Pairing: Kurtbastian
Words: 990
Genre: general
Rating: K
Summary: New York AU: established Kurtbastian – Kurt tries not to expect too much from Sebastian. A little domestic happens. Written for the '30 words - 30 days' challenge, word of the day: 'sinewy'.

Expectations

"Well, remind me to never go there again," Sebastian drawled as they walked out of the restaurant.

Kurt followed, shrugging into his jacket, and frowned a little. "Didn't you like it?" he asked.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Service was slow, my steak was totally sinewy, and my wine had a fruit fly in it. Worst dinner I've had in a while."

Kurt let out a little sigh. "Yeah, ok. But I thought maybe the company would have made up for some of that." He offered his boyfriend a small smile.

Sebastian smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were asking for my opinion, not fishing for compliments," he said off-handedly, hailing a cab.

A flicker of hurt passed through Kurt's eyes and his smile tightened. "I wasn't," he replied quietly. As Sebastian got into the cab, leaving the door open for him to follow, something snapped inside of Kurt. "You really have no idea what today is, do you?" he asked, slamming the door of the cab closed behind him with more force than necessary.

Sebastian looked a little taken aback by his sudden outburst. "What?"

"It's our anniversary." Kurt felt a little hollow as he said it. The evening had been a disaster. Sebastian had been quiet and pensive and none of Kurt's attempts to cheer him up had worked. Not even the wine did, as Sebastian refused to have any more after finding the fly in his glass. And now he was giving Kurt his look, the one Kurt remembered from high school, that was somewhere between pity and disappointment. It instinctively made Kurt want to shrink a little, to occupy less space – for which he then compensated by bolstering himself up and going into attack mode. He had done enough self-effacement for Blaine, and Sebastian was the last person on earth he'd give the satisfaction of besting him. "I guess that's not important to you."

"Kurt, we talked about this," Sebastian reminded him, his tone only a breath away from being condescending, "when we got together, I told you I'm not the kind of guy who buys you flowers or remembers the birthdays of your friends or-"

"I know that," Kurt cut him off. "And I'm not asking you to do anything special-"

"No, you're not asking. You never ask. But you're disappointed anyway," Sebastian finished. Before Kurt could protest, he continued. "You think that because our anniversary isn't important to me, you are not important to me."

Kurt could feel tears starting to sting beneath his eyelids. He wished he could deny it. "Well, am I?" he asked quietly, hating how fragile his voice sounded.

Sebastian sighed. "Of course you are. You know that. But is not enough for you, is it? You want me to make a grand gesture. I've seen the look on your face when we watch those chick flicks. I know that's what you secretly think real love is like. Being with me is just settling for less. You might accept it because the sex is good-"

Kurt gasped, annoyance competing with hurt on his face. He glanced at their cabby, hoping he wouldn't break and throw them out in the middle of New York.

"But deep down inside you're still hoping that I will change. That if I socialise with you and your magical rainbow bunch long enough, I will turn into some kind of Disney prince. But that's not me, Kurt. What you see is what you get. I'm not a prince, and I'm not Blaine."

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE!" Kurt shouted, so frustrated he suddenly didn't care about their cabdriver overhearing them. Sebastian was looking at him with wide eyes, his nostrils flaring a little. Then Kurt remembered why he had invited Sebastian for dinner in the first place, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"Sebastian, I love you," he added, his voice steady once more. "I don't want you to change. But I can't change myself, either. I care about these things. I see the date on the calendar and it makes me happy because we're still together after all that time, against all odds, despite everyone telling us this wasn't going to last- because you make me happy. And I wanted to celebrate that tonight. Celebrate us." He chewed his lip for a moment. "I guess I was just disappointed about the restaurant too. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

Sebastian was silent for a moment. Then he shook his head. "No, it's okay. Anniversary or not, going out on a date with you should always be special. I'm sorry I didn't make you feel that way."

Kurt shrugged. It was too late to change it now. Sebastian was right. They never put dates like this in romantic movies. If they had, maybe his expectations would have been more realistic.

The cab halted in front of their apartment building. Sebastian paid the driver and followed Kurt inside. As Kurt turned the key in the lock, Sebastian put a hand on his arm.

"I do love you too, you know," he offered. Kurt smiled and nodded. He knew Sebastian meant it, in his own way, and that meant a lot more than presents or a serenade would have.

He pushed open the door, and an overwhelming scent of flowers wafted from the loft. Their entire room was filled with roses, with dozens of vases standing on every available surface, their blooms in numerous shades of pink and red. Kurt blinked.

"What-?" he stammered, lost for words.

"Happy anniversary, Kurt," Sebastian said, giving Kurt a look that was almost shy, like he was embarrassed at being caught doing something as romantic as this.

"Not a Disney prince, huh?" Kurt teased after finding his voice again.

Sebastian shrugged. "Figured I could make an exception once in a while. Don't get used to it, though."

Kurt laughed. "I wouldn't dare."