Notes: Written for a Kurtbastian Hummelsmythe brothers AU prompt on GKM, found here: http : / / glee-kink-meme .livejournal. com / 26585. html? thread = 28669913 # t28669913 (remove spaces).
Rating: PG13/T for now, will go up in later chapters
Summary: He'd only introduced Carole to his father so that he could get closer to Sebastian - it was just a simple crush at first. He didn't expect to become his stepbrother. And he certainly didn't expect to actually fall in love. Kurt/Sebastian and Kurt/Blaine. AU.
He wishes he could be more impressed.
Okay, so maybe something like the little huts and colorful whimsy of Munchkinland was too much to expect, but he did anticipate on at least a decent external paint job and plaster that's still mostly there.
The building sits in the back corner of a strip mall with a 7-11 and a questionable-looking pizza place. There's no signage; it looks more like a rapidly-deteriorating house than a public meeting space. It's the kind of place that can be easily overlooked if no one is searching for it.
Which, now that he thinks about it, is probably what they were going for.
The interior is much better. In fact, it looks a little bit like a counselor's office, complete with pamphlets and comfortable chairs - the only difference is that Ms. Pillsbury doesn't hang large posters for the Trevor Project and HRC, and she most definitely doesn't offer a basket of free condoms.
No one's at the front desk, and the halls are eerily silent. This is the right place… but where is everyone?
There's a shuffling noise behind him, and he fights the urge to scream.
"Can I help you?"
He breathes deep and turns.
The speaker is a short Asian boy with glasses, wearing red chucks and a black cardigan. There's a heavy-looking box in his arms, and he feels a little guilty for having stopped him. "Oh, are you here for the Mars group?"
He nods wordlessly.
The Asian boy smiles. "You're on the right track then. Just go ahead down the hall and take the stairs on the left. Then when you get up there, it'll be the first door on the right."
He thanks the boy and follows the directions, going down the hall and only when he climbs the stairs does he start hearing faint voices. They grow progressively louder and louder as he approaches, and he stops at the side of the door.
"My parents were actually pretty supportive," one deep voice admits. "I mean, they were bummed cause they were hoping to hook me up with this one chick that I've known since I was five. But then they figured that they can't really do anything about it now, and well - they don't hate me at least."
"My mom was supportive. My dad? Not so much," another voice says. This one is much softer, higher. "He wanted to 'smack the gay' out of me. Obviously it didn't work."
He bites his lip. That has to be tough - not being accepted even by family. When he hears stories like this, it just reminds him of that day back in the fall - when it all spilled out and he'd started crying on his father's shoulder. How much better he felt after he came out - and how lucky he is to have the father he does.
"And you?"
Silence, and he turns his head, staring at the wall right next to the open doorway.
"Yes, you," the voice says in a teasing tone. "The one hovering just outside the door."
Damn. He clears his throat and brushes a strand of hair back up into his coiff before stepping forward. "Hi."
"Hey," the guys respond. The one sitting on the floor is a short, slightly thick blond with freckles. Another one, a skinny Latino boy wearing sinfully tight pants, reclines on a beanbag. There's another occupying the full length of the couch, wearing a ratty hoodie, pushing his labret piercing with his tongue.
The last one sits backwards on a fold-out chair, his arms propped up against the backrest. His eyes twinkle with mischief as he stares at Kurt, and his brown hair sweeps up into a sort of Gossip Girl-esque style. Probably the most striking of his features is that smirk on his face.
He can't quite decide if he likes it or not.
"You must be new," says the one in the chair, and he recognizes him as the one who called him out just a moment ago. "Have a seat."
He looks around the room. There are no more chairs, and hell if he's going to sit on the floor with these new Keanan Dufftys. He forces a smile. "No, that's okay."
The boy in the chair shrugs and says nothing more. He and the rest of the guys look up at him expectantly, and suddenly he realizes that he's supposed to introduce himself. "Oh, um. My name is Kurt."
"Nice to meet ya," says the boy with the lip piercing, sitting up on the couch and scooting over to make room for Kurt. "I'm Seth."
"Jake," offers the chubby blond.
"You can call me Rigo," the Latino boy says, winking at Kurt, and he leans forward with interest.
The one in the chair rolls his eyes. "Don't mind Casanova, he hits on anything that moves."
Kurt cracks a smile at Rigo's protest.
"Anyway - Kurt, right? Welcome," the boy in the chair continues, and something in his eyes makes Kurt's stomach swoop. "My name's Sebastian."
"And this is the kitchen area. Obviously this is where we prep food for the luncheons," Sebastian gestures to the small but professional-looking space, complete with stainless steel countertops. He leads Kurt back out into the hall, slowly examining his surroundings as if trying to determine what would be worth showing.
He stops in front of a very small room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, each crammed with tomes of every size. "This is our library. We've pretty much got the biggest collection of LGBTQ literature in western Ohio."
"That's amazing," Kurt muses, his eyes sweeping over the shelves. He can't imagine anyone ever reading through all of this. It's incredible though - he didn't think that places like this existed outside of Miami or San Francisco - but it's right here, just twenty minutes away.
And to think, he didn't even know about it until two nights ago.
"Let's see if my mom's still here," Sebastian murmurs, more to himself than anyone else, but he still looks over his shoulder to see if Kurt is following him.
They make their way downstairs and enter through a door just left of the front desk. A woman in pink scrubs sits behind a counter, flipping through a magazine. At the sound of footsteps, she looks up and smiles. "Hi sweetie."
"Hey Mom," Sebastian quickly presses his lips to his mother's cheek. "I'm just giving Kurt here the grand tour. He's a new addition to the Mars group."
He turns to Kurt. "This is my mom, Carole. She's a RN at St. Rita's, but she works here every other Monday doing the HIV testing."
Kurt smiles and offers a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you."
"And you too, Kurt," she smiles warmly, shaking his hand. "What do you think of the place so far?"
He sneaks a glance at Sebastian only to see the other boy watching him carefully, that same smirk on his face. Quickly he looks away, his cheeks flushing.
The last hour had been amazing - he hadn't talked much during group, mostly just listened - but knowing that they had gone through the same bullying experiences all through different schools - that was more than enough comfort for him.
And the fact that Sebastian kept his eyes practically glued to Kurt throughout the remainder of group? Well, that was practically like a new McQueen scarf to top off a perfectly-planned outfit.
"So far?" Kurt answers, offering a tiny smile. "I really like it."
At first it's the shallow things. Sebastian's hair is a little trendy, but it works for him somehow - though sometimes he does imagine running his fingers through it, feeling the softness of it without any gel or product. And his eyes are probably the most gorgeous shade of green Kurt's ever seen. The small moles dotting his left eye are impossibly cute, and his mouth - Kurt didn't think that just a mouth by itself could be sexy, but Sebastian makes it possible. His lips are just small enough, plump but not too full with a perfectly shaped cupid's bow up top.
Kurt tries not to be too obvious in his staring. Sometimes he thinks he's successful, like when he watches Sebastian during group - and Sebastian talks a lot- so he kind of has an excuse. And then there are other times - like when Rigo talks about what it was like growing up in Puerto Rico - that his gaze just... drifts over to Sebastian. And Kurt's not sure if he's wearing a neon sign or something that reads "I'm staring at you" because almost every single time, Sebastian catches him in the act. And he just - smiles. That slow, lazy smile, almost like he's hiding something.
Of course Kurt's first instinct is to look away. There are a few times when he does, and he has to force himself to think of the world's unsexiest things (Coach Tanaka in drag, Figgins in a wet t-shirt) because that damn smile makes him more flustered than he's ever been.
But when he doesn't look away, when he meets Sebastian's gaze head-on and matches that smile - it's a huge confidence surge, at least for a while. It makes him think - you're capable of attracting guys. You're not bound to be the ugly duckling forever.
And that's when he remembers that he's talking about Sebastian. Sebastian, who's probably got an equally attractive, confident, smart boyfriend and Kurt doesn't fit in that picture at all. He doesn't ask if Sebastian has a boyfriend - there's obvious, and then there's way obvious - and Sebastian's never mentioned it. But honestly, how can he not be attached?
He wonders sometimes if either Rigo or Jake or Seth is secretly Sebastian's boyfriend. In the end, none of them seem to be his type, not that he's spent much time considering what said type might be.
Sometimes he tries to gather hints though. He's casually mentioned his current involvement on the cheer squad, and he could have sworn he saw Sebastian's eyes flash with curiosity. Glee club is another thing that seems to pique his interest.
"What kind of music do you guys do in glee?" Sebastian asks one day as they hang out in the clinic. Carole is in the next room over, administering two antibody tests.
Kurt flips through the January 2010 edition of Vogue. "We try to do all kinds, but our teacher seems to be forever stuck in the 80s. What about your group?"
Sebastian chuckles. "Just turn on the radio, we'll find some way to make it a cappella."
"Sounds like fun," Kurt says with a smile, and he musters up the courage to add, "You should sing for me some time. I'm sure you have a wonderful voice."
"Well, I don't want to brag..." Sebastian drags out playfully, and Kurt laughs in response. "But yeah, I am pretty good. Maybe at the open house. We could totally sing a duet."
Kurt smiles and says nothing, just continues to page through the magazine.
"I'm serious," Sebastian says, leaning over Kurt from his sitting position on top of the counter.
Kurt looks up and sees him mere inches from his face, and he forces himself not to swallow or look away. Instead he stares at the space right between Sebastian's eyebrows, his cheeks growing warm. "About what?"
"The duet."
"Okay, we'll sing together," Kurt leans back in his chair a bit, laughing uncomfortably. It probably isn't a good idea since his stomach is already doing somersaults as is. "You don't have to get all weird."
That answer seems to satisfy Sebastian, and he leans back smiling. "Nice. So what are we singing?"
It's distracting sometimes - Sebastian's little quirks, like his facial expressions becoming suddenly intense and then immediately relaxing. Those quirks are small details that Kurt would never remember if it were anyone else, but because it's Sebastian, he does.
The way Sebastian cocks his head back when someone is speaking. The way he interrupts Seth's stories with snide comments (the rudeness of which is normally a huge turn-off for Kurt, but somehow it isn't, this time). The way he details those summers with his aunt in Paris like they're the best things to have ever happened to him. The way he can be completely in-your-face and yet still adore his wonderful mother.
And when he talks to Kurt - when he leans into Kurt's personal space - that's what really gets to him. Because Kurt's gotten so used to changing by himself in the corner, facing the wall in the locker room just to avoid accusations from the other guys about checking them out. He's gotten so used to the locker shoves and the dumpster tosses that when Sebastian invades his space like this with no intention of hurting him? He's just a bit guarded and a little shocked, but his heart feels light enough to shoot off into the clouds.
Sebastian doesn't treat him like a leper or some sort of walking abomination - he just treats him like a normal person. And that's all he's ever really wanted.
It's things like those that get to Kurt, hook, line, and sinker.
But when he thinks about it, there really isn't much he knows about Sebastian. So he's openly gay. So he's a member of the Warblers. So he has that cocky smile permanently affixed to his face. So his parents got divorced when he was young.
That's about the extent of what he knows.
He imagines that this interest with Sebastian... is like nicotine. The first few hits are for curiosity. But soon he needs more, wants more.
There is so much to discover about him.
"Are you bringing your dad on Sunday? We've had a lot of positive responses from parents who've come in before," Sebastian mentions on the Monday before open house.
Kurt bites his lip in thought, pulling his cardigan tighter. "I don't know... Is your mom going to be there?"
Sebastian gives him a strange look. "Well, yeah. But she always is, every year."
He lets that sink in for a moment. This is the perfect opportunity. If he wants to know all there is about the boy in front of him, this is his chance. It isn't... being pushy, it's just curiosity.
With a smile, Kurt answers, "I'll try to get him to tag along."
He only feels a little bit guilty.
The open house packs the Lambda Community Center with more people than Kurt's ever seen prowling the halls on all of his Mondays here combined. It had been surprisingly easy to get his father to attend, though he suspects that the promise of free food of all kinds was more than enough bait.
His father slips away to the buffet table before Kurt can set down any strict guidelines - but he figures he'll be back soon, there'll be plenty of time to sort out the can and cannot-eats on Burt's plate. Instead he takes the time to scope out the crowd and socialize a bit.
Most of the attendees are older gentlemen, but he recognizes Seth and Rigo across the room, and they wave enthusiastically at him before returning to what looks like a deeply engaging discussion with a blonde girl dressed in head-to-toe black. A friendly gentleman with white hair strikes up a conversation with Kurt. As it turns out, he happens to be in a polyamorous relationship with two other men, and he chuckles a bit at Kurt's surprise.
"They call us 'The Boyfriends' around here. I know it's not... normal, to most," Ken says, taking a sip of cider from his cup, "But you can't choose who you fall for. Sometimes you end up falling for two different people. At times it works out. Other times, it doesn't."
Kurt thinks about this. It's true. He sure as hell didn't choose to be interested in guys - because honestly, who would choosean option that would result in daily ridicule? But he can't wrap his head around the idea of loving two people equally at the same time. It's just so... foreign. He feels somewhat disappointed in himself. If he's into progressive movements for gay rights, shouldn't he be able to understand a concept like this?
He opens his mouth to ask exactly how that relationship came to be when Burt returns to Kurt's side with a plate of food. Instead of following through with that question, Kurt bids goodbye to Ken, figuring he can always ask later, and steers his father away. He eyes Burt's plate distrustfully, picking up a yellow cookie. "Please tell me you're not going to eat these; they're not organic."
Burt frowns at him. "How do you know they're not organic?"
"You can tell. The logo's printed on the cookie," Kurt explains impatiently, and a familiar head of red hair passes by. "Oh, Carole!"
Carole turns and smiles. "Hi, Kurt. Sebastian's downstairs if you're looking for him."
Burt raises an eyebrow and turns to Kurt. "Sebastian?"
"Just one of the volunteers here," Kurt says dismissively, grabbing his dad's arm and bringing him closer to Carole. "I actually wanted to introduce you two. Carole, this is my father Burt Hummel. You're both spouse-less at the moment, maybe you should talk."
Kurt doesn't bother to hide his smile at the way Burt's eyes sweep over Carole appreciatively and the way Carole obviously relishes in the attention. While the two adults begin a conversation on Carole's fashion choices, Kurt slowly backs away, taking the opportunity - for the first and only time in his life - to be thankful for the invention of acid washed jeans.
He meanders downstairs to find Sebastian and Deirdre, the peer leader of the Venus group, leaning over a laptop and talking in rushed tones, frantically scrolling and tapping at the device's trackpad. "Hi. What are you two looking at?"
"Deirdre's amazing powerpoint work," Sebastian says dryly, turning the laptop around to display a slideshow of mismatched background colors and fonts. It's enough to make Kurt turn away slightly and cringe. "Horrible, right? I didn't think that the word 'trashy' could be applied to any kind of electronic media, yet here's a prime example."
"Don't be an asshole, Seb," Deirdre snaps back. "If it were you, it'd all be white backgrounds with black Times New Roman font."
"At least it would be consistent."
"If by consistent you mean boring as all hell."
Kurt steps forward, finger hovering over the trackpad. "May I...?"
Sebastian eyes him for a second before shrugging. "Be our guest, but we've got to start the presentation in..." He glances up at the clock, "A little over half an hour. Think you can do it?"
But Kurt doesn't answer him. He presses his mouth into a thin line of concentration, changing the slide backgrounds into a soft white-to-ochre gradient, centering the titles and switching to simpler, easier-to-read texts. About ten minutes before presentation time, he finishes with a flourish and sits back, letting Sebastian and Deirdre give the design a final look-over.
"I like it," Deirdre says, her tense expression beginning to ease. "Simple but pretty."
"It's nice," Sebastian admits. "Consider me impressed."
He sets his eyes on Kurt and takes a good long look, as if this is the first time he's really seeing him. The attention makes Kurt's heart beat just a little faster.
"Thanks," Kurt manages.
"I'm going to go upstairs and start setting up," Deirdre says smiling, and she takes the laptop with her and is on her way without another word. Kurt's not sure if he should be grateful or nervous now that he and Sebastian are alone.
"So..." Sebastian drawls. "You're a cheerleader, you're in glee club, you do art and design - is there anything Kurt Hummel can't do?"
"Football," Kurt answers, and only when it's already out does he realize what a stupid response it is. "I played one game for my school's team before I realized that sweaty brutishness wasn't for me." He wants to hit himself now. He's trying to flirt with you (isn't he?) and you're not giving him anything to work with.
Sebastian only chuckles dryly. "Yeah, playing on team sports takes a different kind of breed."
Suddenly Kurt remembers that Sebastian is on Dalton's lacrosse team, and his eyes widen in horror. "Oh god, I didn't mean - "
"I get what you meant," Sebastian interrupts. He doesn't look angry, just amused, though Kurt's not sure if that's any better. "You're right - hell, we both are. It's not for everyone."
Kurt shuts up then and nods tensely, looking up at the clock. "Your presentation starts soon, doesn't it? You should probably go upstairs now."
"You're going to watch, right?" Sebastian asks, standing up and brushing off his jeans. "We're supposed to be performing our duet right after."
"I'll be there," Kurt responds, and he takes his phone from his pocket. "In a minute." He opens last night's text from Mercedes and begins typing - something, anything, to make himself look occupied, and when Sebastian shrugs and leaves, he erases the text in progress and sits back in the chair with a sigh.
It's supposed to be easier than this. He's not supposed to be this awkward, he's Kurt Hummel for god's sake.
Then again, this really is the first time he's been interested in a guy (if he doesn't count that embarrassing third grade crush on Ronnie Powers complete with the "I choo-choo-choose you" valentine).
It'll get better, he figures. It has to.
He's in the library, shuffling through files in the cabinet when he hears footfalls behind him.
"Hey," Sebastian calls. "You almost ready?"
"Just looking for the sheet music," Kurt answers, furrowing his brow. "I thought I put it in the green file, but it's gone."
"Don't sweat it, I've got it right here."
He turns to see Sebastian waving the papers in his hand and he sighs in relief.
"More importantly..." Sebastian steps forward. "I was talking to my mom just a minute ago, and she introduced me to your dad. She seemed pretty... I don't know, enamored by him?"
A smile stretches across Kurt's face. "That's great - yeah, I introduced them when we first arrived."
"Really."
"Looks like they hit it off..." Kurt trails off, and suddenly he becomes very aware of the tension in Sebastian's voice, increased by the rigidity of his frame. "Is everything okay?"
"Fine. Just fine," Sebastian curls his lip up in a smile, though it looks more like a grimace. "Let's just get this done already."
He turns on his heel and stalks off, and Kurt swallows, silently following him to the club room before settling down on the piano bench. Sebastian makes a brief introduction to the audience, talking about the importance of knowing that there is always help out there, and Kurt can't help but notice the distinct tightness in his tone.
"So performing with me today is Kurt Hummel," Sebastian drawls, and Kurt bites his lip. The name coming from his mouth sounds like an insult more than anything else.
Still, he takes his cue and spreads his fingers over the ivories, playing the opening notes for "Hey Jude." Sebastian moves to the front of the baby grand and begins the first verse. When Kurt joins in with a harmony, he feels Sebastian's gaze on him, and he looks up briefly.
He wishes he hadn't. There's no masking, no forgetting the growing coldness of Sebastian's eyes. He's seen amusement, he's seen irritation, but never has he seen such a harshness to those eyes, and the sight makes his stomach churn uneasily. Quickly he looks back down and focuses on the sheets and the keys in front of him.
If he forgets for a moment that he's singing with Sebastian, if he pretends that he's singing to a crowd of people just by himself, it almost erases the tension. It almostfeels like he's not choking on his own breath. It works for a few minutes.
At least until the song ends. And when the audience applauds with whistles and hollers and Sebastian's staring at him with hard eyes and a forced smile, he barely manages to stand and bow over that awful feeling like he's done something horribly, horribly wrong.