (AO3) under the same name.

Blaine and Carole get mentions but this is a father-son fic to the core. I just love writing Burt-Kurt interactions (because seriously Burt is the best father of all time and if he can't be mine I am darn-well going to write about him).

"Hummel? Nah there's no way you're a Hummel!" Kurt felt his hands drop to his hips defensively. He was getting very sick of that look people kept giving him when he said his name. At least someone had finally said it out loud.

Just a week prior his father had called, inviting both himself and Blaine (since all family was invited to attend and Blaine was practically family already) to his class reunion. Kurt knew that it was going to be a bit of a show based on what he knew of Burt's old classmates. He really hadn't been expecting to be the main freakshow out of the whole circus. There was even an old guy with giant gauges in his ears and a tattoo on his face. And Kurt was still the weird one.

He and Blaine had decided to go for the classic semi-matching color coordinated outfits which had gotten a bright smile and a light chuckle from the elder Hummel before they'd headed off down to the park where the event was being held. There was definitely no talk about drawing attention to themselves this time. In fact, Kurt couldn't help but wonder if Burt wanted them to do just that.

The sun was out, the day was warm. There were kids of all ages, including some grandkids for those who'd had babies young and/or whose babies had had babies young. Everyone between the ages of four and fourteen were involved in quite the rough game of tag. But at least some of the kids had the decency to let the little ones tag them back once in a while. Kurt had found his head dipping over to rest against Blaine very briefly when one of the smallest ones squealed with joy at her success. Of course they were too young to have kids just yet. But someday they would be fathers. He could already imagine coming home to find Blaine with their future son or daughter snuggled up in his arms, both fast asleep after watching some sports match on TV.

The four of them had arrived on the scene in one straight line. Carole's hand was linked with Burts, Burt's arm was wrapped through Kurt's, and Kurt's hand was completely tangled up in Blaine's. There weren't very many people who'd noticed them then. That was fine. They weren't here to make a scene. Just enjoy a nice picnic as a family and maybe find out a few of Burt's embarrassing secrets from school. That was what reunions were for.

Burt and Carole had been called off rather quickly to go sign in and pay dues to the classmates that had passed on. Kurt hadn't been able to follow. Thinking about how many of his father's classmates hadn't made it this far made him think of how Finn was the first loss of his class and how he would never see a reunion and...Blaine had pulled him off for a walk as soon as he'd seen that look in Kurt's eye.

From there the day had been a bit of a spiral. People would say hello, who was who's kid and who was the boyfriend, then stare with their jaws wide open. If that by itself didn't have Kurt's skin crawling, there was even one person that asked if one of them was the Coupe kid without even letting them introduce themselves. Kurt didn't have the slightest idea who 'Coupe' even was but he had a feeling, deep inside his gut, telling him that the assumption was probably linked to some stereotype.

The boys had quickly found out that 'Coupe' was actually Ryan Coupe, who wasn't attending. He had been 'the gay kid.' Apparently he'd moved to California some years ago and had adopted a child with some guy he met there. And clearly that kid must be gay and clearly the only transparently gay son at this picnic must be his kid because there was no way someone like Kurt or Blaine could have had 'normal' parents. Even though Mr. Coupe clearly wasn't anywhere to be seen.

So when this man informed him that there was no way he was a Hummel, Kurt was already boiling. Blaine's hand had kept him steady so far but now even Blaine looked ready to start yelling. "D'you have a problem with my son?" he heard from behind him just as he opened his mouth to snap. One hand fell on his shoulder. A glance to his right allowed him to see his dad's other hand on Blaine's.

"Nah, you'll raise 'em how you see best I guess, but I never expected this from you Burt!" The hand gripped tighter. Kurt glanced back to see the look on his father's face. It was flushed, and was that anger? Well the anger wasn't surprising. But there was something else too.

"Expected what? A happy healthy son who's going places with his life?" The other man stopped laughing. Burt had struck a nerve, apparently.

"My kid's innocent," he snapped before stomping off. Burt let out a deep sigh.

"Not what I was getting at." Both young men looked over to him and he shrugged nonchalantly. "I know as much as you do about that."

"What were you getting at?" Kurt pressed carefully. Burt let all the air push out of his lungs again. Slowly.

"We used to hang out together in school. I'm not proud of who I was back then. Whatever you hear today, remember that."

"What am I going to hear?" Blaine was already edging closer to Kurt's side, but Burt held up a hand to him.

"Do you think you could go keep Carole company for a few minutes?" Kurt gave his fiancé a quick nod and a gentle peck of reassurance to get him to head off. The two Hummels found a bench to sit on. Kurt didn't mean to sit all the way on the edge but it was where he felt comfortable. He knew from passing comments that his dad hadn't been the most accepting man back then but it still hurt to have that knowledge stirred up like this.

"Why didn't you tell me. Before we came here."

"I...well because it's not important. To me. I mean. I'm so proud of you Kurt. I love you so much. I want everyone to know that. And I am downright ashamed of who I used to be." So that was what that emotion had been.

"It would've been nice to have a heads up though. We're kind of the main freakshow here."

"That wasn't my intention." They watched the kids playing for a moment. Children who were a fairly blank slate, especially the little ones. Their parents no doubt had things they never wanted their kids to know. Hopefully their parents would all support them no matter who they loved no matter what they'd thought in the past. Kurt knew not everyone would be so lucky though. His dad was really something special. He'd made a lot of really radical changes to himself for his son. "I want them all to know I'm not who I was. There's a lot...a lot that no one knows about me. I just wanted to fit in. So I did what I thought would help me fit in. There's only a few things in this world I'm truly proud of honestly. Most of them start with you."

"I'm proud of you." There was a pause after that as they both let those words sink in.

"You're proud of me?" It had to have been weird. A kid telling his father that. But much like I love yous this was something that needed to be said.

"Yeah."

"How come?" Kurt glanced over with a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Gay people aren't the only ones who have to come out of the closet. Anyone who has ever lived two lives has a moment like that. That moment when everyone finally knows what they haven't been saying. You don't have to deny it for it to be a secret either. Everyone here who knew you had a son probably thought that I was a football loving car fixing muscle man. The epitome of masculinity. Without ever asking. Because they never questioned what kind of kid they'd expect you to raise."

"And I never told them because they didn't matter." Kurt felt himself nodding. He wasn't imply that his father was purposely keeping his son's orientation from all of his old classmates. Only that the classmates hadn't known and they reacted accordingly with their memories.

"So it's a shock for them. And you have to have known it'd shock them."

"Yeah." Kurt glanced over. He could see it in his father's eyes. The pride. They were having a true man-to-man talk right now. Not father to son, not young adult to older man. They were on an even playing field.

"They're going to have to deal with it. Whatever happened doesn't matter. You are who you are now." The younger Hummel saw that once unidentifiable emotion rise back up for a moment before dropping away again to be replaced permanently by pride. "I think Blaine and Carole are up to something. We should probably go step in before they do something too over the top." It wasn't Carole's usual style but she was rather fun-loving and Blaine could convince almost anyone to do almost anything with those giant sugar-sweet eyes of his. If the two of them broke out into a large serenade of a romantic gesture Kurt was sure his face would be pink for the rest of the day. And not because of the sun.