if you love enough, you lie a lot

[discretion]

Who: Team Gay, French-speaking high fashion division (Franz & Kurt)
When: 11/14, 4PM onward.
Where: A French restaurant in the underground mall.
Summary: Some congratulations are in order for Kurt's engagement! Franz takes him out to dinner to talk about plans and get the scoop on the proposal. But he may be feigning just a teensy bit of his enthusiasm.
Warnings: Teenagers. Weddings. Alcohol. French food. Serious discussion of clothes.

[Franz is waiting at the bar. The crowd is rather sedate at this time of the day, which he likes. He can hear the piano across the room, and he's well into . As promised, he's dressed to the nines. It's unlikely that he'll get to buy anything quite as fine in the next few years to come, with how things are developing. He's determined to get some wear out of this outfit while he still can, which so matches his 5053 sensibilities while still remaining stylish and suitable for 2012. He's aware he's caught some looks at the bar, which he enjoys but does not entertain.

He's already in the doghouse with Daedalus for joking about ogling entertainment for Kurt's bachelor party. For someone who's apparently quite severely against the idea of getting married, Daedalus can be very sensitive at the mere suggestion Franz's thoughts might stray. It's probably for the best that the silent argument ballooning between them deflated like a collapsed souffle, heavy and limp with too many unspoken words. Franz's libido has a way of puncturing things he loves. It seems the vestiges of his traditional values and desires will work hard on the rest. Even though Franz and Daedalus both worked so hard at not bringing up their feelings on the subject of marriage - it just seems too stupidly painful, Franz knows Daedalus doesn't want to have to tell him no, and Franz doesn't want to have to make him tell him no - the tension was palpable last night. Daedalus might have ended relocating himself to the couch no matter what.

Franz eats the olive out of his martini and orders another, checking the clock on his book-shaped NV's readout. Kurt will be here any moment - time to shine, time to smile.

It's nice to plan a wedding for someone he cares about. He worries for Kurt and Blaine. On the surface, their love is like some kind of idyllic fairy tale, but it's fraught with the drama you only find in more complex books... the ones that usually end with several people dead or heartbroken. Still, who is Franz to question their happiness? At least they're on the same page about it. They both want the same thing. It must be nice to know that for certain.

There's no denying they deserve a wonderful wedding. They will be the most beautiful couple Siren's Port has ever seen.

Franz sees Kurt entering the restaurant, and Franz waves, quaffing his drink and sliding off the bar stool to greet him.]

Bonjour, mon ange!

Comments

[showbizpanache]

Oh, no-- No, no. It was nothing like that.

A lot of good things happened, actually. The Glee club won Nationals, and I graduated from high school, and I moved to New York and got this amazing internship...

[...]

And, um, Blaine cheated on me.

[discretion]

[Well, that's an emotional rollercoaster than lands in a puddle of mud. Franz slaps his hands down on the table.]

He cheated on you? I'm gonna kill him when I see him next. I'm serious. I'm going to break his fucking nose, I cannot believe that...!

[showbizpanache]

Oh, oh no, there's no need for that!

[He waves his hands, speaking rather shrilly, though he's touched by Franz getting so indignant on his behalf.]

I-- I mean, I already. You know. I kind of slapped him. We worked it out, it's okay. I mean, here. We worked it out here.

Back home, not so much.

[discretion]

I think there's a need for that. He disrespected you, and what you two have. As a gentleman, I can't allow the company I keep to behave that way. It's unacceptable.

And I will slap him for real.

[Franz nearly drains his glass with the power of his vitriol, and taking several breaths to calm his fuming.]

...Kurt, why do you want to marry someone who cheated on you? Why haven't you kicked him to the curb like garbage?

[showbizpanache]

[That is a very good question, and Kurt thinks carefully before answering it.]

I... I don't know. It's so different here. Back home, I didn't even want to speak to him anymore. I was so angry and betrayed. I wanted nothing to do with him.

But here? It seems so...inconsequential. Don't get me wrong, if he cheats on me here we're done. But back home, we were just silly teenagers. He was still in high school, for god's sake. And here it's like we've aged so much in such a short time that all the problems we had back home are so trivial in comparison.

[discretion]

...Is it really inconsequential, though? You two may have grown up, but he still has the same DNA, the same basic brain. How can you trust it won't happen again? How do you know, that when faced with a similar situation, he won't betray you?

[Franz sighs, and frowns a little at his already-empty glass.]

Are you sure you're not just rushing into this because you're trying to prove your love or something? Like things might lose their shine or you might let all those hurt feelings sink in a little if you don't do it right here, right now?

[showbizpanache]

I'm not, I promise. I've thought this through. I-- I know it sounds totally awful, believe me, but after everything we've been through...

[He sighs again, wishing he hadn't brought it up. What a way to kill an evening.]

I trust him. I don't know why, but I do. He's unpredictable, he's emotional, he's passionate-- He's volatile, even... But I love him. I won't ever love anyone else the way I love him.

But. If it makes you feel any better, we can postpone it just a little longer. Just to be absolutely, 100% sure, okay?

[discretion]

[Franz winces at those words: I trust him. I don't know why, but I do. It's so familiar that it sends him reeling, and he tries to remember how many drinks he's had so far today versus food, because he's dizzy. He covers his face.]

You're gonna get hurt.

[He whispers.]

Please, don't be so stupid...!

[It's not the same situation, of course. It's different. But that wide-eyed innocence, that faith in others? It's deadly.]

[showbizpanache]

Hey...

[He touches Franz's arm gently.]

It's gonna be okay. I'll be okay. I've made it this far, haven't I?

[discretion]

[Franz takes a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, to try and quell the wrongness in his head.]

I should know better than to tell you to be careful.

[showbizpanache]

[He smiles a little.]

It wouldn't be the same if you didn't. I really do appreciate it when you've got my back, despite what an obstinate little brat I can be.

[discretion]

[That earns a small smile.] I am going to slap your fiance, just so you know. I'll try not to break his nose in case you want to do engagement pictures or whatever.

I don't want to take away your dream of a Christmas wedding, I just want it to be really great, you know?

Even if you're marrying a cheating moron.