"Hello?"
"Is this Sebastian Smythe?"
"It is. May I ask who's calling?" Sebastian kept hold of Kurt's hand and walked them away from the group, over to a bench on the side of the room.
"I'm MaryJane Collins, Renée's tenant."
"Alright." He moved closer to Kurt and held the phone so that Kurt could hear as well.
"I really don't want to be the one to do this, but I don't know what else to do."
"What's going on?"
"Renée – she's dead. I found her this evening in the living room when I came back from studying. I called the police. I think she OD'ed. The police are here. They said they need the next of kin to make an official ID of her body. Someone related to her has to come take care of all of the legal stuff. I found the card you sent with your new phone number and address on it in her dresser, which is where I looked since she doesn't have a desk. I'm so sorry. I don't even know who you are, but I can't find any address book or anything else. I thought maybe you could help me figure out who to call."
"She what?" Sebastian was having trouble focusing.
"I think she OD'ed. There were some bottles of alcohol and there's what looks like may be the remnants of a coke line on the coffee table. The police are here collecting evidence. They said I had to call a relative."
"Give me someone's phone number to contact, please."
MaryJane got an officer to speak to Sebastian and give him a phone number, which Kurt took down. She took the phone back after the officer gave Sebastian the phone number.
"I don't know what to do MaryJane. Renée is my mother. I'm a high school student, and as you saw on the card, I live in Ohio now. I have to figure out how to get to Paris. Please give me your cell number so I can call you once I arrive in Paris."
She gave it to him, Kurt took it down, and Sebastian hung up. Kurt scooted as close as he could to Sebastian and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Jeff walked toward the bench.
"Go get Mr. Marnette and bring him back here, please," Kurt said.
Jeff nodded and texted their chaperone teacher. Within five minutes, Mr. Marnette sat down next to Sebastian. Nick and Jeff stood near them to block other people from trying to eavesdrop.
Sebastian spoke very quietly. "I have to go to Paris today. I'll be making some phone calls, but I'll have to leave from here and go to the airport. My mother died. I have to go."
"Sebastian, I'm so sorry for your loss. What can I do to help?"
"I'm not sure yet. I have to make some phone calls."
Kurt started looking up flights from Chicago to Paris. Then he realized that Sebastian couldn't leave without his passport.
Kurt spoke very quietly, "If you give me your father's number, I will call him. You can call Carole. She's at home with Sarah. Somehow we have to get your passport and stuff before you can leave the country."
"Let's think before we call anyone. My father will have to go too. We can't fly directly from here. We have to get the documents from home. Carole could bring the whole safe and meet us. So, we could fly from here to Columbus and from there to Paris. She could get there by the time we do."
"Alright. So, you need Carole to meet you at the airport with the safe so you can get your documents?" Kurt summarized.
"No, so we can get our documents. I saw that you have a passport. I'm not going back to Paris without you."
"I don't see how you'll convince your father to agree to buying me a ticket to Paris."
"Let's go outside. I don't want people listening in because I'll have to speak in a normal voice for him to hear me." Nick and Jeff stepped away, allowing Kurt and Sebastian to walk outside alone.
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They moved outside on the steps. Sebastian dialed his father's number.
"Sebastian, why are you calling me?"
"Mother's dead. We have to go to Paris."
"What?"
"My mother is dead. We have to go to Paris."
"Who is 'we'?"
"You, Kurt, and I will be traveling to Paris. He and I will need to leave Chicago immediately and fly to Columbus and from there fly to Paris. When you leave is up to you, but it needs to be in the next day or two."
"Why do I need to go?"
"I suppose you want me to inherit the flat then? Unless you have proof that you are the joint owner of the flat, it's mine now. French inheritance laws are pretty strict. I am her only heir. Everything she owned is now mine. If you have paperwork showing that you are joint owner of the flat, then you'll need to bring it to Paris and make a claim so that it will become yours. I'll have to sign legal documents relinquishing it to you. I don't want anything from the flat except the few things I left behind. You can do whatever you want with the contents, which of course will include whatever's left of the cash that she's siphoned off of you the last 18 years since she doesn't have any bank accounts. And no I don't know where she keeps the cash, but I'm sure you'll find it if you look hard enough."
"Why is Kurt going?"
"Because otherwise, I'm not. Surely, you can afford another ticket when going there will allow you to reclaim a $million flat, plus the cash contents. You're also going to pay for us to stay in a cheap hotel for the next three nights because that's how long I'm staying. You can stay at the flat or wherever you want. You have her tenant to deal with as well. She's not due to move out until July."
"I can't just leave town."
"Your choice. If you're not there by Tuesday morning, I'll assume that you don't want the flat and I'll start the process of claiming it myself."
"How will you get to Paris if I don't pay for the ticket?"
"I'll borrow it discretely and pay the lender back from the cash I find in the flat or I can just tell the Warblers that my father won't pay for a ticket for me to go to France to deal with my mother's estate. I go to school with a bunch of teenagers of rich, influential people. How long do you think it will take them to withdraw enough cash for me to get two plane tickets and then explain to their fathers why they needed the cash? There's an ATM right inside the building."
"Fine. Head to the airport and I'll buy the two of you tickets to Columbus on the first available flight out. Call me when you get there, so I can give you the flight numbers."
Sebastian called Mr. Marnette, who came outside to meet them.
"I need our suitcase off the bus. We're going to the airport."
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After what seemed like 5000 details and phone calls, 10 hours after the initial phone call, Kurt and Sebastian were sitting on the runway waiting for their overnight flight to Paris to take off. Robert was on the flight as well, but he had bought himself a first class ticket.
Kurt was in the window seat, and even though Sebastian's seat belt was fastened, he managed to find a way to lean against Kurt, who had put a pillow and folded blanket between himself and the plane. Once they were in the air and the fasten seatbelt light went out, they arranged themselves so they were snuggled up as much as possible. It was a long flight and neither of them managed to sleep anywhere nearly enough.
They sat back up for the landing. They waited their turn to disembark and headed to the baggage area before heading through customs. Robert was waiting for them on the other side of the customs area. They stopped briefly for Robert to withdraw some Euros from an ATM and for Robert to call Burt to let them know that they had arrived.
Sebastian took Kurt's hand and led them out of the airport to the transportation area where the taxis waited for passengers. Robert followed along behind. A driver opened the trunk and they put their luggage in. Sebastian gave him the address and he nodded.
Forty minutes later, they arrived. Robert paid the drive and collected his bag. Sebastian grabbed their suitcase and Kurt's hand and practically marched up to a door, opened it, and went inside. They climbed three flights of stairs. Sebastian knocked first, but got no response, so he unlocked the flat door and he and Kurt stepped inside. Robert followed behind.
The place was just the way Sebastian had described it. The living area and kitchen were clean, but that was all that could be said for the place. There were very few pieces of furniture – a small table with two wood chairs, a couch, a coffee table, a floor lamp, and an end table that held an old clunker TV. If the items in the room had been in good shape, it would have been like walking into a 1960s room in a museum. The only things that weren't from that era were the TV and small refrigerator, both from the early 90s. There were no decorations, no photographs, nothing to make the place feel like a home.
Sebastian left the suitcase by the table, but didn't let go of Kurt's hand. He walked to his room and knocked again to be certain that MaryJane wasn't just sleeping. When he got no response, he opened the door, which had a new doorknob with a keyed entry. He saw that the room had been emptied of MaryJane's personal possessions. He walked directly to the wardrobe and opened it. He found nothing inside. He finally released Kurt's hand, but only because he knelt in next to the head of the bed and reached underneath. He pulled out the box that he had kept his journals in. He looked around the room carefully and found nothing else of his in the room.
He carried the box into the living area and placed it on the table. "That's everything that's mine. I will check my mother's room just to make sure that there's nothing else."
He took Kurt's hand again and walked into his mother's room. It wasn't neat and tidy like the other rooms. Obviously MaryJane had kept the other areas clean. He opened the wardrobe and looked under her bed. He opened his mother's dresser and removed their livret de famille and the other papers that were in an envelope and put them in his satchel. He looked through the other drawers to be certain there were no other papers. He took one last look around before they walked back out into the living area.
He walked out of her room and over to the living area window and looked out, still holding Kurt's hand. Kurt pulled him into a hug and held him until he stepped back.
"I need that number to call the police so I can find out where the morgue is."
Kurt pulled his phone out and walked with him to the telephone to make the call. He pulled his notebook out of his bag before he called. He wrote down the address he was given. He turned to speak to Robert, who was still standing five feet inside the flat, near the door.
"You can stay here while I'm gone. I'll call MaryJane and let her know that we are here so she can come give us the keys. I don't have an additional key, so you'll just have to wait until I get back. Feel free to start looking through Mother's room to see if you can find the cash."
Robert finally spoke. "I expected something quite different."
"I explained to you how I grew up. You chose not to believe me. I can't control what you do or don't believe. After I got old enough to feel uncomfortable sleeping in a room with my au pair, I slept on that couch for several years before I went to boarding school. When I came back in the summers, I slept in my room since her student tenant wasn't here. You're free to look around. There's nothing here that's mine."
"She sent me photos of you every Christmas. I sent you Christmas cards and birthday cards with cash in them once you went to boarding school. I assumed that you came home for Christmas since she sent me photos."
"She must have sent you my school photo each year. The school sent out a photo of us to our parents each year at the beginning of December. She must have sent that on to you. I never got any cards from you. She had the only key to the mailbox. Who knows where that is? Probably on her keyring or that charm bracelet she wore. If she has it on at the morgue, I'll ask for it to be bagged up and I'll bring it back. You'll need it to put with the flat key when you sell it. If it's not on that bracelet, you'll just have to hope you find it on her key ring when you search the place. Or now that I think about it, I bet MaryJane has a copy."
Robert just nodded.
Sebastian used the landline to call MaryJane to inform her of their arrival. After he hung up, he walked toward the door. "We'll be back." He took the box and Kurt grabbed their suitcase.
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Please state the deceased's name and her relationship to you."
"That's my mother Renée Lyon."
"Thank you."
He was escorted back out to a small office. Sebastian and Kurt sat at a table.
"Please sign these documents. We'll need a copy of your ID to put in the file."
Sebastian handed the man his French national ID card, he signed numerous forms, and was given directions for all of the other things he needed to do and the places he needed to go to do them, which he wrote down in his notebook. He had the officer returned Sebastian's ID to him, Sebastian asked him to read over his notes to make sure they were complete.
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"We're going to go check into our hotel before we go back to the flat. I don't want to lose our reservation. I'm going to take you to as many of the places that I love as I can while we're here the next three days. We can never see all the sights in that time period, but I can show you the Paris I love and still see a few of the big tourist areas."
"I'd love that." He squeezed Sebastian's hand.
When they got to the hotel, they checked in using the credit card that Robert had previously withheld from Sebastian. He had given it to Sebastian when they met up in Columbus. They went up to the room for a few minutes.
Kurt said, "Let's rearrange the suitcase to make room for these if we can." He took everything out of the suitcase and put it all back in, including the notebooks.
Sebastian had been staring out the window, but turned to look when he heard Kurt zip the suitcase. "Perfect. I'd like to stop and buy a small lock to put on the suitcase though. I'm not leaving it in here until I put a lock on it. I'm sorry to say that I don't trust the staff at cheap hotels to leave our stuff alone."
"Okay. We can just take turns pulling it or carrying it."
Sebastian reached out for Kurt's hand, and they headed back out.
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They stopped along the way several times. Sebastian showed him a lot of the places where he spent time. A library, a bookstore, an art gallery, and a park. They stopped in a small shop and bought a lock and put it on the suitcase. They also stopped in a small grocery store and picked up some shelf stable items to eat and some bottles of water since they had so many things to do the next day. Sebastian stopped a few more times and took photos of Kurt or had Kurt take pictures of him or they took selfies together. Kurt could tell from Sebastian's demeanor that he really considered this his last trip to Paris for a really long time.
He rarely let go of Kurt's hand and sometimes he held him even closer by wrapping their interlaced fingers up and over Kurt's head, so Sebastian's arm was around Kurt's shoulders and their hands were interlaced over Kurt's heart.
They arrived back at the flat and found that MaryJane had returned. She was sitting at the kitchen table. Robert was in Renée's room looking through her stuff.
"Hello, I'm Sebastian. This is my boyfriend, Kurt. I'm so sorry for what you've been through. I appreciate you calling me. I'm sure you don't want to stay here any longer than necessary given what happened. Do you have some place to go?"
"I'm staying at a friend's place for a while. I stayed there last night and I moved my stuff there this morning. Here's the key I have to the bedroom door, the entry door, and the mailbox key." She stood and handed all three to Sebastian.
"I'm not really sure what to tell you about the rent you already paid for this month. It's not really in my power to return any of your money because I don't have it. I'm hoping that my father already spoke with you."
"He did."
"Good. I just have one question. Were there any items in the wardrobe when you moved in? I had left a few things in a small duffle on the shelf and a single coat."
"No, I'm sorry. It was empty when she rented the room to me."
"Thanks."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Sebastian." She put her hand on his arm right above the elbow for a few seconds, and then left the apartment.
Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian, hugged him, gave him a gentle kiss, and then just stood next to him with his arm wrapped around Sebastian's waist.
"Father?"
"Yes, Sebastian?" he said as he came out of the bedroom.
"MaryJane is gone and left her keys. I signed all of the paperwork at the morgue. Once I pick up the death certificate, I have a lot of legal stuff that I have to do tomorrow morning. You'll need to bring your proof of ownership of the flat to this office to have her name removed from the title." Sebastian placed a piece of paper on the table. "We'll meet you there at noon. I'll have all of the utilities turned off on Thursday before we leave. If you plan on staying past Thursday, you'll need to either have them turned back on in your name or stay somewhere else. Dead people can't have bills in their names. I was given a long list of rules and regulations and I don't have any interest in repeating them to you. So, unless you want to hire an interpreter and go to all of these places yourself to check up on whether I'm telling the truth, I'm just going to do what I was told and go back to Ohio once my obligations are complete. We have finals next week and we'll need to spend at least some time studying for them."
"What I am supposed to do with all of this stuff?"
"Well, I guess you can leave it here and sell it with the flat. The new owners will have to deal with it. Given the age of the furniture, I'm sure it came with the flat when my mother bought it."
"That won't bring the value up."
"Not my problem. If I were keeping the place and living in it, my answer would be different. But it's not my flat, it will never be my flat, and because of that, I don't have to figure out what to do with its contents."
Kurt pulled him to his chest and rubbed his back and held him close. He turned to Robert and gave him one his infamous ice king glares and then said, "We'll meet you at that office tomorrow at noon, like Sebastian said. If we're late, wait for us. Our morning will consist of dealing with various government agencies. I'm not expecting the French government to work any more efficiently than ours does. If we're late, it's because we got held up somewhere standing in line and filling out more paperwork."
Kurt let Sebastian go and reached for his hand, but Sebastian walked away. He went over to the kitchen area and looked through a drawer and pulled out an apron. He grabbed a cloth shopping bag hanging from a hook. He looked through the cabinets and drawers. He removed several pieces – a mixing bowl, some utensils, and a kitchen scale. He wrapped the cooking utensils in the apron and placed all of the items into the shopping bag.
"I need you to give me at least 30 Euros because Kurt and I cannot possibly make it to all of these places by noon tomorrow if we have to walk and I can't use the credit card to take a bus or the Metro or a taxi."
Robert opened his wallet and gave Sebastian the cash he asked for.
"Thank you." Sebastian put the money in his own wallet. He picked up the grocery bag from earlier, put it in the cloth shopping bag, put it up on his shoulder, and took Kurt's hand. Kurt grabbed their suitcase and they left.
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"You didn't leave him a copy of the key to the flat."
"He can lock the bottom lock without the key. I'll give him both entry keys, the bedroom door key, and the mailbox key when he meets us tomorrow. Plus, my mother's set of keys has to be in the flat somewhere since they weren't with her."
They took a bus back to the hotel and arrived without incident, but Kurt could feel the tension dripping off of Sebastian. They walked upstairs to their room and Kurt opened the door and then locked it behind them.
"Let's shower and go to sleep. I know it's like 4:00 in the afternoon in Ohio, but we have to get up in 8 hours to get through all of the things on that list. He started to unbutton Sebastian's shirt. He wasn't being provocative at all, just trying to help Sebastian keep moving.
A half-hour later, they were both in bed. Sebastian was lying on Kurt, who was running his fingers through Sebastian's hair.
"Would you feel better if we reposition in a way that allows me to pet you the way you like? I can only really reach your arm this way."
"Not right now. I just want to lie on you."
"Okay." Kurt kissed the top of his head. "I love you so much."
"I love you too. I'm glad you're here with me."
"I'll always be with you, as much as it's in my power to be."
Sebastian wrapped his arm across Kurt's chest and interlaced his fingers with Kurt's. He finally relaxed and they both fell asleep.
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The next morning Kurt and Sebastian packed some of the food they had bought the previous evening in their satchels to eat on their way to collect the death certificate. They went from there to the various other government agencies and administrative offices that they had to go to. By noon, they were both pretty frazzled, but they arrived on time to meet Robert.
They met with an estate lawyer. Sebastian brought all of the necessary documents that he had procured that morning to show that he was the sole heir to his mother's estate. He signed a legal document that indicated that his mother had no job, no bank accounts, no life insurance, no car, no other physical possessions, like boats, and that her only asset was the flat and it's contents, which his father co-owned. He signed the flat over to Robert. He signed tax forms so that her estate could be settled immediately.
He stayed and served as the interpreter for his father. Once all of the paperwork had been signed, Sebastian gave Robert all of the keys.
They double-checked that there was nothing left for Sebastian to do. He took his copy of all of the documents that he had signed. The lawyer offered him an envelope, which he graciously accepted. He folded the documents, pulled out the stack he already had in his satchel and put all of them in the envelope, and put it in his satchel.
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Sebastian led them to a café with outdoor seating. Robert ordered lunch in his broken French. Kurt and Sebastian shook their heads when the waitress asked them if they wanted anything.
No one said anything at first. Sebastian pulled his notebook out and wrote something and then put an address underneath. He handed the piece of paper to his father.
"Should anyone call or come around asking about her, you can either read this to them or show it to them."
Robert took it from him and looked at it. He could read it well enough to know that it was a note saying that Renée had died and the address was the crematorium where people could go to pay their respects. He just nodded and put the note in his briefcase.
Sebastian opened his wallet and took out the cash they hadn't used for taxis that morning and gave it to Robert. "You have everything now, Father. There are bilingual realtors. If you need suggestions, the lawyer's office can probably suggest a few to you. I'll cut up the credit card you gave me once we get back to Ohio. It should only have around $200 or so in personal charges on it. The hotel is only about $50 a night, plus taxes. And we haven't put any other personal purchases on the card. Any other charges are for the government fees associated with the things we did this morning. So, it seems to me that this is the end of the road. You can do what you want with the property and never have to see me again."
"This isn't how I had planned for things to go."
"Well, since you don't want a fag for a son, you have two more hopefuls for the role of dutiful heir back in Ohio to get it right, I suppose. So, now, you just have two children. I hope for their sakes that they're both straight, not because being gay is wrong, but because I wouldn't wish on them the rejection you have heaped on me."
"I just wanted you to have a good childhood and grow up happy."
"I'm not interested in rehashing the past. You had your chance to be a part of my life, and, instead, you treated me worse than she did. End of story. I had no intention of ever accepting another penny from you, but in order for you to reclaim the flat, I had to come. And going into debt so you could add another tidy million to your own bank account didn't seem reasonable to me. I will consider the tickets here, the taxis, and the hotel bill as part of the brokering fee, much like the realtor's fee – not money you've given to me personally. So, I've done my part and made the process simple for you. Goodbye, Father."
He stood and took Kurt's hand and they headed off toward the nearest bank so they could withdraw some cash. After they left the bank, they walked to the closest Metro station.
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They got off the Metro near the Eiffel Tower because Sebastian wanted to make sure that Kurt got to see a few of the big tourist areas.
"Have you ever been to the top?"
"No. I came one year on a school field trip not long after I started at the boarding school and we went up to the 2nd level, but there were just too many of us to have the time for everyone to go up and back down. We can walk up to the first level and you can see a lot from there. It's cool because you're high enough up to see most of the landmarks within viewing distance."
"Alright."
They walked around the base for a bit just looking up from different angles, and then they headed to the stairs and walked up to the first level. They walked around looking out across the different parts of Paris.
"That's the direction we're headed next." Sebastian pointed to the east.
When they came back down to ground level they walked into the park area to the southeast of the structure where they could see the whole structure. Sebastian took his camera out and looked around and found some other tourists who were taking photos with actual cameras.
"Will you take our photo? I'll take yours as well."
He took her camera and took a few shots of her with the group of friends she was with. He handed her his camera and spoke where Kurt couldn't hear him as he handed her his camera. She nodded with a big smile on her face.
Sebastian walked back over to Kurt. They stood so they were centered with the Eiffel Tower rising up behind them. Sebastian first stood next to Kurt and wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders, then moved his arm to Kurt's waist. Kurt's arm remained around Sebastian's waist. Sebastian stepped back a little and took Kurt's hands.
"Look toward the Tower for this photo."
She took a few photos. She knelt to get a better angle.
Sebastian quickly dropped to one knee. Kurt looked toward him, sensing his movement.
Sebastian looked directly into Kurt eyes. "Kurt, I love you so much. Will you marry me?"
"Yes, yes, of course." Kurt nodded and had a huge smile on his face. Kurt pulled him up to standing.
"I know it's not even legal here or in Ohio. Later. Next year. In a few years. Whenever we can. I know we talked about waiting until we were living completely on our own to get engaged and I'll understand if you still want to wait, but"
He interrupted him with a kiss and wrapped his arms around him. "Sebastian, I love you. Yes, I want to marry you."
The group of girls that was standing nearby all clapped for them. The one that had been taking photos walked closer and offered Sebastian his camera back.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Best wishes to the two of you!" She waved as she walked back to her group of friends.
Sebastian put the camera back in his bag and wrapped his arms back around Kurt. He picked him up and spun him in a circle and put him back down. "I love you so much." He kissed him again.
"I love you too."
"There's one place I just have to take you. There are hundreds of places to see, but you'll love this place."
He let go of Kurt enough to wrap his arm around his waist, which Kurt did as well. They walked back to a Metro station and headed to where Sebastian wanted to take Kurt.
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They got off the Metro and walked a few blocks and arrived at L'Òpera Garnier. They went inside and Kurt's eyes grew large and his jaw dropped as he looked around.
"It's like a fairy tale." He turned in a circle looking at everything.
"It's amazing. There are so many awful things in the world and in life, but I would visit places like this to remind myself that there is also beauty and amazing things in the world too."
"Like you."
Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"Don't." Kurt turned and looked him directly in the eye. "You got onto me for not accepting your compliments. It's only fair if you accept mine as well. I think you're amazing."
Sebastian just nodded slightly and squeezed Kurt's hand. They walked around hand in hand just taking in everything around them. They toured the whole building for the next couple of hours.
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"You said there are places to go dancing." Kurt stated as they walked down the stairs back toward the sidewalk.
"There are."
"Can we go this evening? I'd like to have a nice dinner and go dancing with my amazing fiancé to celebrate."
They got to the bottom and Sebastian stopped. "We can do that." He leaned forward and kissed Kurt, who blushed from the unexpected PDA.
Sebastian was looking down the street. "I think tomorrow, I'd like us to splurge on tickets for one of the double-decker tour buses. I saw one on our way in. I've been thinking while we were looking around and I think it might be the only way we can see a lot of the sights in one day."
"Okay."
"It stops over there." He pointed to a building just down the street. Let's go down there and look."
They crossed the street and walked down the block to the bus hub and went in to pick up a brochure. They looked through it and looked at the map of all of the stops.
"I bet it would save a lot of time since the bus drives from one place directly to the next."
"It would because with the regular transit we'll have to change buses and get on the Metro at different points. Plus with this, we can get on and off as many times as we want without have to pay to get back on."
"Let's do it. It looks like fun and it seems like the best way to see a lot of places in one day."
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Back at the hotel, they stopped at the front desk and Sebastian inquired about an iron and ironing board and was given directions to the laundry area.
They pulled out the outfits they had worn to dinner in Chicago on Saturday night. Kurt turned the iron on and set up the ironing board and ironed their clothes. He was glad that he thought to ask Carole to bring them some clean socks, underwear, and a couple of shirts to switch out at the airport in Columbus when she brought the small safe so they could get their passports and documents they needed. That way they didn't have to try to do laundry while they were in Paris. After he finished, they headed back to their room, changed and went back out to enjoy their late afternoon and evening together.
They went to a club that hosted tea dances in the afternoons and then later in the evening the venue became a more of club scene. Kurt learned the Fox Trot and the Tango. They danced together on and off for several hours. In between they sat close, arms wrapped around each other listening to the music, and watching the other couples dance.
"It's too bad this type of thing doesn't exist in Ohio. It's a lot of fun."
"I agree. It's one of the things I do miss. Ohio is so… I don't even know a term for it. Maybe once we're in Cincinnati we'll find some place like that club in Columbus. I know it's not really the same as this, but we can look. Maybe once we turn 21, there will be some places that we'll like."
"Maybe." He gently pulled Sebastian toward him by wrapping his hand around the side of his face and slightly behind his neck, and then he kissed him gently. "I really like getting to see where you grew up."
"Having you here with me is just amazing. I love you so much and being able to be with you here is like a dream I didn't allow myself to have. I always saw all these couples when I'd go out dancing. Now, I have you."
"You definitely have me." Kurt kissed him again. "Let's dance some more."
Sebastian took his hand, led him out to the dance floor, and pulled him close.
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Later that night, they were lying in bed snuggled up together.
"I want to save up and come back. I don't mind if we stay in a cheap hotel like this. I just want to come back here with you some time."
"Mmm. I'd like that. There are so many cool out-of-the-way places to go. Tomorrow will be fun though. I've never ridden on one of those double-decker buses. We'll see the sites together."
"I think I want to go around Lima like you did before you left. I want to take pictures of the shop, the lake where I go when I just want to get away for a while, even silly things like the auditorium at school. And some pictures at Dalton too – the garden especially. I want to make a collage, maybe not as big as the ones I made you because I don't know if I can come up with 16 places to photograph. But I want to hang your posters and a new one we create up in our new house. And maybe some artwork. And I want to make a collage from our trips too. And I want to find something cool to do with all of the postcards, which I still need to get while we're here. I know it will take time to furnish the house, but I want to hang some things and make it feel like home."
"M'kay. But wherever you are is home for me." He pulled Kurt into gentle kiss and laid his head down on Kurt's chest and within a few minutes, he had fallen asleep, just like the first night when Kurt told him that he loved him.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
The next morning, Sebastian woke up to Kurt kissing him. After a few kisses on the top of his head, Sebastian managed to focus. He scooted up, lay on top of Kurt, and joined in the kissing.
"Good morning, mon étoile." He looked Kurt directly in the eyes with a sweet smile on his face.
"Well, this is definitely a pleasant way to start the day." Kurt pulled him into a passionate kiss. When they broke for air, he said, "Good morning to you, too," with a mischievous grin on his face and he flipped them and started kissing down Sebastian's neck.
Sebastian laughed at Kurt's antics. "Is that how it's going to be?" Sebastian flipped them back over and started to lick Kurt's ribs causing him to start writhing, but before he got aggravated, he started kissing up his chest and up his neck. "Two can play that game," he teased.
"Well, it's definitely more enjoyable with you. I never much cared for this game played in single-player mode," he teased back.
"Mmm hmm." Sebastian kissed him and licked his way Kurt's mouth and restarted the making out.
Kurt managed to flip them back over again and started rolling his hips, causing Sebastian to start saying those words he told Kurt meant "don't stop."
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They were at the Eiffel Tower waiting for the first tour bus to leave at 9:30. They hopped on and went up to the upper level. The bus took them through Champ de Mars. Kurt squeezed Sebastian's hand as they rode past where Sebastian had proposed to him the day before. He leaned in a whispered, "I love you."
Sebastian lifted their interlocked hands and kissed Kurt's knuckles. "You said 'yes'."
"I did."
Sebastian smiled and leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you too."
The bus began to move again. They drove past the École Militaire and the Hôtel des Invalides. It turned and drove through the Place de la Concorde and turned in front of the Eglise de la Madeleine.
"It's beautiful in there as well. When we come back some time we'll go inside."
Kurt smiled and nodded.
They rode in a circle around L'Òpera Garnier.
"That was the most spectacular place. I'm glad you took me there."
The bus drove through the center of the Louvre.
"When we come back, we are definitely coming here," Sebastian said. "We could spend several days in there looking at everything."
"I'm sure it's amazing."
"There are lots of fantastic museums that we can go to."
They got off at the next stop and walked across the Pont des Arts bridge and back to the stop and got back on the next bus that came and rode to the next stop and got off again. They explored L'île de la cité. The walked to the far end and sat and watched the boats for a little while. They walked past the Palace of Justice and looked around inside Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie. They walked through the center of the isle looking at the buildings and worked their way to the Notre Dame Cathedral. After they looked around inside, they walked around the outside looking at the architecture.
"This is amazing. These places are breathtakingly beautiful. It's hard to believe that there are so many amazing places like this in such a small area. Not that Paris is small, but compared to Ohio, Paris itself is small and there are so many amazing places here."
"It's just really different. The construction on this was started over 500 years before the colonists formed the first states. So, what seems old in your worldview is not old here. In Ohio, a building that is a hundred years old is 'old', whereas here, something built a hundred years ago is nowhere near old compared to this church that was built about 850 years ago."
"You're right. But coming from that to here, it makes it all feel sort of surreal. It's hard to explain. But it's amazing. I'd love to come back here. Maybe even live here."
"You mean that?"
"I do. Maybe we could look into graduate school here. Maybe would could spend a summer in New York City as well. If Finn and Rachel stay together, we might be able to stay in their apartment for the summer while they go back to Lima or something. There are lots of possibilities. I want to find a place that suits us both. We're young. We have time to figure it out."
Once they had made it all the way around, Sebastian led them toward the end of the isle, into the park area, where they could see the Seine and they could sit down to eat some of the stuff they had brought with them.
Sebastian sat really close to Kurt and wrapped his arm behind him and ate one handed so that he could hold Kurt close. Kurt looked over at him smiling, but somewhat confused. Sebastian used the free hand he had to turn Kurt toward him just a bit more and leaned forward and kissed him. Kurt just smiled and took one of the pieces of dried apricot he had and put it in Sebastian's mouth and laughed.
"I love you. Are you trying to make sure no one gets the idea that I'm available or something? We're already wearing matching rings and you have your arm around me."
"Nope, not at all. I'm showing off."
Kurt looked completely confused at that point.
"Showing off what?"
"You, of course," he said with a smug gleam.
Kurt just shook his head and laughed.
"Oh, no. This is no laughing matter." He kissed him again. "I am showing off my absolutely gorgeous fiancé."
"Whatever. You're crazy."
"Pot calling the kettle black."
Kurt just shook his head and laughed again.
"This is everything I ever wanted. Dance with me."
"Right here?"
"Right here."
Kurt put the rest of what he was snacking on and his bottle of water back in his satchel and stood up. Sebastian quickly did the same thing. Then he put his arms around Kurt and started to slow dance with him. He started singing, not loud, but loud enough for Kurt to hear him clearly.
…
And you play it coy
But it's kinda cute
Oh when you smile at me
You know exactly what you do
Baby don't pretend
That you don't know it's true
'Cause you can see it when I look at you
And in this crazy life
And through these crazy times
It's you, it's you
You make me sing
You're every line
You're every word
You're everything
…
And I can't believe that I'm your man
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can
Whatever comes our way
We'll see it through
And you know that's what our love can do
…
And in this crazy life
And through these crazy times
It's you, it's you
You make me sing
You're very line
You're every word
You're everything
…
When he finished singing, he just held Kurt tight and hugged him. "I mean that. You're everything I ever wanted. I'm not putting you on some insane pedestal, so don't worry that I'm deluded. Neither one of us is perfect, but having someone to love and spend my life with is all I've ever wanted. I love you so much."
Kurt pulled himself together and overrode his leeriness of PDA and pulled back just enough to kiss Sebastian, who was surprised, but happily so, and kissed him back. "I love you too, Sebastian." He held Sebastian close.
He hadn't broken down yet and Kurt knew that he would at some point. There was no way someone could lose their mother and not eventually break down crying. Kurt would be there for him. If Sebastian wanted to dance with him on a small island in the middle of the Seine, he could do that.
Gradually, Sebastian loosened his hold on Kurt and took his hand instead. "Let's walk toward the next bus stop. There's a park on that side too. We can sit and eat while we wait for the next bus to come around."
Kurt interlaced their fingers and happily walked alongside Sebastian. He tried to take in as much as he could, not knowing how long it would probably be before they could come back.
When the bus arrived a little while later, they got on and it drove them past the Palais de l'institut de France, the Musée d'Orsay, the Assemblée Nationale, and then back over the Seine down the Avenue Champs Elysées and down to the Arc de Triomphe.
They decided to get off at the Arc de Triomphe. They took photos and walked around before getting back on the next bus, which took them to the Grand Palais. They got off again and looked all around the area. Sebastian's pace slowed a bit as they were walking away from the area, heading back toward the bus stop.
"Let's go somewhere before we get back on the bus."
"Alright. What did you have in mind?"
"Well, it's a window shopping or browsing trip. I know that you love fashion, but I also know that what's for sale is way out of our budget. Do you want to go anyway?"
"Definitely. I'm okay with browsing. I like to get ideas. It's fun."
"Well, then let's head this way." He held Kurt's hand and led him across the street and headed toward Avenue Montaigne to look in the high-end stores – Chanel, Versace, Fendi, Balenciaga and more.
By the time they reached the end of the street, Kurt was in fashion overload. "Oh, my God, that was so much fun. I would never spend $5000 on a pair of shoes or whatever, but that was so much fun."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Lead the way back to the bus stop, my good sir," Kurt said in his most ridiculous English accent.
"This way, if you please." He directed them back to where they needed to go and they waited for the next bus and got back on and rode it to Trocadéro, which was the last stop, and they got off. They wandered around the area and enjoyed themselves.
Out of the blue Kurt said, "Let's go up."
"Really?"
"Yes. I want to go up to the top with you."
"Let's see if there are any tickets available any time soon."
They walked over the bridge to the Eiffel Tower ticket window and got in line. They bought tickets for the next available time, which wasn't for 45 minutes. After they had their tickets, they rode up to the 2nd level and walked around until it was time to ride up to the top.
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"The view is spectacular!" Kurt exclaimed.
"It really is. I've seen photos, but seeing it in person is so much different." Sebastian started pointing out places, like his school, the library, different museums, and other landmarks.
"Do you want to go visit anyone while we're here? I should have asked sooner."
"'I've thought about it and I can't really think of anyone other than some of the people I was friendly with at school. I did think about stopping by there for an hour or so just to, I don't know, have some closure. I never wrote to anyone after I left because I wasn't really that close to anyone. I felt like writing would be more personal than I had ever been with any of them. But maybe we can stop by tomorrow at lunch before we go to the airport."
"Sure. We can do that." Kurt pointed where no one was standing. "Let's go over there." He didn't want to start a controversy at the top of the Eiffel Tower, but he really wanted to kiss Sebastian. They walked to unoccupied area. Kurt pulled him close and wrapped his arm around Sebastian's waist. He leaned into Sebastian wrapped his other arm around the front and turned Sebastian to face him and kissed him quickly. He attempted to step back, but Sebastian had wrapped his arms around Kurt as well and didn't let him step away.
"No one cares here, Kurt. It's okay." Sebastian kissed him again.
Kurt relaxed and they stood together looking out at the view.
"I take photo?" A guy asked in broken English.
"Yes, please." Sebastian responded. He handed the man his camera, which was returned to him after a couple of shots. "Thank you."
The guy nodded and smiled and went back to enjoying the view.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
After they left the Eiffel Tower, they walked toward the Metro station.
"Which one of these stores is a good place to get souvenirs? I still want to buy post cards."
"Umm." Sebastian looked up and down both sides of the street. "Over there."
They crossed the street and walked down the block and went inside. They headed to the postcard racks and they found ones for all of the places they had actually visited. They looked around the store after they had picked up the ones they wanted.
Kurt was looking through a rack of t-shirts. Sebastian was just wandering around.
"We have to get these."
Sebastian turned to see what he was talking about. Kurt was holding up two t-shirts with Eiffel Tower line drawings in the center. One said "Il a dit OUI." and the other said "J'ai dit OUI."
"They're perfect. We should definitely get them. Do they have our size in black or a darker color? I don't usually wear white t-shirts."
Kurt looked through the rack. "How about gray?" He pulled a gray one out and showed him.
"I like that."
Kurt kept the one in his hand and found another. "Do you see anything else you want to get?"
"No. Let's pay for what we have and head to the hotel. We still need to stop and get something to eat."
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When they got back to the hotel, they opened their suitcase and took everything out. They wrapped the journals in the apron and moved them to the fabric shopping bag. They wrapped the utensils and fit them into the suitcase since they violated the rules for what would be allowed in a carry on. Sebastian laid out their new t-shirts for them to wear the next day. They managed to rearrange things until they got the suitcase to zip closed.
They showered and got in bed. They snuggled up with Kurt as the little spoon.
"I'm glad we went on the bus tour," Sebastian said. "It was worth the expense to me to get to show you so many places. Maybe some summer, we can work things out with a student that's renting a flat. Maybe come over and stay for a whole month in July. I'm not sure, but we can work on it."
"We'll find a way."
Sebastian kissed the back of Kurt's neck. "I'm tired, but not sleepy. Let's try to sleep anyway."
"M'kay." Kurt pulled Sebastian's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles then placed their hands over his heart. "I love you."
Sebastian pulled him close and said, "I love you too."
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They got up early, got ready, and checked out of the hotel. They stopped and grabbed some breakfast in the local grocery again on their way to complete the rest of Sebastian's legal obligations. They went to the three locations to have the utilities disconnected, and then back to the Mairie to double-check that there was nothing else that Sebastian needed to do before flying back to Ohio.
Once they were certain that he had fulfilled all of his legal obligations, they headed to Sebastian's school.
"Are you sure you want me to go in with you? I can just wait at that coffee shop we walked past a few minutes ago."
"I'm sure. I want you with me." Sebastian tightened the grip he had on Kurt's hand.
Kurt nodded.
Sebastian felt strange entering the building in street clothes, but went inside to the main office. He secured a pass for both himself and for Kurt for two hours. He asked if they could leave their bags someplace safe while they were in the building. The secretary smiled and took them and slid them under her desk and handed him the pass.
Sebastian led Kurt through the building to the classroom wing and they waited outside a door for the lunch period to start. When the students exited the room, Sebastian stepped inside, still holding Kurt's hand. The teacher saw Sebastian and a smile spread across her face. He quickly thanked her for writing the letter of recommendation that she had sent in for his college application. He told her about the scholarship he had gotten. She congratulated him. They moved on to another classroom and Sebastian thanked another teacher for his recommendation as well.
They headed to the dining hall. Sebastian looked around and found the group of guys that he had lived with for 7 years. He approached their table and some of them saw him and smiled. He and Kurt sat down and suddenly Kurt felt like the speed at which everyone was talking doubled. Several people were talking to Sebastian at once and Kurt couldn't really keep up. He cleared his mind and focused on listening and he caught most of what was being said.
Sebastian introduced Kurt, and all of them went around the table and said their names. Several of them made comments about their t-shirts and rings, congratulating Sebastian.
They stayed and talked through the whole lunch period. Sebastian wrote his cell phone number and his new email address on a piece of paper and it got passed around the table for anyone to put in their phones that wanted it. When it came back around, Kurt folded it up and put it in his pocket. He talked about going to college in the US. He showed them a picture of their house in Cincinnati. He didn't mention either of his parents.
When the lunch period ended, he and Kurt collected their stuff from the secretary and left. Sebastian showed Kurt a variety of places around the school that meant something to him. Afterwards, they headed to the nearest bus station to start their journey to the airport.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
An hour later, they were back in the Charles de Gaulle airport. They checked their suitcase and found a place to sit and eat the rest of the food they had bought for lunch. After they finished, they went through security. They looked around the stores in the airport for a while. Eventually, they made their way to the boarding area and waited for their flight number to be called.
The flight back was long, but fairly uneventful. There wasn't a lot of turbulence and the babies on board didn't cry much. The flight seemed much longer on the way back since neither of them could really sleep even though they were tired. The jet lag had their internal clocks all messed. They listened to music, snuggled up the best they could, but they didn't talk.
They arrived in Columbus a little after 9:00pm Ohio time. Once they were off the plane, Kurt texted Carole to find out what they were supposed to do. They grabbed their suitcase and took off towards customs.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"Carole and Dad picked up your car and took it to Trina's house when he flew out to DC this week. So, we're supposed to take a taxi to Trina's and spend the night there."
"Alright. That makes things easier for tomorrow as far as how much driving you have to do."
"Yeah. Let's go grab a taxi and get going."
Kurt and Carole texted back and forth.
"She says that she put some more clean clothes for me in the trunk, along with the contents of my school locker. I owe Sam a thank you. He's the one that emptied my locker for me."
"Well, at least you can study all day tomorrow since you have your books."
"That's true."
"It's our final reading day tomorrow, so we don't have any classes, but we have to be quiet all day."
They rode the rest of the way to Trina's in silence. Kurt grabbed their suitcase and paid the driver.
Sebastian opened the trunk of the car and grabbed the bag of clothes that Carole had put in the trunk before they headed up to the front door and rang the bell.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
"It was really nice of Trina to let us stay here tonight," Sebastian said quietly as he lay on Kurt's chest.
"She was really nice to me the last time I stayed as well. I think she and Carole must be really close friends." Kurt ran his hand up and down Sebastian's arm.
"As soon as the game is over tomorrow, we're going home. I just want to go home and spend the weekend in our room, if that's okay with you."
"It depends on if you win. If you win, we'll stay at Dalton tomorrow night. Otherwise, that would be a lot of driving."
"Right. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm just really tired."
"Try to sleep. We'll figure everything out once we've slept."
"Mmm hmm. I love you."
Kurt kissed him on the top of his head. "I love you too."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
When they put their stuff in the trunk the next morning, Kurt found his satchel with his laptop in it, which he was thankful for. That meant he could finish the English and Government papers he had been working that had actually been due on Wednesday, but he'd need to turn them in when he got to school Monday morning.
When they got in the building, they stopped in the office and Kurt got a day pass and a weekend pass in case the lacrosse team won that evening. Kurt carried all of his books up to Sebastian's room. Someone had put the review sheets for each class in the bottom book. Kurt figured it had been Sam who had asked each of his teachers.
He selfishly hoped that Sam was going to hang around Lima for at least a week or two after graduation. He wanted to get some time to do some fun things together before he headed off to Kentucky for the summer. Maybe he'd stay in Lima the whole summer, which would be even better.
When they got upstairs, they opened up the suitcase and emptied it. They grabbed the dirty clothes from Sebastian's closet and sorted everything. Sebastian changed into his lacrosse sweats and they headed to the laundry room, textbooks in hand. They washed, dried, and hung the clothes up that didn't get dried, studying in between. Once they were done, they took everything back to Sebastian's room.
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Sebastian asked, "Do you want to repack everything in case we're heading to Lima after the game?"
"I suppose we could. We'd get home over an hour earlier if we did."
Sebastian started folding the clothes and putting them back in the suitcase. "We'll just put our textbooks in the laundry basket and carry them all down that way."
"Good idea."
Once they finished repacking, Kurt turned his laptop on, sat down at Sebastian's desk and worked on his English paper. Sebastian studied US History lying on his stomach on the bed until they went down to lunch
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
After they came back up from lunch, Kurt asked, "Can you actually study if we sit together in the bed?"
"Yes. Can you?"
"Yeah." Kurt grabbed the throw pillows and put them against the headboard and put the bed pillow in front. He grabbed his Government review sheet and textbook and took his shoes off. Once he was in the bed, he patted the space next to him. Sebastian grabbed his physics book, slipped his shoes off and sat next to Kurt.
Sebastian got a text at 2:30 reminding him of an emergency Warblers meeting at 3:00.
"I have to go to a Warblers meeting in a half-hour. None of the texts went through while we were in France. I didn't even know about it, but it says 'emergency meeting', so, there won't be any way to skip out."
"That's fine. We can head down there. What time is the bus leaving for the game?"
"I'll text Flint and find out."
While they were getting their shoes on, Flint replied saying that the bus was leaving at 5:30.
"We should go ahead and put everything in the car before we go to the Warbler's meeting. That way we'll have it over with. We can study for an hour between the meeting and when we need to be in the dining hall to eat."
"Okay." Kurt got up and collected all of their textbooks and put them into the laundry basket. He laid their hang-to-dry clothes over the top.
Kurt grabbed his satchel with his laptop in it and the laundry basket full of textbooks and things they needed to study. Sebastian grabbed his satchel with his laptop in it and pulled their suitcase to the door. "I think that's it." He let Kurt out the door and locked it behind them.
They headed down to the parking lot and put everything in the car. They each kept one textbook out to read between the meeting and dinner. On their way back inside, Sebastian stopped. "I'm wearing the wrong socks. I'm going to run upstairs and grab the right ones and I'll be right there. You can go ahead to the Warblers room." He handed Kurt his history textbook and went back toward the dorm rooms.
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Kurt walked in the room and sat with Nick and Jeff on one of the couches. Jeff quietly asked how Sebastian was doing.
"He's not talked about it yet. I think he's just pushed it to the back of his mind to get through the next week."
"We won't say anything. We haven't. No one else knows what happened."
"Good."
Jeff leaned over and told Nick what Kurt had said.
Most of the Warblers had arrived, but they were still waiting on a few stragglers.
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Sebastian and Blaine arrived at the hallway to the Warblers practice room at the same time.
"Should we be honored that you've graced us with your presence at this unusual Friday rehearsal after you skipped out all week?"
Sebastian walked past him and continued to walk toward the Warblers practice room.
"Did he finally put out on your romantic trip to Paris? How did you manage to get the school to agree to let you skip four days of school the week before finals?"
"SHUT UP!" Sebastian's volume was low, but very intense.
"That's almost to the point of being intimidating."
"LEAVE ME ALONE."
"Sounds like he didn't. Too bad you spent so much money on him. I'm sure you could have found someone around here to show a good time in France."
"STOP TALKING TO ME."
They approached the room. "He's nothing but a…"
"I SAID TO LEAVE ME ALONE."
Kurt could hear Sebastian's distressed voice as he approached the room. Kurt moved to the door to see what was going on. Kurt had made it to the area between the two sets of doors and reached out for Sebastian, who walked straight into his open arms. Blaine was a few steps behind.
"What did I say about Sebastian?" Kurt asked, keeping his voice very low.
"Not to bother him."
"Seemed like a simple request. Now go sit down and leave us alone." Kurt and Sebastian walked into the room hand in hand. Kurt led Sebastian back toward the couch where he had been sitting with Nick and Jeff.
"You're not a Warbler. You have no right to be in here."
Kurt spoke loud enough for the council members to hear him. "I thought the motto was 'Once a Warbler, always a Warbler.' Maybe the council should speak to the issue. What are the grounds for being removed as a Warbler?"
David answered, "There are a list of offenses in the Warbler's handbook detailing the specific reasons that someone could be stripped of his Warbler title."
"Do we need David to get it out and read the list, Blaine? To make certain that I haven't committed any of the offenses on the list?"
"No. Never mind. It's fine."
Kurt continued, "I wonder if harassing a fellow Warbler is on the list. No, you probably have to do something worse than just harass a Warbler, probably something like assault him." He was wearing his ice king mask again.
"Sebastian, it is none of my business where you've been all week."
"You're right. It isn't. Can we just get started, please?"
Thad responded. "Yes, of course. We're going to run through all of our songs for the concert Sunday afternoon. The concert starts at 2:00. We will warm up at 1:40 in here and then head to the auditorium. And a final announcement, we will meet at 7:15 to warm up to sing at graduation. There will be no rehearsals next week due to final exams. Everyone move to the auditorium so we can practice where we will be performing."
Kurt and Sebastian stayed seated until everyone else was close to the door. They both stood and Kurt pulled Sebastian into his arms. "He won't say anything else. He got my message loud and clear. If he opens his mouth to bother you again, he knows what I was implying."
"Did you threaten him with that before?"
"No, I just asked him to leave you alone and he said he would, but he seems to have forgotten his agreement. That was just a reminder that I hold all of the cards in this. He won't say another word."
Sebastian leaned in and kissed Kurt. "I love you."
"I love you too. We better go or someone will come looking for us."
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Kurt watched the group practice. When the hour was up, he and Sebastian went back to the Warblers room and made themselves comfortable on one of the couches and grabbed the books Kurt had left on the shelf while they were in the auditorium. They left at 4:55 to be at the dining hall doors when it opened.
Nick and Jeff were standing around the entrance when they got there.
"What was that about with Blaine?" Nick asked.
"I don't know," Kurt answered. "I don't know what he said to annoy Sebastian so much, but I had asked him to leave Sebastian alone and he agreed to it."
"And your ice king request for reasons to kick a Warbler out?" Jeff asked.
"He knows what that was about. He won't say another word to Sebastian."
"He did something to you. Well, I mean of course he did because you broke up with him. But he actually DID something to you, didn't he?" Jeff asked.
Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Honestly, I think he just wants my attention."
One of the cafeteria workers pushed the doors open. Kurt walked in and got in line, walking away from the other three.
"What did Blaine do to him?" Nick asked.
"It's not my place to say," Sebastian responded. "Let's go get in line and eat together and not talk about this anymore for tonight."
The other three got in line behind Kurt and followed Kurt to the table he chose.
"The food here is so good," Kurt said before he put a bite of vegetable soup in his mouth. "I miss the food."
Jeff said, "The food. I see how it is. No, 'I've missed you, Jeff.' Or 'How was your week, Nick?' It's the food he's missed since he spent the weekend here two weeks ago. And here I thought we were his best friends here, but NO he loves the cooks more than he loves us, Nick." Jeff pouted dramatically.
Kurt knocked his knee into Jeff's. "You goof! I've course I missed the two of you. And you are my best friends here. But seriously, the food here is really good. This is my favorite soup that they serve."
"The school really does have good food," Jeff admitted. "We are lucky."
"So, are you excited for the game tonight?" Nick asked Sebastian.
"I am. I want to win, but I wish this was the final game."
"I can understand that. You have a lot of studying to do and other things to do this weekend."
Sebastian nodded and focused on eating so he could finish in time to head out. The others talked about the McKinley prom and the music department concert while they ate.
"I have to run. I have to get to the locker room and grab my stuff and be on the bus in 10 minutes."
"We'll see you at the game."
Kurt reached under the table and took his hand and squeezed it. Sebastian smiled. He grabbed his tray and headed off.
"We're going to go change into regular clothes. We'll wait for you right inside the stadium entrance so we can sit together," Jeff said before they got up and left.
Kurt took his tray and put it on the conveyor belt. He looked around and found Blaine sitting by himself.
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Kurt sat down at the table that Blaine was sitting at and spoke very quietly. "Bring your tray and let's go outside."
Blaine followed him outside and sat his tray down on a bench and resumed eating.
"I thought we had closed the book on the past, Blaine. What was that about today?"
"I just hate him."
"Why?"
"Everyone likes him. The Warblers have done better with him on lead than we did with me on lead. He has everything. The council members all like him. Nick and Jeff were my friends first. And top of everything else, he has you, and your whole family – and I have no one."
"Things are not always what they seem, Blaine. Mind your own business and stop harassing my boyfriend. I thought you had been seeing the counselor and getting some help."
"I went for a while. I thought it was helping. Then Cooper came back and everything just went to hell. He got a new lead role on some TV series that's starting to film this summer. It's 'Cooper this' and 'Cooper that'. I hate it that he came here. You were here that weekend. People have been talking to me just to get information about him. Dalton was my place where I was the focus, not him and not Sebastian. You were my best friend. Now, it's like I'm invisible again."
"That was like 6 weeks ago or something. You really need to find someone to see. The way your family is treating you isn't right. But also your absolute need to be the center of attention or you aren't happy isn't right either. You need a find a way to be happy as yourself – happy with who you are. It's hard to make friends when you want them to be more interested in you than you are in them. Those aren't friends, they're fans. Your brother has tons of them, but does he have any real friends? Maybe he does. I don't know. But living a life where your only happiness comes from people praising you is pretty hollow. No one stays on top all of the time. You need help."
"I need you."
"Not possible, Blaine. I can't be that lifeline. You have to learn to swim. You nearly drowned me. A good therapist can be like a life jacket and swimming coach. Please get some help. And don't harass Sebastian. He has his own life issues to deal with. Most people do."
Blaine didn't say anything.
"Maybe you can find a counselor that you can see in Chicago when you go back to work at Six Flags."
"Oh, I'm not going to Six Flags this summer. Well, I did apply and I've been accepted, but I've also applied to work at the same summer camps that Rachel is applying to."
"I see. So you're going to stay at your aunt and uncle's for the summer?"
"If I get one of the positions I will. Otherwise, I'll go to Chicago. If we both get a position, we're going to carpool and save gas."
"Whatever you choose to do, Sebastian is off-limits. I don't know what your motivation is. I have three guesses, but I'm figuring it's a combination of the second and third. One – you're just trying to make him as miserable as you are. Two – you're trying to break us up to get him out of the picture to punish me so I will be alone again, making me miserable. Or three – you're doing it just to get attention from me, like you are right now. Whatever your motivation is, he's not going to break up with me. Making someone else's life stressful on purpose is a really mean thing to do, so just stop. And if for some reason Sebastian did break up with me, that would not cause me to turn to you."
Blaine just sighed.
"Look. You screwed up. I've wised up. I realize that by attaching yourself to Rachel as her new 'best gay', you're vying for a place in my life because she's my sister-in-law. But she and I are just now beginning to talk and that's only because she actually sincerely apologized. She and I are not friends. Maybe in time, but not yet. And honestly, the only reason I am even willing to consider that is because she's family now. But you can't use her as your lifeline either. She's trying to get her own life in order. I have to go now. I'm not going to be late to Sebastian's game."
Blaine just watched Kurt get up and walk around the end of the building toward the student parking lot.
