maanorchidee
Oct. 15, 2022, 1:43 p.m.
aap noot mies: Caved - 11 points
K - Words: 495 - Last Updated: Oct 15, 2022 Story: Complete - Chapters: 15/15 - Created: Sep 28, 2022 - Updated: Dec 03, 2022 274 0 0 1 1
“So, in the Netherlands, my dad has a zus-,” Kurt points towards a certain part of a hastily drawn family tree, “-and that zus has two children, so my dad has two… what is niece or nephew in Dutch again? Neef and nicht both are cousin, right?”
Blaine nods.
“The Dutch language doesn’t make a distinction between the kids of a sibling and the kids of an uncle or aunt, which means that your dad has a neefje or nichtje. Those are the diminutives of neef and nicht.”
Kurt is scribbling it down. He’s adding the words to the family tree.
He reads out loud.
“Okay, my father has two zussen. My tante Janine, who is married to oom Paul, and they have two children: Anne and Jeroen. Then there’s my tante Barbara, who is married to Ellen, and they have a daughter named Gwen. And both my dad and I can call those children neef and nicht. I do not know if they have partners.”
Blaine nods. This is an opening.
“And then we go to you,” he says.
Kurt points towards himself.
“Me?”
“Well, they will ask questions. If you have a partner…”
“I don’t,” Kurt immediately says.
Blaine has to fight himself from breaking into dance in a public diner. (Although this is a diner with singing staff, so it wouldn’t be too weird!). Kurt is single!
“Okay, but if you did, then you would have a…” Blaine trails off again, waiting for Kurt to fill in the answer.
“Boyfriend,” Kurt answers and to Blaine’s surprise, he blushes when he answers. Kurt immediately looks towards his milkshake.
Blaine also has to school his impression. He coughs.
“Een vriend.”
“Isn’t that also the word for friend?” Kurt asks, “As in, a regular totally platonic no-romo friend?”
“Yes, it can be confusing. To avoid confusion, some people refer to a friend as een vriend, a friend, or één van mijn vrienden, one of my friends. And then to a boyfriend as mijn vriend, my boyfriend. Or de vriend. The boyfriend,” Blaine explains and maybe Rachel put something in the milkshakes because he feels particularly daring and adds: “As an example, I am een vriend of yours, not de vriend. Assuming that I am a friend.”
Great. Now he’s making it awkward. Blaine shouldn’t have done this. He caved to his idiotic ideas and now he is ruining it-
But Kurt laughs heartily.
“Yes, yes you are. Or I’d like you to be.”
Kurt gives him a soft smile and Blaine matches it.
End Notes:
Kurt’s Dutch family is filled with easter eggs. Burt’s sisters Barbara (Barbs) and Janine (Janny) and their partners Paul and Ellen all first appeared, albeit in a different way, in my Glee/SBL crossover fic Another Parent Trap.
They don’t have kids in this fic, but they do here, so that I could add in more stuff! This is a shout-out to my Dutchies Anne justgleekout and Gwen cerriddwenluna.
Jeroen is... well, I suppose Jeroen can be a nod to Bella’s roommate in I’d cry a river just for you, but Jeroen is sort of my go-to Dutch name ever since I heard that some Americans mispronounce it as urine.