The first time Sebastian smells women's perfume on Kurt's skin it's easy enough to play it off"It's Rachel's birthday next week. Finn needed help picking the perfect reconciliation gift. I needed to see how it smells." He lets it go, mostly because he isn't sure he could bring it up without turning it into an insult, a real fight, something that he's not sure their tentative friendship would endure. Their interactions are heavily monitored by Blaine anyways. So he drops it, not even working out a playful jibe. He works his way into a threesome at a bar that night to make up for it, there's no sense in him losing his touch.
The second time he notices it is the day he comforts Kurt about his breakup, wrapping him in the first hug of his adult life that is not a prelude to sex. It's a weird twist in his life that he's taking Kurt's side in all of this, that he's choosing his friend over the opportunity to fuck. It's weirder that he's happy about it. Now, however, is not the time to think about that, or to mock the scent of the perfume, instead he pulls out a bottle of tequila, drowning both in the harsh burn of the alcohol.
It comes back to him later that night when he's pulling a stumbling Kurt into his bed, neither of them thinking straight, and both content to sleep in a tangle of limbs. Sebastian is almost disgusted with himself when he wakes up with a man he hasn't slept with in his bed, but the beginnings of a proper friendship help him through it, the perfume long gone.
The fourth time he tastes it more than smells it. His lips working endlessly at Kurt's neck, sucking and biting and claiming. He barely has time to process the harsh taste on his lips, the flowery scent in his nose before Kurt is reciprocating and he's falling apart, losing himself in his now suddenly more than that best friend. The sex is slow and drawn out, the years of everything building to this moment. It's hot and dirty and absolutely perfect and for the first time in his life Sebastian thinks that maybe feelings are worth it. When he comes down afterwards the scent has vanished, lost amidst the sweat and sex.
The fifth time is different. They're settled in and dating and everything is full of a domesticity that Sebastian is honestly surprised doesn't frighten him. But it's that very familiarity that makes him finally bring it up. By this point he's memorized Kurt's scent (along with every inch of his body and a good percentage of the quirky things that make up his essence) and the new note is so very foreign that it sends him reeling.
He comes home, ready to unwind by winding himself around Kurt, and leans in to kiss his boyfriend when he notices.
"You smell weird." He doesn't pad the words, doesn't say anything more than that. Kurt tries to blow it off, mumbling about his imagination before pulling him into a kiss that is designed to distract him. Sebastian can't be distracted, the scent is practically screaming, calling out for his attention.
"I mean it, babe. You smell like flowers or some shit. It's kind of girly." Kurt pulls away at that, quirking an eyebrow as he studies Sebastian's face. Sebastian flinches under the look, slowly realizing what he'd said; he shifts uncomfortably for a minute before continuing. "Not that that's bad. It's just weird. You don't smell like you."
Kurt sighs, wringing his hands in his lap, a familiar gesture but one he'd almost stopped. Sebastian reaches out, tangling his fingers in between Kurt's joined hands, silently reassuring and begging forgiveness all at once.
"I-Today was stressful." Kurt's voice is quiet, unsure. Sebastian squeezes his fingers in reassurance. "It's the perfume my mother always wore. It's just really calming and it makes me feel safe." He pauses again, screwing up his face before the next stream of words tumbles out. "It's stupid and childish, I know." Sebastian looks at Kurt's face, the way his mouth is quirked with nerves even as he babbles on, the way he refuses to meet Seb's eyes. He takes it all in for a second before leaning in, pressing his lips to Kurt's slowly, the type of kiss that he used to think stupid.
"Not at all." He murmurs against Kurt's lips, storing the knowledge away, a little hint of Kurt's past that now belongs to them. He presses forward again, the kiss hungrier this time. He tries to put his feelings into the kiss, and into everything that follows. Reassuring Kurt that he's here and that they are both safe.
Sebastian doesn't realize it for a long time afterwards but that is the last time Kurt ever smells of the harsh flowery smell his mother loved, turning instead to the deep woody smell of Sebastian's cologne as his safety.
AN: So, my attachment to the idea of Kurt and his mother's perfume runs deep. Originally this was going to be fun and snarky but I lost that so a drabble with feelings chronicling their journey it is. This was written quickly in the early hours of the morning, but I hope you enjoy!