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Sebastian tugged on the end of his shirt as he followed Cooper up the front path towards his house, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack bouncing off the ground where he was dragging it behind him. Cooper was blathering on about something, as usual - Sebastian had quickly learned to tune him out most of the time.
Cooper talked, Sebastian didn’t listen, and they were best friends. It worked for them.
“Mom, Bastian’s here!” Cooper yelled as they walked through the front door; causing the other boy to wince at the volume of his voice.
Usually, they went over to play at Sebastian’s house, because he always had the latest toys. But his parents were going away for the weekend, so Mrs Anderson said he could come stay over with them.
Sebastian looked around in curiosity as Cooper ran through to say a proper hello to his mom. He started as a dark head of curls popped up from behind the couch in the living room off the hallway, just a pair of amber eyes and the tip of a nose visible. He frowned, tilting his head at him in confusion until the bundle squeaked and disappeared back down again. He could hear the sound of cartoons playing out on the television, too, but before he could go and properly have a look, Cooper was back.
“Come on, it’s more fun upstairs,” he declared, tugging him along.
Sebastian frowned but nodded, glancing back over his shoulder at the couch where the eyes had appeared. “Who’s that?” he asked in a whisper, gesturing towards the living room.
“Oh.” Cooper nodded knowingly. “That’s just my kid brother. Don’t worry, he has to go to bed early so we can watch cartoons later.”
Sebastian hummed in acknowledgement, his gaze still trained on the back of the couch as he walked up the stairs after his friend, until he rounded the corner and lost sight.
*
Sebastian met Cooper’s brother properly when they all sat down to dinner; that same dark head of curls popping up across the table from him. Since it was a Friday, Mr and Mrs Anderson had ordered pizza for them, which Sebastian and Cooper tucked into heartily.
Cooper’s brother - Blaine, Sebastian learned a little later - was silent during the meal, bright eyes seemingly focused on cutting his pizza up into neat little squares with a plastic knife and fork, where the other boys were all scrabbling with their hands.
Every now and then, though, Sebastian would look up to find Blaine watching him curiously. Every time their gazes met, Blaine’s cheeks would turn a vibrant shade of red and he’d quickly look back down at his pizza; the quiet sound of his feet kicking off the frame of the chair coming from under the table.
“Sebastian, do you want to call your mom before you boys go to sleep?” Mrs Anderson asked, when it looked as if he had stopped to take a breath.
He shook his head, taking a sip of juice before replying. “She said I can call tomorrow, but not tonight. It’s there anni-” He paused, scrunching up his nose for a moment. “An-ni-ver-sa-ry.”
Blaine giggled at his side of the table, gasping and averting his gaze again when Sebastian looked over in surprise.
“Squirt, stop being dorky,” Cooper groaned, slinking down in his seat so he could kick Blaine under the table lightly.
“Mm’not,” Blaine protested softly, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown.
Sebastian smiled to himself. So, he does speak.
*
Sebastian sighed, poking his head out from where he’d jammed it underneath his pillow. “Coop,” he hissed, jabbing his friend in the side pointedly. “Cooper.”
Cooper didn’t reply, continuing to snore loudly where he was sprawled out on the other side of the bed.
The other boy chewed on his lip in thought for a moment, before quietly slipping out of the bed and tiptoeing over to the door. Maybe the Andersons had a spare room, or he could go to down to the living room..
He pushed tentatively at the door to the room across from Cooper’s, poking his head around. He hesitated as he realised that what he’d found must have been Blaine’s room, but he couldn’t help but step forward out of interest.
On the bed, the sheet was pulled up, being propped up by Blaine’s head where he was sitting up, and then falling down behind him. Although Sebastian couldn’t see inside the little bubble, it glowed as if Blaine had a torch in there.
As he quietly closed the door behind him, Blaine jumped, his head ducking out of the blanket quickly. He relaxed only a little when he noted that it wasn’t his mommy or daddy coming to tell him off for still being awake, but still look worried as Sebastian stepped closer.
“Your brother snores,” Sebastian explained, quiet enough that they wouldn’t get caught.
Blaine nodded in understanding, before looking down at his bed. He pushed at the toys that Sebastian could see now that he’d been playing with in his tent, piling them up on the floor and then shuffling over to make a space for the older boy.
Sebastian shrugged, moving over to hop up beside Blaine. It was a little smaller than Cooper’s bed, so it was a bit of a squash with the two of them - but luckily Blaine was only little.
The two boys laid down on their sides, watching each other cautiously.
“How old are you?” Sebastian whispered, wondering if Blaine would actually dare to answer, given how shy he’d seemed earlier.
“Four,” Blaine mumbled. “How old are you?”
“Six,” Sebastian grinned proudly.
They didn’t say much else that night, their eyelids drooping as they curled into the warmth of the bed. Sometime over the night, however, their hands ending up find one another’s, lacing together in the space between them on the bed.
Which was how Cooper found them the next morning, when he went searching for his absent friend - before stomping downstairs to tell his parents all about it. Very loudly.
Blaine rubbed at his eyes dopily as he walked down the stairs with Sebastian, letting the other boy guide him, their fingers of one hand still laced together.
Cooper’s voice sounded from the kitchen. “They were practically cuddling!”
Cooper growled as Blaine and Sebastian walked into the kitchen together, pointing at them accusatively.
“Good morning, boys,” Mrs Anderson smiled, shaking her head at Cooper as the two set themselves up in seats at the table.
“Your supposed to be my friend! You can’t be Blaine’s friend too, or you’ll just go and play with him when you come over!” Cooper whined, whacking his fists off the table in frustration.
“Sebastian’s not my friend,” Blaine snapped back, sticking his tongue at his brother for good measure. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Sebastian blinked a few times, looking between the Andersons. “Am I?” He shrugged, spotting Blaine’s glare out of the corner of his eye before he nodded. “Yes, I am.”
Cooper let out a dramatic sob, banging his head down onto the table. “That’s even worse!”
Mr Anderson put down his mug of coffee, looking between the three boys with a wide grin before settling his gaze on Sebastian. “Well, Sebastian. Welcome to the family.”