ax_main | Kurt and Bobby | Waaaay backdated to June 29

Kurt and Bobby visit Coney Island, and spend the time in line discussing their love lives.

Bobby climbed off the bus and looked around, a grin spreading on his face. Coney Island. He hadn't been there for years, not since his Uncle had taken him and Mary. His Uncle Seth had gotten sick and thrown up in a garbage can, and had let him and Mary run wild after making them promise that they wouldn't talk to strangers, leave the area, or tell Aunt Gladys. They'd eaten way too much cotton candy, gone on way too many rides that spun in circles, and had tried their hands at winning a stuffed frog without any success.

It'd been one of the greatest days of his childhood. Today was going to be even better.

"What do you want to do first?" he asked Kurt.

Kurt took everything in with wide eyes. A huge thoroughfare stretched out in front of them, lined on either side by games of chance and snack stands. Lights blinked on a roller coaster and Ferris wheel that Rose up high over everything, and the salty sea air was filled with the sounds of laughter and the smell of fried foods. It was incredible!

“I do not know! I have never been to an amusement park. A ride, maybe?”

"Sound choice," Bobby said approvingly. "Always better to hit the rides before getting food. Roller coaster or tilt-o-whirl?" He grinned. "Which translates as do you want to go up and down at high speed, or in circles at high speed?”

Kurt didn’t even need to time to think about it. “Roller coaster definitely.”

"A man after my own heart." Bobby grinned as he slung an arm loosely around Kurt's shoulders. "So, how goes with you and JM? Everything good?"

A broad, happy smile broke across Kurt’s expression at the mention of his girlfriend. He couldn’t help it, though he tried to temper it. “Everything is great.” There. Short and sweet and didn’t go on about how amazing Jeanne-Marie was, or how he loved just being around her. Bobby didn’t need someone else’s happiness flung in his face right now.

Kurt was quiet as they continued walking, his smile fading, and, after a moment, he admitted, “Her brother does not like me.”

Bobby's grin, which had brightened when Kurt had said everything was great (okay, so, he'd had a crush on JM once - who hadn't?) faded and his forehead furrowed. "Well, last I checked you're not dating her brother," he pointed out. "I mean, they look a lot alike, but not so much that you'd get them confused. Does it matter?”

“Of course, it does,” Kurt replied like he’d thought that was obvious. “He is important to her. Not only is he her brother, he is her only family and they are very close.”

"When they're not fighting," Bobby pointed out. "So, they're sometimes very close?”

Kurt gave Bobby a look. “They are always close. Even when they fight. You do not stop being close to someone just because you have had an argument.”

"I don't know. When it's an argument that results in people not speaking for weeks, you've kinda gotta wonder," Bobby observed.

“No, you do not,” Kurt said flatly. He hadn’t understood it either, but he also had never been in the position they were in. They were family who had been separated for years. They’d been alone and then suddenly they hadn’t been. He couldn’t begin to understand that, so how could he judge it? “It is not yours or mine or anyone’s place to define what close means for them.”

"Hey, hold up - I wasn't trying to define anything!" Bobby protested. "Just kinda musing. I mean, I've never done the whole sibling thing, period. Anyway, my point was, if it's not bothering her that her brother doesn't like you, why is it bothering you?”

“Because what happens when it starts to get weird? Like during holidays, or school breaks?” Kurt and Jean-Paul had managed to avoid one another so far, but how long could that go on? “I do not want to get between them. I do not want her to feel like she cannot bring her boyfriend somewhere. Or for her to feel bad that she can’t. And I do not want to make Jean-Paul uncomfortable either.”

Kurt got into the line for the roller coaster. “I also… I am sorry for what happened. I do not regret doing it, I would do it again, but I think I may have gone about it the wrong way, and I do regret that.” He’d been upset and worried about Jeanne-Marie, and he’d let his heart rule his head.

"Dude, you didn't do anything wrong," Bobby reminded him. "All you did was try to get him and JM to make up, right? He didn't appreciate it then, but I doubt he really cares now.”

Kurt wasn’t so sure about that. “Maybe. There is not much I can do about it, anyway… I have thought about going to talk to him, but I do not want to cause any problems between him and Jeanne-Marie.” He didn’t want to risk making things worse. …And, honestly, he was a little afraid. What if Jean-Paul hated him?

"Well, and if he's over it, bringing it up is pretty pointless." Bobby shrugged. "Have you talked to JM about it at all?”

“A bit,” Kurt confirmed with a nod. “She thinks he is being ridiculous.”

"What's he doing? I mean, is he saying stuff, or just doing the whole condescending look?" Bobby gestured and headed into the line for the roller coaster, pointedly ignoring the people in front of them who eyed Kurt and then scooted forward.

Kurt flashed the gawkers his most charming smile, and then asked Bobby, “Does it make a difference? Either way, he does not like me.”

"Active versus passive dislike," Bobby explained. "If it's active, he's probably badmouthing you to JM - or other people, figuring it'll get back to her. Passive, he probably realizes it's his problem, or he doesn't want to have to explain to JM why he doesn't like you, because it'll make him seem stupid."

Maybe… Those were good points, but then there were people Kurt didn’t really like, and he didn’t go around talking about them. Maybe it was the same for Jean-Paul. He didn’t know him well enough to say either way. “Let’s talk about something else. I am pretty sure I am the one who is supposed to be cheering you up.”

"Hey, I'm all good," Bobby disclaimed, though he accepted Kurt's desire to change the subject. "It's summer, and despite numerous guilt trips, I managed to convince my mom I was better off at school than at home. And hey, Coney Island. How does it get better than that?" Okay, granted, he knew where Kurt was going with the cheering up thing, but he was fine. Really.

Kurt followed the line as it moved forward, then leaned back against the line partition when it stopped again. “You know you do not have to pretend with me, right? You are one of my best friends. You do not have to be funny, and always happy for me to like you. Whatever happens, I am here for you.”

"Yeah, I know," Bobby assured him. He shrugged his shoulders. "What's there to say, though? Kit and I broke up. She pointed out that there wasn't a spark, and how could I argue that? Life goes on." He forced a grin. "Or at least, I hope life goes on. If the world ends because my love life sucks, it's in even worse shape than we knew.”

“It does go on, but it is still okay to be upset when something lousy happens.” Kurt lightly bumped his shoulder against Bobby’s. “The world does not have to be ending for you to be allowed feelings.”

"I don't know," Bobby said doubtfully. "I mean, I might only have a limited number. What happens if the world ends and I find out I've run out? I'd really hate to find myself standing there all uncaring while the world ends around me."

“Aw, Bobby, that is sweet that you think you will be one of the few people still standing when the world ends,” Kurt teased.

"Well, if it turns out I'm not, I won't have to have worried about it," Bobby admitted. "But still, it's probably a good idea to be prepared, right?" Giving up, he smiled and shrugged. "Anyway, it's not like it was the first time she's brought it up. I guess it wasn't a total surprise.”

Kurt put an arm around Bobby’s shoulders. “I sort of know what it feels like to be dumped and, surprise or not, it still sucks. I am sorry it happened to you.”

"Happens to everyone, I've heard," Bobby countered, but he threw an arm around Kurt in turn and headed forward in line as it began to move. "Well, everyone but Tommy, anyway." Somehow, it seemed as if the speedster always had girls hanging around.

“I bet you he would disagree,” Kurt replied as the moving line put them just a few people away from it being their turn.

"Probably. But you've gotta admit, that guy has more girls hanging around him than anyone I've ever met," Bobby pointed out.

“I had not noticed,” Kurt admitted, then looked to Bobby, curious and confused. “Does it really matter?”

Bobby let out a snort of laughter and grinned. "Not really. I'd just love to know how he does it. I need that knack."

“You will have plenty of girls who like you,” Kurt said as if it were obvious. “You are cute, funny, nice… A total catch. I bet we could find a few even here.”

"Uh huh. Suuuure we could." Bobby grinned. "We just have to watch for the ones who look like they're dizzy after going on the ride, right. I'm thinking it'd work, but only short term.”

Kurt gave Bobby an exasperated, but fond look. “If I did not know you were joking, I would have to smack you.”

Bobby rewound what he'd said and winced. "Yeeaaah, you should maybe smack me anyway. That sounded creepy, huh?" He shrugged and offered a crooked grin. "Anyway, you know what I meant, right?"

“I knew what you really meant, and I would still have to smack you,” Kurt replied, and he gave Bobby’s shoulder a light smack as if to punctuate the statement.

Laughing, Bobby threw his arm around Kurt's shoulders. "Well, you've done your obligatory smack, then. Ready for the roller coaster?"

Grinning, Kurt threw an arm around Bobby too. “More ready than you are, I bet.”