Two Steps Beyond

Part 41

With as late as it was when they got back into Manhattan, Hunter, Rachel, and Brody all just crashed at Blaine and Sebastian's. Hunter, because he drove Beat, Thad, and Dave, while Blaine didn't feel like trying to drop Rachel and Brody off with all the construction that was going on that night. It must've been pretty extensive considering the ramp he would've been getting off on was backed up and it was almost midnight.

The next morning when Sebastian woke up, he saw a note from Hunter in the kitchen saying he went home to shower and change but that he'd be back by nine like they'd discussed prior to leaving Southampton. After making a pot of coffee he noticed a note from Rachel on the fridge as well stating something similar to what Hunter's did. Sebastian then took the opportunity to check his email and such considering he'd essentially ignored it the entire weekend. Sebastian just stared at his laptop once he had his email open. He started to delete the mindless notifications and was on such a roll that he almost deleted a message from a Harper_William.J. He was in such a daze that he didn't even move when the coffee pot beeped, signaling it was done.

"Bas, you okay?" Blaine asked from the doorway upon seeing the blank expression on his face. "Bas." He said softly before coming closer and sitting down next to him. Normally, Sebastian knew when Blaine was anywhere close and it often caught Blaine off-guard, but in this moment Sebastian was in his own little world. "Bas." Blaine said again before placing his hand on top of one of Sebastian's which were resting on the laptop.

"Coffee is done." Sebastian's words were almost mono-tone when he spoke and never moved his eyes from the screen. Slowly Blaine got up and fixed them each a cup before returning to the table.

"Bas, look at me." There was something about the tone of Blaine's voice this time around that broke Sebastian out of his daze. "What is it?" Sebastian didn't answer with words, just turned the laptop enough so that Blaine could see the highlighted email. Once Blaine read the name, he felt his stomach begin to tense and completely understood why Sebastian was acting the way he was. "Have you opened it yet?"

"No."

"I've got an idea." Sebastian turned to face Blaine.

"I'm listening."

"Considering the guys will be getting up soon, why don't we take the laptop into our bedroom and you can open it there. That way you'll have some privacy."

"I don't want you to leave the room B."

"I won't, but this way one of the guys won't walk in."

"Speaking of the guys, Hunter left and said he'd be back by nine, same with Rachel and Brody." Blaine just nodded and motioned for Sebastian to close the laptop. "I'm afraid of what he has to say B."

"I know. If you want since we have a full day planned with everyone you can open it later if you want."

"I thought about that, but then I'd be wondering all day and I doubt I'd be much fun."

"Then let's go find out what Will has to say."

On their way back to their room they passed Thad in the hallway and told him that coffee was ready. It wasn't till Thad turned the corner did they enter their room and close the door. After getting settled on the bed, Sebastian opened up the laptop again and then his email. "Okay, here goes nothing." Once the email was open, Sebastian slid the laptop between them so they could both read it. It was pretty obvious they both reached the end at about the same time as they both turned to face each other. "He wasn't kidding when he said he'd keep us informed, was he?"

"He certainly wasn't. Are you happy that the information you gave them panned out?"

"I'm thrilled. I can't believe he still has a lot of the same contacts nor that he still hangs around outside the Academy for the next lonely individual."

"Guess it's a good thing he feels so comfortable that he doesn't change his habits in that regard. And not to make you feel uncomfortable, but I really think he's looking for someone like you."

"That'll never happen."

"And why is that?" There was something about the way Sebastian answered that Blaine couldn't stop a smile from slowly creeping to his face.

"I'm one of a kind."

"You surely are Bas." Blaine then leaned in and gave him a kiss, which turned into more than he had planned since Sebastian lowered his head the same time Blaine had stretched slightly. Before they both realized what was happening Sebastian had moved the laptop off to the side and was now lying above Blaine. Sebastian's mouth was doing such a number on the sweet spot of Blaine's neck that Blaine didn't seem to notice Sebastian had slid his hand into his boxers till he moaned loudly when Sebastian gripped him. "Bas…we, shouldn't." In that instant Sebastian stopped what he was doing on both fronts and raised his body enough so he could look at Blaine.

Upon locking eyes on each other it was pretty clear that this was something they both wanted so Sebastian couldn't help but wonder why Blaine stopped him. "Any particular reason why?"

"We have a house full of people." Blaine managed to get out while trying to catch his breath.

"That's never stopped us before." Sebastian replied while beginning to stroke him gently.

"Everyone else is going to be coming over."

"B, it's just after seven, we have time. That is, unless you really don't want this." Sebastian was just about move his hand when he felt Blaine pull him close, wedging his hand in place.

"No, I definitely want this…you. I want you Bas."

"I want you too B. Just remember to keep quiet or they'll never let us live this down." Blaine smiled up at him before leaning up to kiss him. That kiss was all it took for Blaine to loosen his hold on Sebastian and for things to get back to where they were.

Sebastian and Blaine had gotten so caught up in each other that if it hadn't been for a phone call from Santana they probably would've still been curled up in bed when everyone started to arrive. But thankfully they were able to grab a shower and get dressed before anyone arrived. "Safe to say I don't need to say the words good prior to morning to you two." Dave said with a laugh when they entered the living room.

"Aren't you just a funny guy?" Sebastian replied before taking a seat. "B, you going to join me?"

"No, I need to call Coop; he left a message while we were in the shower."

After Blaine left the room the guys just looked at Sebastian. "What?"

"Considering what we heard you two definitely had a good morning." Thad said with a smirk.

"Guys, please don't say that to Blaine, he'll be completely embarrassed even though he knows you guys know we have sex."

"Don't worry man, we won't say anything." Beat said reassuringly to Sebastian. "We wouldn't do that to him."

"Thank you."

"You honestly looked mortified Seb." Dave told him.

"That's because I know B would be if he knew. He still has some modesty even though we are together and try things."

"Fear not, your secret is safe with us." Thad told him just as the doorbell rang.

"Just remember that guys. I'm going to go get that." When Sebastian reached the door he just smiled. "Did you guys get a group rate or something?"

"You've watched Oceans 11 one too many times Seb." Logan said as they walked inside. "Is anyone else here yet?"

"Just those that are staying here. I'm sure the others will all be here soon." Sebastian was just about to follow them down the hall when the bell rang again. "Greetings Clarington."

"Salutations Smythe. I see a bunch of your motley crew has arrived."

"They have. Question, just what happened between you and Kurt?"

"I was just my usual charming self and he didn't appreciate it. He also had the audacity to mock my name."

"Sounds like him. And so you know, once he gets a distain for someone it tends to not go away."

"I'm crushed, profoundly crushed." Hunter said mocking disappointment. "Honestly, that boy has no personality. I truly don't understand what Blaine saw in him and I was only with him for a few minutes."

"And you understand what he sees in me?"

"I actually do. When you're not being an ass you can be quite charming."

"Same can be said for you."

"Enough with the mutual love fest step aside boys." Santana said with a smile before giving them each a kiss on the cheek prior to making her way inside followed by everyone else.

"She truly is like a female version of you."

"I've heard that more than once and one of the people to state as much was B. Now that almost everyone else is here lets go find out what's going on."

"Not going to wait for Brody and Rachel?"

"Nope, because if she went home, nine out of ten she'll be running slightly late much to Brody's dismay."

When Hunter and Sebastian reached the living room numerous conversations were on-going. Sebastian started to look for Blaine, but that search was short when he felt a pair of arms slide around his waist. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd return." Blaine said once Sebastian turned in his arms.

"Sorry, Hunter and I were just talking. How's Cooper?"

"Busy, but he wanted to remind us that we have dinner reservations with him and Lexi Sunday evening."

"I remember. Did you wrap her gift yet?"

"I did."

"Lexi's birthday?" Hunter asked.

"Yes." Sebastian replied. "How'd you guess?" He asked with a laugh.

"I'm observant. Also, I know Cassie is baby-sitting so the four of you can have a child-free night."

"Ah, so that's who's doing it." Blaine said. "I knew it had to be either her or Tasha."

"Technically, they're both doing it in case something comes up and one of them needs to leave. Last thing they'd want is to ruin Lexi's night out with her favorite boys."

"Understandable." Blaine then looked around the room. "They're not here yet, are they?"

"Nope, I was just about to give Brody a call to find out where they are." Sebastian was just getting his phone out of his pocket when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Santana said, upon seeing the three of them in the middle of a conversation. When she opened the door she could see that both of them looked irritated. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, at least right now. Is everyone else here?" Rachel asked.

"We were just waiting on you two." Santana replied before they headed for the living room. "Everyone's now here!" She called out once they reached the end of the hallway.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Blaine asked to which everyone said yes.

"Everyone have your cameras, phones, video cameras, and etcetera." Sebastian rattled off making quite a few of the guys laugh. Once everyone made sure they had everything they were off for their day of sight-seeing.

After picking up their tickets for their tour, it just a matter of waiting for the next bus to appear. While they waited the silliness began as numerous pictures were being taken while Jeff and Wes seemed to be catching everything on video. "You guys really are crazy, you know that right?" Rachel said to Blaine.

"We know."

Luckily when the next bus pulled up it was empty and no one around them wanted to join in on their special brand of crazy. Before everyone got settled Wes asked their guide to take a picture of all of them since it would be one of the few group shots they'd be able to get. Once it was taken everyone got comfortable and the tour began. They were almost out of Times' Square when Trent's eyes bugged out and he called out Cooper's name. "Where is he?" Sebastian asked assuming Trent saw him walking nearby.

"Right there." Thankfully as Trent pointed to a billboard the bus stopped at a light so everyone turned to see just what Trent was pointing out. And there on a billboard in Times' Square was Cooper's smiling face on a poster for his new movie.

"Blaine, you've got some explaining to do." Santana said from her seat in front of him.

"Obviously, Cooper's got a new movie coming out."

"We can see that." Jeff replied. "But we didn't know he'd made such a leap into the mainstream."

"Care to share what type of role this is?" Logan asked just as the bus started to move again.

"He's actually playing the guy the lead actress should be with verses the one she's with. It's a Rom-Com. He's the sweet, charming guy while the guy she's with is a bit of a jerk that doesn't really care what she wants."

"So in the end does he get the girl?" Rachel asked.

"You'll just have to see for yourself Miss Berry." Blaine said with a wink. Since they're guide began talking more, most of the attention was off of Blaine for the meantime. "Bas."

"Yes B."

"Dinner wasn't the only thing Cooper wanted to talk to me about."

"What else?" Sebastian asked while turning in his seat slightly though not removing his arm from around Blaine's shoulders.

"He invited us to the premiere, but he understands if we don't want to go."

"Why wouldn't we want to go?"

"Lexi looked at the calendar and realized Cooper's premiere is the same day as our one year anniversary."

"Got it. Personally, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate. What about you?"

"Agreed, I'll let Cooper know we'll be there."

Unlike their sight-seeing in December, having everyone around took the campiness to a whole new level. If there was a TV or movie moment they could reenact at a given stop, it happened. By the time the tour had ended three hours later they were all starving so they decided to find something to eat. While numerous options were being discussed Blaine soon found himself surrounded by the four girls since he didn't care where they ate. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"We were just wondering if by chance Cooper was going to be shirtless at all during his new film." Santana asked.

"Didn't you get enough of seeing him without a shirt on this weekend?"

"We did, but the thought of seeing it on the big screen is very appealing." Hailey said.

"I'll make sure Wes knows."

"They all know." Rachel said with a shy smile.

"Anything else you'd like to know besides whether or not my brother is going to be shirtless?"

"Well, you can tell us if there are any sex scenes." Santana said.

"What makes you think there will be sex scenes?"

"It's a rom-com." Hailey said. "They're basically standard in them."

"You'd know better than I would."

"I see my dear boy is blushing slightly, just what are you girls asking him?"

"We want to know if Cooper's not going to be wearing a shirt in his new movie." Brittany said.

"There must be something else to get B to blush like this." Sebastian then looked at all the girls.

"Okay, maybe we asked if there were any sex scenes in the movie." Santana told him, which caused Sebastian to furrow his brow.

"Now I know why he looks like he does. Do you not think the thought of Cooper having sex, albeit simulated, on screen might be an issue for B here?"

"We hadn't thought about that. Sorry Blaine." Rachel said, before the others said the same thing.

"It's okay, really. And to answer your question, I know he's shirtless at one point but I don't know if there are any sex scenes. I'll let you know after we see it." The girls all just smiled and thanked Blaine before walking over to the rest of the guys to see what had been decided upon.

"Talk to me."

"There's nothing to say."

"Bullshit! Don't close up on me Blaine. Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is."

"I'll tell you later Bas, now is not the place to have this conversation." After he lifted Blaine's face to meet his, Sebastian had a good feeling what this was all about.

"B, you know they don't mean it like that. They're all just excited." Blaine's hazel eyes met Sebastian's green and he felt himself relax. There was something about the look in Sebastian's eyes that Blaine knew he understood how he was feeling. Through all the conversations they had had since they'd been together, it meant a lot to Blaine to know that Sebastian really had been paying attention.

"I know. I just don't want those feelings to rear their head again. Now that I've got Cooper back in my life I don't want to screw things up because of something so petty."

"How about you promise to let me know whenever those feelings start to come to the surface and we'll deal with them accordingly."

"When did you become so patient and understanding?" To one that might've heard Blaine's words; they might've thought they were harsh. But there was a softness to Blaine's voice when he said them that Sebastian knew there was no malice behind them and that he was actually just being playful.

"Since I fell in love with an amazing guy whose feelings matter to me." Sebastian then leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Blaine's. They just stayed there for a bit before sharing a tender kiss.

"Are you guys seeing that?" Thad asked.

"Yes, and I almost feel like we're intruding on a private moment." Nick replied.

"I know, but I don't think they care." Brody said. "From where I'm standing the only ones on their radar are each other."