"Can we go to anuffa house Mista 'Bastian?"
Sebastian looks down as a small hand tugs on the sleeve of his costume. ("Sexy vampire," Sebastian had proudly announced to his boyfriend when he brought it home. "But that's exactly what you wore last year!" a dismayed Blaine protested. "I know. And I look damn good in it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, babe." Blaine just rolled his eyes.)
Sebastian glances over at Blaine, decked out in his homemade Sulu costume, walking a few paces behind. Blaine's own arms are full with a tuckered out little fairy princess. Sebastian catches his boyfriend's eye, and he gives Sebastian a "go-ahead" nod.
Turning back to the small Power Ranger at his side, Sebastian says, "Alright, one more house, Tiger, and then we gotta turn around and get you and your sister back home."
"Yay!" the four year old cries, and quickly scampers off down the street. Sebastian chuckles as the kid nearly topples over from the weight of his Halloween bag, bursting at the seams from a very successful night's haul.
"You're really great with him," he hears Blaine say. He turns to find that Blaine has closed the distance between them. "Both of them," Blaine adds, nodding to the sister. "Thanks for chaperoning with me tonight. I know you were nervous about this."
Sebastian looks away from Blaine, staring down the lamplit suburban road at nothing in particular. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"
"Mmhm, you can't lie to me, Smythe. Doesn't work anymore, not after all these years."
"I admit nothing," Sebastian grunts, ever stubborn. But Blaine just chortles. He's stubborn too.
The pair are quiet again as Blaine gently readjusts the toddler now drooling on his shoulder, being careful not to bend her glittery wings.
"So, humor me for a minute and let's just say you were nervous. Can I ask why?"
Sebastian doesn't answer right away. Partially because he wants to hold out as long as possible before conceding that Blaine was right, and partially because he needs some time to consolidate the emotions swirling inside him into coherent sentences.
The air is crisp, like a good autumn night should be. The houses that line the road they're on reverberate with the joyful shrieks of the neighborhood kids, and their windows glow with an inviting warmth. He can practically taste the apple cider, the pumpkin spice that he imagines must be waiting inside. Sebastian spent his entire childhood yearning for the extraordinary, for something more than boring old, midwestern America, for the exciting life that he thought a personality as big as his deserved.
But now, here he is - a college degree fresh under his belt, a fine apartment in the beating heart of Manhattan and the world in the palm of his hands, once more standing in the middle of some distant, sleepy suburbs. But by his side is the boy of his dreams, and everything he thought he knew about the kind of future he wanted has flown out the door.
"I know why you spend so much time at that Harvey Milk school," Sebastian says finally.
Blaine is startled. Of all the answers he was anticipating, that clearly wasn't one of them. "It's not exactly a secret."
"No, I mean, beside the altruistic, 'I wanna save the world' thing you always have going on." Blaine arches his eyebrow, and Sebastian continues.
"I know that you go there at least partly because these kids," he says gently playing with the sleeping girl's hair, "are tangible proof to you that gay couples can have children. That you can have that family life you've always wanted. That…that maybe that could be us someday."
Blaine is quiet now, and Sebastian knows he's got Blaine figured out. Just like Blaine has with him.
"So I wanted to spend tonight with you – with kids – to see what that would be like. Because I think about that too. A lot."
"Seb," Blaine breathes out. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I love you. And that I can't imagine a future without you. But I want that future to include having children with you. Someday, when we're ready."
Blaine doesn't say anything in response, but Sebastian can see the adoration welling in Blaine's big hazel eyes. Maneuvering around the toddler he's still holding, Blaine reaches up to seal his lips against Sebastian's, and murmurs, "I love you too. And I want everything with you."
Sebastian's eyes flutter closed as he loses himself in a mouth he knows better than his own, while adjusting around the presence of a small, third person in between them. An unfamiliar sensation, but one he could definitely get used to.
A shrill voice unceremoniously interrupts their moment. "Can we go home now? I wanna eat candy!" Their ward for the night has returned, triumphant from one last trick-or-treating.
The couple laugh. Sebastian takes the fairy princess from Blaine as the tiny Power Ranger excitedly launches himself into Blaine's arms, and their little group of four turn and start walking back.
As they do, with the boy chatting happily away, Blaine leans over to whispers to Sebastian, "I love these kids, but I'm so glad we don't have to deal with their inevitable sugar rush later tonight." Sebastian grins back at the man he loves. He's not yet ready for that either. But someday.