Chapter 5: South-East Fusion

Christmas 2038

"Well, we had a lot of help but we still barely fixed it up in time for the opening."

October 2013

Kurt was flitting around nervously, checking again that all the tables were set like he had ordered and werent missing any cutlery. Hed spent his summer alternately working in the garage and repainting the restaurant when he didnt visit Blaine in Norwood to furnish and decorate their new apartment.

The one they ended up choosing was a one bedroom a five minutes walk away from the train station for a quarter of what he would have paid in New York. Even apartments in Boston went for nearly twice as much, convincing Kurt that moving to Norwood was a great idea, even though they didnt know anyone there and their friends were living in other cities.

To save money, Kurt had rented a truck and loaded the remaining furniture from his old basement bedroom into it with the help of Finn who was working in the shop as well during his own summer break. Even if money werent an issue he would have wanted to take his bed with him because of the memories they created in it. It was only fitting that the bed they made love in for the first time, would be their shared bed in their first apartment.

Finn accompanied him because he had gotten into a fight with Sarah and needed to clear his head and Kurt was happy to have company during the drive.

Blaine was waiting for them in front of the apartment and pulled Kurt into a hug the moment he stepped out of the car. Together they unloaded the truck, adding to the stack of boxes already cluttering the floor, before he and Blaine drove to IKEA while Finn put together the furniture they had to take apart for transport.

Because they both liked cooking and baking they splurged on quality kitchen utensils before picking up an assortment of knick-knacks to add to the decorations brought from home and found at flea markets.

Two days later, the had a grey couch seating three on top of a beautiful blue carpet surrounded by a chocolate brown book shelf, coffee table, dining room table and matching chairs for four people.

All of his old furniture had gone into their bedroom and it now looked pretty much exactly like his basement bedroom had. Kurt loved it and they christened the new bedroom the moment Finn left to spend a few days exploring the east coast.

Back in Lima, he, Carole and Tala repainted the restaurant while Ethan painted the sign after the young boy had proven to be quite talented with a paintbrush. They sold the old furniture and replaced it with new tables and chairs. With the loan money, they updated the kitchen, installing a second dishwasher and buying a better freezer. Tala made new curtains and his dad built a new bar.

By September, Carole had found a waitress who had no problem working the hours they were open and a young college student who would work the weekend shifts. To avoid hiring even more people before they could afford it, Carole and Tala decided to only open the restaurant from 10 AM to 4 PM each day, providing a cheap lunch special for workers from the surrounding office buildings in addition to specialties from the South and the Philippines.

Everything went really well for a while until Carole tried to renew her liquor license. She quickly discovered the horrors of bureaucracy and when two weeks before the opening she still hadnt received it, she asked his dad to intervene.

Fortunately, the hold up was a city council member who had recently opened a bar in the same street as the restaurant was on and was hoping to get rid of the completion by not granting Carole her liquor license.

The grand opening was planned for Labor Day weekend and he, Blaine and Mercedes drove back to Lima after their classes let out. Most of their Glee club friends had promised to come to the opening with their families and after the local newspaper wrote an article about South-East Fusion they soon had enough reservations to fill all the tables.

Two days before the opening, Kurt and Blaine hung black and white pictures on the wall, representing the two cultures coming together in Caroles restaurant, while Carole and Tala cleaned the place from top to bottom. They let his dad handle the liquor delivery and instructed Finn to do all the heavy lifting.

That Sunday morning, Tala came over early and Kurt cooed over the uniforms he had picked for them to wear when they werent in the kitchen. They drove to the restaurant together, two hours before they expected their first guests to arrive.

He and Blaine were driving with Ethan and a newly single Finn, while his dad, Carole and Tala drove Caroles new charge Kitty. Kurt hadnt had much time to talk to the sixteen year old yet, but from the way she was lashing out at everyone he could tell she was angry.

Carole had told him the basics about her because the case had been all over the local news anyway. The young girl had been raped at a party and when she had told her parents about it, she had been told that shed been asking for it, dressing the way she did, and had been asked to pack her bags the next day. It was cases like that that made him so happy that his parents had decided to become foster parents, because kids like Kitty needed loving parents like his dad and Carole.

At the restaurant, Tala and Carole disappeared into the kitchen while Jane and Lexa, the waitressed, changed into their uniforms. Kurt, Blaine and Finn had set the tables the day before and Kurt checked everything over once more, when the door opened and Rachel and her dads walked in together with Jesse and Ms. Corcoran, who was carrying her three year old Beth.

Kurt had seated Quinn and Puck next to Ms. Corcoran because he knew they both missed seeing their biological daughter from time to time now that they both were in college and the teacher had taken another job.

The restaurant filled slowly over the past half hour, but by the time Jane and Lexa started serving the appetizers all chairs were occupied. Kurt smiled when he saw the proud smile on his dads face and nearly moaned when he took his first bite. He hadnt realized till now how much he actually missed Caroles cooking and judging by Blaines reaction he missed his moms as well.

Between the main courses and dessert Kurt saw a reporter from the Lima Daily News disappear into the kitchen and he gave Carole thumbs up when he reappeared with a smile, followed by his beaming stepmother.

After dessert, the grown ups started to leave, but he and Blaine pushed a few tables together – after helping Jane and Lexa clean up – and called their former glee club over. There were a few new faces – invited by the kids who had joined the previous year – and it didnt take long before Rachel suggested they all sing together.

They kept their reunion going – borrowing a bottle of wine from Carole early on – until it was dark outside and only Santana, Brittany, Quinn, Mercedes and Rachel were left.

"Dont you miss New York at all?" Rachel asked him, already slightly tipsy.

Kurt considered the question for a moment, his eyes locking with Blaines.

"There are some things I miss, like Broadway and restaurants being open past midnight. But Im so much happier now than I was last semester, so no, I guess I dont miss it," he replied truthfully, earning him a kiss from Blaine.

"One day I want to move there with you," Blaine whispered into his ear and Kurt smiled. He wasnt in a hurry to get to some day though.

AN: The next chapter tells Finns story.