Timeframe: Takes place after Bildungsromance's epilogue
Chapter summary: A visit to Lima is up next; Sebastian and Kurt's stepbrother see eye to eye.
Rating: K+ for language
7.
A few weeks before Christmas, Rachel and Kurt both got identical letters in the mail. Seeing they were from Lima, Kurt and Rachel decided to open them together. Kurt smiled as he saw his. It was a card with a picture of McKinley's new Glee Club, holding up a Regionals trophy and grinning brightly. Finn stood next to them, beaming as well.
"Is he wearing a vest?" Kurt mumbled, peering at the photo. Finn was turning into Mister Schue more every day. It was creepy. He briefly glanced at Blaine's face and forced himself to be happy for his friend. Not wanting to linger, he quickly opened the card.
"Dear graduate, McKinley's award winning show choir is proud to invite you..." he read aloud, "to the first of what will hopefully be a yearly tradition of Christmas jubilees with their neighboring schools Dalton Academy and Haverbrook School for the Deaf." He looked up at Rachel. "Mine's signed by Blaine," he added quietly. It said 'hope to see you there xoxoxo B.'
Rachel looked up from hers. "Mine's signed by Finn." She lowered the card. "Do you think we should go? Last time didn't exactly go well for us..."
Kurt thought about it. "Well, we'll be in Lima for Christmas anyway, right? And things are different now. We're not going there to see our exes. You've got Brody and I've got Sebastian..." He looked back at the picture and straightened his shoulders. "It's probably time to tell them about Bas anyway. You know, Mercedes, Tina...my dad...Blaine."
Rachel put her card away and took his hand. "They'll be okay," she said confidently. She was still getting used to the idea herself. "I mean, they'll probably be a little shocked," she added, "and you may want to tell Sebastian to curb the gay jokes around your dad..."
After watching the two of them at Kurt's party she had to admit Kurt and Sebastian were kind of cute together, even though she didn't understand why the boys liked making jokes at each other's expense so much. Blaine and Kurt never did that. It was a bit like listening to two male Santanas trying to best each other. Still, Kurt could dish out just as firmly as Sebastian and it didn't look like either took it very seriously.
Kurt smiled fondly as if he knew what she was thinking. "I already told him that. He's terrified, you know. I tried telling him that my dad is against keeping weapons in the house but that didn't really reassure him..." Kurt didn't actually worry about his dad so much. Unlike the New Directions, his father didn't know about the things Sebastian had done in high school. The only thing Sebastian had against him was that night after Scandals when he had been so drunk Carole had to patch him up and wash his clothes after he threw up in Kurt's bathroom.
"I'm just worried about Blaine. I don't want to hurt him. But something tells me-" he held up the card, "that he's still hoping we might get back together." He sighed. "I sort of told Mercedes I am seeing someone, but he doesn't know."
Rachel tightened her hand around Kurt's. "I'll prepare some duets to sing with him for after you tell him. That will distract him and singing always helps."
Kurt smiled. "It does." He was very glad she was on his side now. "So... let's plan outfits. Christmas... I'm thinking rich reds for you, Burgundy is your color."
"Are you sure your parents won't mind you're not there for Christmas?" Kurt asked again, his finger hovering over the order button for their flights from New York to Lima, Ohio.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Trust me, Kurt, it's the best Christmas present I could give them. My mom always organizes this huge benefit dinner where they pretend to care for some charity or other, though it's really just an excuse for my mom to act important around New York's VIPs and for my dad to network and find new clients. Sometimes I even suspected he hires such attractive catering service on purpose so there'll be scandals- which is the basis of his work. I would only get in the way there. I have this tendency to, uh, splurge on the drink whenever I see them- it's the only way I can stand being around my family- and as much as my dad feeds on indiscretions, he prefers them not to take place in his own family circles." He scoffed. "Last year I made out with the son of one of his friends, and he wasn't very amused. It was worth it, though. The guy was super hot. Or I thought so anyway, after five martinis."
Kurt swallowed. It was still hard for him to hear how casually his boyfriend discussed his former conquests. "I'll order the tickets now then," he announced, distracting himself.
"Great," Sebastian replied, though the thought of meeting Kurt's father again terrified him. Kurt turned around to face him.
"It'll be okay. I promise."
Kurt peered through the milky glass separating the luggage pick up from the arrivals hall in hopes of seeing his dad already, but none of the shapes looked like his cap-and-flannel wearing pater familias. Maybe he was waiting further in the back. Kurt shot a smile at Sebastian, hoping he looked more confident than he felt. After bearing with Sebastian's fretting on the plane for hours he was starting to feel nervous too. Sebastian had just fished Kurt's second suitcase off the track and heaved it onto a trolley with the other one. He only had a small bag himself, holding the bare necessities; his Dalton blazer, socks, underwear, a few shirts, his toothbrush and an extra pair of pants. He was already wearing the clothes Kurt had picked out for him for Christmas dinner with his parents, figuring they'd wrinkle less that way than when he'd have stuffed them in the bag too. He had feared the worst when Kurt had taken him shopping, but he actually liked the shirt and jacket they had gotten- clearly his boyfriend dressed less exuberantly in front of his dad than he did in New York.
He returned Kurt's smile. Seriously, he had faced worse, hadn't he? But somehow this was the first time Sebastian was actually worried. This time it wasn't his school career or position at the choir at stake - it was Kurt. From what he had gathered from Kurt's stories, there was only one person in his life he was willing to give up everything for, and it wasn't him- it was his dad. If his father told Kurt to stop seeing him, as much as the thought of a Romeo & Julian romance may appeal to Kurt, Sebastian didn't doubt his boyfriend would give him up. He had to make a good impression.
As they walked up to the sliding doors, Sebastian wondered if taking Kurt's hand would be a good move. That's what couples did, right? Would it look committed or possessive? He turned to Kurt and realized he couldn't take Kurt's hand because his boyfriend needed both hands to push his heavy trolley. Shit- he should have offered to take it, shouldn't he? "Do you want me to-?" he started, but Kurt shook his head.
"It's okay, Bastian. Just be yourself." It wasn't the first time Sebastian suspected Kurt of reading his mind. He hoped that didn't run in the family. If he had such a bad poker face, he was definitely in trouble with Kurt's dad.
"Yo, little bro, over here!" a familiar voice called out, and Kurt saw Finn towering over everyone else at the arrivals gate. He was wearing a vest again- Kurt really needed to talk to his stepbrother about that. It made him look old and pudgy. He was an ex-footballplayer and ex-soldier; there was no need to hide his physique behind shapeless knitwear. He nodded at Finn to signal he had seen him and started pushing his trolley in his direction. Sebastian followed. As they came closer, Kurt looked around for his dad.
"Hey Finn. Is my dad still with the car? Did something happen? Is he-?" he started as soon as he was within hearing range.
"Burt's fine. His flight from Washington got delayed. He'll be here by tonight though. What's he doing here?" Finn cut him off, glaring at Sebastian.
"Merry Christmas, Hudson," Sebastian greeted him with equal warmth. "Already picked out which pumps to wear to your recital?"
Kurt closed his eyes briefly. This was going to be a long car ride. He took a deep breath and faced his stepbrother. "Finn, Sebastian will be coming with us. He's my, uh-, my plus one." Finn gave him a blank look. "My boyfriend," Kurt elaborated. He felt rather than saw Sebastian take on a defensive posture next to him.
"Your what?" Finn started. "But! He's such a-" He broke off frustratedly "Why? Is it because he's a Warbler? I thought you said not all Warblers are gay. There must have been other gay guys to choose from..."
Kurt sighed. "It has nothing to do with that. We just started hanging out in New York and became friends. Sometimes people deserve a second chance."
"What about Blaine? Did you give him a second chance?"
Kurt lost his patience. He knew this was a weird situation for Finn, but he was tired of being the bad guy in this story. Why would everyone rather see him with the guy who had hurt him than with the guy who made him happy? "Blaine cheated on me, Finn. I trusted him and he hurt me. That's something else than trying to rig a competition." Kurt knew it was a bit of a low blow to Finn considering how he felt about Rachel and Brody, but then again, it was also just the truth. He could tell Finn was struggling with himself and decided to be even clearer. "Blaine and I are over. I know he doesn't believe that yet, but if you give me the chance to tell him about this before he has to find out from someone else, I promise I'll set it right. I will offer him a second chance at being my friend."
Finn nodded.
Sebastian scowled. If anyone asked him (which no one did) he'd say Blaine had enough chances. He was also getting tired of having to stand by while Kurt defended their relationship. This was only the second New Directions member but so far they had reacted exactly as he thought they would. It didn't bode well for the rest. It irritated him. He hated being judged. Sebastian had offered Rachel a truce because she was Kurt's roommate, but he really didn't give a damn if Finn Hudson approved of him or not. "Kurt forgot to mention I'm also better in bed," he added, making a suggestive hand gesture, and enjoyed the way Finn flushed three shades of red.
The tall boy was currently looking from Kurt to him and back like a trout on land. "Let's go to the car," he spluttered. He reached for Kurt's trolley and started pushing it away from them.
"That was unnecessary, Bastian," Kurt said quietly, though he was smiling a little.
"True though, isn't it?" Sebastian replied smugly.
"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," Kurt said prissily, but Sebastian could tell he was blushing behind his ears and over the scar on his throat- which meant good things.
