“This American system of ours ... call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you like, gives to each and every one of us a great opportunity if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it.” – Al Capone

For the first fourteen years of Blaine’s life, he was practically invisible to his father.  He lived in the shadow of his older brother Cooper who seemed to be everything his father wanted – and everything Blaine was not.  It took a beating from his homophobic classmates that put him in the hospital for almost a week to get his father to finally notice him. 

He begged to be allowed to transfer schools, but was quickly silenced by his father.  No, the Andersons don’t take the easy way out.  They get tough; they get even.  His father told him to start coming to his office every day after school when he was better.  Blaine didn’t see him again until he was discharged four days later.

When Blaine returned to school, he had expected the whispers and stares.  He hadn’t expected to find out that the three boys that jumped him were now in the hospital themselves.  Some said the timing was coincidental, some said it was karma, a few quietly whispered that Blaine had someone get retaliation for him.  His father’s words echoed in his head.  They get even.

Blaine found out quickly that things with his father hadn’t changed nearly as dramatically as he’d hoped.  When he got to the office that first afternoon, he was waved off, told to go find some guy named Wes in the gym.

The guy was a little bit older, a little bit bigger.  Blaine realized when he saw the boxing gloves that more of his father’s words were coming into play.  They get tough.

Blaine trained five days a week with Wes, not only building his muscles, but also building his confidence.

That boost got Blaine to start paying attention more around his father’s office.  He’d always been told his father was in finance, but the people that came through on a daily basis looked rough, scarred, and dangerous.

Blaine was fifteen when his entire world changed.  He’d stayed late after boxing to catch up on his studies and hopefully get a ride home with his father.  It was dark out when he made his way to his father’s office.  The door was cracked enough for him to hear an argument between his father and someone else.  The guy started begging and then everything got quiet except the sound of someone struggling.

Blaine pushed the door open to see a man face down on the floor with a bag over his head and a handful of other men scattered around the room.  His father glared at him and clenched his fists.

For some reason, Blaine wasn’t scared.  He took a few steps toward the dead man and then looked back up to his father.

“What’d he do?”  Blaine asked in a surprisingly even tone.

His father’s glare turned into a mix of suspicion and curiosity.  “He took something that wasn’t his.”

Blaine seemed to weigh his father’s words in his head before responding.  “So you had to get even?”

“Yah.  You have to punish those that do wrong by you.”

Blaine just nodded slightly and kept his father’s gaze.  Eventually, his father chuckled and shook his head.  “Jimmy, get that piece of shit out of here.  Blaine, come here.”

Without trying or even knowing he was doing it, Blaine had proven himself to his father that night.

He spent the next three years learning everything his father could teach him.  He learned that while Cooper was charismatic and charming, he didn’t have the brains to run the business like it needed to be run.  Given the chance, he would no doubt make a wrong connection or a bad deal and screw up everything his father had worked for.  For those three years, Blaine was being groomed.  He was intrigued and grateful and connected to his father for the first time in his life.  One day, everything his father had built would be left in his responsibility.

That day came just after his eighteenth birthday when both of his parents died.  They weren’t gunned down; it wasn’t a bad deal his dad made.  It was a drunk driver that came out of nowhere.

Before his father’s body was even in the ground, Blaine had a group of guys calling him boss.

***

When he gets the news that his aunt is in the hospital, not doing well, and asking for him, he feels obligated to go see her.  The voice of his mother echoing through his head.

He gets Wes to go with him, the rest of the guys left to their own devices for the remainder of the day.  Blaine doesn’t need protection really – not a lot of people know who he is.  He stays in the background, works the numbers, keeps things moving.  Cooper is the one that puts his neck out willingly to flash a smile and shake the appropriate hands.  They double up on Cooper’s security because he’s more visible, but also because he’s a bit of an idiot.  He never takes anything serious.  It’s like being the head of this family is an acting job for him.

Blaine’s okay with being the brains behind the scenes though.  He never liked to put himself out there, never wanted to feel vulnerable.   Wes is one of the few people he’s let in though, probably because he’s the person that helped toughen Blaine up.  They don’t have to talk a lot, a quiet understanding between them.  Wes can read him well and, more often than not, steers him in the right direction.

“Let’s make this quick.  I want to make sure her medical bills are paid for.  My cousins don’t have the money and my mother would roll over in her grave if I didn’t do something.”

Wes just nods and follows him into the hospital.

The visit with his aunt is brief.  She looks at him with a glazed look, calls him Blainey, and thinks he’s 12.  Blaine hands his cousin some money as they talk briefly in the hallway, anxious to get away from the decrepit hospital.

Blaine’s attention is drawn down the hall to a doctor and a young man speaking in hushed, but harsh tones.

“—has to be something else you can do for my father.”

“He’s in a coma, Mr. Hummel.  All we can do is wait.”

“It’s been over a week!  You just let him lie there.  We’re lucky if the nurses check on him twice a day.”

The doctor turns and waves the boy off dismissively.  “I have other patients I need to see.”

“Seriously?”  The boy throws his hands up in frustration, skulks over to the wall, and slides down. 

Wes nudges Blaine, pulling his attention back.  Blaine has a dozen thoughts going through his head and Wes undoubtedly has an idea of what they were.

“I’ll meet you down at the car.”

Wes regards him for a moment and then turns to leave without a word.

A few minutes later, Blaine approaches the boy who remains on the floor, arms folded over his knees, and head bowed.

“It’s questionable, but you look like you need this.”

The boy lifts his head and looks confused until he sees the styrofoam cup of coffee being held out to him.  “Questionable?”

“The coffee.  It came out of a machine that looks like it’s past its retirement date.”  The boy slowly lifts his hand to take the coffee, the confused look still present.  “It’s just coffee.”

“Sorry, I’m…  I’ve got a lot on my mind.  Thank you.”

“Blaine Anderson.” 

“Kurt.  Kurt Hummel.”

“Well, Kurt, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with the doctor.  I think I can help.”

The confused look morphs into one of suspicion.  “And how’s that?”

“Why don’t we go sit in the waiting room?  I’m starting to get a crick in my neck looking down at you.”

Kurt stands up slowly and walks down the hallway to the waiting room.  They sit across from one another, Blaine looking completely comfortable and Kurt completely on guard.

“You said you could help?”

“Your father…  he’s sick?”

“Second heart attack.  He’s in a coma.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Your sympathy doesn’t help me.”

“This place – it’s a shithole.  He’ll never get what he needs here.”

“I can’t afford any place else.  I’ll be lucky if his medical bills here don’t drain me.”

“What if I told you I could get your father transferred?  Get him in a private facility with top-notch care?  It would just take a phone call.”

Kurt shakes his head and laughs.  “I’m sorry, who are you again?”

“Blaine Anderson.”

“And you like to approach strangers and offer assistance.”

“I do what I can.”

“You met me five minutes ago and you want to help when I have no possible way to pay you back.”

He leans forward and stares Kurt straight in the eye.  “I wouldn’t say that.”

Kurt’s body goes rigid and the suspicious look returns.  “So with what means do you anticipate I would pay you back?”

Blaine’s eyes wander casually over Kurt’s body.  “With legs like those, I’m sure you could think of a couple ways to pay a debt.”

Kurt guffaws and stands from his chair, practically knocking it over.  “Wow.  This is a new one for me.  Trying to take advantage of someone that’s desperately hoping that his father will wake up, promising things there’s no way you could afford…  all to get a piece of ass.  It’s bold.  It’s also pathetic.”

Kurt gets halfway to the door before the other man stops him.  “Kurt.”

The way he says his name sounds like barely controlled anger.

“First of all, if I just wanted a piece of ass, I’ve got more than enough options available to me.  Second, I can assure you that I have the funds to help your father.  I’m in the… finance business.  So you need to decide if you can put your pride aside to help him.”

Blaine slips a card into the pocket of Kurt’s jacket.  “If you want your father to get the care that he needs, you’ll call that number.”

The mix of earnestness and cockiness in Blaine’s eyes has Kurt transfixed.  Neither say a word as they exit the waiting room and walk in opposite directions.

***

He’d studied the card for three days, googled ‘Blaine Anderson’ and his company.  It appeared to be your average financial consulting firm.  So maybe this guy really did have the funds to back up his promises.  But Kurt weighed the other side of the deal and cringed at what he would be sacrificing for his father’s care.  Things had gone from bad to worse to damn near hopeless.  Kurt was desperate.

Which led him to a small coffee shop a few blocks over from the hospital.  He hadn’t even talked to Blaine on the phone.  His secretary knew who Kurt was immediately and advised him where and when to meet Blaine.

As with their previous encounter, Blaine walks in with complete confidence, eyeing Kurt immediately and sitting across from him.

“I knew you’d call, but I don’t normally like to be kept waiting.”

“Well, it’s not every day that I get propositioned.  I had to think some things through.  And I need to ask you some questions.”

“Ask away.”

“What is your job?”

“I told you – finance.”

“Could you be more vague?”

“You shouldn’t care what I do.  You should focus on doing what’s best for your father.”  Kurt can feel the hair on the back of his neck bristle at Blaine’s words.

“Where would you send him?”

“Rosemont.  He would get personalized care, have his own nurse, and be monitored by some of the best doctors in the state.”

“And what would you want from me in return?”

“It’s simple.  You give me what I want.  All you have to do is keep me happy.”

“So...  sex?”  He blushes before the whispered word is even out.

Blaine looks amused.  “Yes, Kurt.  Sex.  And if you blush just saying it, I can’t wait to get you out of those layers.”

Kurt feels scandalized.  He worries that everyone in the building can hear their conversation, but the quiet roar of the morning rush gives them privacy.  “How do I know you’ll even do what you say?”

“You don’t.” 

“So, what – we just do it and you move my father to Rosemont?”

“My god.  You are fucking adorable.”

For some reason, this makes Kurt angry.  He’s flustered, embarrassed, and fighting an internal battle for what to do.  Blaine keeps his level gaze.

“I’m not going to bend you over the table, Kurt.  This isn’t just a thing that we do and get out of the way.  You need me and I want you.”

“I don’t need you.”

“Oh yah?” Blaine raises an eyebrow.  “Tell me – how much of your father’s medical bills did your tuition refund cover when you dropped out of school.  Senior year, too.  Tsk tsk.”

“Wait, how did—“

“And how’s your father’s shop doing?  Seems like things are slacking with the big man not there to keep things in order.  Business is already starting to suffer and it’s only been a couple weeks.  And as hard as you try, you’re not quite up to taking over for him.”

“Did you spy on me?”

“I make sure to thoroughly research my prospective investments.”

Kurt just stares, a hint of fear in his eyes.

“Ready to admit you need me?”  Blaine has the gall to wink at him.

“So…  if I say yes…  what does that mean?”

“It means you come with me.  You hold up your end of this deal.”

“For how long?”

Blaine shrugs nonchalantly.  “Let’s say three months.  Or however long your dad needs the intensive care, whichever is longer.”

“And I would have to do whatever you want?”

“Don’t make it sound like a punishment.  But yes, you do what I want, when I want, where I want, and how I want.  As long as I get what I want, your father is taken care of.”

Kurt knows he can’t do this on his own and all he wants is for his father to get better.  The guilt he carries with him will eventually overwhelm him if he doesn’t do everything in his power to take care of his father.

“Ok.”  It’s barely a whisper.

“What was that?”

“I said ok.”

Kurt’s never seen someone look so predatory.  “Alright, let’s go.”

“No.”

Blaine is already up and out of his seat, but eyes Kurt curiously.  “You just agreed to the deal, so let’s go.”

“You get my father transferred first.  When he’s settled, I’ll go with you.”

A sly smile crosses his face.  “Negotiation.  I like that.”  He reaches out to touch Kurt’s cheek, but the boy pulls away, looking up with sad eyes.  “It’ll be done tomorrow.  Pack a bag of only what you need and I’ll send a car for you tomorrow night.”

“Pack a bag?”

“You’re coming to stay with me.  When I said I wanted you, I meant all the time.”

“I can’t just leave my home!”

“Kurt, you live in your father’s house and he’s not there.  Be ready tomorrow night.”

Blaine leaves Kurt sitting there stunned.  Apparently that was the end of negotiations.

***