A/N: Warning for stressful situations.

Sebastian looked over the storage agreement, reading every last word, all the fine print, before grabbing a pen to sign his name.

Across the counter, a young woman gazed at him with carnal interest. A flirty tongue licked blood red lips. A pair of artificial blue eyes beneath long, dark lashes watched him carefully, focusing particularly on Sebastian's mouth as it worked silently around the words of the contract.

"I hope you find everything to your liking," Silvia, the service girl at North Shore Storage purred, leaning far over the counter to address Sebastian as he signed the paperwork to release his car.

Sebastian smirked, rolling his eyes.

'Just like Madeline all over again,' he thought. At least Madeline had turned out to be cool, with the added benefit of bringing Justice into his life. For a moment, Sebastian entertained a slightly troubled thought, wondering what his friends were up to. He could more than understand if Madeline had another client to pick up. As much as she seemed exclusively available for Kurt, Sebastian knew she must get sent on other runs. Still, the fact that neither she nor Justice had returned his texts or calls troubled him.

Sebastian rationally tried to attribute his overactive nerves to just residual anxiety over this stalker situation.

Sebastian forced himself to take a deep breath, giving himself permission to relax and calm down for the first time in months.

"Sir?" a smooth, alto voice interrupted his thoughts.

Sebastian realized he had let his mind wander in the midst of Silvia's shameless flirting.

"Is everything…"

"She looked gorgeous," Sebastian quickly purred back, not wanting to get into a conversation with this woman that delved any deeper than 'Can I leave with my car now?' He pushed the paperwork and the pen across the counter. Silvia picked the pages up with delicate, carefully manicured fingers. "I can't wait to slip inside her and get her motor going."

Silvia sucked in a sharp, surprised breath; her eyes snapping up to meet Sebastian's. He winked not too subtly, spinning his key ring on his index finger, letting the keys fall into his palm and closing his fingers around them.

"So," she continued, dropping the papers into a wire basket sitting beside her on the counter, "will you be picking up anyone special?"

"Oh, yeah," Sebastian cooed. "Actually, I'm picking up the love of my life and heading off into the sunset, as it were."

"Really?" Silvia's face fell, her voice suddenly flat. "Lucky girlfriend."

"Not girlfriend," Sebastian corrected.

"Wife?" Silvia ventured in the same tight tone of voice.

Sebastian shook his head.

"Not my team," he clarified.

Silvia's eyes widened, sparkling with a glimmer of hope. Sebastian chuckled and rolled his eyes.

'Women,' he thought, turning and walking back in the direction of the storage locker that held his car. 'They sure do love their gays.'

Sebastian watched as two mechanics in gunmetal grey overalls pushed his beautiful Porsche Cayman out of the metal box that housed it. Sebastian couldn't help whistling low at this sight of it. With the exception of his gorgeous boyfriend, Sebastian had never laid eyes on anything quite so sexy in his life.

God, he loved his car.

He circled the vehicle one more time, making sure that nothing unexpected happened between the time when he arrived and first inspected the car to now. Satisfied that his baby was fine, he unlocked the driver's side door and slipped inside. Sitting in the red leather seats gave Sebastian an immediate hard-on. He sighed, settling back further into the seat, running his fingertips over the steering wheel.

"Oh, God," he breathed, imagining speeding down the highway with Kurt by his side, wind whipping through his chestnut-brown hair, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut as Sebastian ran his hand up Kurt's leg to his crotch, palming over Kurt's cock through his jeans, listening to his tiny gasps and squeals of pleasure over the murmur of the engine...

Yup. They needed to find a way of having sex in this car.

"Chandler," Kurt repeated, his brain trying to make sense of the person standing in front of him, because this man wasn't Chandler, not the way Kurt remembered him. The young, fresh faced intern, who followed Kurt around like a puppy dog, making moon eyes in his direction all of the time, fetching his coffee without being asked, talking non-stop about fashion and musical theater, had turned into a strange, twisted specter. Chandler's gaunt body showed every thin bone, every knobby joint. His pale skin stretched too tightly over a sallow face and sunken eyes, giving him an anorexic appearance; split, almost grey lips barely hid bleeding gums.

Chandler's eyes frightened Kurt most. Dull, cyan irises circled black, blown pupils, without a hint of sanity at all in their abysmal depths. Eyes locked on Chandler, unable to look away, Kurt's entire body froze.

He barely looked human anymore.

"Kurt, Kurt, Kurt," Chandler tutted, shaking his head and smiling superiorly, "I am very disappointed in you." Chandler took a step forward and Kurt instinctively took a step back, crowding against his desk in an effort to stay as far from the other man as he could. Chandler crossed one thin arm over his chest, resting the elbow of his other arm on it, cradling the gun awkwardly against his cheek. "Do you know just how long I've been looking for you? I have been absolutely everywhere. Even your dad didn't know where you were. Do you know how worried you've made that sweet man? He looked just awful when I saw him."

A tremor of fear shook Kurt's body uncontrollably at the mention of his father. Chandler had traveled to Lima to visit his dad. For three years, Kurt hadn't seen his dad, afraid that Dave might hurt him, use him to punish Kurt for running away. He had suffered needlessly without his dad in his life. He despaired quietly for all that time gone, wasted, irretrievable.

Dave had died so long ago.

Chandler was the new evil.

Chandler paused to let the gravity of his words settle on Kurt. Kurt took a deep breath, forcing his racing heart to slow down, trying hard not to give over to panic and fear, hoping to stall whatever Chandler had planned until Sebastian came back. Kurt didn't exactly know what Sebastian would do against an obviously unhinged Chandler carrying a gun.

Kurt looked Chandler over from head to toe, taking in this new image of the man he used to know. Kurt's brow knit together at Chandler's choice of apparel – a poorly fitted but tailored suit in rich brocade over a silky, silver shirt. The outfit struck a chord, triggered a distant but intense memory, more a feeling than an actual recollection.

"What are you wearing?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Don't you just love it?" Chandler looked down at himself, face glowing. He spread his arms out wide so Kurt could get a better view. "Of course, you do. It's one of yours."

Recognition started seeping slowly into Kurt's mind, bringing up images of his younger self dressed in that same suit, head held high as he walked the halls of Vogue. It was one of his favorite original designs – the fit perfect, the fabric choice inspired. It was a vivid part of his past that he kept locked away in his tomb of ghosts; in the wooden, free-standing, vintage closet where he had meticulously hung and stored all of his old, carefully crafted clothes. Chandler carried the stench of stale air that still clung to it.

Kurt knew now for sure that Chandler had spent the night in his house, and that he had somehow managed to hide away while Sebastian conducted his search. Kurt felt the sting of bile rising in this throat. He swallowed hard, not wanting to be sick when what he really needed was to stay calm.

Kurt tried to focus hard on Chandler's eyes to keep him locked into the now and the dangerous situation he was currently in, but something else bothered him, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Chandler seemed unnaturally thin, as if he hadn't eaten a decent meal in weeks. His eyes looked dull, the whites yellowed and jaundiced. Apart from all of that, there were slight changes to his appearance, tiny tweaks. Chandler didn't just look sickly, he looked fabricated.

Kurt's gaze traveled from Chandler's unblinking eyes up to his hair, a deeper shade than Kurt remembered it.

That's when the tumblers clicked into place. He almost couldn't help himself from doubling over and being sick.

"Chandler?" Kurt's efforts to keep his voice strong and steady started to fail, slipping beyond his ability to control. Kurt really didn't want to ask, but something deep within compelled him. He bit his lip hard. "Did you…maybe…have some work done?" Kurt's hand moved on its own, gesturing around his face, his cheeks, over his hair.

Chandler smiled, ducking his head bashfully.

"I was afraid you wouldn't notice," he murmured, shifting on his feet like an embarrassed child given too much praise. "Yeah, I had my cheeks lifted, my nose done, and my chin shaved. Then, of course, there's the hair…."

Kurt took another look at Chandler's upswept hair. The shade used to be a mousy, dirty blonde. It was now a chestnut color.

Much like his own.

Kurt gasped, taking it all in – his cheeks, his chin, his hair, the clothes…

"You're trying to look like me."

Chandler rolled his eyes, as if Kurt had finally stumbled upon the conclusion that Chandler had been waiting patiently for.

"Guilty!" he chirped, spinning around so that Kurt could get the full effect. When Kurt's eyes met Chandler's again, Kurt cursed to himself quietly, feeling he had missed an opportunity in the small timeframe when Chandler's back was turned.

"I want us to be a matching set. I want people to see us together and think, 'You see those two? They really belong together'."

Kurt's eyes moved from Chandler's face to the gun in his hand, which he waved nonchalantly in the air with his flamboyant gestures. Chandler caught the shift in Kurt's expression and followed the movement of his eyes.

"Oh…this. I'm sorry about the gun." Chandler looked at the weapon with a sincere expression of regret on his face as he turned his attention momentarily toward it. "I know how you feel about them after…you know."

Kurt swallowed.

"But, you know, it isn't me you should be angry at. It's him," Chandler growled, his tone shifting so quickly that Kurt jumped.

"Him, who?"

"That buffoon you call a boyfriend." Chandler's voice dropped to a whisper. "He had it, Kurt. Hid it right under your bed. He was going to use it to control you, Kurt. Just like Dave did."

"Chandler…" Kurt started slowly, hoping to make the man see reason. "He probably got it to protect me."

"Protect you!?" Chandler's voice soared to a screech. "I'm here to protect you. He…he just wants to make you do things! Sick things…the sick kinds of things that Dave made you do!" Chandler pressed in on Kurt, eyes wide, his face more twisted and grotesque the closer he got. "I'm the only one who loves you, Kurt! I would never try to control you!"

Chandler's hand shook, the gun rattling in his grip.

"What do you think you're doing right now!?" Kurt cried. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea to let his emotions get the best of him while Chandler had a gun pointed at his chest, flailing it willy-nilly while he spoke, but he couldn't help himself.

"This," Chandler said, gesturing with the gun, "is a necessary evil. I didn't know how I was going to make you listen to me, but when I saw this…" Chandler looked at the gun almost lovingly, "I knew this was the only way. I figured you wouldn't talk to me otherwise. And we need to talk, Kurt. We need to have a long, hard talk about the future."

Kurt's breath hitched in his throat.

"Wh-what about the future?"

Kurt forced a smile, trying to sound casual and breezy. He wanted to keep Chandler talking while he tried to think of a plan to get away. Chandler had Kurt effectively trapped against his desk. Kurt would have to physically tackle Chandler to get away.

In Kurt's frazzled mind, he called out to Sebastian, tried to reach him with his thoughts, as ridiculous as it seemed. Kurt believed deep in his heart that everything would be fine as soon as Sebastian arrived. Sebastian would get Kurt away from Chandler somehow. Sebastian would find a way.

Chandler rolled his eyes and giggled, acting as if Kurt was being intentionally funny.

"Our future, silly." Chandler's voice rose an octave, taking on a sing-song quality. "You and me, getting away from here and making a life together…after we get married."

Kurt's jaw dropped, the color draining from his cheeks. Chandler seemed not to notice. He motioned to Kurt with the barrel of the gun.

"Let's not spend all day standing up here," Chandler said. "Let's go downstairs, have a cup of coffee, relax on the couch, get caught up…and wait for your boyfriend to come back."

Sebastian sped down the highway, trying to enjoy driving his car after all this time, but he couldn't lose himself in the purr of the engine and the scintillating smell of the leather seats the way he used to. He felt overwhelmingly uneasy and he hated it. He shouldn't have to question their new found peace. Sebastian didn't even stop to deposit his check. He could do that later…or tomorrow when they touched down in France. His mind wouldn't rest until he had Kurt in the seat beside him and they were on their way to the airport.

Sebastian pulled up in front of Kurt's house and killed the engine. He sat for a moment and stared at the house. Last night it had seemed ominous, haunted. Now, looking at the canary yellow house with its drawn curtains and locked front door, something about it seemed too still, almost dead. Sebastian looked up at the windows, expecting to see Kurt bustling about, gathering his things, or maybe looking down to the street, waiting for Sebastian to return. Sebastian waited, hoping Kurt would peek out the window and wave. The more time that dripped by with no sign of Kurt, the more alarmed Sebastian became.

Sebastian tried focusing on the positives to shove down his dread – his and Kurt's bright future with no hitches and no obstacles standing in their way.

Sebastian hopped out of the driver's seat, rounding the car and stepping onto the sidewalk.

Still no Kurt - not at the door, not at the window, nowhere that Sebastian could see.

Sebastian's heart fluttered anxiously in his chest, but he tried to stay upbeat, skipping down the walk to the front door.

So close, he thought, reaching for the doorknob. They were both so close.

The gentle lilt of chimes mocked Kurt as they played, their carefree music echoing throughout the house.

Kurt's eyes immediately snapped to meet Chandler's gaze, which had gone from something close to fond affection, morphing into a glare, frighteningly hard and murderous, trained at the front door.

"Gorgeous ? Get your beautiful ass out here so we can go!"

Something in Sebastian's voice, muffled through the door, sounded apprehensive. Kurt fought to keep his expression neutral, but inside his brain, wheels were still turning, still trying to concoct an escape. Now a brand new factor had come into play.

Sebastian sounded scared.

He knew something was wrong.

Kurt didn't know how Sebastian knew, but he didn't question it. Maybe Kurt could find a way to use that to his advantage.

On Chandler's face a wicked smile grew. He stood, gun still trained on Kurt as he walked toward the door.

Kurt panicked. He ran through his options, each one worse than the one before it. If he yelled out to Sebastian, Chandler would kill him. Though Kurt couldn't be certain that Chandler wouldn't just shoot Sebastian the minute he opened the door. There was no way out, nowhere Kurt could run. Could he cause a distraction and yell at Sebastian to run away? Sebastian probably wouldn't leave him, knowing he was in danger.

Logic and reason dissolved into a silent chant of "shitshitshitshitshit!" with Sebastian's life hanging in the balance. Holding out for hope and finding none, he leapt off the sofa and blocked Chandler's way, the gun settling inches from his throat. Chandler's smile turned to a scowl. Kurt held his breath and waited, sure Chandler would shoot him right then and there, regardless of his intentions. When he didn't, Kurt gave himself permission to breathe again.

"Don't kill him, Chandler," Kurt pleaded, whispering harshly so Sebastian wouldn't overhear. "Please…please don't."

"Oh, Kurt," Chandler cooed, his tone condescending, "I'm doing this for you…for us…so we can be together."

"B-but, you don't have to," Kurt begged, tears in his eyes. "I'll get rid of him."

Chandler sneered, not even pretending to think it over.

"Honestly, I'd rather just shoot him."

Chandler tried to push Kurt behind him.

Kurt's knees went weak.

"B-but if you shoot him, the neighbors will hear."

Chandler stopped, shifting his eyes to the ceiling while he thought. Kurt thought Chandler might actually reconsider.

He shrugged.

"Your neighbors don't ever seem too responsive. I mean, it took me close to an hour to completely destroy your garden, and no one did a thing."

Kurt's heart sank. Chandler was right about his neighbors. Everyone pretty much kept to themselves. But had anyone seen, just one call to the police could have ended this.

"B-but do you want to take that chance?"

Chandler stopped again.

"Please," Kurt begged, "you want me, you have me, okay? I'll go with you willingly. I'll do anything you want." Kurt's mouth went dry as he spoke, imagining what 'anything' might entail. "But, if you hurt him, I'll never give myself to you." Kurt's lip quivered in the face of the growing heat in Chandler's eyes. "You'll have to fight me every day. A-and maybe you'll get mad enough to hurt me, but I won't care." Kurt forced his steely gaze to lock with Chandler's eyes. "I will make your life fucking miserable."

Chandler's lip curled, but Kurt held hard to his gaze, refusing to back down.

"Kurt?"

Sebastian's voice sounded weak, but knowing he was there anchored Kurt and gave him strength. He wanted to believe that nothing was impossible if the two of them were together. They could get out of this. He just needed to figure out a way to make this work.

"Do it," Chandler said, his voice transforming to a dangerous snarl. "But watch yourself, Kurt." Chandler leaned in, his lips just a breath away from Kurt's. "I want you Kurt. You're already mine…and Sebastian…means nothing to me."

Kurt bit his tongue to keep from crying out, turning his back to Chandler, his body a live wire, tense and coiled with the idea of being blind to Chandler. The man walked close behind him, gun pressed against his back. Kurt had five steps from the end of Chandler's gun to the front door to come up with a plan. His eyes darted around the room, over the furniture, Sebastian's book on the floor, along the walls, and then he saw it. As he passed by, he plucked the frame from its spot on the wall. Chandler grabbed Kurt's shoulder, digging his fingers in with a stronger grip than Kurt would have imagined, but he didn't let the pain show on his face. He showed the framed piece to Chandler who looked it over, then rolled his eyes, gesturing Kurt to continue walking toward the door.

Kurt put his hand on the knob, resting his fingertips over the smooth metal, warring with actually opening the door or doing something a bit more suicidal, like yelling for Sebastian to run. Kurt took a deep breath and pulled open the door, just a bit so that Sebastian wouldn't see Chandler standing behind him.

He didn't want to give Chandler a clear shot.

"Hey, gorgeous!" Sebastian said, sounding so euphoric and relieved that it broke Kurt's heart. "I got the car…" Sebastian moved aside to show Kurt the pristine Porsche parked at the curb. "So, let's get a move on."

Kurt sighed.

"I'm not going with you," Kurt said quietly.

Sebastian blinked a few times, not immediately registering what Kurt said.

"What?"

Sebastian reached out for Kurt, but Kurt backed away, nudging the gun into his spine.

Sebastian's smile fell.

"Kurt…gorgeous…what…"

"I can't do this anymore," Kurt said swiftly, catching Sebastian off-guard. "I thought it over… while you were picking up your car, and I just…I just can't…"

"Kurt…" Sebastian tried to sound soothing and calm while internally his soul shattered.

A sudden idea struck Kurt, and as much as it broke his heart, he continued.

"Here, Bastian…" Kurt sniffled, handing the picture frame over to Sebastian. Sebastian furrowed his brow, confused at Kurt's use of Justice's nickname for him. "I think it would be best if we just cut all ties." Kurt made a slicing motion across his neck for emphasis. Sebastian winced at the violent gesture.

"But, I..." Sebastian tried to think of anything he could say that would change Kurt's mind.

Kurt put a hand up to stop him.

"Bastian," Kurt repeated again, tears pouring down his cheeks, "I want you to listen to me carefully because I'm only going to say this once..." The tone of Kurt's voice was resolved, but his eyes told another story.

Sebastian listened closely to the story of Kurt's eyes.

"There was only one man for me," Kurt said slowly, "and you are not him."

Sebastian nodded, numb as the words struck him, piercing him deep.

"Now..." Kurt pulled himself together, his ice queen persona from so long ago fixing itself firmly back into place. "Go call one of your other hook-ups to help you get over this. But you need to leave...now..."

Kurt slammed the door in Sebastian's face.

Sebastian felt himself break, fall apart from the inside out. He turned away from the door, clutching the picture frame as he walked slowly away, each step like a trudge through quicksand. He wished it was, then it could pull him under and all of this would just spiral away - the last few months and being so in love.

What went wrong? How did it all vanish so quickly?

Sebastian felt lost. What had just happened? Only a few hours ago, they were planning out their whole life together. Now, Kurt had dismissed him, in a painful and surreal way.

Sebastian replayed the words that Kurt had flung at him over and over in his head.

They hurt. If he thought about them for too long, they would probably kill him.

But something about them didn't make any sense.

Bastian. Kurt had never called him by a nickname before. He even made a point of calling him Sebastian. Coming from Kurt's lips, it sounded so wrong.

That was just it. Something was wrong. He had felt it when he first arrived, when he walked up the concrete path and Kurt hadn't been there to greet him, hadn't even looked out the window.

Kurt was a smart man – maybe the smartest Sebastian had ever met. Could Kurt be trying to send him a message? And if Kurt was trying to send him a message, what was it? How would he know?

Sebastian thought through every conversation he and Kurt had ever had, all the things they talked about, all the times they spent together. He thought about the nights he spent sitting at Kurt's feet in his office while Kurt edited his manuscript, talking with Sebastian from time to time about different aspects of his job, what he looks for in a submission, what makes a mystery a good read.

Kurt had said he loved the stories where the author hid clues in plain sight.

'Clues hiding in plain sight.'

Sebastian thought of the rest. Kurt's strange emphasis on certain words. That odd slicing movement he made when he said they should 'cut all ties'. The fear in Kurt's eyes. The way he stopped short when he tried to back away.

Sebastian climbed in his Porsche, giving all appearances of getting ready to leave in order to give himself time to figure things out.

He isolated the over emphasized words in his mind, trying to see them in his head.

One man...go call...help...now…

Sebastian looked at the forgotten frame in his hands, eyes fixing on the words he knew by heart, words he had memorized and recited to Kurt during the few nights when the nightmares cropped up unexpectedly.

The Song of Ruth.

Kurt's prayer to his mother…his call for help.

Sebastian felt a sensation like cold needles prickle beneath his skin. He turned slowly to look back at the house.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Sebastian fumbled to get it. A number he didn't recognize flashed on the screen. He debated letting it go to voicemail, but a feeling he couldn't ignore told him he should answer it.

"Bastian!" Justice's deep voice sounded. "What the hell is going on, man?"

"I…I don't know what…"

"Me and Maddy got a call this morning to come pick you guys up at a business park all the way on the north side of town," he explained. "We get there, but there's nobody…and I mean, nobody, you know?"

Sebastian's eyes fixed on the house while he listened to Justice speak, hoping for a sign, what to do, how to help Kurt.

"We get out of the car and go in the first building we see to check the address, and when we get out, the tires are slashed and someone took Madeline's phone from the front seat."

Sebastian's eyes burned with rage. They were set up. They were all set up. And now the bastard, whoever the fuck he was, had Kurt.

Son of a bitch!

"Sebastian…" Justice's voice sounded soft and anxious. "Sebastian, what's wrong?"

Sebastian's voice was dark and quiet as he confirmed his own fears, saying them out loud, convincing himself beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were real.

"There's a man in Kurt's house...and he's going to kill Kurt."