Untitled

Epilogue

  Sebastien wasn't late to work very often, but every time he was, his two best friends made a big deal about it.
  "How come it seems like you're late more often now than when you lived in the city?" Ben asked, looking up from the clipboard of papers in his hand.
  "Because I'm still not used to the quiet of a house." Sebastien said as he tucked his shirt in. "Or having a bed that isn't a mattress on the floor."
  "Right. I'm sure that's what made you late." Robbie gave him a look.
  "You've lived there over six months. You're past using it as an excuse." Ben said, rolling his eyes.
  "It is. Alek has an interview today, so we were both getting ready at the same time and then I couldn't find my uniform and then Alek almost forgot to take his meds and then his manager called. It was just a hectic morning, okay." Sebastien sighed and stepped behind the desk.
  "Aww you sound like a stressed housewife." Robbie chuckled.
  "I am. I really hate missing all of Alek's stuff. I would like to witness just one of his photoshoots or interviews or whatever the fuck else he does. I feel like every time I'm not there, he needs me." Sebastien frowned, pinning his name tag to the left side of his shirt.
  "Robs, are there any days you can't work this month?" Ben asked, his eyes still set on his clipboard of papers.
  "Uhh, not that I can think of. May is an in-between month, so it's usually usually pretty open for me. Why?"
  "Cause I'm scheduling. Why the fuck else?" Ben said.
  "You're just now scheduling this month?" Sebastien raised his eyebrows, then clicked his tongue. "And you were getting onto me for being behind?"
  "It's only the first, I'm not that behind. I've finished the schedule, but I have to do last minute swaps because of the wedding."
  "You haven't even proposed yet and you're already scheduling for the wedding!?" Sebastien widened his eyes.
  Ben finally looked up from his papers. "My sister's wedding, Bash. Your sister's wedding."
  "Ohhh yeah, right." Sebastien laughed. "I forgot."
  "How could you forget? Are you not in the group chat?" Ben asked.
  "I think so, but I usually don't pay attention to texts that aren't from my family or friends."
  "Bash, the group chat is your family. It's strictly to talk about Italy." Ben said, now multi-tasking and looking between Sebastien and his papers.
  "Alek fills me in on everything. I mean, he's literally the one making it happen, so I'm in the know. I forgot in the moment because you just mentioned to us not long ago that you were gonna propose." Sebastien explained.
  Ben nodded and then completed his task silently.
  "So...when are you going to propose?" Robbie asked.
  "Well, I was thinking about doing it in Italy. I think it's too perfect of an opportunity to waste." Ben said, a smile tugging on his lips.
  "I think you're right." Sebastien smiled. "Hey, has anyone in the group chat said anything about the kids? I don't imagine it would be too convenient to take all of them."
  "Um..I think Gloria mentioned something about it. She said something about hating to leave them, but knowing it wasn't tangible. I don't think she knows who to leave them with, though. I mean all of her babysitters are going, and none of our friends should be trusted with children."
  "Hey!" Robbie interjected.
  Ben turned to him. "So you would want to look after a one year old, a four year old, and two five year olds?"
  "Well, no. But I'm offended that you think I couldn't."
  "You know damn well it's the truth. And we all know Sev would panic trying to keep four small humans alive." Ben chuckled.
  "Okay..you're right." Robbie lifted his hands.
  Sebastien's phone started ringing, catching the attention of both of his friends.
  "Is that Alek or one of the stalker fans that leaked your number?" Ben asked.
  Sebastien chuckled. "It's Alek." He put the phone up to his ear. "Hi. Everything okay, cariño?"
  "Yeah, I'm in hair and makeup right now. I'm just bored."
  "And?"
  "And I miss you."
  "And?"
  Alek chuckled. "And...I was wondering if you could bring me a different shirt because the one I'm wearing will not match the sofa they're gonna sit me on."
  Sebastien laughed. "What shirt?"
  "Preferably a white one. One that looks nice, but not too nice. I just had to try and be stylish today and wear a shirt with colors on it."
  "Send me the address and I'll make Ben drive me there."
  "Okay, thank you. I love you!"
  "I love you too." Sebastien chuckled and hung up.
  Ben's head had snapped up at Sebastien's words. He gave him a look. "What is it you're gonna make me do?"
  "Alek needs a shirt and you're going to drive me to my house and then to wherever he is." Sebastien said matter-of-factly.
  "And why would I do that not even two hours into the work day?"
  "Because I'm forcing you. You look like you're about to pop a blood vessel or something. You need a break and I need a ride, let's go." Sebastien stepped in front of the desk and waited for Ben.
  Robbie chuckled and took his place. "I can hold down the fort till you get back. Gavin's almost done with the third floor and then he'll be here to help. Go."
  Ben sighed heavily, then grabbed his papers off of the desk. "Fine. But I'm taking this with me."
  They both got into Ben's car and stopped at Alek and Sebastien's house, where Sebastien quickly grabbed a nice white shirt for his boyfriend. Ben wasted no time and followed the GPS a little faster than Sebastien knows he usually drives.
  "Alright, hurry up. I have to get back to work." Ben said, putting his car in park outside of the building Alek's directions sent them to.
  "You don't have to wait on me. I can get a ride back with Alek." Sebastien said with his hand on the door handle.
  "You don't know how long he's gonna be. By the time you get back, the work day could almost be over. I can't just let you get paid for not showing up. When I'm on the clock, I'm the manager before I'm your best friend."
  "I know. I clocked out before we left. Call it a sick day or whatever. I'm already here, I'm not gonna go back to work after almost experiencing exactly what I was talking about earlier." Sebastien said, then opened the door and got out.
  "Okay. Have fun. Start paying attention to the damn Italy group chat because we literally leave in a few days and you're already stressing me out with your lack of preparedness."
  Sebastien chuckled, leaning down slightly. "Alright, I will, I will. Be careful or your whole head will be grey before you even get married."
  Sebastien closed the door before Ben could react, but he still got a middle finger through the window. He turned on his heel and walked up to the front door of the building.
  A security guard was perched outside of the door and Sebastien wondered what he would do if he had to prove his identity in order to get in.
  "Can I help you?" The security guard asked, looking down at Sebastien.
  Sebastien adjusted the tote bag strap on his shoulder. "I'm Alek Rochester's boyfriend. I came to bring him something. Fuck, that sounds really fake, I'm sorry. I swear that's literally what I'm here for."
  "I recognize you. He told us you'd be coming." The security guard said, immediately putting Sebastien at ease. "Make sure someone gives you a badge or you might get kicked out."
  "Okay. Thank you." Sebastien smiled, then walked in the door that the guard opened for him.
  Thankfully, Alek's manager handed him a badge the second she saw him and he slipped it into his shirt pocket with his name tag.
  Alek smiled at him through the mirror as a makeup artist brushed something on his face.
  "Sorry to make you leave work for something so small." Alek said, standing up after the makeup artist walked away.
  "It's not a problem. I actually clocked out so I could stay. Is that okay?" Sebastien asked.
  Alek smiled. "Yes, of course that's okay. I'm actually like really nervous about this interview and I don't know why."
  "I kind of figured you were." Sebastien stepped closer to him.
  "Really? How's that?"
  Sebastien shrugged. "Boyfriend intuition."
  Alek chuckled and then quickly changed his shirt, looking at himself approvingly in the mirror. "Oh yeah, this is much better."
  "Good. Because you walk out in two minutes." Erica, Alek's manager, said.
  Alek turned to Sebastien with wide eyes.
  "Don't go panicking on me now." Sebastien stepped forward and gently held Alek's biceps, rubbing them with his thumbs.
  "Despite being on medication, I'm still sensitive, so that's kind of asking a lot."
  Sebastien chuckled. "I'm sorry. It's not funny, you're just cute."
  "Still gonna think I'm cute after I cry and hyperventilate on live TV?" Alek asked, taking deep breaths when he wasn't talking.
  "Of course I would, but that's not gonna happen. Because you're gonna crush this. I'll be standing here the whole time, so just look at me whenever you need to, okay?" Sebastien stepped closer and kissed Alek's nose.
  Alek nodded, then kissed Sebastien quickly just before he was whisked onto the dressed up talk show stage.
  Sebastien stood as close to the set as he could, having a perfect view of Alek and the interviewer, as he wasn't far from where the camera was set up.
  The small audience cheered as Alek walked into frame, making Sebastien just notice their presence. The interviewer shook hands with Alek, then motioned for him to sit down.
  "Aleksander, it's so good to see you again."
  "Daniel, please, just call me Alek."
  "That's right. You've shaken the full name completely now, haven't you?"
  Alek nodded. "I have."
  "Alright, let's not beat around the bush. I have questions and you have answers. Let's just get straight to it. I'm sure that's what the audience came for." They cheered at Daniel's words.
  Alek chuckled and glanced to the audience for a second, then turned back to Daniel.
  "First, the question I'm sure everyone's been dying to ask you...how has life been without your father? How is it in comparison?"
  The room seemed to go silent and Alek slowly moved his eyes to look at Sebastien, who gave him a closed-mouth smile.
  "Starting off strong, huh?" Alek chuckled, shifting in his seat and crossing one leg over the other. "I don't think my previous life could even compare to the one I live now. I'm happier, I'm healthier, and I think it's as simple as that."
  Sebastien had never really noticed Alek's media training. He's mentioned it a lot, along with the fact that most of his life has been publicized, but Sebastien rarely ever got to witness it. It was strangely enjoyable watching Alek string together such eloquent, dignified sentences.
  Daniel nodded and quickly scanned the cards in his hands. "I assume part of that happiness comes from your boyfriend, Sebastien?"
  The audience cheered louder than before.
  Sebastien's heart seemed to skip a beat and his stomach flipped a little. Hearing his name from someone he didn't know was weird and having the mention of him gain a reaction from an audience was way weirder.
  "Of course it does." Alek looked to Sebastien. "I'd say it's where most of it comes from."
  "Awwww." The audience chorused.
  "I've heard that you two bought a house? Is that correct?" Daniel asked.
  Alek nodded with a smile. "We did."
  "So it's pretty serious, then."
  "I'd say a thirty year mortgage is pretty serious, yeah." Alek said, making the audience laugh.
  "Now, I, and a great deal of your fans, have been led to believe that this relationship has been going on way longer than you've let on."
  "Oh have you?" Alek slightly raised his eyebrows.
  "Now I'm sure a soft launch like this would've worked," Daniel gestured to the screen, where Alek's Instagram posts that slowly included Sebastien were shown in a sideshow. The audience chorused another "aww" as the images flipped by, "If this image," the screen changed to show the photo of Sebastien and Alek from Thanksgiving 2022, where they were kissing in the dining hall. The audience cheered and made various other noises. "Had never been released to the public. I'm sure you knew this had to be brought up at some point."
  Alek's demeanor was shy and he rubbed the back of his hair, then crossed his arms. "Yeah, I did. I just didn't think you'd be the one to do it."
  "I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted." Daniel said, making the audience laugh again.
  "So...care to elaborate? Beyond the fake story about you doing it as a distraction--which was genius, I have to admit."
  Alek exhaled and flicked his eyes to Sebastien, then back to Daniel. "Um, I'd say thank you, but that wasn't my idea. The original plan was to come out officially that day, but that didn't really work out how I wanted it to. Everyone knows that story."
  "I'm just interested in the story of you and Sebastien, here. I'm sure your fans are as well." The audience cheered before he continued. "This photo is from Thanksgiving 2022, when you were believed to be dating Chloe Whitehall. You only announced your relationship with Sebastien in June of last year. See where I'm going with this?"
  "Yes, Daniel, I see." Alek chuckled, uncrossing his arms. "They call it a soft launch for a reason. You don't announce the relationship as soon as it happens. I didn't want to overwhelm Sebastien with the full force of it all right away, so we eased into it. As for the picture, well, it's just that. I tried to come out and failed due to the ego of my father. I wasn't aware of the paparazzi or I would've waited to celebrate more privately."
  "I must say, you're doing a wonderful job at dancing around my question." Daniel chuckled, straightening his cards on the desk. "Which is why I prepared this."
  Alek's face looked slightly panicked as Daniel motioned to the screen again, where the second photo from that day was now displayed.
  "Now the first one is a kiss--a celebration, as you said. You can't really see Sebastien's face, which is why it's the photo that circulated the most. But this one...you can see smiles. Seemingly very happy smiles from both of you. Now, why would--again as you put it--your celebration be smiling so fondly at you simply because you came out?"
  Alek shook his head, a smile tugging on his lips. "You don't come to play, huh?"
"No, I do not."
  Alek adjusted his sitting position again. "Had we stayed together, Sebastien and I would've celebrated one year in August of last year." The crowd cheered and awwwed, some people saying a few unintelligible words. "I understand that I was unfaithful in my previous relationship, but you see, I was not in that relationship. My dad was. Chloe was. The media was. Aleksander was. Alek--who I truly am--has only ever been in a relationship with Sebastien. He's the only one I've ever loved."
  The audience chorused "awwww" loudly.
  "Well you can bring a grown man to tears, that's for sure." Daniel said.
  Alek chuckled.
  "Alright, I'm sure everyone's heard enough about your relationship."
  The audience chorused sounds of discontent.
  "Well, we can't please everyone." Daniel tapped his cards against the table again.
  Alek chuckled and had seemed to relax a bit more against the couch.
  "So, you mentioned in an Instagram post, I believe, that you're making plans to go to Italy."
  "Yes, next week."
  "Oh wow. Is this a spontaneous summer vacation or..what?"
  "Actually, Sebastien's sister is getting married, so we're all flying out there for the wedding."
  "And who's this we?
  "Sebastien and his family, and his best friend Ben's family."
  "His best friends family?" Daniel raised his eyebrows.  "You sure it's Sebastien's sisters wedding and not his?"
  "I'm sure. We aren't quite there yet." Alek threw Sebastien a look, getting a smile in return.
  "Now..you keep looking off camera. May I ask why?" Daniel asked, glancing around for only a second.
  "I'm looking at my boyfriend." Alek said, flicking his eyes over to Sebastien again.
  "He's here?" The audience got loud again.
  "Don't go getting greedy, Daniel. We just soft launched a year ago." Alek said, playfully rolling his eyes.
  Daniel and the audience laughed.
  "Is he shy or something?"
  "Oh no, Bash isn't shy at all." Alek chuckled.
  "Then bring him out." Daniel said, making the audience cheer once again.
  Once Alek's eyes were on Sebastien, he mouthed "I don't care to."
  Alek turned to Daniel. "The boyfriend agreed to make an appearance."
  Daniel turned to where Alek kept looking and waved him over. "Come on over. Have a seat."
  Sebastien walked past the line on the floor, lights hitting him from seemingly every direction. He turned to the audience and waved, getting even louder cheers as he did so. He sat next to Alek on the couch, putting very little space between them.
  "Hi." Sebastien said, looking to Daniel.
  "Well hi Mr. Definitely not shy." Daniel chuckled. "Would you say Alek told the story of your relationship adequately?"
  Sebastien quickly glanced at Alek, then back to Daniel. "You know, I would say he did okay. There's a lot of ground to cover, so who cares about a few pesky details."
  Daniel raised his eyebrows. He looked to Alek. "Pesky details, huh?"
  Alek shook his head. "You'll have to excuse my boyfriend, he has a flare for the dramatic."
  "I love dramatic. Flare away." Daniel said, slightly leaning forward.
  "Alek is rather humble, so he would never take credit for it all, even though he deserves it." Sebastien said, giving his boyfriend a fond look.
  "Alek made the first move?"
  "It was a mutual attraction, and I don't know if I'd say either of us made the first move, but Alek was very flirty and forward with it."
  "I never pictured Alek to be the one to do all of the flirting." Daniel said.
  "Now, I didn't say he did all the flirting." Sebastien smirked, quickly looking at Alek, then back to Daniel.
  The audience chorused "oooooh" dramatically.
  "It's so easy to get a reaction out of them, isn't it?" Sebastien chuckled, motioning to the seated people to the right of him.
  The audience cheered.
  "Yes, it is." Daniel looked at his cards, then back to the couple on the couch. "This next question will surely get a reaction out of them...and our time is up. Sorry everyone."
  The audience made various disappointed sounds, a few of them booing.
  Alek chuckled and scooted to the edge of the couch, Sebastien following.
  "Thank you for being here, Alek, and thank you, Sebastien for joining us for a bit. It was lovely talking to you both." Daniel said.
  "Thank you for having me and for being so welcoming to Sebastien." Alek said, placing a hand on Sebastien's knee.
  "And..we're out!" The director announced.
  "Thank you for talking with me. I would love to have you here again." Daniel said politely, smiling gently at Alek.
  "Of course. I'm sure my manager will schedule another interview soon. They always do well." Alek said, smiling back briefly.
  "You're welcome back too, Mr. Drama." Daniel said, winking at Sebastien. "Bring more next time."
  Sebastien chuckled. "Thanks. I will."