“Shouldn’t you have all your important papers on your computer or something in this age of technology?”
Kurt teased.
“Some things will always require old fashioned paper work.” Sebastian said. “Now quit messing around and
tell me if you’ve seen it or not.”
“Describe it.”
“It’s uh – it’s dark purple with a black stripe down the side.”
Kurt shook his head and turned back to the mirror. “No, I don’t think I’ve seen a purple one. There was a
thin one with a bluish-purple tint to it on the bedroom bookshelf though.”
“No,” Sebastian said. “This is solid purple. God, where the hell did it disappear?” he let his forehead thunk
against the doorframe before straightening up and catching Kurt’s eye in the mirror. “You look like an idiot,
just by the way,” he said before disappearing once again.
“I do not,” Kurt muttered, turning his eyes back to his reflection.
Sebastian still looked frustrated when Kurt went back out. He was leaning against the fridge, taking long
sips of his beer as he glared around the apartment.
“Didn’t find it?” Kurt asked.
He shook his head. “Fucking file.”
Kurt spared him an amused smile but didn’t tease him any further. Their playlist was set to a familiar song
even though Kurt couldn’t place the lyrics, he vaguely recognized the mystical quality of the vocals.
It may have been a result of the song or maybe it was just because he was still thinking of the stupid file
but before he sat down on the couch, Kurt lifted the cushions and peered underneath, not knowing what
he was expecting but when he saw the corner of a deep purple file sticking out, his breath caught in his
throat. He pulled it out with slightly trembling hands, not quite believing his eyes. There was no question if
this was the right file or not, it had the black stripe down its side, some papers peeking out of the corners,
edges crumpled under the weight of the countless bodies that had sat on it over the past weeks.
The music was suddenly too loud, the chorus rising and pounding in every corner of his skull. Kurt could
feel something pushing to get through to him, explain how he had known to check under the couch.
“Come on Sebastian, you’ve been working since last night -”
“- can’t, baby. You understand, you didn’t move for ages when you were -”
“Let me help you with all that stress -”
“Kurt -”
“Later. The boring papers aren’t going anywhere -”
“What are you doing, you’ll crumple them -”
“Ssshh -”
“Fuck Kur-mmmph.”
Kurt stared at the file, his breaths coming a little faster. It felt like he was sinking in quicksand and clutching
at the memories desperately to survive. The music continued to echo around the apartment and when
Kurt lifted his eyes to the couch again he could almost see the way he had pressed Sebastian onto his back
and shoved the file hastily under the cushions.
“What are you doing on your knees?” Sebastian asked, coming up behind him. His eyes fell on the file in his
hand and widened. “Oh fuck, you found it!”
Kurt stood up, holding it out for Sebastian. “It was under the cushions.”
“What the hell was it doing there?” Sebastian said with a frown as he regarded the crumpled edges of the
paper.
“I put it there while trying to distract you,” Kurt said, his voice slightly raspy.
"Oh right," Sebastian said as continued to flick through the papers. "I told you you'd crumple the -" his
head snapped up suddenly as if he’d just realized what Kurt had said. “Wait, did you – do you -”
Kurt knew he was trying to say do you remember? but the shock on his face was clearing hindering his
ability to form words so Kurt settled for answering him with a nod and a slow spreading grin.
There was a suspended moment of silence before Sebastian threw the file onto the couch. “Holy shit," he
said and closed the distance between them, pulling Kurt against his chest in a bone crushing hug. Kurt
laughed into his shoulder, palm pressed against Sebastian’s thudding heart – it was racing faster than
Kurt’s own.
“I – how?” Sebastian asked when he pulled back. “Did something trigger it or -”
“That song,” Kurt said. “It was playing while when we were -” he paused, tripping over the words having
sex before he realized that there was no point hiding them from Sebastian. It wasn’t like this was a fantasy
he wanted to keep a secret. Sebastian had been a willing participant in the activities, even without Kurt
telling him, he’d know exactly what had happened so he shook his head imperceptibly and said, “ – while
we were having sex and I guess the music and the sight of the couch kind of put two and two together in
my brain.”
Sebastian was staring at him, eyes flickering over every inch of his face and excitement thrumming through
his body. “Kurt,” he said in an almost whisper, reaching up to cup Kurt’s face with both his hands. “Kurt,”
It might have been that they both moved together or that one of them made the first move and the other
followed – however it happened, the next second Kurt found his lips pressed against Sebastian’s, their
mouths slick from the beer Sebastian had been drinking and the chapstick Kurt had applied. The hands on
his face pulled him in closer as their lips met again and again. Kurt fisted his fingers in Sebastian’s shirt as
his lips parted under the soft lick of Sebastian’s tongue. The warmth of it in Kurt’s mouth made his head
spin a little with the familiarity of it all but he only got two glorious strokes of it against his own before
Sebastian was pulling back and bundling him into another hug, clutching fistfuls of his t-shirt as he pulled
him closer, still.
“First you remember us fighting and now you remember us having sex,” he said in between small laughs.
“You don’t do things halfway do you?”
Kurt pulled his arm free from where it was trapped between their bodies and wrapped it around
Sebastian’s back. The familiar scent of his body wash hit him strongly when Kurt turned his face into
Sebastian’s neck and smiled against his skin.
“Apparently not.”
Chapter 31
Meeting your partner’s parents for the first time was simply put - nerve wracking.
Kurt remembered the night he had been introduced to Blaine’s family as The Boyfriend shortly after
Regionals. He’d been nauseous throughout the hours leading up to the meeting despite the fact that it
wasn’t the first time he was going to meet the Andersons. He’d met Blaine’s parents countless times while
he and Blaine had been hanging out after school before they’d started dating. That particular night,
however had led to a drastic shift in the mood between the four of them. It hadn’t been unwelcoming or
unpleasant by any means but Kurt had definitely felt awkward, like he was under the critical observation of
both Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, giving a test he didn’t know the criteria to pass.
Looking back now, Kurt decided he would gladly go through a hundred similarly awkward dinners rather
than face the prospect of brunch with Nicole Smythe. At least with the Andersons, they had been on the
same page. Today’s meeting promised nothing but an unfair distribution of knowledge. Nicole and
Sebastian would have years of knowing Kurt under their belts. Kurt, on the other hand, didn’t have the
faintest clue how to act around his mother-in-law.
Mother-in-law
There was no other way to think of it. He couldn’t think of her as Mrs. Smythe or Nicole or anything except
his mother-in-law.
He had tried and failed to convince himself it would just be like meeting the Andersons – he’d dress his
best, be his charming, well behaved self and assure them of how much he liked their son but no matter
how hard he tried, he just couldn’t bring himself to accept that it would be as easy. For one, he and
Sebastian weren’t just boyfriends, they were – they were a whole mess of complications. For another, this
was a woman he was seeing for the first time had probably already seen Kurt in ‘parent pleasing mode’
more than once. Maybe they had long since moved past all the formalities and started to act more like a
permanent family as opposed to temporary guests in each other’s lives.
Oh god, what if Nicole knew some horribly embarrassing things about him? What if she and Burt had
drunkenly exchanged baby stories about their kids and she knew all about the time Kurt had smeared his
mother’s lipstick on his eyelids in place of eye shadow? Or the time when he’d wet his pants on the way
back from a scary Halloween movie special in third grade? What if she had seen Kurt drunk? Kurt didn’t
even remember the last time he’d touched alcohol, what he was like when he was drunk? From what he
remembered, when he wasn’t feeling sick to his stomach, being intoxicated made him horny. So, so horny.
Shit.
“Okay,” Kurt whispered to the racks of clothes staring back at him from inside his closet. “Calm down. Stop
overthinking.”
Sorting through the selection of shirts calmed him for a bit but barely a few minutes later he was right back
to where he’d started.
Perhaps if he had a bit more of a grasp on his memories, he would feel confident enough to play along as if
everything were normal like he had with Paulo but the only things Kurt remembered were his accident,
fighting with Sebastian and having sex with Sebastian - and okay, no. That last train of thought was not
doing him any good right now.
He’d replayed the memory of shoving Sebastian’s RIP file under the cushions over and over again in his
head just to feel the rush of relief at being able to remember something. But things had progressed to
awkward really fast when every ounce of force Kurt put into remembering more only served to clarify the
exact details of the sounds Sebastian had made when Kurt had slowly peeled off his clothes or how Kurt
had been able to take all of Sebastian into his mouth – something that had distracted him from his
discomfort because wow, he hadn’t been aware he could do that - he and Blaine had still been new to sex,
still in the process of testing things out one by one...
“Stop it,” he said, the words echoing around the silence of his room. His train of thought cut off abruptly at
his admonishment, leaving Kurt’s mind blissfully blank for a few seconds until once again, the nervousness
overtook him. Kurt didn’t succumb to it this time but squared his shoulders and focused more intently on
the clothes at hand. There was no way out of this meeting even though he had half a mind to feign sickness
and force Sebastian to cancel. His accident had given him plenty of difficult situations to deal with, a simple
meeting with someone who was supposed to be part of his family was definitely something Kurt could
handle.
When he walked out into the lounge half an hour later, Sebastian was talking to someone on his phone, his
jaw set tight. “Yeah, whatever.” he said, eyes flickering up to see Kurt. His expression didn’t soften as he
swept his gaze over Kurt’s attire; he seemed too preoccupied with the person on the other end. “Just be
there, okay?”
“Who was that?” Kurt asked when Sebastian cut the call and slipped the phone into his jeans pocket.
“Blaine,” Sebastian said flatly. “Maman asked me to invite him and we're going to have to pick Burt up on
the way too. ”
“Well that’s good - right?”
“Sure,” Sebastian said but his voice was clipped.
“That doesn’t sound very convincing.”
“Well I’m sorry,” Sebastian snapped. “But it’s not like my opinion makes a difference here.”
“You don’t want Blaine to come?”
“Oh I’d love if Blaine came,” Sebastian said, voice dripping with sarcasm as he headed towards the
bedroom. “I’m sure you would to.”
Kurt frowned, following him. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” Sebastian said, pulling off his wrinkled white t-shirt and throwing it aside. It landed haphazardly
around a pair of summer sandals near the bookshelf. Kurt’s frown deepened, he didn’t even get the chance
to appreciate how Sebastian was now walking around the room completely shirtless because he was too
annoyed to take notice.
“Is this about yesterday?” Kurt asked.
There was a scoff from inside the closet but no reply.
Kurt sighed and turned around, picking up Sebastian’s shirt from the floor and folding it over the loveseat
near the window. He had an inkling Sebastian’s attitude wasn’t just because of Blaine. Sebastian had been
snippy ever since last night when he’d realized that they were still supposed to sleep in separate
bedrooms.
Their kiss had been something that had happened in the heat of the moment – Kurt had felt too
overwhelmed with emotions at the time to think clearly and he didn’t regret it, per say, he just wished
Sebastian would understand that he needed a little time to straighten things out and ending up curled
around each other in bed wasn’t going to help.
For all the patience Sebastian had shown so far, Kurt could see how his desperation to get ‘old Kurt’ back
one hundred percent was starting to seep through his cool exterior. He couldn’t blame him for wanting his
husband back, but he also couldn’t stand around and deal with Sebastian acting like a petulant child and
putting words in his mouth.
He moved to back out of the room, wait in the lounge until Sebastian calmed down and was ready to leave
when Sebastian walked out of the closet wearing a slim fit blue shirt and a fresh pair of dark jeans. His eyes
were looking everywhere except at Kurt but when they fell on the floor next to bed, he froze. Kurt followed
his gaze to see what he was looking at but Sebastian moved in front of him, blocking his view.
“What?” Kurt asked as Sebastian bent down to pick something up from the ground.
Sebastian turned around, his expression hard. “What’s this doing on the floor?”
Kurt’s stomach lurched at the sight of his wedding band held precociously between Sebastian’s thumb and
forefinger. He must’ve accidentally dropped it while taking out his wallet and watch from the drawer
earlier. “I -” he started but Sebastian cut him off.
“I know you don’t care about this marriage but you can at least have the decency to respect how much
these rings cost and not go around throwing them all over the place.”
“You think I threw that on purpose?” Kurt asked, his voice rising.
“What’s it doing on the floor then?”
“It was an accident.”
Sebastian scoffed and turned his back to Kurt. “Sure,” he said in the same clipped tone he’d used a while
ago.
Kurt was seconds away from stepping forward and slapping him but he curled his hands into fists and took
a deep breath. “Whatever is going on inside you head, stop taking it out on me.”
“Oh that’s rich, coming from you.” Sebastian said, dropping the ring into the drawer and nudging it shut
with his hip. He stormed past Kurt without looking at him and this time, Kurt didn’t attempt to calm
himself down before he stalked after him.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ve been taking your shit for days without a word and the second I have a problem, I have to
shut up because your delicate little head can’t take it.”
“What is your problem?!”
“My problem is that you can’t seem to make up your mind on what you want from me here. One second
you’re crying into my shoulder, then you’re kissing me and suddenly you’re pushing me away when I try to
sleep with you. Sleep, Kurt. All I wanted was to sleep in the same bed as my husband and you cranked up a
story about how you weren’t ready for that yet. Jesus Christ, it wasn’t like I was trying to fucking rape you!”
Kurt stared at him speechlessly. All the retorts he'd had in his head a second ago had vanished into thin air,
leaving anger, hurt and humiliation swirling inside him in their wake. Sebastian was breathing heavily in
front of him, no trace of guilt on his face and when Kurt didn’t say anything for a few long seconds, he
muttered, “Forget it” and turned away again.
He should have said something, Kurt knew he should have said something. Shouted at Sebastian, acted on
his desire to slap him but he stood rooted to the spot even as the loud echo of one of their cell phones
ringing broke through the silence like a sharp knife.
Of all the times he had turned to Sebastian for help, never had he felt so conscious about it. There had
always been gentleness to Sebastian’s touch, patience and an underlying promise that he would stick with
Kurt for however long it took for him to get used to things, that it was okay if he wanted to lean on
Sebastian for support. Now he made it sound like it was something he’d only been putting up with, not an
action that held any traces of genuine care.
This side of Sebastian, the side that had the power to hurt Kurt so viciously with just words was something
Kurt had almost forgotten about. Maybe it’s what made everything hurt so much more because the boy he
had started to trust so completely had turned on him and thrown all his vulnerabilities in his face like they
were problems Kurt was creating on purpose.
“What?” Sebastian snarled in lieu of a greeting when he answered his phone but his tone immediately
softened. “Yes, Maman we’re on our way.”
Kurt didn’t hear the rest of the conversation but when Sebastian looked to him and said, “Let’s go” he
shook his head.
“No.”
“No?”
“I’m not going.”
“What the fuck do you mean you’re not going?”
“I mean you can go to this stupid brunch on your own while I stay home and nurse my delicate head.”
Sebastian glared at him. “Don’t be like this. Not now.”
“I can save it for later, if you’d like. It’s not like my condition is going to magically change in a few hours.”
“Look, whatever your issues are -”
“My issues?!” Kurt was shouting now but he didn’t care. “Yes, Sebastian they’re my issues because I’m the
one who got his head smashed in an accident or have you forgotten that little fact?”
“You’re not the only one dealing with the repruccussions of -”
“No, but I think struggling to rediscover yourself with a ten year memory lapse is a tiny bit harder than not
getting laid for a month.”
Sebastian’s face twisted into another scowl at that. “This isn’t about sex!” he yelled. He was about to add
something else but the phone rang in his hand again and he huffed in frustration, glancing down at the
caller ID. “It’s Burt,” he said. “Here. Explain your change of mind. I’ll just go tell Maman to chuck all the
food in the dumpsters, then.”
He tossed the phone to Kurt, who by some miracle managed to react fast enough to catch it in his hand.
“Hello?” Kurt said, his voice raspy from shouting.
“Hey, kiddo. How long are you and Sebastian gonna take? I’ve been ready for ages.”
“We’re -” Kurt looked at Sebastian who was no longer staring at Kurt but leaning by the window, palm
pressed flat to his glass. “We got caught up with something.” He said quickly. Burt’s voice was too cheerful,
Kurt didn’t have the energy to tell him what was really happening. “We’re just about to leave.”
“Give me a call when you get here, I’ll come out.”
“Okay,” Kurt said, forcing some expression into his voice. “See you soon, dad.”
“Oh so we’re going now?” Sebastian said when Kurt started towards the door without a word.
“I didn’t want to ruin his good mood.”
“So when it comes to your parents, we have to do everything to ensure they’re fine and dandy but a
second ago you were perfectly content with ruining my mother’s good mood.”
Kurt rounded on him the second the elevator doors slid shut. “If we’re doing this, then this bitch act needs
to stop right now. I’m meeting your mother for the first time and I’m not going to let you ruin things by
acting like an asshole so just – don’t talk to me at all.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
The car ride to Burt’s hotel was silent but filled with tension. It cackled around them, almost a visible
presence. Burt felt it immediately because the second he slid into the backseat, he frowned and asked,
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Kurt said, turning to look at his dad between the front seats and plastering what he hoped was a
convincing smile on his face. “How are you doing?”
“I’m great,” Burt said. “Hungry as hell. Haven’t touched a thing since Nic called this morning.”
Kurt gave him another smile before turning back to the front. His anger at Sebastian had dissipated,
replaced by the nerves from before and he spent the rest of the drive fidgeting with his hands and staring
out the window. He caught Sebastian glancing at him a few times but neither of them said anything until
they pulled up in front of a low rise apartment some twenty minutes later.
“You look like you’re walking to your death,” Sebastian whispered, walking round the car just as Kurt got
out of the passenger seat. “You weren’t even this nervous when you gave her a job interview.”
“What?” Kurt said, tearing his gaze away from the building to look at Sebastian.
“Nothing,” Sebastian said but the look on his face gave away that it was definitely not nothing.
“Job interview?” Kurt pressed as they climbed the steps to the front door. “Why would I give your mother
a job interview?” Burt rang the doorbell while Sebastian continued to ignore Kurt, hands shoved into his
pocket. “Sebastian, answer my -”
The front door opened, interrupting Kurt’s demand and drawing his eyes to the woman framed in the
doorway. She was stunning. Kurt took a moment to just stare at her while she greeted the two men in
front of him.
Her dark hair was twisted up into an elegant bun at the top of her head, only a short fringe left free to
brush the top of her eyebrows. Her face was fresh, highlighted by the faintest brush of eyeliner and lipstick
and when she smiled, there were dimples on either side of her cheek exactly the kind that Sebastian would
get. The resemblance between mother and son was actually startling. The only noticeable difference was
how Nicole’s eyes were a shade darker than Sebastian’s but they still glowed with warmth as she beamed
up at her son.
It was when Kurt looked at the deep blue frock she wearing, belted around her middle and paired with a
simple pearl necklace that everything suddenly clicked in his head.
Nicole S. - the employer listed on his Facebook – was Nicole Smythe.
The knowledge that this woman owned a designer label to her name and that Kurt worked for her hit him
like a ton of bricks, stunning him into silence for the second time that morning until she stepped forward to
hug him and Kurt blurted out, “You’re my boss.”
It was worse than any first introduction he had imagined. Burt chuckled behind her back, Sebastian just
stared at him with a blank expression but Nicole smiled, albeit looking a bit confused as she shook her
head and cupped his face tenderly.
“No, honey.” She said with the faintest hint of a French accent. “Not today. I’m just Nicole for now.” Kurt
nodded jerkily, cheeks flaming with heat but when Nicole pulled him into a hug, he felt the embarrassment
melt away in favor of a flash of nostalgia. She cradled his head, squeezing him close and her perfume
smelled almost as comforting as Sebastian’s body wash. “Oh honey,” she said softly. “I have missed you so
much.”
Kurt didn’t know how to respond. He couldn’t exactly say I missed you too, when this was his first meeting
with her. When they pulled away, Nicole’s eyes were glazed with tears but she gave a small laugh and
wiped delicately at the corner of her eye with a knuckle.
“Sorry,” she said. “Its just that I’ve been thinking about you every day since the accident and Sebastian
wouldn’t let me speak to you and now you’re here...” she trailed off, taking a deep breath and giving Kurt a
watery smile. “How are you?” she asked in a voice that was filled with nothing but honest concern.
“I’m good,” Kurt said with a smile. The Carole-like motherly affection that was emanating from this woman
put him at ease. “I don’t know if Sebastian’s told you but I’ve started remembering a few things here and
there.” He was hoping he wouldn’t be pushed into giving details but at least this was better than saying I’m
frustrated because I just remembered that your son is a dick and he hurt me more than I want to let him
see.
“No, as a matter of fact he hasn't said anything,” Nicole said, giving Sebastian a disapproving look over her
shoulder before stepping aside. “Come in, we’ll be more comfortable when we’re not standing in the
entryway.”
Sebastian refused to make eye contact with him as they walked down the hall but Kurt couldn’t have cared
less about him in the moment. He was suddenly self conscious of his choice of clothing for today. He was
wearing a double collar cuff dress shirt with a gray vest, a simple yet tasteful outfit but the sudden
awareness of the fact that this woman leading him into her drawing room was probably a critical
appreciator of fashion made his outfit feel boring.
The drawing room was connected to a dining room where a large table was already half laid out. A woman
in a maid’s uniform was setting down a pitcher of juice next to some crystal cut glasses when they walked
in. Nicole introduced her as Moira.
“I wasn’t able to put together everything for today’s brunch on my own, Moira’s helped a great deal.”
“Always a pleasure, Madame.”
Nicole touched her arm and gave her a fond smile. “Don’t bring out anything else until Blaine gets here.
Sebastian, call and ask him where he is will you?”
“I’ll do it.” Kurt said quickly. He caught the way Sebastian’s jaw tightened at that but he really wanted an
excuse to escape for a few moments and this was the perfect getaway. He took a minute to clear his head
once he was in the hallway away, digest the sudden information about his dual relationship with Nicole
before he pulled out his phone and dialed Blaine’s number.
Blaine answered on the third ring, already rambling, “I’m almost there. I’m almost there, I’m almost
there!”
Kurt smiled, “Hurry up. We’re waiting for you.”
Blaine’s arrival seemed to simultaneously lighten the mood and make it tenser, if that was even possible.
Burt and Nicole looked happy to see him but Sebastian barely gave him a nod of acknowledgment as he sat
down. He wasn’t talking to anyone, choosing instead to stare at the arm of his chair, bouncing his fist off
the twisted handle as if it was the most fascinating thing ever. Blaine cast Kurt a questioning look but Kurt
shook his head and turned to Nicole, trying his hardest to ignore Sebastian’s presence altogether.
Nicole was easy to talk to, once Kurt stopped letting his inhibitions get the best of him. In the end, it didn’t
seem to matter whether she was his mother in law or employer or a random woman on the street. There
was a sense of comfort Kurt got from being around her that dispelled any awkwardness he had been
anticipating. She asked him about the flashbacks he had and Kurt told her as briefly as he could about
remembering ‘a few interactions’ with Sebastian and the accident itself. When she asked if Sebastian was
taking good care of him (“Not that you can’t take perfectly good care of yourself, honey but still...”) Kurt
forced a smile and said, “Yes.”
From the corner of his eye he could see how Sebastian scowled down at his fist.
Nicole noticed her son’s mood eventually but when she asked him if everything was okay, Sebastian stood
Дата добавления: 2015-09-29; просмотров: 29 | Нарушение авторских прав
| <== предыдущая лекция | | | следующая лекция ==> |