A/N: Warnings for stressful situations.

Kurt stayed silent, stunned, his eyes unblinking, his mouth working around the myriad of questions he wanted to ask.

"Wh-what did you say?" Kurt finally managed.

Sebastian sighed, closing his eyes, needing the dark behind his eyelids to gather his thoughts.

Sebastian needed to find his voice.

"Dave Karofsky's dead."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Kurt's face didn't know which expression it wanted to show, so they all tried to make themselves known at once. Relief, disbelief, joy, anger…he went with anger.

Kurt's soft blue eyes, still beaming with the shadows of afterglow, turned hard.

"How do you know?" Kurt's voice dropped, dangerously even and deceptively calm.

Sebastian didn't want to answer that question. It would reveal the one time in their relationship when he deliberately disregarded Kurt's wishes, even subtly unspoken as they were, but one look into Sebastian's guilt-ridden green eyes, and Kurt knew.

"You went looking for him?" Rage started to creep slowly into Kurt's voice. "Why!? Why would you do that?"

"Kurt, I need you to calm down and listen…"

"No!" Kurt shook his head violently. "No! This is unacceptable, Sebastian! I…"

Kurt wanted to get up, to get dressed, to walk out, but Sebastian grabbed him around the waist and held him.

"Kurt, please…"

Kurt tried to push Sebastian away, beating on his chest hard with his fists until Sebastian bit his lip and groaned, trying not to concentrate on the punches that landed and hurt.

"Sebastian! I…"

Sebastian knew Kurt had no intention of calming down, so he spoke quickly, hoping to get through to him.

"I'm sorry I went looking for him, Kurt, but I had every right…"

"Every right!?" Kurt stilled in Sebastian's arms and glared at him, a look that normally might have made Sebastian wither, but Sebastian matched it with one full of equal fire and love.

"Yes, Kurt. I had every right. I love you. I want to keep you safe. I thought he might be the one stalking you, but you wouldn't tell me anything about him. You wouldn't even tell me his name."

"Because I wanted to protect you!" Kurt countered.

"And what would have happened if he showed up at your doorstep, Kurt? What if he took you away because I wasn't there, because I didn't know what I was up against?"

"I…I would have handled it before that ever happened," Kurt said, but he didn't even sound convincing to himself.

"How?" Sebastian's voice sounded tired. "By running away? Would you have left me, Kurt, to get away from him? Would you leave me?"

Kurt's fire faded quickly, replaced by guilt. Sebastian gave Kurt everything, without thought or reservation. Sebastian gave him his love, his protection, his time. He stood beside Kurt in the face of his biggest fear. Sebastian had the means and, in Kurt's mind, the motive to leave now – to cut and run. But here he was, holding on to him, even letting Kurt pound the shit out of him.

Sebastian had said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Kurt.

Kurt owed Sebastian so much. He could give him the benefit of the doubt.

Kurt relaxed his hands, opened his fists, and lay still in Sebastian's arms.

"How?" Kurt said quietly, resting his head against Sebastian's chest. "When?"

Sebastian relaxed his grip.

"A car accident," Sebastian replied. "Three years ago…right after you left him."

"And how do you know all this?" Kurt's voice sounded small and distant.

Sebastian bit his tongue for a moment, preparing to pull this painful Band-aid off all at once.

"I asked my brother to look into it for me. He knows people…"

Kurt's head snapped up, a little of the fire returning.

"I didn't tell him anything," Sebastian said quickly in his defense. "I told him we were being harassed and that we thought it was Dave. That's it."

Kurt softened. On the one hand he felt relieved. The monster from his nightmares was dead. A life spent hiding was over. But with Dave out of the picture, a new nightmare began.

Kurt's eyes met Sebastian's with the same thought in mind.

Kurt grimaced.

"Well, that's great," he said sardonically, "but we're no closer to an answer now than we were before, are we?"

Sebastian nodded, pulling Kurt closer, resting their foreheads together.

"We'll figure it out," Sebastian reassured him.

"How? We're not even back to square one. We've gone into negative numbers!" Kurt's back bristled, his irrational nature seeping out as he tried to find an answer to this riddle.

"Kurt…" Sebastian tried to bring him back from the anxiety attack he was in danger of having. "I have a theory, but I don't think you're going to like it."

Those words had a strange effect on Kurt. He quieted immediately. Encouraged by Kurt's sudden rapt attention, Sebastian continued.

"I think it might be Eli."

"Eli?" Kurt's face twisted, the name twisting his lips into a grimace. "Blaine's Eli?"

"Yes," Sebastian affirmed. "I think he hired someone to do this. I think he sent you that phony wedding invitation. I think he's been messing with you."

Kurt scoffed, breathing an unexpected sigh of relief.

"Well, if it's Eli, then I have nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure that I can take that pathetic elfling."

Sebastian wanted to laugh. He wanted to make jokes with Kurt and forget about all of this, but his brain wouldn't let him. He couldn't shake the feeling that the destruction to Kurt's garden wasn't just a way to mess with him. It was a message, and it was warning Kurt about something big on the horizon. Deep in Sebastian's bones, he felt it.

"So, what do we do, then?" Sebastian asked, curious as to what Kurt would say.

Kurt shrugged.

"We tell the cops, I guess," he replied simply. "We call Blaine and tell him to reign in his puppet so I can get on with my life."

Kurt sat up. Sebastian looked at Kurt, confused by his cavalier attitude.

"Kurt, I agree that Eli might not be too much of a threat, but whoever he hired is. I don't think sitting back in that house hoping the police will do something before this gets worse is the right choice."

"And what do you suggest?" Kurt asked.

"I think…" Sebastian sat up to face him eye to eye, "you should leave that house."

"Sebastian…" Kurt looked down at the comforter beneath him, "I don't have the same choices you have. I can't just get up and run. I have nowhere else to go."

"What choices do you think I have?" Sebastian ran the back of his hand up the length of Kurt's arm.

"You could go," Kurt suggested quietly, praying that Sebastian wouldn't take him up on it. "You could leave and go on with your life."

Sebastian turned Kurt to face him.

"Sometimes I feel like you're not listening to me, Kurt, but I'll repeat it as many times as you need to hear it." Sebastian kissed Kurt gently. "I don't have that choice, Kurt. Don't you see? The first night you asked me to stay with you, you took away that choice. I loved you then, and I love you even more now. You're the only reason I have for waking up in the morning. This money I have, it isn't everything, but it might just be a means to an end."

"What end?" Kurt whispered.

"Well…" Sebastian thought for a moment. His eyes lit up with a sudden idea. "If this asshole is here, and he's going to keep stalking you, then let's leave. Let's go to Paris. I can get us on a flight tomorrow. We both speak the language. We'll blend right in. He'll never find us!"

It sounded amazing, but Kurt didn't know if he had the courage to say yes. He didn't want to condemn Sebastian to a life of running away. He didn't want to take away his freedom.

"Hiding out with me," Kurt said, shaking his head, "that's no way to live your life."

"Kurt…" Sebastian pulled Kurt across the bed, holding him close, "that's exactly how I want to live my life."

They lay together on the bed naked, wrapped in each other's arms, but neither man could really sleep. Kurt had a decision to make, but aside from that, he felt the weight of Sebastian's revelation bearing down on him. Dave was dead, but he was still not safe. Neither of them were safe. And what about Justice and Madeline? He needed to think of their safety in all of this, too. They had done so much for him and Sebastian. He couldn't continue putting them at risk.

Yes, running away seemed like the best option…but should he go with Sebastian, or leave him behind?

Sebastian held Kurt tight as he tried to sleep, afraid of drifting off and finding Kurt gone in the morning.

Sebastian was forced out of bed when guest services knocked and woke them up. Sebastian wrapped his naked body in the white robe, retrieving the belt from the floor by the bed to tie it closed, and opened the door. A man in a black suit and tie handed Sebastian a package wrapped in brown paper. Sebastian took the package and thanked the man, handing him a tip before closing and locking the door.

"What is that?" Kurt asked. Sebastian carried the package over to the bed and ripped open the paper. It was a stack of clothes – shirts, jeans, even underwear, all from an upscale specialty shop downtown.

"I know it was probably a cardinal sin to pick out clothes for you," Sebastian joked. Kurt took the blue shirt and distressed skinny jeans that Sebastian handed him. "I hope you can forgive me."

Kurt looked over the long sleeved button down tailored shirt.

Sebastian watched him with a hopeful grin.

"I got it in a shade I thought might match your eyes," he confessed. Kurt looked it over, running his fingers over the fabric.

"You should have gotten it in emerald," Kurt said. Sebastian ducked his head and smiled, standing up to lay out his own clothes. Kurt examined the jeans and frowned.

"You ordered me women's jeans?"

Sebastian hung up his shirt and looked over.

"No, they're men's jeans," Sebastian explained. "I just asked them to switch the placement of the buttons."

"Why?"

"Because you told me you preferred them that way, remember? You told me you use to buy women's jeans in high school because you liked the button on the opposite side."

Kurt remembered that conversation, prompted by an older pair of jeans he kept stuffed in the back of his closet that he had put on in order to do the laundry. He had told Sebastian that if he could special order his jeans that way he would. It wasn't the kind of thing he thought Sebastian would ever remember.

Kurt swallowed hard. Sebastian had just made his decision for him.

"Sebastian?" Kurt looked up at the gorgeous man coming back from starting the bath.

"Yes, gorgeous?" Sebastian's eyes searched Kurt's face nervously, knowing he had just made a huge decision and praying it was the one Sebastian hoped for.

Kurt took one last look at the clothes laid out in front of him, then turned glittering wide-eyes up to face him.

"I want to go with you," Kurt said. "To Paris. I want to leave as soon as possible."

Sebastian froze, letting those beautiful words sink into his skin, absorb into his brain.

"Really?" Sebastian asked.

Kurt nodded.

Sebastian's whole body felt light. His heart raced, seeing for the first time, a relatively happy and relaxed future stretched out before them. He could live the rest of his life in France…or Germany, or Canada, or the Middle East, for that matter. He could even say good-bye to his family, as long as Kurt was with him.

Sebastian rushed over to him, Kurt giggling when Sebastian lifted him into his arms and kissed him, over his face and neck, around his ear and in his hair, everywhere he could reach. He carried Kurt to the rapidly filling bath so he could make love to him one more time before they started their new life together.

Kurt sat completely dressed in his stylish new clothes, watching Sebastian make calls and send texts, making arrangements for their trip. Sebastian looked so different here, in this lavish hotel room, wearing the kinds of clothes most people just dream of buying. Sebastian always seemed like a puzzle piece forced into a space where it didn't quite fit. The color may have looked right, and even the edges came pretty close, but something about the overall picture just seemed wrong.

This was his world; this was where he fit in.

Kurt just hoped that he could fit in here, too.

Sebastian called for Madeline and Justice to see if one of them could give them a ride, but the calls kept going to voice mail.

"She must be on another run," Kurt offered.

"You mean she doesn't just sit around and wait for you to call?" Sebastian teased as he brought up a browser window on his phone. Kurt shook his head, but Sebastian saw a shadow pass over his tired face that concerned him.

"I'll call a cab," Sebastian offered, flipping through Google to find a service nearby.

The cab arrived quickly. Kurt and Sebastian had waited in the lobby for it to arrive. Kurt's whole body vibrated with excitement as he sat in the back seat, clutching hard to Sebastian's hand. Sebastian squeezed his hand back gently and smiled. He couldn't help the sly smirk that reached all the way to his eyes. Right here, right now, he had everything he wanted. He felt like after all the fighting, the end was in sight. He had won. Kurt had won. They'd be together in France by tomorrow, and they could put this behind them.

The cab pulled up outside Kurt's house. Kurt and Sebastian stared at it for a moment through the car's tinted window. The yellow townhouse looked smaller, lonely, already abandoned.

'Well, it's going to be a lot more lonely and abandoned when we get the fuck out of here,' Sebastian mused.

Kurt opened the car door and slowly pulled himself out of the cab.

"Wait here a minute," Sebastian instructed the driver. The man nodded in response, cutting the engine and sitting back in his seat. He opened a copy of Car and Driver from the seat beside him and starting to read.

Sebastian felt a spooky sense of déjà vu as he passed through the iron gate, swinging loudly on its hinges. They walked down the concrete path that led to the front door, flanked on both sides by wilting and dying plants and flowers – stalks cut viciously, whole flowers torn from the ground, roots torn and exposed. Sebastian held his breath as he saw it all anew in the light of day. So much anger, so much pent up fury, looking for an outlet. Sebastian cringed at the thought of what might have happened if the stalker had gotten to Kurt instead.

No. He hadn't, and Sebastian wouldn't allow himself to think about it. It was in the past.

Kurt couldn't look at the plants, lying dead and mutilated in the dirt. He didn't want to think that someone out there, someone he didn't even know, hated him so much that they would do this, come to his house and kill everything in his garden. What if Sebastian had been home, doing his rounds late at night, making sure they were safe? No. Kurt wouldn't dwell on that. He needed to start thinking about the future – Sebastian, and France, and freedom.

"Stay here," Sebastian told Kurt, reaching in his pocket for the house keys. "I'm going to take a quick look around."

Kurt nodded, though he wasn't sure if he would rather join Sebastian on a search of the house, or stand out here in the open, waiting, vulnerable. Kurt looked over his shoulder and saw the cab still parked with its driver reading in the driver's seat. Kurt sighed. At least he had someone nearby. Someone knew where they were, just in case.

Sebastian walked quietly, throwing open drapes and flipping on light switches wherever he saw them, flooding every shadowy corner with light. He checked the back door to make sure it hadn't been tampered with, and then moved upstairs.

Sebastian checked the bathroom first, moving aside the shower curtain to make sure no one was hiding in the tub. He left doors open as he assessed each room. He checked the closet in the bedroom, as well as the one in Kurt's room of ghosts, though the door to this room he shut when he left it. The attic was next, and then Kurt's office, envelopes still stacked neatly in piles that were undisturbed.

Sebastian went back into the bedroom to grab the envelope that held his keys, his check, and his receipt. He rushed downstairs, satisfied that no one was hiding in the house. Kurt waited for him on the doorstep, rocking back and forth on his heels, fidgeting nervously with the cuff of the sleeve that covered his scar. Sebastian grabbed his wrist when he saw him, bringing it to his lips and licking delicately over the scar. In some ways, Sebastian saw that scar as the key that unlocked the secret of Kurt for him, and he constantly liked to remind himself of its existence.

He wrapped Kurt in his arms and kissed him, smiling his mega-watt Cheshire cat smile against Kurt's mouth.

"Now," Sebastian started, dancing in place with Kurt in his arms, "put as much as you can into a single suitcase – clothing optional of course…"

Kurt rolled his eyes, still nervous, but able to steal some of Sebastian's infectious happiness.

"I'm going to deposit this check and pick up my Porsche, and then we're out of here, gorgeous."

Kurt's eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"But, what will we do about…"

"The house?" Sebastian kissed Kurt again and smiled. "We'll talk about it on the plane, and then hire a company to take care of it. I promise…it'll all be taken care of."

Sebastian watched as Kurt's blue-grey eyes stared at him, almost imploringly. Sebastian's smile faded.

"Hey, if you want me to stay with you, I will," Sebastian offered. "We'll pack together, and go pick up the Porsche later. We can stay at the hotel one more night and take care of the house tomorrow. Whatever you want. You just have to tell me."

The word 'tomorrow' snapped Kurt out of his funk. No, he didn't want to be anywhere near here tomorrow.

Kurt smiled, weak, but brighter.

"No, no," Kurt said. "I'll be fine."

Kurt looked at the antique wooden door, open slightly, leading into the house. He shook his head.

"Nothing in there can hurt me."

Sebastian pulled Kurt closer and whispered in his ear.

"It'll all be okay."

Kurt sighed. For the first time, he could actually believe that.

Sebastian kissed Kurt's scar again, holding his hand as he backed away, until only their fingertips touched, and brushed, and Sebastian was walking away down the path of destruction, heading to the car. Kurt watched him go, the way he had so many times. When Sebastian came back, they would walk down this path one more time together, away from here, on their way to happiness.

Kurt watched the cab until it turned the corner, and he could no longer see Sebastian's goofy face, blowing kisses at him from the open car window.

Kurt closed the door and locked it, throwing all the bolts. He pressed the button to arm the alarm, frowning when its normal little chirp didn't greet him. He stared for a moment before remembering that the power had gone out and disabled the alarm. He made a mental note to call the company and have it fixed before they left…or after they left…or not at all. It didn't seem to matter to him anymore.

Kurt hurried to gather a few things into a large suitcase. He bit his lip and blushed remembering Sebastian's 'clothing optional' remark. What would Sebastian actually do if they got to France and Kurt opened his large suitcase to reveal he hadn't packed a stitch of clothes? Kurt chuckled. Probably fuck like bunnies and then order him a new wardrobe.

Kurt walked around the bedroom slowly, picking up items he knew he would miss if he never came back, or things he didn't trust movers to keep safe - little things like his mother's jewelry box, his father's Buckeyes cap, and his stepbrother's football jersey, which he had accidentally packed when he left for New York all those many years ago, and never got around to sending back. He saw a FedEx envelope lying on the bed, with papers spilling out and scattered all around. He fingered through the pages and saw all the information Sebastian had mentioned his brother sending him – documents, a death certificate, newspaper articles. He picked one up and read a few lines, his stomach twisting in knots. 'Local Resident Dead After Tragic Hit and Run'. From what little he could discern from glancing over the article, Dave's car had been hit by a possibly intoxicated man driving a stolen vehicle, who then fled the scene on foot, and was never arrested. Kurt shivered at the unnerving coincidence, the parallels between this accident and his mother's death. Kurt felt tears burning in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He was done with all of this.

Kurt gathered the papers together, not looking at them as he did, and stuffed them into the envelope. He reminded himself that this didn't concern him. This part of his life was over. The monster was dead, and he was never coming back.

Kurt looked under the bed to see if he had left anything of importance under it. His eyes swept over the dark space and saw nothing but a few old condom wrappers (Kurt grimaced internally), and an old black bag on Sebastian's side which Kurt had mistaken for his camera bag, but it was older and empty. Kurt shrugged. Sebastian could decide if he needed it or not.

Kurt packed, trying not to let his mind wander, but inevitably it did. Doubt started to creep in - a strange, twisted sense of familiarity. Why did he always pull himself up short and question the opportunity at having true happiness with Sebastian?

Memories of his relationship with Dave resurfaced, their "whirlwind" romance, so to speak. Looking back with fresh, unsullied eyes, Kurt could see things clearly. Blaine had cheated on him, and Kurt, devastated, had gone alone to a bar, looking for solace. Instead, he found Dave. Dave had promised so much – love, protection, a shoulder to cry on. Kurt, desperate for what he had just lost, followed Dave blindly.

Once he had given himself to Dave, Dave showed Kurt the monster he truly was.

Would this turn out the same way? Kurt couldn't imagine all of Sebastian's gentle kisses and tender touches being lies. He couldn't see Sebastian turning into a monster. He didn't doubt Sebastian's love for him, but he wished someone, somewhere would give him a more definite sign that he was taking the right step, doing the right thing.

He wanted to talk to his mom.

Kurt wandered into his office, still lost in thought. He didn't know what he would do about his job, or what he would tell the publishing house. He definitely wanted to finish his book. As for his other responsibilities, he didn't know if the publishers would forward him manuscripts all the way to France, but he didn't want to depend on Sebastian, or make assumptions about his money, no matter how many times Sebastian called it 'theirs'. Undecided but unable to think of an equitable solution right now, he grabbed his manuscript, and figured he would take a few of the other envelopes as well.

He eyed the pile on his desk, which had inched higher and higher every day without his even noticing. From the middle of the pile to the very top, a large swath of brown envelopes caught his eye. Lately, he had taken to working in the living room instead of his office, either to be closer to Sebastian while he sat on the sofa reading a novel, or to answer the door quickly when Sebastian came by at two o'clock with his packages. Kurt would store the mail in his office, going as far as separating it into its various piles. After that, he thought little of it. So he never noticed a large amount of the exact same envelope accumulating on his desk.

He pulled out a pile of the envelopes and set them down on his blotter, fanning them out like playing cards. Kurt noticed the brown envelopes had only his name and the date on them, each and every one written in the exact same handwriting - no return address, no canceled postage. They were wedged in between the FedEx envelopes, so they had to have been delivered together. Curious, he picked them all out of the pile and laid them on his desk, organizing them by date from oldest to newest. He opened the first one with a single swipe of his letter opener. Inside he found a single page.

Dear Kurt –

Today I met you, and you were a real bitch to me, but it didn't seem to matter. You were incredibly beautiful, and I really wanted you.

Not the most eloquent Sebastian had ever been, but still, a lump formed inside Kurt's throat. Kurt opened the next envelope in the line.

Dear Kurt –

You have the most impeccable taste of any single human being I've ever known. You hate me, I know it, and I'll probably never get the chance to make you fall for me, but I can't help thinking of you as mine.

Kurt giggled. He didn't know this, didn't know that Sebastian had fallen for him, even when Kurt had acted so horribly toward him.

Dear Kurt –

You went home with those guys, I know you did. I know I have no right to be upset or jealous, but I am. I don't want those men to hurt you. For some reason, I want to protect you.

Dear Kurt –

I think I pretty much killed whatever chance I had of ever being with you, and if that's true, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.

Kurt looked at the pages and noticed the frayed edges. They had been torn out of a journal…a journal Sebastian must have started writing when they first met.

Dear Kurt –

Today you wore green, and I had to wonder…did you wear it for me? I'd like to think you did.

Kurt sighed, wondering if he should admit that he had.

Dear Kurt –

Lying with you in my arms is like receiving a personal invitation to heaven.

Dear Kurt –

What have I been doing my whole life? How have I been managing to make it through my days without you when I find I need you so much? I would like to think you need me, too.

Dear Kurt –

I finished your book today, and I think… no, I know there will never be a day when I don't completely admire you for your strength and your beauty.

Dear Kurt –

There are no words to describe what making love to you is like…maybe spiritual? Amazing? Incredible?

No. Those words are nowhere near enough.

Dear Kurt –

I think of a future with you…with us together…and I just want it to start now.

Kurt went through each envelope one by one, each page just a few sentences, each one an expression of how much Sebastian loved him. Kurt did some quick mental math and realized that Sebastian had sent him a love letter for every day that they knew each other…in some cases two.

Kurt picked up the last envelope, a little thicker and heavier than the rest. He opened it eagerly, reaching inside. It didn't have a letter in it. Instead, he pulled out a stack of photographs. He bit his lip, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he started to flip through them, slowly, reverently savoring each one.

The first one was of his house. It was a black and white photograph with just the flowers hand tinted. The photo overall was a little blurrier than Kurt remembered it, but he didn't care.

A few of the next photos were simple stills of the flowers in the garden. Kurt couldn't help but sigh. He didn't remember seeing these before. Sebastian must have taken them when Kurt was preoccupied with his manuscript.

The next photo surprised Kurt. It was a photo of Kurt and Sebastian, standing at the door to his house, talking. Kurt furrowed his brow. In the picture, Sebastian was wearing his FedEx uniform, and the unusual angle must have come from the picture being taken around the corner of the house, maybe even using a cell phone. Kurt had no clue how Sebastian could have managed this picture.

The next photo stopped Kurt's heart dead.

A similar picture, Kurt and Sebastian standing on the doorstep, laughing this time, with Sebastian's face crossed out. An X drawn over his face in black Sharpie.

As Kurt flipped further, the pictures got worse. Sebastian's face crossed out, then etched out, till the final picture was so violently defaced, it was almost torn through.

Kurt's hands shook violently as he looked at the picture, his back sweating through the elegantly tailored shirt.

A tiny click sounded in the room, making the small hairs at the nape of Kurt's neck stand on end.

Kurt closed his eyes and prayed. He didn't want to turn around. He didn't want to see.

"Hello, Kurt," a nasally high-pitched voice sneered.

Kurt's eyes went wide with shock.

The photos slipped from his hands, tumbling to the desk's surface, and then sliding to the ground.

He turned slowly, his whole body cold, his palms sweating.

Behind him stood a familiar face, gaunt and drawn, the blue eyes bugged and wide, hands wrapped around the grip of a gun. Chapped, sickly pale lips split into a wide smile.

Kurt shook his head, trying to wish away the morbidly grotesque man by sheer will alone.

"Chandler?"