Part 25

Since they were shooting out in East Hampton, it gave the guys time to sleep since traffic was crazy even though they left incredibly early in the morning. "Is there a reason you didn't head out last night?" Blaine asked Hunter shortly after their driver woke them, telling them they'd be arriving shortly.

"I had a benefit to attend last night. Trust me if I hadn't I would've headed out here last night and would've invited you guys with. But you did bring a bag with so we can crash out here tonight, right?"

"We did." Blaine replied. "How are we getting to your place since we don't have a car?"

"Quinn is coming out later this afternoon."

"What, she didn't want to get up early?" Sebastian asked.

"Not really, she was sound asleep when I left. But she's also doing a bit of shopping with the girls this morning. Think, Jeff and Britt get married in just over two months so lots of little errands have to be done."

"Is it only the three of them since Rachel and Brody aren't back yet?"

"No, Megan and Ally are joining them. Ally is filling in for Carly as an extra set of hands. From what Quinn has been told, Carly wants to come out but Jeff's parents feel he and Britt have their hands full already."

"That's very true, but it's sweet that she wants to come out." Blaine said.

"Now, are we going to have to do all this sort of running around with your wedding?"

"It shouldn't be too bad." Sebastian replied. "And while we know you as well as the rest of the guys told us you'd be willing to help with anything we need, the girls offered to as well. Maybe will just have to split things up amongst everyone. It'll certainly make things go quicker."

"This might be an odd question, but have you guys chosen your ushers yet?"

"We haven't. While it would be easy to choose the guys, a part of us also wants to ask the girls." Blaine told him. "So, now you know why we don't have any."

"Well, either choice works so don't stress too much over it." Hunter reassured them. "You have the benefit of not having to do things according to what people think. Sometimes, people are so afraid to stray from the norm; they don't do what they want in their heart."

Their conversation wasn't able to continue as they had come to a stop and they didn't want to be mid-conversation when the door opened. Surprisingly, Tasha was the one that opened the door. "And here I was expecting to find the three of you sleeping." She said as they started to get out of the car.

"Thank our driver for waking us." Sebastian replied. "What are you doing here; don't you pay someone to do menial work?"

"Normally, but I've got everyone running around at the moment. So, the three of you need to get your butts inside and start getting ready. We've got a long day ahead of us."

"By chance, is Simon inside?" Blaine asked as they headed towards the house.

"He's outside getting set up, why?"

"Bas and I have something we want to talk to him about."

"Well, I will tell him you two would like to see him and hopefully he's got time to do it before hand. Otherwise, it wouldn't be out of the norm for you guys to talk during the shoot."

"We know, but, we'd rather there are no prying ears around." Sebastian said.

"Understood. If things don't work out I will give him something to do so you all can talk. That is, unless you don't want Hunter around either?"

"Hey!" Hunter said.

"I needed to ask."

"It's fine, basically you got who we don't want around as it's sort of wedding orientated." Blaine said.

"Got it. Now head upstairs, they're waiting for you." The three of them smiled and headed up the stairs. Once they were halfway up, Tasha made her way through the house and out onto the back deck where Simon was speaking with his assistant.

"Since you're smiling that must mean the guys are here?" Simon said.

"They are. They just headed upstairs. But you should know, Blaine and Seb would like a word with you if you have time."

"Everything alright?"

"Yes, but I won't say what it's about. So, if you have time before they are ready to go, please head up to talk with them."

"I will do that. We're just about done here so it shouldn't be a problem." After Simon answered, Tasha headed down to check on a few more details while Simon finished up with his assistant. It was only about ten minutes later when he headed into the house and up the stairs. When he walked into the room where the boys were getting ready they were just about to begin getting into their first set of outfits. "Should this wait or can you dress and talk at the same time?" He said once he caught Sebastian's eye.

"We're multi-talented, we can do both." Sebastian replied. "Right B?"

"That would be correct. I hope you didn't rush up here as we've got all day and then some to talk."

"No, I came up as I was done. You know my assistants are always on top of things, which has allowed us this time. Now, what is it the two of you would like to talk to me about?"

"This might sound like an unusual request, but…B and I were wondering if you'd be willing to take our engagement photos?"

"You're right, that is an unusual request since I'm not a portrait photographer. Care to tell me why?"

"Considering all the shots you've taken of us over the years, the thought of typical engagement photos don't do it for us." Sebastian told him. "We want shots like some of the ones you've taken of us over the years, those shots that capture who we are."

"So, not the ones that have made it into the photo spreads, but some of the random shots I've taken."

"Exactly. Though, a couple of those random shots have made it to spreads over the years." Blaine told him. "And while we know there are photographers out there that try and get the same sort of shots, we'd both be more comfortable with you taking them. Though, we'd understand if you wouldn't be interested."

"You're just talking engagement photos, correct?"

"Yes, though we'd love a recommendation of a great wedding photographer though we've been given quite the list to go and talk to."

"I'll do it." Simon told them. "But know, we're going to have to work to get them in since I've got quite the schedule ahead of me."

"We can do that but the sooner the better if that's possible." Sebastian told him.

"First break we have I will show you two what time I have available and we'll figure something out. Also, if you have that list of photographers with you, you can show it to me then as well."

"B and I each have the list on our phones so we can send it to you."

"Well then, sounds like we've some work ahead of us in more ways than one. Also, we'll need to figure cost and everything else. And please, think of any locales you'd be interested in using for a backdrop."

"We can do that." Blaine replied. "Thank you so much."

"It would be my pleasure. I'm thrilled you both think so much of my work to ask me to take photos that are going to mean so much to you."

"Hell, after all the photos you've taken during our competitions over the years you've proven your talent goes well beyond fashion photography." Sebastian told him.

"Those were fun to take. You guys truly enjoyed yourselves and it showed. Now, I should've asked back then, but what got you to perform that fifth time?"

"Jeff and Nick's sisters were in the city and well, we thought it would be nice for the siblings to get to perform together. It meant the world to all of them as well as their parents."

"That makes plenty of sense. Plus, they're just as talented as their brothers so it made sense. Since we've got that taken care of, I will head down and be waiting for you."

While they finished getting dressed Hunter glanced over at them. Blaine and Sebastian could both tell he was a bit stressed and knew what was causing it. "Just try not to talk to him and everything should be fine." Blaine told him. "And we will try and keep him away from you."

"I now have a whole new perspective on what you two went through. This sucks."

"We know." Sebastian replied. "But we got through it and you can too. When in doubt, look forward to us all going out tonight once we're done. B and I did that on more than one occasion as we'd have rough days."

"Duly noted."

When the three of them made their way outside, Hunter's eyes went straight to Kurt who was standing next to Tasha. "Remember; don't give him a second thought." Blaine told him. "Quinn wouldn't want you doing something stupid."

"Keep reminding me of that fact."

"We plan to." Sebastian replied as they made their way down the stairs towards the water.

Luckily, with the time crunch they were in since they weren't able to start shooting the day before, there was very little down time. On more than one occasion the guys didn't even make it make inside to change, and just changed outside. During those moments, the guys started bouncing ideas off of Tasha who was offering up lots of location ideas ever since they told her what they'd talk to Simon about. With some of the locations they were considering it was going to give them the look they wanted as they were going to be taken around the city and not in a studio.

When they were taking a break for lunch, the three of them were in their own little world when they saw a shadow come across where they were sitting. "If that's you Hummel, you better turn around and leave." Sebastian said without even looking to see who it was. "Hunter's self-control is rather questionable." Once he finished speaking, Sebastian placed a kiss on top of Blaine's head.

"I…"

"Didn't Bas just tell you to leave?" Blaine said as he looked up at Kurt. "It would be wise to listen to him."

"I…I just want to say I'm sorry."

"It's been heard, now go." Hunter replied before taking a bite of his salad. "I don't want to get indigestion while eating."

"But…"

"Kurt, he didn't hit you, take that as a success. Now go." Blaine told him. "We only have a little bit of time and well, Hunter is right, he doesn't need to get indigestion nor do Bas and I. And that will happen if you continue." Once Blaine was done speaking, all three of them looked up at him and he slowly walked away. "I didn't expect him to go that quietly."

"Maybe he has grown." Sebastian said which cause Hunter and Blaine to both look at him. "Hey, I'm allowed to have some clarity once in a while even in regards to him. And what Blaine and Quinn said made sense, he probably never would've blurted it out had he not been drunk."

"Who are you and what have you done with Smythe?" Hunter said as he turned to look at him. "This doesn't sound like you."

"It stems from a conversation B and I had. I'm not saying you don't have a right to be angry, I just now know how everyone else could see things I couldn't back when he was such a thorn in mine and B's life." In that moment it took quite a bit to stop Hunter from running his fingers through his hair as it would've wrecked the styling. "What?"

"I hate that you're right!" The smirk that came to Sebastian's face caused Blaine to laugh.

"You know he's never going to forget that, right?" Blaine told him.

"I know, but he's right. Considering the way Kurt feels about all of us, the alcohol gave him the courage to say what he did. In his right mind he never would've said that. Probably because he was afraid of what we might do to him. And well, you've both reminded me that Quinn wouldn't want me to do something stupid over something she's not even upset about anymore."

"So, is that your way of saying you're going to drop it?" Blaine asked.

"It is. So, I will just be my usual charming self to him."

"Didn't we discuss this already and you've never been charming around him?" Sebastian said.

"We're always charming. Some people just can't appreciate it the depth of our charm."

By the time they were finishing up, Quinn had already arrived at the house and was able to watch the boys at work. For all the times she'd given them a hard time about that they did, this was the first time she'd seen them. And well, they worked harder than she realized. Considering the time, the guys had been at it for hours but no one would know with the amount of energy they were showing. "They look really good." Quinn said quietly to Tasha who was watching.

"That they do." She replied. "They shouldn't be much longer."

"That's alright, I'm in no rush. I can't believe the energy they have."

"The joys of youth." Tasha replied with a laugh. "They know not to overdo it when they're given time to relax during the day. I'm thankful the weather cooperated today and it wasn't humid as that would've sucked the life out of all of us. I should warn you though; they're going to want to crash afterwards."

"I was warned that was what the night was going to be like and after the day I had, I have no problems with it. Especially after sitting in traffic to get out here."

"Yea, unless you travel in the middle of the night, the traffic coming out here during the summer is awful. Are you going to be staying out here tomorrow while they work or are you heading back to the city?"

"I'm going to stay out here. The thought of lounging outside is rather appealing after the last couple of weeks. Plus, I'd much rather have company for the drive back."

"Are you going to drive Blaine and Seb back as well?"

"Yes, we're going to bring them back with us so you can cancel their ride home. I would've assumed they would've told you."

"That's alright; they've been rather busy so I will let that pass."

After going over the last shots, Tasha finally called a wrap for the day which had everyone thrilled. Sebastian wrapped his arms around Blaine while Hunter walked straight towards Quinn. "How long have you been here?" He asked after giving her a kiss.

"About an hour. You guys looked really good."

"Thank you. Just give us a chance to change and we can get out of here." Quinn nodded and they headed towards the house along with Blaine and Sebastian. "Have you been to the house yet?"

"I have and even went to the store so we have food to eat."

"I love you." Sebastian said. "I'm starving."

"Well, I love you too Seb, glad I could help. You need to thank Hunter though, since he's the one who mentioned you guys are usually hungry when you're done."

"Thank you." Blaine replied.

Once they reached the house, Quinn took a seat out on the deck while the guys went to go change. While she watched everyone pack up for the night, she couldn't believe everything that went along with all of these shoots. She'd heard so much about them from the guys over the years, but seeing it with her own eyes was something else. Quinn had just put her phone back in her purse when Kurt came walking up to her. "Do you have a minute?"

"I have until the guys are ready to go. What do you want?"

"To say I'm sorry. I had no right telling everyone what I did."

"You're right; you didn't have any right to do so. Care to tell me why you did it?" Quinn's voice was so calm that it threw Kurt slightly as he expected her to yell.

"I…I was a bit overwhelmed and didn't handle it well." Once he spoke, Quinn rose from her seat and took a step closer to him.

"That would be an understatement. And honestly, how could you be so surprised by the fact that Blaine and Seb are getting married? I mean, come on. They've been together for almost seven years Kurt. The only reason this didn't happen sooner is because they were in school."

"It was everything at once, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me. The least you can do is give me a truthful response after what you did."

"Fine. It started with Mercedes initial observation, which even if her assumption was correct I shouldn't have acted the way I did. As you stated, they've been together a long time. Then I had to sit and watch them being all happy and loving. That doesn't even get into Blaine's speech about love and what it takes for relationships to work. Don't think I didn't notice the two of them looking lovingly at each other. Oh, I got to see Sebastian being fawned over by Blaine's parents who never liked me." Kurt then paused to take a deep breath as he seemed to say everything without breathing.

"It does make sense, but why lash out at me?"

"It was because you were the first to defend them. I probably would've lashed out at whoever did it"

"I don't buy that as I doubt you would've said anything to one of the guys had they done the same thing."

"It would've depended on which of the guys said something."

"Kurt, be honest, you wouldn't have said anything to any of them. It's nice to think you would, but you wouldn't have. I mean, would you honestly have said something to Thad or Nick or Hunter?"

"Probably not, but I did say it would depend."

"Fine, but you might've under estimated who they've all grown into. Jeff, whom I'm assuming is someone you would've lashed out at, would've destroyed you." When Kurt laughed, Quinn shook her head. "You have no idea who he is anymore. And well, you should be thrilled that Blaine had the foresight to have Seb keep Hunter away because he would've done something. Haven't you learned by now, you mess with one of them, you mess with all of them?"

"I know. What I did was stupid and I should be thankful something else didn't happen beyond being dragged out."

"The only reason nothing more happened is we weren't going to cause a scene at Rachel and Brody's wedding" Blaine said as he, Sebastian, and Hunter came walking outside. "Unlike you, we love Rachel too much to disrespect such a day for her. And doing anymore than what we did, would've been disrespectful."

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked as he walked up to Quinn.

"I'm fine. Ready to go?"

"We are." Hunter replied. No sooner did he answer, did the four of them head off. "Care to tell me why you were talking to him?" He asked as she handed him the keys so he could drive back to the house.

"It was because I wanted to understand why he did it."

"Did you get anything from him?" Blaine asked.

"It was basically what you and I discussed. It was just everything at once. The two of you getting engaged, seeing Seb with your parents, and seeing you two acting like the couple that you are versus how you act when you work. Also, from what I could tell, he felt part of your speech was a swipe at what went wrong in your previous relationship."

"This is why we're in trouble Hunter." Sebastian said as they got into the car. "These two analyze every little detail. Did he say why he said what he did?"

"He said he would've lashed out at whoever stood up for you two." When the guys started to laugh, Quinn continued. "Don't worry; I called him out on it."

"He should be thanking his lucky stars that we've all grown up since the crap he pulled when B and I first got together. If he had done something like that then, I doubt we all would've been so civilized regardless of the setting which would've been sad."

"That's very true." Blaine said. "Back then it took everything we had to keep it together so a stunt like this would've sent us over the edge. Do you believe him as I'm assuming he apologized?"

"I actually do." Quinn replied. "There was something about the way he said it, that I believe him. Otherwise he's become an excellent actor. But now that this has been done, can we all drop this as I'd rather forget it."

"We can do that." Sebastian said. "What about you Hunter?"

"If that's what Quinn wants, I will drop it. Though, I'd rather drop him."

"Understandable, but that wouldn't look good for your future law career."

"Always looking out for my best interest, what would I do without you?" Hunter said with a laugh.

"Just returning the favor from all those times you looked out for me and stopped me from doing something stupid."

"Do they do this often Blaine?" Quinn asked as she glanced back where Blaine and Sebastian were sitting.

"Only when they are sleep deprived. The mutual admiration fest can go on for hours if you let them when they're like this. It gets rather amusing."

"Alright, I just wanted to check as it's a bit strange as I've never seen them like this."

"You'll get used to..." Before Blaine could finish, Sebastian wrapped his arm around him and pulled him into a kiss. Hunter laughed as he caught a glimpse of them in the rearview mirror.

"If you want more from Blaine, you're going to have to wait. He's a bit preoccupied." Those words were all it took for Quinn to look behind her to see Blaine and Sebastian kissing.

"Does that happen often?"

"It does, especially after we finish up a shoot. Sometimes keeping that professionalism all day long gets to be a bit much." Hunter told her. "So, now you see the usual them." He then reached across and took ahold of her hand. "I'm really glad you decided to come out."

"Thank you for inviting me. You should know Brittany and Santana thought it was really sweet."

'So they're still making a fuss?"

"I wouldn't say it's a fuss, they're just happy for us. And they like that we're not sneaking around anymore."

"We weren't necessarily sneaking around; we just didn't inform everyone of what was going on. What did they say once they knew those two along with Thad knew?"

"They were shocked, but after you and Jeff kept the engagement secret, they realized you boys can keep quiet when need be. But they understood why we did what we did. They know how hard it is to figure things out when lots of people are around. Hell, Santana truly gets it. It was never about not wanting them to know, it was more about knowing exactly where we stood and what we wanted before letting anyone else know."

"Nick said something similar actually. It's hard crossing that line from friendship to a relationship, since you risk losing what brought you together in the first place. Thad said it was about time we got out of our own way since it's was pretty obvious we both had feelings beyond friendship for each other."

"Who would've ever pegged Thad as being so observant?" Quinn said.

"We would've." Sebastian replied. "Just because we're guys, doesn't mean we're oblivious to things. Heck, we're often more observant than you girls are."

"Nice to see the two of you came up for air." Hunter quipped. "But Seb's right, we're all more observant than most of you give us credit for. Heck, Nick was the first to spot the rings, not one of you girls."

"Yet, Thad was with us for an entire evening and didn't notice them." Blaine added. "It just depends on what's involved as to how observant we all are."