A/N: Warning for some tense situations and some more sex. Also a brief mention of Finn. Note: Bokwa is cardio vascular exercise that teaches dance moves using the letters of the alphabet.
Sebastian and Kurt fell into a comfortable routine that felt almost like life. Sebastian spent most nights at Kurt's - his perfect, pale prince wrapped in his arms as they slept, sated and more than content. Kurt and Sebastian had no more nightmares when they slept together, no more early morning panic attacks. On those days when Sebastian spent the night, he would get out of bed early and shower with his boyfriend, still in their own unique way. Then Sebastian would get ready for work while Kurt put together breakfast for the two of them to share. As they ate, Kurt would read the newspaper, and when he found something that interested him, he would read it aloud. Whether Sebastian had an interest in the subject of the article or not, he hung on to every word, simply enjoying the lyrical sound of Kurt's voice.
Sebastian stopped by every afternoon at two o'clock to deliver Kurt's packages. Sometimes Kurt would dress in one of his demure satin gowns, sometimes he would dress up in something skin-tight and too sexy for the afternoon. Either way, Kurt would drag Sebastian inside, drop him on the couch, and make out with him for about half an hour. Sometimes he'd let Sebastian cum...sometimes he wouldn't.
It started to become a game at work to see if Debbie and Louis could spot the new hickeys on Sebastian's neck before he could grab his gear out of his locker at the end of the day.
Weeks between the two seemed to pass like hours. Sebastian spent more time with Kurt than at his own apartment, and even though Kurt tried to convince Sebastian that giving up his place and living with him would be a more economically sound decision, Sebastian felt that the two of them needed separate spaces - regardless of how unused his was at the moment. Sebastian wanted his relationship with Kurt to grow, and eventually be his last, and he reassured Kurt everyday with as many kisses as needed that he wanted forever with him...just him.
Sebastian knew in his heart that Kurt's walls, though starting to topple, would take more time to come down completely. Sebastian told Kurt every day how wonderful and beautiful he was, but spoken words seemed to bounce off him, as if every time Sebastian tried to cover him in compliments and praise, something else, some other voice, crept in to take their place. Sebastian did his best to create as close to a normal life for Kurt. After the fated 'Monday-night-date-night-almost-train-wreck', they switched to a weekly Tuesday night extravaganza, which often times included Madeline and Justice, and ranged anywhere from dinner and a movie to something a little more over the top, like hot air balloon rides and bungee jumping.
Weekends were reserved for them and them alone. The moment Sebastian stepped through the threshold of Kurt's house on Friday afternoon, they were rarely seen or heard from till Monday morning.
Sebastian hadn't seen hide or hair of the creepy jogger again, nor had he been pelted by anything else when he walked alone at night through Kurt's neighborhood, but the thought of the strange man still hanging around had Sebastian on edge. Sebastian knew what hate looked like, and hate that hid its face was one of the most dangerous of all. It schemed and planned while it hid in the shadows and bide its time.
Or maybe Sebastian had just read one too many of the mystery thrillers Kurt kept in the bookcases in his office.
Either way, when Kurt had his cast removed, Sebastian convinced him to give up his morning jog in favor of an evening workout with Sebastian. He even let Kurt convince him to take a Bokwa class with him one night a week.
It was fun going to the class with Kurt, but he hated the alphabet now.
Regardless of how much time they spent together and how much they opened up to each other, there seemed to be something missing. Kurt trusted Sebastian with his body, his heart, and his love. Still, a fear festered within Kurt's mind that if he lifted all the facades and Sebastian saw everything, he would leave.
The thought of Sebastian leaving him alone paralyzed Kurt. It pushed all other thoughts aside. On the rare nights that Sebastian didn't spend with Kurt, a new nightmare haunted him; Sebastian would see Kurt's final secret, and he would leave. He would give up on him. He would walk away and never look back.
Over a month had gone by since they had first met, and Kurt still couldn't take his shirt off for Sebastian.
Sebastian had to find another way to reach Kurt, some way that Kurt's mind would be able to fully comprehend. Something that Kurt could digest over time, at his own speed, and maybe, bit by bit, Sebastian would get through to him.
As soon as he thought of it, he put his plan into action.
These professions of Sebastian's love had been walking into Kurt's house, right beneath his nose. Kurt just hadn't noticed yet.
It was Friday night, and Sebastian decided to brave cooking dinner for Kurt. That morning, having no other friends other than Kurt to talk to, he struck up a long and somewhat embarrassing conversation with Louis. He discovered, to his surprise, that the man, youngest of seventeen siblings, had also worked as a chef in his native San Salvador.
Sebastian's truck had been acting up, and Louis offered to show him how to fix it. With his head under the hood, he told Sebastian about his childhood, growing up with a French grandmother who he was named after, and the modest restaurant she owned that supported the small family after his father died and his mother became ill. Old Sebastian, the one who couldn't really be too concerned with any one else's lives or problems, would have rolled his eyes and tuned him out. New Sebastian, eyes opened by the time he had spent with Kurt and the insight that time had given him, listened to every word the man spoke. Sebastian left the lot before sunrise with a recipe for pupusas and empanadas, as well as a new photo for his collection - a black and white image of the older man, sleeves rolled up, wiping his brow with the back of his left hand as he peered into the engine of Sebastian's truck. Most of all, he took with him a new appreciation for this man that he worked with, and a burning desire to someday photograph the beautiful village in San Salvador where Louis had grown up.
After work, Sebastian showed up at Kurt's house carrying six overfilled grocery bags. Kurt opened the door and stared at Sebastian with an amused grin as the man shuffled his way into the kitchen and started preparing food. Sebastian tried to look pro as he fumbled through Kurt's kitchen, but Kurt couldn't help but see Sebastian peeking at a worn piece of lined paper that he pulled from his pocket from time to time when he thought Kurt wasn't watching.
Kurt would never tell.
Things went smoothly once the first and only gas fire had been put out. Sebastian and Kurt talked about their days, omitting, of course, the blow job that Sebastian had given Kurt that lasted almost an hour at two o'clock that afternoon. Sebastian told Kurt all about his talk with Louis that morning, and showed him the photo he had taken.
Kurt flipped through Sebastian's recent photos as Sebastian started plating their food and bringing it to the table. Before the photo of Louis there was a picture of the sky at sunset, dotted with multi-colored balloons, which Sebastian had taken from their own hot-air balloon. Another series of photographs were of Justice, wrapped in a harness, leaping from a bridge with Madeline cheering him on in the background. If Kurt flipped through the pictures quickly, it almost looked like a movie. There were a group of portaits of Madeline that Sebastian had taken as a favor to Justice. Kurt wasn't necessarily a big fan of boudoir photography, but these pictures were tasteful and artistic, and he had to admit, Madeline looked beautiful.
If Sebastian were bi, Kurt would definitely be jealous.
Kurt flipped through a few more and saw a series of black and white photographs that made his blood turn to ice. Scrolling through them, Kurt's eyes burned, fire igniting their sapphire depths.
An arm, delicately posed across a pillow, shadows dancing along the wrist and the fingers. He flipped again and he saw a leg, muscular, well-defined, slightly bent, part of it hidden beneath a blanket somewhere out of frame. Another flip and he saw a part of a stomach, peeking out from the space between a shirt hem and a waistband, the skin smooth and almost perfect. Kurt's eyes began to water, his lower lip trembled.
Here it was for him to see. His new life, over.
Kurt wondered if this beautiful man with the fair skin and the exquisite hands was another customer on Sebastian's route, maybe someone else he delivered daily packages to. He flipped through the photos, pressing the button almost violently, tears running down his face. A close up of a hand with perfectly manicured nails, the gentle curve of a hip as it blended into a thigh.
As he looked at the photographs, almost thirty so far, with quiet sobs shaking his chest, only then did Kurt realize that Sebastian stood above him silently, watching.
Kurt snapped his head up to catch Sebastian's emerald gaze and what Kurt saw made him furious. Sebastian didn't even have the dignity to look ashamed. His eyes challenged Kurt's, daring him to say something.
"Who is he?" Kurt asked, hands shaking as they gripped the camera with white knuckles. "Who the fuck is this, Sebastian?"
Sebastian smirked, but his expression wasn't cruel.
"Don't you know?" Sebastian asked, sounding somewhat surprised.
Kurt scoffed.
"How am I going to know who this asshole is, Sebastian?" Kurt cried.
Sebastian's face fell.
"Don't call him that," Sebastian said calmly. "The man in those photographs is the kindest, most compassionate, most beautiful person I've ever met."
The next words out of Sebastian's mouth skewered Kurt.
"He's the love of my life."
Kurt choked, a strangled sound like the last breath of a dying man.
Kurt wanted to throw the damn camera, break it into a million pieces, but he couldn't move.
Sebastian took the camera out of Kurt's frozen grip, and knelt at his feet.
This is what this stupid dinner was all about, Kurt thought. He was breaking up with me. And these pictures. - this is how he chose to do it.
Kurt never thought Sebastian could be so callous.
"Kurt," Sebastian started. Kurt steeled himself for what would follow.
'You're broken. You're weak. Who would want you? You're sloppy seconds...dried up...done...'
"You never look at yourself in the mirror, do you?"
Kurt's hurt, confused eyes burned into Sebastian's cool green gaze.
"What?" Kurt snapped.
Sebastian flipped through the photos as he talked.
"You have the vanity mirror upstairs, but nothing full length. You never look at yourself. You don't seem to know how perfect you are."
Sebastian turned the camera so Kurt could see the picture on the screen. Kurt had seen the photo of a hand, dainty fingers curled slightly, bathed by sunlight from a hidden source, but this time Sebastian had zoomed in to make the image more clear.
Kurt darted his eyes away. He didn't want to see Sebastian's beautiful lover.
"Kurt," Sebastian pleaded quietly. "Please look at the picture."
Kurt swallowed hard, but the lump in his throat wouldn't go away.
If this was his punishment for falling in love, he might as well take it and get it over with.
He would have preferred if Sebastian had just hit him and left.
It would have hurt less.
Kurt looked at the photo on the screen, but the details were hard to make out through his hot, overflowing tears. He saw the pad's of the man's fingers, the delicate curve of his hand, palm slightly closed as if it had been holding something, and across the wrist, a tiny silver scar.
Kurt's cheeks flushed with color.
He took the camera again and stared at the photograph, noticing things that anger and humiliation hadn't allowed him to notice before - the pattern on the pillow case, the freckle on the palm, and that silver scar.
The hand was his.
"I was putting this together for you," Sebastian admitted. "I took them while you slept." Sebastian huffed out a laugh. "You know, saying that out loud makes it sound kind of creepy."
Kurt flipped back through the photos and looked at each one again with a new attitude.
He barely recognized himself. Sebastian was right. He never did look at himself, not naked at least. He got up in the morning and dressed himself before looking at his reflection in the mirror. It had been a long time since he had paid attention to his bare skin.
A whole life time had passed since he could look at himself and think he looked anything other than grotesque and damaged.
He started at the beginning, and flipped through each one. When he finally reached the end, he saw picture he had missed - his own sleeping face, eyes closed, long lashes fanning out above his cheeks, his chestnut hair falling lightly over his forehead.
'...the kindest, most compassionate, most beautiful person I've ever met.'
Kurt smiled, repeating the words in his head.
'He's the love of my life.'
Kurt bit his lip and looked at Sebastian, who looked back at him expectantly, like he had just told Kurt the most fascinating riddle, and was waiting patiently for Kurt to figure it out.
"You...you said that I'm..."
Sebastian nodded, emerald eyes smiling.
"Is it true?" Kurt asked, a tiny twinge of doubt creeping into his angelic voice.
"Yes, it's true," Sebastian said unabashedly. "It's been true for a while. I just didn't know how to tell you."
"Sebastian..." Kurt shook his head with disbelief as he stared at the pictures. Sebastian had prepared himself for this. Had prepared himself for the moment when he told Kurt he loved him, and Kurt didn't say it back. It was alright if Kurt didn't say it. Sebastian knew that Kurt needed time.
He just hoped he didn't lose Kurt because of it.
"Kurt, I know that..."
"I love you, too," Kurt said, shutting off the camera and cradling it against his chest. Kurt sighed deeply, and closed his eyes.
"What?" Sebastian asked, needing to hear it again.
Kurt opened his eyes.
"I love you, Sebastian," Kurt repeated. "I love you."
"Are...are you sure?" Sebastian asked.
Kurt smiled.
"Yeah," Kurt said nodding, rolling his eyes and smiling. "Pretty sure."
Sebastian took the camera and set it aside. He brushed Kurt's hair out of his eyes, and then ran a thumb down the tracks of his tears, carrying the last remaining strays away.
Sebastian's lips against Kurt's felt different this time. Instead of just intense and overwhelming heat, an undercurrent of something else simmered, rising to the surface as Sebastian traced the contours of Kurt's mouth with his tongue. Each gentle kiss, placed just around the seam of Kurt's lips, was followed by a softly whispered, "I love you...I love you...I love you..."
Sebastian caressed Kurt's head tenderly, cupping it in his hands as he stared into Kurt's eyes.
"I would never...never cheat on you, Kurt." Sebastian swallowed hard before continuing. "All I want in this life is you...wonderful...magnificent...sexy as hell...you."
Kurt laughed, watching as Sebastian looked up a moment, biting his lip - the look he had when he got an idea. He picked Kurt up in his arms and carried him to the sofa, depositing him carefully on the cushion. Without a word, Sebastian started unbuttoning Kurt's pants.
"Wait?" Kurt said with wide eyes, laughing as he fought to sit up. "Isn't dinner going to get cold?"
"Probably." Sebastian pulled Kurt's pants down below the swell of his ass and wrapped his arms around his waist, sinking his head into Kurt's lap. "But I'm sure it'll taste just as good reheated."
The first gasp to escape Kurt's lips after the heat of Sebastian's mouth took him wasn't just the sound of Sebastian giving pleasure to the man he loved, but the man he knew for certain now loved him back.
After dinner and a long hot shower, Sebastian sat on the sofa reading another one of the mystery thrillers Kurt kept in his office upstairs, while Kurt copied the photos from Sebastian's camera to his laptop. Sebastian had long finished Kurt's manuscript, and even though he kept the copy Kurt had given him, for his own sanity, he decided not to open it again.
"You know, babe," Kurt said as he finished downloading the last of the photographs, "you have an amazing talent."
"Thank you," Sebastian murmured as he continued to read.
"I'm serious!" Kurt closed his laptop and slid it under the couch. "People should see these."
"You see them," Sebastian muttered, "and you're people."
"Other people," Kurt smirked.
"What other people?" Sebastian turned a page.
"Well, you can start a blog," Kurt suggested. "And the foundation for the arts downtown has competitions for unknown artists a couple of times a year..." Kurt put a finger to his chin as he thought. Suddenly, he was struck by a sudden stab of inspiration. "Oh! I know! My publishing house buys stock photos. Maybe you can sell a few of the more...you know...generic ones."
Kurt worried that Sebastian might take offense to the term 'generic', but when Kurt looked up at his boyfriend, he didn't even seem to be paying attention.
Kurt leaned over, looking at Sebastian, eyes glued to the book in his hands.
"Oh, Sebastian," Kurt said, his voice smooth and seductive, "why don't you carry me upstairs like the caveman you are and fuck me on my hands and knees?"
Sebastian's head snapped up. He tossed the book to the side, and grabbed Kurt up in his arms.
Kurt laughed, smacking Sebastian playfully.
"Okay, okay! You were listening!"
Sebastian sat back down on the sofa with Kurt in his lap, holding him in place, kissing him softly.
"So, are you really enjoying this book or something?" Kurt picked up the abandoned book, and looked it over. "Island of Fear." Kurt read the dust jacket before handing it back to Sebastian. "You read the other two in the series last week, didn't you?"
"Yup," Sebastian said, opening the book to stick his book mark in its place. "Have you read them?"
"No," Kurt admitted. "They were sent to me by the publishers after they were printed, but I never saw them. Someone else must have pushed the series through. Are you enjoying it? Because I really can't tell."
Sebastian made a face as he turned the book over in his hands.
"I don't know," Sebastian said. "I don't think so. I mean, the first one was good, so I felt obligated to read the rest of them."
"Obligated?" Kurt chuckled. "How do you feel obligated to read a book?"
"I don't know." Sebastian tossed it aside. "I guess I felt invested...or maybe I was just hoping the books would get better, but they only seem to get worse."
"Good to know." Kurt kissed Sebastian deeply. "Now I know not to waste my time."
"So, you know," Sebastian said, idly running his hands over Kurt's jeans, his fingers dancing over the seams. "You never really told me why you chose mystery books. I mean, are they your favorite or something?"
"Not exactly," Kurt said. "If I had a choice, I probably would have picked something to do with fashion, or musical theater, but they don't really have a lot of books coming out about those now, do they?"
Sebastian smiled, shaking his head. He reached for Kurt's hand and started placing a row of light kisses over his knuckles.
"Anyway, the only spot they had available was in mystery and suspense, so I grabbed it. I needed the job. Oh!"
Sebastian turned Kurt's arm over in his hands, lips traveling along his skin to kiss and lick lightly over the scar on his wrist. Kurt used to be so self-conscious of that scar, even though he never really hid it. He felt wearing a cuff or something would just draw attention to it, and since no one ever seemed to notice it, he just let it be. But Sebastian seemed to have a strange fascination with it, and whenever he could, he would touch a gentle kiss to it. The spot was extremely sensitive, and every time Sebastian touched it, time seemed to stand still.
"Do you enjoy it?" Sebastian asked, his voice muffled as his lips traveled up Kurt's arm.
"What?"
Sebastian smiled as he licked at the bend in Kurt's arm.
"Mystery and suspense? After a while, don't they all kind of bleed together? What do you like about it?"
Kurt found it hard to gather his thoughts together while Sebastian sunk his teeth into the soft skin of Kurt's shoulder. Thinking got difficult once all the blood in his head rushed south.
"They're...uh...they're smart...and fun. Being scared can be fun sometimes." Kurt moaned, his hands grabbing for Sebastian's arms as they held him in place. "The best ones...oh, yes...are the ones that make you think...God, Sebastian...the ones that bend you perception...right there...and make you see things in a different way..."
"Like how?" Sebastian asked, toying with the button of Kurt's jeans. When he pulled up and to the left, the button came free of its button hole. He pulled the zipper down. Slipping his hand inside Kurt's jeans, he started palming Kurt's cock over the cotton fabric of his underwear, rubbing firm, slow circles over his hardening length. Kurt rolled his head back on his shoulders, giving Sebastian enough room to latch onto his neck and suck.
"Like how?" Sebastian repeated, smiling as he sucked harder.
"Like...the ones that hide clues in plain sight..." Kurt spread his legs a little, giving Sebastian better access to his cock. Sebastian loved this, loved touching Kurt and having Kurt open up for him.
"What else?" Sebastian asked. The sound of Kurt's voice quivering, becoming quieter as Sebastian slowly slipped his hand beneath the waist band of Kurt's boxer briefs. Kurt gasped at the first touch of Sebastian's cool hand on his overheated skin.
"Th-the ones where the reader...God, Sebastian...the reader finds out what's happening w-with the characters..."
"Lay back," Sebastian whispered. Kurt obeyed, stretching out on his back on the tiny sofa while Sebastian continued to stroke Kurt slowly. With one hand, Sebastian pulled Kurt's tight jeans and his boxer briefs down his legs, standing up to pull them off, remembering to lay them carefully over the back of the sofa.
"Sebastian," Kurt whined. "Sebastian, what...?"
"Shhh," Sebastian said, stopping for a moment to pull off his own shirt and slipping it underneath Kurt to save the upholstery of his sofa. "You trust me, right?"
"Of course..." The words were stolen out of Kurt's mouth when he saw his gorgeous boyfriend's bare chest, hair slightly mussed from when he pulled his shirt over his head.
"Then lie back..." Sebastian reached over Kurt's body, pushing him gently back against the sofa. "Relax...and let me enjoy you."
Kurt closed his eyes as he relaxed against the soft cushion beneath his head. He felt Sebastian's hand return to his cock, moving slowly up and down over the length, squeezing lightly as he reached the head. Kurt felt Sebastian's warm breath ghost over his skin. He moaned, anticipating the feeling of Sebastian's tongue touching his sensitive skin. Sebastian's tongue traveled along Kurt's thighs, down to the bend of Kurt's knee, sucking a small mark into the perfect pale skin hidden there.
Kurt moaned, bucking his hips, trying to get friction for his aching cock, which Sebastian simply held, following the movements of Kurt's hips so Kurt couldn't get the relief he wanted.
Sebastian wouldn't torment Kurt too long. He knew he still needed to take things with Kurt slowly. He wanted to build anticipation for his next move, praying it would be as well-received as the last one.
Sebastian ran his tongue back up Kurt's leg. He circled and teased the base of Kurt's cock, without going near where Kurt desperately wanted him.
"Sebastian..." Kurt's high-pitched whine went straight to Sebastian's cock.
"Okay, baby," Sebastian murmured, dragging his tongue down Kurt's body to toy playfully with Kurt's balls. Kurt gasped, holding his breath as Sebastian sucked gently, first one, then the other, while carefully lifting Kurt's legs to rest over his shoulders.
"Sebastian?" Kurt's voice shook a little.
Sebastian ran his tongue down Kurt's crack, spreading his pale cheeks with gentle hands to expose his tight, pink entrance.
Kurt had gone quiet. Sebastian could feel him tense beneath his hands, but he didn't object, didn't tell Sebastian to stop. Sebastian blew lightly over the sensitive skin, and Kurt moaned.
A shuddering, "Yes!" slipped passed Kurt's lips.
Sebastian pressed his tongue against the puckered hole gently, swirling around in a tight circle, waiting for Kurt's reaction.
Kurt drew in a sharp breath as he felt Sebastian's tongue touch him. The sensation was so foreign. He thought that he should feel self-conscious. He couldn't even bring himself to think of the specifics of what was going where. It felt so magical, so amazing. Every pass of Sebastian's tongue sent shivers through his body. He felt like he shouldn't like it, he shouldn't enjoy what Sebastian was doing, but it felt too good to stop.
Sebastian had taken Kurt's breathy gasps and loud moans as cues to go faster, move his tongue deeper...push in harder. Kurt moved his hand to wrap his fingers around his neglected cock, still twitching and aching from Sebastian's earlier attentions. Sebastian beat him to it, gently moving Kurt's hand away as he took his cock and started to stroke slowly.
Kurt gripped the wooden frame of the sofa with his hands, arching his back as pleasure from Sebastian's hand met with the erotic sensation of Sebastian's tongue circling around his hole, plunging in and out. He cried out suddenly, and Sebastian knew he had him. Sebastian smiled as his hand sped over Kurt's cock, pumping him quickly, but the lazy, teasing pace of his tongue remained the same.
"Sebastian!"
Kurt whimpered Sebastian's name over and over, squirming in the hopes of making his tongue move faster, but Sebastian knew what he was doing. He was playing with Kurt, but not in a sadistic way. He wanted every orgasm Kurt had to be better than the last. He wanted to replace every traumatic memory from Kurt's past with the light touch of Sebastian's fingers, the brush of Sebastian's kiss over Kurt's skin, or even his tongue licking gently over hidden spots like this that he knew would make Kurt fall apart.
Sebastian hummed over Kurt's entrance, pressing his lips against Kurt's skin, and Kurt broke. Sebastian felt Kurt cum over his hand, pulling away from Sebastian's mouth when the sensation became too much to handle.
"Sebastian!" Kurt cried after he spilled his last. Sebastian laughed, wiping his hand off on the shirt beneath Kurt's body, and crawling along the floor to Kurt's flushed face.
"How was that, gorgeous?" Sebastian asked, rubbing his nose against Kurt's.
"That..." Kurt said, panting and catching his breath, "should be illegal."
"I think it is in some states," Sebastian chuckled, nuzzling the crook of Kurt's neck. Kurt laughed, looping his arms around Sebastian's neck, and turning to his side so that they fit together perfectly. His eyes drifted down and caught sight of Sebastian's pants.
"Poor baby," Kurt cooed, kissing down Sebastian's neck. "You look like you were close."
Sebastian scrunched his nose and nodded.
"Yeah," Sebastian laughed. "I think I was. I can't help it. All of this gorgeous sounds you make...and they way your skin tastes..."
Kurt ran his hands down Sebastian's back, scratching his nails over his skin, reaching beneath the waistband of Sebastian's pants.
"Maybe I can help you with your problem," Kurt purred, sitting up on the sofa. Sebastian knelt up to give Kurt an easier reach as Kurt slipped his fingers around Sebastian's cock.
Sebastian knew it wouldn't take much. He had been so close when Kurt came. He had considered sticking his hand down his pants to deal with the issue. But Kurt's fingers felt so much better, held him so differently than he would himself. Kurt stroked Sebastian, and Sebastian bit his lip for what he knew would end up being embarrassingly quick. He was already cumming into Kurt's hand when Kurt flicked out a tongue to circle his nipple.
"Jesus!" Sebastian moaned, his head bowed against Kurt's shoulder.
Two strokes was all it took.
Kurt bit his lip and Sebastian raised his eyes to meet his.
"We never speak of this," Sebastian said seriously and Kurt laughed out loud.
"Who am I going to tell?" Kurt said. "Except maybe Madeline...and Justice..."
Sebastian stood quickly, lifting Kurt with him, throwing the man over his shoulder. Sebastian raised a hand to spank Kurt's bare ass, but stopped himself short, his hand flexing in thin air. He turned his head to see Kurt, raised up a little to look into Sebastian's face, catching Sebastian mid-swat. Kurt had a strange look in his eyes, his lips twisted into an odd grin.
"You can...if you want," Kurt said.
"Are you sure?" Sebastian asked with a questioning look.
"Who knows?" Kurt said. "I might enjoy it."
Sebastian bit his lip and gave Kurt an experimental swat across the buttocks, not too hard, but enough to sting.
Kurt yelped, and then moaned.
"Oh my God!" Kurt said quickly. "Do that again."
Sebastian swatted him again, a little harder this time.
"Oh, Sebastian!" Kurt dropped his head back down. "Did you know about that, or were you guessing?"
"I knew." Sebastian blushed a bit. "Maybe we could take this party upstairs."
"Lead the way," Kurt chuckled.
Sebastian carried Kurt upstairs. He sat with Kurt thrown over his lap, squirming to break free. After an hour, Sebastian discovered that Kurt definitely enjoyed a good spanking.
"Can I ask you a question?" Kurt curled up against Sebastian and put his head on his chest, lying on his stomach to avoid putting pressure on his sore ass.
"Sure, gorgeous." Sebastian carded his fingers through Kurt's hair. "What's up?"
"You said you had a younger brother?" Kurt broached gently.
"Yup," Sebastian said. "Richard. He has a wife and a kid. Why?"
"Well, I was just wondering, when was the last time you talked to him?" Kurt traced small patterns over Sebastian's bare chest with his fingertips. Sebastian stretched out his arm to rest his hand over Kurt's taut ass.
"I haven't," Sebastian admitted. "Not since my dad disowned me."
Kurt sighed.
"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked, remarking on Kurt's change in mood.
"I know that your dad gave him the whole inheritance, and that must suck, but...I think that you should talk to him." Kurt concentrated on his fingers as they danced over Sebastian's skin, avoiding the green eyes that stared up at the ceiling.
Sebastian sighed.
"I've thought about it," Sebastian admitted. "I mean, he didn't ask for this. I can't imagine the amount of pressure he must be under. I'm sure now that I'm gone that dad will expect him to take over the business, and he wanted it less than I did."
"Sebastian," Kurt said quietly. "I had a brother...a stepbrother, actually. His mom married my dad when we were in high school. His name was Finn. He was one of my best friends. He was kind of like a super hero..."
Kurt chuckled sadly. Sebastian slid down the bed to look into Kurt's eyes.
"While I was out here, hiding, he passed away."
Sebastian looked at Kurt in shock.
"I'm sorry, Kurt." Sebastian took Kurt into his arms and held him.
"I hadn't spoken to him in over a year," Kurt continued, melting into Sebastian's embrace. "And now, I'm never going to get that chance again."
Sebastian nodded against Kurt's hair. He heard Kurt sniffle.
"I get it," Sebastian said, kissing the top of Kurt's head. "I'll think about calling him. I promise."
Kurt nodded, closing his eyes. A few more tears slipped down his cheeks, falling onto Sebastian's chest. Sebastian held Kurt tight, kissing gently over his face and neck until Kurt fell asleep in Sebastian's arms.
He waited until he could feel Kurt's breathing even out before Sebastian reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his cell phone. He held it and stared at it a few moments before he composed a text message to his brother.
'So, did you disown me, too?'
He looked at it a few more moments before he made the decision to press send.
Jiggle jiggle jiggle.
Kurt couldn't figure out what the terrible noise was, but it was loud and jarring and woke him from a deep, comfortable sleep.
Jiggle jiggle jiggle.
"Sebastian?" Kurt whispered, shaking his boyfriend gently. "Sebastian, wake up?"
"Mmmm," Sebastian murmured, hearing the anxious pitch of Kurt's voice. "What is it, darling?"
Jiggle jiggle jiggle.
Kurt didn't have to answer. The loud, metallic noise hit Sebastian's ears and put him immediately on edge. He sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed, waiting for a moment to see if the noise would return.
Jiggle jiggle jiggle.
"Sebastian..." Kurt started, but Sebastian put a hand up to quiet him. Sebastian padded silently over to the bedroom window and peeked out, trying to look down over the side of the house to get a glimpse of the front door. This portion of the house jutted out just enough to obscure the view of the front door, which was situated pretty much right below Kurt's bedroom window.
Sebastian cursed quietly, and stepped through the room to the door, with Kurt close behind. They made their way down the staircase, Sebastian leading the way. Sebastian motioned for Kurt to stay at the foot of the stairs as he approached the ancient door.
Sebastian slipped along the wall in order to reach it, moving to put his ear against the wood.
Jiggle jiggle jiggle.
The sound - the grating, metallic sound of someone trying to turn the door knob - had started to fray at Kurt's nerves. It was startling. It was jolting.
It was a little too familiar.
The intense silence that followed was deafening as they waited to see if the mysterious stranger had realized his mistake and would just go away...until the sound of a metal key slipping into the lock and trying to turn sent Kurt completely over the edge.
"Sebastian!" Kurt screeched in a voice so high pitched, it sounded like the hissing whine of a steam engine whistle screaming through the air.
Sebastian turned to see Kurt, hands pressed over his ears, sprawled on the stairs where he had tripped trying to run back to his room, and now lay paralyzed.
Sebastian wanted to throw the door open and punch whoever it was, but he knew that facing this person would tip Kurt too far to a place where Sebastian might never be able to reach him. Thinking quickly, he turned to the security panel on the wall and hit the panic button. A piercing alarm sounded, inside and outside the house. Kurt curled up in a tight ball, pulling his knees to his chin, crying with his eyes squeezed shut.
Sebastian was about to gather him into his arms and carry him upstairs when he heard a noise that filled his body from head to foot with searing anger...the shuffling sound of footsteps as they ran down the walk.
The urge to chase down that pale freak hit Sebastian. He went so far as to reach for the door knob, but he heard a small squeak of pain and turned back to Kurt, his intense fear trapping him to the floor.
The panic alarm triggered the alarm company to send the police. They arrived within minutes, and dispersed a small crowd of concerned neighbors who had gathered in front of the gate. One officer questioned a few onlookers, but no one claimed to see anything out of the ordinary that would have prompted the alarm.
Sebastian lifted Kurt off the steps and settled him onto the sofa. He stepped outside when the police arrived, giving Kurt a moment to compose himself before letting the officer inside. Both men told the officers the same story, but when Sebastian let the man out he took a moment to relay the incident about the jogger, how he had tripped Kurt, and then returned in the morning and glared at them. Sebastian told the officer about the shuffling foot steps, and how he heard them when he had gotten pelted by the stones, and again when the intruder had run away.
The officer sympathized with Sebastian, but told him that Sebastian's suspicions would be considered speculation without any real evidence, but if the Sebastian wanted, he could bring Kurt down to the station and make a statement, just in case something else happened in the future.
'Great,' Sebastian thought. 'I wonder how many times Kurt's heard that before.'
When the officer left, Sebastian locked the door and set the alarm. Kurt sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket that Sebastian had draped around his shoulders, and holding a framed object in his hands. Sebastian scanned the walls, expecting that Kurt had taken his mother's picture off the wall and held it for comfort, but it was the Bible verse that was missing from its spot.
That was the item that Kurt held in his arms now.
Sebastian sat beside him and put an arm around his shoulders, holding him close.
"The Song of Ruth?" Sebastian clarified. Kurt, eyes glued to the front door, nodded.
"It was my mom's favorite Bible verse," Kurt whispered, his voice hoarse. "She was the religious one in the family." Kurt took a deep breath. "When my mom died, I used to read it all the time, thinking I could talk to her, and she would come help me, but of course, she never did."
Kurt sniffled, his eyes filling with tears.
"What if he's found me?" Kurt's voice broke as he choked around the words.
Sebastian held Kurt tighter, feeling Kurt's body curl into his.
"I won't let him touch you, Kurt," Sebastian said firmly, and Sebastian knew as the words left his lips that he would put his life on the line to protect Kurt.
"Sebastian," Kurt said through a sob. "I can't stay here. Not tonight. Please, can we go to your place?"
Sebastian's heart stopped. He never had any intention of taking Kurt to his apartment.
"Why don't I take you to a hotel instead?" Sebastian offered. "My treat. Someplace nice."
"And sleep in a strange place next to people I don't know, on sheets someone else had sex in?" Kurt grimaced, sticking out his tongue and shuddering in disgust. "No. Please? Can't we just go to your place?"
"Kurt..." Sebastian got on his hands and knees in front of his boyfriend, his eyes pleading as they gazed into Kurt's weary blue depths. "My apartment is...what I mean to say is, it's..." Sebastian sighed. 'Just say it, Sebastian,' he thought. 'My apartment's a shit hole and I can't stand the idea of you seeing it.'
"I don't want..."
"Sebastian." Kurt put his hand on top of Sebastian's where it rested on his knee. "You want me to trust you. But, why don't you trust me?"
Sebastian sighed. He couldn't fight with Kurt, especially when he needed Sebastian to be strong right now.
"All right," Sebastian said with a small smile. "We'll go to my place."
After hearing about the possible attempted break in, both Madeline and Justice came to pick Kurt and Sebastian up and take them to Sebastian's apartment. At first, Madeline insisted they take the guest room at their house, and as much as Sebastian prayed and sent psychic waves to Kurt hoping he'd say yes, Kurt politely turned her down.
Justice dropped the men off at the curb. Madeline climbed out of the car and hugged them both, before getting back in the car and driving away with her boyfriend. Sebastian shouldered a bag that held Kurt's things for the night, while keeping his other arm around Kurt's waist. Kurt still cradled the wooden frame in his arms.
They took the elevator in silence, and walked down the long, brightly lit hall to Sebastian's apartment. Sebastian took a moment before he unlocked the door, opening it quickly, like pulling the bandage off a wound. He flipped on the light, and a thousand apologies came pouring out of his mouth - sorry about the heat, sorry about the mess, sorry about the walls, and the kitchen, and the tiny full-sized bed.
Kurt didn't seem to hear a word. He shrugged off his jacket, kicked off his shoes, took off his lounge pants, and with the framed words hugged tightly to his chest, he zeroed straight in on the bed and made a bee line there.
Kurt lay down on the edge of the mattress. He looked up at the tiny table at the head of Sebastian's bed. Sitting on it was a digital clock, and a single folded piece of paper. Kurt looked at it closely, eyes narrowing to read the handwriting. 'Kurt...courageous advice.' Kurt picked it up carefully and looked it over, reading the words he already knew by heart. He kissed it gently and put it back in its place. Then he positioned the frame next to it. He appraised the two side by side, and smiled tiredly. Kurt pulled the only pillow on the bed to his face and inhaled deeply, catching the fading scent of Sebastian that lingered there. He curled it up beneath his head and closed his eyes.
He opened them again to look for Sebastian, who stood in the hallway, staring at Kurt in awe.
"Are you coming in?" Kurt asked, closing his eyes again and drifting immediately to sleep.
Sebastian stared at Kurt as he stepped through the door, amazed at Kurt's reaction, or lack of reaction, to Sebastian's horrible studio apartment. He shut and locked the door, pushing several heavy pieces of furniture in front of it for good measure, so Kurt would feel safer.
Sebastian stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed beside Kurt. It was an odd feeling having Kurt here with him - in this tiny bed, in this atrocious apartment, where Kurt, in his designer clothes and perfectly pale skin, seemed so out of place.
Gathering the man in his arms Sebastian began to realize that it didn't matter if Kurt didn't fit the apartment. Kurt and Sebastian fit each other. No matter where the two of them were, as long as Sebastian had Kurt, it would feel like home.