Crossroads

Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Not my sandbox…nor will it ever be.
Warning: AU…current season has no bearing in this fic.
A/N: Hullo, everybody! Glad to see you're still with me. I know it's been a long while and I won't be surprised if you've actually forgotten about this story. I got caught up…again. I spent the couple weeks alternating between the hospital and traveling. Somehow I always end up sick after every excursion. But apparently the doctors found nothing, so I'm back on my feet again.

Anywhoo, the next (un-betaed) chapter is right here…and I hope you still enjoy it :D

Kurt lets the window down as he maneuvers his way through traffic, feeling the crisp night air against his face. And although he knows that he'll end up with dry skin because of it, he can't keep the smile off his face because this will be the first time he's ever coming home since he headed to college.

It's the first time his weekend cleared up (read: McPherson instilled yet another 3-day pass for him, thus totaling to 5 days of free time). So what better way than to spend it at home? When he'd found out about it this morning (yes, it was rather sudden). He was wary about it at first since Brandon had told him that maybe they could probably head up north, just the two of them. Enticing sure… but Kurt had missed home, and fortunately Brandon understood.

And so here he was, exiting the highway and entering the back roads of Lima,OH; fingers drumming to a silent beat.

Nothing seems to be different. The roads are still empty, though the fields are sort of barren. The line of houses that greet him at the turn stayed the same yet the sight of the familiar red-roofed house elates him to an indescribable extent.

When Kurt stops at the driveway, he's feeling incredibly excited to see his dad and Quinn that he barely registers an unfamiliar car parked along the driveway; grabbing his phone and his keys in one hand as he simultaneously exits the car and sprints his way up to the door; his steps light on the wooden porch. The house lights are on and Kurt can't help but shake his head at the thought that his dad is probably still watching those god-awful reruns of Deadliest Catch. He only hopes that the beer and snacks stayed in the cupboard and not on the coffee table.

Kurt keys through the front door eager to see his family, but what he doesn't expect is the blinding pain that meets him as he first steps foot into the receiving area.

Bright colored lights swim in his field of vision and Kurt could feel something warm dripping from his nose. It's only when he reaches to touch it does he find out that his nose is most definitely bleeding and most probably broken. But just when he looks up, he's met yet again with a fist and Kurt's sure that his cheek is going to bruise. The shock of such an odd welcome renders him silent that not even a whimper escapes him. But before he could even get a clear view of his would-be attacker, he feels himself being held by the collar of his shirt and roughed back into the wall; his eyes shutting at the impact. And the next thing he knew, somebody's shouting at his face; spit spraying onto his face.

"Who are you?"

"W-what?" Okay, now Kurt is confused. He cracks an eye open and finally gets a look at whoever is holding up and his eyes widen when he sees a guy he doesn't recognize, a forearm to his neck and crushing him against the wall...in his own home. The fear in him changes drastically into anger and he starts struggling against him.

"I want to know your name, what you're doing here, and how you got through a locked door!"

Who does this guy think he is!

"How am I supposed to answer that when you're choking me?" Kurt makes a pathetic attempt at kicking the guy off him (He now wonders if quitting the football team thus harnessing his leg power was a bad choice). "Let me go."

"Alright." The guy considers it for a moment before slacking his grip off. "No funny business or else it won't just be your nose I'll break."

Kurt attempts to wriggle free from the grip but fails. Instead, he raises his chin up too meet his eyes.

"First off, you have no right to ask me my name when you damn near killed me. And seeing that that there is a door, the only way I can get through it is by using a key...which if you haven't noticed, I posses because I damn well live here!"

"Now, what I want to know is, who the hell are you and tell me what on earth you're doing here before I go and call the police and report you for trespassing, breaking and entering and assault." Kurt revels in his verbal prowess before taking in the slightly mortified look the guy is giving him. But before he could issue yet another rant, a voice breaks through from the kitchen area, and both heads turn.

"Gary, what's going on? I heard someone yell-Kurt!"

Quinn had been quite worried when she had heard shuffling and shouting, making her promptly leave the kitchen...knife in hand. She had been expecting to see a thief or something, but what she was seeing now was far from what she imagined. There was no thief, just Gary and Kurt with the latter being held up against the wall.

"Oh, my God. Kurt!" Quinn runs up to the two and Gary promptly lets Kurt go. When she moves to hug Kurt though, Gary stops her.

"You know this guy?"

"Of course, that's Kurt." Quinn tries to get away from Gary's grip. "Gary, that's Burt's son."

She honestly didn't know what the hell was going on. Why is Gary stopping her? It's only when she looks towards Kurt and his wide-eyed expression towards her hand does she notice the knife she still held...the same arm to which Gary is currently holding.

"Then I suggest you let go of that knife."

Quinn gasps as she relinquishes her hold on the knife; Kurt in turn, sighs in relief. Gary takes it and sets it on the corner table, watching the two friends hug as if they hadn't seen each other in decades. He must admit that he'd been wary when he'd first heard about Kurt. Apparently the two were very close and Gary just can't help but feel like a third wheel (seems like they can't let go of each other yet) despite knowing that Kurt doesn't sway that way. Gary shuffles in his place growing kinda uncomfortable every minute, zoning back in only when Quinn and Kurt had broken apart.

"Oh my God, Kurt. Why are you here?" Quinn asks, still can't quite grasp the fact that Kurt's back. "And why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I thought I'd surprise you guys." Kurt ends up shrugging, grinning sheepishly as he keeps a hand up to his positively swollen nose. "Well…surprise!"

Quinn's truly surprised to see Kurt back and goes back in for another hug. This time she doesn't let go. But sensing how awkward Gary's beginning to feel, she partially lets go and was about to introduce the two properly until she noticed how Kurt still kept a hand to his nose. She found it odd and was about to comment on it until she saw something dripping from between his fingers.

"Oh my god, Kurt. You're bleeding!"

Quinn dashes back into the kitchen even before Kurt could confirm the injury, leaving the two boys staring at each other rather dumbly. Kurt kind of had a sense that this Gary guy is Quinn's boyfriend seeing how comfortable they were with one another. And because there was no way that this man is one of dad's guys…he just didn't look like a mechanic that's all. Kurt shouldn't judge he knows, but there is just something off about him and he can't quite get a finger on it.

"I'm sorry for roughing you up, Kurt. I thought you were some kind of burglar..." Gary held out a hand which Kurt took with his free one. "I'm Gary, by the way. I'm Quinn's boyfriend."

Ah, straight to the point.

"Nice to meet you." Kurt returns the handshake and proceeds to gather his keys and phone that had fallen during their scuffle. But just as he was a hair's breadth away from his phone, he feels himself being yanked and led onto the couch; an icepack promptly shoved to his face.

Quinn hovers over him as Gary stands back again. He takes the towel that's been offered and proceeds to wipe his hand with it. Knowing that Quinn isn't about to let up any time soon, Kurt sits patiently, wincing as the cold bites into his tender skin.

Quinn was about to ask what had happened when the front door opens, revealing a haggard looking Burt Hummel. The older man's eyes quickly zoom to his son on the couch and asks the nagging question that's been stuck on Quinn's mind.

"What the hell happened to your nose?"

Kurt had heard the door open and was pretty sure as to who just arrived (unless dad has a few more surprises…which is highly unlikely) judging by the sound of heavy footsteps.

"Hi, dad." He grins sheepishly. Or as sheepishly as he can get. Every time he twitches or talks sets his face on fire.

"Jesus, Kurt. That's a lot of blood." Burt kneels in front of Kurt, his eyes constantly straying on the blood-soaked hand towel held delicately between his son's fingers.

Kurt puts a hand up as he sees his dad start. He eye catches Gary's and Kurt was surprised to see the genuine fear in the guy's features that he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. So instead, he offers up the first thing that comes to his mind.

"Hit myself on the door. You know me…clumsy as ever."

Burt huffs;

Quinn merely shakes her head;

And Gary offers a silent thank you.

-o-

It takes a couple more minutes until the bleeding stops and a couple of seconds more for Burt to assess that Kurt's nose is perfectly fine and unbroken.

At this time, Quinn and Gary had retreated back to the kitchen to ready the dinner. And after further prodding, Kurt's finally satisfied with the state of his nose and heads out to get his bags.

Burt helps Kurt with the unloading and still manages to chuckle at the amount of bags his son decided to bring over for the weekend. After they get the bags back into Kurt's old bedroom, they come up and are greeted at the sight that makes Kurt choke on the drink he'd been bringing. He quickly excuses himself and leaves Burt to deal with what's in front of them.

Ahem

"Oh…"

It takes less than a second for Gary to jump away from Quinn, the former looking terrified as hell while the latter smiles into her hand. It's a miracle that Burt manages to keep a straight face as he strides into the kitchen and takes the plates and cutlery from the drawers, purposely going in between the two, forcing as much space in between them as possible. And without any other word, he silently turns back and makes his way to the dining room, leaving the two awkwardly shifting in their places.

Burt might have not said anything, but he did send Gary a patented Hummel death glare and he's quite proud of it when he sees a similar expression on his son as he meets him in the dining table. It's an odd look for Kurt but then it's gone before Burt could even comment that he just let's it slide and decides that maybe tonight is the night when he should approach Kurt about things like 'these'.

"God. Kids." Burt hands Kurt the plates for him to set. "I remember when your mom and I were still dating. I couldn't keep my hands off her."

"Dad!" Kurt shakes his head. He doesn't need any of that especially after he saw Quinn's boyfriend practically devouring Quinn's face. "Too much…"

"Maybe." Burt chuckles as he sees the beginnings of a blush on his son's cheeks. "But I take it that you and your boyfriend aren't fooling around during school, right?"

Burt watches the blush spread to Kurt's ears as he stares at him dumbfounded.

Kurt is shocked. He wasn't expecting his dad to know about Brandon. He was so sure he'd successfully kept it from him, but apparently he's wrong. Kurt tries to salvage the embarrassing situation, his mind willing himself to deny it, but his mouth fails miserably. But then Kurt sees his dad give him that knowing look that he simply gives up and just nods.

Which in hindsight…was a bad idea.

"So you ever had sex yet?"

"Dad!"

The shrill voice that rings out in combination with the horrorstruck expression on his son's face didn't quell his concern.

"Look, Kurt. You know I'm down with you being gay and all but you also know that I'm not yet quite comfortable with 'this'." Kurt's eye twitches as he watches his father gesture at him in not the manliest way. He would actually have laughed his head off if not for his father's knowledge of Brandon. "And you could just imagine how I felt when I saw pictures of you with some boy on that face-thing on the Internet."

"Facebook? You have a Facebook account?" Kurt turns to his father, incredulous. "And I accepted you?"

"No I don't have an account. I kinda used Quinn's while she was out." Burt holds a hand up, the notion that this may have been the wrong idea crossing his mind multiple times as he sees his son's face turn taking in a shade of plum as he talked. "I had to use the computer and she forgot to log out and..."

Now both Kurt's eyes are twitching and for some reason his nose is redder than before that Burt would have thought that he's having a seizure. Kurt is still standing upright across him but he could see the death grip he has on the chair that Burt ends up sighing as he runs a hand across his face.

Oh, jeez. I shouldn't have read that flyer from that Pillsbury woman.

"Wait. What does Ms. Pillsbury have to do with this?"

Oh, wait. Did I just say that aloud?

"Uh...remember that one time I went to your school?" Burt faces Kurt, the words jumbling in his head as he tries to find an explanation. "The one where we had to get you that try-out for that girl's song?"

Burt watches as Kurt's eyes grew more impossibly wide, but the boy nods nonetheless.

"I kinda bumped into her and she gave me this pamphlet-"

Kurt raises a hand and stops Burt midsentence, sensing something off with the explanation.

"You bumped into her..."

Burt nods.

"…and she gave you a pamphlet."

He nods yet again.

"Just like that?"

Uh…

"Yeah." A blatant lie and Kurt looks unimpressed. "Okay, okay. Maybe I got lost on the way out. And I may have seen her behind her desk so I asked how to."

"She ended up having me sit down...and we had a little talk." The expression on Kurt's face became unreadable but Burt continued. "But that wasn't in my mind at all. And then I see it and she gave it to me."

"Oh. My. God."Kurt's shaking his head in disbelief. "That was like three years ago."

"You still have that pamphlet don't you?"

Burt didn't nod. But his silence says everything.

"Oh my God."

"So are you or are you not?" Burt would have argued that the pamphlet was very informative and may prove quite useful but Kurt interrupts him with a suppressed shriek.

"Dad!"

Burt braces himself for a long shrilly rant from Kurt only to be saved by Quinn and Gary who'd entered with food in hand. And apparently Kurt looked hungry enough to let the conversation slide. But that didn't stop him from getting a glare from the boy. They clearly need to talk more about it.
Kurt, who'd managed to calm himself down quickly, settled himself in his chair with a huff. He was sure that the blush that made his face look like a beet is still there, but he's thankful at the slightly warm lighting that helped cover up some of it. The thought that his dad would ask such a question now had surprised him greatly and was about to make a quick quip but stops when he follows his dad's gaze towards the food on the table.

Kurt would have cringed at the sight of grease but he couldn't help himself but salivate as he sees the perfectly good home cooked meal. Not that he was starving himself back in Columbus; he usually was able to cook food on his own. But things have been getting hectic lately that he could only afford to buy sandwiches from the deli across the dorm. Granted that they were usually made from fresh produce on some whole wheat bread not to mention healthy as hell, but Kurt was already starting to get tired of it that he's craving a huge slab of meat just as much as the next guy. Which just happens to be his dad.

Dinner went on smoothly, or as smoothly as it could go when Burt and Gary are having a fit over some football stats which left Quinn and Kurt to simply share confused glances to each other across the table. That conversation took over the entire dinner but Kurt wasn't complaining. He, for one, enjoyed listening. As corny as it sounds, he missed hearing his dad talk. Like as in talk talk, not some static-y drone over the phone. So he sits and listens quietly. And secondly, it still hurt to talk. He can still feel how warm is nose is but is thankful that it wasn't bleeding into his steak; a steak which he thoroughly enjoyed that Kurt surprised himself at the amount of meat he had just consumed, already mentally preparing for a bout of indigestion. But he isn't ungrateful. Far from it really. He sends Quinn a thank you for the great meal before he starts handing out the red wine and hoping for a good night's rest.

Soon the men had deemed it time to head over to the living room to watch some television, bringing over the bottle of wine along with them.

"Kurt, you coming?"

Kurt looks up from his vacated seat and pauses as Gary waves the bottle in front of him. He politely declines as Kurt gestures towards the dirty plates on the table.

"Go on ahead, Kurt." Quinn starts to place the leftovers into some plastic containers. "I can handle this."

"No, it's okay. I still feel too full that I think I wouldn't be able to breathe if I sit back down."

Kurt watches as Gary gives Quinn a peck on the cheek, thanking her for the meal before heading out to the living room with Burt. He busies himself by gathering the used glasses and utensils.

"You didn't really talk much tonight." Quinn stacks up the plates and brings them over to the sink. "I thought you'd have a lot to say, college boy."

"I've been talking since I started school. Reports every single day; it's basically made my throat raw." Kurt shrugs a he hands over the used glasses in his hands to Quinn. "So not talking for a bit just might do me some good."

"Well, it's good to see you again." Quinn looks up from the sink to Kurt, offering him as smile.

"And it's good to see you happy again." Kurt swears he could see Quinn light up in a way that's different from the times he's seen. "So who is he? Aside from 'hey, my name's Gary I'm Quinn's boyfriend'."

"Well, he works at a bakery." Kurt can't help but raise a brow at this. "At Brandt's actually. And remember those pumpkin pies you love so much? The one you just gobbled up like a mad man just now? Well, he's the one making them."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Quinn gives a small laugh as she sees Kurt's disbelieving look. It was no secret between them that Kurt loves his pumpkin pies. It's one of the reasons why she had asked Gary to bring one over for dessert. She had hoped that at least this would at least put Gary in Kurt's good graces. And seeing at how surprised Kurt still looks, Quinn would like to think that her plan worked.

"Oh and he loves watching movies, has a 'ginormous' appetite as evidenced by his dinner, and he worships rock and roll like a religion. Unfortunately though, he cannot sing a song even if it saves his life."

Kurt lets out a small laugh as he sees her somewhat exasperated expression. But despite that, he could see that she looks happier than he'd last seen her and he may or may not have felt a little twinge in his chest.

"How about you?" Quinn points a soap sud covered hand at his direction, a sly grin on her face. "I saw some pic of you smoochin' some hot looking guy."

"Oh..." Kurt now truly thinks that it was unwise to post those pictures up on the Internet. But seeing that there's nothing he could do anymore, he simply shrugs as he mentally finds a good description for Brandon. "Well, his name's Brandon. He's a decent guy, I guess. Awfully stubborn at times, but he could be sweet too."

Quinn gives him a look. Kurt simply shrugs and starts drying the dishes with a towel.

"Skips classes a lot, loves music, can play mad guitar but…and it's a very big but, sounds like a strangled cat when he so as much tries to sing."

Quinn lets out a laugh ad Kurt joins in. It felt great to laugh. And Kurt realizes that it's already been a while since he laughed a laugh as loud as the guffaw he's currently letting out. It doesn't last long though because Quinn shifts closer, laughter dying down.

"I missed you." Quinn takes the last plate from his hands, places it back into the drawer before taking his hand. Kurt raises a brow in response. She squeezes his hand to tell him she's serious. "I missed talking to you. I miss taking those walks we used to and you know just messing around."

"Well, I missed you too." Kurt considers it for a moment. But who is he kidding, he missed her too. He pulls her into a hug and she's too happy to return it.

"Hey, Quinn?" They both let go of the hug; Kurt leans back into the counter while Quinn retrieves the damp towels. "I pretty much have nothing to do the whole weekend so if you want, maybe we could go to the park tomorrow, maybe grab some ice cream? I haven't had a decent sundae since I left. Columbus may be known for their tomatoes…but sundaes? No."

"Ah, Kurt. I'm not sure if-"

"Hey, baby. As much as I want to stay longer, I better get on going." Kurt spins around to see Gary striding into the kitchen, making a beeline for Quinn. It wouldn't have been a bother if the guy hadn't squished himself between them that made Kurt shift away. And it seems that Quinn noticed his discomfort that she gave Kurt an apologetic look over Gary's shoulder as they hugged.

"I need to hit the sack early so I can come by to pick you up in the morning so we could go to the hospital before I head to work."

"Well, okay." Quinn laughs as she sees Gary bump into the kitchen island as he backs away. "Stay safe"

"Will do, Ms. Fabray." And with a wink, Gary turns to leave. "G'night Kurt. Sorry 'bout the nose by the way."

Kurt stares at Gary's retreating back; his expression, unreadable. The moment Gary had mentioned 'hospital', something pinged in Kurt's head. And it seems that Quinn knew something was up that she begins to explain it to Kurt slowly.

"He's been coming with me to the hospital to visit Sophie...you don't mind do you?" Kurt faces Quinn and sees her unsure look. It's like she's sorry and asking permission at the same time. And Kurt can't hold it against her. She's the child's mother for God sakes while he…well, he's just her crazy 'uncle'. His gaze softens and he nods.

"We don't really spend more than an hour out since Gary has work, but the whole afternoon is free...?" Quinn smiles and he offers up one of his own though half-hearted at best.

"Oh, no that's okay. I don't mind at all. And besides, afternoon walks aren't bad at all" Kurt waves it off; his smile faltering.

"Thanks, Kurt."

She hugs him yet again and plants a kiss on his cheek before she heads out, leaving Kurt wondering to himself why he felt the way he did.

But before he could delve into a quick emotional self-assessment, his phone vibrates against his thigh. He retrieves it and stares at the screen. Kurt briefly wonders if he should finish up cleaning, but the incessant need to talk at least talk to someone so as to relieve the building pressure in his chest trumps household chores. So he takes one look back to the relatively clean kitchen before closing the lights and heading back to the sanctuary of his basement; his steps heavy, his heart even heavier.

He's not feeling bad at all.

Okay, maybe a little.

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But Quinn doesn't have to know that.

A/N: Apologies for late update. I ended up cutting this is half much like I did for the previous chapter because if I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to update at all (I think it's because I had a lot of things going on in the supposed chapter…). But I hope you still liked it!

Anywhoo, reviews will be much appreciated :D