Epilogue
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
Blake watched as Eric scrutinized the thick slabs of steak on the grill. Somewhere inside Eric and Blaine’s shared apartment, he could also hear the soft sounds of his brother talking. Eric, meanwhile, was giving the steak the most dubious glare Blake had ever seen someone give food.
“Are you expecting them to do tricks?” Blake finally asked.
Eric looked up, giving him his customary scowl. “No. Blaine asked me to watch it while he went to get a beer.”
Blake had never understood what Eric’s problem with grilling was. He’d been party to the man’s cooking more than once, and Eric was a pretty phenomenal cook. A skill, Blake noted, he shared with Sean. Apparently, the elder Andreas had taught Eric a few things before letting him loose into the world. Yet grilling always confounded Eric, something that amused Blake even as it frustrated Eric.
“I think he just meant don’t let them catch fire, not stare at them like they might contain the answer to the meaning of life,” Blake suggested.
“Blaine!” Eric called into the house. “Come get your brother before I beat him over the head with this big-ass metal spatula!”
“I’m mopping up the wine your brother spilled in the kitchen because he’s a drunk,” Blaine called back.
Blake heard the soft sound of protest. Clearly, Sean attempting to defend himself. “Maybe I should go trade places with him.”
Eric snorted. “Probably. At least then I’d get some peace.”
Blake stepped past him to move into the apartment. “Love you too.”
Eric cleared his throat. “Hey, Blake.”
He stopped at the door, glancing over his shoulder. “What’s up?”
Eric looked up, dark eyes holding Blake’s gaze. “Blaine told me you finally told your mom and dad. About you and Sean.”
Blake’s stomach twisted. “Yeah. I did. He tell you how that went?”
“He didn’t have to. I know how they were about him, so I guessed,” Eric said softly.
Blake chuckled, pushing away the sick feeling. His parents had been angry enough about Blaine. To find out their other son had been ‘infected’ was one step too far for them. Blake had been forced to end the phone call, and he’d refused to tell Sean what they’d said for weeks, and he still hadn’t told him what they’d said about Sean personally.
“They were a little grumpy that they have two big gay sons,” Blake told him.
Eric’s lip curled. “You deserve better, and they don’t deserve either of you.”
Blake straightened, giving Eric a slow smile. “Thank you, Eric. That means...quite a lot, coming from you.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Eric huffed, waving at him with a free hand. “Now fuck off, and go get my husband.”
Blake chuckled, stepping into the apartment to find Sean and Blaine in the kitchen. Blaine was sweeping up the broken bottle while Sean watched in exasperation.
“I am not drunk,” Sean told him as he approached. “I’ve had one glass. I just didn’t realize the bottle was slick.”
“Drunk,” Blaine grumbled as he continued sweeping.
“Why don’t you go help your husband at the grill, and I’ll help my boyfriend learn how to pour wine without breaking the bottle,” Blake suggested.
Blaine huffed, thrusting the broom and dustpan toward Blake. “Fine, here. Let me guess, he’s watching the grill like a hawk.”
“You’d think someone was going to steal the steaks if he wasn’t looking,” Blake said.
Blaine snorted. “Sounds about right.”
Sean took the broom and dustpan from him once Blaine was out of sight. “He insisted on cleaning it up despite it being my mess. So since he’s gone, I’ll clean it up now.”
Blake grinned, leaning on the counter. “By all means. If it means I get to watch you bend over, I’m all for it.”
Sean shot him a warning look, though his smirk ruined it as he bent to his task. “Don’t get any ideas. You are not getting frisky in their apartment.”
“You mean again,” Blake said, grinning wide.
“Yes, again. And we were almost caught by Eric. Do you know how much bloodshed there would have been if he’d found us having sex in his bathroom?” Sean asked as he gathered up the glass.
“Yeah, it would have been mayhem and drama,” Blake admitted.
Sean gathered up paper towels to clean up the wine. “At least until Blaine interfered.”
To his credit, Blake did try to behave. He managed to hold himself at bay until the mess was completely cleared. No sooner had Sean started drying his hands than Blake was behind him, wrapping him up in a tight embrace.
Sean sighed wistfully. “It took you all of two minutes before you started groping me.”
“This is not groping,” Blake told him, kissing his neck. “This is perfectly tame affection.”
“Not when you start kissing my neck, knowing full well what that does,” Sean warned.
Blake inhaled deeply, breathing in the spicy and earthy cologne Sean wore so often. “I just like how you smell.”
“One might classify that as a creepy statement,” Sean informed him.
“That ‘one’ better not be my boyfriend, especially after I’ve caught him stealing my sweatshirts, only to sit bundled up and sniffing them.”
“That was one time.”
“The one time I caught you, you mean.”
Sean sighed, twisting around to face Blake while remaining in his arms. “I know, it’s almost like I love being close to you.”
“You are close to me,” Blake said.
Sean leaned in and kissed him. “Smartass. Am I coming to your place or you to mine after this?” Sean asked, a whisper of promise in his voice.
Blake hesitated. “Uh, about that?”
Sean leaned back, raising a brow. “Am I going to like this?”
“Depends on your answer,” Blake said simply. “But uh, how would you feel about us throwing out this whole ‘your place or mine’ nonsense and just skip right to ‘our place’ instead?”
Sean stared for a few heartbeats, and then a smile spread over his face. “I mean, my lease is up next month.”
“And there’s plenty of room in my apartment for your stuff,” Blake added, heart rate picking up.
“Not that half of my stuff isn’t there already,” Sean said with a laugh.
“So, yeah?” Blake asked.
“Definitely,” Sean answered, beaming.
That was as good a reason as any to kiss him. Not that Blake needed a reason, and if he did, he was happy to make one up just because he could. It was hard and somehow easy to believe he’d already had a year with Sean. It felt like with each passing day, he found something else about the man to fall in love with.
“Love you,” Blake whispered, loving how much he meant it every time he said it.
“And I love you,” Sean told him back, and Blake loved how much he meant it.
They had kept their promise to make one another happy. Life didn’t always make it easy, and they sometimes had rough days. But never once had they forgotten how to make the other person smile, and never once had Blake ever had to feel alone. Sean had been a part of his family for years, but now, with them together, it felt like the final piece they’d been missing, though they hadn’t known it before, had finally slid into place.
“Can you two stop making out like horny teenagers and get out here? The food’s ready,” Eric called to them from the door.
“C’mon,” Sean said, taking Blake by the hand and leading him outside…to their family.