Archive of Our Own

Glee – Season 4 Episode 8 – AU – The One Where There Is No Phone Call But a Smile

Standing hidden in a dark corner in the backstage area of the auditorium of McKinley, Blaine watched his fellow glee club members psych themselves up for their Sectionals performance that was coming soon. He himself felt out of it, on edge somehow, as if something was growing inside of him, and he kept on checking his phone for no specific reason every five minutes.

But the display remained dark.

And he gave up waiting for something that he couldn't even name.

Blaine huffed and pocketed his phone again before pushing a hand over his face, it felt freeing actually to stop letting himself be focused on what ifs. What was the sense in looking for something that had made him so miserable? Why wait for something that had stopped letting him be himself?

He looked up and just by pure chance caught green eyes briefly as the Warblers passed by him to get to the stage entrance to start their own last minute rituals. Blaine still remembered how good that had always felt, those few moments where tight wrung nerves just disappeared because you were one group, one family, and if everyone did their best it would be enough. The New Directions had always lacked that attitude, all or nothing, how different those worlds still were. The Dalton family. McKinley's war.

"Good luck!" Sebastian's voice snapped him back to the present and Blaine felt himself quite naturally mirror the bright grin on the taller boy's face.

"Yeah, you too." Blaine told him and then smiled at Jeff and Nick as well as they gently shoved Sebastian into walking faster, catching up with the rest of the Warblers. Hunter flung his arms around Sebastian's and Rob's shoulders, Nick smirking as he slipped into the middle of the circle the boys had formed.

Brothers. One family. United.

And as Blaine turned around and looked over to where Marley and Kitty were back to arguing, where Jake and Ryder were already glaring at each other again, where Tina and Artie were stuck to their phones, he found himself thinking for just a split second that maybe he should have gone back.

--

Blaine was tantalized, his eyes drawn to every move they were doing, ears and lips intuned to every lyric, to every part of their perfect harmony. The Warblers had never been better, he was so thrown by their performance, so caught off guard by how much the ripping feeling in his chest really ached. Telling him that he could have been a part of this, he could have been the part of something so glorious, but he chose wrong, once again, he had decided for the wrong side. Had decided to lose, because there was no way in hell their mediocre show would ever even come close to this awesomeness.

And then the fighting would start up again, people would blame each other, they would blame the competition, would try and find reasons on why they just had to have cheated. Blaine could hear all of it already, as if no one was ever allowed to just be better than the holy New Directions, least of all enemy number one of course.

Least of all the Dalton Academy Warblers.

Funny that the hate ran so deep when the only one who had ever truly gotten hurt by them had been Blaine, who had long since forgiven them.

He pushed those thoughts away for now though, didn't want to let it ruin this perfect experience. He just couldn`t stop letting his eyes flicker back and forth between those faces he knew. Between Jeff being as confident as never ever before, Nick looking almost glowing from within. Flint taken by the thrill, Rob so incredibly focused on the choreography. And Sebastian. Sebastian looking like he was having the time of his life. Like this was what he had been born to do. Like being up on that stage was just fun and meant being happy.

They were all playing with the audience, they were all living a dream, their dream. This was their stage now, this wasn`t McKinley anymore, this was Warblerland, they had packed this away. Whistle came to an end, and Blaine felt himself gripping the edges of his seat in anticipation of their next song choice. As much as he was impressed by Hunter's voice and entertaining skills, he wanted to hear Sebastian.

Wanted to see him.

Spotlight. Center Stage. All focus on him.

Not caring what anyone of his other teammates were thinking, he edged closer to the banister in front of him, they didn`t understand any of this. They had no idea how much work and tears must have fallen for them to once again ace every expectations, they were even more in sync then last year, smoothing together to be one united front. He watched over their formation, watched Nick's and Jeff's grinning faces, he had never seen them taken by so much adrenaline, so much euphoria. He was about to search for Sebastian's face, when their harmonies start up again.

So good. Blending together. Creating the perfect sound. How many hours it must have taken, how much frustration it must have cost. And how fantastic it had to feel now to see it all work out so beautifully.

His heart almost skipped a beat, because he could feel the song, could feel it pouring into him as their formation broke apart. Sebastian swirled around on the highest step, flashing probably the happiest and most euphoric smile Blaine had ever seen on his face as he started to sing. And Blaine was caught in a trap.

Oh god Sebastian.

The trap of his own heart.

Not the forbidden anymore. Not untouchable.

The Warblers moved in perfect harmony, he would have never believed it to be possible until now. Now where he saw Jeff, Sebastian and Rob move up front, they move as one, one person, there was not one of them out of step. The audience was on their feet still, and he had to jump up too, even moving onto the stairs to be able to see anything And when he saw them spinning around, feet shuffling, bodies moving to their own rhythm, he knew he will never be able to perform with anyone again without thinking about their charme.

Without thinking of what could have been. What he could have been a part of.

Sebastian was belting out the last lyrics of the first chorus just as their eyes met over the distance and his smile got even bigger, brighter, and Blaine was unable to look away. His hands started clapping along with everybody else, he didn`t see Sam looking at him with a smile that understood everything, didn`t see Finn throwing glances back and forth between him and the Warblers, didn`t see Santana and Puck sharing a look, didn't see Mike watching him in relief. He only saw them, and he knew.

Knew he made a mistake. He should have never backed down on their invitation, he should have gone back. Back home. Home was where the heart was, and his had always been in Dalton, his heart had never left the Warblers.

On stage, he watched Sebastian only so subtly nudging Jeff, and with only their ability to do so, Nick, Jeff, Rob and Sebastian hold his gaze, and Blaine knew that all four of them were singing to him. And he could feel his heart melting away, because now he knew that there was still someone out there who knew the real him. The real Blaine who had been bottled away for way too long. The boy who hadn`t been Blaine Warbler, the boy who had been more than just a boyfriend and a great voice.

The boy he had been proud to be and not afraid to see staring back at him in the mirror.

They blew him away. Sebastian blew him away, his confidence, his charme, his voice and finally he could allow himself to fall into it. No more guilt, no more blaming his mind for drifting of. This was his moment now, their moment, no more barriers. Blaine desperately wished he would have the strength to perform like this, but he didn`t own it, not anymore. He knew he couldn`t do them justice, and he didn`t want to. He wanted them to win, because they had earned it, they had lost enough. Too many times it had been them to take the loser trophy home, while the others moved on, but they never lost their eagerness, and this year, it was their turn, their turn to be great...

He could feel it in every vein and every bone.

And Blaine wanted to be a part of it.

Not for the winning, not for the trophies, not for the applause, not for the awe in people's eyes. He wanted to the feeling of brotherhood back, the feeling of being part of something, the feeling of being part of a family who supported and loved each other through success and loss.

The Warblers moved back into formation at the end of the song, Sebastian never stopped looking at him, and Blaine knew why, it was for the same exact reason he couldn`t bring his eyes to waver either. They were young... so why not live for it while the time was still not running out on them.

There was nothing between them anymore, no baggage, no frontlines. He could feel the heat rising inside of him, his fingers reached out to loosen his tie, this stupid golden tie, he felt even more ridiculous now, because it wasn`t right like this. Too much gold, too less piping. It was as if his body knew just as much as his mind did now, this wasn't right and the tie kept on seeming to want to choke him. His arms felt so cold without the protection of a blazer around them, his hands falling down to smoothe down something that wasn't there. He had never felt so wrong and right in a place at the same time, and he had to swallow really hard, when Sebastians winked at him while get something , and for the first time, Blaine wouldn`t complain, would welcome it, because there was no reason.

Their harmonies were rolling out, Sebastian's voice was the last one that flickered through the auditorium before the audience started to cheer, exploding with clapping and call outs. They were loving them, every single one of them knew who the winner would turn out tonight. And when he saw the Warblers hastily scramling backstage to celebrate their breathtaking show, he started hurrying down the stairs, not caring for the voices calling out his name, because they weren`t where he wanted to be anymore. No, not anymore.

He knew his way around the corridors, knew exactly where to take a short cut to arrive backstage. He found them huddled in small groups, laughing, high fiving each other, and he frantically moved around them, finding Sebastian in the far back, aside from the others, and once again their eyes caught so easily. Drawn to each other.

By something that was so much more powerful still than it had been a year ago.

Blaine quickened his steps, let his hands curl themselves around the other boy's shoulders the second he was close enough. Sebastian's hands were around his waist in the next blink of an eye, and then he leaned slightly down and they were kissing. It was hard and passionate, and Sebastian was pulling him closer and closer. Blaine could feel Sebastian's heart racing, still hyped up on all that adrenaline and energy from their performance. Blaine let his hands grip harder onto the other boy's shoulders, he leaned onto his toes, too, so he could give more of himself into the kiss.

It was more than Blaine had ever imagined it to be. It was finding something that had always belonged in his heart.

--

Sebastian was the one to pull away first in the end, breathlessly gasping for air as he fell back against the wall, green eyes dilated and filled with wonder as Blaine stared up at him, way more in control over his breaths than the other boy. It was definitely not something he would have expected, but the rush still filled him with warmth on the inside. And seeing Sebastian this out of his shell, emotions so bare before him, it did something to him, and he wasn`t complaining, felt his so torn down ego swell with pride. Blaine pulled his right hand up and gently stroked over Sebastian's jaw, the other boy closed his eyes, still heavily panting.

"Never thought I would ever see you like this." Blaine whispered, eyes drawn to Sebastian's face as the other boy opened his eyes again.

"You got me there, killer." His voice was husky, breathless, words coming out way too soft to resemble any of his usual snarky remarks. And why should they, all walls down.

"You got us all there!" An amused voice laughed behind them and with a start they both became aware of their audience again, almost everyone was staring at them, confusion and shock being plastered into their faces. Even Rob and Nick looked surprised, the only Warblers Blaine still knew from his own time aside from the blond who had spoken. He couldn`t really read the expression on Hunter's face, but it was the bright sunshine smile on Jeff's that let him soothe down the initial panic.

Sebastian tried to regain some kind of composure, but he failed, his face was still flushed, his lips still red and when he looked at Jeff his eyes appeared way softer than what Blaine would have expected some months ago, he was almost grinning.

"Got a problem with it, Sterling?" He called out, Jeff laughed out loud, and even Rob and Nick relaxed again.

"Hell, no." All three of them said almost together.

"Hell yes!" A furious voice yelled from the background at the same time as Jeff still laughed out his answer, and they all turned around to look, like one united army, and Blaine's eyes fell upon Finn, Puck and Santana standing close by, all of them looking murderous. He was sure the colour was draining from his face, he had hoped nobody would follow him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Finn yelled again, fixing Blaine with the stern glance of a parent scolding his child, but he wasn`t a child anymore, and especially not his. He felt Sebastian taking a step closer to him, one arm pushing around his waist again, and he leaned into it, let himself be protected and anchored by it. Nick, Jeff and Rob moved closer to them to subconsciously form a wall around them. Blaine was filled with pride, when he realized they were not doing this only for him, they were doing this to protect Blaine and to defend Sebastian.

"I`m doing the right thing, Finn." Blaine cut back, voice steady and calm, just like he felt, he was going home, home to be with his family, there was absolutely no reason to be nervous. No reason to be scared when he was surrounded by his brothers.

"And what would that be?", Santana demanded of him, voice venomous, sharp enough to cut through steel, she was fuming, deadly glare directed to his left where Sebastian glared right back at her. Hunter stepped in between their line of vision in the next second, face set in stone.

"I`m going home. Back to where I rightfully belong!", Blaine spoke it out firmly, sounding as strong and convinced as he hadn`t been for the last three months, probably even for the last two years, "I`m going back to Dalton. Tonight!" Sebastian's arm only tightened even more and Nick reached behind himself to squeeze his hand, he was welcome, they had wanted him back for so long now. But Blaine's attention was more taken by the way Hunter shortly glanced back at him, before his whole demeanor changed as if a button had been pressed, he tensed up, like a snake ready to strike.

He was preparing for an argument, for a fight, and Blaine knew why, because now he wasn`t only defending Sebastian and some boy who had once been a part of Dalton' legacy. No, now he was defending two of his Warblers and if he lived up to whatever image Blaine had already cemented in his head, he was glad he was standing on this side of the line.

"So, you are betraying us?" Santana wanted to know, taking a step forward, but with one rush of steps, she was faced with a solid wall of blazer clad Dalton boys, surrounding them, "Just like you betrayed Kurt." He flinched, Sebastian only edged closer, jaw set so hard Blaine was sure his teeth were crunching together.

"I`m going back because I should have never left in the first place. Dalton is my home. My only home. I am Dalton. It was a mistake coming to McKinley, and I should have come to that realization a year ago." Blaine said without losing an ounce of his calm, he was doing the right thing.

"A year ago, when you met the slimey jerk!" Puck added to the mix, and Blaine was terribly thankful that Rob and Hunter were quick to reach out when Sebastian tried to storm past them. Blaine cut around them, their hold onto Sebastian's arms was powerful, he wouldn`t be able to break free.

"This has nothing to do with Sebastian... I`m doing this for me." He found himself face to face with Santana in the next second, her dark eyes piercing right through his soul. Once upon a time he had thought that she might become his friend, but he had clearly been wrong.

"You are nothing but a slimey little cheater, a liar! In the end, it was the meerkat after all, right? You let him fuck you, you let him mess with your head until he got you so far as to betray your friends. You`re his little puppet now!" She snarled at him and grabbed him by the stupid golden tie, pulled him even closer, but Blaine was past being afraid, he was not alone in this.

Behind himself he could hear Sebastian almost growling, obviously fighting against his friends, "Come to your senses, Blaine, get your ass back to your friends and get ready to perform!" He wrenched himself from her grasp, stumbled back and fell but Hunter caught him, giving hold of Sebastian's left arm to Nick. And with this wall of Dalton at his back, it all finally broke out of him, one rush of words.

"I`m with my friends. With my family. After freaking one and a half years, I`m finally back with people who respect me for who I am, and not for whom I cared about! You never saw anything else but Kurt's boyfriend in me! You`ve been jealous of me right from the start, Finn! You hated me! And a part of me knows that you still do it! I`m done! With Kurt, with you, with New Directions, and especially with McKinley! Give the damn presidency and the solo to Sam, he will have fun with it, he deserves it. You are losing either way. There is no way in hell you would be able to top them tonight! The Warblers have won!" Blaine was screaming in the end, and Hunter was holding him back from presumbly doing something stupid.

"You are going to regret this!" Finn seethed at him before he sharply turned around to vanish behind the next corner, probably hurrying down the corridor to turn his group around. Roughly shoving past Mike who had stepped into the backstage area just then.

"So, it`s all about the winning for you now?" Santana demanded from him, "You`re leaving your family behind to assure you are on the side of victory? I`m sure Kurt would be proud of you." Surprisingly, even for Blaine and probably especially for Nick, because he had no reaction at all, it was someone else who snapped when Jeff stormed past Blaine to heavily shove Santana back towards Puck.

"Kurt can go screw himself. Or get himself screwed in some dirty back alley for all we care! He took Blaine away from us, he turned him into a helpless puppy who followed him around like he was the only water in the desert! You all turned him into something he wasn`t when he was back with us! You don`t know the real Blaine! You heard his decision, so you better back off, because none of us will hold back defending him!" Jeff all but hissed and Blaine was taken by shock, he had never seen Jeff this furious. And when he glanced at Nick, he could see that even his best friend had never seen Jeff this fierce and angry.

Hunter relaxed his hold on him, and Blaine shuffled to his right to Sebastian to calm him down, because riling him up was the only thing Santana really wanted, hopefully enough that they would get disqualified.

"You blinded him, a real nice way of friendship you are showing!" Santana just went on, thinking that she had found a wound to stab into, when in truth all she was doing was stir the boiling pot in their favor. Sebastian was almost trembling from suppressed anger, and Blaine kept stroking over his arm, eyes never leaving Santana and Jeff.

"He lost his strength, his confidence, his voice, everything that makes him who he is because of you. Nice way of family you are having." Jeff cut back without hesitating and Blaine had to swallow, but there was a small grin appearing on Nick's face, a smirk growing on Rob's, and even Sebastian couldn't help but smile just a little bit.

Santana could see that it was a lost cause, that she had could never win the upper hand in something where they were in the right, she pulled her head up even higher and whirled around, stalking away, her heels clicking hard on the floor. Puck followed her like an obedient puppy, the attack dog unhappy over being tugged away on his leash again without any fight. Blaine closed his eyes briefly, before he faced his blond friend.

"Thanks, Jeff. She really needed that." He said and Jeff turned around, face all sheepy and shy again, and Blaine was happy that he was still his bashful self, with a slight confidence boost.

"No problem, Blaine... I`m sorry, Hunter, got a little out of hand." Jeff apologied, hazel eyes big, shifting a little on his feet, a complete one-eighty from just five minutes ago. Rob and Nick rolled their eyes, pulled him between them again. Hunter snorted.

"Don`t apologize, Jeff... She seemed to have it coming." Hunter waved it off, Jeff nodded, grin returning to his lips and Blaine was taken aback when he remembered how the look in Jeff's hazel eyes seemed so familiar.

It was the same damn look he had seen so many times when Wes had soothed the fear away, had prided him on his dancing, whenever just a simple gestures or some gentle words had turned an anxiety ridden boy into a confident Warbler. Jeff looked up to Hunter, who on the other side wasn`t in the slightest bit moved by it, as if he had just done his job, taken care of his Warblers. He awaited some snarky comment from his right about what exactly Santana had coming, but he only felt Sebastians arm slacking away from his fingers.

"Seb?" Rob was calling out and Blaine whirled around, but it was too late, because Sebastian's legs gave away and Rob was unable to catch him alone, Hunter was too slow, and Sebastian crashed to his knees. Hands gripping his head.

"Someone get some water!" Hunter yelled, falling to his knees beside Sebastian, Rob on his other side, bringing one leg up to set it behind Sebastian's back. "And I told you to get some rest this morning." Hunter muttered angrily, quick fingers loosening the tie from around Sebastian's neck, eyes set on Sebastian's ashen face, green eyes closed.

And then Nick was there, pulling one of Sebastian's hands down from his temple and around a bottle of water, not letting go until Sebastian held onto the bottle on his own. Blaine could feel a hand squeezing his shoulder, Jeff coming to stand right next to him.

"It's surely just exhaustion. Seb has been pulling on his last reserves for days now." Jeff told him quietly, "He wanted today to be...the best. For you, I think." And Blaine could feel something in his heart begin to pulse as he watched Hunter almost gently slap Sebastian's cheek until the other boy opened his eyes again.

"Drink. And listen." Hunter told him and Sebastian glared, even with his face pale as a ghost's and a headache visible almost, with the dizziness still obvious, green eyes still managed to glare in annoyace, "You should have laid down this morning. So here we go, I told you so." Hunter smirked and Sebastian huffed, finally starting to drink, emptying the bottle almost right away. His hand was barely able to set the bottle down when there was a small hand already holding out another. "Thank you, Skylar." Hunter said for Sebastian who instead of using strength on words, squeezed the hand of the to Blaine unknown boy shortly as he took the bottle.

"Alright, boys." Hunter turned to look at the rest of the boys mingling around still while Sebastian chucked back another water bottle, "Take your seats in the auditorium. We'll be right behind you soon." The boys shuffled off until next to Rob still holding Sebastian up only Hunter, Nick, Jeff and the young boy named Skylar remained aside from Blaine. He was sure that this was the inner circle, the people Sebastian had come to finally trust, to open up within, these were his friends.

"Excuses?" Hunter snarked as Sebastian finished off the second bottle and let Rob and Hunter pull him back to his feet.

"Allergies against Lima Latinas." Sebastian replied without even a second of thinking about an answer, and where Jeff and Nick snickered, Rob reached up and carefully slapped Sebastian over the back of his head. Sebastian looked from Hunter's deadpanned face over to Blaine who though worried couldn't help but shake his head with a smile, having Sebastian's lips curl into a smirk.

"You are taking it easy, Seb, I swear by god. I'm not above telling Sky to call the baby squirrel to have him go all guilt trip on you again. Or have him go right to Harwood." Sebastian groaned in response to Hunter's words and looked over to the youngest of the boys, light brown eyes all round and innocent while lips were pulled into a grin that promised trouble. And when Sebastian narrowed his eyes in warning, the kid just held up his phone.

"I've got him on speed dial." Skylar announced and Sebastian pointed a finger at him, "And I've got my finger on the call button." The freshman went on, entirely unimpressed and Blaine wondered what the story was behind all of that.

"Fine. I promise I'm gonna take it easy, can we now all please stop letting me get threatened with my baby brother or tiny best friends right in front of the boy who just fucking kissed me." And Nick and Rob laughed while Jeff snickered and shoved an amused Blaine forward until Sebastian had to catch him with both arms. "Don't listen to a word they are saying. Just trying to embarass me now."

"My ears are deaf." Blaine assured him with a bright grin, curling their hands together.

Sage, his mind reminded him then, the baby squirrel's name was Sage. Sebastian's little brother with the big puppy eyes who could guilt-trip his big brother into doing anything with just one look.

"We'll talk? Once we're alone?" Sebastian asked then, quietly, the other five pretending to be ignoring them. Blaine nodded, squeezed Sebastian's hand, talking sounded like a good idea. "And you'll really come back to Dalton with us tonight?"

"My parents aren't even home, they won't notice." Blaine explained and then shared a soft smile with Sebastian.

"Not to burst the happy bubble, but we really need to get back into the auditorium." Hunter announced, "And there is unfortunately no free seat with us."

"I got him." Mike's voice had Blaine jump and whirl around he had completely forgotten that the graduated ex-New Directions member was still standing by the exit, "Keep the others away from him." Mike went on and Blaine smiled at him, full of relief and gratitude, seemed like he still had one friend left after all in this hell hole.

"Thank you." Sebastian said and Mike nodded at him, no suspicion in his eyes, no judgement, just happiness over seeing Blaine happy again.

--

"Just answer me one question, okay?" Mike ashed him when they were alone and Blaine looked at him, still smiling. "Are you happy right now?"

"I'm happier that I have been all year, Mike." Blaine answered him easily, "Saying no to them all these weeks ago? It was a mistake. Going back to Dalton would have saved me a lot of heartache and headaches." They started walking down the corridor again, back to the auditorium, the hallway was luckily completely empty.

"Do you regret ever coming here? Leaving Dalton in the first place?" Mike pushed his elbow against Blaine's arm a little, and Blaine shook his head.

"No, I don't. Back then it...it was the right decision for myself, and I did find friends who liked me as more than just Kurt's boyfriend, but now...it's time for me to go home." Blaine explained and Mike smiled at him as they stopped outside the auditorium doors.

"You two looked quite happy back there." Mike offered up to him and Blaine grinned, felt his lips tingling again almost, the ghost touch of Sebastian's arm around his waist, "There was always something, wasn't there? Right from the start? Despite what happened?" Blaine ducked his head down for a moment, but then looked right back up at his friend, nothing to hide here, he knew Mike would understand.

"Yes, something had been there. I loved Kurt, I really loved him until it hurt, but now...He moved on with his life, Mike, and I think I should be allowed to do the same. Sebastian and I...I don't know if it will be something, if it turns into the dream future, but I want to try. I want to live." Blaine said and Mike brought a hand up to his shoulder, squeezed.

"Whatever happens now, remember that you are not losing everyone here at McKinley. I got your back, Blaine." Mike told him and Blaine reached out to high-five him, "And now let's go." Mike went on and pushed open the door, pushing Blaine into the loud audience ranks of the auditorium with a firm hand on his shoulder, "Let's see to it that we keep away from the others until the Warblers have won."

"You think they'll win, too?" Blaine asked cheekily and still couldn't help the grin, over the distance of people talking during intermission between performances, he caught Sebastian's eyes and nodded, everything was gonna be okay.

"Oh, they have so won, but don't you ever quote me on that." And they both laughed as Mike pulled Blaine into the row where Tina's parents greeted them in surprise.

--

Blaine was perged on the edge of his seat when the judge prepared the last letter, taking his sweet time with the announcement, but then he had read over the winner's name and with a perfect white teeth smile he looked up into the audience again.

"This years Sectionals' winner... The Dalton Academy Warblers!" And even when they had all already known it would happen like this, Blaine was still jumping to his feet, cheering loud and clapping heavily, just like the majority of the audience. The boys were grinning, some of them hugging, he was sure Jeff and Nick were almost suffocating Sebastian as they burried him in a bear hug.

It was maybe just a small step on their way to Nationals, but Blaine knew that it wasn`t the victory in itself that had them all so happy, that had especially Nick, Jeff, and Rob so happy, the last ones of a generation that had lost twice to the New Directions. And this year, in their last chance as Seniors, they had finally done it. Hunter stepped forward and accepted the throphy, not even throwing one look to his enemies, where all of them were glaring at them with murderous eyes.

Hunter walked back to the celebrating group of Warblers, stopped next to Sebastian and together then they raised the trophy up into the air. Grinning at each other before Sebastian looked out into the crowd, searching until he found Blaine grinning back at him. This was Dalton's year, this was the Warbler's big return.

And Blaine would be a part of it.

The show was over, and Blaine was already racing backstage again, before the Warblers even fully left the stage. He didn`t want any of the New Directions to stop him now. He dodged people, made a beeline around crying Amish girls, and he got real lucky. Cause about three steps away from the classroom that had been turned into the Warbler's green room for tonight, he could hear Jake and Ryder yelling for him, but Sebastian had him pulled into the room and slammed the door close again before Blaine could have caught sight of them behind himself.

"Not in the mood for sharing you with the wrong people tonight." Sebastian announced as Blaine looked up at him, blazer off, top two buttons of his shirt opened.

"Totally on the same page there." Blaine agreed and let himself be tugged closer, Sebastian smirked and then leaned down to kiss him again. Slower this time, no more pounding adrenaline in their veins, and Blaine smiled right into the kiss when it send goosebumbs down his back, happiness rippling through his veins.

And then the door opened and Hunter was snarling, "You don`t even know what war means. You lay one hand on any of my boys ever again, and I will have your heads!" Sebastian and Blaine broke apart and then Hunter was gently pushing a frazzled looking Skylar into the classroom before slamming the door shut again. Sebastian was pulling Skylar to his side in the next blink of an eye and brown eyes looked up at him, wide and clearly belonging to someone who had just been run over with something.

"You okay?" Sebastian asked and Skylar nodded but didn't speak up so that Sebastian turned to Hunter, "What's wrong?"

"Everything will be alright the second we step out of this bloody school, so get ready." Hunter said with a defined look over to Sebastian that Blaine could still read so easily. Someone must have clearly held Skylar back to demand some answers from the Warblers' supposed weakest link, and Blaine would put his money on Santana.

Sebastian grumbled something under his breath and led Skylar over to where their bags were placed right next to each other.

"Please don't tell me you have anything you need to grab still." Hunter said as he came to stand next to Blaine, dragging a hand through his sweaty hair.

"No, I got everything." Blaine assured him and Hunter raised an eyebrow at his thin black dress shirt.

"Not really summer anymore, Anderson. Last thing I want now is for my newest Warbler to catch a cold." Hunter pointed out but couldn't even catch a new breath before Blaine was hit in the face by two sweatshirts, and across the room Nick and Sebastian stared at each other.

"All set. " Blaine told Hunter who rolled his eyes and threw up his hands before walking over to his own stuff.

Blaine chuckled, feeling so overwhelmed by just being welcomed. Throwing over Sebastian's sweatshirt, he handed Nick his back with a smile.

"For the record, mine would have fit." Nick commented the whole thing drily and poked at Blaine's too long sleeves.

"Doesn't smell as good." Blaine told him quietly and Nick snorted and then laughed, throwing an arm around Blaine's shoulders to draw him closer.

"Good to have you back, man. Wasn't the same without you." Nick told him and Blaine felt his face grow hot but the smile on his face, that felt permanent again.

--

The drive back to Dalton was not chaotic, loud and crazy like Blaine had gotten used to with the New Directions. It was civil, they were still overly happy that they had won, and the trophy on the seats in front of Rob was being guarded by at least four people. They chattered away, there was a lot of laughing and a small group of boys in the back of the bus were even singing, but no one is losing their minds. They had been brought up differently, mannered, especially with respect to friends who weren`t on the same energy level as them.

Flint and Rob were speaking over the gap, the smaller boy was pointing around on his phone, they both looked amused. Blaine had no doubt that Rob had certainly texted Thad right away. Nick, sitting next to Jeff, was doodling in his notebook, earphones in and presumbly on high volume, just like it had always been when he had wanted to draw. Jeff leaned against him, headphones on, eyes closed, Jeff and busses had always meant napping.

Hunter and Skylar were sitting in the row next to Blaine's, quietly talking with each other, Skylar still looked frazzled and also exhausted now, weakly slouched back in his seat, and Blaine was convinced that Hunter was not only holding his arm around the younger boy's shoulders in a friendly gesture. But in a protecting one as well. He felt someone poking his knee, and turned around to look at Sebastian, smiling at him, from where he was leaning against the window, still too drained for Blaine's liking.

"I hope you`re not already regretting your decision." Sebastian asked him quietly and Blaine quickly shook his head as he watched the taller boy pocket his phone again, only two minutes ago Sebastian had been quick-fire texting with his brother and throwing some mildly worried looks over to his young protege.

"No, never." Blaine was sure to answer him. "Definitely not, this was the right thing to do... I only hope the war that is sure to come, will not turn out to be too deadly."

"You mean, the second Hummel gets wind of this, he is going all Lima Heights on us?" Sebastian grinned at him and Blaine laughed, leaning back against him, Sebastian curled an arm around him. And it felt so good, so familiar almost even though it couldn't be. Letting himself fall into the strength and the protection of brothers around him.

"Let`s just not think about him until he pops up." Blaine advised him and Sebastian mirrored the smile on his face.

"Until who pops up?" Rob wanted to know, his head quite literally popping up from behind the seats in front of them.

"Kurt." Sebastian answered before Blaine could make his head up, it was still strange to see him this relaxed around the guys, to see him not keeping secrets from them. To see him ready to be just him, no guards up, no walls well protected.

"Does he already make trouble?" Hunter asked from Blaine's other side, fixing him with a look that demanded an honest answer, it was creepy how much he reminded him of Wes.

"No, not until now, but he will. No matter how much he pointed out that we are done, he will get involved in this because..." Blaine grimaced in the end and let his sentence run out into nothing because it was so stupid.

"Because he hates me. And he will definitely throw a fit once he finds out what happened tonight." Sebastian continued for him, Blaine could see Rob and Hunter exchanging a look, but they dropped the topic. Apparently a freaked out freshman was enough New Directions drama for one day.

"On another note." Rob started, locking eyes with Sebastian, who only quirked an eyebrow in response. Blaine was intrigued on how easy they were around each other now, after Rob had made it really hard for Sebastian last year. They had been at each others' throats on a daily basis, from what he remembered, especially troubling because fate had stuck them together in one dorm room, but something had changed, they were friends now, he could see it. "I talked with Hunter, and I`m crashing with him tonight."

It was Skylar's following snicker that had him blushing furiously, even Sebastian's face regained some colour.

"I really appreciate the gesture, Rob, but there is absolutely nothing happening tonight, I`m dead on my feet." They exchanged a quick look, Blaine hopelessly embarassed, Sebastian amused, even knowing that their friends only meant it in the good way. Rob scowled at them.

"I wasn`t exactly going in that direction, but thanks for the mental images now, Seb." Sebastian grinned up at Rob, pulling Blaine back against his chest, Rob growled, "I was more talking about talking with each other. I`m pretty sure there is a lot you two wanna talk about, and it would probably be more comfortable without me."

"Thanks, Rob." Blaine stated his gratitude before Sebastian could come up with any kind of snarky remark. He didn`t have a chance though, because just as Rob wanted to sit down again, Nick was almost jumping out of his seat, wrenching earphones out of his ears and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Nearly sending Jeff flying into the walkway between the seats.

"Wes!" Nick screamed and it was absolutely freaking hilarious how even after so many months of not suffering under his scrutinizing eyes, Rob, Jeff and Blaine all looked over their shoulders before realizing that Wes couldn`t be with them. They all looked back to Nick, who was holding his phone up to them, Wes' name flashing on the little screen. Hunter whistled once, loud and clear and the whole bus was completely silent in the next moment. Nick took the call and put it on speaker, volume all the way up.

"Hey there." Wes' calm voice floated through the speaker and Blaine could almost feel his heart beating stronger, because one look in Nick's eager face told him enough, winning Sectionals was more or less a side note now that they had him back.

"Hey!" Nick and Jeff were screaming back together, switching from exhausted Seniors right back into extreme sugar high affected fourteen year olds.

"Ah, I see, it`s speaker time again. You two rascals seem giddy, so I can assume Sectionals went great?" Rob was laughing so loud, Blaine was sure Wes had to hear it. Nick and Jeff threw one beaming look back at him, where he grinned at them, Sebastian's arm still warm and pleasantly heavy around his stomach.

"Great is the perfect word for it. Awesome!", they chorused together, "Hunter was amazing, and Sebastian just killed it." Blaine could feel Sebastian chuckling against the back of his neck, and he lightly punched against his thigh, because they were right, Sebastian had killed it.

"Well, congratulations, and tell them, too." Wes said and Blaine snorted quietly, dropping his head back against Sebastian's shoulder.

"We can all hear you." Sebastian laughed out, taking at least half the bus into a short laughing fit, Nick scowled back at him. And it was so funny how Wes could still make the dynamic duo shuffle back into being five year olds on christmas morning. "But thank you, nevertheless. It was an awesome time." Sebastian said and looked back at Blaine, green eyes shining with so much happiness.

"We even got something better than the trophy." Nick quipped and Jeff snickered.

"What is better than the trophy?" Wes wanted to know confused and Blaine would have felt insulted if he wouldn`t have known that Wes could have had no idea. Rob was lost on his laughter and even Hunter was shaking his head with an amused smile, Skylar was smirking so bright. Sebastian pressed his face against Blaine's neck as he tried to hide his chuckles upon seeing Blaine's thick playful scowl.

"I`m really flattered, Wes. Really, what is better than the trophy?" There was silence on the other side of the line, really just some seconds or so, before it crackled and David's voice reached their ears.

"Did something happen? He looks like he got struck by lightening or something...Nick?" Their other former council member and co-leader wanted to know, Nick snorted.

"I`m pretty sure he will come around in a minute or so, David. It`s just the shock." Blaine took over answering, pushing one of his hands under Sebastian's on his stomach until Sebastian curled their hands together.

"Blaine?"

Yeah, this was gonna be fun.

--

Rob swooned into the room and out again within five minutes, he was like the flash of a lightning, gone before you really had a chance of noticing what was happening, and when the door fell shut behind him, they were alone, alone in one room for the first time in months. It was awkward for the first three seconds, but then Sebastian grabbed his hand and softly pulled him over to his bed, tugging on his wrist until he sat down next to him.

Blaine took his courage and leaned over to kiss him again, he wanted them to forget this awkward feeling in their chests, wanted them to just relax. It was even much sweeter and tender this time, lips moving against each other. Sebastian curled his hands around his jaw, fingers softly kneading the skin, Blaine kept his hands placed on the other boys chest. Once again they broke apart, because Sebastian had to catch his breath, he fell back on the bed, eyes closed, lips apart, Blaine could have melted on the spot.

"I`m not dreaming... This is really happening, right?" Sebastian breathed out, voice barely above a whisper, and Blaine smiled. Letting himself fall onto his side, he laid down on the bed, facing Sebastian, their legs still swung over the edge.

"No, you`re not. It`s not a dream, it`s definitely happening." Blaine promised and Sebastian looked at him, one hand reaching for his, "You look tired." Blaine stated, and it was true, exhaustion was written all over his face. The worry must have shown on his face, because Sebastian was squeezing his hand and rolling to his side, with their noses almost touching, they looked at each other.

"Hey, I`m okay... Not going to black out again, I promise... But you are right, I`m tired. It was a long day. Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" A small part of himwas surprised that Sebastian didn`t try to seduce him into joining in, the bigger part of him was thankful that it didn`t happen, because he didn`t want to mess this up, he had made too many mistakes in the past weeks.

"No, of course not... Do you have anything I could wear tonight?" Blaine asked and Sebastian was already on his feet before he had even finished speaking, hands rummaging through his closet. His eyes were grinning, positively glowing upon the thought that Blaine would wear something of his tonight, and Blaine couldn`t feel embarassed, he was really looking forward to it. To have Sebastian close. The sweatshirt he had pulled over at McKinley was still warm and soft, and it smelled just like Sebastian.

"Sure." Sebastian answered, throwing a shirt and sweatpants at him, all embroided with the Dalton Lacrosse Team symbol, "I hope they don`t swallow you!" Sebastian laughed, snatching up his own clothes, Blaine threw a pillow at him, mock glaring at him over the height joke, Sebastian grinned and disappeared into the bathroom.

Blaine took his time, taking the chance to look around the room, especially over Sebastian's side of it, it was neat, and he didn`t expect anything else, you couldn`t survive with Rob as your roommate if you weren`t neat. The shelf next to Sebastian's bed was overflowing with books, but it was too dark to read any titles, his desk was just like Rob's, crammed with books and papers, the daily chaos of a Dalton student. What really caught his eyes and made him stand up to walk over to it, was the wall next to the door, it hadn`t looked like this whenever he had been in Rob's room before Sebastian came to Dalton. It was plastered with pictures, little notes attached to it. His fingers moved up to softly glide over them, as he heard the water turning on in the bathroom.

Sebastian himself was only in a couple of them, and Blaine suspected he had taken the majority of the others himself, he still remembered that Sebastian liked photography. Many pictures featured Sage, that little always smiling boy with those big round eyes who always looked at his older brother with such awe, who would never stop believing in the good in him.

Sage making funny faces with a girl his age. Sage drawing on Rob's face as the other boy laid sleeping on the couch in the Smythe's living room. Sage, Skylar and an unknown boy making handstands in an unfamiliar backyard. Sage and Skylar with their faces smushed in cotton candy.

Thad and Rob on a beach, heads turned towards a group of girls, sunglasses dropped down onto their noses to see better. Thad, Rob and Seb after winning a Lacrosse game. Nick and Jeff asleep in the common room during a movie night, wrapped around each other in an armchair. Thad and Rob mid flip in the Warbler's music room.

And strangely enough, one with Rob, Jeff and Seb wearing cat ears.

--

With the TV running in the background on some old movie, they curled up on the bed and Blaine found himself craving the warmth of Sebastian's shower heated body. Sebastian didn't deliver any lines though, just hummed against Blaine's neck and wrapped his arm tighter around Blaine's waist.

"What are you thinking about?" Blaine asked him, pulling back enough so he could look into green eyes, Sebastian smiled, especially when Blaine reached up to gently slide the tip of a finger over his lips.

"Still thinking that this is...not something I could have ever dreamed about. You here? With me? Part of me still believes that I will wake up any second now to Rob's incessive yelling to get my ass moving because Hunter wants one last run through before we drive down for Sectionals." Sebastian answered him and Blaine leaned in to kiss his nose.

"Well, I'm really here, and nothing of this is just a dream. Though it's certainly dreamy." And Sebastian laughed in reaction to his words, burying his face against Blaine's neck, and Blaine let himself get lost in the sound of Sebastian's laughter.

"There is so much I want to tell you." Sebastian admitted a little bit later, lying side by side with Blaine on his bed, one of his hand splayed right over Blaine's heart while Blaine couldn't stop playing with Sebastian's hair and ear. "But I don't know if I can put it into words already."

"We've got time." Blaine told him, "And...I get it, there is so much I want to tell you as well, and I, too, don't know how to put it all into words. Just...I missed you. And not just your friendship, not just talking to you. I missed you, Seb."

"I missed you, too." Sebastian agreed and then leaned in to kiss Blaine again, and Blaine honestly couldn't get enough of it. This kiss though was interrupted when Sebastian became overwhelmed with the need to yawn and then scoffed over his own bodily reactions, Blaine was already snickering. "This is the most embarassing performance I have ever given." Sebastian muttered angrily but Blaine kissed his nose and his lips to distract him.

"Oh shut up, it's perfect." Blaine whispered and then they were laughing too much to really kiss but still kept going.

--

And later as he felt Sebastian's breathe even out against his neck, Sebastian's arm pleasantly heavy and warm around his chest, Blaine knew that whatever was going to come their way now with McKinley on the warpath against the Warblers, it was going to be okay.

He was home.

He smiled and leaned his head against Sebastian's, closed his eyes as well and let himself fall into sleep, tomorrow would be a new day and for the first time in months, Blaine was looking forward to see the sun up in the sky.

--

The next morning, Blaine woke up slowly, with his face squished against a warm arm and his own arm wrapped around a gently rising and falling chest.

"Morning, killer." A voice breathed out just above his head and Blaine smiled, just pure grin and happiness flooding his veins as he shifted forward and laid his head on Sebastian's chest, the arm he had previously rested on curled around his shoulders, drawing him closer. "I gotta say, this is the best waking up I ever had."

And Blaine snorted and then giggled, tightening his arm around Sebastian's chest, throwing a leg over one of Sebastian's as well. Just for good measure. This time he was sure as hell not going to let go of him again, never again.

"Can say the same." Blaine answered Sebastian after a moment and Sebastian laughed quietly, hiding his face in Blaine's hair. Blaine pulled himself up in the next moment, but just enough that he could lean over Sebastian and kiss him again. Sebastian smiled into the kiss, curled both arms around Blaine, one hand stroking up until he could cup the back of Blaine's head. "You are in no urgent hurry to get down to breakfast, right?" Blaine spoked against Sebastian's lips after a short moment of soft kissing.

"No, why? You got some other plans, killer?" Sebastian asked, lips curling into a smirk and Blaine responded with one of his own.

"Indeed I have." Blaine whispered and pressed his lips back to Sebastian's in the same moment as swinging a leg over Sebastian's hip and pulling the blanket up over them. Sharing Sebastian's attention with other people could wait a bit.

--

They made it down into the cafeteria half an hour later and Blaine couldn't stop smiling, just incapable of getting that look of utter blissful happiness off of his face, and he surely didn't want to either.

Saturday morning in the cafeteria was a lively but less chaotic affair than weekday breakfast time before classes, and Sebastian managed to get Blaine to the Warblers' traditional window alcove table with a gentle hand at the small of his back. And a friendly but also clearly warning smile towards the bunch of Seniors and Juniors who came up to them to say hello to Blaine and congratulating him on his decision to come back.

News travelled fast inside Dalton's walls, nothing had changed there.

Especially not when they were already awake.

Equal bright smirks on their faces, hair still sleep tossled on both their heads, wearing a general Dalton and a Lacrosse sweatshirt respectively. Standing in front of the only half filled table with their hands behind their backs, Nick and Jeff grinned at them and had them stop.

"Beware." Sebastian whispered at him, slipping behind Blaine with a chuckle, "It's the common weirdo, known for stupid ideas and three times more dangerous when appearing in pairs."

"Also known for their kind hearts, and their unbreaking loyalty." Blaine added and pushed a little at Sebastian, who snorted and nodded to the waiting duo of Warblers.

"We got something for you." Nick started and Sebastian snorted again over the innocent tone in Nick's voice, but before there could have been another comment, Nick and Jeff quickly made a step away from each other and swung their clasped hands forward.

Revealing the blazer they were both holding onto.

"You didn't!" Blaine called out and quickly pulled the zipper down on the sweatshirt Sebastian had given him only minutes before, shrugging out of it in record time.

"Wow, Seb." Rob spoke up as he came up behind them, "Look at that, not even back for a whole day and he is already taking his clothes off, right in the middle of the cafeteria. For Nick and Jeff." Sebastian growled and slapped a hand against Rob's chest as he came to stand next to them but with the other hand he caught the blazer Nick and Jeff threw at him.

And when Sebastian held it out and Blaine slipped his arms into the sleeves and then felt Sebastian tug it straight, he felt another piece of him snap back into its place, another piece of him coming home.

"Flawless." Sebastian told him with a smirk, fingers sliding down the lapels of Blaine's blazer until he could intertwine their fingers. Blaine felt his cheeks flush a little, but was saved when Rob growled something about coffee and pushed past them. Nick and Jeff took their places as well, aside from them there was Hunter hidden behind a newspaper and Eric and Felix on either side of him eating breakfast, most other boarding Warblers though were probably enjoying a lazy Saturday or had driven home for the first free weekend in weeks.

The only other remaining presence at the table as Blaine and Sebastian joined the others was quiet, Blaine sitting down next to Nick and Jeff, across from where Rob was sitting next to a navy blue lump. A lump behind whom Sebastian stopped, a hand reaching out and grabbing ahold of the back of a sweater, and then pulling it up. Skylar grumbled but remained at least halfway upright, propping his elbows up on the table and leaning his chin into his hands, not even opening his eyes.

Sebastian slid into the seat next to him, reached for the coffee can and started a tug of war with Rob over it, all with hissing and glaring. Blaine laughed and happily accepted the cup of coffee Nick pushed over.

"Let go, Rob."

"You can let go, I had it first!"

Welcome home, Blaine.

--

Epilogue:

Two years down the road, Skylar will video-call them and tell them about one of his guys picking up a kid in a weird blue jacket on the staircase, and Sebastian will not even be able to keep it together long enough to hear him finish the story.

Sebastian will laugh so much that he will slip down the couch in their Manhattan apartment, hands pressed to his stomach and head thrown back. Blaine will stare at his boyfriend for a moment and then shake his head, telling Skylar gently to go on.

And with Sage and Jackson adding in, Skylar will tell him about the spy from McKinley High's newest glee club who had tried to play himself as a new transfer, all with innocent act and atrocious copies of their impeccable uniform. And Sebastian will howl and laugh so much he will start crying and Blaine will roll his eyes at the three Warblers on the screen of the laptop and will pet Sebastian's head.

"Okay, guys, here is what you can do." Blaine will smile and give them advice on how to get rid of spies without using any unfair measures, especially on how not do it. Sebastian will softly slap his knee when Blaine rules out slushies of any sort, but Sebastian will also still snicker half an hour later when Blaine and the boys have already switched over to some other topic. Sebastian will crawl up on the couch again and drape himself all over Blaine, hastily scrolling through his phone.

And then he will snort and push his phone suddenly right in Blaine's face, devilish smirk on his face and Blaine will flap at his hands until he can actually look on the phone.

"Kinda explains the technique." Sebastian will say and his lips will already be threatening to quiver into another laughing fit when Blaine reads through the few lines of text on McKinley High's internet page, and then he will be the one laughing.

And Sebastian will turn to the boys of whom he calls two his little brothers and he will smirk so bright and plotting that Sage and Skylar will raise an eyebrow and Jackson will lean forward in eager curiosity.

"Reserve us some seats. We are so going to come home for Regionals, the whole gang." Sebastian will snark and promise and Skylar will demand an explanation so Sebastian will quickly send them the link over skype while letting Blaine drop down laughing into his lap.

An hour later when the skype call is over and their apartment is silent for a moment, Blaine and Sebastian will look at each other and then scramble up from where they had been cuddled up on the couch. Sebastian will call Thad on his phone and Rob on their homeline, Blaine will stumble for his phone and call Wes, and they'll set the whole domino effect in motion, and soon enough every single one of their friends will know about Hummel failing in New York and going back to found his own glee club, using stupid old spy tricks to gain information over the competition.

And then they will be standing on the balcony of their apartment, arms around each other and grinning out into the sunset. Sebastian will lean his head onto Blaine's, and they'll think about where they had ended up, and how happy they were, what bright futures laid ahead of them.

And Blaine will forever know that going back to Dalton that day at Sectionals had been the best decision of his life.

It brought both of them their happy ending.