As You Like It
Also posted on FF.net
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the recognisable characters or storylines.
---
"All the world's a stage,
and all the men and women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances;
and one man in his time plays many parts..."
--As You Like It, William Shakespeare
---
“Daddy K! Can we please go to the playground? There’s almost no one else there. I’ll promise to be good! Please?”
Kurt looked down at his son’s shining, hazel puppy dog eyes and tightened the little boy’s gold and red striped scarf. “Of course, darling. Just be safe, hmm?”
Alexander Everett Hummel-Anderson leant up to kiss his dad’s cheek and bounded of in the direction of the slides in the nearly deserted playground. The only other people were a little girl and a man playing on the Jungle Gym.
Kurt smiled softly at his little baby boy climbing up the ladder and made his way to the swings. He remembered sitting here when he was younger. Now, even at 30, he still loved the faint creaking of the metal and the rush of cold air.
Then, Kurt’s phone vibrated in his back pocket, and he couldn’t help the smile that bloomed across his face when he saw the caller ID.
Blaine.
---
“Uncle Davey, look!” little Grace Norton pointed in the direction of the curly haired boy sitting on the edge of the slide. “Gracey, I told you. It’s rude to point,” ‘Uncle Davey’ reprimanded the little girl, but still ruffled her dirty blonde hair fondly.
“But I just want to say hello, Uncle Davey!” Grace pouted, big brown eyes wide.
“Go on then buddy. Be polite!”
“But Uncle Daaaaaavey! You have to come and say hello too! After all, it’s the polite, thing to do!”
Dave looked over at the curly headed boy sliding down the slide, smiling so hard his face might split in two. Strangely enough, he reminded him of someone…
“Hello! I’m Gracey. What’s your name?” Alexander looked up and was met by the enthusiastic smile of one Grace Norton.
“Hello, Gracey. My name is Alec and I’m from New York,” Alec replied with a small bob of his head, just like Daddy K had taught him.
“Ooh! I’ve never been to New York. My Uncle Davey has though, he lives there sometimes. He says is very pretty!”
Alec nodded in affirmation, “It is.”
“Here’s my Uncle Davey now!” Alec looked at the tall burly man walking up to him and Gracey. “Alright there, buddy? The name’s Dave. Where’s your mommy, huh?”
Alexander put an exact imitation of his Daddy’s award-winning smile. “Alexander, sir. I’m alright, thank you sir.” Dave’s brow furrowed. He’d seen that smile before… And with those clothes. They had to be designer. And were those Kurt Hummel designed converses? That coat looked terribly familiar as well… Maybe he’d seen someone wear it before?
“Where’s your Mommy Alec?” Gracey interjected.
“Ummm…”
“Do you not have a mommy?”
“Gracey!” Dave nearly shrieked. “Don’t be so rude!”
“No, it’s quite alright sir. I don’t have a mommy,” said Alec with a sad smile. Daddy K had told him that people in Ohio weren’t as accepting as people that he had met in New York and that he shouldn’t go around parading the fact that he had two daddies instead of a daddy and a mommy.
“Do you have two daddies?”
“Gracey!”
“But Uncle Davey, you always say that you should never judge people on who they love,” Gracey whined. Alec
shifted uncomfortably. He looked back over at Kurt, but he was still gently swinging while talking softly to someone on his phone. Probably Daddy B, Alec thought. Daddy K only ever looks like that when he was talking to Daddy B.
Or me, he reminded himself. Daddy always smiles when he talks to me. Daddy loves me.
Dave saw the little boy wear a dreamy smile on his face as he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. “You alright Alec? You seem a bit distracted there.”
“Just fine, sir,” smiled Alec.
“So do you have two daddies? Or just one?” Gracey asked again, becoming irritated. She was a slightly spoilt child and was always in the centre of attention.
“Ummm…” Alec seemed lost for words again and glanced tentatively at his still preoccupied father.
“It’s alright. I have two uncles. Uncle Davey has a boyfriend!” Gracey singsonged. Dave scowled at his niece for being so open about everything. But the tiny little boy with the impeccable manner seemed to understand. “Yes, I have two daddies. Daddy K is over there, if you want to talk to him.”
Dave looked over at where Alec was pointing and sure enough, he saw the face that had stared at him on billboards and magazines all the times he had been in New York. He saw the coat and the knee-high boots and the face that could throw you a look to knock you off balance and haunt you forever.
Kurt Hummel had returned home.
---
“Okay baby. Love you too,” Dave heard Kurt croon into the phone.
“Kurt Hummel?”
Kurt’s head snapped up and Dave once again saw the piercing glasz eyes that stared at him on billboards and magazines. He tries not to notice how they turn a little icier when he sees him.
“Hello there, Mr Karofsky. Fancy seeing you again,” Kurt nodded, wringing his hands. He shoots a desperate glance at his son, who is playing ‘tag’ with the little girl with the dirty blond pigtails. He hadn’t talked to Karofsky in years. Sure, he’d forgiven him. How could he not? But he was still a little weary when it came to strong football players that used to torment him.
Dave shifted uncomfortably. “Call me Dave, please. But with all due respect, what are you doing here? I thought you were off making it big on Broadway.”
“I was,” Kurt smiles a little, looking back at his son. “I am. I’m visiting my parents, then we’re going up to Westerville to visit Blaine’s parents. It’s Christmas soon, and we thought it would be nice to see them.”
Dave sat next to him on the swings carefully, hoping that the diva wouldn’t blow up in his face. “I haven’t seen you in forever. Last I heard of you was that Finn said that you’d married that midget–”
“Blaine.”
“Yeah, whatever. And that he had two books and a record deal and you had designed some famous chick’s wedding dress. Now that sweet little kid tells me his ‘Daddy K’ is there, sitting on the swings and I see the famous Kurt Hummel. Care to fill me in?”
Kurt gave Dave a sceptical look and shrugged.
“Sure.”
---
“High School had ended, and Blaine and I both got accepted for NYU. We had made plans to go hit New York as soon as we could get out of Ohio.
“I’d always wanted to perform on Broadway, and be a fashion designer, and have my own charity, all dreams that I knew were far too big. Blaine was always a writer; songs, books, plays… You name it; he’s probably got some sort of draft planned in his head. He could make it big, and he taught me that I could too.”
Dave looked back at Kurt. The global superstar that he had hurt so badly before but had overcome everything the world threw at him. Kurt was smiling softly, though, at the thought of Blaine.
Huh, thought Dave. I thought Blaine –
“– Was going to law school,” Dave finished, scratching his head. He would never understand Kurt Hummel. Or his husband. Ever.
“Yeah,” Kurt sighed. “That’s what his dad wanted him to do, anyway. There was a big blow-up over it. His dad went, well, sort of ballistic. Said that ‘The Andersons have always gone to top Law schools! What sort of career do you think you’ll have by singing?’” Dave laughed at Kurt’s imitation of Mr Anderson.
“Well, of course Blaine would forget to mention his music scholarship to his father. Mrs Anderson was a doll, though. She gave us the Anderson’s New York apartment. Rachel went crazy. Something about betrayal and how we were meant to go to New York together!’ she just wouldn’t pipe down for about two hours.” Kurt gave a dramatic sigh and his hands rose up to fix his hair again.
“Then, two weeks after we moved to New York, we found her on our doorstep practically begging for a place to stay.”
Dave laughed good-naturedly. “Rachel Berry, beg for something?!” Kurt snorted. “Of course. She’ll do anything to get what she wants.”
“What about Alec?” Dave asked. He looked back over at the raven-haired boy and smiled fondly.
“He looks just like his daddy,” Kurt sighed. “Almost as tiny, too. I’m afraid to say my little boy will most probably always remain little.”
Dave laughed loudly. It was nice to talk to Hummel without some sort of blackmail, humiliation or tears.
“Blaine and I were 23 when we finished college. We focused on the arts instead of Law like Blaine’s dad had wanted. I had a Bachelor’s Degree in theatre and a Minor in Fashion. Blaine had a Higher Diploma in Music and a Minor in English Literature.
“We were 24 when he proposed. I was only working as an intern for a fashion magazine for 4 months, and he had just sent his book in for editing. We didn’t have much money. Sure, our parents supported us and lent us money when we needed it, but we always said that we would wait until our finances were stable before we got married.”
Dave eyed the wedding band on Kurt’s finger. Kurt wore two rings on his hand. One was simple, white gold with an engraving that he couldn’t quite make out. Dave recognised it as Kurt’s promise ring. He remembered being insanely jealous on the first day of senior year, when Kurt sauntered in, the ring glaring right at him.
His wedding ring was gold, with two diamonds and a sapphire. Dave thought of his boyfriend in New York. Of how much he wanted with him what Kurt and Blaine had. Maybe Kurt could take him shopping sometime.
“He brought me out for dinner,” Kurt continued, oblivious to Dave’s inner ramblings. The dreamy look on his face hadn’t disappeared. “Nothing really fancy, just a picnic. Then, he proposed. Just like that. No marching band, no fireworks, just Central Park with the love of my life.” Kurt chuckled. “Though I did mention that I’d been trying to ask him the same question for about a month.”
Dave’s brain was running on overdrive. How on earth would he propose? He could go to Central Park, but Mr Hobbit Dude had beaten him to it.
“He told me his book was ready for printing, and that he had taken a call for me from the office and that I had been promoted. I had never been so happy.
“So we got married. There was hassle, of course. But mostly on my part. We still stayed in that apartment. That was when we heard the news.”
---
Dave blanched. He knew of “the news”. The news that made Kurt Hummel an icon for the LGBT community. The news that gave kids like he was, like Kurt was, like Blaine was hope.
“It was a few months after the wedding. We were watching the news. I guess we had an epiphany. Those poor boys both being kicked out for who they loved was the last straw for me. So I started campaigning. Helping The Trevor Project and To Write Love on Her Arms. I knew I could do more. So me and a group of other LGBT rights activists started up Heartfelt. It was only fair that these poor children to have people to confide in. Blaine’s book accompanying the Project won awards, but he always said that helping these children, these adults, accept themselves was worth more than all the awards in the world.”
Dave knew. He had the book telling Blaine Hummel-Anderson and his husband’s struggle for acceptance. He had called the number. He had visited the website. It was all because of Kurt Hummel and growing spark.
“Thank you,” he whispered brokenly, willing the tears not to fall. Kurt looked over at Dave and saw the broken boy from all those years ago who was so terrified of the truth.
“I’ll always be there to help you. No more cold, distant Kurt and Dave, alright? And Blaine’ll always be willing to help.”
Dave sniffed. “He hates me for what I did to you. He loves you.”
“I’ve forgiven you. He’s forgiven you. Just, don’t worry about it, okay?” Kurt looked at Dave with those clear eyes. Penetrating him. Telling him it will be alright.
“Do you mind… telling me more?”
Kurt smiled and picked up his story from where he had left off. “Heartfelt was a success. It still is. I can’t help but be absolutely overjoyed at the fact that we’re helping someone everyday. That was when I was 25. In the same year I had landed a role on Broadway. I was in Wicked. Wicked, I tell you! It was amazing!”
“I know,” Dave interrupted Kurt. “I saw it with–”He stopped himself in time. “It was brilliant. You were a stunning Fiyero.”
“Thank you.” Kurt grinned, buzzing. “Of course, Blaine would have suited Fiyero better, but no way could he possibly hit those high notes. Uh-uh.
“When we were 26 we bought our house. It was lovely, everything I wanted. I was the interior designer, of course. No way would I let anyone else design my house. But it was too big, too empty. I knew I wanted a family.”
“Hence Alec, I presume.” Dave said, looking back at the little boy playing with his niece.
“He’s such an angel, honestly. Looks exactly like his daddy. His mother’s Blaine’s best friend’s wife. There were some complications and he couldn’t have any children. So she offered to surrogate for us. They’re Alexander’s godparents. Blaine’s the father, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Dave chuckled. “Oh, I’ve noticed. So only he’s four? I would’ve thought he was older, despite lacking in the height department.”
Kurt sniffed haughtily. “Yes, he’s four. People have asked whether he was younger. Honestly! Even with that vocabulary!”
“Well, one of his daddy’s and author and the other’s a Broadway star. You can’t blame him for using words even I can’t understand. He’s got remarkable manners too. Could teach Gracey a thing or two.” Dave grinned. That tiny little boy was so adorable he couldn’t even…
“So is Gracey your daughter?” Dave’s thoughts were interrupted by Kurt. He thought he heard disappointment somewhere laced in his high countertenor voice.
“No, she’s my niece. I’m visiting my sister. Sometimes I live in New York, that’s why I’ve seen your show and saw your speech at the pride parade.”
“So…” Kurt said, grin slowly blossoming across his face. “Is there anyone else back in New York?”
Dave blushed profusely and turned away from the prying eyes of Kurt Hummel-Anderson and muttered: “His name’s Graham and–” he was, once again interrupted by Kurt. (Seriously, if you ever get to know him; be prepared to get interrupted a lot.)
“Hah! I knew it!” Kurt shrieked, causing the two children to look over at the two men, one grinning like a madman and the other vaguely embarrassed and slightly pleased. Gracey looked frantically at Alec who just shrugged. “That’s daddy,” he had whispered to her.
“Is it that guy that was with at the Parade? Because, damn, you’ve got yourself some–” Kurt trailed on, whistling.
“Yes, yes, alright. Keep you voice down. We’re still in Ohio.”
“Pshh. I know that. My husband – Also openly gay, I’d like to remind you – is off signing CDs in Ohio. But to be fair, most of those girls are wishing he wasn’t quite as gay as he is…”
For the hundredth time that day, Dave Karofsky had laughed out loud (Or “lol’d”. whatever floats your boat).
Kurt’s phone vibrated against his thigh and he sighed. “Blaine’s just escaped; he should be here in about five minutes. Do you need a lift anywhere?”
“No, but thank you. I might just hang around some more with Gracey. If I can tear her away from your son. Did you and Blaine sprinkle some your charm onto him or something? ‘Cause that kid sort of drags you in, doesn’t he?” Dave said brushing the light snow from the back of his jeans.
Kurt sniffed again. “He learns from the best. ALEC! COME ON! WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!” he shouted across the playground.
Alec looked up at his daddy and whispered something to Gracey. He then bounded over and leapt into his daddy’s arms. “There’s my little baby, hmm? Grandpa and grandma and making us dinner tonight! Daddy B’ll be here soon.”
Alec snuggled closer into his daddy’s arms and sighed contently. “But I’ve made a new friend, Daddy! Her name’s Gracey and she likes pretty clothes like you and–”
“One at a time, pet. Do you want to say goodbye to Gracey then? I’ll get her Uncle Dave to give me his phone number, and maybe you can play together soon. Is that okay Alec?” Alec nodded frantically and squirmed in Kurt’s arms.
“You’re less of a diva when your son’s around. You’re more of a over-protective mother hen,” Dave laughed, handing Kurt his phone number.
“Please, you should see Blaine. He’s worse than I am, if that’s even possible.”
Dave nodded, he could believe it. If how protective Blaine was of Kurt in high school was any indication…
“Oh! There he is!”
Dave looked up and saw the sleek black Range-Rover pull over to the side of the road. A handsome man with wild, curly black hair stepped out of the side wearing a thick green jumper and wire-rimmed glasses.
Huh. So that’s were he had seen Alec’s jumper before. On a billboard advertising Blaine Hummel-Anderson’s new book. Trust Blaine and Alec to wear matching sweaters.
“Daddy B!” Alec exclaimed hugging his other daddy’s legs. Kurt was right as to how short they both were.
“Ready to go, buddy?” Blaine said, tugging on his son’s Gryffindor scarf. He didn’t care what Kurt said, it was a Gryffindor scarf, nothing more, nothing less.
“I made a friend today daddy! But she has never read Harry Potter! I couldn’t believe it daddy!” Alec exclaimed. Blaine scooped his son up and made his way over to his husband.
“Hey, love. How are you?” Blaine asked Kurt, kissing him on the cheek.
“Fine, darling. You remember Dave Karofsky? His niece is Alec’s new best friend!” Kurt laughed nudging Alec in the side.
Alec squirmed, laughing. “But Wes is my best friend! He’ll always be my best friend!”
Blaine looked at Dave Karofsky, who offered a smile. Blaine beamed back, though still weary of his husband’s former tormenter.
“Dave and his boyfriend live in New York now!” Kurt said winking, taking Alec into his arms and walking over to Gracey, who was watching the scene before her with wide eyes.
“You guys should come over sometime! It’ll be a nice change.” Blaine said, nodding.
“Thank you,” Dave said. Because he truly was grateful.
It was as simple as that.