Five Years Later

Part 24

By the time the party was winding down, Santana was long gone and Rachel was sitting on the couch between Thad and Nick. For what seemed like ages since it had happened, Rachel truly enjoyed herself that night which brought a smile to Blaine's face. "The car should be here soon." He said as he wrapped his arms around Sebastian's waist. "I think she had fun."

"You think?" Sebastian replied with a smile. "I never would've picture the side of her I saw tonight. She was truly fun to be around as she wasn't so uptight. Who knew she could relax, besides you?" Sebastian then kissed Blaine's forehead.

"A few people." Blaine told him before resting his head on Sebastian's chest. "But the fact that she was comfortable enough around strangers for the most part is huge. Plus the guys made sure she had a good time."

"They certainly did, which I appreciated as it allowed us to enjoy ourselves. Hell, I'm sure Santana was thrilled as well."

"Did Santana even notice?" Blaine replied.

"Good point as she was certainly in her own little world." Once Sebastian spoke, Blaine's phone went off with a call from the car service. So, the two walked towards the couch to help Rachel up. It wasn't that she drank a lot that evening, but all the dancing and late hour had certainly taken a toll on her. "It's time to get you home Miss Berry."

"I don't wanna go." Rachel replied as she looked between Nick and Thad as she was rather comfortable before looking up at Blaine and Sebastian.

"You need to get home Rach." Blaine said as they helped her up.

"Where's Santana?"

"She went out." Sebastian replied as he helped Blaine get her situated. "So we promised you'd get home safely."

"Oh." She then looked at Nick and Thad. "Thank you for inviting me. I had lots of fun!"

"You're welcome." Thad replied before yawning. "I'm glad you had fun." Once Nick and Thad each said their good-byes, Sebastian and Blaine headed down with Rachel as they were going to head home once they got her in the car.

"Were they always that nice Blaine?" Rachel asked as they rode down in the elevator.

"Yes, but you never really got an opportunity to know them."

"Kurt said most of them were snobs and I was better off not knowing them."

"Snobs is better than I would've expected him to say about them." Sebastian said as he slid his arm around her as well.

"You know how he feels about you Sebastian; he said you were a bastard amongst other things. He also said that Thad and Nick were jerks. The only one he really liked besides Blaine was Trent because he wasn't pretentious."

"Trent is probably the least pretentious out of everyone, though Jeff isn't bad either."

"Jeff is too hyper." Rachel said in response to Sebastian causing Blaine and Sebastian to look at one another. While Jeff had a lot of energy, he never came off as hyper. "Why are you two being so nice to me after I was such a bitch when you first got together?"

"We promised Santana we'd get you home safely." Blaine replied. "And while you were a bitch, you had your reasons."

"B's right, you did." Sebastian said as the doors opened. "But thankfully, you came around before B here couldn't take it anymore."

"You're really not an ass Sebastian." She told him as they made their way out of the building. "You're good for Blaine, you make him happy."

"Thank you." Sebastian told her as he held her as Blaine conferred with the driver. "Want to know a secret?" Rachel nodded. "He makes me happy too." When Rachel looked up at him, her eyes were as wide as her smile.

"Good as everyone deserves to be happy."

"That goes for you too Rachel, you need to allow yourself to be happy again." Sebastian then kissed her on top of her head. "It was nice seeing you have fun tonight."

"It was nice having fun." Once she answered, Blaine came over and the two helped her into the car. If anyone else saw her, they would've assumed she'd had too much to drink, but she was purely exhausted. After she said good-bye to them both, they closed the door so the car could head off. Now that she was on her way, Sebastian hailed a cab for the two of them to head back to his place as it was closer than going back to Blaine's.

"The driver is going to call once he drops her off." Blaine told Sebastian once they were in their cab and Sebastian smiled. "Care to tell me what the two of you were talking about as I saw you kiss her."

"We were just talking and I told her you make me happy as she said I make you happy. Then she said everyone deserves to be happy and I told her that goes for her as well." When Blaine looked at him Sebastian laughed softly. "I know, me giving encouragement, who would've guessed it. But even she admitted it was nice having fun tonight. Hopefully it's not a one-time occurrence."

The rest of the weekend went by relatively quickly as Blaine had band rehearsal which Sebastian spent the time studying till he returned. With a concert and a show around the corner, Sebastian was more than content to have studying to do to keep him busy. When he showed up at school on Monday, it wasn't long till he ran into Hunter who looked more relaxed than usual. "Is it safe to presume Kimberly spent the entire weekend with you?"

"It is." Hunter replied as they got settled at a table. "It helps take the sting out of the fact that she went out of town on business this morning."

"Again?"

"Yep. Who would ever realize how busy this time of year really is for her?" Hunter then took a sip of his coffee. "But if everything goes as scheduled, she'll be back sometime on Friday. And right now, her being away isn't that bad considering all the studying we have to do."

"Tell me about it." Sebastian replied. "I busted my ass this weekend to make sure I'd be able to go to Blaine's concert this week. I was thankful they had rehearsal as I feel bad when I get my head stuck in a book for hours on end."

"It sounds as though you both needed Friday night as much as I did."

"That we did. And while he said he understood if I couldn't make it to the concert, I'm not missing it. I figured when I get out of class on Wednesday, I'll head straight to his place and continue working. I've become quite adapt at reading on the subway."

"At least if you missed the show, you'd have a good reason."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm going to miss it."

"I don't doubt that it means more to him than he'll say." Sebastian nodded as he smiled. "Now, did you two see to it that Rachel got home alright as I know Santana was concerned since she was going out?"

"We did. We had a car service bring her home and the B got the driver to call us once he got her home. Then shortly after he got that call, Rachel called him and thanked us for arranging for the car."

"How much later did you guys leave?"

"We got her in a car about twenty minutes after you guys left. And B and I headed back to my place immediately afterwards. Speaking of, thank you."

"For?"

"Agreeing to hold onto B's big Christmas present for me. I have no clue where I would've hidden it as we both essentially have free reign of each other's home."

"I'm glad to be able to help. You do realize, he's going to be pissed."

"I know, but I'd already bought it before we put a price cap on gifts. Thankfully, he said anything bought before that conversation doesn't count." When Hunter scoffed Sebastian shook his head. "Yea, I know. But I couldn't help myself. If you saw the way his eyes lit up when he saw it, you wouldn't blame me. I'm sure if Kimberly looked at something the way he did, you would've bought it for her."

"It sounds like what I did too as she fell in love with a bag while we were out, but didn't buy it for herself. Yet there was no doubt she really wanted it."

"Did she give a reason?"

"Nope. Did Blaine give a reason for not making the same purchase?"

"Not really. Is she staying at your place for Christmas or are you going to hers?"

"Hers. What are you and Blaine doing?"

"Christmas Eve at his place and then after dinner that night we're heading over to mine. That way neither of us has to transport more gifts than necessary"

"What do you mean?"

"B's parents sent gifts to his place while my parents sent gifts to me. And both sets sent gifts for their son's significant other. So, we're going to open the Andersons gifts on Christmas Eve, then do the rest on Christmas."

"What about yours and Blaine's personal gifts?"

"We're exchanging one gift on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas Day. This whole thing seems surreal Hunter." Sebastian said before taking a sip of his peppermint hot chocolate that Blaine had gotten him hooked on.

"Tell me about it. I can't remember the last time I was in a relationship over the holidays that actually meant something to me. But it feels right all at the same time."

"I know what you're saying as I couldn't even imagine going away this year as I want to be spending it with Blaine. Regardless of where we celebrated, I wanted us to be together."

"I think it's safe to say, that feeling is mutual Sebastian."

While the two of them talked, Blaine was leaving school to grab something to eat and was surprised to see Santana outside waiting for him. He couldn't help but laugh, considering when he spoke to Rachel on Saturday, she mentioned that Santana had arrived home around six that morning and had quite the smile on her face. When he got a knowing look on his face, Santana tried to glare at him, but that was essentially impossible with as good as she was feeling. "So, what do I owe this honor today as I know Rachel isn't looking for me?" Blaine asked after giving her a hug before they headed down the block.

"I wanted to thank you personally for seeing to it that she got home alright."

"You do realize, we didn't take her ourselves, right?"

"I do as Rachel told me you guys had a car service bring her home. While she's a bit loopy while she's tired, she's more coherent than one thinks. I should also probably thank the rest of the guys as she had a blast. She couldn't stop talking about it." When Blaine laughed Santana looked at him. "This was one time; I didn't mind that she wouldn't shut up. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time."

"Her good mood was rather hard to miss as it was noticeable to everyone." Blaine replied. "Just as you seemed to enjoy yourself." Surprisingly, Blaine swore he saw Santana blush when he spoke. "You did, didn't you?" Santana nodded. "Are you going to see her again?"

"I am actually." Santana told him. "And I was right, where we went wasn't a place Rachel would've enjoyed."

"Well, she more than enjoyed herself dancing with the guys."

"So I noticed. I was talking to…Beat, I think, tall, spikey hair." Blaine nodded. "Neither of us could tell who was enjoying themselves more. Though, I've never seen Rachel shake her ass the way she was. I'm pretty sure Kurt would've had a coronary if he saw her, especially considering who she was dancing with."

"No doubt. He probably would've accused all the guys of taking advantage of her. But according to Thad, she really didn't drink all that much." Blaine then looked at her as he was going to place his order and Santana shook her head as she didn't want anything. So they put their conversation on hold, till he was done. But once it was, they picked up right where they were. "But I don't doubt that initial drink, helped take the edge off as Thad certainly doesn't make a weak drink."

"He certainly doesn't. Now, I need to ask, are any of the other guys gay?"

"No, so all of Rachel's dance partners were straight. And for that matter, are single. Though, I do know Jeff asked Morgan to fix Nick up with one of her friends. But as of this moment, they are all single."

"Good."

"Why?"

"No reason." Santana replied before grabbing a fry off of Blaine's plate. "Just asking." When Blaine looked at her, Santana only smiled. That was answer enough for Blaine to realize that Rachel was at least a little smitten with one of his friends. But just as she was about to speak again, Blaine's phone went off, so she sat back and waited for him to finish the call. From the sound of the conversation, she could tell it must be either Morgan or Talia as it sounded as though they were asking what they could wear to the show on the twenty-third. Once Blaine ended the call, Santana let him take a bit before continuing. "So, are you guys going to dress cutesy for your show?"

"That depends on your definition of cutesy. But we'll definitely be dressed appropriately."

"What are you wearing Blaine Anderson?"

"You'll just have to come to the show to find out Miss Lopez." Santana huffed, before grabbing another fry.

"Does Sebastian know what you're wearing?"

"He does not."

"Sexy Santa?" Blaine shook his head. "Sexy elf to his Santa?" He shook his head once more. "Come on Blaine."

"Nope, you will find out at the show. But speaking of the show, has Kurt said anything to you or Rachel since the last one he was at?"

"Aside from asking us who your boyfriend is, no." Santana said, but quickly added to it. "He did notice you've started playing other venues. So, he's clearly paying attention to what's going on. And he's still shocked."

"That's because he didn't believe in me. I wouldn't be surprised if he's waiting for me to crash and burn."

"He's going to have quite the wait, as I don't see that happening. Hell, Quinn was absolutely in love with your show. Much like Rachel and myself, she saw someone on stage she hadn't seen in quite some time."

"That seems to be a familiar comment."

"It's true Blaine. She hopes you guys come back again as she's going to see to it the rest of her friends come along. But don't be surprised if she shows up in Manhattan for a show as well, especially since she wouldn't have to necessarily make the trip alone."

"That's very true. Now, do you and Rachel have plans for the holidays?"

"We tend to play it pretty low-key, you know that. Not much has changed." When Blaine cocked an eyebrow, Santana smiled. "Okay, our decorations might not be low-key, but our celebrations tend to be. Plus, this year we have plans seeing the next big thing perform."

After their conversation, they had to go their separate ways as Blaine had to get back for a class so, Santana headed home to share the bit of information she'd gotten from Blaine. When she came walking into the loft, Rachel was dancing around, more carefree than she'd been in quite awhile. From that sight alone, Santana couldn't help but smile with as happy as she looked. Once the loft door closed, Rachel turned her head and smiled. "Were you able to run all your errands?" She asked as she climbed back up on a chair to finish hanging a strand of lights that needed to be replaced.

"I was and one of those stops was to see Blaine." While she spoke, Santana took her coat off and hung it over the back of the couch after setting her bags down, completely aware that Rachel was now looking at her. "I thought you'd find that interesting."

"What did you talk to him about?" Rachel asked as she finished hanging the strand.

"I asked him if the guys you were dancing with at Thad's were single."

"And?"

"All of them are." Santana replied before helping her down. "And they also had as much fun with you, as you had with them." When Rachel smiled, Santana nudged her. "Which one is it Rach?"

"What makes you ask that?" Rachel replied before going back to wrapping gifts.

"That smile and the way you spoke about the night. It's clear you like one of the guys."

"I had fun, isn't that enough?"

"No." Rachel just looked up at her before sitting back down. "Come on Rach, there is nothing wrong with being attracted to one of the guys. They're all cute." When Rachel started to concentrate on her wrapping, Santana was quick to sit across from her. "You know, I'm sure if there is one in particular you could ask Blaine if you were his type."

"Santana, while I appreciate your interest, none of those guys would be interested in me." Rachel said as she grabbed the tape. "Hell, I'm surprised they even speak to me after the way I reacted to Blaine and Sebastian being together."

"Rach, they all understand why you acted the way you did. And if we've learnt anything from spending time with them, they are pretty open with their opinions. They're not just being nice to you because you're one of Blaine's friends. Think, they all said they understood your concern." Rachel looked at her, and tried to hide her smile, but she couldn't. After going out that Friday, Rachel felt more like herself than she had in a long time and most of that came from no one judging how she was behaving. That night, she was able to do as she pleased and no one questioned her why she was which was quite the relief to her.

"Do you know if any of them aside from Sebastian are going to be at Blaine's concert?"

"From what I know, Hunter, Thad, and Jeff will all be there to support him. But that shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering they're closest. And I think Nick and Wes are going to try and make it, but it all depends on their schedules." She was still speaking when there was a knock on the loft door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Rachel shook her head, so Santana got up to go and see who it was while Rachel resumed wrapping her gifts. Upon opening the door, Rachel heard Santana sigh which let her know who it was before a word was even said. "What did I say to you about calling before coming over?"

"Excuse me for deciding to come by." Kurt said as he walked inside. "Is Rachel here?"

"She's wrapping gifts." Santana replied before closing the door. Not thrilled that he just walked in and making a mental note to talk to Rachel about trying to get through to him about not dropping by. "But you would've known that if you had called." Kurt looked over his shoulder at her before heading towards the couch as he knew Rachel tended to wrap gifts in that area.

Once he was closer, Rachel looked up as the table now had a shadow cast upon it. "Hi Kurt." She said before looking through her bag of bows. "What can I do for you as I'm assuming you're here to see me and not Santana?" The bit of sarcasm in her voice caused Santana to giggle as she went to get herself something to drink. It seemed that her good mood from the weekend was still in effect as she was speaking rather freely.

"You're right; I am here to see you." Kurt replied as Rachel filled out the tag for the gift which just so happened to be for Blaine. "I was curious as to where you were this weekend as you didn't return any of my calls." Santana turned to look over at them as she was curious as to how Rachel was going to answer knowing Kurt wouldn't be thrilled with who she was with.

"I went to a party on Friday night and well; I didn't get home till early Saturday. So, then I slept for a good portion of the day before working that night as well as Sunday." Rachel told him before grabbing a different roll of wrapping paper, not bothering to respond to his facial expression which was one of shock.

"Seriously now, where were you?" Kurt asked as he leaned forward on the couch, hands folded in his lap.

"She was at a party as I was there as well." Santana said as she leaned against their kitchen table. "And it was one hell of a party at that. Rachel didn't leave the dance floor most of the night." Kurt looked over at Santana who had a rather smug smile on her face. "And she had plenty of dance partners to choose from, all of them very handsome." If on cue, Santana's phone went off which so happened to be sitting on the table causing her to laugh as she'd assigned a very appropriate ringtone to Sebastian.

"Who the hell is Mr. Grab-Ass?" Kurt asked as he tossed her the phone after looking at the screen and as he did, Rachel couldn't help but laugh. The first time she saw that Santana had labeled Sebastian in that manner she laughed as well. It also didn't help that the picture she had with it was one of Sebastian's hands on Blaine's ass. "And why does that picture look familiar?"

"That would be because it's your ex-husband's ass." Santana replied before answer as she walked towards her room, knowing she and Sebastian tended to get a bit colorful when they speak.

"What did she just say?" Kurt asked as Santana was already talking with whomever was on the other end.

"She said the picture was familiar because it's Blaine's ass that is being grabbed." Rachel replied with a giggle. "So, that should tell you it's Blaine's boyfriend on the phone."

"Blaine's boyfriend is friends with Santana?"

"She is. In a sense, they are kindred spirits."

"So he's Lucifer to her Satan." When Rachel looked at him disapprovingly, Kurt apologized. But internally she knew that him referring to Blaine's boyfriend as Lucifer was pretty close to how he truly felt about him. And that was a comment she was going to have to share with them both knowing they'd both get a kick out of it. "Since it's clear we shouldn't talk about Blaine or his boyfriend who remains nameless, tell me about this party you went to. Who threw it?"

"Thad Harwood."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't do that Kurt, you heard me. Santana and I went to a party thrown by Thad." Rachel said before grabbing the tape once more so she could continue wrapping. "And before you ask, yes, Blaine and his boyfriend were there as were a bunch of other people you knew from high school."

"Like?"

"The Warblers."

"Please tell me they all don't live here in the city."

"They don't, but they don't live all that far away. Wes and Nick are actually at Yale with Quinn."

"Dalton boys at an Ivy League school, color me shocked." Kurt said as he sat back on the couch. "Was Thad's winning personality of a friend there?" Rachel tilted her head to the side as she wasn't quite sure who he was referring to as the last time they all saw him, quite a few things were said. And the only thing she was concentrating on was the fact that Kurt missed seeing Sebastian's face by seconds. "He had that bitch of a girlfriend with him at Blaine's show."

"Yes, he was there as was she." Rachel replied. "For your information, they're both really nice people."

"We'll have to disagree on that."

"Kurt, you don't know them."

"Don't care too." He then looked passed her when he heard Santana laughing loudly. "What the hell could the two of them be talking about?"

"The possibilities are endless honestly. Now, what brings you by?"

"I was going to invite you to be my date to our company party on the twenty-third."

"That's sweet of you, but I can't make it as I already have plans that evening." Rachel replied before grabbing another bow once the gift was wrapped.

"May I ask what these plans are as you enjoyed the party last year?" Kurt inquired as he watched her.

"I'm going to Blaine's show."

"I should've guessed." Kurt huffed as he crossed his legs. "I'm really beginning to feel like I'm playing second fiddle to my ex. Each of the last few times I've asked you to do something, you've had plans to see him perform."

"I'm sorry about that Kurt, but these plans were made before you asked." Rachel asked as she set the gift she'd just wrapped on top of Blaine's with a blank tag as it was something for Sebastian. "If you asked me to do something prior to me knowing about one of his performances, I'd be going with you."

"It's going to be the same freaking show Rach, so it's not like you'd be missing anything."

"Actually, their repertoire has grown and each show has been different. When Quinn called to tell us about his show in New Haven she raved about a bunch of numbers neither Santana nor I have heard yet. And with this show being before Christmas, I'm sure there are going to be a bunch of holiday numbers performed that I wouldn't get a chance to hear again."

"Come on Rachel. I'm sure he'd understand." Kurt said to her. "Plus from what I witnessed all the guys will be there as will his boyfriend, that is if they're spending the holidays together already."

"Yes, a bunch of the guys will be there as will his boyfriend as they are spending the holidays together." Rachel told him rather bluntly. "But that doesn't change the fact that I told Blaine that I'd be there, plus I want to be there Kurt. So, you'll need to find someone else to bring." When Kurt just stared at her, Rachel leaned back, bracing herself on her arms and looked back at him as she wasn't going to change her mind. Normally, Kurt could get her to do so when he looked at her like this, but there was no way she was going to miss Blaine's show. They were still in the middle of their stare down when Santana rejoined them and sat down next to Santana. "How is he?"

"Good, just had a quick question."

"Long conversation for a quick question." Kurt said as he turned his attention to her.

"Well, the conversation took on a life of his own once I told him you were here. That reminds me, he wants to know if you plan on stalking any more of Blaine's shows." When Rachel giggled Santana smiled. "See, even Rachel doesn't believe it was chance that you were at the last show."

"It was as I couldn't care less what Blaine does with his life."

"Right, and that's why you've been reading his performance reviews." Santana said as she'd overheard more than a few conversations where Kurt was talking to Rachel about something he read. "Are you jealous that his musical ambitions have taken off unlike our try at musical stardom?"

"I'm not jealous, if anything I'm shocked considering what he was like on stage last I saw him prior to his performance in that bar."

"Amazing what happens when someone is surrounded by those that truly believe and love them."