Author's Note: For some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to rewatch Glee. And it spurred on a lot of old feelings and even some new ones now that I'm older and wiser. Something that stayed consistent when I was a teenager and now that I'm in my twenties was my love for Kurtbastian. And how KURT HUMMEL DESERVED BETTER. I thought it would be an interesting writing exercise to write about something so familiar to me, but with the twist of making things as canonical as I can get for someone who read the Glee Wiki intensively but never actually made it past Season 4. So, Kurt and Blaine still get married, Rachel still has their baby and marries Jesse, Finn is still gone. All of that. But now we're in the year 2023 and things are starting to change a bit for our boy Kurt. I'll just leave it at that. Enjoy!

Kurt swore he was going to be completely gray by the time he was thirty-five.

It was his own fault, really. For having such an amazingly kind heart to offer to take a Berry-spawn out on the town for the day. And during the busiest time of the year, no less.

He was halfway tempted to call Blaine and ask him to come and help. Regardless of… everything, they always made a pretty good team. But it was just… way too soon and Kurt Hummel was just too stubborn. And capable of handling two small children on his own while also trying to do some Christmas shopping.

God, what was he thinking?

It took them an hour just to leave the house. This was usually quite normal in the Hummel-Anderson household (just Hummel now, he reminded himself) as Kurt refused to look anything less than amazing. Even during the first few sleep-deprived months of fatherhood, where he could have gotten away with wearing sweatpants covered in spit-up during quick grocery store runs, he refused to not look anything less than his best. But this time was different. This time he didn't just have to dress himself, but one screaming baby and one cranky toddler who threw off her scarf every time Kurt tried to put it on (how was this child his?).

Eventually little Barbra (Kurt, to this day, can't understand how any mother, even Rachel Berry, could look at her precious child's face and decide to name her Barbra) screamed herself to sleep and they made their way outside to face the cold December weather and crazy last-minute shoppers. Though, admittedly, he was one of them. Most of the bulk was done, but there were still some odds and ends to get. Plus, Jesse had slipped him a hundred dollar bill when he had dropped Barbra off to use in getting something nice for Rachel as he had not the time nor the slightest clue of what to get her.

Hopeless, hopeless straight men.

Pushing a stroller, holding the hand of a toddler who tripped every five seconds and trying to navigate the snowy streets of New York was was one of the hardest things he had ever done. And he had to sell his favorite pair of boots to pay rent one time. So… this was pretty high up there.

After hitting a few stores that were a bit too cramped for his taste, he eventually made his way into Macy's. He figured that even if it was busy, it was a big enough building where the crazy would be spread out enough to have room to breathe. And push Barbra's obnoxiously big stroller around. He had grown to appreciate a good stroller, one with plenty of room for a cute diaper bag and wheels that turned all the way around for optimal turning action… but this was excessive. He could probably find a place to plug his phone in if he tried hard enough.

The first thing in the store was, of course, the dreaded makeup counters and perfume section. He looked around, trying to find a path to walk around it and not potentially mess up the displays with the stroller. He understood why they put all of that at the very front of the store, in the middle of the entire floor. No matter where you were trying to go, you were bound to have to walk through it and he was sure that there were some people that fell for it and ended up getting mediocre makeovers and leaving with perfume that they didn't need. Luckily he wasn't really in the target demographic for any of those things, so if he did pass through the area, he probably wouldn't be bothered by anyone. But he wasn't willing to risk it. Especially with a toddler around, who was an absolutely sweetheart, but had absolutely no control of her limbs and had the capacity to break, with his luck, the most expensive bottle they had.

Speaking of, his sweet, beautiful daughter must have found something she liked since she started running full speed ahead, leaving Kurt and Barbra in her dust. Kurt ran (as best as he could while pushing a stroller with a sleeping baby inside) to catch up with her. And of course, she was getting dangerously close to a display of glass perfume bottles. Full-sized.

"Lulu, baby! Don't touch!" She ignored him, reaching a tiny, chubby hand out to grab a bottle with daisies on top. Kurt, fortunately enough, had catlike reflexes and managed to scoop her up in one fell swoop and get her away from the glass-in-hand-and-hours-of-crying danger. "You can't pick those, baby. They're not real."

"Can I help you?" A voice behind him said, causing him to turn around.

"Huh? Oh, no. We're good. Just… smelling the flowers," Kurt joked with a chuckle, looking down at the girl on his hip, nuzzling their noses together. "Weren't we?"

Without hearing a response, he looked back up at the employee, who was regarding him with really… intense eyes. Looking him up and down. He hadn't been this aggressively checked out… well, ever.

"Sorry. Do I know you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and adjusting Lulu on his hip. Kurt hadn't been paying much attention when he first turned to look at the guy, getting over the initial rush of adrenaline going through him of after chasing his daughter over here. But now that he was really looking…

"Sebastian Smythe." Something that could be categorized as a smirk slid on the man's face as Kurt gave him a nod of recognition.

He had been going on a lot of trips down memory lane recently, most of which were of good times, times filled with love and happiness. Never did he think that this was one of the paths he would go down. Especially not in the perfume section of a Macy's with his three year old tugging on his jacket.

"Kurt Hummel. Still as… pale as ever."

Not all nostalgia was good.

"And you, as bad at insults as you were… what? Twelve years ago?" He couldn't believe it had been that long since that part of his life had happened. The part with slushies and rival choir drama and first times. And Michael Jackson, for whatever reason. Mr. Shue's doing, most likely. That being said, he owed him a phone call sooner or later. He made a mental note before Sebastian started talking again.

"I was never bad. Just… ahead of my time," He replied, his smirk replaced by a gentle, teasing smile. "So, uh," Sebastian gaze drifted from Kurt to the little girl. "Who's this?"

Kurt was sort of lost in his own thoughts for a moment there, temporarily transported back to days at the Lima Bean. Coffee dates and lingering looks… That was a dangerous train of thought and he was glad to have the focus shift for a moment.

"This is my daughter, Talulah."

"And that one?" Sebastian jerked his head towards the stroller which he had abandoned a few feet away.

"Not mine, actually. Rachel Berry's." He said, moving to pull the stroller closer and check and see if Barbra was still sleeping.

"Rachel Berry. God." Sebastian let out a huffed, disbelieving laugh.

"Tell me about it."

"I talk to approximately zero people from high school. So… That must take a lot of commitment, staying friends with her all these years. "

"Commitment's… certainly a word for it." Kurt said, causing the other to chuckle. This was… so strange. It was always pretty weird seeing people from the past. Especially after everything that went down recently. But this was the weirdest so far, for sure.

Sebastian had taken up so little of his life back then, but so much at the same time. He was a constant threat, someone he hated with a passion. But now… the anger he felt towards him, the unlimited supply of insults he had waiting for him every time he showed up at his favorite coffee shop, were all gone. Or at least undetectable. After high school ended, the man was not even a blip on his radar. And now he was just here. In a Macy's in New York City.

"We're so old now." Kurt said without thinking.

It was true. Most everyone he held near and dear to his heart were in their early thirties now with lives and careers and families. This time had really made him feel slightly nostalgic for the days when they were just teenagers with trivial problems and not big, life-altering ones.

"Speak for yourself. We actually have a wide array of anti-aging creams I can direct you to, if you'd like. Looks like you're gonna need it pretty soon," The man joked before reaching out to point at him. "And… is that a gray hair I see?" Kurt gasped, rushing to the nearest makeup mirror to check.

This was obviously very amusing to Sebastian.

"I'm kidding. Jesus." He laughed. Kurt turned and scowled at him. Then almost immediately stopped. Making that face too often would lead him on the fast track to wrinkles and he had worked way too hard on his skincare to ruin it just by being showing his annoyance as often as he felt it. He was not going to be needing those anti-aging products anytime soon, thank you.

"Do you act like this around all of your patrons?" Kurt asked, straightening his posture up and attempting to look as can-I-speak-to-the-manager-y as possible. He honestly didn't mind the teasing comment. It was certainly a weird thing to have happened, but not overly offensive. This was a much less awkward encounter than he imagined. But to be fair, he hadn't imagined this encounter ever happening. He hadn't thought about Sebastian Smythe in years. He could have fallen off the face of the Earth and Kurt wouldn't have known.

There was a small flash of fear over the other's face, but it left as soon as it came and there was that stupid smirk on his face again. The one that terrorized him so much as a teenager. It was laughable now.

"Nope. You're just special," Sebastian replied, causing Kurt's eyebrows raised up. "Not often I run into someone I knew from those days. So, when I do, the cartoon devil on my shoulder has a heyday." He explained.

"Daisy?" Lulu spoke up, causing Sebastian's attention to turn fully to her, turning on the doting retail employee charm.

"Daisy by Marc Jacobs. Excellent choice, miss. Would you like to have a smell?" The girl nodded enthusiastically. Sebastian grabbed the tester bottle and walked back to them, giving Kurt a questioning look as he reached to take her little hand in his.

"Wait. Is it safe for the skin?" Sebastian cocked an eyebrow.

"That's typically where perfume's supposed to go, so. Yes. I'd assume so."

"But for kids? With all of the chemicals?"

"This one's all natural. But we can test it on your arm, if you want. We also have hand sanitizer…" Kurt sighed and took Lulu's arm, pushing up the sleeves off her puffy jacket. Sebastian sprayed a tiny bit and instructed her to rub her wrists together. Kurt took one of her arms and smelled it while she smelled the other. She grinned.

"Mmm!"

"That's nice, isn't it?" Lulu nodded. "You think Auntie Rachel would like it?" Another nod. You could never go wrong with perfume, he supposed. And it would look like Jesse had picked it out, that's for sure. "How much?"

"Fifty." Kurt winced.

"Jesus." He thought about it for a good long minute. Jesse had given him a hundred. And it wasn't his money, so…

"Yeah. Alright. I'll take one."

Sebastian smiled cordially and nodded, setting the bottle down and walking behind the counter.

"Would you like that gift wrapped?"

"Does it cost more? Actually… forget it. Doesn't matter. Do it." Sebastian chuckled and got to work. Kurt was setting Talulah down to be able to fish in his pockets for his wallet when a shrill scream pierced through the air. His head whipped to the stroller to see a red-faced, screeching Barbra. He quickly moved to attend to her, taking her out of the stroller and bouncing her to get her to calm down. Sebastian had stopped wrapping and looked absolutely terrified.

Kurt shushed her, though he could barely hear himself over the ear-piercing cries. Several patrons were looking at him now and he wondered how in the hell Rachel ever did this. He got lucky with Lulu. She was the quietest, most well-behaved baby ever. Which was certainly a surprise seeing as she was a product of Rachel and Blaine's DNA.

After a few moments of patting her back and rocking her, he figured out what the culprit of her bad mood was.

"Alright, alright. Calm down. We'll get you cleaned up in a minute," He assured her as he went to grab the diaper bag. He looked between the pale-faced Sebastian and Lulu and let out a sigh. "Would you mind…?"

Normally he wouldn't have done this. He would have taken Lulu to the restroom with him and not left her with someone who was basically a stranger to him, but the screams were really affecting him. And everyone around them.

"Huh? Yeah, of course." Kurt gave him a grateful nod before hurrying off to the nearest men's room. He was a bit out of practice with this, and Barbra was hardly helping, so it took a bit longer than it should have. But eventually he was coming back out with a calm, clean baby to see his daughter sitting on the counter, sniffing a piece of paper with fervor.

"You're not getting my kid high on perfume, are you?" Kurt asked as he got Barbra adjusted back in the stroller.

"Gotta share the pain with someone." Sebastian said with a shrug, resting his chin on his hands and leaning against the counter.

"And a three year old was your best option?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'll take what I can get. And besides, she's having a great time. Aren't you…" He trailed off. Kurt smirked. "Talulah." He prompted.

"Talulah," A pause. "Talulah?" Sebastian turned an amused look on him. Kurt shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest loosely. It wasn't his first choice, or even in the top fifty, but it made Blaine so happy at the time. And who was he to not give Blaine anything he wanted?

"It's a lovely name." Sebastian succeeded, offering a polite smile.

"Right. So… what are you doing working here? No offense, but this was not what I expected from you. Not that I had any expectations anyway but… you know." Sebastian looked like he was about to say something offensive, no doubt. He had a mischievous glint in his eye that made him look ten years younger than he actually was, but instead he just nodded slowly.

"Macy is actually my great-grandmother." Kurt snorted.

"No kidding."

"One day, this empire will be mine."

"But for now you're just at the perfume counter." Kurt teased, gesturing around them. Sebastian sniffed.

"Hey, I have to raise up the ranks just like everyone else. It wouldn't be fair for me to go straight to the top so quickly, now would it?"

"Mm, I suppose not." Kurt nodded, flashing him a smirk that was thrown right back at him. They looked at each other for a few moments, an uncomfortable silence falling on them for the first time in this conversation, surprisingly enough. It should have happened way before, now that he thought about it. He hadn't even been friends with Sebastian. They were adversaries, this should have been awkward, upsetting, even. But then again, it had been over ten years. People change and grow and mature. Many of his feelings towards those years of his life could be summed up with a fond smile and a shrug of the shoulders. All of the bad memories with Sebastian included.

Sebastian cleared his throat and moved towards the cash register.

"Will you be paying with cash or card?" Kurt blinked, realizing the brief, entirely insane, conversation was over. He reached into his pocket for his wallet, fishing the hundred out.

"Ooh! Ooh! Daddy, lemme!" Lulu said, making grabby hands towards the bill. He chuckled and handed it to her, scooting her closer to the register. She handed it to Sebastian, who smiled sweetly at her.

Kurt chuckled softly and lifted her off of the counter and placed her back onto the ground. Sebastian made his change, gave it back, and handed him his receipt. Kurt thanked him and grabbed the small bag from him.

"Can I carry?" Lulu asked. Kurt handed it to her. "Okay, but be very, very careful. It's got glass and if it breaks it might poke your skin and we don't want that." Lulu hung on to every word and nodded obediently.

"Anything else I can help you with?"

Kurt walked to the back of the stroller, adjusting the diaper bag slightly so it wasn't in danger of falling out. "I think we're good. Thank you, though. It was… interesting to see you again." Sebastian smiled.

"Likewise."

"Well, if I never see you again after this, good luck with climbing that Macy's food chain." The other man chuckled.

"Thanks."

"Lulu, can you say thank you?" The little girl moved from where she was staring intently at the bag in her hands up to Sebastian, flashing him a grin.

"Thank yoooou!"

Kurt took her hand and continued to walk ahead. Unfortunately, the rest of their encounters with employees in the store hadn't been nearly as nice (he didn't blame them, it was the Christmas season. He knew the pain all too well) but they managed to find a few things and as they made their way back out, they exchanged waves with the ex-Warbler and left with smiles on their faces, something Kurt was sure didn't expect happening today. But life, he had come to learn, was full of surprises.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Also, can I note that I'm glad I'm not the only person in 2018 still making/enjoying content about these two? Makes my heart happy. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated! Excited to see where this silly little story goes!