“Dad!” he practically yelps as he buries his face in the older man’s shoulder. Glad when two strong arms encircle him instantly and he hears a chuckle in his ear, he refuses to let go.

“Hey buddy, I’ve missed you too.” He dad smiles and walks him backwards into his apartment, managing to kick the door shut with one foot.

Finally, Kurt peels himself off of him and stands back a little.

“You’ve gained weight.”

“Well it’s nice to see you too and no, I don’t want anything to drink.” His dad dead-pans, but Kurt simply squints at him, poking his shoulder with one finger.

“You need to watch out for your heart, dad.” He points out and waves towards the couch before he stops and raises one eyebrow at him. “But would you like something to drink?”

Burt snorts as he drops into the cushions and shakes his head.

So Kurt just walks over there and seats himself next to his father, resting his elbow on the back of the couch and propping his head up on his hand.

“So, how’s the garage going?”

“It’s fine. God knows how people manage to have so many accidents around Lima, but as long as it keeps business going.” He shrugs.

“I’m sure the people who get into those accidents appreciate the sentiment.”

They share a soft laughter before Burt tilts his head at Kurt. “Have you heard from Finn?”

“Well, I’ve heard from Rachel. After blowing off that proposal back in High School, she thinks Finn will never marry her now and I think she’s falling into a depression consisting of looking at wedding dresses and eating disgusting amounts of ice cream.” He points out matter-of-factly. He loves Rachel, he really does, but sometimes she’s just unbelievable.

Burt nods slowly as he clasps his hands in his lap and looks over at him. The relationship between Finn and Rachel is so confusing that nothing really surprises either of them anymore.

“How’s your business then? Still enough people finding their perfect match and getting hitched?”

And then, there’s silence because as much as Kurt has promised himself not to think about that today, who was he kidding? Of course his dad would ask about work and of course he would end up thinking about him again now. But he has no idea what to say so he keeps his eyes downcast as he fiddles with his fingers.

“Dad? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure kid, anything.”

But Kurt can’t get himself to spill it all out, it’s like a barrier physically blocking him from opening his mouth. Suddenly, he’s ashamed about what he’s been doing after all. He knows his dad would be disappointed in him, he didn’t raise him to do things like that.

“Kurt. Talk to me.”

Without looking up, Kurt takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for good.

“Do you think cheating is ever acceptable?”

Another moment of silence follows and Kurt opens his eyes again, daring to look up to see the slightly confused look on his father’s face.

“Well, I don’t think it should ever be an option if you love the person you’re with. And if it becomes an option, maybe you should rethink your current relationship.”

Kurt nods but it’s just confusing him even more. His dad is right, of course, but Blaine has never once mentioned rethinking his soon-to-be wedding with Santana. So what does all of this mean?

“Why, are you seeing anyone?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know.” He sighs and leaned forward, dropping his head into his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Kurt feels his father’s hand on his shoulder, squeezing, and knows he has to tell him. He was never good at hiding anything at all from his dad and besides, he needs someone to talk to. Someone who isn’t involved in this and can tell him their subjective opinion.

“There’s this… guy. He’s… really sweet and caring and I like being with him.” He explains slowly, still covering his face.

“But isn’t that a good thing?”

“Well it isn’t if he’s one of my clients and planning to marry the girl of his dreams on Christmas eve, now is it?” He snaps, hands dropping from his face as his eyes finally focus on his slightly surprised looking dad again.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers instantly, rubbing a hand across his face despite it messing with his skin care routine.

“So you two have been… going on dates or…?”

“He kissed me when I tried to teach him how to dance and …” he trails off awkwardly, waving one hand around as he tries to keep the blush off his face.

He simply hears his father hum in amusement and groans, embarrassed as he reaches for a cushion behind him to slam it over and against his dad’s chest.

“Hey, what happened to watching out for my heart?” he laughs, wrapping his arms around the pillow.

“You obviously don’t have one.”

Another short laugh before Kurt feels a warm hand on his forearm and looks up again, meeting his dad’s worried eyes.

“This is really getting to you, isn’t it?”

The concern in his father’s eyes is what does it for Kurt, his throat feels like it’s tied and he chokes out a strangled breath. “I-I just don’t know what to do, dad.” He whispers brokenly.

When something wet hits his arm, he looks down in surprise and only now does he notice that his eyes have spilled over and that tears are freely running down his face.

Kurt rarely cries. He learned his lesson in High School: You cry and they just slam you into the locker even harder. So he always tries to keep his head up high, at least around other people. It says a lot that he even cried in front of Blaine one time, normally those things are reserved for a lonely apartment and dark, cold nights.

And his dad. His dad has always been there for him so Kurt can’t even bring himself to care about the fact that he’s currently sobbing into his shoulder. He doesn’t remember when he had been pulled into the hug but it feels good, comforting. Like he’s a teenager again and like his dad can just tell him that everything will be alright again.

Except, he can’t.

Kurt isn’t a teenager anymore, he can’t come running to his daddy and let him cradle him and fix everything for him anymore. He’s an adult and has to deal with his messes himself.

“I don’t know what to do.” He admits quietly once his breathing has calmed down a little again and he can talk without hiccupping every other second.

“I wish I could help you with this, but…”

“You can’t. I know.”

“But you know what? Sometimes, something has to look very wrong for you to realize how right it is.”

“You sound like a fortune cookie. And a bad one.”

Burt laughs at that and hugs his son once again, sighing and Kurt knows how lost he feels as well. He knows Kurt has never had someone to feel like this towards, not really. And now, the first time he does, everything is so screwed up. So Kurt holds onto him as well before his dad clears his throat and pats his back.

“Alright, but how about you come home for Christmas? Carole misses you too.” He suggests, maybe a little too cheerful but Kurt appreciates the attempt.

“Dad, I told you, the wedding is on Christmas eEve.”

“When is it?”

“In the afternoon. There’s no way I can leave early enough to arrive home in time.”

“But you have your assistant. What’s her name again… Tina!”

Kurt nods slowly and fiddles with his fingers. “I can’t leave her there by herself though.”

“Yes you can. She’s been with you for years, she knows how this stuff works by now. If you leave right when that girl walks down the aisle, you can make it in time.”

Biting is lip, Kurt tries to come up with a reason why this couldn’t work, why he can’t come home but finds nothing. And maybe his dad is right, maybe coming home will help him clear his mind. Besides, he doesn’t exactly need to watch Blaine getting married.

“You’re right.” He agrees, “She can do that.”

He’s just not so sure if he can.