"You know Princess, when you asked me if I wanted to go out with you tonight, I didn't expect you to drag me to the park," Sebastian quipped.
"What did you think I do when I go out?" Kurt asked, grinning when Sebastian just shrugged.
"I don't know, I can't say I put much thought to where you are at all times of the day, or night as it is. I can honestly say that I didn't think you spent it at a park."
"I like the dark," Kurt explained, stopping at a large oak tree and taking the time to look through the darkness of the night. His eyes flickered to where the moon hung overhead, more visible here than it ever is further in the city, "And the moonlight," Kurt shook his head and grinned at Sebastian sheepishly, "Sorry, this park tends to make me feel a little nostalgic."
Sebastian shrugged again, "I can get that," he looked around the area. It was surprisingly devoid of people, which he found odd, pleasant, but odd, "Hey, isn't it usually, like, really fucking crowded around here, even at night?" He voiced his question out loud.
"We're further into the park than most people bother with at this time of night. I like it better this way."
"You're really not much of a people person are you Princess?"
This time Kurt shrugged, face full of thought, "I guess I'm not. I just like the quiet sometimes."
"Hell of a place to look for it, a city like this."
"But I also like the movement of life. People constantly on the move, living life. I like that too."
Sebastian shook his head, "You really can't just pick one and stick with it, can you?"
Kurt laughed, face scrunching up, "No, no I don't think I can. At least I don't have to pick and choose around here; I just need to know where to look to get the quiet."
They started walking back, retracing their steps, at a leisurely pace. Sebastian made it his point to say that they could easily get back quicker if they ran, but Kurt insisted on continuing with his pace, and said that if Sebastian wanted to, he could go on ahead, Sebastian decided that he might as well walk with him and not have to deal with being woken up at whatever time Kurt finally got back to the apartment.
"How long have you lived in New York?" Sebastian asked, startling Kurt with the sudden question.
"Oh, um," Kurt let out an unnecessary breath of air, "I guess it's been….35 years now? This time anyway. I go back and forth between places, but I try and stick to New York for as long as I can. So I've spent a better part of my years here. Why?"
"I was curious, usually I don't stay in one place for more than 10 years or so, I get tired of the same old scenery."
Kurt scoffed, "It's the scenery you get bored of?"
Sebastian rolled his eyes and continued, ignoring the quip, "And I move on to the next place. So roughly, how old are you?"
"Weren't you ever told that you don't ask someone their age? It's rude."
Sebastian barked a laugh, "That only counts for women," he glanced at Kurt's clothes, "Though; I guess you could be counted as a woman, with you shopping in the woman's section and all."
"Fashion has no gender," Kurt defended.
"Now who's avoiding the questions?"
Kurt sighed and glanced to the side, "I was alive around in the mid-14th century, so think black plague," Kurt laughed half-heartedly, "That would make me around… 700 years? Roughly."
Sebastian let out a long whistle, "That's old," he commented and Kurt nodded.
"What about you?"
"I'm more around the 300 year mark myself."
"You would be that young."
"Young?" Sebastian blinked, "You realize that you're decrepit right? The black plague? Really? That's old by any standards."
"Just imagine how old the vampire that turned me is," Kurt said, flinching as the words caught up to him.
"Who was it that turned you?" Sebastian asked casually, face contorting into a mask of confusion when Kurt flinched and looked away from him.
"We're here," he said monotonously, moving to walk into the lobby of the apartment building.
Sebastian reached out quickly and grabbed onto Kurt's forearm to prevent him from running away.
"Hey, what gives?"
Kurt refused to look at him, "We're here and I'm tired, I want to sleep," he jerked away from Sebastian's grip and hurriedly fell into the entrance lobby, leaving Sebastian to follow.
"I didn't know him before he turned me," Kurt chuckled darkly and it sounded so off with him, "Not many who were turned back then ever really knew who it was that turned them. It was usually accidents that lead to a newborn vampire," he turned his head to the side, trying to regain his composure.
"Is that what happened with you?"
Kurt shook his head solemnly, "No, but I wish it had been like that. It would have been a better alternative. Some vampires also wanted companions, someone to make their existence a little more bearable. No one ever really wants to feel alone, isolated, and they wanted company. I've met a few like that, but it was consensual. A vampire would meet a human and decided to not feed off of them and if they liked him or her they would offer immortality."
Sebastian watched as Kurt tore himself apart to continue. He was hesitating before each new sentence, like it was painful to talk about. Though Sebastian wasn't quite sure why.
"I caught the eye of a vampire, but he was someone who took something even if it wasn't theirs to be taken," Kurt sniffed and fought back tears that were treacherously close to spilling down his cheeks, "I had a father to look after, he had been sick a year before and couldn't work like he used to. My mother was dead and my step mother and her son could only do so much, and we weren't very well off. They needed me, so much," Kurt looked back to Sebastian and watched him clearly and spoke with such resignation that it physically hurt to listen to him, "But none of that really mattered."
"When did it happen, Kurt?"
"Midday, I was out at the closest market, we needed some supplies. I didn't even see it coming. I don't really remember it. I can recall strong hangs pulling me away from the streets and into an alley, I remember pain," he shifted his shirt and tapped the side of his neck where his pulse would be the strongest and Sebastian caught sight of two distinguishable scars marring the skin, "And I remember blood, a lot of blood. Midday. Of course, there wasn't anyone keeping tabs on murderers and missing people back then."
"What happened after he turned you? Did you ever see your family again?" Sebastian felt like he already knew the answer to the last question, but he felt like he needed to ask, just to have it confirmed.
Kurt's voice was like an automaton, "He kept me, like a goddamn pet. I managed to escape him around the three hundred year mark. And I never saw my family again."
"Did you ever look for them after you escaped?"
Sebastian watched Kurt curiously as he nodded, "I don't think they survived. My dad, he was nearly dead when my mom passed that…that I don't think he lasted much longer after I never came home," he turned and entered into the elevator.
No one was around to hear them. The lobby and other open areas were always dead at so late at night. Again, another unusual side of things, but then, it wasn't very smart to be out and about in such an area either.
"What about you," Kurt asked when they were both inside, "Have any family to miss?"
Sebastian shrugged and Kurt recognized the gesture as a fallback. It separated casualty with actual emotion.
"They were a rich family. I know, I keep up with the stereotype well don't I?" Sebastian asked when he caught the familiar roll of the eyes from Kurt, "But it's true. They're still around, floating from France to Ohio, how that makes any sense I'll never understand," another shrug, "But I don't really keep tabs on them. I was simply curious a handful of years ago and wanted to know what ever became of them."
Kurt gave Sebastian a curious look, "You mean to tell me that you were never close to any of your relatives? None when you were a human?"
They stood outside of the apartment door. Sebastian side stepped Kurt so that he could enter, letting Kurt follow him, shutting the door with a soft click.
Sebastian splayed across the couch, not bothering to take off his jacket. His eyes were glassy as they stared holes into the ceiling. Kurt took the chair, draping his own coat over the back of the seat before tucking his body into the upholstery, fingers clenching at the sleeves of his dark blue sweater.
"I had a sister once," Sebastian's brows furrowed in concentration, "I don't remember how old I was when I left her. Eight, I think, maybe ten? I'm not sure. She was a sweet girl. I don't…I don't remember much more than that," he sounded regretful and it had to be the first time Kurt heard such an emotion in Sebastian's voice.
"Curly brown hair," he whispered, "And green eyes, so big that you could never tell her no."
"She sounds darling," Kurt said.
"Do you remember what they looked like? Your family?"
Kurt shook his head even though he knew that Sebastian couldn't see him, "No. I wish I did. I especially wished I remembered what my mother looked like. I know that I have her skin, and her eyes. It's the same with my dad. I know I look like him, but I don't know what they look like."
Sebastian nodded absently, as if he understood.
"Memory tends to fade and blur over time," Kurt continued, "I stopped thinking about them when it was too painful. Don't let yourself forget what little you can keep close to your heart."
"You're making me soft," Sebastian scoffed.
"Sorry," Kurt said, not at all apologetic.
"She'd hate me you know," Sebastian said, still not looking at Kurt
Kurt's expression softened, "You don't know that."
"I do," Sebastian argued, "She hated the monsters in the shadows and now I am one."
"I thought I said that we weren't monsters," Kurt replied before untangling himself from his position on the chair and moving to sit on the floor next to the couch, back resting against the cushions, "And there's all the time in the world to change your view about being a monster. Besides, I thought you were just happy about your lifestyle."
"Like I said Princess, it's all your fault. I hate remembering the past."
Kurt smiled to himself, "You were the one who asked."
He couldn't see Sebastian anymore, but he felt the air loosen up from the tension it had been resting in.
"I guess I did, didn't I? And I guess you're not so bad."
"Would you like something to drink," Kurt asked hesitantly, relaxing only when he heard the smile in Sebastian's voice.
"Sure Princess, whatever you've got in that ice box of yours."
"It's been a long time Sebastian."
Sebastian halted his steps, stopping at the end of a dark alley way. He mentally berated himself for the cliché. He kept his posture lose and turned on his heel to face the vampire behind him.
"Clarington," he nodded, "I would say I missed seeing your face around, but then I'd be lying. You know how much I hate to do such a thing."
"You fell of the radar there for a while. Of course I was going to be worried."
Sebastian shook out the laugh bubbling in this throat, "Oh, I haven't the faintest clue as to why my discretions are any of your business."
"Word around here is that you haven't been out feeding," the words were laced with an underlying meaning that did not slip Sebastian's notice.
He shrugged, "I just needed to fall out of the world for a bit. Clear my head."
"Now, friend, I don't mean that you've just decided to lay low with your fancies. I mean, for a few months you haven't been feeding out at all," his lips upturned to an icy grin, "And if my nose doesn't deceive me, you smell like dead blood. Now, last time I knew you, the thought of drinking from anything but the source would repulse you."
Sebastian played off Clarington's words with a smile that slid into place as easy as would putting on a mask.
"Like you said, it's been a while. I've been around here for a year or so."
"But the old blood is new."
"Again, it's amazing what a year does to someone who has eternity," Sebastian played it all off, hoping that this wasn't going where he thought it was.
He never had that kind of luck.
"So it isn't someone that's convinced you to change your ways? No one special in your existence that has changed your opinion?"
Sebastian did let out a chocked laugh, "Of course not," he steeled himself to keep up the façade, "What would ever give you that idea?"
Clarington's expression never shifted from his grin, "It's just that, your roommate. He doesn't drink from the source either. And, as it just so happens, he has a lovely connection to the vampire you pissed off. Though, he's nearly over that little tiff, so long as you don't step into his territory again. It's all thanks to your special friend that he's willing to overlook your mess much sooner than he normally would have."
Sebastian's eyes paled, "What are you-"
"Because, you see, you lead him right to the person he's been looking ages for. Someone he's always seemed to slip between his fingers like a gust of smoke."
"I think you've got the wrong-"
"Come now Sebastian," Clarington snapped, unamused, "That pathetic excuse for a vampire escape him once, and now he'll never let him go."
Full comprehension dawned on Sebastian's face.
"You don't mean…"
When Kurt woke up to the dim lighting and damp floor, he was surprised by how much he wasn't surprised. He remembered the ambush. He was too unprepared and they attacked quickly. Kurt could smell their youth, their weakness, only a moment before darkness overtook his sight.
And when a dark silhouette crept past the iron bars of the cell, Kurt could not say that shock, or even fear, was his first reaction. He regarded the shadow as nothing more than a shadow.
"It's been a long time since I last saw you."
"The last time you saw me it was with blood streaming down your throat," Kurt replied.
"Come now, I can forgive all of that. A snag in our-"
"There is no 'our' or 'we' or any other thing between us. I hate you Karofsky and you'll never have me."
"We'll see how far that attitude goes. You've been spoiled in this world, without your sire to guide you," Kurt scoffed, "Spoiled with blood and peace, and you'll have none with me until you learn your place."
Clarington's grin grew further, "Your boy used to be Karofsky's pet," he let out a laugh as Sebastian disappeared from his view, "This is quite amusing. You've fallen in love. My, my, how I can't wait to see how this turns out.