Who could refrain that had a heart to love and in that heart courage to make love known?
-William Shakespeare

“You’re sure you want to do this?”

Blaine takes a deep, steadying breath and stares directly at his front door. Kurt’s hand is warm in his. The sun has almost completely set and his parents are inside, probably cleaning up the table from dinner. Blaine had eaten dinner at Kurt’s house because he didn’t know if he would actually eat anything otherwise. He can’t recall ever being so nervous in his life. Kurt had informed him that he had told his dad the situation and Burt Hummel had apparently promptly offered to make up the sofa for Blaine in light of the worst possible outcome.

School ended today.

Blaine only hopes that life as he knows it doesn’t end as well.

“No,” Blaine says truthfully. “But I’ve waited long enough.”

“If you aren’t ready…” Kurt trails off.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”

Seeming to understand, Kurt gives Blaine’s hand a tight, reassuring squeeze. After another calming breath, Blaine wills his stomach to stop churning as he releases Kurt’s hand and he pushes the door open.

“Mom? Dad?” he calls out, hoping he doesn’t sound as nervous as he feels.

Or as terrified.

“In the living room, honey!” his mother calls back.

Looking to Kurt for the courage he’s afraid of losing, Kurt nods and they shut the door, moving further into the house. Blaine leads Kurt into the living room but Kurt remains in the doorway, as they had agreed upon. While Kurt is present for moral support, this is ultimately Blaine’s battle.

“Oh hello, Kurt, sweetheart,” his mother greets with a warm smile from her reading chair. “Tell your parents we said thank you for feeding our son.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Kurt says kindly. “We love having Blaine over.”

Blaine notices that Kurt doesn’t correct his mother for her use of the term ‘parents’ when Carole isn’t really his mother. Then again, they have bigger fish to fry.

“Where’s dad?” Blaine asks.

“Right here,” his father answers for himself, coming in from the kitchen, a glass of something clinking in his hand as he sits in his own reading chair.

Blaine is thankful that they’re both sitting. He doesn’t know how intimidated he would feel if they were both standing and looming over him. His hands begin to shake so he shoves them behind his back, interlocking his fingers, hoping the trembling will subside.

“Why on earth do you look so serious?” his mother asks in concern. “You’re very pale.”

Swallowing his fears, Blaine finally finds his voice.

“I – I have to tell you both something. It’s important and even though I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like it, I’d – I’d really appreciate if you let me finish talking before you start yelling at me or kick me out or something.”

“Kick you out?” his father echoes. “What could-”

“You didn’t get anyone pregnant did you?” his mother asks worriedly.

Kurt snorts behind him and Blaine turns to glare.

“Sorry,” Kurt mumbles.

Rolling his eyes, Blaine faces his parents once again and shakes his head. “No. I haven’t impregnated anyone.”

“Well then what could possibly be so dire?” his mother wonders.

“Just – just please let me say what I have to say first.”

His parents share a quick look before giving their son a nod.

This was going to be one of the hardest things that Blaine Anderson has ever done in his life.

“You kept pushing me to try and find a girlfriend,” he begins, praying that his voice has more confidence than his heart, “and I kept telling you that I wasn’t interested in anyone. The fact is – the fact is that’s a lie. I am interested in someone. I’m actually in love with someone.”

For some reason, his father looks very impressed.

“I’ve been seeing this person in secret…because I knew that you wouldn’t approve. It hasn’t been easy. There’s been a lot of stuff I’ve had to deal with this past year and it’s the reason why I’ve been so – so reserved and withdrawn from you. I pushed you both away because I didn’t know how you’d react when you found out who the person was. I struggled a lot with myself and my beliefs and I’ve had a really rough time. But this – this person helped me. And they loved me. And when I tell you who it is, I just want you to know that they make me happier than I’ve ever been.”

His parents looked completely baffled by the point and he knows it’s because they’re racking their brains, trying to figure out exactly who this person might be.

Blaine digs deep into his mind, heart, and soul, searching for every last ounce of courage and bravery he might have in order to speak these next words.

“Mom…Dad,” he says with as much strength as he can muster, “I’m gay.”

Silence has never been so loud.

“And the person I’m in love with…is Kurt.”

As if on cue, Kurt steps up to Blaine’s side and immediately laces their fingers together. They stand together, chins up, proud of who they are and what they have no matter what might be said.

Blaine’s father’s jaw is clenched and he can see the muscles working as he tries very obviously to keep his mouth shut, lest he speak and say something unforgiving. Alternatively, his mother’s gaze has gone flat and tears begin to brim in her eyes. They’re not saying anything, though, and that more than anything is what worries Blaine the most.

“Before you ask,” Blaine continues to speak now that the hard part is out of the way, “yes, I’m sure. No, it isn’t a phase. Yes, I’ve thought about the implications in terms of God and Heaven and I believe that God doesn’t condemn people for loving, no matter the gender. You might believe that what Kurt and I share is a sin, but I don’t. I love him. And love is the one thing that God preaches about the most. There’s nothing you can do to change me, there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind on this. I’m gay. And there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“We know.”

The words are so soft that Blaine almost thinks he might have imagined them.

“What?” he asks.

“We know,” his mother says again, louder this time. She clears her throat. “We’ve known since last year. It’s part of the reason we left Missouri. We thought if you could just – if you had more girls to choose from, you might not be.”

“You…you knew?” Blaine asks in disbelief. “How – I didn’t even know.”

“You’re our son, Blaine,” his father finally speaks. “Of course we knew.”

“I did pray,” his mother adds. “I prayed that things would turn our differently. I knew something was wrong back before Christmastime. You started getting quieter, more reserved. You cut us out. And when you asked me all those questions about homosexuality that one night after Bible study, I tried – I tried to dissuade you. I did everything I could.”

“It isn’t a choice,” Blaine says firmly, tightening his hold on Kurt’s hand. “I tried to pretend for a long time. I tried to stop – stop having those kinds of thoughts but I couldn’t. It’s just…who I am.”

“God doesn’t create homosexuals, Blaine,” his father says as gently as possible.

“He created me. And he gave me Kurt. I asked for a sign and he kept putting Kurt in my path. I was meant to be this way.”

“I can’t agree with that,” his father says, shaking his head.

“That’s your choice,” Blaine states. “If you don’t want me here anymore, Kurt’s dad has offered to let me stay with them until something else can be done.”

“You want to leave?” his mother asks fearfully. “Why would you leave?”

“I’m not going to live in a house with parents who can’t accept me or love me for who I am. I won’t stay here with people who are going to constantly try and tell me that I’m not right or who are going to try and make me straight.”

Shock flickers in his mother’s eyes. She stands and slowly walks over in front of Blaine.

“You’re still our son,” she whispers. “You’re still – you’re still my baby.”

“Mom…”

“We don’t want you to go,” she says desperately. “We don’t – we’ll try, okay? We’ll do our best. It’s not our idea of – of right, but we’ll try.”

“I can’t stay here if you’re going to keep trying to set me up on dates with girls,” he says, giving a weak, watery smile.

His mother laughs and wraps her arms around his neck. Kurt releases his hold on Blaine’s hand and Blaine hugs his mother, relief seeping into his limbs as she holds onto him like she never wants to let go. She weeps openly against his neck until she finally pulls away and wipes at her eyes.

“Dad?” Blaine asks timidly.

Much to their dismay, Blaine’s father only stares at the drink in his glass as he swirls it around the ice. He remains quiet and Kurt’s stomach tightens. Don’t do this to your son, he thinks, don’t do it, it isn’t worth it.

“I think,” his father finally speaks slowly, “you should stay at Kurt’s house tonight, Blaine. Give us some time to think things over.”

Kurt immediately senses when Blaine’s body tenses even though he isn’t touching him anymore. Rage builds in Kurt’s throat and he has to bite his tongue to stop himself from shouting. This isn’t his family, this isn’t his affair. He’s only here for moral support but the shock and tension in the room is nearly tangible.

“Okay,” Blaine says, the words shaky on his lips.

“No,” his mother states without hesitation. “He isn’t going anywhere.”

“Judy,” his father sighs tiredly and that’s when Kurt realizes that he’s never known Blaine’s parents’ first names.

“I’m not going to make him leave.”

“There are things we need to discuss.”

“No, there’s not,” Judy Anderson says firmly. “He’s staying here.”

“We’ve already said that if this were to happen-”

“Well we were wrong,” Judy says, clinging to her son’s hand.

“It’s – it’s okay, mom, I’ll just stay-”

“You’re not staying anywhere except right here on this sofa,” she says, tugging on his hand and pulling him over to the sofa. “Sit. Kurt, I think it might be best if you went home.”

“Kurt doesn’t have to go anywhere,” Blaine says immediately, eyes locking on Kurt’s.

Kurt stands stock still in the living room, in the middle of what appears to have turned into a battlefield. He really should leave, this is between Blaine’s family and Blaine’s family alone and he shouldn’t put himself in the midst of some serious crossfire. His eyes dart between Blaine’s mother, who looks uneasy, and Blaine’s father, who looks more annoyed than angry.

And then his eyes settle on Blaine, who looks nervous as hell. After all the worrying and every last struggle, he doesn’t deserve to sit through any of this alone. Kurt had made a promise to be here for Blaine and just because the first half of the night had gone smoothly doesn’t give him the right to bail on the boy he loves.

With one last defiant glance toward Blaine’s father, Kurt seats himself on the sofa next to Blaine and holds onto his hand.

“We’re not making him leave,” Judy says, staring down her husband.

“He doesn’t need to hear any of this and you know it.”

“He’s not a child anymore.”

“It’s already been discussed!” his father says in a hard voice, standing and slamming his glass down on a nearby table. “We agreed he wouldn’t have a place here and we’d send him to that reformatory house in Montana, that one that helps boys find the path to God again.”

“I never said I lost faith in God!” Blaine pipes up! “I’m still a Christian!”

“Blaine,” his father says, massaging his temples with his fingers, “it’s a house that accepts boys your age who think they’re gay and helps them realize that being gay is not in God’s plan.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Matthew,” Judy sighs. “He’s not going to leave behind his boyfriend.”

“Then we’ll make him,” Matthew Anderson says, eyes focusing back on his wife. “We are still his parents.”

“Don’t you see?” she asks. “We moved here to give him an opportunity to fall in love with someone new and he didn’t find a girl, he found a boy. Decoding him or whatever that place does isn’t going to change who he really is.”

“Judy, you know as well as I do that he isn’t gay. He chose to be this way. He could have easily found a girl but he didn’t, he latched on to this boy that became his first friend and-”

“I’m not forcing my son to leave this house!” she shouts shrilly. “I won’t do it!”

“Without the house in Montana, he’s going to continue to live his life in sin!”

“He’s already sinned, Matthew! There’s no changing that!”

“If he goes to the house, repents his actions, and comes out straight, then-”

“No matter what happens, he’ll just resent us!”

“Our son will go to Hell if we don’t make him do this, Judy! He’ll burn!” Blaine’s father shouts.

Silence follows. Blaine begins to cry very, very softly and Kurt does not hesitate to pull him into his arms and kiss the top of his head.

Judy Anderson looks primed to kill.

“If our son is going to hell,” she says steadily, “then I am not going to send him away to live in misery and I am not going to waste what little time we have left with him in this life as he is.”

Matthew Anderson glares back.

“So you would condemn our son to an eternity of pain and suffering in the pits of hell rather than send him away for a few months.”

It isn’t a question.

“I can’t condemn anyone,” Judy replies. “Perhaps you should listen to your son the next time he says you aren’t God. Because you don’t get to determine who he loves and you don’t have the authority to condemn him either.”

At those words, the anger in Matthew Anderson’s eyes dims to an ember and his face softens.

“Look at him,” Judy says gently. “Look at them.”

When Blaine’s father’s eyes settle on the boys on the sofa, Kurt knows what he’s looking at; he sees his son nearly curled up on Kurt’s lap, face buried in the crook of Kurt’s neck as silent sobs rack his small, defeated body. He sees Kurt as the one who holds him for no other reason besides the only one he has:

Because he loves him and he promised he’d be there.

“They love each other,” Judy says. “And that boy holding your son has been the only one there for him when all we cared about was changing him into what we wanted.”

Blaine’s father’s eyes glisten with something like sadness and guilt.

“He’s still your son,” Judy whispers. “He’s still our baby boy. The only difference now is that he’s grown up and in love.”

“I don’t want him to suffer,” Matthew says weakly.

“We can’t control what happens when he dies,” Judy says, taking a step forward and placing her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “But we can make sure he doesn’t suffer in this life as long as we continue loving him. The basis of our religion is about love and acceptance, Matthew. It isn’t about hate. Our lord and savior, Jesus Christ, gave his life on the cross to give Blaine this chance to love who he loves.”

With an abrupt nod, Blaine’s father settles on the sofa and puts his hand on his son’s back.

“Blaine,” he says, though he doesn’t continue to speak and Kurt knows it’s because he doesn’t have anything else to say.

Blaine’s body relaxes under his father’s touch. He lifts his head from Kurt’s shoulder and wipes his hand over his reddened eyes. He looks over at his father.

“Blainey,” his father says, addressing him with what must be a term of endearment from his childhood. “I’m so sorry.”

Blaine inhales, the breath deep and shuddering…and then he cries out.

“Daddy!” he sobs, bolting out of Kurt’s lap and into his father’s arms. “Daddy, please don’t send me away, please, please, please!”

“I’m not sending you anywhere you don’t want to go,” his father whispers, holding Blaine tightly in his arms. “Shh, I won’t send you away, I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t be mad at Kurt,” Blaine adds hysterically. “Please, I love him so much, please don’t be mad.”

Glancing up at Kurt over the top of his son’s head, Matthew Anderson locks eyes with the boy his son loves and gives a very slight nod. Kurt’s heart eases and he closes his eyes, silently thanking whatever being made all of this possible.

“I’m not mad at Kurt,” Blaine’s father says. “I’m not mad at anyone.”

Kurt leans over and kisses the back of Blaine’s warm neck before standing. Blaine continues to cry into his father’s chest and Judy takes Kurt by the hand.

“I should leave,” Kurt says.

“You don’t have to,” Blaine’s mother says with kind eyes. “I’m sure he wants you to stay.”

“No,” Kurt replies, shaking his head and looking at father and son on the sofa. “This is a time for family.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Tell him I said goodnight and that I – that I love him. I’ll call him tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll tell him,” Judy assures, leading him to the front door.

Just before Kurt walks out, Blaine’s mother says one last thing.

“Thank you, Kurt,” she whispers. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for my son.”

Kurt can only nod his head in return.

When the door closes behind him, Kurt walks to his car, looking up at the stars and soaking in the warm air signifying the beginning of summer. This has been quite a year to remember.

And as he looks back in through the window to the Anderson household, he sees a family united in a sitting room caught up in a time of change and rejoicing in love and struggling through that battle that is truth and acceptance.

Smiling, Kurt unlocks his car and the lyrics to a song he’d never imagined he could remember sing out through his lips under his breath.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”