#kadam week 2017

[pixiealtaira]

Ex-cellent Resistance

Kadam week prompt six (Friday’s)

Ex-cellent Resistance

When Kurt first heard Adam talk about the ex-boyfriend who had had the most impact on his life, Kurt nearly panicked. How could he possibly compete with a guy named Thor Ashton and win?  A guy named Thor had to be big and strong and probably handsome.  He probably had a deep voice and sang a deep smooth bass and was a powerful enough singer to shake a full house.  

It didn’t help that as much as Adam spoke about the guy Kurt didn’t have a good grasp on him.  He knew they dated for a while before Adam moved to the USA for University and that Thor hadn’t been too happy but had agreed that they needed to break-up before Adam left.  He knew Thor rode horses and rowed and fenced and swam when they were in school together, but never heard more than a sentence about any of that.  He only assumed Thor was great at it all.  Thor also did theater.  But that was about it.

Adam NEVER talked about them together. Kurt thought maybe that was because Kurt probably did talk too much about Kurt-n-Blaine sometimes and what Blaine thought about things (him) sometimes.  He was sure Adam really didn’t like that tendency of his, he didn’t like that tendency of his, so he figured Adam, being the darling kind soul that he was, made an effort not to do the same and upset Kurt.

Then one weekend Adam was just…quiet. Withdrawn.  When Kurt asked what was up, he smiled and tried really hard to look like nothing was wrong and play it off, and didn’t really say anything. Then Monday Adam announced that he’d be busy for the next few days and Adam’s Apple’s practices would have to be done without him.  And Kurt, like everyone one else in the room found out his ex-boyfriend, Thor was going to be in town.

They fought Monday night when Adam told Kurt he didn’t want him ANYWHERE near Thor. At all, period. End of story.

Kurt was furious and going to ignore Adam in spite, regardless that him being away from Adam was what Adam wanted…but something one of the girls in his First year Drama class said made him stop and think and let the warning sirens in his head get heard.

“I can’t believe Lucy is letting him even speak to her.  She is just so subdued when he is near and then she starts to perk up after he dumps her, but the moment he snaps his fingers she is back to Miss Mousy and it take weeks for her to get better when he dumps her again.”

The word subdued caught Kurt’s attention and he thought about himself during the Karofsky issues.  Subdued…and not himself.   And he thought about the weekend and a fight with Adam.  Who didn’t want him anywhere near Thor…even though Kurt was hearing ‘not near me while Thor is here’ Adam was screaming ‘not near Thor’. The what ifs started playing in Kurt’s head and he got next to no sleep Tuesday night because all he could think of was being pushed into lockers…except he was seeing Adam in his place…or after scandals that night Blaine danced with Sebastian…the one he didn’t think about…with Adam in his place.  He was sick twice.

Kurt was good as being unnoticed. He’d made a habit of it for a great deal of his life.  He was also good at being where he needed to be to hear and see what he needed to see. He would have never survived McKinley without the skill.

He dressed down…but down in a manner that could go unnoticed at NYADA. A few people asked questions, but being at NYADA one could simply say ‘working on a project’ and all other comments were generally dropped.

So Kurt was in the dance classroom practicing when Adam came in.  Kurt generally didn’t practice at that time, but he knew there were usually people who did, so he wouldn’t be the only one there.  In fact, if it were a normal Wednesday, it would be crowded enough that he could be virtually unnoticed.  He thought maybe Adam would see him, Adam seemed to always know where Kurt was…to find his eyes in crowded rooms, to turn and smile just as he walked into a hallway Adam was nearly out of…but he didn’t.

Because he didn’t even really look up.

“This is one of the dance rooms, there are a good fifteen or so large ones fit for classes and then a couple dozen small practice rooms big enough to dance in.” Adam said. “My class today is focused on group work…dancing the type of choreography we might see when working as chorus in a show.”

“I thought you came here to be a star?” the man walking next to Adam said. He was not very tall, maybe the same height as Kurt but maybe even shorter. Kurt wasn’t going to get closer to see.  He was bulky…that part of a Thor type image was true, however he wasn’t fit really. He wasn’t fat, but he wasn’t buff either.  He looked like he could use some toning exercising and to watch what he ate a bit better.  He didn’t look like he swam and rowed much anymore. Kurt really didn’t have a mental image for those who rode horses and the top fencer at Dalton had been built like the man Kurt assumed was Thor.

“I came here to learn about theater and all the different aspects to it and to gain the knowledge and experience needed to make a name for myself in the field.” Adam said. “You know…those things one should do before trying to before a star?”

The man snorted. “We let you indulge in this ridiculousness under the impression you were going to make yourself a star.  Obviously since you are taking blend into the background dance, you are not even aiming high. Adam, we told you we wouldn’t put up with this.”

“Thor, we broke up.  I broke up with you even before I got accepted here. I know I informed you of that multiple times.”

Thor sighed.  “And Grandmother forgave your wayward mouth and spoke to your mother, who agreed you were just trying to spread your wings a little.   I keep telling you we are waiting for you to return to your senses and come home.  Grandmother has it all planned out.  She has even arranged for a proper choice to carry our heir.   Of course it will be of my blood, but then that was always a given.”

“I’ve been accepted to graduate school here in New York City.  I’ll be staying here and remaining in my current relationship status, which is not attached to you in any form.  I am pretty sure MY mother told you that.”

“Adam, I demand you come home. You have had you fun and played with your little theater world long enough.  Father’s firm has an opening you can walk right into.”

“I told you when I was 10 I was never being a barrister or working anywhere near a hospital or even a clinic, in case your Uncle has an opening.  I have not changed my mind.  I am staying here and you will just have to deal with it.  I am certain Justin, or James, or Harold, or Estevan, or Louis, or Salvador, or Sven, or Apollo can entertain you and any one of them would love to be your partner. And if they won’t humor you, I’m sure you could look-up Martin or Miles or Winston or Hal from our school years.  They indulged you back then, I’m sure they’d do so again.”

“Adam, stop being sore.  It’s dull.  I told you none of them have meant anything.  Grandmother likes you.  You have the proper genetic offerings to bring to the family and you are socially acceptable.”

“And I broke up with you and am staying broken up with you and am staying in New York City.”

Thor stomped his foot. “I’m telling my Grandmother about this!”

“And I’m telling my mother and father and grandparents and possibly even reporting it to our old headmaster, who said he’d help with a restraining order if I needed one.”

Thor pushed Adam and stomped off, his phone in hand.

Adam slumped against the wall and put his hands in his head.

Kurt slid up beside him and ran his hand comfortingly up and down Adam’s arm.

“Kurt?” Adam said, looking at Kurt in surprise.  “Why are you here?  You should leave.  I don’t want him near you.  He likes to screw with guys like you…forcefully, without asking.  He likes making ‘pretty’ guys cry…and worse.”

Kurt smiled. “I am here because I felt you needed a bit of a reminder of how wonderful you are.  And because once upon a time I needed someone to notice and no one did, and I can’t stand by and not let you know I am on your team and noticed you were having a hard time.  Not after that. And you needed the sunshine you gave me earlier in the year given back…so…”

Adam smiled at Kurt.  “Thank You, darling.”

“So…can he make issues?”  Kurt asked.

Adam snorted.

“No.  His grandmother is not nearly as important as she thinks she is and he leaves tonight.  His interview was not well done.  In fact he did so poorly that they informed him then and there that he would not be hired. I will be free again by midnight.  Oh, I’ll get calls of complaint from home for a good six or seven weeks, until Thor hooks up with one of the interns at his dad’s practice or their pool boy again, and then I won’t hear from anyone until Thor needs someone his grandmother of approves of to be seen with him again, probably around Christmas.”

Kurt leaned against Adam. “I’m sorry for tossing a tantrum.”

“That was not a tantrum and I know I didn’t explain myself well.  I just…I don’t want you hurt.  You are just barely getting over ill treatment from your ex and I can’t stand the thought of being the reason you have more pain added to your life.  And Thor…he adds pain. And if he finds out how much I care about you, he will go out of his way to find ways to hurt you. He always does.”

“And I don’t like the thought of you in a dark place without someone there to support you.  You don’t belong in dark places, Adam. You don’t belong someplace your light is dimmed.  Not without someone beside you keep your flame from being doused.  I am tougher than I seem most of the time, Adam.” Kurt said.

“I protect you, you protect me?” Adam asked quietly.

Kurt leaned in a kissed his cheek. “Sounds like a plan. So, shall I follow you around for the rest of the day? I can be really sneaky.”

Adam chuckled.

“How are you going to explain your presence in my playwriting course?”

Kurt smiled and scooted so he could look at Adam face to face.  “I had that one figured out.  I asked if I could sit in and see if I want to do the playwriting course, or the scriptwriting screen course, or the more generic scriptwriting course.   Granted, I now am committed to sitting in on the other two over the next two days, so I shall be missing Apples practice tomorrow.”

“Voice?” Adam asked.

“I asked to be able to sit in so I could see what type of voice work seniors who are not focused on musical theater do.  Oddly enough your teacher was very excited about the request.” Kurt said.

“That is because Professor Madison loves your speaking voice and is trying to poach you from the Musical Theater department.”

“Nonsense.” Kurt said.

“Oh, no, darling.  He offers bribes for information on you and hopes to lure you away.”

“But…my voice is too high.”

“Your voice is unique and lovely and he has like 180 parts he’d like you to play…which he adds to daily.  He is counting down until you are a sophomore and he can recruit you for the NYADA performances. Madame said she would allow it for next year even if you haven’t technically caught up…to many are whining at her about needing you.”

Kurt tilted his head and looked at Adam in disbelief.

“And Professor Santos, who trains those who have a more classical track, has been trying to poach you as well. He fights with Tibideaux over training.”

“Really?”  Kurt asked in disbelief.

“Yes, really.  There were videos of Midnight Madness.  Professors watched them.  They always do. This is a very competitive school, but seriously, it is not just the students who compete.  The professors compete as well…over who sends out the most successful students, over who gets the students with the most potential, over who graduates the most students, over who has the most students studying in their programs, who has the students with the best grades, even who has the students who have the best reputations…and in those competitions they aren’t even just reputations like who has the best voice, but also who is best liked and who is the nicest and who works the hardest.”

“And who is this?” Thor asked, coming back into the room.

Kurt gave Adam a smile and then looked up, schooling his face to wide eyed and a bit star-struck. “I’m a freshman here and I was just asking Adam about the school as the years go by.  I mean, he is a senior and all and I heard he got into grad school, too. I’m just glad that I decided to practice before the class that was next in this room today and that some of the other students pointed out that Adam would be a good person to talk to since he has worked in different sections of the school and not just dance or musical theater.  I mean I could ask some of the other in my classes, but none are seniors because I’m just a freshman and it would just be so weird to go into a class of seniors without like…asking, you know….just to talk to a senior.”

Kurt nearly broke character as Adam tried not to laugh.  Adam kept it together and blanked his face to an indulgent smile as Kurt continued.

“I think it is absolutely fabulous that there are classes like this upcoming dance class that underclassman can take with seniors. I mean, I can’t yet, because I’m a newer freshman and have to take like dance basics first, but there are some freshman in here that like got a pass to be in here last semester.  I’m from Ohio and in my high school I rarely got to talk to seniors when I was younger and maybe if I had I would have had a better idea about the upper years before I reached them and so I love the opportunity we get here to ask those older than us little freshman for guidance and advice.  That is so important you know, getting advice from people older than you…like what type of dance shoes are best?  Do you want the flexible tap shoes that are sort of like jazz shoes or old fashioned stand ones?  Don’t you think that is wonderful?”

Thor just rolled his eyes at Kurt and growled at Adam. “Are you coming with me to the airport?”

“No, I have classes I must attend. I told you this last week and your family this when they called.  Now, you can shadow me for the morning classes and I could spare the time between my second class and third class to ride back with you to the hotel, but I have to be back for my third class at 2pm today, so going to the airport is out.”

“But Adam, we cannot have the discussion we need to have here with you going to classes.” Thor snarled.

“We had it…we’ve had it over and over since you got here, we had it this morning even.  I am not going back to Britain right now…not for another four years or more.  WE are NOT together anymore.  You have no say.”

Thor glared but sat on one of the benches against the wall watching the dance room. “So?  When does this class start?”

Adam sighed and rolled his eyes. Most of those who’d been practicing were either getting ready for class or had headed out.  Kurt smiled and stood up to retrieve his dance bag and then moved over to the other bench to watch the class from…and watch Thor from.  Adam got up, dropped his dance bag and book bag against the wall by the benches, and went over to the bar and started to stretch.

It didn’t take long before Kurt was just glancing at Thor but paying most of his attention to Adam and the dance class.  He could see why Cassie wanted him to take a technique class for his ballet and jazz this summer on top of the other half of beginner’s dance that he needed to take. He would not be able to keep up in this class at his current level.  Adam did. He had no problem keeping up; in fact he was often picked to learn the main part because he caught on quickly. Kurt sighed and worried briefly that his eyes were showing too much of how much he appreciated the sight of Adam dancing.  He was magnificent. Kurt hadn’t seen him dance like he was in class, just basic steps like they did for the Apples.

Kurt decided he could happily follow Adam to dance class every day.

Thor was watching as well, but he was sneering.

Kurt watched as the class went through a quick series of steps from ballroom dance,  just a few measures of each major dance style, with Adam as main…catching the girl twirled into his arms, dancing the right steps to match the music type played, and the twirling her out just to turn and catch the next girl. No one fell or missed the beat or danced the wrong type for the song.  His class would have crashed into each other.

Cassie called a 10 minute water break and stretch after the routine was finished.

Thor marched up to Adam.

‘Your hands were in the wrong positions on each of those!” Thor snapped.  “After all those hours of ballroom Grandmother paid for how could you embarrass yourself like that!”

“We weren’t dancing ballroom, my hands were right where they needed to be,” Adam said.

Kurt scooted closer to the fuss, but he wasn’t the only one.

“It looked like ballroom to me.”

“In that routine, the important part is to support the dancer as I receive her and as I pass her off.  To best do that, my hands must be place slightly different than if I was dancing with a single partner and there was no exchange.”

Thor looked like he was going to fuss again but Ms. July stepped in. “Excellent job Adam, you finally got the passes smooth and they were timed perfectly.  Now I just need you to focus on the footwork during the Lindy and the waltz. I need the footwork bigger.  Remember this is stage work, not a ballroom competition. Go get your drink.”

Adam smiled and nodded and Thor glared at her. Thor followed Adam towards the benches, snipping at him as Adam fetched his water bottle from his dance bag and then took his dance bag with him as he headed back towards the center of the floor, sliding his bag along the floor till it landed right outside the doors to the changing rooms. Kurt thought Thor might stomp out in a Rachel-esque move; however he sat back down as the class picked up again.

Kurt spent more time watching Thor for the next part of the class.  He was writing in a notebook, angrily, as he watched Adam. After a few moments Thor dug around in Adam’s bag, but Kurt couldn’t see what the man was messing with. Kurt scowled and went back to watching the class, trying to figure out if Adam had seen.  When he next looked over the man was texting and then took a photo of the notebook page he’d written on, before texting some more.   Kurt knew he was swinging his head back and forth between the views but he couldn’t help but worry about their being something in Adam’s bag that would make Thor more upset…or indicate Kurt was something more than he had tried to play as.

Adam danced by and whispered for Kurt to ignore Thor, it was all going to be all right.  Kurt allowed himself to get caught up in the dancing for the rest of the class time, paying close attention to the whole picture and what Cassie was demanding of the dancers in the class.  As the class came to a close, Adam and one of the other males were doing a piece that even included some stage combat moves.

Adam smiled and waved towards the benches before he headed to go shower and get changed. Kurt smiled and nodded while Thor just pointed to his watch and signaled his impatience.

Cassie came over to where Kurt was sitting and for a moment Kurt worried his cover would be blown.

“Hummel.”

“Ms. July.” Kurt often wondered if he would ever graduate to first name basis, but at least Cassie July called him by his last name and not a horrid nickname.

“Do you understand now why you need those technique classes?  You could be in this class, but you lack the basic skill sets in many dance forms. You aren’t awful in them, but I can tell you weren’t trained in them past maybe a year or so when you were very young.”

“I do.  I am glad those dance classes I had when little counted for something though.”

“Oddly enough, I think your classes did you better than Ms. Barry’s.  Whoever taught you taught you basics in multiple dance types but nothing too technical that was trained in a manner to create bad habits. I don’t find myself pondering how to retrain you constantly, nor do I find myself wishing to hunt down your previous teachers and shoot them.”

“I only took dance from 3 to 8 and then it was only one hour a week and we did multiple types of dance but did not heavily focus on any single type.  It was an inexpensive class mainly catering to parents who wanted their kids to have fun and have a good foundation that could be built upon later. That said the company did have kids who placed well in dance competitions…who took the highest titles for their ages. And we usually did well as a group.”

Ms. July nodded. “I imagine you did, and I’m sure if you’d continued you’d have more technique under your belt…because that early training was decently solid in mixed basics.  However, you, for whatever reason…and I am aware part of it probably stemmed from the fact you are from Iowa…or Idaho…or whatever backwater state you are from…where boys probably risked getting shot for taking dance…didn’t continue and so need more of the fundamentals.”

Kurt nodded.  “Everything else was self-taught watching videos and copying them or learned through cheer and glee club.”

“Ah…cheer. That explains a lot.  Take those classes over the summer, Hummel.  I especially want you to take tap and ballet and jazz.  Your leaps could be spectacular with some practice, and I believe you could do flips and incredible leaps and contortions of all sorts…all that showy stuff that directors love to insert when they can…if you get the dance basics down.  And you could make a solid partner, you have the strength in your arms and upper body to do lifts and the concept of what a good base needs to know. I want you able to join my intermediate class next fall.  I will sign off on those additions to make it so.”

“All right.  I might need you to since I have to take the other half of so many classes.”

“You can do it. I might have had issues signing a pass for some of the other freshmen, but I have confidence you can complete the courses.”

Kurt nodded.

Adam’s phone started to play from the bag between the two benches against the wall.  Kurt recognized the ringtone.

“Is that Crawford’s?” Ms. July asked. “He never leaves his phone turned up in class.”

Kurt sneered. “His ex is here and being an irritant.”

“Ah…so that is why that man was in my class.  He’s not welcome back. You…you could come sit in any day.  I think watching the more advanced classes would be great for you. However we might need to stock some droll rags.  Go tell Crawford his phone is polluting my classroom with its shrill tones, will you? You’re slip with the permission to add all those dance hours will be waiting for you in our next class. Ta.”

Kurt nodded and took off towards the changing rooms.

Adam had just come out of the shower area and was sliding on his shirt.

“Adam, you phone is ringing.” Kurt said. “Ms. July told me to come tell you its shrill noise is polluting her classroom.”

“What?  It was off.”

“Thor was in your bag during class.”

“I saw.”

“If he turned your phone on he’s going to know we know each other.” Kurt said.

“No he won’t, NO ONE is labeled on it in any understandable manner except him and my family members.  Your number is under Joe’s café and has a slice of pizza as the icon.”

“Pizza?”

“Not one is likely to connect you to Pizza as a first thought.  Joey had to beg you to eat that slice at the last Apples eat out night.”

Kurt sneered. “Adam, the grease flowed off that slice of pizza when it was picked up.  It pooled under it!”

Adam laughed. “I’d better go and see why my phone is ringing.”

“I’ll count to 20 before following you.”

Adam shook his head. “You were told to come get me, don’t be silly.  However, what did Cassie have to say after class?”

Kurt was relating his need for more basics as they left the dressing room and headed back into the classroom.  Thor was glaring and Kurt figured if he could call lightening down he would have glad struck Kurt with a bolt.

“Those are great classes for getting your basic technique down.” Adam was telling Kurt as they came closer to Thor and Adam’s book bag. “They are focused on the fundamentals and then individual focus on what extra is needed.  You need help with turns?  Then it will be your individual practice technique until you have them down. There isn’t a lot of routine work done in these summer intensive courses, but that is usually not why one takes them. Also you are likely to have dancers from all over the city in them…yes, they train in basics, but they also allow for just a good technique focused class which dancers who are doing routine work all day elsewhere like.  It was very neat to be in class with dancers who worked full time on Broadway. Even after I took them during the summer between my first and second year by Ms. July’s request, I took them every other summer by my own choice.  They are well worth it.”

“Thanks, I am starting to really look forward to the classes now.” Kurt said, heading with a wave to grab his own bag from where he had been sitting.  He took a few moments to reorganize his books and gear, staying still long enough to hear Thor berate Adam for taking so long to change and for talking so long to Kurt and for ignoring his phone.

“How was I to know it would ring?  I can’t be ignoring it if the phone wasn’t supposed to be able to ring until I turned it back on.  I had it turned off.  I know it was off, Thor.  Would you like to explain why it is ringing?” Adam stated, ignoring the rest of Thor’s rant.

Kurt didn’t hear the response as he headed to the nearly empty dressing room to change into his non dance clothes and get dressed for following Adam around for the rest of the day.

Adam was already seated in his playwriting class when Kurt entered and went up front to peak with the professor about where he’d like Kurt to sit.  Adam was seated and still on his phone.  Thor was seated in the desk next to Adam with his arms crossed, smirking.

“Uncle Emmet, I have not thrown your good money away and ditched everything I know from years of ballroom lessons.  I am perfectly able to switch from formal ballroom to the type of ballroom done on stage to the type of ballroom that is mashed together with other dance forms. That is why you also spent all that money on MULTIPLE FORMS of dance while I was growing up….so I could do that! Honestly, people.  Tell Lucy I’ll get a video and she can see for herself the whole routine and I know she WILL be able to see what the whole point and deal was.   Am sorry Thor called her and she called you. No…I am not back together with him and I WILL NOT BE GETTING BACK TOGETHER with him. Goodbye. Tell Da I said hello.”

Kurt took the seat pointed out to him, three back from Adam and two rows over, and settled in for the class period.  Kurt wouldn’t be moving after the class…he was sitting through the screenwriting course right after this class.

Kurt watched Adam turn to Thor. “Calling Lucy really did you no good, Thor.  And having her call Emmet?  That was just desperate.  Stop. You are making a fool out of yourself. I think you will find that all your efforts just make you look pathetic. Also, don’t forget, I let things slide, Thor. I let you tell your tales and didn’t say anything to contradict them.  I can correct peoples notions, Thor.  I can and will correct what they think they know about us…about you. I am not going back now, I AM staying for grad school.  If I ever go back, I WILL NOT be getting back together with you, ever. I broke-up with you.  I broke up with you before I even got accepted here…whether your Grandmother likes to believe that or not.  YOU did not make the call and she defiantly did not make that call. You didn’t ‘free me’ for this journey, or ‘grant me permission’ to dabble in my silly interests. YOU had no authority to do so…you had been broken up with.  I got rid of you!”

The rant was so uncharacteristic of Adam that the professor was staring as intently as Kurt was. The other students were staring as they came in, although most were smart enough to also move forward into the room and sit in their seats.

Thor snorted and looked disdainfully at Adam.  “Adam, I told you then and I’ll remind you now. No One breaks-up with a Harrington. WE allow people to move on, but only WE get to make that decision. Until I free you, you belong to me.  Grandmother likes you, so therefore I OWN you until I decide I no longer want you as my significant other.  Grandmother will here about this.”

“You are an Ashton. Your GRANDMOTHER was a Harrington and that meant little then and pretty much nothing now.  Her power is all in her head.  You don’t even have any solid links to any titles of any sort.”

“How dare you!” Thor yelled, standing and pushing the desk as soon as he was clear of it.

“Face it Thor, Harringtons were important because they were wealthy merchants…your grandmother’s sister may have married up and landed herself someone titled, but your grandmother married another wealthy merchants son.  Nothing more.  And they didn’t invest well.  YOUR family is no more well off than mine…maybe even less.  Remember that the next time you try to turn my family against me and use them against me.”

Thor grabbed his bag and stomped out of the room and Adam pasted on a serene face and turned to face the front of the classroom.  “Is it nearly time to start? I wouldn’t want to waste class time this close to the end of the year.”

The professor snorted and started class.  Kurt actually found it very interesting and was looking forward to attending the other two classes to see what was different and what was the same.  Kurt kept an eye on Adam the whole class. Thor did not come back in…and Adam ignored his phone.

Thor was standing outside the door.  Kurt could see him waiting them as the other students left the class.

“I demand we head back to the hotel now.” Thor stated as Adam reached the door. “I also called your mother and reported your retched behavior towards me.  She is awaiting your call of explanation.”

“Fine,” Adam said. “I will escort you to get your bags and check out and help you get to the airport. But remember I have to be back for class at 2pm.”

“I told you…”

“And I told you I cannot miss class.” Adam said. “I can do the whole calling people to tantrum as well, Thor.”

Thor huffed and stomped off.  Adam waved to Kurt as he left.

The next class went quickly.  Kurt learned there were differences between writing for stage and for screen and how the class dealt with the subject.   The class had actually been a goldmine of information, really…because they also spoke about some of the differences in acting for screen versus acting for stage and the needed directions in a script.

Kurt caught lunch with several Apples, got yelled at by Rachel for ‘skipping’ class, although he’d had permission given to miss it as long as it would be confirmed he was where he said he was going to be (He wasn’t scheduled to sing and Madame was fine with him missing the other performances as long as he critiqued the video of said performances later, he was scheduled to see them the next afternoon right after class.).

Kurt slipped into the auditorium where Adam’s voice class was held.  Adam wasn’t there yet, but since Kurt was coming from lunch he was about 15 minutes early.  Luckily the teacher was already there and so Kurt spoke to him before class about the difference in voice work for the different sections of theater and what he could get out of widening his course scope to dramatic focus courses on top of his musical theater courses. Since in the professors lists of reasons why Kurt should take both the voice practicum for musical theater AND the voice for dramatic arts were at least 8 mentions of roles he’d be perfect for, Kurt suspected Adam might be right about the other voice professors wanting him in their classes…and Kurt was seriously considering it.  He certainly wasn’t getting any real attention in the musical theater section.  Of course it was hard to pull any focus when you not only had Rachel, but three others just like her and her and their toadies all in the same class.  Even yelling didn’t get Kurt heard in that class.  And that professor, by his own admission, only liked male voices which were ‘useable’ in that majority of roles.

Kurt and the professor finished their conversation about a minute before the time class was to start and Adam wasn’t there yet.  Kurt sat in the middle, behind the students taking the class, and watched as the professor left t stand on the stage.  Adam slid into the seat beside Kurt just as the professor finished his instructions for the ‘game’ they were playing that day.

“Everything all right?” Kurt whispered.

“It will be in an hour and half when Thor has left the country.” Adam answered with a sigh.

Kurt reached over and gave Adam’s hand a squeeze before Adam got up to go join the rest of the class on stage for class.

Kurt watched Adam entranced.  He was such a strong performer.  He commanded the stage when he was on it, even when he wasn’t the main role he draw attention…well at least he drew Kurt’s attention.  He was dynamic the whole time, even if he wasn’t speaking.  He didn’t just stand there stiff but interacted with what was going on in the lines being spoken.

Kurt wrote down notes as the professor stopped people to correct issues or explain what he wanted from them better and ended up not think much more about Thor and Adam being nearly late for class until the class was over.

At the end of class Adam came and sat down by Kurt again.

“I am skipping Apples practice.” Adam said. “I am then going home and purging my apartment of anything that Thor left this last time around and I am turning off my phone until tomorrow morning.  Would you like to join me?  Take out for dinner and movies snuggled up on the couch.”

“I’d love you. I’m really good at purging, too. I tend to run several piles when doing so…donate, box away in case someone asks about it at some point down the line, trash, and Burn. And I can burn your stuff without setting the whole place on fire or setting off alarms as long as you can burn candles.”

Adam leaned over and kissed Kurt’s cheek.

“I want to bath before snuggling though.  I am certain the stench of Thor is lingering.” Adam said.

“Want me to wash your back?” Kurt asked.

Adam beamed and reached over to brush his fingers against Kurt’s cheek. “Not tonight, but can I take a rain check?”

Kurt smiled back, grabbing Adam’s hand in his and pressing a kiss into Adam’s palm.

“Always.” Kurt said.

It would take a few days before Adam was completely his bright and cheery self again, and Kurt knew the dear had dealt with multiple calls from home about his ‘ill treatment’ of ‘poor dear Thor’, but Kurt and Adam’s relationship afterwards was a great deal more firm.  Adam realized Kurt was strong enough to carry his crazy for a while when he needed help carrying it and Kurt realized that Adam was as human as himself and didn’t expect perfection at all times and had his own baggage…and could relate to Blaine issues much better that Kurt had given him credit for.

[laurlovescookies]

Kadamtimes Prompt: I Think I Want to Marry You 1/1

Adam and Kurt are planning their wedding while visiting Lima. Sue Sylvester demands an invitation. Kurt is not amused; Adam is terribly so. 

Sooo, I decided to make Sue a hardcore Kadam shipper whom shares the pain of our minority fandom. Just a short and silly piece which I hope makes you smile!

-O-

“I’m sorry if you don’t like this place,” Kurt apologized as he and Adam entered the restaurant, stomping away the snow on their shoes. “

Unraveling the red scarf Carol had knit for him, Adam threw his fiancé a reassuring look.

“Nothing to worry about, love. You hold your Glee-unions here every time everyone can make it back here, right? There’s a lot of sentimental value to this place.”

“I guess,” Kurt said grudgingly as they trundled in line to be seated by the hostess. Whatever his tone, Adam noticed Kurt was looking around the joint affectionately. “Still, it’s a bit embarrassing that seven years after leaving Lima, Breadstix is the closest thing we have to fine dining. I guess I’ve been spoiled in New York.”

“Hard not to be. You could eat out at a different restaurant every night for a year, several years, and still not have covered but maybe half a percent of what the city has to offer in food.”

“The food here isn’t bad; the commercials always say the breadsticks are sprinkled in fairy dust, but I’m sure there are illegal drugs mixed up in there too. But it’s quantity over quality, and we never saw chicken alfredo or fried chicken ravioli at Giovanni’s or one of those little hole-in-the-ground gems your friends always recommend.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” said Adam as they moved forward in line. “The closest thing my hometown had to quality dining was pub food, really. And that includes a lot of organs in the UK—steak and kidney pie, or haggis…”

Kurt wrinkled his nose. “I will never forgive you for suggesting I order stargazey pie when we last visited your folks. It sounded so good, and you knew it had fish sticking out and staring at you!”

“You must’ve forgiven me a little, considering you agreed to marry me a few days later.”

“Well, you’re lucky you’re very cute.”

“At least I have that going for me.”

“Table for two, sirs?” Asked the hostess, and Kurt could’ve sworn he’d seen her before, albeit many years ago when he and the Glee club began frequenting this place. He took a closer look; she looked a little older and had a ring glinting on her left finger, but he definitely remembered her. Not for the first time he felt a rush of gratitude that he’d escaped this place which had all the gravitational pull of a black hole. It sounded snobbish, but Lima had always been an overly-conservative, cultural wasteland; Glee had been an oasis.  

“Hullo!” Adam said cheerfully, jerking him from his thoughts. “We’re actually meeting our friends Chang and Abrahmson…?”

“Kurt! Adam! Over here!”

Tina wildly waved them over from her table, grinning ear-to-ear. Smiling, the hostess handed them their menus and they hurried over, Artie playfully tipping a wheelie as Tina rushed to hug them both.

“What’s up, my homies?” he crowed, thumping their backs as each man stooped to embrace him. “So glad you could get away last minute!”

“Well, we thought we would delay our connection flight back to the city when we heard you were visiting too. Don’t get too many opportunities to visit Canada, do we?”

Shortly after Artie graduated from film school he and Tina traveled to Toronto for Artie’s latest project, a movie called The Colors We Leave Behind, which Tina had starred in. Critical response was explosively positive, and the production reaped Best in Show and Honorable Nominee awards in festivals well-over North America. The couple wound up staying in Toronto where Artie was at work establishing his own company.

“So, let’s see, let’s see,” Kurt said breathlessly seizing Tina’s hand, scrutinizing the glint of gold and the black diamond carefully. He flushed with delight, flailing as Tina sat back and laughed. “Nice! Artie, might I say you have impeccably good taste, and you know Tina to a T. Congratulations, I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks, bro. Got some bling-bling on the fing-fing! Now let’s see yours,” demanded Artie. Kurt blushed as Adam raised his hand triumphantly as if he’d just won a bull fight. Tina’s eyes welled up and she looked away, murmuring something about being glad she’d worn water-proof mascara. “Man, I’m so glad. Welcome to the family, Adam! Um, our highly-incestuous family which was at each other’s throats for years, but we loved each other a bit more than we wanted to kill each other, and that counts for something, right?”

Kurt rolled his eyes as Adam very seriously (albeit with a twinkle in his eye) said “Absolutely.”

“Congrats, you guys,” said Tina, reaching over to hug Kurt. “Couldn’t have happened to better people.”

“Do tell: Any wedding plans?” Kurt asked eagerly, eyes lighting up like two stars. Adam knew Kurt could very well succeed in any field he liked, but people would’ve fought in the streets for his wedding planning abilities.

“We’re thinking about a Halloween wedding, with a masquerade theme. Everyone has to wear costumes,” said Tina proudly, squeezing her fiancé’s hand affectionately. “That includes you two. I’m still at work on my outfit.”

“I’m probably going to be Stephen Hawking or R2-D2. Haven’t decided yet, but I might just do both and come as a cyborg. Why not? It’s Canada. You can be whatever you want to be.”  

Adam leaned forward with a gleam in his eye. “Well, we made a brilliant Jack and Sally at Isabel’s last costume party,” he pointed out to Kurt, whom was already looking a little bemused. “Would it be in bad taste if Kuht and I dressed like zombies?”

“Not at all. We’re incorporating those into the cake. And we’re renting a venue that’s supposedly haunted by a janitor and his cat.”

Kurt clearly looked conflicted for a moment, and then he smiled and nodded—when in doubt, he’d often advised Adam. “I like this, I like this. That’ll be anything but boring. We won’t miss it for the world. I’d recommend in the spirit of pure authenticity that you go with a strawberry filling with your cake. It’ll seem like people are eating gore.”

Tina looked as if she could kiss him. “Oh my God, Kurt. That’s fantastic. You think of everything.”

Kurt flashed Adam an affectionate look as he looped an arm around Kurt’s waist, stifling a chuckle. The idea of a macabre Halloween wedding likely violated every wedding sensibility Kurt Hummel had, but there really wasn’t anything he wasn’t willing to work with.

“And in lieu of using tea-lights, might I suggest using lanterns on the table for a more dismal ambiance? Actually, if you’re looking to be economically-efficient, I’d use jack-o-lanterns instead.”

Artie whipped out a notepad from his bag and started scribbling furiously as Adam thoughtfully wondered aloud: “We know some excellent makeup artists on Broadway whom would probably be more than happy to give us pointers on how to look like extras on The Living Dead.”

“Might I suggest we dress like Jack and Enis from Brokeback Mountain? It’s a bit morbid, but at least they’d be together again.”

“Oh my frog, what about your wedding plans?” Tina asked, leaning forward in her seat. Kurt took her hands in his. “England or New York? What venue? Oh my God, Kurt, I’m so excited to see what you do; you stashed wedding magazines like contraband in your room for years. Your parents’ wedding was incredible, and you didn’t even have that much money to work with!”

Kurt blushed. “Well, we, um—“

“Wait, has your engagement been linked to the press yet?” Artie asked, frowning slightly. “They’re going to go insane; Broadway stars getting hitched doesn’t exactly go under the radar.”

“It most certainly does not.”

Sue Sylvester casually wandered over to their table, her saunter decrying her fixed expression. Artie went white, a thunderstruck Tina bit her lip, and Kurt closed his eyes and tilted his head to the ceiling as if praying for deliverance. Adam gazed at her, utterly bewildered. He’d met the infamous Sue Sylvester only twice before, and never encountered a woman in so much need of an ominous theme music to accompany her as to warn the public of her approach.

“Greetings to you all,” Sue said briskly, putting her hands on her hips. “Porcelain. Lovechild of Satan and Lucy Lu. Specs the Little Engine that Can’t. Rainbow Brite’s gay English cousin.” She nodded to them each solemnly in turn, and Adam stuffed a fist against his mouth, eyes watering with the effort not to laugh.

“What are you doing here, Sue?” Artie asked flatly. At that moment the waiter opted to appear behind Sue. “Good evening! Oh, ma’am, were you intending to join their table?”

“No, no, she was just—“

“Absolutely,” said Sue at once, unwavering stare locked on the four. “I could use a chair.”

“Excellent, ma’am. Just a moment.”

As the waiter scurried off, Kurt surveyed Sue wearily, eyes flicking to the nearest glowing Exit sign. “How did you know where to find us?”

“I resent the implication that I planted a tracking device on someone’s mobile chair,” said Sue, and a clearly alarmed Artie twisted in his seat, carefully looking his wheels over. “But in the spirit of all fairness, when your Glee club members return to your native habit, if you’re not haunting the stomping grounds of your gay camp—the sing-along Kumbaya variety, not the Jesus one—you spend thirty percent of your time here in this restaurant, so coming here would’ve made sense in any case.”

The waiter pushed a free chair to the table, and Sue sat down on it without a word of thanks. “May I start you folks off with anything to drink?”

“A glass of something red for everyone,” she ordered, without so much as looking around. “In the case of Edna Scissorhands over there though, you might want to provide a glass of human blood to go alongside it.”

“Excellent choice. I’ll be back in just a moment.”

“Don’t worry, kids. Drinks are on me tonight. Well, they’re actually on you; I just ordered them. But that’s basically the same thing.”

“Maybe if we ignore her, she’ll go away,” said Tina, slouching in her seat.

“I’d hope several years of my making your lives a veritable living hell would imply otherwise.”

“Well, if you dislike everyone so much, why are you here?” Adam inquired, settling his cheek in his hand. Sue cast him a cool look.

“Well, Brit butt-chin wonder whom I hate slightly-less than everyone present because you weren’t a member of the lollipop guild, I’m here because I wanted to offer you my heartiest congratulations on your coming nuptials.”

“We’ve hardly told anyone. How in the world…you know what, never mind.” Said Kurt, letting his forehead fall on his crossed arms. “I’m sure I’d rather not know.”

“You catch on quickly, Porcelain. Well, as sickened as I am to learn that in all likelihood you Glee members are about to begin in-breeding an army of unholy singing misfit dwarves, the prospect of your weddings are something I cherish. And that’s not because I like free food and stashing good silver in my pockets—not only, anyway. And I’m very disappointed to say that I’ve yet to have received invitations.”

Tina cringed. It was as if Maleficient had suddenly melted from the darkness to offer a subtle threat.

“You spent years bullying us, Sue. Why should we believe that you want to attend our ceremonies? You stuffed garlic in my locker and convinced Principal Figgins to try and stake me through the chest.”

“You slashed my tires over fifty times,” Artie accused.

“You confiscated my romance novels and had me eating celery for over a week when I joined the Cheerios,” cried Kurt.

“You threatened to push me down the stairs!” exclaimed Adam.

“I did it so you’d know not to pull a Blainers on the Glee member I nominated ‘Least Likely To Be Deported to Guantamino Bay for Crimes Against Humanity Via Singing-Induced Torture.’”

“We’d only just met! And then you did push me down the stairs that very next moment! I didn’t even do anything!”

“What you call ‘bullying,’ I call ‘endurance training.’ And if the marines deal my methods to be unethical or over-exerting, well, that’s just their loss. Face it, dealing with me made you better-prepared to deal with a cruel, cruel world, right? When I said you were losers, I was saying that because I cared. And I care so deeply about you that I made my own invitations,” she announced, pulling two hand-made cards from her pocket. “That saves you the trouble of having to buy and make them for me. By the way, yes I accept, I have formal black and white tracksuits to wear for each occasion, and I’ll have the chicken.”

“This isn’t high school anymore,” Kurt pointed out crossly. “We don’t have to listen to you.”

“Porcelain, you wound me. Especially when I took the time to book your honeymoon trips as wedding gifts. Tina and Artie, you’ll be pleased to learn that I booked you an all-expense paid trip to the Alps for a ski trip. Adam and Kurt, I got you tickets and a hotel stay in Saudi Arabia. A trip off the beaten path.”

“I can’t ski!” said Artie incredulously, gesturing to his chair.

“And incidentally, homosexuality is a crime punishable by decapitation in Saudi Arabia,” Adam pointed out, very-near scowling. “Do you know what would happen if Kurt and I just showed up at the front desk announcing we wanted a honeymoon suite?”

“Yes, well, logistics. Just switch, and everyone’s happy.”

“I don’t want to go to Saudi Arabia,” Tina snapped.

“The black shrouds that the women wear aren’t all that different from your daily wardrobe. Plus good protection for you against the sun.”

“Sue, please let it go.” Kurt implored. “I can’t think you actually want to come to my wedding and wish us well.”

Sue rounded on him at once. “I’m shocked! Your wedding is the one I least want to miss. I ship you so hard it hurts my heart. Seriously—my doctor warned me against it. But Kadam is just something I cannot and should not resist. Even with the dearth of fanart.”

“We’ve talked about this,” said Kurt angrily as Adam pretended to look for something under the table, laughing so loudly it was silent. “You need to stop posting Real People Fiction stories online about the glee club members.”

“And quit posting them to our Facebook pages! I don’t know how you got past our blocks, but it’s got to stop.” Griped Tina, banging her fist on the table. “You totally ripped off Stephen King’s Misery when you wrote that story about my locking Blaine in my basement. And I’d never do that, by the way.”

“I don’t like it either,” said Artie firmly. “You can’t just make practically everyone in Glee club gay. I didn’t appreciate that one-shot you posted; I would never do that to Kurt.”

“Oh, I’ve come to accept that. My interest in Kartie was short-lived, I assure you. And Klaine—“ Sue wrinkled her nose. “I had to delete those stories. I felt mortified. Tainted. It turns out I’m into healthy, happy, and non-codependent relationships.”

“Can you get one of your own, then?” Asked Kurt despairingly as Adam re-emerged, face flushed, still shaking with laughter.

“No,” said Sue. “And might I say it pains me to be a minority. I feel your pain, Vampiric Cohen-Chang, for I too stand alone in a sea of fool shippers whom love that tool so much they ought to relocate themselves into a shed. Or someplace where straitjackets are dress code.”

“Just how many people do this?” asked Adam wonderingly, as Kurt muttered “Don’t encourage her.”

“Well, you four are all famous now. Even Blaine is, though I like to pretend he was kidnapped by Somalian pirates. Naturally people like to write stories ranging from sweet to mentally cataclysmic about the celebrity couples they dream up. Although I was doing it before it was cool. If you want Kadam fanfiction, alas, I’ve come to terms with the fact that you have to write it yourself. Although I do aspire to be like my fellow troopers. They’ve been in the trenches with me for some time.”

“Sue—“ Kurt interjected tiredly.

“In all seriousness, seeing you visit Lima looking so miserable after Blaine cheated on you made me want to kick a wall or kill a small woodland creature. I did both and neither made me feel better,” the woman said, picking up her menu and reading carefully when Kurt started in surprise. “Pushing Blaine down the stairs sort of did though. In retrospect, he might’ve done you a favor; you might’ve felt obligated to stay with him had he not cheated, and that’s a pretty rotten reason to stay in a relationship. Especially with someone whom encourages you to be small to make themselves feel big. That’s why I gave you a friendly push out the door; long-distance relationships just aren’t made to last.”

Her voice became considerably lower, as if she feared someone would overhear. “And you deserved better.”

Kurt was stunned speechless. Adam reached for Kurt’s hand and squeezed it.

“Well…in that case, thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome. And so I will be pleased to attend your wedding. In fact,” said Sue, a conspiratorial spark glinting in her eye. “I will be pleased to accept your invitation to become your flower girl.”

What? This woman’s reason left Adam’s head spinning worse than when she’d pushed him down the steps in front of Kurt’s old high school.

“We didn’t offer that!” protested Kurt.

“But you will,” said Sue placidly, reaching behind her to steal a basket of breadsticks from a passing waiter’s tray, setting it on the table and helping herself to one. “Because I’ve always supported you 115%. After Blaine’s hideous proposal, I had Astro Boy put in detention for a week due to gross misuse of hair gel. And then I snuck into his home and cut up all his bow ties.”

“That’s…that’s very sweet of you, but—“

“And I’ve cherished a dream for years of being a flower girl at your opulent gay wedding at the Plaza hotel,” she finished triumphantly. Kurt buried his face in his hands.

“How did…no. No. Never mind; I don’t want to know.”

“The Plaza?” squealed Tina in delight. “That’ll be beautiful!”

“A…flower girl?” asked Adam in surprise. “You?”

“Are you doubting my ability to strew flowers in a girlish and joyful fashion? It’s on my resume. And I have headshots.”

“Um…that’s very…generous, but we already have a flower girl,” said Kurt with a consolatory expression belied by a slight lip twitch. “Adam’s second cousin Emma already claimed the spot.”

“Fine. Tell Emma I will fight her for the basket, with whichever weapon she chooses. I’m partial to knife fights, though I do have a propensity to bring guns—“

Adam nearly sputtered water over himself. “Emma is five!”

“Oh. Well, we know how that ends, then.”

“Why do I get the feeling that this will be much easier if we just say yes?” asked Artie, sighing.

“Excellent idea. I knew those glasses meant something beyond the fact that you’re a nerd.”

“She’ll just hound us to the end of the Earth,” he pointed out as Tina shook her head.

“It’s a matter of principal, Artie. It’s like Rachel said: We shouldn’t negotiate with terrorists. I vote no.”

“Well, I vote yes,” said Sue, crossing her arms. “So clearly regarding this wedding, you’re outvoted.”

“You don’t get to vote!”

Kurt looked down at his plate thoughtfully. He was radiating hesitation; while Adam wouldn’t really mind having two flower girls (even a manic woman like Sylvester) she’d spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to take away the Glee club safe space, even if she did opt to help them win Nationals.

“Mommy?”

A little blond girl approached the table, adjusting her glasses. Robin Sylvester had a small bunny and a book in hand, eyeing them all curiously. Sue’s stony expression melted at once, and Adam couldn’t blame her; he and Kurt nursed soft spots for Sue’s sweet and bright child. How Sue had produced her was one of life’s inscrutable mysteries.  

“Hello, sweetheart,” the woman cooed, scooping up the little girl, whom murmured a shy “Hello” when Kurt waved and Adam winked at her. “Weren’t you reading your book at the table?”

“I was, but I wondered what you were doing.”

“Just negotiating, angel. Mommy wants to be a flower girl, and these mean people are saying no.”

Robin perked up with interest immediately.

“Flower girls are pretty. My friend Rosie got to be one,” she murmured, taking a breadstick her mother proffered. “And she looked so nice. The flowers smelled so good.” She looked up at Sue with a smile. “You would be a pretty flower girl too, Mommy.”

Sue beamed down at her before looking pointedly at them all, whom now looked quite pained.

Oh, what were you supposed to say to that?

Adam recovered first. “Well, Sue, we appreciate your offer, but I’m afraid Kurt and I just can’t invite you to our wedding. It’s a matter of principle.” Something like hurt flashed in Sue’s expression, although she quickly masked it.

“Buuuut, if this lovely little lady would like to accept an invitation to be a flower girl and just so happens to bring you along as her plus one, well, we’ll just have to deal with it. Won’t we, Kurt?” he asked, now feeling uncertain. He really ought to have discussed this with him first.

But Kurt’s eyes were glowing softly in approval. “Well, we certainly can’t choose Robin’s plus one. So we’d simply have to make it work. And if Robin just so happened to share her basket with her mom, well, there’s no helping that, is there?”

“Mommy, what are they saying?” asked Robin, whom didn’t seem to believe her ears. Adam flashed her a toothy grin.

“Miss Robin Sylvester, will you be our flower girl? We have another one, but the more the merrier, right?”

“Mommy, can I?”

“Of course, of course, yes!” she crowed, squeezing the little girl tightly; the latter looked enraptured, wriggling with pure joy. Sue drew back a bit, looking slightly concerned.

“But I do get to be your plus one, right?”

Robin bobbed her head.

“And you’ll share your flowers with me?”

“Yes.”

Sue hummed in satisfaction, kissing her on the head. “That’s so good of you.” She gave Kurt and Adam a look that came somewhere in-between annoyance and gratitude.

Tina was looking resiliently away, but she was now fighting a begrudging smile of her own. “Well,” she said shrugging, looking at Artie. “We aren’t having flower girls at our wedding, but if we just so happen to invite Robin and she brings Sue, then we can’t object to that either.”

“Whaddaya say, sweets? Can I be your plus one again?”

Robin bobbed her head again. Sue looked like a well-satisfied cat. “Just so you’re aware, my child is cuter than any of your future spawn,” she announced, looking up at the waiter as he returned with the wine. “I’ll be paying for tonight’s dinner, although you need to put a lot of garlic in the girl’s food.”

Tina made a face.

And so that’s how Kurt and Adam were suckered into having three flower girls instead of one.

[vcg73]

Kadam Week 2017 story  masterlist

There isn’t much interest in Glee/Kurt/Kadam fic anymore, so I knew there was a good chance that this might be a wasted effort. However, I always loved Kadam Week so 5 years of this little event felt like a good way to cap off my favorite ship. Thank you very much to astraplain, laurlovescookies, and pixiealtaira for your stories!  And to those few folks who wrote comments, gave us reblogs, and left tags, thank you very much as well!  It’s been a pleasure. :)

 If anyone has written a story that doesn’t appear on this list, or are working on one that will appear later, please let me know and I will be happy to add it.  Thanks again!

Prompt #1: Allergies

@astraplain - Connect the Dots

@laurlovescookies - Untitled

@vcg73 - Cause & Effect

@pixiealtaira- Hives

Prompt #2: Adam witnesses Kurt fixing a car

@laurlovescookies - It’s a Cold and It’s a Broken Hallelujah

@vcg73 - Kurt’s New Baby

@astraplain - Just a Little Ditty

Prompt #3: Dental Woes & TLC

@laurlovescookies - Wisdom Teeth 

@vcg73 - Twu Wuv

Prompt #4: Stupid/Embarrassing Injury

@laurlovescookies - He Struck You (A Crescendo)

@astraplain - First Aid

@vcg73​ - Twu Wuv

Prompt #5: Kadam Meet/Reunite through a Volunteer Event

@laurlovescookies - Our First Noel

Prompt #6: Kurt Meets Adam’s Ex

Prompt #7: A Pending Deadline

[thequeensfan1117]

Unexpected Beauty (Draft 1)

Fandom: Glee Summary: Adam finds a side of Kurt that he’s never seen before. Characters: Adam Crawford, Kurt Hummel Note: Written for Kadam Week 2017. Day 2 Prompt: “Adam witnesses Kurt fixing/working on a car for the first time. He is singing something unexpected, completely oblivious to his audience.”

Living in New York City meant that Adam didn’t usually use a car to get from Point A to Point B. Instead, the subway was his preferred method of transport over the city unless there was a breakdown or an emergency that prevented him from using it. But he still owned a car in the event that he needed to leave the state for Apples business or anything pertaining to his remaining year at NYADA. As it had been a while since he’d had it serviced by a professional (and at the suggestion of his friend Jeremiah), he took his small Volkswagen to Model A as soon as he had the chance.

He was waiting for a diagnostic on his car when he first heard it.

Could it be? Yes, it could. Something’s coming, something good.

Adam’s first instinct was to look for the source of the song. The voice was unmistakably Kurt Hummel’s, after all. There had been no other student at NYADA – or in any part of Adam’s life for that matter – who had that much talent in such a unique voice. And due to the fact that Kurt was still a freshman, the two of them never had much time to spend together aside from Apples practice. So he was eager to catch, at the very least, a glimpse of the younger man before they had to go their separate ways.

When he finally spotted Kurt, Adam was surprised to see him clad in a navy blue jumpsuit and cream-colored gloves matching that of the mechanic that had received his car for the once-over, a bit of motor oil smeared on his cheek. There was also a red Chevy Impala in between the two of them, so Kurt did not notice him standing in front on him and working on its underside (Adam wasn’t sure what exactly he was doing).

With a click, with a shock, Phone’ll jingle, door’ll knock. Open the latch!

Adam was fully aware that Kurt had needed another way to pay his share of the loft’s rent now that Isabelle Wright had let up a bit on his Vogue internship and he’d lost out on a job opening at the Spotlight Diner. Furthermore, he’d never struck Adam as one to fit into a box of “stereotypical” behavior just because of his sexuality or the way he looked. However, if Kurt had ever shown an interest in cars, Adam hadn’t been there to witness it, which was a shame.

The choice of song was a mini-surprise in and of itself. West Side Story wasn’t a musical often brought up whenever the two of them mentioned love stories or musicals in general. In fact, Adam had not an inkling of how Kurt felt about it. For the first time, he dared wonder why that was. Kurt’s seemingly-impromptu performance of the song proved that the depth and range of Tony was well within his reach. And he was certainly dashing enough to sweep any prospective Maria off her feet.

Perhaps it was something they needed to discuss whenever he felt that Kurt would be amenable to the idea.

Around the corner, Or whistling down the river, Come on, deliver To me!

Kurt still sang as he finished whatever business he had with the underside of the car and began to lower it. Adam wasn’t sure how much time he had left to continue watching Kurt without either one of them being disturbed, but he hoped it would be forever one day. If Kurt had been breathtaking at Winter Showcase, this little ditty was something else.

God, this man was amazing, and Adam once again considered himself lucky to be a part of his life.

“Adam Crawford?”

He turned around and faced the portly mechanic who had taken in his car for servicing. As much as he wished he could stay and listen to Kurt sing and work on the Impala some more, he had important business to attend to.

“I’m Adam.”

The man nodded at his confirmation. “Right this way, sir.”

As he followed the man away from the main area of the shop, Adam took one last look at Kurt. Thankfully, the small conversation didn’t seem to tip him off to the Englishman’s presence. He decided not to push the issue and pressure Kurt into telling him about this new job. After all, if he’d wanted to let Adam into that part of his world, he would have done so by now.

[shlipayadavblog]

NCLT allows RBI's plea for bankruptcy proceedings against Reliance Capital

The Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NLCT) on Monday admitted the petition moved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to initiate insolvency proceedings against Reliance Capital under Section 227 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The bankruptcy tribunal has also confirmed the appointment of Y Nageswar Rao as the administrator of the company. Earlier in the day, the bench presided over by Pradeep Narhari Deshmukh and Kapal Kumar Vohra had reserved their order in the matter after hearing the case.

The RBI had moved the Mumbai bench of NCLT last week to initiate insolvency proceedings against Reliance Capital, after it superseded the company’s board last month, citing defaults and governance issues.

Senior counsel Ravi Kadam, appearing on behalf of RBI, said only the regulator has the power to initiate insolvency proceedings against a financial services provider under Section 227 of IBC.

Kadam argued that private sector lender YES Bank had subscribed to Rs 987 crore worth of non-convertible debentures issued by Reliance Capital on October 30, 2017. The company then defaulted on its obligations to the bank during the same time in 2019; after which the accelerated redemption clause got triggered. It basically allows a lender to require a borrower to repay all of an outstanding loan if certain requirements are not met.

Darius Jehangir Kakalia, appearing for the promoter of Reliance Capital, informed the bench that they support the petition filed by the banking regulator. In a statement, the company said, Reliance Capital supports RBI application of referring RCAP to NCLT under Section 227, for the fast-track resolution.

“The company looks forward to expeditious resolution of its debt and continuation as a well-capitalised going concern through the IBC process, in the overall interests of all its stakeholders, including lenders, customers, employees and shareholders,” the statement added.

[ibilenews]

India: Fears of coronavirus outbreak in Assam's detention centres

Goalpara, India - The last time Gulbahar Begum, 28, saw her father at home was in November 2017. Since then, every other month, she travels nearly 145km (90 miles) to Tezpur detention centre in Sonitpur district of India's northeastern state of Assam to meet Gul Mohammad.

Mohammad, 69, was declared an "illegal immigrant" by the Foreigners Tribunal, a quasi-judicial court in Assam, and thrown into jail for not being able to produce enough documents to prove his citizenship.

Over the past three weeks, Gulbahar is waging a legal battle to free her father due to the global coronavirus pandemic. She says worries over the health of her father do not allow her to sleep.

"My father has various health issues including a kidney ailment. His left leg often swells up," Gulbahar, who hails from Barkhal village in Assam's Marigaon district, told said.

"He should have been home in this public health crisis and not in a detention centre."

As India struggles to contain the spread of the pandemic, families of more than 800 undocumented migrants being held indefinitely in six detention centres across Assam are worried about the safety of their loved ones.

Last year, nearly 1.9 million people - many of them Muslims - were left off a National Register of Citizens (NRC), effectively rendering them stateless. They face either deportation or detention in camps such as the one in which Mohammad is detained.

Several rights organisations have called NRC a tool used by India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "to target and disenfranchise the Muslim population," an allegation the Hindu nationalist party denies.

'People are stuffed'

Family members of those detained fear a potential coronavirus outbreak due to overcrowding in the dentition centres, which makes physical distancing nearly impossible.

Most centres lack proper hygiene and medical care for the detainees, exacerbating the chances of a viral transmission.

"People are stuffed inside common halls. At least 50 people are kept in one room," Gulbahar said she witnessed during one of her visits. "It is very risky for him to stay in such a condition."

Dozens of people have died inside the detention centres since 2009, the latest fatality occurring on Sunday. Officials cited cancer as the reason for 60-year-old Rabeda Begum's death, according to a report.

Botu Miya, 40, from Cachar district, is distressed as he fears his wife, Banesa Begum, being held in Silchar detention centre, might contract the coronavirus.

Banesa, a 45-year-old daily wage labourer, was first marked as a "doubtful voter" for not producing the requisite proof of Indian citizenship and later labelled an undocumented migrant.

Doubtful voters (or D-voters) is a category of voters in Assam whose voting rights were taken away by the government in 1997.

Since then, nearly 143,000 people have been marked as D-voters and referred to Foreigners' Tribunals, facing charges of being "undocumented" migrants mainly from Bangladesh. Some of them are currently languishing in detention centres.

"The condition in the detention camps is inhumane and without basic facilities like bedding and toilets," Miya said. "And keeping her in such place amid this disease is dangerous."

Manvendra Pratap Singh, deputy commissioner of Sonitpur district, however, said all the necessary measures were in place to ensure the safety of every inmate.

"We have stopped taking in new inmates. Everyone is being screened by the doctors on a regular basis and there does not seem to be any such possibility of a coronavirus outbreak," Singh said.

Trying for bail

Some families are making desperate attempts to secure bail from the courts before the virus turns into a disaster inside the detention centres.

Anura Begum, 31, from Gobradhana village in Baksa district has collected all the documents, including the bond amount to bail out her husband Kadam Ali, lodged in the Goalpara centre.

But courts across the state suspended functioning last month following the coronavirus outbreak.

"Just before the lockdown, I had submitted documents for his bail. The officials rejected them and asked me to furnish additional documents," Begum said.

"But now courts are closed and I don't know what will happen to him."

Similarly, Anura Ali, 22, from Shaatbhoridhuk village in Barpeta district is also waiting for the courts to open, so that he can get his father Hanif Ali out on bail.

"Each passing day brings new tragedy for us. All I want is him to be home," Ali said.

[visionmpbpl-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.visionmp.com/plot-assassinate-pm-modi-maoists-letter-suggests-rajiv-gandhi-type-incident-say-police/

Plot to assassinate PM Modi? Maoists’ letter suggests ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type incident’, say police

Pune police have allegedly recovered a letter mentioning a plan to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi from a person arrested in connection with Maoist activities recently.

The document, a copy of which is with the Hindustan Times, was submitted in court by the Pune police on Thursday. Addressed to one “comrade Prakash” by another person identified only by the letter R, it raises concerns about the Modi-led BJP winning 15 states in quick succession. “If this pace continues, it would mean immense trouble on all fronts… Com Kisan and a few other senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end the Modi raj,” it read.

The letter goes on to suggest a strategy to assassinate the Prime Minister. “We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi-type incident. It sounds suicidal and there is a good chance that we might fail, but we feel that the party PB/CC must deliberate over our proposal. Targeting his road shows could be an effective strategy. We collectively believe that survival of the party is supreme to all sacrifices.”

Home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the government is serious about the security of the Prime Minister. “We are always serious about the prime minister’s security. The Maoists are fighting a losing battle. They are now active only in 10 districts in the country,” Singh told a press conference in Jammu after a two-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir.

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, however, suggested on Friday said the letter may have been “planted”. He told ANI, “I am not saying this is completely untrue, but it has been Prime Minister Modi’s old tactic, since he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Whenever his popularity declines, news of an assassination plot is planted. So, it should be probed how much truth is in it this time.”

Pune joint commissioner of police Ravindra Kadam said several virtual and physical documents were recovered during anti-Maoist raids conducted on April 17. A scanned copy of this particular letter was allegedly found on the laptop of Rona Wilson Jacob, one of the five people arrested on Wednesday in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence. The others taken into custody along with him were identified as Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen and Mahesh Raut.

Speaking to journalists in Hyderabad on Friday, Maoist ideologue and revolutionary writer P Vara Vara Rao reacted to the claims, saying: “The people arrested by the Pune police had all been working for the downtrodden and the release of political prisoners. They are not involved in murder politics.”

The letter, dated April 18, 2017, also talks of procuring weapons such as M4 rifles and 4,00,000 rounds of ammunition at a budget of Rs 8 crore.

Addressing the court on Thursday, public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar said it was evident from the letter that the Maoists were planning to kill “someone” on the lines of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. “The sender of the letter mentions that the plot sounds suicidal, but the party must still deliberate on the proposal,” she added.

Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, in Sriperumbedur, Tamil Nadu, by a Sri Lankan suicide bomber. He was campaigning for the upcoming elections at the time.

Maharashtra CM gets threat letters

In another development, sources in the state home department on Friday said Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis received two threat letters allegedly from Maoist groups over the last ten days.

The letters, which reached the chief minister’s office a week ago, have been handed over to the police. “They came after the recent anti-Naxal operations in Gadchiroli, in which 39 Maoists were killed. The letters have been handed over to the police for further investigation,” an official said, adding that both the documents mentioned the Gadchiroli encounters.

[telecomupdate]

Money20/20 Asia invites attendees to their India Roadshow

MUMBAI, India, Aug. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Money20/20 Asia is proud to announce its roadshow series, kicking off in Mumbai this week on August 24th and Bengaluru on August 26th.  Partnering with the Rise Mumbai open innovation programme and 91springboard co-working space, the Money20/20 India roadshow aims to engage with and learn from the Indian FinTech ecosystem in advance of the inaugural Money20/20 Asia conference - to be held in Singapore, March 13-15th, 2018.

Money20/20 is viewed globally as the leading event series for innovators in payments and financial services, bringing together communities to connect and create the future of money.  From banks, tech companies and retailers to payments providers, telcos, startups, investors and governments -- Money20/20 is the global meeting place for the FinTech industry.

In Singapore next March, Money20/20 Asia will recognise the defining influence of the pan-Asian FinTech industry and the important role of India within this community. Confirmed speakers for Money20/20 Asia include:

Bipin Preet Singh, Founder and CEO, Mobikwik

Samir Bhatia, Founder and CEO, SMEcorner.com

Cheng Li, CTO, Ant Financial Services Group

Greg Gibb, Co-Chairman & CEO, Lufax

Jonathan Larsen, CIO, Ping An Group & Chairman, CEO, Ping An Global Voyager Fund

Karla Allen, Senior Director Mobile Payments, Walmart

Makoto Shibata, Head of Global Innovation Team, Digital Transformation Division, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, Managing Partner, Rakuten Capital

Pranav Seth, Senior Vice President, Head of E-business, Business Transformation, & Fintech & Innovation Group, OCBC Group

Spencer Spinnell, Director, Emerging Platforms, Google, Inc.

Thomas Ko, Global Co-GM, Samsung Pay

"Money20/20 Asia will curate world class content, with a pan-Asian focus, for a global audience of senior industry players," explained Pratik (Pat) Patel, Content Director, Money20/20 Asia. "We see some of the principal forces in the FinTech industry coming out of India and are delighted to shine a spotlight on the unique dynamics that are fuelling innovation, both across India and the rest of the world. The roadshow we are hosting in India ahead of Money20/20 Asia next March will play an integral role in the design of our content agenda as it enables us to engage with the brightest minds and rising stars in Indian FinTech."

"Money20/20 is the leading international brand for FinTech events," said Jitendra Gupta, founder of Citrus Pay which was acquired by PayU last year. "Its profile attracts influential attendees, and will showcase innovations happening in the fast changing Indian FinTech space."

Topics for discussion at the India roadshow will centre on 'Next Gen Payments' (Mumbai) and 'Game of Payments' (Bengaluru). Attendees at the evening events, which start at 5:30pm, can look forward to speakers from PayPal, PayU, fonePaisa, ZestMoney and Quona Capital. There is also the chance to win a free ticket to Money20/20 Asia, as well as drinks reception and networking.

The highly anticipated conference bases its activities around collaboration with local FinTech communities. "Holding roadshows in Mumbai and Bengaluru ahead of the inaugural Money20/20 Asia next March reflects both cities' growing international profiles," said Amit Goel, Co-Founder & Managing Director at LTP - Let's Talk Payments, a global FinTech insights platform. "It is heartening to see our industry hubs recognised for their leadership."

Notes to Editor:

Event details:

Mumbai, 5:30pm, Thursday August 24th, RISE Mumbai (#1902, 19th floor - Tower B, Peninsula Business Park, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013)

Bengaluru, 5:30pm, Saturday August 26th, 91 Springboard (2, 3rd Floor, Padmavati Complex, Nanjappa Reddy Layout, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560095)

Mumbai speakers:

Sanjeev Chandak, Co-Founder & CEO at FTcash

Jitendra Gupta, Founder at Citrus Pay & Managing Director at PayU India for quote

Nath Parameshwaran, Director of Corporate Affairs at PayPal India

Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director at Zone Startups/India

Arvind Subramanian, VP, Business strategy at Barclays India

Bengaluru speakers:

Ritesh Kumar Agarwal, Founder-CEO at fonePaisa Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd

Lizzie Chapman, Co-Founder & CEO at ZestMoney

Amit Goel, Co-Founder & Managing Director at LTP - Let's Talk Payments for quote

Pranay Gupta, Co-Founder at 91springboard

Pradeep Kumar, Head of Ecosystem & Outreach at PayPal

Nikhil Kumar, Head of Developer Ecosystem at India Stack

Varun Malhotra, Vice President at Quona Capital

About Money20/20: 

Founded in 2011 and acquired by Ascential plc in 2014, Money20/20 creates destination events where the most innovative people in payments, FinTech and the broader financial services industry connect. Famed for their high-impact networking, the Las Vegas (October) and Copenhagen (June) editions are widely considered unmissable by the industry they serve. The new Asian edition will debut in Singapore in March 2018.  Money20/20 is the space where the industry's smartest visionaries and innovators come together to create the future of money. Money20/20 is an Ascential event. www.money2020.com   

About Ascential plc:

Ascential is a global business-to-business information company that informs and connects the business world in 150 countries through market-leading Exhibitions & Festivals and Information Services.

Ascential powers the prestigious Cannes Lions festival for the branded communications industry, the world's premier payments and financial services congress Money20/20, Spring Fair/Autumn Fair, the global fashion trend forecasting service WGSN, environmental risk data business Groundsure, e-commerce analytics provider One Click Retail and MediaLink, the strategic advisory and business services firm. 

Ascential's premium products enable focus, growth and value. The company provides customers with world class content and connections empowering their businesses to be the best informed and best connected. www.ascential.com.

Media Contact:

Hannah Redfern Event Director, Money20/20 Asia +44 (0)203 033 2406 +44(0)7715 872 197 Hannah@money2020.com

  Read this news on PR Newswire Asia website: Money20/20 Asia invites attendees to their India Roadshow

[pixiealtaira]

First Night In A New Home…or Not

Kadam week prompt four (Wednesday’s)

authors note...this and one more are finished and two other tales took on lives of their own and will be a bit longer to be seen.  I think the ones I’m posting today are mostly error free but not guaranteeing anything.

First Night In A New Home…or Not

The thing was, it was one of those moments that the instinct was to laugh, but Adam could tell that Kurt was actually hurt.

He left Kurt reading one of the texts for History of the Theater America 1800 to 1918 to take his shower, no problems at all.  They were in the process of moving n together and had bought together a bedroom set which was to be delivered the next day.  That simply meant that the bed was only on a metal frame, and had no headboard or footboard and their clothing was in boxes or hung up.  And that, right then, their side tables were stacked milk crates…the plastic kind.  It also meant that their windows had been open a good part of the day as movers actually moved a few items up and through the window (which was a bit bizarre, but who was Adam to argue with city movers.)

Things were fine, Adam guessed, until about half way through washing his hair when he heard a HUGE crash in the bedroom, lots of cussing and then another crash.  The silence was unnerving and Adam shut the shower off and ran out, soap not all the way rinsed out of his hair, to see what was wrong.

Kurt’s foot was somehow through one of the crates, jammed in a whole on the top, which was now the side as the crate had tipped.  The clock and their cell phones were across the room, like they’d been pushed off the crate, and Kurt was face down on the floor with the fly swatter in one hand and his other covering his nose.  Adam could see two flies on the ceiling, right above the bed.

“Kurt!” Adam yelled, rushing over to him.

Kurt turned his head and glared.

“Are you alright?”

Kurt’s glare intensified.

“Can you move?”

“My foot is stuck and I cannot turn over and I think I wrenched my knee and my shoulder and my nose is bleeding, but not broken and I bumped my head good and No I cannot bloody turn over.  Adam, you are wet and dripping on my floors.”

“Yes, and still soapy.  Darling you are hurt.  Should we try to move you or call 911?”

Kurt sighed.  “Adam, I think you missed something.”

Adam looked at Kurt again.  “Oh.”

“Yes, Oh.  We had better be able to move me because I will not be seen by paramedics bare butt naked!” Kurt screamed, then immediately winced. “Ow.  Yelling hurts.  I might have bruised some ribs.”

“What should I do first?”  Adam asked.

“Put the crate my foot is caught in on the floor all the way and roll me over, carefully. Then go rinse off and put on some clothes.”

Adam got Kurt rolled over and they got his foot out of the crate before Adam went and finished his shower while Kurt called 911.  Adam was back out and dressing before Kurt even finished his call and they had managed to slide boxers onto Kurt before the paramedics arrived. They had not managed anything else.

Of course the first thing the two men asked was what happened.

“I fell.” Kurt answered.

“We need to know exactly what happened.” The larger of the two men insisted.

Kurt sighed.

“There were flies.  Two. They kept dive bombing me while I tried to study.  I got annoyed and got the fly swatter.  They landed on the ceiling.  I stood on the bed and tried to reach where they had landed with the swatter. I took a step and it wasn’t more bed, just the very edge. I kicked the crate that held the clock and our phones, they went flying. I was losing balance so I figured the crates were more sturdy than these shit pieces are…the ones I had as a kid certainly were.  I put the foot that was still wavering in midair down on the crate.  My foot went through, it tilted sideways and the rest of me went down. Face first.  I know my nose is bruised at least, I can feel it.  At least two bruised if not cracked ribs, but not fully broken, jacked up shoulder, jacked up my knee, probably goose eggs on my forehead and I bruised my chin. And of course my foot.”

The less large man, who’d been the one actually checking over Kurt, nodded along.

The other man looked around, noticing where the flyswatter was still lying on the floor and where the bottom crate was resting.  Then he looked at Kurt again.

“You also have scratched down your side and under you boxer waistband.” He finally said.

Kurt turned beet red took a deep breath and sat up straighter. “Yes, well, I am sorry but I refuse to meet any of New York’s finest in my birthday suit if I don’t absolutely have to!”

“Why were you naked if you were studying?”

“Do you sleep with your other half fully dressed?” Kurt snapped.

“But it’s not even that late!”

“You are so not married.” Kurt snarled.  “For your information, we moved in today.  We’ve moved boxes and trunks and suitcases and furniture all day long. We watched our piano hoisted on cables through our front window!  And oddly enough just because someone takes a day off from classes to move, most professors don’t just say…’poor dears, your classes and homework  are waived until you are all settled in’.  Nope.  They say ‘have it in tomorrow or you get a zero, have fun!’  A few even cackled.”

“Kurt darling…” Adam said soothingly, as if trying to calm a scared animal.

The paramedic working directly on Kurt was trying not to laugh.

However Kurt was beyond soothing. “So, I took a hot shower and went to sit in my bed while my lover took his shower.  I have no blasted time to waste so while I was waiting, in hopes of luring my love into hot steamy gay sex as soon as he was done, I read my blasted book and got dive bombed by the fucking flies!  Which I then tried to murder in cold blood but instead ended up putting my foot through our makeshift side table and nearly killing myself! Are you happy now?”

The large man looked at Kurt like he’d grown two heads and the paramedic working on Kurt lost it as Kurt screamed.

“I’ll just go call down and have Del bring up the stretcher.” The larger man said very softly, backing away slowly.

“Adam, my head hurts.” Kurt said.

“I am sure it does, Kurt.” Adam replied. “I am sure once they have you at the ER and we get you looked over very carefully, they’ll get you something for that.”

“Ok.” Kurt replied. “Adam, I think you’re going to have to call Madame Tibideaux and tell her I’m not making it in tomorrow.  Tell her I’ll bring a note from my doctor.”

“I’ll do that right now,” Adam said. “And I’m going to go put on shoes so I can hopefully go with you to the ER.  I’ll also call Isabelle.”

Then Kurt sniffed.

“Adam, do you think he’s gonna be mad at me?” Kurt asked.

“I’m sure he’ll forgive you if you want him to.” Adam said.

“Ok. Adam, my head hurts.”

“I think Kurt here has a concussion.  I’m John, by the way.  Don’t worry Kurt, it is good for Manny to be yelled at every once in a while.  He doesn’t always think before he says things. Nice guy, good at the job…no people skills.” The paramedic who had been working on Kurt said. Kurt just looked at John with a dazed gaze. John turned to talk to Adam. “I don’t think his nose is broken. We’ll run a full set of x-rays to be certain about it though. That looked to be a nasty fall. Why don’t you put together a bag of clothes for him, so when we are all done he’ll have something to wear to come home in.  Loose, like sweats.”

“I don’t think he owns any.” Adam said.  “I’ll have to pack him some of mine. Oh God, if he ends up in casts we are going to have to go shopping.”

“What can I say,” Kurt mumbled.  “I’m fabulous.”

Adam was ready with packed bags and all sorts of documentation and Kurt’s cell phone with his dad on speed dial number two (and Adam was ecstatic he was in the number one spot) so that when they got the stretcher up and Kurt loaded he could travel with him in the ambulance, where Kurt just kept complaining his head hurt and Cassie July was going to kill him.

Adam was allowed to sit with him while Kurt was checked out and in the section he’d been in while Kurt was whisked away for x-rays, except when he was on Kurt’s cell with Kurt’s dad so he could fill out all Kurt’s paper work. Luckily Kurt was seen quickly all throughout the night, waiting mostly for the next person who needed to care for him to come in and do their bit.

It was about 9am, a whole 14 hours pretty much, when they were released. Kurt was on crutches, with his foot and his knee in braces.  He hadn’t broken ribs or his nose or cracked his skull, luckily.   His shoulder had only been bruised and the nurse assured Adam that his concussion wouldn’t take more than a day or two until that was fine as well.

His foot and knee?  Well those would take a good six weeks to fully heal.  Kurt wasn’t happy. He was going to have to redo his dance courses and maybe two or three other ones as well. He was talking to his bosses of both his jobs when he got home and would hopefully still have them at the end. And he was still feeling guilty for screaming at the big guy.

Adam tucked Kurt into his side as they caught the taxi to take them home and then helped him into the elevator and into their apartment when they got to the building.  He settled Kurt onto the sofa and called the delivery service who was supposed to be bringing in their bedroom set, to ask if he could pay extra for them to completely put it together, feeling very fortunate that they hadn’t missed them while at the hospital.

“Adam.” Kurt called from where he was starting to doze off on the couch.

“One moment, love” Adam called, jotting down on a pad of paper the new amount that he’d need to give the delivery men for set up as well as delivery.

“Adam!” Kurt yelled.

Adam hung up and raced to the Kurt’s side.

“What’s wrong?” Adam said.  He worried Kurt’s concussion was worse or he’d hurt his leg more.

“The flies are still here, Adam.  And they are dive bombing me.” Kurt said.

“I’ll fix it.” Adam reassured Kurt, heading into the bedroom to fetch the fly swatter.  He had a feeling he knew what he was spending most of his day doing.

[laurlovescookies]

Kadam Week Prompt Five: Our First Noel

- Kurt and Adam either meet or reunite while participating in a volunteer event.

In this fic, Kurt decides to spend Christmas Eve working in a LGBT youth shelter. Burt comes along to help (no Blaine all up here in this bitch) and Kurt meets a kind young man whom found his NYADA audition “Breathtaking.” ^_^

There are a few more switcheroos in this fic: Burt doesn’t tell Kurt about his cancer until the day after Christmas. Kurt’s going to be seriously upset (and not happy that Burt didn’t tell him immediately; I think I would be too) but I’ll say that Burt wanted Kurt to not have to worry about it over Christmas (and the kid DOES worry.)

Plus, on a more selfish note, I have to keep this fic fairly short if I want to finish the week’s challenge, and if Adam and Kurt wanted to talk shop about cancer, this story would be considerably longer.  

Please enjoy!

-O-

Kurt never believed he would credit Sue Sylvester with having a good idea (let alone a philanthropic one) but her enlisting the Glee club to volunteer at a homeless shelter last Christmas Eve had been a surprisingly sweet initiative on her part. That had lasted all of one day, but he thought it would be a good annual tradition to adopt.

When he thought he would be spending Christmas alone this year, Kurt had signed himself up to work at a halfway center known as the “Rainbow Connection,” a center which provided aid to displaced LGBT youth in New York City.

But Burt had shown up at the door with a tree, very nearly inducing a heart attack of Kurt’s own. After the tree had been put up and they’d waved Rachel off for her cruise, Burt had volunteered to come along with Kurt to the shelter. The man had signed up considerably late, but none of the staff minded.

“We really need all the help we can get,” said the curly-haired man whom shook both their hands at the check-in desk. He was wearing a Santa cap. “We won’t be turning away anyone today, that or any other day.”

Kurt looked around the center’s reception room. It was a weathered place, bearing scratch marks on walls with chipped and faded paint. Old pipes gurgled from the ceiling, and the carpet was frayed and water-stained. He might’ve been imagining things, but judging by its slightly lopsided halls the place seemed to be actively sinking into the earth. Burt looked around too, brow furrowing.

“If I have anythin’ to say in Washington about any gay kid shelter—and damned well I do—I’m not gonna stand for Ohio’s shelters getting this beat up.”

Kurt thought the building was in desperate need of a facelift, but the staff had tried cheering the place with an explosion of color: There were LGBT flags and safe space stickers everywhere you looked, a burst of silver and blue paper chains surrounding a battered menorah on a crooked table, and a kenora surrounded by red and gold tinsel not far away. Christmas lights were wrapped around the battered old pipes, and down the halls were intermittent little Charlie Brown trees the staff had likely picked from the remains of Christmas tree lots. They’d been loved into life with handmade decorations, photos of staff members and shelter comers. Kurt’s heart ached and his throat tightened as he looked at them, looked at the resource posters for food, foster care, financial aid, and STD prevention and care.

“I’m glad this place exists.”

“Me too,” said Burt heavily. “But I’m real sorry that it has to.”

“We got a whole lot of people coming in tonight and tomorrow,” said the shelter attendant, and they turned to face him again. “The weather tonight is supposed to set a new record for the coldest Christmas NYC’s seen in eleven years.”

Kurt felt a hot wave of guilt. His dad had flown so far to see him, had saved him from being one of the displaced teens coming in for a respite from the cold, to the only Christmas they were likely to get. He stepped closer to his father, and Burt wrapped an arm around his shoulders, hugging him.

“Now to find jobs for you both. Can either of you cook?”

Burt muttered a “Not really,” while Kurt nodded. “A little.”

“’A little’ meaning my kid cooks better than anyone I ever met. Uh, don’t tell Carol I said that.”

The man sighed, looking profoundly relieved. “Right then. Kurt, if I could just have you take a right down the hall to the kitchen, they’ll put you to work. Mr. Hummel, if you’ll just come with me, please…”

Kurt reluctantly waved goodbye to his father, headed into the kitchen area, where he was pleased to find lots of people already at work, bustling over trays of turkey, foil casserole dishes of potatoes and cranberry sauce.

The man in charge eagerly put Kurt to work on the Christmas cookies. As Kurt picked up an icing bag, for one sliver in time, his mother’s hands were wrapped around his much smaller ones, guiding his decorating for Santa’s cookies.

He blinked, and got to work carefully decorating snowflake shaped cookies, making silvery curly-ques atop light-blue icing, dotting them with glittery sugar and chocolate chips. He knew he was being silly; people would be more interested in eating the cookies then looking at them, but he didn’t want the dessert to seem perfunctory. He’d yelled at his bemused father for trying to stick a plate of oreos in front of the fireplace when that just wasn’t the same.

He made rainbow cookies with gender symbols atop them, cookies in the shape of an ace with black, blue and purple frosting, glittery blue, pink and white striped stars to represent the transgender flag. Perhaps he went a bit too far by making little gingerbread men in frosting tuxedos holding hands with each other, but he could not resist. Soon he made little gingerbread women with icing skirts doing the same, followed by large heart cookies. Feeling sheepish, Kurt nonetheless got to work writing on the hearts, wondering if they seemed too much like Valentine’s-conversation candy.

“These are all lovely.”

Starting, Kurt whirled around, nearly knocking the young man beside him in the ribs with his elbow—there really were too many cooks in the kitchen. “Oh! Oh, I’m sorry. And thank you.”

The young man smiled. He was a tall bean pole, with dark blond hair tousled beneath his beanie, with light-blue eyes and a small cleft in his chin. Kurt felt the bottom briefly drop out of his stomach. “It’s quite alright. I’m sorry; there isn’t too much space here.” He had a British accent.

He took a careful step back, still smiling down at Kurt’s cookies, expression soft. “Oh, these are wonderful. You make pastries as well as you sing, Kurt. People will be fighting over them.”

Kurt’s face was suddenly as flaming as his cookies and he looked away, smiling broadly.

“I hope not. And thank you again, ah—“ His eyes widened in surprise as he realized that while the stranger knew his name, Kurt didn’t know his. And certainly he wouldn’t forget a face like this one.

It was the stranger’s turn to flush. “I’m sorry; I’m a fan, not a stalker.” He frowned. “Stalkers aren’t allowed to say that, are they? Ah, well. Adam Crawford.” He extended a floury hand, and Kurt took it with a bemused smile. “I forget you’re not a NYADA student just yet.”

“How did you know I got in?” Kurt asked wonderingly.

“I heard your performance at the Winter showcase.” Adam smiled again, eyes warm and bright. “If Madame T didn’t let you in after that, I can only conclude she’d need to be shut in an asylum.”

Kurt laughed aloud at that, surprising himself. “Well, thank you. I think Rachel was the showstopper though.”

“Rachel Berry?” asked Adam, brow creasing. “She was fine. But the way you sang…” Adam shook his head in stunned amazement. “It was positively…breathtaking.”

Kurt colored a little more, knowing he ought to get back to the cookies and yet rooted to the spot. “Thank you.”

“Fair warning,” said Adam, moving to check the bubbling pot he’d been working over. He scooped out a ladleful and after blowing on it for some time took a tentative sip. “The moment you finished singing the Apples gathered outside to discuss potential tactics on how to recruit you. I likely would’ve discovered where you lived and shown up on your doorstep with my homemade apple pie. You wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“Wait, what? The Apples? And recruit me for what, being gay?”

“Of course you can’t recruit people into being gay. You can only become gay by sitting too close to the telly,” Adam said seriously. Then his face fell and both he and Kurt burst out giggling. Adam wiped his eyes.

“The Adam’s Apples are the show choir group I founded.” Kurt’s eyes lit up at once. “I thought you were remarkable, but to be honest, I didn’t have much hope, considering how good you are and we’re…” Adam shrugged helplessly. “Well, show choir. Even amongst misfit artists, show choir members are treated anathema at NYADA.”

“That’s okay. I was part of my high school glee club, and even nerds threw rocks at us from cars. But pie and show choir both sound excellent to me.”

Adam opened the oven and Kurt got a hot waft of decadent cinnamon and melting brown sugar, along with the gentle smell of apples. “Come to the dark side, Kurt. We have pie.”

“As long as it’s not koolaid.”

“And try a bit of this,” Adam offered, fetching another saucer and offering Kurt a small scoop of soup. Throwing Adam a dubious look, Kurt blew on it and tried, eyes closing.

“Oh dear God, that chicken and dumpling is divine.” He laughed and shook his head. “Did you follow me here so that you could win me over to your show choir with food?”

It was stupid, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Adam maybe cooked this way for someone else.

“Is it working?” Adam asked innocently, chuckling when Kurt nudged him playfully. “No, dear. I come here often. I only just so happened to recognize you.”  

“Are you…are you a volunteer as well?”

“Yes,” said Adam, stirring the pot and adding pepper. “School and the Apples keep me busy and I can’t come as often as I like, but I like to volunteer as a day camp counselor here. The facility works with the state to find lgbt-friendly foster homes for minors, but lots of them like to come here and participate in therapy or art classes.”

“Are you…” He ought not to ask, not to ask— “Are you here with your family tonight?”

Adam smiled and shook his head. “No, they’re back across the pond in Wessex, but no one minded a bit when I came out, not even my gran. I’m afraid I’m saving my money in the kipper for a longer vacation opportunity in the summer, so I won’t be with them this year.” He exhaled, and looked at the window, beckoning Kurt over with a finger.

“Still….”

The sight knocked the heart out of him; there was already an enormous line of people outside the shelter. Attendants were trying to shepherd people inside, but the line wrapped around the block. People were huddling together, all the while the wind was whistling and the world was being pillowed with snow. Kurt blinked again and prayed Adam didn’t notice him dab at his eye.

“Here I’m reminded it could be worse,” the taller boy said quietly, going back to his cutting board to slice potatoes. Kurt turned back to the cookies, tracing words on the desserts as quickly as he could. “I feel guilty.”

“Why?”

“I…my dad struggled with my coming out, it was so different than everything he ever was, and yet he took me exactly as I am, unconditionally.” Kurt palmed his eye. “I was so afraid when I told him that I’d…well, my friend Mercedes offered to let me stay at her place, if…”

Adam looked over at him, expression serious. “You shouldn’t have had to worry about that at all, Kurt.” Adam pronounced his name Kuht, and Kurt liked how it sounded. “No one deserves to be thrown out of their home for something they simply cannot help. While I’m very happy your dad is supportive, I wish that support were simply expected, rather than being an instance of sheer luck.”

 Kurt smiled sadly. “My dad said something along the same lines.”

Suddenly he got an idea, and seized a package of paper cups and ripped off the plastic. Kurt grabbed a tray from a shelf beneath him, and after setting the cups upon it started filling them all from an enormous dispenser with cocoa. Adam watched curiously as Kurt feverishly sprinkled cinnamon in them all, grabbed his coat off the hook and started buttoning. “What are you…” He looked outside and his eyes widened with understanding. “Oh…”  

“I know I probably can’t give one to everyone in time,” Kurt said breathlessly, bustling for the emergency exit. “But I have to at least try.”

Stunned, Adam watched as Kurt headed out, the wind buffeting him as he did so. A second later Adam turned the burner and oven off, and started stacking a tray of his own, curiously sampling a hot cocoa with cinnamon. He closed his eyes. God, but that was delicious.  

He hurried out afterwards, the chill knifing into his bones, making him seize up. He’d been in such a rush to follow Kurt that he’d forgotten his coat. Kurt was already making a beeline for the line, his face flushed pink. Adam watched it for a stupidly long moment, then jolted and followed suit.  

By now the line was moving and more people had made their way inside, but no one rejected the cocoa, some sipping cautiously while others simply moved their faces over the steam, wrapping icy fingers around the hot cups.

Soon after the boys rushed in again, and again, and on the sixth time Kurt thought at least he was getting some exercise this Christmas. He and Adam kept bumping into each other as they served chocolate, and Kurt couldn’t help but huddle closer to the other boy—it really was bitterly cold out.

By the time they’d served cocoa to the last person heading inside they staggered back into the kitchen, exhausted, very flushed, very cold and cracking up. “Dear God, your hands,” Adam exclaimed, taking Kurt’s flushed hands in his own.

“Hello, pot. I’m kettle. You’re pink,” pointed out Kurt, and started giggling when Adam swatted at him affectionately.

Soon the food was moved to the counter, where the line was already waiting. He looked over at Adam. “Do you have any plans for Christmas?”

“Oh, I’ll…enjoy some movies and soup in bed. Catch up on my reading.”

Kurt said nothing to that for a few moments. Hours ago he’d expected a quiet day himself, had been able to excuse his not-returning to Lima on lack of funds (and a desire to avoid his ex.) But after Burt had appeared, the idea now seemed inexplicably lonely.

“Well, you’re sitting with us at the volunteer’s table tonight.” Kurt said crisply, voice leaving no room for argument. “Those are my terms if you want me to join the apples. Take it or leave it.”

Adam looked bemused, then amazed, and then laughed gleefully.

“You drive a hard bargain, sir. I’ll take it.”

-O-

Later that night, Adam would pass a cookie to Kurt that he’d made himself. It simply read, You’re Adorable.

And Kurt would stutter and look away, and Burt would lift a brow and throw an inscrutable look at his son, whom was glugging down cocoa to avoid answering. Burt’s uncertain expression would thaw (albeit begrudgingly) as Adam described his work as a counselor in the youth programs at the youth center, and his ragtag showchoir at NYADA, and how Kurt sounded like a silver bell at the winter showcase. (If Kurt hadn’t been red before, he was scarlet then.)

And Burt would invite Adam to take the Rockettes ticket he’d bought for Rachel before he knew she was leaving town. And Adam would stammer that no, he really couldn’t and Burt Hummel said calmly that he damn well could, and would because the tickets were non-refundable and ‘my kid just lit up like the star of Bethlehem, so will you not ruin my kid’s Christmas?’ And Adam was speechless, though he was already understanding that a wise man does not argue with Burt Hummel.

And Kurt would squeeze his hand underneath the table, and offer Adam the opportunity to come back home with them afterwards and eat too much food while they watched basketball (while his father did, anyway) and that sounded perfect, so of course Adam said yes. And of course Kurt would smile, eyes shining.

That would be their first Christmas together. It wasn’t their last.

[vcg73]

Kadam Week 2017

Between a trip out of town, a dental procedure, and being distracted by the evils of U.S. Politics, I nearly forgot about this. But I need happy distraction, so here we go!  

Kadam week - aka  stories about Kurt Hummel and Adam Crawford as an ongoing couple - has traditionally happened on the first full week of May. Sunday the 7th - Saturday the 13th this year.  If you wish to participate, there is no limit - big or small - on the length of the stories. Please tag them Kadam Week 2017. I’ll try to round everything up (assuming anyone participates) into a master-post at the end. :)

Stories may be posted for any of these prompts at any time. So if Thursday’s prompt moves you and it’s only Tuesday?  I doubt anyone will complain!  

Sunday 

- One prompts an accidental allergic reaction in the other. Food? Itchy Material? Noxious Cologne? Pets?  

Monday 

- Adam witnesses Kurt fixing/working on a car for the first time. He is singing something unexpected, completely oblivious to his audience.

Tuesday 

- One of the guys has wisdom tooth/teeth out (or other dental misery) and needs a little TLC.

Wednesday 

-Someone strains, sprains, breaks, or otherwise injures himself doing something really stupid. How does his partner react?

Thursday 

- Kurt and Adam either meet or reunite while participating in a volunteer event. 

Friday 

- Kurt meets Adam’s ex-boyfriend and realizes that he may not have cornered the market on bad relationships. 

Saturday 

- One of the guys is stressing out over a pending event. (Parental visit, audition, work deadline, whatever you like as long as it causes a freak out.) How does the other get him through it? Or help him him celebrate getting through it?  

[thequeensfan1117]

Wisdom and Care (Draft 1)

Fandom: Glee Summary: Kurt tends to Adam after a trip to the dentist. Characters: Kurt Hummel, Adam Crawford Note: Written for Kadam Week 2017. Day 3 Prompt: “One of the guys has wisdom tooth/teeth out (or other dental misery) and needs a little TLC.”

Kurt slid the door to the loft open with a little more difficulty than usual. Adam was still a little woozy from whatever dosage of Novocaine the dentist had given him, and as such, he wobbled from time to time on the way back to Bushwick. Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt saw him lean back against the wall opposite the door so as to hold himself up better. He worked on getting it completely open, and as soon as it was, he went over to his boyfriend and held him steady while the two of them crossed the threshold.

“Easy does it,” Kurt cooed.

He walked with Adam to the couch and set him down in a sitting position. Once he was sure that Adam wouldn’t fall off, he crossed the loft and closed the door again. On his way back, he stopped at the kitchen area in order to grab a towel and the ice pack Santana had purchased after one of Kurt’s mishaps.

“Kuht – ”

He quickly rushed back to Adam’s side and sat on the couch facing him. With a soft shushing noise, he lifted the pack and pressed it gently to Adam’s cheek. Despite a little fidgeting, he eventually relaxed into Kurt. The two held onto each other’s hands almost on instinct.

“Try not to talk too much, love,” Kurt said.

Adam nodded quite reluctantly.

“You said he said the bleeding should stop by tomorrow?”

Another nod. Kurt smiled and continued to press the ice pack against Adam. He hoped that it would help soothe the pain a little bit. Even if Adam didn’t need very much help, Kurt knew he would feel quite useless if he did nothing for his boyfriend. However, he didn’t know how Adam would take his need to be there for him during the first 24 hours. Would he freak out and demand that Kurt back off?

“That’s good. Maybe then you can watch over the Apples practice even if you can’t sing with us for a while.”

Kurt found that he could barely stop himself from speaking, and wondered why that was. He wasn’t exactly panicking over the whole issue, and neither was Adam. There was therefore no immediate need for them to soothe each other’s nerves.

“‘id we ge’ gaushe?” Adam asked all of a sudden.

“Gauze?” Kurt repeated immediately.

At his boyfriend’s nod, he realized that they hadn’t stopped at all on the way to the loft. Kurt was just about to mentally kick himself for that realization until he remembered there was a box of gauze pads in the bathroom area. There had yet been no need to use them, but he and Rachel always insisted on having a full first-aid kit in case something happened to either one of them or to Santana. After all, one never knew what injuries one could sustain while performing in front of a crowd.

“We didn’t get any, but there’s some in here,” he said at last. “Hang on. I’ll go get it.”

As he went to get it, however, he felt one of Adam’s hands take a hold of his wrist. He turned around curiously and found himself looking deeply into those blue eyes.

“’hank you,” Adam said simply.

Despite the temptation to simply remind him to not speak if he could avoid it, Kurt smiled and addressed him softly.

“What for?”

Adam seemed to need a few seconds to process what he’d just asked. Evidently the Novocaine hadn’t yet begun to wear off.

“Been wi’ me,” was the reply.

Kurt could barely make out what his boyfriend said, at first. But as he finally caught the meaning of the words, his small smile grew just a little bigger. He took Adam’s free hand with his own and squeezed it lightly.

“Of course I’m here with you. I know we haven’t been together very long, but I.. I care about you so much.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kurt felt his cheeks growing hot. He reluctantly freed himself from his boyfriend’s grasp and hurried to the bathroom. As sweet as Adam was, their relationship was still very new. No. He had to be positive here. Opening the medicine cabinet and grabbing the gauze (along with a bottle of Advil just in case), he went back to the couch and prepared to face Adam’s response head-on.

Adam looked as if he were about to pass out as he removed the ice pack from his cheek in order to pull the gauze pad away from the back of his mouth. Focusing on a pulling a fresh pad out of the box instead of on the bloody one on the floor, he handed it over.

“I brought the ibuprofen, too, in case it hurts too much,” he said absently.

Adam said nothing as he gently bit down on the new gauze pad. However, judging by the look in his eyes, Kurt really had nothing to fear after what he’s just said. It might have been entirely too early for use of the ‘l’ word, but he knew that as long as he could stand by the handsome Englishman, that didn’t really matter at the moment.

[ebizupdate]

Money20/20 Asia invites attendees to their India Roadshow

MUMBAI, India, Aug. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Money20/20 Asia is proud to announce its roadshow series, kicking off in Mumbai this week on August 24th and Bengaluru on August 26th.  Partnering with the Rise Mumbai open innovation programme and 91springboard co-working space, the Money20/20 India roadshow aims to engage with and learn from the Indian FinTech ecosystem in advance of the inaugural Money20/20 Asia conference - to be held in Singapore, March 13-15th, 2018.

Money20/20 is viewed globally as the leading event series for innovators in payments and financial services, bringing together communities to connect and create the future of money.  From banks, tech companies and retailers to payments providers, telcos, startups, investors and governments -- Money20/20 is the global meeting place for the FinTech industry.

In Singapore next March, Money20/20 Asia will recognise the defining influence of the pan-Asian FinTech industry and the important role of India within this community. Confirmed speakers for Money20/20 Asia include:

Bipin Preet Singh, Founder and CEO, Mobikwik

Samir Bhatia, Founder and CEO, SMEcorner.com

Cheng Li, CTO, Ant Financial Services Group

Greg Gibb, Co-Chairman & CEO, Lufax

Jonathan Larsen, CIO, Ping An Group & Chairman, CEO, Ping An Global Voyager Fund

Karla Allen, Senior Director Mobile Payments, Walmart

Makoto Shibata, Head of Global Innovation Team, Digital Transformation Division, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, Managing Partner, Rakuten Capital

Pranav Seth, Senior Vice President, Head of E-business, Business Transformation, & Fintech & Innovation Group, OCBC Group

Spencer Spinnell, Director, Emerging Platforms, Google, Inc.

Thomas Ko, Global Co-GM, Samsung Pay

"Money20/20 Asia will curate world class content, with a pan-Asian focus, for a global audience of senior industry players," explained Pratik (Pat) Patel, Content Director, Money20/20 Asia. "We see some of the principal forces in the FinTech industry coming out of India and are delighted to shine a spotlight on the unique dynamics that are fuelling innovation, both across India and the rest of the world. The roadshow we are hosting in India ahead of Money20/20 Asia next March will play an integral role in the design of our content agenda as it enables us to engage with the brightest minds and rising stars in Indian FinTech."

"Money20/20 is the leading international brand for FinTech events," said Jitendra Gupta, founder of Citrus Pay which was acquired by PayU last year. "Its profile attracts influential attendees, and will showcase innovations happening in the fast changing Indian FinTech space."

Topics for discussion at the India roadshow will centre on 'Next Gen Payments' (Mumbai) and 'Game of Payments' (Bengaluru). Attendees at the evening events, which start at 5:30pm, can look forward to speakers from PayPal, PayU, fonePaisa, ZestMoney and Quona Capital. There is also the chance to win a free ticket to Money20/20 Asia, as well as drinks reception and networking.

The highly anticipated conference bases its activities around collaboration with local FinTech communities. "Holding roadshows in Mumbai and Bengaluru ahead of the inaugural Money20/20 Asia next March reflects both cities' growing international profiles," said Amit Goel, Co-Founder & Managing Director at LTP - Let's Talk Payments, a global FinTech insights platform. "It is heartening to see our industry hubs recognised for their leadership."

Notes to Editor:

Event details:

Mumbai, 5:30pm, Thursday August 24th, RISE Mumbai (#1902, 19th floor - Tower B, Peninsula Business Park, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013)

Bengaluru, 5:30pm, Saturday August 26th, 91 Springboard (2, 3rd Floor, Padmavati Complex, Nanjappa Reddy Layout, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560095)

Mumbai speakers:

Sanjeev Chandak, Co-Founder & CEO at FTcash

Jitendra Gupta, Founder at Citrus Pay & Managing Director at PayU India for quote

Nath Parameshwaran, Director of Corporate Affairs at PayPal India

Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director at Zone Startups/India

Arvind Subramanian, VP, Business strategy at Barclays India

Bengaluru speakers:

Ritesh Kumar Agarwal, Founder-CEO at fonePaisa Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd

Lizzie Chapman, Co-Founder & CEO at ZestMoney

Amit Goel, Co-Founder & Managing Director at LTP - Let's Talk Payments for quote

Pranay Gupta, Co-Founder at 91springboard

Pradeep Kumar, Head of Ecosystem & Outreach at PayPal

Nikhil Kumar, Head of Developer Ecosystem at India Stack

Varun Malhotra, Vice President at Quona Capital

About Money20/20: 

Founded in 2011 and acquired by Ascential plc in 2014, Money20/20 creates destination events where the most innovative people in payments, FinTech and the broader financial services industry connect. Famed for their high-impact networking, the Las Vegas (October) and Copenhagen (June) editions are widely considered unmissable by the industry they serve. The new Asian edition will debut in Singapore in March 2018.  Money20/20 is the space where the industry's smartest visionaries and innovators come together to create the future of money. Money20/20 is an Ascential event. www.money2020.com   

About Ascential plc:

Ascential is a global business-to-business information company that informs and connects the business world in 150 countries through market-leading Exhibitions & Festivals and Information Services.

Ascential powers the prestigious Cannes Lions festival for the branded communications industry, the world's premier payments and financial services congress Money20/20, Spring Fair/Autumn Fair, the global fashion trend forecasting service WGSN, environmental risk data business Groundsure, e-commerce analytics provider One Click Retail and MediaLink, the strategic advisory and business services firm. 

Ascential's premium products enable focus, growth and value. The company provides customers with world class content and connections empowering their businesses to be the best informed and best connected. www.ascential.com.

Media Contact:

Hannah Redfern Event Director, Money20/20 Asia +44 (0)203 033 2406 +44(0)7715 872 197 Hannah@money2020.com

  Read this news on PR Newswire Asia website: Money20/20 Asia invites attendees to their India Roadshow

[ao3feed-kurthummel]

Holiday Reunion

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2sC7JYM

by thequeensfan1117

Kurt and Adam have a chance encounter in a soup kitchen.

Words: 2325, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 5 of Kadam Week 2017

Fandoms: Glee

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Kurt Hummel, Adam Crawford

Relationships: Adam Crawford/Kurt Hummel

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Not Blaine or Klaine Friendly

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2sC7JYM This is an automatic feed of all new stories posted to the Kurt Hummel tag on AO3. Because of that, it is not guaranteed that Kurt is the main character in the story. There is also no judgment made as to ships, length, or warnings. Please verify content upon clicking through to AO3.

[cancersfakianakis1]

Acoustic analysis of voice in nonlaryngeal head and neck cancer patients post chemoradiotherapy

Nikhila Radhakrishna, BK Yamini, Amrut Sadashiv Kadam, N Shivashankar, Chendil Vishwanathan, Rajesh Javarappa Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics 2017 13(1):113-117 Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) used for definitive management of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) allows organ preservation at the cost of preservation of function. Vocal cords, being within the field of irradiation, undergo acute and chronic changes which adversely impacts the patients' voice. Aims: To assess the acute changes in the acoustic characteristics of voice post-CCRT in patients with nonlaryngeal HNSCC. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with HNSCC treated with CCRT, a total dose of 66–70 Gy/33–35 fractions at five fractions/week, with weekly cisplatin. Acoustic analysis (AA) and laryngoscopic examination performed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months post-CCRT. Statistical analysis of the parameters using ANOVA and Student's t-test was performed. Results: Of the thirty patients, 26 patients completed CCRT. At 6 weeks post-CCRT, among 14/26 patients, most (11/14 [78.57%]) developed Grade III toxicity. On AA, both increase and decrease in mean F0 from baseline was observed. An increase (P < 0.05) in each, i.e., jitter, shimmer, and noise to harmonics ratio (NHR) were recorded. At 3 months post-CCRT, among 8/14 available, most (6/8 [75%]) showed Grade II toxicity. The mean F0 reduced for both genders; jitter and shimmer, and NHR values maintained an increase (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Periodic AA allows quantification of voice changes and mapping of vocal toxicity induced by CCRT. http://ift.tt/2rdQW00

[santnirankarimission]

February 02, Ahmednagar, MH: Salvation Tour by Her Holiness

Updates Salvation Tour by Her Holiness Satguru Mata Savinder Hardev Ji Maharaj States of Maharashtra and Telangana from February 01 to 12, 2017 Ahmednagar, Maharashtra: February 02, 2017 On February 2, Satguru Mata Ji left Pune for Ahmednagar. On the way she inaugurated Satsang Bhawan at Perne Phata in Pune district and then at Punewadi in district Ahmednagar. Blessing the devotees at Punewadi, Her Holiness said: “With the kind grace of God, you have got this beautiful Bhawan here. Now you may do Satsang, Sewa and Sumiran here and while taking part in the Mission’s activities with enthusiasm yourself, you must try to take this voice of truth to the masses.” Then, Her Holiness inaugurated Satsang Bhawan at Chincholi and reached Ahmednagar. Here she addressed a vast congregation on the same day. It was held in an open ground in Jadhav Nagar. Satguru Mata Ji said: “Saints, I am seeing you in this form (congregation) after a long time. Otherwise, I visited this place with Baba Ji many times. Baba Ji always gave the message of love, humility and oneness. He bestowed God-knowledge or realization of God and brought man closer to man. And in this way, he made the entire world our own family. Just now you heard the saints saying - May man love man and become a support for each other. And the saints who follow these principles in their life become the shining stars of this Mission. Saints, a few weeks back we celebrated the New Year Day and rejoiced. However, a person who is united with God, relies on Him and remembers Him every moment, he attains a blissful stage in his life. He enjoys the New Year every moment, every hour, every day of his life. Saints, I pray to God that everyone moves forward while rising above all kinds of discriminations of caste, religion, high and low, treating the entire world as one family and enjoying this blissful stage. Saints, you heard a mention about Basant (Spring) also. May there be the joys of spring in every home. May there be no hatred, jealousy, enmity or distress anywhere.” Besides thousands of devotees of the Mission from all over the region who attended the congregation, several local dignitaries also came and sought Satguru Mata Ji’s divine blessings. They included the Mayor Smt. Surekhatai Kadam. Among prominent speakers was Shri Kanhaiya Lal Ji, Zonal Incharge Aurangabad. Shri Harish Khubchandani, Zonal Incharge Ahmednagar thanked Her Holiness for visiting Ahmednagar and blessing the devotees. Contd … … …         http://dlvr.it/NRB5Sc