Five Years Later

by Aquaria245

Never would Blaine have imagined after what was probably the happiest moment of his life, that his life would be in it's current state or he would've gone through the things that he has when he wasn't even out of college yet.

54. Chapter 54

Five Years Later

Part 54

After their weekend with the Andersons, Blaine and Sebastian had some time to breathe before spending the next one with Sebastian's parents. Considering how well it had gone they were both a little less anxious about what they were going to deal with. But that didn't mean their nerves weren't there. While they both would've loved to have dinner with Rachel and Santana sometime during that week, there was no way it was going to happen. Both of their schedules were too packed so that they could clear their weekend to spend with the Smythes.

While Rachel was getting ready to head into work, she heard her cell going off and it was a bit odd considering the time, but she reached for it off the counter, but didn't recognize the number. She was about to ignore it but then realized it was Monday so she quickly answered. "Hello?" When she spoke, she couldn't believe her voice actually cracked.

"Rachel, it's Jean-Baptiste."

"Hi." Rachel said while sitting down. "Thank you so much for getting back to me."

"You are very welcome." Jean-Baptiste replied. "Now, what is it I can do for you as Blaine was rather vague when we spoke, but mentioned it was rather important that I call you?"

"Are you aware that they are recasting one of the leads in your show?" Once she spoke, Jean-Baptiste laughed softly. "I take that as a yes."

"Of course I know considering I play opposite her quite a bit. Not to mention, she's a good friend of mine." Jean-Baptiste paused for a moment before continuing. "Are you auditioning for the role Rachel?"

"Yes. I've already made it through the first round of auditions actually." She replied proudly, but tried not to sound too arrogant. "And I was wondering if you'd be willing to give me some insight as I know you all must be quite close."

"First off, congratulations as I heard there was quite the turnout." He told her. "Secondly, we are but having her being recast isn't something any of us have a problem with considering the circumstances around it. May I ask you a question?"

"Anything?"

"What prompted you to try for a main role again after being in the shadows for quite some time?"

"This might sound silly, but Blaine did."

"Ah, our little rock star or is it pop star." Jean-Baptiste said in a tone that Rachel could tell he was smiling on the other end. "How so, if you don't mind me asking?"

"After everything Blaine's been through, he never gave up because he had a rough go of it for a while."

"He is quite the example of not giving up on your dreams though he came close. And to be honest Rachel, I'm glad to hear it as you're quite talented."

"Thank you. So, are you willing to sit down and talk with me?"

"Yes, I will sit down and talk with you. Now, when are you free so we can figure something out as I have my schedule in front of me for the week?"

"Well, I'm free tomorrow and Saturday."

"Saturdays don't work for me, for obvious reasons." Jean-Baptiste replied as Rachel laughed as she knew he had double performances that day. "Tomorrow works. Where would you like to meet as I'm assuming you'd prefer to have this conversation in person?"

"There is this great little coffee shop in SoHo, which is rather quiet later in the morning with plenty of places to sit and talk."

"I never took you as the SoHo type."

"A friend introduced me to it."

"Alright." Jean-Baptiste replied. "How about you text me the address and we meet at ten if that works for you?"

"That would be perfect. Thank you so much Jean-Baptiste."

"You're welcome, I'll see you tomorrow Rachel."

The moment the call ended, Rachel was so happy as she honestly wasn't sure if Jean-Baptiste was going to do as Blaine asked. She wanted to call Blaine, but knew he was already in class for the day so she set about finishing getting ready before heading for work. During her trip to, she began to think about all the questions she had for him, but knew she couldn't be too pushy. While she was paying attention to the stops, Rachel was still in a bit of a daze when her phone rang. Without even looking to see who it was, she answered and almost simultaneously froze. "Morning Kurt, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if we were still doing lunch tomorrow." The moment the words left his mouth, Rachel couldn't believe she'd forgotten they'd finally schedule time to see each other. "Rachel?" While he spoke, the only things going through her head were, Berry, think fast. And she could practical hear Santana saying the words while giving her the look.

"Yea, we're still on." Even though it had completely slipped her mind the moment Jean-Baptiste agreed to meet with her. "What time again?"

"Noon." The moment he heard Rachel groan, Kurt shifted in his desk chair. "What came up now?" The aggravation in his tone was evident when he spoke.

"Nothing, I'm just meeting someone at ten in SoHo."

"Who, if you don't mind me asking?" Kurt asked as he reached for an envelope from an inter-office currier.

"Jean-Baptiste." Rachel replied quietly knowing how Kurt felt about him. Kurt never quite understood how Blaine and Jean-Baptiste had become friends after Nationals, but they honestly had quite a bit in common. Then once Blaine got accepted at NYADA, it made sense considering Jean-Baptiste had been accepted at Julliard.

"Why the hell are you spending time with that arrogant asshole?" Kurt spat out at her causing Rachel to sigh once again. "Please tell me that's not who you are seeing Rachel as I thought you had better taste than that!"

"For starters, he's not an arrogant asshole Kurt."

"I should've guessed that was your view considering you don't see any of those Dalton boys for who they are, especially the Meerkat!"

"Kurt." Rachel said as sternly as she could as she too was done listening to him bad mouth the guys.

"Sorry, I know I promised I'd try to stop insulting them."

"Try harder." Rachel told him. "And no, I'm not dating Jean-Baptiste; we're meeting as I have some questions that he's best suited to answer. So I asked Blaine to set up a meeting between the two of us and he obliged." When Kurt mumbled, Rachel couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Kurt, he did me a favor, what's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing." Kurt muttered. "It's just hard adjusting to the two of you being so close."

"Kurt, Blaine and I have always been friends."

"Yet you're now spending more time with him."

"Kurt, that's a matter of opinion as I really don't see him that much. Honest."

"You sure could've fooled me."

"Kurt, I go and see him perform which also means I'm out with quite a few other people, not technically Blaine."

"Yet he's there."

"I see him after the show, but that's not often for a lot of time depending on the day of the week he's performing. He's quite the busy individual Kurt with everything that's going on." While she spoke, Rachel exited her train to finish her journey to work. "So we all try to make it a bit easier for him to see us, not to mention we love listening to him perform."

"I guess I can understand that." Kurt told her. "Are we good?"

"Do you mean for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"We are. I'll text you if I'm running late." Rachel replied as she walked into the diner. "I need to get going Kurt as my shift starts in a few minutes. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye Rachel." After getting off the call, Kurt leaned back in his seat before glancing over at his computer and then beside it which sat a frame with a picture of the two. While he was frustrated that she seemed to spend a lot of time with Blaine, her comment actually pissed him off more. Clearing up that it wasn't only about Blaine, but those nights she was out she was with a bunch of others. From the times he's caught Blaine performing he had a good idea of who was usually around. Needless to say, he didn't care for most of them.

The more he began to think about it, he went back to what Wes and Hunter had said to him on Valentine's Day. They pointed out that Blaine had confirmed he'd hit him which surprised him. But he still had no idea how Blaine found out he cheated on him. While the two were no longer together, they were still friends and their social circle had nothing in common with Blaine's current one or previous one for that matter. Considering it really didn't impact his life, Kurt still wanted to know how Blaine found out as it had to clearly been after the divorce had been finalized otherwise it would've been brought up like everything else. Throughout the entire process, Kurt had been more than frustrated by Blaine's lawyer who brought up every way he'd wronged Blaine during their marriage. So, that's how he knew for certain Blaine found this out after the fact. Yet before he could contempt how, Isabelle came walking out of her office calling for him as they had work to do.

Before heading into his last class of the day, Blaine got a chance to go through his texts and smiled upon seeing that Jean-Baptiste had gotten in touch from Rachel. With as happy as her text sounded, he could only wonder what her voicemail sounded like, but that would have to wait. After replying to her, he shot a quick message to Sebastian who was having a less than stellar day hoping to cheer him up. And while they didn't normally see each other on Mondays, Blaine told him he'd come by after meeting with his lawyer about the contract changes. He was just about to put his phone back in his bag when he got a response from Sebastian who was clearly thrilled that he was coming by once he was done meeting with his lawyer.

"You okay?" Justin asked as he sat down beside Blaine as they still had a few minutes till they're instructor walked in.

"Yea, Bas is just having a rough day." Blaine replied. "How are you doing?"

"Good, though I'll be glad once today is over. Have you taken a good look at our updated schedule for this summer?"

"I have and it's certainly packed. The biggest surprise is all the festivals." Blaine said before glancing at the door. "While I know we're going to be playing early on, I can't believe some of the acts that are going to be performing later on."

"Todd and I were discussing the same thing. The label is clearly putting us out there to be heard." Justin told him. "At least you and Morgan will get to spend the Fourth with Sebastian and Jeff since we won't be that far away."

"That was one of the first things Bas noticed. He said he'd never been so happy to see the Fourth being near the end of the week. Not to mention, we're playing on the shore so getting to the beach won't be a problem."

"Is he going to rent a car or something to get down there?"

"No, he's got a car." When Justin looked at him, Blaine smiled. "I got the same look when he told me as he rarely gets to drive. But he does and it's actually parked in his building as it has underground parking."

"That must be nice."

"I told him the same thing as the only time I seem to drive is when I go visit my parents."

"What does he drive?"

"He didn't say, but I'll be finding out next weekend as we're taking advantage of the free weekend and getting out of the city."

"You sound like Morgan as she and Jeff are going away as well." Blaine smiled, but couldn't really respond as their instructor came walking in. And if the look on her face was anything to go by, she wasn't in a good mood which always made for a long lecture.

By the time Blaine was heading over to meet with his lawyer, he was thankful that he had clothes at Sebastian's so he didn't have to get up earlier than need be the next morning. When he arrived at the office, Blaine ended up doing a double take when he saw Hunter walking down the hallway towards him. "What are you doing here?" Blaine asked causing Hunter to laugh as he smiled. "Hunter?"

"This is where I'm interning this summer." Hunter told him. "You should know Sebastian laughed his ass off when I told him this was where I was going to be."

"Did he tell you his Dad recommended this firm to me?"

"He did." Hunter replied. "One of the senior partners actually went to Law school with him." When Blaine smiled, Hunter did as well. "I guess you knew that." Blaine nodded in affirmation. "While you're obviously here for business, what's going on?"

"I need to clear up some particulars for some of the newest dates to our summer schedule."

"Sebastian mentioned that quite a few more had been added."

"They have, which has made things a bit more complex. Before finding studio time wasn't that hard, but with more dates it's becoming so."

"And you have an album to finish."

"Precisely. I have no doubt the label has taken that into consideration, but I have my concerns."

"Understanda…" Hunter didn't even get to finish speaking when someone called out to Blaine, causing Hunter to look over his shoulder before looking back at Blaine.

"Mr. Anderson, it's good to see you." The man said before looking at Hunter. "I thought you would've been gone by now Mr. Clarington."

"I would've been sir but I ran into Blaine on my way out."

"The two of you know each other?" The man asked.

"Yes sir." Hunter replied. "But, I should be going as I have studying to do and you and Blaine clearly have business to discuss. I'll talk to you later Blaine." Blaine smiled before Hunter said goodbye to the gentleman as well before heading on his way.

Once Hunter was gone, the two began to head down the hall towards his office. "Do you mind me asking how the two of you know each other?" Mr. Sullivan asked as the two walked.

"We actually met back in high school but only got reintroduced last fall." Blaine replied before they turned into his office. "Now, did you get to look at the sections I was concerned about?" Blaine continued as they took a seat.

"I have and Vincent wasn't surprised that you were. So, I called and spoke with your label and we were able to come to a compromise about the dates you had concerns about." He then handed a copy of some of the revisions to Blaine. "Vincent as well as your label feel these changes will help ease your concerns about not getting enough time in the studio." He then watched as Blaine began reading through the revisions. Initially their summer was busy, but the more the label heard from recording sessions it became packed as they wanted to get Blaine out in the public. "What do you think?"

"It's better." Blaine replied as he handed the paper back to him. "They must think I'm crazy."

"No, as it's quite normal to go through changes during this process." Mr. Sullivan told him. "Though, it tends to happen a bit later on during people's careers as they tend to only concentrate on the moment and not everything else they've agreed to do."

"Well, I was given a date where they want a finished album which means I need studio time. So, if they have me booked to the point I have no free time, it won't happen."

"And they agreed with you. It seemed the two people responsible for booking you didn't always confer with each other and forgot you're also in the process of recording your first album." When Blaine shook his head, his lawyer smiled. "So, should I tell your label to go ahead with the revisions so we can get everything signed and up to date?"

"Yes." Blaine replied before releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "The sooner everything is settled, the better."

"Vincent felt that was going to be your take the moment you brought up your concerns. Is there anything else you need to discuss Blaine?"

"Not at this moment, but you know me, that could easily change." Blaine told him as he stood.

"That's fine as that's what I'm here for." Mr. Sullivan said as he stood as well. After a shake of their hands, Blaine was on his way, happy that his concerns had been quickly remedied. Once he was in the elevator on this way down, he checked his phone which had vibrated in his pocket quite a few times during his meeting. When he saw that the messages were from Rachel, he wasn't quite sure what to think prior to opening them. Since it was Monday, he was hoping they were in regards to Jean-Baptiste calling her. But a part of him couldn't help but worried that Kurt had gone off on an entirely new tirade towards her since it had been some time since his last.

Knowing Sebastian was already having a bad day; Blaine knew he couldn't wait to read the messages. So once he was settled on the subway for his trip to Sebastian's, he opened them. While he smiled seeing the first about the fact she and Jean-Baptiste were having coffee the next day. That expression quickly faded upon reading the next two in which she was venting about Kurt snapping at her. In true fashion, Kurt was being his typical self and taking Rachel's joy from her which he'd so often done to him. It took Blaine a moment to respond, as he tried to think about what to say to help. It was easy to be happy that she and Jean-Baptiste were getting to talk; it was harder to respond in regards to Kurt.

Being in such a different place in his life it took him longer to contemplate what to say. At one point, it would've been easy, but now that he could truly see how manipulative Kurt could be, he knew he had to word his response wisely. No matter how he felt about his ex, he did his best not to talk ill of him to Rachel since they were still friends. Though, as Sebastian had pointed out to him more than once, that relationship was becoming strained because of Kurt's behavior which Blaine couldn't disagree with in the slightest.

Once he sent his response, Blaine hoped that he was able to get through to her when he told her not to give Kurt's comments much thought. That she was entitled to be friends with whomever she chose and he doesn't have a say in the matter no matter what he may think. While that advice might sound hypocritical considering what Blaine lived through, he hoped Rachel would see how wrong Blaine had been to let Kurt have so much say in that aspect of his life. Normally Blaine would've been all for talking to her, but this was a night where that wasn't the case. So hopefully she'd take what he'd written and think about it without needing to chat.

By the time Blaine reached Sebastian's building, he couldn't help but be more concerned about Sebastian. Ever since his text saying he'd come by, Blaine hadn't heard from him which was unlike him. In all honesty, Blaine couldn't remember Sebastian ever going silent, especially if he was having a bad day. Normally, when that was happening Sebastian was all about texting back and forth as it always cheered him up as even through texting he could get Blaine to blush. During his ride up in the elevator he tried to calm himself as he wasn't quite sure what he was going to be walking into once inside the apartment.

Upon opening the door, Blaine was greeted to the sound of his own voice as Sebastian had the playlist he'd made him for Valentine's Day playing. After hanging up his coat, Blaine picked his bag back up and headed for the living room. Once he reached the end of the hall, Blaine was a bit confused as he didn't see Sebastian who preferred to study in his living room. "Bas." Blaine called out, but didn't get a response which wasn't too surprising considering the volume of the stereo. So after setting his bag on the couch, Blaine went about looking for Sebastian. After looking in the kitchen and office, Blaine had a good idea where to find Sebastian.

When he reached the master bedroom, Blaine looked in and saw Sebastian stretched out on the bed wearing an old Dalton t-shirt and a pair of sweats with an arm draped over his eyes. Knowing where the playlist was in regards to songs, Blaine carefully entered the room unsure if Sebastian was asleep or not. "B, is that you?" Sebastian said softly as Blaine toed out of his shoes. Blaine replied almost as softly causing Sebastian to remove his arm from his eyes. "Thank you." The tone in Sebastian's voice let on just how bad his day had been.

"You don't need to thank me." Blaine told him as he crawled onto the bed and curled up beside him, quickly feeling one of Sebastian's arms wrap around him. "Want to talk about it?" He asked as he looked up at him, but Sebastian shook his head. "Till you're ready, do you want to just lay here?"

"Yes." Sebastian replied, so Blaine placed his head on Sebastian's chest as he tightened his arm around him. Seeing Sebastian like this, wasn't something he was used to so he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. Yet, if Sebastian only wanted them to lie there, he was content with that as he knew pushing Sebastian to talk when he didn't want to was pointless. While Blaine knew he could be stubborn, Sebastian took it to a completely new level.

The longer they laid there, Blaine could feel Sebastian begin to relax more and more. But the moment Blaine's stomach grumbled, Sebastian wrapped his other arm around him and pulled him onto him. "Are you hungry B?" He asked as he looked up at him. "When did you last eat?"

"Breakfast." Blaine mumbled, hoping Sebastian wouldn't make out his response, though it was pointless considering how close they were. And he knew he had, when Sebastian's brow furrowed. "I know what you're going to say."

"Since that is the case, what's your answer?" Once he spoke, Sebastian wrapped his arms around Blaine tightly before rolling them over so he was now lying on top. "B?"

"I sat down to work on something before going to grab lunch, but…"

"You lost track of time and worked through your break once again." Sebastian said as he caressed Blaine's cheek who nodded. "You can't keep doing that B. You're running around all the time so you need to remember to eat to keep up your energy."

"I know." Blaine them moved his legs and placed them around Sebastian's. "Now, do I need my energy for all my running around or so I have enough for other activities?"

"All of the above Killer, all of the above." Sebastian them leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I worry about you."

"And I worry about you. Care to tell me what put you in such a bad mood today?" While he spoke, Sebastian felt Blaine's hands slide beneath his t-shirt and begin to massage the muscles of his back. "Bas."

"We could start with the fact my first class sucked as my professor was in a crap-tastic mood and essentially belittled us all to start the day. And normally, that wouldn't bother me, but she was flat out being a bitch. There is honestly no other way to put it. Then after that class was done, I went to get coffee like usual before going to the library and some asshole ran right into me spilling my fresh, large coffee all over me. So, instead of getting to study, I had to come home and change." When Sebastian kept going, Blaine could only listen as Sebastian had basically had a day where nothing seemed to go right. "And I texted you somewhere in the middle of that mess."

"I'm so sorry Bas." Blaine told him before kissing him once more. "Do you have a lot to do tonight?"

"I've got quite a bit of reading to do, but that shouldn't be a surprise. Why?"

"Why don't you get started and I'll make us dinner. Then later this evening, how does a massage sound as I can feel how tense you are?"

"That sounds perfect B, but you don't have to do all that. I'm sure you have more than enough of your own stuff to do. Just know, you coming over means a lot to me."

"Are you trying to get rid of me Bas?"

"Never, I just…"

"Then let me take care of you tonight. The only work I have to do tonight is work on my song for the spring concert. So, as long as you don't mind me doing that, we're good. I mean, isn't that why you told me it was a good idea to leave on of my guitars here." As he looked up into Sebastian's eyes, he saw a glimmer in them that he didn't see too often, yet wasn't completely foreign to him. One of the things Sebastian had to adjust to since they were together was the fact that Blaine wanted to take care of him. That it wasn't a burden, or bother, but it was something Blaine wanted to do. And he was finally able to get through to him, when he pointed out that whenever he was overwhelmed, Sebastian was there for him. Not because he felt Blaine expected him to be, but because he wanted to be there for him. "So, what will it be Bas?"

"Dinner, and then a massage later sounds wonderful." Sebastian told him before giving him a kiss. "As for you playing, you know where I stand on that. Now, does this mean you're going to stay tonight?"

"Unless, you don't want me to." When Sebastian rolled his eyes, Blaine couldn't help but laugh. "Yea, that's what I thought. Now, as much as I like being under you, you need to get up so I can figure out what we're going to do for dinner while you get a start on your reading." Blaine only had to wait a bit longer till Sebastian moved off of him.

Blaine was about midway through making them dinner, when Sebastian appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Anytime Blaine cooked, Sebastian couldn't help but smile as Blaine seemed to always sing while he cooked. And more often than not, he'd get to hear new lyrics he was working on. Yet this time around, he needed to interrupt as Blaine's phone had gone off twice while he was studying. When Blaine turned after putting a pan in the oven, he smiled once his eyes fell upon Sebastian, yet that smile slowly faded.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm not studying, aren't you B?" Sebastian asked as he walked towards him, causing Blaine to nod. "You see, you left your phone on the coffee table and…" Sebastian paused till he was right before him. "Someone named Jean-Baptiste seems determined to speak with you." When Blaine's smile slowly returned, Sebastian cocked his head. "Blaine."

"You're jealous." Blaine stated before wrapping his arms around him.

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Though, you didn't freak out the way you did when Sam first called me." Once Blaine reminded Sebastian of that moment, Sebastian couldn't keep his straight face. "Personally, you're quite sexy when you get jealous."

"Am I now?" Blaine nodded in response. "Who is Jean-Baptiste?" The way the name rolled off of Sebastian's tongue caused Blaine to move up onto his tip toes to kiss him. "B."

"He's my friend that I called for Rachel."

"Ah, the one you met during Nationals your senior year." Sebastian replied as he wrapped his arms around Blaine, his memory triggered from their talk before having dinner with the Andersons.

"The very one. He probably has some questions in regards to Rachel as they're meeting for coffee tomorrow." Blaine then kissed him once more. "I'll give him a call back after dinner." When Sebastian tightened his hold around him, Blaine rested his head on his chest. "The two of you will have to meet sometime soon. Maybe we can go and see his show."

"Just tell me when Killer." Sebastian then kissed the top of Blaine's head. "You must think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No. You're just protective of what is yours." When he spoke, Blaine had lifted his head to look up at Sebastian who smiled. "I am yours you know."

"I know." Sebastian replied. "And you're right; I am protective over what is mine in numerous ways. Not only do I want to keep you safe, but I don't want people creeping on you. And the more popular you become, the more people want to get close to you."

"Scott will keep them away Bas."

"True, but it's not going to change how I feel."

"I don't want it too. Now, go back to studying since you've got some time. Then maybe later on, you can claim what is yours." When a smirk crept to Sebastian's lips, Blaine stretched to kiss him once more. "That exactly what I had in mind."