So this was just supposed to be a fast little scary fic in honor of Halloween (the real most wonderful time of the year, let's be honest), but then feels slipped in and who am I to deny you lovely people feels? It's not my best work. It's a little rushed because I wanted to finish it for you guys for Halloween and it ends pretty abruptly, but I hope you like it anyway. Sorry for the mistakes, too. I don't say that often enough. I also never proofread. So, yeah, sorry! Happy Halloween!
"I'm calling a motel."
"Oh, Kurt, come on," Sebastian groaned. "It's just a cabin."
"Yes. In the woods," Kurt snapped. He pulled out his cell phone. "Without cell service. I bet there's a land line that can easily be cut from the outside. And the only fuse box is outside, right? Sebastian, we are going to die out there." Sebastian rolled his eyes and popped the trunk.
"Look, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll take the car and fill her tank at the station down the road. She'll be all filled up if we need to make a speedy getaway," he sighed as he pulled their bags from the car. Kurt glared at him.
"Don't mock me," he snapped.
"Sorry, sorry. I forget how crabby you get when we travel, jeez," Sebastian muttered. He locked the car and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind and pressed a kiss at the hinge of his jaw. "It's quiet. We just need some time away from the city. We wanted quiet. And do you remember why we wanted secluded?" He could almost hear Kurt rolling his eyes, pulling out of Sebastian's arms.
"You're a jerk." Sebastian laughed.
"Come on, baby, this is going to be great. Let's go inside."
"You first," Kurt demanded, grabbing his bag and waiting expectantly for Sebastian to go on ahead of him. Sebastian slung his own back up on to his shoulder and went for the cabin, pulling the keys he'd gotten from the landlady from his pocket. "And I expect you to actually fill up the car."
Sebastian opened the cabin and pushed the door. It stuck a little, but gave way fairly easily. The sweet smell of pine and cinnamon wafted from inside and he smiled. It was a homey, lovely little cabin. The kitchen was small, the living room cozy, and he suspected the bedroom was neat and uncluttered. It was completely opposite from their upscale city loft with its contemporary furniture and comfortable but cold décor. He turned to see Kurt still lingering beside the car, peering into the woods. He looked like he was looking for something.
"Babe, come inside," he called. Kurt jumped slightly and frowned darkly at him.
"Don't scare me," he admonished. He grabbed his stuff and stepped inside.
Sebastian could see the change immediately. The stiffness he carried in his shoulders in the city dropped away and he relaxed. He smiled slightly as he looked around and seemed to droop. His shoulders dropped and his chin tilted down and he leaned against Sebastian for a moment. Sebastian put an arm around his shoulders and shook him gently.
"See? Not scary. We are not going to die, stop being so dramatic. I thought you gave up acting," he said. Kurt rolled his eyes again. "One day all that eye rolling is going to loosen your eyeballs and they're going to fall out of your head." Kurt snorted out a laugh.
"That's a new one," he muttered. "You go fill up the car, I'll fix something to eat." Sebastian kissed Kurt's temple.
"Should I wear the keys around my neck?" Kurt shoved him
"Get out," he snapped lightly as he moved toward the fridge. "And come back soon. I see some baking chocolate in here." He turned to wink at Sebastian over his shoulder and turned to lean a little further into the fridge, his perfect ass rising into the air enticingly. Sebastian groaned quietly. Kurt straightened, holding some vegetables the landlady had put in the fridge for them.
"Go on, now," he said innocently. "I wasn't kidding." Sebastian stuck out his tongue and grabbed the keys from the counter. Kurt just smiled and waved him off. Sebastian tugged the sticky door open and jumped down the steps to their Porsche. They did actually need to fill up, he wasn't just appeasing Kurt. He started up the car and pulled away from the house, smiling at Kurt watching him from the kitchen window.
Kurt smiled to himself as he heard Sebastian start up the car, he grabbed the bags from by the door and went upstairs to drop them off. He peeked into the bathroom, gratified to see a large tub rather than just a shower and a beautiful view from a large window next to the sink. He heard Sebastian pull away and he peered out the window to watch him navigate the car back through the trees.
Heading back downstairs, he made for the kitchen again. The landlady had been kind enough to fill the fridge and the pantry for only a small extra fee and he was excited to cook again. Since his mom died, he'd been doing all the cooking in the house. His father was hopeless with anything in the kitchen and he refused, even at his age, to live only on peanut butter and jelly. He hadn't done a lot of cooking in New York. Between their jobs, he and Sebastian were barely home. One of them was always out late. The first to come home would order take out, leave the leftovers for the other, and the cycle would begin again the next day. He hadn't been able to cook anything for months now.
He made his way back downstairs and began preparing what would amount to a feast compared to the take out they'd been eating for the past weeks. There was enough meat for a meatloaf, vegetables of several varieties and enough spices, seasonings, and sauces to keep Kurt happily cooking the whole week. After setting the meatloaf in the oven, Kurt moved to the bookshelf in the living room.
It was stocked with several classics, as well as almanacs from the last few years and books on hunting and fishing. He pulled Anna Karenina, The Scarlet Letter, and Breakfast at Tiffany's off the shelf and set the kitchen timer on the coffee table. Picking up The Scarlet Letter, he settled back on the wonderfully cushy couch to read while he waited for the meatloaf to finish. The gas station had been about a half hour away if he remembered correctly, so he had at least twenty minutes until Sebastian got back. He cracked open the book and snuggled himself down beneath a soft blanket.
"Something smells good, babe," Sebastian's voice came from the front, startling Kurt from his reading. He must have been so engrossed that he hadn't heard the car pull back up. He peered toward the front door. When he didn't see his boyfriend, he stood and made for the kitchen, expecting to see him peeking into the oven.
"Bas?" he called, not seeing him there either.
"Upstairs, baby," he called. Kurt frowned. He knew the stairs creaked, they had when he'd climbed up them to put their bags away and Sebastian had a heavier step than he did.
"Well, come back down. It'll be ready soon," he called up.
"In a minute, baby," came the reply. Kurt stood at the base of the stairs, his brow furrowing when he didn't hear shuffling from upstairs. Instead, the purr of a Porsche engine came from the front of the house.
"Sebastian?" Kurt called.
"Yeah, babe?" two identical voices answered. One from upstairs, the other from the front door that had just opened. Sebastian came into the cabin and smiled.
"Something smells good, babe," he said, coming over and kissing the corner of his mouth. "Are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."
The kitchen timer went off in the living room. Kurt jumped and slipped out of Sebastian's arms to grab the meatloaf from the oven. Sebastian frowned, but ran up the stairs to relieve himself. Six hours in the car and Kurt hadn't even let him take the time to piss when they arrived. The things he did for his boyfriend. The stairs creaked loudly as he bounded back down. He could smell sautéing vegetables. Kurt was in front of the stove, whistling shakily. He jumped when Sebastian wound his arms around his waist.
"Baby, tell me what's wrong," he murmured, kissing the side of his neck.
"What's wrong is this damn place is definitely haunted," Kurt snapped, more shaky than irritated. Sebastian groaned.
"Come on, baby, don't be stupid. There's no such thing as ghosts," he said. Kurt smacked his hands where they rested on his stomach.
"Shut up. I'm not being stupid," Kurt hissed. He switched off the stove and turned to him, glaring. "You're such a dick sometimes." He grabbed the serving dish by the stove and slid the asparagus he'd just sautéed on to it. Sebastian sighed.
"Kurt, you're being paranoid," he said, following him to the table with the meatloaf. Kurt frowned darkly at him.
"Look," he said shortly, "All I know is I heard you come inside and talk to me before the car pulled up, okay?" Sebastian frowned. He peeked into the living room and smiled.
"Kurt," he said with some amusement in his voice, "You were reading. On the couch. I can't tell you how many times I've come home and you've jumped a mile in the air because you fell asleep while reading. You probably just dozed off and had a vivid dream. You woke up when the car pulled in." Kurt frowned and opened his mouth to speak.
"No, Kurt," Sebastian cut in before he could speak, "don't you dare. This is a nice vacation and you and your overactive imagination are going to ruin it. Stop seeing monsters everywhere. You watch way too many horror movies." He reached for the asparagus and slid some on his plate.
"Sorry," Kurt muttered sullenly. He wound his arms around Sebastian's shoulders from behind and rested his chin on his head. "You're probably right." Sebastian sighed.
"We need this, Kurt," he murmured. "We fight too much. I thought some time away from the city and our jobs and the stress would…"
"Bring us back together?" Kurt finished. He felt Sebastian nod.
"Get us back to the way it was," he agreed. Kurt smiled and moved so his lips were next to Sebastian's ear.
"Do you remember why you wanted this place secluded?" he whispered. Sebastian smiled. He reached up and grabbed Kurt's hands, lacing their fingers together.
"But you made this wonderful meal," he purred, already pushing his chair back slowly and standing.
"We can reheat it." Kurt continued. He loosened his hold so Sebastian could turn and smile at him. He wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist. He bent his head and kissed him thoroughly.
"We can," he agreed.
A crash came from off to their left and both broke away to turn toward the sound. The books Kurt had pulled from the shelf were scattered across the floor. Sebastian looked down at Kurt who appeared to be on the verge of an "I told you so". He frowned at him.
"Kurtis Hummel," he began.
"That's not even my name, Sebastian," Kurt interrupted irritably, "Besides, I wasn't going to say anything."
"You were going to say "I told you so". But the truth is you probably just put the books too close to the edge of the table. There's nothing malevolent about a stack of books falling off the table. If we were back home you'd blame me for making unbalanced stacks," Sebastian said, matching Kurt's tone. Kurt rolled his eyes yet again and broke out of Sebastian's arms. He went around the table and sat in a chair across from him, looking at Sebastian expectantly until he sat back down.
Kurt silently reached for the food he'd prepared while Sebastian poured himself a large glass of wine. They didn't speak as they started eating. The only sound for a while was the scrape of their silverware and the quiet sloshing of wine glasses being emptied and refilled. The cold silence that had settled into every corner of their apartment in the city began to ghost over the table.
Sebastian couldn't remember when it had come to this. Sometimes he assumed it was when Kurt finally started being recognized for his styling and got a job as a personal shopper for TV stars and New York based celebrities. But he was just as much to blame as Kurt. The need to prove himself to his colleagues at Columbia meant he was staying up late into the night to finish lesson plans that could be engaging, educational, and seem effortless in delivery. Slowly, Kurt had started waking up earlier, hitting the gym, the stores before they got too busy, or just making rounds in the fashion district to see if he could get a peek at the colors for the coming season. Meanwhile, Sebastian stayed up later and later, letting Kurt go to bed alone and refusing to come out of his office for meals. That had been around the time Kurt stopped cooking so much. Why bother when no one would eat it.
He'd noticed that, too. Take out he left for Kurt would go uneaten. He never mentioned it when he found most of it in the garbage the next morning. If Kurt ordered, it was all his favorites, but hardly ever was there a container of Kurt's favorites. Kurt had lost weight. His trim stomach was bordering on concave. His regal cheekbones were becoming hollowed. But every time he thought to bring it up, something stopped him. The distance growing between them stopped him. He wondered if Kurt noticed the number of bottles of wine that ended up in the recycling. If he noticed the scotch, whiskey, and gin they kept in crystal decanters for company were getting emptier by the day. They were decaying, slowly.
Kurt looked up at Sebastian across the table. His hair was getting too long. It fell into his eyes no matter how many times he brushed it aside. He hardly wore his contacts anymore, and his stubble was steadily growing into an unkempt goatee. The smile Kurt had unwittingly fallen in love with was a dimmer version of what it had been in high school. It was almost as if he was fading away. He frowned to himself as Sebastian refilled his own wine glass almost absently. While Kurt withered away, Sebastian consumed. It was impossible not to notice the amount of alcohol Sebastian had been drinking. The number of drinks steadily increased by the week, then, recently, by the day. In truth, it was no worse than the meals Kurt had been skipping. Everything about them seemed to be dying, but neither was willing to let go.
Sebastian met his eye and offered a tired smile.
"We're not very good at this, are we?" he asked sadly. Kurt shrugged.
"Guess not," he agreed. He dropped his eyes back to the meal he'd barely touched. Sebastian put his fork down resolutely and pushed back his chair.
"Okay," he said, conviction taking the place of resignation, "Get up." Kurt looked up at him as he came around the table and pulled out his chair.
"Come on, Lady Hummel, get your ass out of this chair," Sebastian repeated, tugging him to his feet with a hand wrapped around his bicep. "We're going for a walk."
"Sebastian it's almost dark," Kurt protested, "we have no idea what could be in those woods. Plus, there will be bugs and it'll get cold—" Sebastian bent his head and kissed Kurt firmly.
"Put on a coat, get a flashlight, and meet me on the porch," he ordered in a soft voice, his tone allowing no room for protest. He bounded upstairs to grab his own coat and headed out to stand on the porch and wait. Kurt hesitated for a moment before leaving the food on the table and getting his own coat from his back, a pair of gloves, Sebastian's gloves that he probably forgot but would need, and a flashlight he found in the small closet under the stairs.
The sun had already dipped low when Kurt stepped out to join Sebastian. He handed him the flashlight and habitually wound his arm through Sebastian's. Sebastian clicked on the flashlight and shined it on a path that lead into the woods. Trees were marked along it frequently with day-glow paint, making it easy to see day or night. Sebastian gave a small tug to get them moving and made for the path, allowing Kurt to set a hesitant, but steady, peace.
"What are we doing out here?" Kurt muttered as he gripped Sebastian's arm.
"We're going to talk," Sebastian replied simply. He tucked his free hand into his jacket pocket, realizing he'd forgotten his gloves. Kurt didn't say anything.
"Fine," Sebastian said after a pause, he bobbed his head, "I'll start.
"It sucks that we're like this. After everything we've been through, it sucks that it might end like this," he didn't acknowledge Kurt's quiet intake of breath and powered on, "I mean, it's us. If we're going to go down, we should be going down in a blaze of flaming glory, not in passive aggressive fights in a silent apartment. That's not us. It's like we don't even have enough passion to really fight anymore. It's like we don't have anything anymore.
"I see the way you're eating, Kurt. Or, rather, I see the way you're not eating. It scares me, okay? It feels like you're not willing to give up on our relationship, so you're giving up on yourself. Do you remember back when we first got together, you made sure we had sex multiple times a day because you were scared I was going to get bored of you? You not eating, it scares me the same way that does. You don't talk to me anymore. Back then, I was scared you weren't going to ever take us seriously because you were so scared I'd just leave you. Now, I'm scared you're going to let yourself fade away because you're scared I'm going to leave you. I wish you would just talk to me, okay? I know we have problems, but I still love you. I also know you know that. But I'm starting to worry you don't love me the same anymore." Sunset had shifted to twilight and the hand holding the flashlight was becoming numb as the temperature dropped. Kurt shuffled along beside him, still holding his arm, but not saying anything.
"Kurt?" he asked quietly.
"I still love you," Kurt whispered into the darkness. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Sebastian's leather gloves. He took the flashlight silently and kept it trained on their path while Sebastian warmed his hands.
"I'm not going to leave you," Sebastian said shortly when Kurt handed him back the flashlight. He could tell the path was circling back around to the cabin.
"Okay," was the only response he received. The warm glow of the porch light flickered through the trees and still Kurt didn't say anything. Sebastian gritted his teeth in irritation. Kurt could feel the tension running through his shoulders and down his arms as he grew more frustrated. He sighed quietly.
"I do still love you, Bastian," he murmured. "And I know you're not going to leave me. You're still here, after all. If you were going to leave me, you wouldn't have booked a vacation for us in a mildly terrifying cabin in the middle of nowhere."
"Is that it?" Sebastian asked, sounding less appeased than Kurt hoped. He nodded.
"I don't want to talk about it right now, Sebastian," he muttered. Sebastian pulled his arm from Kurt's grip and walked on ahead, unlocking the cabin as Kurt came stumbling out of the trees.
"Damn it, Sebastian," he snapped, quick to anger as always. "You could have at least left me with the flashlight!" Sebastian let the door swing shut before Kurt hit the steps and flicked on the lights in the cabin.
He went into the living room and flopped down on the couch, narrowly avoiding knocking the pile of books back to the floor. Kurt must have picked them up before coming out. He pulled off his gloves and coat and tossed them aside as Kurt burst through the door, glaring. Sebastian ignored him, toeing off his shoes and laying across the couch. His long legs dangled over the edge and he thought about how uncomfortable his night would be down here. At least the couch in his office back in the apartment was long enough for him to lay across. He heard Kurt begin to put away their untouched food. Turning on his side, he curled his legs up and reached for one of the books Kurt had taken off the shelf.
The Scarlet Letter had always been one of his favorites. When they'd first gotten together, their very first date Kurt had called it stupid and laughed when Sebastian called Nathanial Hawthorne a literary genius. He'd only ever gotten through the first chapter or two, though every time Sebastian brought it up, he'd promised to finish it. He still hadn't. To be fair, Sebastian hadn't ever finished Breakfast at Tiffany's, Kurt's favorite book. He noticed that had made it on to the pile, too. The door to the fridge closed and Kurt's footsteps headed upstairs. After some moving around, the creak of the steps told him Kurt was back.
"Are you going to spend the night there?" Kurt asked in the same exasperated and resigned tone he used whenever he found Sebastian on the couch in his office. He nodded silently, not looking up from the book. A moment later, a heavy blanket and a pillow landed on his head, sliding to the floor when he didn't catch them.
"It gets cold here at night," Kurt muttered, "There's more blankets in the closet at the top of the stairs." Sebastian nodded again and heard Kurt make his way back upstairs.
He tossed the book on to the coffee table and grabbed the blanket and pillow from the floor. Kurt had grabbed him a ridiculously soft and heavy blanket, knowing he preferred to sweat at night rather than freeze. The pillow was feather, he could tell, something else he favored. He though those stupid memory foam pillows Kurt slept on were uncomfortable and was willing to risk any neck injury or back problems as long as he could be comfortable at night. It was the little things, really, that told him Kurt still loved him. It had always been that way. His favorite doughnut left in the box for days until he finally ate it. The blanket always bunched up more on his side when they sat on the couch for movie nights. The way Kurt had broken himself of the habit of leaving the cap off the toothpaste because it irked him so much. And the huge fluffy pillow and blanket he left for him for whenever he slept on the couch.
Kurt wasn't much of a talker, it was true. And he couldn't expect it to happen in just a few hours. When Kurt wanted to say something, he'd say it eventually. Until then, he couldn't push him. But it was still frustrating to pour out his heart and receive monosyllabic answers in return. He hated that Kurt could still get under his skin without even trying and he hated that he had gotten angry with him tonight. It had all been going so perfectly until he had opened his mouth. It wasn't like Kurt didn't hold any of the blame, either. Him getting mad at everything Sebastian said was absolutely no help. He huffed and punched the pillow into a more comfortable shape before realizing he had to get up to turn off the lights. He sighed and pulled himself up to turn them off, feeling the exhaustion of the drive settle in even though it was still early. In the dark, he shucked his pants and fell back on to the couch, wrapping the blanket around himself as the cabin dropped in temperature.
Cold breath on his neck woke him up. The moon had already set, he could barely make out any shapes in the dark. A shadowy figure stood next to him. He blinked.
"Come to bed," Kurt whispered. Without waiting to see if Sebastian would actually follow, he made his way for the stairs, pausing at the bottom to watch Sebastian scramble for his glasses that he didn't remember taking off. Sebastian took the pillow and followed Kurt up to the second floor. The hallway floor creaked loudly under his feet. The bathroom door flew open and he could see Kurt standing silhouetted by the light from the room beyond.
"Sebastian! God, you scared me," Kurt hissed. He turned off the light in the bathroom and came over to him. His hands were still a bit damp from washing and Sebastian shivered when Kurt laced his fingers through his. "Come to bed." Still half asleep, Sebastian nodded dumbly and followed Kurt into the bedroom.
He fell back to sleep soon after Kurt had switched off the lamp he'd used to navigate the room and had curled up beside him.
"I'm sorry," was the first thing he heard when he woke up. Sebastian shifted and turned toward the sound. Kurt was sitting up in bed with his iPad on his lap. He turned to look down at Sebastian.
"It's okay," he muttered in a scratchy voice as he sat up. He scrubbed at his eyes and put his glasses on when Kurt handed them to him. He constantly forgot to take off his glasses, many had met their fate to his habit of falling asleep while wearing them. Kurt was smiling a small, contented smile he rarely saw anymore. He smiled back.
"I'm glad you came to bed," he told him. The screen of his iPad went to sleep and he put it aside. Sebastian leered.
"Me too," he said. Kurt laughed. He fisted the collar of Sebastian's tee shirt and reeled him in to kiss him.
They rolled together on the ridiculously comfortable bed for a while, reacquainting themselves with each other's bodies. Kurt's warm laughter infused itself into Sebastian's bones and he smiled as he kissed his boyfriend. The sun flickered between the slats of the Venetian blinds of the bedroom, bathing lines on the floor in gold. For a little while, everything was the way it had been. Before the stress, he fights, the silence, the alcohol, and the loss of appetite set in. Back when Kurt smiled and Sebastian laughed. When they laughed their way through morning sex on Sundays and spent weekends not letting each other get dressed.
The smell of something burning wafted up the stairs, putting a sudden end to their fun. Kurt looked up, bewildered.
"Did you put breakfast on?" Sebastian asked, sitting up and running his hand along Kurt's spine. He shook his head, throwing back the sheets and pulling out a pair of Sebastian's sweatpants to put on. Sebastian humor out of bed behind him and grabbed a pair for himself, taking Kurt's phone off the charger and bounding down the stairs behind him.
"We both smelled that, right?" Kurt asked, turning to look at him as he came down the stairs.
"Something burning, yeah," Sebastian said. The oven was open and Kurt was standing by the coffee maker. His brow furrowed.
"Well, it was nothing," Kurt muttered, "Open the window." Sebastian dropped Kurt's phone on the counter and went to open the window over the kitchen sink. Like the door, it stuck for a moment before he forced it open. He waved his hand a bit to waft some of the burnt smell out.
"Weird," Kurt mumbled. Sebastian turned to see Kurt frowning at him.
"Don't give me that look. This place is not haunted," he sighed out. Something niggled the back of his mind, but disappeared when he focused on it. "Let's just put on some clothes and go get breakfast in town." Kurt's brow smoothed out and he came toward Sebastian.
"I don't want to get breakfast in town," he said. He stopped in front of him and slid his hands up Sebastian's chest and wound his arms around his neck. "I want to stay in today." Sebastian smiled.
"Well, we can do that, too. But just in case something really was burning, maybe just cereal for breakfast," he suggested, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist. Kurt nodded.
"It was probably just an electrical thing. I'll check the fuse box after we eat," he conceded.
"That's the spirit. No ghosts here. Just food and maybe a little dust and the most beautiful boy on the planet," Sebastian said, "and you." Kurt laughed and shoved him, the easy happiness from earlier coming back. If only one day out of the city could do this, Sebastian wondered what a whole week would do for them.
Kurt picked out a few peaches from the fruit bowl and started washing them as Sebastian reached for the bowls and got down the boxes of cereal the landlady had left for them. The warm sunlight came through the windows of the cabin. Elbows brushing, Sebastian and Kurt went about getting a simple breakfast ready. Sebastian turned to get the milk from the fridge when Kurt gasped sharply. The clatter of the knife he'd been using on the peaches made him turn quickly.
"Are you okay?" he asked, coming closer to see where Kurt was holding his hand.
"I cut myself," he said, sounding a little shocked, "It was like I wasn't even controlling the knife for a second. I was about to put it down when it just came down on my finger." Sebastian took him by the elbow and tugged him to the sink.
"Come on, before blood gets everywhere," he prompted. He turned on the water and Kurt put his hand under it, letting the blood wash away from the area around the cut. He sucked in a sharp breath.
"It's deep," he told Sebastian, "but I don't think I'll need stiches." Sebastian took his hand and looked closer.
"You're right. I'll go look in the medicine cabinet for some bandages. You wash that out," he ordered. He waited for Kurt's nod of assent before bounding upstairs to the bathroom.
The medicine cabinet was the kind behind a mirror that hung over the sink. He opened it, gratified to find iodine solution, band aids, disinfectant, and gauze and medical tape right on the top shelf. He took the gauze, tape and iodine solution and closed the mirror. Something dark in the corner of the bathroom caught his eye in the mirror and he turned to see what it was. Only the slight sheen of sunshine bouncing off clean tile winked at him. He frowned, signed it off to him seeing things and went to leave.
He was about to step out into the hall when that little niggle presented itself. Kurt had come downstairs to ask him to come to bed. He had followed him up the stairs, but then Kurt had been coming out of the bathroom. As if there were two Kurts. He frowned deeply, he was starting to sound like Kurt himself. He probably dreamed Kurt had come to him because he missed him and he'd woken and made his way upstairs on his own. He ignored the surge of doubt that welled up and ran back down to patch up his boyfriend.
"What took you?" Kurt demanded when he came back in. "Did you get lost?"
"Ha, ha, Princess, show me your hand," Sebastian replied. Kurt held out his hand. The cut was still oozing blood. He'd pressed a paper towel to the wound to soak it up while Sebastian got the disinfectant. Sebastian set aside the other supplies and uncapped the iodine. "This may sting." He dropped a few drops on to the wound. Kurt sucked in another breath but held still while he bandaged him up.
"God, the oven goes all wonky then I slice myself open," Kurt muttered. "It's like we're only ever going to be allowed to order in." Sebastian chuckled.
"Well, lucky for us, the milk and cereal haven't injured us."
"Yeah, watch out. You could jinx it and drop the jug of milk on your foot or something," Kurt told him. He scooped up the peaches he had cut and divided them into two other bowls. Sebastian splashed some milk over their cereal and followed Kurt to the table again. This time, Kurt took a seat next to him and hooked one of his feet behind Sebastian's ankle. Sebastian smiled.
"See? No injuries. Must just be you," he teased. Kurt stuck out his tongue and popped a piece of peach into his mouth. Sebastian grinned cheekily and dug a spoon into his cereal. He took a bite and promptly spat it back out.
"What's wrong?" Kurt asked.
"Ugh, check the date on the milk, I think it's gone sour," Sebastian said, wiping his mouth and reaching for the fruit. Kurt pushed away from the table and looked in the fridge. Sebastian bit down on a slice of peach, feeling it ooze across his tongue, slimy and fermented. He pulled back to look at his breakfast. The peaches were rotting in their bowl, and he could see chunks swimming between his Corn Flakes.
"It doesn't expire for another two weeks, Bastian," Kurt called over his shoulder. Sebastian looked up at him as he came to sit back down. "You probably just forgot what milk tastes like because of all the coffee you drink." Sebastian snorted and looked back at the table. His cereal was soaking in perfectly white milk and the peaches looked golden and juicy. He frowned and tentatively took a bite of his cereal. Normal Corn Flakes, normal milk. He looked over to Kurt out of the corner of his eye who was happily munching on his own breakfast. He would swear this wasn't a figment of his imagination, but he wasn't about to send Kurt into a panic over ghosts that may or may not be there.
"You sure you don't want to go out today, babe?" he asked, "We have all week. We can go across the lake to that little boardwalk. I bet they have great boutiques." He could see Kurt perk up slightly at the sound of him mentally sending a prayer of forgiveness to his gold card.
"Well," Kurt said slowly, a smile growing on his lips, "When you put it like that."
"I'll buy you something expensive," Sebastian promised, thinking wistfully of the time when his inheritance sat gathering interest in a bank somewhere and he was secure in his position of money and status. Kurt made a show of sighing laboriously.
"I guess we'll go out," he said. Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"Three hours, Princess," he told him.
"Per store?" Kurt asked, lighting up. Sebastian blanched.
"No! Total!" he hastily amended, "Three hours total. I don't think I have enough energy for more than that. The last time you took me shopping I almost died." Kurt smacked him lightly.
"Stop being over dramatic, Bastian. You were hungry."
"Yes, you didn't let me eat," he deadpanned. Kurt flapped his hand.
"Semantics. Finish your breakfast, I want to get there before the tourists paw over everything." Sebastian sighed. It was worth getting out of the cabin to see Kurt shopping. He always seemed like he was most happy when surrounded by clothes. Besides, a feeling of unease was creeping into his gut and he didn't want to spend more time in the cabin than they had to.
"I'm going to shower," Kurt announced a few minutes later. He pushed back his chair and stood. "You're welcome to join me when you're done contemplating your soggy cereal." Sebastian started and focused on the food in front of him. His Corn Flakes were wilting sadly in the milk. He bobbed his head even as he heard Kurt's footsteps on their way up the stairs.
The shower started above his head and he rose slowly to put away the dishes. He found some Tupperware under the sink and tossed the remaining fruit into it. He dumped his cereal slop and the remainder of Kurt's milk down the drain and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher alongside the plates from the night before. Since it wasn't their place, he had no remorse when he dumped in some dish soap to do the meager load of dishes. He bent to figure out the dials and heard the shower shut off upstairs. He'd missed his change, he though a little sadly. He twisted the correct dial and turned on the dishwasher then headed up to get dressed.
Sebastian was just pulling a shirt from his bag when he heard Kurt shriek from the bathroom. He dropped the shirt and, with pants still undone, rushed down the short hall and threw open the door. Kurt was staring at his hands in horror. His hair was half uncombed. He looked up at Sebastian, mouth still rounded in shock and eyes wide.
"Kurt, what's wrong?" Sebastian asked, coming to him and taking his hand in his own. Kurt blinked a couple times and shut his mouth.
"There was so much blood," he stuttered out in a whisper. "So much." Sebastian frowned.
"Honey, there's no blood," he said, letting Kurt free his hands to look.
"I know. I know," he said. He turned to look in the mirror.
"What happened?" Sebastian pressed, putting his hands on Kurt's shoulders to ground him.
"I was doing my hair," Kurt began shakily. "I was just combing it when suddenly blood started to trickle out of my cut. Then there was more of it and I could feel it, Sebastian, I could feel it running down my face. There was so much." Sebastian fought a frown and wrapped his arms around Kurt securely.
"It was probably the stress from the city catching up to you," he said. Swallowing the inexplicable lump of fear in his throat he bit out, "Are you sure you still want to go out today? Maybe just stay here and read a little. Relax, you know? Wind down." Kurt shook his head vigorously and Sebastian had to stop himself from sighing in relief.
"No, let's go out. We'll shop a little, have some lunch, then maybe just sit on the beach for a little while," Kurt said. He breathed out slowly and shook himself a little without dislodging from Sebastian's arms. Sebastian nodded.
"Okay. I'm going to finish getting dressed. You finish your hair, then I just have to brush my teeth and we can go," he said reassuringly. Kurt nodded. Neither moved for a moment.
"Bastian, go," Kurt said gently, "I'm okay. It was just shocking is all. Go finish getting dressed." Sebastian nodded and released him. He made his way back to the bedroom. Kurt didn't close the door again behind him.
He went back over to his bag to get out his shirt before remembering he had one already. He looked around. It wasn't on the bed, nor was it on the floor where he'd dropped it. He got down on his knees to check if it was under the bed, if he'd kicked it there by accident. The shadows seemed darker than normal, but no shirt. He stood and put a few inches more distance between him and the bed, unsure of why a tickle of fear was creeping up his spine. He took the topmost shirt from his bag and looked up as Kurt came in.
"Are you okay?" Kurt checked, "You look pale." Sebastian swallowed.
"Yeah," he assured him, "Yeah. It's probably just the light." Kurt nodded slowly.
"The light, yeah," he agreed. Sebastian nodded once more and went to the bathroom. He closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. His heart was pounding.
In the bedroom, Kurt shed the towel he'd had around his waist and went to his bag. He pulled out and outfit and laid it on the bed. He'd pulled on the pants when he remembered he'd packed a shirt that went much better with the vest he'd chosen. He did up the closure on his pants and went to switch shirts, coming back beside the bed when he'd found the one he was looking for. He placed it on the bed to confirm his choice and nodded to himself. He pulled the shirt over his head and was just reaching for the vest when something brushed against his ankle, something cold and feeling far too much like papery skin for his liking. He froze, determined not to call for Sebastian and slowly looked down. The edge of the bed clothes flapped slightly from a breeze coming in the window. He went over and closed it tightly, mentally berating himself for half expecting to see a hand coming out from beneath the bed. He put on his vest and checked his hair one last time.
"Ready, babe?" Sebastian asked from the doorway. Kurt turned, more than a little relieved to actually see his boyfriend standing there. He nodded quickly and grabbed his wallet, phone and keys from the dresser. Sebastian took his hand and led him out of the cabin. They didn't talk about how both of them walked more quickly than usual to the car.
By silent agreement, neither mentioned going back to the house until the shops were beginning to close and the dark of the boardwalk seemed equally terrifying. They moved slowly back toward the car, Kurt's arm laced through Sebastian's and their eyes trained on their feet as they walked. Sebastian drove the longer way around the lake, going the speed limit the whole way – something he hadn't done since he'd first learned to drive. It was just past twilight when they pulled back up to the cabin. Only the porch light which was on timer and the bug zapper flickered in the dark. The cabin looked ominous. They both sat in the car for a bit after Sebastian turned off the engine. Suddenly, Sebastian shook himself.
"This is ridiculous," he said, more loudly than he'd probably intended and causing Kurt to jump, "there's no such thing as ghosts." He opened the door to the car and made his way up the porch steps. Kurt followed more slowly. Sebastian went into the house ahead of him, flicking on lights in the kitchen, living room, and above the stairs. Suddenly, being outside the house was infinitely more terrifying than being inside it. Kurt hurried on and shut the door firmly behind him.
Sebastian was sitting in the living room, his coat tossed aside. He looked like he was resolutely trying to relax. Kurt picked up his coat silently and hung in on the hook by the door next to his own. He went and sat beside Sebastian. Almost tentatively, Sebastian reached around his shoulders and pulled him into his side. The safety of his boyfriend's arms had Kurt twisting to get closer and wrapping his own arms around Sebastian's waist.
"There's no such thing as ghosts," Sebastian repeated quietly into Kurt's hair. The conviction he'd had in the car, though, seemed to have wavered. Kurt nodded. Silence stole over them, not the cold, distant silence of their city lives, the deep oppressive silence of knowing no one would hear them if they screamed. It was never this silent in the city. There were always cars and buses drunk people shouting on the streets. There were sirens and gunshots and people on the sidewalks. Even the sound of breaking glass, the chance that you'd just heard your neighbors from across the street get burgled, was infinitely less frightening than this heavy sound of nothing.
"Let's watch a movie," Kurt said quickly. "I have my iPad upstairs." Sebastian nodded.
"That sounds good. You go get it and I'll make some popcorn," he said. Kurt nodded mutely and stood up. He went to the base of the stairs and peered up them.
The switch for the hall light was right at the top of the stairs. The switch for the overhead light in the bedroom was in the hall. Kurt took a breath and started up the stairs. They creaked comfortingly under his feet. He switched on the hall light, holding his breath as he continued to the door of the bedroom, left ajar that morning when they'd run out. He hit the light switch and pushed open the door, unsure of what he expected to find. There was nothing there. Just the unmade bed, their half unpacked bags, and his iPad on the bedside table where he'd left it. He made his way over and picked it up. He bent to remove the charger from the wall and noticed his hand shaking slightly. He grabbed it and backed away from the bed. He ran into something solid and felt familiar arms wrap around him for a moment, just a shade too tightly before they were gone. Shaking now more than ever, Kurt stumbled from the room and back down the stairs, leaving the lights on.
Sebastian looked up when he tumbled in, turning from the window over the sink. Again, he looked pale and scared. His expression expertly wiped clean, though, when he looked over at Kurt. He came over and wrapped his arms around him, trying to stop the shaking. He held him tightly for a few minutes until Kurt calmed down.
"What do you want to watch?" he asked when he released him.
"I have our iTunes library on here," Kurt said, jumping when the microwave dinged. Sebastian grabbed the popcorn and came back quickly, putting a hand in the small of his back.
"Okay, let's watch Chicago, or something," Sebastian suggested. Kurt bobbed his head.
"Yeah," he said, "Chicago is good." He didn't even poke fun at Sebastian for choosing a musical. They went back to the couch, both seeming to relax marginally when they had their backs plant firmly on the back of the couch.
Sebastian reached around and plugged in the charger, resolutely ignoring the shadows behind the couch and putting an arm around his boyfriend as he settled back in. Kurt switched on the iPad and went to their movies. The opening credits began to roll and Kurt broke open the popcorn bag. They didn't move from each other's arms for the whole movie. When it was over, Kurt silently reached out and started Iron Man. Sebastian didn't protest. They made their way through every movie they had on iTunes, only really beginning to relax as the gray light of dawn grew outside the windows. Kurt yawned.
"Let's go to bed," Sebastian suggested. Kurt nodded and stood. He put the iPad on the coffee table and followed Sebastian around as he switched off the lights downstairs. Sebastian reached out and tangled their fingers together and they silently moved upstairs, turning off the hall light on their way to the bed room. They didn't look over their shoulder. Sebastian blindly turned off the overhead light as Kurt clicked on the bedside lamps even though the sky outside was fading toward the pale blue of sunrise. They undressed and slid into the bed, gravitating toward each other like they hadn't done since they'd first gotten together.
Sebastian woke up to the distant ringing of his phone. Shoving his glasses on, he half fell out of bed and stumbled down into the living room to find it. Its muffled tone sounded sadly from the couch as it signified a missed call. He rooted around between the cushions, making a triumphant noise when he found it. It must have fallen out of his pocket the previous night and gotten wedged between the cushions. He hit the Home button to wake the screen and was only greeted with a blank screen telling him it was completely dead. He frowned. He took Kurt's iPad from the charger and put his phone on it instead. Overhead, the sound of Kurt getting up caught his attention. He went back up.
"So I was thinking breakfast in town. We'll take a walk around, see the local sights, maybe stay there until dinner," Kurt said when he walked in.
"Sounds great," Sebastian agreed with a smile. Kurt smiled back, the expression missing his eyes. They both silently dressed, stuffing yesterday's clothes back into their bag with an unspoken agreement not to unpack too much. They shared the bathroom and went back downstairs hand-in-hand.
"Wait," Sebastian said before they left the cabin, "You go out and start the car. I have an idea." He left Kurt's side and ran back upstairs. He made sure the door to the bedroom was open wide and turned on both bedside lamps. Then he went back downstairs and switched on two lamps in the living room. It would offer enough light for them to see by when they arrive back after dinner. Kurt was sitting behind the wheel when he locked the door and came over to the car.
"Ready?" he asked in a chipper voice. Sebastian nodded and they pulled away from the cabin. The knot of unease that had taken up residence in his gut loosened slightly as they got further away.
Coming back to the cabin that night was easier than the last night. The lights Sebastian had left on sent a warm glow out to the driveway where they pulled the car up. Their day, too, had left them with a settled feeling. The town they were in was lovely. Little family-run diners and restaurants littered the streets. Though there were no boutiques, small antique stores and artisan shops sold their wares to the tourists. Still full from a wonderful meal and satisfied from a full day spent together without a single fight, Sebastian and Kurt made their way up to the house with less hesitation than the night before. The door didn't stick when Sebastian pushed it open tonight, but he didn't notice. They hung up their coats and moved to the living room together.
Sebastian picked up Breakfast at Tiffany's and Kurt gave Sebastian a long, resigned look before taking The Scarlet Letter off the pile and settling on the couch. Sebastian sat at the other end and stretched his legs out, tangling them with Kurt's where they met in the middle. They hadn't sat down and read together like this for a long time and for a while there was only the peaceful ticking of the clock on the wall and the swish of pages turning. The cabin was quiet.
"Hey, Sebastian," the soft hesitance in Kurt's voice caught Sebastian's attention and he put his finger in the book to save his place. Kurt took a small breath, looking down and picking at a bit of loose thread in the couch as he continued, "it does suck.
"It does suck that we let it get this bad. It sucks that I felt, feel, felt," he paused and frowned, tears beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes, "that I felt like I couldn't talk to you. It sucks that I didn't have the courage to confront you about your drinking. And it sucks that you didn't mention my not eating. It sucks that you spent more time with your students than you did with me, but it also sucks that I spent more time with sales people than I did with you. It sucks that you never slept in our bed. It sucks that our renewal on the lease was coming up and I was thinking about taking my name off it." Sebastian stared at him. Kurt kept going, "It sucks that I thought about ending it because I just felt so damn guilty.
"I felt guilty that I was letting you drink yourself to death. I felt guilty about never seeing you. I felt guilty about not trying to fix us when it felt like we were still fixable. I felt guilty about treating you like your parents did. And then I felt guilty all over again because I was thinking about leaving you.
"I'm sorry I scared you. I don't know how it got so bad between us," he finally met Sebastian's eyes and Sebastian was unsurprised to see that Kurt was crying, "I still love you, Bastian. I love you so Goddamn much. I love you more than I thought I was ever capable of loving anybody. I don't want to leave you. The thought of leaving you scared the shit out of me, but the thought of staying with you while we were in this horrible cycle scared me even more. I would think about how easy it would be for us both to just fade away. Neither of us would even notice the other withering up. It terrified me. I still care about you. I want to be with you. I need you, Bas."
Sebastian tossed the book aside, not even caring where it landed and launched himself across the couch. He wrapped his arms around Kurt so tightly he swore heard Kurt's ribs creak, but he got no complaints. He buried his face in Kurt's neck for just a moment before pulling away just enough to see the tears glistening on Kurt's cheeks and realized he was crying a little himself. He cupped his boyfriend's face in his hands and kissed him, hard, deep, and long until his lips were hurting. Kurt's arms were locked around him and his wet cheek slid against his as Kurt kissed along his jaw up to his ear frantically.
"God, I love you," Sebastian breathed into the skin of Kurt's throat. "I love you, Kurt." Kurt hiccupped a little and tightened his arms in acknowledgement. He nipped lightly at Sebastian's ear lobe before turning his head and searching for his lips again.
Sebastian kissed him, his hands sliding up under his shirt to warm again the soft skin of his chest. Kurt tugged at the hem of his shirt and got him out of it. He spread his hands across Sebastian's back and tilted his head back so Sebastian could suck a mark into the base of his throat. Kurt's shirt followed Sebastian's not long after and as the night grew colder, they stay locked together, trading warmth and breath in the quiet cabin.
"Bastian," Kurt murmured as they lay together on the couch, uncomfortable but unwilling to move, after. Sebastian gave a small contented hum from where his head rested on Kurt's chest. Kurt reached up and ran his fingers through Sebastian's damp hair, he said, "If we do end, I promise to fight with you so loudly the people in the building next door will call the cops." Sebastian laughed and turned his face up to look at Kurt.
"Sounds like a plan, Princess," he said fondly. A light breeze stole over them and Kurt shivered slightly. Sebastian pushed himself up and dragged Kurt into a seated position despite his pathetic whimper of protest.
"Let's go to bed," he said. Leaving their clothes on the floor and the lights on, Sebastian herded Kurt up to the bedroom and into the bed. Exhausted and happy, they fell asleep quickly.
Sebastian woke slowly. A soft breeze was coming in one of the open bedroom windows. Birds were tittering outside and Kurt's steady breathing filled the room. He opened his eyes to the light filtering through the blinds they hadn't closed and turned his head to look over at Kurt beside him.
He smiled at Kurt's sleeping face. Kurt hated the way he looked when he slept, but Sebastian had never seen anything more amusing in his life. He always slept with his face scrunched into the pillow and a frown on his face that looked uncomfortable for sleep. The cheek he had smashed on the pillow always smooshed up one side of the frown making it lopsided and letting his teeth peek out from between his lips. His brow was always furrowed and Sebastian joked that Kurt never looked like he was thinking more than when he was asleep. It had been a while since he'd been able to see it. He leaned over and placed a kiss in the middle of his forehead.
Sliding out of bed, he grabbed a towel from the linin closet and went to shower. The water pressure was glorious, working out the knots he'd held in his shoulders for too long and smoothing out the soreness from the night before. He sighed quietly and just stood under the hot water for a few minutes, letting it loosen him up and relax him. How Kurt hadn't spent an entire hour in this shower the other day was a mystery to him. He reached for his shampoo and lathered it through his hair. Stepping back under the spray and closing his eyes to rinse, he became aware of another presence. The shower curtain shifted and Sebastian felt a cold puff of air from outside sneak in. He kept his eyes closed and he let the shampoo run out of his hair.
"Remember the first time we did this?" he asked, "Back in our old, tiny, shitty apartment before we made it official. You bruised your elbow so badly you wouldn't wear short sleeves for weeks. And it was in the middle of summer." He laughed as he felt the last of the suds disappear. He got no response, instead a press of lips so cold they hurt met his chest. He jumped, his eyes popping open. No one was standing in front of him. Heart pounding, he leapt from the shower wrapping the towel around his waist and not even turning off the water before he rushed down the hall to the bedroom.
Kurt sat up, startled, when he burst in.
"Oh my God, Bas," he said, jumping out of bed and coming over to him. Sebastian hadn't realized he was shaking until Kurt put his arms around him.
"Let's go," he said quickly. Kurt's eyes widened and he nodded.
"Yeah, yes," he said, "we're leaving." He stepped back and pulled out clothes for both of them to wear. Sebastian was still shaking. The cold spot on his chest hadn't warmed.
"You can say 'I told you so' as much as you want in the car," Sebastian told him as Kurt pushed some clothes into his hands.
"Oh, believe me, I will," Kurt bit out, pulling on his own pants while stuffing whatever had come out of their bags in the last couple days back in. Sebastian let out a strangled laugh and forced himself to dress, pulling the clothes on to his still wet body.
"You turn off the shower, I'm going to get the stuff from downstairs and I'll meet you at the car," Kurt instructed, hefting one bag on to his shoulder and leaving the other open for the rest of their stuff. Sebastian nodded vigorously and took his keys, wallet and phone from the dresser. Kurt collected his own and went down the steps.
Warily, Sebastian stepped into the bathroom. He narrowed his line of sight down to the shower by sheer power of will and walked over to turn it off. Praying the nothing grab his wrist, he reached in and turned off the flow of water, snatching his hand back the minute the water stopped. He turned to leave and accidentally looked in the mirror. Whatever was over his shoulder made him so terrified he couldn't make a sound. He ran from the bathroom, down the stairs and almost barreled into Kurt who was standing at the door, pale-faced.
"What's wrong? We were supposed to meet at the car," he said breathlessly, his heart going a mile a minute and the feeling of a presence over his shoulder not going away.
"We're out of gas," Kurt replied. Sebastian cursed.
Of the cars they could have brought, they decided on the Porsche. The tiny Porsche that barely fit them both comfortably and had an itty bitty gas tank. The Porsche that was all things beautiful and shiny in the world but got shit mileage. The Porsche that could go zero to sixty in the blink of an eye, but needed to be filled up every three or four hours on the highway. The Porsche that was now out of gas.
"Well, we can walk to the gas station," Sebastian said. "It's just down the road."
"Just down the road a half an hour away by car," Kurt said. "We can't walk the far. It'll take hours." Sebastian swallowed.
"Look, Kurt, I just want to get out of here. I know you do, too. I am almost willing to leave the car and thumb it to the nearest train or bus station and get the hell out of this place and back to the city. So, we either walk to the gas station and get gas to fill the car, or we leave your baby out here and never come back for it." Kurt bit his lip.
"Let's walk to the gas station," he agreed. "We are not leaving my baby here at the mercy of whatever is in this cabin." Sebastian nodded. Without another word, he grabbed Kurt's hand and towed him out of the cabin, barely pausing to lock up behind them.
It must have been later in the day than they thought because dusk was falling by the time they'd lugged the gas can from the station back to the car. Kurt filled her up while Sebastian went to unlock the door and get their bags. The lights had been left on again, in their haste this morning, neither had thought to turn them off. He looked down to the left of the door where Kurt had left the bags and felt his stomach drop. They weren't there.
"Bastian," a sing-song voice that was a terrifying likeness of Kurt's called from the top of the stairs, "are you looking for something?" Sebastian turned on his heel.
"Let's get out of here," he said as Kurt raised a foot to climb up to the porch.
"Bastian, our bags," Kurt said. Sebastian shook his head.
"No. Nope. We're not going back in there," he said firmly. "Get in the car. I will buy you a new version of every piece of clothing in there, and a new iPad, but I will not go back into the house."
A branch snapped in the forest to their left and Kurt looked over instinctively. He started up the steps slowly, not taking his eyes off whatever was out there.
"Sebastian get back in the house," he ordered quietly. He put a hand in the center of his chest and pushed gently. "Get in the house." The sheer terror in his voice had Sebastian stepping back across the threshold and pulling Kurt behind him.
"What was it? What was out there?" he asked when the door had closed. Kurt shook his head.
"I don't know. But I chose the devil we know," he said. Sebastian swallowed and looked around the cabin as the lights flickered.
"I don't think we know either devil very well, Kurt," he whispered. Kurt's hand came up and locked on his wrist. Darkness was falling outside and a wind was starting up in the branches of the trees.
Kurt led Sebastian by the wrist to the couch. The wedged themselves on to the side that was in the corner of the room. Neither paused to think how stupid they looked. Sebastian picked up the forgotten flashlight from their first night and clutched it to his chest. Beside him, Kurt let out a bitter laugh.
"Do you realize we've made every stupid mistake the idiots in horror movies make?" he asked quietly as the shadows lengthened. Sebastian nodded and slid an arm around Kurt's waist.
"I probably should have listened to you," he admitted shakily. The lights went off with the ominous unison click of power being cut.
"You think?" Kurt hissed into the complete darkness. Despite the fear in his chest, Sebastian wasn't sure he wanted to turn on the flashlight. Kurt pressed into him more tightly. They were both shaking and Sebastian almost wanted to laugh at how idiotic they must be. Two fully grown adults crushed into the corner of a couch, scared shitless of something they weren't even sure existed.
"Bastian, not to worry you, but I think there's something on the ceiling," Kurt whispered. Heart racing, Sebastian finally turned on the flashlight, shining it up to the ceiling. Something black scuttled away from the light like a rat.
"Oh God," Sebastian whispered. The beam of the flashlight shook the same staccato rhythm as his hand. He moved it across the ceiling, dreading catching a glimpse of the same thing he had seen over his shoulder in the bathroom mirror. Nothing manifested itself. They were alone.
"Sebastian," Kurt's voice called from the stairs. Kurt clutched Sebastian's hand on the couch.
"Coming, babe," Sebastian's voice replied from the hallway overhead. The stairs creaked loudly as whatever it was made its way down. Unable to resist, Sebastian shined the light to the stairs. No one was there. Kurt let out a breath.
"I hate you for bringing us here," he whispered. Sebastian choked on the laugh he tried to force out.
"I hate me, too," he whispered back. "Just promise you won't break up with me." Kurt's nails dug into his hand.
"You're such an asshole," he whispered. Sebastian kissed the top of his ear.
"I know."
The night grew infinitely darker. The two sat in frightened silence, speaking only to assure the other they were still there, still alive, still awake. They heard voices that matched their own from all over the house. The stairs creaked without anyone walking on them. The wind sent branches banging against the windows. The flashlight flickered, but stayed lit. Sebastian wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Every so often, something would jump just clear of the beam of light and disappear. Whether the things in the cabin wanted to hurt them or not, they stayed locked together like that until dawn broke outside. As the sun rose, Kurt jumped up and made for the door, Sebastian hot on his heels.
"It won't open," Kurt said, tugging at the handle. Sebastian grasped it and pulled, too. The door wouldn't budge.
"Do you … smell something burning?" Sebastian asked slowly as he gave up on the door. Kurt sniffed.
"We're stuck in here, Sebastian," he whispered. The safety of the dawn melted away as the truth of Kurt's words settled into Sebastian's bones. The smell of burning wood and the crackle of fire grew more quickly than would ever be physically possible. Sebastian leaned against the door and wrapped Kurt in his arms.
Smoke was beginning to fill the cabin. They sat with their backs to the stuck door, feeling the heat waft toward them and the smoke fill their lungs. Kurt coughed harshly.
"Kurt," Sebastian ground out hoarsely. Kurt looked up at him, eyes watering. "I was going to ask you to marry me." Kurt smiled. He turned his head to cough into his bent elbow.
"I would have said yes," he told him in a scratchy voice. Sebastian kissed the top of his head and focused on breathing, pulling the collar of his shirt up over his nose and mouth in a vain attempt to bloke some of the smoke. Kurt had settled against him, his weight telling him he'd already passed out. If he just closed his eyes for a minute…
Epilogue:
"They said the landlady found us," Kurt murmured, clutching Sebastian's hand. "She was worried the storm would knock out the power so she came to check on us when she got up. When she couldn't get in the front door, she went in through the basement and found us passed out in front of the door, blocking it. She called 911.
"They couldn't explain the smoke damage to our lungs, or the blisters we'd gotten. They brought us here, though, and put us through the same treatment people stuck in fires get. The only thing out of the ordinary was how we had gotten smoke in our lungs without there being any fire.
"The landlady found our bags upstairs under the window. My iPad was laying on top of them. She put it in one and sent the bags along with us to the hospital. I haven't looked at it yet. I definitely put it in the bag before we tried to leave. Our car had to be towed here. It was out of gas and the battery was dead." Sebastian squeezed Kurt's hand as he finished.
"But what happened to us, Kurt?" he asked. Kurt shrugged.
"I guess we imagined it all," Kurt murmured. "I mean, no one else commented on that cabin saying it was haunted." Sebastian nodded slowly.
"Guess so." He brought their joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of Kurt's. "Do you still accept my proposal?" Kurt smiled.
"Yeah, I do," he said quietly. Sebastian nodded and smiled back.
"Then this vacation was exactly what we needed." Kurt chuckled and let Sebastian coax him on to the hospital bed beside him.
Like watching a car go over a cliff, Sebastian couldn't resist looking at Kurt's iPad. When they were released from the hospital, they retreated to the safety of their loft and settled back into their daily lives. Kurt was a little lost without his iPad, especially now that they were beginning to plan their wedding, but he refused to open it. He was scared it would have proof that something had happened to them in that cabin. Sebastian, equally scared though he was, needed to know if something had happened.
One day, when Kurt was at work, he unlocked it and went through. All the apps were there, all Kurt's calendar data. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. On a whim, he checked Kurt's notes, finding nothing added or deleted there, either. The only thing he did find that hadn't been there before he erased from the device. It gave him everything he needed to know, but Kurt didn't need to see it. The shaky video of a dark living room lit only by the shuddering beam of a single flashlight clutched in the hands of two terrified figures huddled in the corner of a couch would only stress him out.