A/N: Not-so-secretly, Dave Karofsky & Sebastian Smythe are my guilty pleasure pairing. This would take place during August between seasons 3 and 4.
Warnings: Rated T for some naughty words and some boys kissing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters.
Records of the Perseid meteor showers date back more than 2000 years. Associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseids derive their name from the constellation Perseus, from which the meteors appear to come. The best viewing times tend to be in early to mid August, where viewers could be treated to 20 to 60 shooting stars an hour. (Thanks Wikipedia)
Star Light, Star Bright
It was still stifling in the apartment Dave Karofsky shared with his father despite the fact that it was after 10pm. The apartment only had one window air conditioning unit, located in the family room, which is where Dave was sprawled out on the couch, shirtless, drinking an ice cold beer.
He and his father had talked more, both in and out of therapy sessions, in the past five months than they'd probably had in his first seventeen years of life combined. But out of those talks Dave came to understand a few things – including that his dad loved him and his mental well-being more than he loved his wife, and if Dave wanted to have a beer at home every once in a while, he could – but not more than one and no driving.
It was just Dave tonight. His father was on a business trip and had already called to check up on him. The fact that his father cared enough to do that, to check up on him, made Dave feel cared for and loved – perhaps atypical of his age group, but he'd learned lately, that being typical wasn't always a good thing.
A faint buzzing caught his attention. With the lights turned down low, he had to fumble for his phone, quickly accepting the call before it went to voicemail. "Hello?" he answered, voice rough.
"Holy fuck, Dave!" came the pissed off voice of Sebastian Smythe. "Personally, I've always considered Ohio hell, but this … this heat is ridiculous. I step out of the shower and I've already got sweat pouring down my ass. Did we move to the sun? Can we? I hear it's a couple degrees cooler there."
Dave chuckled quietly. "I'm so glad we're friends," he said with a sigh. "So glad I gave you my phone number so you could call me at random hours to rant about whatever has momentarily pissed you off."
"You love it," Sebastian sassed back.
"Keep telling yourself that."
There was a pause and Dave could tell from the sounds he was hearing that Sebastian was in his car driving. "Please tell me you're using your Bluetooth thing," he asked with concern.
"It's built in. Your voice is wrapping around me like a warm blanket all provided by these lovely Bose speakers," Sebastian replied proudly. His parents had gifted him with the BMW on his return from France – probably in a poor attempt to assuage their guilt at moving him there and then back in the space of fifteen months. Not that he really cared. He got a car out of it, and he wasn't looking that gift horse in the mouth.
"Seriously though, what are you up to?"
They'd been friends long enough that Dave could tell from the shift in Sebastian's tone, that he was really wondering what Dave was doing. "Sitting next to this craptastic A/C unit, beer in hand, watching Duck Dynasty. Why?"
"Hold on a sec."
There was a lengthy pause and then a knock on the apartment door startled Dave.
"That's me. Open up."
Ending the call, Dave pushed up off of the couch and stumbled towards the door. Opening it, he rolled his eyes at Sebastian, who'd draped himself across the door frame in some crappy approximation of a fashion model's pose. "Undressed already," Sebastian purred, sliding his palm down the planes of Dave's chest. "Are you sure you weren't expecting me?"
"Bite me, Smythe," Dave shot back, embarrassment causing him to flush. Letting the taller boy into the apartment, he looked around for his t-shirt and realized it was back in his bedroom. When he started to walk back to his room to get it, he was stopped by Sebastian's hand around his wrist.
"David. Stop." Sebastian's voice was quiet and sincere. "Please don't go covering up. I promise I'll respect your boundaries." When Dave didn't continue down the hall to grab a shirt, Sebastian considered it a victory, small as it might be. Slowly Dave turned to face him, and it broke Sebastian's heart to see his lips pressed so tightly together. "Can I give you a hug?" he whispered.
Dave's nod was barely there, but it was enough that Sebastian stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him. Bringing his lips close to Dave's ear as his hands ran soothingly across his back, Sebastian murmured, "I'm not that asshole anymore, Dave. I never should have said those things to you." He could feel Dave trembling beneath the broad strokes of his hands.
"One of these days you're gonna let those last few walls crumble, and I swear to you we're both gonna be better for it." Sebastian pulled far enough away that he could rest his forehead against Dave's.
Dave let out a shaky breath before smiling shyly. "Yeah." He didn't flinch or pull away when Sebastian slowly leaned forward and kissed him, chastely. Sebastian understood where Dave's limits were and 99% of the time was extremely respectful of them. Dave understood that as soon as he was ready, Sebastian wanted, well, whatever Dave was willing to offer. That Sebastian was giving him the time and space to reach that point, made Dave feel … warm. Wanted. Loved.
Sebastian couldn't help touching his lips when they broke apart. It was the fourth time Dave had allowed him to kiss him – and he cherished the moment. "I didn't call you to rant about the heat," he admitted softly.
"No shit," Dave ran his fingers through Sebastian's hair, brushing the bangs back into place.
Cocking his head to the side, Sebastian grinned. "You wear snark well. Seriously, though. I wanna take you somewhere."
"Tonight? Now?" Dave looked at Sebastian like he just announced he'd sworn off men and was joining a monastery.
"Yes, tonight," Sebastian answered excitedly. "I've got everything we need. It's the best night to see it – kinda like a one night only event. It's not, really, but … just." Sebastian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's important to me. I'll explain when we get there. Please, Davey?"
It wasn't like Dave was doing anything anyway, but when Sebastian called him 'Davey' it just melted him. "Okay. What do I need to bring?"
"Um, a warm sweatshirt or jacket – although I promise I'll keep you warm." While the words were extremely suggestive, Sebastian's tone wasn't overtly flirtatious.
"Be right back," Dave walked away only to appear a few moments later with a black OSU sweatshirt in his hands, and wearing a Dalton Academy Lacrosse t-shirt.
"I think that's my shirt you're wearing, sir."
Dave shrugged. "Meh. You should keep better track of your possessions, then," he teased.
"Oh, I'm keeping track of it. Where it is right now, works just fine for me." Sebastian ran a finger under the line of print on the shirt and then held his hand out for Dave to take. Intertwining their fingers, he led them outside towards his parked car.
Sebastian had driven them out to a field in the middle of nowhere. It was pitch black, except for the light of the stars, and Sebastian had insisted on not using the flashlight he'd brought unless it was an emergency. Like some hockey mask wearing guy with a chainsaw came towards them. As if.
He'd laid out a blanket and pillow and pulled Dave to sit, and then lay down, next to him, offering him one of the other quilts he'd brought to keep them warm. Resting his head on Dave's shoulder, Sebastian reached out and took his hand. "Thank you for coming," he said quietly.
"So what made you want to drag me out here?" asked Dave. "Stargazing? Doesn't really fit your image," he said with a hint of amusement.
Sebastian sniffled and wiped moisture away from his eyes. "Yeah. About that." His throat tightened to the point he couldn't continue.
"Bast?" Dave turned his head and realized Sebastian was fighting back tears. "Bast, what's wrong?" He reached over with the hand that wasn't holding tight to Sebastian's and cupped the upset boy's face.
He kept swallowing until finally he felt his throat loosen up. "Tonight's the Perseid meteor shower. Well, the best viewing of the shower is tonight."
"Like shooting stars?"
"Yeah. Twenty or thirty an hour if we're lucky," Sebastian explained softly, his lower lip trembling. "I … I was four the first time my meme and pepe woke me up to take me outside to watch. I had this blue blanket with kittens on it. Kittens with green bow ties. It was flannel and tied together with green yarn. Meme had made it for me, because I missed my parents. It was the first summer I had spent with them in France."
Hot tears continued to spill onto his cheeks, faster than Dave could wipe the away. Leaning into Dave's touch, Sebastian gave up trying to bottle his feelings. "I spent every summer with them from the time I was four until … this is the first summer I've not been with them."
"I thought you spent last year in France." Dave sat up, carefully pulling Sebastian into his arms. "That that was the reason you weren't at Dalton when Kurt was there."
Biting his lip hard, Sebastian nodded against Dave's shoulder. "Yeah, we were. Meme was sick – dying. So my mother and father decided to move us into their chateau so we could help take care of her and Pepe. They enrolled me in an international school and we … we spent a lot of time just … being together."
"After she," Sebastian couldn't hold back the sob that burst from him. For the better part of a year, he'd pushed everyone away by being a caustic asshole because he missed his grandparents so much. His world fell apart and his parents' reaction was to pack him up and send him back to the states to a boarding school where he could stay over the weekends and holidays.
Dave held Sebastian tighter, unsure of what he could say, if anything, to lessen Sebastian's pain. "I'm so sorry, Bast. So sorry," he crooned against Sebastian's ear.
"After she died," continued Sebastian, as if he hadn't heard Dave's words, "my grandfather … was just – lost. They were each other's world. Three weeks later he was gone too. In his sleep. The last thing we did together – was to come out and watch for shooting stars." Curling up on himself, Sebastian continued to cry, finally dealing with the pain of his grandparents' deaths.
When the tears stopped and he caught his breath, Sebastian pulled away, frantically digging into his pocket for his handkerchief to blow his nose. "God, I'm a mess." He drew in a deep breath and met Dave's eyes. "This is so not going how I planned it in my head," he admitted with a self-deprecating scoff.
A thousand responses went through Dave's head all at once. He took one of the easier ones. "What did you have planned?"
Sebastian pulled his legs in to sit cross-legged, hands in his lap, hunched over. The frantic bouncing of his knees evidenced his anxiety. Staring at his hands for several long moments, he finally raised his eyes back to Dave's face. "You and me. Lying here, counting shooting stars. Making wishes. Maybe trying to sneak a kiss, or two. I have a thermos full of hot cocoa in the car for when we got too cold to stay out here, so we could warm back up."
"It's just … I didn't want to be alone tonight. I wanted to come out here and … and think about the happy memories. And I knew I didn't want to be alone." He sighed. "That's not 100% true. I wanted you here … because this is really important to me. You're really important to me." He waved his comments away, "It's stupid," he said, dropping his head.
"No, it's not," Dave replied. "I get it. And I can't tell you how much it means to me that you … that you wanted to share this with me. You wanna look for some shooting stars, now?" Dave asked shyly, scooting down on the blanket so he could lie back. He held out his arm, allowing Sebastian to snuggle into his side. "So … what's the secret? You know, to seeing a bunch? 'Cause I have some things I'd really like to wish for." Dave brushed a kiss across Sebastian's forehead.
"I would try looking over there," he gestured with his hand. "I just kinda stare at one place for a while. Your eyes will keep adjusting to the darkness. It takes almost an hour," he explained, snaking his fingers under Dave's sweatshirt and t-shirt, to caress the soft skin of his stomach. "You've been working out more," he observed quietly. "You're getting more definition here," he said as the traced the deeper ridges of Dave's abdominal muscles.
"Yeah," Dave answered distractedly. "I upped my weightlifting regimen. Oh my god, did you see that one?" he asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I did. That was really bright. Sometimes they're really faint and you think your mind is playing tricks on you. But know you know what direction to look in. Kinda. They won't all go that way – but it's a place to start." Sebastian turned on his side, encouraging Dave to act as the big spoon. From this position, he was brave enough to ask, "Davey? Are you working so hard on working out because … of what I said, at Scandals?"
Sighing, Dave wiggled until he was pressed up against Sebastian, one arm wrapped around the Dalton boy's waist, the other propped up, fingers running through Bast's hair. "Yes and no," he answered honestly. Feeling Sebastian tense, Dave brushed his lips against the back of his neck. "I decided to get a little healthier. It's not like I think I need to lose a hundred pounds, not by a long shot,"
"Neither do I," interrupted Sebastian. "Remember? Asshole period."
"You say that like it's ended, babe," Dave grinned, lips still pressed against Sebastian's neck. Gently he grazed his teeth from where Sebastian's hair line ended and the collar of his shirt drawing a soft moan from Sebastian.
"Fuuuck," Sebastian sulked. "That was mean." Subtly he shifted his head to allow Dave more access to the tender skin of his neck. Blindly reaching back, Sebastian managed to wrap his fingers in Dave's hair, holding him in place as his breathing became increasingly erratic.
"Poor baby," Dave sassed. "Do you need me to kiss your wounded ego and make it better."
Sebastian's hand guided his movements until Dave's lips brushed a spot just behind Sebastian's ear causing the other boy to tremble. Tentatively, Dave skimmed his tongue over that same secret spot, captivated by the noises Sebastian was making no attempt to hide.
With deliberate movements, Sebastian rolled onto his back, gazing at Dave's mouth. "I'd say yes, but I know you're just teasing me again," came his honest answer. Thumb tracing Dave's lower lip, Sebastian realized that had come out harsher than he intended.
"I don't mean to." Dave's tone changed from confident and joking to unsure in the space of a heartbeat. "I know you want more. I'm just … scared," he admitted.
Without saying anything, Sebastian sat up, dumping the quilt off of both of them. Tugging on the front of Dave's OSU sweatshirt, Sebastian guided Dave to sit between his legs, hooking his chin over Dave's shoulder. The quilt became the outer shell of their cocoon when Sebastian wrapped it around both of them and his hands finally found a home in the front kangaroo pouch of Dave's sweatshirt. "I do … want more. I'm not gonna lie. But if the idea of moving things forward scares you, then we need to talk about it. But there's no need to rush things, because I know you're going to give me everything I want and need … eventually."
Resting his cheek on one of the arms Sebastian was holding him with, Dave snorted in amusement, "Confident much?"
Sebastian smirked, capturing Dave's pink earlobe with his teeth. The damn thing had been taunting him. "Confident you find me irresistible. I mean, you approached me, remember?" When Dave settled back into his arms, tilting his head further, Sebastian continued his efforts to teach that earlobe who was boss. Encircling it with his lips, Sebastian suckled softly.
Dave tried to concentrate on finding shooting stars, but found it impossible, when every tug on his earlobe created a cascade of feeling that shot straight to his groin. "What do you want, Bast?" he whispered shakily. It was easier to ask now that he was staring at the universe and not into Sebastian's eyes. The fact that Sebastian had shifted them to this position was proof that the Dalton teen understood Dave and what Dave needed – sometimes before he knew himself.
"I want you to kiss me," Sebastian replied quietly. "We've kissed four times now: the night you took me to the hockey game; the night you graduated; the day we moved you and your dad; and tonight. But the thing is … each of those times, I kissed you first. I want you … to kiss … me. Wanna feel like … like I'm worth the effort," he admitted, face buried in the hood of Dave's sweatshirt.
"God, Bast," Dave burst forth, trying to turn around, despite Sebastian's arms clamping down to prevent this. "You are worth it. Fuck. It has nothing to do with you. I mean it does, but it doesn't."
"Could you be more vague?" Sebastian bit off in a moment of frustration. Huffing his annoyance, which truthfully was totally with himself and not Dave, Sebastian waited for Dave to respond.
He spotted first one shooting star, then another. And another after that. And one after that one, while waiting for Dave to respond. The quiet between them stretched so long that it actually startled Sebastian when Dave did finally begin to speak.
"Because I'm embarrassed. I've never had a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend for that matter. Not really, since Santana and I were just pretending," he was tripping over the words in haste, afraid if he didn't, he'd never get them out. "I've never … done … things with anyone. I'm just scared that you'll … laugh at me. That I'll do something wrong. That you'll eventually realize I'm not what you want."
Sebastian's hands crept down to the bottom of Dave's shirts, slowly rucking them up so he could slide his hands across the heated flesh of Dave's chest and belly. "I can't change that I have more experience than you do, Davey. But I want you to know – I need you to know – that you having no experience with other guys – it turns me the fuck on."
Careful to keep the quilt wrapped around them both, Sebastian continued to push Dave's shirts up, until he had finally worked both the sweatshirt and t-shirt off of him, tossing them aside. His own shirt quickly met the same fate, before he gathered Dave against his chest, both of them whimpering at the contact. "I get to be the first to touch you – the first to put this," he ran a hand down Dave's chest to rest on his bulging crotch, "in my mouth. I don't have to worry about wanting to punch out some asshole at your high school reunion because you messed around with him twenty years before."
"Are you picking up what I'm putting down for you, Davey? I want this with you and I'm willing to do it on your time frame. That's how I know," he swallowed audibly, "how I know you're special. If it didn't mean something, I'd have already bailed. But you do, David." Sebastian stroked his hands down Dave's arms and across his chest, half-aware of the hitches in Dave's breathing when he touched a particularly sensitive spot. "I want you. Not some cheap screw."
Turning his head, Dave brushed his lips over Sebastian's cheek.
Eyes closed, Sebastian whispered, "Please kiss me, Davey." He stilled, focusing on how Dave's warm lips felt as they drifted from his cheek, to his jaw. Closer, but still not where he wanted them most. And then finally, they were.
Dave was timid at first, feathering his lips over Sebastian's while desperately trying to control the knot in his stomach. While they'd made out a couple times, this was the first time Dave was in control of what happened next and how fast.
It was an odd position for kissing, Dave leaning back into Sebastian's chest, head turned over his shoulder so their lips could meet. And then there was the fact that Sebastian, while definitely participating in the kiss, wasn't making a single attempt to assert himself. Dave knew what he wanted; it was all a matter of finding the confidence to act on those desires.
Capturing Sebastian's lower lip between his own, Dave danced his tongue across it, drawing a deep moan from Sebastian. The knot of tension in his stomach began to dissolve as he realized the effect he was having on Sebastian. When the tips of their tongues met in heated slide, Dave felt like he was free falling. His own needy sounds filled the quiet night as the kiss became hotter and deeper.
Sebastian's fingertips brushed across the pebbled tip of Dave's nipple causing him to wrench his mouth away, crying out, "Oh my god, Bast!"
Working to catch his own breath, Sebastian gave a teasing smile. "That was a good 'oh my god, Bast' right? As in, Smythe, would you please touch me again?" he said, gently rolling a peaked nipple between his fingertips.
Keening loudly, Dave instinctively started to curl over on himself, overwhelmed by the intensity. It was only Sebastian's arms around him that kept him upright. " . Seb. Sebastian . . . Please, stop," he stuttered, gulping air when Sebastian released his hold.
When his heartbeat had returned to something approximating normal, Dave twisted around and gently pushed Sebastian to lie back down, joining him a moment later. As they lay facing each other, Sebastian made sure to tuck the quilt carefully around them, keeping out the night chill. When he finished he was caught off-guard when Dave leaned back in to claim another kiss.
This time it was a slow exploration, lips and tongues and teeth and hands. Minutes later, Sebastian broke their kiss. "Thank you," he whispered, running his hand down Dave's arm, twining their fingers together. "For that amazing kiss … for being here with me tonight … for giving me a second chance that I didn't deserve. Putting up with my B.S. Being my friend. All of it, Dave. You make me want to be a better person – to be someone you can be proud of."
Dave squeezed Sebastian's hand three times. His mother used to do that when he was little, telling him it was her code for 'I love you'. It wasn't quite the time to tell Sebastian those words aloud, but that didn't mean that Dave wasn't starting to understand the depth of the feelings he had for the sometimes obnoxious Dalton senior.
"Not too long ago, I was a much different person too. I … did some horrible things to someone else. Terrible things, Sebastian. But he forgave me. Not only did he forgive me, but – after all the stuff at school blew up in my face – he still offered to be my friend. Still came to the hospital to see me and help me see that there was a reason to keep living." Dave swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. "If he could find it in himself to forgive me for the hell I put him through – well, it was easy to forgive you. And I'm kinda glad we're both working to be better people." He offered a shy smile to Sebastian.
"My meme and pepe would have loved you, Dave," Sebastian started to tear up again, thinking about his grandparents. "Pepe – he would have just talked your ear off, in French mind you, because that's how he was. And Meme? She would have loved you just because you put a smile on the face of her favorite grandson."
Lying back on the ground, Dave stared up at the night sky. "Come here, Bast," he asked holding out his arm. Once Sebastian was snuggled back into his side, he spoke. "Why don't we look for some more shooting stars, huh? And maybe, if you feel up to it, you could tell me more about life with Meme and Pepe."
Wiping his tears with his hand, Sebastian choked out a laugh. "You're amazing, you know that? I … I."
"I know, Bast," Dave interrupted quietly. "I feel the same about you."
Whipping his head to the side, Sebastian met Dave's gaze. It was several long moments later when, by unspoken agreement, they looked back up at the night sky. A particularly bright shooting star passed overhead, burning longer than any of the others that night.
Closing their eyes, they made their wishes silently.
Wishing for the same thing.
Together.
Just like they would stay.
Just like they wished for.
Because sometimes, wishes do come true.
End Note: I counted 12 in just over an hour Sunday night. Thank you for reading!
