Two Steps Beyond

Part 16

By the time they returned to the house that evening both of them were emotionally drained. It was pretty safe to say that they were both constantly looking over their shoulders while they walked back to the house. With everything that had been said that afternoon the only thing Blaine wanted to do the rest of the night was care for Sebastian. It seemed finally telling someone what had happened was as though a huge burden was lifted off of him. So after some initial thought Blaine knew just what Sebastian needed, a nice long soak to help ease whatever tension was left in his body.

After kissing him gently, Blaine made his way to the bathroom and started a bath. "Blaine, I need to say something." Sebastian said once Blaine walked back into the bedroom.

"And what would that be?"

"I'm sorry for letting today go to hell and back. We should've been having fun today not dealing with all that crap." While Sebastian spoke Blaine stepped in front of him and took his hands.

"None of what happened today was your fault, got it. If you exclude our conversation and that little incident we basically spent our day in the gardens which isn't half bad."

"But."

"Bas, trust me on this you don't need to apologize to me. Tomorrow morning we'll get up a bit earlier and make a day out of being silly tourists and you know I can do silly." For the first time since they left that cafe that day Blaine saw a genuine smile creep to Sebastian's face. "Now how about you get out of those clothes so we can take a bath?" At any other moment Blaine would've expect a comment from Sebastian about if he wanted him naked he just had to ask, but there was none of that this time. When he saw Sebastian moving a bit slower than usual Blaine asked him to wait right there while he checked on the tub.

When he returned Sebastian was standing, completely undressed and had his robe wrapped around him. "Here's one for you too." He said while handing the robe to Blaine. Blaine set the robe on the bed while he undressed, but as he did he could tell that Sebastian was watching him. So after putting his robe on he pulled Sebastian into a hug. "What's that for B?"

"Trusting me enough to tell me the truth, I know it couldn't have been easy. And now that I know what he looks like you don't have to be the only one being aware of our surroundings." Blaine then got up on his tiptoes and kissed Sebastian. "How about we go enjoy that bath now?" Sebastian answered with a kiss of his own before taking Blaine's hand and walking them into the bathroom.

While they soaked in the tub Blaine kept rather quiet about what they had talked about and just enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped in Sebastian's arms as he thought. Now that he had this little bit of information he realized the Sebastian he'd been seeing truly was the real him. That the rude, cocky, asshole was nothing but a persona he had created to keep people away. And now it made sense why he only ever opened up to Lexi since he never put those walls up around her. The more he thought about what Sebastian had told him he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and protect him. It also made their little fight before the trip clearer as Sebastian truly wasn't the selfish person he'd projected when they first met.

"You still with me B?" Sebastian whispered into his ear. "You've been pretty quiet."

"I'm still here. Just thinking."

"I have a feeling I know what you're thinking about."

"If you think I'm thinking about you than you're correct." Blaine could feel Sebastian tense slightly behind him so he careful turned in Sebastian's arms so he was facing him. "Don't go there Bas, okay. I love you, nothing has changed."

"How'd you know that's what I was thinking?'

"Except for when I let my fears get the better of me, I'm able to read you pretty well."

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't need to, the way you tensed up and the look in your eyes was all I needed to know you were concerned. I meant it when I said he'd never hurt you again Bas, if I have anything to say about it." Blaine then leaned down to kiss Sebastian since shortly after he turned around he'd straddled Sebastian's lap. "What do you say we get out of here and you let me show you just how much you mean to me?"

"Blaine, you don't have to do that. I know you love me."

"It's not a matter of having to do it Bas, I want too. This is as much for you as it is for me."

The next morning when Blaine awoke he was slightly alarmed to find the bed empty next to him. Not only was the bed empty but Sebastian's phone and wallet were no longer on the nightstand. But before he had the opportunity to worry himself sick Sebastian came walking back into the bedroom with a tray of coffees in one hand and a bag in the other. "Morning B! I was hoping to be back before you woke up." Sebastian said while sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Next time you leave, leave a note I was worried Bas."

"I'm sorry. Hopefully this will make up for it." He said while handing Blaine a coffee before going into the bag and pulling out a chocolate croissant. Blaine just looked at Sebastian before taking a bite of the croissant. The smile that crept to his face let Sebastian know he was no longer in trouble.

"You're lucky this tastes incredible." Blaine told him before taking a sip of his coffee. "This is really good too."

"I'm glad you approve. I thought we'd just have a light breakfast before heading out. Have you decided what you want to do first?"

"Yes, I'd like to go to the Palace of Versailles."

"Since that's the case, get that cute butt of yours out of bed and start getting ready. That is one place we can't walk to." Sebastian replied while he watched Blaine get out of bed. Seeing him walk around the bedroom completely naked was definitely a view Sebastian appreciated.

"It's nice seeing you smiling again Bas. And not that fake smile you tried to pass off yesterday at the Louvre."

"It feels good to smile. Yes, the fake smile wasn't a good idea, but at the time it felt right. Regardless though, you saw right through it."

"Care to share what has you so happy this morning?"

"This amazing guy reminded me last night just how important I was and that I was worthy of the love we share."

"You're right, he sounds pretty amazing. He's quite the catch if I do say so myself."

"I'd have to agree. Also, if you talk to Cooper tell him I took care of his little request. I called the boutique this morning and they've set a bottle aside for me to pick up."

"I never would've expected a boutique to be open this early."

"Most aren't, but the woman that runs this boutique is actually friends with my Mother so I knew she'd be there really early. Depending on when we get back today we can pick it up on our way home if we're back early enough." The two of them continued to talk while Blaine got ready. "And don't forget your camera B."

"I won't." Blaine replied while sliding his camera into his pocket. "Anything else?"

"Sunglasses." Sebastian watched as Blaine turned back to the dresser to grab him. "Do you have everything now?"

"I'm pretty sure I do." Blaine said while walking over towards Sebastian who was still sitting on the bed. "Are we going to leave?" Sebastian just looked up at Blaine and nodded before grabbing another croissant out of the bag. Knowing Blaine well enough Sebastian just handed him the bag since there was only one left.

Once they arrived at the train station they were lucky enough to not have to wait too long for the next train to Versailles. "It's about a forty minute ride B." Sebastian told him once they took their seats. "Is there a particular reason you chose to do this today and not say, Notre Dame?"

"I actually checked the weather and saw today was going to be beautiful and since there is a lot to see outdoors as well as indoors, I thought today was a perfect opportunity."

"Wow, and here I thought you flipped a coin or something." Sebastian said with a slight laugh. "That logic makes perfect sense considering we actually have to travel some distance unlike a lot of other things you want to see. If we got caught in the rain out here it might not be as much fun."

"Come on Bas, getting caught in the rain in London was funny."

"B, we were drenched. I still feel horrible for the mess we made in the foyer when we got back that day. I wish I could've talked Charles into letting me clean it up."

"You made a valiant effort Bas, he just wouldn't have it. And while I'm thinking about it, which night are we going out?"

"That would be tomorrow night. I was thinking we could hit the Louvre again during the day since we'd be more likely to keep better track of time inside."

"Sounds good to me. Do I get a hint as to where we are going?"

"No, but I will tell you that you need to dress nicely again like when we went to the West End."

"I think that can be arranged."

Once they arrived in Versailles, it was only a short walk to the Palace. Both of them were happy that they left as early as they had since there was already a considerable line to get in. So, they decided to make the most of it and started to take a bunch of pictures. It was amazing considering they were in line the decent pictures they were able to get. But once they were inside that's where they were truly blown away. The shear splendor of the palace was undeniable. One would truly need to be ignorant to not appreciate what they were seeing.

While they made their way through the Palace they talked with each other constantly to make sure the other didn't miss a single thing. Even being teenagers they were appalled by the way they were seeing some people act. "Now that is ignorant." Sebastian told Blaine as a woman set her child on top of a table. "And you can see she knows it's wrong the way she keeps looking around."

"Makes you wonder what people are thinking when they do stuff like that."

"They're not, that's the problem. Yet, the fact that we're teenagers, you know people keep waiting for us to do something stupid."

"You're talking about that guard from the Hall of Mirrors, aren't you?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Because I swore he was going to stare right through us. Sadly we had to disappoint him, shame on us for having manners."

"I always wonder how people like that would react of someone did something like that in their own home. I'm sure they're the ones that would freak out on you."

"I don't doubt that at all."

By the time they finished inside the Palace they decided to head for the Gardens. "You do realize this is going to probably take the rest of the day, right B?"

"I know. But I'm pretty sure my Mom would kill us if we didn't come back with tons of pictures of these gardens. She said it's been way too long since her and Dad have been here."

"We can't disappoint her, can we?" Sebastian said with a smile. "How about we take a picture with Latona Fountain in the background?" Blaine thought it was an excellent idea so they made their way to the fountain. After getting numerous shots of the fountain alone, they managed to snap a pretty decent shot of the two of them with the fountain in the background on their first try."

"You're getting really good at that Bas." Blaine told him after seeing the picture.

"I'm glad you think so."

"Considering I've partially cut off part of one of our heads each time I've tried unless it's a close-up, you're a pro."

"Don't get down on yourself B. Those close-ups of us you've taken are really good. I still think one of my favorites is the one you took of us in Trafalgar Square that one night."

"I like that one a lot too. So did my Mom and Lexi."

"We've all got excellent taste."

Once they were done walking most of the gardens, as there was no way there were going to see all of them that day they decided to head back to Paris. After getting settled on the train Blaine leaned against Sebastian. "After picking up Lexi's perfume could we just stay in the rest of the night, my feet are killing me."

"That sounds like an excellent idea. That was a ton of walking, though we are making one pit stop after picking up the perfume."

"And that would be?"

"Dinner."

"You won't get any complaints from me, I'm starving."

"Me too."

What should've been a quick stop at the boutique dragged on a bit since the lady working couldn't find the perfume that had been set aside. At least twenty minutes must've passed before she finally made a call asking where it was. From where Blaine was standing he was pretty sure the woman thought Sebastian was crazy when he told her what had been put aside for him. Surprisingly Sebastian didn't lose his cool though, which impressed Blaine since Sebastian often has a very short fuse. Though dealing with Kurt all these months had given him more patience. Once the bag was handed to Sebastian, Blaine just smiled while the woman apologized to him for the wait.

"Please tell me there was a reason she never looked behind her on the counter Bas."

"Wish I knew. Do you know how many times I tried to tell her that there was a bag behind her for me? Seriously, I'm pretty sure there aren't that many guys named Sebastian that have things set aside for them. And from what I heard of the phone conversation, my Mother's friend isn't very happy that I was kept waiting. But Cooper lucked out."

"How?"

"I didn't have to pay full price for it."

"Wait, that wasn't full price?"

"Nope. Now you know why Lexi uses it sparingly."

"I don't blame her. But, it smells amazing."

"That it does. Now how about we get dinner?" Blaine just smiled up at him in response while Sebastian took his hand. They only ended up walking a couple of blocks to a quaint little bistro. "Do you have any preference in what we have?"

"Surprise me since you did rather well with our little picnic."

Blaine just sat back and listened while Sebastian placed their order. From what he could make out dinner was definitely going to be more extravagant than lunch had been. Once Sebastian had their food in hand Blaine almost wished that they were eating there since it smelt incredible. But he knew it was better for them to eat at the house and they were only a couple of blocks away.

"Why do I have a feeling you know the best places to get food to carry out from?"

"Because I do. I should probably tell you, my Mother really can't cook. So unless my Dad was home we ate out, a lot." Sebastian replied after opening the door. Once they were inside Blaine took the bag of food from Sebastian and headed for the kitchen so that Sebastian could lock up. When Sebastian joined Blaine in the kitchen all the food was set out on the counter. "Do you want some wine?"

"Are you trying to get me drunk Bas?"

"No. Just wine will go nicely with dinner. And it's not my fault wine hits you like a brick after a second glass."

"I wish I knew why that was."

"Me too. But it happens." Sebastian said while getting plates out. "Do you want to just eat in here or go to the dining room?"

"Here is fine, I don't need anything fancy."

"If that was the case I could've just ordered sandwiches."

"I don't think so. What are we having?"

"Coq Au Vin, trust me, you'll like it." Sebastian replied before pouring them each a glass of wine. After they sat down Sebastian watched as Blaine took a bite. The fact that a second bite soon followed Sebastian began to enjoy his dinner as well.

"You were right once again, this is really good."

"I'm glad you think so. Considering there isn't much you don't care for, choosing dishes for you to try is pretty easy."

"I could tell you knew I'd like it."

"And how is that?"

"We're both having the same thing."

They had just finished cleaning up their dishes when Blaine felt Sebastian wrap his arms around him from behind. "Did you enjoy yourself today B?" Sebastian asked while resting his chin on Blaine's shoulder.

"Very much so, it was more beautiful than I imagined it could be. Did you enjoy yourself?"

"I did. The day was pretty perfect from where I stand." Sebastian then began to place soft kisses on Blaine's neck. "The evening is just as perfect." With as gentle as the kisses were Blaine just relaxed in Sebastian's embrace. Considering Sebastian was just kissing him softly, Blaine couldn't believe the affect it was having on him. It wasn't till he slid a hand into Sebastian's hair to pull him closer did he realize just how aroused he was.

"What do you say we take this upstairs?" Blaine said softly.

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes." Once Sebastian loosened his grip Blaine turned in his arms and looked up at him. Upon locking eyes on each other, Blaine knew that look all too well. At that moment, Sebastian wanted nothing more than to just kiss Blaine. Though considering the state they were both in since Sebastian had been kissing him for quite a while, it might not just stop at kissing that evening.