The kids had a fabulous time roasting their hotdogs in the fire pit and no one even minded that they had somehow left the hot dog buns in Lima. Kurt and Sam had chopped a lot of raw vegetables and made dip, which everyone gladly ate. Sarah tried roasting some of her vegetables after she saw Kurt do it.
Mary and Kurt had fried up the morels and they all split them. They were a big hit. Everyone loved them, but no one was willing to admit that they were worth $25 a pound. Afterwards, they roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Once they had all finished, they cleaned everything up and put the fire out.
They grabbed hoodies and packed into the two vehicles and headed to the drive-in to watch Toy Story 2. The weekend before, they had shown the original Toy Story and the following weekend would be Toy Story 3. It was a fun, vintage place that only charged $5 per carload to get in. So, all 9 of them got in for $10, which Kurt paid, claiming that it had been his idea.
All three kids had seen the movie before, but loved the whole idea of watching a movie outside on the huge screen. Going to movie theaters was something the three of them had never done. They had a good time playing on the playground below the screen before the movie started. Once the intro started, Mary and Dwight brought them back to the truck. Everyone, except Kurt and Sebastian, climbed into the bed of the truck.
They put the rear seats back down flat and sat in the cargo area with the back closed. Sebastian hadn't seen the Toy Story movies yet, and Kurt didn't want to spoil it by him seeing the second first, so Kurt hung the speaker on the back window with the volume down very low, so they could still barely hear the movie. No one could see in because the back windows and cargo area had tinted windows. They figured that one run-in with prejudiced locals was enough for their trip, so they opted to stay out of sight during the movie. It also gave them the privacy to hold hands, talk, and kiss.
"When I called my dad before we ate, he told me that the inspector's report came today. The house passed. Whoever the last owner was bought the house and flipped it. He upgraded all of the electric, installed a new HVAC, redid the floors, sealed the concrete in the basement, put in the new appliances, and updated the bathroom. So, we're set to go."
Sebastian didn't say anything.
"Bas?"
"So, we're getting a house? The two of us?"
"Yes. We're getting a house."
"I know we went looking, and I know that the whole point was to find a place for us to live, but it still seemed so far down the road – like a long time from now. But it's not. It's now."
"Is that bad?"
"No, it's amazing. Astonishingly amazing. So, now what do we do next?"
"Well, we wait to see if the seller accepts our offer."
"Why would the seller reject it?"
"Oh, there's always a bit of negotiating I guess. Dad offered less than the asking price."
"Oh."
"Then the owner either accepts the price or counter-offers."
"I see. So, it's not quite ours yet."
"I think it is. This is pretty common. People ask more than they think they can get and people offer less and the seller accepts it because it is what they had hoped to get."
"Weird."
"I can't say that I completely get it either. But we should know in a few days whether the seller is accepting the offer."
"Then what happens?"
"Once the seller accepts, a lot of paperwork happens," Kurt laughed.
"I figured."
"Once the paperwork is all complete and ready to sign, we'll go to the closing in Cincinnati. And we'll find out the date we can take possession."
"What are we going to do with an empty house that we have to make payments on all summer? I thought we were going to live at home and work in the shop all summer and save up money. If we close soon, we'll be making payments on the house instead of saving money."
"Well, I've been talking to my dad about how it all works since he's been home. The first month's payment is part of the closing costs. So, our first payment will be in June. So, we'll have June and July that we wouldn't have paid rent for. But with an apartment, the deposit is the equivalent of the first and last month's rent and you get it back when you move out, if there's no damage. So, we would have to pay more for a deposit than we will to pay for June and July's mortgage payment. It's just that we won't eventually get that money back, but we're not out any more money this summer than we would have been renting an apartment."
"I see."
"With the house though, in four years, if we don't want to live in it anymore, we can sell it. If we rented that apartment we liked for four years, we would spend a little over $38k on rent. Dad is certain that we won't take a $38k loss on the house if we sell it in four years. Housing prices vary from year to year, but a $38k loss would be nearly a third of the value of the house, which is really not at all likely. So, we will spend less money on housing overall by buying. And we'll have a place of our own." He leaned toward Sebastian and kissed him.
"That makes sense mathematically. It just seems like an enormous thing. I've never even had a room to myself, except at Dalton, much less a whole house."
"Well, you won't have the house to yourself either. I'll be there."
He kissed Kurt. "Which makes it all the more unbelievable. I'm just going to need some time to process all of it. We were only there for about 30 minutes. I want to go back tomorrow. Let's email the realtor tonight and see if he'll meet us there again tomorrow and let us inside to look around by ourselves for a little bit."
"Okay. I'll do it now." Kurt sent off a quick email.
"If he doesn't check his business email on the weekend, then we'll just drive by and look from the outside."
"Turn sideways. I want to try something."
Sebastian turned. His back was to the side window of the cargo area, rather than against the back seat.
"Now, scoot forward." Kurt knelt to get out of the way. "Make a circle with your legs." Kurt moved forward and sat down in the space in the center and wrapped his legs and arms around Sebastian. "Now, scoot towards me a little."
"Mmm. A way to hug while sitting down. I like it." He wrapped his arms around Kurt's torso.
"Much easier to kiss this way." Kurt started kissing up Sebastian's neck.
He started mumbling in French.
Kurt smiled and moved to kissing down his jaw and then pressed his lips to Sebastian's and licked his way in. They kissed until they had to break for air. Kurt moved to kissing down the other side of Sebastian's neck.
"Do you have any idea what that makes me want to do?"
Kurt wiggled a little, pressing them closer together. "Mmm hmm. I'm certain that I do," he said as he licked the edge of Sebastian's ear. "Let's me see if I can find the wet wipes we put in the back seat for Sarah." Kurt climbed off Sebastian's lap and leaned over the seat and found the box. And sat right back down the way he had been. "Take your shirt off. We can do this if we can keep quiet."
"Okay."
They pulled their t-shirts off, and unzipped their pants.
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About 10 minutes before the movie was going to end, Sebastian made a trip to the trashcan near the concession stand and Kurt put all of the windows down and left the hatch open. He sat on the back edge with his feet dangling and waited for Sebastian to come back. Once he did, they put the third row seating back up, put the booster seats back in place, and put one of the backseats down so the kids could climb in.
The movie finished and Sam and Puck rustled the kids back over to the Navigator and they got everyone back where they belonged and headed back to the house.
By the time they arrived, the kids were all wound up again. "We're sleeping in the tent!" turned into a repetitive song sung by Sarah and Stacey.
"Let's get everyone in the house first," Kurt said.
Everyone headed inside.
"So, tonight there will be no long baths." Mary said. "There are lots of us and just one bathroom. So, it's five-minute showers for the teens and kids. Dwight and I will shower in the morning while all of you are in the tent sleeping."
"So, I think that Kurt should go first because he is the one that will oversee the sleeping arrangements in the tent," Dwight said.
Kurt stood and grabbed his backpack and headed to the bathroom. "Thank you."
Sebastian, Puck, and lastly Sam showered and left the three kids to shower under Mary's care.
"So, Kurt's already aired up the mattress and got their area ready to go." Puck said to Sam as he came in. "We've moved it all the way to the edge. He swept the tent out first. Now, we just need to put the blankets down for the kids and I'll put my sleeping bag on the edge and you can put the other sleeping bag there next to the air mattress."
"Got it." Sam grabbed the edge of the blanket and helped Puck get it laid out. They put the second one on top of it. Puck grabbed his sleeping bag and rolled it out along the edge of the tent and tossed the other one, which was actually Finn's, to Sam.
Sam rolled his out as well. "The other pillows are still in the house. I'll go grab them." Sam came back out and put all the pillows down for the kids, Puck and himself.
By then Stevie was unzipping the tent to get inside. Sam zipped it right back up after he came in. The girls came out together about 10 minutes later. Mary opened the tent and Sam zipped it back up.
"You three went to the bathroom, right?"
They all nodded.
"Aright, lay down," Puck said. "We'll cover you all up."
Once they were all lying down, Sam reached up and turned the lantern off. "If you need something, you three can wake me up and I'll take you inside, okay?"
"Okay, Sammy," Stacey said.
The giggling died down pretty quickly and the kids fell asleep much faster than Kurt had expected, but they had all gotten up really early and it had been a busy day. He put his phone in his pillow case so he'd feel it vibrate on the off chance that he slept later than 7:45 since he was planning on leaving at 8:15 to head into Cincinnati for his voice and acting lessons.
He had zipped the two sleeping bags that belonged to the Hummels together so he and Sebastian could snuggle up. They were lying facing each other. Kurt leaned forward and very quietly and gently kissed Sebastian and turned over to be the little spoon. Kurt held Sebastian's hand near the wrist and traced "I", a heart, and "U" on his palm and then pressed Sebastian's hand over his own heart and held it there gently. Sebastian slipped his hand out of Kurt's hold and slipped it up under Kurt's t-shirt and traced the same thing on his chest and pressed his hand against Kurt's heart again, but left his hand there – skin on skin.
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While Kurt was in his lessons, Sebastian spent the time reading up on the American home buying process. He was smiling when Kurt came back out to the Navigator after he was done.
"What's the smile for?" He asked as he put his seatbelt on and started the Navigator.
"I'm glad you're back and I'm happy that Mr. Branton is meeting us in 20 minutes to let us look around the house and that Dwight had a tape measure we could use. We'll measure all of the windows as quickly as possible. And I'll take pictures with my phone, and I'll write a number on each one. And I can write the measurements in my notebook."
"Good plan," Kurt said as he pulled out of the church lot and headed toward the house.
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Sebastian looked through the photos he took and his notes. "So, 2 double windows, 8 single windows, 2 single short windows, one long door window, and one shorter window in the front door. And the triple window on the front foyer or whatever we're calling that room. That's a lot of curtains."
"It is, but I like a lot of light, so I want to do layers somehow. Either sheers with curtains that we pull back or blinds with sheers hanging over them."
"I think I like the idea of blinds with sheers because we can adjust how much light comes in with the blinds. It's not all or nothing."
"That's true. We'll look at blinds and see how much they'll cost. I don't dislike the color of the walls, so unless you really want them repainted, I'm for leaving them as is. We don't really know our style or anything yet and since it will take us time to furnish the place, we'll be able to paint the walls later pretty easily if we decide that we want to."
"I know you want to paint that cabinet."
"I do. I'm sorry that it bothers me so much, but it's a midnight blue-black and the kitchen cabinets are white with black marble countertops."
"It's fine. A gallon of paint isn't going to break the budget."
"And having some to touch up all that white trim will be good in the long run."
"It seems more real, but still like such a fantasy. I can't even call it a dream because I never dreamed anything like this."
"Honestly, me neither."
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They got back to the Evans' house about 1:30. They stepped in and started to help prepare lunch as soon as they got there. They had brought all of the fixings for tacos.
Mary warmed the meat and refried beans in skillets and the kids had put the toppings in bowls. Kurt and Sarah had made real Mexican rice with carrots in it that was warming up in the oven. Kurt put the tortillas in the oven and sat the hard shell corn tacos on the counter. As soon as the meat and beans were warm, Mary transferred them to a bowls and put them on the counter as well. Sam pulled out the rice and the flour tortillas and put them on the counter.
They let the three kids go first. Kurt insisted that Mary and Dwight go next because of their hospitality in hosting everyone for the weekend. The teens went last. Everyone enjoyed their make-you-own taco Mexican-style lunch.
Mary asked the three kids to stay inside and help clean up after lunch. The four teens headed outside to take down the tent and repack all of the stuff they brought back into the Navigator. Dwight had borrowed a croquet set from a family at their church and he set it up for the kids to play.
Sebastian spoke to Mary while the others played croquet. "Thanks for letting all of us come. I'd never done anything like this. It was a lot of fun."
"Kurt said you grew up in Paris, which I imagine is just about as opposite of rural Kentucky as you can get," she laughed.
"Pretty close, but it's more than that. Kurt never tells anyone about my past and I appreciate that. But I just wanted to tell you that you and Dwight are really cool. Sam, Stevie, and Stacey are all really lucky to have you two as parents. And don't say anything to contradict me, please. I mean it. I grew up in boarding school. In my 18 years, I've never met a happy family with two married parents. It's really amazing to see. What you give them is something that money can't buy."
"Thanks, Sebastian. You and Kurt are really good together. Sam says how respectful you are of Kurt and I see that. I only saw him with whatever his name was a few times, but whenever he was around, Kurt was very guarded, not like he was when it was just him and Sam. He's relaxed around you."
"Burt says the same thing." Sebastian smiled. "Burt's been really amazing. He let Sam move in, then me, and now Puck and Sarah."
"He's got a big heart. I think that might be the only thing he and Kurt have in common besides him teaching Kurt how to fix cars," she smiled.
"And now he's teaching me and Sam. Puck's probably next." He laughed.
"Hey, I heard my name and laughter. I'm not THAT bad at this game," Puck said as he walked towards them.
"No, I told Mary that Kurt's been teaching me and Sam to fix cars and that you're probably next."
"Hey, that wouldn't be bad. I'm pretty set on the HVAC thing though. But knowing how to do minor stuff could save a lot of money over the long haul. I'll have to get Kurt to teach me next."
Kurt walked up as he finished his sentence. "Teach you what, Puck? It's your turn by the way."
"Teach me to fix cars."
"Oh. Well, that's possible. Go take your turn."
Puck went back over to the playing area and took a swing with his mallet. Kurt followed him back and waited his turn.
"Are you and Kurt engaged? I noticed the matching rings."
"No. They're promise rings and the ring design means something personal to us. I wanted Kurt to have something that showed all of those losers he goes to school with that he has someone who loves him. And I portrayed myself in a certain way when I came here from Paris. My ring was my way of showing that I wasn't THAT guy. I'm not sure that makes sense out of context. But we feel like we're not independent enough to be engaged – but someday. And maybe one day, they'll legalize gay marriage in France and I'll have the money to take Kurt there and show him around Paris and we'll get married there."
She smiled at him. "That's sweet."
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The teens served a chili dinner to everyone and made sure that everything they had brought with them was packed back up in the cargo area of the Navigator.
Sarah didn't want to leave Stacey. She clearly needed more play time with kids her age. They hugged a bunch of times and promised to call each other and talk. Puck finally wrangled her into the backseat and got her in her booster seat.
She chattered all the way back to Lima. Kurt was glad that she was so cheerful. Listening to a child fuss for 2½ hours would have taxed his ability to remain sane.
They made it back to Lima just in time for Sarah to pack her lunch, take a bath, and head to bed. And Kurt and Sebastian were both grateful that Carole took over those duties since they had the Navigator to unload and to get themselves ready for school the next day.
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"So, what did you think of camping?"
"Well, it wasn't bad. I liked being around Sam's family. They're really cool. I told Mary that they were the first two married people with a family that I had ever been around – I mean that got married had kids and stayed married. Their kids are lucky."
"Sam's a good guy. He's just genuinely a nice person."
"So are his parents, it seems."
"They are. Are you ready for a shower? I wasn't a fan of my five-minute solitary shower last night." Kurt started undressing Sebastian.
"I'm ready."
They showered and made sure that they were ready to head out the next morning.
"You didn't finish your camping answer."
"Oh, yes. Sleeping on the air mattress was fine. I think we'll be fine using it in the back of the Navigator."
"So, we're on for going to Gatlinburg?"
"Definitely. I'm excited." He lay on his back offering himself as a body pillow.
Kurt scooted up and lay down on him. He gave him a quick kiss before he completely settled in. "I love you."
Sebastian wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close. "I love you too."
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Kurt kissed Sebastian's eyelids, then down his cheeks, and eventually on the lips.
"It can't be time to get up already," Sebastian groaned. He wrapped his leg over the top of Kurt's and slipped his hand down to Kurt's lower back and pulled him closer. "I want more snuggles and kisses."
"I set the alarm for 10 minutes early so you could have more kisses." He kissed Sebastian again.
"And if I want more than kisses?"
"Then we better head to the shower in a preemptive move because I have to leave for practice at 6:15 or it will be off with my head."
"She'd never hurt a hair on your head. She wants you to fly and sing and win her another national title."
"That's probably true, but she will make me run laps if I'm late, and I know you don't want me to have to do that."
"Shower it is." Sebastian popped up out of bed and headed straight into the bathroom.
Kurt laughed at his antics and followed him.
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Kurt managed to walk into the gym with about one minute to spare and a huge smile on his face.
"Is he THAT good that you're smiling 20 minutes later?" Santana teased him.
"Absolutely," he said as he walked to the bleachers to put his stuff down.
She followed him. "Good for you."
They sat on the gym floor facing each other and stretched for a few minutes.
"Coach says he's coming with us."
"That's true."
"How did you really get hurt? I know you asked for the pain stuff after we first performed, but I'm 99% certain you didn't get hurt during the routine. I've watched the video several times and at no point did you seem to do anything that would have broken your wrist."
"I'll tell you, but you have to swear not to tell anyone. If anyone asks you for details, tell them to ask me personally if they want to know."
"Got it."
Kurt scooted up right next to her and detailed what happened to him where no one else could hear.
"Jackasses! Fucking jackasses."
"Shh! Keep it down."
"Alright." Coach Sue's voice came through the megaphone. "Places!"
Everyone moved to their starting positions for the dance portion. Kurt, Britt, and Santana put their face mics on.
"Everyone sit except Kurt, Santana, and Brittany. You will watch once, so you won't be tripping over your own feet to see what they're doing." She started the music and the three of them sang and danced. "That's it. You saw them. Get up and let's start it from the top."
After several run-throughs of the dance portion, Sue video recorded them and sent the recording out to everyone. "That's it for that part. Take five. Next up the cheer requirements portion."
Kurt was pleased to see that although she didn't sound sweet and cheerful, she had not returned to yelling insults at the girls.
Eventually, they were released to go to class. Kurt had brought clothes to change into, but she didn't release them early enough for him to change. He put his clothes in his locker and made a run for it to get to first period on time.
He spent his lunch eating and reading. He went right to the shop after the second Cheerios practice, and then straight home and got as much of his homework for the week done as he could. He ate dinner, went straight back upstairs to work more and go to bed early.
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Tuesday evening, Kurt, Sam, and Puck were in the kitchen prepping dinner when they heard Carole on the front porch with Sarah. She came bounding in the house and stopped when she saw the guys in the kitchen.
"Noah!" Sarah flung herself into Noah's arms. "Aunt Carole, show him what we got."
Carol showed him a stack of books.
"Guess what!"
"What?"
"I got my own library card."
Carole pulled it out of her wallet and gave it to Sarah.
"See?"
"Awesome, Squirt. You have an ID, a library card, and $10. I think the next time Kurt takes you shopping, it's time to get you a wallet to put your important stuff in."
"Really? I'm big enough to get my OWN wallet?"
"Sure, Squirt, but you gotta take care of it and not lose it."
"I won't lose it."
"Did you do your homework when you were there?"
"I did."
"Excellent. I still have to do mine. You can sit and read those books on your bed while I do mine, okay?"
"Alright."
"Tell Aunt Carole thank you for taking you. Put those upstairs and come back down to eat."
"Thank you, Aunt Carole!" She ran up the stairs with her books before she could even hear a response.
The three teens started setting the table and moving the food to dining room to eat dinner.
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When Kurt got home from the shop the next afternoon, Burt was waiting to talk to him in the living room.
"Have a seat, kiddo."
Kurt plopped in the oversize chair. "What's up, Dad?"
"I got a call from the realtor this afternoon and the seller accepted our offer. We can close one day next week."
Kurt didn't say anything. He just sat there with a blank look on his face.
"Kurt?"
Burt saying his name brought him back to the present.
"I thought you'd be excited."
"I am. I'm stunned. It's a big step, and yes, I'm excited. Did you call Sebastian already?"
"No. I figured I'd let you call him and tell him."
"I'll go do that, but can we do it in the evening on Wednesday, around 6:00? That way we could sign everything and still head on to Tennessee that evening like we had planned. That's the day that Sam, Sebastian and I are scheduled to got to UC to orientation and registration, remember."
"I do know that you said something. Let me work on it. I'll see what I can do. Maybe there's a title company that's open in the evenings since Cincinnati's such a big city."
"Just let me know, so we can plan accordingly. I have to go get everything packed and make sure that I have all of my homework for tomorrow and Friday done tonight so I can turn it in tomorrow since we're leaving for Florida tomorrow afternoon."
"We're going to watch you on TV Friday night."
"Don't remind me about the TV cameras. It's nerve wracking."
Burt laughed. "Get upstairs and get your stuff done and don't think about it."
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Coach Sue had the Cheerios travel in their track pants and black McKinley gym class t-shirts, preventing any possible mishaps with their uniforms on the way there. Kurt grabbed an extra t-shirt from the stack for Sebastian to wear. He headed out to his Navigator and took off to Westerville while Coach Sue had the group load up the bus.
Sebastian was outside in his lacrosse sweats waiting for him and he jumped in the passenger seat and Kurt drove to the airport. Kurt parked a few spaces away from any other cars in the short-tem parking area at the airport and he had Sebastian scoot the passenger seat all the way up when he got out. They got in the backseat and Kurt gave him the track pants and the t-shirt to put on. Sebastian slipped off what he was wearing and Kurt folded them and put them over the seat into the cargo area. They managed to get in quite a few kisses in the process of the outfit change as well.
They climbed out and Sebastian grabbed the suitcase and they headed off to meet up with the rest of the squad. They checked their luggage and once they were through security. Coach Sue allowed them to wander around in groups of two or more with strict orders as to when to be in the boarding area.
Kurt and Sebastian left the group and just walked around together talking and holding hands. They stopped in a few stores and looked around, including a stop in a dressing room for some much needed kissing. They eventually just sat down on a bench together and talked more. They discussed their plans for Gatlinburg the next weekend and their first visit to the ocean.
Kurt phone beeped and they moved to the boarding area. Within a few minutes, the group started to board. The flight wasn't that long and Coach Sue had chosen a hotel with shuttle service to the airport, so once they had claimed their luggage, they met at the shuttle pick-up and they boarded the shuttle to the hotel.
Coach Sue collected the card keys for everyone and distributed them. The four other males in the group roomed together. The girls were divided into groups of four as well. They grabbed their luggage and headed to their rooms. Sue warned them all to stay in their rooms, to not order room service, and to actually sleep.
The competition was set to start at 10:00 and run until 5:00. The Final Five Showcase that would air on TV was set to start at 7:00. Coach Sue expected them all to arrive at 8:00am for breakfast and the morning workout she had planned for them.
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Kurt and Sebastian were finally in their room a little before 10:00. Kurt hung his uniform up immediately and pulled Sebastian's Cheerios t-shirt out of the suitcase and put it on a hanger too. Sebastian took the track pants off and laid them over the desk chair. Kurt folded up what the rest of what they had been wearing and put them at the bottom of the suitcase.
Kurt took their toiletries bag into the bathroom. Sebastian followed him and stood behind him at the sink. He ran his hands down Kurt's arms and kissed the back of his neck.
"You're stunning, you know. Absolutely beautiful."
Kurt turned and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. "I'm glad you think so."
"I'm so glad you didn't give up on me. I didn't give you any reason to care, but you did. And tomorrow is our 3-month anniversary. I love you." He leaned forward just enough to gently press his lips to Kurt's.
"I love you too. It's been a great three months." Kurt kissed him. "Let's move this to the shower."
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Everyone was present at the required time and they were eating a "power breakfast" of boiled eggs, yogurt and orange juice. Kurt notice several of the girls watching the other guests using the large cast iron waffle maker with longing looks in their eyes. Kurt knew what they would be doing the next morning.
At 9:00, they left on a shuttle and headed to the stadium where the competition was being held. They filed in following Coach Sue. She signed everyone in and they were given lanyards to wear so that they could be in the Participants Only areas. No one challenged Sebastian's staff position as equipment manager and it was printed on his nametag.
They headed to the area where the teams were allowed to warm up and they went through the dance portion of the routine. After another 15 minutes of stretches, they moved out to the area where the teams waited to be called onto the field to perform. Sebastian had waited outside the room listening to music on his phone because Kurt wanted the performance to be a surprise for him. He walked with Kurt to the pre-performance area.
They had drawn the 3rd position, which set them to perform at 10:40. They had 20 minutes to wait. They couldn't see the group that was performing, but they could hear the crowd and the team's music. They continued to do small stretches to stay warmed up.
They were called to line up at 10:35 and headed out onto the field just as the previous group was filing off. Sebastian managed to move to the area of the field facing the performance floor and pulled his phone out to record the performance in case they didn't make it to the Final Five Showcase so that Burt and Carole could still watch Kurt perform.
The 20 members were in position and they were announced.
"The Cheerios from William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio!"
Everyone marched into their first formation. Once they had been through all of the required cheering moves, the music started. As soon as the music started, he knew what it was. The Troubletones had sung this song at Regionals. He knew the theme was "Inner Strength" and the song was a good fit.
It also made sense because 7 of the 15 girls already knew this song and Santana and Brittany sang lead on it. Kurt was singing the part Mercedes had sung. Kurt was in the sleeveless shirt like he had been at Regionals. The choreography the rest of the group looked a lot like what the Troubletones had done at Regionals mixed with gymnastics. Kurt, Brittany, and Santana's choreography was different and more complicated, but still fit in with the group's choreography. Kurt stood in the center and sometimes performed different moves from the two girls who had done a few handstands and walkovers during the parts when Kurt was singing.
When they finished, they got a standing ovation and a lot of cheering from the crowd. They filed off the performance floor and Sebastian moved back to intercept the group as they exited out of the stadium area.
Sue corralled them and said, "That was decent. All of the seniors who are already 18 can choose to go with Kurt, Sebastian, Santana, and Brittany back to the hotel. Everyone else will be staying here with me and watching the rest of the competition. Make up your minds now."
Kurt, and the other three stepped away from the group, giving anyone who wanted to go with them to join them. Quinn and Kendra joined them, along with two of the bases.
"Anyone else?"
"Becky spoke up. I don't think anyone else is already 18, Coach."
"Right, then. Stay in the hotel, nowhere else. I will know if you leave. I will send out a group text if we make it into the top five. I'll expect everyone back here at 6:00 if we make it. You'll need to warm up and stretch again to perform in the Showcase."
"Yes, Coach," was the answer from the Cheerios that were leaving the stadium.
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Kurt and Sebastian stopped at the front desk when they got back to the hotel. Kurt had done his research and found a tour bus that stopped at the hotel every two hours and drove to the beach. The hotel had told him that he could only buy the tickets in person. They bought two tickets for the sunrise trip the next morning, which meant getting up even earlier than Kurt's internal alarm clock, but they weren't going to miss their chance to see a beach sunrise when they were just 30 minutes from the beach.
After they bought their tickets, they headed up to their hotel room. Kurt opened the door and they went inside.
"I packed food for us since I knew we wouldn't want to spend $30 on lunch here in the hotel. It's just a peanut butter sandwich, some carrots, and dried fruit."
"Don't say 'just'. You work hard to make all of these things work for us. It's not 'just' anything. It's something you planned ahead and worked hard on." He wrapped his arms around Kurt.
Kurt relaxed and leaned into Sebastian. "I'll try. I brought us a treat for tonight."
"I love your treats. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Let's take these clothes off. I don't want to accidentally get anything on them while we're eating or get them all wrinkled while we sit around."
Kurt stepped back and undressed and put his uniform back on the hangers. Sebastian hung his clothes up too just to get it out of the way. Kurt grabbed his pajama pants and put them on after he slipped the dance belt off. He noticed that Sebastian didn't look pleased with his choice. "I can put something else on."
"I was thinking no clothes."
Kurt laughed. "Oh, well, maybe later. I want to be able to answer the door if someone knocks."
"Fair point. I'll put my pajama pants on too. At least for now." He waggled his eyebrows.
Kurt laughed at him again. He pushed Sebastian back onto the bed as soon as he had just barely gotten the pajama pants pulled up.
"Hey!"
Kurt startled tickling him.
Sebastian got the upper hand and flipped them and started tickling Kurt instead, but just briefly. He switched to caressing him and kissing him. "You are so much fun!" He started lick-tickling him on his ribs. He figured it would cause the same laughter and be even more fun.
Kurt was flailing around and laughing hysterically. Sebastian let up on the tickling before Kurt got aggravated and instead he started licking him on his neck and ears following by wet kisses.
"No hickeys."
"I know. I won't put any anywhere that Sue can see." He went back to kissing his neck. He kissed down his jaw and moved to kissing him on the lips, but instead of pushing for an intense make-out session, he kissed him slowly and deeply. Kisses full of love and passion, but not demanding. He moved to lie on his side and rotated Kurt to face him and positioned them so they were lying face to face kissing gently. "I love you. You were fantastic out there today."
"Thank you. I'm excited to go to the beach tomorrow."
"Me too."
They were still kissing gently now and then. Kurt ran his hand along Sebastian's arm and he shivered.
"Do you want to put on a shirt or get under the covers?"
"Not yet. We still need to eat what you packed first."
"Then let's sit up and eat." Kurt gave him a kiss and sat up. He got up and opened the suitcase and pulled out the large food storage container that he had packed the food in using paper towels for padding. He opened it and put it on the bed between them.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
After they had finished eating, Sebastian was sitting on the end of the bed near where Kurt was standing. "I need to tell you something."
"That sounds ominous." Kurt stopped messing with the stuff in the suitcase and turned around.
"It sort of is, but it's nothing about the two of us."
"Alright." He turned back around and started rearranging stuff again.
"The council finally chose our third song for Nationals yesterday."
"Okay…"
"The one that Blaine will be singing lead on. I'm breaking our 'no set list information sharing' rule. They picked 'Teenage Dream'."
"Oh." Kurt stopped and turned back around. He took the couple of steps it took to get to the bed and sat down on the edge and sat next to Sebastian.
"I'm guessing that it's one of the songs that he submitted for himself," Sebastian said.
"He'll be great on the lead for that song. It's a perfect choice. I'm sure that's why the council chose it. The shuffle step dance that goes with it isn't hard and since you only have a few weeks left to rehearse, I can see why that song would be really appealing as a choice. The arrangement is already complete and about half the group is still there, so you can get started on it right away and it won't take long to learn. I'm guessing that one of your other two songs has the complicated dance, with potential gymnastics moves, that you were all alluding to back at Sectionals."
"Yes. We also found out that we can use one song that we've used in competition this season. So, our other song is a repeat. The Warblers have never made it this far in competition and the workload at Dalton is heavy and a bunch of us are taking AP classes and the exams are during the two weeks before Nationals. So, the council opted to reuse one of our songs and to go with something that Blaine does well so that we can focus on our one new song."
"That makes sense. I won't tell anyone else. And I'll prepare myself for having to hear him sing that song. I'm glad you told me." He stood back up and went back to what he was doing.
Sebastian could see his face in the reflection of the mirror. He could see that he was fighting back tears. He got up and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist. "Hey, I don't want to participate in that song. I don't want to get thrown out of the group, but I'm going to tell the council that I'm not comfortable singing it. Not every member of a group has to sing every song and I don't want to sing that one. It's the last one on our set list. Since we haven't really started working on it, I don't see a problem with me stepping off into the wings at the lights-out before the song starts."
"It's just a song."
"I know. It's a song that I don't want to sing." He let go of Kurt's waist, took his hand, and led him back over to the bed.
"It just feels like he chose THAT song to try to knock the wind out of me and lower our chances of winning. He doesn't know who is singing lead, but he knows I had the duet at Sectionals and then a solo at Regionals. I'm betting he thinks I have a lead again at Nationals."
"You said that he's the king of oblivious though. So, maybe he just chose his favorite song that the Warblers had done with him on lead that never got used in competition. Maybe he just picked the one he thought showed off his lead singer abilities the best."
"That could be too. He definitely has the flirt level turned up to 11 in that one. Of the songs I can think of that the Warblers worked on last year that didn't get used in competition, that one is by far the best. Besides 'Animal' the others never really made it past working on the vocals and horsing around while we sang them. They had actual choreography for 'Teenage Dream'. He told me that he recognized me on the stairs that day and his goal was to be both friendly and welcoming, yet skillfully intimidating. So, he's definitely capable of scheming to use a song to intimidate the competition. It doesn't matter. I have no interest in him. He has no role in my life. I do appreciate you telling me though because hearing him sing it without any warning probably would have made my heart drop and made me flash back to that day. The song doesn't make me feel nostalgic. It just makes me feel sad."
Sebastian slid back, moved over behind Kurt, and slid one leg to each side of Kurt. He scooted forward as close to him as he could get, his chest against Kurt's back. He wrapped his arms around Kurt and started kissing the back of his neck.
"I made a recording of this to give to you today, but I'm going to sing it to you." He began to sing the Michael Bublé version of "Crazy Love".
I can hear your heartbeat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open up every time you smile
And when I come to you, that's where I belong
I'm running to you like a river's song
You give me love, love, love – crazy love
You give me love, love, love – crazy love
You've got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down
And when I come to you when the sun goes down
You take away my trouble, take away my grief
You take away all of my heartache, in the night like a thief
You give me love, love, love – crazy love
You give me love, love, love – crazy love
Yes, I need you I the daytime
I need you in the night
I want to throw my arms around you
Kiss and hug, kiss and hug you tight
And when I'm returning from so far away
You give me some sweet lovin' to brighten up my day
Yes, it makes me feel right, it makes me feel whole
It makes me mellow down to my soul
You give me love, love, love – crazy love
You give me love, love, love – crazy love
I need your love, love, love.
Love
Crazy love, crazy love
Sebastian kissed him in the back of the neck when he stopped singing. "I love you."
Kurt wiggled loose and stood and turned. He gently pushed Sebastian onto his back on the bed and climbed back onto the bed on his hands and knees. He pinned Sebastian down and started kissing him. He kissed up his neck, toward his ear, pausing between kisses to say, "That was beautiful… Thank you… I love you so much." He continued kissing him, but moved to his lips instead of his neck.
Sebastian pulled away just long enough to slide up in the bed so he could pull Kurt down on top of him. Kurt crawled up the bed and followed him and managed to slip Sebastian's pajama pants off as he slid up. And then took his own off.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
After they got out of the shower and put their pajama pants back on again, Sebastian picked his phone up and sent Kurt an email with the song file attached.
When Kurt's phone pinged, he went to the dresser and picked up his phone thinking that it might be a message from Coach Sue, only to find that it was from Sebastian. He saved the file and smiled.
"I hadn't originally planned on singing it to you."
"I loved it." He took Sebastian's hand and led him back over to the bed and sat down. He intertwined their fingers. "I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you."
Sebastian turned and used his other hand to tip Kurt's chin up and turn his face toward him. "Sometimes you're very silly. You planned all of this. You packed my clothes, you packed a lunch for us today, and you found a way for us to get to the beach tomorrow. Those things are all things you did for me – for us. All I had to do was stand outside the building and wait for you to pick me up. You did everything else. That's a gift too."
"I've never thought of it that way."
"I figured not, but it's true nonetheless."
Sebastian leaned forward and kissed him sweetly. "No more silly talk about you not giving me a gift, okay?"
"Alright."
"You love me and you show me in everything you do. That's the best gift I could ever get."
"I do love you. So much." He kissed Sebastian just as sweetly. "I'm pretty tired from our afternoon activities. How about a little nap? We can set an alarm for 4:30 and get up and get ready, so we're ready to go if we get called to the stadium at 5:00."
"Naked cuddle nap?"
"As long as we get up more rested and not even more tired," he teased.
Sebastian leaned over and breathed into Kurt's ear, barely making a sound, he said, "We'll save rounds 4 and 5 for later tonight." He licked along the edge of Kurt's ear causing him to shiver and laugh.
"You are insatiable."
"You love it."
"I do. And I love you. Let's lie down." He pecked Sebastian on the lips and stood up. He set the phone alarm, went around the bed, got undressed, and got under the covers. He lay down on his side and it only took a matter of seconds before Sebastian had slid into the big spoon position behind Kurt and cuddled up for their nap.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
They arrived back at the stadium about 5:45. They met back up with Coach Sue and the rest of the squad. Sue walked them to the area they had been assigned to.
"Dinner is being served out on the field in 10 minutes. Please be mindful of the fact that you're all going to be jumping around, but you do need to eat quickly. We'll meet back here at 6:15 to warm up and stretch. Stay in pairs. Go get in line."
Everyone moved to the line quickly. They were held back and two other teams were allowed to line up in front of them. Kurt figured that the Cheerios had drawn the 3rd performance position. Once they had eaten, they moved back to where Coach Sue was and stretched. Kurt, Brittany, and Santana did some vocal warms up.
They moved to the stands where the final five teams were seated for the Showcase. Since the event was being televised, the process was different from the morning.
The event was introduced by the commentators, shots were shown from earlier in the day, which the live audience couldn't see, and five minutes later, they moved to a commercial break. During the break, the first squad moved to their line up at the back of the competition area.
As soon as the commercial ended, they were introduced and immediately began their routine. The commentators spoke during their performance, but no one could hear them because they were in an enclosed area at the front, on the ground level.
As soon as their routine ended, the cameras on the field stopped broadcasting. The first team marched off, the show went to commercials, and the second team moved into position.
Each portion of the show went the same way. Once the final team had performed and the commentators had made their remarks, the show went to its next to last commercial break, and all five teams were reassembled on the field in rows. Santana, Kurt, and Brittany were in the front row on their knees. The rest of the squad was positioned behind them just as Coach Sue had told them to arrange themselves. She stood in the back row with the bases.
When the show resumed broadcasting, the cameras panned all five teams while the commentators made some final statements. A few minutes later the cameras panned back and focused on the announcer that had moved to the center of the field. She announced the placement in reverse order and declared the Cheerios the winners.
The teams remained in place for the final commercial break, allowing photographers to snap quick team photos with their trophies before exiting the field area before the end of the commercial.
After the final commercial, just the Cheerios and Coach Sue were left on the field. The Cheerios repositioned themselves into a double semi-circle around her, the front row was all of the shortest girls and the taller members stood in the second row. The announcer handed Coach Sue the large fake check that represented the funds that the school would get for the team's victory and she shook the announcer's hand. No one moved on the field until the cameras quit flashing.
The Cheerios didn't leave the area, but they didn't stay in formation. Several journalists approached Coach Sue and she gave brief interviews. Eventually the area was cleared of press members and the team was allowed to leave the field.
They were each handed a bottle of water as they made their way back up to their seats in the stands. Kurt sat down next to Sebastian, but didn't do anything other than sit and drink his water.
"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just fully aware of the fact that there are a lot of cameras in here right now and I am uninterested in starting any type of problem for behaving in any type of way that is unacceptable or that would attract attention. I'm not really all that sure of how to act, but I'm doing my best to blend in and just drink this water."
"So, you're embarrassed to be seen with me?" Sebastian sounded hurt.
"Nope. Not at all. I'm sitting with you right now and we're talking. I'm just being cautious. None of the girls who have boyfriends have their boyfriends with them. The bases on the team are not allowed to date the Cheerio girls. Britt and Santana are sitting in the next row down, next to each other just like us. I have the rest of this evening as a Cheerio and then it's over."
"Okay. I think I'm still a bit confused."
"This event is sponsored by a lot of companies. If I behave in a way that attracts attention to my sexuality, it could cause parents to speak out against the competition or prevent their children from participating. Whenever a large organization appears to support gay people, religious groups across the country threaten to pull their children from the group. A lot of girls get full scholarships to college through this event, allowing them to attend college when they would not have been able to otherwise. I will not risk those girls' futures just because I really want to kiss you. Once I'm not wearing this uniform and my actions can't be tied to the competition, I'll not be concerned that kissing you would hurt someone else."
"That's really sad, but I guess that makes sense when I think about my father. If Madeleine wanted to cheer, he wouldn't want her to compete someplace that he felt encouraged homosexuality. So, I get why you're doing what your doing. It's just so dumb that you have to think that hard about how you can behave."
"The other reason is that you are wearing a shirt that says 'STAFF'. No one in here knows that you aren't a recent college graduate working at the school as the assistant coach. A student/staff dating relationship would not be allowed. That's why I didn't even hug you when I came up here."
"That's true. How much longer are we staying here?"
"Hopefully, not too long."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt and Sebastian were in the lobby waiting for Santana and Brittany at 9:00. Kurt had found an 18+ club and Sue had given the four of them permission to leave the hotel since they had won her Nationals again.
"You two look lovely," Kurt said as they walked up.
"You clean up nice, Sebastian," Santana said smirking.
"Thank you."
"So, are we ready? This isn't a LGBT club, so we'll have to play it by ear. Britt's my date unless we see that we can pair up the way we want to," Kurt said.
"Fine by me as long as Fievel here can dance."
"He can dance."
"Let's go," Brittany said.
They went out front and took a cab to the club.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"This is a lot like the place in Columbus," Sebastian said when they went inside.
"There's a place like this in Columbus?" Santana asked.
"Yes, and it is LGBT friendly. You and Britt could dance together there."
"And you never told me about this place because?"
"You've been a bitch to me for a long time and just recently decided to be nicer?"
"Touché. I've been a bitch to a lot of people. Being angry with yourself will do that to a person. I hated everyone and everything, including myself. Well, of course, not Britt, but I wanted her to myself, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I wouldn't recommend being publicly outed on TV, but it did solve the whole 'How do I come out?' dilemma."
They found an empty table and sat down.
"I let Finn have it for that."
"I heard. I appreciate that. I was too mad back then to say so though. I also realized that a lot of your prissiness was insecurity as much as my bitchiness was. After you lost the hobbit, your fierceness came back. You've stood up to Schue and Sue and the She-Hobbit."
"Bas helped me see how I had lost myself."
"Well, good for him. I don't see any same-sex couples dancing together, so let's go Fievel." Santana pulled Sebastian out of the booth and out on the floor.
Kurt took Brittany's hand and followed them.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Two hours later, they were outside the club grabbing a cab back to the hotel. Sue insisted that they return by 11:30. Santana and Brittany followed them back to their hotel room.
"So, that was fun and Sebastian IS a good dancer. Lucky you." Santana plopped on the bed that hadn't been slept in. Brittany sat next to her.
"I know." Kurt smiled.
He and Sebastian sat down facing them on the other bed.
"Well, Kurt is always a good dance partner."
"Thank you, Britt."
She got up and kissed him on the cheek and sat down next to him. "You still need to give Sam lessons on how to get his hands soft like yours."
"I think he's been saving all of those lessons for Sebastian, there," Santana smirked.
"Really? Let me see, well, feel." Brittany reached over and took Sebastian's hand. "You're right. He has."
"So, tell us, what is the secret?"
Sebastian got up and leaned down and whispered in Santana's ear. She smacked him on the arm. "Oh, my God!" She broke down laughing hysterically. "Sweetie, I'm certain that Sam won't want to do what Sebastian is doing to get his hands soft like that. You'll have to just live with his hands the way they are."
"If you say so, but I still think Kurt could help him." She took one of his hands again.
"I'll buy him a bottle of the lotion I use, Britt. Will that be good enough?"
"Sure. I'll remind him to use it every day."
Kurt kept himself from laughing, but just barely. "You do that, sweetie."
"So, what are the two of you doing tomorrow?"
"Flying back to Ohio so Sebastian doesn't get kicked off the lacrosse team for missing the game tomorrow afternoon."
"Wait, what? You get kicked off for missing a game?" Santana asked.
"Yep. We even double-checked the handbook. Dalton takes commitment very seriously."
"I'd say. Seriously nuts."
"We're taking a bus ride out to the beach tomorrow morning at dawn and then heading to the airport afterwards," Kurt said.
"Alright, well then, it's been fun," Santana said. "But I guess we'll let you two get some sleep." She pulled Brittany to standing.
Kurt and Sebastian stood to walk them to the door.
Brittany pulled Kurt into a hug. "I had fun. Let's go to the place in Columbus soon, okay? Then I can dance with you AND with Santana."
"Sure, sweetie. I'm not sure when, but we'll see what we can arrange."
Kurt shut and locked the door.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"She totally still has a crush on you."
"I know. I've never quite figured out why since she could get any guy."
"Well, you're gorgeous and she's got eyes." He leaned in and spoke quietly into Kurt's ear. "Maybe it's because she got to kiss you, but not the rest. You're the forbidden fruit that she almost had." Sebastian licked Kurt's ear.
Kurt pushed Sebastian back a little and pecked him on the lips. He started undressing. "What did you tell Santana that made her crack up like that?"
"I told her that I use your lotion to give you naked massages."
"You what?" Kurt's voice went up an octave. "Oh, never mind. I should have known that only something so bawdy would have made her crack up like that."
"You're not mad, are you?"
Kurt moved closer, only his underwear still on, and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and kissed him. "No, I'm not mad. She'll never let me live it down, but I'm not mad. I'm not ashamed that I love you and that you love me and that you touch me. I guess the fact that you would even say that to someone is a huge ego boost. The fact that someone as gorgeous as you would actually admit to liking me…"
Sebastian moved swiftly and grabbed Kurt up bridal style and plopped him on the extra bed. "You are stunning. And not just to me. But especially to me. Turn over and stay here. I'm getting the lotion."
"Let's shower first. Otherwise, we'll just wash it all off."
"Sure, let's go." Sebastian pulled him up.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"After twice in the shower, how do you have the energy left to give me a massage?"
"Ah, well, I didn't perform a very energy-sapping cheer routine twice today."
"Ooh. Right there."
Sebastian rubbed the knot out.
"That's true. Ooh. Ow."
Sebastian continued to work on Kurt's shoulders and back until he didn't get any more "ows" from him.
"Turn on your side. I'll still do your calves, but when you fall asleep, I won't have to try to turn you."
Kurt turned and lay on his side to be the small spoon. Sebastian did what he said and then scooted up behind his sleeping boyfriend and cuddled up and fell asleep.
A few hours later, Kurt woke Sebastian up thrashing, "No. Stop. No."
Sebastian did what he had done before, "Kurt, mon étoile, it's okay. I'm here. We're in bed in the hotel in Florida."
"Bas?"
"Yes. I'm here. You're okay. I've got you. Go back to sleep."
Kurt scooted back and grabbed hold of Sebastian's hand and held it tight to his chest. "I love you, Bas." He fell back asleep.
Sebastian was never so lucky. His heart would rage with anger every time Kurt would have nightmares. He always had to calm himself down before he could fall back asleep. And he usually ended up crying, always wondering what Kurt did when he wasn't there to reassure him. He held him close, breathed in his scent, and finally fell back asleep.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
They climbed into the bus to make the 30-minute trek to the beach at 5:30. They sat together and held hands. Kurt had packed shorts for them to wear and had found two pairs of flip flops at Goodwill to bring with them. Sebastian brought his camera and Kurt was carrying an old towel he had brought from home.
They talked about their upcoming camping trip, but spoke in French to keep as many people as possible from eavesdropping.
When the bus stopped, they got out. It was still pretty dark outside, but the faint glow of the sun could be seen along the edge of the horizon. They walked down to the beach and sat down on the towel Kurt brought. Kurt sat down first, and Sebastian straddled him and sat right up behind him and propped his chin on Kurt's shoulder and wrapped his arms around Kurt.
"I'm so happy to be here with you." He kissed Kurt's neck. "This is so cool."
"I agree. I've wanted to see the ocean ever since I learned there were oceans. And now I have the perfect travel partner."
Sebastian pulled his camera out of his cargo short's pocket. "Here. See if you can hold the camera out and take photo of us. Press the timer, then hold the camera out."
Kurt did what Sebastian said. He turned the camera around. "We're not blurry, but we're off to the side."
"That's fine. You can try again if you want. Then, we'll use your phone."
They took a few more shots of themselves. Sebastian took the camera back and kept it out to take a few pictures of the sunrise. Mostly he just wanted to watch it with Kurt.
Kurt squirmed a bit. He bent his knees. "Criss-cross your legs under my knees. Let's see if we can make it easier to sit this way because I don't want to move."
They rearranged a bit and got more comfortable. Kurt leaned back and Sebastian leaned forward and they counterbalanced each other.
"It's beautiful," Kurt said.
"It really is."
Sebastian took a few photos. They took a few more of themselves once the sun had come up and was shining on their faces. Once the sun was fully up, they got up and walked down to the water and waded in the surf.
"Let's build a small sand castle," Sebastian said. He got down on his knees and started pushing the wet sand into a pile.
Kurt went and laid the towel up in the dry sand and came back and helped him. Kurt took a quick picture with his phone before the waves rolled back in and washed over their castle.
"Some day, I want to come back to a place like this with you and spend at least a few days." He let the waves roll back out and then rinsed his hands in the surf. "Let's go up that way." He picked the towel up and waited for Sebastian.
He rinsed his hands in the water as well and shook the water off. He reached out to Kurt and Kurt grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingers. Kurt handed Sebastian the towel and checked the time on his phone. They only had about 45 minutes left before the bus would be back.
They walked up the beach for about 15 minutes, and then headed back the direction they had come from. They stopped and picked up a few shells on their walk back. Before they headed back toward the bus pick-up area, Kurt pulled Sebastian close to him, wrapped his arms around him, and kissed him soundly. Sebastian was surprised, but caught up quickly and started kissing Kurt back.
"What was that for? Not that I'm complaining," he asked with a huge smile on his face.
"Just to remind you that I love you and I'm not ashamed that I do. Yesterday, you were having some doubts in the stadium." Kurt took his hand again and started walking toward the bus stop.
"What about your dad?"
"My dad isn't ashamed of us and if the media tries to smear him by posting some picture of us kissing, then he won't care at all. We're not being indecent. He'd tell whoever it was to mind their own business and use their press potential to write stories of value to the American public."
Sebastian laughed. "You know, I can hear him say just that."
Kurt smiled and nodded.
They got to the sidewalk and street vendors had set up tables not far from the stop.
"Let's get two t-shirts. They're just $5. Stay here and I'll go pick two out. That way if the bus gets here, we won't get left behind."
Kurt walked over to the table and looked through the selection. He didn't really want neon, but didn't really want white either. He found a palm tree, sand and water scene with Florida written in cursive in the waves in a pale yellow and a pale turquoise that he liked. He grabbed one of each and held them up to make sure they looked okay and that they would fit. He paid the vendor, thanked him, took the bag, and headed back to the bus stop.
"So, you found some?"
"I did. You can see when we get to the hotel. We can wear them on the way home."
The bus pulled up a couple of minutes later. They waited for everyone to get off, and then they boarded and rode back to the hotel. Once they got there, they hurried up to their room and took their shorts off and shook out any sand. They jumped in the shower to rinse any residual sand off their feet and legs, dried off, and put their shorts back on.
"Stay here."
Kurt went back in the room and pulled the t-shirts out of the bag, put the towel they had taken to the beach and their flip flops in it, and put it in the suitcase. He put the pale turquoise shirt on.
He went back toward the bathroom. "Close your eyes."
Sebastian did. Kurt put the t-shirt on over his head and Sebastian slipped his arms in.
"Now, open them."
He looked at Kurt's and then down at his own. "I like them. Colorful, but understated."
They put their socks and shoes on and double-checked the room. When they didn't find anything, they headed down to check out and get on the shuttle to the airport.