"It's not one of his good days, I'm afraid," Nurse Tessa apologizes as she puts her hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "He's been throwing fits all day."
Sebastian's face falls, and he nods his head, adjusting his hat. "I'd still like to try, if you don't mind," he asks, and he brings his wrinkled hands together in front of him as he gives Nurse Tessa a sad smile.
"Of course. Come on. Who knows? Sometimes he surprises me." Her voice is filled with forced, fake optimism as she walks him down the clean, white hall. They stop in front of door 405, and Nurse Tessa knocks on it before opening it.
Sebastian hangs back over her shoulder, and his heart dips as he looks at Kurt. He's curled up in his bed, staring down at his blankets which are on the floor. As he looks up at Nurse Tessa and Sebastian, Sebastian's throat closes up.
"Oh, what have you done, honey?" she walks over, handing Kurt his blankets. He takes them without a word and wraps himself up in them before looking up at Tessa again. "You have a visitor. Sebastian's here to see you," she says. Her voice is gentle and slower as if she were speaking to a child.
"Sebastian?" Kurt furrows his brow.
"Hey, Kurt. I missed you." Sebastian steps out from behind Nurse Tessa and smiles. He pulls his hat from the top of his head and places it in front of his chest.
"I don't know you." Kurt sounds panicked, and Sebastian knows right away that it isn't going to go well.
"I'm Sebastian. It's nice to meet you." Sebastian stretches out his hand and takes another step forward, and Kurt pushes back in his bed.
"I don't want to see you. I don't want to. I don't want to." He repeats it over and over, his eyes wide and dazed. Sebastian stops and stumbles backwards, making his way out of the room before leaning against the wall in the hallway, closing his eyes. He hears quiet voices as Nurse Tessa tries to calm Kurt down. The click of her heels makes him open his eyes again, and she walks out, shutting the door behind her.
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay."
"Tomorrow will be better," she says.
Sebastian hopes so.
KSKSKSKS
"I'm Sebastian Smythe, it's nice to meet you," Sebastian says, walking into the room. Kurt smiles up at him and sits up, stretching out his hand.
"Kurt Hummel. Pleasure." As his eyebrows rise up, and he looks Sebastian up and down, Sebastian can't help but laugh. It reminds Sebastian of how Kurt used to be, and even now he holds himself with his back straight. "What?" Kurt asks.
"Nothing. It's good to meet you too, Kurt."
"I don't like this place. I miss my home," Kurt says, and he pulls his lips into a thin line, looking almost like he's concentrating.
"You remember your home?" Sebastian's heart races. It's moments like this – when Kurt will remember a small detail of their life together – that Sebastian waits and lives for.
"I – There was a piano. And the bedroom was sea foam green. My husband wanted to paint it blue. And –" His brow furrows. "I don't know." He looks lost in the moment, and Sebastian's chest tightens. He reaches out, putting his hand on top of Kurt's.
Kurt jumps, but he doesn't pull away.
"Sounds lovely."
"I'm sure it was if I designed it."
Sebastian laughs.
KSKSKSKS
"He hasn't had a good day in a while."
"A month and three days," Sebastian replies automatically.
"But he's doing really well today, actually," Nurse Tessa replies, and she smiles at Sebastian. "He told me that our chocolate chip cookies weren't as good as the ones he used to have."
"He loved those cookies," Sebastian says, chuckling. His hands slip into his pockets, and he waits for Nurse Tessa to preface his entrance before coming in. Nurse Tessa leaves them alone, closing the chair behind them, and Sebastian sits down in the chair.
"It's nice to meet you, Sebastian," Kurt says, smiling up at Sebastian.
"Pleasure."
"That's a pretty ring," he says, pointing to Sebastian's finger. "How long have you and your wife been together?"
"My husband and I have been together for fifty-three years," he says, and Kurt looks embarrassed and surprised.
"I didn't know. You don't look…" His eyes drop.
"It's okay. Don't worry about it."
"How did you meet your husband?" Kurt asks as he glances up.
"We met through his boyfriend at the time."
"Really?" Kurt sounds surprised, and he scoots himself up in his bed as if listening to a bedtime story. "You didn't… cheat, did you?"
"Oh, no. We hated each other."
"That's not very romantic," Kurt replies, looking disappointed. Sebastian chuckles. As much as Kurt had tried to deny it, he had always been a bit of a hopeless romantic.
"We made up for it later. It took a while. We met again after I started going to college, two years later."
"And did you fall in love then?" Kurt asks.
"It's complicated. It didn't happen for a while. We didn't even want to admit that we were friends for a while."
"Well, I think that's stupid."
"Me too."
There's a small pause between them, and Kurt sighs, his smile falling. "I wish I could remember how I met my husband."
"You're married?" Sebastian asks.
"I think so. I have a ring." He looks down at his hand and twists it. "I just want to be able to remember him. I'm sure he was wonderful."
"Perfect, even," Sebastian offers, and Kurt's nose scrunches.
"Let's not get carried away."
KSKSKSKS
"Sebastian Smythe." He extends his hand and takes Kurt's, shaking it.
"Kurt Hummel. Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine, Kurt." He smiles and tips his head to the side.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're tacky?"
"My husband used to tell me that all the time," Sebastian says, and he sits down.
KSKSKSKS
They're in the middle of a conversation when suddenly Kurt's head jerks up. He looks panicked as he glances around the room before staring at Sebastian. "Who are you?"
"I'm Sebastian, I –"
"How did you get in here?"
"We were just talking, Kurt," Sebastian says, reaching out for Kurt's hand. Kurt jerks away.
"No, we weren't. We –" Kurt glances around the room, and Sebastian stands up.
KSKSKSKS
"Kurt Hummel."
"Sebastian Smythe. Pleasure."