AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's the epilogue. I'll save my long-winded speech for the endnote. Hopefully you like the approach this chapter had…just kidding! Here are a buttload of words:

I'd like to say a special thank you to my wonderfully talented beta, openmymindcomeinside, who did a fantastic job of going over this and helping me in the writing stage as well. She's been an awesome help these last few chapters that we've been together and I can't thank her enough for all her help. Too many late nights (coughcoughlastnightcoughcoug h) were shared together over Skype and Google Chat. You're a beast of a woman. Hats off. Hats. Off. If you haven't started reading her story "I Knew You Were Trouble" yet, definitely go check it out. It's a fantastic Seblaine fic that I talked her into letting me beta. I believe the update should be up later today/tomorrow? So read and review the crap out of her. You won't regret it.

And I would also like to thank TheFauxMe for being a huge help in the writing process as well. We collaborated quite a bit with each other this past week over her story that she is currently writing with Loki Firefox. They were gracious enough to let me sort of guest write the beginning section of their latest chapter. The story's called "Brand New Ground" and it's pretty much one of the best stories on here, so check it out.

DISCLAIMER: Yadda, yadda, yadda…

— Glee —

We Love, We Lose, We Start Again

Epilogue

The weeks and months passed by for the two boys. Christmas and New Year's came and went without either Sebastian or Blaine speaking to each other. As the school year resumed once again after the holidays, it became easier and easier to justify to themselves not spending time together. As the year continued, Blaine found himself busy with Glee rehearsals, homework, and his student council duties. Sebastian filled his days with Warbler practices, lacrosse games, papers, and sorting out numerous contracts after turning 18 and receiving the first portion of his in heritance.

Blaine smiled politely and simply explained that he and Sebastian were terribly busy whenever Tina or Sam would ask why they hadn't heard any stories about the Warbler or had a conversation interrupted by a text from Sebastian. Blaine's attempt to put on a brave face was unnecessary: his less-than-impressive job of pretending everything was fine proved to be horribly transparent. His two best friends did their best to try and get Blaine to talk, Tina had even gone so far as to leave numerous unanswered calls and voicemails on Sebastian's phone, but Blaine insisted on not speaking about what happened the night after Sam left.

Nick had been equally frustrated as he repeatedly tried to get Sebastian to talk about what had transpired between him and Blaine. It was evident to anyone and everyone with half a brain that things had not gone well between the two. Even Jeff had foolishly tried to ask Sebastian if he was okay. Nick was sure that the chair Sebastian threatened to throw at him served as fair warning to the rest of the group to leave the subject be.

A few polite text messages were sent back and forth. Blaine hadn't forgotten Sebastian's birthday and sent him a message wishing him a happy day. He offered to take Sebastian to dinner, but was thankful when Sebastian replied with an "I can't, but thank you" and apologized for being busy, asking for a rain check that both knew to be a mere formality, a gesture without sincerity.

If it hadn't been for Tina and Nick and their poorly executed scheme, the two boys may very well have finished their senior years without ever seeing each other again. It was a Saturday afternoon when the four happened to meet in the lobby at the movie theatre. After exchanging awkward greetings, they discovered that they were going to see the same movie. Sebastian and Blaine were unamused and unimpressed by Nick and Tina's horrible acting. After sitting together in the theatre, Tina's idea, which quickly brought her a glare from the two boys, had Nick and her both excusing themselves, citing a need to buy snacks and use the bathroom.

"Am I the only one who is slightly ashamed that we're friends with these two?" Blaine asked after a few minutes of silence. He looked to his left and smiled uncertainly at Sebastian who just happened to be sitting next to him (due to Tina's carefully planning, no doubt).

A few seconds passed before Sebastian smirked slightly, "No. I think Lindsay Lohan can rest assured that they won't replace her in a Parent Trap sequel."

"A sequel to a remake? Is that even possible?" Blaine questioned, his smile growing more confident.

"The world may never know."

After that, it was as if the cold tension had decided to take a vacation, allowing the two to slowly slip back into the roles that they were used to. By the time Tina and Nick returned, 20 minutes—a suspiciously long time to buy food and use the bathroom—the two boys were making their normal sarcastic remarks to one another and had seemingly forgotten that their friends were missing.

— Glee —

The days and weeks following the movie theater incident had the two spending more and more time together. It was a slow beginning: Blaine texting Sebastian to come over and study one day and then Sebastian asking Blaine to show him how to cook a few days after that. The elephant in the room had drifted to a far away place in the back of their minds, though it never fully left. It was still something plaguing their minds.

Every time they got together, Blaine felt all his feelings for the taller boy fill his body. It was hard being so close to Sebastian and not being able to reach out and touch him the way he craved. He remembered the warm sensations he'd get from Sebastian's fingertips. On one particular night after a very exhausting day, Blaine found himself at Sebastian's door. As soon as the door opened, all Blaine wanted to do was run into Sebastian's arms and be told that he wasn't crazy for being so frustrated. He wanted to act on his impulse, but remembered that he was the one who ended things and that he had no right to do that to Sebastian, to confuse him or send him mixed signals. It was after that day that Blaine began to doubt his decision all those months ago. He began to wonder whether or not he had made a mistake in saying no to Sebastian's courtship.

For Sebastian, every moment with Blaine was a bittersweet torture. He had desperately missed his friend, but had allowed his pride to stop him from making any moves to do anything about it. Granted, Blaine was the one who had rejected him. Why should he be the one to go to Blaine and try to get their friendship back? But now that he had his friend back and their usual routine of spending all their time together had returned, he found that it was difficult to be around the shorter boy as only a friend. It was much like how things had been when Blaine was still dating…Kurt…but only worse. When they first started up a friendship in earnest, Sebastian hadn't known how it felt to hold Blaine in his arms. He didn't know how good it felt to feel Blaine's hands on his body, caressing and grabbing, sending shivers through him. It was as if he was an addict, forced to sit next to his vice, unable to partake in it like he used to. As much as it was hard for him to respect his friend's decision, he was still happy to have his friend back. Before they ever started dating or began fooling around, if you could call what they did fooling around, they were best friends and he was happy to get back to that. As much as it pained Sebastian to admit it, he was still in love with Blaine Anderson, and being his friend was just a reality that he'd have to get used to.

Another few weeks passed and the boys continued spending their nights and weekends together. Tina and Nick were only too happy to see less and less of their friends. When they did get together, the subject was usually casually dismissed ("We're just friends. Nothing's happening."), but the masks on their faces were detected by the two best friends. Unfortunately, and much to their annoyance, Tina and Nick knew that they had finally reached the point in the road where they could no longer manipulate or trick their friends into what was obviously the right decision for them. They both knew that Sebastian and Blaine belonged together, and it wasn't as if a relationship at the end of their senior year was a stupid move since both were going to be attending school in NYC in the fall. Nick tried to calm Tina down ("I just don't get why they have to be so stupid!"), though he too wasn't innocent from sharing his frustrations ("They just need to get their heads out of their asses!...well…I guess…I mean…hmm…that's ironic."). In the end, they both decided to let the two figure things out on their own, as difficult as that may be.

— Glee —

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon at his house when Blaine had his epiphany. The two were sitting on his couch, trying to find a show to occupy their time. They had long ago made their way through Blaine's DVD collection of Gossip Girl seasons ("I still don't get why they made Dan, Gossip Girl?" "Lazy writing." "If we were ever on a TV, we'd have the best writers in the world!...Why are you laughing at that?"). He looked over from his spot on the couch and smiled at Sebastian who was absent-mindedly flipping through the channel guide with a small frown on his face. It was in that moment, that single second of mundane existence, that he realized that he was in love with Sebastian. That wasn't to say that he didn't know about his feelings before, he already knew that he loved his friend. No, this was a different type of realization, one that made him realize that no matter what may happen or how many mistakes or fights they might make or have, that he would always love Sebastian: through the good and even through the bad.

"What's up with your face?" Sebastian asked, snapping Blaine out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You have this weird look on your face."

"I do?" Blaine asked, suddenly self-conscious of how he looked and if Sebastian could even find him attractive in sweat pants and an old "Dalton Academy Physical Education" t-shirt.

"No, I'm just saying that because I like pointing out untrue facts," Sebastian said with an annoyed expression, "What's going on?"

"Nothing. This is my face. Leave me alone. I don't talk about your face."

"That's because it's perfect. They only thing you could say about my face is that it's incredibly handsome and belongs on billboards and in magazines," Sebastian said in a haughty tone, arching his eyebrow as if he belonged in the parlor room of some rich aristocrat.

Blaine did his best to recover and not come off as the lovesick puppy that he just realized that he was, "You're so modest, Bas. It's a wonder your head even fits in here."

"You'd be surprised what I can fit my head in," Sebastian responded with a wink.

"You're disgusting, Bas," Blaine replied with an amused shaking of his head.

"Only with you," Sebastian returned with an equally amused expression.

Blaine didn't know what came over him. Looking back years later, he still wouldn't be able to explain why he did it, but he reached out and gently brought his hand to Sebastian's cheek and began sliding his thumb across the smooth skin.

As soon as Sebastian's mind registered what was happening, he froze in his spot, eyes wide in shock. It took an extra second for Blaine to realize what he was doing and pull his hand back as if he was trying to avoid being bitten by an animal.

The two boys sat and stared at each other for what felt like hours. Neither knew what to say. Neither wanted to say anything. Neither knew how their newly rekindled friendship would fare in the wake of that moment.

"What the hell, Blaine?" Sebastian finally said, getting up from his spot on the couch.

"Sebastian, I'm sorry, I don't know why I—"

"Why you just did that? Who does that? Seriously, who does that!?" he was shouting, unaware of what he was doing or saying, running solely on a knee-jerk reaction.

"Bas, I just—"

"Seriously! That's…I mean…that's weird for a bunch of reasons Blaine, but…wha…who does that?!"

Blaine simply stared, his chest rising and falling vigorously. He was cursing himself. Why had he done it? Why had he reached out and done it? Who cups someone's cheek? It was inappropriate and exactly what he didn't want to do to Sebastian, but to top it all off, he had rubbed it as well!

That was weird.

That was creepy.

No more words were said. Blaine opened and closed his mouth numerous times, trying to think of something, anything, to say that might fix the situation, but always coming up short. He watched helplessly as Sebastian turned and walked out of the room. He heard the door slam a few seconds later. The loud noise served to wake him from his stupor and he immediately bolted from his spot on the couch to the door and opened it, just in time to see Sebastian climbing into his car and slamming that door as well. He wanted to yell, to beg Sebastian to stop, but what would he say? "Hey, sorry I caressed your face!" seemed like a stupid apology, not to mention completely awkward and not something he wanted his neighbors to hear him yelling (Lord knew his parents didn't need another reason to be embarrassed by their son). No, instead of stopping Sebastian, he just stood in his doorway and watched as the boy pulled out of his driveway and drove out of view.

— Glee —

Sebastian was fuming.

He wiped away the angry tears that were coming down his cheeks. He didn't know why he was crying. He wasn't a crier, but he couldn't help all the million different types of emotions that were swirling around in his head and heart. He was confused. He was angry. He was hopeful. He was insulted. He was torn and he was a multitude of other thoughts and feelings. Why had Blaine done that? Obviously, he hadn't done it on purpose; the look on his face was enough evidence to convince Sebastian.

But why did it have to happen? Why did Blaine have to go and do that?

He had been doing so well. He had convinced himself that nothing would ever come of their friendship. He had trained himself to become accustomed to the idea that he would simply be in love with his best friend and would have to sit back and watch him meet and fall in love with some other fucktard who wouldn't be as big of a romantic fuck-up as he was. But it seemed as though life had an even more torturous plan in store for Sebastian. Gone was his resolve to simply maintain a platonic friendship; gone was safety of his denial. Now he felt a small feeling of hope in his gut, as if the ref had added some more time on the clock, extending the game.

— Glee —

Sebastian brooded in his apartment, angrily throwing a pillow when he kept getting Nick's voicemail message. The afternoon passed and had quickly turned to night. Before he knew what he was doing, he had his keys in his hand and was walking to his car.

The drive to Blaine's house passed by in what seemed like seconds. Sebastian didn't even remember getting out of the car as he found himself repeatedly pressing the doorbell as if the fate of the world depended on his ability to not stop ringing it. He continued ringing it, not knowing that it was in fact past one in the morning and that Blaine was mostly likely asleep. He didn't know how long he stood there. He didn't know how many times his finger pushed on the button. He didn't even know when Blaine opened the door or register the confused look on the shorter boy's face: all he knew was that he was there, standing in front of the boy he loved.

"Why'd you do it?"

Blaine stared at him, dumbfounded, completely at a loss for words and not fully realizing what was happening.

"Huh?"

"Why'd you do it?"

Time seemed to stand still. The light mist of rain in the background died to a dull sound. The sounds of Blaine's neighborhood blurred into a staticky background track that was quickly forgotten, unimportant to Blaine's hearing. Without a conscious thought, Blaine felt his mouth open and listened to his voice speak.

"Because I wanted to."

That was all Sebastian needed to hear. In less than a second, he stepped into the room, took Blaine's face into his hands, and kissed him.

Sebastian Smythe kissed Blaine Anderson.

Blaine was taken aback by the action, tensing in the other boy's grip. It was as if he was experiencing the moment, but unable to process what was actually happening. He felt Sebastian's hands. He felt his lips. He felt the warmth from his body as the cool evening breeze blew through the open door, but he couldn't understand what it meant. He pulled back slightly, enough to free himself from Sebastian's hands and stared into the other boy's eyes. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he knew there had to be something. He felt silly just staring at Sebastian in that way, but there was a primal force at work as he looked into Sebastian's deep green eyes for some semblance of a hint, a reassurance, but only finding constellations stretched across an emerald galaxy.

"Are we really doing this?" Blaine found himself asking, breathing slightly heavier than usual as he was still recovering from their kiss.

"You tell me," Sebastian answered, not daring to break his eye contact, fearing what may happen if he did.

Blaine held Sebastian's gaze another second before turning his head slightly as he reached around Sebastian and pushed the door shut. Before either boy heard the slamming as the front door closed, they were kissing once again.

Blaine stumbled backwards slightly as Sebastian led them into the house. He was lost in the moment as he pressed his lips against Sebastian's. There was an urgency to the kiss, an unbridled passion and need behind the action that Blaine had never experienced before. It was as if his body craved Sebastian's touch, craved the sensations and shivers that his fingers were bringing him. Blaine barely noticed the furniture they were bumping into and frames that were falling askew in the wake of their passion.

Without even knowing how he got there, Blaine felt his back being pushed against something soft. He threw his head backwards in a low moan as Sebastian attacked his neck and the small patch of skin below his left ear that served to drive him crazy. In his moment of ecstasy, he vaguely registered the fabric from one of the sofas in his family room. His surroundings disappeared the moment he felt Sebastian's warm breath blowing ever so softly against his hear. He felt his skin raise as his entire body seemed to shudder. His hands desperately moved across Sebastian's body, pulling at the shirt that was annoyingly separating him from what his body was screaming for at that moment. The warmth of Sebastian's mouth on his neck disappeared for a moment, causing Blaine to frown and whimper slightly from the loss of attention.

He looked up and saw Sebastian kneeling above him, desire written across his features combined with a look of slight frustration.

"Blaine," he panted, his chest rising and falling with each breath, "I don't…I don't want to do this if—"

His speech was halted as he felt Blaine pull at the front of his shirt, forcing him to catch himself on his hands before crashing into the smaller boy beneath him.

"Bas," Blaine said, his voice dropping a few notes in the scale, "I love you."

The words brought Sebastian up short. He searched Blaine's eyes, afraid to let himself believe the words he was hearing. He found himself lost in the honey-colored pools, tracing the numerous specs there and memorizing every shade and hue that they held. He couldn't help the smile that formed itself on his lips.

That look. That look in Blaine's eyes. He loved that look.

He loved Blaine.

"I love you too," Sebastian breathed so quietly that it would have easily gone unheard had Blaine been a few more inches away.

Those words changed everything.

Gone was the urgency, the rush. His hormones or the fear that Sebastian might disappear at the stroke of midnight no longer motivated him. In that moment, Blaine knew that the morning would not bring heartache. He knew that the following moments would be something of worth, something substantial, something that wouldn't be relegated to a passing comment in a biography of his life. Within the span of the shortest of moments, he put aside the demands of his flesh and instead, let his heart take over.

Blaine's entire body sighed as he felt Sebastian gently lean forward and bring their lips together once again. He brought his hands up to the boy he loved and slowly began rubbing the strong back that was on top of him. He moaned and whimpered as his hands traced the muscles on Sebastian's back, gently dragging his nails across the exposed skin. He felt Sebastian's lips change their target, moving slowly, down his neck. He bit his lip, stopping himself from whispering gibberish or foolish promises that he wasn't even sure would come out coherently.

His mouth opened and his eyes closed as he breathed out a shaky breath when Sebastian's hand began tracing the uncovered skin at Blaine's waist. He dug his nails slightly into the smooth flesh as his body shook even more. He mouthed Sebastian's name in a broken whisper, an unfinished begging for the boy to continue. His pleas were answered when he felt Sebastian unbuckling the belt and pulling at his pants.

A moment passed in silence as Sebastian slowly lifted himself off the sofa. Blaine stared up at Sebastian, his Sebastian, and smiled, undoing the rest of his pants and slowly pulling them off. He reached for the hem of his shirt and gracefully pulled it off, exposing himself almost completely.

Just as Sebastian began to similarly undress himself, Blaine stopped him, putting a hand on the shaky one that Sebastian had moved to his waist. Blaine smiled again at the surprised look on the standing boy's face.

"Let me," he whispered. He hesitated, waiting for permission, refusing to ruin this moment by rushing anything or pushing Sebastian into something that the other boy didn't want to do.

He breathed in relief when Sebastian gave him the slightest of nods and stood up. He began to kiss Sebastian again, running his fingers through the boy's hair and dragging them down his back. He felt Sebastian shudder beneath his touch and swore that a muffled "Blaine" had been hidden beneath their kisses. He pulled away slightly for a moment as he grabbed Sebastian's shirt. He smiled when Sebastian immediately lifted his arms without any prompting and slowly pulled the fabric up and off his body. When Sebastian let his arms drop, Blaine found himself staring unabashedly at the boy's exposed chest. He had always resisted his urge to look out of courtesy and maintain his sense of decency, but their current actions and situation seemed to dismiss any qualms he had about being indecent. His eyes traced the curves and lines of Sebastian's skin and the muscles beneath it. He tore his eyes away from their visual feast and once again locked eyes with Sebastian, only to blush slightly when he noticed the knowing smirk on the boy's face.

"Like what you see, Killer?" Sebastian asked, his smirk softening slightly. He let his own eyes roam Blaine's torso, taking in the light dusting of hair that coated his chest.

Blaine felt a renewed sense of courage when he felt Sebastian's eyes on him. He reached forward, his own hands shaking slightly, just as Sebastian's had. He brought his eyes back to Sebastian's and let his fingers find their way to the buckle of Sebastian's belt and begin their work on banishing the pants. He enjoyed the way Sebastian's eyes fluttered slightly when his knuckle brushed against the other's stomach. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Sebastian's as he finished the rest of his job. He moaned into the embrace slightly as he lowered the zipper and reached inside Sebastian's underwear, lightly tickling the skin that was uncovered within. He felt more than heard Sebastian take in a deep breath and arch his back.

What seemed like mere seconds later, Blaine felt himself falling back onto the couch as Sebastian began to kiss a trail down his chest. He could feel his heart beat quickening, gaining speed with each passing kiss. He reached backwards and gripped the arm of the sofa and squeezed his eyes shut when he felt Sebastian's mouth on top of the thin piece of cotton fabric that separated his mouth and tongue from the area that Blaine desperately needed them to be.

Blaine's breath was caught in his throat and he couldn't help the low groan that escaped from his lips. He opened his eyes and looked down at Sebastian, who winked before reaching his fingers forward and pulling down on Blaine's waistband. Blaine automatically lifted his hips, allowing Sebastian to pull the offending garment completely off.

For the first time ever, Blaine lay before Sebastian, completely exposed. There were no clothes, no lies, no arguments, and no masks. Blaine felt himself start to curl into himself, drowning in his self-consciousness. He suddenly became aware of every single inch of his body. As his cheeks flushed in a deep red, he moved to cover himself, only to be stopped by a strong hand.

"No," Sebastian said, less of a command and more of a plea. "No, don't Blaine."

Blaine shamefully lifted his eyes and was confused by the look on Sebastian's face.

"You're amazing. Don't even think about…about hiding like that. You're incredible."

Blaine sucked in a deep breath as Sebastian returned to his stomach and renewed his kisses. Blaine felt his entire body shudder as he licked his lips and let his head drop back into the soft cushion below. His fingers found their way to the back of Sebastian's head and began massaging him, encouraging his mouth and its movements. He shifted uncomfortably after Sebastian teased him for some time, kissing almost every inch but the spot where he knew Blaine wanted him. He squirmed underneath Sebastian, desperately wanting the boy to end his teasings.

Blaine was about to speak up when he felt it.

Warmth.

His mouth opened wide and his felt Sebastian's name escape his lips as he could feel Sebastian surrounding him, his tongue massaging every bit of skin. He gripped Sebastian's hair at the roots and subconsciously began squeezing, pulling, having forgotten how good it could feel. He began panting slightly, going back and forth between looking down at Sebastian and rolling his eyes backwards in pure ecstasy. He began to slowly rock his hips forwards, going deeper into Sebastian's mouth and loving the way that it felt as he slid in and out of those lips.

He began to lose his control, his movements quickening. His eyes opened in a devastated shock when he felt Sebastian's mouth disappear.

"Not yet," Sebastian growled as he stood up and pulled down the rest of his clothing, leaving himself as exposed as Blaine was.

After he stopped himself from memorizing every part of Sebastian's body, Blaine found himself frowning slightly, jealous of Sebastian's confidence and ability to stand there, fully naked, and without even the slightly sign of discomfort.

"What?" Sebastian asked, having noticed the frown on Blaine's face. His entire stance seemed to change and the confidence that Blaine had admired was suddenly replaced with a projection of inadequacy.

"No," Blaine said quickly, realizing what Sebastian was thinking, "No…I…no."

It was as if Blaine's thoughts were suddenly shared, because Sebastian nodded his head with a look of understanding. He smiled, reassuringly and lowered himself back onto the sofa and onto Blaine.

The rest of the night passed, leaving Blaine in a state of pure bliss and ecstasy. While sex with Kurt had always been nice, it was nothing compared to being with Sebastian. With every movement or touch, Blaine's body vibrated with pleasure and desire. He was brought in and out of awareness, at times unable to concentrate on his surroundings and instead becoming lost in the sensations. He loved the feeling of having Sebastian so close, skin-to-skin, inside of him. He had never experienced that level of intimacy before, not even with Kurt. It was as if having Sebastian pressed up against him was the most natural thing in the world. He loved how right it felt, how at home he felt.

Sebastian bit down on Blaine's shoulder as he continued his movements, doing his best to keep them calm and steady, afraid that he might lose control and hurt the boy that was in his arms. He was desperately holding onto his consciousness, unwilling to let himself lose focus and let himself go. It was a new experience, a new version of sex that he wasn't used to. Usually, Sebastian could care less about the random stranger who he was with and did only what would please him, but with Blaine it was different: every moment, every touch, and every kiss was intentional and made with the purpose of pleasing Blaine, of driving him to the edge of sanity and back. It was new, but it was also satisfying in a way that Sebastian never knew existed. He loved the look on Blaine's face every time he hit Blaine's spot, the place that made the smaller boy groan and curl his toes even tighter, throwing his head back and side to side. He loved the sounds that Blaine made with every thrust. It drove him crazy the way that Blaine was so unhinged and practically flailing around beneath him. He felt himself losing control with every grunt and every moan that escaped from Blaine's lips. He loved that Blaine. He loved the Blaine that didn't feel the need to pull himself together so carefully. He loved the Blaine that trusted him enough to relinquish control, to sign over himself fully to Sebastian, and Sebastian wanted to repay him for that trust. It was with every new thrust that Sebastian tried to prove his worth and his ability to be all that Blaine wanted and needed. He soon lost himself in the rhythm of his actions. Sebastian let his eyes roll into the back of his head as he felt Blaine grip onto him tightly, send new waves of insanity through him.

Blaine felt the beads of sweat falling from his brow as he cried out Sebastian's name, cried out declarations of love, cried out for more, cried out incoherent pleas and demands. He body screamed for more and his mouth was only too willing to aid in the endeavor. When his release finally came, he felt every single muscle in his entire body clench and tense as Sebastian sent him over the edge in the most amazing orgasm he had ever experienced in his entire life. His entire body burned in a sensation that he had never had, never experienced. He was drunk on ecstasy and it was a feeling that he never wanted to end. His mind shut off, completely overwhelmed by what he was experiencing, how his body seemed incapable of holding in so much pleasure, and he just existed, a slave to the sensations. His eyes shut on their own and he heard his voice wrap itself around Sebastian's as they both called out for one another. His entire body was on fire in that moment, consuming every part of him and leaving nothing behind without first filling it was the most incredible feeling he had ever felt. It was as if time stopped and he was able to feel that euphoric moment and ride every bit of pleasure, wave upon wave of it, which flowed through him.

After it subsided, Blaine laid where he was, breathing heavily, feeling his chest rise and fall raggedly. He tried to lift his arms up from their spots at his side, but found himself unable to move them, completely exhausted and spent. Every area of skin on his body seemed to be overly sensitive in a way that made him shiver every time he felt Sebastian's breath on him. They stayed there, curled and pressed together, wrapped in each other's arms after Blaine was finally able to regain control of himself, and unwilling to let go, to leave the little world that they had created where no one and nothing else existed. Time passed and neither moved from their spot.

The night continued outside the windows, unaware of the reunion inside, unaware of what had just transpired. It didn't know of the arms that refused to leave their place of ownership, their place of belonging.

Sebastian smiled as he burrowed his face into the crook of Blaine's neck and inhaled the scent, the scent that he had grown so accustomed to, the scent that was mixed with his own. He placed a gentle kiss on the skin there and sighed, his smile somehow evident in the sound. He felt safe. He felt like he was home. He was comforted by the arms around him and the heat from Blaine's body beneath him. It was a moment that would be ingrained in his memory until his last day of life, and even then in those final moments, with Blaine holding him on the hospital bed, he would think back to their first night together and remember the peace that he felt in the smaller boy's arms.

"I love you, Blaine."

"I love you, Bas."

— The End —

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So that's it! This is officially the last author's note I will ever write for this story. I'm kinda bummed, I'm not gonna lie. So I hope you all liked the epilogue. It definitely borders on the cliché, but it seemed like people were more interested in a happy ending, so I figured I would be forgiven for a formulaic ending if it promised a happy, formulaic ending. My original draft featured a shift in narrative and had Blaine and Sebastian serving as narrators and telling the story of how they fell in love to their two grandchildren. It was a bit along the lines of How I Met Your Mother, but it ended up being way to different in tone and feeling than the rest of the story, so I ended up cutting it. I personally thought it was pretty amusing, but eh, it just didn't fit. If you'd like me to send you the cut sections and get a peek into the guys' future, just let me know in a review and I'll be sure to PM it to you!

Speaking of reviews, a huge thanks to everyone who took the time to review, follow, or favorite this. Even in the second to last update, I had people following and favoriting which is awesome! I'd like to thank SoVeryEasilyAmused, AverySummers, Kaylacriss332 (I wonder who your favorite character is…lol), Natasha Dalton, inseaofsound, KCPotter, strayingoceans (awesome name), fiction-is-my-addiction (lol clever), iLoveGG (what does GG stand for here?), RHatch89, ournoisyhearts, ClaiClai, RoseCriss, Guest (dude…you were PISSED…lol), madmaxborg, OMGAKAWTF, Aquaria245, brittana5, Chewi.x, Jessie05.12, alexanderfan, Scuba Otter, TheFauxMe, StarkidSherlockSlytherin, Kay (you were happy!), openmymindcomeinside (GASAH), Klainers34, Loki Firefox, aaaaand last but certainly not least, TVTime. I promise to answer every review sometime this week, I just wanted to concentrate on getting this out sooner than later, and I figured you'd rather have an epilogue instead of a review response. :)

Lastly, I just wanted to throw a heads up out there. So my next project was put on hold because pretty rockin TheFauxMe requested to co-author a story with me and, clearly, I jumped at the chance. We're planning another Seblaine fic, so keep an eye out for that. I think you can follow me as an author (…right? I'm not really sure how that works?) and you'll get an email notification when that chapter pops up. We've brainstormed a few things already and I'm pretty stoked about what we'll poop out with that one.

And lastly, I have no shame anymore since this is the end, PLEASE take a second and leave a review on your thoughts. It's the last one. Come on! I know a bunch of you have been ghosting your way through this thing, lol. Show a guy some love! :)

Thanks again to everyone and I'll (hopefully) see you all soon in the new fic!