Carole, Kurt, and Sebastian left for McKinley at 10:30. Sue had agreed to meet with them at 11:00. Kurt led the way to Sue's office. Sebastian hadn't been in the classroom portion of the building and he looked around as they walked.
"This school definitely looks more like what I had seen in American movies than Dalton does."
Kurt laughed. "Dalton is the only school I've ever seen that looks like it does. All of the other schools look pretty much like this on the inside."
"In need of some paint and deep cleaning?"
Kurt chuckled.
It didn't take long to get to Sue's office. Kurt knocked and waited for a response. Sue had arranged three seats facing her desk instead of the typical two that were normally there.
"Mrs. Hummel, Kurt, and …"
"My name is Sebastian."
"And Sebastian. What is the reason you have come here today?"
"I no longer wish to be on the travel squad."
"Your reason?"
"The 'home' team's behavior at the away games."
"Be specific."
"Homophobic slurs and insults."
"Ignore them."
"Look, I'm not interested in ignoring them anymore. I am not interested in subjecting myself to anymore bullying that can be easily avoided. There are half a dozen girls who would love to have my spot on the travel team. Give it to one of them."
"I want to ask you a question," Sebastian said.
"So, ask."
"Why did you serve meals at the homeless shelter on Christmas Eve?"
"That's personal."
"Fine. Why do you treat the Cheerios so disrespectfully?"
"Overcoming adversity teaches independence, and hard work builds character."
"Being insulted and screamed at is different than adversity. Adversity is something that happens in life, not something that someone does to you on purpose. That's bullying and belittling and it teaches people to hate themselves. They may work harder, but it's not to better themselves for their own self-improvement – it's to avoid being torn down publicly."
"You're full of yourself, aren't you?"
"No, I've just known adversity my whole life. And yes, it fosters ingenuity and creativity to survive, but it rips people apart on the inside. I'm a survivor. I may be strong, but at what price? How is you tearing your team apart helping them as people? Haven't you ever loved or cared about anyone?"
"My sister."
"Then think of your sister in the position of each and every Cheerio you berate every day. What would she think of you if she saw you during practice? What if I set up a camera and sent her the video? Do you think she'd feel proud to be your sister?"
"Shut up."
"No. You have no control over me. I don't attend this school. I'm an adult. I think your sister would have been proud of you at Christmas. But the way you treat the Cheerios is a disgrace."
"Kurt, honey. Get up on the scale over there," Carole said.
Kurt untied his shoes and took them off. He stood and walked over to the scale and stepped on and adjusted it so it showed his weight.
"Honey, how much weight have you lost?"
Kurt stepped down and went back to his chair and put his shoes back on.
"Kurt?" Sebastian said.
"I've lost 15 pounds."
"Unacceptable," Carole stated emphatically. "That's nearly 10% of his body weight in two months and he wasn't overweight to start with."
"He could lose another 20 before he's underweight," Sue quickly pointed out.
Sebastian retorted, "That's NOT the point. He didn't enjoy a single dessert that he made for the holidays. I watched," Sebastian said. "He baked and cooked for everyone and then stayed in the kitchen and washed dishes to keep anyone from noticing that he hardly ate anything. He's taken to drinking tea with no sweetener and not even drinking orange juice for breakfast. Your methods of berating him and criticizing him are going to kill him and maybe some of the girls. Anorexia kills people."
"I'm not anorexic," Kurt insisted.
"Maybe not yet," Carole said. "But you watch every bite of food that goes into your mouth, and I am as concerned as Sebastian is."
"Kurt is not going to travel with the squad anymore and that's final," Carole said. "We will not allow him to be subjected to more bullying than he gets for just existing in this town. He has a little over four more months before he is through with high school."
"Last year when Dave threatened me, you were on my side. At least I thought you were. You said you could be another pair of eyes and ears in the hallways preventing the bullying. But you bully me and the other girls. I don't want to quit or to be a quitter, but I won't allow this anymore. You may think that what you are doing is 'character building', but it's actually soul killing. We all work really hard and your response is to scream at us. It's taken me about 7 weeks too long to come to my senses, but enough is enough. I will not let you dictate whether or not I am worthy of love or respect or food. My own self-respect is worth more than your approval."
"Kurt will be here for practice tomorrow morning before school. I will be with him to observe. If there is anything besides respectful speech and constructive instruction on how to improve, it will be his last practice," Carole said adamantly. "And I don't just mean respectful toward him – for all of the Cheerios. I know that Sebastian knows nothing about your sister, but I know that he is right. Jean would NOT be proud of the way you belittle the students you are in charge of training."
"You don't know anything about Jean."
"You're wrong. But I won't argue my point. Tomorrow morning's practice will be instructional and respectful or Kurt will no longer participate." Carole stood.
Sebastian stood and offered Kurt his hand as he stood. Once Kurt had taken it, Sebastian intertwined their fingers and followed Carole out the door and into the hallway. She walked back out the building the way they had come in with Sebastian and Kurt continuing to walk behind her. They got to the car before anyone said anything.
"Do you want to go back home or grab your bag and go to class?" Carole asked Kurt.
"How about we go have lunch and I'll come back for the last couple of periods and then Glee. That way Sebastian can get back before Warblers rehearsal as well. I know how hard it is for them to practice without a lead singer and I know exactly who is there just chomping at the bit to prove that he can be a better leader than Sebastian."
"Alright, honey. Let's grab something on the way home."
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Kurt followed Sebastian up to their room after they got home. He shut the door behind him.
Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian. "I don't want you to go."
He hugged Kurt. "I don't want to go, but you know I have to."
"I know."
"One more kiss before I go?"
"Of course."
They kissed, deeply and passionately and full of emotion.
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too. I'll call you when Warblers rehearsal is over. Walk with me downstairs?"
"Of course." Kurt picked up Sebastian's satchel and carried it for him out to the car.
Sebastian put his suitcase in and then took the satchel from Kurt and put it in as well. He wrapped his arms around Kurt and hugged him tight. "I love you. I'll be back Friday."
Kurt held on. "I love you too." He let go and let Sebastian get in the car. He waved as he drove off, and then walked back up to the house. He opened the door and Carole was waiting for him inside in the living room.
"He's a keeper, honey."
Kurt plopped down next to her on the couch. "I know. I wish McKinley wasn't awful or Dalton didn't cost a fortune. I wish he didn't have to leave."
"I know. Sometimes I miss your dad so much it hurts."
"I didn't even consider how much Dad would be gone when he ran in the election in the fall."
"The whole thing was really unplanned. He ran to stop Sue from tearing arts programs apart, which wasn't really within her realm to do if she won, but she would be a terrible representative. And Reggie was willing to out a high school student just to make Sue look bad. To make her look bad, all he had to do was to pay Jacob to secretly video one of her practices berating the Cheerios. Burt ran because the other options were scary bad."
"Congress needs more regular people like Dad. People who've built businesses or kept family businesses alive. People who know what it's like to choose whatever meat is on sale that week and whichever brand of vegetables is the cheapest. People who've struggled to make ends meet in the aftermath of massive medical bills. But that means that those people leave the people they love behind to do it. And that's hard."
"I know."
"I better grab my coat and my bag and get going. Thanks for going with me today."
"You're welcome, honey. I'll see you later."
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Kurt went to his last two classes and then to Glee. He walked in and took a seat in the back next to Sam. Mr. Schue arrived a couple of minutes after the bell.
"So, this afternoon we will work on 'I Can Fly', which we will do again on Thursday. Wednesday and Friday we will work on 'You Are Loved', which means that the girls will not need to stay. The girls are still working with Sue on Mondays before school. I've reserved the auditorium for us to work on our choreography in there. Let's head that way."
Everyone picked up their bags and headed to the auditorium. They spent the hour going through some options for choreography and worked through them with a recording of the song.
"We'll keep working on this on Thursday. Hopefully by next week, we'll add in the vocals. I want us to be a well-oiled machine in 6 weeks. Good job today."
Sam followed Kurt out. "We're heading to the shop, right?"
"Yep, unless you have a big project or something you need to go home and work on."
"Nope. I'm good to go."
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Kurt texted Sebastian before he had a chance to call and told him that he'd call at 7:30. He and Sam did what needed done at the shop and headed home at 7:00. They sat down to dinner as soon as they walked in the door.
Kurt and Sam cleared the table and did the dishes. Sam was unusually quiet.
"Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no. I'm fine. Just thinking about a lot of stuff. I'm going to work on my homework and get to bed early. I stayed up too much this past weekend and I'm going to go to Kentucky this coming weekend. I'm going to leave right after the game, so I want to get enough sleep all week so I won't be too tired to drive Friday evening."
"Okay. Maybe we can watch a movie some time this week if you're not busy every evening. I miss spending time with you. The Glee guys were here all weekend before last and then you were gone this whole past weekend."
"You had Sebastian here."
"I know. But I still miss doing things with you."
"I'll let you know about the movie." Sam hung up the towel he'd been drying dishes with and went upstairs.
Kurt put the soap in and started the dishwasher and finished wiping down the dining table and the countertops and headed upstairs as well.
He called Sebastian at 7:30 like he said he would. They talked for a half hour. Kurt did his homework for a couple of hours, showered, talked to Sebastian again, and went to bed.
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Sebastian was disappointed to get a text delaying their phone call, but he made the most of his time by working on his schoolwork. He went to dinner at 6:30 and did calculus problems until Kurt called. He scurried to the tutoring session he had at 8:00 and made it just in time. He went back to his room, showered, got in bed to do more reading and waited until 10:00 to call Kurt and talk before they went to bed.
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The next morning, Carole followed Kurt to school. She parked in the visitor's lot and they walked to the gymnasium door and went inside. She went up about 10 rows in the bleachers and sat down. Kurt dropped his bag on the first row of bleachers and headed out to the floor to start his stretching.
Sue never showed up. Santana ran practice and was every bit as acerbic as Coach Sue usually was. Carole left after they finished practicing.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Thursday was basically the same as Wednesday for Kurt. Sue didn't show up. He went to class, went to Glee rehearsal, worked at the shop with Sam, did his homework, and talked to Sebastian. Sam never did have time to watch a movie.
Friday afternoon, Kurt waited for Sebastian at the shop. He got there about 4:45. He moved his suitcase and satchel to the Navigator when he arrived.
Kurt saw him come in the door and followed him to the lounge and into the changing area. He made sure no one else was in the room, stepped close without touching him, and kissed him.
"Mmm. Not an extended dream or hallucination on my part," Sebastian said.
"Definitely not. I'm glad you're here. Go crunch numbers. I have to go home at 6:00 and get ready for the game. I'll bring you a sandwich when I pick you up at 7:00." He gave him another quick kiss and headed back out to the bays and went back to work.
Sam took the car and left at 6:00 when Kurt did. Kurt saw Sam carry his duffle down to the car before he came into the kitchen to eat. Kurt put a plate of food on the island for him and sat down to eat a little before he left to go to Sebastian. He had packed food for Sebastian already.
Sam plopped down on the stool and started eating. "Thanks," he said between bites.
"You're welcome. I quit the travel team, but I'll still come to the games to cheer you on – just from the stands in regular clothes."
"You don't have to."
"I want to. I told you I'd cheer for you. I'm not going back on my word."
"I'm heading out as soon as the game is over. I should get to my parents' place by 11:30 or so."
"Well, I hope you have a good time. Tell everyone hello from me. Once it turns a little warmer, we could go down and camp out in the yard. We still have our tent from when Dad and I used to go camping."
"Stevie and Stacey would like that."
Kurt got up and put his plate in the dishwasher and grabbed the food he'd packed for Sebastian. "I'll see you at the game."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt and Sebastian stopped and got a pizza on the way home. Kurt grabbed some drinks and headed up to their room with them. He was excited to see Kurt eat two slices of pizza, but kept his excitement to himself not wanting to make Kurt feel like he was being scrutinized. Kurt took the leftover pizza and put it in the fridge and tossed the box while Sebastian unpacked his stuff.
He went back upstairs to find that Sebastian had started some music and had turned all of the lights off except the nightlight by the bed. He shut and locked the door.
"I didn't want to assume, but I waited in case you would say 'yes'. Will you shower with me? Then I thought maybe we could dance for a bit of your not too tired. Or we can dance first, shower, and then get in bed. And if the answer is 'no' we can still dance and then shower separately."
"Yes. Definitely yes. Let's dance first, then shower, then get in bed." Kurt stepped into Sebastian's arms and they swayed around the room for a few songs.
"Did you have any plans?"
"Lots of snuggling and kissing."
"Well, I do like snuggling and kissing." He started kissing Kurt's neck.
"Oh, that feels good," Kurt said as Sebastian continued to kiss his neck. "Mostly I just really missed you being here. Just little things like eating with you and talking. I wish McKinley wasn't so awful. You could have just transferred there and not had so much driving to do, but that's not how things are. But you're here now and we can enjoy being together."
They danced around a little while longer and then headed off to the shower.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Saturday morning they got up early and worked on their homework for a bit. After eating a quick breakfast, they headed to the shop at 8:00 to work for four hours. They headed back to the house to shower and change. Kurt packed an overnight bag while Sebastian made them quick sandwiches, and they headed out of town.
"This will be fun. It's our first mini-vacation. We got a good deal on the room and we can look around this afternoon and enjoy ourselves. I'm actually thinking of just doing the lessons twice a month. I've learned a lot, but it's a lot of driving."
"I've never been on any type of vacation with anyone. We went to the museum Sunday and that was fun, so I'm sure we'll have a great time." Sebastian pulled his phone out and started mapping their tour of the Cincinnati area. They talked all the way there.
They drove around the university area and stopped at a few apartment complexes and looked around. They picked up an apartment guide and a newspaper. They even stopped by the student center and checked out the places that advertised at the university.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt opened the hotel room door and let Sebastian walk in.
He put their overnight bag on the dresser and looked around. "So, what do you want to do now?"
"We're going out."
"We've been out all day."
"Out on a date. I just wanted to check in before it got too late. I didn't want to lose our reservation." Kurt walked over to where Sebastian was standing. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, much better than okay. Just one of those mini dazed out moments where I have to double-check that this is real."
Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian. "It's real. My incredibly handsome boyfriend and I are on are first overnight trip together and we're going to go out to dinner." He kissed Sebastian, who responded eagerly and wrapped his arms around Kurt.
"Alright, then. Let's go out to dinner."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"I have no idea what any of this is. I've never eaten Vietnamese food before."
"Me either," Kurt said. "That's the fun of it. We'll explore together." Kurt ran his thumb along Sebastian's index finger as they stood in line to order. The two had been holding hands most of the day.
When they got to the front of the line, they each ordered something that looked good from the picture board menu they had been studying. They took the number they were given and found a table. They took their coats off and put them over their chairs and sat down. Kurt put his hand out on the table and Sebastian took it.
They talked about some of the apartments they'd seen and in less than 10 minutes their food was brought to their table. They thanked the server. They tried their own dishes and they both like what they had ordered.
Kurt took a forkful of his and offered it to Sebastian, who took the fork and ate the bite.
"Yours is spicier than mine. Here try mine." Sebastian used Kurt's fork and handed him a bite.
"Yours is more savory, but I like both of them. What about you?"
"Me too."
They started talking about renting an apartment again.
"I think our biggest expense besides the deposit is going to be a bed. We can always work and save up for a couch, but we have to have somewhere to sleep."
"We could go to Ikea and look. There's one not that far from Jungle Jim's. Ooh. I hadn't thought about that. When we move here, we can shop there for our groceries."
Kurt smiled. "You just want to buy all of that French cheese."
"Maybe…"
"We'll go look at Ikea and stop by Jungle Jim's."
They finished their meals. Sebastian was thrilled to see Kurt eat a reasonable amount of food and enjoying it instead of picking at it like he had been. Maybe it was more stress about what was going on than it was an actual intent to starve himself, at least Sebastian hoped so.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"This is so cool. I didn't realize that it would be like a showroom maze. I think I want one of everything," Kurt laughed. He sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him.
"Well, I think we will have to narrow it down a bit." Sebastian laughed. "Let's keep going or we'll be halfway through the store when it closes. This is just a browsing trip. I'm sure they have print catalogs we can take with us."
"Maybe Dad will let us bring our bed from home."
"I like that idea. That's my favorite bed ever."
Sebastian reached out for Kurt pulled him to standing. Kurt hadn't seen anyone near the area they were in and pulled him close enough to give him a quick kiss. "Let's keep looking, like you said." He kept hold of Sebastian's hand and they wandered through the rest of the "rooms". They didn't stop and do a lot of looking through the areas where the products were shelved and made their way toward the exit. Kurt grabbed a catalog on the way out.
"So, on to Jungle Jim's?" Kurt asked.
"We can do whatever else you had planned for our date. I don't want to ruin anything. I've never dated anyone before, but I didn't think grocery shopping was on the Top Ten Date Destinations list."
Kurt laughed. "Maybe not, but my idea of dating is doing things together and having fun. We don't have to do what anyone else would do on a date. I just want to spend time with you. I don't need you to plan expensive complicated dates. Just the fact that you want to spend time with me means a lot to me."
"I know nothing about American dating, and virtually nothing about dating in general."
"Well, to me, it's just doing things together we both already know we like to do, or exploring things we've never done and finding out whether we like them. Like dinner tonight – it wasn't anymore expensive than getting a pizza or something, but it was totally different and new and fun. I've always wanted a friend that would be open to going to unusual places and trying new things. Even if I had not liked the food, I would have still liked going with you."
"That makes me less nervous. I guess I've just seen movies where there so much pressure on planning the perfect dates. I shouldn't base reality on a movie, of course, but I'm in the dark."
"Well, I think maybe it's because most of those movies are based on girls. And on top of that, girls that play mind games. Like they don't tell their boyfriends what they want, but when they don't get it, they get upset. I'm not sure if that's a girl thing or a movie thing or what. But I'm not like that. If I want something specific, I'd say so. You can even verify that with my dad. If I wanted something specific for my birthday, I would supply him with the exact details he needed to get it for me. I always gave him a lot more options that I expected to get, so he could choose between them."
"So, if I planned something, you'd just do it?"
"Sure, why not? I can't know if I'd like it, if I don't try. I mean, there might be some limits to that. I'm pretty positive that I won't like skydiving, so don't plan a skydiving date."
Sebastian laughed.
"I'm not a girl and you're not a girl. So, I don't think a lot of those dating movies apply – unless you're secretly wanting me to buy you jewelry, stuffed animals, and boxes of chocolates."
"I'm not expecting anything. I guess that's not true. I'm expecting us to only see each other."
Kurt pulled into a parking spot and turned the Navigator off. He took his seat belt off and leaned over the console in the center. "Come closer."
Sebastian took his seat belt off and moved so Kurt could reach him.
"I'm a monogamous person. I love you and only you. I'm not going to run around on you." He kissed Sebastian.
"I love you too."
Kurt ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "Let's go buy some French cheese. It's cold enough outside that we can leave it in the back overnight and it will be fine." He opened his door and got out. Once he heard Sebastian's door shut, he pressed the lock on his remote. He waited at the end of the Navigator for Sebastian and reached out for Sebastian's hand, which he quickly took.
They didn't tour the whole store again since it was getting late. Sebastian picked out some cheese and they bought a couple of drinks to have later and a few snacks for Sebastian to take back to school with him. They headed back to the hotel after they finished shopping.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt hung his coat up on the rack behind the door as soon as he flipped the additional door lock on the back of the door. Sebastian was standing there waiting for him to finish and wrapped his arms around Kurt.
Kurt was surprised at his ease about physical contact with Sebastian. There was just such a difference. Even though he hated it when the comparisons popped up in his mind, they did anyway. At this point in his previous relationship, he was barely comfortable holding hands, but with Sebastian he had been willing to get in the shower naked the same weekend they started dating. And that's exactly where he wanted to head right that minute. And he wanted Sebastian to touch him. He wanted to touch Sebastian, not just wash each other's hair.
"What's going on in that mind of yours?" Sebastian asked.
"What makes you think something's going on in my mind?"
"Because you're you."
"You know me so well already. That's sort of what I was thinking about."
"What do you mean? Wait, before you answer that, is there a way to turn the heat up in here? We didn't bring warm pajamas. It's chilly in here."
Kurt stepped out of his embrace and walked over the heat/ac unit under the window and turned the heat up. "There. It should warm up in here now."
Sebastian had followed him across the room and wrapped him back in his arms. "Now you can explain your answer, something about you thinking about how well I know you…"
"That, and how much I trust you – and it's kind of scary."
"Why is it scary for you?"
"I've never opened up to anyone like this and I know you haven't either. I know you said that it's up to us how fast or slow we take things. We're adults and can decide for ourselves. It's hard to gauge the difference between making a rational choice and what I really want to do. Maybe what I want to do is rational, but it's not something I've ever really had that much of a desire to do."
"You're being a little too vague for me to follow. I'm lost."
"I want to do things with you that I've never wanted to do with anyone before and it's throwing me off balance for lack of a better way to describe it."
"Things such as? Obviously not skydiving," he teased and kissed Kurt on the neck.
"No, not skydiving. More along the lines of," he whispered in Sebastian's ear.
"Oh. Really?"
"But is it too soon? It feels so unusual to let myself think about something like that and even more unusual to actually consider doing it."
"Well, if that's your round about way of asking me, my answer would be 'yes.'"
"Yes, it's too soon?"
"Yes, I want to - if you're offering. But I will also wait until you're ready."
"I think it's back to the struggle of hearing that what I want is wrong and disgusting and evil and sinful… Hearing that doesn't change what I want, but it makes me feel like I shouldn't."
"Well, I didn't grow up having those types of things said to me, but just a few months of being shamed by my Father gave me just enough of a taste of it to know the slightest bit about how it feels and from what you've implied about what's been said to you, it's far worse than the things that were said to me. But that's over now for me, and I know that your torment hasn't stopped. But I want you to listen to me again. You get to choose who you love and how. Not other people."
"I know. And I love you. Please don't ever think these freak-outs I have are about whether I love you."
"Would it help you to know that I've been thinking about what you whispered in my ear for the last few days?"
"Really?"
"Absolutely." He kissed Kurt. "To be completely honest, I've thought about it for more than just the past few days, but I've only allowed myself to indulge my thoughts the past few days." He pursed his lips and took a deep breath, not knowing how Kurt would react to his confession.
A flash of realization could be seen in Kurt's eyes. Sebastian wasn't just saying he thought Kurt was attractive because it was something he thought Kurt wanted to hear. "You actually find me attractive."
"Yeah? I thought I had made that pretty clear by now."
"I guess it's just now dawning on me that you actually mean it. It's so out of my realm of real life experiences that I think I chalked up your early flirty behavior as part of your public persona – the prickly one or the charming/flirty one. You know the one that wolf-whistled Sam and teased about the 'taking it off part' being more fun."
"I see. Well, that was all in fun. I may have hidden how I felt behind a teasing exterior because I felt like you were a million miles out of my league, but I thought you were gorgeous the day we met. My opinion hasn't changed."
Kurt flushed. The different times that Sebastian had said flirty things that he could remember started popping up in his mind. Sebastian had found him attractive all that time?
"Now what's going on in that mind of yours?"
"Just processing things." He released the hold he had on Sebastian and moved his hands in between them and started unbuttoning Sebastian's cardigan, then his shirt. Once he finished the placket, he unbuttoned the sleeves and eased them both off of his shoulders. He shut out the voices in his head that told him that what he wanted was wrong and focused on how he felt and what his own heart told him. He laid the sweater and shirt on the chair behind him. He ran his hands across Sebastian's shoulders and down his arms causing Sebastian to shiver a bit. His eyes were closed obviously enjoying the attention that Kurt was lavishing on him. Kurt moved his hands to Sebastian's chest and splayed his fingers and gently ran his hands all over his chest.
Sebastian reached forward and slipped Kurt's jacket off his shoulders and hung it on the back of the chair and moved back in front of Kurt and started to unbutton his vest and his shirt. He walked behind him and took the vest and laid it neatly in the chair, and then reached around him and unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off his shoulders placing gentle kisses on the back of his neck. He put the shirt in the chair and turned back to face Kurt again. He lifted Kurt's undershirt and Kurt raised his arms so that Sebastian could pull it off.
"All the layers don't bother you?"
Sebastian ran his hands down Kurt's arms and kissed his shoulders. "You're like one of those really expensive gifts from a fancy store, all wrapped up with a fancy bow. You take off the bow, then the wrapping paper, and open the box. And the gift is wrapped in beautiful paper on the inside."
Kurt melted at the comparison. He turned and faced Sebastian and held his face in his hands. "And you are a romantic sweetheart who makes me feel really special. You are that hidden gem at a flea market. So many people walk by and don't bother to look, but you're every bit as valuable and beautiful as the shiny pieces in the fancy stores. You just needed polished a bit so your beauty wasn't hidden under years of gunk. You said you thought I was out of your league, but that's not true at all. You are amazing and strong and beautiful. I love you." Kurt stepped forward and pressed into Sebastian and tipped his head and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around him. The kiss was intense and full of love and understanding, like the culmination of them both doing their best to let go of those insecurities and the realization that they were choosing to move forward together.
Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt and let the rest of his walls down. Kurt didn't love him out of some sense of pity. He thought he was beautiful and his equal. He had finally gotten what he had longed for. He had no intention of ever letting go. When they pulled a part to catch their breath, Sebastian kissed along Kurt's jaw toward his ear. "I love you."
"Can I?" Kurt asked, putting his hand on Sebastian's belt.
Sebastian nodded, still placing gentle kisses on Kurt's jaw and neck. He stopped long enough to move over to the bed to unlace his boots and take them off. Kurt sat down next to him and did the same. Kurt started to undress himself the rest of the way and Sebastian followed his lead. Kurt folded the covers back on the bed and lay down.
Sebastian crawled over and straddled Kurt and put his weight on his forearms and started kissing him.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
They lay in each other's arms kissing gently and enjoying the comfort of the other.
Kurt broke the silence. "I've come up with my pet name for you."
Sebastian waited.
He ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "Mon précieux joyau caché." Kurt kissed him. "Je t'aime, mon joyau."
Sebastian kissed Kurt. "Je t'aime, mon étoile."
"We are in need of a shower. We are a sticky mess." Kurt smiled. "Sated, sticky messes, but still," he laughed.
They got up and headed to the shower. Sebastian started the water to warm it up, while Kurt grabbed their stuff from the toiletries bag. Sebastian grabbed a couple of washcloths and climbed into the shower with Kurt following right behind him.
"This time I wash you and you wash me?" Kurt asked.
They took their time and enjoyed the increased intimacy of touching each other.
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Back in the bed, they lay limbs all intertwined.
"I like this." Kurt ran his hand down Sebastian's side, down his hip and onto his thigh.
"Mmm. You think we can get away with it at home?"
"Sure. We already sleep with the bedroom door locked. We can just put two pairs of pajama pants on the edge of the dresser by the door and if we have to open the door before we were planning to, the pants will be ready to be slipped on."
"Good plan."
"And since we do our own laundry, no one will ever notice that we hardly wear our pajamas."
"Mmm." Sebastian caressed the side of Kurt's face and gently kissed him. "I am about to fall asleep. I love you, mon étoile."
"I love you."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt awoke at his usual time and tried to keep still and let Sebastian sleep longer, but he woke up.
"It's still dark out. What time is it?"
"Around 6:00 I'm sure. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's alright." Sebastian pulled Kurt closer. "We'll just snuggle for a little while before we get up." He had a relaxed smile on his face.
"You're happy this morning."
"Why wouldn't I be? We're here together. There's no place I'd rather be."
"Me either."
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They got ready, repacked their bag, put their coats on, and headed down to the free breakfast at the hotel. Kurt took eggs, turkey sausage, and orange juice. Sebastian opted for a waffle that he could make the big cast iron waffle maker. He slathered it with butter and syrup and had sausage to go with it. He offered Kurt a bite and he took it.
"That's pretty good."
"Do you still want to go to New York?"
"I do. Is that a problem?"
"No. I just wondered. That was where you wanted to go to school. I just wondered if that's where you want to live."
"I can't honestly say that it's where I want to stay forever. It's just that I've always dreamed of performing and Broadway always seemed like the pinnacle of success for a stage performer. I've only ever been there once and that was just for a few days last May when we went to Nationals. But Rachel and I snuck into the Gershwin Theater and sang 'For Good' on the stage with one of the Wicked backdrops and even thought the audience was empty, it was just a magical feeling being there. It could be the same performing somewhere else. I guess I'll just have to see how things go."
"I never allowed myself to dream like that. I kept my aspirations very basic. It's only been recently that I've been thinking more about what I'd consider to be possibilities or dreams."
"Well, you have time. We both do. And we have each other now." Kurt squeezed his hand.
They finished up and cleared their places off. Kurt checked them out of the hotel and they headed out to the parking lot, hand in hand.
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After his lessons were over, they drove around Cincinnati again, checking areas out and just looking around. Kurt pulled into a Wendy's and they went in for lunch before they headed back to Lima.
"What's a Frosty?" Sebastian asked.
"Oh, it's like halfway between chocolate ice cream and a chocolate shake, served in a drink cup with a spoon. Sort of like soft-serve chocolate ice cream."
"Sounds good."
Kurt ordered a taco salad and Sebastian went for a burger with fries and a Frosty. They didn't have to wait too long before their food was on trays ready to be taken to a table. They grabbed napkins and sat down and started to eat.
"The food here isn't horrible."
"Most fast food places aren't horrible. If they were, no one would eat there. I forget that you haven't eaten at any of these places. We'll make it our mission for you to try the most popular places at least once."
"You don't usually eat at places like this."
"I don't, but I can order salads at most of them nowadays. It will be a fun thing to do with you. Going to these places in Lima is never fun. The jock crowd tends to hang out in the fast food places and I get harassed. But we can try one each time we go out of town to do something fun together. Plus, we can try things like the Vietnamese place we went last night."
Sebastian put a spoonful of the Frosty in his mouth.
"So, what do you think?"
"I like it." He offered Kurt a bite and he took it.
They finished eating and headed back to Lima. Unfortunately, they both still homework to do, so they couldn't stay in Cincinnati all afternoon.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Sebastian did as he had said he would and stayed with Kurt Sunday night and left when Kurt got up at 6:00. They hugged and kissed and Sebastian set off for Dalton. He made it to school on time. He thought about their trip to Cincinnati and the plans they were making together and kept having to refocus himself during class.
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Sam rode to school with Kurt.
"Did you have a good time visiting your family this weekend?"
"Yeah, yeah. We just mostly hung around the house and I played with Stevie and Stacey. I took them to the library and checked out some books Saturday morning. Stacey likes to show off how well she can read by reading princess books to me."
"She's a cutie."
"Honestly, I just glad neither one of them have dyslexia like me."
"You haven't been doing your schoolwork with me anymore. Did I do something to upset you? We had been spending quite a bit of time together and then the last couple of weeks, you've been avoiding me."
"I've been avoiding a lot of things. I just feel pretty lost. I didn't want to spend another year in high school and I got my wish, but I honestly don't have a clue what I want to do next."
"We'll, if you don't want to go to college, you could work on the ASE certifications and get a raise and be able to do more work on your own at the shop. And if being a mechanic doesn't interest you, maybe there are other things that you could just train to do rather than going to college for four years."
"I need to figure some things out. That's for sure."
"Well, while you're figuring it out, don't forget about me, okay?"
"Okay."
"Sebastian's not all 'stay away from other guys'. He's not going to be bothered by us doing things together. We were doing things all three of us, and then you started hanging out with Finn more, which is okay if that's what you want. But I do miss spending time with you."
Kurt pulled into a spot in the parking lot. Sam jumped out. "I'll see you later."
Kurt opened the back and got his satchel out and made is his way into the school.
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Glee was strange that afternoon because Mr. Schue announced that was going to ask Miss Pillsbury to marry him and he wanted the members of the group to make love song suggestions for him to use for the proposal. A lot of the members got really excited about the project, but Kurt didn't make any suggestions, despite the fact that it would have given him the opportunity to get up and sing in front of everyone. A few people sang potential songs that day, but they were going to continue with the topic.
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By Tuesday, Mr. Schue had been presented with numerous options. He decided to go with singing "We Found Love" as a synchronized swimming routine in the school pool. And before he even had time to put up his hand to ask, Mr. Schue stated that participation was mandatory.
Kurt waited for everyone to leave the room after rehearsal.
"Is there something you need, Kurt?"
"I don't see how you can make spending 6-9 hours in the school pool mandatory for a non-school related event. I understand that you want to wow Miss Pillsbury, but I am personally opposed to this type of proposal, and on top of that I have a job after Glee and I can't skip work since I'm the afternoon manager now that my dad is in DC. I'm sorry. This class isn't for credit. It's a club. One I enjoy being in, but I won't be at swimming practice. I'll be at the shop."
"Kurt…"
"There is nothing else to discuss. You can kick me out if you want. But you cannot require me to spend extra hours afterschool with no advance warning. I have to go or I'm going to be late." Kurt turned and walked toward the door.
"You'd risk performing your solo and not being in the club over this?"
"That's not really a question is it? Are you actually asking me if loyalty to my father and my job is more important than a school club?" He walked out the door.
Sam was waiting in the Navigator. They headed for the shop.
"I wasn't thinking. Sorry."
"What?"
"The pool idea was mine. Back before that guy dropped out of basketball, I had considered joining the synchronized swimming team because it was the only varsity sport that still had openings. I went to watch a couple of practices and it was really cool to watch. I thought it would impress Miss P."
"It's fine. I just can't miss work three days in a row to practice swimming. If he kicks me out over this, then so be it. I want to perform, yes. But honestly, the constant drama of his love life is annoying and mostly inappropriate. But, be assured that if he kicks me out, I won't blame you."
"Alright. Is there any way I can get off the next three afternoons?"
"Sure. But you won't get paid."
"I know."
"You'll need someone else to take you home after rehearsals because I'll be here." Kurt pulled into the employee parking section and got out.
He put his coveralls on quickly and got to work on the first car on his list.
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Sebastian's Tuesday review of his weekly agenda had him flipping to the next month to take a look forward and he realized that it was exactly two weeks until Valentine's Day. He had seen enough American movies to realize that it was a big deal. He spent the day trying to stay focused, but his mind wandered.
In Warbler's rehearsal, he asked to be allowed to speak.
"I'd like to propose that we don't hold rehearsal on Valentine's Day in two weeks. I know that many of the guys in this group are dating, which means that they need time to prepare for the evening."
"All in favor of Sebastian's idea to not have rehearsal on Valentine's Day…" David counted. "Motion passed."
They moved on to working on "Stand" for the rest of rehearsal.
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Wednesday marked the fifth practice in a row that Coach Sue did not show up to run. Kurt got dressed after practice and went to class as usual. At lunchtime, he headed to her office. He knocked and he heard a noise he assumed was his cue to enter. He opened the door and stepped inside.
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to see if you were okay. You haven't come to practice in five days."
"I'm fine. Get out."
"Alright. I'll bring the uniforms back tomorrow." He pulled the door shut behind him and walked away.
After school, headed straight to the shop and put in an extra hour.
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Thursday morning, Kurt didn't attend Cheerios practice and spent the extra hour he had that morning getting schoolwork done. He put both of his uniforms into the Cheerios backpack and took them to school with him. At lunchtime, he went to Coach Sue's office again. He knocked and waited to be acknowledged. He opened the door and went inside. He placed the backpack on one of the chairs facing Coach Sue's desk and turned to walk out.
"Kurt, have a seat."
"Yes, Coach." He turned back and sat in the empty chair.
"I don't want you to quit the team."
"I have no interest in the Jekyll and Hyde thing you've got going on, Coach Sue. Obviously you are a deeply committed to winning, yet you haven't shown up to run practice in a week. I honestly thought you had changed to some extent. But this two-faced behavior is too much for me to deal with. I'm not sure why the girls put up with it, other than they see getting a recommendation from you as their only way out of this cow town. I already got into college. I'm leaving because I am not wanted in this town. I don't need whatever scraps of approval I might get from you because I have a family that loves me. But some of those girls don't. They come here every morning. They do exactly what you say, but because they quiver a bit or they don't execute a move perfectly, you scream at them. No more. I'm not going to be a part of something that makes girls think they're worthless if they aren't perfect. Perfection is a myth."
"He's been to every home game and some of the away games."
"Who?"
"Sebastian."
"Yes. He comes to watch and cheer for Sam. We'll still attend the rest of the games, as will my parents if they aren't working."
"We've already been practicing our Regionals piece."
"I'm aware."
"I have no one to take your place."
"Rechoreograph my part out. If I broke my leg, you'd have to."
"What would make you stay?"
"I told you already. Lead the Cheerios to victory. Be a leader, not a soul-crushing tyrant that terrifies people into performing under duress."
"Not mincing words, I see."
"Waste of time."
"You stood up to Schuester as well."
"I did. He may kick me out too. I haven't heard yet. I don't have to invite difficulty into my life. It's there every day when I try to live a normal life." Kurt stood. "I'm going to go eat before lunch ends."
Kurt got to the cafeteria and found that none of the New Directions were there. He walked back out and went to his SUV. He texted Sebastian a single line – "I miss you."
Kurt attended his afternoon classes and headed straight to the shop again. He worked until closing and headed home. When he got there, no one was home. He grabbed up his laundry and got it all done, while making and eating dinner since he didn't know where anyone else was. He finished up the rest of his homework for the week, barring a new assignment being given out the next day. He read for a while and eventually called Sebastian and they talked for a while before he went to bed.
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Friday morning, Kurt spent the time he would have normally used for last minute schoolwork or attending some sort of before-school rehearsal to bake cookies for Sebastian. He cut the recipe in half and packed up the whole batch and took them to his room and hid them in his dresser drawer. By the time Finn and Sam came downstairs claiming they could smell cookies, all they found was Kurt cooking eggs.
"Good morning," he said as he plated his eggs and washed the skillet quickly and left it in the drain to dry while he ate at the island.
"Where are the cookies?" Finn said.
"No cookies. There's cereal or you can cook for yourself. Where's Carole?"
"Oh, Mom left yesterday to go to DC."
"I didn't know she was leaving. When is she coming back?"
"Um, Monday I think. Or maybe it was Tuesday. I don't remember. She left money to order pizza once and Chinese once and said to make Chili. So, I guess that means Monday she'll be back," Finn said.
"And your plans?" Kurt asked.
"Video gaming marathon starting tonight after the game."
"And lasting until?"
"Sunday night."
"Good to know." Kurt put his plate and fork in the dishwasher and headed back upstairs. He grabbed what he needed for school and headed out, even though it was still a little early.
He got to school, put what he didn't need for the morning in his locker, and went to peek in the gym. Coach Sue was there, yelling as usual. Kurt headed to his first period classroom and sat in his seat reading ahead until class started.
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Sebastian packed for the weekend and put everything, including his coat, in the car before he headed to class Friday morning. Since he was going to stay until Monday mornings, he decided he would just drive in his uniform and wash it while he was home and rewear it Monday on the way back, allowing him to leave 15 minutes earlier than he had when he went back to change before he left.
As soon as the last bell rang, he left the building, jogged to his car, and headed to the shop. He found that leaving even those few minutes earlier really cut down on the traffic he got on the interstate near Columbus and he made good time and arrived at the shop at 4:30. He quickly moved his stuff from the car to the Navigator and headed inside.
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Kurt was leaning over the engine of a minivan when Sebastian walked into the work bays. Sebastian walked over to him, calling out to him as he got closer. He didn't want to startle him and make him drop or damage anything.
"You're early!"
"I planned more efficiently this time."
"Well, Mr. Efficient, I'm glad to see you. Are you going to change or do the books in your uniform?"
"I'll just work on the books until I get everything done. If I get it all done, I'll change and come out and learn more about fixing cars."
"I'm going to take a 5-minute break and get a drink," Kurt said and winked at Sebastian. He walked to the lounge and Sebastian followed him. "I missed you a lot." Kurt didn't touch him, but he leaned up and kissed him.
"I missed you too." He put his hands on the sides of Kurt's face and kissed him again. "Let's get our work done and go home."
Kurt nodded and went back out to finish the car he had been working on.
Sebastian looked up when Kurt came into the office at 6:30. "I've got about 10 more minutes before I'm done."
"I'll go clean up and change. The game is at 7:00. If you change here, we won't be quite as late."
"Alright. I finish up and go grab my clothes and change."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
They were just a few minutes late, but the game hadn't started yet. They found Tina and sat with her. She was surprised to see Kurt.
"Did you get hurt or something? Why aren't you cheering?"
"I quit."
"Oh. Did you quit Glee too?"
"No. But I'm not sure I'm still a member. Mr. Schue never said one way or the other. I guess I'll find out Tuesday when I try to go to rehearsal."
"I guess."
"Are the girls have a spa weekend?"
"Not the whole weekend. Just tomorrow evening and Sunday morning."
"Ah, the guys are having an entire weekend starting tonight until Sunday night."
Sam scored and all three of them stood up and cheered.
They started paying more attention to the game and quit talking. The hardest part for Kurt was watching the half-time show where he was supposed to be featured and Santana was singing his song. One of the other Cheerios had replaced her and was dancing and singing back up with Brittany.
The game finally ended, after a second half that seemed to be three times as long as the first half. They waited for Sam to come out of the locker room.
"Good game!" Kurt said when he came out.
"Thanks."
"Do you want us to take you to the shop to pick up the car?"
"Nah, I'll just have Mike drop me off to get it on the way to the house. You two can head on out to do whatever you've got planned."
"Alright."
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Even though they stopped and picked up a 10-pack of tacos, they managed to get home before anyone else. Kurt parked the Navigator in the grass alongside the driveway since there would be so many cars arriving soon and he wanted to be able to leave without getting a bunch of people to move their cars. He grabbed his satchel and Sebastian's as well. Sebastian grabbed his suitcase and his uniform that he had laid on top of it.
They hung up their coats and took everything upstairs. Kurt grabbed two drinks from the kitchen first. Sebastian unpacked and put the suitcase under the bed.
Kurt sat the bag of tacos and the drinks on the desk and pushed his vanity chair up to the desk. "We're going to eat up here and hibernate."
"Sounds fun. I hardly have any schoolwork this weekend because I was very diligent all week. I only have the extra reading assignment that was given out today in government, some online Library of Congress document I have to look up and read and answer questions about."
"Good because I did all of my homework already and I didn't get any extra assignments today. Let's eat."
Kurt ate four tacos and claimed he couldn't eat the fifth one, but Sebastian persuaded him to split it with him.
"So, we're hiding up here all weekend because the Glee Guys are hanging out here all weekend again?"
"Yep. And Carole's gone. I'm not going to get blamed for their shenanigans and all of the missing food. They'll probably spend all of the money she left on pizzas tonight and then raid the house for food all day tomorrow."
"How many people come here when they come? I've never gone down to see."
Kurt counted. "Maybe 7, if everyone comes."
"That's a lot of food."
"It is. But I paid for this and kept the receipt. Not that I want reimbursed, but I'm just proving a point. I mean this way I can prove that we ate, even though they didn't order us anything."
"When did you get the TV?"
"TV?"
"It's in front of your dresser on the floor in a box."
"Oh, I didn't even see it yet. I had our bags, the food, and the drinks in my hand and I walked straight over here."
"There's a note on top that says, 'Finn - put this in Kurt's room.'"
"Maybe he was supposed to do it yesterday and didn't."
"I'm texting Carole." Kurt got his phone out and sent her a text. He got a phone call a few minutes later. He talked to her for a few minutes and then hung up.
"She says it's for us because she talked to Dad and he agreed that Finn and all of his 'guy weekends' aren't fair to us never letting us use the TV downstairs. And that it was here on Thursday in the dining room when she left. She told Finn to bring it up, but obviously he didn't until this afternoon."
"Alright then, let's make room for it and get it unpacked and set up."
They moved everything around on the shelves and repositioned several to make room for it. They unboxed it and ran the cord down the small hole in the lowest shelf to plug it underneath in the area that had the doors. The whole process was delayed by the numerous kisses that were exchanged during the set up.
"Oh, good. It has batteries with it to put in the remote." Kurt put them in and started setting it up. "This is really cool. None of our other TVs are 'smart'. We can watch Amazon and Netflix without the TV hooked up to anything."
"That's cool."
Kurt put in the password for the internet and then logged into Amazon first, then Netflix. "Done."
"I'll put the box in the hallway." Sebastian put all of the packing material back into the box and put it out. He locked the door behind him when he came back in. "What would you think of us getting a keyed lock for the door at some point?"
"Why?"
"I guess I'm not all that keen on Finn looking around in here."
"Okay. I'll get one this week and install it."
"So, how about I read whatever this assignment is and you read a book and then we'll shower and we'll have the whole weekend free?"
"Sounds like a good plan." Kurt picked up the trash and tossed it in the trashcan.
Sebastian had already pulled his laptop out to read the text of his government assignment and sat down at the desk. Kurt pulled a book down off the shelf and sat in the chair and read.
Thirty minutes later, Kurt heard Sebastian typing. Fifteen more minutes and he was shutting the laptop down and putting it in his satchel.
Kurt put his book back on the shelf and stood up. He turned the salt lamp on, the other lights off, and walked toward the bathroom and Sebastian followed him.
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"Give me a one minute head start."
Sebastian laughed. "Okay."
Kurt sprinted over to the dresser, pulled out the cookies, put them on Sebastian's pillow, and got in the bed. By then Sebastian came out of the bathroom.
"Time's up."
"Come on."
He walked around to his side of the bed and found the cookies. "You made me cookies?"
"I did. This morning before I went to school."
Sebastian opened the container took one out and popped it into his mouth. He put the lid on and put the container on his side shelf. He chewed and swallowed. "Delicious." He got into bed.
"The other surprise is that I put an extra blanket on the bed this morning, so we wouldn't need pajamas."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Kurt scooted closer and gently moved Sebastian's arm so he could lay his head on Sebastian's shoulder and turn him into a human body pillow.
"Comfy?"
"Yes. Are you?"
"Mmm hmm. I like being your pillow."
"Let's sleep. We'll get up early and make ourselves breakfast while they're all still passed out from staying up all night."
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Kurt worked on packing sandwiches with ice packs in a lunchbox while Sebastian cooked them breakfast. He served it on paper plates so they could eat without banging plates around and making noise. Kurt carried the lunchbox up and Sebastian carried their breakfast up on a tray. They made it back upstairs without being spotted.
Kurt sat the lunchbox down on the dresser, shut the door quietly, and locked it. "We made it. You have no idea how many times I've been roped into cooking for all of them."
"They don't invite you, and then expect you to cook for them?"
"Pretty much. That's why I try to not be around."
"So we eat and we get dressed…"
"And then we go back to work."
They both started eating.
"You packed a lunch."
"I did. Not a big one – just a couple of sandwiches. We can either come back here after we finish, or we can go out somewhere for a while before we come back."
"Like where?"
"Well, I don't know. We can talk about it while we work. We can go in as soon as we get dressed. We can get a few hours in before anyone else shows up and we can figure out something fun to do."
They both got dressed.
"Okay. You carry the cooler, put the tray back in the kitchen, quietly grab our coats, and meet me in the garage."
Kurt carried the TV box down and left it in the garage. He was waiting by the door that led out the side of the garage. Sebastian handed him his coat and he put it on. Kurt pressed the alarm code and went out the door and locked it behind them. They got in the Navigator and left.
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Sebastian spent the morning changing tires and doing oil changes once the shop opened. Kurt continued to work on the car that he started on when they had gotten there. By 11:00, they were backed up. Kurt switched from the car to helping change tires. Obviously the snow flurries had made quite a few people decide it was time for new tires. They stayed to help with the tire changes and headed out at 1:00.
They went in the changing room together and switched into their clothes and tossed the coveralls in the hamper.
"Okay, so I thought about it. How about roller skating or bowling?"
"Well, I've never done either."
They laced their boots up and put their coats on.
"Well, we'll do one today and one another weekend. You pick. No one who considers themselves cool goes roller skating, so the likelihood of running into anyone who hates me is pretty slim. And I know a bowling alley that one of my dad's buddies runs, so no one will hassle us there either."
"Let's try the skating."
They ate the sandwiches on the way to the skating rink.
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Twenty minutes later, they pulled up outside the skating rink. They went inside and rented skates and went out into the rink. Kurt patiently taught Sebastian how to skate and he caught on quickly. Fifteen minutes later, he was skating around the rink on his own.
"This is fun."
"Dad used to bring me here because I liked it and it was a decent place to have some fun. I haven't come often since maybe sixth grade. Junior high kids hang out here because their parents are willing to drop them off and leave them, so I avoided the place for several years."
The music changed and the lights dimmed. Over the PA, the announcer said, "Couples only."
Kurt looked at Sebastian and they skated to the edge of the area only to nearly run right into Quinn and Tina.
"Alright, boys," Quinn said. "One of you needs to skate with me." Quinn took Sebastian's hand and led him back out into the rink. She turned and skated backwards.
Tina took Kurt's hand and he turned and skated backward. "Are you two dating yet?"
"Yes."
"Finally." Tina laughed.
"What do you mean?"
"That poor boy has been pining for you for ages. I kept telling him to tell you, but he insisted that you were too good for him. I told him that he was wrong, but he seemed pretty convinced."
"Well, I asked him two weeks ago."
"Congratulations. He seems really nice. And he's totally hot."
Kurt laughed. "Thanks. I didn't realize that you and Quinn had gotten friendly enough to be out doing things together."
"Well, she's finally feeling like herself again, but a new nicer version of herself. She says it's who she was before she decided that being HBIC was her high school goal. Now, she's focusing on her future, which she doesn't want to be in Lima."
"I completely agree with her on that."
The lights came back up and the music went back to an upbeat dance song. Kurt turned forward and kept skating with Tina.
"We're going to the movies next. Wanna come with us? The two of you can sit next to each other and with us with you, no one will hassle you."
"What are you going to see?"
"One For the Money."
"Let's catch up to them and you get Quinn alone and make sure it's okay with her. Then I'll ask Sebastian."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
An hour later, they were in line at the movie theater.
Kurt said, "Carole says the books are really funny. I've never read any of them."
"Oh, we've both read them and they are funny. We'll see if the movie adaptation is any good," Quinn said.
They each paid for tickets and went through the turnstile. Tina sat next to Kurt and Quinn sat next to Sebastian. When the lights went down, Kurt pushed the armrest between them up and took Sebastian's hand.
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"Do you guys want to go with us to this cool Greek restaurant we found?" Tina asked.
Kurt looked at Sebastian, who nodded. "Sure. Is it close by? Otherwise, we'll need the name so we can pull up a map."
"Just follow us. It's not far from here."
"Alright."
Kurt and Sebastian got into the Navigator. Kurt leaned toward Sebastian who leaned in and they kissed. "You're okay with this, right? You're enjoying yourself?"
"Sure. I've been sitting with Tina for every home basketball game all season. Quinn seems nice enough."
"I wouldn't tell her any secrets. But she's coming around. She's been through a lot and it's taken a toll on her. She finally seems to be finding a balance in her life – like she's going to be able to move forward and let her past stay in the past."
"Your Glee Club seems to be comprised of a lot of gossips."
"Mostly gossips, I think. Except Sam. I'm not sure that there is anyone else trustworthy in the whole group."
"You."
"Thank you. It looks like we're here. If it's super pricey, we can always say we ate before we went skating and share something. I wasn't actually planning on spending too much on dinner. We can't save if we eat out at pricey places every weekend."
They went inside and waited for a table with the girls. Once they were seated they opened the menu to look at the choices.
"You should definitely try the gyros since you've never been here before," Quinn said. "But don't order two dinners. Unless Sebastian eats like Finn, the two of you should split one. They're huge."
"Thanks for the information. We'll do that. Do you two come here a lot?"
The waitress came quickly and took their order.
"We've been here four or five times. The food is really good and we always split a meal," Tina responded. "Why are you out and about when the Glee Guys are all at your house?"
"I'm not a Glee Guy," Sebastian said.
"Obviously, but Kurt is."
"Nope. Actually, I'm not." His statement was spoken with such finality that neither of the girls asked anything else about it.
"So, how are Regionals rehearsals going for the Warblers?" Tina asked.
"Diligently," Sebastian smirked and winked.
"That's more than I can say for us. I'll be glad when Monday is over," Quinn said. "I'm sick of being in the pool. It's a disaster for my hair. I keep having to condition it. Tina said you quit the Cheerios."
"I did. I'm done being berated and harassed. We'll find out Tuesday whether I'm even still welcome in Glee."
The waitress was back with their food really quickly.
"I'm going to push for a vote from the members," Tina said. "Mr. Schue can't just throw you out because you had a job you had to do."
"I think he can. Whether he will or not remains to be seen. He could just strip me of my solo and give it to someone more 'loyal' and take my featured lines away in the other song, leaving me to sing back up as usual."
"That would be so wrong," Tina said.
Kurt and Sebastian tried their food.
"This really is good," Kurt said. "Being wrong hasn't stopped him before. If he kicks me out, he does. It's not the end of the world. If I work an hour extra each day after work, I'll have a lot more money saved up for when I move at the end of the school year. Even after taxes, being in Glee is costing me about $80 a week."
"That's like over $1000 by the end of the school year," Tina said.
"Yep. And $1000 could go a long way to paying rent during next school year so that I don't have to work so many hours during my first year of college since I am sure it will be a lot more like going to Dalton than it is like going to McKinley. Harder classes and more work. So, if he says I'm out, then I'll just work more."
"Where did you apply? I know Rachel's still all NYADA or bust," Tina said.
"I'm not saying until later in the year. I just don't want to hear why people think I've made the wrong choice. I don't need their approval to do what's right for me."
They continued talking while they ate. Once they were done, they went their separate ways.
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"We'll go back in through the garage and see if we can manage to get back upstairs with no one seeing us."
"Why are we sneaking into our own house?"
"Because I'm sure they blew all the money that Carole left for the whole weekend last night and I don't want to be pressured into cooking for everyone. Finn will claim that we're having the Chinese food tomorrow, since Carole said 'pizza, Chinese, and chili' and that I need to make the chili for tonight."
"I see. So, stealth mode. Got it."
Kurt unlocked the garage door and put the security code in quickly and shut the door back. He used the light from his phone to guide them across the garage. They got to the door leading into the house and Sebastian was so close behind him that he started kissing the back of Kurt's neck. Kurt turned in place and kissed him gently. He turned back around and opened the door slowly to peek out and listen. He opened the door and they stepped into the hallway and he closed the door quietly and they headed upstairs.
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"We made it."
"We did." Kurt locked the door behind him. He walked across the room and put his coat on the back of his vanity chair. Sebastian put his on the desk chair.
"Shower, and then snuggling while we watch a movie? Or shower, and then making out while we listen to music?"
"All of it sounds perfect."