Work Text:
Kurt had always loved bookstores. The atmosphere of the place, the smell of brand-new paper, leaf through the pages of a book which caught his attention, caress the front cover of a beautiful novel… Kurt loved it all. He had made the bookstore at the corner of his street his favorite place in New York, besides that amazing coffee shop on Myrtle Avenue.
On that Saturday morning, he finds himself scanning through the slightly dusty shelves of the bookstore, looking for the newest addition to his bookcase. He’s not looking for a particular book, or a particular author, but for the book which will catch his eye, for the summary which will speak to him. He has a soft spot for fantasy novel — he grew up with Harry Potter, after all — and he spots a blue cover with a floating island drawn on it, its title — The Mirror Visitor, A Winter’s Promise — spread across it on a white ribbon. His curiosity piqued, he takes the book in his hands and starts reading the summary. He’s halfway through it when a voice rises next to him, startling him.
“I strongly recommend it,” the owner of the voice says, showing the book with a tilt of his head.
Kurt turns to the man, a tall, slender figure in his mid-twenties, like him, with green eyes full of malice and a hairdo coming straight from a CW show, dressed all in preppy fashion. He’s handsome, Kurt first notices, and sports a soft smile, his lips stretching across his face to unveil white teeth. Kurt decides to ignore his outrageous sense of fashion and focuses on the book in his hand.
“I don’t know, it seems like your typical girl forced to marry a guy and finding love against all odds. It seems a bit cliché to me,” Kurt says.
“On the contrary,” the man says. “It’s set in a sort of steampunk universe, with a bit of old-fashioned customs like arranged marriage and women wearing only long dresses. The universe is very rich, the author writes beautiful descriptions and you can easily picture the scenes in your head. The characters are not stereotyped and are full of flaws, including the main one, Ophelia, but you slowly find yourself empathize with them. She has nothing for herself but slowly finds courage and herself throughout the book. It’s not a silly love story, it’s a book about family, trust, court schemes and treachery and a little bit of magic.”
Kurt looks at the man, wide-eyed and a little baffled and amused at the same time, a smile forming slowly on his lips as he listens to him, talking continuously about the book with such passion. His enthusiasm is a bit contagious and he’s adorable, babbling like this. He knows how to sell a book, more than its summary: Kurt suddenly wants to read the book if it can allow him to see and talk to the man again.
While he’s explaining to him the universe of the book while trying not to spoil anything, the man stops in his speech all of a sudden when he spots the look on Kurt’s face, and he blushes. He’s so nerdy it’s endearing, Kurt thinks.
“I’m rambling again, aren’t I?” he asks, his blush spreading across his cheeks, in full bashfulness. “I’m sorry, I tend to ramble about the things I like, and this saga is just amazing, I’ve read a volume a day, I couldn’t stop my reading, it was just so good,” he babbles, resuming his rambling.
Kurt keeps grinning and he feels a strange feeling in his stomach. This man is too adorable.
“Don’t apologize. It’s great to see people as passionate as you.”
The man grins as well. He looks at Kurt expectantly, like he’s waiting for him to do something. Kurt just stares at him for a few seconds, until he breaks the slowly-becoming awkward silence by shaking slightly the book in the air.
“You’ve convinced me,” he says. “I’ll take it.”
Before he turns to go to the cashier, he’s stopped by the man, holding out his hand midway between them.
“Wait,” he says, his grin becoming a bit smug. Kurt can’t help but think it looks unfairly attractive on him. “Can I get your number? After all, I want to know what you’ll think of it.”
It’s a lame excuse, Kurt knows it, but he can’t help but smile, flattered.
“Sure,” he nods.
He dictates his number to him while the man types it in his phone. A few seconds later, his phone buzzes in his pocket and Kurt retrieves it to look at the text he just sent him.
“I’m Sebastian.”
“Kurt.”