~0~
Puck drives them out to the middle of nowhere before pulling off on the side of the road.
"The best entrance by the farm you mentioned is swarming with cops. I drove by here earlier and I thought it was a drug bust or something," he says to Santana. "I've been in this way before, but it's gonna be damn near impossible to find our way in the dark." His phone rings then, cutting off his speech before Blaine has the chance to tell him that he doesn't care how impossible it seems. He needs to find Kurt, and it's getting darker by the minute, the sky an inky purple shot through with glowing beams of silvery moonlight.
"I see you coming now," Puck says into his cell. The headlights of another vehicle flick down to low beams and it slows, pulling over in front of Puck's truck. It's a light coloured Volvo hatchback. The interior lights flicker to life and Blaine can make out several people within. After a moment the car goes dark and all four doors pop open simultaneously. Tina, Mike, Brittany and Sugar slide out into the cool night.
Santana turns to Blaine and raises an eyebrow. "Time to assemble the troops, Nick Fury," she says. When Blaine gives her an odd look she shrugs her shoulders. "What? I did date Trouty Mouth for a whole five minutes. Some of his geek was bound to rub off on me."
When he and Santana join the others, Brittany and Sugar rush over and hug him from either side. "Hey, Cute'nItty," Sugar says. She pets his hair and scrunches up her nose. "Even though missing person searches are carried out by people with way less money and style than me, I thought I would come and help look for your boyfriend. His poor couture, out in the wilderness! My daddy even let me borrow his super high-powered flashlights that he has for his hobby of treasure hunting, and not because he is in the mafia and needs to bury bodies in undisclosed locations."
"I...um... thanks, Sugar. I appreciate your help."
Blaine feels a hand snake up around the back of his neck and start rubbing circles behind his left ear. He turns to find Brittany smiling at him. "Acupressure," she tells him, her eyes wide and serious. "It'll relax you." And surprisingly, it sort of does. Blaine leans into her touch as Mike and Tina give him somber hellos. Tina's eyes are red-rimmed and Mike is cuddling her to his side.
"So what's our game plan?" Mike asks.
Blaine has no idea. He had one thought on leaving the Hummels' house: Find Kurt. How to go about that? He has no idea. He looks to Santana, hoping she has some clue, seeing as she knows the area much better than he does, that is to say, at all. She gives him a blank look and shrugs her shoulders. Blaine heaves a sigh of relief when Puck speaks up from the back of the group.
"Well, like I was telling Blaine and Santana – going into the woods right now will be pretty hard. There are some trails leading in from here, but they're pretty old and we might not find them too well in the dark, even with flashlights."
"Well, maybe a few of us can go in and the rest of us kinda form a perimeter in case they make their way out? Also, in case some of us get lost and need to be rescued."
They all nod around the circle and look to Blaine for the okay. Blaine has no idea. He needs them to take charge. He doesn't want to be Nick Fury. Tina gives him a sad smile. "What do we know? Are the police already in the woods searching?"
"I don't know," Blaine tells them. "They seem to think one of the kidnappers have moved them to a new location, but I have no idea if they've given up on this area entirely. Puck said there are police near the other entrance, the one the kidnappers were using to come and go. They've found evidence that they may have escaped, though. Cut ropes and one of the kidnappers was tied up and left. I think they're wrong about them being moved."
"Yeah," Mike says. "It sounds like the second guy took off because they got away."
"I think so, too," Blaine says. Mike gives him a nod and pats him on the shoulder.
"Okay," Britt says brightly. She withdraws her hand and Blaine is a little sad at its loss. "I'll go into the woods. I can read directions by the stars and I've got my guide cat in Mike's car."
"She totally can," Santana tells him, looking proudly at her girlfriend. Brittany links their pinkies together and smiles shyly at her feet. "But you can't go alone, Britts."
"I'll go with her," Mike says. "I was a Boy Scout."
Tina snorts and and tries to turn it into a cough. "Okay, Mike Chang!" Brittany says and bounds over to the car. She opens the door and begins cooing, leaning over and emerging with an enormous cat on a leash.
The group watches as she holds a tasselled scarf up to the cat's face and whispers at it to have a good smell. "Did you get it, Lord Tubbington?" she asks, patting the cat on the top of his head. He looks up at her with a irritated expression and meows. "Good boy," she coos and places him on the ground. She shoves the scarf into the pocket of her coat and looks over. "He has Kurt's scent now. We'll find him."
Mike gives Blaine a pointed look before turning in her direction. "We'll head due North," he says. "If any of you follow after, go East."
Just as they reach the edge of the trees, a new set of headlights shine at them from behind Puck's truck. "I didn't call anyone else," Puck says. A car with rental plates pulls to a stop and the engine turns off.
Cooper steps out, looking angry. "Blaine, what the hell? You couldn't have told me you were forming a search party? I came here to help you!"
"Cooper, look – Wait, how did you even know...?"
"From me." Coach Sylvester steps out of the passenger side door, decked out in a camouflage tracksuit and utility belt. "We still talk from time to time. And when Brittany called me, knowing I used to work for Search and Rescue during my summers in Florida, I contacted your brother right away, Tom Thumb. We want to help you look for sweet, sweet Porcelain. And God knows the cops in this town are as useless and teats on a Mexican Horned Lizard."
"I...um... thank you, Coach Sylvester. I really, really –"
"Yeah, yeah. Save your thanks for after we find Porcelain. And call me Coach Sue," she adds, hooking a compass and a water bottle onto her utility belt before turning to Cooper. "You ready to brave the wild there, handsome?"
"In the woods?" Cooper looks startled. "I don't know... that is, my speciality isn't really..."
She pulls him over towards the forest by the arm. He gives Blaine one desperate look over his shoulder before deciding to go quietly. "We're going North, Coach!" Brittany hollers.
"Gotcha, kid!" Sue yells back.
"Me and Tina are going East," Puck says. He hands Blaine an enormous flashlight and another smaller one to Santana. "You three stay here and spread out along the perimeter. Maybe they'll come out on their own."
Blaine watches them disappear into the trees, the beams from their own flashlights bobbing as they walk over the uneven ground. He sighs and looks up at the stars, wondering if Kurt is doing the same, somewhere in amongst those trees. "I know first aid," Sugar tells him. He smiles sadly at her and throws an arm around her shoulders.
~0~
Kurt helps Sebastian down by the side of the stream, sitting him on a patch of mossy ground with his injured leg sticking straight out and resting on a fallen tree. He rinses out the previously rum-filled bottle and dips it in the water, filling it to the brim before handing it to Sebastian.
He leans over the bank and cups his hands, drinking deeply for a long moment. Sebastian has downed his entire bottle and Kurt takes it from his hand and fills it once more before passing it back. "This water is probably polluted as all get out and I could not care less," he says and leans over to slurp some more water out of his hands. "We can deal with the E. coli later." He looks over at Sebastian's frowning face and sits back up. He's staring at Kurt, holding the bottle aloft and gnawing on his bottom lip. He nudges Kurt in the shoulder with the bottle, motioning with his head for him to take it. Kurt pushes it back towards him. "Drink up. You'll never be able to frolic with your large-toothed forest friends in your current state of dehydration."
"You're hilarious," Sebastian replies, but there is none of the usual nastiness in his tone.
"Well, you know what they say: All the world's a stage." Kurt leans back over and gathers more water in his hands.
"Marcus," Sebastian says, a whisper nearly drowned out by the gurgling of the stream.
Kurt sits back on his heels and looks over at him, an eyebrow raised in question.
"His name is Marcus." He tips back the bottle and finishes off his water, picking at the label and avoiding Kurt's eyes. He looks sad in a way Kurt has never seen, has never expected to see, and he feels a tightening in his chest. Is Marcus Sebastian's Blaine? Is he just as desperate to get out and find this boy, to see him and wrap his arms around him and smell his neck? Because if he feels even half as desperate for this Marcus as Kurt feels for Blaine... Kurt stops himself from thinking about it. He needs to keep Blaine locked in a vault in his mind right now, or he will break down and lose it completely.
"Sebastian – we're not going starve or die of thirst. I know I don't look like a boy scout –"
"Nah, you look more like a girl scout."
Kurt furrows his brow and raises the volume of his voice. "But I'm gonna get us out of this by the power of my will and Hummel stubbornness alone. It's quite legendary, you know."
"I believe it."
Kurt throws him a wry, crooked smile. "Because I love Blaine. And my dad. And Carole. Even Finn and Rachel. So, no. We are not dying here. It has been decreed."
Sebastian nods his head, smiling down at the bottle in his hands. He places it in the stream and refills it and Kurt pulls out a packet of candy from his pocket. They eat it in silence, passing the bottle of water back and forth.
"He goes to my old school," Sebastian says after several long moments.
"Oh yeah? The one in Texas?"
"Shut up. And yes. A professor caught us making out and a few days later..."
"Your dad pulled you out."
"Yep. And then Dalton," Sebastian says sadly.
"I'm sorry," Kurt tells him. And he is. He says a silent thanks to the universe or fate or nature or whomever is responsible for his having Burt Hummel as a father.
"Me too," Sebastian answers. He pops the last Wine Gum into his mouth and shifts, wincing in pain as he repositions his leg.
Kurt stares down into the stream, the bright moon reflecting back at him. A blossom blows off a tree from above and lands in the water, rippling the moon's reflection. Kurt fishes it out and holds it to his nose; it doesn't smell like anything. He glances over at Sebastian to find he is watching. "Japanese cherry blossoms," Kurt says.
"What?"
"You asked me before... I must have been dreaming. Blaine – he uses this body wash. That's what he smells like. Japanese cherry blossoms."
Sebastian gives him an odd look, almost calculating, before leaning over and refilling the bottle with water once more. "Let's drink some more of this bug-infested swamp water, shall we? Then we can find our way out of here so you can be reunited with your little Japanese cherry blossom."
"Shut up," Kurt says without bite. He gives Sebastian a dirty look, but he just grins at him. "You should really stop smirking like that. It's giving you wrinkles," Kurt tells him.
~0~
Sebastian feels increasingly weak as they go, but he tries to keep his head up and his breathing even so Kurt doesn't try to get him to stop again. He wants out. Their conversation at the stream has only reinforced that for him. His Dalton tie is looser than it was – stretched and slipping down his thigh. This he also keeps from Kurt. He doesn't want him playing nursemaid here in the dark. He needs someone who is actually qualified. He is quietly terrified that he is bleeding again. His head feels light. So light.
Kurt slows and squints in the darkness, making sure they haven't strayed from the faint pathways. He curses and turns in a circle, running his hands through his once impeccably styled hair. Sebastian feels detached watching him – like his obvious fear and frustration has no bearing on him at all. Only it does. It affects everything.
"I can't see it!" Kurt exclaims. He gets down on his hands and knees and crawls around, looking at the forest floor. Sebastian laughs a little and sways; there are a million and one jokes he could make with Kurt in that position. Instead he stumbles and falls to his knees. He's so damn dizzy all of a sudden.
"Sebastian!" He hears Kurt's voice, feels his big, soft hands on his face. He is unsurprised by the softness of Kurt's hands. There are so many jokes he could make about that, too.
"Sebastian!"
"Sebastian!"
The sound is going in and out, faint and strong and faint again. It sounds like a whole group of people shouting his name. He tries to shake his head. He tries to speak. And something is stinging his cheek now. It's not soft anymore.
It's Kurt. He's being slapped by Kurt. "You had better be breathing, Smythe, because there is no way I am giving you mouth to mouth, manwhore." He sounds upset. Sebastian laughs and gets another slap for his trouble.
His head spins as Kurt pushes him half into sitting position, sitting behind him to hold him upright. He doesn't even remember lying down. Kurt presses the water bottle to his lips and tells him to drink. "Come on, Sebastian," he says quietly, seemingly more to himself than anything.
Sebastian sips at the water, closing his eyes and breathing deeply before sipping again. Kurt repeats himself and Sebastian tries to be glib. "It's so sweet that you care."
"I suppose I'm gonna have to drag your flat ass out of here now, am I?"
Sebastian laughs. He's happy to have a reason. "You totally checked me out," he sing-songs.
"But seriously, we're almost there. Come on."
"M'tryin'. It's just that I think I'm running out of blood."
"What? Are you bleeding again?" Kurt snaps.
Sebastian shrugs; mid-way through he's falling to the ground as Kurt drops him and shuffles around to check his leg. "Shit, the tourniquet. Why didn't you say anything?"
Sebastian winces and tries to stifle a cry as Kurt tightens the tie around his leg again. "Dammit, you are bleeding again! How long has it been..." Kurt's rant peters off and when Sebastian starts to answer, he holds out a hand to silence him. "Did you hear that?"
"What? More water?"
Kurt shakes his head and climbs slowly to his feet. He's listening very intently, his head cocked to one side like a curious puppy. After a long, silent moment he lets out a disappointed sigh. "I thought I heard voices," he says. "It sounded almost like..." He sighs again and drops back to his knees. "Nevermind."
"Must be your brain damage."
"Must be." Kurt gives him a shaky smile and removes his blazer. He stares down at the white dress shirt underneath with a look of pure despondency, then very quickly unbuttons the bottom few buttons and tears it straight across and around until he is left with a tattered shirt and a long white strip of cloth.
He goes to work carefully removing the old bandage and replacing it with this new one, sighing and muttering under his breath about irreplaceable vintage McQueen. "If it slips again, tell me, okay?" he says. His voice is quiet and his eyes soft and for the first time Sebastian realizes there is a very real chance that he might bleed to death before they get out of this forest.
"I owe you a shirt," he says quietly back.
"Don't worry about –"
He may not have the ears of a prize bitch, but this time Sebastian hears it too: people talking, calling out to one another. The voices are not familiar to him, but Kurt's eyes fill with tears and he jumps to his feet, grabbing his blazer – he recognizes them. That much is certain.
"Coach!" he yells. "Cooper!" But the voices are no longer there. "Shit!" Kurt yells for Coach Cooper again and again but gets no response.
"Come on, Grandma," Sebastian says. "Quit babying me and let's get going. Maybe we can catch up with them."
Kurt hauls him to his feet and practically lifts him, shouldering his weight and begins speed walking in the direction from which the voices had come.
"Jesus, you don't have to carry me," Sebastian tells him, but he is ignored. Kurt is on a mission now. He sees a light at the end of the tunnel and he's going for it. And fuck if he isn't freakishly strong. "I think I may have underestimated you, Kurt Hummel."
"People usually do," Kurt answers, and he picks up speed.
