Chapter Text
He knew who it was by the knock. It’d been a long time, almost two years in fact, but it was one of those things you just can’t forget, no matter how hard you try. Just like you can’t forget what color they preferred kitchens to be, their favorite vintage, or the exact song that was playing the night they told you all about their dreams for the future. Don E remembered all of that about Blaine and more.
He did not move to answer the door.
“Open up!” Blaine called through the door. It was a familiar order, not all the way demanding because, even now, he probably didn’t think he’d needed to be. Back in the day, Don would have eagerly opened the door for him, letting him into his mother’s home without a second thought. “I’m here on business.” Yeah, because what else would he be there for? Not to see Don E. Not to see Scott either, obviously. Scott wouldn’t have been there anyways, he hadn’t been back to their parent’s house since they’d kicked him out. But Don had moved back in almost the day his brother was admitted to the loony bin, unable to handle the crushing silence (and loneliness) that had settled around him.
But he wasn’t going to think about that. He wasn’t going to think at all and he certainly wasn’t going to stick around to hear whatever the hell it was Blaine wanted. Scott hadn’t believed him when he said it, but Blaine was nothing but trouble. Nothing good ever came from being around him. So he grabbed the mug of coffee he’d just sat down and started walking back towards the stairs. Blaine could talk to an uncaring door and an empty room.
Of course, he underestimated Blaine again and his creepy ninja hearing. He knew the door was thin but come on, since when could Blaine hear that well? “I can hear you moving around in there.” And what the fuck with his voice, lifted up like he was teasing him. He’d used that same voice on the mornings Don E really hadn’t wanted to get up, standing on the other side of his bedroom door with Scott trying to get him to come unlock it. “I was sorry to hear about your brother.”
Don E slammed the mug down onto the nearest table, striding halfway to the door before stuttering to a stop. He wanted to scream, wanted to yell, wanted to rip the door off its hinges and strangle Blaine. But he still wasn’t ready to see that asshole. He was still fucking afraid.
“I wanted to be at the funeral but, you know. Things came up.” Some of the energy left Blaine’s voice but not enough. Never enough for what Don E had lost. Fuck you Blaine. Fuck you and fuck everything else. Fuck the world. Fuck everything that wasn’t his mug of fucking coffee and his fucking bed. “Look I need to talk to you about the night of the boat party.” Don’s heart stuttered in his chest, his breathing going suddenly short. The boat party. The fucking boat party that had turned his brother into a raving lunatic? The party that had ripped them apart again and led Scott to being fucking murdered? Blaine wanted to talk about that? “Someone cut the Utopium that night.” What? Why in the hell would Blaine care about that? He’d dropped out of that business, as far as Don E had heard. Disappeared the night of the party and just never came back. Don would have assumed he was dead if he thought anything could actually kill Blaine. “It was you, right? You and your twin?” No. No, they hadn’t wanted to. Gabriel had volunteered. Don E creeped towards the door a little more, curious. But he didn’t say anything. Blaine wasn’t going to get that information for free. “There’s a payday. A big one. For whoever can show me how it was done.”
And there were the magic words. Money. Lots of it and that was a promise; Blaine never lied about money. Or he rarely did at least, never one to speak ill of the one thing he truly cared about without good cause. And he even sounded a little pleading. Don E had to fight to keep a smug smile off his face, something curling happily in his chest at hearing Blaine asking for help. And then he went on about huffing and puffing, getting a little mad. It was the closest he’d ever heard the man get to saying, “Please don’t make me beg.”
He had to open the door then, didn’t he? Money had been one of his and Blaine’s shared interests, the only other thing he’d cared about besides Scott. And, technically, their mom too but he wasn’t going to think about her right now. He had business to deal with. And yet, the second he saw Blaine’s face he faltered. He looked around Blaine, as if knowing whether there was anyone else there was going to change anything, to buy himself time while Blaine said his name like he was suddenly a big deal. When Don E finally looked at him, his expression was softer than Don had expected it to be. “Long time, brother.” And that was the closest to an apology he was ever going to get.
“I didn’t cut it.” He admitted and, for a moment, he thought he was going to end it at that. He really considered just stopping there and slamming the door in Blaine’s face. But he continued on anyways, pulling up every ounce of acting skill he’d ever had to make himself seem at least level. “But I know who did. Is there some kind of finder’s fee?” He asked with the barest hint of a smile.
Blaine laughed like they’d never been apart.