9

(a Facade)

Two young men in different parts of LA were receiving the same news about the other one from their PR teams. It would be the first time the agency would let slip one of their other clients and it was only to benefit themselves and their clients. The reactions were similar "You can't be serious." and "Fuck no." The agency tried to convince them of the benefits.

On one side of town, Kurt had his feet on the table in front of him and arched a pierced brow. "Since when does the general public care about fixing a gay man's image?"

On the other, Sebastian sagged back against the couch, knees relaxed wide and lips twisted. "Why does his image even need reforming? He's a punk rock star, they're meant to be the bad boys of the stage. It's only going to tank my reputation further and it's at the breaking point as it is."

"Your reputation has gotten too clean, Sebastian. You used to be more edgy and this will add weight to that once more. Besides, reforming the bad boy will only add to your character, you can pull him back from the edge."

In response to Kurt, their argument was a little less conventional. "Since being gay has become pretty much mainstream."

"When did that happen?" Kurt's upper lip pulled back into a scowl.

"About 3 months ago." Was the cheeky reply and Kurt's lips softened into a bit of a smile, finding that amusing, as was the intention with no fear of being fired for such a comment.

"I don't need him." Kurt's face fell back into a scowl. "Everything is fine."

"It's not. You were linked with some pretty seedy characters and in this cancel culture even you can be canceled."

"It was my step-brother's best friend from high school." Kurt defended himself.

"Doesn't matter. Gone are the days of glorified drinking and drugs and rampages. The rock star life is dead and you need to show that you're not part of the dinosaurs."

"Drinking will never go away." Kurt argued. "And I wasn't involved in any rampages."

"The bill from the latest hotel would argue with you."

"That was the band." Kurt sank into the oversized chair he was sitting in, already seeing the point that was going to be made next.

"All the more reason to separate yourself from them. Bands can be replaced, as the front runner your image needs to be exactly how you want to present yourself." Kurt opened his mouth to argue but the manager kept talking. "If a company thinks you're about to flame out, they're not going to sponsor your tour or venue or event. You'll be dead in the water even if you're perfectly fine to go for another 30 years."

Kurt took a deep breath, held it and then slowly released it in annoyance. "Why him?"

"He'll diversify your audience."

It was all set up, now they just had to meet.

It was probably best that they met in private with absolute secrecy and silence about this first meeting, or as secret as two celebrities could have with a clandestine meeting. Still, there were no bugs or hidden cameras and it was basically Sebastian, Kurt and their two managers at this first very stilted and awkward meeting. If anyone would have seen them at that meeting, there was no way they would have believed them to be a couple at all, no matter how good of a job they were at pretending afterward. There was no chemistry, no draw that would have brought these two together in the real world. They were not the other's type at all.

"Ugh, couldn't convince him to darken his hair even a little?" Kurt looked over Sebastian with clear disdain in his gaze as he raked it over Sebastian's form.

"You're no rosy peach either sweetheart." Sebastian sneered back. "You're pencil thin and if you weren't hidden in the punk rock scene, you'd be screaming gay by just looking at your face, you wouldn't even need the makeup."

"You two need to talk and get to know each other, you're going to be dating while within the public eye."

"You can't convince anyone of that if you can't even pretend to like each other." The managers scolded and Kurt and Sebastian stared moodily at each other, both refusing to be the first to break.

Eventually, Kurt stirred and took off his black leather jacket, draping it over the back of his chair. There were four dining room chairs and a coffee table and a fridge in the corner. There wasn't much else. Sebastian's sucked in a breath. "You've got some serious guns."

While his arms were still thin, they were muscular, and bulged a little whenever he remotely flexed. They were cut and defined even when resting but with the jacket on, it hid that fact. Kurt snorted. "What the hell did you think I did on stage? Stand in one spot? Sit on a stool and strum my guitar? I'm not Adele."

"Are you jacked all over?" Sebastian was eying the rest of Kurt's body with new eyes, wondering if it were possible and trying to picture it.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "No." Except it was obviously a lie. Kurt wanted to be finished of this conversation and this meeting. Kurt's manager got up nervously, waiting for Sebastian to call him out on it. There was going to be a blood brawl, especially, she thought, if Kurt was going to continue acting this way.

Someone would have to find a way to get them to start connecting. They were so different in pretty much every way. That someone was surprisingly Sebastian, as Kurt's arms had him changing his tune but with a different end in mind than the one the agency was picturing.

Sebastian's eyes flashed at the new challenge in front of him and he sidled up to Kurt's side, brushing up against him before his fingers started tracing a line down the side of his arm. "This is pretty impressive, being so muscular while maintaining your petite form."

"And I'm the one on the verge of being canceled because of whom I associate with? While he's got the exceptionally toxic masculinity the majority of people have been fighting for decades?" Kurt pulled his arm away from Sebastian and looked over at his manager who gave a helpless look in response.

Sebastian's manager instead cleared his throat. "Sebastian, we've talked about this."

"What? He should be used to come ons as a rock star, this one is pretty tame in comparison, I'm sure."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "The difference is, if I didn't want it then they'd be escorted away by bodyguards, unlike the poor saps who have to weather your attention."

Sebastian cooled off a little at the insults, sitting away from Kurt but not quite to the point of moving back to a different spot, scowl back firmly on his face. "This is the dumbest idea on the planet."

"Agreed, I didn't think it would work but I held out for a chance that they might be on to something but they were way off. No one would ever buy us as a couple."

"More unlikely combinations have existed." Kurt's manager said disappointed.

Kurt snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "It's your idea to pair me up with him, isn't it? You're a fan!" His accusation was met with an incredulous from Sebastian at Kurt's manager too.

Then his look switched over to his own manager. "And you went along with it?"

The managers looked at each other as if debating on what to say but they'd been caught, Sebastian's manager spoke "Sorry, Sam and I thought it would be for the best, get the two of you in the same city more often so we didn't have to be apart as much and we really did think you two would be good for each other's images."

"So we were just ploys in your maccinism?" Sebastian was appalled and Kurt clapped slowly in derision. "Great job, you two. You're fired."

"You can't fire Alex!" Sam protested. "It was my idea."

"You seem to miss the fact that you are fired as well." Sebastian pointed out.

"She's not, actually." Kurt cut in. "She's my manager, you don't have the power to fire her."

"I'll take it up with the agency. It is wholly unprofessional what the two of them did."

"They'll let you do whatever you want with your own manager, you can probably even get him fired from the company altogether but I am also a client and they won't fire mine if I don't want them to."

"Why aren't you more upset about this?" Sebastian turned to him to get a clearer assessment. "You're known for being ruthless with the people you don't like."

"I'm glad you've been following my career so closely." Kurt didn't answer and Sebastian didn't let him slip away from the main topic.

"You should want her fired."

"If she really just wants to spend more time with Alex then now that he's fired he can come along or I'll keep her here more often. I don't need her along at every show."

"Wow, now you're just straight up rewarding this shit?" Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "Something doesn't add up."

"Just drop it Sebastian. We don't have to fake date anymore." Kurt waved him off.

"Oh, the agency will still insist on that, they've got a whole campaign already lined up." Sam spoke now that she knew she was safe from Kurt's wrath, at least for now.

"I have more clout than you." Sebastian ignored Sam as unimportant, especially now that he had basically dismissed her as no longer having a job that would affect him. Kurt's eyes narrowed in dislike at the obvious superiority move with his manager. "I will get them both fired and out of the agency. I'll see to it that they never work in the entertainment industry, even as an usher or ticket sales at a movie theater in this town ever again."

Kurt rolled his eyes and sat back against his chair, an ankle crossing over his opposite knee, already viewing Sebastian as a non-threat. "You have a bloated sense of power. You're not that important to anyone in the agency, much less the town."

"I have family high up."

"And talk about conflict of interests!" Kurt deadpanned and Sebastian's jaw ticked but there was renewed interest in Kurt, a gauntlet had been laid down and he was no longer thinking about the employees they were discussing. He wanted to dismantle Kurt now.

"There's nothing wrong with representing family, that's what this town had been built on."

"Good thing I'm hardly ever in this town."

"Aren't you based here?" Sebastian was quickly recalculating everything.

"My primary residence is listed in LA due to being closer to the agency but I spend a majority of my free time in New York. Otherwise I'm on tour across the US, Canada and Europe. Sometimes other continents too."

Sebastian sent an incredulous look toward the managers who were privately discussing amongst themselves. "What did your plan entail if we're on opposite sides of the country most of the time? A relationship between us would never have worked."

"We knew you had a new movie taking place in New York."

"Only two scenes take place in the city and the rest of it takes place in upstate, most of what would be shot would be here in studios and I haven't even decided on any onsite shots. I'm currently scouting locations but nothing has come back yet that I'm even remotely even tempted to visit."

"Kurt has a few concerts here on the West coast coming up and he could convince you to come out to New York to see for yourself while he has a few concerts out there before he wraps up this tour. He can do his recording either at the studio in LA or NY or both, you could plan your time together at both locales."

"That's a lot, you didn't really go into details when you told me about this plan. I had assumed that Kurt would be based out here. I can't change my movie just because you thought it would be a good idea for my image, that would ruin the integrity of my film, which is a lot longer lasting of a testament to my image than who I happen to be dating for a spell."

Kurt watched all of them as they spoke, noting how Alex and Sam once they had been found out had not once stopped holding hands. He looked over to Sebastian who was a lot calmer than he had been when he first found out about the duplicity, but this was starting to rile him up again. Kurt shook his head, unable to believe he was about to do this again, he'd vowed never to do it again after the last time it had bit him in the ass, but he was willing to for Sam. She's proven she had his back unlike those in the past. It would be the first and only favor he'd do for her of this magnitude.

He took another deep breath, centering himself for the shit show that was going to rain down on them. This would blow up in their face, he knew it, but it would be an interesting ride. "We both started out as actors, we can make this work."

Sebastian spun toward him in shock. "Why do you want to?"

Kurt looked at Sam for a long time, making sure she knew this was for her and she'd better pull through for him in the future or he'd throw that fury her way that he'd become known for. She gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Then he looked back over to Sebastian and gave a nonchalant shrug. "She may have had ulterior motives but the premise was still correct, we both need to sharpen our images to the general public. Having the two of us show up to events together will generate interest in our works and improve our clout."

"It will also bring in a lot more speculation into our inner lives." While Kurt was seeing the benefits more clearly, Sebastian was now seeing the drawbacks in more sharp relief.

"Our inner lives have always had speculation and spectators who try to be a bit more involved. In fact, they seem to be falling off and we need to re-spark that interest if we want to stay relevant. Our personal lives have become more important to our success than our skill in this generation. We have to keep them interested and keep coming back by perfectly balancing change and continuity." Kurt articulated very well for Sebastian who mulled it over.

It was true that things were different for them than the ones who came before. Advice was always brought down the line but some of it no longer pertained or was even more important now. It was always difficult to weather even if there were guidebooks on how to do it, it wasn't that easy.

Sebastian finally let out a sigh. "Fine, we'll try it and see how it works, not promising anything though." He shot the couple a withering glare. "And you two are still on my shit list, and Alex, you're still fired." Sam nearly protested but Kurt shook his head no and when he did that, Sebastian could see that there was a lot shorter turquoise layer beneath the brown. He filed that away for future musings. Sebastian looked back to Kurt. "You and I will have to hash out the finer details since their plan had gaping holes in it."

"Already covered." Kurt waved him off, rings catching the light on his hand as he did so. "If you don't end up shooting in NY, then I'll record my next record here once I finish my tour. I can write and record basically anywhere."

"Not going to need sounds of the streets and only NY streets to make it edgy?' Sebastian was referencing a few people that Kurt would be well aware of who did that.

"Honestly, cities have all started to sound pretty similar." Kurt shrugged. "I'd rather take that element out of my music and focus on the actual sounds I can reproduce consistently."

"That is a good plan." Sebastian gave it to him. "We still need to work up a backstory we can both remember and enough details to make it sound plausible. You said you started out as an actor? Anything I'd be able to watch and give you pointers on?"

"Not unless you can dig up McKinley High's failed stage musicals, two of which never even got to open for an audience and the third closed after one weekend but the fourth ran for a month. Sadly, I wasn't in that one. Prior to those four years and after, I don't think they had much luck getting even as far as closing before opening night."

Sebastian would definitely try.

"As for a backstory, I don't know why we can't pretend we started more recently, like yesterday. Start getting seen together today and then if people ask then we can point to the real time period. I'm on tour for another couple of months, we hit it hard this week while I'm in the area and then do 'the long distance thing' and pick back up when I'm in town again. Any awkwardness will seem normal with the distance and time between us in such a new relationship rather than fabricate a really messy and easy to pick apart history. At least we were both in town yesterday and those details can be fuzzy and the timeline can be legit and real."

"How do you know this? I'm the storyteller of the two of us but you have it all planned out."

"I tell stories too, but I tell them in much more concise timing, within 3 minutes. Besides, I've learned the fewer lies you have to compound the easier it is to continue with a lie and for it to be believable. Why over complicate things?"

Sebastian nodded, following along with this way of thinking. "Was your dad like a cop or something?"

"Or something." Kurt agreed, inspecting his black painted nails and frowning when he saw one was chipped. When Sebastian waited, looking for more information, Kurt reluctantly gave it. "He saw through my lies far too often because I never knew how to minimize my story with him, I couldn't help but ramble." Then it got to the point where his lies had to be believable and he made it happen. The cost of winning that battle was too high and rebounded to having even his half truths questioned until the full truth came out for a very long time. It was understandable why his dad didn't want to just assume he was telling the truth after a few incidents.

"So we're not going to be telling your dad any time soon."

"I'll decide on when and how much to tell him." Kurt might need his advice for when things got harder, but was of two minds of telling him right away or at all. He would go with the flow there, and do whatever felt right.

They hashed out a few more details but they came up with a plan. Now they just had to hope it didn't blow up in their face.

They did a few outings together while Kurt was in LA. Made it look believable when they tried to avoid the papz or anyone else recognizing them together. They did too good of a job once and had to go for something a little less incognito the rest of the time. It was all surface level stuff, just putting the bug in the public's ear that there might be something there, especially with the numerous sightings.

Sebastian had agreed to go to New York to do his own on the ground location scouting when one a few of the properties finally sounded enticing. He made sure to coincide with Kurt's presence in NYC. They went and looked at the properties together, something unheard of with Sebastian until then.

It was in NYC though that their relationship became a little less for camera only.

Sebastian was at Kurt's apartment, something that was also a bit of a rarity for the rock star. Sebastian was loathe to admit it but admit he did and to Kurt's face. "You're actually quite a bit of a substantial actor."

Kurt popped his head out of the kitchen to frown at him. "You sound surprised."

"Well, I did pull up your old high school video tapes, you weren't really in them at all, I had no way of knowing one way or another."

Kurt shrugged and went back into the kitchen, but Sebastian could still hear him. "Well I did survive high school by never once confirming rumors. A few of my female friends actually thought that I was straight, somehow."

"Hmm..." Sebastian couldn't help his curiosity and he started poking around the apartment, trying to uncover more about Kurt. "Have you ever thought about acting for real?"

"My passion is music."

"You could do both." Sebastian was already thinking about his next movie, he was bound to have a script somewhere about a rock star, they could tweak it to make it actually good.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Kurt came back out with drinks. "I don't even do music videos that have my face in them. They always have actors playing out the lyrics. The only time I'm on the camera is either while I'm up on stage or they catch me out and about."

"Yet you're the one who wanted our private lives to be marveled at." Sebastian took the proffered drink without wondering if there was anything in it. He didn't think Kurt would be the sort, no matter the rumors about the band. Kurt had never been personally named in those and it would go against what they were trying to do. He made a face when he realized there wasn't even alcohol in it, it was just tonic water with lime.

"Wanted our private lives to be gossiped about and in the public eye but never actually giving real details of what goes on behind the scenes. They can guess all they want, but they never get to know the actual truth."

Sebastian once again realized Kurt had thought this out far more than he had. "How about a cameo role?" He fell back onto their crafts when he didn't have anything to say right away. Kurt shook his head before moving to the couch and dropping down onto it, the chain from his hip to his knee catching in the light against his dark denim jeans. "If you dressed like this in high school I could see where either could be speculated about. Are you never off?"

"What are you talking about? This is my off-stage attire. I'm not wearing as much makeup or hair product. I'm not in a stage costume, just jeans and a white T-shirt. My jacket's hung up in the hall closet."

"Yet you still exude rock star." Sebastian mocked lightly, no longer feeling the need to belittle or offend Kurt, but it was still fun to poke and tease.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk, can't you just enjoy a moment without thinking about work?"

"I'm always thinking about work except when I'm in bed with a guy." Sebastian didn't have to go into details about how he was in bed with the guy, Kurt would know what he meant.

Kurt nodded. "I suppose that's when I'm thinking the most about work."

Sebastian took a moment to let that sink in before he realized Kurt was kind of teasing him back. "Because you make such great music together." He deadpanned and Kurt laughed. "That's just so cheesy."

"I'd rather it be viewed as corny, but whatever." He was still going and Sebastian couldn't help but smile.

"Your dad jokes need work." Kurt shrugged and took a sip of his drink. Sebastian watched his Adam's apple bob as he did so, thinking about watching it do that for other reasons their conversation brought to mind. He'd wanted to do so once he saw how muscular Kurt was, he'd have the strength to be fun in bed.

The sexual tension was in the air now, Sebastian knew it wasn't just coming from him. He tossed Kurt a questioning look who mulled it over rather than outright rejected him this time. They'd only gotten to know each other a little over the time they'd spent together, sending obligatory dating texts while they were apart and mostly play dating while together in public. They had spent time in each other's private space for a few hours, but never in each other's actual home like this. What they knew of each other was somewhat shallow but there were deeper moments like when they plotted they were able to see each other a little more honestly. Sebastian was pretty sure the answer was still going to remain the same despite Kurt's more nuanced decision making this time around.

"Maybe." Kurt finally spoke and Sebastian wasn't sure how to take that. "We're due for dinner in 10 and then your hotel. Let's see how dinner goes and then we might be able to adjust our plans."

"Are you going to change?" Sebastian asked, standing up, he was always ready for meals out, as long as it wasn't something insufferably fancy.

"I wasn't planning on it." Kurt stretched his legs out in front of him, throwing his heels onto the coffee table nonchalantly. Sebastian didn't miss the fact that it looked very practiced, as if he'd done it that way a hundred times before. His heels just happened to perfectly land on a magazine rather than the wood.

Sebastian was in a somewhat playful mood, especially because he really wanted to push Kurt's buttons and get him to loosen up for real. "Oh come on, I'll even pick something out for you." He darted toward the bedrooms, picking one at random and could hear Kurt curse behind him. He wrenched open the door and decided he was right in picking this room before he rushed over to the obvious walk-in closet and wow, that was a lot of clothes. Second thing to hit Sebastian even as Kurt tried to shut the doors and pretend Sebastian hadn't seen inside, was how much color there was in there.

"This isn't my room." Kurt hissed and shut the door with a snap, trying to usher Sebastian out of the room seconds after.

"No, it totally is." Sebastian looked around the room again, knowing instinctively that this was Kurt's. It just had to be, it was the master and the colors suited Kurt and it was just a bit prissy, which the rock star would never admit to but was behind the scenes.

"It's not. I'll show you my room." Kurt dragged him into another room that was so cliché to what a rock star would have in a bedroom minus going overboard and then threw open the doors to the closet. There were a lot of stage outfits and go to every day wear which Sebastian had seen on Kurt before.

For a second, Sebastian debated whether or not he believed this was truly Kurt's room. It was also an en-suite with a walk-in closet. "Is this your show room for the guys you bring home?" Sebastian's eyes were wide as he put it together and spoke in a false-high voice, getting the real gossip and rubbing it into Kurt's face. "Oh my god, this is all just a fake out."

"Oh shut up." Kurt walked out of the room, not bothering to close the closet doors. "That's my room."

"Yeah, and who does the other room belong to?" Sebastian prodded. "Do you have a twin or something? Holy shit that would be hot."

"No, though I do have a brother."

"Oh yeah, the brother that basically got you into this mess." Sebastian laughed. "Except I've seen pictures of him, he would not be caught wearing those clothes either. Just admit it, I caught you out on the lies you've been telling everyone. I should have seen it. I think I had been seeing it, just didn't put it together. You're sweet and the tough guy is just an image you've been presenting to people."

"I'm not sweet." Kurt crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Sebastian. "I've fired for people for basically no reason, I've broken guitars and thrown tantrums and anyone who's ever worked for me will tell you I'm hellish to work for."

"Yeah, but you keep getting the best of the best." Sebastian shook his head as the pieces all fell into place and he was seeing all the little things clearer as well as the big picture. "You kept Sam and Alex on despite being deceptive and you've supported them. Does she know the real you? Is that why you protected her? She must, she must be one of your real confidants. And the anger show, the bad-boy that's all just a front, you were probably actually really nice about letting people go and you just put on a show for others. You want to appear scary so you get respect or at least a show of it in return after the way you grew up. You never did anything bad, did you? It's always just been the band acting out and you've stayed clear of it. That much was true when you defended yourself. I thought maybe that was the lie you trying to sell, not that you're actually a lot softer than you present!"

"Whatever Sebastian, you're the one putting on a front for the world. A person's personality and reputation doesn't just change overnight."

"You're right, it doesn't. I changed because I needed to. I realized throwing a fit every few minutes and yelling at people for their incompetence doesn't really work if I wanted to keep working in Hollywood or work with better caliber people. Being nice and patient would get me further than calling everyone out on their failures and just pulling out the stern and disappointed for when absolutely necessary. The difference between us though, the facade became the reality for me. Yours is still just a shell-game."

Kurt breathed in nosily and back out just as loudly. Sebastian knew he was on the end of a real angered moment and he wasn't sure what Kurt would do next. Go all in and pretend that he really was the illogical toddler because he wasn't getting his way, call it all quits or something else. Kurt was too smart though for the former two options, Sebastian waited to see Kurt's move now that his hand was blown. Sebastian would parry with whatever he thought was appropriate based on what Kurt would say. He did have Kurt at a disadvantage, as he was the only one with a real reputation upset on the line.

"Breaking up with you right now would be foolish, we've just got them thinking we're a couple." Kurt reasoned out and Sebastian could see him counting to ten several times in his head before he spoke each time. "You also know something about me that no one else knows." Which wasn't a hundred percent true, but Sebastian wasn't about to hand him the ace on his own accord. "So what do you want in return to keeping my secret?" He was eying Sebastian wearily now, thinking Sebastian was going to ask for what he has suggested a few times, to sweeten the pot, as it were.

Sebastian made a face, disgusted by the notion. "I'm not that kind of person. Every interaction of that sort has always been strings-free." He was turned off just thinking about it and that was no longer on the table and Kurt's shoulders relaxed a little. Sebastian wondered once more what was in Kurt's past, whatever it was, wasn't public knowledge.

"So, what do you want?" Kurt finally broke the silence that came over them after Sebastian's declaration.

Sebastian weighed the question in his mind, what did he want for keeping silent on this? "Nothing." He could have leveraged it to having Kurt at least cameo but he respected that Kurt didn't want to, he wasn't going to force him into it. "You're entitled to your secrets and your privacy. You shouldn't have to hide that part of you but you have your reasons, I'm sure."

Sebastian was curious, burning with it, but he didn't ask for Kurt to share why he had two separate bedrooms, one for his real self and one for the rare person he brought into 'his room'. He didn't think Kurt would share it without being asked and was willing to talk about something else, perhaps what they were going to do next. Didn't Kurt say they were due for dinner somewhere? They've had to had used up their 10 minutes by now, right?

"It's just easier going out incognito wearing that stuff. Nobody would recognize the overly fashionable guy for the rock star when you never see the rock star in anything but black or bold colors and patterns, but typical rock star looks, on stage. I get left alone and I get to wear what I want when not on show. It's why I don't want to be in a movie or music video, I don't want to be caught wearing something I didn't perfectly cultivate for my image or have my image be much more than a grainy stolen one by the public or papz. I don't want to be recognized when I just want a day off." Kurt's shoulders were slumped as he admitted to why he had two 'master bedrooms' with totally different outfts.

"You were ready to spend our whole fake relationship, always on?" Sebastian checked, amazed a the dedication and acting skill that would be required. "You didn't think I'd catch on eventually?"

"We weren't going to be with each other all that much. You were going back to LA in two days and I wasn't coming back out for another couple of months. Since I wasn't going to be on tour, I just had to be on when we were together, it would actually be less than when I'm on tour." Kurt shrugged. "Not an overly terrible price to pay."

"Whereas normally you would just be off, the entire break while recording?" Sebastian checked and Kurt nodded. "And if we spent the night together? You'd still be rock star Kurt even in the morning, never letting your guard down, even during sex?"

"I wouldn't really be either of those Kurts if I were naked, would I?" Kurt countered, arms tightening around himself.

"It's more than just clothes. You have a whole persona you present to the world that's totally fake." Sebastian pointed out. "You would have me believing in the lie rather than the truth while we're intimate like that together. I wouldn't have been lying."

"I would have thought you were the whole time." Kurt admitted. "I didn't believe the nice guy act, especially when I saw your true colors at our original meeting."

"That was the false version of me. I was reacting to your inane comment about my hair. You were acting as if only the skin deep mattered."

"I was getting ahead of the looks are the only thing that matters version of you that I had heard so much about." Kurt dropped his arms, no longer on the defense about his own personal life, ready to attack Sebastian on his.

"So you went there first?" Sebastian scoffed.

"Well, it was true, wasn't it? You only started to come around to the idea of me being on your arm when you saw I had muscles. All of a sudden I went from something hateful because I wasn't your type to a piece of meat that you wanted to fully inspect."

"Such flattering images of the both of us that you're painting." Sebastian rolled his eyes. "You didn't even allow me to form an opinion of your looks in person before you were attacking mine."

"All I said was that your hair wasn't dark enough. It wasn't a reflection on you personally but what the public had summed up my type to be."

There was silence that greeted that asinine comment, both realizing how dumb their first meeting really was and how wrong each were about the other both since the meeting and even before it. Sebastian could see Kurt's points just as Kurt could see Sebastian's. They'd come a long way since then even if it didn't seem like it until they aired it all out just now.

Sebastian suddenly snorted. "Wow, we're both assholes."

"Excuse me-"

"Don't deny it." Sebastian cut him off. "Not while we're finally being honest."

Kurt sighed and sat down on the armrest of the couch. "Yeah, I suppose we are." Kurt lifted his head and looked over to Sebastian. "Truce?"

"Sure." They didn't shake hands or anything, just held the other to that. "Aren't we late for dinner or something?"

"Yeah, but it's at La Brioche. Do you want to cancel and go somewhere more private or stick to the script?" It was the hottest restaurant in town right now and would have the who's who gathered. It was impossible to get reservations unless you had a personal in.

"We better go before we piss off whoever you bribed by not showing up." Sebastian sorted himself out and Kurt donned his leather jacket once more. "Are you really going there dressed like that?"

"Yes." Kurt had donned on more than the jacket, he'd pulled on the attitude and persona once more, just like that, with the shrug of the jacket onto his shoulders, he was Kurt, Rockstar.

Sebastian was finding he liked Kurt Hummel much better than his better known counterpart.

Kurt knew he should have felt greatly under-dressed going like he was to such a hot spot, but he wouldn't be expected in anything else. This was his formal attire as far as the general public knew. There would be only one other thing that would upscale his look and he only wore that type of look to the Grammys or the Met.

Sebastian at least looked the part, he'd worn a slightly better version of his dinner attire. It wasn't a super upscale location but it did require a few things to be met before anyone could sit down and eat at the establishment. No opened toed shoes from any gender, nothing above the ankle for any gender and nothing revealing below the collar bones. There were a few men who had to button up their tops just a little higher than they were used to. Kurt's white T, leather jacket, jeans, and leather boots would pass their tests even if given a look about how he wasn't even trying. Sebastian's tan trousers, pink button up shirt with rolled sleeves over a long cream colored one, also with rolled up with the pink sleeves, would also be fine. He had a scarf that paired nicely with his lighter outfit, greatly juxtaposing the two of them.

Outside of the way they acted with each other, it would be hard to fathom what brought them together outside of pure physical looks. Even their outfits didn't compliment each other, so it must just be their bodies. Kurt looked over Sebastian's frame again as they were lead to their seats, knowing he wasn't as opposed to Sebastian's propositions as much as he had appeared to at first. Sebastian was an attractive man, a very attractive man. His behavior at Kurt's place and how he'd treated Kurt with respect despite having all the power was even more attractive.

Sebastian had a lot of rough edges but that kind of intrigued Kurt. He wasn't interested in sanding down those ridges but he also didn't want to get cut by them.

This was not the night though to entertain any of these thoughts. It was bad enough that there had been a moment where Kurt had basically accused Sebastian of being cliché, but then Kurt's ex happened to also be at the restaurant, ruining what remained of the night they'd salvaged.

The ex wasn't the worst, Sebastian even flirted a little with him. When he finally cottoned onto the fact that Kurt had pulled back into his shell rather than play along, Sebastian asked the ex to leave. "So I take it not one of the few to be privy to your collection." Sebastian was watching Kurt's every move and Kurt had to consciously try and present what he wanted, even though he didn't feel up to it in a lot of ways. From Sebastian's returning demeanor, Kurt knew he hadn't bought it.

Still, Kurt evaded giving a full answer which probably soured the mood more than anything else, but Kurt didn't apologize or share. He'd already over-shared enough for one night with this virtual stranger. Though that was less true every day.

Kurt and Sebastian parted ways after a very public hug and putting their faces close to each other. They didn't go so far as to kiss but they definitely caught attention and speculation. It was enough for tonight.

His manager called, photos already hitting the internet with different captions and wondered why they went separate ways so publicly rather than see one of them back to where they were staying for the night. "Which one of us is supposed to be the girl?" She sighed and admitted he was right and chatted a bit more before ending the call.

Kurt laid on his back in bed, over the sheets, still fully dressed just without his boots and stared at nothing in particular on the ceiling. His brain was already whirling and recalibrating and slotting things into place. He knew it was all anticipation and not actual fruition but he'd adjust with the situation as it unfolded, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a little nudge.

Two more weeks of long distance and then five weeks of dating in person and Kurt figured they'd gotten to the point where it could change again. Maybe be even less of a farce with a genuine backing. At this point the lines were already blurry and it felt real, he didn't know how much was acting on either of their parts. It was surprisingly easy, dating Sebastian, and because it wasn't real, they were able to be the most real by saying how they felt about certain behaviors or deeds. They could course correct without the messy feelings and concern about feelings getting in the way. This was a business dealing, or it was. All of a sudden they weren't talking plainly anymore and it was harder to see the other person and read into them, tell them anything, especially anything planned. Communication became muddled as they overthought about what they should say rather than what they needed to.

Even in the cloudy depths of emotion creeping in on them, there were still some things that if looked for, could still be seen. They still got to know each other on a deeper level, levels that were still guarding secret treasures but making ground that was previously untreked. There were also some things that were undeniable as long as one allowed themselves to look or see it.

It's how their first kiss quickly escalated into a whole lot more kisses. Kisses that could be caught on camera whenever they ventured out together as there became a weird inability to keep hands to themselves.

Then, one night, Kurt felt like the timing was right and Sebastian had been surprisingly patient and content to wait. He had nowhere else to be since they were in a contract of sorts, but he hadn't pushed or even asked for more. They didn't even discuss it after that day in Kurt's apartment in New York. He was happy with what he'd gotten, enjoying it even.

Kurt whispered in Sebastian's ear that maybe they should move it to the bedroom. The LA apartment was similarly laid out to his New York one and Sebastian started to lead him toward the room that Kurt would normally bring his dates if they went that far. Instead, Kurt tugged Sebastian toward his real room and Sebastian hesitated only a moment, a look coming across his face that Kurt couldn't decipher and he looked over Kurt's own face for a moment longer before following him in. Once inside, it was as if no hesitation had existed and Sebastian was there with him beat for beat.

Kurt felt pretty good about this decision, not putting much expectation on it, but in the back of his mind there was still a little bit of a hope.

Those feelings and thoughts carried him through the night, even letting Sebastian sleep over in his bed. That lasted until the morning, when there was no sight of Sebastian or any of his stuff that he had brought over. Kurt sighed, unsure exactly what that meant and looked at his phone to see if Sebastian had texted him, to give him any sort of hint of where they were going from there. There wasn't any indicator that Sebastian had been affected by their next step in this relationship.

Kurt bolstered himself, they were both guys and he could handle this and told himself it hadn't meant anything to him either. He'd had one night stands before, his choice, and he had to take this on the chin. They'd still be seeing each other and they'd probably do it again but Kurt wouldn't put too much stock into anything they did, wouldn't bring his emotions into it. As long as it remained fun, he'd be open to a repeat.

Since Sebastian was gone, he didn't see any reason to put off getting ready for the day. Maybe he'd head into the studio today to record instead of his own recording space. He'd deal with the aftermath of the sheets later, for now he just needed to get out of the place.

He was just putting on his shoes when Sebastian came whistling through the door while twirling Kurt's keys on his finger. He stopped short when he saw Kurt. He had a bit of a bashful smile on his face, and two to-go cups in a tray in his other hand and a bag of some kind of goodie. "Good morning." He greeted cheerfully and put the keys back in the bowl where they belonged. He took one of the cups and handed it to Kurt while leaning in to kiss Kurt on the mouth. "You're up early."

Kurt glanced at the clock, it was 6:30, he was actually a little behind schedule today. Then he supposed the real world on a day off would not be up that early, he was probably a whole fourth of the day earlier than a lot of people. "Yeah, I'm an early riser."

"Well good thing I had so much energy this morning to get up before even you." Sebastian teased. "Don't expect that to be the norm though, I like to sleep in when I don't have to be on set."

'The norm?' Kurt mouthed to himself as Sebastian turned toward the center island to drop off the rest of what he had in his hands. He started looking into it and pulling things out, he'd brought quite a few goodies, it seemed. Sebastian turned his head toward Kurt and looked him over. "Why don't you go change? Something from your closet, perhaps?"

"Sebastian?" Kurt asked, drawing Sebastian's eyes up to his face and waited for Kurt to continue after a universal small sound of listening. "What is this?"

Sebastian purposefully misunderstood him. "Chai latte and pumpkin loaf bread."

"No, not the food, us."

Sebastian turned toward him fully and leaned back against the center island, an odd smirk on his lips that Kurt had trouble understanding until Sebastian spoke. "Still only seeing what's in front of you? I thought you'd seen behind the curtain, Kurt, and you wanted me to see it too."

"I did, I do- but Sebastian that's my inner self-"

"And you've seen a part of me no one else has too." Sebastian came forward and rested his hands on Kurt's shoulders, looking down at him. "I want to make this real."

Sebastian waited on a breath to see what Kurt would say, there was a long pause while Kurt looked at Sebastian's face and he kept it as open as he could but as the seconds ticked by, he wanted to hide behind a mask. Then Kurt nodded and Sebastian released his breath. "I want that too."

It may not last, there were so many things that would make this relationship difficult; but there was a chance that it would, as long as they kept being open with each other. For now, they had a breakfast to eat.