"For fuck's sake," Sebastian cursed when he saw the result of his latest exam. He'd failed, again. All the studying, for nothing, again. It wasn't that he was too dumb, or too lazy. His head had just been in the clouds in the past few months.

Sebastian had recently lost two of his fuck buddies. One had graduated, the other one had moved away for another job. He was almost glad that Noël had left because he'd been getting on Sebastian's nerves by frequently postponing their hookups and asking Sebastian to bottom way too often for his taste.

Losing Taylor was an entirely different story, though. Sebastian had actually liked Taylor. Obviously, only in a fuck buddy way, but still. Ever since Taylor had left, Sebastian had been thinking of him more often than when he'd still lived in New York. It was weird and annoying and Sebastian didn't actually want to think about him, but he hadn't been very successful at avoiding it lately.

Then, there was the trouble with his parents. They were in the middle of a divorce because his mother had cheated on his dad with a corporate lawyer. A corporate lawyer! The betrayal couldn't have been worse for his dad, the state's attorney. Yet, Sebastian shouldn't be affected by all that because he was all grown-up, 24 years old, going to law school in Manhattan. It bothered him that the divorce was occupying his mind and maybe he should be talking to his parents about it. But that wouldn't change anything anyway.

Sebastian was tired, not in a physical way, but in a nothing-really-matters way. He wasn't even upset about having failed the exam. Who cared anyway? Something was missing in his life. Something nice and stable. He knew exactly what he needed: a new, reliable fuck buddy.

A friend had told Sebastian about a popular gay club in Brooklyn that he hadn't checked out yet. Sebastian had only moved to New York six months earlier, after having completed his undergraduate degree in Boston. So far, he'd explored every stick and stone in Manhattan, but Brooklyn was still like a new world to him.

That night, Sebastian was feeling particularly restless and decided to give the club a try. Even if he wasn't going to find a quality fuck buddy that night, he could at least take the edge off, have a few drinks, maybe a one-night stand.

Sebastian threw on a pair of jeans and the only ironed shirt that was left in his closet, fixed his hair, and hopped on the subway.

The gay bar was easy to find, marked with a giant neon sign and a rainbow flag. The building looked a little rundown, just like most of the other buildings in the area, but Sebastian could already perceive that certain inviting, promising charm that most gay clubs had on him. He was sure he would feel quite at home inside until... the poster next to the entrance caught his eye.

'Betty Power's Drag Night' was written on it in large, pink letters above a picture of a drag queen. The drag queen was singing into a microphone, head cocked back, her strong thighs exposed under a very short, pink skirt.

Sebastian wasn't a fan of drag. He'd never understood the appeal of make-up and women's clothes and he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He'd come all the way for Brooklyn for Drag Night, not at all what he had been looking forward to. He should have checked the club's schedule on the internet before making the trip. He would have even preferred Daddy Night, although daddies weren't his type either.

But now he was already there, thirsty and a little desperate. Sebastian let out a heavy sigh and pulled himself together. Begrudgingly, he paid the cover charge and entered the club. He stepped right into the main room, which was bigger than expected. There were numerous small, round tables and chairs scattered across it. To the left, there was a spacious dance floor and, at the far end of the room, a sizable stage.

Sebastian was immediately drawn to the bar on the right side of the venue. He took a seat on one of the bar stools and ordered a beer while checking out the other guys at the bar and at the tables near him. After a few minutes, he had already gotten two guys to wink at him and wave him over, but they weren't his type. He would have to wait for someone better.

Sebastian started to sip on his beer and turned towards the stage, that most of the other men had turned their heads to. Only now did Sebastian notice that there were some instruments in the left corner of the stage: a keyboard, an acoustic guitar, a bass and drums. Apart from those, it was still as empty as it had been ever since Sebastian had entered the bar. He looked around and saw a few drag queens walk around and chat, but the 'Queen of Queens' seemed to be taking a break. Sebastian was getting bored.

Only when he'd drunk half of his beer, the volume around him got louder and people started to cheer and applaud for the five drag queens who were entering the stage. Four of them went straight to the instruments, the fifth one grabbed the microphone in the middle of the stage. Sebastian recognized her from the poster. She was wearing the same voluminous, blond wig. It was Betty Power.

She took a bow and blew kisses around. "Thank you, gurrrls! Just had to freshen up my lipstick, but now I'm all set," she said in a high-pitched voice. She smiled at another drag queen at a table right in front of the stage. "What did you ask me to sing earlier, hunty? Ah, La Vie En Rose, I remember. Uff, is there an English version of that? Naah, I'll try this for you in French, sister. Let's see how it goes."

The pianist and the guitarist played a beautiful intro before Betty Power began to sing. And then it struck Sebastian.

Betty Power had quite the appearance. She was wearing a very short, skin-tight, spangled red dress, black fishnet stockings and red high-heels that looked downright dangerous. Her bare arms were nicely toned and so were her thighs. Actually, her thighs were impressively toned, just like her round bubble butt.

Sebastian could have sworn that he'd seen that ass and those flawless thighs before. But it wasn't until he heard Betty sing that he knew for sure he had seen her before. Him. Blaine Anderson.

Among a million voices, Sebastian would have recognized Blaine's. He had always been astounded by its colorful emotionality and captivating smoothness. Blaine's voice had always been one of the few things that had really touched Sebastian. And that night, it was just the same. It went from Blaine's mouth straight to Sebastian's heart.

Sebastian was utterly stunned. He couldn't believe that he was staring at Blaine Anderson, Dalton's gay heartthrob, who had sadly left the school before Sebastian got there. Back then, Sebastian had thought having missed Blaine at Dalton by just a few months was one of the cruelest jokes his fate had ever played on him. Because of all the guys he'd desired, Blaine was the only one who had been unavailable to him, who had got away. And he had been on Sebastian's mind the longest of all of them.

As Sebastian was staring at Betty's face, which was covered in make-up, blue eye shadow and bright red lipstick, he couldn't help but think that fate had struck again. Just, this time, it was making up for the lost opportunity. It had led Sebastian right here, to him.

As if under a spell, Sebastian took his beer, got up from the bar stool, walked towards the stage and sat down at a free table right before it. Betty had finished her beautiful version of the French song and was talking to the other musicians before she returned to the middle of the stage to sing David Bowie's Heroes.

Sebastian smiled up at Betty, no, Blaine, and hung on his bright red lips. It wasn't until the middle of the song that Blaine happened to look in his direction. And when he did, his beautiful hazel eyes - lined with long, black fake eyelashes - opened wide in surprise. Stunned, Blaine even stumbled over the lyrics, which made him laugh, right at Sebastian.

Just like Blaine's voice, his laughter went straight to Sebastian's heart as it had done years ago. It made Sebastian feel warm and, somehow, liberated.

Blaine sang a few more songs and refused to end the performance without a duet with Sebastian. They sang Don't You Want Me Baby by The Human League and Sebastian couldn't remember the last time he'd had that much fun.

After Blaine was done with his set, he came straight to Sebastian's table and gave him a long, warm hug. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're living in New York now," Blaine said cheerfully and sat down next to him.

"I actually am," Sebastian said, grinning.

Blaine was still in full drag, which was a little weird now that he was using his normal voice. The giant wig didn't look very comfortable, but Blaine seemed to be used to it. His legs were crossed and Sebastian's eyes automatically wandered down to Blaine's impressive thighs. Thankfully, his dress was incredibly short.

"You look smokin'," Sebastian commented with a grin. "I didn't know you were into this kinda thing, though."

A self-conscious smile appeared on Blaine's red lips. "It wasn't really my idea."

Suddenly, a realization hit Sebastian like a punch in the gut. Hummel.

Sebastian hadn't thought of Kurt at all after he'd realized that Betty Power was Blaine, but Kurt was the one reason why Sebastian had never gotten a taste of Blaine. Kurt, Blaine's boyfriend, now husband, who had certainly dragged Blaine into this and who would certainly be on Sebastian's throat any minute for talking with his husband.

"That's what I thought," Sebastian replied. "Where is he? What color is his wig?"

"Who?" Blaine asked with a puzzled smile.

"Your husband," Sebastian said. For some reason, saying the word hurt a little. But saying the guy's name out loud would have probably made him gag.

Blaine's gaze dropped to the floor, his long eyelashes completely hiding his eyes. Hesitantly, in a low voice, he replied, "He's not my husband anymore."

Sebastian's heart made a leap. "Oh. Fuck. Sorry to hear that."

Blaine looked at him again and smiled sadly. "It's okay. We separated two years ago. It took a while until the divorce was official."

"Hm, yeah, my parents are going through that right now," Sebastian said and immediately regretted saying that. As if it mattered. As if it mattered to Blaine.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Blaine said softly in the empathetic and heartfelt tone that Sebastian remembered so well.

A lump formed in Sebastian's throat. "Doesn't matter," he said quickly. "So, what... How... I mean, how did you end up here?" Sebastian was getting angry with himself. Blaine wasn't used to hearing him stammer. He wasn't supposed to.

"I wasn't so great for a while," Blaine said. His voice still sounded weak and a little broken. "I dropped out of school again and I needed money. A friend of mine knows the owner of the club and they were looking for regular performers at the time. I wasn't so sure about this drag thing and I initially did it just for the bucks." A slight smile appeared on his lips. "But I've grown into this role. It's empowering, somehow, you know? I get to be a whole different person and she's strong. Fearless. Powerful. Whenever I was Betty, I didn't have to think of my own shitty life and I haven't been able to let go of her."

Sebastian thought that he understood what Blaine meant and nodded slowly.

"And I still need the money," Blaine added with a chuckle.

"Well, as I said, you're a sexy lady. I kinda even dig your fake boobs and I'm not into boobs at all. And this dress reminded me that I love your thighs, man. They're hotter than I remember."

"Thanks," Blaine said, probably blushing under his layers of make-up. Sebastian wanted him to, at least.

"So, what are you doing in New York? How long have you been here?" Blaine asked, finally sounding cheerful again.

Sebastian told him about his move from Boston to New York and about law school. Every now and then, he lost his train of thought because Blaine's eyes were just so distractingly attentive and gorgeous.

"It's kinda crazy that we've both been living in the same city for half a year without realizing it," Blaine said.

"Well, it looks like I've finally tracked you down tonight," Sebastian said with a teasing smile.

Blaine looked surprised. "You knew...?"

"No," Sebastian said with a chuckle. "But something inside me must've known. This ain't a coincidence, babe." Sebastian had recovered his cool. Even though his heart was still occasionally jumping when Blaine looked at him, he forced himself to remember why he had come to the club. He'd wanted a fuck buddy and Blaine was the perfect candidate. The only candidate. Sebastian needed to bring his A game.

"Maybe you're right," Blaine said with a chuckle. "Maybe it's fate."

"Exactly. Your detour to McKinley didn't save you from me. It was just part of the plan. Now we're both here and free and there's literally nothing I'd like to do more than ripping those stockings off your legs. Don't worry, I'll buy you new ones after," Sebastian said with a challenging grin.

Blaine's eyes dropped to the floor again, but, this time, he was smiling, biting his bright red lower lip with his teeth. But when he looked at Sebastian again, his smile looked forced. "Sebastian, I... I'm still not into that."

"But Hummel is gone!" Sebastian blurted out without thinking about it. He was feeling slightly desperate now. He had accidentally found Blaine. Blaine. And there was no husband anymore. Hadn't that been the only thing that had stood between them?

Blaine's smile faltered. "That doesn't mean I'm like you now."

Sebastian's heart was racing. He was used to getting what he wanted. And what he wanted most now and, actually, what he'd been wanting for a long time, was this man, who was refusing to play along. Again.

"Okay," Sebastian said drily. He was using all his power to appear cool. "Can I at least have your number? So we can meet again for a drink some time? We can meet as fellow Warblers, nothing more, in case you're scared of me now."

Blaine sighed and nodded, the expression on his face getting less tense. They exchanged numbers and Blaine said he needed to leave and get changed because it was incredibly hot underneath that wig.

When they hugged goodbye, Sebastian savored every part of it. Blaine was in his arms, even if it was only for two or three seconds because Blaine immediately pulled away when Sebastian ruthlessly squeezed his ass. It had just looked too alluring in that short, skin-tight, red dress. Sebastian couldn't help himself.

As a parting gift, Blaine gave Sebastian his kindest, most heartfelt smile. He wasn't mad at him for making advances again. Sebastian liked to think that Blaine was probably even a little flattered, even if he would never admit it.

Sebastian was having mixed feelings on the way back to his apartment. On the one hand, he was feeling incredibly elated because Blaine was back in his life. Sebastian had been given another shot. On the other hand, there was a chance - even though it was just a very slight chance - that Blaine maybe wasn't into him after all, and that thought was driving Sebastian nuts.

When he got home, Sebastian went straight to the bathroom. As he leaned over the sink to wash his hands, he caught something in the mirror that let him freeze. There was red lipstick on his shirt, right beneath the left side of his collarbone, a clear outline of a pair of lips. Betty Power's lips. Blaine's lips.

The lipstick mark was so perfect that Sebastian was sure Blaine had left it on his shirt on purpose. As a secret message. As a reminder that he may not be open for a hookup, but for something else. Something bigger. Something more powerful.

Sebastian broke into quiet laughter and shook his head in disbelief. Sneaky Betty Power had fooled him. Sneaky Blaine.

He pulled the phone out of his pocket and started to type a message.

S: Dinner tmrw?

B: My place. 8 p.m. Dresscode: semi-formal.

S: I suppose you don't need me to bring any candles?

B: All covered. You know me ;)

S: I do

Sebastian couldn't stop smiling. He felt silly about that, but he just couldn't help it. Everything around him was suddenly a little bit more colorful.

And he didn't feel exhausted anymore. He felt on top of the world. It was as if he had just found a new source of power, and he had. Betty Power, the queen of his heart.