Burt had never been fond of summer vacation. Being a single parent for ten years meant that Burt had three choices during the summer: take time off, bring Kurt to the shop with him or ship his kid off to someone else for the day. By the time Kurt was thirteen, he’d convinced Burt enough that he was old enough to stay home on his own. He was an independent kid who didn’t mind being on his own but Burt felt awful leaving him alone for eight hours at a time. Yup, Burt never felt like a worse father than in the summer.

     This summer, however, would be different. Not only was he no longer a single parent (Wooo-hoo!) but Kurt had a brother and a boyfriend to keep him company. Carole wouldn’t be around consistently during the day, but her shifts were sporadic enough to keep her at the house fairly often. Blaine did get that job at the theme park, so he wouldn’t be around too much. And Finn? Well, he would have been perfectly content to spend two full months playing video games in his underwear while eating all of the food in the house.

     Burt decided to offer Kurt and Finn both part time jobs at the shop. They could make some money to supplement the frugal allowance they received and actually spend their day doing something productive. Surprisingly, Finn took to the shop with zeal. Carole told Burt one evening that she hadn’t seen him take to something so naturally since he started eating solid food as a baby.

     Burt hoped that Kurt would enjoy the opportunity every bit as much as Finn, especially considering his familiarity with the shop, but Burt was ultimately disappointed. Kurt had built a life for himself so separate from the shop that he was often caught daydreaming while changing the oil in clients’ cars. Eventually, Burt set him to work re-organizing the office space and the break room. While Burt hoped that Kurt would enjoy his new interior design project, the relocation was more to prevent him from accidentally chopping off a finger or two from lack of focus.

     It’s mid-July when Burt notices a change in Kurt. He’s moody and sarcastic – much like he’d been before the remarkable transformation he went through shortly after meeting Blaine. Blaine’s still around a fair bit, but he rarely stays over anymore, and more often than not, leaves just after eight in the evening. He’s working early in the morning, apparently, and is finding it really hard to get enough sleep.

     The less Blaine is around, the more difficult it is to be around Kurt. Burt’s noticed that even when Blaine is there, Kurt’s still more caustic than usual. Burt can tell that Blaine is doing everything he can to not feel hurt by it.

     The night Burt overhears Kurt shouting “Well maybe you’d rather stop coming over then, huh? Spend more time with your precious friends?!” he knows he has no choice but to intervene. He charges up the stairs and throws the door open. He is surprised to find both boys on their feet, their stances hostile and angry tears on both of their faces.

     Burt’s not too sure what to do. He wants them to talk about it, but they’re so upset right now he’s not sure it would do any good. He’s sure, however, that thirty minutes after being separated they’ll both regret this mess and want to sort it out. He can’t send Blaine home, having the kid drive in this state couldn’t be safe. Plus, there’s only one place that Burt thinks is safe for Blaine to be when he’s upset, and that’s under the Hummel roof.

      “Blaine, you go to the kitchen. Get Carole to make you tea or something.”

     Blaine opens his mouth, perhaps to argue, but instead just shakes his head and hurries past Burt out of the room and down the stairs. Now that Blaine is gone, Kurt is directing all of his hostility towards his dad.

      “Sit down, Kurt.” Burt orders, pointing to the bed. “What was this about?”

      “Blaine is just being completely unreasonable!” Kurt exclaims quickly. “He’s working all the time, crazy hours, and I never get to see him anymore. So what does he decide to do? He’s going to go spend his first weekend off at a cottage up north with some of the Warblers! He’s picking them over me! I’m his boyfriend. He’s supposed to be spending time with me.”

      “When did you last see Mercedes?” Burt asks.

      “Yesterday. But that’s different. Blaine was working then.” Kurt says in an annoyed tone, as if he can’t believe that his own father is taking his boyfriend’s side.

      “So if you were the one working seventy hours a week, would you go all of summer without seeing her?”

      “It’s not the same!” Kurt says, his voice getting louder.

      “Yes, it is!” Burt insists. “Tell me why it’s not!”

      “BECAUSE I’D NEVER LEAVE BLAINE FOR HER!” Kurt shouts.

     Burt is stunned. He doesn’t even say anything for the longest time. Kurt seems to deflate entirely, fresh tears appearing in his eyes.

      “Let me get this straight.” Burt says finally, rubbing the back of his neck. “You don’t want Blaine spending time with the Warblers, his closest friends for years, because you think he’s going to cheat on you?”

     Kurt shakes his head.

      “Not cheat on me. But, like, realize he’d rather be with them. Or go out with one of them. He’s known them longer. They’re like family. They’ll be at a cottage so they’re going to go swimming for sure. I bet all of the guys are going to be shirtless. It took him so long to ask me out, who’s to say that he won’t change his mind about wanting me?”

     Burt can barely believe his ears. Kurt’s always been fairly insecure, hiding it underneath a mask of superiority but Burt can’t believe that he is this insecure about his relationship.

      “What did Blaine tell you at The Lima Bean the day you got home from Nationals?” Burt asks.

     Kurt looks a bit confused, but still answers.

      “That he loves me.”

      “Right. He loves you. He loves you. That’s a huge deal. Do you think he was lying? Do you think he didn’t mean it?”

     Kurt shakes his head quickly.

      “He loves you. Not some guy in the Warblers. Not some better guy that might turn up eventually. He loves you. So what are you worried about?”

     Kurt shakes his head again and looks up at Burt with sad eyes.

      “It’s not that simple, Dad.” He says softly.

      “Oh yes it is.” Burt replies. “You know why? Because I bet you anything that Blaine’s sitting downstairs deciding that he won’t go to cottage, just so he can make you happy. And when you tell him all this - which you will, I’ll make sure of that – he’s going to be upset and wonder what he did wrong, wondering why you don’t trust him. He loves you. And that’s that.”

     Kurt still doesn’t look entirely convinced but manages a vague nod.

      “So I’m gonna go downstairs to the kitchen, give you a moment alone, make sure he’s okay and then send him up so you can talk, alright?”

     Kurt nods again.

      “Thanks, Dad. I – I’m glad that you care enough to help with this.” Kurt says quietly, looking at his feet.

     Burt chuckles a bit and pulls Kurt into a hug.

      “It’s cause I love you. Both of you. Simple as that.”

     Thank God for Carole. She’s got Blaine sitting down at the kitchen table, mug of tea in hand, plate of cookies in front of him, a comfortable smile on his face. It’s impossible to frown when Carole gives you cookies.

     Burt pulls up a chair and sits down at the table with the two of them. The smile slides off of Blaine’s face.

      “So we just had a nice long chat.” Burt says, not sure where to begin. He doesn’t want to recap it entirely; it’s important for the boys to be able to communicate and sort out their problems on their own.

      “Is he really mad at me?” Blaine asks, concern all over his young face.

      “No,” Burt says, shaking his head. “You two have a lot to talk about, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. He’s just – I know Kurt always seems put-together and everything, but he can get real insecure, too.”

     Blaine looks a bit surprised.

      “I know you think that he’s completely invulnerable, but that’s only because he wants you to think that. And that’s the thing about being in a relationship. Even if you’re the strongest person alive, your partner will always know your vulnerabilities. It’s what creates trust in a relationship – that you know better than anyone else in the world how to hurt the other person, but it’s the last thing you would ever do.”

     Blaine nods, a little bit lost. Burt did go off on a tangent, after all.

      “So just be really open with your feelings when you talk. That’s the best thing you can do.”

Blaine nods one more time.

      “Should I – Can I go up now, then?” he asks, still looking fairly anxious.

      “Yeah, I think so.” Burt answers. “He’s still upset, but that oftentimes makes it easier to talk to him.”

     Blaine thanks Carole for the tea and cookies and then disappears up the stairs.

     Carole turns to Burt.

      “First fight, huh? Think they’ll be able to sort things out?” she asks, not looking anywhere near as concerned as her words would suggest.

Burt smiles and kisses her on the top of her head.

      “There’s no doubt in my mind.”