Twelve o' clock rolls arrives in a blink of an eye, and Blaine's staring blankly into his closet. He's quietly buttoning up his sleeves when Sebastian storms in and tosses his lacrosse bag on the ground.

"Ready to go?"

He's windswept, cheeks rosy, and out of air.

Blaine feigns a smile, although he knows Sebastian can read right through it, and nods softly. He walks over and nuzzles into the taller's chest, feeling the tension unwind around him.

Blaine presses in closer for strength, and nods once more. He steps back to grab his things, and the two of them head for the door ready to revisit the past.

Blaine's forgotten how endless Ohio feels.

The peaceful hum surrounding Sebastian's car on the highway is a stark contrast to where they are headed right now, and Blaine is questioning whether or not his parents are on their way too. He hasn't seen them in person since December, and all mental stability aside, physically Blaine's changed quite a bit. His father's going to be proud.

Blaine would have missed the call if Sebastian hadn't threatened to suffocate him for not picking it up. They were both in Puck's room when it started ringing. Sebastian was sitting on Puck's bed and Blaine was playing Mario Kart with some of the boys- he was in the lead- until his phone was mashed insensitively into his cheek.

'-mit Sebastian, I was in first! H-hello?'

'May I speak with Blaine Anderson?'

'Speaking…'

After excusing himself from the game, and extending a greeting to the hallway Lima's Police Captain Shannon Bieste had some particularly surprising news to share with him. He cursed to himself; double-checking the caller ID to make sure it wasn't a prank. In the end, she'd invited- well, demanded- him to identify their suspects in a police line up.

The only catch was that he had to return to Lima to do it.

Sebastian, having followed him into the hallway- ignoring the coos coming from within the room- offered immediately to be his chauffer. So here they were, two tongue-tied teenagers on their first 'road trip' with one another.

Not quite together, but definitely not apart.

"Thanks for sharing your bed with me again last night." Blaine comments awkwardly, half aware of his surroundings due to his cyclical thoughts.

"It's not like you take up that much space." Sebastian teases, checking for Blaine's reaction immediately after.

"You're impossible."

"Personally, I enjoyed it." Sebastian smoothes his pants leg with his right hand before returning it to the wheel. "I've missed the company."

"Gee' thanks." Blaine responds, remembering the night before, how perfect it had been with Sebastian strewn lazily behind his back as they fell asleep to the sounds of night's forthcomings. The loud winds rushing through their windows sent small ice caped kisses to Blaine's toes, but Blaine had all the warmth he needed within an arm's reach. He had Sebastian.

"I meant your company, stupid."

"Hmm." Blaine ends their banter to look out his window at the passing tracts of land. He can't wait to get out of this state. Maybe when he does Sebastian will come too. Maybe they'll end up in New York or Paris with Sebastian's mom. Maybe even California! Where did Sebastian want to end up, anyway? "Tell me something."

Sebastian stiffens at the request, and looks over at his passengers seat. "Like what?"

"I don't know." Blaine shrugs, completely lax and thoughts thriving in the present. "You know an appalling amount of information about me, and I'm curious about you."

"…I don't know what to say."

Blaine gathers his courage and asks what's been in the back of his mind since their fight. It's stupid and trivial, but Blaine figures he should start small. It's something Sebastian's probably forgotten about by now, but he needs to ask.

"Why didn't you tell me about getting team captain?"

There's still a part of Sebastian that Blaine's been unable to reach, some essential part of him that's been hidden and tucked beneath humor and wit. Blaine wants to know what it is. He wants to start helping Sebastian the way Sebastian's been helping him, intentional or not, but he doesn't know how.

"Blaine that was last month, sweetheart." It's barely been a couple weeks; April just spread its wings, and Sebastian's avoiding the question with dramatics.

Blaine sighs and reaches out to fix an air vent. "I know, but still." He gives Sebastian his best pair of puppy eyes, and turns back towards the disappearing landscape. They've got a three-hour drive ahead of them, and he's going to make damned good use of it.

"I didn't think it was a big deal?"

"If Puck were here, he'd smack you on the head!" Blaine raises his hand in front of him like he's ready to strike, and Sebastian flinches involuntarily. The other catches his reactions and snorts, leaning forward a little to straighten out his spine.

"I don't know. We weren't talking, and I wasn't sure if you were mad at me for rejecting you so-"

It's the second time he's audibly mentioned the kiss, and although Blaine's been 'over' it since they made up, he gets tense as Sebastian speaks.

"Listen, B, I've never been good at this kind of thing. Why do you think I was hooking up with Dane for so long?" He mouths, 'no talking.'

Blaine gives him a pitiless look, although inside he's thinking hard. Was that it? Was Sebastian so hesitant to reveal himself because no one had ever thought to ask for a revelation in the first place?

Surely someone had to have achieved an intimate bond with him. How could they not? Sebastian was… he was out there. He was Sebastian Smythe, lacrosse captain and lead attack, tall and mysterious, fluent in French, and handsome. Yes, very handsome, and those were just the outwardly projected parts.

"It's just talking, Bas. You talk to Puck don't you?" Blaine coaxes, stringing him along.

"Yeah."

"So why is it so hard with me? It's the same thing."

"Because."

Sebastian's staring out at the empty road, he gains a little speed and decelerates as soon a he realizes his foots gone peddle heavy.

"Because?"

Sebastian bites his lip; mimicking the moment he'd held Blaine tight, promising no harm. I'm close, Blaine thinks, getting closer. The confession is ripe on his tongue, and Blaine can practically feel the tightness roll off Sebastian's body when he says it.

"Because I like you."

Blaine takes it in and fills his lungs with it. It's something that he's obviously inferred, but hearing Sebastian say it out loud turns him into jelly. He picks at his sleeve to stop his body's impulse to bounce, and keeps a straight face. "Good. I like you too."

"Duh, why else would you be in my bed every night?"

"I am not!" Blaine feigns offense "And that can stop at any moment."

"No!" Sebastian replies, a little to quickly, and Blaine beams. "Alright, fine." He pauses, face getting serious. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"I don't want to force anything out of you!" Blaine laughs grabbing for the other's side. Sebastian's ticklish, and Blaine knows he can get away with the gesture right now.

Blaine's cycling through every emotion possible before he's forced to adopt the foreseeable self-loathing that waits for him in Lima. It's inevitable that he'll run out of feelings eventually, but he hopes it doesn't happen before they reach the station.

Right now, he's modestly happy.

"Stop! Stop!" Sebastian slows down and swats Blaine's hand off. "I want you to." He traps Blaine's hand in his, holding it over the console. "Should we stop for lunch before we get to the station?"

"Yeah, sure."

Blaine leans back and closes his eyes, feeling the humid air press against him from the cracked window. A storm is approaching in the distance, and Blaine can smell the wall of rain that's coming their way. How appropriate, he thinks.

"Hey B?" Sebastian asks quietly, pulling to a stop.

"Yeah?"

Silence follows so Blaine opens his eyes and questions Sebastian with a look of concern. Green finds hazel and the other exhales.

"I think you're really brave."

Blaine's heart soars. "Thanks Bas."

"I mean it."

"I know you do."

The two of them drift off in thought at the same time. Blaine imagines that Sebastian's sharing the same sort of daydream. He's still trying to figure out what he would have said 'yes' to, and he wonders when Sebastian's going to ask about it. Until then Blaine anchors himself somewhere between giddy and anxious, and stares out into the oncoming storm.