Chapter Nine
By mid-November, it's finally consistently cold enough in New York to justify packing away the last of the short sleeved shirts. Kurt takes the final load of summer clothes out of the dryer-There's no point in packing them away without washing them first-and carries the basket into their bedroom to dump the clean clothes onto the bed to be folded.
Kurt sits down cross-legged on the queen-sized bed and starts to sort the laundry, setting Blaine's shirts in one pile and Sebastian's in another. He sets his own clothes aside to be packed later, because they take a lot more care than Blaine's henleys or Sebastian's polos.
He picks up one of Sebastian's shirts and holds the fabric to his nose, breathing in the scent of detergent, fabric softener, and the faint hint of Sebastian's cologne that never seems to completely fade from his clothes. He's hit by a sudden wave of nostalgia as the scent fills his senses, and he lets his mind wander as he goes about folding the laundry.
He remembers Sebastian coming home the day after they first decided to give them a chance. He made a surprisingly quiet entrance and stood awkwardly in the kitchen, his eyes darting between Kurt cooking dinner and Blaine watching the news on the couch. Sebastian's hand was rubbing nervously at the back of his neck, and he jumped at the sound of Kurt's voice.
"Are you lost, Seb?" Kurt had asked, laughing softly as he turned to face Sebastian completely.
Sebastian laughed out a nervous sound. "I-I'm not sure what I can and can't do right now..."
Kurt smiled and tossed the dish towel aside before crossing the small space to stand closer to Sebastian. "Well, right now, you can go do the same thing you do every night when you get home," Kurt said easily, reaching up to brush a fallen lock of hair from Sebastian's forehead. "You can go keep Blaine company while I finish dinner."
A tiny, sheepish smile touched Sebastian's face before he sighed and let his shoulders slump. "We're going to have The Talk, aren't we?" he asked, sighing again and looking to Kurt with pleading eyes.
"You better believe it, honey," Kurt said easily, his lips twitching up into a smile as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Sebastian's lips.
They'd eaten dinner in relative silence, Sebastian's eyes lifting from his plate occasionally to dart anxious glances between Kurt and Blaine. Kurt took their empty plates back into the kitchen and the moment he returned, Blaine had clicked off the television and turned to face both boys, his hands clasped in his lap.
"Now, I'm sure we all have a bunch of questions," he started. Kurt and Sebastian both nodded and Blaine continued. "So, I think we need to lay down some ground rules."
Blaine took a deep breath and let it out evenly. "I think that this whole thing can only work if we're completely and totally honest with each other. As in, no secrets. We have to talk about whatever we're feeling-if we like something, dislike something, are feeling frustrated or left out. Everything. No bottling stuff up until you explode or end up resenting someone. Please," Blaine stressed. "It's so important that we just talk to each other about everything."
Sebastian nodded and wrapped an arm around Blaine's waist pulling him closer. "I like that one," he said, before prompting, "Kurt?"
"Me too," Kurt answered. He stiffened up and looked intently toward Sebastian. "My only rule is that everyone is treated as an equal. There's no seniority or anything like that. We all care about, and treat each other, equally." Kurt took Sebastian's hand between both of his own. "I mean it, Seb. We're not KurtandBlaine and Sebastian," he said, his voice serious. "This isn't like Blaine and I letting someone into our relationship. This is new, and I just need you to understand that."
Sebastian gave a small smile and squeezed Kurt's hand. "I understand."
"Good," Kurt said with a nod.
Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek before leaning forward and doing the same to Sebastian and prompting, "Seb, it's your turn."
"I...uh...don't really have a rule," Sebastian started with a short, self-conscious laugh. "It's just sort of something I'm asking..."
Blaine shifted further into Sebastian's side and kissed the side of his neck, rubbing a hand across the top of the taller boy's back with anxious eyes. "What is it, Seb?"
It was easy to see how nervous Sebastian was. Everything about his posture radiated discomfort and vulnerability, but there was determination in his eyes. Kurt still wonders whether or not he will ever understand how much it actually took for Sebastian to open up the way he did.
Sebastian took a deep breath that came out shaky on the exhale and cast his eyes to his and Kurt's intertwined hands, watching as he played with Kurt's fingers anxiously.
"You're not allowed to get bored of me," Sebastian mumbled toward his hands. He looked up when his words were met by absolute silence. "I really care about you guys, and it would really hurt if we got into this thing only to find that I was only good for spicing up your sex life."
"Sebastian," Kurt breathed, leaning forward to rest his hand against Sebastian's cheek and kiss him lightly on the lips. "That's not what this is..."
"I-I know, but..." He took another steadying breath and glanced back down toward his hands. Blaine put a finger under his chin to tilt his head up.
"You don't need to be embarrassed or anything, Seb. Just talk." Blaine punctuated his words with a quick kiss to Sebastian's lips, the action met with a small smile.
"Okay," Sebastian started, reaching out to take one of Blaine's hands as well. "It's just that...I've never really wanted anything as much as I want this, so I'm in it for the long-haul if you guys are." He straightened up and his expression turned deeply serious. "But if you're not one-hundred percent sure that this is-that I am-exactly what you want, then we can pretend that last night was just for fun and move on, because if we do this, and you guys end up losing interest in me, I'm pretty sure I'll be crushed, so, for me, please be sure."
Sebastian pulled in a deep breath and let it out, his body relaxing visibly. "So, I guess my rule is-and I never thought I'd hear these words leave my mouth-this can't just be about sex. If we have sex, whether it's separately or together, it has to mean something."
There had been kisses and reassurances after Sebastian's speech, promises of We'll never get tired of you and Of course it will always mean something that left Sebastian's eyes looking suspiciously bright and warm.
The charged atmosphere fell away as quickly as it had come and soon they found themselves curled up together on the couch, conversationally discussing less emotional issues.
Sebastian looked up from where Blaine's head was pillowed against his leg and turned toward Kurt and asked, "So, what exactly are we?"
"I figure," Kurt answered, his fingers carding idly through Blaine's curls. "the best way to look at it is that you and Blaine are equally my boyfriends, just like Blaine and I are yours."
Sebastian nodded his comprehension and the room was silent for a beat before Blaine spoke. "So, since we're equally boyfriends, what are the rules going to be as far as kissing and sex?" He shifted and propped himself up on an elbow to look toward Kurt. "I mean...Do we have to make sure-say I wanted to kiss you-would I have to ask Seb if it was okay?"
Kurt laughed softly and leaned forward to kiss Blaine on the lips as Sebastian started speaking.
"I think that would get a little tedious after a while, don't you think?" he asked, his voice amused. "Why don't we go with the general rule: Don't be a selfish dick?" Sebastian smiled down toward Blaine and rested his hand on top of Blaine's hair. "If I want to kiss Kurt or touch him, I don't have to ask permission. But the rule would sort of dictate that I don't just lavish attention on Kurt and ignore you completely."
Kurt nodded his agreement and Sebastian continued. "And why the hell would I want to do that anyway?" he asked, leaning down to kiss Blaine on the forehead. "I'm here because I care about, and want to be with, both of you," he said earnestly. "And, of course, it goes back to what you said. If anyone feels left out, they should say something."
The room fell comfortably silent as they thought about Sebastian's words. Finally, after a minute or so, Kurt asked, "So...what do we say that we are?"
"I'd like to say that you're my boyfriends," Sebastian answered, and Blaine nodded fervently.
Sebastian pulled in an incredulous breath, his words coming out on the exhale. "God, we're really doing this, aren't we?"
"We are," Kurt and Blaine answered simultaneously. Sebastian rolled his eyes and muttered something about an old married couple before cracking up himself.
Blaine rolled off of his boyfriends' laps and stood in front of the couch with a hand extended. "Come on, let's go to bed."
As Kurt and Blaine entered their bedroom without a thought, Sebastian paused in the hallway, looking all at once, completely unsure of where he stood. It took less than a minute before Blaine looked around himself for Sebastian before spotting him standing awkwardly in the doorway.
"Jesus, Seb," Blaine laughed, crossing over to pull Sebastian into their bedroom. "Come to bed."
The smile that lit up Sebastian's face had been nothing short of breathtaking and he followed Blaine inside.
Kurt packs the last of Blaine's shirts into the plastic tote he has open on the bed. Their bed, his brain supplies. The thought makes him smile stupidly to himself. It had only taken about two nights on Kurt's mattress before they realized that three people on a double bed was just not going to work.
After a mini bitch fit thrown by Sebastian, they'd ended up trading out their beds at three o'clock in the morning. It had been terribly ironic because after completely dismantling the beds in each room in order to move them through the doorways and getting Sebastian's queen-sized bed set up in their bedroom, they only had about five minutes before the alarm went off so no one got any sleep.
The bed takes up very nearly the entire room, save for less than a foot of space on each side, and one side of it remains perpetually unmade because it's just too much of a pain in the ass to try and make it every morning. Luckily, the door to the closet is a pocket door or else none of them would be able to get to their clothes. As it is, the actual door to the bedroom itself can only open about halfway without hitting the footboard of the bed.
The closet is stuffed to bursting with their clothes, and it's gotten to the point where Sebastian's old room has become a storage room for things that just do not fit in their bedroom anymore. Mornings are disorganized, chaotic, and completely insane with three people trying to move around a room that only has about a foot of space between bed and wall on each side.
Each morning is a constant loop of Where did I put my...? and Jesus, do you have to do that there? I'm trying to get ready! but there's absolutely nothing about it that Kurt would change.
It's cramped and he always ends up taking an elbow to some part of his body every morning, but it's still perfect in a way he doesn't understand. He's always valued his space, but something about sharing this with someone he cares about-the tiny apartment and the ramen noodles every night budget-has always sort of been part of his dream. He'd never expected the someone he was planning to share his dream with to turn into someones, but it had been a seamless, natural change, and now Kurt finds himself unable to imagine things being any different.
Adding Sebastian had just felt like finally clicking in the last puzzle piece and being able to see the full picture. Even after only three weeks, it feels like Sebastian has just always been there, has always just been a part of the natural flow of his life. When Kurt had told Blaine that thought, the smaller boy had laughed and said, "I completely understand what you mean."
Kurt is so lost in his thoughts that he jumps when the front door slams. His surprise is quickly replaced by a fond smile when he hears Blaine's voice calling, "Honey, we're home!", from the kitchen.
"And we brought eggrolls," Sebastian adds with a quick laugh.
Kurt hitches the laundry basket up on his hip and smiles widely, feeling stupidly happy as he shuffles his way toward the door and clicks off the bedroom light on his way out.