156A/N: So much thanks to my beta Alice aka darlingwendy!
"Damn it!"
Sam threw down his controller as his character dropped dead on screen. Mike grimaced in sympathy next to him, but continued to shoot at whatever he could. It wasn't like he and Mike hadn't played as a team before. Every time the five guys got together to play video games they had to face off via arm wrestling or rock paper scissors or some other game to see which four guys would play first. Occasionally Blaine lost to Mike, usually in rock paper scissors, which meant Sam would pair with Mike while Puck and Finn paired up. But it was never the same. Years of playing together meant Sam knew every one of Blaine's tactics, and vice versa, so they could always watch each other's backs and not get eaten by zombies.
But Blaine had left for Paris the day before, so Sam was left with Mike. And, well, Mike…
"Congrats," Mike grumbled as a zombie bit into his character's head, Puck and Finn whooping in the background for being the last team to survive.
"Yeah, suck it, Chang," Puck said as he rose from the couch to get another beer. "You too, Evans, but you've already got the lips for it."
"Wow, never heard that one before in my entire life," Sam deadpanned. "Your jokes are getting stale, Puckerman. I think it's the old age."
"Old age my ass," Puck muttered, but didn't argue any further. Sam smirked behind his beer bottle.
Finn sank into the couch, groaning and scrubbing his hand over his eyes. "Rachel wants me to be old."
"The hell does that mean? Does she have like a fetish or something?" Puck asked.
"Dude, no! That's gross!" Finn scrunched up his nose. "She wants me to act more mature or something. I'm mature, right?"
The room fell silent.
"Whatever," Finn pouted. "But she wants me to like, work harder at my job and get more promotions and stuff. And that makes sense, she wants me to have a bigger title or whatever, but…I'm comfortable where I'm at, with mostly just filing and running errands and stuff. I feel like I'm good at this level, like I can do what's expected of me and not disappoint my boss, and that I'm getting paid well for the work I do. And if I get a promotion, then what if I can't do all of that stuff? What if I suck?"
"So don't do it," Sam suggested. "Do what you like doing. Do what you're good at."
Finn nodded, happy that someone got it. "She wants me to be good at more things, but I'm happy where I am, so why should I change that?"
"It sounds to me like she wants you to be as successful as she is," Mike said. Rachel had recently landed a lead role in a new Off-Broadway musical adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which also had a good chance of being taken to Broadway in the future (or, that's what Sam heard from Blaine, anyway).
"Maybe that's it," Finn said, thoughtful. "But…I'm not her. I'm not going to be a huge Broadway star or anywhere near that. I want to be a teacher, and I can't even be that yet."
"But you're still working on your teacher certification, right?" Sam asked. Finn nodded. He had been working to become a music teacher since he was in high school, but it was slow moving since Finn had needed to get a full time job after he'd moved to New York and married Rachel. He had mostly been taking night classes for the past few years to complete his degree.
"Yeah, but until then it's still just desk work at the office. But I don't hate what I'm doing. It works until I can do what I really want to do, you know?"
"You need to tell Rachel that," Mike said.
"I've tried, but it feels like she's not listening to me."
"Ah, the joys of married life," Puck interjected. "Glad I never have to deal with that. Am I right, Sam?" He lifted his hand up for Sam to high five, but Sam only raised an eyebrow in response.
"You know I want to get married, right? I'm just still looking for the right person and all?"
"Ha, yeah, that's it," Puck scoffed, sharing a look with the other guys. Mike rolled his eyes at whatever Puck was implying that Sam didn't understand; Finn just looked confused. "Dude, you're being lame. Stop pouting over Blaine being gone and get with the program."
"I'm not-"
"And you still gotta watch out for girls acting like this," Puck said, cutting Sam off. "Because they all do at some point. Tina's done it plenty of times, hasn't she, Mike?"
Mike frowned. "Yes, we've had some disagreements. But we know how to work them out, and that's what I was just about to tell Finn." Turning his back to Puck, he focused on Finn, who had downed his beer in Mike's absence. "You have to find a way to talk with her. Set aside a time for you two to have a discussion about your feelings -" Puck gagged in the background "- and try to get both sides of the story. Usually if Tina and I are arguing, we'll try to make it kind of romantic, like a dinner date or maybe a bath together, to keep the mood calm and remind each other that we still love each other."
Sam smiled, but said nothing. He and Blaine did something similar, the very few times they fought. They would block out anyone else, any texts or calls or anything, and…well, they wouldn't take baths together, but they would order pizza and sit on the couch and talk until they reached a resolution, and then finished the night with a Marvel movie. The look on Finn's face told Sam that, for the entire time he and Rachel had been together, instigating a discussion like that had never occurred to him.
"Dude, that is genius! I could-"
"Great!" Puck cut Finn off before he could continue. "Can you guys talk about that later and let us get back to the game? I need to kick Sam's ass at least one more time."
"Puck, you're totally just jealous because you don't have anyone to talk things out with," Sam jabbed as he picked up his controller.
"But I also don't have anyone to get into the doghouse with in the first place. And you don't even get to say that shit until you're married. Now seriously, let's get back to the video games before you start waxing poetic on me."
The first Sunday without Blaine arrived, finding Sam at his own workplace on off hours. Apparently his boss had decided it would be more efficient for someone to organize the misplaced CDs when the store was closed instead of during their slow work hours. While Sam thought the idea was a little unusual, he had nothing to do since Blaine was in Paris and was also getting paid to come in, so he thought he might as well.
"Can I hang more of these throughout the store?" Tina held up a poster in front of him. Sam hadn't actually looked at them yet, but two hours in and he was already bored out of his mind from inanely sorting old CDs, tapes, and records. He'd jumped at the chance to invite his friends to hang out with him under the guise of Tina hanging up posters for her upcoming youth women's rally.
"Sure," Sam shrugged. "I don't see why not." Tina had already pinned a poster to the bulletin board, but there was plenty of boring white wall space that they had filled in the past with random posters and fliers for band gigs, so he figured she wouldn't be doing any harm.
"Awesome," Tina smiled and gathered up more posters in her arms, walking to the back of the store and leaving Sam with Mike, who was…well, Sam wasn't sure what he was doing.
"Dude, you okay?" he asked, snapping Mike out of his reverie. Mike dropped his arms to his sides, a little embarrassed at being caught.
"Yeah, I'm just practicing choreography for the showcase coming up," Mike said, pulling an earbud out of his ear that Sam hadn't noticed before.
"He's got two duets and a whole dance to himself!" Tina bragged from the back of the store. Sam laughed, looking at Mike's humble smile.
"Awesome, dude! Congrats!"
"Yeah, it's…it's pretty cool. I think Tina might be more excited than even I am, though."
"She's proud of you," Sam said. "It's really sweet."
"It really is," Mike smiled. His eyes focused on the back of the store, and even though Sam knew Mike couldn't see Tina, he could still how much he loved her through the look in his eyes.
"Do you think three is enough?" Tina asked as she returned to the front of the store. Before he answered, Mike gave her a quick kiss on the nose, which made her giggle.
"I think three is perfect."
"You think people are going to come, right?" Tina asked, wrapping her arms around Mike's waist and resting her head against his shoulder. Sam observed silently, not wanting to intrude on what had become a private moment, but also appreciating their sweetness with each other. It was a moment that really made him long for someone who he could share something similar with, to hold in his arms and comfort, to absentmindedly kiss, to love and support more than anything.
"People are definitely going to come. Because it sounds amazing. Because you make it sound amazing. And because promoting female equality and anti-slut shaming in schools is really important, right?" Mike asked. Tina nodded, and Sam got the feeling Mike had made this speech many times before.
"Not to mention, the posters just look amazing, thanks to Sam," Tina said, finally tearing her gaze from Mike's. Sam dropped the current CD he was holding onto the rack, surprised at the sudden attention on him.
"What? Oh, uh, thanks!" he said, regaining his bearings. He hoped they hadn't caught him staring at them, but Tina's face said otherwise "Sorry, I just…you two are really good together. That's all."
"Well, thank you," Tina said, dropping her arms from Mike's waist but still taking his hand.
"I really wish I had what you guys had," Sam said, quieter, turning back to the CD rack and picking up a random CD. Its place was further down the aisle, so he walked away, hoping the embarrassment of getting caught wouldn't follow him. Tina and Mike did trail after him, Mike picking up a misplaced tape and replacing it on the shelf opposite Sam's.
"Are you dating anyone?" Tina asked hesitantly. "Maybe getting serious with someone?"
"I've been dating a lot, but none of them seem to want to go past even two dates," Sam answered. "It's not that I don't want to get serious, I really do. But I feel like I don't know what they want, because they don't seem to want me."
He sighed, turning to lean back against the shelf. "I'm not finding the right person, and it's kind of frustrating, because most of my friends have that person, you know? But they've also all known each other since high school, which is kind of weird when you think about it, but even in high school I couldn't get a girl to stay with me for very long."
There was a pause, where Tina and Mike seemed to exchange some kind of unspoken thought, leaving Sam in confusion. Finally, Tina turned back to Sam; Mike had a wary look on his face. "Sam, do you ever think-"
"Tina-" Mike said in a warning tone.
"-That maybe that person could be right there in front of you and you're not seeing it?" she finished in a rush before Mike could say anything further. Sam blinked, still completely confused.
"What?"
"Tina," Mike repeated, and that time Tina listened.
"I know, I know, I shouldn't meddle in other people's lives, I'm working on it I swear!" she reassured. "I just had to say it okay but now I'm done."
"Wait, I don't understand," Sam protested, but Tina shook her head. Mike laughed, sympathizing with Sam's confusion though he clearly knew something more than Sam did. Tina stepped forward, placing her hands on Sam's shoulders and looking him in the eye.
"You'll find that person someday, Sam," she said solidly, clear as day. "Just give it time." She wrapped her arms around Sam in a hug, which he returned because at this point he felt like there was nothing else he could do. "Now, our best friend is out of the country, which means we totally need to bond in these next two weeks. Got it?"
Sam nodded as Tina dropped the hug, taking Mike's hand. "See you later, Sam!" Mike said, gathering up the rest of Tina's posters as they left the shop. Sam leaned against the shelf once again, wondering what the hell Tina had just been talking about.
Usually, by the end of Sunday nights, Blaine and Sam would be watching a movie, or playing video games, or singing together, or some other activity that perfectly topped off their day. Without Blaine, Sam sat on the couch, Teddy curled up at his side where Blaine would usually sit. The TV blared, but Sam had no idea what was playing. He stroked Teddy's fur absentmindedly as he sifted through his phone.
Over the week, Blaine had sent him a few picture messages, the international charges be damned. There was one of the Notre Dame chapel, one of the Arc de Triomphe (which Sam recognized, but would never have known the name of if Blaine hadn't attached it), and a few of interesting storefronts or items Blaine had spotted. Blaine had yet to send one of the Eiffel tower, though he had told Sam he had a perfect view from his hotel room. But Sam's favorite was a selfie Blaine had sent of himself in front of a river that Sam was sure was a landmark of France, but he had no idea what the name was. To him, the river didn't matter. Blaine's bright smile stirred something inside of Sam, making him miss his best friend even more. Despite what he had said before Blaine left, he found himself wondering what it would be like to be experiencing all of those sights with Blaine.
(He wouldn't tell anyone, and he kept his friends safely away from his phone because of it, but that picture of Blaine was currently his lock screen. Just until he returned from France and they could take a new picture together.)
Sam swiped his finger back and forth across his phone, thumb hovering over the 'recent calls' button. He didn't have to go completely without Blaine on Sundays, did he? He could call just to check in and -
His finger hit Blaine's name before he could give it a second thought.
Blaine blinked his eyes open, confused at the darkness of his room save for the bright light hitting the ceiling and the shrill noise coming from…somewhere, accompanied with a rumbling noise. Next to him, Kurt groaned sleepily, rolling away from Blaine and burying his head under his pillow. He said something mostly unintelligible, but it sounded something like "Blaine, answer it, I swear to God."
Answer…phone. His phone.
On his bedside his phone continued to ring and vibrate, the brightness from the lit up screen penetrating the room. He fumbled to grab the phone in his hand, squinting at the screen. Blonde Chameleon.
"Hello?" he said after pressing the 'answer' button, scrubbing at his face and sitting up in bed. Kurt let out another groan, but said nothing else.
"Hey, Blaine! How's Paris?" Sam sounded wide awake on the other end of the line. Blaine looked out the window, observing the starry sky and only somewhat lit city.
"Kind of dark and quiet right now. It's…" He reached over to his bedside table, turning the clock to face him. "Sam, it's 2:30 in the morning."
"Oh God, I completely forgot about time zones. I'm really sorry, dude."
"No, it's fine," Blaine said quietly, lips lifting up into a small smile. He still may be half asleep, but he really did miss his best friend's voice and all of his quirks, including those that made him call Blaine in the middle of the night. "Paris is pretty cool. Kurt and I went to a nice restaurant for brunch today," he continued hesitantly, trying not to wake up Kurt and also hoping not to upset Sam. It was really nice getting to see Paris with his boyfriend, but having brunch on a Sunday with someone who wasn't Sam just felt…weird. "I ate snails."
"Snails?"
"Yeah, and lots of fish eggs," Blaine laughed. "You'd hate them." Then again, Sam hated almost anything involving seafood. Lake fish he could handle, especially those he caught and cooked himself (which were surprisingly good - at least, the one's he'd served to Blaine had been). But forget scallops, crab cakes, lobster, and especially French delicacies.
"I'll take your word for it." Blaine could hear the ease in Sam's voice and could almost picture the exact smile that would accompany his words. Before he could respond, Kurt pulled the pillow off of his head.
"Blaine, it's the middle of the night, can you maybe save this conversation for morning?"
"Yeah, sure, sorry babe," Blaine answered hurriedly, covering up the phone with his hand. "Go back to sleep." Kurt complied, tugging the pillow back over his head. Blaine knew Kurt would hate himself for doing that in the morning.
He turned away from Kurt and back to the phone, dropping his hand from the mic. "Hey, Sam, I'm sorry but it's really late and-"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, I understand," Sam responded quickly. "Go get your beauty sleep."
"I'll call you in the morning, okay? I promise."
"Awesome. I…I miss you."
Blaine closed his eyes and smiled, even as a pang of longing reverberated through his chest. "I miss you too. Like a lot," he said very quietly, hoping not to disturb Kurt. "But it's just two more weeks, okay?"
"Okay. Teddy sends his love." In the background, Blaine heard a canine-like whine that must have been their puppy yawning. He laughed.
"Tell him I love him too. Goodnight, Chameleon."
"Goodnight, Nightbird."
"So yeah, then we moved back from Italy to New York…no wait, we lived in LA for a year, and then we came back to New York. Anyway, Daddy bought me an apartment on the Upper East Side, near 72nd Street, and I've been here ever since," Annie finished with a platinum white smile, flipping her blonde hair back over her shoulder. Sam blinked, already overloaded with information - or maybe he was just intimidated. Her stories made her seem way out of his league, which he hadn't expected when he'd first run into her at the coffee shop down the street from the music store.
One of Annie's perfectly manicured hands came up to fiddle with the charm around her neck, a jeweled circle of some sort. Sam leaned closer, his focus already pulled away from the previous conversation. In the middle of the pendant was a diamond star, surrounded by two rings of colors, one red and one blue.
"I like your necklace," Sam said, his heartbeat quickening as he realized what the necklace resembled. Annie looked down at the charm, as if she had already forgotten what she was wearing.
"Oh, thanks. My mom got it for me a few years ago for the Fourth of July. I didn't even know you were supposed to get gifts for that."
"So do you like Captain America?" Sam asked. But the blank look on Annie's face made his heart drop to the floor before she could even open her mouth.
"Who?"
"You know…Captain America? From the Avengers? Super soldier?" Sam provided, hoping to ring a bell. There's no way she'd never heard of Cap, right?
"Oh, so like Batman?"
Sam plastered a fake smile on his face. "Yeah. Sure. Like Batman."
Dinner with Cate ("with a C'") had been going slightly better. Then again, no superheroes had been brought up so far. Instead Cate talked mostly about her work, leaving Sam to listen attentively. They had met through Tina at the young women's shelter about a week ago when Sam dropped off another batch of posters.
"By the way, are you coming to Tina's rally?"
Sam swallowed his bite of pasta quickly, surprised by the sudden question. "Um, yeah, I was planning on it."
"Great. It's going to be awesome. The stupid fucks at PS #32 need to realize that their male students aren't getting distracted by girls wearing shorts, the rule makers are just sexist bags of shit." Cate dropped her fork onto her plate, creating a loud clatter that made Sam flinch.
"Some men just want to watch the world burn," he said on reflex, voice slipping into a well-practiced British accent. Cate was cool, she seemed like the type who might recognize his impersonation…
The frown on her face told him otherwise. "What?"
Sam coughed, shifting on his seat awkwardly. "Batman? Well, Alfred. The Dark Knight?"
"Oh, yeah, I watched that in high school. With Heath Ledger, right?" Sam sighed in relief, but it was short lived. "So you do impressions? That's, uh, charming."
The tone of her voice told Sam she found it anything but.
"Dude, I know Paris must be amazing and all. But if you ever get a spare moment, can you call me? I need dating advice. Or at least to hear I'm not a complete loser. And that there are people in this world who don't assume Batman and Captain America are even remotely related. So yeah, please call me, even if it's like at five in the morning. Teddy's asleep, but he says he loves you."
"Hey Sam, sorry I missed you. You are not a loser. That girl must just have different interests than you. Which is totally okay, but it also definitely means she's not the one for you. Also, Cap totally beats Batman's ass, but Iron Man wins over both of them. Tell Teddy I love him too."
"Damn, missed you again. A, how dare you, Cap totally owns Iron Man, and B, Tina asked me for some song advice for this rally thing she's doing, which is weird because I'm pretty sure the songs I like aren't even close to what the rally is about, but I thought I'd ask you instead, since girl songs are kind of your specialty. But yeah, call me so we can bounce off ideas."
"Nope. Iron Man is better. Just accept it. Is your song for that teen women's rally she was telling us about? Because if it's that, you know Katy Perry is more my specialty than general girl songs, but I think Tina would have a heart attack if Katy was even suggested. Maybe make an acoustic arrangement of a Beyonce song? Oh, you should definitely call later, by the way, but not tonight because I'm apparently supposed to go to this party thing for Kurt's job. But I miss talking to you."
"It's later. Like next day later. So, tag. You're it."
"Tag backs. Did you find a song?"
"Yep, your suggestion was genius. Like they always are. …I miss you."
"I miss you too. And…I have something really important to tell you, and I can't wait. But I want to do it in person."
"That's cruel teasing, Blaine."
Blaine sighed, listening to the phone pressed up against his ear ring as he dialed Sam. At this point, he completely expected it to go straight to voicemail. He already had his comeback ready.
"Hello?"
He jolted, surprised to hear a live response on the other end. "Sam?"
"Hey, Blaine." He could hear some rustling on Sam's end; Sam himself sounded a bit off, talking slower and deeper than normal. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing really, I just…" Blaine bit his lip. It felt good to finally hear Sam's voice in something that wasn't a voicemail. "I couldn't let this game of tag defeat me, you know?"
Sam chuckled on the other end of the line. "Yeah, that was really dumb. Stupid international calling and all that."
"Yeah," Blaine said. "But only three more days, right?"
"Right." There was a comfortable pause.
"So what are you doing right now? Having another fancy lunch? Trying on all of the super expensive clothes just because you can? Or sightseeing?"
"Actually, yeah, I am sightseeing," Blaine answered, turning around. In front of him stood the Eiffel Tower; he knew it was coming, it was the exact reason why he was standing in the square, but he had wanted to wait until he was talking to Sam to actually see it in all of its glory. Even if it was just through voicemail. "I'm right in front of the Eiffel Tower."
"It took you two and a half weeks?"
"Shut up, we were busy. And…I kind of wanted to see it with Kurt, but we just couldn't find the time. So he's at some fitting or clothes showing or something, and I'm here."
"What's it like?"
"Tall. Extremely tall. I feel tiny." Sam snorted on the other end of the line. "Tiny-er. It's not lit up right now because it's the day time, but I know they light it up at night. I can usually see it wherever I am. But God, Sam, it's enormous. It looks like it's poking the sky. It looks the same as it does in pictures, but actually seeing it, god, it's so much more powerful. I can't stop staring at it." He paused. "I wish you could see it."
Sam hummed in agreement. "I wish I were there."
"Three more days," Blaine said quietly, Sam repeating him. Blaine was looking at one of the unofficial wonders of the world, a sight he probably would never get to see again, but suddenly he just wanted to be back in New York City, in a boring Starbucks having coffee with his best friend.
"I should get back to sleep," Sam sighed, interrupting Blaine's thoughts. "Tina's rally thing is tonight and I'm supposed to play guitar."
"Wait, back to sleep? What time is it there?"
Sam paused. "Not too early. I'm just being lazy. But I also went to bed really late last night, so I should catch up on some Z's."
"Oh," Blaine said. "Well, I'll talk to you later? At the very least, I'll call before we get on the plane, but I'll probably call earlier."
"Sounds great. Go eat snails on the Eiffel Tower for me."
"Will do," Blaine laughed, hanging up the phone and already missing Sam's voice.
Sam set his cell phone back down on his bedside table, squinting at the clock. 4:32 A.M. He rolled back over in his bed, Teddy huffing at his feet. His still sleep-hazy mind replayed his and Blaine's conversation back to him, lumping into a jumble of words and comforting voices as he drifted back off to sleep.
He pictured Blaine's description of the Eiffel Tower, so tall and powerful that it could overwhelm both of them. If he were there he would have tugged Blaine up to the very top, as high as they could go. Blaine probably wouldn't go that high by himself, but if it were the both of them it would have been an adventure.
His mind went back to their not-goodbyes, reminding Sam of the random thought he had tried to ignore as he'd hung up the phone, blaming it on his sleep-addled mind. Just as he fell back asleep, the phrase repeated in his head.
Love you.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Reviews are welcome and loved, and if you came here from Tumblr, please go like and reblog the post for this chapter if you liked it!