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“I’ve asked you a hundred times already, Jenkins, just get it done!”
“But sir, my girlfriend is here and today’s…”
“I know exactly what day it is, damnit, because I’ve been trapped here in this frozen tundra looking at your dopey mug from sunrise to sunset when I haven’t seen my own husband’s face in over a month!”
Jenkins, the firm’s new associate, visibly flinched, and Sebastian felt guilty.
“I’m sorry. The long-distance is obviously getting to me. Go. Have a nice Valentine’s. Just be ready to hit the ground in the morning, ok? Bring your research by my suite, the front desk knows to let you in.”
“Yes, sir.” Jenkins muttered, and quickly shuffled off before Sebastian’s mood could turn again.
Sebastian clenched his eyes shut and willed away his frustration, at the trial being prolonged weeks beyond what was originally anticipated by an obstinate opposing counsel, at being dispatched by the New York office to icy Bumfuck, Minnesota, at missing that holiday, the one he still publically dismissed as a Hallmark scam but which Blaine had somehow turned into a highlight of his year through sheer enthusiasm.
When he finally felt calm enough to interact with members of the general public, he tugged his scarf more tightly around his neck, and stepped out into the darkened parking lot to try and locate his Uber, probably buried under a mound of snow somewhere.
~~~
“How are you holding up, babe?”
“Not great. I nearly bit Jenkins’ head off just now.”
Sitting in the backseat of his silent Uber ride and watching the Rochester street lights go by, Sebastian had begun to feel overwhelmed with loneliness, so he grabbed his phone and called his husband in Manhattan. Even after all these years together, hearing Blaine’s voice was like coming home.
“What about you? How was your gig today?”
“It was fine. Same old June, you know how it goes. Got some good critiques, made some useful contacts. June’s arranged for another performance next week…”
Content to listen to Blaine talk, and exhausted from another grueling day in court, Sebastian slumped against the passenger window, resting his temple against the frigid glass while keeping his phone, and his husband, tightly pressed against his ear.
“…heading out to meet Tina and Sam. We’re gonna have a Singles Night and check out that jazz club on Waverly. Sam’s single again, by the way…”
“But you’re not. Single.” Sebastian felt obliged to point that out.
“No, but I might as well be. I haven’t gotten any action in so long, it’s almost like that big, expensive wedding we had last summer was all a dream…”
Sebastian growled playfully, envisioning Blaine’s mischievous grin a thousand miles away. “But there’s no way you could have forgotten about the wedding night. That was some of my best work.”
“Hmm, you make a good case, I think I’m going to need a demonstration to refresh my memory, counselor,” Blaine retorted.
Sebastian chuckled, then grew serious, playing with the gold band on his finger that still felt both thrillingly novel and timelessly eternal. “Trial’s almost done. I’ll be home soon, Killer, I promise.”
“Don’t worry about me, Seb. I just miss you, that’s all.”
“That’s not ‘nothing,’ it’s everything,” Sebastian whispered into his phone. “I miss you, too.”
“Try and have a good night, baby. Happy Valentine’s Day.” Blaine said softly.
“Happy Valentine’s.”
~~~
As Sebastian approached his room, he could hear the muffled sound of swing music from somewhere else in the hotel.
“At least someone’s getting lucky, tonight,” he muttered to himself.
To his surprise, when he opened the door, the music only got louder.
Those fingers in my hair,
That sly come-hither stare,
That strips my conscience bare,
Stepping further into the sitting room, he noticed a trial of rose pedals that led to the bedroom, where an array of candles twinkled merrily. Candles that he definitely had not lit.
And I've got no defense for it,
The heat is too intense for it,
What good would common sense for it do?
Sebastian followed the rose trail to the bathroom, where he could see more candlelight flickering from under the door and where the music – an old Sinatra recording, he recognized – was loudest.
“Jenkins?” he called out. “Jenkins, I know I told you to have fun with your girlfriend but if you thought I meant you could use my executive suite…”
Then suddenly a live voice joined the recording, singing:
When you arouse the need in me,
My heart says ‘Yes, indeed’ in me,
‘Proceed with what you're leadin' me to.’
And Sebastian knew it wasn’t Jenkins behind the door. He threw it open in breathless anticipation.
“Hi, Seb. Happy Valentine’s Day. For real, this time.”
Sebastian knew he was grinning like an idiot in the doorway, but he didn’t care, surveying the very welcome sight before him: his husband, wet and naked in a steaming hot, bubbly tub, surrounded by rose pedals and small candles, swaying along with the soundtrack and sipping a glass a champagne.
“How did you even get in here? There are no locks for you to pick.”
Blaine winked. “Dalton men never reveal their secrets. On a completely unrelated note, you may want to keep Jenkins away from the hardened criminals. You wouldn’t believe what a little sweet-talking can get him to do.”
“That little traitor.” But Sebastian was already shucking off his suit excitedly and stalking over to kneel by the side of the tub, lunging forward to finally, finally kiss his husband again, to feel the tender softness of his lips, to revel in the gentle touch of his soapy hand against his cheek, to breathe in his evocative scent that not even bath fragrances could hide from him.
“Hi.” Sebastian whispered, pressing his forehead against Blaine’s.
“Hi.” Blaine whispered back.
“Got room in there for me?”
Blaine pulled back and looked at him doubtfully. “I don’t know, you’re pretty tall. And I was enjoying myself before you came along.”
Done with waiting, Sebastian hopped right into the tub, settling down on his husband’s outstretched legs and splashing suds everywhere as Blaine threw his head back and laughed.
~~~
Somehow, they rearranged themselves with minimal fuss and only a few wayward elbows so that Sebastian was now sitting behind Blaine, arms wrapped firmly around the shorter man’s chest. They sat quietly, simply basking in each other’s presence.
I stand at your gate and the song that I sing is of moonlight,
I stand and I wait for the touch of your hand in the June night,
The roses are sighing a Moonlight Serenade.
“I hope this is ok,” Blaine murmured, caressing Sebastian’s forearm. “It was pretty last minute, so I didn’t have time to do much planning.”
“It’s perfect, Blaine.”
He leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss against Blaine’s temple, hoping to convey some semblance of the overwhelming gratitude and adoration he felt for the man in his arms.
The stars are aglow and tonight how their light sets me dreaming.
My love, do you know that your eyes are like stars brightly beaming?
I bring you and I sing you a Moonlight Serenade.
It must have worked, because Blaine turned to look up at Sebastian with that delighted smile that never ceases to humble him. “I love you, Sebastian.”
So don't let me wait, come to me tenderly in the June night.
I stand at your gate and I sing you a song in the moonlight,
A love song, my darling, a Moonlight Serenade.
“I love you, too.”