How come I always take months to update, thinking that I might as well cancel the story since I never have any inspiration. But then someone sends me a review and I get all giddy and excited and write a chapter in one sitting. I'm annoying. I apologize. But thanks for the reviews. I read every single one and I love them all. Even if you have constructive criticism, I take it!
P.S. I have completely lost track of what month this story take time in right now so please be patient if I take you back or forward a few months. Just play along.
Chapter 12.
It took Kurt another two hours to make both himself and the house ready for the arrival of Sebastian. He was never fussy about how the house looked or how many toys were scattered over the floors whenever Sebastian visited before but this was different. This time they would meet as possibly something more than just close friends. They would possible meet for the first time as possibleā¦. No.
He had put on a pair of charcoal grey slacks that he rarely used because expensive, nice pants like these weren't exactly ideal while dealing with basically toddlers. He once got drool on a jacket from Marc Jacob's S/S 2016 collection and that was the last time he wore anything expensive around the kids.
He was just putting away the vacuum cleaner when he heard the familiar sound of a key turning in the front door again. It was still new but he had begun to reminisce the sound with Sebastian. It was a comforting sound that he was quite fond of. He never thought something as simple as the sound of a metal object turning in a wooden door would bring him so much comfort and joy but it did. It really did.
Kurt closed his eyes and put his hands on his stomach as he breathed in deeply before he exhaled again. In, out. In, out, in out. After a moment he opened his eyes again. The breathing exercise didn't really help and because if it he hadn't noticed that Sebastian had already walked into the house and was now staring at him with a confused (and slightly amused) frown. "Uhm, Kurt? What are you doing?" He asked and masked his chuckle with a small cough.
Kurt exhaled quickly with a small laugh. "Oh, sorry." He said and wrung his hands together nervously. Sebastian kept his eyes trained on Kurt's and nodded slowly. There was a silence that stretched between them for at least thirty seconds before Kurt snapped back to reality with a small shake of his head and blurted out "I cooked!"
"Sorr-" Sebastian began to ask with his head tilted to the side but Kurt cut him off with an annoyed huff. "What I mean is that I cooked for you. And me. Because we need to talk and I was stressed and confused and when I'm stressed out I cook." He shrugged and looked around, not really wanting to meet Sebastian's eyes anymore since he just embarrassed himself.
"Okay"
Despite their awkward start, the following minutes flew by rather smoothly. They sat down at the kitchen table that Kurt had set since he didn't want to over-do it. He had used his everyday china, not the fancy ones that he and Blaine had gotten as a wedding gift. He hadn't put out a vase of flowers or anything extra like that. This was a somewhat special occasion but he didn't want to scare Sebastian away when he finally had come to a conclusion about what he wanted himself.
He put out the plates in front of Sebastian and himself, poured them both a glass of red wine and then they started eating. Sebastian complimented him on his cooking and assured him that he was starving even though Kurt could smell the hot dog he had eaten thirty minutes before he arrived. That was one of Kurt's many talents. He could smell unhealthy food and snacks from miles away.
"So... you said you wanted to talk?" Sebastian began a little hesitantly, taking a sip of his wine to wash down the mushroom risotto.
Kurt swallowed his much smaller bite and nodded. "Yes." He put his fork down and turned to face Sebastian. "You're falling for me." He said is as a statement, not a question. It was a fact, not something they could afford to think about any further. "You're falling for me and I'm falling for you" he said and before Sebastian could even finish turning the sides of his mouth up into a smile Kurt cut him off once again. "But I'm not ready to be in an official relationship."
Sebastian's small smile turned slightly stiff but he nodded still. "Yeah, yeah I understand that. That's... completely fine."
Kurt smiled his first smile of the evening then. "Good. Uhm... So what happens now?" He glanced down and started playing with his fork that was lying on his napkin on the table.
Sebastian swallowed and pursed his lips slightly. "I don't know. I haven't really done this before⦠The whole falling for my best friend's husband and getting him to fall for me back without being ready to be in a relationship. It's a nugget". He shrugged and cracked one of his most charming smiles which made Kurt laugh.
"Yeah, it's a mess" Kurt agreed. "Why don't we just take this one step at a time?" He said and tilted his head to the side. "We'll act like we normally do but with the knowledge that we're into each other. And slowly progress from there?"
Sebastian's smile grew as he nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"Okay" Kurt smiled.
"Okay."
They finished their meal with comfortable conversations and laughs. They didn't kiss or talk about their feelings any further but Sebastian at one point slid his foot over to touch Kurt's under the table. The only reaction he got out of Kurt then was a blush and a small stutter but other than that, completely innocent.
The following weeks practically flew by in a blur of visits to the park and Sebastian stopping by to help with the kitchen or play with the kids. It was the most comfortable and at ease that Kurt had felt in what was coming up to a year. He was slowly starting to feel happy again.
Until one sunny, snowy Saturday in February.
Kurt was inside washing dishes from the lunch they had just finished. Sebastian, Daisy and Michael were playing outside in the backyard with the snow.
"Get it on! Just get it on Michael!" Daisy squealed and clapped her hands because Sebastian was holding Michael up airplane style in front of their new-built snowman. Michael was red in his face from excitement and the cold, holding the head of the snowman tightly in his small hands.
"Just put it there on top little man, I can't hold you forever" Sebastian joked with a laugh and cheered when Michael finally dropped the smaller ball of snow onto the middle part.
Sebastian looked up and grinned at Kurt who was standing by the open window in the kitchen. "We need a nose!" He shouted which made Kurt roll his eyes but laugh. He walked over to the fridge and took out a carrot before throwing it out the window to the kids. "Here, enjoy."
"Thank you Dada!"
Kurt chuckled and shook his head, picking up a glass to dry off as he continued to watch their play in the snow. When the snowman was finished they moved on to a snowball fight. The kids against Sebastian. It was a pretty hilarious sight; Daisy and Michael scrambling to gather snow for their balls and throwing them in a completely off-direction, not hitting Sebastian once. Sebastian just stood there with an unimpressed grin, not even bothering to throw anything back at them.
"Did you teach them to throw a snowball? They can't even hit me" He snorted and looked at Kurt. Just then Daisy had gathered enough snow for an impressively large snowball and threw it square in Sebastian's face.
Kurt smirked and pointed his towel at Sebastian. "Don't mess with them, they know how to fight" he chuckled.
With a growl Sebastian started gathering snow, running towards the kids and dropping it all on them, which made them fall to the ground with squeals and laughs. Kurt rolled his eyes fondly and put his towel down when the house phone rang.
"Hello?" He answered with a small chuckle, keeping one eye on the events outside.
"Hello. Is this Mr. Kurt Hummel-Anderson speaking?" A gruff male voice asked in the other line.
"Yes this is he."
Kurt heard the man clear his throat on the other line before he began to speak again. "Mr Hummel-Anderson, I'm sorry to call you on your weekend like this but I think you want to hear what we have to say this time."
Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Oh?" He asked. Somehow he found the voice on the other line familiar. Like something from a dream or from the past.
"Yes. I am very pleased to tell you that your husband, Mr. Blaine Hummel-Anderson has been found on field and is alive. He is wounded and has been taken care of this last week by our army hospital but he is ready to be shipped back to America again within a few days."
The officer kept talking but Kurt was stood frozen by the window. He couldn't move, he couldn't listen to whatever the man was saying, he could barely breathe. He recognized that voice now. It was the man who had gathered the soldiers together at the airport when Blaine was shipped off. The voice that symbolized his husband's departure was now the voice that he would forever remember as the one who brought him home again.
Sebastian looked up and noticed Kurt's shocked expression. He frowned and stood up, raising his eyebrows in question at Kurt. Kurt just shook his head and looked down into the sink filled with dishwater.
When the final shock had settled Kurt closed his eyes and swallowed.
"Hello? Mr Hummel-Anderson? Are you there?"
"Uhm.. yes. Thank you." He managed to say in a weak voice.
"Okay. Your husband will arrive at the Lima airport on Wednesday at approximately two o'clock. I will see you there. Have a good day."
They hung up and Kurt looked back outside. Daisy and Michael continued their oblivious playing but Sebastian had disappeared. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped slightly before turning around.
"Hey, what's going on?" Sebastian asked with his head tilted to the side in worry and confusion.
That's when Kurt felt the tears coming. He broke out in a bright smile and looked up into Sebastian's eyes.
"He's coming home."
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