Kurt woke up in Sebastian's arms. He saw that it was 8:03. The battle between wanting to lie in Sebastian's arms and needing to get up lasted five minutes. He did his best to get out of bed without disturbing Sebastian, but he wasn't successful.
"I'll be right back."
"What time is it?"
"A little after 8." He scurried off and found Sebastian in the hallway when he came out. He went back to their room and got back in bed.
Sebastian returned quickly. He slid under the covers and snuggled up against Kurt and put his head on Kurt's chest. "Good morning, gorgeous."
"Good morning, beautiful." Kurt ran his hand through Sebastian's hair. "How about we snuggle until 9:00, and then we get the baking supplies we need?"
"Sure. We need to get it done because we have plans early this afternoon."
"We do? I don't remember you telling me anything."
"That's because I didn't. It's a surprise."
"Mmm. I love your surprises."
Sebastian ran his fingers along Kurt's jaw line. "Two weeks. It's sexy."
"You think so?"
"I do. What you do is up to you, though. Now, you know it looks good and it doesn't take that long."
"I'm going to leave it until we go back. I'm supposed to be playing the lead's potential father. The beard definitely helps with the baby-face look. I don't think the character actually has a beard in the script, but I'll keep it and show it to the director and see what she thinks. If she thinks it will make me more convincing in the role, I'll keep it until the performances are over."
"Makes sense. Wearing your glasses would alter your appearance as well."
"I can bring that up, if no one does. They have several other students that have to be made to look older as well."
"I know you've been working on your lines here and there. Are you making enough progress?"
"I think so." He picked Sebastian's hand up and began massaging it.
"That feels really good."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"We already ate an early lunch after we finished the chocolate chip cookies, while the banana walnut bread and cinnamon apple pecan bread were in the oven. Why are we going to a restaurant?"
"You'll see." He squeezed Kurt's hand and opened the door.
They stopped and checked their coats. Kurt could hear music play louder than expected. Sebastian led him farther into the restaurant and he saw a dance floor with several couples already there.
"We're going dancing?"
"We are."
"Are these people going to be okay with that? They look old enough to be our parents."
"They probably are. I can't say that the tea dances are super popular amongst the young 20's crowd, but they won't mind that we're here."
Sebastian led Kurt out onto the floor. Kurt stepped into position and they began to slow dance. A few minutes later, a middle-aged couple came out onto the floor and the music stopped. They gave a 10-minute tango lesson. Once they finished, the music resumed. The couples that didn't already know how to tango did their best to follow the instructors. Kurt and Sebastian glided around the room gracefully, enjoying themselves.
"This was a great idea." Kurt smiled, as they continued to dance for several more songs.
They sat down along the edge and watched for a few minutes. A waiter came by and Sebastian ordered each of them a glass of wine. When he brought it back, they thanked him and took the stemmed glasses from the tray. He nodded and walked away.
"To us," Sebastian said. "May we continue to live happily and harmoniously for many decades to come."
Kurt clinked his glass gently with Sebastian's and took a sip. Sebastian took a sip of his as well. He wrapped his arm across the back of Kurt's chair and leaned towards him. "Kiss me?"
Kurt smiled and turned towards him and they kissed gently. They continued to drink the wine and watch the other couples. When they finished, they put the glasses on a nearby table and went back out to the dance floor. A little before two, Sebastian's phone buzzed in his pocket and when the song ended, he led them back off the dance floor.
"We need to head back to Aunt Celeste's."
Kurt nodded and followed Sebastian back to the coat check. They bundled back up and left.
"Thank you for taking me there. That was relaxing. Why did we leave so soon? I didn't think everyone was coming until 4:30."
"They aren't, but I'm pretty sure that you've never told Aunt Celeste and Uncle André anything about your mom. I figured you'd want time to tell them the story yourself rather than have bits and pieces brought up, and then having to tell it in front of everyone, which would probably be pretty upsetting for Mémé Jacqueline."
"That's true. I haven't said anything to Celeste and André other than the basic information I told them when we came about my mom being born here in France and wanting to find any of her relatives." Kurt let out a heavy sigh. "They don't know what Jean did."
Sebastian let go of Kurt's hand and wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist instead. "Some people are just awful. Jean, my father, and unfortunately way too many others. But he's gone and Mémé Jacqueline doesn't have to live that way anymore."
Kurt nodded. "I know. It's really sad to think that she considered Jean to be nicer than her own father. That sure doesn't say anything good about him, but it makes it more understandable why she did as he said. It was all she had known."
"It sounded like Danielle's first husband was an unsavory sort as well."
"That's an issue that I need to ask about – whether Aunt Danielle has told Victor and Clara the truth. I need to know what is off-limits to share. I'm going to call her when we get back."
"Sure."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Sebastian took Kurt's coat and gave Kurt his phone. He dialed Danielle's number.
"Aunt Danielle, can you go somewhere where no one can hear you?"
"Give me a minute." A few minutes later, she spoke again. "Alright."
"I need to know if Victor and Clara still think that Gabriel is their biological father. I've never told Sebastian's aunt and uncle my mom's story. I'd like to do that before you arrive with Mémé, so that she doesn't have to hear the story told again, but I need to make sure what is okay for them to know."
"After Victor and Clara heard about my father and what he had done to Elizabeth, I talked with Mémé and Gabriel about it. After you went back to the US last summer, we sat them down and told them the truth. We told them everything. I told them the reality of what it was like to live with their biological father and I even admitted to being glad that he was dead. Mémé told them about her life with their great grandpa, whom they had never met. They knew their grandfather was a temperamental man, but they never spent much time with him. Since they didn't live here in Paris and he never liked Gabriel, I took the kids to see them occasionally, but I stayed with them during the visits. After we told them everything, there were a lot of tears shed, but they weren't angry tears. They were really upset that I had been treated so badly. Legally, Gabriel is their father and knowing that he wasn't their biological father didn't change their view on him being their 'real' father. I think they actually came out of it respecting him even more for falling in love with someone who was as much of a mess as I was back then and for accepting them as his own children and for always being such an amazing father to them. They told me they understood why I wouldn't have wanted to tell them anything when they were younger."
"That's good."
"They said they were glad that they got to grow up believing that fathers were good men who loved their wives and kids."
Kurt could hear that she was crying. "I know these issues are really upsetting. I'm sorry."
"I should have just told you that I had told them in one of the emails over the last few months."
"Is it alright for me to share the bare basics of what happened with Sebastian's great aunt and uncle and his two cousins that will be here?"
"As much as I want to say 'no', I'm going to say 'yes'. You really only know the bare basics anyway. There's no real way for you to overshare. I'd rather them know the basics than to have Mémé feel the need to tell the story at our tea this afternoon."
"I won't keep you. We'll see you in a little while."
"Until then."
They both hung up. Kurt leaned into Sebastian, who tipped his head toward Kurt pressing the sides of their heads together gently.
"Some things are just so hard. I have one question that you probably don't have to answer to, but that has come to mind with all of this."
"What's that?"
Kurt sat back up. "Your father disinherited you, in a way, by making it impossible for you to get your trust fund, but he has no other children or wife. And if he remarries, I'm sure she'll have to sign some airtight prenup. When he dies, is he just going to leave his vast wealth to charities? Otherwise, won't all of his money and assets just become property of the state of Ohio?"
"I have no idea, but it is an interesting question. Let's go talk to Aunt Celeste and Uncle André."
"Maybe we can use Celeste's phone and call Georges and Noelle at the same time and put them on speaker so I only have to tell this once. I know that the two of them know a little bit, but I didn't tell them everything I know."
"Good plan."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
A little after 4:30, everyone was seated around the dining table. Kurt was nervous, but calmed himself by being a good host to everyone. Once everyone had a drink and he sat down, it became a little harder for him. He really wanted the meeting to go well.
Introductions were made and there was a bit of small talk for a few minutes. Danielle broke the ice by asking about their plans.
"Do you two have anything in mind for your wedding ceremony?" she asked.
Kurt answered, "We have a couple of options. Sebastian explained to me how the process here takes place in two parts. A legal signing of a marriage license in front of a government official at the Mairie followed by a wedding ceremony somewhere else afterwards."
"Yes."
"So, we just have five people that we really want to include - my parents, Sebastian's great grandmother, his second cousin Isabelle, and our best friend Sam. We can either have them fly here for the wedding ceremony. Or we can do the governmental part of the process in New York with the five of them present for that, and then come here and have a wedding ceremony."
Danielle said, "Both options have merit. I can understand having the governmental aspect completed in the US somewhere if Sebastian's great grandmother is not predisposed to two 8-hour flights."
"We're not sure," Sebastian said. "She's fine right now, but she's 87."
Kurt said, "We definitely want to have the wedding ceremony here in Paris, but I have no suggestions as to a venue."
"We honestly don't even have an idea for a date," Sebastian added. "We're both graduating in May. That's our main focus right now. Kurt has a lead role in his university's spring musical, Mamma Mia, which will keep him busy until spring break."
Everyone congratulated Kurt. He smiled and thanked all of them. "Sebastian is right. I'll be really busy with rehearsals and performances until the middle of March. Spring break would be a possibility. It would be a short stay for us, but we'd be the only ones who would stay longer if we had it in the summer."
Sebastian pulled his phone out. "Spring break starts March 12th, but we wouldn't even have a full week because the musical runs through the 14th. We wouldn't be able to fly out until that Sunday evening. I think it would be more likely that we'd plan to have it this summer some time."
Noelle said, "I'll be going to look at places with Letti. We can send photos and the details for each place to Kurt and Sebastian."
"That would be great," Kurt said.
Celeste said, "That's a good idea, Noelle."
Kurt said, "Especially for the venues that are nice, but are too small for Georges and Letti's wedding. We'll only have 42 people at most, counting us. And with Letti having a big family and Georges and Letti having friends they'll want to invite as well, they'll need a larger place than we will."
"I'll keep that in mind," Noelle said.
"These breads and cookies are quite good," Mémé Jacqueline said.
"Sebastian and I made them earlier. I'm glad you like them. That's one of the things I did with my mom. She used to let me help her bake. I kept all of her recipes. She seemed to have given up French baking, if it was something she ever did when she was younger. All of her favorite recipes that she taught me to make were traditional American baked goods."
"She did learn to bake simple French bread, but Jean wouldn't allow for the purchase of ingredients to make 'frivolities' as he called them. So, she didn't know how to make pastries or macaroons or any of the other types of things you'd find in a bakery."
Kurt nodded. "My dad thought she was amazing and gave her anything in his power to get for her, so we had a fully-stocked kitchen with of every ingredient she could possibly need. He loved to eat and she loved to cook for him."
Mémé Jacqueline smiled sadly. "I'm glad she found someone who treated her so well."
"He said she was everything good in the world all wrapped up into one person. Losing her broke his heart. He didn't see anyone for nearly 10 years."
Danielle lightened the subject. "Well, you both are talented bakers. I like what you've made as well. The breads would be nice for breakfast as well."
Sebastian said, "They do make nice quick breakfasts."
Kurt asked Noelle, "Did Patrice not do a lot of research? I would have thought she would be very thorough when looking for a venue."
"She didn't do any research. She already knew exactly what she wanted."
Kurt laughed. "That makes sense too actually. I don't even know where they're getting married. We can talk about that later."
Danielle said, "This may be overstepping, but why are there so few people that you want to be a part of your wedding in the US? Didn't you say that your dad remarried five years ago?"
"He did remarry a little over five years ago. My stepmother is the sweetest person, but her family is from rural Ohio and they're not accepting people. We ended up leaving Thanksgiving dinner and heading to Sebastian's great grandma's house earlier than planned. My stepbrother died not quite three years ago. There is one other person, who I would invite – Mercedes. She's a singer and she's on tour a lot of the time. She might be able to swing a flight into New York if we go with the governmental part of the ceremony there. There wouldn't be any way for her to come here, unless we have it during a break in her tour. Our only other close friend, Adam, will be here next weekend. I'm not sure how things would work for him to come. He's in a production that opened on the West End about six weeks ago – a play he wrote."
"That's impressive," Victor said.
"It is. He's very good. I just don't know how time off works with things like that. I would think it would be frowned upon to miss a Friday or Saturday evening show to go to a wedding. I guess we'll find out. Even if both of them could make it the same weekend, it would still just be 44 people maximum. There's really no one else from my school or high school that I would invite."
"Me neither," Sebastian added.
Danielle just nodded. "I know you kids have plans. If it's okay, I think we'll stay here for a little longer and the six of you can go ahead out and meet up with whoever else is going out with you."
"Thanks, Mom," Clara said.
"Thanks for coming over," Kurt said.
"You're welcome," Danielle said. "Go have fun singing."
The six of them got up to get their coats. They headed out, saying their goodbyes as they left.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
They met up with Letti, Edmond, Lulu, and Henri about a block from the karaoke place. Patrice and Leon arrived a few minutes later. Trailing behind them were Damien, Marcel, Nadine, and Zara. After all of the introductions, they walked together to the restaurant and sat as a group. They ordered eight appetizers to split and drinks for everyone.
Kurt put his name in the queue when they were waiting for their food. When his name came up, he got up and stood on the small stage, and looked directly at Sebastian while he sang.
Everybody needs inspiration
Everybody needs a song
A beautiful melody
When the night's so long
'Cause there is no guarantee
That this life is easy
Yeah, when my world is falling apart,
When there's no light to break up the dark,
That's when I, I,
I look at you.
When the waves,
Are flooding the shore and I can't
Find my way home anymore,
That's when I, I,
I look at you.
When I look at you, I see forgiveness.
I see the truth.
You love me for who I am.
Like the stars hold the moon,
Right there where they belong.
And I know I'm not alone.
You appear just like a dream to me.
Just like kaleidoscope colors that
Cover me, all I need,
Every breath that I breathe.
Don't you know you're beautiful?
When the waves,
Are flooding the shore and I can't
Find my way home anymore,
That's when I, I,
I look at you.
I look at you.
Kurt went back to their table and took Sebastian's hand as soon as he had sat down. "I mean that. Just like I told you when we were here this summer. When the waves crash around me, you're there to keep me from being pulled back into the water. I love you."
Sebastian squeezed his hand. "I love you too."
Victor and Lulu got up and sang a song that Kurt and Sebastian weren't familiar with, but was obviously quite popular from the response they got from the audience. Nadine and Zara got up and sang together and sang another song that Kurt and Sebastian didn't know.
A couple of songs later, to Kurt's surprise, Sebastian's name came up. He got up and went to the stage. He didn't make a spectacle of his performance. He just stood at the mic stand and sang while looking straight at Kurt.
When your legs don't work like the used to before,
And I can't sweep you off our feet,
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?
And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 80.
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard as 22.
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways,
Maybe just the touch of a hand.
Oh, me, I fall in love with you every single day.
And I just wanna tell you I am.
So, honey, now,
Take me into your loving arms.
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars.
Place your head on my beating heart.
I'm thinking out loud.
Honey, we found love right where we are.
When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades,
And the crowds don't remember my name,
When my feet don't move the same way, mmm,
I know you will still love me the same.
'Cause, honey, your soul can never grow old. It's evergreen.
Baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory.
I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways.
Maybe it's all part of a plan.
I'll just try to keep from making the same mistakes.
Hoping that you'll understand.
So, honey, now,
Take me into your loving arms.
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars.
Place your head on my beating heart.
I'm thinking out loud.
We found love right where we are.
We found love right where we are.
Sebastian came back to their table. Kurt stood right before he got there and kissed him before he had the change to sit down.
"That was perfect," Kurt said. "Thank you."
They sat down and Kurt reached for his hand again and interlaced their fingers. Sebastian scooted his chair closer to Kurt's and put their hands on his thigh. Kurt smiled and ran his thumb up and down Sebastian's index finger, gently caressing his skin while they sat there and quietly talked amongst themselves and listened to the people performing.
Since about half of them had to go to work the next morning, they only stayed until around 8:00, which was when it started to get more crowded. Before they left, they made arrangements for everyone, except the four that were under 18, to go back to the adult skate night the following Saturday.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
When they got outside, Victor and Lulu and Clara and Henri stayed back when everyone else had left.
Victor said, "Thanks for inviting us. We had a good time. Sebastian's cousins all seem like really nice people. And the two of you seem really happy together. I wanted to congratulate the two of you since I didn't do it yesterday when you told us."
"Thanks," Kurt said. "I'm glad you all came."
"We enjoyed ourselves," Clara said. "You and Sebastian are really good singers. I wanted to congratulate you as well." She stepped forward and hugged him. "We'll see you Saturday at the ice skating rink."
Kurt remembered. "Bring gloves."
Clara said, "Thanks for the reminder. We've been there before, but not for the adult skate night. Is it fun?"
"We liked it. They have club-type lights and dance music."
"Sound interesting," she said. "We'll be there."
The four of them left together. Kurt and Sebastian headed for the subway.
Kurt said, "That was fun. I loved your song."
"What it says is so true about us though. I did fall in love with you with just the touch of a hand and day by day. I already loved you before you ever did more than just hold my hand occasionally and hug me."
Kurt didn't say anything, but continued to walk alongside Sebastian with their hands interlaced. He thought about to being in his room after trying to "sexify" their presentation of "Animal" to the Crawford County girls. He thought about how he told Blaine that he didn't like porn and that he liked old musicals because the touch of the fingertips was as sexy as they got and how Blaine looked at him exasperatedly. He thought about how that was the day he should have realized that he needed to let his 'boyfriend fantasy' die. Blaine had already led him on for months. He let Blaine keep a place in his heart that he shouldn't have. Burt had given him good advice, which he didn't follow. He took another deep breath and forced himself to stop the downward spiraling thoughts that always ended in self-loathing for not seeing what was happening to him from the very beginning. He didn't know about 'love bombing' back then or the signs to pick up on to recognize a narcissist. He willfully pushed himself back to the present – back to the comment about the fingertips. Sebastian wouldn't mock him for seeing it as amazingly romantic.
After a few minutes of Kurt being lost in his thoughts, Sebastian stopped. He moved to the edge of the sidewalk where there was a bench and he sat down. Kurt sat down next to him.
"Did I say something that upset you?"
Kurt took a deep breath and let it out. "No, not at all. It just made me flash back to something I said a long time ago." He leaned turned his face towards Sebastian and lovingly ran his fingers down along Sebastian's jaw, and then guided Sebastian's face towards him to kiss him gently. "I love you and what you said was really sweet. We did fall in love day by day. And I love how you hold my hand like I'm something valuable that you don't want to lose. All the little touches mean so much to me."
"You are valuable and I don't want to lose you. Just remember what you sang. When those thoughts come haunting you, whatever they are, don't listen to them. Look at me, like you sang. I'll remind you how much I love you."
Kurt nodded. "I do that, a lot. Let's go back to Celeste's. You can read and I'll study my lines. How many books have you read on your new Kindle so far?"
"Just three."
Kurt smiled. "Maybe you can find a fourth one to download tonight."
Sebastian stood up and pulled Kurt up with him and straight into his arms. He held him close and nuzzled into his neck and kissed him gently. He loosened his hold and stepped next to Kurt and took his hand again. They walked the rest of the way to the subway hand in hand.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"Aunt Celeste?" Sebastian called out Monday morning.
"Yes, dear?" she came into the kitchen. "Are you ready to leave?"
"Almost," he answered. "I just wanted to ask where you moved the bottle of wine we left on the table last night." He picked up the container of Kurt's homemade spaghetti sauce with finely ground sausage in it and the bowl of salad they had made and put it in a bag.
Kurt grabbed the mini-cheesecake, a bowl with a half-dozen of the chocolate chip cookies from the day before, and the box of angel hair pasta they had gotten and added it to the bag Sebastian was packing.
"Oh, sorry about that," she said. "I put it on the wine rack up on the far right. I didn't want it to get knocked over."
Sebastian turned and grabbed the bottle and added it to the bag.
"You two are very sweet," she said, smiling fondly at both of them. "They will enjoy what you've made for them."
They grabbed their coats and made it to Georges and Letti's place a little before 8:00. They let themselves in. Sebastian kissed Kurt and went back downstairs to wait for the delivery truck. Kurt emptied the bag and put the food containers on the counter out of the way. Once the truck arrived, Sebastian directed the delivery guys to the apartment. They quickly installed the refrigerator, the stove, and the washing machine, and then left.
Kurt opened the fridge door to make sure the temperature setting looked good. They went ahead and put the food and in the refrigerator and closed the door. They left the cookies and the box of pasta on the counter with a note about the food in the refrigerator. Sebastian folded the bag up and put it in his satchel. They stayed another half-hour just to make sure that the refrigerator cooled down before they left.
Kurt took Sebastian's hand on their way down the stairs. "Their place looks great," Kurt said. "It's so small, but it doesn't feel cramped because of how they used the space. Now where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"Okay." Kurt squeezed his hand. "In case you didn't know, you're the first person who's ever said that to me and made me feel excited."
Sebastian grinned. "I know you'll like where we're going."
"What about you?"
"This isn't something for me. It's for you."
They took the subway and when they came back up, Kurt walked alongside Sebastian, still taking in everything around him like he did all the time. There was so much to see everywhere all the time.
A few minutes later, Kurt realized where they were. "We're going to La Cité de la Mode et du Design?"
"We are. Specifically to IFM."
"L'Institut Français de la Mode?"
"The very place."
"Did Isabelle set this up?"
"She did."
"She really wants me to pursue design."
"She sees your talent and potential. She also knows you're an incredibly good performer. And that you thrive on being busy. I think she just wants you to consider honing your design skills so that you can do both – perform and create."
"What are we doing here specifically?"
"Well, you are going to a 2-day seminar that starts in 20 minutes. I put a notebook in your bag before we left and made sure your iPad is fully charged. It's a seminar on men's fashion and tailoring. You get some kind of certificate for completing it. Lunch is provided on site. I'll be back for you when it's over. Have fun."
"What are you going to do?"
"Go to a bookstore and write."
Kurt stepped forward and kissed him. "I'll see you later." He pulled the door open and stepped inside.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"So what did you learn?" Sebastian took his hand and led him away from the building.
"A lot of what was covered today are things I knew because I've been tailoring my own clothes for such a long time. There were actually mostly women in attendance, which makes sense because they would have a lot less experience working with men's clothes. But it was pretty cool to see things that I figured out on my own being taught to other people as the 'right' way to tailor something."
Sebastian chuckled.
"We're going to work on more complex fit issues tomorrow. Altering sportswear is something that I have very little experience with because I don't wear sporty clothes very often in a situation where the fit and cut are important. I wear sportswear merely for practical reasons. I wear stuff for an hour to sweat in. So that will be new knowledge – sporty clothes are made from stretchy and slippery fabric, which is always a pain to sew on, so I hope to learn some useful tips tomorrow. Did you enjoy your day of writing?"
"I mostly people-watched. We're so busy with school that I don't watch people enough anymore. It was a pastime of mine here that I still indulged in at Dalton, but mostly gave up in New York. I need to rectify that and find a decent place to people-watch. Stories need funky background characters who may play no actual role in the protagonist's life or his story, but who make his daily life more interesting. The barista that always talks about his six Siamese cats because the protagonist once made a nice comment about his Siamese cat t-shirt. You know, just regular everyday people doing their regular everyday thing, but they're quirky or somehow stand out from the crowd."
"Everyone is weird in some way."
"Exactly. And some people are way more weird than I can imagine, all the while still being completely functioning people. Maybe I could go hang out at the Copper Cup for a couple of hours the on the same day each week. Maybe I'll get to see some of the same people frequently."
"Maybe you'll be the gorgeous young writer who spends two hours a week in a coffee shop observing people in someone else's story." Kurt hip checked him and smiled.
Sebastian chuckled. "Could be."
"So, what's next?"
"We're just going back to Aunt Celeste's. I figure you have lines to learn. I'm going to either read or write."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
When they got to their room, Kurt saw that their laundry was hanging to dry. "You did our laundry?"
"I did. Before I went to the coffee shop and the bookstore."
Kurt stepped close enough to hug him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"One thing I miss here is our sofa. I can't sit in your lap and read here. We need that corner spot we don't have here." He untucked Sebastian's shirt and slipped his hands up along his back and caressed his skin.
"You're right. I miss drinking my coffee while holding you close too." Sebastian slightly altered their position to holding Kurt and starting to sway dance with him. "I love being able to stay here at Aunt Celeste's but I also miss the privacy we have at home." He loosened his hold just enough to be able to kiss Kurt while continuing to sway dance in the silence.
A knock on the door startled them a bit. Sebastian let go of Kurt and went to the door and opened it.
Celeste said, "I just wanted to let the two of you know that André and I are going to Stella and Tristan's for dinner. We'll be back later tonight. Help yourselves to whatever in the fridge or order in or go out or whatever you want."
"Thanks for letting us know." He closed the door back and walked back to where Kurt was. "I know I said we could read and you could study, but how about a change in plans?"
"What are you proposing?"
"Mmm. Well, it starts with us together in the shower and it ends with us back in the shower. And the middle part has us not putting our clothes back on."
"I see. Does the middle involve a lot of touching?"
"All of it involves a lot of touching."
Kurt pressed closer and kissed Sebastian passionately. "And kissing?"
"Lots of kissing."
"I'm in."
"Excellent." He started to unbutton Kurt's shirt.
They slowly undressed each other, enjoying having the time to not rush. It wasn't just about the end. It was a wordless conversation of touches and caresses and unspoken words of love and affirmation. Sebastian loved to take his time and Kurt enjoyed every bit of his single-minded task of making Kurt feel fantastic. Sebastian's intensity brought out his own fire. Everything they did was always very reciprocal and mutually desired and enjoyed. They moved together like an intricate dance, freely flowing and constantly moving. A hand here, lips there, never the same dance twice, but so familiar that neither missed a movement.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
A couple of hours later, Sebastian was sprawled over Kurt and they were a lying in a tangled web of limbs. Kurt ran his hands though Sebastian's hair while Sebastian was running his fingers through Kurt's chest hair.
"So, yay or nay on the chest hair?" Kurt asked.
"Mmm. I don't know. I like both, I guess. I do think it makes you look a lot more mature, so I think for the show it would probably make you look older. But that would only be if your wardrobe includes you leaving a second button undone. If you're going to wear a tie or something, it wouldn't be seen."
"I'm not sure what I'll be wearing. But you're right, especially if it involves me being shirtless in swim trunks, then the chest hair would give more of a mature look." Kurt shifted down in the bed a bit. "Scoot up a bit." He waited. Once Sebastian's lips were in reach, he began kissing him again with feather light kisses. "I really like kissing you."
"I really like kissing you." He took a deep breath and let it out. He smiled and said, "You really want to marry me and only kiss me for ever?"
"I do. I do very much, but unfortunately, my job is going to end up requiring me to kiss other people."
"Hopefully, they're all girls and you won't enjoy it," Sebastian teased.
Kurt laughed. "So, you only want me to take straight roles." He kissed him again.
"Well, you can be a gay character, just not where you kiss other guys."
"Just know that if I get a role where I have to kiss a guy, that I don't and won't love that guy. That guy is not my best friend and lover and will never be. No matter how believable I make it look on stage, that will be acting." He looked Sebastian directly in the eyes. "I'm not acting with you. You're my one and only. Mon abri, I love you more than I can explain. And I do want to be your husband. Are you seriously doubting that I can be faithful to you if I have to kiss other guys in some role I take?"
"No, it's not that. I don't think you'll cheat on me. It's just hard knowing that I have to face the fact that you'll kiss other people as part of your job."
"Is that a deal breaker? Is it going to bother you to the point of leaving me?"
"No. It's just something I have to come to terms with. I trust you. I just don't trust other guys not to fall for you and try to steal you away from me."
"Well, they can't steal me. I don't want them." Kurt started to sing "I only have eyes for you."
Sebastian kissed him. "I know. I have my bouts of insecurity too."
"I get that. We both have them. I admit that I wouldn't be thrilled with you taking a job that involved you kissing other people either. And just like you said, it's not because I don't trust you. It's just that spending time kissing people causes other reactions and people act on those reactions. Back, way back, when I went out with Brittany, it didn't do anything for me that we were kissing, but she was certainly getting into it and I kept having to move her hands away from exploring places I didn't want explored. I can say that it won't turn me on to kiss someone I'm told to kiss, but that doesn't mean that the other person won't be turned on by it and try to read more into it than the fact that we're doing it as our jobs. And all I can say is that I've been training still. I am better able to defend myself against someone trying something like groping me than I used to be. And if anyone I'm in a production with can't accept the fact that I have turned them down and they continue to push, I'll report them to the director or whoever. I won't allow myself to be treated that way. No means no. If I am required to, I'll kiss whoever it is on stage during rehearsal. And, of course, I'll have to during performances. But I will not be touched by anyone otherwise. The only hands I want on me are yours."
Sebastian ran his fingers across Kurt's ribs with just enough pressure to barely tickle him. "Mmm. Such lovely ribs." He licked his lips.
Kurt's eyes flashed and he fake glared at Sebastian. "We've already bathed and gotten in bed for the night."
"Umm hmm." He licked his lips again and winked at Kurt, smirking.
Kurt closed the small distance between them and kissed Sebastian. He wrapped his hand behind Sebastian's neck, and then moved his hand up into Sebastian's hair causing him to moan. Kurt took the opportunity to press in and deepen the kiss. He caught Sebastian just enough off guard that he managed to maneuver him onto his back and pin him down. He propped on his elbows and they continued to kiss. Kurt readjusted and began kissing along Sebastian's jaw and over to his ear. "I love you." He kissed down his neck and on down his chest.
Sebastian bucked up and Kurt rolled his hips.
"I thought you didn't want to shower again," Sebastian teased.
"Oh, I don't mind. I just figured if we were going to go back to licking and what not that I wanted to get in on it too." Kurt licked his way back up Sebastian's neck and moved to the edge of his ear. "Where do you want to go from here?"
Sebastian reached out for the massage oil that they hadn't put away.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Kurt and Sebastian were up early the next morning, long before the late sunrise. They quietly prepared breakfast together. Sebastian put two plates next to the stove and wrapped his hands around Kurt. He kissed him on the side of the neck, just below his ear.
"Six."
"Six? I know you said you were starving, but can you really eat six eggs?"
Sebastian laughed and kissed Kurt's neck again. "How many ever you have in the pan is fine. I wasn't referring to eggs."
"Oh." Kurt paid attention to the skillet so he wouldn't burn their eggs. After he slid the eggs out on to the plates, he ran water in the skillet and washed it quickly, leaving it to dry while they ate. He turned back to see that Sebastian had eaten his eggs already and had moved Kurt's plate to the table in front of where he was sitting.
Sebastian spread his knees apart and patted the chair. Kurt smiled and sat down in front of him. Once he was seated, Sebastian wrapped his arm around him and sipped his coffee and ate his bread one handed while Kurt ate.
He sat his cup down and said, "There was a question that I told you that you were the one I wanted to figure out the answer with not long after we started dating."
Kurt took a sip of coffee and finished his eggs, trying to figure out what Sebastian was talking about. It finally dawned on him. Sebastian could tell from his change in posture that he had figured it out.
"Uh huh. The answer seems to be six." He wrapped his other arm around Kurt and squeezed lovingly.
Kurt leaned back into him and wrapped his arms over the top of Sebastian's. "Six it is." He tipped his head to the side and turned to face Sebastian. "I love you." He didn't give Sebastian time to respond before his lips were on Sebastian's. He managed to move from facing forward to facing Sebastian without breaking their kiss.
Sebastian kept his arms wrapped around Kurt during his change in positions. After a few minutes of passionate kissing the broke for air. "I love you too." He kissed Kurt chastely a few times. "Ready to go get dressed?"
"One more kiss."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Kurt headed to the IMF by himself after he got ready. Sebastian stayed home. He washed their sheets and towels and then hung them to dry. He ironed their shirts and picked out five shirts and four pairs of pants each, which he packed in their backpacks, along with their dress shoes and toiletries. He was at the IMF when Kurt's seminar let out for the day.
"Bas, what are you doing here? And why do you have both of our backpacks?"
"Ever observant, as always." He leaned forward and pecked Kurt on the lips.
Kurt smiled. "Are we going somewhere?"
"We are. Come on. We need to take the Metro to the train station."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
They grabbed their bags and exited the train.
"Provins?" Kurt asked. He pulled the handle up on his backpack and gave Sebastian the chance to do the same before he took his hand. He was still trying to recall anything he knew about Provins. "Is this the place that was the mecca of fairs and trading?"
"It is. Good memory. I've never been here and it's not that far away. And the pictures I've seen were really cool."
"You know I'm up for going anywhere with you." He squeezed Sebastian's hand. He walked alongside him, still holding his hand.
It didn't take too long for them to arrive at their destination for the evening. They checked into the inn where they were staying and took the recommendation of the clerk for a place for dinner. They dropped their bags off in their room and went back out to find the restaurant. Once they had eaten, they went back to their room.
"I've been thinking," Sebastian said.
"Mmm hmm?" Kurt took Sebastian's coat and hung it up, followed by his own.
Sebastian waited until he had finished, and then wrapped his arms around Kurt. "I want you to let me pay you for your ring. I want it to be from me. I know you picked it out, but that's no different than if we had gone out ring shopping together. I would have taken notice of what you liked and gone back for it when you weren't with me, like Georges did."
Kurt pecked him on the lips. "Sure. The receipt's back at Celeste's in our suitcase along with the authentication papers. Shower? Massage? Shower massage?"
"Yes."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
The next morning, they enjoyed the breakfast that they were served at the inn. The owner allowed them to leave their backpacks in the storage room for the day. They headed out and toured the area, eventually walking along part of the fortification wall.
"This is completely different, but it absolutely feels as much like a fairytale as some of the other places we visited last summer," Kurt said. "It makes me want to live here too. It's just so different. Sitting at a desk in front of one of those windows that looks out over one of the squares, you could just imagine life back in the 1200s when these buildings were being built. You could envision the area we walked through earlier being set up with old-fashioned market booths selling their wares out of carts."
"So much history is everywhere. It would be fun to stay for a while and go through old diaries and business ledgers and have accurate background information to include. It would be cool to write some kind of fun mystery maybe."
"There are all sorts of possibilities. You're sure about staying in New York with me? There's so much around here – so much more than there is in New York."
"But my muse will be in New York."
Kurt stopped. "I'm your muse?"
Sebastian stopped because Kurt had. "Yes. When you forgave me and befriended me and then comforted me when I returned, the cracks that were left began to heal. I was finally able to forgive myself over time and stop beating myself up over bad decisions. A weight slowly lifted. I rekindled the relationships I had with my cousins. You heard me talk about being able to write again when we had brunch with your parents and Grandma and Isabelle." He started to walk along the fortification wall again.
"I guess I just never considered myself part of that. I just figured that coming back here last summer and feeling like you were part of your family again had made the difference. You were just happier overall."
"I guess I can see why you'd think that, but you coming into my life and bringing Sam and Adam – that forced me to be social. I had been getting better, yes, but I was still avoiding interacting with other people. I did occasionally interact with Isabelle, but not like I do now. Think about it – Grandma didn't know anything about me. When I was forced to attend family events, I did my best to be polite and non-interactive – seen and not heard. But you came along with your Doctor Who videos and Sam's Star Trek stuff and you made a big deal about spending time with me and getting to know me. When you started doing nice things for me, like including me in your movie marathons and cooking for me, I thought it was to repay me for letting the two of you live with me, but Sam told me that wasn't what it was."
"I wanted to move on. You were being kind and generous, but I really did I want us to get to know each other without the past influencing that. We've talked about this before."
"We have, but obviously I didn't make you understand how much of an impact you had on my life. You two hugged me. You included me. You made up schedules and I was a part of them. I told you that you just swept into my life and made me part of yours. You turned my life upside down in the best way. I had been in the city for about a year and a half when you two moved in and I hadn't been to the museums or anything. Doing well in school had been my only goal. You really did draw me back out of my shell. I began to enjoy life again."
He paused as they walked up the stairs to the top of Caesar's Tower and looked out over the town. No one else was in the tower with them since the tourist season wouldn't start for another four months or so. When they got to the top, Sebastian stepped behind Kurt and wrapped his arms around him and propped his chin on Kurt's shoulder.
He continued, "If you hadn't been there when I got back, I'm not sure how much of an effort I would have put into rekindling my connection with my family here. Actually, if you hadn't been there, I don't know if I would have even come back at all. I wouldn't have gone to Isabelle for the money. I'm not sure what I would have done. Anyway, I don't want you to think I've put you on some unrealistic pedestal. I know you're human. I love all of your humanity. You're quirky and funny and wicked smart. And you're kind and generous. You're fiery and quick to defend what's yours and that includes me now." Even though they were both wearing gloves, Sebastian ran his thumb over Kurt's ring finger. "Forever yours." He let go of Kurt and repositioned himself so that they were in position to dance. He began to hum and lead Kurt around the area while he continued to hum and sing part of the time.
Je veux d'l'amour, d'la joie, de la bonne humeur.
Ce n'est pas votre argent qui f'ra mon bonheur.
Moi j'veux crever la main sur le coeur.
Allons ensemble, découvrir ma liberté.
Oubliez donc tous vos clichés.
Bienvenue dans ma réalité.
When he finished the song, he said, "I learned to love myself and my life again. And I love you so very much." He kissed Kurt. "That's my new reality."
"Mine too." He leaned back in for another kiss. "I've never heard that song before."
"It was popular back before I went to Ohio. It's called 'Je veux'. If we go out singing again, I'll sing the whole thing for you. It's been too long since I've heard it for me to remember the verses."
"Ready to go down and explore more of the area?"
"Almost." He hugged Kurt again.
They walked down the stairs hand in hand.
"I'm sure that I want to stay with you in New York. I'm sure that I want to be here with you. Here. There. Anywhere. I want to be with you. Why would I ever want to live somewhere far away from the person I most want to spend time with? I told you up front last summer before we agreed to date that I would stay with you in New York. I knew going into this that you were determined to put all of your hard work and monetary investment into making it on Broadway. You have a dream that you've worked towards for, what? Seven years or more?"
Kurt nodded.
"It's not selfish or self-centered of you to want to continue to pursue your dream. I want to be there with you while you do it. I'll celebrate with you or we can revisit other potential career possibilities, if necessary. If you decide you would rather become a nurse or a chemist or a body builder or a weatherman, it's fine."
Kurt laughed.
He squeezed Kurt's hand. "Much better." Sebastian grinned. "You don't have to worry. I'm not going to resent you or regret accepting your proposal. I want to be with you because I really love you and I enjoy being with you."
Kurt nodded.
Sebastian stopped walking. He turned to face Kurt. "Staying here without you, even in one of these places that feels like a fairytale frozen in time, would never compare to being with you. The people in those fairytales didn't live happily ever after because they lived in a castle or a mansion or a palace. They were happy because they were with the person they loved. You're my person. Please believe me."
Kurt pulled him close and held him tight. "Bas, I'm so sorry. Yes, mon abri, I do believe you. Until you said it that way, I didn't realize how what I asked was making you feel. I'm so sorry." He kissed Sebastian passionately. "I know you love me. I have no doubts about that." He pressed in and kissed Sebastian again. "You have never given me any reason to doubt your love for me."
They stood and held each other for a few minutes.
Kurt chuckled.
"What?"
"It won't make any sense to you."
"Try me."
"I reminded myself that I have a new hose."
"I have no idea what that means."
"I just told you that you wouldn't. Remember back last summer when you said that you'd help me patch up the places where your love leaked out?"
Sebastian smiled. "Yes."
"I thought about that in relation to an oil leak in a car. Oil leaks can be so frustrating. People don't want to spend a lot of money replacing the hose and everything, so as a mechanic I will try hard to find where it's leaking, but sometimes that just doesn't work. I can examine and search and be as thorough as possible and sometimes there's still a leak. For a long time, I kept trying to leave the old hose in place and I kept trying to find the leak when I what I need to do was just pull the old hose off and replace it."
"Okay?"
"You love me. You find me attractive. You're not embarrassed by me. You aren't biding your time with me, while still looking for someone better. You are funny, and sweet, and yes, lewd at times, but in the sweetest way. You've never given me a single reason to doubt your words."
He kissed Kurt and smiled. "Go on."
"And I'd get to where it all felt so real and right, but then I'd think about something I hadn't done perfectly and another leak would spring up as I imagined problems that never actually ended up being problems. I needed to stop trying to fix that broken hose. I needed to just yank it out. I needed to put on a new hose, with new gaskets. I was sabotaging myself by cutting little slits all over the hose with my made-up, potential, possible problems, causing it to leak for no real reason. You didn't do any damange. You did the exact opposite of sabotage my hose. You're like the best at maintenance. I was the one picking at myself, causing the leaks. Once I started listening to you and not my insecurities, it made a world of difference. I know that all sounds so strange to you, but the visual helped me a lot."
Sebastian kissed him. "If it helped you, that's what matters. But in keeping with your analogy, I intend to keep the maintenance up. I'm not going to sit my beautiful classic car in my front yard for everyone to look at while I spend my time going to car dealers and taking other cars out for test drives, even if those dealerships are in exotic or fairytale locations."
Kurt laughed. "That's great. That was the perfect thing to say. Under my hood there are no more patched up, second hand hoses. Nope, no siree. I have brand new, top-of-the-line hoses and gaskets that you keep perfectly maintained. No more hand-me downs or junk parts for me."
"You are so much fun."
"Thank you for being patient with me. I won't ask again about New York. You've answered. I trust you. I do. Instead of asking why, I will trust and I will be thankful. You make me feel so… treasured is a good word to describe it."
"I know you still struggle with feeling like you're enough. And while I hope that one day you won't anymore, I'm not giving up. Your new hose is great. And whatever else you need to do is fine too. A new muffler or whatever, just let me know."
Kurt laughed.
"I only said muffler because besides the battery I couldn't think of any other car parts."
That made Kurt laugh even more.
"You can still talk to Mr. Salazar about stuff when we get back. I'll even come with you if you think it would help you." Sebastian kissed up his neck to his ear. "Whatever it takes." He licked the edge of Kurt's ear. "Maybe I can kiss you until you can't remember any of those insecurities. Maybe I can lick them away. Or massage them out."
Kurt readjusted himself as discreetly as possible. "Bas!"
"Mmm hmm?" He kissed his way along Kurt's jaw line and pressed his lips to Kurt's before Kurt had a chance to respond. "There's no one around anywhere. Let me, please?"
"Out here?"
"We can go in the lower part of the tower. Your coat will hide what I'm doing."
"You're serious?"
"Absolutely." He kissed Kurt again. "I love you so much."
Kurt let Sebastian lead him back to the tower area.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"I cannot believe we just did that, but that was amazing." Kurt opened his satchel and offered Sebastian a cinnamon Altoid and put one his in his own mouth.
Sebastian laughed, pulled Kurt into a searing kiss instead, and stole the Altoid from him.
Kurt shook his head, rolled his eyes, and put the second Altoid in his mouth. "I think your plan to kiss, lick, and massage away my insecurities might have more merit than I had originally considered."
Sebastian about choked. He stopped and looked at Kurt. "Oh, really?"
Kurt winked at him. "Mmm hmm. It is impossible to think about anything besides how much I love you and how much I enjoy being intimate with you when we're kissing and other things."
"Good because that's all I can think about when we're together too. Although if I touched and kissed you as much as I want to, we'd never get anything done."
"Is that so?"
"It is." He stepped forward and pecked him on the lips and turned back around and took Kurt's hand and walked along the wall again.
"Are we going back to Paris tonight?"
"Nope. Let's go explore the rest of the town. There's a museum of sorts with life-size statues and objects set up like an old fair and a regular museum as well."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"Versailles?"
"Yep. It should have been part of our itinerary last summer, but when I was making the list, I only put places that I hadn't been before, but I shouldn't have left this off. You hadn't been. I apologize for that."
"I'm not upset. We've been so many amazing places already. I could never be upset with you for the places you chose. I've enjoyed each one of them. And I'm sure this will be spectacular."
"Well, the grounds won't be this time of year, but it won't be crowded like it is in July and August. Some summer, we should come back to France in May or June, if we want to go to the touristy places. We wouldn't be able to do things with anyone during the daytime, but we could spend the weekdays visiting places, and then spend the weekends in Paris visiting with family."
"Maybe some day."
Sebastian pulled the door open to the place they were staying. They checked in and went up to their room.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
They spent Thursday and Friday in Versailles exploring the palace and other historical buildings in the area. Friday evening, Sebastian rented a car and drove them to Rouen. They checked into the inn they were staying in and went up to their room.
As soon as he put his backpack down and hung his coat off, Kurt started to undress. "Shower, then bed." Kurt unzipped his bag to get his toiletries out.
"Aye, aye, sir." Sebastian grinned as he fake saluted. He got undressed, grabbed his stuff, and followed Kurt into the bathroom.
When he got out, Kurt dried off, brushed his teeth, moisturized, hung the towel up, and got in bed. Sebastian laughed as he followed him into the room equally naked. He turned the light off and got in bed.
"Are you really that sleepy?" Sebastian scooted closer.
Kurt moved his arm to make room for Sebastian to lie on him, and then wrapped his arm around Sebastian. "Nope, I really just want to hold you and be held." He took a deep breath and relaxed. "I enjoyed both days in Versailles. It was breathtaking. The Hall of Mirrors and all of the rooms that I can't think of the names of right now. Marie Antoinette's place. To think that it only took 50 years to build that palace without any heavy equipment like modern cranes and bulldozers. It's just mind-blowing. The churches. The places we went to in town. I loved every second of it. Going out dancing last night was fun too."
"It was."
"And now I want to spend time with you. We can talk while we snuggle. I have some things I want to tell you." He kissed the top of Sebastian's head. "Opening myself up after being hurt so many times didn't come easy, but being with you is better than anything I had imagined because I never imagined someone who would love all me. You asked me if I could trust you not to hurt me intentionally."
"I remember."
"I didn't know honestly, but I decided that I would do my best. The play nearly pulled me back out into the stormy waters, but you were there. And I kept trusting. After my last talk with Mr. Salazar, I realized that fearing a repeat of the past was damaging the present. I am my own worst enemy. So many things swirled together in my mind – from talking to my dad back after we first started dating to the play to how you respond when things don't go as planned."
"What do you mean about me?"
"You didn't get angry when I dropped the mug in the kitchen and it broke. You didn't get angry when I forgot to move the sheets and the blanket to the dryer and we ended up sleeping in our onesies. Just stuff like that."
"Oh, it never crossed my mind to be angry about those things. You didn't smash the cup on purpose and you were busy working on something when the sheet thing happened."
"That's just it. You didn't even consider getting angry at me about it, but I got angry at myself. I beat myself up over things. That's what I was trying to get at with the hose analogy. I was continuing to damage myself with my own internal anger and the anger I was sure that you felt but you were just hiding."
"I get it more now."
"But you weren't hiding any residual anger. When you didn't get upset right away, I was waiting for a response to come when you had reached a tipping point."
"A tipping point that never came."
"Exactly. I went back through our whole relationship. I couldn't come up with a single thing that I had ever done that caused you to get angry with me. I thought back and I couldn't think of anything you had done to make me angry. There have been things we disagreed about. Things we have debated more than discussed. But I couldn't come up with a single time that our disagreements or discussions or debates ended up in one of us being angry. I finally realized that I was expecting something to happen that just wasn't part of how we interact."
"Respectfully? Like adults?"
"Yes. I hadn't really experienced that from people my own age or even from many people older than me. And I finally wrapped my head around all of it."
"And what was your grand conclusion?"
"That I wanted to marry you. I have enough information to sway six juries of your steadfast love and unwavering friendship."
"Well, you already got my answer to that question. And I'm pretty sure that my list is just as long as yours."
"All the more reason we deserve to be happy with each other. The part of me that was waiting for something to go wrong has been removed and replaced with a part that expects things to go right and can deal with it if something does go wrong."
"I understand what you were trying to explain back in Provins better now."
"Good." He squirmed a bit and slid down in the bed enough that he could kiss Sebastian. "I'm glad. Kisses?"
Sebastian kissed him.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Saturday morning, they woke up a couple of hours before sunrise, but occupied themselves before showering again and getting ready for the day. They ate in the inn, and put their backpacks in the rental car before heading out to wander around the town. They went to the breathtaking gothic Notre Dame cathedral. They loved the Tour du Gros-Horloge. The browsed through the stores in the area and went up the clock tower. They visited the Joan of Arc church with its intricate stained glass windows as well. They ate lunch in the old part of town where they definitely felt transported back in time with the timbered buildings. They enjoyed hearing the bells chiming at various points throughout the day. They ate dinner before they drove back to Paris.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
After they dropped the rental car off, they headed back to Celeste's. They quickly made their bed, emptied their backpacks, and changed to go skating. Georges and Letti showed up as they were getting their jackets on.
Letti hugged each one of them. "The dinner the two of you left for use was lovely and delicious and turned out very romantic."
"I'm glad you liked it," Kurt said.
"We really did," Georges said. "It was nice to be able to prepare it in the flat."
Sebastian said, "Your place looks great. Are you having a housewarming party or anything?" He opened the door and the other three walked through. He locked it and followed them. He took Kurt's hand.
"Not really. We had my parents over Tuesday night and Letti's parents came over Wednesday night. Patrice and Leon came over for about a half-hour on Thursday. Anyone else who wants to see can just call or stop by and take their chances on finding us home."
They talked the rest of the way to the Metro station.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"Ow!"
"I'm sorry. Just let me finish rubbing your leg, and then I'll move on to something else." Kurt looked up at him and winked. "But you'll have to be quieter or you're going to wake Celeste and André up, and then you'll miss out on the second part of the massage."
Sebastian made the motion to zip his lips. Kurt smiled and went back to massaging his leg.
"Meeting for hot chocolate first was a good idea. It gave us all a chance to talk for a little while. It's weird know that Victor and Clara are my cousins. I'm working on getting used to the idea though. I think we should invite them to New York, even if they never come. I want them to feel welcome."
"Sure. I like them too. They seem to have taken the whole situation in stride and moved on. They seem to get along with my motley crew of cousins."
"Ready for part two of your massage?"
"Which will be a mutual massage, right?"
Kurt nodded.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
The next morning, Kurt and Sebastian were up and ready early. They fixed an unusually large breakfast and had it all on the table when Adam and Marcus arrived. Sebastian opened the door and took their coats. Kurt ushered them to the table. Sebastian came and sat down.
"Wow, what a spread," Adam said. "It's been quite a while since I've been presented with a 'full Kurt' breakfast."
"Sebastian helped."
"I'm sure he did, but I am also sure that American pancakes were not in his original cooking repertoire. Nor were the biscuits and gravy, " Adam teased as he served himself a bit of everything as the plates came around.
Sebastian said, "That's true, but they are quite tasty, so I added them."
They started in on their food before anyone else said anything.
Marcus commented, "Adam told me we were for a treat, but I hadn't imagined it would be this good. You are both quite good cooks. Everything is delicious."
"Thanks," Kurt said. "I'm assuming that you two have our day planned? All the places you want to go see?"
"Yes," Adam answered. "And you've planned tomorrow."
"We have," Sebastian said. "How's the show going?"
"Quite well," Adam said. He gave them a rundown on everything.
Once they finished eating, Sebastian went to get Celeste. She made two plates and took the food on a tray back to their bedroom. They washed the dishes quickly and grabbed their coats to head out as the sun finally made its appearance. They headed to Montmartre. First they visited the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur. They spent the rest of the day touring through the various places that famous artists had lived and worked and visited a couple of museums.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"No way!" Kurt said as they walked up to the building. "You're kidding, right? Aren't tickets enough to buy a small country?"
Adam laughed. "Well, it's not like going to the cinema, but it's our treat, and it's not polite to ask how much a gift costs."
Kurt couldn't wipe the huge smile off his face. "Yes, I've been told by Grandma Smythe that I need to learn to accept gifts graciously."
"Smart woman," Adam said. "Now, let's go in." He opened the door to the Moulin Rouge and they all went inside.
They checked their coats and found their places.
"So, we have some news," Adam said. "The lease was finally up on the small place where I've been cooped up since I came back. Marcus and I rented a tiny flat together."
"Congratulations!" Kurt said. "That's great. I know all about living with too many people in one place."
"Yeah," Marcos said. "We'll finally get some peace and quiet. I was living with some people as well. I didn't dislike any of them per se, but there was just no quiet or calm. We moved in last week and it's been so nice."
"It's no bigger than your living room and dining area, but it's great," Adam said.
"I'm glad you're happy with it. You'll have to send us some pictures. We have some news of our own."
"Kurt asked me to marry him," Sebastian said.
"Wow!" Marcus said. "Congratulations!"
"That's exciting," Adam added. "Have you set a date?"
Kurt responded, "We haven't yet, but we have decided that the wedding will be here in Paris."
"We'll either do the legal part of it in New York or here, but the actual wedding ceremony will be here."
"Well, let us know when you decide, and we'll see what we can do," Adam said.
Kurt nodded.
Their server placed their dishes in front of them. A few minutes later, the lights went down and the show started.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
When they came out, Kurt hugged Adam and then Marcus. "That was truly spectacular! Thank you."
"You're welcome," they said in unison.
"So, are we ready to go out dancing?" Marcus asked. "That's next on our list. We looked up clubs and reviews and found one we'd like to try."
"Sure," Kurt said.
Sebastian felt him tense though. He asked, "Taxi or Metro?"
"Metro," Adam said.
When they got to the club, Sebastian knew it wasn't going to be Kurt's kind of place, so he stuck to him closely. At least it wasn't one of the places with the showers. They got in line and eventually made it inside.
Adam and Marcus headed for the bar, while Kurt and Sebastian looked for a place to sit that didn't exist. They headed out to the dance floor once Adam and Marcus came back. Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt and held him close as they moved to the music.
They stayed for a couple of hours before going back to Celeste's. While they were gone, Celeste and André had gone to Odette and Edmond's to stay the night in their spare room, giving the four of them the place to themselves.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
They spent Monday taking Adam and Marcus to a couple of art galleries and bookstores, as well as to Sebastian's favorite French restaurant for lunch before they had to leave.
Sebastian and Kurt stayed in Monday evening to recover from the 8 days of non-stop activity. They stayed in during the next three days. Tuesday evening they spent with Patrice and Leon at their place. They spent Wednesday evening with Kurt's family. Thursday, they went to George and Letti's place with Noelle and Edmond and ordered in pizza and played games.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Friday morning they baked and took cookies to Grandmère's place. They ate lunch and stayed the afternoon with her. Celeste came at 4:00 and picked them up and drove them back to her house.
Once they were changed and ready, they left in the car to go to Patrice and Leon's wedding. Celeste pulled as close as possible to let Grandmère out. Sebastian and Kurt got out to walk with her. They approached a limestone building that Kurt recognized. It all came rushing back to him. They had visited this place over the summer. It was the first building that Patrice had help to restore using centuries old techniques so the repairs would be historically accurate. At one point it had been a small chapel, but since its restoration, it was being used for art exhibits, small concerts, and a wide variety of social events.
The room was decorated with red poinsettias, some faux evergreen garland, and miniature narrow Christmas trees. Patrice, being ever practical chose to wear Celeste's wedding dress rather than spend a lot of money on a new dress that she would only wear once. Leon wore a nice black suit with a black vest with a red pattern. There were no groomsmen or maids of honor.
The service itself was quite brief. While Patrice and Leon posed for a few photos, the room was reset quickly with tables. The garland and trees were lit with white lights and the ambient lighting was dimmed. The event was much more party than ceremony and it lasted until well into the morning.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Kurt and Sebastian went to the park to watch the sunrise Saturday morning. They stopped by their favorite spots on the way back, picking up a few treats to take back with them. They double-checked the room and found nothing. They had said their goodbyes to everyone before they left the party the evening before. They thanked Celeste and André for hosting them again before they left.
Danielle and Mémé Jacqueline picked them up and drove them to meet up with the rest of Kurt's family at a restaurant. They had a late lunch together, which everyone enjoyed. Danielle drove them to the airport afterwards.
"I'm so glad to have had a chance to spend time with you," Mémé said, as she hugged Kurt. "Thank you for being patient and giving me the chance to be a part of your life. I wish the two of you the best."
"I'm glad to get a chance to get to know you," Kurt said. "I'll keep writing. Thank you again for the book about my mom." He wiped a few tears.
"You're welcome, sweetheart." She pulled him close again before letting him go. "We all love you." She hugged Sebastian as well. "Take care of each other."
They nodded. They grabbed their backpacks and suitcase out of the trunk and walked towards the building. They looked back and waved before they went inside.