— all twinkling lights.

Sebastian could tell that Blaine was upset and he hated to see his boyfriend like that. Sebastian was hurt as well, but it didn’t seem to affect him as much as it did Blaine, especially after taking in his explanation. He couldn’t quite grasp where Blaine’s idea of being inferior was coming from; to Sebastian’s knowledge, he had never made him feel that way, especially not purposely. He was under the impression that their relationship was completely equal and the thought of an off-balance as large as what Blaine was feeling caused his thoughts to shift. “I didn’t know you felt that way,” he let out softly, unsure of what else to say.

He paused for a moment, eyes scanning over his boyfriend as he let it all sink in. Perhaps it was unconscious, but all Sebastian really wanted to do was spoil Blaine and he didn’t think that there could be a downside to it on either end. He did it to make his boyfriend feel good about himself and be cause it made Sebastian happy to do it, not to cause such a problem. Letting out a deep breath, he moved forward, wrapping his arms around Blaine. He pulled him in close, resting his cheek against Blaine’s head. “You’re not inadequate,”he said sternly, making sure he understood each word. “And you deserve the world, Blaine.”

He turned his head to press a light kiss against Blaine’s temple, hoping the affection would give him some comfort as it did for Sebastian. “Why do you think that you don’t deserve me?” he asked, a twisting feeling rising in his stomach.  “If anything, I don’t deserve you. You’re too good for me.”

Blaine shook his head quickly upon hearing that, not wanting Sebastian to feel guilty for something that wasn’t even his fault. “Because I wasn’t honest about how I felt. I didn’t tell you,” He said, swallowing against the lump in his throat. Sebastian wasn’t a mind reader, he couldn’t have known what Blaine had been feeling or thinking inside. Blaine’s own sense of self-worth and feelings of inadequacy were no one’s responsibility but his own. Sebastian was never meant to fill that hole, nor could he ever fill that hole, and it was simply unfair and wrong of him to hold that sort of expectation and standards against Sebastian. 

It still made his heart stick in his throat to talk about his own insecurities. Even just the idea of Sebastian knowing his past and who he really was felt like it was edging into dangerous territory. The Blaine Anderson that’d do things in a certain way to keep the other person happy, where he’d put on a mask and dish out a smile regardless of whether it was genuine or not because Blaine, at his core, wanted people to like him. 

Sebastian was different. He was honest with people. He didn’t care whether people like him or not.

He was a much better person than Blaine ever was.

Something fell into place when Sebastian pulled him into his arms. Blaine felt small, almost fragile but also grounded and more relaxed at the same time. If there was nothing else that Blaine was sure of at that moment, Sebastian just felt right. Everything about being with him felt right. He was sad, hurting, and had made himself completely vulnerable, but he would rather place himself in Sebastian’s hands than somewhere or someone else’s. “I’m sorry,” He whispered quietly, nodding his head slightly to show that he was listening. Then, he heard what Sebastian was saying and it made his heart ache, causing him to pull himself back just enough to brush his thumb against Sebastian’s cheek, shaking his head as he said, “Please don’t say that... If I deserve the world, then so do you, Bas. You deserve all the good things life has to offer.”

The performance that made everyone cry. R.I.P Queen of Soul (x)

Being raised around the ‘gentlemen’ that her father exposed her to didn’t really leave a positive connotation around the word for her, but she could tell that Blaine was an actual gentleman. He wasn’t power or money hungry and from what she could tell, his charm was indeed used to make people feel special. There was a warmth that surrounded Blaine that she didn’t grow up with and the more time she spent with him, the more she understood Sebastian’s infatuation with him. Not that Sebastian’s parents were cold, drunk, and unforgiving like Quinn’s but being part of the higher class didn’t really leave much room for warmth and affection. “Well you’re welcome to continue that for as long as we remain friends,” she offered with a chuckle of her own.

Quinn’s demeanor immediately changed at the mention of her father. It was still fresh in her mind, the image of him unconscious in the hospital bed with tubes going into his mouth and nose. Her coffee was left forgotten on the table and she offered a curt nod. Blaine knowing about her father was one thing, but bringing it up in conversation was another, regardless of how polite and short the comment was, it affected Quinn’s entire body. Hardly noticeable on the outside, but waves of disruption in her chest - until it was clear he wasn’t going to linger on the subject. “Thank you, Blaine.”

“Making you feel special is a privilege,” Blaine said, another smile bubbling up out of him. This time, he was speaking the truth, and no longer merely to flatter. With her grace and exceptional taste, it was hard for Blaine not to treat her like she was from royalty. He knew that her family must be wealthy as well, just like Sebastian’s, and while they were two distinctive people, Blaine could still sense the similarities between Quinn and Sebastian, which made him wonder if she had someone she could be vulnerable with, too. 

While it wasn’t obvious on the outside, Blaine could still sense that something was off, as if a strange cold breeze had just passed through and landed on their table, breaking only when Quinn expressed her thanks. Blaine understood people enough to read the signs; to know when he had overstepped his boundaries, and so he decided to let the conversation go. “There’s really no need to thank me, Quinn,” He told her with a soft smile, before leaning down to grab his messenger bag from the floor and took out a small bag of roasted whole coffee beans. “This is for you, by the way.” Nodding, he slid the bag across the table to Quinn, hoping she would like it. “I... won’t be working at the coffee shop for much longer, I’m afraid, and this is just a little token of my appreciation for your patronage thus far. I roasted them myself, using only the finest selection of our coffee beans.”

WHO: Sebastian Smythe, Blaine Anderson, and Quinn Fabray. WHAT: Sebastian wakes up in the hospital and Blaine and Quinn are there to greet him.  WHEN: Monday, August 6th, 4:00 AM. WARNINGS: None.

@marauderseranetwork | july theme: favourite hogwarts house 

Mason shot Blaine a knowing glance, nodding as Blaine continued to speak. “It does,” Mason assured him. “Trust me, I get it. I get feeling like…like all of this is a gift that you don’t…I don’t know, deserve or haven’t earned or whatever.” Mason sighed and leaned back on the railing, pressing his lips together in a thin line. He was the youngest of the chefs on board, by half a decade or more, and he’d taken his teasing for it as he did in nearly every kitchen he entered. He’d never been good at doing or feeling what he ‘should’ feel, so Blaine’s reminder that they should both be grateful to be there just enforced the feeling that he wasn’t, which just made him feel guiltier.

He shook his head slightly - that wasn’t Blaine’s fault, especially not if Blaine was feeling the same way.

“You and I can just hang out here,” Mason decided, looking back at Blaine with a little smile. “We know we belong here, at least, when it’s just us. We can have a good time, just you and me.” Mason’s smile grew a little and he straightened up. “In fact. Finish that,” he said, gesturing to the drink. They could hear the music faintly from inside, but faintly was good enough for Mason, who carefully slid out of his unbuttoned chef overcoat and folded it on the ground, revealing the plain white t-shirt underneath. He wasn’t wearing the right clothes at all now, he looked like they’d plucked him up from Manhattan after the longest shift in the world, but Mason didn’t care.

Blaine looked so upset. So, it was with exaggerated movements that Mason bowed deeply to him, then extended his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Blaine pressed his lips together as he listened, nodding his head when Mason told him that he understood what he was feeling and where he was coming from. He was embarrassed, and mostly just ashamed of himself at first, but it was certainly a relief to have it validated by someone whose opinion he trusted. Times like these were what made him feel thankful to have met Mason. They were so similar to each other that Blaine didn’t even have to expend many words trying to explain why; Mason gets him, like he always did.

Blaine raised a curious eyebrow but did as he was told, tipping the rest of his drink into his mouth and swallowing them down before setting it aside, finally starting to feel the warm buzz of alcohol inside. He never was a strong drinker when it came to drinking, but he definitely needed some tonight. It didn’t exactly help him feel better, but it did just enough to relax him. 

“Wha–” He stared at Mason with his mouth hanging open when Mason started to remove his overcoat, not really understanding the correlation. It wasn’t until Mason had bowed and asked for his hand that Blaine had finally gotten it, causing a slight blush to creep up his face as a shy smile formed. “Of course, I’d love to.” He said softly, accepting Mason’s hand. He had never slow danced with Mason before and he couldn’t think of a better venue than this one, where everything had been set up for them. All they had to do was take it, especially if this was their first – and maybe only – chance at it.

Kurt smiled at the look on Blaine’s face when he said the word boyfriend. He could tell that he was excited about it, that it was still new and fresh. He was happy for him, happy that in this crazy world, Blaine had somebody. “That’s wonderful,” he said. “This has to be an epic date to be a part of, all the great meals, dancing, plenty of romantic things to do,” he said with a small chuckle. Blaine’s boyfriend had to be pretty powerful or rich, or both. He wanted to know more but he also didn’t want to pry.

“I am here to write about the gala. I just finished my big interview,” he said with a hum. “That’s why I am up so late, it seems famous people never sleep.” He had been nervous that his interview wouldn’t show up, but he was lucky. He was going to be able to write a great article about her, plus all the other stuff he was writing for the cruise. He actually felt very productive and proud of his work.

Kurt nodded a little. “Oh yes, I think the elevator is this way, I still get a little lost on this ship,” he said, leading the way to the elevator. “I’m deck 14, where are you and your boyfriend staying?” he asked, looking over at him.

“Oh, um – yeah, I suppose you can say that,” Blaine replied softly, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks at what Kurt had just said. Slow dancing with Sebastian during the gala had been one of, if not the most, romantic thing they had done together on the cruise, but the truth was that they had spent more time being inside their room than out of it, and Blaine just wasn’t sure if Kurt would see that as ‘romantic’ or not.

“Really? That’s amazing! Who did you manage to interview?” He asked curiously as he resumed his pace, following Kurt’s lead to the elevator. It didn’t sound like it was an easy task at all, considering the fact that Kurt had to stay up so late just to snag it, and Blaine found that quality of his very admirable indeed. “Me too, to be honest. I mean, I’m not personally acquainted with the Claringtons, and I’m sure they must be lovely people, but a week-long cruise is a little...excessive, don’t you think?” He murmured, scrunching his nose just a little at the thought of the number of single-parent families or even homeless people that could have benefited from this. Then, the bell dinged and the elevator doors slid open in front of them, and Blaine, ever the gentleman, stepped aside to let Kurt enter first. 

“I can definitely accompany you back to your room first before taking the stairs up. It’s just one level apart.” He offered with a smile, glancing down at the control panel for a moment before pressing the fourteenth-floor button. They rode the rest of the elevator in a comfortable silence and as they left it, Blaine couldn’t help but think of Sebastian, wondering if he had already left the casino and gone back to their room. It had been a long day overall, and Blaine couldn’t wait to crawl into bed with Sebastian and slip into the abyss of sleep. 

They continued walking towards the end of the hallway, before abruptly stopping around the corner. There, right before they had turned, was a man with his arms crossed in front of him, while his back stayed impressively straight in a crouched position. He was dressed up in black and had his back to them, so they couldn’t really see his face, but all in all, he still looked a little strange, nothing like anyone or anything Blaine had come across on the cruise so far. But then again, perhaps he was simply feeling unwell on his way back to his own room and needed some help. That was completely plausible, right? 

“Excuse me, but are you –” Blaine began quietly into the silence that had fallen, interrupted only by the man’s harsh breathing, and possibly Kurt’s, too. The man visibly jumped and immediately stood up to face them when he heard Blaine’s voice, and something fell down to the floor as he did – something with a sharp edge, something black. Something that looked suspiciously like a combat knife. “– okay?” Blaine’s gaze dropped to the floor to look at the item as he finished his sentence, then, as his hazel eyes met the man’s, he knew he had made a mistake in approaching the man, and that the only thing left was to run. 

Kurt had just finished up with an interview with an actress he had been trying to meet up with during the entire cruise. She finally agreed to a meeting late at night, but that didn’t matter to Kurt. He got his interview and it would prove to his bosses he was determined and driven. He was excited to get back to his room and write the article. 

He was startled when a smaller man almost ran into him, grabbing onto the other man to stop them from impacting. He let go of his arm, and quickly looked over the smaller man. His eyes went wide for a moment and he smiled at him. “Blaine! It’s so nice to see you,” he said. The two had become friends as Blaine delivered coffee to Vogue and they began chatting. He always enjoyed seeing the other man.

“What are you doing here? I mean… you’re not working or anything, right?” he asked. He only knew Blaine really from delivering coffee, so it was surprising seeing him on the Clarington cruise. 

Blaine laughed and shook his head; this was definitely a pleasant surprise. Seeing Kurt here standing in front of him made him feel like as if he wasn’t on a cruise but inside Vogue’s office building instead, delivering a grande non-fat mocha to the style writer – who had been nothing but kind and gracious to him ever since they first met. Oddly enough, the idea of running into Kurt had never once crossed his mind, despite the fact that he already knew Kurt was working for Vogue. Blaine wondered why he hadn’t thought of that before. 

“Oh no, no. I’m not. Working, I mean,” He said, followed by a soft chuckle and a slight head shake. “My boyfriend was invited to attend the gala dinner, so I came here as his date,” Blaine told him, unable to keep himself from blushing as butterflies started looping in his stomach. They had been dating for three months now and yet his stomach would still twist in giddy knots whenever he referred to Sebastian as his ‘boyfriend’ in front of other people. 

“Are you here to write about the gala dinner?” Blaine asked, interested to get some insights into Kurt’s profession. As an avid fashion – especially bow ties – lover himself, he was always curious about the kind of work Kurt would usually put together for Vogue. “By the way, I’m assuming you’re on your way back to your room? If that’s the case, would you mind if I join you? I’m heading back up as well.” 

Mason shifted in response to someone saying his name, the smile across his face an involuntary reaction to it being Blaine - Blaine who he’d spent months getting to know without ever having laying eyes on him, Blaine who he still couldn’t believe was here. Blaine.

He didn’t stop leaning on the railing, but he moved to be leaning on his side and one arm, so that he could be facing Blaine fully. “Thanks,” Mason said, having the decency to duck his head in a show of modesty. “It was a group effort.” Mason pointed with his champagne flute to the gaggle of workers on the other end of the boat with a chuckle. “I’ll let them know the rave reviews are in,” Mason promised before he took another sip.

“And–yeah, I’ve talked to Mads. I didn’t even know she was coming,” Mason admitted with a one-shouldered shrug. “Apparently she bought the guy in charge coffee? If everybody knew it was that easy…” Mason chuckled and shook his head, pausing for a moment to look Blaine up and down before he offered the half-full flute to Blaine.

“Here,” he said, “you look great, B, but…you look like you need this more than me,” Mason said, a gentle teasing lilt to his voice. “What’s up?” He would have expected that Blaine would love this sort of thing - everyone dressed to the nines, being their most beautiful selves. Then again, maybe Blaine wasn’t grinning from ear to ear for the same reasons Mason wasn’t; maybe like Mason he thought the whole thing just felt fake, or maybe Blaine was worried that his suit wasn’t bespoke-enough…Mason’s mind drifted back to the conversation they’d had about Sebastian, Blaine’s Sebastian, about how he hadn’t felt like he fit at the charity event Sebastian had taken him to, and he resisted the urge to ask where Blaine’s boyfriend was. Because this was the first time in the longest that Mason had gotten to see Blaine, let alone have a real conversation with him, and he wasn’t going to be the one to bring up the thing that had been taking up all of Blaine’s time lately.

Blaine was simply glad to see Mason again. They hadn’t been spending enough time with each other like what they had done before, and Blaine knew it was mostly his fault. He had been spending most of his free time with Sebastian lately, and while he was determined to not let his friendships fall by the wayside, it was just so easy for him to get caught up in that whirlwind. And sure, one could argue that even the healthiest of people would get swept away by a new romantic relationship, but Blaine knew better than most people that even the most understanding person in the world had a breaking point. 

He didn’t want Mason to feel that way nor reach that point, ever.

“You must be the youngest amongst them,” Blaine commented as he briefly glanced at the direction of Mason’s coworkers, feeling proud of his best friend. In all his life, he hadn’t met someone with the amount of natural talent that Mason had. Blessed with a keen eye and an extraordinary talent for cooking and creating, Mason was simply meant for greater things; a greater place. And although this was merely a ten-day cruise, it was still a start. 

“Really? I wonder what kind of relationship they share with each other.” Blaine knew nothing about Hunter Clarington other than the fact that Sebastian didn’t like him, so it was definitely a surprise to hear that Madison had been connecting with him on such a personal level. When Mason offered Blaine his champagne glass, Blaine accepted it without so much of a hesitation and took a long sip of it. Mason was right, he did need it. “I don’t think I’m in a place to be unhappy about anything, honestly. That’d be extremely ungrateful of me.” He laughed a little as he leaned against the railings, swirling the contents of his glass absently. There, in front of him and behind those doors, was a world that people wanted so desperately to join, only he wasn’t able to enjoy it. He didn’t deserve to be in there, standing beside Sebastian and pretending to be one of them. 

“Honestly, I think I just want to feel like I belong in there. Like I’m one of them, Mase, but... I'm not, and I hate that. I hate being reminded that I’m not. Does that make sense?”