Jan. 25, 2013, 4:09 p.m.
Second Chances: Here We Go Again: Part 3
M - Words: 1,883 - Last Updated: Jan 25, 2013 Story: Complete - Chapters: 21/21 - Created: Jun 21, 2012 - Updated: Jan 25, 2013 324 0 0 0 0
They were being sewed together again, Blaine and Kurt. Cuts were becoming scars and the scars were being smoothed until nothing but the memory was left. Not everything of course, the approproiate longer lasting feelings were still there; distrust, apprehension and of course, fear. Giving your heart back to somebody after having it sheltered for so long was a scary thing, let alone giving it back to the person who shattered it in the first place.
But they were healing. For the first time in 365 days, Kurt and Blaine had a glimpse of what it would feel like to be whole again.
~~~~~~~
"This is crazy," Rachel said mostly to herself as she rummaged through Kurt's fridge looking for a snack and something to drink. "But I have this feeling that everything might be okay again, really really soon."
"That's the joint talking," Santana said. She was perched on the bar stool with Brittany on her lap who was playing with her hair. "Nothing's different, you're just high."
"I am not-I am not high!" Rachel spluttered almost dropping the orange juice in her indignation. "I can just...feel it."
"Trust your gut," Mercedes chimed in hopping onto the counter, "It is your family."
Rachel nodded pouring the orange juice and sipping at it slowly. The crew in the kitchen fell into a comfortable silence as the feeling of peace grew. "I think you may be right," Mercedes said with a small smile. "Everything is all right."
"In my experience," Santana countered winding her arms more tightly around Brittany's waist. "Things are always calmest before the storm."
~~~~~~~
Cooper took a deep breath. He wasn't nervous, Cooper Anderson didn't get nervous, nervousness was a trait of the week. Why would he be nervous? So what if his belly was turning and he felt nauseous. He wasn't nervous just...apprehensive. Okay fine! Cooper was nervous, of course he was nervous. He was loitering outside his mother's office and he'd be damned if he didn't feel like running for the hills, but Jane needed to be dealt with. He just wasn't expecting to do it today. In fact he'd been hoping to talk to Blaine first but Kurt had kicked him out and then high tailed it out of there before he could follow him. Cooper had never been one for wasting time so he went home to see if he could reconcile with his mother. Their first 'discussion' hadn't gone well, and it wasn't what Cooper had wanted. They had both been surprised, maybe now with the shock gone, everything would work out.
He'd always been a dreamer.
He took another deep breath and knocked on the door three times. He heard a sigh before his mother's familiar voice told him to enter. He pushed open the door cautiously, and watched as his mother's eyes widened a fraction before settling into her ever present cool mask.
"Hello," Cooper said with a small smile and an awkward hand wave.
Jane didn't reply and her gaze didn't get any less cold.
"Okay," Cooper said moving into the office despite his less than stellar reception. "I know we started off on the wrong foot this morning-"
Jane snorted but didn't say anything.
"-and I suppose I just wanted to let you know that Kurt and Blaine will be back together by the end of tonight."
Jane nodded with a shrug. "Your point?"
"Blaine also knows everything, and so does Kurt, so if you try anything funny I have two other witnesses."
"Yes," Jane scoffed. "Two people who got all their information from you. That would definitely hold up in court." She rolled her eyes. "Next."
"And-"
"Honestly Coop," Jane interrupted clasping her hands in front of her. "If this isn't an apology for how rude you were to me, your mother, I don't want to hear it."
"How rude I was to you?" Cooper asked amused disbelief playing across his face. "Because I'm the one who played with my child's life in a sick attempt to manipulate me to come home."
"He wasn't hurt," Jane said shaking her head. "I don't know why everybody keeps saying that."
"Blaine was heart broken!" Cooper exclaimed running a hand through his hair. "It nearly killed him."
"But it didn't," Jane said with a shrug. "It was a true...test of his character, and I think he won don't you?"
"You don't honestly believe what your saying do you?" Cooper asked sitting down in the chair facing her desk. "He's your son!"
"And so are you," Jane countered. "My first, my baby boy. I loved you more than anything."
"So I was your favourite."
"You were the one I invested in," Jane corrected crossing her arms on her desk. "You were perfect, still are actually. Look at how you built your company from the ground up, you're a multi-billionaire, on of the worlds most wanted Bachelors, and you're still doing exactly what you wanted to do; 'help people.'" Jane shrugged leaning back in her chair, "Pardon me for wanting you back."
"You're the one who casted me out in the first place."
"If I recall you're the one who chose to leave, with that southern crack whore too." Jane's vocie rang with disgust and Cooper's hands inadvertantly balled into fists.
"You mean Stacey." Cooper all but growled, failing to keep his voice under control. Jane smirked and crossed her legs tapping her finger against her cheek in mock thought.
"Shame what happened to her though."
Cooper paused looking his mother up and down. No way did she have spies in L.A. She wasn't watching him all this time, she couldn't be. "How do you know about that?" Cooper asked with distrust.
Jane just shrugged and tapped her nose. "A girl's got to have some secrets."
"I am not playing," Cooper said leaning forward dangerously close. "How. Did. You. Know."
"Ooh forceful, you might want to tone that down for your meetings though," she raised her hand as if telling him a secret. "It might scare them off."
Cooper slammed his hand on the desk and Jane winced. This gave Cooper a satisfied smirk before Jane shooed his hand away and rubbed the wood. "Please compose yourself darling," she said her voice dripping like poisonous honey. "This is a pure mahogany table, I don't want your childlike fits of anger ruining it."
Cooper stood and turned around, not looking at the woman behind him. He needed to compose himself, she was playing with him. Payback for making her lose her cool in the hallway. It made him smile though, after all this time she still knew him so well. Being able to get under somebody's skin so quickly, it took knowledge, and in her own sick way, he supposed it meant that she still cared.
He turned back around again and sat, folding his hands in his lap. "Now that we're even," he said giving her a knowing look. "Can we have an adult conversation please."
Jane pouted and rolled eyes. "But being a child is so much fun," she whined putting her head on her desk with her arms stretched out in front of her. A second of silence passed before she tapped her desk idly and sat back up. "Oh all right," she sighed, moving stray hairs from her face. "What do you want?"
Cooper shrugged moving his fingers, "You know what I want."
Jane made a face, "Do I now?"
"Well I know you're not stupid, in fact you revel in your cunning and smarts. Therefore I'm sure you know what I want from you."
"Everything," Jane said leaning back in her chair.
"When has it ever profited a man to want everything?" Cooper asked raising an eyebrow.
Jane didn't respond, but she moved her head back till she was staring at the fan above her, watching it spin round and round and around. "Over and over again we spin," Jane said.
"And yet we never go anywhere," Cooper responded.
"So the key to life,"
"Is to get nowhere first."
Silence surrounded them and Jane's eyes didn't stop watching the wandering of the fan. Cooper didn't say anything, he just watched his mother lose herself in the mindless action.
"I really do forgive you, you know," he said after a moment.
Jane sighed and lolled her head forwards, "I know."
"Blaine would forgive you too, if you let him."
Jane laughed a low bitter laugh. "No he wouldn't. He's his mothers son, he'll probably die hating me."
"He doesn't have to," Cooper started.
"But he wants to," Jane finished. "And that is enough."
"You shouldn't have did what you did."
Jane sat upright in her chair, cocking her head. "I don't regret what I did," she said with a hint of amusement. "Why would I? Everything worked out perfectly."
"Oh yes," Cooper said sarcastically. "Two out of three children hate you, you have no heir to your company, and nothing you wanted worked out. That is definitely perfect."
Jane just smiled and shook her head. "I must seem so trivial to the avid observer," she sighed and leaned back in her chair again, watching the fan turn.
"Are you going to expand on that?" Cooper asked after a couple of seconds of silence.
"I accept your forgiveness." Jane said ignoring his question. "The forgiveness you needed to give? The one that you need me to take? It's done," she looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "I feel the warm sticky feeling setting into my bones already." Her ending sarcasm was for their both their benefits, as they slowly sank into unbreached territory. The terriotory of mother and son. That only took a lifetime.
Cooper rolled his eyes and stood, buttoning up his suit jacket that had come undone during their conversation. "I'm going to assume you're going to comply," Cooper said tucking in his chair.
"You have my word," Jane nodded.
"Should that mean anything to me?" Cooper asked raising his brow in pure and total curiosity.
"It's my oral signature," Jane replied with a shrug. "Think of all the things you could do with my written one."
Cooper thought over this before nodding for a second. "Okay," he said with a slight head nod. He moved towards the door but didn't exit just yet. He turned back to his mother confusion clear on his face. "So what was the point of all this?" Cooper asked cocking his head. "Really and truly, what was the sole purpose."
Jane rolled her eyes. "I already told you," she said shaking her head in exasperation at her boy's slowness. "I wanted you home. Happy Homecoming, son," she said with a smile, before leaning back in her chair and watching the fan.
"Over and over again we spin," she said softly.
Cooper turned away from her and opened the door.
"And yet we never go anywhere,"
He looked back at his mother one last time; neck stretched far back, long curly hair slowly coming out of the braid it was in, expensive clothes adorning her soft frame.
"So the key to life,"
She was beautiful, she didn't seem to change. She didn't seem to age. Cooper shook his head before exiting her office. It looked like he'd be staying in town a while.
"Is to get nowhere first."