Sebastian opened the door to greet Adam. "Sorry about that. I'm Sebastian. Come on in. Kurt's not here though."

"Do you mind me waiting here for him?"

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to wait. He said he'd be home," Sebastian checked his phone. "... ten minutes ago."

"That's what he told me as well. He doesn't know I'm here though. I had meant to surprise him."

Sebastian gave him a fake smile. "This seems to be your thing. I heard you surprised him at work as well."

"I did. He works himself to the ground. If I waited to see him until he offered me a time, I'd never get to see him outside of Apple's rehearsals. I brought him a basket of homemade biscuits and some tea from England that he likes."

"He does work too much. I told him so myself, but he's stubborn."

"That's true, but I enjoy his company too much to give up completely. Would it be alright for me to sit this on the counter?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Sebastian was lost in his jealous thoughts of this good looking man who was so obviously into Kurt that he took time to bake for him and went out of his way to deliver the treats. "Come on in and have a seat. No need to stand until he gets here. He must have missed the train or it broke down or something."

Adam followed him into the living room. "This is a nice place. I wanted to thank you for giving him the chance to get out of the loft. That place has just been so bad for him. Those girls don't give him a minute's peace. And Rachel is the very image that should go in the dictionary next to the entry for frenemy, should it ever actually make it into a dictionary."

Sebastian chuckled. "Yeah. Rachel's something."

Just then, they heard a key in the lock. Kurt stepped in and closed the door behind him. His eyes were immediately drawn to the basket on the counter. "Adam?"

"Over here, love. I thought you could use a break. Go ahead and look in the basket." Adam got up and walked back into the kitchen.

Kurt removed the pretty towel that had been covering the contents. "You made me cookies and brought Downton Abbey and my favorite tea." He hugged Adam. "I suppose I could sneak in just one episode before I start on my schoolwork."

Sebastian was sitting where he could see them both. He hadn't seen a smile like that on Kurt, ever. He loved and hated it at the same time.

"Just let me shower really quickly. You'll watch with us, right, Sebastian? I'll even share a few cookies."

Sebastian had no clue what Downton Abbey was, but he certainly wasn't going to give that away. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure." Kurt headed into his room.

Sebastian got up. He pulled the tea out of the basket, intentionally making note of anything he could on the cover of the DVD case. "I'll heat up some water for the tea." He filled the kettle up and plugged it in. "You can set up the DVD if you'd like. The slot's on the side of the TV."

"Sure." Adam pulled the DVD out of the basket and took it across the room.

Sebastian pulled his phone out and read a synopsis of the whole first season of the show, so he wouldn't be totally lost. He found that it was a period drama set in England. He read as quickly as he could until the kettle whistled. He made two cups of hot water and put two tea bags in. "Should I set a timer?"

"It's fine. I'll come finish up." When he came closer he saw only two cups. "Did you not want any?"

"I was thinking of having milk."

Adam nodded.

Kurt came bounding back in the room in a better mood than Sebastian had ever seen him in. God, happy looks good on him, he thought. He smiled genuinely. "Everything's set up."

Adam said, "I've finished up your tea too." He handed Kurt his cup, and then picked up the container of cookies.

Sebastian quickly poured himself a glass of milk and sat down on Kurt's other side and they watched the first episode. Adam didn't overstay and push Kurt to abandon his schedule.

"See me out?" he asked politely.

Kurt got up and followed him to the kitchen.

"Just put the cookies in something to keep here and I'll take the basket and container back so you won't have something extra to lug around."

Kurt finished quickly. He opened the door and hugged Adam as he left. "Thank you."

"Anytime, love. I'll see you soon, I hope."

Kurt just smiled and waved. He closed the door and turned back to the counter and put the container of cookies in the cabinet. He took a deep breath before turning back around. "Would you like me to warm up some of the Indian leftovers for you when I do mine?"

"Sure, thanks. I'll come help." He pulled out silverware, grabbed napkins, and set the table. "Can I ask you something?" He filled two glasses with water and put them on the table as well.

"Sure."

"Are you in love with Adam?"

"No. I think I could be, though, if I'd let myself. He's just…" Kurt tried to keep the tears at bay. "He deserves someone better than me. Someone who can be there for him. And that's not me. I'm almost out of me to give."

"You work too much."

"I know. It creates a buffer. I've talked to my therapist about it, or I should say my therapist has brought it up. Working so much and never having any down time kept me from obsessing about my dad's cancer. If I was constantly busy and barely had time to keep from drowning, I focused on just keeping my head above water. But…"

"But that's not really living."

"Exactly." He plated their food and put the plates on the table. "But there's this element of addiction to it. Doing it all and not leaning on anyone else. I broke that moving in here. It's been a hard week."

"I know you've been avoiding being here when I've been here."

"Yeah. I don't really know what to say about that."

"Do you still hate me?"

"No."

They ate in silence for a while.

Kurt was the first to speak again. "I don't hate you. I really don't. But I don't understand you. And I'm honestly over dealing with passive-aggressive and self-centered people."

"I've met most of your so-called friends. I get why you don't really have it in you to add one more person who will make your life even less enjoyable. I'm at a loss as to how to show you that I'm not that guy anymore and I haven't been for a year."

"I'll just be honest. There is something about having a person in your life who serves as an acceptable target for your anger. Someone that it's okay to dislike. I've put up with so much from the people who are supposed to be my friends, but I can't lash back at them. They dish it out, but can't take it. With you, you always gave as good as you got. We were a good match for verbal sparring."

"You don't want me as a friend."

"Sebastian, no. Stop. Just keep listening, please. I'm trying."

He nodded.

"We've already discussed how differently we viewed our relationship. I'm still processing how I hurt you. What I was trying to get at a minute ago was that it was easy when I felt like you deserved how I treated you. But just like you realized that your words had hurt Dave, I said things to hurt you and it felt good at the time because I felt like you deserved it. Anyway, it's hard sitting and talking to you and realizing that I judged you without getting to know you, but you made it so hard to get to know you. By the time you decided the 'fun and games' were over, I just wrote you out of my life. You were at Dalton and I was in Lima and then here in New York, but I admit the first thing I asked Blaine last October was if it was you he had slept with."

Sebastian sighed and nodded. "I can see why, now that we've talked."

"But I see you, the person that you are now. And now I have to change. I do want us to be friends. But I don't know how to let go of the frantic life I've created for myself. I've let it go on for so long that I don't really know how to stop. I don't know how to accept kindness. Until Adam, no one has ever done anything for me without expecting an equal or greater return at some point later. And I'm not even coping well with him complimenting me and doing little things." He took a drink and paused for a moment. "'You owe me.' is something I just can't hear right now. I just said how I felt like I have nothing left to give. I can't owe you at some future date and my experience says that there will be a reckoning."

Sebastian thought, Wow, he's had shitty friends. His dad had cancer and they expected him to be there for them. "I realize that based on what you just said, you probably won't believe me, but I'm not expecting anything in return for you living here. I'm hoping that you'll feel at home here and finally be able to relax."

Kurt nodded and continued to eat.

Sebastian watched Kurt and saw such exhaustion in Kurt's beautiful eyes. He finished up, but didn't get up while Kurt was still eating. "I put your pajamas on your bed. You probably already saw them. I grabbed a couple of pairs when I was out today to keep here in case I come back again before I actually move in after school ends."

"I did see them. Thanks for washing them. And thanks for letting me eat leftovers all week. You've saved me from having to make that trip to the grocery."

Once Kurt finished, Sebastian reached for his plate and silverware. "I know you have work to do and you already took a break that you hadn't planned. I can get this stuff in the dishwasher and clean up."

X-X-X-X-X

Sebastian got up early enough Friday morning to make breakfast for Kurt. He knew that Kurt had been generous and shared the cinnamon raisin bread he had made until it was gone, leaving him nothing for breakfast other than some yogurt.

When Kurt came out of the bathroom, he saw that Sebastian had cooked breakfast for him and it was on the table waiting. He smiled and sat down with him.

"Thanks. You didn't have to cook for me. I was just going to eat some yogurt, but this looks great. I didn't know you could cook." Kurt began to eat the veggie and cheese omelette.

"That's why I wanted the nicest kitchen I could put in a small space. I like easy food as much as the next person, but I do also really enjoy taking the time to make nice meals. There's just something about the process that's as enjoyable as eating the food."

"I agree. I really do enjoy cooking and baking. Adam likes to bake. He and I both stress bake. I'm glad you two seemed to hit it off. He's really the first person I've met who has ever gone out of their way to do things for me. As I mentioned, the rest of the people I've considered friends have all been on the 'take' side of the 'give and take' of friendship."

"Even Sam?"

"Sam's wasn't because he's a selfish guy because he's not at all. It was just situational. I mean you know that he lives with my parents. His family lives in Kentucky and he hated it there and came back to Lima."

"Oh, God. The thought that there are places bad enough to make Lima and McKinley appealing is really appalling."

Kurt laughed. "You're right. Anyway, Adam's just different. I know I'm about to lose him. Never mind that. This is really good." He finished up quickly so he wouldn't miss the train. "I hate to eat and run, but I have to go. I have Miss July's class first thing again today and she takes being tardy as a personal offense and…"

Sebastian interrupted. "You need an A. I remember. Any chance of seeing you this evening?"

"You want to see me this evening?" Kurt got up and put his plate in the dishwasher.

Sebastian looked confused. He had obviously still not gotten through to Kurt that he wanted to spend time with him. "I'll make something besides leftover Indian food, and we can watch a movie."

"If you want, I'll come back to eat dinner with you instead of staying at NYADA to do my schoolwork, but I'll have to do it here after we eat."

"Sure."

Kurt scurried to his room to get his bag. "I'll be back at 7:00 then," he said as he rushed out the door.

"How am I ever going to get through to him?" Sebastian asked himself out loud as he put his head down on the table.

He didn't have much time to wallow in his frustration because a few minutes later three sharp raps on the door startled him into sitting back up. He put his stuff in the dishwasher and went to the door.

Santana Fucking Lopez.

"Open up, Fievel. I know you're home."

He opened the door politely, wearing his most convincingly welcoming expression. "Santana. What a pleasant surprise. Do come in." He let her step inside and closed the door behind her. "Can I get you something? Juice? Coffee?"

"Yeah, sure. Coffee would be good."

He poured her the cup of coffee that he was going to have and started more for himself. "Cream? Sugar?"

"A little of both." She walked away and began to look around the apartment. "Nice place for a high school student." She looked into Kurt's bedroom and then into Sebastian's. "I see Porcelain has made himself at home. It's nice of you to take him in, which makes me wonder what's going on because you and I both know that 'nice' isn't a word that I associate with you. Or with myself, for that matter. But I am wondering about that 'turning over a new leaf' you told us about a year ago."

He handed her the cup of coffee.

"Thanks." She took a sip. "I'm pretty sure that you helped him with the get-away plan last weekend. Was that premeditated or a spur-of-the-moment decision?"

"I only knew about the proposal Friday evening when he came to Dalton to ask us to help him. I agreed because I thought they had been solid for two years at that point. I thought it would be a nice thing for the Warblers to be known for after Hunter dragged our reputation through the mud. I didn't find out about the cheating and them being broken up for five months until after the proposal was over."

"So, spur-of-the-moment."

She sat down on the couch and crossed her legs. She leaned back and stared him down. "What's in this for you?"

"The knowledge that I've done something nice and helpful." He poured his coffee and added a little more milk than usual to cool it down more quickly.

"Again with 'nice' and 'helpful'." She stared at him.

He crossed the room and sat down. "Why are you here?"

"To see what exactly is going on. I know that he left, gave the ring back, flew here, and I'm assuming you're the one who helped him move."

"I did."

She drank more of her coffee and looked around again. "You could use some artwork. Let Kurt work his charm on this place and it will feel more homey."

"A compliment for Kurt's interior design skills? Unexpected from you."

"Look, there's no love lost between me and the over-gelled hobbit. He and I never sat around while he did my nails to perfection or did whatever crazy thing Britt wanted done to hers. Blaine never did her hair just perfect and made her smile in a way that lit up the whole room."

"Why did Kurt feel the need to get away from the loft then? If things were all rainbows and ponies, why was he desperate enough to move out to move into my place?"

"Because I'm an awful person. I can't stand calm and harmony. It makes my skin crawl. I'd rather start throwing shoes than to wait for one to fall. I feel less alone when everyone else is in as much turmoil as I am. There. I've said it. I'm a bitch and I know it."

"Why are you here?"

"Because even though I'm a bitch, I don't want Kurt hurt. I thought he and the hobbit were the real deal, so I went to the proposal. I found out Mr. Goody Two-Shoes let some random fuck him. Kurt didn't deserve that."

"So, you didn't know either?"

"I knew that Blaine had cheated on him, but I thought it was something like kissing someone at a party while drunk. I mean Kurt went to watch Grease. Blaine came here for Christmas. They hooked up at Mr. Schue's bomb of a wedding a month ago. I thought they were headed back to their disgustingly calm, passionless, gay, old married couple relationship."

"Well, I can't speak to their relationship, but I didn't know they were broken up when I agreed for the Warblers to host the proposal. I really did turn over a new leaf last year. I've left my bullying days behind. It was a short-lived period of my life that I'll always regret. I know I apologized last year, but I meant it. I'm sorry for the way I treated you."

"Yeah, I get that. I'm not going to go all Dr. Phil and ask you to share your damage. It happened. It's over. You're sorry. The end. I just came to give you a warning from one bitch to an ex-bastard, I guess. Just don't hurt him."

"And why am I supposed to think you care?"

"As much shit as I might give the people I care about, I do still care. Just remember that I was the one who got that slushie evidence. And I don't even like Blaine. Kurt was the one that let you off the hook."

"Got it. Don't hurt Kurt. The exact opposite is my plan. Being nice and helping, remember?"

She got up and put her coffee cup on the counter. She turned back towards him. "And just so you know, those idiots back at McKinley are siding with Blaine. Well, other than Sam."

"Great."

She let herself out.

Saturday morning, Sebastian managed to get information out of Kurt about what he had planned for the next day while they ate breakfast together. Kurt didn't run out like he had during the week, but he went straight back to his room to work on a project for his costume design course.

After he finished cleaning up, he went to Kurt's room and leaned against the doorway and watched him for a few minutes before he went back into his own room to get his shoes on and leave. He stopped again outside his door. "I'm heading out now."

Kurt nodded. "Have a good time with your family."

X-X-X-X-X

Sebastian came back after dinnertime that evening. Kurt heard him let himself in, but continued to iron his finished pieces. Sebastian stopped at his door.

"So, you've finished?"

"I have. Just a few minutes ago. I have to iron them before I can consider them completely done, but that won't take more than 15 more minutes."

"Excellent. So, does that mean you have time to watch a movie with me?"

"I thought you were heading to the airport with your parents after dinner, now that I actually think about it."

"I was, but I changed my flight to tomorrow morning. I thought maybe we could just watch the movie and eat popcorn. I'll make it on the stove top. I stopped and got real popcorn on the way."

"You drive a hard bargain, but I guess I deserve a little break. I managed to get these done more quickly than I had anticipated."

"Great. I'll shower while you finish up. That way I can just go to sleep after the movie since I have to be up early."

Twenty minutes later, Kurt joined Sebastian on the couch. He handed Kurt a caffeine free Diet Coke and a bowl of popcorn.

"How did you know?"

"I saw a bottle of Diet Coke in the kitchen trash. I got the caffeine free version so you wouldn't be up all night."

"That was actually really sweet. Thanks. I didn't even ask what movie we're watching."

"Rise of the Guardians. I almost got Wreck it Ralph, but the artwork looked so cool on this one."

"I saw the trailers for that last fall. If I had gone home for Thanksgiving, I'm sure that I could have gotten Sam to go with me, but I ended up staying here instead. Go ahead and start it. What made you think I'd like an animated movie?"

"I saw your Disney DVDs. That's why I was going to choose Wreck it Ralph."

"Oh." Kurt had never considered that Sebastian would be so observant, first the drink and then the movie. "I think I'll like this one more, but we could watch Wreck it Ralph if you come some weekend between now and when I move out in June."

Sebastian nodded, still hoping to come up with a way to get Kurt to agree to stay. He had enjoyed his time in the flat more the evenings that Kurt had spent there, even if he was holed up in his room doing schoolwork.

X-X-X-X-X

Sunday morning, he got up and found that Sebastian had left an envelope on top of the bread pan, which was missing a single slice of banana bread. On the outside it said:

Kurt,

Thank you for breakfast.
I'm sure you love the show.
I thought it was fantastic yesterday.

He looked in the envelope and found a ticket to the matinee of Wicked.