Hey. First of all, thank you for the wonderful feedback I received from the last chapter. I'm so relieved that no one hated Blaine, even those of you who aren't his biggest fans and that most of you actually liked him a lot. That will make a few of the future chapters so much easier for me to write now.

So this chapter I've had in my head for a while now and after the events of the Warbler benefit the night before and Kurt's dreams, this seemed like the perfect place to have it. Hopefully it will clear up any questions about Kurt's visions/dreams and the difference between them, though it may leave you with even more.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

"Can I ask you something?" Kurt asks, twirling the wrench he's been using between his fingers as he approaches his dad, biting his lip uncertainly when Burt lifts his head from beneath the hood of the Chevy he's working on, looking at him expectantly.

"Sure Kurt, what is it?" Burt seems to sense that Kurt is troubled by something so settles himself comfortably against the wooden tool bench nearby, grabbing one of the rags to wipe his hands on because, judging by Kurt's fidgety demeanour and paused silence, he's in for one doozy of a conversation. He waits patiently, knowing Kurt will start when he's ready...hopefully today because the garage is swamped with business and one of his mechanics is out with food poisoning.

Kurt licks his lips, wondering how and even if he should be talking to his dad about this but knowing he has to really because he's just so gosh darn confused and his dad is really the only person he can ask.

Last night was confusing enough, what with seeing Sebastian in the crowd and then having that run in with him later but then he'd dreamed about Blaine as they drove home, which was great, certainly proves his theories about his visions but then...

Kurt sighs as he thinks about it, squeezing his eyes closed for a second to block the images that flood his conscience

... then he'd had another dream about Sebastian. They'd been in some kind of heated discussion, okay, they'd been arguing and there'd been another guy there, standing close by, watching them...looking at Kurt in a way that makes him uncomfortable now as he thinks about it. Sebastian had been pissed, like, really really angry about something, his hands flying around, gesturing at the other guy, his eyes blazing. Kurt knows he was replying, not as angry as Sebastian but...confused maybe? And then he'd thrown his hands up and stormed away from the pair of them, the bright, flashing lights around him, making him stumble. Then - and this is the part that has Kurt coming to his dad with the questions - Sebastian had grabbed his arm to stop him falling and had hauled him against a wall, insinuating his knee between Kurt's thighs (much like in the first dream he'd had at Dalton) and kissing him before Kurt could do anything – not that his dream self had seemed to mind - he recalls, remembering the way he'd raised his hands to push Sebastian away but had ended up using them to pull him closer, his fingers tugging at the thick strands of hair.

"Kiddo, I don't wanna rush you or anything but we gotta get something done today. What did you wanna ask me?" Burt asks imploringly, trying not to sound too impatient but failing pretty miserably. Kurt smiles sheepishly back at his dad and makes a decision.

"Did Mom ever talk to you about the dreams?" he asks at last. His dad frowns thoughtfully and nods.

"Your visions? You know she did Kurt." Kurt shakes his head, his cheeks pinking up.

"Not just any visions Dad, I'm talking about the other dreams" he says, grimacing a little. God he hates this. There should be a hand-book or something, anything to stop him having to go to his dad with embarrassing questions. Burt pulls his cap from his head and swipes his forearm across his forehead where beads of sweat have started to form.

"What?...wait? The soul mate ones?" Kurt nods his head, nipping his lip between his teeth. "You've started having those already?" Burt asks, taken aback. Kurt lifts his shoulder in a shrug, looking uncertain.

"I think so? I don't know, that's just the thing, they could just be dreams I suppose but..." he huffs out a sigh, splaying his fingers to massage his temples.

"Are you having them when you're awake too?" Burt asks, referring to the fact that Kurt's visions tend to come in daydream form too.

"I guess...I don't know Dad, they're hard to remember at the moment but I think I had one when I visited Dalton that first time and I definitely saw something in glee and at the coffee shop around Christmas time" he tells him, his mind whirring over the possibilities.

"Wow..., jeez Kurt, your mom told me about them but I never expected you to be so young. I mean, I know your uncle was only fourteen or so but still" his dad says, clearly dumbfounded. "It certainly sounds like they've started though" he adds, still stunned. Kurt nods in agreement. It's not like he didn't know this could happen but it's something he's pushed to the back of his mind, figuring he'd be in New York or doing something equally fabulous when he met his soul mate, not still be stuck here in conservative Ohio.

"How do you know?"

"You've lost me Kid." Kurt takes a moment to reword his question, swallowing down the nervous squirming in his stomach at his thoughts.

"How will I know that the one I'm dreaming about is my soulmate?" he asks quietly, continuing to gnaw on his already swollen lip.

"I'm not getting you son" Burt replies puzzled. Then it's like a light bulb goes off in his mind and his eyes are widening as he looks at Kurt. "Wait, are you telling me there's someone else beside this Blaine kid?" his dad asks. He'd heard of Blaine of course but after meeting him last night, Burt doesn't feel too freaked out at the thought of that kid being his son's first boyfriend. He seemed nice enough, smiled a lot, obviously cared about Kurt, what wasn't to like but now Kurt's talking about some other guy and the possibility of one of them being his soul-mate? Yeesh, the mind boggles.

"Sebastian" Kurt replies after hesitating a moment.

"The kid you were talking about last night?" Burt asks surprised.

"Yes."

"And you think you've had dreams about him...visions?"

"I think so...I don't know Dad. Most of the time I can only really remember what happens not who it is but recently I've had a couple of dreams where he's...clearer" he looks at his dad for answers, shrugging when he gets none. "But I figure they could just be dreams right? I mean, I do have dreams that aren't premonitions, unless I am actually going to sing at The Royal Wedding next month and Finn and Carole are really aliens" he flushes, his gaze darting away from his dad's at the sudden flashes of images that flit through his mind. He sighs and takes a breath, stroking the back of his neck to give himself comfort, then dropping his hand like he's been burned when he recalls Sebastian doing the exact same thing last night.

"So you think the dreams could be about this other kid and not Blaine?" And there's the million dollar question that Kurt hasn't really dared to answer.

"No...I mean, I'm sure they're about Blaine, I had another dream last night and it was definitely Blaine but...it's possible?" he replies and he can hear it, he can hear his own scepticism in his tone because the truth is, last nights dream, where he was kissing Blaine's neck, is the only one he can really say he saw Blaine. He knows there were others, the one where Finn heard him call Blaine's name for one but no matter how hard he tries, he can't recall them...not with Blaine. His dad shrugs and picks up the rag, wiping at his hands again, a sure sign that he's uncomfortable.

"Well as far as I know, you only have visions of you soulmate in that one sense your mother told you about." Kurt laughs.

"The hand holding?" he teases. His dad rolls his eyes and for maybe the first time in his life, he sees his father really flustered.

"Yes the hand holding", his dad agrees, using the same euphemism for sex that Kurt does, "those are the only visions your mother spoke of when it came to you having them about your soul-mate but I guess that's not to say you can't have those sorts of dreams about other guys too or that your soul-mate can't be present in your other dreams too." Burt looks confused and like he has gastric pain then as he throws his rag down and looks back at Kurt. "Yeesh, you're killing me here Buddy." Still, Kurt needs answers and he's not really getting them.

"So what you're saying is, I could just be dreaming about either or both of them and neither of them might be my soul-mate?"

"I dunno what to tell you Kurt" his dad says with a wave of his hand, "you know the same that I do. You'll start having visions of that nature just before you meet your soul-mate and you'll continue having them until you...procreate" Kurt bursts out laughing and his dad frowns. "Dammit Kurt, this isn't easy."

"I know, I'm sorry dad."

"You're forgetting something though" his dad points out. Kurt raises an eyebrow. "They might only be dreams when you're sleeping. If they're happening when you're awake..." his dad's words peter off unspoken but really, Kurt doesn't need to hear them to know what he would've said. If they're happening when you're awake then they must be of your soul-mate.

"Okay then, I need to get this Chevy serviced before Mr Patterson comes back." Kurt nods, anxiously wringing his hands in front of himself. Burt sighs and settles himself back against the work bench. "Okay, what're you not telling me?"

"He hates me" Kurt says quietly.

"That's not possible" Burt says with a shake of his head. Kurt laughs lightly but there's no humour there.

"No he does." Burt doesn't even need to ask Kurt which of the boy's he's talking about.

"Is this because of the comments you made because I thought you said he seemed okay with you after that?"

"I did...he was" Kurt assures him, "we...we met at Christmas when he just invited himself to join me and Blaine when we were having coffee and it's just obvious he can't stand me." Kurt decides it's not necessary to tell his dad that he thought Sebastian was really cute before he even knew him as Sebastian, or that the other boy seemed to end the night flirting with him because he hadn't been, flirting, he'd just been trying to make Kurt feel uncomfortable.

"And what about you Kurt?"

"What about me?"

"Well you said this guy hates you...how do you feel, do you hate him?" his dad asks logically. Kurt's heart starts to build up it's rhythm when he asks himself that question. Does he? He fumbles the wrench he's started unconsciously twirling again. He picks it up, clenching it in his fist.

"Urgh I don't...I don't hate him, he just...he frustrates me " he says vehemently.

"And why is that?"

"I don't know" says quietly.

"Yeah you do...is it 'cos he doesn't take any of your crap?" Kurt does a double take, looking at his dad in surprise. Burt just shrugs, giving him a half smile in return. "Hey, I love you Kurt but you can be difficult with people sometimes. You don't open up easy, you don't let them close and you can be kinda hard to get on with...hey, hey, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, you find it difficult letting people in and stupid people bug you, I get that but sometimes this...haughty exterior you put out, it frightens people away" he explains patiently. "Somethin' tells me this guy isn't even fazed by that." Damn, he forgets sometimes that his dad knows him better than anyone.

"That's because he's an arrogant a..." his dad holds his hands up, effectively stopping him.

"Ah ah ah, no name calling but I'm right though, right?" his dad says, grinning smugly.

"I suppose so", Kurt replies begrudgingly.

"Bet you aren't bitchy with Blaine" Burt teases. Kurt rolls his eyes.

"No...but he's not awful to me either."

"Dad?" Burt steps out from behind the oil change bucket, sighing beneath his breath when he sees Kurt approaching him, a tentative smile on his face and a mug in each hand.

"Yeah Kurt?...hold on, did you get the exhaust on the Volvo sorted?"

"Uh huh, I've added one to the order book so you can get another in stock." Burt nods proudly, taking the drink from Kurt, trying not to grimace at the smell of the herbal tea or feel too jealous when Kurt takes a sip of his own coffee. He takes a sip, his eyes trained on Kurt as he waits for him to say whatever the heck it is he's thinking about now.

"Do you think it's possible to like two guys?" Burt looks surprised. Huh, so his kid's just spent the last three hours thinking and now he's come up with that. He waits. He's been a dad long enough to know that when Kurt's ready to talk, he will and not a moment sooner. Thankfully it doesn't take him as long to get started this time.

"I like Blaine, he's really great, we've got a lot in common and he's ..."

"Safe" Burt joins in. He knows that tone, so he knows Kurt is skirting around the issue.

"Well yes but..."

"What about this other guy? I assume you're talking about Sebastian?" Kurt nods, blushing, hesitating a moment as he thinks of words to describe Sebastian. Annoying...witty, smug...handsome, irritating...sexy! Okay enough. So he can think of lots of words to describe Sebastian but how to compare him with Blaine.

"He's not...safe I mean. He's not dangerous or anything" Kurt hastens to add when he sees his dad start to glower, "he's just..." Kurt hesitates, trying to think of the right way to explain Sebastian.

"It's not predictable?"

"Yes, thank you!" Kurt breathes a huge sigh of relief. "I don't know how to explain it well. He makes me feel...one minute he makes me feel so good about myself, like I can achieve anything, I can do anything I set my mind to?" Kurt says, remembering the way he'd felt the previous night, spotting Sebastian from the stage, the adrenaline rush and the pride that'd gone through him when he saw the other boy cheering and how well he'd sung following that.

"Well you can Kurt."

"I know but then the next minute I just...I want to..." Burt sees Kurt's fist clench.

"You wanna hit him?"

"Yes...no...I don't know..." he drags his fingers through his hair in frustration, not even caring when the strands clump together in soft peaks. Then he drops his hand to his side, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I think I just want to kiss him so hard that it shuts him up, does that make sense?" he asks inquisitively.

"It makes perfect sense Kurt. This kid, this...Sebastian, he makes you feel things?" Kurt laughs derisively because that, what his dad just said, it's kind of the understatement of the century.

"Yes but he's so horrid sometimes and it brings out the worst in me" Kurt whines, wrapping his hands around his mug of coffee and taking a sip, more for comfort than anything.

"I bet he brings out the best in you too though...am I right?" Kurt shrugs and sighs. Does he? Well Kurt's always thought of himself as independent with a sharp mind, Sebastian certainly brings out those aspects of his personality, not to mention the more ardent side to his character, that's for sure. In the months leading up to his transfer to Dalton, when the bullying had been at it's peak, Kurt had felt like a shadow of his former self but when they'd bumped into Sebastian at the Lima Bean and again last night, he'd felt that spark again, like he was coming back a live, like the Kurt Hummel he knew was in there was reaching and tearing at his skin to claw his way back to the surface and that's what he's thinking about when he finally responds to his dad.

"Yes." .

"Huh." Kurt looks up surprised when he sees his dad crossing his arms.

"What?" Kurt frowns as a slow, thoughtful smile start to break out across Burt's face.

"You know Kurt, your Mom always made it sound like this soul-mate thing was more..." he gestures for a second as he tries to capture the right adjective.

"More...?"

"Passion" Burt says after a moment or two. "She made it sound like they were unions you couldn't really control."

"Oh." Burt watches, feeling a little sympathy for his son when he sees him worrying at his lip, his hands twisting around each other in front of him. "But I like romance" Kurt explains quietly. It's all he's ever known. He's seen plays and movies, he loves the classics, Jane Austin and Dickens, where the touch of a fingertips is as intimate as it gets.

"Hey, there's nothin' wrong with romance Kurt, it's great, worked for me more than once when I was courtin' your mom and again with Carole but a relationship needs more than romance to make it work, you know" he looks pointedly at Kurt and smiles knowingly as he reels off a list: trust, honesty, commitment, laughter, fidelity and on and on, giving Kurt pause for thought. Eventually he's done.

"I know you like your romance Kurt but the truth is, a relationship has to have fire in to make it a truly epic romance."

Burt turns away from Kurt then, giving him a moment to think about what he's said. He drinks the rest of the tea and then goes back to the car, checking the sparks and then the radiator for fluid before Kurt speaks again.

"So how will I know?" Somehow Burt knew this question was coming but even though he knew, he still wasn't really prepared.

"Well I'm not going to suggest you sleep with them both if that's what you're asking" he says without turning. Kurt blushes furiously, the thought never having even crossed his mind. Then Burt lifts his head from beneath the hood and looks over his shoulder at Kurt, smiling apologetically.

"Honest answer, I don't know Kurt but..."

"But?"

"But I think you know. I think you know in your gut but it's not the easy answer" he finishes succinctly. So Sebastian then? Kurt doesn't need to word his thoughts to his dad to know what he meant because the truth is, Kurt knows that liking Blaine, letting himself fall for Blaine would be easy and it would be safe. What was the harm in that though?.

"Okay, I'm gonna tell you something because I think you need to hear it. You know, when your mum and I first met, she hated me...well not me but things about me" he sees the denial on Kurt's face and laughs, "no she did, in her own way, she told me so. She couldn't stand the way I dressed or the way I spoke, she hated that I worked with cars and the things I ate and talked about. It seemed like everything about me wound her up. Then one day, I bit the bullet and I asked her out anyway and, I tell ya kid, I was shocked she said yes. And then we went on a second date and a third, until we were going steady. So I asked her one day. I said to her, 'Lizzie, if you hate all these things about me, why are we still dating'...you know what she said?" Kurt shakes his head, smiling fondly at his dad as he watches him reminisce, "she said that even with all those things she hated about me, she still loved me more than anyone else she'd ever met" he states proudly, his chest puffing up like a peacock.

"Huh."

"There's a fine line between love and hate Kurt" his dad says.

"You just have to cross it?" Kurt replies tentatively.

"Exactly...we done here? 'Cos this baby needs finishing before old Mrs Tanner comes back from the hair salon."

"I guess so" Kurt says, reluctantly, picking up his dads mug from the bench.

"Okay then...you gonna be okay?" his dad asks once more.

"I think so" Kurt answers, giving a nod of affirmation.

"Good and don't sweat it, enjoy the parties and the attention, have fun, being a teenager isn't supposed to suck all the time you know" Burt says, ducking his head back beneath the hood. "Now pass me those cables will ya, I need to check this battery." Kurt does. He hands the leads over to his dad, then goes back to finish the job on the car he's been working on, cranking up the radio a couple more notches so he doesn't have to listen to his own, confused thoughts.

Thank you for reading, as always, comments/reviews/questions are wonderful and welcome and such a motivation when writing.

Kurtbastian interaction is back with a vengeance in the next and upcoming chapters.

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