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“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…”
When Kurt glances over to the driver’s seat he catches the crease in Sebastian’s brow, all the frustration and, somehow, a look of earnest perplexity.
“Sebastian, you realise it rained for the last hour of the drive, right? I mean— I get it, this sucks, but we both very much expected it.”
Kurt’s explanation does little to smooth out that crease, but it does get Sebastian looking at him instead of the disappointing scene before them. His navigator, which Sebastian insisted on driving for the last leg of their lengthy journey, is parked on a small lot overlooking a picturesque sandy shore…
Which he’s sure would look divine if he could see through the sheets of rain bombarding the windshield. There’s something comforting about the constant heavy patter of it; he and Sebastian are fully protected from the rage of the storm, and knowing he’s protected from the storm makes it hard to be too grumpy about anything.
Sebastian, however, is scowling at the rain as though it made a conscious decision to ruin their fun. Kurt wants to ask why it’s gotten him so down, but it seems Sebastian can sense the worried eyes on him.
“I really wanted to do this one thing for you,” he began, his grip on the steering wheel slackening. “When you told me you’d never seen the ocean up close, it was like— ah-ha! That’s some rom-com material right there, you know? Something special that I could make happen… a real story for us to tell at dinner parties, or whatever. And now…” Sebastian gestured hopelessly ahead.
“Oh, Bas…” Kurt cooed, matching his pout in an act of solidarity. “I know, we came here on a mission. But I’d still call it a success! I mean, I can kind of see it… and what is rain anyway, if not relocated pieces of the ocean?”
Sebastian’s scowl deepens and then relaxes all at once into a quiet laugh. His head settles against the headrest, Kurt laces their fingers together, and the problem at hand seems much smaller all of a sudden.
Kurt knows his smile speaks through the silence; it must, because when Sebastian turns to face the fray again, his acceptance is a little less grim. Then, to Kurt’s immediate alarm, his eyebrows shoot up. Kurt can hear the cogs whirring behind them, and he hopes for the sake of his hairspray that what’s about to happen isn’t about to happen.
“You know,” Sebastian pipes up, while Kurt internally wished his impeccable hairstyle a fond farewell, “I’ve never seen rain on the beach before. Ever. I was always curious about it, though.”
Then, with all the subtlety of a child loudly proclaiming that they’ve never had the food you just so happen to be in the middle of eating before, Sebastian’s eyes flit to the side to meet Kurt’s. Now the acceptance is all grim, and it’s all his.
“I love you, Sebastian. And I hope—“
“—that I know I’m the luckiest man alive? Absolutely.”
Kurt wonders if the butterflies in his stomach are dreading the rain as much as he is, but whatever grievances he knows he’ll have later are numbed by the excitement with which Sebastian unbuckles his seatbelt. It’s infectious, and by the time Kurt braces himself to open the car door, he feels like it’ll be enough to keep them both warm.
The sound of the rain in full-force, splashing against the well-worn tarmac is far louder, but somehow no less comforting. Furious winds whip around him, but much like his first ever breath of coastal air Kurt finds it refreshing. It balances out the humidity, he thinks; if it wasn’t for the sea breeze on steroids the air would be sweltering and heavy. He looks first not to the water, but to Sebastian, who is the very picture of awe.
When Kurt reaches his side, he soon comes to understand why. They are a short walk and a steep descent away from the shore, but Kurt feels the force of each wave battering the sand, stretching thin until it seems to disappear altogether. It is constant and powerful, and the rhythm of it makes him aware of his breathing, the push and pull of being alive. A mist obscures their view of the horizon, but somehow, it makes the crashing waves feel like they come from much farther away, born from something infinite they could never hope to understand.
He wraps an arm around one of Sebastian’s, who he has never loved more. “Let’s go!” he calls out, over the roar of the tide and the relentless drumming of the rain.
Sebastian’s grin is exhilarated and exhilarating. “Are you sure?” he replies; Kurt is touched to think that just looking on from above with him is enough, but they’ve come this far. They might as well leave without any regrets.
In place of words Kurt joins their hands together, and leads him towards the nearby path. The sign pointing it out is wooden and shabby, each part shakes in the wind independent of the other, and brushing past it makes Kurt a little more empathetic to the adrenaline junkies of the world. Sebastian feels it too, he thinks, as they navigate the uneven trail down to where stone becomes sand. He doesn’t look back to check. The current in the air tells him all he needs to know.
Kurt’s first move is to take his shoes off. All the polishings in the world couldn’t fix them after sinking into the sand if he leaves them on, and he wants to know if it’s different to the kind he played in by lakes as a child.
He doesn’t, he rules, until Sebastian steps into his view, taking slow, reverent steps out onto the beach. That’s a game-changer. “Wait for me!” he exclaims, setting them aside in favour of catching up. Sebastian is ready and waiting, and when Kurt finds him through the downpour he is lifted up off of his feet. He laughs, he cries out, giddy, ecstatic, euphoric. Once he’s back on his feet they’re face to face, and while the rain makes it hard to stare, Kurt can’t bring himself to look away. Shivering, Kurt cups his cheek, while Sebastian moves to brush back the hairs that have fallen out of place over his forehead. It made no sense to not kiss.
The wind whips around them, the rain cascades against them, turning their skin slick and making their clothes stick. When they break apart they don’t move far. They rest their foreheads together, their noses brush side by side, and while he can hardly hear it Kurt can tell from the slight crease by Sebastian’s eyes that he’s laughing - they both are.
“I love you,” Sebastian says, taking Kurt’s breath away as simply as that. Kurt’s hand drops to Sebastian’s shoulder, he needs to stay close. His cheeks are flushed against the cold wind, his lashes cling together and his eyes shine. Droplets fall between them from Sebastian’s hair, softened by the deluge, bringing the vulnerability Kurt has come to love to the forefront alongside the sharp handsomeness of his features, his jawline, his cheekbones. He is enraptured, intoxicated, nothing could possibly tear him from that--
“Holy shit. ”
The rumble that splits the air between them drowns out the rain, the waves, and even the moment. Sebastian’s eyes are blown wide open, and Kurt’s pretty sure his own match. “Is that--”
“Thunder? Yeah, absolutely. Are we--”
“Running, yes, definitely.” Kurt grabbed Sebastian’s hand, his heart pounding against his chest and his feet pounding against the sand. He doesn’t look back, even when Sebastian slows behind him - he just gives a little tug, and they shoot off again.
Kurt doesn’t see the lightning, he’s busy trying to make sure he doesn’t fall flat on his face, but the flash is obvious. It’s far from the beach, but they’re still in the heart of the storm, and he would rather not risk Sebastian’s life for a few more kisses in the rain. They scramble up to the car, passing the sign that is now bent all the way back, close to buckling beneath the torrent. The sight makes Kurt hold his breath, as though that will keep him from the same fate.
As soon as his feet meet the tarmac once more Kurt scrambles for his keys, his fingers fumble in his pocket, but when he sees Sebastian tugging open the passenger side door he relaxes. Another rumble sounds overhead and Kurt wastes no time - he all but flings himself into the car, and when both the doors are shut he finally breathes again.
Neither of them are sat properly against their seats. Kurt slumps against the door, while Sebastian sprawls out over the dashboard. The world outside provides an aggressive ambience, and for a while the only other sound comes from the pair trying to catch their breath.
“I love you too, by the way,” Kurt pants, once he can think straight. “I forgot to say it, out there… on the beach. But I do.”
“I know. You know I know,” Sebastian replies between heavy breaths, grinning from ear to ear.
“Sebastian?” he says, turning to face him. Their chests heave and their bodies shake with every breath, still chilled from the wind. Sebastian turns to face him, beautiful as ever, his eyes lit up with hope. Kurt hates knowing that he’s about to ruin it. “...I left my shoes out there…”
Before Kurt can get to really whining about it Sebastian holds out a finger, silencing him while his free hand rummages beneath the seats. When he pulls it back up he wears the proudest look Kurt has ever seen on him, until the sodden shoes drip onto his lap. “Oh-- ew…”
Kurt laughs, and in a bout of gratitude and mercy he reaches over, saving Sebastian from any more sandy drips. “As icky and ruined as my shoes might be… I’m happy we did that,” he says, because he feels like scratching the surface of how much he appreciates Sebastian - and lessening the following blow. “I can’t drive in these shoes though, which means we have to switch...”
“And go back out there?” Sebastian arches a brow, jabbing a thumb at the window behind him. “No way. Not happening - but could I perhaps propose an alternative?”
“I know where this is going…”
“What? You don’t know that. I could be about to say anything,” Sebastian protests, brushing his hair back from his face.
“But it’s making out in the back seat,” Kurt says, with a playful roll of his eyes.
“You said it, not me,” Sebastian rebuts quickly, with a mischievous grin that Kurt admittedly would love to kiss away. That urge somehow doubles as Sebastian slowly lowers his seat, wiggling his eyebrows at Kurt all the while.
“And if we get struck by lightning?” Kurt asks, already clambering across the console into his lap.
“Eh,” Sebastian shrugs, bringing his hands up to Kurt’s waist. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”