Mistletoe - 2/2
Mar. 6th, 2013 01:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunmontueRating: PG-13
Word count: ~3,000 words
Warnings: None
Summary: This is focussed on Mercedes & Mike an OC at Christmas in Lima in 2025. Follow on from "Cherry Blossom" or companion piece to Chapter 13 of "Tree without Blossoms". Kurtcedes friendship and Burt Hummel to be found here.
I do not own Glee.
PART ONE
Burt Hummel studies at the man in front of him. He recognises him, but can't place him, and the younger man seems unaccountably nervous.
"Uh, Hello Mr Hummel sir. Um. I'm here to pick up Kurt?"
It's voiced as a question, as if he either isn't sure that's what he's here for, or if he's asking for permission to do so.
"Are you? You don't sound so sure of that…" Burt replies, and the man in front of him looks like he's almost trembling. "You one of Kurt's friends from high school?"
"Uh, no. Not exactly. I'm Dave Karofsky."
Burt frowns. He recognises the name, but he's not sure why. He remembers most of the people that are important to Kurt, even some of the ones that aren't important but Kurt complains about.
"Right. Nice to meet you," Burt says, reaching out to shake the man's hand, because he's just realised that this might be a new boyfriend. Huh. It's a nice firm grip and Burt nods minutely, he's always approved of nice firm handshakes. "Kurt! Dave's here!"
"Yeah yeah…I heard the doorbell!" Kurt calls back and Burt watches Dave hide a small smile, and there's definitely something going on there, and when that tiny smile breaks into a full-blown one when his son enters the room he knows there is more than something, because this man is clearly besotted with his son.
He's a bit worried, because maybe Kurt has been talking about this guy and he hasn't been listening… but no, he's very conscious of making sure he pays attention when Kurt talks, even the boring bits. And then he has it, this is the guy that picked him up from the airport last night, that's the only Dave Kurt has mentioned recently, so it has to be him. He catches Kurt looking between himself and this Dave.
"Look. He didn't kill you…" Kurt says, and he grins like it it's a huge joke. Burt watches Kurt give the guy a peck on the cheek, which just confirms everything, and if that didn't, the way the guy has almost gone as red as the Santa decoration hanging on the door behind him…well. He finds it odd that Kurt hasn't told him about a new boyfriend though, because he wouldn't have missed that, and explains why the guy seems so nervous. They make their goodbyes pretty quickly, and he stares at the closed door for a few seconds before going and making himself comfortable on the sofa.
"Who was at the door?" Carol asks, coming in to the lounge carrying two mugs.
"Hmm? Oh, Dave. Kurt's gone out with him…"
"Dave Karofsky? There's a boy that's come a long way…" Carol murmurs, srtting the mugs on the coffee table before settling into his side and making herself comfortable, feet lying atop his on the footrest.
"What do you mean?" Burt asks, resting his head on hers, watching the lights on the tree twinkle, steam curl up from his mug and his heart is content.
"Well, from being such a bully in school…he's really grown up. Matured. I talked to his mom a couple of months back. Finn used to be friends with him back in grade school…"
"Wait. David Karofsky? Karofsky. The kid that used to bully Kurt? Threatened to kill him?"
"Shhshhshh…they were kids Burt. And from what Kurt has told me about the bullying?" She sighs then, and Burt wants to know what she knows. What Kurt has talked to her about. "Dave was scared and worried and afraid. It doesn't excuse his actions, but it does explain them. Finn's actions? Pee balloons and tossing people in dumpsters and…Well, they were all kids, but the things they did…Finn was going along with the crowd and making unwise choices. I'm sure you can relate from when you were at school."
Burt grumps, because she has a point, but he's suddenly irrationally worried that his son is out with a guy that once threatened to kill him. Except… he's pretty sure that same guy is head-over-heels in love with Kurt now. That trumps some words said nearly fifteen years ago when he was a kid. He relaxes back into the sofa and lets out a long breath. He's got some questions to ask tomorrow though.
This time of year is always hard. Her mom was a Christmas fanatic, decorating every available surface and changing the bed covers to specially made Christmas quilts. Their house had always felt like a type of Christmas grotto, and she'd loved it growing up. There are still decorations up, but her Grandma has done most of it. Her dad is watching her from across the room, and he smiles at her softly before nodding his head in the direction of his den. She nods and stands, quickly clasping Mike's hand before leaving him to Uncle Alan's questions about his hernias. Although what a paediatric cardiologist would know about hernias she has no idea. She pulls the door to the den closed and sits beside her dad on his sofa.
"You okay baby girl?"
"More than okay dad…"
"Your mom would have liked him…" her dad says, and it's the best praise he could give, because her mom was a lot harder to impress.
"I like to think so…he's…pretty special."
"So are you baby girl…"
"You're supposed to think that…"
"Hmm. Well, I think he thinks so too, so…I like him too."
"Thanks dad…I…that means a lot."
"You just be happy okay? And as long as he makes you happy, then I like him."
Mercedes laughs, stretching her arms around her dad and hugging him tightly, but she's crying too, because she's never going to talk to her mom about Mike, and complain about whatever nasty habits Mike has, like her mom always complained about her dad to her.
"I miss her," Mercedes whispers, and her dad's arms tighten around her.
"Me too baby girl. Every day."
"I love you dad…"
"Love you too baby girl. Always."
Mike hasn't exactly planned how, nothing other than today. Although he's doubting that now as well. He's not sure whether to do it front of her entire family, or go for a quiet walk in the snow or just pretend he's sick and hide in the bathroom all day. Which wouldn't exactly be mature, but doesn't stop him feeling like he's going to throw up. Mercy is sitting on a sofa on the opposite side of the room, singing a song to her nieces and nephews, making hand gestures that match the words as she sings. She looks up and catches his eye, smiling, but not stopping and he smiles back. His chest feels tight and warm and achy, and then her grandfather is elbowing him.
"Stop wasting time boy-o, I'm not getting any younger…"
"I…you know?" Mike asks, voice dropping into a horrified whisper, and he gets a mischievous grin back coupled with some gleeful hand rubbing.
"No secrets in this family boy-o. Now come on, we're all waiting…"
Oh fuck. He looks around the room and sure enough, all eyes are either on him, or switching between him and Mercedes, and they're all pretty much grinning at him. Waiting. Oh fuck. He doesn't have time to loose now, he'd wanted it to be a surprise, and up until right now his biggest worry had been Kurt. But this is a roomful of twenty or so people, and it explains why everyone has crammed in here until it's almost standing room only. They don't want to miss it.
"I'll be right back…" Mike mutters, and he leaves the room quickly, and his first stop is to step outside and take some deep cold breaths of icy-cold air. He steps back inside and Mercedes is waiting for him.
"You okay? My family isn't getting to you are they?"
"I…I'm fine. You're family are fine. I just…needed a second."
"I…Mike. You're lying. Don't lie to me…don't ever lie to me. I can handle it if you don't like my family. I won't like it, but I can manage it. Just…tell me."
"I love you Mercedes Jones, and believe me when I say I like your family. They seem perfectly normal. Like my family."
"Your family is crazy…" Mercedes mutters, and Mike laughs, because he agrees.
"Exactly my point…"
"You sure you're okay though?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Just, go wait for me back in there, I'm just going to go get my camera from my room…"
"Okay…"
Mike doesn't waste any time. The ring is in his camera case, a camera he hardly ever uses now, but he takes out the little red box, checks the ring is still inside, and grips it firmly. He's doing this. He's really doing this.
Steve is waiting by the doorjamb, and he gives his shoulder a firm squeeze and nods his head, and when his eyes go to Mercedes she's watched their exchange with widening eyes and her mouth has dropped open slightly and Mike grins, suddenly unable to not be excited about what he is about to do. He doesn't bother hiding the ring box, everyone in the room is grinning widely, some of the women hands are clasped over their mouths and he's pretty sure Mercedes has just twigged as to exactly what's about to happen.
He moves to stand in front of her and holds her gaze as he lowers himself to his knees, because he will worship this woman. He opens the ring box and holds it up to her, and she's just staring at him, eyes filled with tears, hand clasped over her mouth.
"I love you. I want to have everything with you. A life. A family. A future. Will you marry me?"
She doesn't answer verbally, instead she's nodding frantically and Mike stands, kissing her, and her family are clapping and cat-calling and it's good. He slips the ring onto her finger, and it slips into place. She hasn't even looked at it yet, instead just focussed solely on him, her arms wrapped around him tightly.
"Love you," Mercedes finally manages to get out, and he wipes away some of the tears.
"Love you too. So much."
She rests her head against him briefly, and he tries to ignore the fact that her entire family are watching, but she pulls away abruptly, eyes wide.
"I have to ring Kurt!"
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Um…but he already knows…"
"What?" Huh. Maybe he should have kept quiet on that fact. He tugs her out of the room, smiling at the family members who can tell are just waiting for them to break apart and offer their congratulations.
"Um. Dave knew and let it slip last week…by accident."
"But…he's my best friend…"
"Dave swore him to secrecy."
"I don't care! He still should have hinted at it or something!"
"It was meant to be a surprise. I wanted it to be a surprise. Kurt respected that. Was happy with me to do this for you…Anyway, if you knew Dave was planning on proposing to Kurt, would you tell him?"
"Wait, what? Is he planning on proposing?"
"What? NO! No! Completely hypothetical… shit. He's not planning anything, they're still all…complicated or whatever they're calling it now."
"Augh. Don't get me started on that. They're both idiots…completely blind to how they feel, let alone how the other feels…"
Mike frowns, because he's pretty sure Dave knows exactly how he feels, although he doesn't know Kurt well enough to make a call.
"Uh, Kurt might have been a little slow on the uptake, but Dave knows how he feels. I mean, he's a shrink… he talks about how he feels all the time…"
"Wait. What? I thought Dave was a cop…"
"Huh? Oh, he is. He just…he's a psychologist first. Fully registered and everything."
"You two going to stop yapping long enough for us to actually talk to ya?" Mercedes' grandfather asks, and with that they're drawn back in to the lounge with talk of wedding dates and plans and 'welcome to the family's.
The next evening Kurt's been given the full story, after first being given a tight hug from her along with a whispered 'I can't believe you managed to keep it a secret.' He's grinning at her though, admiring the ring, and she has to admit it looks perfect on her hand, not a single solitaire or block of colour, but what looks like a little rainbow, sparkling away on her finger. She's impressed with Mike's choice, because she loves it, and she'd have had no idea where to start if he'd decided to take her shopping instead.
"So, were you surprised then?" Kurt asks.
"Completely. I just thought my family was freaking him out, and that you," she pokes Kurt in the side "had just taken some crazy pills or something."
"Good to know I can always rely on that as a defence if I need to," Kurt replies, taking a delicate sip of his water.
They've ended up in Cookies, the upmarket bar with decent food for dinner. Somehow they've ended up as a largeish group again, with Santana and Kate, Finn and his wife Melanie, Noah and most surprisingly, Azimio Adams, whom Mike had greeted like an old friend. Which had been weird. When he'd made a stilted apology for being such a jerk in high school she'd kind of felt like she'd stepped into an alternate reality, but a nudge from Mike had her nodding her acceptance of his apology.
The conversation flows, Dave and Mike planning on turning Dave's New Year's party into an engagement party instead, which should make for an interesting evening considering their group of friends. She'll have a more quiet, subdued celebration with Kurt and maybe her friends Paula and Phoebe in Chicago. And her cousin Mara if she's feeling particularly adventurous. She pays attention to the conversation again, Noah and Azimio are talking about someone called AJ while Santana, Kate and Melanie are talking about baking, which just adds weight to her alternate reality theory, because the idea of Santana baking anything is a bit scary.
She watches Dave stand, sees Kurt's eyes flick to his arse and then away, and she sees Mike hide a grin, he's seen it too. He grasps her hand under the table, giving it a quick squeeze, and she likes these little silent forms of communication between them
"Hey, can you look after these? Just going to the bathroom…" Dave asks, and he passes Kurt his phone and wallet before leaning down to brush a kiss across Kurt's cheek, and Mercedes mouth drops open.
She looks around the table, to see whether anyone else has noticed the exchange. Noah's eyebrows have shot up and then immediately started snickering until Santana pokes him in the side with her fork. Mike is looking ridiculously smug about it, and even Azimio's eyes had followed Dave, looked at Kurt and then nodded, as if he'd just gotten the answer to something. The only person who hasn't noticed is Finn, who seems intent on picking off the salt crystals on a pretzel, completely oblivious to the exchange that just happened between his brother and Dave. Kurt seems to be ignoring everyone, intent on Dave's phone in his hands.
And she knows it wasn't a big overt display of affection, but it was so damn domestic and couple-ish. She doesn't think either of them is even aware of how it would have looked to outsiders. Santana doesn't look surprised; in fact, she could join Mike in the far too smug for their own good category. Az has made some comment about the number four, and Mike is agreeing, and she has no idea what they're talking about. She leans back in her chair, giving up on the complications of Kurt's love life for now, because right now, hers is perfect.
