Chapter Three

After two full days of the awkward silence returning to the apartment, Kurt's almost positive that he's never been more miserable in his whole life. Sebastian is just as quiet as ever, and Blaine has taken to sitting silent and unmoving on the couch, staring dejectedly at the floor until Kurt can't take it anymore and shuts himself in the bedroom before starting to cry again.

It's about midnight going into day three of not talking to Blaine and Kurt's curled up in their bed hugging Blaine's pillow and wondering where everything went wrong, when he hears a timid knock on the door before it opens and Blaine peeks his head inside with a lamely whispered, "Hey."

"Hey," Kurt returns miserably, holding tighter to the pillow in his arms.

He hears Blaine sigh and shut the door softly before he makes his way to sit awkwardly on the edge of the bed. "Kurt, I'm so sorry," he says, his voice soft and tired.

"Are you going to leave?" Kurt asks, feeling already broken at the possibility.

Blaine's voice sounds just about as broken as Kurt feels when he says, "I could never leave you, Kurt. There is nowhere I would rather be than living with you."

Kurt's not quite ready to give up being dejected and miserable yet, so he curls up further into himself and mumbles, "Even if I'm a tyrannical maniac who polices the apartment?"

He sees Blaine wince at the words and immediately feels bad for saying them, but Blaine started it.

"You're not, Kurt," Blaine sighs. "I was mad because I grabbed the wrong notebook from the coffee table, and I took it out on you, because I was angry. I'm so sorry, Kurt. I didn't mean any of the things I said, I swear."

Kurt knows that the power is in his hands now, and he can make Blaine suffer for throwing his little temper tantrum and hurting his feelings, but he's so sick of fighting, and he's missed Blaine so much. "Come here," Kurt says, lifting his arm for Blaine to slip under and burying his nose in the crook of Blaine's neck to breathe in the familiar scent. "I probably do nag a little more than I should-"

"No, Kurt. You don't," Blaine insists, twining their fingers together and lifting Kurt's hand to kiss the back of it. "If I hadn't been in a hurry then I wouldn't have grabbed the wrong notebook. It has nothing to do with you, and I'm sorry if I blamed you for something that was never anyone's fault but my own."

"It's okay," Kurt answers, because it is. Blaine threw a tantrum and has already been punished enough without having to be raked over the coals. He leans forward to kiss the back of Blaine's neck. "I missed you. The bed feels empty without you."

Blaine turns in his arms and lifts himself up on his elbow. "I couldn't sleep on that couch. I can't sleep unless you're holding me."

And at that, Kurt genuinely smiles for the first time in days. "I love you so much, Blaine."

"I love you, too, Kurt," Blaine whispers, mirroring Kurt's smile as he leans forward to press his lips against Kurt's in a kiss that quickly turns into an urgent scramble to be rid of clothes and closer to each other, close enough to taste and touch until Kurt's rocking into Blaine with a lazy rhythm that has the smaller boy clinging to Kurt's body and making him feel needed and loved in a way that Kurt has missed so much in the past two days.

They're both so lost in the intimacy of just being connected on such a perfect level that their orgasms catch them almost by surprise and make their breath catch and fingers scrabble against each others' skin in an attempt to stay grounded before Kurt lets his body slump against Blaine's, pressing loving, adoring kisses into whatever skin he can reach before pulling the smaller boy into his arms and drifting into a perfectly sated sleep.

When Kurt wakes up the next morning to make breakfast for himself and Blaine-miraculously, neither one of them is needed at work and they are actually going to be able to spend a Sunday together for a change-he stops dead as he sees an unfamiliar handwriting scrawled under the text of the roommate agreement. He doesn't know whether to laugh or be embarrassed when he reads:

"New Rule, princess: No nauseating porno sounds after lights out."

—

Instead, he settles for grabbing the pen from the counter and scribbling, "No promises. ;)" beside the amendment before smiling to himself and starting breakfast.

It's the end of September and just starting to get cold in New York. There's a chill that seems to seep in through the drafty windows no matter how tight Kurt pulls the curtains, but he can't really find it in himself to be bitter, because the chillier the mornings get, the more Blaine seems to gravitate into Kurt's side for warmth, and who could get upset over something that makes a beautiful boy cuddle up so close?

Despite the two day feud of three weeks ago, everything has fallen back into its normal rhythm-not exactly comfortable, but familiar. The three housemates live together in relative peace, and Kurt lets himself accept that things could be a lot worse than living with someone who-despite being an asshole of gold medal standard-is a model roommate.

Sebastian cleans up after himself, is always quiet when he comes in after midnight, and pays his rent on time without complaint. Most days, Kurt even finds it easy to forget that they have a roommate at all, because Sebastian seems content to just fade into the background, and for a brief moment, Kurt feels just a little guilty for not making some sort of effort to at least be friendly with Sebastian, but then he remembers Blaine lying on the cold concrete of the parking garage a few years ago and tells himself that cordial is all that Sebastian gets.

They exchange acknowledging nods of greeting in the mornings as they work around each other to start their days and it all becomes an easy routine. He doesn't think he's heard Sebastian actually speak since the night over a month ago when he and Blaine came in to find Sebastian working at the table.

So, on Friday night, Kurt and Blaine are both surprised when Sebastian's keys rattle in the door before clattering noisily to the hallway floor, the sound followed by a muted "fuck" that sounds just this side of pained before the door opens and Sebastian limps inside, tossing his keys gracelessly onto the kitchen table before slamming the door and hobbling to the couch, dropping down onto the far cushion and propping his clearly injured leg up on the coffee table, shooting Kurt a glare as if to dare him to make a comment.

Commenting on Sebastian's actions is the furthest thing from Kurt's mind as he registers the frustration, physical pain, and barely hidden emotion on Sebastian's face. Blaine apparently follows the same train of thought, because before Kurt can speak, Blaine's concerned voice asks, "Sebastian, what happened?"

The injured boy shoots Blaine a glare that makes him shrink into the couch, and Kurt pulls Blaine into his arms and levels Sebastian with an icy glare. Sebastian rolls his eyes and lets his head loll back against the back of the couch, and Kurt is surprised to see that it actually looks like Sebastian might be fighting back tears.

He has the urge to make a comment about being shocked that Sebastian actually has emotions, but restrains himself, because Sebastian hasn't actually done anything lately to deserve the comment, and Kurt thinks he might actually feel guilty if he says anything, so he lets it go.

He's distracted by the power flickering again, something he's gotten used to since moving into an old building in New York City. Blaine's voice makes him turn. "Do you think we're going to lose power?"

Sebastian doesn't look up, doesn't actually look like he cares, but Kurt shrugs. "Maybe. It's pretty windy out."

They don't have to wait long to get an answer to Blaine's question, because less than five minutes later, the power flickers once, then twice, before going out altogether, plunging the apartment into blackness.

Kurt sighs and stands up. "Stay here, baby. I'll go get some candles from the bedroom."

He comes back quickly with the candles, setting three of them in a row on the coffee table and lighting them, casting a flickery light to dance across Blaine's face that completely takes his breath away. He never realized how amazing Blaine looks by candlelight.

By the way Blaine blushes and smiles widely, Kurt's pretty sure he voiced his thoughts, and seconds later, he's being pulled down onto Blaine's lap and kissed.

"Will you two knock it off?" Sebastian grits out, his voice bitter and just shy of angry.

Kurt lifts his head from where he was nuzzling against Blaine's neck to glare at Sebastian. "Don't you have somewhere else you could be right now?"

Something that looks a lot like hurt flashes across Sebastian's face before his expression gets schooled back into the bitter mask of a few minutes ago. "Actually, no, Tinkerbell. But, God, do I wish I did."

Blaine pulls him back down, seeming content to just ignore Sebastian, and Kurt can get on board with that. If Sebastian doesn't like it, he can go in his room. Kurt finds himself getting swept back up in the light brush of Blaine's lips against his own, feels himself melting against Blaine, because it's been too long since they've done this-just kissed for the sake of kissing.

But apparently, it has become a battle of wills with Sebastian, because he's not moving from his spot, and he clears his throat and makes a gagging sound that annoys Kurt just enough to make him forget the earlier look of hurt on the boy's face, and he pulls away from kissing Blaine to turn toward Sebastian in irritation.

"What happened to that guy you were seeing?" Kurt asks, letting his irritation take over. "Did he finally decide he'd had enough of your crap and leave?"

A look of fresh hurt flashes in Sebastian's eyes, and Kurt knows he's hit close to home. Sebastian swallows thickly and turns his head, but Kurt can see his Adam's apple bobbing and feels guilty because the remark had just been a mean joke. He didn't actually mean to hurt Sebastian, and he wonders when he started caring about Sebastian's feelings.

Kurt doesn't know what to say, so he turns back to Blaine to find an empathy in his eyes. And God, the guy threw a Slushee laced with rock salt at Blaine, nearly blinding him, and Blaine is still amazingly good natured enough to feel empathetic toward Sebastian's feelings. Kurt darts a kiss to his boyfriend's lips and whispers a quiet, "God, you're incredible," before climbing off his lap and heading toward the kitchen, silently gathering up three coffee cups and a bottle of red wine before returning to the couch with the items in hand, setting the cups on the table and filling them. He kisses Blaine again quickly as he hands him the cup.

He takes another of the cups, tapping Sebastian on the shoulder as he holds it out for him to take.

Sebastian eyes him skeptically before sighing and reaching out to take the wine with a muttered, "Thanks," and drains the cup before Kurt even has time to reach for his own, and Kurt refills it before leaning back against the couch and curling into Blaine's side.

The apartment is starting to cool down now that the chill of the night has set in without the heater to combat it, but Kurt contents himself with leaning forward to refill his cup so that he can drink until he feels pleasantly warm, and surprisingly, he and Sebastian seem to be on the same page because their hands brush against the bottle and Sebastian pulls back as though he's been burned.

"Here," Kurt compromises, lifting the bottle and pouring the last of it into Sebastian's cup. "It looks like you need it more than I do, and we've got another bottle in the fridge."

"How do you and Blaine manage to afford wine when you have to use the same razor for a week at a time?" Sebastian asks, and it's the most Kurt has heard him speak since he moved in.

Blaine's lips quirk up into a smile, and Kurt can tell that he's already feeling the effects of the wine. "Kurt decided that wine was more important than personal grooming."

"I refuse to sacrifice class," Kurt answers haughtily, and Blaine laughs because he knows that's not entirely true.

"That's not the tune you were singing two weeks ago when the decision was either wine or condoms," Blaine teases, drawing an honest laugh out of Sebastian.

"He chose ass over class," Sebastian snickers.

Kurt attempts to look scandalized but falls just short as his lips quirk up into a smile so he settles for smacking Sebastian's shoulder playfully, momentarily forgetting that they're not supposed to be laughing together.

The action is almost unconscious and Kurt doesn't catch it until a few seconds later, but there's none of the awkwardness that he was expecting and everyone seems content to just let it go, if they even noticed at all.

It's strange, Kurt thinks as the night goes on, the way he and Blaine seem to fall into an easy sort of camaraderie with Sebastian, and he wonders if Sebastian feels it too. Judging by the way his posture is less tense and he's readily contributing to their conversation, Kurt thinks that he might. He's sure that this new found ease of conversation with Sebastian has everything to do with the wine that's been flowing steadily for about an hour now.

Everyone's nursing their drinks, feeling pleasantly buzzed and content as they talk about things as mundane as the weather to things as ridiculous as drunkenly comparing alien conspiracy theories. Well, Kurt listens to that conversation, giggling as Blaine and Sebastian get animated about the topic. He laughs again when he realizes that underneath Sebastian's smug, playboy exterior beats the heart of a boy who has an equal passion for comic books, aliens, classic literature, and showtunes.

Kurt lets himself entertain the notion that, had they met under different circumstances, the three of them could be friends, and he finds that he has to keep reminding himself of the reason that they're not, because somehow, the boy sitting on the couch with him, laughing, free and unguarded at something that Blaine said, looks a far cry from the snide, uncaring Sebastian he'd met at the Lima Bean two years ago.

When the lights flicker back on, they all pitch in to clean up the mess in the living room, Kurt taking the candles back into the bedroom while Blaine folds the blanket and returns it to the back of the couch as Sebastian washes the three cups and recycles the wine bottles.

As Kurt comes out of the bedroom and sees the easy sort of rhythm that they've fallen into, he realizes that, though they may not be friends, they're definitely on their way to becoming something. After setting the dishes in the strainer and tossing the handtowel on the counter, Sebastian gives an almost sheepish smile and says, "Night, guys."

Kurt and Blaine return it easily, and Blaine even claps Sebastian on the shoulder as he passes, and yeah...they're definitely on their way to being something, even if Kurt's not entirely sure what that something is at this early stage.

"You coming to bed, baby?" Blaine asks, clicking off the living room light and pausing in the hall when he notices that Kurt isn't behind him.

"Y-Yeah," Kurt answers, distracted by a thought. He holds up one finger toward Blaine before saying, "One second."

Kurt hesitantly crosses the kitchen to stand in front of the refrigerator, picking up the pen and letting it hover over the roommate agreement before taking a deep breath and scratching a line through the words, "Do not speak to Blaine or myself unless it is an emergency."

They're not friends, not yet, but Kurt is surprised to find that somehow, it doesn't feel like they're enemies anymore.

With a parting glance toward the paper, he sets down the pen and lets Blaine take his hand and lead him toward their bedroom. He lets himself wonder about what it all means as Blaine lays down on the bed beside him and pulls him into his arms but finds himself not getting any real answers.

Blaine hums out a contented sound and kisses his forehead before saying softly, "I liked tonight."

Kurt shifts back further into the strength of Blaine's arms, and without a thought, finds himself answering, "Me too."