Two Steps Beyond
Part 178
Knowing that Blaine's birthday was going to be a long day, they all headed back to their resort probably earlier than they normally would have under other circumstances. But knowing they needed to get an early start the next morning they did the responsible thing. They were just about to head up in the elevators when everyone surrounded Blaine and Sebastian. "You two can't go to bed when you get upstairs." Thad told them.
"And why is that?" Sebastian asked.
"That would be because Blaine has some gifts to open." "Dave said. "And they need to be opened tonight."
"Which numbers?" Blaine asked.
"The remaining numbered packages. I don't remember what number we left off on." Flint said. "Just keep going till all that's left are the packages that say to Blaine. Though, there are a couple in there for Seb that he should probably open tonight as well."
"Do you all want to see us open them?" Sebastian asked, curious to the answer.
"We'll be there for the others. But just make sure you record." Jeff told him. "Otherwise I'll have Hunter kick your ass."
"Well played Jeffrey." Sebastian replied with a smile. "Hunter I'd be afraid of, you, not so much since we're too much alike."
"So very true." Jeff replied.
Even before Blaine and Sebastian walked into their room, they were reminded once more to open the gifts. After reassuring their friend that they would before they went to bed, they headed inside. "Bas." Blaine said as they sat down on the couch. "Do you mind if we do this out on the balcony, it's a gorgeous night?"
"You're the soon to be birthday boy, we'll do this wherever you want." Blaine smiled in returned and started pulling the last of the numbered packages out of the baskets along with those gifts with Sebastian's name on them. "Hey B. Why did they get stuff for me when it's your birthday?" He said as he took his shoes off.
"Don't know, but it was sweet of them. But if you want an actual guess, they did it to sweeten you up."
"Only you are capable of doing that B." Sebastian said as he began gathering the gifts Blaine had set on the table. Once they had everything, they headed out onto their balcony. After setting the gifts down, Sebastian went back inside for the camera. "Fair warning B, you can't take too much time." Sebastian said once he sat down beside him.
"Alright, but why?"
"I have my own plans on how I want to start your birthday. And opening gifts from everyone is not part of it."
"Do I get a hint?" Sebastian then leaned over and whispered into Blaine's ear and a smile crept to Blaine's face. Yet the more Sebastian spoke, Blaine could feel his cheeks warming up along without parts of him. "Okay, you can stop. Let's get started before we both break our promise to everyone." Sebastian sat back in his chair with a satisfied smirk on his face as he turned the camera on Blaine and began to record.
The more gifts Blaine opened, the more they realized their friends pay way more attention than one would've guessed. Going off the fact that they'd be spending Blaine's birthday at the Wizarding World, Blaine received everything to help feed his love of the series. When he and Sebastian each opened beer steins with the Gryffindor and Slytherin crests on them they both smiled. While most of the items were for Blaine, there were a few where Sebastian got the equivalent to Blaine but with a different house. "Did they really put together a book for you about surviving the Wizarding World?" Sebastian asked as he pushed some of the wrapping paper onto the ground.
"They did. I think they should've given this to me sooner so I could've done some light reading before bed at night."
"I don't think so." Sebastian said. "I shared you each day with everyone. Before bed is about us, unless that hasn't been what you've wanted."
"No, it's definitely been what I wanted. I like your Slytherin quidditch shirt by the way."
"Me too. I'm honestly impressed that nothing we opened was something we bought at Leavesden."
"Me too. Though the last box I opened did say there are a few more items waiting for us at home that were too big to bring with."
"Speaking of bringing, we're going to need some help bringing all this stuff home B."
"That I do know and Jeff and the guys already offered to help. I can't believe they bought our tickets either."
"For that I'm going to kick their asses."
"Bas."
"Fine it was sweet of them. They did way more than I ever could've imagined B. And to think there is still more in the room."
"Not to mention whatever you got me."
"I don't know if I can top what they've done for you B. They truly pulled out all the stops." As Sebastian spoke, Blaine got out of his chair and walked over to him and sat down on his lap.
"But they're from you which makes them special Bas." Blaine then leaned in and kissed Sebastian softly on the lips. "What do you say we clean up out here and head inside?"
"Are you sure, like you said, it's gorgeous out."
"I'm positive. Plus, it'll be my birthday soon and didn't you just tell me what you'd like to be doing then." Those words were all Sebastian needed to hear as he quickly stood up, holding onto Blaine so to not drop him on the ground. "I thought so."
"If only anyone knew you weren't as innocent as you project B."
"I prefer keeping that between us."
The next morning Blaine and Sebastian made a point out of getting up early so that they could continue their private birthday celebration before having to meet the others. Sebastian had just collapsed next to Blaine when he heard a knock on their door. "Please tell me you didn't hear that."
"I'd love to, but I can't." Blaine then glanced over at the clock. "Surprisingly Bas, it's not that early. We've been celebrating for quite awhile this morning." While Blaine spoke there was another knock on the door. "Do you want me to get it?"
"No, you keep that cute ass of yours in bed. I'll be right back." Sebastian then gave him a kiss before getting out of bed.
"Bas, aren't you forgetting something." Blaine said once he realized Sebastian was standing between the two rooms completely nude.
"It would serve whoever it is right for me to answer like this. I don't see you rushing to put clothes on." Sebastian said as he grabbed a pair of shorts off the chair.
"That's because I'm doing as you asked and keeping my cute ass in bed." Sebastian could only smile as he looked at Blaine stretched out on the bed. "Don't be long."
"I don't plan on it." After tying his shorts, Sebastian went to the door.
"Hap…you're not Blaine." Brittany said as Sebastian looked at her and Santana standing before him. "Where is he?"
"In bed since it's still early."
"From the looks of you, both of you were already up." Santana replied with a smile.
"Cute glasses Britt." Sebastian said, completely ignoring Santana's comment.
"Thank you! May we see Blaine?" Before Sebastian had a chance to answer Santana pushed her way passed him and into the room, pulling Brittany by the hand behind her.
"B, we've got company!" Sebastian could only hope Blaine heard him knowing Blaine was literally in his birthday suit in bed.
"Well, nice to see I was right." Santana said once she and Brittany reached the doorway of the bedroom. There in the bed was Blaine with the blankets over his lap. "Happy Birthday Blaine!"
"Uh, thanks. What are you both doing here so early?"
"We came to get you and Sebby for your Birthday breakfast." Brittany replied. "So go take a shower."
"B's not going anywhere Britt." Sebastian said as he sat down next to Blaine.
"Why?"
"Britt, I think we might have interrupted a private celebration."
"Oh." Brittany replied with the shiest of smiles as she covered her mouth. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Blaine replied. "So, if you need us both to get ready you need to go and wait in the other room, okay?"
"No problem." Santana said. "And while I joked Seb, we really are sorry."
"Like B said. It's okay." Before the girls left, they each got close enough to Blaine to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"And Seb, you need to wear your quidditch shirt today." Sebastian nodded in response and the girls left, closing the door behind them.
"Ready to get cleaned up and ready to go?"
"Yeah." Blaine replied as he leaned over and rested his head in Sebastian's lap. "Thank you for this morning."
"That can go both ways B. And as tempting as it is to stay in bed with you we need to get a move on. Having the girls almost catch you naked once was more than enough."
"Very true." Blaine then pushed himself up into a seated position. "Let's go take a shower."
Knowing they couldn't waste much time once they got in the shower they didn't allow themselves to be distracted by the other. Once they were done, Blaine set about figuring what he was going to wear as Sebastian put on his boxers and shorts. "I'll be right back B. My shirt is in the other room." Blaine smiled and pulled on his boxers so that he wasn't complete exposed anymore. When Sebastian walked out into the room Brittany and Santana were sitting on the couch.
"You smell nice Sebby."
"Thank you Britt." When he replied Sebastian grabbed his shirt off the table. "Why do I have to wear this today since I had a shirt that was suitable for today?"
"You'll find out soon enough." Santana replied. As she did, Sebastian looked at both of them more closely.
"You're both dressed according to one of the houses."
"We can't get much by you, can we Seb. Yes, we're both dressed according to one of the houses. To be specific though, Britt is channeling Luna."
"Aren't you wearing the wrong colors though?"
"Nope. I assumed I would've been with you, but I'm not. Quinn is though. Everyone has been sorted, though some have issues as to where they've been put. But that's mainly from thinking they would've been in one house when they were put into another."
"Who else besides Miss Fabray is with me?"
"Thad, Hunter, and Flint. Quinn is the only girl."
"I'm not surprised that Thad and Hunter are with me."
"Nor is anyone else. Flint is the only one that caught us off-guard." Just as Santana answered, Blaine came walking out of the bedroom in a pair of khaki shorts and a scarlet polo shirt. "You're outfit is appropriate. I approve."
"Good." Blaine replied. "Though, it is my birthday so I will wear what I want."
"He does have some sass to him." Santana replied. "Now, you both need to grab what you need for the day because we're not coming back till late."
"Bas." As Blaine said his name, Sebastian grabbed his backpack which he'd packed the previous night.
"I'll give them to you later B." Sebastian then kissed the top of his head. "I would've done it sooner had someone let me know we'd be leaving so early."
"Sorry Sebby."
"This isn't on you girls, I will discuss this with the guys." Sebastian then took ahold of Blaine's hand. "Lead the way ladies." Once they opened the door, they found Nick and Jeff standing there waiting.
"Took you guys long enough." Nick said as he took Santana's hand.
"They were still in bed." Brittany replied while putting her arm around Jeff's waist. "But they're ready now so we better go. We can't be late."
"For our very important date." Jeff added which brought a smile to Brittany's face. "She's right though, we need to get going. Everyone else is already waiting at the monorail." Before they turned to go the elevators though, Nick and Jeff quickly turned and enwrapped Blaine in a big hug before wishing him a happy birthday. The moment was definitely one to remember and one that Sebastian and the girls both caught on camera.
When they reached the monorail, everyone was there waiting, just as Jeff said. "I can't believe you're all dressed like this." Blaine said as he noticed everyone was sporting appropriate house colors. "It's going to make our pictures rather interesting."
"That's one way to put it." Beat said before wishing Blaine a happy birthday. Soon everyone was doing the same as they waited for their train. Once they boarded, Blaine looked up at Sebastian who was sitting next him.
"Don't ask, I have no clue where we are going. I'm just along for the ride birthday boy."
When they arrived at the Polynesian, Sebastian was suddenly left standing on the platform as he watched Brittany and Quinn walking away with Blaine and the rest of the girls around him. "I think you lost your boyfriend." Hunter said as the guys surrounded Sebastian.
"I didn't lose him, he was taken from me." Sebastian replied as they all began to follow the girls. "Where are we going? Wait, don't answer that yet. Why didn't anyone tell me we were leaving the resort so freaking early!"
"Does it really matter?" Trent asked.
"It did." In that brief moment it took Sebastian to utter those two words Nick and Jeff managed to get through to the guys to just drop the subject without saying another word.
"We should've told you." Thad said. "We're sorry. What did you get Blaine for his birthday?"
"Not telling."
"That's not nice." Dave replied.
"I'm not saying because Blaine has yet to open his gifts because we left so early." All of the guys cringed. And once again, Sebastian heard quite a few apologies.
"I'm sorry; I had no right to speak the way I just did. I just would've liked to have given him at least one gift this morning. He and I were still in bed when the girls showed up."
"Understandable." Wes said. "We should've told you as Thad said. Our mistake."
"Apology accepted. Now, where are we going?"
"To the character breakfast. The girls thought it would be a cute way to start our day. And they've already made advance arrangements so they know it's Blaine's birthday." David said.
"It is a cute way to start the day." Sebastian said. "B will like it. By the way, he loved everything last night. As did I."
"We're glad." Flint said. "We felt it was only appropriate that you two had your own versions of some of those items. You're not quite someone I could see drinking out of a Gryffindor stein."
"So very true."
"Figures they'd agree." Dave said with a laugh.
"What can I say, us Slytherins need to stick together." When Sebastian spoke, Flint, Hunter and Thad all smiled.
"This is going to be an interesting day." James said prior to them reaching Blaine and the girls. "And Seb, don't go corrupting our young Gryffindor."
"I would do no such thing. And for your information, Blaine's older than me so he's corrupting me."
"When it comes to corruption, age is not an issue." Jeff said, but before Sebastian could respond they were being lead to their tables. If it wasn't for some strategic maneuvering, Sebastian was almost positive he wasn't going to be sitting by Blaine the way the girls were doting over him. But once they were seated it wasn't long till a cast member came walking over to their grouping of tables.
"I've been told someone is celebrating a birthday today, is that correct?"
"It's Blaine's birthday!" Brittany said happily as she put her arm around his shoulders. "We're going to celebrate all day."
"Aren't you lucky?" The cast member said with a smile and Blaine nodded. "Well then, why don't we get this day started off right?" As they spoke Blaine looked around and was surprised to see the restaurant was still relatively quiet. In that moment, Sebastian took ahold of Blaine's hand under the table. The next thing they all saw were the characters come walking in along with a bunch of other cast members. Blaine started to blush and Sebastian gave his hand a squeeze. So far, today seemed to be the one day everyone remembered to bring their cameras. Then before they had much of a chance to react, they began singing happy birthday to Blaine in Hawaiian.
The smile that crept to Blaine's face was one that he clearly wasn't going to be losing anytime soon. And if he thought about it, he was certain his cheeks were going to be sore at the end of the day from all the smiling he'd be doing. As Sebastian watched Blaine, it now all made sense as to why Hunter took the video camera from him earlier. Sebastian was going to be as much a part of the day as Blaine and they were all going to make sure he was in all of the shots with Blaine instead of taking the footage himself.
By the time they finished breakfast, it was clear all of them were having a good time. And while the idea of going to a character breakfast at their age might sound odd to some, they were all still kids at heart. Once they got up from their seats, Blaine looked around at everyone. "I think I know what's next, but I don't want to assume."
"Yes, we're going there." Wes said. They were all about to leave, when Mickey came walking up to Blaine and handed him a gift bag for his birthday before giving him a hug. Once Blaine thanked him they headed on their way. Since Sebastian was as in the dark as Blaine, the two of them basically stayed in the middle of their group of friends. It wasn't till they walked out of the main entrance did Sebastian quickly realize how they were getting to the park. There in front of the resort was parked a stretch Hummer.
"Let's get this show on the road!" Flint said as he headed towards the ride. The fact that he didn't hesitate at all; made it clear who he'd been talking to minutes earlier on the phone. Once they were situated, they were quickly on their way.
"Blaine, I think you need to check-in this morning." Dave told him.
"With who and why?" Blaine replied as he rested his head on Sebastian's shoulder.
"We've all posted pictures from this morning and quite a few people are curious why the birthday boy is MIA. One of those people being your brother." The last bit was all Blaine needed to hear and soon he and Sebastian pulled their phones out of their pockets.
"I'm going to kill him!" Blaine said with a laugh after reading some of the things Cooper had written. At least the stuff he posted in the open wasn't nearly as bad as the text messages he'd sent Blaine. Though, those messages weren't reserved solely for him as he sent Sebastian quite a few as well. While Blaine took a moment to reply to some of his birthday greetings conversation continued around him. Considering they'd allotted more time than necessary to arrive at the park, they were all still surprised when they arrived earlier than expected.
When they got out of the Hummer they all took in their surrounds and made sure everyone had everything before the Hummer left. Once they were assured they had everything it was time for them to take a group photo, something they'd done at each of the parks so far. Before they were even let inside, Blaine was smiling ear to ear which was a sight Sebastian realized he was going to be seeing throughout the day. And while the guys all told him not to worry about taking pictures, he couldn't resist taking his own. With Blaine in his own little world, Sebastian was going to be sure he didn't miss a moment of it.
No sooner were they through the entrance, did the fun begin. While they were all for Blaine taking them through the park, Wes, James, and Flint had done more than enough research to guide them all to the Dragon Challenge first. They went this way since everyone else seemed to be making a B-line to the Forbidden Journey. All the research the guys had done clearly paid off as they were able to ride both coasters since it was relatively quiet still.
But their next attraction was clearly the Forbidden Journey though; they made a few pit stops along the way. Once they were in front of the castle, each grouping of friends posed for a picture in front of their appropriate house's crest. "Tell me, did they really take that quiz or would no one argue with them?" Blaine asked Jeff as Sebastian, Thad, Hunter, Quinn, and Flint took their picture.
"I know Quinn took it, as for the guys, would you question which house those four wanted to be in."
"Good point. But I know Bas is in the correct house since he was sorted at Leavesden."
"And you?"
"I was, but they said it was a toss-up between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, so I got to choose which house. Bas approved of my choice. So, is anyone going to tell me what is planned for today?"
"The plan is for you to have fun and enjoy yourself." Nick said as he and Thad came walking over. "Leave the thinking to the rest of us."
"Alright. What's going on over there?" Blaine asked as he pointed over to where Sebastian stood with Hunter, Wes, Beat, and David.
"It's us covering our asses." Thad told him. "While we want Seb to be as surprised as you, we need to run a few things passed him. Last thing we want is to screw up any more than we have."
"You guys haven't screwed up."
"We did in that we didn't tell Seb when we were leaving this morning." Jeff said. "He was a bit upset that he couldn't give you at least one of your gifts." Blaine only shook his head, but he understood why they were all talking. Once Sebastian and the others walked back over they proceeded to enter the queue and continue the fun for the day.
There didn't seem to be a string they didn't pull in certain situations that day. When they went into Ollivander's wand shop, even Blaine wasn't surprised that he was the one asked to participate. While it was often a younger child that took part, they were the only ones in the shop and Blaine knew this wasn't a mere coincidence. As the act went on, everyone was paying close attention. "Do you know if they were able to do it?" Beat asked quietly to Hunter who was standing next to him.
"It was delivered while we were at the show. I don't think they could've cut it much closer." Hunter replied and Beat nodded. They weren't quite sure exactly when they'd gotten the idea, but once they did they knew they had to make it an actuality. When it came time for him to select the wand for Blaine, all of them paid close attention since only Hunter and Beat knew it had actually arrived in time. "Well Mr. Anderson, I think I have the perfect wand for you." As he spoke he pulled a box off the shelf that had a different colored label than all the others. Once he handed it to Blaine, they all watched as Blaine took a good look at it. "Why don't you give it a try Mr. Anderson?"
As Blaine did the token flick of the wand, the affects occurred and his friends all cheered. "Seems you have found your wand." While he spoke, Blaine looked even closer at the black wand in his hand. It had characteristics of others he'd seen, but instead of a vein wrapped through the handle, a music staff wrapped around it. Once he spotted it he turned to look at everyone.
"How?"
"We have our means." Hunter replied. "It's only fitting you have one that's solely yours." Blaine then looked at Sebastian who was standing next to him.
"Did you…?"
"No. But we should probably now buy a holder for our wands to properly display them all." Sebastian then kissed Blaine on the top of his head before they all proceeded out. The rest of the day was filled with more little surprises as they went about exploring and enjoying themselves. By the time they were ready to head back to the resort Santana wrapped an arm around Blaine's waist.
"Just so you know, the celebration hasn't ended. You still have quite a few presents to open once we get back as well as a few other things."
"Today has already been too much."
"Maybe, in your mind, but it's not over yet." Santana then leaned in and gave Blaine a kiss on the cheek before they all got into their transportation back to the resort.