Five Years Later

Part 31

With the way Sebastian had been acting, Blaine's curiosity was certainly peaked as to what was going to happen once they got to Sebastian's that evening. Not to mention what he could possibly have in store for them the next day. One image he couldn't seem to get out of his head was that of Sebastian in a Santa hat like the one he'd worn for most of his show the previous night. All of them had certainly dressed for the occasion, though the girls took it a bit further than the others. While they didn't stop kissing after their conversation, it was pretty obvious to them both that they were thinking ahead to the next day. So when Sebastian made his way off the couch, Blaine wasn't too surprised to see him get comfortable on the floor next to the tree.

Once Blaine was seated next to him, Sebastian placed Blaine's Santa hat on his head once again. "Your place so you're Santa." Sebastian said with a smile. "And for the record, I've been a very good boy Santa." When Blaine cocked his eyebrow, Sebastian leaned in and gave him a kiss. "See, very good."

"That you are." Blaine told him before reaching over for one of the gifts. "And so you know, if you don't like it and want to exchange it, my parents won't be offended. My Mom did her shopping for you based off of things I'd told her and pictures she'd seen of the two of us."

"Sounds like what my parents told me to tell you." Sebastian replied as he watched Blaine grab one of his gifts from his parents. "It sounds like neither wanted to make a bad impression."

"That sounds about right, not to mention overstepping their bounds."

"Yea, my Mom asked if it was out of line for them to want to get you something for Christmas." Sebastian said as Blaine set one of the gifts from his parents beside him before reaching for his camera. "Picture proof?"

"How'd you guess? Now open it." Sebastian smiled at him before beginning to unwrap his gift slowly as he could tell Blaine was anxious. Once he tossed the paper to the side, he lifted the lid and moved the tissue paper out of the way. After he had, Sebastian's eyes went a bit wide causing Blaine to tilt his head. "What is it?" Sebastian then pulled the sweater out of the box and put it on. While some might not be thrilled with the fact that his Mom had bought him a sweater, it fit his style perfectly and happened to be from one of Sebastian's favorite collections.

"B, it's gorgeous…but…"

"Don't say she spent too much as she'd be offended. So, do you like it?"

"I love it!" Sebastian then kissed Blaine on the cheek.

"Are you sure as I know they probably could've gotten you something more exciting, but..." Blaine said before sighing and taking a picture. After he did, Sebastian scooted closer and caressed Blaine's cheek. "What?"

"Why, do you think I don't truly like it, when I do?"

"How can you tell?" Blaine replied as he leaned into Sebastian's hand.

"You're easier to read than you think B."

"Alright, it's too many years of Kurt not liking what my parents got him. And then him faking it in front of them only to tell me how bad or awful it was afterwards when we were alone."

"Well, you know me B and if I didn't like it, I wouldn't pretend I do, especially since they aren't here. I truly do love it. Goes to show your Mom paid attention to you when you told her what I was like and described my style. Now open your first one so we can continue." Sebastian then gave him a peck on the cheek before grabbing his camera which he'd brought with him for this specific occasion. Once Blaine got to unwrapping his first gift, Sebastian watched as he tried to figure out what was in the big box. Yet the moment he lifted the top he knew it had to be something special considering the look on Blaine's face. "What is it B as it's a pretty big box?"

"Home recording equipment." Blaine said as he began taking pieces out as Sebastian snapped away. This was one time he was thrilled he could multi-task rather well considering how happy Blaine was. "I guess now I don't have an excuse not to record some of those song for you, do I?"

"Nope!" Sebastian said with a big smile as that was something he truly wanted. "While it's for you, it'll benefit me as well. I also have a feeling your parents would love to have some recordings as well. I at least get the privilege of getting to hear you sing and play quite a bit."

"Yea, but they'll get to hear me soon enough as they're planning their trip around one of my performances. But enough about that, we have more gifts to open." Blaine then leaned in to give Sebastian a kiss before they began opening the rest of the gifts sent by Blaine's parents and Cooper.

It wasn't too surprising that a lot of Blaine's gifts were music related along with getting clothes which seem to be standard fare from parents. And Sebastian ended up opening up a new leather messenger bag, along with a scarf and gloves that complimented his favorite pea coat perfectly. Once everything was opened, Sebastian brought Blaine against him and wrapped his arms around him. "You made out like a bandit Killer. I think it's safe to say your parents support your musical ambitions completely."

"You think?" Blaine said with a laugh as he looked at all the stuff around them. "You didn't do too bad either." He told him before looking back at him and could see the smile on Sebastian's face. "They'll be happy you liked everything."

"I do and I will thank them personally when we call each set of parents tomorrow. They have great taste B, seriously." Sebastian was then a bit surprised Blaine sat up and pulled away from him. "What is it?"

"We missed one." Blaine said as he reached over to grab one last wrapped gift. "And it's for you…from Cooper." When Sebastian began to laugh, Blaine couldn't help but wonder what the hell Cooper could've gotten for Sebastian. After years of ridiculous gifts, Cooper had only recently begun getting Blaine gifts that wouldn't end up in the back of his closet. Before opening it, Sebastian brought Blaine back against him before unwrapping the box. "Don't be surprised if it's completely asinine."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sebastian said before tossing the paper on the rather large pile. After opening the box, soon Blaine's fears were put to rest when he heard Sebastian laugh. It's perfect B." When Blaine didn't move, Sebastian leaned over Blaine's shoulder and saw his eyes were closed. "Open them Killer." After opening his eyes, Blaine saw a framed photo of the three of them from when Cooper was in the city that Blaine couldn't remember taking though he was standing between the two. Plus a cute little certificate stating Sebastian was officially Blaine's one and only groupie. And that those attempting to challenge him for the title do so at their own risk. "See, nothing to worry about. It certainly suits mine and Cooper's relationship well. Goes to show he knows me better than we think."

"That's because you made a good first impression no matter how awkward it might've been." Blaine replied. "You both do realize, my boyfriend isn't really a groupie."

"I know as does he as we discussed it the last time he got you on the phone but you had to excuse yourself for a bit."

"Should I even ask what else the two of you talked about?"

"It was nothing to worry about B, honest. Now, how about we get everything cleaned up so we can head over to my place?"

"That works." After helping Blaine move all his equipment and gear into his office, Blaine grabbed a bag from his closet for Sebastian to put his gifts in. Once Sebastian had his things packed up, they only needed to grab their coats as well as Blaine's bag before they could head on their way.

When they finally arrived at Sebastian's building Blaine couldn't help but notice that his boyfriend had seemed a bit pre-occupied ever since they'd gotten off the subway. Yet, while he was tempted to ask, considering what day it was, he decided to go with the flow for the moment. He'd learned all too quickly, that when Sebastian was planning something he tended to get lost in his thoughts for a bit. The only way Blaine would ask what was going on, was if his mood lasted long after they were settled for the evening.

Once inside, it didn't take them long to get comfortable after putting things away. Considering they'd had a late lunch, neither really felt like having dinner so they decided they make some popcorn later that night as they watched movies. With the two of them stretched out on the couch enjoying the view as they'd turned all the Christmas lights on along with the backdrop of falling snow, neither wanted to move when Blaine's phone went off. "The number isn't assigned to anyone." Sebastian told him as he could see Blaine's phone on the table as Blaine was curled up against him beneath the blanket.

"Then it's probably a wrong number." Sebastian nodded as he wrapped his other arm around Blaine. Having this quiet time together was something they were both going to make the most out of as they knew once break was over for both of them, things would get hectic once again especially with Blaine's career picking up steam. "Are you still going to come to the studio the days we lay down some of those tracks?"

"Yes, that is as long as Vincent is alright with it."

"He said it's fine if people come by as long as they don't become a distraction. And you and Jeff have been around at more than a few rehearsals and haven't been a distraction. That's not to mention that this time around there will be walls separating us."

"Then I'll be there." While the two of them spoke, Blaine's phone went off once again, though this time around Blaine tightened his hold on Sebastian. "What is it B?"

"Is it the same number again?"

"It is, why?" Blaine then proceeded to ramble off a number and as he did, frustration was evident in his voice. "Please don't tell me it's him Killer." When Blaine didn't say anything, Sebastian sighed before reaching over to grab Blaine's phone.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked as he pushed himself up so that he could look at him.

"Answering it."

"You can't!"

"B, if I answer, maybe he'll think you changed your number. I mean, that is if you haven't spoken to him recently."

"I haven't. I haven't spoken to him since the last time we were before a judge and that was in person. Do me one favor though Bas?"

"Don't worry B; I won't let him know it's me. I'd much rather for that realization to happen when I can see his face." When Blaine laughed softly, Sebastian could only smile as it wasn't the reaction he'd expected yet he was more than pleased with it. Since the two of them were talking they'd missed the call once again, so any fun Sebastian was going to have was going to have to wait till he called back once more. "How'd you know?"

"He called me constantly last Christmas, yet I refused to answer as well. From what Rachel said, he was actually in Ohio as well which could've gotten weird. It got so bad Cooper answered and told him off in a way I've never heard before. While I give him a hard time, I know my brother loves me and will do anything to protect me and he proved it."

"Imagine if he really knew all that went down B."

"I don't want to think about it." Blaine then tightened his hold around Sebastian. "While I know I didn't tell you everything at first, though you did find out quite a bit. I knew that if we were going to have an honest chance at a relationship you needed to know everything at some point since I'm still dealing with it."

"I appreciate that B as I know it couldn't have been easy especially considering how you ended up completely opening up. Also, I understand why you didn't tell me everything at once as we were still figuring out where we stood in regards to one another. And while I want to tell you that I'll never say anything about it to him should I see him, I can't."

"I know." If on cue, once Blaine finished his phone rang again with the same number. "Get it so it'll stop." Sebastian nodded before reaching over to get it.

"Hello."

"Blaine, is that you?" Kurt asked, even though he knew the voice didn't belong to Blaine as his was a voice he knew well. He couldn't help but wonder if it was Blaine's new boyfriend on the phone.

"No, it's not and I can tell you that he won't be coming to the phone anytime soon." There was then a pause causing Sebastian to look at Blaine who was paying close attention. "Are you still there?

"I want to speak with him."

"That's not going to happen as he doesn't want to speak with nor have anything to do with you."

"Who the hell is this?"

"That is none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me as I have to go as Blaine and I have to get back to our celebration. Happy holidays!" Sebastian then ended the call before Kurt even had a chance to respond further. "Done, unless you think he'll call back."

"You handled that well Bas and I don't quite know if he'll call back." Blaine told him before giving him a kiss. "Thank you as I know that couldn't have been easy for you as you truly could've gone off on him."

"It wasn't as the moment I heard his voice I wanted to go off on him, but I didn't. Though, since he's done this before have you considered changing your number?" If on cue, Blaine's phone started to go off again so Sebastian hit the button to ignore.

"I had, but I didn't want to risk the chance of not being able to reach the guys."

"Well, now that everyone is in your life again B that won't be an issue. But, I won't push the topic as the choice is yours to make though, I'm sure you know where I stand on the issue already."

"I appreciate that Bas, and will take it under consideration as the thought of him not being able to get ahold of me is quite pleasant. Hell, it's one of the reasons I made sure he didn't know where I live."

"That was a wise decision B."

"Thank you."

Once their conversation tapered off it wasn't long till Sebastian reached for the remote so they could begin watching movies. Sebastian was about to ask Blaine if he wanted some popcorn a couple of hours later when he looked over and realized that Blaine had fallen asleep on his chest. Tempting as it was to wake him, he couldn't do it. Even though they'd slept well after his show, Sebastian knew Blaine wasn't getting a lot of sleep before hand as he'd been putting in a lot of work. While Sebastian had heard quite a bit about Blaine's work ethic back when he was a Warbler, seeing how truly dedicated he was with his own eyes was a sight to see. It also put things into perspective how Kurt could get frustrated with him, yet with as long as they'd been together before getting married, he should've already known this about Blaine.

With Blaine asleep on his chest, Sebastian began to run his fingers through his curls that had little to no product left in it from wearing hats so often that day. Seeing him so peaceful, Sebastian was content to stay that way for a bit, though he knew at some point they needed to go to bed. Then a bit later, he'd be making his way out to put the rest of the gifts under the tree so unlike before. This time around Blaine would find things under the tree that weren't there when he went to bed.

When he decided to go to bed, he wasn't able to wake Blaine so he had to maneuver himself carefully out from behind him before picking him up. Knowing it was risky; Sebastian knew he couldn't leave Blaine on the couch as the chance of waking him later was high. Yet he managed to pick Blaine up without waking him which was a relief and bring him to bed. Once he had Blaine laid out, he began to undress him which truly wasn't fair in his mind. But when he went to pull Blaine's pants down, he soon felt hands on top of his. "Now you decide to wake up, huh?" Sebastian said softly as Blaine's eyes began to flutter open. "You know if you did this sooner I wouldn't have had to carry you to bed."

"You carried me?" Blaine replied sleepily as he raised his hips off the bed so Sebastian could take his pants off.

"How else do you think you got here?" Sebastian told him as he tossed Blaine's pants onto the chair. "Do you want your pajama bottoms?"

"No." While he spoke, Blaine wrapped his legs around Sebastian. "You can keep me warm."

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

"Alright, then get your butt under those covers so we can warm up." Once he spoke, Sebastian watched as Blaine released his hold on him and got under the covers. Considering how tired he was just moments prior, he was moving pretty quickly. By the time Sebastian joined him after getting undressed, there was a look in Blaine's eyes that didn't go unnoticed by Sebastian. "Shouldn't we go to sleep Killer?"

"We will, but not till after we warm up a bit." While Blaine spoke, he wrapped his arms tightly around Sebastian. "That is, unless you have to go to sleep right now."

"No, I couldn't think of a better way to spend this night." Sebastian replied before leaning in so they could begin to kiss.

With the long nap Blaine had gotten, it wasn't too surprising he had quite a bit of energy to burn off before he and Sebastian finally called it a night. So, by the time they did, Sebastian was pretty happy to see Blaine fall back to sleep so easily. And after checking a few times, he made his way out to put out the rest of the gifts before getting some sleep himself.

When he finally awoke the next morning, Blaine was sitting up in bed reading. "Merry Christmas Sebastian." Blaine said when he felt Sebastian's head on his chest and arms wrap around him. That was all it took for him to set his book to the side. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did as someone tired me out last night." Sebastian then rolled slightly so he could look up at Blaine. "Merry Christmas Blaine." While he spoke, he noticed the big smile Blaine had on his face. "Did someone go and see if Santa came?"

"No, someone went to go get himself some coffee and got the shock of his life when he looked towards the tree."

"Really?" Sebastian asked, though the smile on his face let Blaine know he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Bas?"

"What?"

"That's too much."

"For your information, Santa has lots of elves who all wanted to make sure someone felt loved this Christmas and knew how much he was missed."

"They shouldn't have." Blaine replied as he wrapped an arm around Sebastian.

"You try telling them that when they get an idea in their heads. Jeff and Nick dropped it all off after I met everyone the day of your show. Even I was surprised by everything they dropped off, but I don't blame them as I might've gone a bit overboard as well."

"But we put a cap on Christmas."

"I know we did, but you also said anything bought before then didn't count." The smile Sebastian had on his face, brought a smile to Blaine's that he couldn't hide if he wanted to. "Does my B want to go open gifts?"

"Yes, but it can wait as spending a bit of time cuddling sounds good about now. And it's rare that you're the one curled up against me."

"Then scoot down just a bit so we truly can since that's how you'd like to start the day." Sebastian told him, before sitting up a bit so that Blaine could move.

While the two were curled up in bed, it wasn't too surprising that their phones began to ring after awhile and with one glance at the clock they realized it was later than they both thought. Even with as comfortable as they were, they realized they needed to get up and get moving. If their friends were already calling, they knew it wouldn't be long till they heard from their parents so it might be wise if they got started on opening the rest of the gifts. After brewing a fresh pot of coffee, Sebastian came walking out into the living room with two cups in hand as Blaine looked out onto the city.

"It's crazy seeing how quiet it is outside." Blaine said as Sebastian handed him his cup, causing him to turn around. "The city is always so full of energy."

"True, but every once in awhile they know when it's time to take a pause." As he spoke, Sebastian slid his hand into Blaine's and gave it a tug. "Come on Killer; let's go see if Santa agreed with our assessment of us being good boys."

Once they got started on gifts it wasn't long till they started laughing with as much fun as they were having. It was pretty clear they'd both started their shopping well before the cap was put on as they each had plenty of gifts to open from one another. Amongst the gifts were clothes, concert/Broadway tickets, as well as quite a bit of music and photography gear. When Blaine reached for one of the larger gifts for him that happened to be from Sebastian's parents, Sebastian's stopped him. "What's wrong Bas?"

"You can't open that yet B as it goes along with something else." Sebastian replied quickly knowing very well what was in the larger box from his parents to Blaine.

"Alright." Blaine then reached across for one of Sebastian's larger gifts from him. "Here, open this one next." When he'd started wrapping Blaine made a point of wrapping certain gifts differently as he knew they'd give others away. Sebastian smiled and began to unwrap the gift as he watched Blaine closely as he had quite the smile on his face. After lifting the lid Sebastian smiled widely as Blaine took pictures. "Is it safe to assume you like it?"

"I love it! Sebastian said as he took his new camera bag out. "And it's something I truly needed, how'd you know?"

"I knew you took most of the pictures around here and after talking with Thad and Hunter I found out where you stored all your gear. In the office closet." Sebastian nodded as he began unzipping pockets to check out all the storage space. "And so I looked and saw your bag was a little worse for the wear."

"Yea, I was rather hard on it during my last trip to Europe. But B, this is too much as I know these bags aren't cheap." Even with what he was saying, Sebastian couldn't stop smiling as the gift was truly perfect for him and showed that Blaine paid attention to the little things. And Blaine could tell how much it meant to him and how much he enjoyed it.

"You're worth it Sebastian." Blaine then leaned in to give him a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too Killer, thank you." Sebastian replied before kissing Blaine. "Now do me a favor, close your eyes."

"Why?"

"One of your gifts isn't out here." Blaine nodded before proceeding to close his eyes so Sebastian could go and get Blaine's big gift. And considering what Blaine had gotten for him, Sebastian felt a bit better giving Blaine his big gift as he'd gone a bit overboard as well. When he came back into the room he laid the big present across Blaine's lap before telling him to open his eyes. The moment Blaine did, he looked up at Sebastian and cocked his eyebrow. "Yes, I know it's big and rather heavy but open it before you judge me." Blaine smiled in response before tearing open the paper as his curiosity got the better of him.

The moment all the paper was gone, he looked at Sebastian who'd been shooting away. "Bas." Blaine said, his voice wavered as he looked at the hardshell guitar case in his lap.

"Just open it B." Sebastian then watched as Blaine undid the latches before lifting the lid. The expression on his face once he did showed how happy he was even if he thought Sebastian went overboard.

"When?" Blaine said as he took the Stratocaster out of the case causing Sebastian to pull the case off his lap.

"Does it really matter?" Sebastian replied as Blaine strummed even though it wasn't hooked up to an amp. "I knew I had to get it for you the way you looked at it when we were out shopping awhile back. You fell in love with it Blaine and it looks perfect in your arms. And maybe I'm a bit partial to the midnight blue with red trim, it's quite unique."

"It's very us Bas. I…I don't know how to thank you as the words don't seem like enough. But, thank you, so much." Blaine then leaned over to kiss him once more. "I'm so using it on New Year's Eve."

"I hoped you would. Now, you're going to have to set it aside of you want to finish opening your gifts." Sebastian told him. "But you're more than welcome to play all you want once we're done. Actually, I hope you will as I love listening to you play."

"I would love to Bas, but I don't have an amp here."

"I brought you're small one over the other day while you were in rehearsal." Sebastian told him with a smile. "Now let's finish up so you can enjoy." Blaine nodded before reluctantly setting the guitar into the case. Once he had, Sebastian handed over the box from his parents as Blaine looked at him. "It's nothing too crazy as it's not heavy." Blaine nodded before beginning to open his last gift from Sebastian's parents. Much like his parents had gotten Sebastian some clothes, Sebastian's parents got Blaine a gorgeous deep blue cardigan sweater as well as a new case for his tablet which he doesn't go anywhere without. Once he opened the box, Blaine realized why Sebastian's wouldn't let him open it sooner as it was a gig bag for his new Stratocaster.

"I don't know what to say Bas."

"You don't have to say anything as that smile you're sporting is saying an awful lot."

"You're not much better."

"What can I say besides the fact that I'm really happy? Do you still want to hurt the guys for getting you gifts?"

"No, as no one really went overboard and their all practical. Safe to say Jeff asked Morgan what types of strings and picks I use as all the guys got the right ones. Did anyone know what you got me, I mean, my big gift?"

"Hunter knew as it's been at his place since I bought it as I didn't want you accidentally coming across it. It's funny how he was in on what we each got one another."

"Yea." Blaine replied as he moved so he was now sitting beside Sebastian. "He really is pretty cool and fun to be around."

"Slightly different from how you remembered him, huh?" Blaine nodded. "How about you go get your amp from the office while I start cleaning up all the wrapping paper?"

"How about we clean up so it gets done quicker?" Sebastian agreed as he knew as soon as Blaine had gotten the amp he would've helped him regardless. So they quickly got to work on cleaning up so they could enjoy all their gifts.

Once they were done, Blaine immediately went to go get his amp while Sebastian set-up his laptop so they wouldn't have to go to his office to speak with either set of parents. After that was done, Blaine began to play as Sebastian began transferring his camera equipment into his new bag. While he never quite understood all the differences in guitars, he'd quickly learned thanks to Blaine. And hearing him play his new one put it into a new perspective.

They'd probably been relaxing for about an hour before the computer went off and they both made their way onto the couch. Seeing it was Sebastian's parents, Blaine was a bit nervous as they really hadn't been introduced yet though they'd spoken on the phone briefly. When he felt Sebastian take ahold of his hand, he could tell Sebastian could sense how he felt. But once Sebastian accepted the call, it went really well, much like it had when Blaine had introduced Sebastian to his parents. It was obvious Sebastian's parents were as happy for them as Blaine's were as their facial expressions matched their voices. And much to Blaine's surprise, they both told him how much they enjoyed his concert as Sebastian had sent them a copy. When Blaine looked up at him, Sebastian just smiled. "What can I say?" He then leaned over and gave Blaine a kiss, not caring that his parents could see.

For the Smythes, seeing Sebastian like this was something they'd always hoped for and now they didn't have to hope anymore as it was happening. Their son was truly happy and from what they could see, Blaine was as well. And while neither of them offered up the fact that they were in love, it was pretty hard to ignore.