A/N: Based off numerous kitty!Sebastian posts I've seen littered around. While driving through a rainstorm, Kurt finds an unconscious man lying by the side of the road, but this man isn't quite just a man. (P. S. When I think kitty!Sebastian, I think of something with sharper claws then just a regular old house cat…) Futurefic. AU. Kitty!Sebastian. Hybrid!Sebastian. Warning for injuries and bruises but nothing graphic.
Kurt thought he hated the rainy season in Ohio. That was until he got stuck on the L.I.E. during his first torrential New York rainstorm. Traffic crawled by as thick sheets of water pounded his Navigator so hard that even in the middle of the afternoon with his windshield wipers set to high he still couldn't see the road a foot in front of his face.
Terrified of spinning off the slick asphalt, he stayed to the slow lane with his emergency lights blinking, hoping that some of the more suicidal commuters would speed past him instead of attempting to tailgate and force him to go faster. When they opted to ride his ass, he did his best to ignore them, his eyes sweeping the shoulder of the highway and the passing road signs, searching for his exit while simultaneously trying not to get into an accident.
An obnoxiously loud aftermarket horn blared to his left, and Kurt spun his head around as a Ford F-150 zoomed by him, the passenger with his window rolled down flipping Kurt off.
"Oh! Rude!" Kurt gasped, turning his attention back to his original task when a flash of gold and black nestled among the green grass caught his eye; a flash of gold and black that looked suspiciously like a human body. Kurt didn't think; he just reacted, swerving onto the shoulder and killing his engine, leaping out without bothering to grab his jacket or umbrella.
He barreled down the embankment, shielding his eyes with his hand and blinking away the raindrops falling in his eyes to get a clearer look.
Kurt was right. It was a body, wearing worn black slacks, no shoes or socks, and what looked like a leopard skin coat.
He was nearly a foot away from the body when he realized his mistake.
The spotted wet fur didn't belong to a coat, it belonged to the man – a man covered in cuts and bruises, blood washing away by the rain relentlessly pelting his body. Kurt stopped in his tracks and examined the man from a safe distance.
A hybrid. This man was a hybrid. Kurt had seen a couple of dog and cat hybrids prowling around the city with their companions, but no one quite like this. Big cat hybrids were rare…and considered dangerous. This one lay prone in the grass, and it took a few minutes of staring for Kurt to be sure that he was breathing. The movement of his chest was shallow, but it was there, and his tail lying behind him twitched from time to time, creepily like some distressed snake. Kurt crept up on him carefully, trying not to startle him too much, but the closer Kurt got to him the more Kurt realized this hybrid was unconscious. Kurt turned and looked all around them. From the man's position on the ground and the tracks in the grass, it looked as though someone rolled him out of their car as they drove by (thank you late night CSI marathon!).
Kurt considered calling 9-1-1, but he had heard stories, horrible stories, of how large cat hybrids were treated at hospitals, how some of them never even made it there, diverted to mental health facilities because large cat hybrids were considered a danger to themselves and others most of the time. Kurt stared down into the man's sleeping, troubled face, and he knew he couldn't risk it.
He grabbed the man securely under his arms, praying to the great spaghetti monster in the sky that the hybrid wouldn't wake up as he dragged his body back up the embankment to his car. It took some fumbling and awkward manipulating to get the limp body into the back seat, but Kurt managed it. He covered the man's body in a blanket and a coat, and headed back into the city towards his apartment.
The drive was fairly smooth as the storm died down, but the hybrid started to wake up when Kurt exited the freeway. The hairs on Kurt's neck stood on end as the sound of nervous breathing filled his car. His hands shook, and he gripped the steering wheel tighter to keep from pulling over, hopping out, and running for his life.
"Where am I?" a soft, icy voice whispered behind Kurt's right ear.
"Y-you're in my car h-headed to the city," Kurt blurted out, feeling for a moment that he might be in danger. He took a deep breath and in his head he scolded himself for jumping to such a wild conclusion. Isn't that why men like this were locked away to begin with, without any reason? Kurt steadied himself, trying to stay calm, knowing that leopards and other cats could sense fear. He was certain a leopard hybrid would be able to do the same.
"Who are you?" the man asked in the same menacing tone.
"My name is Kurt," Kurt said calmly. "I found you unconscious on the side of the road."
"Are you taking me to the hospital?" The voice sounded panicked. Kurt saw a pair of wide green feline eyes staring at him through the reflection of the rear view mirror.
"No," Kurt said, his voice firm and reassuring. "I'm taking you to my apartment."
The leopard huffed and curled back up beneath the blanket on the bench seat.
"You should have left me on the side of the road," he said sadly.
"I'm trying to help you."
"Right," the voice groused. "I didn't ask you to."
"Too bad," Kurt said quickly, and then froze, not really interested in insulting a man with razor sharp teeth and claws, but seconds later Kurt heard muted laughter.
"I'm Sebastian, by the way," the voice said.
Before Kurt could respond, the voice was replaced by the muffled sound of snoring.
Kurt drove on autopilot, his mind whirring with the pros and cons of what he was doing. He knew next to nothing about regular hybrids, not to mention a leopard hybrid. He vaguely remembered something about them being restricted to reservations throughout the country, about the ones who lived and worked elsewhere needing special papers and permission, that their rights as citizens were mostly decimated by ignorant public outcry and small minded fear. Kurt peeked back through his mirror at the man sleeping fitfully, all of his bruises, the way he was discarded like trash, and his heart physically hurt.
Kurt Hummel was not one to let anyone suffer if he could do something to help.
He pulled up to his apartment half an hour later, parking in the underground lot, thankful for its dim lighting even during the day. He'd need to figure out a way of getting Sebastian upstairs without anyone noticing what he was. Sebastian's body appeared to be covered in fur from head to toe. Kurt had the coat, a scarf, and a hat somewhere in the car to keep his identity hidden, but Sebastian had to have injuries somewhere. Kurt couldn't imagine being pushed out of a vehicle, moving or not, without sustaining some injuries. What if something was broken? How would Kurt handle it?
He figured he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
Kurt leaned over the front seat and shook Sebastian's sleeping body gently.
"Sebastian?" Kurt whispered. "Sebastian, we're here. I need you to get up."
A low, raspy growl, more tired than frightening, sounded from beneath the blanket.
"Do I have to?" a deep voice murmured. Kurt was tempted to laugh, but he bit his tongue and held back, still not convinced that Sebastian trusted him and not wanting to lose the little bit of faith he did have.
"I'm afraid so," Kurt said, carefully pulling away the blanket until he could at least see Sebastian's face. His eyes were shut tight; a shroud of pain distorting his features. Up close like this he looked like a man – a young, handsome, complicated man; but the second his eyes opened, and Kurt could see the narrowed pupils of his feline eyes, his whole appearance changed. He was still handsome, in some ways even more so, but there was something wild and terrible about him, too.
It didn't really frighten Kurt too much.
It made his heart race staring into his mysterious, feral eyes.
"Are you hurt?" Kurt asked.
"I think…" Sebastian moved his limbs slowly, pulling himself from his coiled position and trying out his joints and muscles. He rolled his ankles and winced. "My right ankle. It's sprained, but I think that's all."
"Okay." Kurt sat back in his seat and thought. "Get that coat on, and we'll go from there."
Kurt got out of his Navigator and went to the rear of the vehicle, opening the hatch and rummaging through his things. He tossed Sebastian the scarf and a Fedora, digging around until he found what he was looking for – a pair of dirty, ancient work boots his father had left with him the last time Kurt visited Ohio. Kurt's Navigator got stuck in the mud and he refused to change the tire himself for fear of getting his Jimmy Choo Stanford leather boots dirty. What his dad didn't seem to realize was that Kurt had no intention of changing the tire himself – boots or no boots – but he had taken them anyway to avoid starting an argument.
He gingerly slipped the boots onto the hybrid's feet, feeling the heat of Sebastian's stare as he worked but trying not to let it affect him.
"Now, lean your weight on me and I'll help you to my apartment," Kurt instructed, offering his arms to Sebastian, who sat rigidly alert and incredibly on his guard. "I promise I won't hurt you."
Sebastian rolled his eyes, stiff muscles unhinging but only infinitesimally. He grabbed onto Kurt's arms, taking care to keep the sharp tips of his claws away from the soft underside of Kurt's arms. He slipped out of the car and landed on his left ankle, putting most of his weight on it to keep his balance. Kurt grabbed Sebastian's arm and slipped it over his shoulder, pulling Sebastian close and leaning his muscular body against him. Kurt kicked the car door closed with his foot and triggered the alarm with the fob on his keys. Holding Sebastian tight, he led the large cat along through the parking garage.
"What will we say if we see someone and they ask questions?" Sebastian asked nervously.
"I'll just tell them you're my boyfriend and you're drunk," Kurt joked. Sebastian chuckled quietly, an amused sound in the back of his throat that made Kurt smile.
Thankfully they encountered no one on their way up to Kurt's apartment. The more they walked, the more sluggish Sebastian became so the second they stepped through the door Kurt hurried Sebastian onto the sofa and elevated his leg. He ran to the bathroom and fished his first aid kit out from underneath the sink, hurrying back to his patient. Sebastian kneaded at one of the throw pillows as a sign of his discomfort, unwittingly shredding it as he waited for Kurt to return.
Kurt worked quickly and silently on the many bruises that marred the leopard skin, ignoring the hisses and growls that accompanied every application of antibiotic ointment to Sebastian's torn flesh. Outside the storm started to rage, lightning striking the rod on the roof of a nearby building; thunder loudly rending the air. Sebastian startled with every bolt, every crash, and by the time Kurt moved on to wrapping Sebastian's foot, two more throw pillows were ripped to shreds.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Kurt dared ask, checking the bandage one last time to make sure it was secure. "Tell me why I found you lying in a ditch?"
"No," Sebastian snarled, pulling his injured limb away without so much as a thank you. Kurt rolled his eyes at the little power play.
"Fine." Kurt stood and packed away the contents of the first aid kit back into its metal box. "Well, you can stay the night if you want," Kurt offered. "The couch is pretty comfortable, but if you would prefer the floor…"
"I'm not a pet," Sebastian growled, tail twitching anxiously.
"I didn't say you were," Kurt countered, crossing his arms loosely across his chest. "But if you think you'll have better luck with a sprained foot out in the rain, then by all means, there's the door..." Kurt stepped to the side and gestured toward the entryway. "Be my guest."
Sebastian's green eyes narrowed to slits and burned into Kurt's cooler, nonplussed blue ones. Sebastian stood from the chair, balancing mostly on his uninjured foot. He took a tentative step forward on his sore foot, wincing at the sharp jab of pain when he put his weight on it. He limped forward one step, then two, gaining momentum as he padded toward the door, a deadly glare trained on Kurt's face as he went. Inch by inch, Sebastian made his way across the living room, reaching for the door knob as if it were his ultimate goal. By the time he touched the hard, burnished metal of the knob, another bolt of electricity lit the sky, flooding the room with a chaotic blast of light. Thunder rumbled, shaking the windows, reverberating around them loud enough to knock over one of Kurt's candlesticks on his mantel.
Sebastian roared, stumbling backward away from the door mindless of his injury, trying to find a place in the living room to hide from the storm. Kurt dodged the flailing hybrid, all claws and bared teeth as he tripped over the throw rug and landed on his back on the sofa. Kurt rushed around the room, pulling the drapes closed in an effort to block out the lightening and dampen the noise of the thunder. He turned back to Sebastian. His spotted fur bristled all over his body; he held his breath, paralyzed by fear but still lethal as he lay, poised to strike anything that came near.
Kurt stood by the windows and waited until Sebastian's body relaxed. He struggled to sit up, tucking his tail behind him, fur smoothing down to normal, claws disappearing.
Kurt watched Sebastian warily, knowing that it would kill his pride to force him to concede defeat. Instead Kurt simply shrugged.
"Have it your way," he said, an honest yawn escaping his lips. "Stay or don't stay. It's up to you. You're not doing me any favors." Kurt felt Sebastian's embarrassment and his confusion in the way his eyes shifted from cat to remotely human as they watched Kurt. Kurt turned his back on the man and headed toward the door that led to his room. "If you decide to leave, just do me a solid and lock the door, please? I don't need any more strays crawling in here."
Kurt walked into his room, his heart racing in his chest at the thought of a leopard hybrid sleeping on his sofa. A gorgeous leopard hybrid, Kurt had to admit. His eyes alone – those beautiful green eyes simmering with a constant heat and sparkling like gems in the light – were positively hypnotizing, which was part of what made him so dangerous. Those eyes could lure anyone to do his bidding, Kurt was sure of it.
Sebastian was right, he wasn't a pet.
Kurt wondered how much of him was still a man.
All through the night, the lightning flashed and the thunder boomed. Kurt barely noticed it through the thick velvet curtains of his room, but he knew that Sebastian's ears were far more sensitive, and he hoped that he was able to find peace long enough to drift off to sleep. At one point Kurt thought that he heard the click of a door open and close, and his heart sank. He had really wanted to get to know Sebastian a bit better.
Selfishly, he had also hoped that Sebastian might consider staying for a while. Even as difficult as he was, having Sebastian here felt right somehow, as if Kurt had been looking for him and not a highway exit all along.
The rain stopped sometime before dawn. The sun rose right on time, but Kurt slept late. With the drapes shut tight, the rays of sunlight didn't rouse him, but something else did. His bed dipped slightly to one side, and an unusual weight draped over the lower half of his body. Kurt cracked a heavy eyelid and peered down the bed. Curled over his stomach and spilling onto his blood red comforter lay a handsome leopard's skin, rising and falling with deep contented breaths. Kurt smiled.
It looked like he'd get his chance to get to know Sebastian better after all.