Chapter 3- A Welcome
Kurt had watched a lot of documentaries and reality television shows about rich people in his life. He knew about the luxurious lifestyle. The fancy cars, the butlers, the copious amounts of champagne that seemed to be a prerequisite in the materialistic world that they adopted, but nothing could have prepared him for encountering it in real life.
Smythe Manor was quite simply the most impressive building he had ever seen, besides Hogwarts. Where most people would have a neatly trimmed lawn, Sebastian's family owned several dozen acres of land adorned with a few different sports fields and the most lavish flower assortments known to humankind. Sebastian had explained that mother, Cecelia, loved flowers and arranging flowers and everything floral. She had channelled a lot of her time and energy into growing her own garden. They weren't the sort to grow their own edible vegetables, but it was more of a decoration-based venture.
Though the outside was nothing compared to the sheer grandeur of the interior. As Kurt looked around, he noticed how flawless the designs were and that it was exactly how he would design his own mansion were he ever to attain one in his life. The raw size of the chandeliers that hung above him beat out most that he had ever seen. It was like a walking tour of Phantom of the Opera props. As long as it didn't fall on him, he would be just fine settling in.
"If you'd like, we can tour the house fully before going in to greet my parents."
Kurt nodded dumbly, transfixed by all of the wonder around him.
Sebastian started with the upstairs, explaining some of the house's history and nuances before arriving at his bedroom. Their bedroom.
"This is where we'll stay," Sebastian explained, opening the door.
Kurt nodded and slipped into the room, taking in the decorative choices. It was pretty much exactly how Kurt had imagined Sebastian's bedroom to be when thinking about the house. Sophisticated was bursting at the seams. Many culturally stimulated posters adorned the walls and the closet space alone was three times the size of Kurt's bedroom at the loft. Expensive designer suits lined the racks and a smattering of shoes lay underneath, all ready to be slipped on at a moment's notice.
"This is…very you," Kurt lamented, closing the closet door behind him, seeing Sebastian shrugging off his tie.
"I'm glad you think so, I worked quite hard on it. When you're still finding out who you are, it can be difficult to design something based on your personality as it develops."
Kurt nodded, running his fingers along an expensive-looking picture frame. "I know what you mean. I used to design clothes in my spare time but nothing seemed to be able to keep up with how I was changing as a person. It was tricky to finally get things right, but they were suitable in the end."
"You look even better out of your diner uniform," Sebastian smiled, appraising Kurt's outfit, which consisted of a simple button down and slacks, nothing too fancy in case Sebastian's family didn't appreciate it. Kurt's anxiety had overtaken him in that particular department.
"Thank you. So where is the guest bedroom?"
Sebastian pursed his lips, releasing that he hadn't told Kurt an important piece of information. "Actually, Kurt, for the sake of pretence, I'd like you to sleep in here."
Kurt sighed. "And this is the part where I'm supposed to realise that this was all just a massive ploy to get me into bed. Well, it's not going to work, Sebastian."
The other boy shook his head vehemently. "No, I'm afraid you're missing the point. I'm not going to have sex with you unless you initiate it, that's my rule. I never want to think that I'm taking advantage."
"But we'll be sleeping in the same bed?"
"I don't want my parents to think that we are having problems."
"Oh, of course," Kurt muttered.
Kurt found that he actually really enjoyed the company of Sebastian's parents. They had all sat down to a very fancy lunch that Kurt was excited to eat. He found himself dying to ask for the recipes for some of the things that had been served.
"Kurt, I'd like you to meet Cecelia and Richard Smythe, my parents."
Kurt smiled his most polite smile and shook their hands, firmly but softly, as they sat down.
"Do forgive us, Kurt, Sebastian hasn't really told us anything about you." Kurt didn't really enjoy the hard look at Richard gave his son. It seemed all too judgemental, a look that should never be shared between a father and son.
Kurt maintained his smile. "That was my doing, actually," Kurt said, forcing a laugh and using all his improvisational acting skills to keep up the performance. "I haven't really done well with parents in the past, they just haven't seemed to like me, so I was a little hesitant to meet you both."
Cecelia nodded and turned to her son. Kurt relaxed a little as she seemed a lot warmer than her husband. "So, Sebastian, how long have you and Kurt been dating?"
Sebastian looked completely calm, but Kurt knew that he was freaking out. They hadn't actually been over the minor details of their agreement, such as the lies they were going to tell. "It's been a few months, but we've been taking it rather slow. Kurt is at NYADA and I want him to excel there, so he's been focusing on his studies for now."
"NYADA?" Cecelia said. "That's very impressive. You must sing something for us later. Only the best get in there, you must be very good. There's a piano in the other room you can get acquainted with. It's mostly just for decoration, nobody actually knows how to play it."
"I could teach you if you wanted to learn," Kurt suggested.
Cecelia smiled brightly. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Kurt."
"It's no problem at all, honestly."
"I would ask you to teach Richard too, but he spends most of his free time working on his car. Boys and their toys, am I right?"
Kurt was excited to have things in common with both of Sebastian's parents. Then he wondered if it was to only boost the convincingness of their story. "The Ferrari I saw out front?"
"She's my baby," Richard nodded, "been working on her since June last year. Some parts are just difficult to find, you know? And then learning how to assemble them and remove the other parts, it's a lot of work. CeCe doesn't appreciate how hard I've been working on it."
Kurt swallowed. "Not to impose on your project, but my dad owns a chain of auto shops and I'm sure he could locate any parts you might need. As for the labour, I could help with that. I'm actually a licensed mechanic and have been since the age of eleven. I just seem to have a way with the tools."
Richard and Cecelia raised their eyebrows in surprise, as did Sebastian.
"You didn't know this, Sebastian?"
Kurt quickly intervened. "I realise now that I haven't actually told Bas about it. I don't exactly look like a grease monkey and I like to have it as a surprise talent to shock the masses and ensure that they know I'm not just a stereotyped musical theatre student."
Richard and Cecelia nodded, impressed, but Sebastian was caught up thinking about Kurt's nickname for him.
"It's good that you're so well-rounded, Kurt. You defy those stereotypes!"
Kurt laughed nervously and Sebastian lightly kicked him under the table.
After lunch was finished, Sebastian decided that it was high time that Kurt was introduced to Emilia, who was fulfilling the maid part of her job description. Now that Sebastian no longer needed babysitting, she was more of a maid than a babysitter, though Sebastian often went to her for life advice.
"Kurt, this is Emilia, my former babysitter."
Emilia smiled as they shook hands. "Sebastian talks frequently about you."
"Oh, does he now? All good things I hope."
"Nothing but," Emilia replied, stacking the dishes back into the cupboards. Drying her hands, she pouted. "I would love to stay and get to know you, Kurt, but my shift is over. I work every day so I'll make sure to catch up with you one day this week."
Kurt nodded. "I would like that. Have a nice day."
Kurt leaned against the counter, spotting several bodyguards, armed with actual guns, in the back garden. They seemed to be marching around the perimeter. Kurt frowned, a horrible feeling swimming around in his gut. "Sebastian? Why does your mansion have armed bodyguards surrounding it?"
"I think that this is the correct time to get to know each other better. Upstairs? I'm going to tell you my story and you can tell me yours."
Kurt sighed. "Your timing is impeccable."
Upstairs, Sebastian and Kurt sat cross-legged on the bed facing each other, leaning forward. Sebastian exhaled deeply.
"I think it's important that you speak first, if that's okay with you?"
Kurt nodded wordlessly.
"I had a pretty normal life. My mom died when I was eight which changed everything. I had always known that I was different, but it wasn't until elementary school that I realised that liking boys wasn't something that everybody did. I was the only openly gay guy in the whole town. Nobody really understood and nobody cared to ask. I was pretty much alone for a while. My dad didn't really know how to deal with it and it put a few roadblocks in our relationship for a while.
"I had a boyfriend, fleetingly, in junior year. He's not important, but he didn't treat me well. He was…abusive and possessive and it wasn't a healthy relationship. I tried to leave him so many times but he wouldn't let me. Whenever I avoided him, he broke into my house. I stopped answering his calls and he put a brick through my car window. He was sociopathic and eventually I got a restraining order."
Sebastian hardened, hating this guy more and more as the story went on. The flashes of fear in Kurt's eyes weren't helping, either. Sebastian put a hand on his knee as he talked and Kurt found that it relaxed him slightly. He knew that Blaine wasn't coming for him, he hadn't seen him since junior year, but the thought still petrified him sometimes.
"What's his name?"
Kurt shook his head. "I know that look, Bas. You're going to call in some mafia favour and hurt him. As much as he hurt me, he's not worth the repercussions. And I don't want his blood on my hands."
Sebastian's mouth tightened but he nodded. "If you wish it. Though I would like to take a short break and ask you when you decided to start calling me 'Bas'."
Kurt blushed slightly but shook his head. "That's irrelevant right now. It's a nickname and it's sticking. I believe it's your turn."
Sebastian nodded and closed his eyes. "Well, I told you about our involvement with the mafia. My father controls a select faction of it. There's another popular faction and they're…warring for control of the surrounding area. My father has it at the moment, but it's a matter of time before the others make a play for it."
Sebastian went on to explain other little bits about his life, facets of the truth that Kurt couldn't really focus on, and Sebastian knew it.
"You're still thinking about the mafia part of it all, aren't you?"
"Truthfully, yes. Am I safe here?"
"You're as safe in here as you would be living at the loft with no locks on the door. And I'm right in thinking that you haven't had any disturbances since moving in?"
Kurt nodded. "Nobody has bothered us. But we're just three college student living in a Bushwick loft. This is a base for a Mafia faction. There's a slight difference, there. I just…why wouldn't you have told me about this?"
"Would you have believed me?"
"Well…no. I suppose I wouldn't have. But you knew the risks and you still asked me to move in, without detailing them."
Sebastian sighed softly. "Kurt, no harm is going to come to you here. I promise. I'll protect you in any way that I can. I wouldn't let anything hurt you."
Kurt threw up his arms. "Oh, well that makes it okay! Just because I have one man's protection means I'm perpetually safe, doesn't it?"
"Kurt, there are bodyguards surrounding the property twenty four hours a day. Nobody has ever broke in here since…"
"Bas?"
"Since the murders. We've tightened security and it's as safe as it could possibly be. When you're not here, you'll be taken and collected from NYADA and brought back here. When you want to go out or spend time with your friends, there'll be somebody close by at all times."
"That rather sounds like I'm in some sort of danger," Kurt snapped.
"It's just a safety precaution. Even if we weren't a mafia family, there are still risks. A huge mansion like this would be target for stupid teenagers to come and steal things from the place. But the guards make sure that that does not happen.
"Look, Kurt, you can go if you want to. If you genuinely do not feel safe, you can move back in with your friends. I won't stop you. You'll get your rent and tuition paid still, that check is clearing as we speak, and you can leave all of this. You can leave me. If that's what you want."
"No," Kurt replied, "I'll stay. You're right. There are dangers everywhere and I am protected here. And I'd be lying if I said I wanted to leave you behind. You were right the other day, about this thing we have. There is something real and I want to see how this plays out."
Sebastian smiled like Christmas had arrived. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Kurt responded, "as long as you promise to let me know if I'm in some sort of danger. I don't want it sprung upon me one evening at the dinner table."
"You got it."
"Excellent. Could I…um…would it be okay if I kissed you, maybe?"
Sebastian tilted his head, unsure that Kurt would be so forthcoming. "That would be more than okay."
Kurt bit his lip nervously as Sebastian leaned in, pressing a light kiss to Kurt's mouth, testing the waters. Kurt brought his palm up to Sebastian's face and caressed his cheek tenderly, deepening the kiss that felt oh so good on his lips.
After what felt like eternity, Sebastian pulled away.
"You can have that whenever you want it."
Kurt chuckled. Maybe this whole arrangement wasn't so bad after all. Sebastian wasn't so careless as to let Kurt get into some sort of trouble without sufficiently protecting him, right? He felt safer with Sebastian in a potentially dangerous situation than he did walking down the street during the day. New York was unpredictable at the best of times, but Kurt knew exactly what was happening when he was in Sebastian's arms.
And he definitely wanted more of that feeling.