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AN: I did say this one was set up differently than normal. You'll really see why, starting in this chapter/next chapter.
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7
My Time
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"You already have a job." Sebastian pointed out.
"I know, but this is an internship with a fashion house!" Kurt was bouncing in his seat as he told Sebastian over the dinner he'd planned at a nice restaurant. Sebastian had been wondering what the occasion was but Kurt was making decent money now and could afford it. He'd feared he was forgetting some kind of birthday or anniversary. No, it was just Kurt wanting to spend a bit of money and time on him. It felt nice. Kurt was busier than Sebastian had ever expected he'd be, between school, his job and the band that he refused to let go of.
"How does Isabelle feel about that?" Sebastian wasn't quite as excited as Kurt. He had a future with the magazine but it wasn't his first passion.
"She's thrilled. She's known that she'll have to split me with a fashion house eventually. This one isn't featured in Vogue, so it'll be an opportunity for her to fold them into the pages if I do well and then she can approach them after an appropriate amount of time has passed, saying how much I raved about them. Win-win." Kurt announced and Sebastian finally let a smile crack over his face.
"I'm so happy for you." A fashion house was just what Kurt needed to get recognized for his work and to go further. Eventually he could open his own fashion house or take one over, and this would give him the insight in how to run one.
"Of course, anything I make there is their property so I have to play the very specific line of showing off and keeping the best for myself in the future." Kurt teased and Sebastian's smile only widened. Kurt was learning to play the game.
Nobody could have predicted how backbreaking the new internship would be. Kurt came home utterly exhausted and Sebastian barely saw him. When he did, Kurt was practically falling asleep on his feet but he forged through it. Kurt had always talked about how Sebastian always seemed to have boundless energy but Sebastian had that for sex and other activities. He wouldn't have survived on Kurt's insane schedule. He tried to get Kurt to back off on something, whatever he could, where he could. Kurt waved him off, promising it was just for a short time while he had the internship. It would be better when it ended. It was just for a short time period. Kurt vowed he could do anything for 6 months.
He knew something was wrong because Kurt had admitted to as much. Usually Kurt would just wave it off and say he had it, but to admit that he was exhausted was big. Sebastian sought for some way to help Kurt out, make it less stressful, less time consuming.
There was really only one thing that he could think of but he had to clear it with Santana first.
When he asked, she threw whatever she had at hand at his head. "About time, you dummy."
They still had a year plus of school left. "You can stay here."
"Three's Company would have definitely benefited from having a lesbian. I'm not going anywhere until I feel like it's time." Santana rolled her eyes at him. "Kurt will just have to get used to sharing his flat with two roommates instead of one."
She'd hit the nail on the head and until it was driven home, he hadn't even realized it was poking at him. Kurt basically had two roommates as it was, Rachel and Blaine. He didn't like Blaine's presence being so close to Kurt when Kurt spent the rare night at that apartment. Kurt was practically living with Sebastian already, they might as well make it official. Yet Santana was wrong, it wasn't 2 flatmates instead of one, it was living with his boyfriend and one of his good friends. Neither Kurt nor Sebastian had ever done that before. Maybe Santana's presence would help ease things or make it harder. Sebastian didn't know, time would tell.
Kurt was already practically asleep in his dinner when Sebastian put forth his idea. Kurt's eyes snapped open and looked at Sebastian for a long moment. "You want to move in together?" Kurt asked, just to make sure he heard right.
Sebastian had never been more sure than he was in that moment. He wanted to take care of Kurt and this was just going to be another way to achieve that goal. Sebastian reached out and slid a hair back behind Kurt's ear. It sprung forward again but Sebastian didn't attempt to tackle it again, he just kept his hand on the side of Kurt's face. "It'll be easy, you won't have to lift a finger or be there. I'll hire some people and we'll go over, pack everything up that's yours and bring it here, unpack it and put it as close to how you had it in your place. You basically live here anyway."
He wouldn't have to go back to his place for things, would have a lot shorter of a commute. It would be one less place he had to go to on a regular frequency. He could help split rent here if he wanted. Sebastian already owned the place, but he didn't tell either Santana or Kurt that, or really anyone else. Kurt would have access to the towncar too.
Kurt shook his head and Sebastian's heart plummeted. "You're not selling it right." Kurt reached up and covered Sebastian's hand with his own. "The highlights would be living here with you full time, getting more time to spend with you, not having to leave your body to go home for things just to come back again. I wouldn't lose out on that time with you. We would get to be a real, legit adult couple."
"With a roommate." Sebastian pointed out. He wouldn't kick Santana out, she'd have to leave on her own accord.
"With a sassy brunette female roommate." Kurt agreed with a grin. "She's fun and I love her. You love her. I'm not in any hurry to get her out of here. You'll need someone to keep you entertained on the days that I have to work long hours."
"You mean every day?" Sebastian grouched but it was only in good fun and Kurt didn't take it too seriously. Kurt turned his head to press a kiss to the palm of Sebastian's hand. "I'm pretty awake now." He wiggled a brow and Sebastian took his hint quickly, following Kurt to his feet and racing with him to the bedroom. They did have a roommate who wouldn't be bothered by seeing them have sex on different spots in the room, but she would probably bust out the popcorn and watch.
Later, Sebastian pulled himself away from Kurt's warm, sleeping body and wrapped him up more firmly in their heat-warmed blankets. He padded in just his boxers to the kitchen to clean up their leftover dinner and was surprised to see it all tidied up for him. He knew Kurt hadn't gone in there to take care of it. There weren't any leftovers and it wasn't in the trash either.
He spotted Santana's heels by the door that hadn't been there before and a pair of combat boots. He had his answer at least. She probably re-purposed his leftover food for her and her companion for the night. That was fine, he wasn't sure when or if he and Kurt would eat the rest of it.
He suspected it was her companion that was responsible for the cleaned dishes. Santana would, just not when she had something else on her mind. Having to wait would either be great fore-play or would piss her off greatly. Considering that the shoes were still here, it was probably the former.
Kurt often woke up before Sebastian and the next morning was one of those days. He thought Kurt should have slept in a bit, considering how tired he was the day before and how much Sebastian probably wiped him out even more. Yet, Kurt had his own internal clock that he had to listen to or disaster.
He heard Kurt's voice chatting away with someone but the other person didn't sound like Santana. He came out once more in just his boxers but found it was too cold and so went back in for a pair of socks and a robe. He had nothing planned for the rest of the day, he was hoping to entice Kurt back to bed. Ah, that made more sense. "Morning, Dani." He greeted before pressing a kiss to Kurt's cheek. "Coffee?"
"In the pot, waiting for you." It was so easy with Kurt, they knew what the other needed and wanted and so Sebastian went to fill his own mug up with some coffee. It might have been cold by the time Sebastian got to it if Kurt had poured a mug for him as well.
He came back to a stop next to Kurt, not bothering to tie up his robe. It didn't phase Dani in the slightest, they were all far too familiar with each other in some sort of state of undress. Kurt wasn't even surprised to see Dani here, that's how often she and Santana had hooked up since their breakup.
"You two are so cute together." Dani shook her head. "I was pissed for Elliott but also happy for Kurt. I loved Adam too but I mean, who wouldn't? It's just that he was too tame for Kurt." Dani gave an unconcerned shrug, especially because no one had asked her to dissect their lives. "But you know how it goes, right person at the right time, there for you because you needed someone like them at that particular moment."
"Yeah... hey Dani?" She made a sound of acknowledgment. "Shut up."
Dani looked surprised and Sebastian cracked up, burying his head in Kurt's shoulder as he laughed. Oh, Kurt got some good ones in there at the perfect moments. That just seemed more like something Sebastian would have said or done.
She scowled but not overly offended, realizing she probably shouldn't have said much anyway. Still, she compounded it. "I'm just glad you three are still such good friends. I don't know if I would have been cool with my girlfriend's ex coming to stay over." They both looked at her blankly. "You two haven't discussed it?"
"Shit! I totally forgot!" Kurt put his cup of coffee onto the table with a bit more force than he normally would. He turned in his seat to look at Sebastian. "I honestly forgot- he's coming for the week of February 10th."
"That's in a week." Sebastian glanced over at Dani who held up her hands, realizing she'd done wrong and slinked back off to the bedroom with Santana to let them have some privacy with this.
"I know, I forgot that I said he could stay the week before we broke up."
"But then you did break up and started dating me."
"Yeah, I know, Seb-." Kurt grabbed at his hands and held them to his chest. "Doesn't my forgetting show you just how little he means to me? I mean-" It could also show Sebastian just how much Kurt wanted to keep it hidden until the last minute. Except, he believed Kurt. Kurt was so busy with everything that he'd forgotten a lot of things that weren't brought to his attention shortly before he was due there – including Rachel's play or Blaine's performance at NYADA or Santana's birthday or a show the band had agreed to. He'd nearly forgotten but had remembered all on his own – his dad and Carole's anniversary. He cared about all these people, Adam too, but if it wasn't for reminders on his phone, he'd have gotten lost into work and not have surfaced again for a long time. He always remembered dates with Sebastian though.
Sebastian pulled Kurt to him, kissing Kurt's face in several places. "You can care about him. I'm just a bit upset because I thought I'd have you living here by then."
"I can still-." Kurt started but Sebastian's head shake stopped him in his tracks. "What?"
"You're not going to make Adam stay in a hotel room or with Rachel alone, you just can't." Sebastian cupped Kurt's face between both his hands. "I still get you for Valentine's Day though, all day."
"That hasn't changed." Kurt agreed. Sebastian knew it would just be cruel to have Adam at their apartment and he was only cruel to those he disliked.
Somehow, it was Sebastian that Adam spent the most time with while he was back in New York. Kurt and Sebastian and Adam had dinner together the night Adam got in and Adam told them all about his new show and how once he was in one, the ball had started to finally move and he was picking up more offers. He asked about Sebastian's schooling and how Sebastian was applying for semester-long internships.
He hadn't submitted any request yet. He was hesitant, knowing he'd get into all of them, but was slow to pick one back. He would have to move quickly once he got the acceptances. He was already a semester behind most of his peers. It would just mean more time commitments and he didn't want to spend anymore time away from Kurt than he already did.
No, that was just an excuse he was using, no matter how true it was. Kurt would be nothing but supportive of his choices and they'd be spending about the same amount of time together. The trouble was, as soon as he was out there in the real world, his life choices would be cemented, at least for the foreseeable future. He would sink or swim all on his own. He hadn't gone his father's path or what he'd intended for Sebastian. Sebastian had chosen something artsy in his father's mind. He would have judged Kurt harshly for his career plans, despite being so incredibly successful. He hadn't introduced the two or even told his father about Kurt. He wanted to, wanted to show Kurt off to everyone. Tell them all that he was his.
The first person they should probably tell though was the man sitting with them at dinner.
Adam yawned though before they could broach the topic after a relaxed dinner together. "Sorry, jetlag. Would you really hate it if I kipped off? I should be better in the morning."
"Not a problem." Kurt answered easily. "I made up the couch if that's ok with you." Kurt hesitated as if something came to him. "I have to get up early in the morning and head out. I probably won't see you until tomorrow evening."
"You're busy, we all get it." Adam teased and pulled Kurt into a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow evening then."
There was nothing overtly sexual in Adam's actions toward Kurt, just friendly. He reached out to shake Sebastian's hand, knowing that Sebastian wasn't much of a hugger or affectionate when the physical wasn't for an express purpose. Something he'd gotten much better with when it came to Kurt but only Kurt.
Sebastian shook his hand in return and watched Adam take off with their spare set of keys. He didn't even push for Kurt to come back with him, it was still fairly early. Sebastian tipped his head to the side when Adam was out of sight, looking toward his boyfriend. "What did you want to do now?"
Kurt shrugged. "Not sure. What did you have in mind?"
He took Kurt out dancing and not at some club where all they would do is grind on each other. Instead, they got to put some of those dance moves they'd been taught when younger to use. They had been different ages for different purposes with different levels of instructors and instruction but they did well on that dance floor. There were a few side-eyes since it was a swanky older crowd for the most part, but there were a few younger elite there as well and they offered a bit of a shield for them.
The older set was just jealous, well aware of that Sebastian and Kurt weren't the first of their kind to grace these halls or floor, but one of the first couples to show off so unconcerned. They were more accepted than those who came before. Even as they danced, a few of the gentlemen became braver and joined them on the dance floor and a few women too. Things eased slowly but by the end of the night out, there was very little tension left.
Sebastian tried to get Kurt to return home with him, not for more activities, but because it would be easier on him in the morning. He could sleep in longer and be closer to work. Kurt refused and slipped away into the subway system, not wanting to borrow the car either. Sebastian would have stayed in the back with him and seen him home before heading back to his place. Kurt didn't want to put him out that much, it wasn't far to his apartment. It was only for a short amount of time, then he'd be moving in with Sebastian permanently.
It was that promise that had kept Sebastian going, to not make a bigger fuss with Kurt's leaving on a subway. He wouldn't be seeing Kurt tomorrow evening either, since he and Adam had different plans. It felt like a step back but he was reassured after the last few visits with Adam that it was well and truly over for them. He would not let it bother him, it wouldn't bother him.
Surprisingly, it didn't bother him.
He might not have seen Kurt for a couple of days, but he did see Adam two days later. Adam met him for a coffee and brunch and then they headed out into the city. They hit some of the more tourist destinations and then also just wandered around, finding new areas. Then they went to some old haunts. It was there, at the arcade as the two of them both had rifles in their arms, aiming at some target across the way, that Adam broached the topic that he and Kurt hadn't been able to yet.
"So, I hear Kurt's dating someone now. I hear it's been going on for awhile." Adam glanced over to him before looking back at his target and taking a shot.
Sebastian's eyes slid to his when they returned to him again. He looked away, not giving anything away as he took his own shot. They'd both hit their targets. "Problematic?"
"No, I knew he wouldn't stay single for long. He's too good of a catch and anyone who doesn't want to date him would be a fool." Adam took another shot without looking at it, catching the target right in the center.
That caused Sebastian to twitch slightly, he didn't even need to look, was he trying to tell Sebastian something with that move. "So you're ok with it?"
"If he's happy." He waited for Sebastian to take his next shot before pulling the trigger again. "Is it Elliott? I had a feeling he was interested in Kurt before he started dating you."
"No, but you'd be ok with it going from friendship to relationship?"
"It's how I think most relationship work for Kurt." Adam shrugged. "He probably needs to get to them a bit in a lower pressure way before agreeing to date."
"Hmm." Sebastian didn't realize Adam was so aware of Kurt's history with other men. It was certainly more than Sebastian knew. "Except maybe the first one."
"Oh, he knew Karofsky for ages before they dated. Perks, I guess, of having grown up with him and attending the same primary schools. Kurt's a bit too forgiving, I've always thought, Karofsky was a terror before they got together and then when they broke up."
"He committed suicide." Sebastian pointed out. "I thought it was while they were dating."
"Day after they broke up." Adam said softly, realizing that Sebastian hadn't known. "For most people, Kurt let others think that they were still a couple when it happened, it strangely made it easier for his parents to think that. They'd tried to comfort Kurt too, who was distraught by his death, but when he tried to tell them not to bother on him, he'd been the cause of his death, they dumped on him that they were so glad that Karofsky had him, that he was the one bright light in all of this tragedy. Through Kurt, they could still have part of their son."
"That's a lot to put on him, even if they hadn't broken up." Sebastian was feeling protective of Kurt again, wanting to ease his burden. He would always feel that way with Kurt, but sometimes it flared more intensely.
"Still goes back every year and spends a day with them." Adam nodded along with Sebastian's assessment of the situation. "I think they probably know, but they want to keep some part of their son alive, even if it's through Kurt. I don't think they'd blame Kurt, I guess Karofsky had attempted to take his own life once before. Everything could have been going perfectly between them and he might have still chosen to take that route. I'm just glad that he didn't take Kurt with him."
"Do you really think-."
"Not Kurt, but if this guy got it in his head that he wanted to go and have Kurt with him when he went- that's harder to predict."
Sebastian shuddered at the notion, what Adam was alluding to wasn't a suicide pact or making Kurt watch, but a murder-suicide situation. "I'm very glad that it didn't go down that route."
"I'm glad Burt was aware enough to send Kurt to another school that dealt with survivor's guilt and grief. It not only helped Kurt with what had already happened but prepared him for the future, by laying a ground work to rely on if things went badly around him."
"Are you talking about-"
"About what?" Adam played dumb and they both knew what he was alluding at, it was just Adam's way of digging out whether or not Kurt had told him. If he'd told him, then it was easy to put things together about why Sebastian would now know. Had he prodded for that kind of information before with cryptic comments and it was only now that Sebastian had picked up on it? "I'm glad that it's not Blaine." Adam added and took his last shot at the target. He hit it with perfect accuracy. "I guess I can be happy that it's you."
"You're more magnanimous that I probably would have been."
"You're letting your boyfriend hang out with his ex, letting me stay over without a word and hanging out with me yourself, on your own. I think you're being pretty magnanimous yourself."
"I get the guy." Sebastian shrugged. "The rest of it is just white noise. You lost the boy, that is a much harder position to be in."
Adam smirked and it wasn't something anyone was used to seeing on the Brit's face. "Life has a funny way of going full circle, you know."
"Not this time." Although in a way, it had, they could have so easily met in Ohio but hadn't and just missed each other constantly and now they were together, having been given a second chance at meetings. They had a better chance with each other this time.
Adam held up his hands in peace. "No worries mate, I have no designs to move in on your boyfriend. He and I are in different places in our lives right now."
"I didn't set out to take him from you. We waited."
Adam lifted both brows, unable to lift just one. "Really? Like I didn't know you wanted into his pants from the moment you first saw him." Sebastian didn't say anything and Adam laughed. "Again, who hasn't? You were a good friend, patient and respectful. Unlike Blaine." Adam shook his head at the memory of whatever Blaine had done came to mind. Sebastian had seen him creeping on Kurt, flirting, in his space but nothing that should have put that look on Adam's face.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, but don't let Kurt drink alone with Blaine and even when there's a group, make sure Blaine is at least one person away." Adam's voice got a little tight. "He made a move on Kurt a few times while drunk."
"Kurt or Blaine?" Sebastian checked to see which one was the drunk in the story.
"Yes." Adam picked out his prize, a giraffe and Sebastian would have to be content with that non-specific answer. "Will you hate me if I give this to Kurt?"
"No and I won't mind even when Kurt accepts it and keeps it in prime view." Adam nodded along with Sebastian's words. Kurt wouldn't even think twice about his actions upon receiving it, it would be given from a place of friendship and so he would receive it as such. If Sebastian said something, then he'd hesitate. Or if Adam presented it as a gesture to try and rekindle something of the past, then he'd question whether or not he should even accept it. Kurt wasn't oblivious, he just liked to imagine that gifts came from a good place. He wouldn't die on that hill, but he would try to argue the positives.
Time slipped by, Adam went back to London with one last send off from the two of them and Santana. Then they fell into the groove of school, internships and work.
Sebastian hired men to move Kurt into his apartment, which Kurt promptly canceled and paid for his 'brothers' to fly up and help move things. He cleared his schedule for the day and directed where everything went and how it should be packed.
"I could have gotten this done quickly and packed up perfectly."
"Yeah, but it's easier if I'm here directing. I don't need everything in your apartment. Some of this stuff can stay, some has to go. You already have furniture." Kurt rested his head back onto Sebastian's shoulder for a brief embrace before he had to go and scold Finn for nearly breaking something or telling Puck to knock it off as it wasn't funny. He might even have to tell Sam to cut out the impressions.
"I can replace it with anything you want." Sebastian looped his hands around Kurt's waist and looked at the near disaster it was of bringing three straight guys here. "They had a truck too."
"I hired a truck." Kurt shrugged it off. "And you don't need to replace anything. It all looks good just as it is."
"It could be our stuff." Sebastian tried again, ignoring the rare compliment on his tastes.
"It will be, I'm bringing quite a bit." Kurt looked up at him, attempting to reassure him. "I've got a lot of kitchen stuff that you're sadly lacking."
Sebastian didn't like it. "You're leaving a lot of your stuff here."
"Rachel's still my best friend. I'm basically gifting it to her. It wouldn't make sense to bring it, it would just clutter our place up and there's already going to be three of us living there." Kurt's apartment was larger than his condo, that was true enough even without him having to spell it out. It was also a lot cheaper.
"We can get a bigger place. A place with a couple of sitting areas." Sebastian had the funds for it and with three of them sharing in the cost, it would be a breeze.
Kurt shook his head again. "No, babe, just let it drop, ok? Rachel can have this stuff. I don't want to leave her without anything. She definitely wouldn't pick out anything good."
Sebastian sighed, realizing that he'd been hoping that once Kurt was no longer living here, they'd no longer step foot into it. It was a pipe dream because Rachel still lived there. Maybe he'd also been hoping with the move, Rachel and her attached twin would be out of their lives as well. He should have known better.
Rachel definitely didn't pick anything good out when Kurt left, that was very true. To replace Kurt with a new roommate, she invited Blaine to come pay half the rent. He sublet his own place and moved in within a week. He took over Kurt's bed and his sheets. Kurt's sheets were too small to fit Sebastian's bed but he wished they'd burned them or something. Kurt said he'd left it so Rachel could have guests over and not need to buy more sheets. She definitely had a permanent guest now, not that it wasn't the case before, Blaine had just slept in Rachel's bed in the past, whether she slept in it with Blaine or snuggled in with Kurt changed based on her mood.
He didn't want Rachel coming over, much less sleeping over. Yet, he couldn't forbid Kurt from having friends over. It was now going to be his place as well. Living together in earnest taught Sebastian so many things about Kurt that he hadn't known before.
Like how he had a lot more friends that he spent time with than Sebastian even knew existed. He'd tell Sebastian that he was going to go meet up with a friend and Sebastian just assumed it was someone he'd already met.
No, there were guys and girls that Kurt spent time with. In fact, on a rare occasion, Kurt went out to a bar with them after work and invited Sebastian and Santana along. Kurt seemed to pick them up everywhere he went, like strays.
Santana was curious, so she came along and that's how Santana met Brittany, one of the models that was working for one of the places Kurt was entangled with right then. Sebastian couldn't remember if she was a model for Vogue or the fashion house. In the end, it didn't matter. In many ways she fit the description of model perfectly in most of it's forms.
She didn't seem to take drugs though sometimes he wondered with the things that came out of her mouth. She was around a lot more than Dani ever was after their introduction. Sometimes he thought Brittany had moved in too and Santana just neglected to tell him.
Just like that, Dani was out of Santana's life. That was fine, he liked Brittany, dope that she was. He'd tolerated Dani, especially because after a year of random hookups, he knew they weren't going to be anything serious. Then it was through Santana, that he learned Dani was out of Kurt's life as well. He came home to find Kurt already there, it was a rare treat and Sebastian nearly interrupted them but hesitated when it looked like they were in a serious conversation.
"I'm so sorry, Kurt. I never wanted to ruin your friendship with her." Santana had her legs over Kurt's and her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm like that, I guess. You bring everyone in and I push them out."
Kurt shook his head. "I've been busy, too busy for her, I guess. Apparently it was my fault for introducing you to Brit."
"You're never going to leave me, right?" Santana asked in a rare moment of vulnerability.
"Nope, you'll have to make sure my body doesn't get revived to split me from you." It was a sweet moment and Sebastian disappeared back into the bedroom, reflecting on that. He was the one who was charming and outgoing and had names in his little black book that started doubling and tripling because of how many guys he'd 'been' with. Yet it was Kurt that was the pied-piper of misfits and friends. His boyfriend was the best. He waited for Kurt to tell him about the loss of friendship with Dani, but it didn't come.
Months passed and Sebastian wanted to just outright ask him why he wasn't telling him what happened, or that it even happened. Eventually though, he just gently brought it up. "I haven't seen or heard about Dani for awhile. Is everything ok there?"
"Yeah, she decided to go her own way. Elliott too, actually." Kurt gave a small shrug. "It wasn't the same when it was just the two of us and he didn't like the idea of bringing Santana in to replace Dani and neither of us wanted Rachel."
"So you haven't done anything with either of them in quite some time?" Where did Kurt spend his rare free time if it wasn't with him or the band? "Have you been spending more time with Rachel then, recently?"
"Sometimes." Kurt gave a shrug. "Sometimes I'm just out walking or spending time with other friends. I still go to Elliott's shows, he is doing well on his own."
"Oh." Sebastian didn't know what to say to that. "You don't want company on these walks?" It was only maybe every other Friday that Kurt had set aside for the band that was no longer together. Still, Sebastian hadn't a clue that Kurt wasn't doing that anymore. He didn't know where Kurt was any of those Fridays, actually, hadn't for awhile. Should this worry Sebastian? He had nothing to compare it to, had never honestly and truly had a boyfriend until Kurt.
The closest thing he'd had to this was Santana and he didn't know where she was half the time, didn't worry about her either unless she didn't show up for planned events or he hadn't seen her for a few days. He didn't think that's the way it should be with his boyfriend.
Kurt bit his bottom lip, realizing Sebastian was starting to wonder about how to react and feel. Kurt slid over his lap and put a knee on each side of his boyfriend's hips. He held Sebastian's face in his hands this time and looked down at him with all the sincerity in the world. Sebastian was instantly at ease and was ready to hear what Kurt had to say.
"Honestly, I like those walks alone. I'm surrounded by people all the time, all day long and I live with practically 3 other people and no space to really call just mine. I wouldn't change any of this, believe me, but I grew up a solitary creature and sometimes I just need... alone time. Time where I'm not having to make decisions or answer to anyone. I can just block everything else out and unhook from the world. I mean, it's never perfect, they still call me even on my breaks or when I'm taking a test, but I like to imagine that I'm free from everything, except you, during those times." Kurt sat back and rested on Sebastian's knees. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I guess I'm still working on that privacy thing. I don't really open up on my thoughts and feelings much on my own."
Sebastian sighed and rested his hands on Kurt's thighs. "I don't really push either by asking you a million questions. I think I used to get more information out of you when we did our witty bantering."
"We still banter." Kurt shook his head. "It's still fun."
"Yes it is." It was still witty, but it was a little different now that they were together. Sebastian feared being a male version of Santana, pushing everyone away. He'd been told he was often enough. He didn't want to push Kurt away. Yet, Santana had confessed such fears and Kurt told her, he would never. Would the same be true with Sebastian?
He wasn't brave enough to ask, not yet, but someday he would.
He hadn't needed to ask.
Time passed in a whirlwind. They fought on occasion, of course they did and in the aftermath of those fights, when Kurt left for work the next day or sometime that night, he feared if Kurt would return. Kurt always did. It was always a spectacular return to each other's arms too.
Kurt graduated and went into work full time with Isabelle at Vogue and worked with a different fashion house on the side, he hadn't liked the one he interned with that well. He wanted to spread out and try something different, they'd asked though, asked him to come on board.
He held out for a better offer.
Sebastian bit the bullet and did two internships to others' three but it didn't matter. His name would have gotten him in the door without any internships. He too graduated the next year and went to work full time, unsure if he loved the path he'd chosen but dedicated to committing the hours to it.
He made friends, some of them quite massive assholes and some of them a bit more even tempered. He introduced those to Kurt and Santana. He kept the assholes to nights out with the team and wondered why he bothered any time he came home drunk and to a slumbering Kurt. He could have been spending that time with his boyfriend, except he never knew when Kurt would be home because Kurt didn't know either.
Another year passed and Kurt was promoted at Vogue to be head of the makeup department. It wasn't his first love and it was a step up from editor in chief's assistant to makeup director. He got to work with Isabelle in different ways and she still relied on him to help her with some of the harder decisions in her pieces. The fashion director position was being stubbornly held onto by someone well past retirement age but they kept putting out pieces that inspired and so they couldn't fire her either.
She relied on him to help with event planning too even though there was a whole department dedicated to it. Still, Kurt was happy and busy and if he flew off to different cities on Isabelle's whim and the drop of the hat, often calling Sebastian in the taxi to the airport, Sebastian didn't complain much. When Kurt was home, he was home with Sebastian.
He would also tell her no if it was going to interfere with an important date with Sebastian. Kurt was very good about not letting her dictate when there was something he had to do with Sebastian. He put Sebastian first.
Sebastian saw this, recognized it and thanked Kurt for it.
If it wasn't Isabelle sending Kurt off somewhere, then it was the fashion house. They were less pleasant about the nos but they still listened to him. He had weight and pull and brought a lot to their fashion house with just his name these days.
Kurt got another promotion to Art Director. It was above even the fashion director position that he secretly coveted. It meant even more time at work but he always made time for Sebastian and his friends. Sometimes Sebastian just chose not to go out with his friends because he didn't want to and sometimes because he was secretly hoping that he'd be there if Kurt caught an earlier flight.
Sebastian got a promotion and then promptly quit the next week. He didn't want the position, he didn't want the job, he didn't want the field. He had a lot of appreciation and admiration for a lot of the people who worked there and in other companies, it only took him a few years in the field to realize it's not what he wanted. His father gloated, thinking he was right but Sebastian's dream was even more risky than a job in marketing.
He wanted to be an architect. Kurt supported him 100% and almost had to follow through with that financially when Sebastian's father threatened to cut him off. Sebastian had a lot in his savings account of his own making and Kurt was making a good income and Santana still lived with them and Brittany had moved in too. She couldn't be a model for too much longer but she had a secret math degree from MIT so she was set. He thought for sure she was confusing the letters up with something model related but he saw the degree one day and promptly stopped making jokes. She was a legit genius. They all would have floated him through going back to school and doing it all over again.
He got to skip a lot though and had a fast-tracked course. His father came around eventually, never having actually cut him off. His name was good for something and wanted to ensure Sebastian got the best of the best opportunities if this is what he was going to be doing with his time.
There was something else he'd rather be doing with his time, but he couldn't make a living off of it. Well, he could, but he wouldn't. Besides, Kurt wouldn't let him dominate his time like that, he had his own aspirations. They'd probably get some kind of weird bug if that's all they spent their time doing with each other too.
There was never enough time and yet what time he did have, slipped away so quickly even though they stuffed as much into it as they possibly could. All he had ever wanted was more time and Kurt held it all in the palm of his hand.
Then time held still and he held time with Kurt.