(A/N: A new AU story! This story will follow Blaine and Sebastian, living very different lives than their canon counterparts. Blaine was kidnapped as a child and Sebastian was taken in by the same man. Now, years later, they're still alive and closer than brothers, looking out for each other, knowing there is no way out.)
Blaine sat, crouched against the brick wall on the dimly lit street. It was dusk, the sun dipping into the sky behind the tall buildings of New York City. He rubbed his hands together, blowing on them a few times to warm them. He glanced into the dark alley just behind him, wishing Sebastian would hurry it up so they could go. He hated hanging out on this street; it was the way people looked at him when he was here. He was just digging in his pockets for the pack of gum he'd stolen earlier when two very polished brown shoes came to a stop right in front of him. Blaine paused, staring at them. The owner of the shoes leaned down slowly, crouching so that he was almost eye to eye with Blaine.
"Hey there, kid." he said, his voice was welcoming in the most un-welcoming of ways. Blaine turned towards the alley again, but by the sound of it, Sebastian was still busy.
"Hey." he finally said to the waiting man. The man had on a nice suit and tie, but not expensively nice. He smiled at Blaine, his hand coming to rest on his knee.
"You hang out here a lot?" he asked.
Blaine shrugged, wishing he'd go away.
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen." Blaine lied, not really knowing why. The man chuckled.
"You don't have to lie to me, kid." he said knowingly, "I don't care if you're not eighteen yet."
"Listen-" Blaine started, but was cut off as the man was roughly pushed back by someone from behind Blaine. Blaine turned around to see Sebastian standing there, a furious look on his face as the man in the suit toppled over.
"Hey, back off, fucker!" Sebastian snapped, "He's not for sale." He reached down and grabbed Blaine by the arm, jerking him behind him, ignoring Blaine's protests about being manhandled. Sebastian crossed his arms as he faced Mr. Suit, his glare practically searing.
"Listen, I was just talking to the kid." the man said defensively, glaring at Sebastian as he stood up, "Why don't you mind your own business."
"I know what you were fucking doing!" Sebastian yelled, "And now I'm telling you to back the fuck off before I call the goddamn cops." The man hurried back at that, but not before giving Sebastian and Blaine one last hateful look.
"If you're not selling anything I suggest you get the fuck off this street." the man said before quickly turning the corner and disappearing. As soon as he was gone, Sebastian turned on Blaine.
"I told you to come get me if anyone tried anything." he said, knocking Blaine lightly in the shoulder.
"You were busy." Blaine mumbled, folding his arms as he jerked his head indicatively towards the alley, "And he really was just talking to me."
"Blaine, we both know what that creep wanted." Sebastian growled as he turned his attention to the money sticking out of his back pocket. He thumbed through the crumpled bills before looking back up at Blaine, "How much did you make today?" Blaine looked down, a bit embarrassed.
"I uh…" he reached for his own pocket, pulling out a few small bills and coins in a plastic bag, "…I kind of fell asleep earlier at the park. I didn't get a chance to do much begging…and when I was asleep some guy stole what I had made before." Sebastian looked angry at first, before rolling his eyes with a sigh.
"This is why I can't leave you alone. If you slept at the apartment, this wouldn't happen." Sebastian said, though he knew full well why Blaine hadn't slept last night, "You're lucky I made enough money today to cover both your ass and mine." he handed Blaine a portion of his money.
"Thanks." Blaine mumbled, taking the money.
They started walking down the street, quickly leaving behind those who stayed back, in their tight and revealing clothing, bodies lazily leaning against the rundown buildings, the air thick with cigarette smoke.
"Stop walking so slow."
Blaine felt Sebastian take his hand and the older boy began dragging him further away with a steadier stride. Blaine looked back over his shoulder at the street which by now had one of the worst reputations in the city. He didn't go there often, Sebastian usually told him to wait for him in one of the nearby parks until he was finished and could come and get him. One of the older boys leaning against the wall caught Blaine's eye and he winked with a smirk. Blaine turned back to Sebastian.
"Does Neil know that you still do that?" Blaine asked Sebastian as they walked, finally turning a corner that left behind Peony Street. Sebastian shrugged as he tugged Blaine across a street, flipping off a driver who honked at them.
"Neil doesn't give a flying fuck what I do." Sebastian said, "As long as I make money." They had reached a dingy corner grocery by now and Sebastian jogged a few feet to catch the closing door as a customer hurried out. He held it for Blaine as he hurried the other boy inside. The cashier nodded at them as the little bells jingled above their heads as they entered. Blaine smiled at him.
"Hey Thad!" he walked over to the counter as Sebastian murmured something about frozen dinners.
"Hey there, Little Blainers." Thad said, smirking as he reached over the counter to ruffle Blaine's hair, "Busy night?"
"Nah, me and Seb are just picking up dinner." Blaine said, smacking Thad's hands away.
"It better not be from here unless you jerks have real money tonight." Thad said, raising his voice as he looked over at Sebastian who was rifling through one of the freezers, "I'm not taking anymore IOUs!" he called, this time directly at Sebastian, who just waved him off before flipping him the bird as he continued picking out frozen foods.
"Seb has money tonight." Blaine said as Sebastian came towards them, about seven frozen dinners in his arms. Thad raised an eyebrow at Blaine.
"Oh, Seb has money tonight?" he asked, "Wouldn't be from something he did on Peony street, would it?" he made a crude gesture with his hand and Sebastian glared at him, smacking him on the head.
"Shut the fuck up, Thad." Sebastian said, throwing the boxed dinners at him to scan. Thad chuckled as he started scanning their items. Sebastian was just pulling out his pack of smokes when he felt Blaine nudge him slightly. He turned to the younger boy who pointed inconspicuously at one of the candy bars on the counter. Sebastian rolled his eyes, picking up the bar.
"Hey, can he have this?" he asked Thad, showing him the candy bar. Thad waved his hand as he continued scanning items.
"Yeah, yeah whatever, but don't expect free candy every time you come here, kid." he said to Blaine.
"Cool, thanks!" Blaine grinned as Sebastian tossed him the chocolate bar.
"Aren't you guys sick of TV dinners?" Thad asked as he packed up their meals into a plastic bag, giving Sebastian the change.
"Sometimes we get ramen noodles instead." Blaine offered, shrugging.
"Pitiful." Thad shook his head, handing Sebastian the bag. Sebastian took it and strolled out without another word to Thad. The two were supposedly best friends, but sometimes Blaine didn't see how. He thanked Thad again for the candy before jogging after Sebastian.
"Hey, wait up!" he called.
"Why don't you just keep up?" Sebastian barked over his shoulder, though his pace slowed slightly. Blaine rolled his eyes.
"Someone's in a bad mood." he said as Sebastian sent him another glare. He wasn't surprised really, Sebastian was always like this after whatever it was that he did on Peony street. Blaine had never summed up the nerve to ask for details.
"Hey, why don't you eat that candy bar I got you and shut up." Sebastian snapped irritably.
"Actually, Thad gave it to me." Blaine mumbled under his breath, but started unwrapping the chocolate anyway. They walked about half the block in silence until Blaine broke off a piece of chocolate and offered it to Sebastian. Sebastian snatched the chocolate and popped it into his mouth, his face still scrunched into a deep frown.
"Just trying to be nice." Blaine mumbled, crossing his arms after chucking the left over wrapper into a trashcan on the sidewalk. Sebastian dropped the frown and chuckled after studying Blaine's sulking face. He threw his arm around the shorter boy, bringing him close to his side.
"Thanks, Blainers. I know how much you hate sharing." he laughed. A few blocks later and they were walking up the steps to a hideously rundown apartment, squashed in the background of New York's tourist front. Blaine took the grocery bag as Sebastian fished around in his pockets for the key.
Inside, the apartment was small and dingy. It had a combination living, dining and kitchen area, one bedroom (reserved for Neil) and a bathroom. The living room and kitchen were separated only by a sorry excuse for a couch and a line where cracked tile turned to stained carpet. The couch's fabric was worn, stained and torn with the stuffing and springs sticking out. One of the cushions was held together by silver duct tape. The carpet in front was even filthier with five sleeping bags crammed across it. A battered television sat in the deep windowsill across from the couch, the screen flickered and the sound crackled.
The apartment was meant for one person, two at the most, but Neil had anywhere from 3-8 of them living there at a time. Besides, Neil, Blaine and Sebastian, there were currently four other boys living in the apartment, Nick, Jeff, Simon and Dexter. Nick and Jeff were around Blaine's age, 16 or 17, out of the three of them none knew their exact birthdays. Nick and Jeff had been staying with them about eight months now which was pretty long for the boys Neil took in. Simon and Dexter were younger, 14 and 13 and had only been with them about three months.
"Hey, we're back." Sebastian called as he and Blaine came in. The four boys turned around from where they had been sitting watching TV. They nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to whatever they had been watching. Blaine put the grocery bag on the kitchen counter before hopping over to the couch to join the others, burrowing himself between Nick and Jeff. Sebastian set to work microwaving the frozen dinners, wishing he'd gotten ramen noodles instead.
"Um…Sebastian?"
Sebastian looked down, not realizing Simon had been standing there. At least three years older than the others, Sebastian was taller than all of them, Simon especially.
"What's up?" he asked.
"I uh…I…I didn't make what Neil told me to today…a-and the others only made just enough to cover themselves…do you think you could uh…"
"Help me put dinner on the table and I'll sport you the difference." Sebastian said, patting the kid on the head. He breathed a sigh of relief and he nodded eagerly, rushing to the drawer to grab whatever forks and spoons he could find.
"Food's on the table!" Sebastian called, sliding the last frozen dinner tray on the rickety table, which matched the rest of the apartment in 'nearly-broken-but-still-kind-of-usable' style. A few crates were set around the table for chairs. The other boys hopped over the couch, starving as they scrambled to the table. They all ate in silence for a while, the only sound the bad-mannered slurps and smacks as they ate. About five minutes later the door kicked open, Neil walking in.
"Food's in the microwave." Sebastian told him, not bothering to look up from his own meal.
"Yeah, alright." Neil said, he absent mindedly reached for Blaine, his hand tangling in the dark curls. He pressed a kiss to the boy's temple before heading towards the kitchen. Blaine didn't seem to even notice as he continued eating. Nick and Jeff looked slightly uncomfortable, but they had stopped commenting a while ago and they averted their eyes back to their meals.
Neil was the man that had taken them all in. He had taken in Nick and Jeff and then Simon and Dexter, finding them all at some point on the streets of New York City, starving and lonely. Sebastian and Blaine he had picked up a long time ago. Sebastian didn't know much if anything about where Blaine came from, only that he was with Neil when Neil had found him, in Westerville, Ohio when he was 10 and Blaine had been 7.
"You boys meet the day's target?" Neil asked as he came back into the room with his food. The boys quickly began digging in their pockets, throwing whatever they'd earned or stolen on the table. Neil set his food down and gathered the bills first and scooped the coins into a jar. He quickly counted the bills and nodded, "Good job boys." he said, pocketing the money, "Go watch TV or something." by now they'd all finished and they hurried to the kitchen to throw away the trash and get back to the couch, eager to stay out of Neil's way. Sebastian remained behind, staring listlessly at his food, knowing Neil would want to talk to him.
"So what'd you and Blaine do today?" Neil asked, the question standard.
"Went to the park, Blaine sang some songs for money. I pick-pocketed a few people and made up some sob-stories. Then we went to the corner grocery and got dinner." Sebastian said. He didn't dare mention anything about Peony street.
"Is Blaine doing alright, not sick again is he?" Neil asked, his eyes drifting towards the aforementioned boy, who was giggling at some story Nick and Jeff were telling. Blaine had gotten sick about two weeks ago, a really bad cold which had turned to the flu. Neil had cooed over him and kept him in bed, snapping at anyone who tried to get near him. Sebastian had been the only one allowed to help take care of him.
"Blaine's fine, no more coughing or anything." Sebastian said. The older man's eyes continued to linger on Blaine.
"That's good." he said. They were silent again save for the soft hum of the TV and the even softer hum of the boys quietly talking to each other from the couch. Sebastian sometimes thought about leaving. He thought about it less now than he used to, but he still thought about it. He was 19, old enough to make it on his own somehow. He had a small amount of money saved from his Peony street excursions, which he kept hidden from Neil. Living in New York was expensive though, and it was already taking all of their efforts combined to keep the cramped, dingy apartment they had now. Sebastian couldn't imagine ever making enough on his own to survive and he'd rather stay with Neil than hit the streets every night. But that wasn't the only thing keeping him from leaving. Maybe he could survive on the streets and fend for himself, but he could never leave Blaine. He'd been taking care of Blaine for as long as he could remember. He'd be lying if he said his world didn't revolve around the younger boy. If it was up to him, he would've taken Blaine and left long ago. But it wasn't up to him. It was up to Neil—and if there was only one thing in the world that Neil would never give up, it was Blaine.
(A/N: Thank you for reading, if you have any questions, feel free to ask)
